《Further Beyond: Ascension》


 Prologue: What is a Hero?

    Today, on Sabatsday, on the 15th day of the month of Empress Marcia, on the 468th year since the Crowning of Emperor Leonhard I.


    I, Ludwig Johan Rappmeister, am penning what would look like to be one of my last entries within this journal. A full life I had lived and I can feel it in my bones through my recent and constant pains serve as a reminder that I am perhaps not long for this world. Despite that, in my current infirmity, I have found myself reflecting upon quite a few subjects of interest, and lately, one particular word most often comes to mind with me.


    Hero. The word itself is capable of conjuring certain images into the minds of many who hear of it, though granted, it would very well depend on the perception of each individual who would hear it. If one were to look past the semantics of the word itself and were to ask each and every person what exactly a hero is, what would appear on their minds?


    What exactly is a hero? Some would conceptualise a hero as a mighty figure, a being of near-mythical and epic proportions capable of such drastic feats of ability, power, and conquest that they had left their mark upon the various records and histories of the world. The great heroes that had freed mankind from the vile tyranny of the Elves, they who had thrown off the yoke of slavery and had in turn become masters of their own fate! Truly they would be considered exemplary pillars of greatness, paragons of virtue, not the least because they themselves had transcended beyond our mundane living into the very stars, becoming divine themselves. It would be apparent to most that such incredible feats be worthy of the title of Hero. In fact, it is the very truth that most of our scholars would agree with such a notion, appending the name of an entire Era by the name of ¡®the Heroic Age¡¯ after them. To the common layperson as well, the answer appears to be quite simple and he would look at the person asking of him such questions to be in turn quite daft.


    Misfortune befalls us however, as such as most things in life, things are rarely ever so simple. Such a seemingly instinctive answer would belay from us a far deeper discussion in regards towards the term ¡®Hero¡¯ itself. For if we were to ask deeper with the example of the Heroes of Old, the Saviours of Humanity, it is true that they are considered heroes by Humanity, but what of their Elven foes? What of these fair folk from whom they had wrested so much power from? What the race of men may see as the beginning of their golden age and their rise to power, the Elves would in turn see a dark chapter within their own proud lineage as the start of their rapid decline into oblivion and obscurity. The current Elven Kingdoms, States, and Lordships would suffer not the very mention of Soterios and his lot, especially not as ¡®Heroes¡¯. To them, the so called ¡®heroes¡¯ were far more akin to cataclysmic sentient disasters hell-bent on destroying and laying to waste all semblance of what they had considered the pinnacle of civilisation. So from such a simple observation, it is readily apparent to us that the appellation of ¡®Hero¡¯ is greatly subjective. As one man¡¯s rubbish be another man¡¯s treasure, so too would it be that one man¡¯s hero be another man¡¯s villain. As we had stated before, it¡¯s all a matter of perspective.


    But all this to say, we have yet arrived at the main crux of our current semantical dilemma. We have established that a ¡®hero¡¯ to one person does not then mean that they are a hero to all peoples, rather that as is true in the observable universe, there are many sides to the same person depending on who perceives them. However the very definition of ¡®hero¡¯ in and of itself eludes us still. Looking at it from an etymological standpoint, as the word is descended from the ancient Anthroian tongue, it originally meant something akin to ¡®Protector¡¯ or a ¡®defender¡¯ of the people, be it of a people, a person, or a state. Although obviously, such a narrow definition of term would be expanded upon by later writers, authors, and philosophers.


    As was written by Helios Archiologos, the ancient Anthroian Philosopher and Poet of the Anthroian Court of Alexandros the Conqueror about his master in his Magnum Opus, ¡®the Alexandriad¡¯, ¡°...and so Noble Alexandros had achieved a feat that would rival even those of Soterios the God-King in his conquest of the world. A man born truly of this world by a mother and father of mortal means, by the right of his own blood, sweat, and tears had achieved a splendid conquest once only thought to be possible by the grace of the Divines and the Theanthroi (God-men) of Old. Destroying by the might of his own arm all notion of doubt and uncertainty in his prowess, Great Alexandros attained for himself through right of might, the same title of ¡®Heros¡¯ that the Theanthroi were given, an apotheosis of his own making.¡±


    Compounding upon such a notion by Archiologos, another philosopher - his own student - Kleon of Thanaria stated in one of his treatises on the philosophy of the Warrior that, ¡°...Any man who would call himself such, regardless of their lot in the mortal plane, would do himself justice in the eyes of the Gods to emulate the Heroes and strive to pursue for themselves that very noble title as was achieved by our Great and Glorious Autocrat. For what is a hero if not he who strives in all his ways to achieve Glory, Honour, and dignity within this life?¡±


    And so thus is the case for most of the Ancients in regards to a hero. A hero is he who through feats of great valour, ability, and fortitude accomplishes a deed of great note, whose achievements transcends the very thought of the mundane life of a simple mortal. In short, a hero is a great figure whose feats would go far beyond the realms of their own being and in turn transform them into an idea, a paragon, and even to some a ¡®beacon of hopes and dreams¡¯. This is also - on the other hand - why the ancients had no qualms with figures of lesser moral character being glorified and exalted so long as they achieved such transcendent feats. Great Soterios himself did indeed free the old Inferi from slavery but on the backs of the corpses of tens of thousands of slain Elves - men, women, and children, the old and infirm. It didn¡¯t matter to him so long as liberation was achieved. But do the children of man remember such feats of cruelty? I¡¯d think not, but I believe my colleagues among the Elven scholars of Magnia would beg to differ very strongly.


    But why then do the people of today¡¯s era attach a sense of moral ¡®virtue¡¯ - at least to our own sensibilities of what virtue even is - towards the appellations of who we would now consider heroes? I may not be able to speak for all the peoples of Orbis, but at the least, to us here living in Terradome or who hail from its lands, the pinnacle of all Heroes both in achievement, character, morality, and virtue would be none other than the Blessed Saviour Himself, Iesous Christos, the God-Man, Son of God and God Almighty Incarnate in Flesh from whom all Graces flow. The deeds of the Theonthroi may have carried weight for the worldly ancients, but it is only the Word Incarnate who gave salvation down to our very souls. In only three years of ministry within the world, the Son of Man shook the world of Orbis to its very core as his message spread like wildfire through the lower rungs of society before after centuries of persecution did it rise up to infiltrate even the elites of society within the Augustan Imperium until eventually the Blessed Emperor Anastasius declared the Religion Legal and he gave himself to be baptised by Saint Philemon of Dromaeras. When his grandson, the Emperor Theodoros ascended to the throne of the Imperium decades later, he made the religion the state religion by the Edict of Moni which dawned the New Imperial Era.


    Thus the faith grew rapidly even unto the farthest reaches of Orbis in a salvific zeal to spread the Holy Gospel to all the peoples, races, and nations of the world. All this zeal showcased by the Lord¡¯s chosen would further lead many a blessed missionary to remote places, none more so than our current efforts to bring the good news to the people of the Hallack in the continent of Neacordis. The continent itself is heathen land, made up of the accursed Mohammedan Idolaters in the South and Eastern reaches of the land while Pagan Idolaters dominate the Northern and Central parts of the area. Only the Western regions of the continent come close to having any semblance of recognisable civilisation, safeguarded by the efforts of the Newlander colonists, though their tumultuous relationship with their former overlords in Feldonia has left them strained for resources and further isolated from any aid and if the rumors floating about by the merchants have any semblance of truth, the Snake-men of Nagania and the Raja of Vishnayas would be looking to attack soon and Lord have mercy upon his children should that ever come to pass.


    But in spite of all the political intrigues that plague the rest of the continent, the Hallack content themselves in a state of practical isolation from the rest of the world in their simple villages and hovels deep within the jungles and hills of Neacordis around Lake Allen. Despite their outwardly more simple and some might say even savage means, the Hallack possess a ferocity yet nobility of heart that I dare say only few other peoples could muster. With only their wit and strength of arms they have repelled numerous incursions by their surrounding neighbours. A people very prone to infighting, clan rivalries, and petty land disputes but nevertheless are quick to unite against any foreign power they perceive as a threat. They have neither been bent by the Gods of the Hindan Rajas nor the False God of the Moslems, but all that did was fuel the righteous desire amongst my brethren to spread the Loving Word of Christ to touch the hearts of even the most stone-hearted of savages. It was due to this zeal and our desire to help the Reformation of the Church from the corrupted clutches of the so-called Pope in Sanctum did we set out many years ago from our beloved Empire to these wild and untamed jungles.


    I will not lie and say that my faith had not been tested throughout the years in these lands. The aid granted to us by the council of Newlandia had been scarce and they arrived on an ever decreasing lifeline which was rendered depleted not too long after we had crossed over to the hinterlands of the Hallack. When we began this journey, there were half a dozen of us missionaries, but now I alone have yet to be granted release from this life and into the everlasting city. That only means I still have a task to complete within this life that the Lord sees me fit to keep my countenance upon the mortal plane¡­


    In my decades in these lands I¡­ I have seen too much. When we had first landed upon the shores of the Arus river, we were met with suspicion by the locals but we had persevered regardless of the adversity. We had a local who was fluent in the Feldonian tongue guide us for the length of our initial landing and we spared no effort in learning the local tongue. Soon enough, after familiarising ourselves with the local populace of the fishing villages along the stream for the first few months, we managed to gain a handful of converts to the faith as we slowly but surely started a growing community. However, as always to strengthen our faith, the lord continued to test us.


    Word of our activities had reached the ears of the local tribal leaders and they had perceived our missionary work as some sort of threat to their political power and so they had set out to forcefully cease our activities. The families that had accepted the gospel into their hearts were rounded up and slaughtered by the dozens, men women and children as sacrifices for their profane blood rituals while me and my brothers were captured, bound, and put under captivity¡­ The druids and sorcerers of the Hallack took interest with us missionaries and thought we had contained some sort of secret arcane power and so in line with local tradition, I saw my brothers taken before me, dragged to the middle of the main village of one of the Priest-Kings of the Hallack and there¡­


    When I saw my mentor¡¯s throat slit and his body butchered like that of a swine with the rest of us kneeling close to his corpse with knives at our throats as we were forced to watch the sordid ordeal. Some of the Priest-Kings¡¯ sorcerer''s continued on to drain his corpse of his blood into some stone vessels while others prepared an altar with heated stones and some spices upon it. Though I know Father Johannes is now among the saints in Heaven, I can not help but to feel my heart wrenching as I remember the gruesome images of that day when we saw him cooked like some common beast as the Priest Kings and their retinue took part in some unholy communion upon his flesh.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    With that gruesome scene in mind, the rest of us were kept in captivity for the next year as our numbers dwindled further and further as we fell to similar rituals. On the eve of the first year of captivity as I had continued counting my days to keep my mind sharp, it was finally my turn to be martyred. When they had brought me out of my captive hut, I had steeled myself with prayer as I repeatedly recited the Lord''s prayer within my heart and my mind as well as supplications towards the Blessed Virgin and all our fellow saints in heaven above - a practice which I am sure some of our more radical brothers within the reformation would find abhorrent. But nevertheless, as I knelt while preparing myself for the cut that would bleed me dry from my throat, it never came.


    By either a stroke of luck or misfortune depending on one''s perspective, a dungeon break had occurred near the settlement where I was being held and just moments prior to my execution, a small army of large, hairy, ape-like demons with glowing red eyes and fangs as sharp as a tiger¡¯s with each demon-beast standing at around seven to eight feet in height known to the locals as the ¡®Homang¡¯. In mere moments, the village was sent into a frenzy as the Priest-kings, their warriors, and their sorcerers quickly stepped up to deal with the situation. In the commotion, none had the time to spare any attention towards myself. While I had thought to use this God-given opportunity to make my escape, fate would have it that I had caught sight of a child no older than ten years old who was quite the distance away from the other warriors of the village who were fighting off many of the monsters. In their effort to fight off the majority of the Homang, some beasts managed to slip through the line of warriors and two smaller ones were rushing towards the child.


    The child couldn¡¯t put up much of a fight as he was quickly pinned down by one of the homang while the other one was right behind him looking to turn the child into a meal and even managed to sink its fangs to the child¡¯s shoulder causing him to scream in pain and agony, unleashing a shriek I would expect more from a banshee rather than a boy of ten. I saw that in the distance a man who I knew to be one of the Priest-Kings look over in horror as he saw the child in the grasp of the monsters. Seeing this, with a quick prayer in my heart and not a second thought after, I rushed towards the boy with whatever piece of debris or rubble I could get my hands on as I slammed into the beasts that were tackling him.


    I did not know much in terms of combat or fighting, but I knew enough to know that every second I bought in regards to my intervention would grant precious time for any other warriors to notice the situation. I had gathered enough mana within myself to put more force into shoving the demons away and with the beasts caught unawares, I managed to slam them back for a little distance. Immediately my attention was focused on the boy who was bleeding profusely from his bitten shoulder and was quickly losing colour from his body. Though I wasn''t as good as the surgeons and doctors of the Imperial Capital, I still had adequate training as a healer from experienced mentor''s within the church and I used that training to quickly infuse warm mana into the boy¡¯s wound to disinfect it and clean it of any poisons or malevolent elements from the demon''s bite. After doing that, I had focused on stopping the bleeding by clotting up the open wounds and the blood vessels that were damaged though unfortunately I did not yet have the skill to repair the wounded flesh so I did what best I could to tear off a piece of the boy''s clothes and use that to bandage the wounded area.


    As I was doing all of that, I had yet to notice that the Priest-King had already rushed towards us after slaughtering the monsters that had assailed the boy previously and with his bloody frame from the blood of the monsters he had slain, he approached me and the boy as he knelt down next to us with a worried expression. I did not pay much heed to this as I was still focused on the boy who was still pale from the shock of blood loss and was still breathing raggedly albeit weakly. I spared no effort in expending my mana to heal the boy and stabilise his condition until eventually with audible prayers and hymns to beseech the Lord for providence and mercy, the boy finally calmed as he opened his eyes towards me and then the Priest-King next to me. When the boy finally muttered the word, ¡°Amang¡± which I knew to mean ¡®father¡¯ in the Hallack tongue, I finally heaved a sigh of relief before handing the boy to his father as I felt my strength finally leaving me as I was slumped on the ground weakly.


    Eventually, the situation around the village had quieted down as the warriors and sorcerers managed to subdue the remainder of the Homang demons and salvaged the dire situation. In the aftermath of the disaster, I noticed that many of the Priest-Kings and sorcerers were looking towards me with mixed expressions, some with scorn, others with curiosity, while some only gave hollow looks devoid of any light. One of the Priest-Kings who was among the more brutal of my captors looked towards me with great indignation as he blamed my presence for the disaster that had just unfolded and that my sacrifice was required to appease the spirits of their Ancestor-Gods. But just as they were about to apprehend me again, the younger Priest-King whose son I had just Heald stood up and raised his hand to stop them. With a loud booming voice, the Priest-King whom I would come to know as one of the most Powerful of his age - at the brink of becoming a six star blademaster - Raja Parhal Portibion Sigumogo, King of Goria, declared to the rest of the Priest-Kings that I was his honored guest and the savior of his only son, Tuan Parulian Nasilua Sigumogo. From that day onwards, I was no longer a captive of the Priest-Kings and was formally a free man, but I knew better. Though I was free in name and effectively so in the areas under the Influence of King Parhal, outside of those lands, I was still little better than an unwanted foreigner to be expelled from the Ancestral Lands of the Hallack. But regardless, to this day I thank the Good Lord for his providence in that I was saved from earthly peril.


    King Parhal had me cleaned and clothed with some of the best fabrics the Hallack people could produce, with their colorful ¡®Ulos¡¯ weaved together by very skilled artisans before he had asked me to come with him to his Home village of Goria. Lacking in any other means of survival as well as with renewed zeal that the Lord had chosen me alone to survive amongst my brothers, I felt the calling that my job was far from finished. Soon enough I was made an honorary advisor to the Village Court of Goria and he allowed me to preach the Gospel within his domain so long as I agreed to use my knowledge and training to also work as a healer and a teacher within the village.


    At first the Village shamans and sorcerers were apprehensive to my presence there but though I am first and foremost a man of God, I have always been of the belief that knowledge is neutral and at the source of all knowledge is the Supreme Being Himself for it is written, ¡®The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge¡¯. I spared no effort in learning what the Hallack peoples and their learned men of shamans and sorcerers could offer me. Knowledge of herbs, remedies, of the arcane. I also spared no effort in establishing philosophical dialogue with the court of Goria and found that besides his martial Prowess, King Parhal showed a natural talent for rational thinking and logic that I would think - given the proper training and instruction - he might even give the Magisters of the Imperial College a run for their money. In my efforts to foster a proper education in the village, I had one of the houses in the village converted into a school for children. Much like his father, the young Lord Parulian was also very gifted and talented in matters of Logic as well as martial Prowess and I was given the honor to bring him up in his education on the Imperial model. I was also given the permission to impart to the young princes and noblemen in the school proper morals of Christian conduct and the basics of Christian Theology.


    Soon enough, after a couple of years in my efforts of mission work, perhaps in fear of the lack of any news from me, I had caught wind of news that a second missionary group had arrived at the riverbanks of the Arus, funded by the Protestant Princes of the Empire and partly by the Church of Feldonia. Hearing this news, I immediately asked permission from King Parhal to meet with the missionaries and to safely usher them to Goria which had proven itself as a safe haven for my efforts. And so with the king''s assent, I had welcomed the missionaries into the Lands of Goria and the true process of Christianization of the Hallack would start in earnest. I was appointed by the King to head the missionary efforts in the realm and though many of my more radical newer brothers were apprehensive about my perceived ¡®Syncreticism¡¯ with local customs, seeing the children and people accept me as one of them began to convince the other missionaries that we are called to spread the Word of God, not the Culture of the Empire, therefore learning the local customs and infusing Christianity within the preexisting framework was the true Key to reaching the hearts of the people, so long as the core concepts and scriptures of our faith remain unchanged. And with their arrival, the school that I had operated for the past two years was expanded and now also doubled as a church. I still remember the date to this day, on Christmas day, the 25th of the month of Decimus in the 445th year after the Crowning of Emperor Leonhard, we held our first official mass. The twelve of us missionaries became the backbone and foundation of what would later on become the ¡®Huria Kristen Halak Protestan¡¯ or the ¡®Halak Christian Protestant Church'' and I was chosen by my brothers as our Church¡¯s first Ephorus (Archbishop). Our first mass was attended by the foreign missionaries and our helpers who had been baptised along the way.


    By the grace of God Almighty, Three years after the establishment of the church - On the 16th birthday of Lord Parulian -, King Parhal finally gave himself to us to be baptised into the Faith and into the church along with the rest of his immediate family followed as well by most of his court and nobles in a mass baptism in what is now the village of Tardidi. Though I truly believed that on that day the Hosts of Heaven held a joyous feast in celebration of the salvation of the Royal Family and Court of Goria, the devil works always like a lion on the prowl. When news reached the wider Halak world and the neighbouring Halak villages and Kingdoms of the conversion of Goria, it was as if a flame was lit and the other clans became hostile towards Goria, viewing our realm as traitors to all the Halak. This single action of conversion would spiral into three years of war and conflict until on Easter Sunday of 5E451, King Parhal had decisively defeated a coalition of nearly ten thousand men with an army of not even half that number. The decisive victory on the plains of Haumarara not only guaranteed the safety of the Realm¡¯s christians but also cemented Goria¡¯s position as the premiere power in the Halak lands. The following year, King Parhal gathered all the Priest-Kings in a grand council and managed to get himself elected as the first ¡®Hulubalang Nabolon¡¯ or ¡®Great Warlord'' of all the Halak. At his election, he gave me the official title of ¡®Ompu Tuan Guru Eporus¡¯ and along with my title he gave me the Right and assent to marry with a noble lady of one of the Clans of Goria, Si Boru Duma Nataruli of the Sinatua clan. A beautiful and lovely woman who was equal in intelligence with any scholar I''ve known. Through our holy union, the Lord has saw fit to grant me a child who was born a year later in my 40th year alive. A beautiful daughter who I named Serena. Not long after my daughter''s birth, my beloved student and Prince also fathered a child. The King''s first grandchild, a strong baby boy of which I was given the highest honor of bestowing upon the child his first name. And so after a day of fasting and prayer, I had given the child the name Josias so that he may one day lead and rule as righteously and as greatly as the Ancient King of God''s Chosen peoples. And so only a few months after the birth of my daughter, the newest Prince of the line of King Parhal was born, Tuan Josias Panuturi Hatigoran Sigumogo.


    Now it has been near sixteen years since then and the children are continuing to grow strong into their majority. They represent a new hope, the first generation of the Halak to be born and raised within the Faith and the Church. I have high hopes for this generation as I sense a plan in store for them by The Good Lord, especially for the dear Prince Josias¡­ I can feel it. If ever there was someone destined for greatness and the title of Hero, that would be him¡­ yet along with that assurance and hope, I can not help but feel that a darkness is looming. Perhaps I am overthinking things and am I desperate need of prayer to calm myself, but¡­ Lord preserve us always. I am tired now and I believe my work in this world too is coming to a conclusion though I know It would pain my family if they ever heard me say such things. Regardless of which, I shall continue to remain steadfast in my prayers. Whatever the future would hold, may God always be with us.

 1 - The First Hunt

    Lunesday, 18th of Marcia, 470th Year of the 5th Era


    Every breath felt significant as the young Josias laid low on the dirt ground of the great jungle lands and his eyes purposefully focused towards a single direction. In his right hand he held a short spear with a sharpened metal point whilst upon his waist was a curved sabre still sheathed in its scabbard. Besides his weapons, the young man was only equipped with a red headband to prevent his bangs and sweat from covering his vision and black pants fastened onto him by an intricately designed dark multicoloured cloth which acted as a belt where his sword and scabbard was attached to. His upper torso was bare, covered only by the leaves which had stuck to him from the ground as well as some traces of dirt which found itself smeared on his lean and muscular build. Next to Josias lay a large tiger, its stripes and golden-orange fur helping to conceal it on the ground and among the foliage with the saddle on it''s back further covered in leaves and branches to assist in the camouflage. The eyes of the predator also trained towards the direction the young man was looking towards.


    The light of the day was beginning to fade as the red sun was starting to set far into the Western horizon. Regardless of that, some of its golden rays were still shining through the gaps within the thick canopies of the jungle as it fell upon a great beast of a Rhinoceros, bulked up by excess mana from a nearby dungeon portal. The great beast perhaps stood a little over six feet tall, its hide looking like it was made of a hard and tough almost metal-like material. On its snout were two sharp horns of rugged yet sturdy ivory that appeared reddened, likely from the blood of other animals that it had fought with. The ears of the animal were twitching left and right in alert for other beasts as it was grazing the grass and leaves on the lower branches of the trees and some shrubs.


    As the young hunter steeled himself, he looked towards the two other points where his companions were also lying in wait for the ambush upon the great beast. The young warrior-hunters had set out from their village since the dawn in a mission to track down the great Rhino beast whom the local populace had reported a few days earlier to be a menace, terrorizing the nearby farmlands in a territorial act of claiming the area for its own. Rhinoceroses were a common animal around the plains regions near the villages but it wasn''t unheard of for the animals to be influenced by any nearby mana sources and transformed into menacing beasts that would continue on to become a danger towards the local area.


    Sweat started to form on Josias¡¯s brow as the pace of his heartbeat started drumming faster in his chest in a mixture of anxiety and excitement. This was the first major hunt and undertaking the young men had ever set out on without the accompaniment of the more experienced hunters and warriors. Josias was the most eager of all his peers to partake in the hunt to the chagrin of many of the Clan''s elders at his insistence of putting himself in harm''s way but he was adamant on taking the chance to prove himself. Though he had promised the elders of the village to act with utmost caution and deference, the eager smile that was currently plastered upon his face betrayed all promises of precaution. What he knew now was that his prey was grazing about seemingly unaware of the dangers that would befall it.


    Josias saw his two companions looking at him while nodding to signal that they were ready. Josias nodded back and after saying a quick and silent prayer within his heart, he grasped his spear with intent as he slowly rose up from the ground while he gathered his mana and focused it within his right hand to strengthen his grip. As he began to stand up while careful so as to not rustle any branches or leaves to make any unnecessary noise to startle the beast and alert it to his presence, he changed the positioning of his spear within his grasp as he held it horizontally as a Javelin. A faint but clearly visible silver sheen-like aura coalescing around it. As he pulled his arm back, the aura''s glow became brighter and shimmering spark-like sounds could be heard. At the same time the Rhino beast''s ears twitched as it started to catch wind of the unusual sounds, Josiash unleashed the spear in his hand with all his might as he hurled it towards the beast with a heavy grunt as that single action took quite a bit of energy for him to pull off. The beast was caught partially off guard as the spear came at it at a speed that was faster than it could anticipate. Though the beast only barely managed to swerve its head to the side causing Josias to miss his mark, the spear still managed to hit the beast with much power, lodging itself into its left shoulder, piercing through the Rhino''s tough hide causing the monster to shriek in great pain as its eyes began to glow red and it started fuming from its nostrils, shaking around in a berserk frenzy from the attack.


    Josias immediately jumped atop the saddled tiger next to him as he unsheathed his sabre and poised it towards the beast as he unleashed his battlecry, ¡°HAMATEAN!! (Death!)¡±. And with that cry, the great tiger beast beneath him immediately launched itself at the Rhinoceros. From two other angles surrounding the Rhino beast, his other companions also emerged on their tiger mounts as they too raised their spears and threw it at the beast before they mounted their tigers and charged as well, echoing Josias¡¯s warcry. The two other spears that were hurled had pierced other parts of the Rhino''s hide, being lodged in its right leg and spine, incensing the beast further as it began swinging its head madly, roaring and breaking apart even the larger trees around it. The three hunter-warriors and their mounts masterfully weaved through the dense thicket of the jungle as the tigers were adept at navigating the terrain all with their sabres still poised. It took but a mere minute for the three to reach close to the Rhino beast. Once more gathering his mana aura within his arm and weapon, as He charges past the beast, Josias slashed the beast with another great swing of his saber. The slash left traces of bright aura in the air as his strike drew blood from the beast. Though he gave a powerful strike, Josias gave a groan as it felt like he hit a hard boulder followed by his other compatriots.


    The Rhino beast, though gravely wounded from the incessant onslaught by the hunters unleashed another furious roar as it slammed its head once more around, forcing Josias and his companions to weave their way around the beast, their tigers doing the heavy work of dodging and maneuvering whole their riders held on tight to their reins and their weapons. In an act of fury, the Rhino monster¡¯s red eyes caught sight of Josias and disregarded his other two companions as the beast grazed the ground in preparation for a great charge. In the next moment, the beast roared once more as it rushed head first into Josias, seemingly ignoring its own wounded state. Josias did his best to swerve out of the Rhino''s charge but maneuvering so finely in the thick of the jungle wasn''t easy at all and so thinking quick, the warrior grabbed on to the medium-sized shield strapped to his tiger mount and quickly braced himself for the charge as he put mana into his shield to strengthen his stance whilst still endeavoring to do his best trying to get out of the way.


    Though he did his best in trying to avoid the charge altogether, part of the Rhino''s massive horns still managed to graze him and pierce a part of his metal shield. The hit landed onto his right side and even though it wasn''t direct, the impact was felt immediately and strongly as the force from it blew Josias away from his mount and even managed to stagger the tiger. Josias felt as if the air from his lungs all escaped him at that moment as his eyes contorted while he grasped for air from the harsh impact he had received along with the feeling that some of his ribs as well as the muscle and bones in his left arm were tearing apart and cracked. It took Josias a large amount of mana and a couple more precious seconds to strengthen himself as best he could to get back up. Had he not expended the mana, he would''ve suffered even greater damage. Though staggering, it wasn''t long before Josias repositioned his stance towards the Rhinoceros. A cracked shield on his left side and a bloodied saber in his right hand.


    Not long before Josias had regained himself, the Rhinoceros was already ready to charge again as it unleashed another roar and commenced once more determined to end the young hunter that was after its life. It was clear that the beast''s wounds were starting to affect it greatly as the Rhinoceros speed showed signs of slowing and its breathing grew more rugged but despite that, the force it displayed was still tremendously effective as it was galloping towards the bracing Josias. With his shield up and readied in front of him and his sabre raised above, he once more began gathering his aura to focus his attacks. He had been severely damaged before and he realised that one wrong move here could prove fatal. Catching wind of their companion''s noticeable condition, the other two young warriors immediately started to prepare a charge to catch the beast by surprise. However, just as they were about to ready themselves while positioning their sabres towards the beast, Josias noticed this and shouted out, ¡°Don''t worry about me! This beast is mine!¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Without waiting for any objections from the others, Josias instead did the daring move of counter charging towards the Rhino beast as he roared a battlecry from the top of his lungs. Just as the distance between the two closed, Josias bashed his shield towards the Rhino''s horn with great force aided by mana which helped to slightly stop the beast and in turn he used the great and crushing force from the impact to pivot sideways and slash at the beast''s neck. Ignoring the searing pain of the impact of the charge, Josias brought down his sabre with a slash of great force and with the help of his concentrated aura he caused a massive gnash on the beast''s neck as he finally managed to bring it down as the Rhino''s front legs gave up its strength as it came crashing and tumbling forward. Around the same time, just as Josias anticipated, a glowing aura started to appear around him as if manifesting from the left side of his chest where his heart would be. The young warrior gave a bright smile despite the massive pain he was in as he had attained a priceless growth in power due to the battle. His aura which was at the precipice of ascending finally surged as his very behind felt and acknowledged that he had reached the next level of power. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Josias approached close to the Beast which was now panting weakly on the ground as most of its blood was rapidly exiting its weakening body and with a final Stab to the beast''s neck, the beast''s roar turned into a whimper until finally silence prevailed.


    Josias finally heaved a sigh of relief before he fell back towards the ground, his breathing ragged and body greatly aching in pain as the adrenaline was leaving him though despite that he had a massive smile of satisfaction plastered across his face as he reveled in his achievement. While he was laying sprawled out on the ground, not long after his beloved mount had rushed towards him before nuzzling its head on Josias. The young man laughed as he returned the affection by rubbing the furry beast under its neck and around its face before the beast started licking him.


    ¡°Alright boy! Ouch!! Hahahah! Stop licking me! You''re going to tear my skin off if you do that!¡± Josias said while laughing as he continued to scratch his tiger companion. Not long after, his two companions had arrived and dismounted their beasts as well to check on their companion before one of the men came over to Josiash and squatted over so as to check on him.


    ¡°Are you bloody insane?! You could''ve gotten yourself killed! Oto (Idiot)!!¡± One of the other hunters - whose body had a larger frame than Josias and whose skin was slightly more tan than his - said to which Josias only returned the worry with a nonchalant laugh. The hunter only shook his head as he saw the terrible bruises on Josiash''s body which was also covered in the Rhino''s red blood from the earlier battle ¡°Whew! You''re covered in filth too! Bleh! Get yourself cleaned!¡±


    As if on cue, Josias''s other companion had taken out a plain cloth from a satchel strapped to the saddle of his own beast and threw it over towards him. ¡°Hurry and use this to clean yourself.¡± The other Hunter said curtly before he went to his satchel again and took out a few items as he started to examine the corpse of the Rhino beast that was next to them. This other Hunter had a slimmer frame than his other two companions and was slightly shorter and he had a more neutral if somewhat slightly cold expression on his face and demeanor particularly when compared to Josias''s other more animated companion.


    ¡°Oy, Hesekiel, can''t you notice he''s hurt?¡± The larger Hunter said in protest ¡°At least help me get him up first!¡±


    ¡°I''m fine, Han. I just need a little- OW-!!¡± Without letting him finish talking, the other Hunter had just applied some slight pressure on the side of Josias¡¯s chest with an unconvinced look ¡°JOHANNES!! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!¡±


    ¡°Tch. You idiot, that shouldn''t have hurt a ten year old child, let alone a two-star warrior.¡± Johannes shook his head ¡°You''re most definitely not fine.¡±


    ¡°He''s actually a third-star warrior now.¡± Hesekiel chimed in, still seemingly disinterested as he rummaged through his satchel once more before taking out a small clay jar and throwing it towards the other two hunters before continuing to examine the Rhino corpse.


    Johannes had caught the jar that was thrown before opening it and revealing a green-coloured ointment within. ¡°Alright Lord third-star, try not to cry like a bitch while I apply this to you.¡± He said to Josias before he applied the ointment towards his injured comrade. Josias had winced once or twice in pain from being touched before the coolness from the ointment started to settle in.


    ¡°You know I can apply this to myself, Han.¡± Josiash said as Johannes was busy applying the ointment to his shoulder area


    ¡°Yeah well, I''m sorry I''m not Serena. Lord knows you''d be ecstatic if it were her doing this for you.¡± Johannes replied as he was about to finish up on the application.


    ¡°Who wouldn''t be ecstatic to have the most beautiful girl in all the world take care of you?¡± Josiash said in a purposefully exaggerated tone as he stretched out his arms and hugged himself in a half-joking manner ¡°I dedicate this victory to God, Goria, and to her! Do you think she''ll be impressed with the scars I''ve earned from this battle?¡±


    Johannes only gave him an awkward and slightly disgusted look before shaking his head and placing the ointment jar in Josias''s hands, ¡°You know what, you''re right. You can apply this ointment yourself. I think Hese needs a hand in fastening the beast so we can bring it back home.¡±


    Josias only laughed at his friend¡¯s quick change in demeanor before deciding to press on. ¡°I''ve said it once and I''ll say it again, I fully intend to take her as my wife! We''ll be betrothed by Christmas, I promise you that! It will be the most splendid wedding. I''ll prepare only the best gifts for her as well as for The Lord Ephorus when I ask him for her hand which I''m sure he''ll agree to! You know there''s a spot that me and her used to¡­¡±


    As Josias went on and on about his infatuation, Johannes merely shook his head while heaving out a sigh before making his way towards Hesekiel who had already begun the process of assembling an assortment of wooden planks as a platform to put the Rhino corpse on as they haul it back to their village. All of this while looking at Josias who was still on his lovestruck diatribe about the Lady Serena. Hesekiel showed a slight expression of exasperation at Josias before turning towards Johannes and shaking his head in slight disapproval at his earlier mention of Serena which elicited Josias''s current annoyingly useless state.


    ¡°Don''t look at me like that Hese¡­¡± Johannes said as he took out some pins from his satchel as well as ropes to help attach the platform to the saddles of the tigers to help in the transport of the corpse. It took them about half an hour to assemble the platform and it was about time to move the heavy Rhino corpse. ¡°Alright, we have to move this beast now. Jo, I think we need your help here to¡­ Jo?¡± Johannes had looked up to check on Josias who had grown quiet before realizing that he was no longer in his previous spot. As he scanned around, he was slightly startled as he let out a slightly high-pitched scream when he realised Josias was now already right behind them, preparing to help move the beast corpse.


    ¡°Pfft, what the hell was that, big guy?¡± Josiash said in a slightly teasing town as he chuckled. Even Hesekiel gave a slight smile at Johannes¡¯ unexpected scream.


    ¡°Nevermind that! Ahem!¡± Johannes said with his face slightly reddened as he cleared his throat ¡°Anyways, you should already be able to move again somewhat! Don''t just stand there and help us move this bloody monster!¡±


    ¡°Alright, man, relax. Let''s give this beast a proper heave¡­¡±


    It took a concerted effort from the three young men to move the nearly three ton beast. Luckily, they all had at least one-star strength and they utilized some of their mana to help push the beast onto the platform. Josias could only pray that the simple platform they had assembled would hold up at least to the nearest settlement where they could get a more proper wagon to bring the corpse to their proper destination. And so with that in mind, the young men had fastened the platform to their tigers as well as trying some of the ropes to themselves to help pull the beast. It would be quite the effort for the combined strength of three men and their beast to pull nearly two and a half tons, but it would be worth it. It was only after several more moments and everything was prepared before the small party began their journey home. It was a good hunt with even greater gains and on the heels of their first major victory, the young men felt as if they were on top of the world and nothing could bring them down. And that may be so, but the world was large and no one knew what the future would have in store for anyone. Regardless, a victory was a victory and that was all that mattered at the moment.

