Once they had left the light of the courtyard and were within the criss-crossing corridors of the compound Brin seemed to relax, shoulders dropping and stance softening. He walked besides Rial until they reached the corridor leading to Rial's room.

"You did well, boy. I apologise for the Kotaku; he has taken this very hard. I've never seen him like this..."

The final comment seemed more for himself than for Rial, and his eyes flickered upwards at some inner worry. A moment's pause, and then Brin gathered himself and was once more the firm, confident presence Rial knew.

"Make your preparations, we will leave at first bell. You do not need much; I have prepared the necessities for our trip myself. Bid farewell to those you can, and meet me at the main entrance."

With that, Brin turned and strode off, not waiting for a reply.

Rial stood there overwhelmed, at a loss for what to do. Make his farewells? It was far too early in the morning for anyone to be properly awake. Rial had no close family; both his mother and father had passed away in his infancy, stricken by a sickness that swept the village one winter suns ago. He had been raised by the Family in its purest sense, watched over by servants and retainers. To be fair, this was not that much different a situation to any youth of the Family; the relationship between parent and child was much less than that of child and Family. Strong displays of parental affection were frowned upon.

There was no-one Rial felt it necessary to say goodbye to.

Instead he made his way to the common area and gathered up a few changes of clothes and the daily necessities he would need on the journey. He slung tooth sticks, clothes and everything else into a small cloth pack, then made his way out of the compound. He sat outside, next to the smouldering embers of the last night's fire, and watched as the old time-keeper made his rounds of the village, a robed, bearded figure who swung a set of small bells from his hands, quietly but clearly announcing the hour.

Brin was not long in coming, arriving from the direction of the pagoda. Rial wondered what he had had been doing there. The older man carried his pack on his back, and in his hands something long and rounded wrapped in cloth. Rial stared at it, but Brin did not offer any explanation.

"That was fast, boy. Are you ready?"

Rial nodded, and looked around in confusion. Where were the others?

Brin must have noticed the look.

"It will be only us two, and we should be gone before the others wake; they have carried out their part, and I can't have them slowing us down through tiredness. Come, there will be plenty of time to speak once we have made a distance between us and the village."

Brin was moving even as he finished speaking, and Rial found himself rushing to catch up. They walked unspeaking past the silent buildings, descending towards the pass that would lead them to the plains below. The sun was beginning to rise in the same direction, casting a glare that made it hard to look directly ahead. Rial was relieved when they finally made it into the trees and their shade. He could once again see the trail ahead, a winding, overgrown path that hardly warranted the name.

It was several hours before Brin called their first break. He had been almost completely silent up to this point, but when they sat he took out two baked loaves and spoke.

"This must be a surprise for you, eh, boy? Getting to become a man sooner than you expected and all."

Brin grinned, a grin that belied the concern in his eyes.

"I... suppose so," said Rial. "I thought I would have to wait until the next year."

"Well, adulthood comes with its own set of surprises, so I suppose starting off this way can only prepare you for what's to come."

"I know I am lucky. I am thankful that the Kotaku chose me."

Brin winced at Rial's words, and the grin was replaced by a serious expression.

"I don't know how lucky you are, boy. This is not the trip you should be going on, not this. I... am sorry you have become wrapped up in it all."

Brin drew out a small sealed glass cup of zake and unscrewed the top. Pausing for a moment before reaching a decision, he reached back into his pack and drew out another which he threw towards Rial. Rial barely managed to catch it.

"Drink it. As far as I'm concerned, you became a man the moment you agreed to come on this journey. You did so with no thought or concern for yourself," said Brin.

Rial felt a hot pride at this. Brin was widely regarded as the village's greatest swordsman in generations, and respected by all the Families for his leadership abilities. This was why he led almost all village expeditions, and why he was entrusted with their youth.

To be acknowledged in such a way, by such a person...

"Stop smirking, boy. It makes you look soft in the head."

They drank in silence.

Once he had finished his drink Rial stared at the glass in his hands. He had had to match sips of the glass with bites of bread to keep from retching; the taste was too strong and too foreign. Still, he'd kept it down, and now what had initially felt like churning fire in his belly was becoming a warming glow.

He's seen the men of the village sometimes, when they set out or returned from some long journey, smash their glasses against a tree upon finishing their drinks. He wondered if he should.

"Woah, boy!" said Brin, startled by the sound of Rial's glass missing a tree and bouncing along the ground.

Brin stood up and wandered over to where the glass lay nestled in the foliage.

"You finished it already?"

And he raised his own glass, still half full.

"Dammit, Rial, you don't spear your first glass. Hmmm..."

Brin looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, there's nothing for it. We have to keep moving; you're going to have to burn it off on the walk."

Brin picked up his pack and returned to the trail. Rial did the same, swaying as he walked. Brin's laugh echoed through the trees.