Record of Ashes War

Chapter 12 - A Trial of Patience

Fresh morning air of the rebirth period greeted Sar'tara as she came out of the gate. She was surrounded by a familiar environment. But it wasn't a familiar place. Birds chirped from the branches of old trees. Trees she didn't recognize. Had never seen before. Ny'Danis had said that it was an alter plane created through her powers of creating life.

Sar'tara looked over herself, checking to make sure all of her weapons were there with her. She then checked her surroundings, looking for threats and potential sources of food. The latter was harder. She recognized none of the flora. Strange thick vines hung from trees. The forest floor was filled with shrubbery, hindering her movement and hiding stray tree roots that could be sticking out of the ground. Her sharp eyes caught sight of strange insects. She had no way of knowing which were dangerous and which were not. Either way, she wasn't overly fond of six or eight legged creatures. Aside from butterflies, bees, and dragonflies.

"Hunt a deer by dusk."

Sar'tara jumped at the sudden voice. Its hollow sound echoed through the crowded forest. She looked above her head as if expecting to find someone staring down at her. There was nothing but a green forest canopy and a slight blue of the sky showing between gaps among leaves. The voice did not sound again. It was a single command. The first Trial was to hunt a deer before night fell upon the strange forest. A difficult task. Locating a deer or looking for signs of it would easily take half a day if she was fortunate. That also depended on the amount of deer within the forest. The environment around her did not seem ideal for deer.

Yet, right before Sar'tara's eyes, about a hundred feet away from her, stood the four legged animal, nibbling around the edges of a shrub.

It was too easy to be true. The Guardian Trials would not be that easy. But the animal stood right there, completely unaware of her presence. She unstrapped her bow and slowly reached back to draw an arrow. Something strange and warm wrapped itself around her arm as if to caress it. Sar'tara paused, goosebumps forming on her skin. She slowly brought her arm back so as to not alarm her prey. The warm feeling continued to make its way down her arm, tickling and disrupting focus. It slid up her shoulder and touched her earlobes. A soft hiss followed. Sar'tara swallowed. It's just a distraction. She nocked and pulled on the string as the thing on her arm slid closer to her face. Sar'tara froze at the sight of it, twitching.

An overgrown worm with green scaly skin stared into her eyes.

The arrow slipped from Sar'tara's fingers and fell before her feet. She yelped as her bow dropped as well, both of her hands moving to yank the worm away from her. Sar'tara hated worms. They were gross. A big green one in a foreign environment was all the more frightening. The thing moved quick for a worm, slithering about on the ground. It hissed again as it approached Sar'tara a second time. She fell on her rear and crawled back as fast as she could, trying to kick at the creature with her feet, surprised at the whimpers escaping her mouth.

The worm raised its small head. A forked tongue slipped out of its mouth, then slipped back just as quick. Its jaw split in two, revealing a pink inside with two pairs of small fangs, the pitch black disc within its gold eyes colder than any night and threatening to kill. Sar'tara knew then. She was staring at a predator. This worm had fangs. It was carnivorous.

The creature hissed as it slithered towards her. Sar'tara unsheathed her knife and screamed as she tried stabbing at the creature's head. It lunged towards her at that exact moment, fangs bared. The bone knife went through its body, pinning it to the ground. Its head still wriggled around, hissing whilst continuing to snap with its teeth. Sar'tara grabbed hold of the head, pulled her knife out, and then stabbed where she'd originally intended. Warm blood rolled down her fingertips. She threw the creature aside, her chest rising and falling at as fast as her flitting eyes searching the forest for further threats.

She slowly stood up, knees buckling like a newborn fawn. The deer was nowhere to be seen. Of course. She expected as much. The Trial was never going to be easy. She retrieved her bow and arrow, still scanning her immediate surroundings. She spotted more scaly worms. Some of them were disguised as vines. A shiver ran down her spine. Sar'tara glanced at her arm, grimacing, feeling tainted and unclean. The gross thing had touched her.