 2 - Serena

    Freeday, 22nd of Marcia, 470th Year of the 5th Era


    Serena had just returned to the village after an entire morning out picking herbs and sourcing ingredients for use in her studies of medicine and ointments. The sun was high in the middle of the clear blue sky and its rays of light were assaulting her very pale skin as if a wave of heat and intensity were fully intent on melting her and killing her. Clear signs that the dry season was sure to arrive sooner rather than later. Serena had been born in the village and had lived the entirety of her eighteen years of life there and while she herself was accustomed to the heat and the weather, her body''s natural response and constitution still betrayed the foreign blood that flowed in her veins. As she walked through the village to make her way to her apothecary, she returned the greetings of the other villagers who passed by her. She considered everyone within the Village of Goria to be her family, but it was clear just from a glance that she was quite different physically from the others in the village.


    Unlike the children who were currently running around chasing each other in a playful game of tag, her hair was of a dark auburn color while theirs was pitch black. What made her stand out the most from the rest of her village, however, was her very pale skin which contrasted the majority of the villagers who had varying degrees of tanned brown skin from very dark to very light. Her facial features also differed somewhat, with a higher nose bridge, smaller lips, and her most striking features were her blue eyes. All of this she had inherited from her father which often made her joke that her mother''s blood - who was a native of the village - didn''t even try when she was born. But despite the marked difference between her and the rest of the population, it didn''t cause her too much discomfort. In fact, the elders of the village and many of her peers considered her to be particularly attractive with some even going so far as to give her the appellation of ¡®The most beautiful among the Halak'', though she hated the title and found it an annoyingly useless source of envy and bullying among her female peers. But regardless, that was the life she had been given to live and she was very content with it.


    The village of Goria itself - though it was called a village - was very large and the last she heard had almost reached four thousand people in terms of residents. It wasn''t surprising at all considering it was the most prominent settlement in all of the Halak lands and it exerted direct control over several other surrounding villages. The Halak people organized themselves into tribal clan structures and the village itself was under the rule of the Sigumogo Clan. Serena¡¯s own mother was a member of one of the village¡¯s other most prominent clans, the Sinatua with her maternal grandfather - Tuan Marasi Parlindungan Sinatua - acting as the second most Senior Advisor to the King of Goria, second only to her father, the Bishop and Head of the Halak Church.


    Her father had arrived in the Halak lands over two decades ago as a missionary for the Christian faith from a land far away of which she personally had only been told stories of. She always felt in awe when her father would recount to her his experience of living as a citizen of the Lowereich Empire and having been a native of the Imperial Capital itself. A city made of stone and towers that reached the sky, housing nearly a million people within its walls. A number so mind boggling to her she could scarcely even imagine the scale. Many times she was convinced her father might be lying to her and teasing her naivety but deep down she''d always wonder about it. It had always been a dream of hers to one day visit her father''s homeland. Though she loved the village, she wanted to spread her wings at least once in her life to avoid living like a frog in a well, unaware of the goings of the outside world.


    Despite all that, though she had never personally ventured too far outside the Realm of Goria, the influence of the outside world could indeed be felt creeping inside, partially due to the influence of her own father and his cadre of foreign missionaries. Though most of them had learned to embrace the Native Halak culture and way of life - many of them taking native wives as her own father had done thus giving birth to many ¡®Halak malaok¡¯ or ¡®Mixed Halak¡¯ like her - some foreign-influenced stone structures could be seen standing among the sea of traditional native wood and Rumbia-leaf-roofed Bolon houses. After a while of walking, she had finally reached one of the stone buildings of the village. It stood towering over the other buildings of the village with a tall tower of about ten meters - the unit of measurement the missionaries had brought over to the Halaklands - which contained a bell in it and on top of the tower was a bronze cross which signified the most important building in Goria was the church.


    Though it''s architecture was essentially foreign, the trims of the roof and walls were decorated in an undoubtedly indigenous style of patterns known as the ¡®Gorga¡¯ which were colorful and beautiful. That coupled with the two statues of angels in a prayer position placed around the main door to the church gave the building a majestic feeling to it. Attached to the main building of the church was a smaller wing which acted as a hospital for the village where the members of the church who specialized in healing magic and medicines would help take care of the sick. The smaller wing was where Serena was headed as the hospital area had a specialized backroom that acted as an apothecary where she would help make medicines, potions, and ointments for all sorts of ailments.


    As Serena opened the door and entered the building, she greeted the nurses that were taking care of the few patients within the wards. Most of the nurses were local women who were trained by the missionaries and also acted as deaconesses within the church structure. Her father, the Most Reverend Ephorus Ludwig Rappmeister, was also officially the head Doctor of the village, being one of the only two trained Imperial Physicians among the missionaries with the other being Sir Andreas who was currently away from the village to treat people from some other nearby settlements. As the nurses exchanged greetings with Serena, she made her way to the apothecary room where she quickly unloaded her herbalist''s bag and started to organize the alchemical ingredients she had gathered into their proper places in accordance with each of their medicinal properties.


    As she was busying herself with the ingredients, Serena couldn''t help but start feeling a little melancholic as she allowed the scents of the room to enter her nostrils. If she were being completely honest with herself, just being in the room still felt somewhat uncomfortable as it had only been a few weeks since she returned to work in it. Everywhere she looked she saw images of herself and her mother flash before her eyes as memories of her mother teaching her all she knew about medicines, plants, and herbs started playing in her mind. Without her noticing, her eyes were beginning to moist again as her nose was beginning to clog up. She shook her head to focus herself as she leaned against the main alchemical table in the room before she walked to one of the cabinets and took out a small satchel of powder before pouring some into a clay bowl filled with some oil and burning it with a small ember from her fingers. The smoke produced from the concoction helped to relieve her clogged nose every time she inhaled it. Now with her nose starting to clear again, Serena resolved to focus herself on her duties for the day. She knew it would simply do no good for her mulling over her mother when there was work to do. It wasn''t what she would have wanted anyways. As if to help get her mind back to focus, Serena was startled as she slightly jumped when the loud sound of the bells from the church tower could be heard marking that noon had passed. She shook her head once more as she laughed at how the bell that rang regularly at least Three times a day managed to startle her. She must''ve really been out of focus.


    However, it was of no matter as Serena shrugged it off and donned on her work apron before tying up her long hair into a ponytail to make it more comfortable for her to work in the heat, setting up ingredients for medicines and processing the many raw plant ingredients first into either powders or pastes. She quickly got to work as she grabbed a mortar and pestle and started grinding away at some leaves, mixing them with some animal fats in order to produce ointments and pastes for medications. While she was working on that, she also began boiling some water in a pot to help in making some tonics as well. All of this she did while singing to herself some of her favourite hymns that her father taught her and had translated into the Halak tongue.Stolen novel; please report.


    As time began to fly while she worked with the golden sun starting to set in the west, the door to the apothecary opened and through it she saw a tall yet skinny foreign-looking man with slightly depressed cheeks who looked like her albeit with a hair and beard full of grey walk in. The man was wearing a simple black long-sleeved cassock which was tied at the waist with the traditional Halak ulos cloth, though what was peculiar was that the ulos pattern he was wearing was called the ¡®sudung¡¯ which was grayish blue in colour and usually worn on occasions of mourning. Serena smiled as she saw the man enter.


    ¡°Ah! I didn''t realise you were back, daughter¡­¡± the man, Serena''s father - the bishop Ludwig - said as he scratched the back of his grey hair.


    ¡°Father, I''ve been back since three hours ago¡­¡± Serena smiled as she came over to give her father a quick peck on his cheek to welcome him back ¡°You''re the one who took longer than expected¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah ja¡­ Bitte verzeih Sie mir, Serena. (Forgive me, Serena.)¡±


    ¡°Nein, nein. Schon gut, papa! I''m not blaming you or anything, hahahaha.¡± Serena hugged her slumped father as he took a seat at a chair near one of the table counters in the room ¡°But papa, you look tired! Is¡­ is the King''s condition that bad?¡±


    ¡°No it''s¡­ I mean he shouldn''t be too-*AHEM! AHEM! argghh-!!¡± Ludwig only shook his head as he gave a sigh before he erupted into a violent fit of coughing as he held his chest in pain. Seeing this, Serena immediately rushed to one of the cabinets which contained some pills which she quickly administered to her father. After he swallowed it and was given a cup of clean water that had been boiled and put in a cauldron, his coughs started to settle down as his breathing stabilised. ¡°Danke, meine Prinzessin¡­ hehehe.¡± Ludwig gave a weak laugh as he sighed once again while continuing to drink the water his daughter had provided him.


    Serena only gave her father a stern pout as she crossed her arms while staring him down with her large blue eyes. Ludwig could only shake his head as he gave a slightly pained smile before slumping down on the table.


    ¡°Please don''t give me that look, daughter. You''re reminding me too much of your mother and it pains me so¡­¡± Ludwig said in a low and slightly raspy voice.


    ¡°Father, you need rest and a lot of it. You should take the rest of the week off to recuperate and have one of the other priests take charge of the liturgy on Solsday.¡± Serena¡¯s eye slightly twitched at the mention of her mother but she continued to speak anyways in a serious tone ¡°It''s not funny seeing the sick taking care of the sick¡­¡±


    ¡°You know I can''t afford to do that, daughter. This Solsday we''ll be ordaining the first batch of native priests. It would not look well if the head of our church isn''t the one personally ordaining them. This is a major step in the journey of our mission and an assurance that God''s Word will remain upon these lands even far after my death or the deaths of all the other foreign missionaries-!!¡±


    ¡°NO! NO! NO! NO!!¡± Serena grew slightly hysterical as she placed her hands over her ears in a dramatic fashion while shaking her head ¡°I will not hear you speak of such things!! No!! Not after mother!! You have to take care of yourself! You have to-..!!¡±


    Serena didn''t notice that tears had once again started forming in her eyes as her nose clogged while she was holding on to her father''s collar in a slight panic. She immediately went back to the cabinet where she kept her inhalant medication but not before wiping her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m.. I''m sorry¡­ that wasn''t what I meant¡­¡± Sere said while trying to recompose herself from her outburst ¡°Just don''t speak of such things in front of me. Please.¡±


    ¡°Mein Engel, you know such is the wages of our sins and it is something we all have to come to terms with.¡± Ludwig stood up as he brought his young adult daughter into his embrace


    ¡°You say that but look at you! You''re still wearing the Sudung even after a year has passed¡­ and I know you''ve secretly been smoking again. Don''t even try lying! Josias told me he saw you smoking with Lord Parulian over a week ago and I can smell it on your cassock even now. How can I even pray for you or look after you when you refuse to look after yourself?¡±


    ¡°Oh Lord, I thank You everyday for giving me such a loving and caring daughter!¡± Ludwigh chuckled a little as he continued to caress and console his petulant daughter ¡°Please, I promise I''ll stop and I''ll take better care of myself too. I will still ordain the men but I guess Reverend Steinmann can fill in for me on the pulpit and for the divine liturgy¡­ besides I promise you I won''t keel over until I at least see you give me a grandchild or several! Hahahahaha!!¡±


    ¡°Well then I just won''t have any and die an old crone if it means I can be with you always!¡± Serena said defiantly as she nuzzled her nose on her father''s shoulder. This time it was Ludwig''s turn to hold her and give her a serious look with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Don''t say that! I pray the Lord breaks any such curse you place upon yourself. You will be blessed with many beautiful descendants and that is that, young lady!¡±


    Serena only pouted before giving a smile, ¡°Then you''ll promise me that you''ll be the one to confirm all my children when they come of age or else no deal!¡±


    ¡°Dear Lord, my daughter drives a hard bargain. Though age is in the Hands of the Lord, it won''t stop me from praying. Besides, it''ll break poor Josias¡¯s heart if you don''t plan on having kids.¡±


    Serena only gave a bitter smile as she was reminded of the young man''s name. Many things went through her mind when the name of the young warrior was mentioned like that by her father. It had already been more than a week since she last saw him and she was beginning to grow worried. She remembered nagging him endlessly to remember to bring all he proper supplies he would need on his journey but the young man was always brash and half the time he wouldn''t even be paying attention to her when she spoke, preferring to just gawk at her, getting himself lost as he had that stupid grin on his face.


    ¡°Awww¡­ look at that adorable smile on your face! Lord bless me with many grandchildren!!¡± Ludwig let out a hearty laugh until he coughed a little which managed to settle him down. His comments however managed to make Serena visibly blush.


    ¡°Father!!¡± Serena said as she covered her face with both her hands ¡°Watch what you''re saying!! We aren''t even properly betrothed yet¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh that''s nothing to worry about! The King and Lord Parulian and I have basically come to an understanding anyways. Your fates have been sealed since long ago hahahah!! We were just lucky you two hit it off since you were young without us really even trying. The Lord works in mysterious ways as always but all for good.¡±


    ¡°Well whatever it is, it would all be for naught if Josias doesn''t come back safely. The Lord knows I''m in constant prayer for his safe return.¡±


    ¡°As we all are, daughter¡­¡±


    Just as the two continued to chat, the door to the apothecary was opened once more as if on cue where they saw a boy of about twelve with similar features to Josias, having light brown skin and black hair but with a lighter shade of brown eyes as well as a missing tooth in his mouth. The boy came in a with quite the excited look plastered on his face.


    ¡°Jakobus? What''s the matter? You look like Christmas¡¯ come early, hahahah-!¡± Ludwig had started before the young Prince immediately cut him off in excitement.


    ¡°My Abang (Older brother) and his party has returned! And they brought a huuuuuge monster back!!¡± As soon as the young boy Jakobus had said that he immediately rushed back out not even willing to wait for the news to sink in.


    Serena and her father merely glanced at each other before finally fully realising what the news meant. Their expression turned into surprise before Serena jumped in excitement as she clasped her hands together while her father made the sign of the cross to thank the Heavenly Father for watching over his future son-in-law. As Serena turned to look at her father once more, Ludwig merely laughed before nodding.


    ¡°Go and see him before the other young women of the village beat you to it!¡± Ludwig said as he got up from his seat ¡°I''ll be heading back to the Great hall shortly as I''m sure everyone''s just as excited to welcome back our newest heroes.¡±


    ¡°Danke papa!... Jakob wait for me!¡± Serena jumped in excitement and hugged her father once more before rushing out to meet with her beloved.


    Ludwig merely laughed as he saw his daughter go. He shook his head ash e grinned and muttered to himself, ¡°She''s not my little princess anymore, hahaha¡­¡±

 3 - A Heros Welcome

    Freeday, 22nd of Marcia, 470th Year of the 5th Era


    It had been about four days since Josias and his party set out from the jungles close to the Hutaharangan village where they had slain the Rhinoceros monster back towards their home of Goria. Under normal circumstances, if they had just ridden their tiger mounts with minimum baggage, they would''ve been able to make the trip in half the time but due to the necessity of having to carry a heavy corpse like that of the Rhino''s and having to find a knowledgeable sorcerer to cast a preservative magic upon it to keep it from rotting, they had to take some detours as well as frequent rest and hunting breaks to get enough food for themselves and their tigers. While visiting some of the villages on the road during their break, the party managed to acquire a sturdier wagon to more easily transport the corpse of the Rhino as compared to the simple platform they had been lugging around for the early part of their journey. The villagers of Hutaharangan were so thankful to the party for finally slaying the beast that they had gifted the men with the cart and two well-trained oxen to pull it for free as a reward and so that managed to lessen the burden upon the warriors and their mounts.


    As the party had returned to more civilized areas, they had finally found themselves on the road trail back to Goria and though the roads of the Halak were more like simple dirt paths and trails, it still far surpassed the undisturbed jungle flooring and hard rocky ground through which they had lugged the huge corpse with much struggle and difficulty. And so they could afford to travel a little quicker if nothing else. Along the way, the party had made some stops to hunt for wild boar meat for their tiger companions as well as to make camp to sleep for the night when they couldn''t secure a place to sleep among the villages and hamlet''s on the way. During one of these stops, Josias had went to a nearby stream to wash himself and train for a little while to get his body used to his newfound third-star powers as he felt a larger mana reserve capacity within him than before but the energy he had was still volatile and so had to be stabilised. By accident while he was training his breathing while practicing moves with his sabre, Josias had cut open a large rock nearby on the banks of the stream and what he saw inside was a rather large light blue-ish gemstone deposit that was almost the size of his forearm. Thanking God for his providence, Josias didn''t waste a second to share his findings with his companions though they decided it was best to keep it safe until they could have it further assessed by the jewel maker back home in Goria. Though he didn''t say it, Josias smiled as he had a couple of ideas on what to use the jewels for when he got back home.


    Now after days on the road for the journey home, as they trekked through very familiar surroundings, they finally spotted their destination from a hill a short distance from Gloria. A sprawl of wooden houses and huts with some stone buildings in between could be seen where many traders with carts pulled by oxen and horses were making their way into and out of the settlement. Unlike most settlements in the Halaklands which were mostly unwalled, Goria was surrounded by tall palisades constructed from thick logs that stood over twice as tall as the average adult male. Though there were many buildings, farmhouses, and barns outside the palisade next to the vast rice Paddy fields and animal pens, most of the residential buildings and other stone structures were inside of the palisade proper. On the eastern side of the large village was the Great Arus river and upon its banks that were proximal to the village, the palisade continued to surround buildings and jetties in what was a protected river harbour with small fishing canoes and more medium-sized boats carrying barrels of produce and other materials were coming in and out of it, some rowing away to a direction where one could see the river flowing from the Great Mataniluat Lake. Truly Goria was the most deserving of the moniker ¡®Capital of the Halaklands¡¯. It was the fruit of what his forefathers before him had built, especially with aid from the wealth they had acquired during the reign of the current King of Goria, his grandfather King Parhal.


    When they were already close to the main gates of the village after another half-hour with the sun beginning to travel to the west, Josias spotted from afar a very familiar face sitting upon a fence while watching the other boys playing a sort of ball game where they were kicking around a ball made of some animal fat and rubber. The boy sitting on the fence was acting as a sort of referee to his friends who were playing and wasn''t paying too much attention to the road so he hadn''t noticed Josias and his companions arriving. It wasn''t until Josias had shouted out did the boys pause from their game and looked up.


    ¡°Oy Anggi!! Nga mulak Hami! (Oy, little brother! We''re home!)¡± Josias shouted as he waved his arm toward the boy ¡°Go and tell everyone we''re back!¡±


    It took a second for the boy Jakobus to register who was shouting at him but when he saw it was his brother and companions who had returned from their quest, the boy''s eyes widened as he quickly jumped off the fence, and shouted back, ¡°Olo, Abang!! (Alright, Big brother!)¡±


    Without a second''s delay, Jakobus immediately rushed into the city while telling his friends that his brother and companions had returned. The other boys immediately laughed and cheered along as they followed Jakobus in shouting and proclaiming that the Young Lord Josias had returned with a beast of a monster in tow. Josias and Johannes laughed as they saw the glee in the children¡¯s eyes along with their cheers while Hesekiel only shook his head with a faint smile. As they passed through the gates, the guards stationed there and on the watchtowers greeted them by thumping their spears to the ground or banging their sabres to their shields while cheering.


    ¡°Horas, tulang! Abang! (Greetings, Uncles, brothers!)¡± Josias greeted the guards to which they greeted back. Some of them even approached the heroes to give them congratulatory pats on their backs.


    ¡°Yabbag! Na bosar ma binatang i! (Holy shit! That beast''s huge!) How did you manage to kill it?¡± One of the guards said in astonishment as they saw the sheer size of the monstrosity that they were hauling upon their oxen-pulled wagon.


    ¡°Oh we just gave it a couple of love taps is all! Hahahaha! My mother was more terrifying than that beast!¡± Josias said with a hearty laugh to which the other guards laughed along with him before the party continued its way into the village.


    As the three young warriors were making their way through the village, more and more people - most prominently the young men and women of the village - started to gather round and cheer for them with songs and dancing as some villagers even started banging upon the traditional Gondang drums that were in their houses to mark the occasion while many of the children were throwing around flower petals And rice grains to mark the happy occasion. Josias was starting to get sucked into the atmosphere as he raised both his arms towards the crowd as he rode through the streets of the village. Soon enough, the feel of the moment caught up with him as he engaged in the traditional Halak pastime of singing as he sung with a booming yet melodious voice.


    ¡°~Dison adong huboan, Tuhan! Parbue ni ngolungku na so tardok nian! (~And here I bring a gift to you, my Lord! An offering of thanks from my heart that I can give..!)¡± Josias started to sing a familiar hymn to the people ¡°~Sadia ma argana Tuhan, molo sai nirajuman sude dengganbasaM? (But what''s it worth when I dare to compare, to all that You have brought with Your mercy and Your Love?)¡±


    And to that, all the people in the crowd responded with the chorus of the song, ¡°~Jalo ma Tuhan, sai las ma rohaM! (Take it please, my Lord, accept our offerings!)¡±


    And so the parade had continued through the streets of the main square of the village all the way to Josias¡¯ destination which was the main Great Hall of the King in the central part of the village. It seems that news travelled very fast as the party arrived at the courtyard outside the Great hall, dozens of people had already gathered to welcome in front of it. From young to old, warriors to servants, but Josias recognized them all as family. They were members of his clan or of the Clans of his companions. Stood at the front of the lot was a muscular middle-aged man with a large frame, and a chiseled bearded jaw who looked strikingly at Josias with a huge grin as he embraced a gentle-looking woman with her black hair ties to a bun next to him who was carrying in her arms a toddler of only two years old while next to the large man was Jakobus and slightly hiding behind him was a young girl who looked to be about five or six years old who bore a resemblance to the woman. Josias smiled as he saw them and raised his arm towards them before he got off his mount and walked towards them. They were his family, his parents and younger siblings.


    As the three young warriors dismounted, they approached the front of the great hall and the people before they clasped their hands together with their palms pressed against each other and brought their hands towards their foreheads while slightly bowing their heads towards the elders in a gesture of respect and reverence called the somba. After that, Josias stepped forward as he knelt while his hands were still clasped and his head was still slowed before speaking.


    ¡°Horas ma di Hamu angka tuatuanami. Dijolo raja sieahan, dipudi raja sipaimaon (Greetings be with you, O great elders. In front of the King do we bow and behind the King do we wait). We, your children, have returned from our journey and have brought with us the spoils of the hunt as proof of our victory.¡± Josias said with an audible voice so as to be heard by everyone in the courtyard. ¡°Please accept this offering of flesh as a pleasing gift to you and so that through its blood may we be strengthened always¡­¡±


    The large man, Josias¡¯ father - Lord Parulian - nodded in satisfaction before he bellowed out in a loud voice, calling out the three young men in front of him. ¡°Tuan Josias Panuturi Hatigoran Sigumogo, Tuan Johannes Hisar Sinatua, Tuan Hesekiel Patindoan Torang Rapmasari. We welcome you and we accept your offering! Horas!!¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Horas!!¡± Everyone shouted back in response to Parulian¡¯s call before erupting into cheers as soon as the greetings were over and done with.


    With the formalities finished, Josias immediately leaped towards his family to embrace them after a week apart.


    ¡°My son has returned!!¡± Parulian said excitedly as he basically picked Josias who was a few inches shorter than him up and started spinning him around ¡°Thank you God for safely returning my son! And¡­ what''s this I''m feeling?¡±. As if by instinct Parulian could feel the aura exuding off of his son to be stronger and more potent than before. At this realization, his eyes widened as he asked to confirm.


    ¡°Did you advance already, son?¡± Parulian''s excitement could hardly be contained as Josias nodded in the affirmative. Immediately the man gave Josias another bear hug and tightened his grip ¡°That''s my boy!! I''m so proud of you! Hotma, can you believe this?! Our son is already a third star warrior! And he''s barely eighteen!!¡±


    ¡°Oy! Let the boy go! Can''t you see he can barely breathe, you big oaf!¡± Josias'' mother gave Parulian a hard slap to the back of his shoulder in a harsh tone before she turned towards her son and the biggest smile appeared on her face. She immediately handed the child in her arms to Parulian before she embraced her son who was now a head taller than her almost as tightly as her husband did. ¡°Agooo, mauliate ma Tuhanku Jesus ngadiramoti Ho anakku na buhabaju asa boi mulak ibana di bagasan dame! (Thank you Lord for taking care of my son!) Oh did you know how much you worried me, you ungrateful child!! One of these days either you or your father will be the death of me mark my words!¡±


    Josias could only laugh at the comical fashion of how his mother can go from scolding him to hugging him and back to scolding him again in a matter of seconds. At this point he''s half-convinced that his mother was an unappeased vengeful spirit. But it always amazed him how despite the fact that she had given birth to four children, she still had a fairly fit body without any signs of excess fat nor did she even start to show any signs of getting wrinkles or gray hairs. Despite the fact that she would be thirty-eight years old in a few months, she could easily pass for a woman a decade younger than she actually was.


    ¡°Ma, I''m fine, really! Hahahaha! I''ve already passed the age of eighteen, my confirmation, as well as my very first hunt. By all respects, I''m a man now!¡± Josias said with a chuckle


    ¡°Nonsense! You''ll always be my baby!¡± his mother refused to concede as she continued to glomp him ¡°And, oof! Has anyone mentioned how much you stink, boy? Hurry up and get cleaned! You''ve always been like that! Dirty and disorganized unlike your brother!¡±


    Josias merely rolled his eyes before he continued, ¡°Speaking of brothers, how are my baby siblings doing?¡±


    ¡°Brother, as you can see I''m doing fine!¡± Jakobus said proudly as he puffed up his chest to try and show off a bit of muscle ¡°Father has started training me recently and I''m sure I''m going to be just as strong as you soon! You better watch out or maybe I''ll be the king someday, hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Pfft, yea sure, pipsqueak.¡± Josias immediately ruffled the boy''s hair to his brother''s annoyance but eventually he laughed ¡°Anyways, I was talking about the siblings I actually care about (Jakobus: Abang! That''s mean!). Where''s my little Julia and Janus?¡±


    Immediately as he said that, the shy little girl who had been hiding behind Jakobus peeked her little face out as she looked at Josias for a second before smiling and running towards him to hug his waist while shouting, ¡°Abangg!!!¡±.


    ¡°Ooohh there''s our little princess!! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!¡± As Josias picked up the little five year old girl he wasted no time before he landed pecks on her cheeks and her head while tickling her.


    ¡°Buhahahaha!! Abang stop! That tickles!!..Hahahah!!¡± Though the little girl was saying that the joyful laugh and smile on her face betrayed her words as Josias even continued to blow on her stomach making fart sounds. Just as Josias was having fun with his younger sister he looked at the little two year old boy who was being held by his father and so after putting Julia down he stretched his arm out and towards the little Janus and the toddler laughed as he stretch his arms out towards his older brother while saying, ¡°Babangg!¡±


    ¡°Woah¡­ that''s a strong grip!! Hahaha! I can tell you''re gonna be just as strong as your Abang!!¡± Josias said as he smothered the boy''s cheeks with his own to which Janus just playfully smacked his brother''s face away while laughing ¡°Or maybe even stronger than me!¡±


    ¡°Me stwong¡­ ya ya.. Stwongg!!¡± The toddler Janus raised his arm trying to imitate what he regularly sees his father doing when showing off his muscles.


    ¡°Don''t believe him, Janus. He''s a bully.¡± Jakobus said as he took Janus from Josias¡¯ arms ¡°Say it with me, Bully¡­¡±


    ¡°..Bbu-..wyy?? Buwwy??¡± The toddler did his best to try and imitate his second oldest sibling.


    ¡°Bully!!¡± Julia laughed and pointed at Josias as she joined in the fun.


    ¡°Hehehe, that''s right!¡±


    ¡°Oy, Maa!! Jakob is teaching my babies weird things again!¡± Josias said in exaggerated annoyance.


    ¡°Boys, play nice with each other.¡± Hotma said as she shook her head in disapproval before she took off one of the wooden slippers she was wearing and held it up towards her two sons like a mace ¡°Or else you know what¡¯ll happen!¡±


    Parulian laughed as he saw the antics of his family before he smacked Josias in the back and pointed towards a direction. When Josias looked to where his father was pointing, he noticed the one person he cared about just as much as he did his family standing near the entrance staircase to the Great Hall. Serena was standing there with her hair still tied up in a ponytail as she had immediately rushed from the apothecary. When she noticed Josias looking at her, she smiled and waved at him as she approached him and his family. Josias quickly cleared his throat and slicked back his hair as he saw her coming. Jakobus noticed this as he clicked his tongue before he turned away to bring his younger siblings away to play something.


    ¡°I''m so glad you''re safe, Josi!¡± Serena said as she had come and hugged Josi out of the blue to which Josias could only smile sheepishly as he blushed slightly.


    ¡°I''m back, Sere!¡± Josias said a little flustered as he noticed his parents grinning at the sight of the two young lovebirds. But regardless of his embarrassment he hugged the young woman back as he whispered into her ears so as to not make what he was about to say audible to anyone else ¡°I''ve missed you, hasian (my love)...¡±


    ¡°Au pe, hasian. (Me too)¡± Serena said softly as she comfortably laid her head on his chest. Due to her foreign blood, Serena stood a little taller than most of the average Halak girls her age but when standing next to Josias, he still managed to stand several inches taller than her.


    ¡°Okay, that''s enough, break it up! That''s way too close for my liking¡­¡± All of a sudden Johannes appeared between the two lovers to separate them ¡°Ito (sister), how many times do I have to tell you to be wary of your surroundings. You''re in public! And you, Josi! Ain''t no way I''m letting you get all touchy feely with Sister Sere here. Don''t think I didn''t see where your hands were journeying, you whippersnapper!¡±


    Serena and Josias only rolled their eyes before chuckling after seeing Johannes'' antics.


    ¡°Abang, you don''t have to worry, honestly! I''ve known Josi since he was a baby. He''s safe with me¡­¡± Serena said with a smile to her cousin. Though he was only a few months older than her, because Johannes'' father was her mother''s older brother, Serena referred to him as older brother according to Halak customary laws.


    ¡°He may be safe with you but it''s you who''s not safe with him! And he''s a sly one too! Did you know in one of the villages we were in there was this girl who-...!! Ow! Hese! What the heck-?!¡± as Johannes was starting to blabber his mouth causing Josias to slightly panic, Hesekiel had appeared and pulled the man away.


    ¡°Lae (cousin), my parents want to speak to you.¡± Hesekiel said curtly as always while he nodded his head towards Serena and nodded at her before leaving while dragging Johannes with him ¡°Later, kak (older sister)...¡±


    ¡°Ito (brother) Hese has always been short on words.¡± Serena said of her adopted cousin before she turned back her attention towards Josias who looked like he was heaving a sigh of relief ¡°What was bang Jo talking about a girl in a village?¡±


    ¡°Hasian, you don''t need to listen to him. You know he''s always running his mouth off making up wild stories. Blowing things out of proportion, I say.¡± Josias tried his best to dispel Serena''s doubts but she only raised her eyebrow and gave a small pout.


    ¡°Really? Blowing things out of proportion means that there was indeed a situation to begin with so¡­¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s not what I meant! What I meant to say was that-...!¡± Just as Josias was about to explain the situation, the conversation was cut short by the sound of loud bangs of a staff being thudded to the ground coming from the entrance to the Great hall. The one to make the noise was an older-looking man that looked like he was in his sixties, judging from his wrinkled face and white facial hair though not in line with that was his body that still looked very toned with minimal wrinkles. The man was one of the King''s most trusted advisors and Serena''s grandfather, Tuan Marasi.


    With a loud and powerful voice, Lord Marasi declared, ¡°Lend your ears, brothers, for our King speaks!¡±


    And with that powerful statement, almost immediately after, the loud crowd instantly quieted as they saw from inside the great hall, being supported by his staff in his right hand and the bishop Ludwig on his left side, another older man emerged from the great hall. His neck-length hair was gray while his clean-shaven face made his very sunken cheeks all the clearer to see. He was wearing the traditional Halak Ulos that wrapped around his waist which covered his lower body until his ankles while his torso was only partially covered by another ulos which acted more like a cloak rendering his ribcage and very thin upper body all the more visible. Josias couldn''t help but lower his head in sadness as he saw his grandfather, who once stood so proudly as the village''s - if not the entirety of the Halaklands'' - strongest protector, achieving the Seventh star of power during the great battle against the coalition nearly two decades ago. But now here he still stood, the bones of his body withering, his strength failing by the day due to some blasted illness that not even the Reverend Ephorus knew how to cure or what it even was. But in spite of all that, when Josias looked at his grandfather, he still sensed the same strength and sharpness within his eyes that he''s had for a long time. This wasn''t even an exaggeration as Josias felt King Parhal locked eyes with him and the King smiled before he continued to speak in a voice that still contained some strength.


    ¡°In honor of these young warriors who have returned with such a bounty, and my panggoaran (Grandchild whose name he bears) achieving the third star in his young age, tomorrow night, we shall gather here once more in celebration and a feast! Horas!¡± As the king declared, the people in the courtyard cheered as they responded. Soon after, King Parhal and his advisors entered back into the great hall along with the other clan elders including Lord Parulian. While that was happening, the younger generations were very giddy about the upcoming feast. Josias smiled as he couldn''t wait for it to come to pass. A feast in honor of him. The very thought sent waves of happiness through him as he couldn''t wait for tomorrow to come. But first things first. He needed a bath desperately.

 4 - The Old Ways

    Freeday, 22nd of Marcia, 470th Year of the 5th Era


    The rest of the day after the King''s announcement was spent by Josias cleaning himself and resting from the journey he took while he did spend the late afternoon on a walk with Serena to appease her and clear up any misunderstandings she may have had in regards to Johannes'' mischievous comments. Josias truly loved the girl but sometimes he thought she could be quite draining emotionally speaking. Before that, Josias had also made a quick trip to the village¡¯s only jeweler and goldsmith to sell the aquamarine gemstone he found and to request a gold ring and necklace to be made while using pieces of the gemstone. The jeweler - who was a maternal uncle of Josias - smiled at the request as he immediately could tell what the purpose of the request was and so he promised the jewelry will be finished in at most a month. It was quite the stretch of time, but Josias was satisfied that he''d get custom pieces instead of just having the aquamarine cut into some existing ring bands or necklace chains.


    With all his immediate concerns out of the way, Josias made his way to a small stream behind some rocks a distance away from the village branching from the Arus river. With the red sun already almost completely setting to the far west of the horizon. Usually the young maidens of the village would use this area for bathing but mostly in the early mornings. They were usually chaperoned by some of the older female elders or some guards but as always that wouldn''t quite stop any enterprising young lad from trying their luck and abilities to try and peep. Not that Josias had ever willingly engaged in such uncouth activities. If not Serena then perhaps his mother would have his head for engaging in any such foolishness.


    As Josias took off his headband and was about to unwrap his lower cloth, he noticed that some distance away from the stream near some boulders stood a large tree that had an ulos wrapped around it. In front of the tree, Josias saw several people sitting down cross-legged while performing the ¡®somba¡¯ gesture towards the tree while incense was being burnt in a brass vessel in front of them, its smoke being visible even in the muted weather. Seeing this scene, Josias instinctively grabbed a hold of the saber hilt on his waist as he quietly approached the people to investigate the situation further. As he closed the distance between himself and the people, Josias got a better look at the situation as he could here chanting being done and prayers being offered to the ¡®Debata Mulajadi Nabolon¡¯, the native Supreme God of the Halak pantheon. Josias wasn''t too surprised by this as he knew many of the Halak were still adherents to what in his eyes was the Old Pagan Ways and he had encountered many of them on his journeys or visits to other villages. However, it surprised him that there were still such rituals being conducted in the Gorian realms despite it having been christianized for over two decades. Though he remembered Ephorus Ludwig telling him that there are still many within the realm who have yet to embrace the Word of God, Josias always thought his future father-in-law was just being excessively paranoid. But now that he thought about it, if there were people in his own clan who would still cling to the old ways, he could give a good guess or two to who they are.


    When Josias finally had a clear enough look on the ritual that was being performed, he couldn''t help but frown at what he saw as he shook his head disapprovingly. The group itself was about more than a dozen people in total, a dozen adults with several of the rest being small children. Josias noticed that the old man ritual master wearing a black ulos and a white turban leading the prayers was an elder of the Rapmasari clan, one of Hesekiel¡¯s granduncles and a prominent farmer, however that wasn''t the biggest disappointment to him. What made him slightly frown was the sight of a middle aged man holding a one-year-old child who was sitting cross-legged near the old shaman as well as the lady that sat next to him and the two young children next to them, a pair of a boy and a younger girl. They were his uncle''s family, the family of King Parhal¡¯s younger son.


