Chapter 1: Sky Mountains

Chapter 1: Sky Mountains

“You are going to be a great warrior, Urich.”

“Hah, stop it with your nonsense, you old hag.”

“Heehee,” the tribe shaman snickered. “I saw it in my nightmare, Urich. You were the Warrior of Light.”

“I don’t believe in that voodoo or fortune telling of yours; you’re all high on your herbal drinks and whatnot,” Urich said.

Urich was a sixteen-year-old tribe warrior. He had just gone through his coming-of-age ceremony two years before, and he was also the strongest fighter among his age group.

“When are you going to step down as shaman? Isn’t it about time you kicked the bucket?” Urich questioned the old lady while chewing on some deer jerky. His well-trained physique was as striking as a leopard’s.

The shaman smacked Urich on the butt with her staff. “Tsk, don’t rush me, you punk. I know I don’t have much longer.”

“Oh, you old hag!” Urich raised his fist in anger, but he couldn’t let himself hit an elderly. Instead, he just finished off the rest of his jerky and got up.

“Where are you off to now, Urich?” the elderly woman asked.

“I plan to go hunting with my brothers,” Urich answered.

“Oh yes, your fellow warriors seem to follow you around quite well. The chief’s son must be jealous,” the shaman responded.

“That guy’s just in his own head. I have zero interest in becoming the next chief.”

“That’s not what everyone else seems to think. Your name is always in the discussion in that matter,” the old lady said.

“If I don't want to do it, who can make me do it? You know what, whatever. Take care of yourself, Old Hag.”

With that, Urich turned and left.

“Punk,” the shaman murmured as she watched Urich's figure disappearing into the distance. She could see a faint light surrounding him. NewW novels updates at novelhall.com

“You are going to be a great warrior, Urich,” the shaman muttered as she got back to her herbal drink.

* * *

Urich joined four other young warriors from the Stone Axe Tribe who had already gathered.

“You’re late, Urich,” one of them remarked.

“I was with the old hag,” Urich answered, scratching his chest and spitting on the ground.

“Why care so much about an old shaman who’s staring at the face of death?” one of the warriors said as he let out a chuckle. Such was the cycle of life: aging and eventually departing.

“It’s bad luck to let a senile old lady die alone. These occasional check-ins are the least I can do,” Urich muttered as he took a look at the four warriors. They were his loyal followers.

“By the way, are we really going to ascend the Sky Mountains?” one of them asked, with visible doubt in his eyes.

Urich laughed in response. “The chief’s son recently brought home a wolf as big as a whole calf. We gotta go up and find a prey bigger and more impressive than that. We can’t let him win, can we?”

“By the looks of it, it’s headed up the mountains. If we follow its tracks, we’ll reach the midsection of the Sky Mountains,” a warrior commented.

“It’ll only take us a minute to hunt it down and come straight back down. Why, are you perhaps scared?” Urich responded with a sense of mockery. The warriors of the tribe risked their lives every day. Those who avoided challenges to preserve their lives were not deemed fit to be warriors.

“Scared?” the warrior smirked, “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just cautious because you might break the rule.”

Urich's eyes narrowed into slits with a hint of skepticism within. “Rules are meant to be broken. I only believe what I see with my own eyes, not what a bunch of oldies tell us.”

Urich gazed at the snow-capped peaks of the Sky Mountains. The rays of sunlight reflecting off the pure white peaks were almost blinding.

Thump, thump.

Urich’s heart was racing. He had always wondered what lay beyond those mountains.

“I’m going up. You guys with me?” Urich asked his fellow warriors.

The warriors exchanged glances and nodded in unison. They were like a wolfpack—the alpha’s wish was their command.

Urich followed the bear’s trail up into the Sky Mountains. The grass was gradually getting shorter, and the air was getting colder.

“Huff... huff... this bear sure has great stamina,” one of the warriors remarked through panting breaths.

“I think you’ve just been lazy with training,” another warrior teased in response.

“I can see your face turning more and more red from the exhaustion,” the first warrior retorted.

The young warriors began to feel the gradual increase in their fatigue as they bantered among themselves. Urich was the only one who seemed unfazed by the climb.

‘Is this guy even human? Didn’t we all grow up on the same food?’

Urich had the stamina of a superhuman. Even the warriors who trained day and night had to squeeze everything out of themselves just to keep up with his pace.

Chomp.

Urich grabbed a piece of jerky from his pocket and took a bite. Even during a chase, his appetite still remained.

“Eat something, guys. You gotta eat to keep on moving,” Urich grinned as he looked at his group.

“Yeah, maybe for you,” the other warriors grumbled under their breath.

“This stench...” Urich sniffed out the distinct stench of an animal. The musky smell indicated that the bear was close.

The warriors grew alert. The others had also picked up on the stench and nocked their arrows.

Beasts were stronger and more agile than humans. When confronting these animals, humans had to keep their distance, which made bows and spears the preferred weapons.

The warriors moved swiftly, but with extra caution to avoid stepping on tree branches.

A bear was a challenging prey but also a prize worth boasting about. Hunting was a mark of a warrior's achievements. The animals’ hides were made into clothes, their meat consumed as food, and their fat melted to be used as oil. Being skilled in hunting was one of the greatest virtues of a warrior.

“It’s a grizzly bear, Urich,” one of the warriors said in a hushed whisper.

A chill went down their spine. But almost instantly, the tremors were gone, and a cold glint appeared in their eyes.