Hurnith

Hurnith looked out over the plains. His trip home had been a simple one, and he came as a warrior should, wearing armour, bearing arms and nothing more. The gate was set in a closed room, murder holes hiding the guards watching those who emerged. As he stepped out, he looked up, and howled. A long, unending howl that echoed in the limited space of the gate room. When he finally ran out breathe and the howl ended, he knelt, placing his sword before him and waited, head down.

He waited patiently, knowing he was watched and being judged. He calmed his breathing, slowly meditating even in this position. He could feel his heart slowing, his breathing silent. Cold breathing, long slow inhalations, followed by equally long and slow exhalations. He stayed in position, silent and alert. He was aware when the door opened, though silent, as he felt the stirring in the air. He waited a moment, judging when the person that had entered would be approaching and stood up, eyes still down. He sniffed, a shallow sniff, trying to catch the scent of the one who approached, but it was unfamiliar, though a familiar scent clung to them. Someone from home.

He felt a shift in the atmosphere and pulled himself backwards, feeling a small breeze as a fist passed by his face.

“Well done, Awakened. You have done well and returned with none of your training or senses broken. You may relax.”

Hurnith lifted his head and looked at the one that had entered and tested him. He was the same height, but broader of build, his heavily muscled torso noticeable under the thin shirt he wore. His face was a patchwork of scars, one eye sewn shut, his nose half missing, the scar from that starting above his missing eye and continuing down his cheek, and across his muzzle. Other less serious scars marked his face, and he saw signs of wounds on his forearms and wrists, visible with his short sleeved shirt. On his head a simple silver band with a single sapphire centred in it signified his rank, Clan Warmaster.

“This one greets the Warmaster. I hope to serve well.” Hurnith spoke clearly, strongly. He knew that to do otherwise would be to show weakness and be dismissed.

“Serve well you shall, Awakened. You have done well to inherit the Awakening of Shard, and such as you shall serve the pride well.” He pulled back his lips, exposing his fangs. “Your family awaits, but your initiation into the Elite as one of the Awakened takes precedence. Your pack brothers await you outside. Travel with them, hunt with them, become one with them. Those you work and fight with from outside are never truly your brothers, only those of the pack are.”

Hurnith knelt in submission, retrieving his sword as he did do. He waited for the Warmaster to leave then stood up. Finally, he left the gate room, walking through the fortress into the mustering yard. There he saw a group of eight astride dire wolves, mounts of the elite of the pack, one of which was saddled and tied to a hitching post, making the horses around it skittish. He showed no emotion, to do so would be seen as childish, a weakness unbecoming of the elite, but inside he swelled with pride as he walked to the beast. As he had been taught before he left, in preparation of his returning triumphantly he walked to the front of the beast, staring into its eyes. It stared back, softly growling at the challenge. The two stood for a moment, eyes locked, and everyone in the mustering yard silent at the challenge. The stalemate broke as the dire wolf darted forward, its jaws snaping at Hurnith. He had been expecting this, and moved as it did so, shifting to the side so its head passed by. He punched out as it did so, a strike in its noise and it went still and submissive, a conditioned reflex from when it was a pup. Now, with it subservient, he mounted it and a servant ran forward to untie it from the hitching post. A small cheer went up as he took his place on its back, and he noticed a pack behind him, undoubtedly his provisions for the trip ahead. A small cheer went up from a few of the watching children, quickly stopped by the adults, this was a solemn moment, not one for celebration.

The group rode out on their dire wolves, at a slow and dignified pace. Once out of the gate, the restraint disappeared. With a cry from their leader the wolves bound off. Hurnith followed, feeling the surge of power from the beast below him. He clung on, unfamiliar with the mount, with how to hold his seat properly. He did his best, but felt his thighs burning, his behind getting bruised as he moved around, trying to feel the movement of the beast, adjust to it, compensate for it. But a wolf, no matter how large, is different to a horse and he felt his body burning, the strain taxing his stamina.

The leader of the group looked back. As a sergeant in the elite he was not often used to breaking in new members. But something was special about this one, aside from being an Awakened. Even in the Elite the number of Awakened was minimal, as much as the powers that be tried to calm people by giving the opposite impression. It served them all well, it kept people calm and let them fight the increasing number of dark incursions, spill over from the Fae lands into their own. So, he wondered how to treat the new one. Awakened were different, and what the limits of a new one were was unknown to him. His only experience with the was with old Virnath, and he had had been a soldier when he had joined so he had no idea how a new Awakened would cope. Already he had pushed much harder than he would have with any other new recruit, but from the look on his face, he was not yet at breaking point. He looked forward, then threw his head back and howled and revelled in the answer of his squad, including that of the new member. Well, if he had energy to howl, he had energy to ride, so on they went.

Hurnith heard their leader howl, and he joined in as the rest of the squad joined in. He could feel the burning in his muscles, but he felt his mana flow, protecting muscles, flushing toxins, giving him energy. He fell into a rhythm, finally beginning to understand his mount. They raced onwards, and he felt some of the others looking at him, with respect he thought, especially one older member who looked at him, then winked and saluted, briefly showing the mark of Shard on his arm. Well, Hurnith thought, at least one other is Awakened, I wonder how many others are?