    As Josias had walked to approach the crowd, they were already in the process of dispersing as some people had started getting up to return to their village. As they saw Josias standing there, they were startled at first before giving the young Lord a slight nod of acknowledgement. The ritual master himself was a little surprised when he saw the young warrior there.


    ¡°Young Lord Josias, I did not expect to see you here.¡± The Elder smiled though still with a slightly startled expression as he clasped his palms together and brought them to his chest towards Josias as a greeting. ¡°I apologise if it comes off as rude, but I was just about to go back home¡­¡±


    ¡°It''s not a problem, elder. I hope I wasn''t interrupting anything.¡± Josias slightly bowed to the Elder as he returned the gesture in kind, his frown completely vanishing as he assumed a cordial expression on his face when speaking towards the elder though when he saw that his uncle had noticed his presence there, his expression had wavered slightly ¡°I would hate to be a bother¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh not at all, young Lord, hahaha! We were all just about ready to head back anyways. Well, I best be on my way¡­ ahem.¡± The old man cleared his throat before awkwardly walking away to take his leave.


    ¡°Of course, elder. Please be careful on your way back¡­¡± Josias said once more before he focused his attention towards his aunt and uncle and their family. Regardless, he still smiled as he bowed in a slight somba at them. ¡°Bapauda, Inanguda (Uncle, aunt)¡­¡±


    Seeing Josias greet them, his uncle - Tuan Partogi Bonar Sigumogo - immediately got up to greet his nephew back as he pulled the young man in for an embrace with a warm laugh. Lord Partogi was two years younger than his father and was the second of King Parhal''s three children. After embracing his uncle, Josias had also given his aunt a salim gesture where he shook her hand before bowing and drawing the back of her hand to his forehead. He also gave his younger cousins affectionate pats on their heads


    ¡°Abang, I had heard that you had come back and I''m very glad you''re safe! I also heard from your father that you''ve experienced an advancement! I believe congratulations are in order.¡± Partogi said as he held his nephew''s arm, a proud smile visible on his face. ¡°I''m sorry we weren''t able to greet you directly at the courtyard earlier. Your aunt and I had just returned from a trip to her home village in Saorma. My father-in-law said he wanted to meet his newest grandchildren¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh there''s nothing to apologise for, bapauda. Dear Christ, you all must be exhausted from the trip¡­! Especially my beloved younger siblings¡­! Are you all alright? Tigor? Tiur?¡±


    ¡°We okay, Abang!¡± The younger girl Tiur - who looked to be only either four or five - answered sweetly while the boy - Tigor - simply nodded his head shyly as he hid behind his mother''s embrace.


    ¡°Oh I''m very glad to hear that!If anything were to happen to you, your older brother here would just fall and die¡­ eckkk¡± Josias smiled as he did a dramatic gesture holding his hand to his chest before sticking his tongue out playing dead which caused the children to laugh. Partogi and his wife also laughed as they saw the heartwarming scene of their nephew joking around with their children.


    ¡°Children, don''t be rude¡­ what did mother teach you? Greet your Abang before talking. Go on now, both of you¡­¡± Aunt Lamria said as she urged her children to give Josias the Salim greeting as well. Tiur and Tigor immediately grasped Josia''s hand one by one before bringing it to their foreheads as what Josiah did to greet Lamria.


    ¡°Owhhh you two are just the cutest and the smartest! Truly the Sigumogo Clan''s future is bright as we have been blessed by so many talents!¡± Josias said again as he pinched his little cousins¡¯ cheeks in adorable excitement. Finally his attention was turned towards his littlest cousin who was being held in Lamria¡¯s arms and looking at him with curious eyes. ¡°And is this little Togar? Ohh look at his cute little face¡­!!¡±


    As Josias¡¯ fingers were busy pinching the toddler''s face, the little Togar aggressively swiped away at the hand that he perceived was assaulting him and gave the man that was pinching him a defiant stare. Josias merely laughed at what he perceived to be quite the amusing spectacle. ¡°We have ourselves a fighter here, nanguda. I think little Togar wants to be a warrior like his Abang.¡±


    ¡°We can only hope that that''s the case, nak (son).¡± Partogi said


    ¡°But it seems to me that the Lord Christ is good indeed cause I see that little Togar is as strong as ever! I don''t even see a trace of the sickness of fever that''s been assaulting him lately!¡± Josias continued, purposefully ignoring his aunt''s visible discomfort at the mention of Christ healing his cousin.


    ¡°Oh well, the healers at Saorma were very skilled¡­ We were lucky to have brought Togar with us and luckier still that his Ompung (grandparent) even wanted to see him in the first place¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see¡­ it''s a shame our own healers couldn''t do much of anything about it.¡± Josias shook his head as his eyes still looked at his toddler cousin who had quickly lost interest in him.


    ¡°Ah well, I wouldn''t blame any of them for that. After all, their attention are all centered upon caring for father right now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, indeed. It pains me everytime I see Ompung get weaker by the day. It''s heartbreaking¡­¡±


    ¡°I know the feeling. I still remember when I was small, I bore witness to my Lord father during the pinnacle of his power. He could send ten men flying with the strength of just one arm.¡± Partogi¡¯s voice carried a hint of melancholy and nostalgia as he kept his arm around his nephew ¡°But, there''s no point in losing hope¡­ maybe if all else fails we can bring father to the healers of the other villages. It wouldn''t hurt to try.¡±


    ¡°No, it wouldn''t.¡± Josias nodded his head in slight agreement but he couldn''t help but feel something was quite off with the statement ¡°But regardless of that, now that Togar is healthy and strong as can be, we can start arranging for his baptism soon which was held off on account of his health.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    As soon as Josias said that, Partogi gave a difficult expression for a split second while Lamria merely frowned at the proposition as she looked away from Josias. Partogi let go of Josias as he scratched the back of his head while saying, ¡°That''d be a bit difficult because¡­¡±


    ¡°Togar will not have a baptism.¡± Lamria said curtly so as to finish what Partogi looked like he was about to say. Josias widened his eyes as he could no longer hide his feelings with a frown now all the more visible on his face. As he looked at his uncle for an explanation, Partogi only breathed a heavy sigh as he started to massage the bridge of his nose.


    ¡°Nanguda, I think I misheard you for a second-...¡± Josias said once more with slight scoff, not understanding what he was hearing before he was caught off immediately.


    ¡°You didn''t mishear, nak. Togar will not be baptized.¡± Lamria reiterated


    ¡°...Why?¡± Josias asked as his head was actually starting to ache before he stared directly into his aunt''s eyes to which she turned her head aside to avoid his gaze thus causing Josias to turn his gaze towards his uncle instead. The situation was taking a turn towards becoming more tense as even the children could start to feel the tension as they stood still and quieted down. ¡°What reason do you have for doing such a reckless thing? His immortal soul is at stake!¡±


    Partogi could see his nephew was questioning him seriously and took a while to pause first before deciding what to answer him with. It was a few seconds before Partogi sighed once more and gave Josias a smile as he placed his hands on his nephew''s shoulders. ¡°My son, do you trust me when I say that no matter what happens you are still family to us and that we love you?¡±


    ¡°Bapauda, you are just as a father to me as mine own, and I love both you and Inanguda Lamria like my own birth parents, but what does that have to do with answering my question?¡±


    ¡°...There are some among us, son, who have grown to respect the Faith that the missionaries had taught and brought to us all those years ago. Neither do we truly hold any ill will towards any of our brothers and kinsmen who have chosen to embrace said faith. But there are those among us as well who have come to realise that abandoning the old ways and forsaking the traditions that had been passed down to us for generations tracing back to the days before even the first Halak King is a road that would lead our people into oblivion. It is not right and it brings shame upon our ancestors¡­ please understand that this was a very difficult conclusion for myself to have come to but¡­¡±


    Josias paused once more as he looked away a bit from his uncle''s eyes trying to best formulate the words in his mind so as what best to say but the raging storms within him proved a little difficult to calm ¡°...I understand if you all still have some attachments to the old ways, I won''t fault any of our people for that¡­ but to abandon the faith that you have held since you were but a child and forsake your own baptism..! I can''t¡­¡±


    ¡°Dearest Josi¡­¡± Lamria now started to speak as her eyes were beginning to moist ¡°Can you not see it from my perspective? I was but sixteen years old when my father had arranged for my marriage to your uncle. I had always been taught to be a faithful wife in honor of who would ever be my husband and it was because of that when Amang Raja Parhal insteucted his immediate family to be baptized, I had no choice but to follow along! But don''t you think I had felt the same way? To abandon all that I have known since birth to then follow the strange teachings of a foreigner to a foreign God?! I had tried to bear it for these past two decades but, it wouldn''t be fair to anyone if I had continued in such a farce.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I could understand it for her, but what of you, bapauda? When all the other kingdoms of the Halak chose to bare their fangs towards Goria and bore down their full might upon us with their priests, shamans, and blood magic, did not my grandfather under the banner of the Holy Cross emerge victorious and crushed the other Kings into submission against all odds? Did a miracle not occur during that battle where many claimed to have seen the Hosts of Heaven appear in the sky pointing their swords towards the heathens?! SO WHY ABANDON OUR SAVIOR?!!¡±


    Josias immediately stepped back when he realised he had lost his temper before he looked away to the ground in shame for shouting at an elder. Despite everything, Partogi was still equal to his father and such a thing was unacceptable in the eyes of the culture. Besides that, the sight of his young cousins quivering in fear and shock at his raised voice which had a hint of aura in it caused him to shake his head in regret. But despite his uncle having every right to chastise him or even challenge him to a duel, being a four-star warrior himself, Partogi remained equally silent as he too kept his head bowed before finally he looked to his nephew and answered, ¡°As it is written, I am one with my wife¡­¡±


    ¡°With all due respect, uncle. Then you are no better than Ahab, lead astray to the worship of devils by Jezebel.¡± Josias finally said as he was still trying to calm the torrents within his own heart ¡°...does Timi and Maria know about all this?¡±


    Just as the names of their two eldest children were mentioned, Partogi and Lamria once more gave difficult expressions.


    ¡°Those two are already adults, older than you in fact¡­ I am not one to force them to think in one way or another. Because of that they-...¡± As Partogi was speaking, he was cut off by the appearance of a young man wearing a simple white cassock-like garment with a small silver crucifix hanging from his shoulders and behind him was a young Halak woman with long black wavy hair who was wearing a dress that was reminiscent of a young novice.


    ¡°Because of that, we have decided not to forsake our beliefs for the asinine fairy tales and barbarism of the Old Ways.¡± The young man said to which Partogi could only look downcast as he saw the presence of his two eldest children, Timotheus and Maria, standing stoically in their foreign garb, much displeased by what they saw of their parents ¡°Maria and I were wondering where our parents and siblings were at when we got home from teaching the other small children at the church. Then we saw some of the elders walking back from this place, I just knew some profane and blasphemous things were being performed¡­ I had my suspicions when you two took our younger siblings away to see the Priest-King of Saorma, but to actually see it with my own eyes and to hear what I''ve heard you say to Brother Josias was absolutely repulsing!¡±


    Josias instinctively took a few step backs as he noticed that he was about to witness a very personal familial dispute between parents and their children. Though by cultural and societal standards, Josias would be considered senior to Timotheus, his cousin was still three years his senior and was the youngest of the native Halak to be ordained as a priest, being just barely over Twenty one years of age. A genius of a mage, his talents might even surpass that of Josias as he was already a mage of the fourth circle of magic, with only the lack of a proper education and mentor stopping him from growing to greater heights.


    ¡°And to think that not only are you selfishly determined to throw away your own salvation but to then endanger the salvation of these innocents? Mine own flesh and blood?!¡± Timotheus raised his tone towards his father causing his mother to protest.


    ¡°Timotheus, watch your tone with your Father!¡± Lamria scolded her eldest son but he merely looked at her with a side-eye and a scowl that would make any mother weep.


    ¡°Brother Josias is correct. I will not be commanded by Jezebel as you have been lead to, father¡­¡± Timotheus continued with a poisonous tone contained within his words towards his mother.


    At his son''s insolent and venomous inference towards his wife, Partogi could take it no more as he shouted and immediately took steps to unsheath the golok short blade that was on his waist to strike his own son with its hilt, ¡°SHE IS YOUR MOTHER, YOU BASTARD!!¡±. But just as the strike was about to land, Timotheus did a small gesture with his hand before he waved it and in front of him a reddish semi-transparent aura appeared, blocking the strike, deflecting his hand and in the next second, Timotheus struck out his palm causing a heavy gust of wind to appear which threw his father back several feet. Partogi was only prevented from hitting the ground indignantly by Josias who immediately rushed over to catch his uncle.


    ¡°Brother, this is too much!!¡± Josias shouted as he helped his uncle stand back up


    When this happened, a slight shake in resolve appeared on Timotheus¡¯ face but he steeled himself regardless. At the sight of the fight, the young barely five year old Tiur couldn''t contain herself any more as she rushed to her brother with tears in her eyes, pounding him with all the might her little curled fists could muster ¡°Bad Abang!! You mean!! You monster! You hurt papa!! You bad! I HATE YOUU!!¡±. Off to the side in frustration, Lamria had fallen to her knees weeping at the ground with Tigor and Togar while Maria had approached her mother to embrace her despite their disagreements. As he felt his own eyes started to moist at the sight of his precious younger sister hitting him in anger, Timotheus clenched his shaking fists before he got down to get a hold of Tiur and looked her in her reddened eyes with tears still flowing from them.


    ¡°You know your Abang loves you, Tiur¡­¡± Timotheus said as he looked at her


    ¡°NO!! YOU BAD! You hurt papa!!¡± The girl continued to scream inconsolably


    ¡°No! I was trying to stop papa from hurting you!¡±


    ¡°Papa won''t hurt me!!¡±


    ¡°Do you see that tree over there?!¡± Timotheus finally said as he pointed over to the great tree wrapped by the ulos the people were praying to earlier


    ¡°That''s a spirit tree! Mama said God is there! The tree can listen!¡±


    As soon as he heard the heresy coming out of his sister''s mouth, it took every fiber in Timotheus'' being to not scream again in anguish. He merely said with a grave tone, ¡°That is an evil tree! Full of Demonic spirits!! Did you know?! Back in the time of our Grandfather''s when he was very young, in times of distress or before a war, the warriors of the village would take the prettiest little girl like you, cut her throat and hang her on that tree upside down so that before battle, the warriors would drink the blood that dripped from her neck for strength! Did papa not tell you that?! I''m trying to save you!¡±


    ¡°NO YOU LIEEE!!! Papa and Mama good, you''re bad!¡± Timotheus couldn''t handle the struggling little girl anymore as he finally let her go running back to their father. Though it still left a bitter taste in his mouth as he saw the tree in question. He stood still for a moment before he let out a scream in frustration.


    ¡°ARGHHHH!!!¡± from Timotheus¡¯ two hands large wild flames appeared before he motioned his arms towards the pagan tree, emblazing it with flames, determined to burn it to the ground ¡°Damned, Godforsaken tree!¡±


    Finally after the tree was burning to cinders, Timotheus gave one final glare to his father before turning his back to head back towards the village. Seeing her older brother leave, Maria could only give a sigh before she followed after him. Josias could only stand still in silence while holding his uncle''s shoulders as Partogi stood there crestfallen, hugging his crying daughter. The sky grew silent as the sun had long disappeared, with the only sounds being the weeping of his wife and daughter as well as the cries of children along with the burning of the tree which also served as a source of light in the dark sky. Soon enough, Partogi finally approached his weeping wife before helping her stand up so that they too could return to the village. The already dark sky looked like it was darkening even further as dark clouds covered even the moon and stars. It seems it would be raining soon.


    As if on cue, Josias could feel drops of rainwater start to crash against his face. It appeared that some villagers had caught notice of the burning tree from afar and were about to approach to investigate but Partogi was determined to cover and play down the recent incident as he gave a quick pat to Josias¡¯ shoulder to signal his leaving. Soon after, Josias found himself standing alone within the pouring rain before finally giving a heavy sigh.


    ¡®All I fucking wanted to do was take a bath.¡¯ Josias thought to himself as he finally headed off to the stream too. The feast tomorrow was going to be unpleasant to sit through to say the least.

 5 - The Feast, Part I

    Sabatsday, 23rd of Marcia, 470th Year of the 5th Era


    The night was shone brightly by the moon and stars the next day as the people of Goria were gathered at the large village square at the center of the village. Besides the natural light of the celestial bodies, the village center itself was lit up by various lanterns and lamps set up throughout the streets and from a few posts. Much of the oil used to fuel the lights came from the animal fat from the slain Rhino beast itself with some of it being sourced from other livestock. The ground of the streets were laid out with many colorful carpets made of bamboo fibers and straws weaved together by the village artisans and craftsmen. These carpets provided the proper cover for most of the villagers to sit down and partake in the feast, including all the Clan elders and even the King and his family.


    There were about several hundred people gathered in the square who could take part in the celebratory feast while others who couldn''t participate included some guards who acted as Sentries and perhaps a few other folks who had other issues to attend to or were sick at home, but regardless, such a massive event involved nearly the whole community. A platform at the edge of the square was constructed for the village musicians to play their instruments on, including the Gondang and the Sarune with many others playing flutes and other traditional string instruments making for a very festive atmosphere indeed. Next to the musicians, stood a large life-sized wooden puppet dressed in elaborate and noble clothing called the ¡®Sigalegale¡¯ controlled by a person using strings from a platform on which the puppet stood on to move its head, hands, and arms, making it look as if it was dancing on its own along with the music. The puppet would also usually be used by children and novices who aspired to be mages and whatnot to train the control of their mana by making the puppet do similar movements without the use of the mechanical strings.


    The general seating arrangement was made so that all the people in the feast were divided into several different groups shaped like boxes who sat in rows of two facing each other while at the far ends of each ¡®box¡¯ were sat three to five people who faced the entire row. They sat there with plates made of wood covered with large leaves from banana trees to easily place food on top of them. Josias was sat at the main seating area for the more prominent members of the village, including the King, his personal retinue of advisors, and the other Elders of the Clans and their families. Being the guest of honor, Josias was sat to the right hand side of his grandfather the king who because he sat in the middle area, faced while to his own right was his father and on Sat at the rows right next to him were his immediate family. A little further from their seat but still in their same group sat his uncle Partogi and his own family though due to the incident the night before, Timotheus had chosen to seat himself far from his father instead of next to him which broke some forms of protocol and caused a few eyebrows to be raised but since he asked to be seated on the other side of his grandfather, next to Ephorus Ludwig, no one asked any further questions especially when considering tomorrow, the young Lord Timotheus would be ordained as among the very first of the native Halak into the priesthood of the Halak Church.


    Just as most of the people were already settled into their seats, King Parhal nodded towards his spokesperson, the Lord Marasi, and gestured with his hand. Seeing this, Lord Marasi nodded back before he cleared his throat and declared, ¡°The King speaks! Give heed to the words of our great king!¡±


    As Lord Marasi bellowed that out, the square almost instantly quieted down as King Parhal straightened his back before he raised his right hand and placed it upon Josia''s shoulder. ¡°Horas ma di Hita saluhutna! (Peace be upon us all.)¡± The king spoke with his raspy voice once more ¡°I am well and very pleased... that I get to see all my people here. Gathered together in honour of my beloved grandson and his companions! I thank our Savior everyday in my prayers that He had¡­ saw fit to bless my House and my clan with such¡­ a fine heir. Truly! And so, in my feeling of blessed thankfulness, please enjoy what small offering we could prepare for you all!¡± As the king said that, Lord Marasi spoke up once more as he clasped his hands together in loud claps.


    ¡°Boan ma tuson sipanganonna! (Bring in the food!)¡± Lord Marasi declared. And right as he said that, the music played out once more but only the Gondang drums and the Sarune which was a shawm-like double-reed wind instrument and the combination of these two musicalbinstruments were considered sacred by the Halak peoples. As the music started it''s iconically entrancing and nigh-hypnotic melodies, from the darkened streets of the village, the young women of the village emerged while dancing purposefully rigidly in tandem with the music in a formation where the young women in the front were clasping their hands in the somba position while moving them rhythmically along with the music in the traditional Halak dance called the ¡®tortor¡¯. All this while the young ladies in the middle of the formation were carrying wooden plates and straw containers on their heads as they also moved according to the rhythm of the music, with many of them even being able to keep their balance so as to have the large plates and straw bags remain on their heads without having to balance the items with their hands. On the plates were the various main dishes of meat made from the Rhino as well as some supplementary meat of fishes freshly caught from the River. Within the straw bags that the other women were carrying was pounds and pounds of cooked rice. As was the tradition of almost all the native peoples within the huge island of Neacordis, white rice was the staple food of the Halak peoples. It was to the point where many people would say that they haven''t eaten if they had yet to have rice on that day.


    Despite the fragrance of the aroma coming from the food that was coming and about to be served by the young women of the village, Josias'' attentions were instead captured by the young woman who was dancing at the head of the troupe. His beloved Serena was full of smiles as she focused on her dancing. Along with the rest of the young women, she had worn special make up on that day which accentuates her beauty, that along with her hair that had been tied to a bun while she wore an ornate ¡®Sortali¡¯ headband which was decorated by bronze coated with gold. The clothes the young women wore were composed of only a simple but intricately designed fabric cloth which was tightly wrapped around their upper torso, covering their chests but exposing their shoulders while the cloth covered all the way down to below their knees while they wore another ulos cloth over their shoulder. Josias couldn''t keep his mouth closed as he left it agape at the sight of Serena''s shapely figure accentuated by the traditional outfit she was wearing. Noticing this behaviour, his grandfather the King gave a small chuckle before he put his hand to Josia''s chin to close the gaping mouth. The act startled Josias who immediately shook his head and snapped him out of the trance. As the king laughed however weakly with coughs interjected in between, Josias could only laugh sheepishly as his face reddened while he scratched his head in embarrassment.


    Immediately the King leaned sideways towards the Bishop who was sitting to his left side and said, ¡°Bang Wig, My grandson said your daughter looks exceptionally pretty tonight¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh did he now?¡± Ludwig gave a playful smile before he looked towards the young Prince Josiah. Lord Parulian also saw the scene of his son looking at Serena lovestruck also joined in the fun of teasing Josias.


    ¡°What was that quote from scripture again, Tulang (Uncle) Ludwig? It''s on the tip of my tongue but I can''t seem to recall¡­¡± Parulian was saying as he pretended not to remember ¡°Something about eyes and looking at someone with lust¡­¡±


    ¡°¡®But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart¡¯... The Gospel of the Apostle Matthaios, Chapter V, verse twenty eight.¡± Ludwig said as he played along with Parulian before he dramatically put the back of his right hand to his forehead while looking to his father-in-law, Lord Marasi ¡°Oh dear Father in Heaven! What are we to do, Lord Marasi? This young swinish rascal has dared to desire your precious granddaughter!¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Ludwig''s playful acting caused Parulian, King Parhal, as well as Lord Marasi and the people around them to laugh out loud in joy.


    ¡°There is no other choice then, my Lord Ephorus!¡± The old but spry Lord Marasi joined in the acting as he put on a serious yet exaggerated front ¡°Such an act that defiles the purity of my beloved granddaughter carries a steep price! I shall demand the young rascal to take responsibility and care for my granddaughter for the rest of his miserable life! And I shall expect a very heavy ¡®sinamot¡¯ (dowry) from the boy''s family. With all due respect, Lord King, it falls on you to make this right!¡±


    ¡°Oh Lord, I''m already dying as is but seeing my dearest friend extort me like this!¡± Finally the King joined in on the fun ¡°Such a price would be steep considering the beauty and wit of the Young Lady! Any man upon this Plane of Existence would desire her. The dowry will send me to my grave but I swear I will not die until I see your granddaughter and my grandson sitting next to each other at the throne of marriage!¡±


    ¡°¡±Emma tutu!! (It is agreed!!)¡±¡± everyone around them shouted in unison before they exploded into a fit of laughter. As if by pure coincidence, Serena had approached the gathering with the main dish serving of meat and rice to be placed in front of the people as she had gracefully knelt on both feet while arranging the food. Due to the Halak people''s notorious boisterousness when speaking, she had caught most of what they were talking about and was greatly blushing along with her beloved Josias who could only hang his head and face the ground in embarrassment as he held his crossed legs while King Parhal and Lord Parulian had out their arms around him to cheer him on. Despite all that, Serena couldn''t help but have a big smile plastered across her face as she couldn''t even hide how happy she felt despite her duties. Catching a glimpse of her smiling face, Josias nodded as he steeled himself and resolved within his heart to prepare as soon as possible to make an honest woman out of his beloved.


    Soon enough after some time had passed, all the food dishes and rice had been arranged and served to all the groupings of people in the square with many of the people unable to hide their desires at the sight of the succulent food that lay before them. The fragrance of the Rhino meat which was served in two ways could only entice them further as some of the children could be seen wiping their mouths as they couldn''t help but salivate at the sight of such a meal. The first way that the Rhino meat had been servers was called the ¡®Saksang¡¯ in which the meat was minced into many smaller pieces before being stewed in it''s own blood mixed with coconut milk, limes, and a mixture of other spices that were native to the Halaklands including hot chili peppers, bay leaves, shallot, garlic, and the almighty andaliman pepper spice. The second way the dish was served was called ¡®panggang¡¯ in which is was more traditionally grilled and roasted before being served with dipping sauce also made by it''s blood. Accompanying the meat dish were bone marrow soup dishes which was also accompanied by lime and other ingredients. It was a great feast that night. The Halak prided themselves on such dishes of blood and the like but it wasn''t just pure barbarism as the dishes themselves were very tasty.


    Finally when all the dishes had been served and the young women had also taken their seats on the ground amongst the crowd, King Parhal motioned to bishop Ludwig beside him who nodded before he stood up from his position as he brought his hands together. As he stood up, the people quieted down once more before he cleared his throat with a couple more coughs than necessary.


    ¡°Horas ma di Hita saluhutna. Tu ho sude angka natuatuanami, naposoposonami, Manang pe tu ho angka anakkonami dison¡­ (Peace be upon us all, to you Elders, Young folk, as well as to our children here.) In front of us has already been served a great and wonderful meal courtesy of our great young warriors who have been able to make this happen for us¡­¡± Ludwig started as he put his hands in a praying position in front of him while talking ¡°But let us not forget that all of this is made possible only through the blessed providence, kindness, grace, and mercy that flows everlasting from our Father in Heaven. Therefore before we partake in this Blessed meal, let us first say our graces to the Lord, but before that, a single hymn to remind us to always be thankful¡­¡±


    And with that, Ludwig began swinging as he also motioned to the person playing the ¡®Hasapi¡¯ string instrument to help set the base note.


    ¡°~Godang ni pasupasu i, dilehon Tuhanki¡­ (Some thank the Lord for friends and home, for mercies sure and sweet¡­)¡± Ludwig sang as the crowd - with the marked exception of some - followed along in singing ¡°~Tarlobi asiasiMi marhite Anakmi (But I would praise Him for his grace, in prayer I would repeat!)¡±


    ¡°¡±¡¯~Jalo ma pujiankki, Jesus sipangolu I! (Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul! Thank you, Lord, for making me whole!)¡±¡±¡± As the people followed along in singing, the Halak showed off their natural talent in the art of the voice as without any prior direction, the villagers had neatly separated their voices into tenors, altos, and bases to weave together a beautiful harmony ¡°~Boi ahu bongot tu Surgo i? Marnida hasangaponMi¡­ (Thank you, Lord, for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free¡­)¡±


    ¡°Martangiang ma hita¡­ Marhitehite Goar ni Debata Ama, dohot Anak, dohot Tondi Parbadia¡­ (Let us pray, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit..¡± Ludwig immediately made the sign of the cross followed by most of the villagers who crossed themselves with the most blatant exception of Lord Partogi and His wife which Josias'' noticed as he peeked a little before closing his eyes to follow along in prayer ¡°Dear Father, Almighty God, who reigns from Heaven above. We Your children come before You now, ready to partake in such Great Blessing for which You have provided us. This we feast to celebrate Your holy providence and protection that You have granted to us through the strength that You have invested upon Your young and mighty warriors here! May they always be blessed, always be strengthened, and always be the foremost in the vanguard of Your sacred armies, Heavenly Father, as we struggle and fight against the enemies, the principalities, and the darkness of this world brought forth by the adversary. Also Lord we pray that You may bless the food that had been prepared for us, that You may bless each and every hand that had partaken in the preparations for everyone here, and most importantly, that it maybe a source of strength and health for all of us here. All this we pray in Your most Holy Name, through the intercession of Your Son, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has taught us to pray¡­¡±


    As the Ephorus spoke those words, the people followed automatically as if it were second nature like breathing as they recited the Most Common and Universal prayer of All Christians on Orbis, the Lord''s Prayer, ¡°Ale Amanami na di Banuaginjang, sai pinarbadia ma GoarMu, sai ro ma harajaonMu, sai saut ma lomo no rohaM di Banuatonga on songon na di Banuaginjang. Lehon ma tu Hami sadari on, hangoluan siapari. Sesa ma dosanami, songon panesanami di dosa no dongan na mardosa tu hami. Unang hami togihon tu pangunjunan, palua ma Hami Sian pangago¡­¡±


    Finally the people sung the final part of the prayer which was the Great Doxology, ¡°~Ai Ho do nampuna harajaon, dohot hagogoon, ro di hasangapon¡­ salelengnilelengna¡­ Amen¡­!! (For Thine is the Kingdon everlasting, and to Thee the Power, and to Thee the Glory. Forever and ever, Amen¡­!)¡±


    Ludwig bowed his head as he raised and spread both his hands and palms towards the crowd as most of them bowed with many even stretching or drawing out their hands in front of them in a supine position as if to say that they were ready to receive the blessings. Immediately Ludwig''s hand''s glowed in a brilliant golden Light as a similarly Golden aura permeated throughout the crowd as he spoke, ¡°Sai dipasupasu jala diramoti Tuhanta Debata Jahowa Ma Ho. Sai didompakkon ma Tuhan Debata Jahowa ma bohiNa tu ho jala asi ma RohaNa mida Ho. Sai dipasondangkon ma Jahowa ma BohiNa tu ho jala dipasaorhon ma dameNa tu tondim! Amen! (The Lord Blesses you and Keeps You, The Lord lifts up His countenance towards you and be gracious towards you, the Lord lifts up His face towards you, and gives you peace! Amen!¡±


    ¡°¡±¡¯Amen¡­! Amen¡­! Amen¡­!¡±¡¯¡¯¡± the crowd sang out in beautiful unison the final three Amens.


    ¡°Horas!!¡± Ludwig finally said as the crowd responded to him likewise and he sat down. And so the feast had well and truly started as the cheerful and lively music restarted ande veryone started to enjoy themselves to the fullest.

 6 - The Feast, Part II

    Sabatsday, 23rd of Marcia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    As the night went on, the feast still showed no signs of going down, in fact it only got livelier and livelier. The people cheered even more when after the main course of the meal was served and the people were eating, the young women of the village brought out the drinks and placed them in clay pitchers at various points around the eating groups. The drinks that were served were the traditional and indigenous liquor of the Halak peoples, among them was ¡®Tuak¡¯, a drink made from the fermented sap of palm trees. It was an acquired taste but it went down easy enough. The other, sweeter, liquor was known as the ¡®Nira¡¯ which was extracted from the flowers of the palm trees, thus lending itself to be called ¡®palm nectar¡¯. The extracted Nira is then left to ferment for a few hours, making for a more palatable and much more enjoyable drink especially for the women of the village.


    While enjoying his own drink, Josias looked around the square as he allowed the warm, joyous, and festive atmosphere to sink into his memories. Such familial festivities weren''t by any means rare for the Halak as he''d reckon his people can come up with any reason or excuse to go out feasting and drinking be it a baptism, confirmation, weddings, hell - even funerals -, but regardless, perhaps it was because of the cracks that he saw appear within his larger family like his uncle and aunt with their children did Josias decide to cherish such moments while they lasted. Speaking of his uncle and aunt, Josias couldn''t help but give them a glance every once in a while to check on them and see if anything''s changed. So far, out of any other people in the village, they''ve made it the most obvious that they weren''t participating in any of the Christian practices that Goria had grown used to. While the prevailing Religion within Goria - especially since the events of the old coalition war two decades prior- was overwhelmingly tilted towards the Christian Religion, King Parhal had never officially promulgated any real anti-pagan behaviours personally and no laws existed which called for their persecution either, partially because both Bishop Ludwig and King Parhal saw any form of compulsion within religion to be undesirable as it takes away the basic human Gift that God gave humanity which was a free will and journey within the Faith and to add to that, enforcing the faith at the expense of the old ways would incense the other Kingdoms further and usher into a new age of conflict and though like it did the last time. While Josias was confident that Gloria would be able to defend itself and perhaps even emerge victorious, the end result would still result in a weakened Halaklands ripe for the exploitation of the other more centralized states of Neacordis.


    As Josias was having these thoughts, he once more looked to his left as he saw his cousin Timotheus with a heavy expression speaking with the Ephorus Ludwig who was listening to him intently as he crossed his arms. Though he didn''t show it, King Parhal was listening as well to the conversation as he couldn''t help but frown. From afar, Josias could see that his uncle was engaged in conversation with other members of his clan although every once in a while, he would give a glance towards Timotheus or just eye his son from the side. When Josias looked to his right, he could see his own jovial father not really giving any care to what was going on around him as he was busy stuffing the succulent blood-meat and rice into his face. Parulian was a notoriously quick and heavy eater and Josias noted that it was already his third plate. Josias couldn''t help but lose all other thoughts and laughed when he saw this which caught Parulian''s attention who straightened his back as he saw his son snickering at him.


    ¡°What??¡± Parulian gave Josias a blank stare as some rice grains were caught in his beard ¡°Something on my face?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes actually, but that wasn''t what I was laughing about.¡± Josias pointed towards an area in his own face to indicate where it was stuck on Parulian¡¯s face ¡°But it always amazes me seeing you eat, father. I''d say you give even our tigers a run for their money!¡±


    ¡°Bwahahahahah!! Eck!!¡± Parulian had choked a little as he forgot he still had food in his throat before he laughed.


    ¡°How many times do I have to tell you, you big oaf! Don''t talk while you eat!¡± Hotma chimed in as she scolded her husband for his immature behavior before turning to her children beside her ¡°Remember that kids! Don''t be like your father! You''re smarter than that!¡±


    ¡°Bah! That''s a little outta line, dear!¡± Parulian said but one more glare from his wife was enough to shut him up and nod ¡°Yes, dear. Kids, listen to your mother.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahah!!... -Ow!¡± as Josias was laughing at his father, Parulian simply smacked the back of his head ¡°What was that for?!¡±


    ¡°No talking while eating!¡± Parulian said


    ¡°I''m done eating though..?¡±


    ¡°No talking while I''m eating. Little rascal.¡± Parulian said with a grin to which Josias merely shrugged his shoulders, turning his attention elsewhere though when he was about to drink again, he felt a tap on his left shoulder as he saw his grandfather call out to him in a serious expression. Looking more to the side, he saw the Ephorus Ludwig, Timotheus, and Elder Marasi as well as a few other Elders forming a new circle away from the main group. It looked like they were having a rather animated yet hushed discussion. By this point though, most of the people who were done eating with their main course meal had also formed smaller circles with their groups of close friends, creating a more disorganized yet still very festive atmosphere as the music continued to play.


    As Josias dragged himself over the carpets to head towards the new circle he asked his grandfather, ¡°Ompung, shouldn''t my father be a part of the discussions too?¡± He said in a slight whisper to King Parhal''s ear to which the old man only shook his head.


    ¡°He''ll find out soon enough¡­ but we need cooler heads on this night so as to not have any¡­ unnecessary¡­ confrontations.¡± King Parhal said to which Josias nodded. Though his father was a boisterous and jovial man, even when compared to the other Halak, it was no secret that he too was a rather brash actor, sometimes letting his fists speak faster than his mind could think. With that in mind, as Josias took a spot sitting next to his grandfather and Elder Marasi, he finally caught the gist of what the conversation was about as Timotheus had caught sight of him joining the conversation.