She moved towards where she had spotted the deer. It would have tracks she could follow. She did her best to avoid vines. She heard a hiss every once in a while. Her heart skipped beats when the sounds were too close for comfort. Some of the shrubbery she stepped through had sharp leaves. The skin around her feet and ankles was beginning to collect many red lines. They itched at times. She bent down to satisfy the itch, adding to the red. Moving through the forest in complete silence was proving to be difficult. There were very limited amount of places Sar'tara could step without snapping small limbs of plants. She was leaving a trail of trampled life.

The deer had left similar tracks, hoof prints pressed into the ground along with leaves and twigs. The dense vegetation, though making it harder to hunt in silence, made tracking easier. To Sar'tara's surprise, her prey hadn't fled very far. She spotted its fluffy tail sticking out from behind the trunk of a tree. She moved on the tips of her toes, stepping in the exact same place the deer had tread. She needed a better angle to shoot.

Sar'tara positioned herself behind a waist high bush. She bent her knees and drew an arrow. The forest was suddenly silent. Not a single bird sang. No insects buzzed. Not even a sickening hiss could be heard. Sar'tara nocked and drew back, the wood of her bow creaking as she did so. The deer perked its head at the sudden sound. It moved a few steps, once again hiding itself behind a tree. Sar'tara moved too, shuffling her feet along the ground so as to not step on a twig.

She stubbed her toe on a hidden root and tripped over.

The deer fled again.

Sar'tara spat a leaf out of her mouth as she picked herself up. She'd snapped her arrow in half when trying to break her fall. "This stupid…" The forest was too unfamiliar. She clutched the broken ends of the arrow in one hand. No one would judge her in an alternate plane. No one would shame her for losing an arrow. No one but herself. She was a Selharr. She had her own pride as one. Her nails dug into her palms as she clenched her fists.

Sar'tara rose to her feet and dusted off soil chunks stuck to her knees. She winced as her fingers glazed over a splinter stuck at the side of her thigh. She carefully picked it out. Something tickled her back. The feeling crawled up her spine and reached her neck. Sar'tara froze. She swatted the insect away, squealing. A yellow spider the size of her palm fell before her feet and skittered away.

Sar'tara swallowed hard. Goosebumps returned. She hugged herself to stop from shivering in disgust. She didn't like this forest. Hated it. Her head whipped from side to side, searching for more critters. She tried peering at the sun's position through cracks in the green canopy. How much longer do I have? She chased after her prey's tracks once more, this time more aggressively and with less caution. Her audible footsteps drowned the sounds of those scaly worms. She didn't want to spend a single second longer in these unfamiliar woods.

She once again spotted her prey not long after. Though, she'd seen it too late. Twigs snapping beneath her feet had frightened the deer and it fled once more. Sar'tara screamed at the sky and tugged at her braid hard. It hurt. But she wanted to rip something apart. She instead grabbed at a nearby vine and pulled it away from the tree it was wrapped around. The warm vine hissed at her as it squirmed around in her hands. She screamed again —this time in fear. She threw the green worm as far as her trembling arms could manage. It slithered away just as another came from behind her and wrapped itself around her left leg. "Get away! Get away!" she squealed as she stomped her feet about. The creature slithered its way up her leg, coming dangerously close to her waist. She ripped it away and threw it aside.

Sar'tara fell on her rear and backed herself up against the trunk of a tree. She needed a moment of respite. Her heartbeats were erratic. Her eyes were peeled wide, trying to find other disgusting creatures whilst hoping they wouldn’t find them. She pressed her head back against the tree and closed her eyes, relaxing her breathing. Her eyelids opened a while later. She found herself staring at a spider that inched closer to her face with every passing second as it descended down a web.

Sar'tara's felt as if her chest would burst open. She gagged, trying to inhale, and then shut her mouth out of fear of the spider. She couldn't bear it any more. She slammed her palm against the tree, squishing the critter before it came down any further. Tears of frustration rolled down her cheeks. She drummed her fists against the bark of the tree, wailing like a child. The tree shook. It wasn't particularly thick, though, its branches were spread wide. Half a dozen vines fell away from them. They slithered their way towards the huntress, upset at having been disturbed.