Towards night fall they came to an end. Hurnith could see nothing special about their location. A single umbrella tree stood on a slight hill in the sea of grass of the Pridelands. With a word the squad came to a halt and all dismounted. Two members went to the top of the hill and took up watch positions while others took their mounts, surrounding their campsite with the beasts. Hurnith followed their example of opening the pack saddle on his beats and pulling out meat to feed him. He placed it before him, wary of the bite, but it just looked at the meat, clearly hungry but not going for it.

“It won’t eat until you give it permission.” The Awakened of Shard that had saluted while they run addressed him. “I am Virnath, welcome.” He came forward, grasping Hurnith on the in a warrior’s greeting. Hurnith returned the grip, looking at him.

“So, what is the command I need to use?”

“Grush, eat, in the old tongue. The trainers try to be traditional and use the old tongue when training them. You know it?”

Hurnith nodded, “Yes, my father is also traditional and made me learn some of it as a pup. I am Hurnith, son of Beomuth.”

“Well Hurnith son of Beomuth, feed your hound then we can talk further.” He heard the voice of the sergeant and moved to do as directed. He looked at the beats and gave the command, watching as it quickly snapped down, ripping into the meat before it. Happy that his mount was eating he turned around and found the sergeant facing him, the rest of the squad in a semicircle behind him.

“So Hurnith son of Beomuth, I am Sergeant Jaclith, the leader of this squad. The mount you have been gifted is known as Wereth, you are his first rider and he will serve you well.”

One by one other members of the squad introduced themselves, each giving what they thought would be life saving advice. Once that was over, Hurnith found himself targeted as the most junior member of the squad and sent with buckets to a spring at the base of the hill to bring water for both the beasts and men. It took a number of trips, and once again he was grateful that he was able channel mana to soothe aching muscles.

Sometime during the night he was awakened, and told it was his turn on guard duty, a shift that would last until dawn when all arose. He got up, muscles burning and shrieking in agony, the soothing effects of the mana worn off. He tried walking off the burn and the stiffness, and he could see the laughter in the eyes of his fellow squad member on guard duty. He couldn’t blame him, he would probably have been doing the same if their positions were swapped.

The next day the hunt began. The two squad members that acted as trackers went out ahead, sweeping the area for prey, for spoor. One found something, coming riding back hard, his fur lying flat.

“Sergeant, we have trouble.” He looked at the sergeant, indicating the direction he came from. “Not sure what it is, but there are tracks of three dark beasts.”

“Dark wolves? “ Hurnith blurted out, thinking of those he had faced in the Fae forest and thinking of how they would love this terrain where they could run down foes, wearing them out from a prolonged chase.

“Not unless Dark Wolves have talons like a bird. That is what the tracks look like.”

The sergeant pondered the news. A Dark Incursion took precedence over an initiation, but this being an initiation meant that they had an untested member with them. He looked at Hurnith trying to make a decision. “What do you know of Dark Beasts? You have only had your graduation visit to the lands of Fae, right?”

Hurnith bared his teeth, “We had out initiation visit, and faced dark wolves and then a strange Fae beast that appeared part man part spider. The wolves we killed, the strange beast we could only chase off though we saved the Fae child it had taken.” He snarled as he sniffed that air, showing his wanting to catch his prey. “That last dark beats almost killed one of my Awakened squad, I will now kill another dark beast for its cowardice in fleeing instead of facing my sword!”

Sergeant Jaclith gave a slow smile then looked at the squad. “Since our initiate has already had the taste of dark beats blood, let him have some more.” He turned to the tracker. "Take the lead, find us our prey, and let us make them regret leaving their dark home to befoul ours!”

The scout found the beasts spoor again and dismounted, leaving his beast to the care of the group. He disappeared into the long grass, the group awaiting his return. When he did his eyes shone. The beasts had settled for the night and were ripe for an ambush. He could also now describe them. They were large, birdlike creatures. Their bodies were covered with scales with only vestigial wings that were covered with black feathers. Long necks, also covered in scales, reached a small head, with beady eyes and a razor sharp bill, their heads crowned with a circlet of the black scales.

Jaclith nodded at the information. Small eyes meant that aiming for them was not a good idea, the archers would be unlikely to hit and if the head was armoured the arrows would likely do no damage. Instead he took inspiration from the wolves they rode, they would make harassing attacks. A sword blow here, a bite there. Slowly wearing the beasts down. A cruel fate when wolves did it to a fleeing animal, but he had no sympathy for dark beats. He briefed the squad, and then they moved out silently astride their wolves.

The beasts were where the tracker said they would be. Silently they maneuvered to surround the beasts. Hurnith wondered why they did not just sneak up and try to kill them, but then he noticed the way their ears twitched and their eyes followed the slightest disturbance in the grass around them. They might be resting, but they were alert and anyone trying to sneak up on them would be dealt with very swiftly.