    ¡°Ah, brother Josias! He was the one who was there from the beginning so I''m sure he can explain it better.¡± Timotheus said as he gestured towards Josias who could only furrow his brows in confusion as to what he needed to say.


    ¡°I''m a little confused, gentlemen. What is it exactly that''s being discussed right now?¡± Josias asked as he scratched his chin


    ¡°The events pertaining to yesterday near the stream and the Old Pagan tree¡­¡± Timotheus answered


    ¡°...Ah yes.. that¡­¡± Josias nodded before he shot a quick glance towards his uncle and aunt from afar, noticing that they were starting to get uneasy despite not outwardly showing any unrest and were still conversing with their own circle of friends. ¡°...So what exactly do you want to know? I mean, I don''t really think I can remember it all too clearly as it was dark and¡­¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Brother, there''s no need to beat around the bush.¡± Timotheus said as he looked seriously at Josias who was attempting to avoid directly mentioning the issue that would implicate his uncle and aunt despite his own personal objections towards them ¡°I have already told the gentlemen here the gist of it.¡±


    ¡°Has my son¡­ truly apostatised?¡± Finally the question came out of King Parhal''s own mouth as he looked to his grandson with eyes so deep and a look so stoic, Josias couldn''t help but have his defenses broken before finally he sighed and nodded weakly.


    ¡°...It is true¡­¡± Josias said to which King Parhal could only close his eyes as his hands were holding the ground. King Parhal always had a reputation for being stoic and steadfast yet no one knew if it was either a result of his recent ailments, the softening of time with old age, or a combination thereof, the old man who was now sitting in front of Josias gave off a completely different air. He looked weakened, broken. Not just spiritually, but mentally as well. It didn''t help that despite the King''s age to be factually younger than even the Ephorus Ludwig, physically Parhal looked to be in his seventies despite barely even being sixty years old. Although it pained Josias to do so, at his grandfather''s insistence, he finally relented and relayed to the people there of all that had transpired in regards to the events around the old Spirit tree. By the end of his recounting, the air grew increasingly heavy as everyone had darkened expressions after finding out that not only were there still people clinging to the old ways, but to have prominent members of the ruling Sigumogo clan, heralded as Champions of the Faith, to fall away into a state apostasy was too much of a shock especially to the Bishop Ludwig and above all to the old King.


    ¡°...I had always known that there were still some who had yet to accept the faith¡­¡± Ludwig started ¡°But to hear that people who have given themselves over to be baptized to then throw away and prove reprobate. It pains me to no end¡­ I am at a loss as to what to do. Truly, Lord King, I don''t know how to move forward with this in mind.¡±


    King Parhal still had his head down as he crossed his arms in what appeared to be deep thought. It was only after a few moments did the King look up again and began speaking. ¡°I was only twenty years old when my father, the Old Raja Hamonangan Nabolon, fell into battle against the Snake-men of the North. Though we had won the battle, the price we had to pay for it was steep. Before the battle, my father had taken my beloved younger sister Narea¡­ as a sign that he too would sacrifice his most precious treasure and possession for victory and so in the night he had taken his beloved daughter and strangled her before he brought her to that very tree to be hung, behead her and have the blood that flowed from it to be drunk by his warriors to strengthen them¡­ I still remember when with tears in his eyes but a grin on his face he had also forced me and many of the elders here to drink it as well before we set off to war. Such a thing had never happened before where we sacrificed an innocent. My father was well and truly insane, a demon taking human form, yet not a single one of our priests or elders said anything about it!... My lords and elders¡­ though I can not say that such barbarity is a staple of those who follow the old ways, when times of extreme duress comes¡­ who''s to say that the people in their wanton ignorance, desperation, and superstition would not resort once more to such extreme measures? The fruit of the Old ways is clear and I will not have my people returned once more to such barbarism! I would rather have our criminals to be eaten by our actual tiger beasts than having our own people act like beasts themselves¡­¡±


    ¡°My King, while I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments and I bear personal witness as to what the followers of the old ways are capable of doing, I don''t believe we should go out of our way and enforce the faith upon the people¡­¡± Bishop Ludwig said as he expressed sympathy with the King''s viewpoints but still laid out an objection towards more strong-arming methods ¡°As Christ himself had shown to us through the scriptures, it is with Preaching, Teaching, Love, and Mercy should the faith be spread. Look at all the good that it has brought to us now where most of our Realm has embraced His Gospel.¡±


    ¡°...I understand, bang. But we have to be realistic here. My death is approaching soon and I can feel it¡­¡±


    ¡°...Ompung, you shouldn''t say such things-...¡± As Josias and Timotheus were apprehensive about their grandfather''s comments, Parhal merely raised his hand to silence them.


    ¡°Quiet, the both of you¡­ I have lived long enough on this world¡­ and nothing would bring me greater joy than to pass on to the eternal Kingdom to be with my God and my Beloved wife¡­¡±


    ¡°God Rest, Lady Maulia¡­¡± Bishop Ludwig said reflexively as he held his chest at the mention of the late Queen.


    ¡°But I fear for the fate of all that we have built should I make the final voyage to the Kingdom Everlasting. If we do not establish a firm root for our faith here in Goria itself, then it will all be for naught.¡± King Parhal continued


    ¡°Surely my father would not allow that to come to pass.¡± Josias said ¡°Neither would most of the other Clan Elders stand for it!¡±


    ¡°Your father has always dearly loved your uncle - as we all do - but he will be willing to tolerate such affronts if it means he''s able to protect his brother. Allowing the old faith to continue to propagate will only serve to undermine our realms efforts in missionary work and if the traditionalists find themselves a rallying point from within our clan, then any hope for a peaceful transition would be lost¡­ we must act decisively.¡±


    ¡°Any decisive effort will force the other Kings to act against our interests, Ompung!¡± Josias protested once more ¡°Another war will loom over us and that would only cause more of us to suffer!¡±


    ¡°That would be the case if we were proactively acting out against people who are following the old ways¡­ I may be old but I''m no fool and that is not what we''ll be setting out to do, at least not yet.¡±


    ¡°... I''m confused. So what then are you proposing that we do?¡± As Josias was scratching his head, Timotheus and Ludwig had already realised what the King was hinting at


    ¡°... Excommunication¡­¡± Timotheos said as while the King nodded his head.


    ¡°While forcing the those who had never accepted the faith to be baptized would be overstepping our bounds, disciplining those who have fallen away would fall under our jurisdiction¡­¡± Ludwig nodded in understanding and realisation at the King''s plan


    ¡°...At the ordination tomorrow¡­ I want this all to be done¡­¡± King Parhal finally said as he eyed Elder Marasi once more who nodded as he got up. ¡°We will make the announcements¡­¡±


    And so Elder Marasi bellowed aloud once more to get the attention of the people as the crowded atmosphere settled down once more, ¡°HEAR YE! THE KING SPEAKS!¡±


    ¡°...As you all know, tonight has been a great blessing as we could all enjoy such a wonderful atmosphere together. But the hours are getting late and tomorrow, we must ready ourselves for an equally important ceremony. We must prepare as always to meet at the House of the Lord and though that in and of itself is¡­ already reason enough. Moreso with Holy and tempered pride do I remind everyone that the ordinations of our very own native children will take place and among them another one of my beloved grandsons would do me proud as he has chosen to give his life in service to the Lord and to his people. To my beloved grandson, Tuan Timotheus Taruli Mulia Sigumogo¡­¡± As the King motioned towards his grandson who had gotten up and stood beside him, the people clapped and cheered at the news, especially the younger ladies of the village who had all grown to admire the handsome young Prince who was to be their new shepherd and priest. And so the King spoke again but this time with emphasis in his raspy voice as he stared straight at his younger son and Timotheus'' father Partogi ¡°And so I would hope for you all to return now in peace as you join me and my entire family for celebration at the church. And so with that, I bid you all HORAS!!¡±


    ¡®¡°Horas!!¡±¡± All the people replied and with that many had started getting up from their spots to return to their homes while others stayed behind to clean up after the feast. Some of the older women though were busy placing the leftover foods into containers to bring home with them for food tomorrow as was a peculiar habit to Halak women.


    Josias only shook his head as he prepared for what was to come. It was a crazy week for him, but it didn''t look like the craziness was about to end anytime soon.

 7 - A Rift in the Family

    Solsday, 24th of Marcia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    The feast had just ended a few hours ago and the night was very late as it was possibly past midnight. While most of his family had returned home to his own Bolon house with full and satisfied stomachs, Parulian was instead summoned by his father the King to the Great Hall of the village. He didn''t know for what reason exactly and that made him worried. Even in the midst of his father''s sickness and decline in health, the old man remained as stoic and as equally stubborn as ever. There was no way he was summoned just because his father had missed him or some other such nonsense. Something important must have happened during the feast. Now that he thought about it, it was highly suspect when he remembered his father calling his son over for discussions with the other Elders of the Realm but yet both him and his younger brother were excluded from the talks. All of this did little to ease and soothe his mind, but regardless, as a dutiful son to his father, Parulian carried on until he had finally reached the great house.


    As he climbed the stairs to the great hall and entered into it, he could already see his old father sitting stoically upon the ¡®Habangso Holinaga¡¯ or the ¡®Dragonbone Throne¡¯. It was a large-ish throne made from what was said to be the remains of a great Land dragon that was slain by his great ancestor, the eponymous founder of his Clan, Tuan Sigumogo, some twenty or so generations ago. Next to his father stood his most trusted advisors, the Bishop Ludwig who had saved his life when he was a child, and the Elder Marasi. Sitting upon thin floor cushions around the hall were the elders of the other great clans of the Realm of Goria. In total, there were eight great Clans who make up the Gorian Realm excluding his own Ruling Sigumogo clan. These were - in no particular order - the Sinatua; the Rapmasari; the Sigompul; the Binangabalok; the Idabagak; the Sipistar; the Siparadian; and the Hutabaru. These eight clans and their many branches represented the over a dozen villages and settlements that make up the Greater Gorian realm of a total of nearly thirty thousand people or more. All the Clan heads were present in the great hall and in the middle of the hall, kneeling in front of the Dragonbone throne were his younger brother Partogi and Partogi''s wife, Lamria. Clearly something grave was happening, or else none of the most prominent members of the Gorian clans would be here.


    ¡°...Father, what is going on here? Why have the great elders been summoned? Is it a war?¡± Parulian asked as he did not know what to make of the sudden situation. A council meeting in the middle of the night was the last thing he expected to take part in.


    ¡°I had waited for this time¡­ In order to question my son and his wife more directly. You are to sit there¡­ and act as my witness.¡± King Parhal said as he pointed to a cushion next to one of the elders. Parulian had so many questions in his mind but decided to follow along with his father''s instruction as he sat himself down next to his father-in-law, Tuan Sabam Maroham Hutabaru. Without waiting any further, King Parhal focused back his attention on his younger, more prodigal son as he spoke, ¡°Togi, I have heard¡­ the most disturbing news about both you and your wife¡­ I did not want it to be true, so I must ask it¡­ directly from you. Are you an apostate?¡±


    Parulian''s eyes widened as he heard his father''s question to his younger brother. He couldn''t believe his very ears and for sure thought he must have misheard his father. He had indeed heard the rumors flying around the village that there were those who still stubbornly clung to the old ways but it was so fleeting and so few and far between, Parulian did not believe it. Sure, maybe a few of the elders still participated in the traditional rituals, but the Church had never proscribed those things, in fact, so long as the Sovereignty of the Almighty as the One True God was acknowledged, even the ecclesiastical institution that Bishop Ludwig had established incorporated many of the indigenous practices for proper christian worship, only really forbidding the most egregious transgressions like the practice of cannibalism and sacrifice.


    ¡°Father, what is this outrage? How could you accuse your own son of such a stupid thing?!¡± Parulian said as he protested before he talked to his brother and sister-in-law ¡°Oy, Togi! Don''t be an idiot and just sit there! Lamria, you too! Why are you both only staying quiet?!¡±


    Parulian could feel his heart as if it was sinking even deeper into his chest when he saw the two only hang their heads in silence, refusing to answer the questioning of their king. Parulian knew that between him and his brother, he was never the smart one. He had always been a little more dull than most others, that he knows. It was said of the two that Partogi had inherited their father¡¯s mind while he had inherited his strength. Always people would make fun of him for being a jovial dunderhead, but the strength of his arm would always be enough to shut them up. It was because of this ingrained thought within him, even when he himself had noticed the signs of his brother no longer attending church or his frequent outings to the traditional burial sites of the ancestors, Parulian had always told himself that he was reading things wrong and that he was being stupid again or perhaps his genius brother had discovered a whole new method of worship from the scriptures. But, looking at the scene before him, he now started to have his doubts brought up front and center before him.


    ¡°Togi¡­¡± the King said once more as his face grew even more grim and his raspy voice sharper ¡°Have you honestly¡­ nothing to say¡­?¡±


    ¡°Father¡­ there is nothing more to say.¡± Partogi finally looked up as he stared his father directly into his eyes in a clear sign of defiance ¡°You''ve already heard all you needed to hear to make up your mind. Did my son and nephew not tell you themselves.¡±


    In this defiance the old King got up in anger as he stepped from his throne towards his son. In his weakened state and without the aid of someone else for him to walk, he had an unstable gait and almost lost his balance but he raised his hand to stop anyone from helping him. Slowly and agonizingly as his breaths grew heavy, the King approached Partogi before he slumped down and sat on the ground in front of him as an answer to the direct challenge posed towards him with one leg bent and the other straightened, a violent yet majestic Golden aura started to manifest around him as the room started to tremble ever so slightly. Though he had not even a fraction of the strength he possessed during his peak, and no matter how weakened, ailing or dying he was, one fact remained. He was still a seventh star Sword Saint and he won''t be letting anyone forget that fact any time soon.


    ¡°I want¡­ to hear it¡­ from your own mouth¡­¡± The King said as his glare intensified and with little anyone could do to stop him, his aura grew larger and larger as the pressure in the air continued to increase where even the fifth-star Parulian was starting to feel it. The other Elders who were mostly in the fourth star range also started to feel the aura bearing down on them as it caused them mild discomfort. However, it was clear to everyone that Partogi was suffering the most from the pressure that was being focused on him.


    Eventually all of this grew unbearable to the Lady Lamria as she wasn''t attune in any way towards mana and as the pressure got heavier, so did it feel like she was losing air and was gasping for it. It looked like in another second she would be fainting from lack of any breathable air. Seeing this, Partogi was incensed as he unleashed all of his aura at that moment to combat his father''s oppressive force and save his wife from fainting.


    ¡°THAT IS ENOUGH!!!¡± Partogi said as he held his wife close to him as he covered her within his aura to shield her from the oppressive aura though with him being only in the realm of a fourth star warrior, when compared to that of a swordsaint - even a greatly weakened one like his father - he didn''t have much time until even his own barrier would break. ¡°Is this what you call a follower of Christ?! Someone who takes joy in oppressing the weak?!! You are a tyrant! No better than your father before you!¡±


    At Partogi''s comment, for a split second, Parhal''s expression became so enraged as his eyes glowed an oppressive golden Light he looked to be the Personification of the Archangel Michael. With a simple swipe of his arm, Partogi''s aura was shattered as Parhal stood up once more and was about to send another strike down. The other Elders gasped in horror thinking that they were about to witness a filicide.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Father stop it!!¡± Parulian immediately jumped up to try and shield his brother.


    ¡°PARHAL!! CEASE THIS INSANITY!¡± at the same time, Ludwig was running towards the King determined to grab him to have him stay his hand despite the pressure put upon him as a Healer of only the fifth circle by the monstrous aura.


    Luckily enough just as the strike was about to land on Partogi, Parhal stopped himself when he saw that despite the brave face that his younger son was putting up, it was clear from his shaking body and paled face as he held his half-unconscious wife close to him, that he was still the same scared, timid, and tender boy who would always run to his mother every time he had thought he angered his father. For a moment, Parhal felt like the world had flashed before him as before him wasn''t kneeling a thirty-eight year old man but a boy who was barely ten, crying with snot running out of his nose telling him that he was scared by a ghost. As that moment flashed by him and the scene returned once more to the present, Parhal had retracted all of the aura he was exuding as he stumbled away, slowly backing up to his throne before he was slumped down once more. Soon after, he fell into a fit of coughs as he spat out fresh blood and when he looked up, blood was running down from his nose. It had seemed he spent too much of his strength.


    ¡°Father!¡± Parulian got up as he had approached his father followed by the Bishop. Ludwig immediately put up his hands towards the old King as they glowed in Golden aura in order to clot the blood and stop the king from bleeding further. Eventually when he felt that everything was fine only moments later, Parhal had raised his hand once more before gently pushing aside Ludwig and Parulian before once more his focus fell upon Partogi.


    ¡°I will ask¡­ once more¡­ are you an apostate?¡± Parhal asked, his gaze now clearer than ever


    Finally Partogi gave a deep sigh before he raised his head and looked towards his father with a stoic expression. ¡°I do not consider myself an apostate¡­¡± he said as he held his wife who had regained her wit somewhat as she looked at him with meaning. For a moment Parulian had looked up thinking that this was all a misunderstanding but from what he was about to hear next, he would only grow all the more crestfallen ¡°For how can I be an apostate when it is I alone here along with my wife who has chosen to stay true to the old ways! Who has chosen to pay fealty to the Great Creator who we know as Debata Mulajadi Nabolon! Who has chosen to Revere always the Spirits of the Great Ancestors who have looked after our people for so long! It is by this tradition that I hold that our ancestor had slain the Great Dragon Siulok Naroa! The very dragon whose bones you sit upon right now! So no! I am no apostate, it is everyone here! Old fools tricked by the foreign fairytales peddled to you by that foreign swindler!! It is you all who are the apostates!¡±


    Parulian could not believe what he had just heard. His brother was well and truly mad. How could he say such things, after everything they had been through, after all the oppression the realm of Goria had suffered under the heels of the other Halak Kingdoms for their choice to follow the teachings of Christ. There was so much he wanted to say, to try and convince his younger brother that he was on the wrong path, but once he saw the fiery determination within his eyes, Parulian instinctively knew it would be to no avail.


    ¡°Is that how you truly felt¡­ all this time, Togi?¡± Ludwig said as he looked towards Partogi with sincere eyes that were moistening at what he had just heard. In front of him stood a man who was once just the sweetest most tender boy he knew, who was so excited on the day of his baptism he was jumping with you. ¡°Am I only worth that much to you? A foreign swindler? When I cared for you in the hospital, when I followed you along to protect you from ¡®evil demon spirits¡¯, When I helped you two deliver little Timotheus and Maria with my wife, losing sleep for you all? All of that and for what? For you to consider me a swindler¡­?¡±


    Ludwig''s voice had sounded truly like he was genuinely hurt by Partogi''s accusations and for a second there, Partogi wavered as he looked away from the Old Ephorus, not willing to look him in the eyes. Regardless, Partogi still chose to speak, ¡°I bear no ill-will towards any Christian, but I declare that from this day forward, I reject the Foreign God Jahowa and all his forms. I reject the blood of your Lamb. And I reject the Spirit you call Holy. I return to my ancestors where they await for my brave spirit in their halls. May their spirits guide me always.¡±


    Audible gasps could be heard as the Christian clan elders could barely believe such an open declaration of rejection towards their faith as some of them even began to protest as they stood up. ¡°Cut off his tongue!¡±. ¡°He betrays the God who hath brought us victory over the Heathens!¡±. ¡°Banish him!¡±.


    As the room was growing rowdy with unrest, Parhal raised his hand again before once more the room quieted down. ¡°Then it is done.¡± The Old King said as he steeled his resolve and hardened his heart ¡°By my right as King and Head of the Clan of the Sigumogo, I strip you, Partogi Bonar Sigumogo, of all rights of inheritance within my Realms and declare you and your wife to be Exiled from all the Lands of Goria. You shall not step one foot into these lands so long as I live and draw breath or before you repent of your sin of apostasy. I banish you henceforth as you have until the dawn when the sun rises for you to have removed yourself from this village. You shall only take what items you may carry in a single wagon to be pulled by your bonded tiger. As for your children, you have leave only to take along with you the unbaptized among your offspring.¡±


    ¡°Nooo..!!!¡± Lamria wept hysterically at the thought of having to abandon her younger children ¡°I will not leave my children here with you! I shall take them all with me to Saorma!! YOU WILL NOT TAKE THEM YOU DEMON!!¡±


    ¡°I will suffer not the children be damned for the apostasy of their foolish sires¡­¡± King Parhal said with an icy tone ¡°I. Have. Spoken.¡±


    ¡°I would rather have you kill me, you old fool!!¡± Partogi shouted with defiance


    ¡°If we were followers of the old ways, we''d have you and your children bound and eaten alive in a pool of your own blood!¡± One of the elders said disparagingly, mocking Partogi for his beliefs in the old ways which elicited the derisive laughter of the others.


    ¡°Look at this fool! Only following the old ways when it suits him!¡± Another elder chimed in


    ¡°If he''d anger a shaman in the Old Ways, he¡¯d have his children eaten by the Homang anyways! Hahahahaha!!¡±


    Partogi could only stand there in the midst of the jeers and insults hurled at him by the Christian elders of the Clans. His hands were shaking furiously as he felt a mixture of great anger, anguish, and shame. Shame that he wasn''t strong enough to challenge his father. Shame that he hadn''t worked up the courage to have left the village sooner with his family. Shame that he had insulted an old friend to his face despite knowing that never in a thousand years would Ludwig ever have meant any harm towards him or his family. Even when all the others were insulting him for his beliefs in the old ways, Ludwig only stood there, still crestfallen and on the verge of tears.


    Just as the room was getting disorderly once more, this time it was Parulian who shouted, ¡°ENOUGH!! The lot of you ought to be ashamed of yourselves! You are all the Elders who lead our great realm and you call yourselves Christian! Such insulting behaviour is fit for a pack of unruly children, not this sacred council! Now I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I do know at least that much!¡±


    As Parulian stood after saying all that, imposing himself upon the room with his impressively large build, the room naturally quieted down again. Finally he looked towards his brother before saying, ¡°And to you, brother, regardless of how you are or what you choose, you shall always remain the brother that I love. But I won''t lie and say the things that you have said weren''t hurtful or foolish especially for a learned man such as yourself. And though I love you, I have neither the strength nor the will to oppose our father, but what I can promise is this¡­¡±


    All of a sudden, Parulian knelt on both knees as he planted his face to the ground. ¡°I swear to all the Hosts of Heaven, I shall take care of the children you leave behind, and I shall love them as my own as I always have until my dying breath! I assure you no harm will befall them and they will grow strong and proud, knowing that their father is also a man of strength¡­ So please, brother¡­¡±


    As Partogi saw the sight of his kneeling brother, all he could do was stand still and stare before he nodded with a frown and dragged his still sobbing and hysterical wife with him as they left the great hall to gather their things and leave the village in exile.


    ¡°NOO!!! DON''T LET THEM TAKE MY CHILDREN!!¡± Lamria was inconsolable throughout the walk and her screams reverberated so loudly throughout the quiet night that many in the village had awoken in fright and had gotten up and outside their houses to see what was going on. It was a truly shameful display as now most everyone would be aware of what was happening. As they saw the Great elders walking out of the Great hall witnessing the scene, the village grew abuzz and started gossiping about what had happened. It took great effort from Parulian to mobilize the guards to disperse the gathering crowds back to their own homes. It was to be a long and excruciatingly painful day, he could tell.


    And so it was from that day that a rift had appeared upon the Clan of Sigumogo.A rift that appeared like it was one that wouldn''t be mended any time soon.

 8 - Exile and Excommunications, part I

    Solsday, 24th of Marcia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    The Exile of the King''s second son and his wife sent shockwaves throughout the village as no one had expected at all. None were more so shocked by the news than the children of the couple themselves. Though the older children didn''t show too much of a public reaction, the younger children were inconsolable. Parulian had helped with his brother''s packing and assured him that the children he had left there would be in good hands. For the first few hours after the sentence of exile, Lamria was still screeching and screaming until eventually she had exhausted herself far too much and had practically screamed herself unconscious. The younger children, Tiur and Tigor, were almost as equally hysterical as they had to be dragged away kicking and screaming from their home by Parulian and Timotheos. Maria could only silently cry as she had to witness her parents exiled in so shameful and dishonorable a fashion while Timotheos was purely focused on trying to keep his younger siblings calmed. Parulian''s family were equally shocked by the news as they scrambled over to help along with the efforts to take care of the family. Throughout the entire ordeal, Partogi spoke very little to anyone besides what was absolutely necessary to help with the forced eviction. He didn''t talk at all to his two eldest children. The other person who was the most shocked by all of this was the only sister of Parulian and Partogi, Pauli, who was also awoken by the commotion and had to haphazardly be filled in by her eldest brother about what was occuring.


    Finally, after everything was said and done - just as it was promised to King Parhal - before the sun had truly dawned, Partogi and his wife were on a wagon at the main gates to the village, with the wagon fastened to a large and old-looking tiger beast. Without anymore unnecessary exchange of pleasantries, with Parulian only being able to stand there along with Josias and Timotheus as the older women Hotma, Pauli, and Maria were busy taking care of the younger children, Partogi gave a final glance towards his family as sorrow filled his eyes before he looked away to the rode and spurned the Tiger along as he held its reins and the wagon began to leave the vicinity of the village.


    From afar, though he could no longer see his face, Josias could see the back and shoulders of his uncle shaking as he could only guess what was happening. As he looked to his side, Timotheus could only silently weep with tears streaming down his eyes at the sight of his father and mother leaving the Realm of Goria seemingly for good. Josias placed his hand on his brother''s back while Parulian placed his arm around Timotheus¡¯ to comfort his grieving nephew.


    Soon enough as the dawn was cracking and most of the villagers had awakened early in the morning to ready themselves for their activities as well as to ready themselves for church, some other people had arrived at Parulian''s Rumah Bolon where his nieces and nephews were currently staying when they heard the news of what had transpired. Among those people, Serena and Johannes had come to comfort their friend, Maria. When Maria saw Serena arrive, her strong exterior instantly shattered as she broke down crying in the embrace of her friend while Johannes could only silently stand there before Maria had looked up and hugged him as well. The two spent the next moments together as Johannes embraced Maria while she leaned her head on his shoulder, wishing to stay like that while sobbing and crying out for her parents between sobs.


    Timotheus, though equally as distraught as his own siblings, shook off all those feelings of regret, distress, and grief as today was still an important day. The day of his ordination in which he was to give his life in service to his God and his church. And if his God had saw it fit for him to be greeted by such a Herculean task at the start of the ministry then may it be so for he truly believed that God was faithful and would not suffer him be tempted above what he was able. And with that newly steeled resolve, Timotheus strived to push onwards.


    Maria and Serena finally asked for their leave as they day got brighter so they could help prepare for the Church service and with that Josias and Johannes had decided to accompany the two women along the way after they all had gotten ready. Unlike the usual attire of men going and walking around usually bare-chested, for church they would all wear fine shirts and mostly with long sleeves and buttons while many wore the more traditional tali-tali cloth on their heads which was basically a smaller ulos wrapped around their heads. The women also wore similar shirts and for the most part wrapped their cloth around their wastes until it reached towards their ankles while they also wore ulos over their shoulders. The church bells were rung loudly as it reverberated throughout the village, calling everyone who was able to come and join the service. The village had a population of almost four thousand people and while there were a few other smaller chapels in other locations of the village, most people still chose to commune in the main church called the ¡®Hurianatama¡¯ which through enlarging efforts throughout the years could now serve between five to six hundred people a service. Though it was still a fraction of the entire population, the services were usually held three to four times a day depending on the turnout. However, for special events like baptisms or confirmations, the church would usually hold them during the morning services. As it was for today''s special ordination service.


    As the people had gathered in their places, according to their division and communities within the village which was mostly divided among clan lines, Josias and his own family took their seat among the pews at the front of the church as they represented the royal family of the King while the King himself sat at the leftmost side of his pew beside his heir Parulian. Though most of the village had a fresh look on their faces though with some yawns here and there due to the celebrations of previous night, the looks of the Royal Clean and the other head elders couldn''t be anymore haggard despite their best attire and makeup on the women due to the incident from earlier regarding the expulsion of Lord Partogi which even within the church was causing people to whisper and gossip in hushed tones.


    The interior of the church was designed so that the pulpit and lectern from which the Priest would give his homily was placed at a skewed angle to the front side of the church while the centerpiece of the church remained the great altar which had been designed with a uniquely indigenous Halak flavour whilst the great wooden crucifix which hung at the center front wall remained the main centerpiece of the church to focus the people to God''s grace and mercy and love. Upon the altar was already set plates upon plates of consecrated unleavened bread for use during the communion service as well as numerous wooden cups of wine which were reasonably small to accommodate for the large number of people. At the center of the altar was a stand where the bible would usually be placed while in front of it was a special golden ornamented chalice from which the Priest would take communion. Next three chairs where the Bishop would take his seat along with the other priests while at the other edge near the altar were rows of chairs where the ¡®sintua¡¯ or church elders would take their seat. On the other edge of the church was a piano, specially ordered by Bishop Ludwig from craftsmen in the Newlander Republic to provide music for the church during services. In front of the piano playing it was none other than the quiet yet stern Hesekiel who was playing beautiful accompaniment music while they waited for the service proper to commence.


    Josias couldn''t help but smile as he saw his friend playing the Western instrument. Hesekiel played very beautifully and he even caught the eye of many of the younger ladies within the congregation through his playing and naturally good looks though his usually cold demeanor would normally turn any potential suitors away from him which caused no end of stress to the Elders of the Rapmasari clan, the clan that had also legally and officially adopted the Ephorus Ludwig all those years ago in order for him to marry the daughter of Elder Marasi of the Sintua thus making Serena officially a member of the Rapmasari clan. It was also because of this fact that among all the clans of the Gorian Halak, the Rapmasari were the most fervent and devoted towards the Christian faith with the exception of the single Rapmasari elder whom Josias had caught being amongst the followers of the Old Ways. Although some would argue that the Sigumogo clan would rank a close second to being the most devoted of the clans, but still it can not be argued that for the past two decades, it had been the Rapmasari who have spearheaded the most efforts in regards towards the Christianization of the Halaklands.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    But speaking of women who looked to be close to Hesekiel, next to the piano were several chairs where the other liturgical volunteers and servants who were mainly the musicians would sit, and there were many young beautiful girls there, many of whom were among the dancers during the celebration the night before. Josias recognized who they all were as he did with most of the young people of the village as he grew up with most of them. The one on the chair right next to the piano was of course his cousin and kinswoman Maria who had the Hasapi string to play. She was a strong woman to still be able to serve during one of the lowest points in her life. The one next to her playing the traditional flute was Johannes'' younger sister, Helena. Next to her was a girl playing the Western string instrument called the ¡®violin¡¯, she was Josias¡¯ maternal cousin, eldest daughter of the Jeweler, Safira. A very beautiful young woman who like Serena was a ¡®Malaok¡¯ but she had very distinct features with tanned skin, wavy dark brown hair, and striking blue eyes as her mother was a foreign slave from the eastern lands of the Moslems whom his uncle had received as a gift from his days as a travelling merchant. In fact according to Traditional Halak customs, it should''ve been Safira who was betrothed to him as she was his ¡®Pariban¡¯ or daughter of his maternal uncle. And though he loved Serena with every fiber of his being, only a blind, evil, and resentful charlatan would have the gall to not call her beautiful. Josias clicked his tongue and shook his head as he gave it more thought. Though he could not imagine himself being anything but a christian, he had heard stories that the Kings of Old would frequently take second or even third wives with his great grandfather having done so because his first wife hadn''t been able to produce for him a male heir.


    As if noticing that something wasn''t right in his mind with whatever womanly instinct she had, Serena - who was sitting down next to Josias - noticed the trajectory of his vision towards the musician''s area and she noticed that bitch Safira was sitting there at church acting all elegant-like in clothes she thought were inappropriate for the church setting. Serena knew Safira had more ample ¡®assets¡¯ than her and it wasn''t necessarily the girl¡¯s fault that she was well endowed and no matter what clothes she wore that it wouldn''t really prevent the male gaze, but despite her wearing a shirt, she could''ve at least buttoned it up like the men instead of flaunting her cleavage like that and the ludicrously gorgeous silver Sapphire necklace adorned above her cleavage with colours that matched her already striking eyes. And the fact she tied her hair in a way her neckline, earrings, and necklace was clearly seen, it infuriated her. What infuriated Serena even more was the fact that she even had the need to feel infuriated. Growing up, Safira being a year older than her, they still played together a lot and were very close to each other and the three of them along with Maria were the best of friends. What started to crack their relationship was when on a night a year ago during New Year''s, while they were secretly drinking somewhere behind their parents¡¯ back, in a drunken stupor Safira had admitted that she had always liked Josias and she even said that she should try to convince her parents to press on the traditional custom of having her be officially betrothed to Josias because her father actually was Halak and that she was truly a Malaok instead of Serena whose mother was the Halak one and that she wasn''t really a Rapmasari. This escalated and led to such a huge argument with Serena calling her a half-muslim mongrel daughter of a slave. The fight even turned physical at some point with two drunk girls pulling at each other''s hair and scratching one another. Needless to say, they were caught due to the commotion and they caused quite the embarrassment to their parents. Maria being the lousy drinker that she was and still is, was heavily asleep and snoring throughout the entire ordeal having been carried home by her father. The two had at points tried to make amends with one another but many unfortunate circumstances prevented them from having a proper reconciliation.


    But now things were different. What the hell was Josias doing gawking at her. This annoyed her but the worst part was, Safira had noticed the stares at her too and had locked eyes with Josias but not before shooting a very quick blink-and-you¡¯ll-miss-it side glance towards her. As Safira locked eyes with Josias, she feigned like something was wrong with her hair as she motioned to fix it while holding her hair tie in her mouth before tying it up again all the while never once losing eye contact with Josias who only had a stupid looking dumb-founded face as he didn''t even notice he was staring. Safira gave a playful laugh as she smiled and waved at Josias before giving him a quick blow kiss.


    Josias only looked like an idiot with his mouth agape in an awkward smile as he waved back, not noticing the burning flames that were coming out of Serena who was absolutely livid next to him. Despite Serena being a second-circle mage, mages lacked the same innate and automatic aura force that aura-using warriors had but if she did, the entire pew would''ve been in cinders with how raging she was. All of a sudden, Josias could feel a solid hit land on the side of his shoulder as he saw Serena punching him with a look so menacing that while he still thought she looked angelic, it was more so the kind of Angel described in the book of Daniel and Isaiah. As he was still under a sort of stupor, he didn''t quite realise what it was that happened.


    ¡°Hasian, what..??¡± Just as the word ¡®what¡¯ came out of his mouth, He finally realised what had happened as the cogs in his brain started to turn as he immediately went in for damage control ¡°Serena, you know it wasn''t like that¡­! I-...!¡±


    ¡°I don''t bloody care! Why don''t you go and marry that hussy for all I care!¡± Serena was incensed. ¡°Waving and smiling to every damned woman you see!¡±


    ¡°What? No! What do you take me for? I don''t do that to every girl I see..!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, only the very beautiful ones whose name rhymes with ¡®Safira¡¯!! I''m sure those childbearing hips of hers are capable of giving the house of Sigumogo a hundred bloody heirs!!¡±


    As Serena''s tone was getting louder, everyone else on the pew started to notice. While King Parhal and Lord Parulian were still gazing emptily unto the crucifix due to the incident earlier that day, Jakobus - who was sitting at the other edge of the seat next to his younger cousins Tiur and Tigor who were clutching him close because they still missed their parents - almost couldn''t contain his laughter as he gave Snickers at the absurd lover''s spat going on next to him.


    ¡°Mama.. is Abang in trouble? Why is Kakak Serena angry at him?¡± Julia said as she tugged her mother who was sitting next to Josias. Noticing the commotion, Hotma couldn''t take it any longer as she finally turned towards her son and his lover who were making a fool of themselves in the church for everyone to see but not before pointing at and giving her beloved niece Safira a fierce look for instigating the incident who instantly ceased her laughing at her aunt''s terrifying expression and quickly looked away.