Sar'tara shrieked, her voice higher than she'd ever thought possible. She ran as hard as she could, not caring about her surroundings. She spotted her prey again during her flight and hastily drew another arrow whilst still running. Only to stub her toe on another root and fall head first into dirt. Her face suffered the scratches of sharp leaves. The deer fled again, this time galloping straight past her as she lay on the ground as if mocking her, adding to her grief.

Sar'tara howled. She hopelessly chased around the faster being, firing arrow after arrow, each one striking bark as if the trees were intentionally getting in her way. No. Her shots were just going wide by Selharr standards. She didn't care. Her pride was all but gone. Time and time again, she tripped over something unseen. Such dense vegetation made Sar'tara feel trapped. It wasn't fair. This entire forest was an enemy hindering her hunt at every turn. And she was all alone with creepy insects just waiting to crawl all over her.

Sar'tara watched through teary eyes as the deer got farther away from her. Red around her ankles and feet became deeper in color until the skin had nearly peeled away and blood was beginning to show.

At the end of it all, Sar'tara finally fell on her knees. Her adrenaline rush, gone. Her feet, stinging with pain. Her lungs, desperate for air. Her muscles, throbbing from overuse. Her prey was nowhere in sight. No means of tracking it remained either. She didn't know where its tracks were. In her rage, she had chased the deer in circles and had trampled over all of the previous tracks. And only a single arrow remained in her quiver.

The deep orange glow of an evening sun caused the color of the forest to change. Time was running out. Sar'tara did not know how much longer she had. She was on the verge of failure. All because of her impatience. She wept in silence. No option remained. No familiar landmarks to identify her position. No tracks to continue her chase. The unfamiliar territory, the unfamiliar flora and fauna, all of it overwhelming. A part of her had given up. Wanted to go home. She just wanted the Trial to end. But what happens when it ends?

All who failed the Guardian Trials did not return. They were all presumed dead. That meant that if she failed, she wouldn't return to her Mother. She would be stuck in this plane with these horrid creatures until she either died of starvation or was killed by the insects. Sar'tara wondered if her loss would be mourned. If she would even be remembered.

The hope of the Selharr, just a failure.

She couldn't let that happen. Dusk had yet to arrive. The huntress stood once more. One more arrow. One last try. She looked around. Confidence burned in her anew as she realized the truth of the forest.

***

The scaly worm-like creature continued to hiss. Kiali tightened her grip around its throat. Or where she assumed the throat to be. "What now? Trying to breathe?" she asked. "You made me lose sight of my target. How do you expect me to make up for it? Hiss. "What's that?" Hiss. "An apology? While you bare your fangs at me?" Kiali shook her head. She threw the creature as far away as she could.

She silently made her way to where she'd seen the deer. All her life, Kiali had only ever hunted wolves. Because she hated them. Feared them. But during her exploits, she'd also learned to think like a wolf, giving her much needed experience in hunting game she had little interaction with.

The deer had left tracks of trampled plant life. She followed them, treading upon those same tracks on her toes. It wasn't long before Kiali came upon the deer once more. Its small head bent down, nibbling on a bush. She reached back to grab an arrow. Then paused. Something felt strange. The deer hadn't fled as far as she'd expected. Regardless, it stood before her, begging to be hunted. Kiali nocked and drew back. The forest was eerily quiet. The soft creak of her bow alerted the deer to her presence. It fled before the shot could be fired. Kiali smirked. Something was definitely strange. Noise returned to the forest. Birds chirped and insects buzzed. Everything was playing out perfectly against her.

The Trial was trying her patience.

Kiali sighed as she shook her head. It turned out easier than expected. But she didn't drop her guard. Countless hunters had never returned to the Selharr village after attempting the Trials. There were still three remaining. They wouldn't be as easy.

Kiali failed to hunt the deer a few more times. She didn't let it agitate her. In her failures, she realized that the forest was truly small. It made sense that she'd been encountering the same deer over and over again. All of it was a ruse to encourage frustration. But Kiali had too much experience. Her mentality was that of a hungry wolf. She knew her opportunity would come. And it did. It was early into the evening when she finally had a clear shot of her prey. All that remained to be tested was her skill with the bow. In true Selharr fashion, Kiali claimed her prize, only having wasted a single arrow.

