“Are you ready to begin your rite of passage?”
A powerful aura buffeted Ashwin, Beast Master Kahn was already testing his medal again, seeing if he was indeed ready, even though he had already passed several hunts.
Circulating his breath Ashwin let his Animus flow, and he felt the pressure gradually reduce on his spirit.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
Beast Master Kahn who was bonded with the vorpal crow beast smiled approvingly, as if pleased that Ashwin, who was still in his base human form did not blanch at his aura projection technique.
“Good, and what Zone have you considered young man?”
Kahn raised an eyebrow, even the other clan elders present leaned forward eager to hear his choice
There was a moment of hesitation, before Ashwin spoke next, letting the silence bear the implications.
“I’ve chosen….
the Death Valley Zone.”
Smiles broke out across the room; Beast Master Kahn and the clan elders were thrilled.
“You are pleased?”
Raising his hand to silence a few hushed whispers Beast Master Kahn spoke; “Yes.
The zone you have chosen is almost certain death, had you chosen an easy location you would not be honoring the clan.
But with this choice you honor the clan greatly, some may perceive your choice as arrogance, but this is misplaced.
”
More hushed whispers followed
Standing up, Beast Master Kahn raised his right hand in the clan’s signature claw salute, “Ashwin of the vorpal crow, go and claim the wilds.” Pausing he continued, “Or may the wilds Claim you.”
Ashwin arched an eyebrow, “We’re going to fly in?”
“That’s right, I’m Humphrey, I’ll be flying you to the Death Valley Zone.”
Humphrey opened the double doors of the ”bird cage” as he called it, but really it was a stall of flying mounts Ashwin’s clan controlled.
Ashwin followed Humphrey to a stall on the left, inside was a red and black terror hawk.
As if expecting what was coming the terror hawk stood up and stretched out both wings.
The terror hawk stood nearly four meter’s high with an eight-meter wingspan.
On its back were two elegantly worked leather saddle’s, separate and spaced from one another.
opening the stall doors Humphrey led the terror hawk by the bridle to the open balcony, making a clicking sound the terror hawk knelt down, allowing Humphrey and Ashwin to board.
“Hold on tight, and don’t fall to your death.” Humphrey said as he climbed into the pilot saddle.
Making a motion Humphrey beckoned the terror hawk while holding the bridle and with a powerful flap of its wings the terror hawk took to the sky!
Humphrey and Ashwin flew for hours in a southwest direction.
The enchantment of riding a flying mount quickly wore off, it was physically draining on Ashwin being battered by the high-altitude winds, but Humphrey seemed to fair it better.
Now Ashwin understood why Humphrey was in such a good mood, it would take him until night fall to fly back from the Death Valley Zone.
Right when Ashwin was about to ask if Humphrey could descend for a chance to relive himself Humphrey raised a fist and pointed forward.
The battle essence of the Zone hit him and he could barely breathe.
The aura of the land was thick and oppressive, his Spiritual pond would grow quickly here, he just needed to bear the pressure a little bit longer.
Suddenly the terror hawk made a piercing cry, Humphreys eyes widened.
“DOWN!”
Searing hot purple orbs cut through the right flight feathers of the terror hawk!
The terror hawk panicked!
Humphrey fought to maintain control!
Ashwin fell!
“Purple Orbs”
Ashwin thought about it a moment, then his eyes snapped open.
“That Bastard.
He just gave me one more reason.”
Standing up he stretched and then yawned as he scratched his nether regions.
looking up through the baobab trees canopy the sun was directly overhead, it was noon.
“I got five hours of sleep, and bad dreams.”
He cracked open a fruit pod and quickly drank the pleasing water within as he looked down on the bank to check his cordage that was drying, the intestine, tendons and skin racks were present and unmolested.
“Good, right where I left you.”
The carcass of the sword pike itself was gone; something had dragged it off.
Descending the Baobab tree Ashwin checked the intestine, it was already beginning to pull the weighted stakes closer together.
The tendons and skin also were drying fast in this stifling midday heat.
A familiar growl hit him, “It’s lunch time.”
It was hot, and he was hungry.
But he didn’t want to fish with his ghost mantis whip.
“I’ll spear fish instead.”
Once again, Ashwin started by gathering up choice stones that he could Knapp with.
Searching carefully under the noon day sun, Ashwin found a variety of stones, smooth round granite stones, coarse blue stones, he even found some flint this time.
Taking these all back to his campfire beside the shattered kneecap, he went looking for a suitable spear head next.
That’s when he saw a boulder sized chunk of obsidian further down the sandy bank of the lake, but to break any off he would need a pickaxe.
Finding a hefty granite stone that would work as a pickaxe head he quickly secured the granite stone to a stout wooden stick.
With the help of his obsidian blade and a bit of doing, Ashwin soon had a primitive pickaxe.
Running over to the massive chunk of obsidian further down the coast and taking aim at the edge of the chunk he struck it with the granite pickaxe.
There was a shattering noise, and a thick sheet of obsidian broke from the main chunk.
Hitting the chunk again caused another sheet to break off.
Picking up both sheets of obsidian Ashwin returned by the campfire and began to shape and file fossilized bone fragments that were numerous, into knapping tools.
Using the coarse blue stone, he sanded them until he had various points and thickness’s, using a white rock, Ashwin drew the outline of the spear head he would Knapp.
The hatchet would be knapped after lunch.
The bone tools that he had taken the time to craft served him well and before the sun had traveled ten degrees in the sky, he had Knapped an obsidian spear head.
Now Ashwin would need a shaft to attach the spear tip to.
But he was getting tired of using wood for everything, he wanted his spear to be made from something more exotic.
“Bone”
Searching the fossilized bone heaps he found a long shard of bone, about six feet in length with a split at one end, holding it in his hands he could feel an electrifying battle essence from the bone.
“This will do.”
Taking the time, Ashwin sanded on the long skinny bone fragment until it became a slender balanced shaft, smoothing the split at the end into a notch that the spear head could sit in.
Using the braided string Ashwin wrapped the spear head tightly.
Ashwin now had a pickaxe and obsidian spear.
“Time to go fishing”
Ashwin walked out into the clear water and waited.
If he was lucky a curios fish might swim up to him.
But the heat beating down on him was too much and the crystal-clear water was too tempting, and he found himself diving in!
He swam out deeper.
“Ballsy Ashwin, pretty Ballsy.” He thought to himself.
Ashwin looked down and four meters beneath him was a huge flat armored water beast!
Swimming down closer Ashwin got a better look; the flat crustacean was devouring the sword pike carcass.
“So that’s where the carcass went!”
Extending his spiritual senses Ashwin saw strange black undulating waves being emitted from the flat armored water beast.
“It has a Beast Crystal!”
swimming downwards ten feet Ashwin snuck up on the large flat armored water beast and aimed carefully, “Don’t miss.”
Focusing a trickle of Animus his arms shot forward and he impaled the creature through what he assumed its head was, the thing was still wiggling on the end of his spear when he got back to shore.
Swinging violently, he slung it off and into a rock, the impact was enough to end its misery.
Moments later Ashwin had dissected the creature and cracked off its shell, he had several white, pink chunks of crab meat, and something else.
There was an odd-looking sack, Ashwin cut it open and pressed on it with his blade.
A large black pearl came out of the creature.
“No Way.”