    ¡°Josias Panuturi Hatigoran Sigumogo! Serena Ulia Boru Rapmasari! I swear to the God who died for our sins on that cross that if you two don''t stop embarrassing me right now, you''ll see that there are far worse punishments than being exiled and having your children stripped from you!¡± Hotma said in a very low yet clearly menacing tone which instantly caused the two lovers to cease and gulp at her absolutely intimidating aura despite not being able to even use aura. ¡°And you, Serena. I know you are a proper lady who is so lovely and kind, so act like it with all the grace that affords!... And you, Josi!¡±


    Without even saying anything else, Hotma only gave a walloping smack to his face which went by so fast not even the people sitting in the pew behind them immediately noticed.


    ¡°Ma, what was that for?!¡± Josi protested


    ¡°For being a bloody idiot, now shut up and focus back to the altar, we''re in a church and the service is about to start.¡±


    And just as she said that, the smaller bell at the entrance of the church was


    rung signalling the start of the Divine Liturgy.

 9 - Exile and Excommunications, part II

    Solsday, 24th of Marcia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    As the bell rang signalling the start of the liturgical service, the doors to the church opened as to welcome the Sacred procession. In front of the procession was a deacon who held up a large bible that was covered by an ornamented golden bookcase while behind him were three other deacons with the one in the middle acting as a crucifer holding a very ornamented processional cross on a pole marked by Gorga art and imagery while being flanked by two banners, one of the ¡®Chi-Rho¡¯ with the Alpha and Omega symbols while the other being a native artwork and rendition of the Risen Christ with his hands outstretched to symbolize God giving His blessings upon the congregation. And behind them were the clergymen and the Priestly candidates who were to be ordained. Bishop Ludwig was at the front of the Clerical contingent as he was garbed in full liturgical vestments including a mitre, chasuble, stolae, and a crozier. He was followed along by about a dozen or so other priests who were all foreigners like him, most of them hailing from the Lowerian Empire being Germanic folk. In fact many of the deacons and other liturgists were the priest''s ¡®Malaok¡¯ descendants and so while they were born in the Halaklands, they bore many distinct Germanic features such as blue eyes, some having dirty blond hair, and all of them having much lighter complexions when compared to the full blooded Halak. While the base design of the clothes were foreign, as with everything else, Bishop Ludwig had carefully designed all the patterns to have an indigenous flare to them. Even the liturgy was carried fully in the Halak-language.


    But regardless, the main items of interest and highlight to the whole service were of course the native priest candidates. There were about half a dozen of them walking at the back of the procession and they were all wearing black cassocks covered by a black colored chimere and pectoral crosses while also adorning black square berets. While most of the young would-be Priests were from the Rapmasari clan, the one who stood at the front was of course the star of the generation, the young Timotheus of the Sigumogo clan.


    While the procession was going on, the congregational crowd had been directed to sing a hymn while they were accompanied by the instruments of the musicians. ¡°~Sangap di Debata Ama, sangap di AnakNa i¡­ ( Glory be to God the Father, Glory be to God the Son¡­)¡± As the congregation sang brilliantly along with the music, the Procession had reached to the front of the altar as they took turns bowing towards the altar and each of them taking their designated seats that had been prepared with Ludwig sitting on the bishop¡¯s cathedra. As the bishop took his seat, one of the priests under Ludwig, Father Arnulfssen, took his place standing behind the lower lectern as a Liturgist as he held in his hands the book of liturgies used by the church.


    As with the usual liturgy, the service had started with the ¡®votum introitus¡¯ stated by the Priest as he opened it in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy spirit, and the Divine Liturgy continued on as the Priest who acted as the main Liturgist carried on with the regular motions of the service as of he''d done it a thousand times, expertly directing the congregation step by step throughout the way, though considering it had been drilled into the Gorians - especially into the young ones among the congregants who had gone through the motions since their birth - they had memorised the liturgy and its sequences fairly quickly and easily.


    Josias had enjoyed singing the hymns especially when accompanied by marvelously wonderful instruments played by wonderfully talented and gifted musicians. Eventually, the reading of the epistles began as Father Arnulfssen opened the Great Ornamented Bible and started reading from it. The great bible, called the ¡®Bibel Nabadia Nabolon¡¯, was Ephorus Ludwig''s Magnum opus. It was a complete translation of the Holy Scripture into the Halak Tongue and was completed during the very early days of the Halak Church. It was Ludwig''s insistence of incorporating christian beliefs with the local customs that caused it''s rapid success - well besides the Great and Miraculous victory during the Parhalian war against the coalition - and as of that moment, many other missionaries were going to arrive in the Halaklands thanks to the Ephorus¡¯ initiative though Ludwig had been careful of warning the Halak of the other christian sects, Particularly those that he described as the more ¡®Imperialist¡¯ Catholic nations.


    After the reading of the Epistles, the congregation went through the other usual steps, including the Confession of Sins in a more communal manner where the promises of the forgiveness of sins were read from scripture and the congregation would pray inwardly for forgiveness while accompanied by the piano music, as well as the recitation of the Creed of the Apostles which everyone and their mothers already memorised by heart. After that, the church enjoyed listening to the multiple ¡®Choirs¡¯ from the community divided between sections. It was a very communal thing as the Halak peoples were renowned singers and the aspect of Worship in the Christian religion which involved singing and chanting was readily embraced by them.


    The choirs were divided into the general section, the ¡®Koor Ama¡¯ which was made up of the married men of the village, ¡®Koor Ina¡¯ for the general older married women, as well as the ¡®Koor Naposobulung¡¯ which was made up of the unmarried young adults of the village. When it came to the Naposo choir, Josias and Serena had gotten up and walked over to the area in front of the altar where the other young men and women were gathered. The one leading and conducting the choir being none other than Johannes. The Naposo were arranged so that the men stood behind the women as the man provided the more bass vocals which provided more power to the song.


    After the choirs were over and done with and they had returned to their seats, the next section of the liturgy was the ¡®Tingting¡¯ as another priest had walked up in front of the altar holding a piece of paper with pronouncements written on it. The Tingting were basically the announcements for upcoming events pertaining to the proclamations of the liturgical calendar, the collection of funds for the church, as well as Church ministries such as Baptisms, Confirmations, marriages, deaths, so on and so forth. However, this time, there was a pronouncement that wasn''t made all that common and was a great surprise to many when they heard it.


    ¡°Ruhut Parmahanion dohot Paminsangon¡­ (Code of Canon Law on Ministry and Sanctions)¡± as the Priest read that allowed, the air within the church grew audibly quiet. Josias couldn''t help but hang his head low as he had greatly felt that he had played a part within that process. ¡°By the Law of the Church, due to infringement upon the faith and the sin of Apostasy, the following individuals are to be treated as Devil-Worshippers and contemptuous to the Faith¡­¡±


    As the priest read out the names of those who had been excommunicated one by one - in total of twelve names were read out - many of the congregants were shocked as they shook their heads in disbelief. The most shocking one of all of course being the King''s own Son, Lord Partogi. When she heard her parents'' names being proclaimed as heretical heathens, Maria couldn''t help but lower her head in shame as she wanted to cry all over again while Safira beside her put a hand on her back to comfort her. King Parhal and the rest of his family were no more pleased by such an announcement and would undoubtedly have been enraged to hear of it had they not been the ones to sanction such a proclamation. But of course, the direction where many of the people had been looking was towards a person sitting among the candidates of priests. Timotheos merely steeled his expression as he endeavored to not let any of the whispers or snide remarks get to him.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°...and with that, we must Pray that the Lord works His Grace always towards the apostates and the reprobates so that they may see the error of their ways and once more return themselves into the hands of our Most Loving God.¡± The Priest said as he motioned the sign of the cross after.


    Next after the pronouncements, a hymn was sung as the Priest, Father Steinmann, had walked up to the high pulpit and gave a quaint twenty minute homily in regards towards the sacred rite of Ordination, but also lightly touching upon the subject of apostasy and that a great reward awaits everyone in Heaven for those who stay true to the faith in the end. But most importantly, the Priest reminded everyone and stressed once more that the most important thing is to pray for such lost souls and to not then have an attitude of guilt by association. After the homily, the congregation sang once more as the collection plates were spread around where the people had thrown in copper and silver coins as offerings.


    The currency of Neacordis differed between the states but it was metal coins that prevailed as the main mode of payment in interstate trading. However, even this was a relatively newer development among the Halak as being a collection of tribes within the mountainous inland highlands and being a ways away from the rest of civilized society, the Halak still mostly dealt in barter and trade based on harvests of rice and similar such quantities of food.


    After the collections were gathered and received, Reverend Steinmann had blessed it and the liturgy finally got on to the main event of the ordinations as Ephorus Ludwig stood up and went to the front of the altar as holy oil was prepared followed by the other priests who stood behind him. And so he began to read from a plaque held by a deacon as he started the process of ordination and called out to the candidates one by one as they arrived in front of him and knelt with their heads bowed and their hands clasped.


    One by one the young priests came, and to each of them Ludwig had placed his hands on them along with the other priests and administered the words of ordination. After the administering of the words, he traced the oil in the sign of the cross on the foreheads of each newly ordained priest. After the last of the new priests had been ordained, Ludwig blessed them all once more before he gave them their first official act as priests. And that was to help in administering holy communion to the congregants of the church.


    And with that, Bishop Ludwig read from the sacred scriptures and retold the story of when Christ on the night of his arrest held the last supper. As he held up the communion host and the chalice and pronounced the words of institution, ¡°Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when he was betrayed, took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said: Take; eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he also took the cup after the supper, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, Drink of it, all of you. This cup is the New Testament in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.¡±


    As the words were spoken, the congregation immediately got up I. Rows according to their pews as they went up to the priests who were holding the plates of communion hosts and wine. King Parhal and his family were the first to receive communion under two kinds as they had received it from the Ephorus himself. The ones whom were allowed to receive the Eucharist were those believers who have already been confirmed and are not under sanctions or excommunication from the church, thus leaving the children and unconfirmed teenagers on the pews to pray all the while the musicians were playing their instruments to accompany the ceremony.


    Josias stood next to his mother and Serena as he received the host on his right hand before he immediately brought it to his mouth and ate it and crossed himself. The same was true for the wine as when he received it he said a small internal prayer before downing it and crossing himself. After they had taken their communion, each row would return to their pews. Finally, after all the congregation had received communion, Bishop Ludwig led the final prayers as he and all the priests lined up at the front of the church and they began the Lord''s prayer and after which they held their hands out toward the peoples while giving the final blessings and the doxology. With a final recitation of the great commission and closed by the three Amens, the service had ended and the people had dispersed to go about their daily activities.


    As many of the congregants left, many of the Naposo (young adults) had also chosen to stay around and talk to each other. Josias stayed behind as well with Serena as they were talking to the newly ordained Reverend Timotheus.


    ¡°...So it''s Reverend Father Timotheus now, huh?¡± Josias said as he nodded and bowed in a teasing manner to which Timotheus laughed ¡°I honestly don''t believe the brother Timo who used to regale in stealing the women''s garments and peeking on them while they were bathing would now be among the first of our native ministers¡­¡±


    ¡°Oy oy oy¡­. Don''t say it like you weren''t an active participant yourself, brother Josias..!¡± Timotheus shot back.


    ¡°Please stay strong, Abang¡­¡± Serena said as she placed a hand on Timotheus'' shoulder with an understanding expression ¡°What you and Maria are going through¡­ it''s¡­ it''s unimaginable..¡±


    ¡°Don''t fret about it, sister. The Lord knows and the Lord will always watch out for us all. I believe that, truly I do¡­ even if I have to tell myself that everyday.¡± Timotheusn said with a self-mocking smile


    ¡°Oh, cheer up, bang!¡± Josias said as he slapped the man''s side to reassure him ¡°See, this is why I¡¯ve been telling you that you need to get yourself a girl! I''m sure lots of the young ladies would love some extra ¡®bible study time¡¯ with the new priest!-Ow!!! I was joking!¡± Serena had given her lover a firm slap in the back of the head.


    ¡°Pfft, you actual idiot! Hahahah..¡± Timotheus said


    ¡°Oy! You can''t say that! You''re a priest now!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and I also am obligated to always speak the truth so¡­¡±


    ¡°Pssshh¡­ bloody hell.¡± Josias said as he laughed and shook his head before he gave a glance to the area next to the piano where he saw Johannes was comforting and chatting away with Maria as he was stroking her head that she''d rest on his shoulder ¡°Well, our sister there seems to have the whole ¡®comfort¡¯ thing down if you ask me¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean¡­ What the!!¡± As Timotheus turned around he saw what was happening between his sister and the leader of the Naposobulung, Johannes ¡°WOY! Where''d ya think you''re touching my sister?!¡±


    ¡°Ah, shit!¡± Johannes said before Maria pinched him.


    ¡°No swearing in church!¡± She said firmly yet adorably but that did little to ease Johannes who was sweating bullets as he saw Timotheus approach with the most terrifying smile he''d ever seen.


    ¡°Ab-b-bang! We can talk this through¡­¡±


    ¡°My dear, beloved, brother Johannes¡­¡± Timotheus had held out both his hands as sparks started to appear on them ¡°It seems you''ve gotten bolder!¡±


    ¡°Dear God, save me!¡±


    Johannes immediately started running away around the church in fear at the mad priest who had started chasing him. Everyone else couldn''t help but laugh at the situation especially when Hesekiel with his ever straight face started playing on the piano at a faster pace and an exciting tune as if to give accompaniment to the chase. Ephorus Ludwig could only shake his head and give an exasperated sigh at the sight of the young ones goofing around but deep down it gave him a sense of relief especially after what they had gone through recently.


    Ludwig could only pray that despite everything that might come to pass, the Good Lord would still protect these beautiful smiles.

 10 - Darkening Clouds

    Odesday, 27th of Marcia, 470th Year of the 5th Era


    The Sky had been greatly darkened by the black clouds that had conspired to block the rays of the sun from shining upon the earth. Partogi frowned as he felt the air chill and moisten as he looked back to his wagon and saw his wife start to shiver as she was cuddling their very young son. The wagon didn''t have any roof and they were still a few hours away from their destination and if it rained then and there, Partogi would most definitely curse his fate.


    They had been traveling for several days without much stop ever since his family was exiled from Goria due to their perceived lack of faith in their chosen religion. Though he tried his best throughout the journey not to grow bitter at his situation, it was much easier said than done. Being exiled wasn''t the worst of fates as he was sure there were many villages and realms out there that would happily accept a four-star warrior, including the village he was currently destined for. But what he could not forgive was the cruelty his father showed in ripping away from him and his wife their two other younger children, all for the accursed reason that they had been baptized! Partogi clicked his tongue once more as he could feel the anger within him rising again. He was angry and in his mind he was cursing everyone who he perceived to have wronged him.


    Damn his cruel father for turning his back on his own son and traditions all for the sake of the new foreign God. Damn his former mentor, the foreign swindler for being able to so successfully convince his fellow kinsmen in Goria to abandon their trust and faith in the Ancestors and Great Spirits. Damn his ungrateful son for choosing his religion over the parents that had cared for him, loved him, and raised him to be what he was¡­ Timotheus¡­ When even his own eldest son would bear arms against him, he was at such a loss for words¡­ and above all he had cursed his own self from start to finish. Why was he so weak? Why couldn''t he have stood up against his old, weak, and dying father? Why couldn''t he just smiled, lied, and contented himself to pretend the part of being a good Christian, as he always had for the past few years? What did the old ways even mean to him at this point when he had been raised as a christian since he was ten years old?


    All of these questions were eating away at him from the inside out. He didn''t want for it to come this far but at the same time it felt like he had no choice. He thought back to when he had begun to truly lose faith in the religion. Was it truly because he had been led astray by his wife, like what the others had told him over and over? Perhaps in small parts. For over nearly two decades his beloved Lamria had tried to adapt to the Christian customs of Goria and during her younger years it looked as if she were more devoted to the faith than he ever was. The first cracks appeared when his beloved mother had died due to a sickness that looked like it was the very same one that now plagues his father. The best healers in the village with all there pomp of Western medicine and magic couldn''t prevail much against it. Yet when his wife had suggested contacting a famous shaman from her home village to perform a ritual that could save his mother at the cost of the lives of some people, everyone objected, calling it heathen magic! He couldn''t understand it. Magic was magic regardless of the source and if it were the murder of people that was of concern, surely there was no shortage of reavers or bandits in the land or any other form of lowly criminals to execute. But it was all for naught as his mother had died anyway. Such a lack of resolve was infuriating.


    The next cracks came when he saw what the education of the church was doing to his children. Timo - who had shown much talent in magic since a very young age - was immediately given an education by the church and for that he was thankful but the way he came back and talked down about so much of the local customs of his people, calling his ancestors and his mother''s family heathen idolaters and Devil-Worshippers. He grew fearful of being a parent to fanatics. He had heard stories from travelling merchants of the Christian Empires of Terradome and how in their religious zeal were waging deadly wars between one another for what in his eyes were a small matter of theological differences. He had always questioned why their church was called protestant. Who or what were they protesting? It wasn''t only until later that he learned of the many different sects of Christianity and how many of their states were extremely imperialistic. Politically, Partogi could see no benefit at all for the people were they all to adopt Christianity.


    But the straw that broke the camel''s back for him was when his youngest son Togar was on the brink of dying due to his weak constitution and constant fevers and all remedies and medical techniques in Goria has failed, he finally had enough and on the pretext of visiting his in-laws, he and his wife had set out to that village to seek out the Mighty Shaman that lived and healed in his wife''s home village of Saorma. And so when they travelled there and met with the shaman - his wife''s uncle - the shaman readily agreed to accept the request of his niece to save his brother''s grandson. And so with an elaborate ritual invoking the great spirits of the ancestors and the ritual cannibalism of two known adulterous criminals, Togar had been cured from his ailments, seemingly miraculously. That was all the convincing it required for him to realise that the Old Gods and Ancestors had not abandoned them completely and that they were still looking after the best interests of their children.


    With all that to say, Partogi gave a silent prayer to the spirit of his Great Ancestors and that of the Creator Mulajadi Nabolon to strengthen his resolve. He gave a quick glance to the back and saw that his wife still had that blank stare painted over her face, the same look she had ever since they had set out from Goria. Instinctively, he reached out his hand to caress and comfort her.


    ¡°It''s alright, Ria¡­ everything will be fine. We''ve almost made it to your parents¡¯... Just hang in there a bit more¡­¡± Partogi said


    ¡°...I want my children back..¡± Lamria said weakly as she held her youngest son closer to her bosom


    ¡°Don''t worry about that! We can figure something out. We can have your father send an official request to see his grandchildren or something like that and we can use the pretext to see little Tiur and Tigor again.¡± Partogi reassured his wife once more but she only shook her head, staring at him with a look as if he wasn''t understanding something.


    ¡°...I want all of my children back¡­¡± Lamria reiterated herself.


    To that, Partogi could only look down dejected as he gave a heavy sigh. That would be too much even for him. He wasn''t even sure if they still viewed the two of them as their parents and not some heathen curs to be cut down. But despite that, he understood his wife''s pain very well. Just as the tears were once more trying to creep out from his eyes, he felt raindrops start to fall against his skin. He spat out a curse before he spurned the reins on his old tiger companion to make it move faster on the road as Partogi had one huge concern on his mind. Though his son had a better constitution now after the ritual, he still worried whether or not such weather and the cold would cause Togar to fall sick once again.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    As the raindrops started falling more and more, Partogi had even strengthened his tiger companion with some of his aura while at the same time using the aura to shield his wagon from the raindrops though he could feel his own energy and mana reserves depleting at a steady rate. After about an hour more had passed, it was only then that from a distance they could start to see a settlement surrounded by a palisade with farmlands outside of it. Though it wasn''t even close to being as large as Goria, Partogi had reckoned from his last visit that the village of Saorma had at least a couple thousand people living in it.


    Partogi was glad that he had made it safely to the village of Saorma. The guards to the village had tried to stop them for a bit to check their identities but when they saw the tiger from afar and the fact that it was the daughter of the King that had arrived, Partogi and his wagon were allowed entry. As soon as he arrived in front of the Great Hall within the palisade walls of Saorma, he had asked to meet with his father-in-law, Raja Lombutua Radot Pasaorma. Not long after he had requested it, the King himself - a rather rotund looking-man of average height and who looked to be in his late fifties - had gone out and greeted them before hurrying them inside the hall to shield them from the rain. It just so happened that the elders of Saorma were having a gathering of their own to discuss the upcoming Harvest season and festival. Partogi had apologized to the elders there for the sudden interruption but no sooner after he did that did his body just slammed down to the ground as the fatigue from his depleted mana and energy reserves were starting to dawn on him then and there. Luckily enough, his father-in-law had quickly gotten a slave to fetch a mana-recovery potion and quickly fed it to the fatigued Partogi, just in time to prevent him from losing consciousness because of the mana drain. Partogi was placed on a cushion with his back against the wall to stabilise him. After waiting for about half an hour for the potion''s effect to kick in, Partogi finally regained enough strength to start talking relatively comfortably. It was then when King Lombutua decided to inquire the purpose of his son-in-law¡¯s sudden visit, barging into his great hall, to which Partogi only nodded as he started recounting the entirety of what had occurred to him, from his discovery by his nephew and son all the way to the consequences of his exile and the taking of his children.


    All that Partogi had said was true and he firmly believed that he gave no false statement. After hearing the entire story, he looked around as he saw the Great hall was now abuzz with whispers and concerned conversations between the elders of Saorma on the implications this may have upon the wider Halaklands. All this while King Lombutua still chose to remain silent with a steely gaze as he stroked his dark gray beard and closed his eyes, appearing as if he was still processing the story.


    ¡°The Hulubalang has gone insane! To think he would exile his own son due to the tenets of some foreign religion!¡± An elder said with shock


    ¡°It wouldn''t be the first time. I heard many among the Southern and Eastern clans have chosen to follow the religion of the Moslems! Wouldn''t be odd if the Western and Northern Clans would fall to the missionaries¡­¡± Another elder chimed in


    ¡°I knew we should''ve just murdered all the westerners and eaten them all those years ago! They are a blight upon the land and threaten the very soul of our homeland!¡±


    ¡°This is not the time for us to act rashly! We must convene a council with the other kings on what must be done!¡±


    As the room started to become filled with endless back and fourth discourse, Partogi couldn''t help but wince at the indecisiveness of the elders, but at the same time he couldn''t blame them as even if he were put in their shoes, his options would be severely limited. It was then when King Lombutua finally cleared his throat and looked as if he was about to speak.


    ¡°Hela (son-in-law)¡­ There are many things that have concerned me from what you have told me about your plight¡­¡± King Lombutua said with his deep voice that reverberated around the great hall as he kept his stern look before softening somewhat when he looked at his daughter and young grandson ¡°But allow me to at least reassure you this, son-in-law. The doors to my realm shall remain forever open to my family. And you, my daughter, and my grandson are most definitely family. And unlike the Hulubalang, I have no interest at all in staking claim upon my grandson because of some arbitrary concept from a foreign religion. But it has become clear to all of us here, methinks, that the Hulubalang has no intention of respecting our laws nor our customs, preferring the fairytales and doctrines of foreigners compared to the wisdom of our ancestors and the ancients who came before them!¡±


    ¡°But, my King, conflict with Goria will yield us no gain at all!¡± An advisor said


    ¡°This isn''t about gain, it''s about our honour, you avaricious coward! Our traditions and way of life must be preserved!¡± Another advisor quickly retorted


    ¡°For all I care, so long as he keeps it in his own realm, I don''t care if they started worshipping pigs tomorrow!¡±


    As the room came alive again with the rowdy discussions and objections, King Lombutua raised his arm once more to silence the village''s elder council. The King then continued to lay out what he meant by his earlier preface.


    ¡°No one here is advocating for open conflict and war. We''re not stupid, especially not with all the external threats at our doorstep, no.¡± King Lombutua said ¡°But I would still say what must be said. The Hulubalang is a fool for punishing people for following the Old Ways of our beliefs, but he is still our Hulubalang. Even so, there are ways we can use to hold Goria responsible for their disrespect towards our rights as people of the Halak to eat like a Halak, participate in rituals of the Halak, and most importantly, the most basic right to live like a true Halak¡­ we are left with no choice then. We must bring all of this to the other Kings so that they may be aware. And we must beseech the Raja Malim to convene a great council of the Kings.¡±


    Partogi widened his eyes at the idea his father-in-law was suggesting.


    ¡°It has been almost two decades since the last Tonggoraja that elected my father as Hulubalang.¡± Partogi said, his tone serious ¡°My father may be dying, but given his constitution it would still be years until he passes, if you are suggesting what I think you are then I shall have no part-...!¡±


    ¡°No no no¡­ I am not suggesting anything so dishonorable as what you may be thinking. And as you said, given the Hulubalang¡¯s constitution, there isn''t much anyone can do to force things to take its course save for overwhelming force. No. What I''m suggesting is far more reasonable. As you have said, it has been far too long since all the Kings of the Halak had gathered and what better reason do we give the Raja Malim than to celebrate the most bountiful harvest we have seen in recent memory? We shall have all the Kings give a part of the Harvest as offerings to the Raja Malim at the Dolok Mulajadi. Not even the Hulubalang can refuse such an obligation lest he risk an even greater war than the last. This will force him to roll back on his more extremist tendencies and hopefully, a reconciliation may occur¡­¡±


    Partogi nodded after pondering King Lumbatua¡¯s suggestion for a while. It was a sound plan and the most peaceful and reconciliatory approach that they could give for now. And with his agreement, the King smiled as he immediately got working on the drafting of letters to all the other Kings of the Halak and the Raja Malim to convene a great Harvest Festival at Dolok Mulajadi. Partogi could only take his breath as he envisioned what was to come and he could only pray thatt hings won''t escalate beyond what anyone was prepared for.

 11 - The Boar Dungeon

    Lunesday, 2nd of Aprillia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    The sky was bright as what looked to be the sun was shining brightly upon a large clearing within a field of jungle woodland and trees. Within the field, a pack of wild boars were grazing about on it, eating the plants, insects, and some even digging up the roots of some shrubs to look for more food or to drink from the pond in the middle of the clearing. By what could be seen, there must be over two dozen of the beast''s roaming around, from the young juvenile hogs to the largest matriarch of the pack. However, unlike most of the beasts that could be found in the wilds of the Halakland jungles, these monstrosities were much bigger monsters.


    From the shrubberies of the jungles surrounding the clearing, if one were to look closely, they would notice a group of dangerous predators hiding among the shadows.


    Josias was perched up on a rather large tree within the jungles, mounted atop his tiger companion while in his right hand he held a long-barrelled flintlock musket, a magnificent weapon of Terradomian origin which was powerful enough to level the playing field between a peasant and even a second-star or perhaps even a third star warrior. He was very fond of the Western firearms that the merchants would trade them with and its unique mechanisms even if it was rather unwieldy and a little bit of a hassle to reload, but this new flintlock gun that was brought to the village as a gift by one of the newer Missionaries from Feldonia a few days ago was a far more brilliant weapon than the matchlock arquebuses he was used to and he was ecstatic to try it out on this latest hunt he was on.


    Josias was eyeing the boar herd from afar, waiting until one of them would stray a little closer to the range of his gun so he could deal a more accurate shot to kill the poor bastard. Josias gave a few looks to the positions of his other companions who were also preparing their weapons, most of them also carrying firearms of the matchlock variety while all of them Had their spears and sabres equipped to their side or packed on their tigers.


    Josias was currently accompanying his father and a party of about a dozen other warriors on their usual weekly hunt to one of the dungeons just a short distance from the village. He had always wondered how the dungeons actually came to exist as from what he had heard after asking the more learned missionaries and other folk of the village, dungeons have been a feature of Orbis since the first era over four thousand years ago. Apparently the Westerners had divided the age of the world into Eras, but regardless it meant that these things have been around for at least that long. In the ancient stories of the Halak, it was said that the eponymous ancestor to all the Halak peoples - Si Raja Halak - had emerged from the dungeon on top of the hill on Dolok Mulajadi. But regardless of the exact origins of dungeons, they were a part of daily life as well as a source of useful resources for the people.


    The dungeon he was in currently - known as the ¡®Haranganaili¡¯ - was one of several dungeons within the Realm of Goria and it was a personal property of the Sigumogo Clan. It was a forest dungeon that was under a thousand acres in size with its borders made up of an impenetrable mana barrier. The dungeon itself was capable of spawning all sorts of animals similar to that of the outer world but its main inhabitants were the Boar Monsters. This particular dungeon had been around for ages by that point and since it regularly spawns the boar monsters, was used by the village as an effective source of boar meat to both feed the villagers, but most importantly the tigers that they raise as companions for both war and hunting. The taming and use of Tigers for warfare was an almost uniquely Gorian practice among the Halak barring some exceptions in the other villages where they perhaps had a couple of tamed tigers but not to the extent of Goria where they had kept almost a hundred tigers. That was what made the current hunt so important. The Gorian tigers themselves had been heavily influenced by the mana of the dungeons and so meat gained from hunting within the dungeons were far more fulfilling for the animals in comparison to other sources of meat.


    And so with that in mind, the Gorians were determined to hunt at the very least the pack of boar monsters that were currently in the clearing while leaving the other packs on the more remote part of the dungeon alive so that the monsters would respawn quicker through the natural process of procreation. Usually, dungeons like these would have a particular monster or beast that was designated as the ¡®Dungeonlord¡¯ that acted as the strongest creature within the dungeon, but the warriors had already slayed it a week earlier and it would usually take the dungeon several weeks to a few months for another beast to be designated as the dungeonlord.


    And so with baited breath, Josias had already placed his sights upon what looked to be a more juvenile boar monsters and was only waiting for his father''s signal before he pulled the trigger. From afar, after steadying his arms upon his weapon, Josias glanced towards his father who was crouching on the ground with both a Javelin and a spear in his hands. The other hunters were on different vantage points spread throughout the woods surrounding the clearing as they had also readied the aim of their guns towards the boars that were on the peripheries of the pack. Just as time felt like it was stopping and standing still all the while the guns had been readied, Josias saw his father standing and aiming his Javelin at the older matriarch of the group as he slowly walked out of the forested area and with the power of a peak Fifth-star warrior on the brink of becoming a blade master, gathered red-coloured mana energy into the javelin before throwing it with all his might.


    The javelin that had been loosed from his father''s grip unleashed with a raging power that it was burning like flames leaving a trail of fire and smoke in its wake. It traveled so quickly and powerfully that it immediately pierced through the skull of the matriarch boar, killing it in that instant. At this sight, confusion was immediately stirred amongst the boar beasts as many started to fled while others were running amok trying to find who did it and when they saw Lord Parulian walking calmly from the forests, sabre in hand, several of them immediately tried to charge at him with their large tusks.


    As many of the boars were charging towards his father, coming closer to his range, Josias had quickly changed his sights towards them as he said a prayer before pulling on the trigger. Just as his musket roared as it shot, a cacophony of the other hunters firing their muskets rang out in a thunderous chorus as all of them shot at the beasts. Greatly wounded but still charging, there were about three beasts left charging at Parulian while another had been shot in its eye, disorienting it greatly, and two more had been shot dead by the initial volley. Parulian immediately rushed towards the beasts, his right hand holding his spear with power while his left hand was on the hilt of his sabre. With the strengthened speed and durability that his aura granted him, Parulian in quick succession cocked his body before stabbing the spear through the skull of the first beast, killing it immediately. He immediately chained his attack to the next best as he slashed the boar¡¯s neck with his sabre while simultaneously pulling it out of it''s scabbard before in quick succession he had struck down the remaining boar.


    Josias too had exited the forest into the clearing while riding his tiger followed by the other hunters. He had quickly aimed at the blinded boar with his reloaded musket before pulling the trigger and killing it instantly as his musket ball pierced through its other eye and skull. As the beast fell, Josias wasted no time immediately reloading his gun, which he could do in under thirty seconds while he rode his tiger to close the distance with the rest of the boar pack.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    As the other boar beasts had recomposed themselves and we''re fast approaching their new enemies, the sudden appearance of the other hunters upon their tigers made the hogs hesitate in their attack and some looked like they were about to flee. And so seeing this, Timotheus who was among the hunters immediately raised his hands as it glowed red and summoned a wall of fire to appear behind the pack of boar beasts to prevent their escape. Taking advantage of this, Parulian - who had pulled out another javelin and was aiming it towards another beast among the crowd - shouted, ¡°Men, fire at will and kill these bastards!!¡± Before he threw it at the beast, creating another fiery projectile killing the beast. At his order, another volley of musket fire rang out towards the beasts and had decimated another half dozen of them.


    With only a little over a dozen of the boars left, Josias had put away his musket to his back as he unsheathed his sabre towards the remaining boars. ¡°HAMATEAN!!!¡± he shouted as he charged at the beasts with full speed upon his tiger followed by the other hunters who had done the same. In less than a minute, they had already closed the gap between them and the boars and as the tigers jumped and tackled the boars with their supreme might, the hunters on top of them stabbed out and dealt the killing blow to the beasts with their sabres and spears. In less than another minute, the hunt with the beasts had ended in an overwhelming victory for the hunters. Josias relished in the feeling of victory as he rubbed the fluffy fur around his tiger''s neck. In the next moment, he could hear his father giving another round of orders.


    ¡°Great work, boys! You can let your tigers feast on the big bastard while you lot help me prepare the rest of these to transport back home¡­¡± Parulian said before he pointed to Timotheus ¡°Son..- I mean Reverend Father- I need you to get back out the dungeon and grab some more boys to help us move these.¡±


    ¡°As you command, Bapatua!¡± Timotheus said with a slightly embarrassed snicker before turning to leave on his tiger. Josias could only laugh as his father teased his cousin like that.


    And so there were a total of twenty five Boar beast corpses upon the field. While the corpse of the matriarch and a couple other smaller juvenile ones were put to the side for their tiger mounts to feast on, it still left work for them to prepare for transport over Twenty boars. Regardless, Josias merely stretched his body before helping with the other hunters to get the corpses ready to be returned to the village.


    It was another hour before Timotheus had returned with about a dozen extra pairs of hands from the village and the work to put the beasts on wagons pulled by oxen quickened greatly. The dungeon had a dirt road built by the ancestors of the villagers from the clearing all the way to the entrance of the dungeon for ease of transport for the meat on wagons. After packing all the corpses that they could and after the tigers had their full share of a meal, the hunters and villagers immediately made their way following the trail to the entrance of the dungeon.


    After about a mile of walking, they had reached the dungeon¡¯s entrance as they could see a large portal of blue, glistening, watery mana that shimmered with a brilliant light and if one were to focus on it, they could see glimpses of images of the outside world from the portal. The hunters wasted no time walking through the portal as they had done so hundreds of times before and they quickly made their way out of the dungeon. Unlike the sunny blue skies of the dungeon, once they entered the open world, they were greeted by a crimson sky as the sun was setting down to the far west and the night was about to greet them.


    The portal entrance to the dungeon was situated at the archway entrance of what looked like an old cave. Around the dungeon entrance were a few buildings and camps where Josias saw several guards were standing watch. It was the minimum amount of defense the village could afford in guarding the dungeon from any unwanted outside visitors. The dungeon was a valuable resource to the village that one would not be wrong to call one of the life forces of the prosperity of Goria and a disturbance to the dungeon would be a great blow towards the realm of Goria as a whole. And so the hunters set off to return to their village which was close by.


    While on the road, Josias was talking to his friend Johannes who had been a part of the hunting party as they were striking up a conversation near the rear of the formation.


    ¡°So, how was it?¡± Josias said with a smirk


    ¡°How was what?¡± Johannes asked back with a confused tone ¡°The hunt? Why¡¯re you even asking me, you were there?!¡±


    ¡°Not that, you idiot. I mean how was your talk with brother Timo?¡±


    At Josias'' questioning, Johannes could only give a wry smile before answering. ¡°It was¡­ something¡­¡±


    ¡°Something? The hell do you mean, ¡®something¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It means that I told him if he wanted to get my blessings for marrying our lovely sister Maria, he''d have to at least show me some modicum of sincerity¡­¡± Timotheus, who had caught wind of Josias'' and Johannes'' conversation, immediately cut in with a smirk.