With the squad in place they started to tighten the circle, slowly working their way inwards. The two dark beasts jumped up, looking at the approaching beasts and their riders. As they faced them, a rider from either side charged in, swinging down with their swords. But the beasts were far faster then expected. Twirling around their talons shot out, one wolf was kicked in the face, his cheek opened up with a slash from the talon. But another rider had ridden in as the bird turned around, and a sword strike slashed across its back, drawing a thin line of blood, both beasts danced back, avoiding further blows from the beast which tried to turn as a third rider came in, slashing at its back and scoring another mark on its back. Neither would was serious, but the aim was to wear it down slowly, avoiding danger until it collapsed.

The other dark beats was doing better. The first rider had been unlucky enough that it had jumped as it turned, the talon hitting the rider, scoring a deep mark in his face and sending him to the ground. The rider faced further injuries, landing on his arm, feeling pain shooting through it as it broke beneath him. His wolf went wild, diving in to attack the dark beats. He gripped its neck, but its teeth were not strong enough to penetrate the scales or to even cut off its breathe, but its grip meant that the beast could move and bring a taloned foot up to rake across its breast and neck, slice it open and leave it bleeding to its death.

Hurnith saw this, and used the distraction of it attacking the wolf to launch his own attack. Initially he had been going to pull out the downed squad member, but he saw Virnath already clearing him out of the beasts path. He launched his attack, striking at the beasts back, pushing his mana into the rune marked sword that Martin had given him. But he was unaccustomed to fighting from the back of a wolf, so even as he gouged a deep slash into the beasts side, he over balanced and found himself hanging onto the side of the saddle, over balanced and trying to pull himself up. He felt Wereth still running and tried shouting to him to stop, but it seemed he was not trained to respond to voice commands in battle. He felt the beast slowing down and someone lifting him up. He smiled in thanks, his teeth showing, then felt shame as he saw it was the sergeant that had helped him.

“Keep your seat initiate, you’re no good to anyone if you die from your head being bashed against a rock when your beast runs!”

He said nothing more, just turning his beast to return to the fray, Hurnith close behind.

The beasts were beginning to show their wounds when they got back, though another wolf had been felled and its rider killed. The beasts tried fighting together, to synchronise their moves, but the harassment of the squad was effective. As they turned to attack one person, another would be slashing from another direction. Many small cuts adorned their bodies, blood now flowing freely, especially from the deeper gouge that Hurnith had inflicted. He joined back in, watching for opportunities, darting in to make a slash, then darting out. On one foray it was not he that scored a mark, but Wereth that bit into a fold of flapping skin, tearing it off as they danced out.

It took an hour, but eventually the two beasts collapsed from fatigue and blood loss. The squad watched, knowing that it was only a matter of time before they died and knew they had no need to take any further risks. Virnath had already dismounted and taken out healing herbs, smearing them onto the wounded. Though only one was seriously harmed, others had minor bites and scratches, and any could be poisoned to threaten an infection. While he did that, Hurnith, Jaclith and two others that bore no injuries stood watch, making sure the beasts were not scamming, not just playing dead. The beasts lasted through the night, but the last of them died just as the first rays of the dawn sun shone in the sky.

Jaclith pulled a big cleaver from his bag and started to decapitate the beasts. “One for the wisemen to study and examine, the other a trophy for the initiate on his initiate hunt!” He held up the head to a cheer, even the wounded man baring his teeth in a grin to Hurnith. The dead man and two dead wolves they buried out in the pridelands.

After that Hurnith’s homecoming was an anti-climax. His father and the head of their pride greeted him, with suitable congratulations at his being Awakened by Shard and his successful initiation hunt. But there was bitterness there as well. His mother had long since died and now his father had to face the knowledge that his son, whether fighting in the lands of the Fae or back in his home realm, would not be coming home. He had new homes, one in the Academy, one with the elite, and his old pack and family would never be the same to him again.

Hurnith spent time in his old pack, amongst his old friends, but things had changed. He was awakened, they were not, he was part of the Elite, they were not. His dire wolf munching on meat and awaiting his call just emphasised this difference. He contemplated his page, the fact that the last battle had been enough to level up. He laughed quietly, knowing that the others would be jealous that he had pulled ahead/

Name: Hurnith Race: Gwathur (Wolf) Class: Awakened Warrior Level 6 (XP 200/11000)

Str: 18 Con: 14 Dex: 16 Int: 10 Cha: 10

Skills:

Read/Write 10 (Journeyman), Dodge 10(Journeyman), Ride Horse 5 (Apprentice), Ride Dire wolf 3 (Novice), Sword skills 12 (Journeyman), Shield skills 5 (Apprentice), Old Tongue 5 (Apprentice)

Stat points: 0 Skill point: 0 Hit Points: 60/60 Mana Points: 30/30

Mana Realms: Swordmage

Magic Skills: Imbue sword 10 (Journeyman), Succour body 5 (Apprentice), Ignore pain 3 (Novice)