The ceremony began as usual the next day.
Since Folg was dead, the younger shaman, Gulk, was now responsible for overseeing the ceremony.
He entered the cave and brought out the infants to begin the bloodline ceremony.
It would be the first time they saw the sun, just as it had been for Alruk’s generation.
It was the condition required to awaken the Sun Flare Bloodline.
When the infants stepped outside, just like the generations before them, some looked shocked, others were afraid, but most were simply confused.
There were thirty-six of them.
Out of that group, ten were females.
But what shocked Alruk were the two female hobgoblin infants among them.
And so, the ceremony began.
Thirteen infants awakened the Sun Flare Bloodline.
Then the maturity ceremony began.
This time, there were three females and nine males in the hunting group.
The males wore different pieces of armor, including wooden chest plates.
It might not have been much, but it was still better than nothing.
The females began cooking.
Because of the improvements made to the tribe’s cooking methods, there was now an organized process.
Unlike before, when they had to wait for the hunters to return before starting, they now prepared the ingredients in advance.
They washed and chopped vegetables.
Specific leaves and green peppers were cut into small pieces, while others were ground into a paste on a relatively flat stone.
After that, they boiled water for the meal.
It was the tribe’s favorite dish:
Green Meat Soup.
Alruk liked it as well.
Of course, it couldn’t compare to the cuisine he had enjoyed in his past life.
But it was far better than the roasted, half-burnt meat the goblins had eaten before his birth.
Just knowing what was being prepared made some of the goblins start salivating.
Some of the leaves that had not been ground were placed into the boiling water, which was then set aside to cool.
As it cooled, the water slowly turned green.
A few hours later, the hunting party returned.
All twelve hunters returned safely, although three of them were injured.
The beasts were quickly butchered.
The valuable materials—the tusks, horns, and hides—were separated for later use.
The meat was stripped from the bones, cut into thin slices, coated with the prepared paste, then wrapped tightly.
The wrapped meat was placed over the heat without touching the flames and slowly rotated so it cooked evenly.
To keep everyone from going hungry while the food was prepared, fruits were distributed as usual.
Soon, the wrapped meat hardened slightly.
Because of the large quantity being cooked, the preparation took time, and by then it was already mid-afternoon.
The boars’ tusks were cleaned and set aside to be crafted into knives later.
Soon, four of the sausage-shaped rolls were placed into a wooden bowl.
The green soup prepared earlier was reheated slightly before being poured over them.
The bowl was presented to the chief.
After finishing the meal, he spoke.
“As always, our females have done wonders.
This might be the best Green Meat Soup I have ever tasted.”
The tribe erupted into cheers as the females hurried forward to begin serving everyone.
While this was happening, the blood-marking ritual had already begun.
This was the first time the young shaman had performed it, so mistakes were expected.
Alruk knew the failures during the ritual were not caused by the recipients being weak.
The real problem was that rune tattoos required delicate precision, yet the ritual was performed crudely.
Now, with the young shaman having no previous experience, the results were disastrous.
One of the males died.
Two others permanently lost the use of an arm or a leg.
One of the females lost the ability to work altogether.
It was a tragic sight.
Murmurs spread throughout the crowd.
These goblins would now be considered weak and useless by the tribe because of something that was not their fault.
The joy from the ceremony vanished.
The tribe had lost potential warriors, though they did not realize it. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
The silence lingered as a somber atmosphere settled over the tribe.
Until now, they had never questioned the ritual, but for the first time, uncertainty crept into their hearts.
Whispers soon spread through the crowd as they spoke among themselves, wondering how a generation they had believed to be strong could produce those they now considered weak.
The chief was displeased with the results as well, but for now, there was nothing he could do.
He rose from his throne and stepped forward.
It was obvious he had something to say.
“Silence,” he commanded.
The crowd quickly quieted.
“I am about to make an announcement that will affect the future of this tribe.”
Ruft, who stood beside the throne, frowned.
‘What could he possibly announce that would affect the tribe’s future’?
he wondered.
‘Could he be about to name his successor’?
It was the only announcement he could think of that would have such an impact.
“Alruk!
Step forward.”
Alruk rose from where he was sitting and walked toward the platform.
Stopping before it, he turned to face the tribe.
The villagers immediately began whispering among themselves.
Even Gulk looked confused.
Ruft’s expression darkened.
“From tomorrow,” the chief declared,
“Alruk will be in charge of training our young ones.”
BOOM.
It felt as though a bomb had exploded inside everyone’s heads.
Even Alruk was stunned.
The entire tribe fell silent.
Only the infants who had just completed their awakening ceremony continued making noise.
Then a loud voice suddenly shouted,
“WHAT?!”
The cry startled several of the infants into tears.