    ¡°Brother¡­¡± Josias shook his head as he looked towards his cousin ¡°What did you ask him to do?¡±


    ¡°It wasn''t anything difficult, honestly.¡±


    ¡°He told me to recite an entire new testament book by memory in front of him!¡± Johannes said exasperatedly


    ¡°...I mean that''s pretty in line with brother Timo''s character, honestly. A bit weird, but you could choose a shorter book like one of the epistles by Saint Paulus or the Letter of Saint Jude¡­?¡±


    ¡°I have to do it by tomorrow!¡± Johannes completed the explanation


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°I swear, not even the ephorus gave you that much of a hard time in courting Serena!¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Only the highest of respect towards the reverend Ephorus and his bloodline, but my sister is a member of the illustrious Sigumogo clan and the granddaughter of the King of Saorma from her mother''s side. The price I''m asking for her hand is cheap in comparison to what she''s worth!¡±


    ¡°Lae, that''s not including the astronomical dowry I would be paying to your clan on top of it!¡± Johannes continued to protest.


    ¡°The affairs of our clan elders are out of my hands, Lae.¡± Timotheus easily shrugged off Johannes complaints to which Johannes could only give another exasperated sigh.


    ¡°You better keep your word, Lae!¡±


    ¡°A man of God always keeps to his promises.¡± Timotheus said as he made the sign of the cross. Josias could only laugh and shake his head at the tomfoolery his companions were getting up to. Well, at the very least there was not a dull moment to be had with them around.


    Finally after half an hour of marching with the moon already appearing in the sky, the large hunting party had made it back to Goria with their hunting gains. As usual, when the hunting party returned with Lord Parulian at the helm and his heir Josias at his side, they were greeted with cheers especially at the sight of all the boar meat that they returned with. However, when they reached the great hall, they could already see many of the Elders had already made their way inside the Hall while Elder Marasi was standing at the base of the stairs awaiting for her arrival.


    Josias and his father immediately got off their mounts at the situation as Lord Parulian approached the Elder.


    ¡°What is going on here? What is it this time? Why have the elders gathered? Is father alright?¡± Parulian immediately said with worry as he held onto the Elder¡¯s shoulders to which the Elder only gave a shake of his head and a calming smile.


    ¡°Calm yourself, Ruli.¡± Elder Marasi said ¡°The King is fine¡­ relatively speaking, of course. No, the current situation is indeed serious but not for those reasons you''re currently thinking of. Anyways, you need to come in quickly. The rest of you boys, too!¡±


    With that being said, Josias only looked to Timotheus and Johannes before they followed along the elder inside the Great Hall. Josias had no clue what any of this was about, but he couldn''t say he was any excited to find out either way. Whatever it was, he could only curse his fate because at the current time the only thing he was worrying about was what he was about to eat. Looks like dinner will be a little late for him that day.

 12 - Letter of Summons

    Lunesday, 2nd of Aprillia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    ¡°We have received¡­ a letter of summons¡­¡± Old King Parhal said as he held a piece of parchment in his hands as he sat upon the Dragonbone Throne ¡°It appears¡­ the Raja Malim has finally decided to interfere with the affairs of the other Kings¡­ hehehehe¡­ How amusing¡­¡±


    The elders of the council all had a stern expression when they heard the news whilst their King seemed to be taking the letter with a modicum amount of amusement. Josias was sat on the floor on a cushion along with his friends and the other Elders of Goria while his father Parulian sat on a lower stool with a cushion beside the King''s throne. As always, Elder Marasi and Bishop Ludwig stood flanking the King''s throne on both sides.


    Josias could only furrow his brows when he heard that the letter of summons came from the Raja Malim. To his understanding, the Raja Malim was the highest religious authority among the Halak who still held to the old ways akin to what Bishop Ludwig had told him was the position of the so-called ¡®pope¡¯ to the Catholics. Because of Goria¡¯s overwhelmingly Christian influence, Josias and the others of his generation weren''t too familiar with the Raja Malim and their traditions outside of the old folk tales and stories that some elders would still tell them. The current Raja Malim was the latest in the long line of Priest-Kings who have held that title since the first Raja Malim - who was said to be a grandson of Si Raja Halak - acquired a divine relation from the Creator God Mulajadi Nabolon and established the precepts of the Traditional Halak Religions that have been preserved both orally and the ¡®Pustaha¡¯ tomes of the many shamans and Priest-Kings. But besides that, he was confused as to why this letter of summons even meant anything to them if it was called upon by some prominent Pagan shaman. It had nothing to do with them as christians. But at the same time, Josias had little interest in interrupting the council and angering the elders at his presumption.


    ¡°Why must we even bother answering the summons of this charlatan?¡± The first Elder to echo Josias'' thought spoke up. He was Hesekiel''s grandfather, Ludwig''s adopted father, and the former Chief-Shaman of the Gorian Clan, Tuan Rihar Marihot Rapmasari. The white-haired almost eighty-year-old Elder Rihar was the village''s foremost shaman before the arrival of the missionaries, currently being a seventh-circle mage, perhaps the most powerful mage in all the Halaklands and Timotheus¡¯ mentor in magical studies. ¡°The current Raja Malim is an upstart riding on the coat-tails of his father''s shadow. We have no obligations to help them, not especially when they did absolutely nothing to aid us when the other clans came baring down upon us! I''d say to hell with those pagans!¡±


    Josias admired Elder Rihars¡¯s zeal as besides maybe some of the missionaries, he was the most zealous christian in all the Halaklands despite him converting and being baptized when he was already almost sixty years old. Josias had been told by Serena that her adopted grandfather was at first the most opposed to Christianity and to the Missionary but when he saw Ludwig''s drive to learn more about the culture of the Halak and his efforts in trying to understand them as a people, even sharing many heartfelt discussions about philosophy and the like, it slowly won him over. What truly was the turning point however, was when one of Rihar¡¯s grandchildren was sick and he did all he could with his shamanic and medicinal knowledge to cure him but to no avail, when Ludwig managed to heal him, Rihar was willing to be baptized. It was said on the night before his baptism, Rihar was personally visited by an apparition of a man clothed in white who looked neither Halak nor Westerner, who was glowing splendidly and on his hands and feet were wounds that looked like they were left behind by nails. The apparition had told him that even in his old age, He was still the Lord his helper and that he will carry him. The night continued with Elder Rihar saying that he continued having conversations with the man in his dreams and on the day of his baptism, for a split second, he saw the Skies part and through the clouds he saw the splendor of the Kingdom of Heaven and all the Hosts of angels in their Glory awaited him.


    But even among the most Zealous of christians within the Halak, it could not be denied - especially with the acculturation that Bishop Ludwig had championed - aspects of the Old Ways were still present and perhaps even embraced within the Halak Church. It was because of this that another elder - Elder Sintong, the head of the Idabagak clan - spoke up, countering Elder Rihar''s point.


    ¡°I agree with the Great Elder''s point. We as a christian people do not owe any religious fealty or affiliation to the Raja Malim¡­¡± Elder Sintong said ¡°But it can not be denied that the Raja Malim holds great sway over the greater Halaklands. Refusing to even entertain the idea would further push us away and make us even more of a pariah within the Halaklands. And further tension would only lead to an escalation of conflict and eventually¡­ war¡­ we do not want war, do we?¡±


    ¡°If the Heathens want war then we shall give them war!¡± Elder Rihar retorted zealously ¡°We defeated the whole lot of them once, and now we are stronger than ever before! It would be a just and holy war to bring the Light of Our Lord and Savior upon the pagans!¡±


    ¡°For a man who used to be at the front of sacrificing and eating criminals, you sure make some great posturing!¡± Elder Sintong said back with a laugh in his tone


    ¡°I have been made anew and have been forgiven of my most heinous of sins! As we all have by the holy sacrament of baptism! Is that not right, Lord Ephorus?¡±


    ¡°That is indeed correct, Lord Elder.¡± Bishop Ludwig had nodded before he continued ¡°But while I truly respect the Zeal and fervor that you have for our Lord - even more so than mine own - I must admit that there is merit to Elder Sintong¡¯s words.¡±


    ¡°Lord Eporus¡­¡± Elder Sintong smiled as he bowed with his hand over his chest before smirking at the Old Elder Rihar.


    ¡°While it is written that Christ indeed came to bring a sword, it also is written that He is the Prince of Peace and we as his children shall be bearers of Peace.¡± Ludwig continued ¡°If there lies a peaceful solution to the matter, I don''t see why we shouldn''t entertain those options first?¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Elder Rihar gave a harrumph before he conceded his point with a nod and a shrug. But not before giving one last voice of input, ¡°What specifically then does the Raja Malim want from us?¡±


    At that question, King Parhal cleared his throat before he started speaking again.


    ¡°The Raja Malim¡­ has invited all the Kings and Elders of the Halaklands to the Sacred Isle of Matanitao, to the Dolok Mulajadi¡­¡± King Parhal started as he was reading through the letter ¡°...to celebrate and give offerings in thanks to the Great Harvest this year, in the Gotilon Nabolon¡­ to strengthen the bonds between all the Children of the Halak¡­¡±


    Josias could only scoff at the notion that the letter was as innocent as it seemed.


    ¡°And this letter arrived only a few weeks after Lord Partogi was exiled? This has the scent of the Old Fox of Saorma all over it¡­¡± Elder Sabam Hutabaru said ¡°He''s trying to stick his fingers into places where they don''t belong¡­¡±


    As Josias'' maternal grandfather said that, the other elders couldn''t help but nod in agreement and Josias couldn''t help but agree with that sentiment. The timing was too suspect. Too clear for it to be a coincidence. The Isle of the Raja Malim had been silent these past few decades since the war, but now that Goria was prospering and was trying to better enforce its own religious laws within its own realm, they''re crying for a festival for the ¡®strengthening of bonds¡¯? It was a ploy that even children could see through. But regardless of its obviousness, it was a good plan meant to trap Gorian between a rock and a hard place.


    ¡°...In addition to the great festival¡­¡± King Parhal had continued reading through the letter. It seemed like there was more to hear ¡°A great and friendly tournament shall be held to test the prowess of the young warriors of the Halak¡­ All the Kings and Clan elders¡­ may send representatives of their realms and clans to participate within the battle of strength¡­ Five warriors representing each of the Twenty Kings of the Halak¡­ and each being no older than twenty years of age¡­¡±


    As King Parhal had said that, almost instantly, Josias could feel the gazes of the elders and the people there started to gaze upon him and his friends who were in the hall.


    ¡°While I have the fullest confidence that the young men of Goria would reign far supreme above any weaklings of the other Realms, that still doesn''t give enough reason for us to forsake our faith and make offerings of our rice and produce to Pagan Gods¡­¡± Elder Rihar said once more


    ¡°But as Elder Idabagak has stated before, disregarding the summons would needlessly put us in a disadvantageous position among the other Realms¡­¡± Elder Sabam said before he looked to Bishop Ludwig ¡°Lord Ephorus, is there no possible way that we may participate in the events of this Gotilon without compromising our faith?¡±


    Josias looked on as he saw the Ephorus Ludwig nod as he scratched his chin and shut his eyes as if looking for an answer. Amazingly, it didn''t take long before he came up with a solution.


    ¡°There actually shouldn''t be much of a problem, my Lord Elders¡­¡± Bishop Ludwig said ¡°If the Raja Malim is true that in calling for this Gotilon Nabolon he is looking to strengthen the bonds between the Halak people, there is no reason we should not join and participate. On the matter of offerings, all we need to do is bring what was asked for and give it to the Raja Malim personally for him to do as he pleases. We commit no sin when we are simply sharing the fruits of our labour with our neighbors. If the Raja Malim protests, we can simply spin the story around that he does not respect the treaty that was signed two decades ago which ensured our Realm of Religious Freedom.¡±


    As Bishop Ludwig gave his explanation, the other elders nodded as it appeared that they agreed with the notion.


    ¡°And also¡­¡± Bishop Ludwig added ¡°In line with what my noble father, Elder Rihar had said, I have full confidence in the abilities of the young people of Goria. Why should we squander such an opportunity that the Lord has given us to prove that His blessings and favour are upon us? As with the blessings and the Presence of the Lord did David defeat the mighty Goliath, so too shall our faithful triumph against those who have yet to believe!¡±


    ¡°Emma tutu!¡± The other elders stated in agreement with the Lord Ephorus. It was then did all eyes now look towards the Dragonbone throne where the King sat in deep thought. Eventually, King Parhal nodded as he addressed his council.


    ¡°...I am in agreement with you all¡­ We shall participate in this festival¡­ the Dolok Mulajadi is only a stone''s throw away and it appears that¡­ I must remind the other kings that I am still yet to pass on from the Earth¡­ They have become complacent and must be reminded which among the Realms stands as¡­ The greatest.¡± the People in the hall gave nods and grunts of approval before King Parhal then turned to his grandson Josias ¡°...My beloved grandson¡­ as my heir and the strongest among the young warriors of our Realm¡­ You will lead as the representative of our clan¡­ I leave the choice of the four other warriors to bring with us to you¡­ There is still more than a week until the festival begins¡­ More than enough time for you all to train¡­¡±


    ¡°Allow me to help them in that regard, father.¡± Parulian said as he crossed his arms with a grin while looking at his son ¡°I''ll whip him up to shape in no time! I can''t have my son become complacent just because he''s a third-star warrior. You will not become a frog in a well! The Halaklands are vast and there might yet be other mighty young warriors who we have not heard of.¡±


    Josias could only give his father an awkward smile before he nodded. It was true enough that he couldn''t grow accustomed to moderate training at the risk of becoming complacent and stagnating. He must continue to train and strive as he still needed to strengthen and pool his mana into the third star in order to even start looking into ascending again into the fourth star. But despite all that, he could only give a heavy sigh as he envisioned the week of Hellish training that awaited him before the Festival could even begin. As for the King''s request of him, Josias couldn''t help but look to his grandfather''s eyes with a resolute expression though his excitedly beating heart betrayed himself any notion of stoic acceptance. Josias then bowed his head as he answered his grandfather the King.


    ¡°If it pleases you, Ompung, it would be the greatest honour for me to represent our mighty realm in the upcoming festival!¡± Josias said ¡°If the Lord God is willing - and I am assured He is - I am confident that neither I nor any of the young warriors of Goria will bring shame to our realm. And above that, as the grandson of the Mighty Swordsaint, King of Goria, Great Hulubalang of all the Halaklands, I shall strive to bring honor to your name!¡±


    With Josias'' resolute answer, the Elders of the hall nodded with approval while the Mighty King Parhal couldn''t help but give a genuine smile towards Josias before he spoke again.


    ¡°My grandson, my panggoaran¡­ even without all that¡­ You already honour me and make me proud¡­ I am very pleased¡­¡± King Parhal said before he focused his gaze back to the council of the Great hall. ¡°And so it is agreed then¡­ Lord elders¡­ Gorian shall participate in the tournament and the festival¡­ and through that, we shall Glorify and Exemplify the Kingdom of God!!¡±


    With a final shout of approval from the council, the King finally gave leave for everyone there to disperse. Josias walked excitedly out of the Great Hall as he was set on completing the task that was given to him. He must find worthy companions and then train together with them to face the other warriors of the other kingdoms. Much pride and honour was at stake and he''d be damned if he brought shame upon his house and clan in any capacity. And so with that resolve, the young Lord set off.

 12.5 - On Halak Familial Terminologies

    The following is an excerpt from a journal by a Feldonian Missionary from Archior on the peculiarities of the Halak culture and the terminologies that are most often used in daily life:


    From my observations of the Hallak peoples, unlike the other folk of the Neacordian Island, the Hallak peoples seem to have a distinctly peculiar yet heavy emphasis on ties of kinship and family. Unlike most civilized peoples on Orbis, there is not too much distinction between a person of common birth and a member of the elite or aristocracy. While Hallak societies are ruled by a collection of Kings or Priest-Kings, they do not separate each other in terms of being of ¡®Royal Blood¡¯ or ¡®Lowly Origin¡¯ and this may be due in fact that the Halak claim descent from a single eponymous ¡®King of the Hallak¡¯ and they organise themselves into clan units that each have meticulous record keeping in order to trace their lineage back to the near-mythological figure of the Si Raja Halak. For these people, the term ¡®Each man is his own king¡¯ might have more merit to it. And it is because of the meticulous record keeping when it comes to the male members of the Hallak peoples and a stringent and sophisticated system of familial ties, many terms exist within the Halak tongue to differentiate and distinguish between different family members. Among others, I have compiled a general but nowhere near comprehensive list of Hallak familial terms.


    Among/Amang/Ama/Bapak: Father


    Inong/Inang/Ina/Mamak: Mother


    Haha/Abang: Older brother. (in Halak culture it is considered very rude to refer to someone older than oneself by only their names without any honorifics or prefixes. The Prefix of Abang would be ¡®Bang¡¯.)


    Kakak: Older sister. (Honorific prefix ¡ú ¡®Kak¡¯)A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Anggi: Younger brother. In general.


    Ito: Brother/sister of the same clan, depending on who''s saying it. It has to be called between siblings or kinsmen of the opposite gender. Siblings can also be called using this term regardless of age or seniority.


    Bapatua/Amangtua: Uncle, specifically either the older brother of one''s father or the husband of the older female sibling of one''s mother.


    Bapauda/Amanguda/Uda: Uncle, specifically either the younger brother of one''s father or the husband of the younger female sibling of one''s mother.


    Mamatua/Inangtua: Aunt, specifically either the older sister of one''s mother or the wife of the older male sibling of one''s father.


    Mamauda/Inanguda: Aunt, specifically either the younger sister of one''s mother or the wife of the younger male sibling of one''s father.


    Namboru/Bou: Female sibling of one''s father, regardless of age.


    Amangboru: Husband of one''s Namboru.


    Tulang: Male sibling of one''s mother regardless of age.


    Nantulang: Wife of one''s Tulang


    Lae: Cousin between males. Either the son of one''s Tulang or the Son of one¡¯s namboru.


    Pariban: Cousin. For males ¡ú the daughter of one''s Tulang. For females ¡ú the son of one''s Namboru. In Halak society, pariban are the only type of cousin one is permitted (or even sometimes expected) to marry without it being considered incest.


    Any other type of cousin is considered to be one''s sibling and is prohibited from being married to.


    The Halak are not allowed under any circumstances to marry any other Halak who are of the same clan as it is considered incest and is blasphemous regardless of how many times removed or how many generations lie in between the two individuals wanting to be wed. This is called a ¡®Tarito¡¯.


    No Halak man - under any circumstance - is allowed to take a woman whose mother is of the same clan as his own. Otherwise this is called a ¡®Tarito¡¯.


    No Halak man - without very special dispensations - is allowed to take a woman whose mother is of the same clan as his own mother. Otherwise this is called a ¡®Tartullang¡¯.


    Ompung: Grandparent


    Ompung Doli: Grandfather


    Ompung Boru: Grandmother


    Apara/Pra: Two men of the same clan. Kinsman.


    The Halak consider their cousins to be equal to their siblings and their uncles/aunt''s (specifically their Inangs and Amangs) to be their parents as well.

 13 - Gathering Warriors, part I

    Odesday, 3rd of Aprillia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    Josias had awoken early the next day after the council at the Great Hall as he set out to gather four other companions to participate in the Gotilon Tournament that would start in roughly two weeks time. Josias had no problem filling the first slot as just after the meeting yesterday, he had immediately offered the position to his best friend Johannes who had attended the council with him. Johannes had immediately accepted Josias'' proposal and with the assent of Johannes¡¯ grandfather - Elder Marasi - Josias only needed to find three more companions.


    Among the young men and warriors of the village, if Josias were to be randomly asked who the strongest were, he could easily give out far more than a dozen names, but the problem for him lay in the fact that the tournament¡¯s requirements placed a limit of at most Twenty years of age immediately cut down the list of potential candidates greatly. Johannes had just barely made the cut being nineteen years old, but Josias was greatly annoyed that the requirements precluded him from asking his brother Timotheus from joining as a participant though Timotheus merely laughed when he heard Josias express his thoughts and dismay at not being able to include his cousin. Josias was consoled by the young reverend as Timotheus told him that while he may be more useful in large battles or hunts that would require large devastating spells, he had little confidence in facing a committed opponent in the context of a one on one duel.


    But regardless of that, Josias was clear that the next name on the list would be one of Elder Rihar''s many grandchildren, his best friend Hesekiel. After stopping by at the Sinatua clan¡¯s great hall to pick up Johannes, Josias and Johannes were now currently on their way towards the Bolon House of the Rapmasari clan to look for Hesekiel. After a few minutes of walking, they had finally arrived at the Bolon house where in front of it on straw carpets, a woman was teaching a dozen children or so how to read and write in the Halak Script as well as the Western Terradomian alphabet. As Josias saw the woman, he politely knocked on a post before greeting her.


    ¡°Horas, namboru (aunty)!¡± Josias smiled as he greeted his aunt Pauli which caught her a little by surprise as she hadn''t noticed their arrival. She clutched her chest in exaggerated surprise before she smiled as she saw her nephews at the front of her house. ¡°Oh! Sorry for interrupting your class here¡­¡±


    ¡°Ahhhh!! Agooyabbag¡­ (Oh dear!) Look at this, my handsome nephews are here!! ¡± the beautiful woman with light skin and slightly slanted eyes said as she got up in an exaggerated manner with her arms raised as she rushed towards the two young men and immediately glomped them as she brought their heads down close squished them to her ample bosom while the children who she was teaching laughed at the scene.


    ¡°Nantulang! (Aunt) We literally saw each other three days ago at church!¡± The large Johannes said as he was bending his back being hugged by Pauli in a slightly annoyed tone while Josias merely laughed as he was enjoying the cushion.


    ¡°And so what? That doesn''t mean I can''t miss my family!¡± Pauli said with a slight pout ¡°Bang Jo, you''ve always been so apprehensive of my hugs! Look at Josi! He loves my hugs, right?¡±


    ¡°I sure do, namboru. Hahahah!¡± Josias merely nodded like a fool while Johannes only stared at him with the slightest hint of disgust and annoyance.


    ¡°Anyways, what brings the both of you here? Oh which reminds me, kids, give your elder brothers here a greeting! Don''t act like the Rapmasari clan doesn¡¯t teach you manners! Also, Lomo dear, please don''t put that chalk in your mouth!¡±


    As she said that, the children immediately got up from the ground as they walked up to Josias and Johannes to give them the ¡®salim¡¯ greeting as they put their hands to their cheeks or forehead. Josias was quite amused by the adorable antics of the children who couldn''t be older than his own younger sister Julia as he saw many of them were holding chalk in their hands as they were practicing their writing skills. He had always been impressed by his aunt''s efforts to give young children a proper education both in the traditional Halak methods as well as in introducing the children to the Western script to grant them the tools for further learning. Josias himself was able to speak four languages somewhat fluently, them being Halak, Banuan, Feldonian, and German. Most of the children of the Elite could speak those three languages at least to an acceptable level. Halak was an obvious conclusion as it was the language of the Halaklands. Banuan was the main lingua franca of trade in Neacordis, being the official courtly and administrative language of many of the States in the Island. German came with the arrival of Ludwig and his missionaries though it wasn''t as widely popular to speak as Feldonian. Josias himself was more fluent in speaking Feldonian than German due to being taught more by the Feldonian-born missionaries growing up as compared to the Germans but it was also due to influences from trade with the Newlander Republic at the Northwestern edge of Neacordis. Josias smiled as for a split second he was reminded of how Serena would get annoyed at him for butchering the pronunciation of some words in German.


    ¡°Namboru, we actually came here to ask if Lae Hese was home?¡± Josias finally said to his aunt after all the children had greeted him.


    ¡°Aissh, it''s always like that with you two.¡± Pauli gave another pout ¡°Always looking to play with Hese¡­You two don''t ever miss me. Honestly, it breaks a woman''s heart to not have her nephews care about her like that! Oh, and Hese! That cold-hearted son of mine who never wants to talk to his mother about anything only answering with short a ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯ or even just straight up not bothering to say anything at all just nodding his head or shaking it. I honestly don''t know where he gets it from. Was he always like that? But all his younger brothers and sisters are such energetic young children. Is it from his father maybe? Oh but his father still likes to talk to me-...!¡±


    ¡°Nantulang! Ermm¡­ so about Hese, where is he?¡± Johannes cut off his aunt as she was about to go on another one of her lengthy rants. Josias merely snickered to the side as he saw this. His father''s younger sister had always been quite the chatterbox which is why it''s so jarring to compare her to her firstborn son Hesekiel who was, well, Hesekiel. Johannes then added, ¡°It¡¯s regarding the matter of our Realm¡¯s participation in the Gotilon festival¡¯s tournament as I''m sure Tulang Hasudungan has told you. We need five warriors from the village to represent our realm and we''re going to have Hese join us as a participant. We''ve already asked Ompung Rihar¡¯s permission and he was very excited to have Hese be one of the representative warriors.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°My Lord help me! Here they go again¡­¡± Pauli put her hand to her head as she fanned herself dramatically ¡°You two are always making me worry by getting my sweet boy into so much danger! First your Rhino hunt and now you want him to participate in that tournament against those scary men from the other heathen clans? Have mercy on your aunt, Oh Lord, the men of this nation are always looking for ways to shorten their lives and die an unnatural death! It makes me cry¡­!¡±


    As soon as Pauli was about to go on another rant, a man who looked like he was in his forties had walked out of the Bolon House and cut Pauli''s words short, ¡°You''ll find my son in the Church. He said he was going out to practice for this Sunday''s divine liturgy service.¡± The man said. Josias and Johannes immediately walked to the man before giving their Uncle Hasudungan the Salim gesture.


    ¡°But dear-...!¡± As Pauli was about to protest her husband, he cut her off with a laugh as he immediately wrapped his arm around her.


    ¡°Hush now, dear¡­¡± Hasudungan caressed his wife gently before continuing to comfort her ¡°Our son is a very learned and intelligent man with many creative skills, but above that he is a warrior of Goria and it would be our family¡¯s honor to have him as a representative of our village at the tournament! Besides, my dear, it''s a festival! No real harm can honestly come about this unless they want to provoke conflict amongst the realms, but even if so, our warriors would still win against the heathens hahahah!¡±


    ¡°You meanie! That doesn''t make me feel better in the slightest!¡± Pauli gave a slight thump to her husband''s chest


    ¡°Sweetie, there also must be some sort of a reward to the tournament and if our son wins, he''ll bring it home to shower his lovely mother with gifts if he knows what''s good for him!¡±


    ¡°Really¡­?¡±


    ¡°You know our Hese is always like that. He acts so cold and distant but deep down he''s a softie.¡±


    Josias and Johannes could only look at each other with a massive doubt plastered on their face as they heard Hese¡¯s name and the word ¡®soft¡¯ being mentioned in the same sentence in relation to one another. It was an absurd suggestion but who were they to burst their aunt and uncle¡¯s perception of their own son


    ¡°But that''s only if he wins though¡­¡± Pauli was still not fully convinced.


    ¡°Are you suggesting that our son, who''s inherited my strength and your fortitude, wouldn''t be among the Victors of the tournament? Are you calling him a weakling??¡± Hasudungan replied with an exaggerated shock which elicited a smile to form on his wife''s lips.


    ¡°No, you dummy! Arghhh!! Fine! you''ve convinced me!¡± Pauli finally said with a small pout before she looked at her nephews ¡°You boys better promise to keep my baby safe!¡±


    ¡°It''s the opposite, namboru¡­¡± Josias gave a slight reassuring laugh ¡°It''s Hese who''s always looking out for the rest of us, without him we''d be like headless chickens running around disorganized without a proper strategy or a plan!¡±


    ¡°Hehehe! He got that from his mom!¡± Pauli said proudly as she puffed up her massive chest at the compliment to her son.


    ¡°Ohh, I just can''t help myself when I see my adorable wife take credit like that! Come over here, you!¡± Hasudungan said as he immediately tackled his wife and gave her a passionate kiss while holding her firmly to him.


    ¡°Kids cover your eyes!!¡± Johannes said in a panic to the children who were still there.


    ¡°¡±¡±EWWWWW!!¡±¡±¡± It was too late as most of the kids were either laughing or closing their eyes while peeking to see the two adults there kiss.


    Josias only bellowed out in laughter at his aunt and uncle''s antics. It was a few more moments before the two regained themselves and Pauli was blushing from the exchange while Hasudungan only stood there proudly, laughing along with Josias after giving him a wink. Josias honestly couldn''t fathom how such a warm, loving, and passionate couple could produce the exact opposite characteristics in their firstborn son. Regardless, Johannes and Josias immediately exchanged their farewells with their aunt and uncle before excusing themselves to head for the church to look for their cousin Hesekiel.


    On their way to the Church, Johannes couldn''t stop complaining at how open and unabashed their aunt and uncle were at showing affection to which Josias could only laugh and shake his head.


    ¡°How could those two be like that, honestly! Out in the open in front of children!¡± Johannes complained as they were walking on the streets.


    ¡°Oh please, Lae, you''re talking like they were actually fucking each other out in the open!¡± Josias continued to laugh


    ¡°Oy, language!¡±


    ¡°But still! Despite my own reservations I can only pray that I''d still be that passionate with my wife once I''m married! Serena deserves at least that much from me! And besides, are you telling me you won''t give at least that much passion to my sister Maria in your relation to her? Are you asking for a fight here, Lae?¡±


    ¡°Your brother Timo would kill me if I even tried to do half as much to his sister¡­¡± Johannes said in a deadpan way.


    ¡°Ah yeah, you do have a point there. But speaking of which, how are you on the progress of memorizing the Letter of Saint Jude? Remember that today''s the deadline!¡± Josias teased as he laughed to which Johannes merely smirked before speaking.


    ¡°Letter of Saint Jude, verses one to twenty five¡­¡± Johannes started immediately ¡°Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints¡­-¡±


    ¡°Dear God, you actually seriously memorized that?¡± Josias said in disbelief as Johannes continued to recite the entire chapter as they were walking.


    ¡°-That''s how I show my sincerity¡­¡± Johannes said before he continued his recitation ¡° For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Tamra, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day¡­¡±


    Josias could only shake his head in amazement at Johannes'' memorisation skills as he continued the recitation as they walked until they had eventually reached the church. As Johannes had finished his entire recitation, they had reached the church. When they walked to approach the door that was slightly open, they could hear the sound of the piano being so beautifully played with each key creating a harmonious sound. However, in addition to the sounds of the piano, they could also hear accompanying it, the sound of the violin. When they heard this, the two of them couldn''t help but look at each other before they went inside the church.


    Just as they entered, the music piece had reached its end as the sounds quieted down but regardless of that they couldn''t believe what they saw. On the chair in front of the piano, Hesekiel was still strumming on the piano while sitting next to him, a girl was laying her body on him while holding a violin with her head placed comfortably on his shoulder. Johannes and Josias could only have their jaws drop as they saw this. The two still hadn''t noticed that they had entered the otherwise empty church building.


    Finally it was Josias who decided to announce his presence with a purposefully loud cough which startled the girl while Hesekiel only calmly looked at the door with his typical expressionless face though try as he might, he couldn''t fully hide the blush on his face which Josias had caught.


    ¡°Well, well, well, if it isn''t my two favourite cousins¡­¡± Josias said with a smirk while he clapped his hands slowly ¡°Hese, Safira¡­ Nice practice, if I do say so myself.¡±

 14 - Gathering Warriors, part II

    Odesday, 3rd of Aprillia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    As Josias was clapping and teasing Hesekiel and Safira who were practically in each other''s arms while they were in the middle of practice, Safira couldn''t help but blush a little as she noticed the two men walking in. In slight embarrassment, Safira covered her blushing face as she planted her face to Hesekiel''s chest for a couple of seconds before sitting herself straight again as she cleared her throat to recompose herself, though a slight blush was still evident in her otherwise regular, beautiful and elegant face.


    ¡°To what do we owe the pleasure?¡± Safira said with a smile as she cocked her head slightly while talking to Josias and Johannes ¡°I wouldn''t expect either of you to be at church on regular weekdays. Well, maybe Johannes, but Josi?¡±


    ¡°Tut, tut, Nuh-uh¡­ What the hell is that supposed to mean?¡± Josias said as he pointed his finger at Safira ¡°With whatever you two were doing here, you don''t get to comment on my presence in church on a weekday.¡±


    ¡°We were clearly practicing for Sunday Church services, Iban (cousin).¡± Safira said confidently, not giving up her composed tone ¡°Unlike some people, we actually make a point to prepare for important events at church. Isn''t that right, Jojo? Well, maybe you''d understand if you bothered to hold regular choir rehearsals¡­¡±


    ¡°Oy, Sap, we do hold regular sessions on Sabatsday!¡± Johannes retorted


    ¡°Oh sure, ¡®Hey guys, practices are in the afternoon¡¯...¡± Safira impersonated Johannes'' deep voice for a bit before she pointed back at him ¡°But then our very own youth coordinator arrives two hours late with Maria after coming from God-knows-where with a disheveled appearance!¡±


    ¡°Eh, what?¡± Josias did a double take as he shot a glance to the usually prim and proper Johannes ¡°Did I just hear that right?¡±


    ¡°I keep telling you, one of the Juvenile tiger cubs escaped the pens and we were busy helping out to look for it!¡± Johannes said in his defence.


    ¡°Oh yeah? Is that the story you told Bang Timo? Really believable!¡±


    Josias saw that Johannes was starting to actually get legitimately annoyed at Safira¡¯s accusations as his tone was increasing and the annoyance couldn''t be hidden ¡°Forget about me for a second, Maria is your friend! How could you even imply she''d do that?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, what do you think I''m implying?¡± Safira kept up her tone as she crossed her arms while locking eyes with Johannes.


    ¡°This obstinate bitch-¡­!¡± Johannes let a little emotion slip out as he immediately covered his mouth but it was a step too late as Safira now had a shocked expression on her face as her eyes widened and her mouth lay agape. Josias only closed his eyes and tilted his head backwards while he rubbed the bridge of his nose. What started out as regular teasing turned into this.


    ¡°Look, guys, this is dumb, we-...!!¡± As Josias was about to cut in and settle the situation, Hesekiel had closed the casing of the piano keys with an audible bang, before he looked at his cousins with his usual disinterested expression, but a hint of a frown could be seen on his face. Immediately, everyone quieted down.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Hesekiel asked with a curt tone yet slightly raised voice.


    Josias finally gave an exasperated sigh before he pulled up a chair for himself to sit on and started relaying to Hesekiel the news of the Gotilon Festival and the consequent tournament that would be held between the Halak realms.


    ¡°So in essence¡­¡± Josias said as he summarized his intentions ¡°As is the authority granted to me by the King as well as the blessings of Elder Rihar, I am here to invite you - Hesekiel - to be a part of our contingent. While I say invite, which implies that there are choices for you in the matter, this is more of a notice as with the Realm''s honour at stake, I won''t be accepting any answer other than that of a yes.¡±


    After hearing Josias'' ¡®notice¡¯, Hesekiel couldn''t help but give out an exasperated sigh before he nodded.


    ¡°Also, my father said training starts in the afternoon at the guard¡¯s training yard.¡± Josias added with a big grin while he rubbed his hands together.


    Hesekiel sighed once more before he opened up the piano case again to start playing it again. But before he played the piano again, he asked Josias, ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°Is that all we need from you? Yes, I suppose so¡­ buuuut¡­¡± Josias followed up with another grin as Hesekiel could only narrow his eyes at what Josias could be asking for now ¡°But nothing. Actually, this is more of a question to your hallet (girlfriend) here¡­¡±


    ¡°...Me?¡± Safira raised an eyebrow in a scrutinizing look.


    ¡°Yes, indeed. Well, I say question, but I more so mean that as a notice as well. Considering I''m in need of capable warriors, I was planning on having Lae Sadrach on the team as my third warrior. Are you okay with that?¡±


    ¡°...Yeah, so?¡± Safira had a confused expression written all over her face ¡°Why are you even asking me? What am I, his mom?¡±


    ¡°You''re his beloved younger sister, I thought it proper to at least proper to tell you that we''re gonna go with your Abang.¡± Josias smirked as he could see Safira''s face was still smiling but twitched a little.


    ¡°Did you just say, my Abang¡­?!¡± Safira asked just to make sure ¡°Since when was that idiot my Abang? You''re doing this on purpose, aren''t you, Iban? You KNOW I was born eight minutes earlier!¡±


    ¡°Pffft-hahahah! Yeah, sure, okay.¡± Josias said as he waived his hand dismissively while looking at Johannes which only irked Safira more.