A white oval formed before her. A gate similar to the one she'd gone through to access the strange forest. She stepped through and once again was greeted by the beauty of the Papillion Forest's center.

Ny'Danis smiled at her. "Well done, Kiali. You maintained your rationale and did not let an unfamiliar environment disturb you. Your completion of this Trial is proof of your ability to exercise patience."

"As is to be expected, Mother. We have hunted all our lives. I would shame not only myself, but you as well if something so trivial was to be my downfall."

Ny'Danis smiled. "Trivial… Humm… You'd be surprised at how many of your sisters fail this Trial. This Trial is where most of the Kreiva Vashiri fail due to their rash nature. But it isn't just them. The Selharr and Mäkhain often struggle as well."

"I suppose I can see how that would come about. It is a cleverly designed Trial. Which I should expect, of course. Because Mother was the one to make it." Kiali blushed in embarrassment. She'd called her Mother's designs trivial. "Has Tara begun the next Trial already?"

"Your sister has yet to return."

***

Since arriving, Sar'tara had not bothered to think rationally. No. She simply didn't have the opportunity to pause and think. Everything had been set up to bait her from the very beginning. The goal of her Trial set right before her eyes. The slithering worm appearing right after it. From that very moment, she had been caught in a carefully crafted web. It was a Trial to test patience and experience. Experience, Sar'tara had in droves. But patience? Every Vashiri woman strived to attain the position of a Guardian. While hunting was a game of patience, it was easy to forget such a crucial trait when under the excitement of finally taking the Guardian Trials. Of being that final step away from their lifelong goal.

Then there was the forest. The strangeness of it all was to throw off the senses. A forced time limit would cause any person to subconsciously disregard their surroundings for their goal. The forest was, in truth, a very small place. It was no mere coincidence that the deer had appeared before Sar'tara without her having to search for it. There was a limit to how far it could run. The constant failed attempts at hunting it only served to further frustrate any huntresses taking the Trial.

The day was wearing on. Dusk would arrive soon. Sar'tara ignored everything within the forest. All of its sounds, all of its creatures, and all of its vegetation. She silently shuffled her feet, moving mere inches for every few breaths. An impatient desire formed within her. It begged her to move faster. To seek out her prey before the sun set. She didn't let that desire conquer her.

She was a huntress. And hunting was a game of patience.

In the small forest, Sar'tara was confident she would come across her prey at least one last time before the Trial's end.

Darkness crept between the trees, lengthening and widening every shadow. Singing birds were replaced with crying crickets. It wouldn't be long before time ran out, before the light in the sky dipped below the horizon. Within the deepening umbra, Sar'tara spotted the deer again. This would be her last attempt. She nocked her final arrow. The entire plane seemed against her. Shadows danced at the edges of trees. Centipedes and spiders sitting upon branches and leaves entered her field of vision. They were distractions. Sar'tara's fear and exhaustion only made their presence more potent than they should have been. Thoughts of failure prodded the edges of her mind. One final chance. She wouldn't fail.

She drew back her bowstring. A green worm fell upon her shoulders. Scream! It slithered down her body whilst hissing. But the darks of her eyes only saw one thing. They were tunneled in on her prey. Nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered. Her last arrow. Her last shot. And no possibility of missing. Because she was Sar'tara Vashiri. A Selharr Vashiri huntress. The arrowhead found its target.

A white oval opened up before her. Only then did Sar'tara realize how quick she was breathing. Her body was cold. The sweat covering her skin was beginning to evaporate. She pulled the green worm away from herself and rushed into the gate, screaming. Her blurred vision briefly caught sight of Kiali as she stepped into Ny'Danis' grove. Sar'tara ran straight to her Mother and buried her face in Ny'Danis' bosom whilst crying. She didn't care how much of a baby anyone else perceived her to be. She passed the Trial. That was all that mattered.

Ny'Danis gently ran her hand down her daughter's braid. "There, there," she whispered in Sar'tara's ear. "Well done on completing the Trial."

Sar'tara could only nod as she sniffled and gasped for air.