    ¡°Josi, why are you being so incredibly mean to me today?¡± Safira crossed her arms as she pouted while looking at him ¡°So you don''t like me, anymore? You hate me?¡±


    As she was saying that, Hesekiel could only shake his head as he started playing the piano again softly.


    ¡°Well, first off, Hesekiel is right there so that''s a wild thing to say to me.¡± Josias said as he started counting on his fingers ¡°Secondly, you made it so that Serena didn''t want to talk to me for three whole days, so no thank you for that!¡±


    ¡°How''s it my fault that you''re the one ogling me at church?!¡± Safira continued to protest


    ¡°Yea well, I''m not perfect. Anyways, thirdly, you need to be knocked down a peg. You''re way too comfortable thinking you''re the prettiest girl in the bloody realm when you''re in fact a decent second-place to my Serena so there''s that.¡±


    Safira could only drop her jaw at Josias¡¯ comment while Johannes couldn¡¯t stop himself from snickering.


    ¡°You just like pale skinned foreign women more, admit it!¡± Safira accused Josias as she pointed at him.


    ¡°As if it was ever even a secret.¡± Josias nonchalantly said as he brushed off her comment ¡°Anyways, we''re getting sidetracked. I wanted to ask where the hell Sadrach is right now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah well, where do you think that idiot is if not out being a bother to the other girls?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I gathered, but where specifically is he being a menace to the females of the realm?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know, this morning he said he was going to visit the girl of his dreams and pour his heart out in song at her house.¡±


    ¡°For Christ¡¯s sake, who''s the lucky girl this time?¡±


    ¡°Well of course it''s-...¡± Safira was about to answer immediately before her gaze stopped at Johannes and she immediately palmed her face before muttering, ¡°Ah crap¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, what do you mean-...!!¡± Johannes had a concerned expression on his face before his eyes widened and as if he realised something and his expression contorted into something terrifying ¡°... I''m going to kill him!!¡±


    Johannes immediately rushed out of the church looking like he was chased by a ghost. Josias only stood there flabbergasted as he saw that before he looked back to Safira with a questioning expression. Seeing this, Safira quickly got up and shouted at Josias while Hesekiel continued playing music with an energetic rhythm.


    ¡°What are you doing just standing there, Josi?!!¡± Safira immediately pushed Josias towards the door ¡°Hurry up and stop him before he kills my little brother!!¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Immediately Josias rushed out of the church but not before reminding Hesekiel once more about training in the afternoon while he was running. Josias was slightly worried as he was running after Johannes but at the same time he felt greatly amused by the situation as he knew exactly where they were headed. He just hoped nothing bad would happen before he gets there.


    ***


    Helena was sitting on the wooden floor of her house as she was brushing her waist-length hair to keep it neat and to get all sorts of grime and what not from it. All this while she was humming to herself. Her brother and the Young Lord of the Sigumogo had left a while ago on some sort of job or what not. As she was brushing her hair, several small children were running around the hall of the house creating a little bit of a ruckus. There were about three children running around, two boys and a girl, with the boys being about eleven and eight years old while the young girl was only around six years old.


    The older one of the boys was holding what looked to be a stuffed animal made of textiles in the form of a tiger. He was running around being chased by the younger boy who had an annoyed expression on his face while the little girl was laughing along and also chasing the older boy while waving around what looked like a wooden sword.


    ¡°Abang, give me back my tiger!! I was playing with him!¡± The younger boy said in annoyance as he was running around trying to chase his faster older brother


    ¡°You can have it if you can catch me, bleh¡­¡± the Older boy teased his younger brother as he stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry


    ¡°Don''t worry, Abang Martin!¡± The little girl said as she made a heroic pose with her sword ¡°I will defeat the evil Abang Michael and save Mr. Tiger!! Hyahhh!!¡±


    The three continued to chase each other as Helena could only give a slightly exasperated sigh seeing the chaos in her house which was a very much a regularly recurring scene especially when it came to her younger siblings. She finished brushing her hair before she tied it into a beautiful chinon and placed a hairclip through it. As she was done with that, she could only continue to watch as her rowdy younger siblings were still running around.


    ¡°You can''t catch me, you can catch me, na na na¡­¡± Michael teased his younger siblings. As they had caught up to him but he leveraged his greater height as he raised the toy up in the air


    ¡°Give it back!!¡± The shorter Martin protested while jumping and standing on his tippy toes to get his toy back but he couldn''t quite reach it.


    Soon enough, the little girl - Hanna - ran up to Michael and swung her wooden sword with quite a bit of force for a six year old child, ¡°Take that you bad guy! Release that tiger! Hyahhh!!¡±


    ¡°OUCH!! OW! Hanna that actually hurt!¡± Michael said seriously but the girl was having none of it.


    ¡°Release himm!!! She said as she continued her relentless assault until eventually Michael called out to his elder sister Helena.


    ¡°Kakak help, please!!¡± Michael said to which Helena only gave him a tired look before sighing and getting up.


    As she approached her younger siblings, Helena quickly snatched the stuffed tiger from Michael''s grasp before saying, ¡°That''s enough annoting your younger siblings for now. Besides, shouldn''t you be helping father out in the fields? Don''t be lazy and go! Either that or go train with the other boys like you''re supposed to!¡±


    ¡°I mean I was gonna¡­ a little later¡­¡± Michael smiled sheepishly as he shifted his gaze but one stern look from his usually gentle older sister was all it took for him to run to the door. ¡°On second thought, I think Jakob and the other guys are already waiting for me, bye Kak!¡±


    As the boy ran out of the house, Helena focused her attention back to the other siblings. She gave the stuffed animal back to Martin but added, ¡°Martin, aren''t you getting a bit too old to play with dolls?¡±


    ¡°I was playing with Hanna, but bang Michael was messing with our fun!¡± Martin said as he protested his sister as he sat down while Hanna was still winging around her sword before doing a victory dance.


    ¡°We have defeated the bad guy!!¡± Hanna raised her sword triumphantly with one hand on her hip.


    ¡°And you, little lady¡­!¡± Helena quickly took the sword from Hanna¡¯s hand before picking her up.


    ¡°Ahhh!! The witch took my sword!!¡± Hanna was continuing her playfighting as she rustled in her sister''s arms ¡°Abang Martin help me!!¡±


    ¡°That''s enough from you, you little monkey!¡± Helena said as she proceeded to smother her sister''s soft and plump cheeks with her own before she proceeded to kiss her cheeks ¡°You shouldn''t play with swords because you''re going to be a lady someday!¡±


    ¡°No!! That''s boring!!¡± Hanna protested as she pouted ¡°I want to be a warrior! Like Abang Jo!¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to be a warrior? That''s a dangerous job. And you''re going to chase away the men if you''re like that!¡±


    ¡°I want to be a warrior! Like Ompung Ester!¡± Hanna continued to protest.


    Helena couldn''t help but shake her head as she was unable to give a proper retort at the moment. Their maternal grandmother, the Lady Ester - wife of Elder Rihar - was indeed one of the very few female warriors in perhaps all the Halaklands.


    ¡°...Well, if you want to be like Ompung Ester, you still have to learn how to be a proper lady, and for that, we''ll have to start by taking care of your hair!¡± As Helena said that, she grabbed the comb made of ivory and proceeded to brush her sister''s long hair. ¡°You''ll have to know how to keep your hair pretty and neat so it doesn''t bother you when fighting¡­¡±


    ¡°...okay¡­¡± Hannah nodded before finally settling down.


    As Martin saw the toy sword being free to use, he immediately grabbed it before running out of the house laughing. ¡°I''m gonna go out too, kak!¡±


    ¡°Hey, don''t stay out too late or too far! Stay where I can see you!¡± Helena said as she too walked out the Bolon House and sat herself on the stairs while she put her sister on her lap.


    Martin had gone out to play with the other children his age as he ran around the streets with the wooden sword. Helena continued to comb and brush her sister''s hair while keeping an eye on Martin. Her father was either out on the fields helping to tend to the crops that would soon be ready to harvest or training with the rest of the village guard while her mother was out in the market square with her youngest sister.


    It was a relatively quiet day as Helena was on a break from both her nursing volunteer work at the hospital and her usual activity as a seamstress weaving the beautiful and traditional Ulos cloths. She enjoyed the quiet days where she was free to spend time with her family. Though, she didn''t quite enjoy being pestered constantly by the women and elders of the Clan to get married. She had just turned seventeen a few months ago and wasn''t in any rush. Besides, it wasn''t like there were any boys that had shown her any interest¡­ well except for maybe one.


    Helena began thinking about some very peculiar things that had happened to her in regards to a certain young man who was about the age of her eldest brother. He was the son of the village Jeweler and known as one of the most handsome men in the village, with his dark brown curly hair, striking blue eyes, and tanned bronze skin courtesy of his mother''s foreign blood. Tuan Sadrach Hagogoan Hutabaru. There was no young lady in the village who didn''t know who he was, mainly due to his looks, but also because he was a dangerously charming flirt.


    Helena knew his sister well enough because of church activities and he himself would sometimes join the youth choir but they never really had any meaningful interaction. Well that was until on one day which was late at night when she was heading home from volunteering at the Church-Hospital, it began raining hard and she had forgotten to bring an umbrella. Just so it happened, she saw Sadrach was walking around with an umbrella and so decided to call out to him to see if he would help bring her home. Surprisingly enough, he agreed. While at first, she was a little apprehensive in being in such close proximity to the boy because of the rumours of his flirting, it seemed like he sensed her unease halfway to her house and just lent her the umbrella and told her to return it afterwards before dashing away to his house, running in the pouring rain while laughing. Helena thought he was an odd man.


    As if fate would have it, a few days afterwards, Sadrach had come into the hospital accompanied by his sister while Helena was again on shift. He had gotten a fever and looked worse for wear throughout the ordeal. At first they had only wanted to get the medicines and go back home, but due to feeling slightly guilty, Helena had suggested for Sadrach to just be admitted to the hospital so he can receive proper care. While at first he was apprehensive, her insistence and his non optimal conditions finally won him over. And so she took care of the sick young man for the next few days.


    Fast forward some time after that to the night of the feast to celebrate her brother''s first Great Hunt, as most of the young women were made to be dancers to serve the food during the feast naturally she was one of them. And luck would have it that the section she had served the plate she was carrying was the Hutabaru clan¡¯s and naturally, she had locked eyes with the young Lord Sadrach and the usually suave Casanova was reduced to a bumbling ball of awkwardness as he complimented her. After that there were a few more instances, with him offering to accompany her on walks from church practice and the such.


    Without her noticing, Helena had been smiling the entire time while thinking about Sadrach as she was tying her sister''s hair in a braid. It was a fluttery feeling that she hadn''t really felt before but she wasn''t dumb enough that she didn''t understand that she most probably had an infatuation with the young man. But as she was about to shake her head off her fantasies, her sister had pointed to a direction all of a sudden and said to her, ¡°Look, kak! It''s the handsome Abang!!¡±


    As Helena looked to where her sister was pointing, she saw the very same man she had been thinking of walking towards her house, a Western guitar in his hands as he was singing while looking at her. Helena couldn''t help but let her jaw drop as she blushed from embarrassment at what the young man was doing as she saw the other young girls in the area were either fawning over him or snickering. Even Hanna was laughing at the situation. Finally, the man stopped singing and playing his guitar as he stopped at the foot of the stairs to her house.


    ¡°Lady, Helena!!... And uh¡­¡± Sadrach said with a charming smile.


    ¡°I''m the warrior, Hanna!¡± Hanna said as she saw Sadrach was trying to remember her name.


    ¡°And her brave warrior, Hanna!¡± Sadrach continued.


    ¡°What''s all this about, Bang Sadrach?¡± Helena said as she tried her best to remain composed while she slightly tightened her hold on her younger sister while she raised her up on her lap used her like a pillow to partially cover up her blushing face. ¡°Why are you all the way in this part of the village?¡±


    ¡°Could I interest the fair Lady Helena to accompany me on a walk?¡± Sadrach answered ¡°I heard they''re selling some interesting snacks there¡­ if you''d be interested¡­?¡±


    ¡°OHH SNACKSS!!¡± Hanna said excitedly as she raised both her arms ¡°Can I come too, pleasee¡­???¡±


    ¡°What? Who said anything about going anywhere-...!¡± Helena said


    ¡°Of course you can come! How can I let a lady go anywhere without an escort from her brave guard!¡± Sadrach said with confidence as he patted Hanna''s head.


    ¡°Bang, you don''t have to do this, besides-...¡± Helena was still trying to find a reason to evade though she''d be lying if she said she wasn''t the least bit interested.


    ¡°I don''t have to do it, I want to¡­ all treats are on me.¡± Sadrach said as he took a seat on the stair step below her while awaiting her answer with those strikingly lovely blue eyes.


    ¡°...Well, if you insist¡­ I guess there shouldn''t be any harm in-!!!¡± Just as Helena was about to give an answer in the affirmative, her attention was snatched when from afar she could hear her brother shouting.


    ¡°SADRACH!! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY SISTER!!¡± Johannes was rushing in, coming in hot as he ran along the streets like a madman. Sadrach was frozen stiff, confused at the sight of it while Helena couldn''t hide the surprise in her eyes.


    It looks like the day was about to get a little less quiet than she''d hoped.

 15 - Gathering Warriors, part III

    Odesday, 3rd of Aprillia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    Josias had run with all his strength in order to catch up to Johannes but it would appear to him that physically - at least when it came to the athleticism of running - Johannes had the advantage, being taller and having a longer reach in his step. Regardless, he shouldn''t be too far off. If nothing else, it was good exercise to warm himself up for the eventual training session with his father in the afternoon.


    As Josias was running through the village to get to Johannes¡¯ home, he had to do so whilst weaving past the villagers who were walking about on the streets going about their day as usual. The villagers could only shake their heads as they saw the scene of two young adult men running around like children, but with someone''s life at stake, Josias could deal with that level of embarrassment. Though he thought that, surely Johannes wasn''t insane enough to actually seriously harm anyone. Well at least that was what he hoped, but then again, no can be too sure.


    It was only after a few more minutes of tireless running did Josias finally catch up with Johannes as he had caught sight of him standing in front of the house with an imposing stance. When Josias got a better view of what was going on, he saw Johannes was pointing at Sadrach while shouting quite a few obscenities.


    ¡°Lae, I need you to calm down!¡± Sadrach had put the guitar down as he held out his hands to try and calm the situation down ¡°I promise my intentions are pure here¡­!¡±


    ¡°Pure?? I''ll show you pure!!¡± Johannes said as he seemed fully intent on throwing in a fist towards Sadrach. Just as he was about to take a fighting stance, Josias had managed to rush in and hold Johannes back.


    ¡°Calm down, you big idiot!!¡± Josias said to Johannes as he held the man back. ¡°Lae Sadrach, I think you should take a couple of steps back.¡±


    Sadrach nodded as he took some steps back but not before adding, ¡°I don''t understand, Lae! I really do like Helena and I''m very serious!¡±


    ¡°What did I say about this exact thing, huh?!!¡± Johannes was shouting as he pointed at Sadrach who only had a bewildered expression on his face ¡°I don''t care what you do or who you fancy in this damn village, but NOT MY SISTER!! Bujanginang!!¡±


    ¡°Bb-bujam-nam..?? Why is Bang Jojo shouting that?¡± Hanna asked her sister who only had a terrified expression as she heard her say that word.


    ¡°Hanna, no! That''s a bad word! Don''t say it!! Don''t listen to Bang Jo!¡± Helena said in a panic as she tried to cover her sister''s ears but she only laughed while repeating the funny word she heard.


    ¡°Bujamnam!! Hahahaha!¡± Hanna repeated again while laughing to which an exasperated Helena could only resort to forcefully putting her hand over Hanna''s mouth to silence her but the little girl was still having the time of her life repeating her beloved eldest brother¡¯s words.


    ¡°Abang Jo!!¡± Helena finally called out to Johannes angrily as she walked down the stairs while carrying Hanna who was clinging to her like a monkey ¡°What''s the meaning of this, coming back all of a sudden and saying all these horrible things?! You''re giving Hanna a bad example!¡±


    ¡°Abang! Bujjanam!! Hahahha!¡± Hanna said once more as she spread out her arms to be carried by her big brother. Johannes had a shocked expression on his face while Josias was trying his damnedest so as to not break down in laughter.


    ¡°No, Hanna! Don''t say that, it''s a bad word!¡± Johannes said as he took Hanna into his arms, calming down his tone as he spoke to her.


    ¡°Then why are you saying that to the nice and handsome Abang?¡± Hanna asked back as she pointed to Sadrach which only caused Johannes to shoot a quick and terrifying glare towards Sadrach.


    ¡°It was a slip of the tongue, and I''ll apologize later for it, but for now, don''t get close to that weird Abang! He''s bad and he''s trying to take your sister away!¡± Johannes said ¡°You''re a warrior, right? So you have to protect your sister!¡±


    ¡°I am protecting kak Helen! Which is why I''ll go wherever they go! Also the Handsome Abang promised to buy me treats. He can''t go back on his promise!¡±


    Johannes showed a difficult expression before his gaze finally turned towards Helena.


    ¡°What is this idi-... Person doing here, Helena?¡± Johannes asked


    ¡°He was just asking if I wanted to come with him to the market or not, is all.¡± Helena answered.


    ¡°Then what''s he bringing a guitar and everything for, huh?¡±


    ¡°He can bring whatever he wants, he''s an adult and he''s come here to see me! I don''t see what you''re making a fuss about, bang.¡±


    ¡°That man is an unapologetic womanizer who''s broken the hearts of far too many women in this realm! Do you think I''d be happy with my own sister being one of his many ¡®conquests¡¯?¡±


    ¡°...I don''t think he''s that bad¡­¡± Helena said as she looked at Sadrach who had an apologetic look in his eyes.


    ¡°...Lae if you just let me explain¡­¡± Sadrach said once more as he tried to calm the raging Johannes down.


    ¡°Explain what, Sad?! Explain that I''ve seen you sing songs and partying with so many other ladies acting like you''re all that?¡± Johannes said back.


    ¡°Exactly! While it''s not necessarily a good look, I''ll give you that, but with God as my witness I''ve never done more than that with any lady of this village ever! If you haven''t noticed, Helena''s not the only lady with terrifying brothers around here. I would expect you to know considering how Bang Timo treats you!¡±


    ¡°This and that are two different things! You can''t compare them!¡± Johannes said ¡°I have the ability to prove myself to Bang Timo and I''ve been courting Maria for almost a year now!¡±


    ¡°Then give me the chance to prove myself, Lae! I swear so long as I am courting her, she''s the only lady I''ll lay my eyes on!¡± Sadrach said seriously as he lay his hand over his chest. Helena could only cover her face in embarrassment at the public declaration he made while Hanna cutely covered her mouth as she was shaking in excitement at the prospects of her sister getting a lover.


    ¡°What makes you think I can even give you that trust?¡± Johannes said after managing to calm his tone a little.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°My reputation is overblown, Lae! Most of the girls who you see me talk to and what not are all members of my clan, you know that! And the biggest incident I''ve ever been involved with wasn''t even my fault!¡±


    ¡°Mateus seemed pretty convinced it was your fault, though.¡± Johannes barked back.


    ¡°This again! I was playing and singing for my mother''s birthday when Arta got drunk and kissed me all of a sudden! That''s not on me!¡±


    ¡°You kissed another girl?¡± Helena asked all of sudden as his face paled.


    ¡°No-no¡­ That was like a year ago and it was by accident!¡±


    ¡°Pffft, I''m only kidding. Arta said it was her fault too.¡± Helena chuckled


    ¡°Well, like I was saying, Lae. I only have the purest intentions! Besides if you actually want to know who the real menace is, you only need to look to your right!¡± Sadrach said as he pointed to Josias ¡°He already has Serena but he''s pulling bloody everyone in! My sister, Dame, Kirana, Ruth¡­¡±


    ¡°...You have a point.¡± Johannes conceded.


    ¡°What the hell-..! Why''re you dragging me into this, Sad?!¡± Josias said defensively before looking around on the small off chance that Serena was around there somewhere ¡°Watch what you''re saying! And Lae Jo, why the hell are you agreeing with him?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I still haven''t properly beat you for having my sister and Serena fight!¡± Sadrach said as he pointed to Josias.


    ¡°I WASN''T EVEN THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED, YOU IDIOT!¡± Josias said defensively.


    ¡°Hahahah! Bang Josi said ¡®idiot!¡¯¡± Hanna clapped her hands as she was amused by the rough language the boys were using.


    ¡°Hanna, don''t say that!¡± Johannes said as he slapped Josias¡¯ back ¡°Oy, watch your mouth!¡±


    ¡°Abang-abangku na hinaholongan!! (My lovely Elder brothers!)¡± Helena finally said as she clasped her hands together while pointing towards the crowd that was forming around their house watching their argument ¡°Let''s get inside first before we embarrass ourselves further, alright? We don''t need our clan to become the next talk of the town¡­¡±


    As Helena said that, the three men looked at each other before they finally nodded and decided to follow her inside the house. As they entered into the house and the crowd dispersed, Helena had taken some cushions for the men to sit on the floor with while she went to the back of the house to get refreshments followed by Hanna. Finally when the men had managed to sit down, Helena and Hanna reappeared with Helena carrying a tray of cups and Hanna holding a pitcher full of water with both her hands which they laid before the men while they also sat down on the floor. Helena sat in between her brother and Sadrach while Hanna decided to make herself comfortable on Johannes'' lap.


    ¡°Anyways, like what I was saying, Lae¡­¡± Sadrach continued where he left off as he looked at Johannes seriously ¡°I actually wanted to wait until a bit later before I had gotten to this point but since we''re already here, I will say once more that I am completely serious with all intents and purposes of courting your sister Helena. Not only am I doing this out of sincerity because I really do like her, but as is our tradition, as my mother was given to the clan of Sinatua when she married my father, by all grounds I have the right to court her as my ¡®Pariban¡¯ (Refer to chapter 12.5).¡±


    Josias nodded to the side as he looked at Johannes who was now silent in deep contemplation while stroking Hanna''s hair at what Sadrach had said. According to Halak customs, he did indeed have a strong case for courting Helena and it wasn''t even technically Johannes'' call but his father''s to make when deciding the marriages of his children. Perhaps because Johannes was thinking the same thing as he was, Johannes finally let out a deeply exasperated sigh. Johannes then looked at his sister before he asked her, ¡°What are your thoughts on this?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don''t think there''s anything wrong with what Bang Sadrach is saying¡­¡± Helena said a little sheepishly as she looked slightly towards the side, not wanting to meet her brother''s gaze because of her embarrassed and flushed face ¡°And if he''s fine with it then¡­¡±


    ¡°So are you saying you like him?¡± Johannes asked his sister to get straight to the point.


    ¡°I don''t hate him¡­¡± Helena answered.


    ¡°...Yes but do you like him?¡± Johannes was still prodding for an answer out of his sister. In the corner of his eye, he could also see Sadrach looking at Helena, awaiting her answer with baited breath.


    ¡°...I do¡­¡± Helena said very quietly with a nod as she locked eyes with Sadrach who couldn''t be more excited and thrilled by the answer he had received. Helena immediately turned away and held her hands over her face to cover herself from the embarrassment, looking like she couldn''t believe what she just said and admitted in front of everyone there. With her face covered by her hands, she reconfirmed her answer with a more audible voice. ¡°I really do like him¡­¡±


    As she said that, Johannes once more gave a sigh before he focused his attention back to Sadrach who had such an obviously happy look on his face.


    ¡°If that''s what my sister says, then¡­ fine, I guess.¡± Johannes finally conceded ¡°But I don''t have the final say in the matter. It''s my father that you have to convince, not me.¡±


    ¡°The elders can worry about the more troubling political matters¡­¡± Sadrach said ¡°All I''m concerned with is that Helena likes me back and that''s far more than enough for me.¡±


    ¡°Hahahah!! Kak Helen keeps blushing, bang!¡± Hanna giggled all happily as she saw her sister''s reddened face.


    ¡°But I warn you, Sadrach.¡± Johannes'' tone went serious again as he pointed towards his sister¡¯s prospective lover ¡°If you dare break my sister''s heart or play around with my feelings, I will feed you to the tigers!¡±


    ¡°If that ever happens, I''d do it myself.¡± Sadrach said in a resolute tone.


    ¡°Alright, I''m glad we have that over and done with.¡± Josias said as he clapped his hands together ¡°And Lae Sadrach, about your sister, you don''t have to worry about her anymore.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly like what I said. She''s having a fun date at church right now so no need to worry about her.¡±


    ¡°...Huh¡­?¡± It took Sadrach a good few seconds to let the information sink in but when it did, his eyes widened while his jaw dropped. ¡°A date?! With who??¡±


    ¡°Hesekiel.¡± Josias answered as he drank the cup of water that was out in front of him.


    ¡°Hese?!!¡± Sadrach couldn''t hide his surprise while Helena also had a disbelieving smile. ¡°You mean ol¡¯ stoneface who doesn''t even smile or laugh? Or cry or get angry? Does he even comprehend the concept of emotions? You''re messing with me right now, Josi, stop it. I''m not the smartest person, but even I''m not that stupid.¡±


    ¡°He isn''t joking.¡± Johannes said with a completely serious expression. Sadrach¡¯s smile quickly dissipated as his face now looked more confused than ever.


    ¡°I¡­ I don''t even know how to react¡­ this¡­ it''s barely noon and so much has already happened¡­¡± Sadrach said as he rubbed his temples ¡°I¡­ I''ll go to the church and speak with Hesekiel myself so-...¡±


    ¡°No! You promised to buy me treats!¡± Hanna got up from Johannes'' lap as she tackled Sadrach, looking like she didn''t want to let go. The adorable scene only caused Josias to laugh.


    ¡°Oh, no little Hanna, of course I didn''t forget about that but¡­¡±


    ¡°Relax, Lae Sad. You''ll get plenty of time to talk to - or at - Hesekiel after training this afternoon.¡± Josias said as he finally found the chance to slip in his original goal of recruiting Sadrach into the team of warriors for the festival.


    ¡°Huh? What training?¡± Sadrach asked as he was now even more confused. Josias finally began explaining to him his original purpose of finding him and offering him a place on the team. It really didn''t take much convincing for him to accept as he was generally excited to be able to test his mettle as a warrior.


    ¡°One last question, though¡­¡± Sadrach said as he raised his hand.


    ¡°Alright, shoot.¡± Josias nodded.


    ¡°You said you needed five warriors in total. If you now have yourself, Lae Jo, Lae Hese, and myself¡­ Who''s the fifth warrior you have in mind?¡±


    Josias only laughed before he gave the final name of the person he wanted to recruit, but as he said it, Sadrach''s expression couldn''t help but contort for the worse.


    ¡°Tuan Mateus Hasiholan Sigompul¡­¡± Josias said proudly with a smile and as if on cue, another young man entered the house with four bags of rice carried on his shoulders, two bags on each. He was a fierce-looking with a build almost as large and muscular as Johannes, slightly tanned skin, short undercut hair, and a distinctive diagonal scar across his nose from the top of his right brow to the lower part of his left cheek.


    ¡°Did someone call my name?¡± The fierce young man said as he put the bags down before he frowned as he saw Sadrach was there ¡°What the hell are you doing here?!¡±


    While Josias was smiling on the outside, he was secretly cursing inside as the day just kept getting longer and longer. Why couldn''t his friends just get along and not make it such a headache to work with each other.

 16 - Ompung Ester

    Odesday, 3rd of Aprillia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    The air in the hall of the Bolon House grew fence once more as the fierce-looking Mateus locked eyes with Sadrach.


    ¡°What is he doing here?¡± Mateus had asked with a cold voice while pointing towards Sadrach.


    ¡°Is there a reason I shouldn''t be here?¡± Sadrach challenged back, not willing to back down against the scarred man.


    Josias sighed before he looked to Johannes to help calm things down. Just as Johannes was about to stand up and mediate between the two, Two more people had entered the house. A larger middle-aged man with a build similar to Johannes and a full beard on his face followed by a similarly tall woman of the same age carrying a baby in a wrap followed by a small three to four year old girl.


    ¡°Well what do we have here? A gathering of young people in my own home and I wasn''t invited?¡± The large man bellowed out as he laughed in a jovial manner while looking over at everyone there before turning towards Johannes while shaking his head. ¡°Look at all this, Abang Jo sitting around the house like a bloody king while you leave your parents to carry all these heavy grains by ourselves. Tsk tsk. We were lucky we ran into our Bere (nephew) on the road and he helped us carry the sacks.¡±


    ¡°The least you could do is help take care of your younger siblings, Abang.¡± The woman said as she sat down while rocking the baby while the three year old child ran happily towards Johannes.


    The man and woman were Johannes¡¯ and Helena''s parents. Tuan Mardomu Sinatua, Elder Marasi¡¯s eldest son, and Lady Ulina Boru Rapmasari, a daughter of Elder Rihar. At Mardomu¡¯s hint, Johannes and Josias immediately got up to help put away and store the bags of rice and what other materials or food the elders had brought back while Helena helped her mother with her youngest siblings. Mardomu laughed and nodded as he saw the young people work but then his eyes landed on the blue-eyed tan-skinned Sadrach who was also there.


    ¡°What do we have here? Hahahah, I''m surprised to see Lae Mora¡¯s son in my home!¡± Mardomu said as he gave Sadrach a heart slap to the back.


    ¡°Forgive my rudeness¡­ Horas, tulang, nantulang¡­¡± Sadrach said as he immediately performed the salim to Mardomu and Ulina.


    ¡°My what a handsome boy you are, Sadrach!¡± Ulina said as she pinched the young man ¡°Well it''s to be expected being Mora¡¯s son. You inherited the best trait of both parents! No wonder the ladies are so fond of you.¡±


    ¡°Those soft features aren''t what''s important! What''s important is the strength of his arm, eh?¡± Mardomu bellowed out once more as he grabbed Sadrach''s arms and felt his biceps ¡°Good strength, boy! It seems you aren''t slacking off on your training! Good, good¡­¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Tulang, nantulang¡­¡± Sadrach said sheepishly.


    ¡°Bapak!!¡± Hanna all of a sudden came rushing towards her father while leaping at him ¡°I have something to tell you!¡±


    ¡°Oh! My little tigress!¡± Mardomu said happily as he crouched and caught his energetic little daughter in his arms ¡°And what is this you want to say?¡±


    ¡°The handsome Abang came here and said he likes Kak Helen!! Hahahah! I want to be a guard at their wedding!¡±


    Mardomu looked like he froze for a few seconds as he heard his daughter say that. Josias looked over at Sadrach and he looked as if he had seen a ghost with how pale his face became while Helena covered her face in embarrassment once more. In contrast to Mardomu, Ulina¡¯s expression - while equally as surprised - was far more positive as she immediately got up and started clapping while still rocking the little baby in her arms.


    ¡°Is this true, Sadrach? Did you come here to court Helen?¡± Ulina asked with excitement ¡°Well this is a great surprise! I haven''t even heard anything from your mother or your aunts about this¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, it''s true, nantulang. I''ve indeed come here for that purpose¡­ Well at first, I only wanted to ask Helena out to the market but then some things happened and¡­¡± As Sadrach was trailing off, Josias immediately cut in to explain the situation, giving a shortened, slightly abridged version of the events that had transpired earlier.


    While Ulina was ecstatic at the turn of events and was quick to give her approval, Mardomu still stood there with an expression that was difficult to read as he looked at Sadrach. Mateus sat a little bit behind his uncle with an equally difficult to read expression. Finally after a while, Mardomu cleared his throat before he started to speak.


    ¡°Sadrach.¡± Mardomu called out seriously as he looked at the young man ¡°Are you serious and sincere in wanting to court my beloved eldest daughter?¡±


    ¡°With all my heart, on my honour as a warrior of the realm!¡± Sadrach answered resolutely as he put his hand over his chest to which Mardomu nodded as he crossed his arm.


    ¡°Bere Mateus¡­¡± Mardomu called out next.


    ¡°Yes, Tulang?¡± He answered.


    ¡°I had spoken with your father yesterday night along with Bang Ruli. Is it true what he said to me, that you too were interested in my daughter, Helena''s hand?¡±


    As Mardomu asked this, the tension was once again palpable in the room. Everyone else in the hall was shocked when they heard the question. Josias looked at Helena and judging from her very audible gasp, she didn''t have any clue about this either. Giving it a single glance, Sadrach''s reaction was slightly worse as his earlier smile had seemingly vanished, replaced with a confused look.


    ¡°...It is true, Tulang.¡± Mateus answered as he then turned to look at Helena before giving a challenging glance to Sadrach ¡°My father has wishes to further strengthen the ties between the Sigompul and Sinatua clans, being among the most prominent clans of the Realm. I myself am not opposed towards the plan as I have a great respect and attraction towards Lady Helena.¡±


    Josias couldn''t believe his eyes and ears at the scene that was unfolding before his very eyes. Was there no bloody end to the amount of drama he was forced to endure and witness? He thought that this shouldn''t be an issue as Helena could just refuse the proposition, but at the same time, the pride of the Sigompul would be injured if she just rejected them outright like so. Johannes had an equally troubled expression towards the developments that were happening. But it was none other than Sadrach whose face had been contorted with such rage at the news that if looks could kill, Mateus would''ve been dead a thousand times over.


    ¡°Father, may I speak?¡± Helena asked.


    ¡°You may.¡± Mardomu gestured towards his daughter.


    ¡°While I appreciate the kind words from Bang Mateus as well as the offer from Amangboru Poltak, may I be so bold as to ask the offer to be rejected?¡± Helena pleaded as she looked towards her father while giving glances to Sadrach.


    ¡°If I may as well¡­¡± Mateus said as he asked permission to interject ¡°Such an offer to be rejected outright like that would be an offense towards the dignity of my clan. There is also the matter of the price in money my clan would have to pay were I to not take my pariban as a wife.¡±


    ¡°That is outrageous!¡± Sadrach had cut in with a frustrated tone before bowing towards Mardomu to begin his counter against the scarred Mateus ¡°By the rights granted to me by our Customs, with my mother being made a member of the Sinatua clan, I have equal rights towards claiming my Pariban just as much as Mateus does. And it is foolish to demand any sort of compensation when there has yet to even be an official engagement! If it is money then I swear my clan will pay twice as much as the Sigompul offer for the bride price! And if it''s a matter of choosing your Pariban, there are droves of other fine young ladies in the Sinatua clan for you to take as your wife!¡±


    ¡°I could say the same to you, Sadrach.¡± Mateus looked at Sadrach with an icy expression ¡°And while I realise that your family may be the richest clan in Goria, there are some things that your money can''t buy. Honour and dignity to name but a few.¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°You not respecting the wishes of Lady Helena is exactly the kind of thing someone lacking in those virtues would do!¡±


    ¡°I hope you realise what you''re saying can be taken as an insult!¡± Mateus stood up as he approached Sadrach in irritation.


    ¡°You''re free to take it as you wish!¡± Sadrach too had gotten up as well, not wishing to back down the least bit as the two were now butting heads with one another, seemingly no longer caring about the others in the room. Josias and Johannes had gotten up to hold back their respective cousins before Mardomu finally bellowed out once more.


    ¡°That is enough!¡± As Mardomu shouted, his peak fourth star aura radiated out which caused the people there to feel a soft rumbling sensation which was enough to catch Sadrach''s and Mateus¡¯ attention as they had slightly pulled back. ¡°I will not let any foolishness occur under the roof of my own house and I will not let the both of you unwittingly harm my young children!¡±


    As Mardomu said that, the fiery young men did indeed sit back down but the sparks that were flying between them were far too visible. As the two looked like they were about to argue verbally once more, Mardomu looked like he was about to release another burst of aura, but just as he was about to do so, a figure had interrupted him with a cackling laugh. As everyone looked towards the door of the house where they saw an old lady who looked to be in her seventies wearing very traditional clothing of the Halak, wrinkles visible on her face, standing with her left hand behind her back while her right was holding a pipe made of ivory filled with burning tobacco plants. Though her posture was slightly hunched, the gravitas and aura she had about her was real.


    ¡°What''s all this noise about?¡± The old lady asked as she glanced around the hall analyzing everyone there before taking a huff from her pipe and blowing out an obscene amount of smoke out her two nostrils ¡°I was walking about in the neighborhood chatting with some of the old folk when they told me it was just commotion after commotion after commotion up in the home of my daughter and son-in-law. Now I found that concerning, but what do I get for all my effort coming over here? A couple of children fighting over the hand of a lady. Bloody typical.¡±


    ¡°Ompung Ester!!¡± Hanna excitedly ran over to hug the old lady as she was followed by her younger sister Hildegarde.


    ¡°Oho, still as feisty as ever, little Hanna and Hilde¡­¡± Ester said.


    Soon the children were followed by all the young people and the adults in the room as they walked up to her and kissed her hand in the salim way.


    ¡°Look at you young whippersnappers! Tch, kids these days think they''re all that just ¡®cause they can handle a little aura, hah!¡± Ester said as she pinched every single one of the kids.


    ¡°Have you been doing well, Ompung?¡± Josias gave a smile as he approached the old lady ¡°I assume you must be given how you don''t look a day over fifty!¡±


    ¡°Oh you and your honeyed tongue, Josi! Hahahaha!¡± Ester said as she laughed while slapping Josias'' left cheek jokingly. While it was meant to be a joke, Josias'' eyes could only widen as it actually still slightly stung even with his body strengthened by his third star aura. ¡°You are so much like your grandfather, you know that? Little runt was only ten years old when he told me he wanted me to be his wife, hah! Mind you I was twenty two at the time so naturally I kicked the little kid¡¯s ass as I sent him packing back to his mother! Hah! Those were the times¡­¡±


    Josias couldn''t help but shake his head as he heard the story. It wasn''t the first time he heard it, but it doesn''t mean it was any less unbelievable. But at the same time, it was completely believable if the person telling the story was Old Lady Ester. She was perhaps one of the few people his grandfather genuinely respected and feared. Originally Lady Bintang Narara Hutabaru, she had adopted the name Ester when she was baptized alongside her husband. She was perhaps the only woman in the Halaklands to have made her name as a warrior. But the simple title of warrior would do her no justice as she was also perhaps one of the only people in the realm capable of utilizing both the warrior¡¯s aura and the mage''s mana, being both a sixth-circle mage and fifth-star warrior, though it was a shame that none of her daughters had inherited their mother¡¯s talents.


    ¡°Mother, If I''d known you were coming I would''ve prepared something at least¡­¡± Ulina said as she hugged her mother.


    ¡°Oh there''s no need to bother!¡± Ester reassured her daughter before looking at Mardomu ¡°So what seems to be the big issue here, Hela? (Son-in-law)¡±


    After being asked by Ester, Mardomu sighed before ordering both Sadrach and Mateus to sit themselves in front of Ester in a kneeling position before he started giving a more detailed summary of what the issue was between the two. Mateus, despite his more intimidating appearance, looked far more terrified of the old woman in comparison to Sadrach as Ester had no direct blood relation towards him while Sadrach¡¯s grandfather was Ester¡¯s younger brother whom she helped raise growing up.


    As she heard the events being recounted by Mardomu, Ester only casually huffed her pipe and blew smoke out as she had the occasional chuckle. Finally, as the story finished, so too was the tobacco in her pipe spent and so she blew out the embers of her pipe and threw the debris out the door.


    ¡°You there, the one with the scar. What was your name again, dearie?¡± Ester asked as she pointed her pipe towards Mateus.


    ¡°Mateus, Ompung¡­¡± he said with a slight gulp.


    ¡°Mateus¡­ Mateus¡­¡± Ester thunked the edge of her pipe to her head as she looked like she was trying to remember something ¡°Ah yes! You''re Gogo¡¯s grandchild aren''t you?¡±


    ¡°...Yes, Ompung¡­¡± Mateus nodded.


    ¡°Tell that old goat that he still bloody owes me ten copper kepings from our last Joker game and that I refuse to die until he pays me back.¡±


    ¡°...Uh¡­ yes, Ompung¡­¡±


    ¡°And you, Sadrach!¡± Ester then turned towards the young man who still had his head down not willing to offend the senior by looking into her eyes.


    ¡°Yes, namboru..? (Author''s Note: Actually means aunt but in this instance, the female siblings of your paternal grandfather are refered to as namboru. Don''t ask me, I didn''t make this up.)¡± Sadrach asked.


    ¡°You know the Hutabaru hasn''t always been rich, right? We were just as poor as the rest of these sorry-ass clans back in the day. It was due to my beloved baby brother that our clan had managed to establish ourselves as merchants in these lands. But even so, not even your father would dare flaunt his wealth in front of the other clans like that. Whatever sinamot (bride price) they''re paying, your clan will pay double? Who taught you that, boy? Huh? Did my adorable baby Sabam suddenly die and leave all the wealth for you to squander?! Bloody newborn still wet behind his ears willing to waste money that isn''t even his. Thank the Merciful Lord that you inherited your mother''s face or else I''d bloody your nose, boy!¡±


    ¡°It was my mistake, namboru!¡± Sadrach had bowed and knelt till his face touched the ground in fear of his grandaunt.


    Sitting in the back, Josias and Johannes couldn''t hold back their snickering at the sight of their cousins being scolded like children. Unfortunately, Ester noticed their shaking shoulders and conjured up two balls of wind which she immediately threw their way, causing them to fall on their backs by the power of the wind.


    ¡°No laughing while I''m scolding misbehaving children!¡± Ester said sternly to which the two young men sat back up and straightened their postures. ¡°Anyways, there really is a simple way to take care of this bloody mess you''ve all made.¡±


    ¡°What would that be, ma?¡± Mardomu asked.


    ¡°Have the two boys go at it with a fair duel witnessed by elders of both clans¡­¡± Ester said easily


    ¡°If I may, Ompung¡­¡± Helena decided to speak up as she raised her hand.


    ¡°Yes, my sweet?¡±


    ¡°I don''t see how that would be fair to me¡­ So am I just to be won as a prize to whoever wins the duel? I must protest¡­¡±


    ¡°Hah! You''re just saying that because you''re afraid that the pretty boy here will have his face buried in the sand by Scarface.¡± Ester snorted as she looked at her grandnephew ¡°If I were you I''d be offended that my abilities were doubted like that¡­¡±


    Sadrach immediately faced Helena and said, ¡°For you, I''d even face the gates of hell!¡± Before Ester immediately used her pipe to whack him on the head.


    ¡°Don''t act so tough, pretty boy.¡± Ester said before she continued ¡°But what Helena said is right. If it is her wish that she''s to be with my brother''s grandson then that is her choice but the duel must go on.¡±


    ¡°...I don''t understand, Ompung.¡± Mateus said ¡°If I do not get my betrothal either way, I see little reason to even continue with a duel.¡±


    ¡°Well that''s simple. Let''s say the one proposing the duel challenge is Sadrach. There are three outcomes possible here. The first is that you reject the duel that Sadrach had issued. If you were to reject the duel officially then you have no right to insist on pushing for the betrothal because at the end of the day, at the Marhusip, the betrothal would be cancelled regardless and your clan would not be able to save face for your current insistence. But if you accept the challenge and win the duel, even if the Sinatua reject your betrothal offer, your clan does not lose face, only the Sinatua.¡±


    ¡°But what if I lose¡­? Hypothetically speaking of course¡­¡±


    ¡°You''ll just be let off with a bruised ego but your Clan''s reputation will be unaffected because the duel was conducted fair and square.¡±


    ¡°...The Sinatua stands much to lose from this then¡­¡± Mardomu was apprehensive about the plan ¡°I don''t think my father would like it¡­¡±


    ¡°Then just tell Gogo¡¯s son to begin with that you reject their offer, it''s as simple as that.¡± Ester shrugged her shoulders.


    ¡°Yes, I believe that would be the sensible plan¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I believe we should still have the duel¡­¡± Sadrach finally said.


    ¡°Ah, and what makes you so confident, pretty boy?¡± Ester asked, intrigued at Sadrach''s determination.


    ¡°I will issue the challenge as a formal declaration from the Hutabaru clan. So in that case, whether I win or lose, it doesn''t affect the Sinatua clan¡­¡±


    ¡°And how are you going to convince Sabam to acquiesce to this plan of yours?¡±


    ¡°...If I can inconvenience you to help in that regard, namboru¡­¡± Sadrach said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°Typical¡­¡± Ester shook her head and clicked her tongue ¡°...let it not be said that I am unwilling to help a kinsman. I''ll convince my little brother, don''t worry. We were about to gather at the tavern for our regular joker game anyways. If I''m lucky, I''d meet with Gogo there too so we can get it over with.¡±


    Finally, Ester stood up as she prepared to leave but before exiting she shook her head once more and muttered, ¡°The damned pride of youth. Reminds me a lot of my husband, hahahah!¡±


    And with that, Ester had left as the rest were left there wondering how to move forward.

 17 - At the Tavern

    Odesday, 3rd of Aprillia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    After Ester had left the Bolon house, Josias had finally brought up the matter of participation in the Gotilon festival''s tournament to Mateus to which he readily agreed despite Sadrach also making it clear that he would also be participating. Josias could only shake his head at the spirit of fighting his two friends had. Either they had a deeper camaraderie with one another or they just wanted to fight members of the other clans. Well whatever the reason, he was still grateful that he now had a complete roster for his team. He had reminded everyone that training would start taking place in the afternoon at the guard''s training ground. And so with that, Josias, Mateus, Sadrach and Helena had decided to leave the house.


    Sadrach was heading out with Helena and Hanna as he had promised to take them out to the marketplace. And so with that, they went their separate ways with Josias walking along with Mateus as their houses were in the same direction. As they were walking, Josias finally decided to start up a conversation as something was really nagging at him.


    ¡°Just be honest with me, lae.¡± Josias said as he started to speak with the man next to him ¡°Why are you adamant on going along with what most likely was just drunk talk between our fathers? You don''t even like Helena! Hell, I''m not even sure if you''re over Arta yet¡­¡±


    As Josias said that, Mateus gave him a look as if he really had struck a bitter cord. Josias only shook his head as he pressed on. Mateus may look intimidating, but he didn''t scare him in the slightest.


    ¡°You see, you giving me that look just confirms it.¡± Josias said.


    ¡°Tch, since when did you get so annoying¡­¡± Mateus said as he shook his head.


    ¡°Since I started to notice people doing useless things.¡± Josias retorted ¡°Lae, this duel is meaningless whether you win or not. Why even bother at this point?¡±


    ¡°It''s a matter of pride, Lae.¡± Mateus answered ¡°Simple. What Arta did with Sadrach back then, it humiliated me to no end! I know I should''ve just gotten it over with then and there but I was lost, damn it!¡±


    ¡°Do you seriously think Sadrach had any fault in that? Let''s be honest here, your relationship with Arta Idabagak was one of the unhealthiest relationships I''ve ever witnessed!¡±


    Mateus frowned at Josias'' comments.


    ¡°You can frown all you want, lae, but what I''m telling this is the truth. Both as a friend and as a brother, I care for you¡­¡±


    ¡°You''re just saying that. Every Time you saw us together, you''ve only ever been supportive! Yet now I''m supposed to believe you''ve been against it since the beginning? C¡¯mon Josi, you''re usually sly with your tongue but this just isn''t it.¡±


    ¡°Woy! I have been saying this since day one, you were just too bloody lovestruck to notice all our warnings, Mat! Was it not I who said that she was just too friendly to all the guys? Was it not I who alluded to the fact that for the almost two years you were courting her, not once had she made any sacrifices for you yet you do so much for her? The finest pelts for clothes, the finest ulos, jewelry, you name it! You gave all of that for her and for her to return it with what? That bloody scar on your face! Look lae, I don''t want to piss you off, but you know the answer yourself!¡±


    Mateus could only ruffle his hair in frustration listening to Josias talk. ¡°Look Josi, I appreciate the pep talk regardless of how fucking late it is, but this just isn''t a conversation I''m willing to have. Especially not when I''m sober like now!¡±


    ¡°Well, funny you should say that, because¡­ ta-daa..!¡± Josias motioned his arms towards the village''s largest tavern. It would seem Mateus didn''t notice that they had been in close proximity to the tavern. ¡°It''s always good to talk these things through after a couple of tankards to loosen up the lips.¡±


    ¡°...Are you kidding me right now?¡± Mateus looked at Josias with a deadpan stare ¡°Lae, it''s still a few hours from noon and you said we still have training later on. What makes you think that drinking in the middle of a busy day like this one is a good idea?¡±


    ¡°To loosen up stress, of course! You need to lose all that tension and let yourself relax before a full on workout and training session!¡±


    ¡°...Yea, I''m not really buying that because it doesn''t seem like it''s worth the risk of angering-...¡±


    ¡°Lae, I''m paying for it!¡± Josias said as he jingled a small pouch of coins between him and Mateus.


    ¡°Well why didn''t you just say so. I got worried for a minute there. Anyways, Let''s find ourselves a seat.¡± Mateus energetically walked into the tavern ahead of Josias.


    ¡°Bloody cheap bastard.¡± Josias scoffed as he shook his head before he followed Mateus inside.


    The tavern was one of several buildings in the village with its foundation built from stone in a Western-Terradomian fashion while retaining aspects of traditional Halak design with the carved heads of spirits and animals adorning the many archways of the building. Obviously, it was one of the newer buildings in the village as traditionally the Halak would just get together in each other''s homes to drink tuak after a long day''s work or out on the shacks of the rice paddies. The Tavern was owned and run by the Binangabalok clan who were famous for the quality of their Tuak and Nira drinks. Because it was midday, the tavern seemed pretty empty, with maybe some older folks here and there enjoying drinks with food.


    As Josias and Mateus walked inside, they were greeted by a young woman behind a counter with her hair tied in a braid wearing a simple western-style dress with an apron over it. She had dirty blonde hair and paler skin compared to the others making her identity as a Malaok very apparent.


    ¡°Fancy seeing you two around at this hour¡­¡± the girl said with a smile as she was rearranging some of the cups.


    ¡°It was his idea, Ito (sister).¡± Mateus pointed towards Josias ¡°I was roped into this.¡±


    ¡°No, I just felt that we needed to talk about some things and no better place to talk about it than here.¡± Josi answered before he leaned in and said while raising an eyebrow ¡°It''s about Arta¡­!¡±


    The girl merely laughed while Mateus clicked his tongue in protest as he glared at Josias before he sat down at a table nearby.


    ¡°Pris, we want two cups and a pitcher of your best nira.¡± Josias put in his order to the barmaid while setting a few coins on the counter as she nodded and got on to the order. He then sat down on the chair across from Mateus. It didn''t take long for the cups and pitcher to be set.


    ¡°But, seriously though, are you still not over Arta, bang?¡± The girl - Priscilla - asked as she set the pitcher on the table.


    ¡°Argh, don''t just listen to whatever this monkey says and take it seriously.¡± Mateus said as he filled in his cup with the Nira before downing it.


    ¡°Which is why I''m asking you right now. From what I''ve heard, aren''t you supposed to be duelling Sadrach because of Helena?¡± Priscilla asked again which caused Mateus to nearly spit his drink. Even Josias was surprised when he heard that she already knew that much as it hadn''t even been a couple of hours since the idea was proposed.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Where did you hear that from?¡± Josias asked her.


    ¡°The Elders are all on the second floor talking about it. Lady Ester was talking about it with Elder Sabam, Elder Hagogoan, and Elder Marasi.¡±


    ¡°Ah yeah, they did say they were playing cards today.¡± Josias muttered as he drank his cup.


    ¡°My grandfather''s up there too?¡± Mateus asked back to which the girl nodded.


    ¡°So what''s this really about? I didn''t know you were aiming for Helena too now. I mean, I know she''s really pretty but, to fight Bang Sadrach for her is a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°Pris, you''re free to join us so just sit down.¡± Josias said as Mateus scooted over to the chair next to his so that Prisca could sit down. ¡°Anyways, that''s exactly what I was about to ask him. What in the world was he thinking?¡±


    Mateus merely shook his head before downing another full cup of Nira. Finally as he let out a sigh after finishing the cup, he fell silent for a few moments before beginning his explanation.


    ¡°You know my father and Tulang Mardomu have always been good friends.¡± Mateus started.


    ¡°Yeah, no shit, all of our parents are friends.¡± Josias retorted ¡°All the eight clans are basically family anyways since one way or another we''re all bloody cousins, so what''s your point?¡±


    ¡°...It was after the whole mess with Arta. My father never liked her or her father all that much and after the big incident, well¡­ I took it hard.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, tell me about it.¡± Josias made a sarcastic face as he laughed with Priscilla to Mateus'' expense which only caused him to frown before filling in his cup again. ¡°Anyways, continue¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­ It took me a while to get over her and you have to understand, I did everything in my power to try and win her back.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we know, and then?¡±


    ¡°Josi, stop cutting him off!¡± Priscilla complained.


    ¡°My father decided to just go ahead and arrange a betrothal between me and Helena with Tulang Mardomu. I mean that''s it.¡±


    ¡°Huh, that''s it?¡± Priscilla said with a bewildered expression.


    ¡°Yeah, that''s it!¡± Mateus nodded.


    ¡°This bastard, so you don''t even really like Helena then?¡± Josias said as he feigned wanting to whack Mateus.


    ¡°I mean, she''s always been a nice girl, and she is indeed pretty but¡­ yeah I''m still pretty out of it.¡±


    ¡°Then why the fuck are you even bothering with this stupid duel? I''m sure your father would understand if you don''t wanna go through with it and even Tulang Mardomu would prefer to have Helena with Lae Sadrach, so why?¡±


    ¡°It''s simple, really. I just want to clock that prissy-ass bitch right in his pretty face.¡± Mateus said seriously ¡°I just need to get one good hit in. I don''t even care if I fucking win or not but I just want to punch that fucker.¡±


    Josias could only plant his face in his arms on the table as he was so frustrated with the very asinine yet very simple explanation for why Mateus accepted the challenge.


    ¡°Brother, why?¡± Josias asked as he raised himself again.


    ¡°Well, if it''s an officially sanctioned duel, I won''t have anyone bitching about me for not having self control over my temper and picking fights with people - even though they absolutely deserve it!¡± Mateus answered.


    ¡°What did Lae Sadrach ever do to you that would cause you to hold such a grudge?¡±


    ¡°Lae, he fucking kissed my girl! Tongue and all!¡± Mateus banged his hands to the table which caused the cups to almost fall over if it weren''t for Josias'' and Priscilla''s quick reflexes.


    ¡°Abang! Don''t hit the table!¡± Priscilla slapped Mateus'' arm.


    ¡°...Right, sorry¡­¡± Mateus said as he exhaled to calm himself down.


    ¡°Also, I was there when it happened, and I can tell you, bang, it wasn''t Bang Sadrach''s fault. Kak Arta was pissed-drunk and she literally tackled the man! Besides, that happened way before New Year''s and you only stopped courting Kak Arta this year, so why the grudge? And for that matter, why did you break up anyways?¡±


    ¡°You''re like a guard questioning a burglar.¡±


    ¡°I''m just curious! Humor me, Abang¡­ pleaseee¡­!! If you don''t, I''ll start to ask Josi for his version.¡± Priscilla started tugging at Mateus'' arm before he finally relented.


    ¡°Lae Josi doesn''t know shit.¡± Mateus exclaimed as he once more downed another cup.


    ¡°I do though.¡± Josias said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°Oh yeah? Then tell me. What do you know?¡± Mateus asked back with a clearly skeptical tone apparent in his voice.


    ¡°Arta dumped you because she thought you weren''t taking your relationship seriously and that her father had other plans for a betrothal to other clans.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that''s her version that she tells everyone of her friends, but that''s not the full story!¡± Mateus said as he grabbed the pitcher to fill in his cup again but noticed it was empty.


    ¡°Want me to grab another pitcher of Nira? This story''s getting juicy¡­!¡± Priscilla said as she grabbed the pitcher and got up.


    ¡°No, not Nira, Tuak.¡± Mateus said.


    ¡°Coming right up, Abang.¡±


    ¡°I think we should ease up on the drinks, Lae. Your face is already turning red, you absolute lightweight.¡± Josias said as he shook his head. Of the full pitcher, he probably only got to drink less than a third of it and he was starting to get worried.


    ¡°No¡­! You started this, so you''re gonna have to deal with it, Josi!¡± Mateus pointed at Josias with a serious look on his reddened face while Priscilla had returned with a full pitcher and started filling the two¡¯s cups.


    ¡°So, what was the reason??¡± Priscilla said as she sat back down.


    Mateus took a large gulp of his cup before he began. ¡°It was the culmination of lots of things. I don''t know why, but she became more and more demanding, like she was just out of it. Everytime I would pester her to talk about it, she''d just brush me off like that. At first I was willing to tolerate all that, thinking maybe I did do something wrong but on the day of our biggest fight, do you know what she said to me, and I''ll never forget this until the day I die.¡±


    ¡°What''d she say?¡± Priscilla asked while Josias'' expression grew focused after drinking his own cup.


    ¡°She just said that I wasn''t giving her enough space and didn''t understand how she was feeling! Bitch, do I look like a Datuk (shaman)? I can''t throw bones or make predictions to just magically know how you''re feeling if you don''t fucking say anything to me! But you know what? I accepted that, I was willing to give her that break she wanted but do you know what I saw after that? Her spending more and more time talking with Safira and Sadrach! If Sadrach had just steered clear of her, maybe I wouldn''t be feeling like this, but that''s not even the worst part of all this! If Sadrach had even been serious with Arta like that, maybe I could''ve tolerated it somewhat but then I hear he''s nuzzling up to Helena? THAT FUCKING PRICK!!¡± Mateus¡¯ face grew redder and redder as he kept on talking, perhaps a mix of anger and the liquor he was drinking was starting to get to him.


    ¡°Alright there, Lae, calm down¡­¡±


    ¡°DON''T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!!¡± Mateus shouted again as he stood up while Priscilla who was sitting besides him flinched. Josias was worried that it was drinking that was doing the talking right now so he had started gathering aura into both his arms just in case anything happens as he stood up and gently pulled Priscilla to his side.


    ¡°That wasn''t a suggestion, Lae¡­¡± Josias said even more firmly ¡°Let''s not make a scene when the elders are literally right above us right now.¡±


    As he heard that and noticed Josias was preparing his stance while Priscilla now had a guarded look towards him, Mateus gave an exasperated sigh as he sat back down and slumped over his table as he put his head in his arms.


    ¡°Guys, I''m sorry about that¡­ I think I had enough to drink for today¡­¡± Mateus said.


    ¡°More than enough¡­¡± Priscilla said as she took the pitcher away and put it on the counter. ¡°That''s enough drinking for you for the week, Abang¡­¡±


    Just as the situation was calming, three large men had walked in through the door, putting their gaze towards the young folk at the table. They immediately stood up in respect as they saw Both Parulian and Mardomu and another person around their age walk into the tavern.


    ¡°Aha ma ributribut on? (What''s with all the commotion?)¡± Parhal said as he looked at his son and Mateus standing at attention. ¡°Agoooo Jo!!! (Dear God!!!)¡­ Domu, look at these two fools drinking about in the middle of the day even though they have training with me later on!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha! They remind me of when we were young!¡± Mardomu said ¡°Let them be, they''re probably discussing what went on at my home earlier.¡±


    As the third man came in, with a tall yet rather lean build and a severe gaze, looking sternly at Mateus, the fierce Mateus couldn''t help but avert his gaze.


    ¡°Tch. What an embarrassment.¡± the man said shaking his head as he just walked past them.


    ¡°Oh don''t be too hard on your son, Ronggur.¡± Mardomu said to the stern man.


    ¡°Although he is partially the reason for why we''re here.¡± Parulian said with a chuckle as he and Mardomu also passed them by as the three of them made their way to the second floor of the tavern. ¡°A freaking duel for a girl, can you imagine. Well, whatever the outcome, come sunshine or rain, you boys are still going over to the yard to train.¡±


    As their parents had gone up to the second floor, the two young men could only sigh. Priscilla also excused herself to go to the second floor to check if the elders had any extra orders to make. With only Josias and Mateus left at the table, the two sighed as they slumped back on their chairs.


    ¡°I think I should go upstairs too¡­¡± Mateus said as he stood up, as if sobered up by the tension brought by his father. ¡°Anyways, thanks for the drinks. At least now I can more easily ignore whatever the old folks are going to say.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, you big bastard.¡± Josias laughed as the two young men embraced before parting ways. ¡°Like what my old man said, see you at the yard. Well, if you''re still alivea nyhow.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    And with that, Josias had left the tavern to go and bother someone else until the time of training. As always, interesting things were bound to happen soon.

 18 - Training Spar

    Sabatsday, 6th of Aprillia, 470th year of the 5th Era


    It had been a few days since the incident at Johannes'' home. The elders of the Gorian clans had agreed between themselves the details of when, where, and how the duel would be conducted. It was to be held at the Courtyard of the King''s Bolon House and double as a Marhusip¡¯ ceremony as well to officialize the engagement between Tuan Sadrach Hatoguan Hutabaru and the Lady Helena Darapati boru Sinatua.


    Mateus'' father - Tuan Ronggur Habinsaran Sigompul - had already agreed to rescind his own proposal of betrothal between Mateus and Helena, but because of Sadrach''s and Mateus'' insistence on some sort of duel to be held, the elders relented to their wants after confirming it with King Parhal. The king had acquiesced to the request because he wanted it to be a showcase of the prowess of Goria''s young warriors in preparation of the Grand Gotilon Festival''s tournament. And with that, the duel was to be set in the afternoon with a public audience.


    Josias was currently in the training grounds for the village guards. It was a quaint facility located perched on top of a small hill next to the Arus river to the north of the village borders still inside the palisade. It served both as a facility to house many of the village¡¯s guards within a barracks while also boasting a stone-based wooden tower to help guard both the northern gates as well as the entryway of the river next to the village. The courtyard of the training grounds itself was located within this greater complex of military-oriented buildings.


    Josias held his blunted training sabre out as he pointed it towards Johannes who was in front of him doing the same as their stances were steady, not giving a chance for their opponent to exploit an opening. They were in the middle of an intense spar in one of the circular stone tile-stages within the yard. Parulian was standing not too far from the two on a podium as a vantage point to better overlook the sparring session while next to him stood Hesekiel who stood there imposingly and stoically as always, though it was clear from his glistening body and his wet headband that he had also just recently finished a sparring match. Not too far away from them lay several guardsmen sprawled on the ground after having ¡®aided¡¯ the younger warriors as sparring partners.


    Johannes had made the first move as he came on strong with a heavy swing from his training sabre right towards Josias'' head which Josias just narrowly evaded by pivoting slightly to the side whilst closing in towards his opponent instead of moving away. As Josias struck hard towards Johannes¡¯ vulnerable chest, fully intent on making it a quick victory, Johannes quickly swung his sword back up to parry Josias'' strike though he was still put on the backfoot. Capitalizing on this, Josias continued to pursue a relentless onslaught of slashes and swings towards his larger opponent, each aiming for critically vital parts of his body.


    Johannes had grit his teeth as he made a valiant effort to block all of Josias'' savage attacks even throwing in a few counter attacks of his own but it didn''t bother Josias too much as he kept on dodging the attacks using subtle weaves whilst immediately connecting his dodges with more attacks. While Josias managed to keep up his relentless attacks, he himself knew that he was beginning to tire. While to an untrained eye, he was at an overwhelming advantage against his larger opponent, and indeed when it came to skill it could be said that Josias was the most skilled warrior among all of his peers by a wide margin. However, that did not change the fact that Johannes'' larger muscle mass and his own skills being very good, when it came to endurance and sheer brute force power, Josias was at a noticeable disadvantage especially when his father insisted on the training to not utilise aura as it would put Johannes at a severely unfair disadvantage.


    Not willing to waste anymore time and effort, Josias increased the intensity of his attacks and started incorporating wilder and more unorthodox techniques to batter down Johannes¡¯ defensive stance. Josias threw another strike towards Johannes'' head which the bigger man managed to parry but almost at the same time after that, Josias landed a solid kick towards Johannes'' right shin which caused the big man to lose his balance. Connecting with this kick, Josias stabbed his sword towards Johannes who managed to deflect it but this just caused the bigger man to fall.


    However, as Johannes fell, before his body touched the ground, he put his hands below him and pushed himself back up, discarding his sabre in the process, and taking a newer and lower stance before he set out to attack. Josias could only laugh as he saw his opponent taking a ¡®Mossak¡¯ stance which was the traditional and standard form of Halak martial arts. Unfortunately for Johannes, Josias had no intention of showing him mercy and continued his onslaught towards his now unarmed opponent, kicking his training sabre away. Just as the training sabre was about to land a clean hit on Johannes, Parulian bellowed out.


    ¡°Enough!!¡± Parulian shouted out with a grin as he held both his hands on his hips. ¡°And the victor is Josias!¡±


    Josias felt the rush of adrenaline seemingly flush out of him as he raised one arm in celebration of his victory before slumping down on the ground, breathing haggardly as sweat beads were pouring down like rainwater from all the pores in his body. Josias proceeded to utilise his aura to stabilise his condition and soon enough his breathing calmed and he could feel a cool rush flowing through him.


    Parulian had gotten off the podium and approached the two young men who were now both sitting on the ground using their aura to recuperate themselves. Parulian still had his grin about him as he crossed his arms and began his assessment.


    ¡°I have to say that''s been good progress these past few days, and you two are indeed strong¡­¡± Parulian said before he sat himself down on the ground next to the two and continued ¡°But that''s only relative to the warriors of the realm. The Halaklands are a very big place, sons, and the wider world even bigger than that. Don''t you ever get complacent or else that will be your downfall. There''s no bigger disservice to one''s self than being a frog in a well. But I''m sure now you''re beginning to understand why I insist on training to mostly be done without aura, right?¡±


    ¡°To make it fair for Lae Jo?¡± Josias said with a teasing grin as he pointed towards Johannes.`If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Of course that''s not it, idiot!¡± Johannes growled before he gave it a second thought and asked Parulian ¡°Or is it?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not!¡± Parulian said with a smile before scratching his head ¡°Well, at least not entirely, y''know.¡±


    Josias laughed as Johannes merely hung his head in shame. Hesekiel had joined the group as he sat himself on the ground along with the others while Parulian continued his explanation.


    ¡°While the techniques people use to train in their auras would of course differ from place to place and time to time, there is one thing that remains true across all ages.¡± Parulian said as he raised one finger to present his case ¡°No matter how much aura or mana you have, if you don''t have a grasp of the proper basic techniques of fighting, regardless of what technique that may be, you are no better than an army that only has numbers to its name. Our King Parhal, while it is indeed the truth that the raw power of his aura is awe inspiring, what people tend to forget is that his proper grasp of basic technique is what won him his moniker as King of Goria. Without the use of any aura, at the age of but sixteen, he has slain the commander of the Snake-men army that had invaded from the north. Because of skill! While our auras are an inseparable part of our being, over-reliance on aura would leave us stranded in a prolonged fight. While at his prime as a swordsaint, my father was very much capable of slaughtering hundreds of starred warriors, he was capable of doing so even without reliance on his aura, only using his aura to negate his opponent¡¯s use of it¡­ Your aura is an extension of yourself! Remember that boys. If you''re capable of splitting mountains without it, then the logic follows that with the addition of aura to your skills, even the earth itself would split.¡±


    Josias had rested his head on both his arms as he heard his father speak. It was just about the same lecture he''d give after every training that Josias was half-tempted to act out all the words as he almost knew them verbatim. But if he thought about what his father would put him through if he did that, Josias relented.


    ¡°Anyways, about your earlier sparring match¡­¡± Parulian continued ¡°It was a good enough effort I''d say, but there''s still a whole lot more room for improvement. Josi, you''re still horrible in managing your energy exertion. Sure if you''re focused on a one on one duel like that, perhaps you can get away with it, but on the real field of battle? Back at Haumarara during the coalition war, I was cornered by five three-star warriors while I was barely at my fourth star but do you know what I did?¡±


    ¡°...You beat them anyway without even using your aura¡­¡± Josias said with a completely bored tone as he''d heard his father tell this story for the thousandth time already.


    ¡°And don''t you forget it, boy!¡±


    ¡°I don''t think I physically can at this point¡­¡±


    ¡°And you Jojo¡­¡± Parulian pointed towards the bigger man.


    ¡°Yes, sir?¡± Johannes awaited his assessment.


    ¡°Well, you did good enough, but your biggest problem is still the same. You''re still playing it far too defensively hence leaving yourself at a severe disadvantage against an opponent like Josi who can''t sit still for the life of him. While such tactics might prove supremely useful against stronger opponents who are looking to overpower you, fast bruisers like Josi will remain your worst enemy. But I do have to commend you on your quick change of stance into the mossak style. I stopped your battle not because I don''t trust your skills in unarmed combat, but because I don''t trust in my boy¡¯s ability to be able to properly engage you without seriously harming you. No matter how strong you are, without aura, I don''t expect you to be able to handle such a blow with nothing but your bare hands. That would be akin to me asking you for your suicide¡­ But still I appreciate you being able to hold up for so long."


    ¡°I thank you for your kind words, Amang¡­¡± Johannes bowed his head in respect.


    ¡°But regardless, now that we''ve gotten that out of the way, let us now then start our aura training like usual¡­ positions, boys!¡±


    As Parulian said that, the young men positioned themselves as they crossed their legs and laid their hands upon their laps as they started the process of aura training. It was a process that all the warriors of the Halak had been accustomed to as they concentrated in honing their aura and the mana cores within them, circulating it throughout their bodies.


    Josias felt the surge of his own mana within him, as if circulating throughout his veins like a rush of a torrent. The process of growing one¡¯s mana-core or ¡®star¡¯ was deceptively straightforward. Gather the innate aura from within one¡¯s body, circulate it around, then absorb the mana from the world around inside in order to increase the mana capacity within one''s body and subsequently increase the number of mana-cores or starts as a result. Though it sounded simple, in practice it was very difficult and had a lot of personalisation between one person and the other. On that end, all Parulian could provide them was the basic materials for a blanket increase in mana capacity for aura but the expression of said aura - outside of some minor instructions - was mainly left to individual practice and talent. Josias himself had great talent in regards to his aura. It had not been a few weeks since he acquired his third star during the Rhino hunt, but now he had already greatly stabilised his new core and was in the process of filling it. Though it was a very, very slim chance, perhaps it would even be possible to attain a new core before the tournament.


    They had continued their practice for the next hour or so until the sun had started to tilt to the west from its zenith and tinges of the orange sky started showing. Josias had finally opened his eyes after he finished gathering his aura. Though physically he didn''t look like he did anything strenuous, being sat down on the ground the entire time, his body was sweating profusely and his breathing was slightly ragged. The amount of patience and concentration aura training required was out of this world, more so if one were to factor in the various applications of said aura in actual fights as techniques. As Josias glanced around him to his two friends who were also seemingly done with their training, he saw that they looked equally as haggard as he was.


    ¡°I can feel it, tulang¡­¡± Johannes said as he looked towards Parulian ¡°I think just a bit more and I''ll also finally reach the third star!¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha! Brilliant stuff, Jojo!¡± Parulian bellowed out with a hearty laugh and proud smile ¡°Our village is truly blessed with so many talented young warriors! You''re even better than your father who just almost barely reached the second star at your current age, hahaha!¡±


    ¡°You should take a look at this guy too¡­¡± Josias said. As the two men laughed in joy and excitement, Josias pointed towards Hesekiel who was also done with his training. While Hesekiel''s breathing remained ragged like the rest of them, his face was as calm as ever. ¡°Lae Hesekiel seems to be on the brink of advancement as well.¡±


    Hesekiel merely looked towards them and nodded as he motioned to get up. Parulian laughed as he clapped before also getting up.


    ¡°God has blessed us all indeed! This is wonderful! The other Realms won''t know what''s coming towards them¡­¡± Parulian said as he helped Josias and Johannes up ¡°Now, all we need is to help focus on the training of those two idiots¡­ speaking of which, we should all get ourselves cleaned. Their match is about to start soon and with stakes like that and a bloody rivalry, we need to make sure nothing even worse happens.¡±


    Josias and the rest nodded in agreement. Mateus and Sadrach were about to have their duel and they couldn''t miss it even if it''s just to make sure that nothing bad happens. And so with that, they had left the training grounds and headed for the courtyard of the great hall.