The Hunt

The Hunt

As Atreya walked through the inner city gates on his way towards the Great Hall, he could barely contain his excitement. He felt as if he were vibrating with energy and possibility. Beneath all that energy however, there was fear. He may have been training for tomorrow for the past eight years, but that didn’t change the danger he was about to find himself seeking out. But the fear was easily swept aside by the rush of other emotions swirling through his body. As he got closer and closer to the Great Hall, Atreya’s mind began to focus on the activities of tonight’s Hunt ceremony. He thought of the Matriarch that would lead him and the other Hunters through their vows and protection rituals, he thought of the look on his parents face, his sister’s face as they watched him from the crowd, and then, as it always did, his mind settled on Celia. He was still daydreaming about her when he walked directly into a spice cart.

“Hey!” the vendor shouted at him. “What are you blind? Watch where you’re going boy.” Atreya quickly apologized and made a hasty exit, brushing some orange, brownish dust off his shirt and pants; maybe paprika, he thought to himself, thought it was barely more than a guess. He rounded the next corner, deciding to take a slightly more scenic and quiet route to the Great Hall. He had plenty of time before the ceremony started and he figured the extra time to himself would do him some good before he found himself lost in the heat of the ceremony and following celebration. It was only a couple of blocks before he arrived at the garden path that snaked its way through the heart of the city. As he opened the small wooden gate that marked the start of the path he thought once more of Celia. He always loved coming here with her. It had been a place he came to for peace and quiet in a busy city, but then it had turned into a place of laughter and safety. Of love. He had barely taken two steps along the path, the gate having only just thumped backed against its frame when he heard her.

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Only the slightest rays of light could be seen through the thick layering of clouds that was ever present in the sky. Atreya had already been up for an hour though. Gathering his gear and supplies, saying one last goodbye to his family, then to Celia, who made him repeat his promise, and then making his way towards the city’s Eastern gate. Waiting for him, was only the gate guard, there to close the great doors behind him, the other hunters would be leaving from the West and North gates so the three would not cross paths. Atreya slipped through the small crack that had been opened in the gates for his departure and heard the guard speak as he closed them. “Good luck hunter”.

Atreya heard the dull thud of the heavy gates locking him out of the city and took a moment to breath. He thought of his parents, his sister, he thought of his friends. Then he thought of the Striiyla. He knew how to track them, he was prepared to face one. He was both terrified and absurdly excited to actually see one with his own eyes. He steeled himself for the long journey ahead and then set off, letting his mind move away from the Striiyla for the time being, and onto happier thoughts, most of them involving Celia.

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“Wait up.” she called, only just appearing around the corner of the building that bordered the path. He had a nice couple of seconds to take her in as she walked over. His gaze went first to her eyes, a striking ocean green that he could stare into for hours. Next at the freckles that lay just beneath them. He looked at her nose, slightly crooked from multiple breaks over the years: Training for the Hunt was no cake walk. His eyes fell down once more to her mouth, to her lips made for kissing. He took in her hair, which was down for the evening, a warm coppery red that in sunlight would shine as it fell to her shoulders in soft curls. Most of the time though, she had her hair up in a messy ponytail so it wouldn’t get in the way during training or sparring. Finally, she was at the gate, pushing it open, standing right in front of him. They both had to tilt their heads toward each other as she barely reached the top of his chest.

“Hey” He smiled at her. She gave him a quick smile back before leaving his embrace and taking his hand. As they began to walk through the flourishing garden around them, Atreya took in the vibrant greens and yellows, red and blue, a delicate white, earthy browns. The gardens were filled to the brim with life. Plants both recognizable and exotic hung from the walls and sprouted from the earth. Small trees lined the path, serving as a barrier between it and the wilderness beyond.

Here in the densely packed nature, the sounds and bustle of the city quickly fell away, transporting them almost into another world entirely. “So how’d the fight today go?” He asked her. After a few moments of silence he turned his head to look at her. She had her head down, eyes on the ground, her right hand was balled into a fist, nails probably digging into her palm. “Hey” he stopped walking but it was as if she didn’t notice and went to take another step before he gently pulled her to a stop by their connected hands. It was another few seconds before she looked up at him. “I won.” she said. He stared blankly for a second before remembering the question he had just asked her. “Oh…” “Wait! That’s great.” he exclaimed, eager to try and cheer her up even if he didn’t know the cause of her discomfort. “I bet Trent didn’t even last three rounds with you, yeah?” A small smile came to her lips, “I had him in one.” “Hah! And he’s always talking about how great he is. I’m glad you put him in his place.” He put his arms on her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. “But if that’s not what’s bothering you, what is?” At this her smile faltered for a split second before returning with much more force. He could tell it was mostly for show. “Nothing silly, tonight is a special night, what could possibly be wrong?’ She took his hand again and spurred them further along the path.

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As Atreya got farther and farther away from the city, and civilization as a whole, he couldn’t help but be awed by what he saw around him. People didn’t stray too far from the city outskirts unless they had too, and while Atreya had been exposed to the wilderness surrounding them more than others thanks to his training, it was still a sight to see. Huge trees shot up into the layer of clouds above, their trunks thicker than the city’s walls: Lush plants and grass filled every nook and cranny along the quickly disappearing path: And the Walls. Huge stone and earth structures that sloped indefinitely into the sky; Past the clouds, and out of sight. The Walls completely surrounded Atreya’s entire world, permanent and unmoving. At places they were so far from each other that you could barely see the one opposite, and at others they were only a couple hundred feet or so apart. Soon, he would have to begin to climb the Walls, following the Striiyla tracks he hoped he would soon come across. But as the light died down, Ateya knew he needed to find somewhere to rest for the night. Spotting a small overhang on one section of the Wall to his left, Atreya quickly set up camp and after a small dinner, he crawled into his tent and fell fast asleep.

After another hard day of trekking through the plants and trees, the path now long disappeared. Atreya was beginning to wonder if he would be able to find any Striiyla tracks at all. Maybe they were all dead? But he doubted that. Maybe he just had terrible luck. As he continued to ruminate over his lack of an auspicious beginning, he nearly walked right by what looked to be a small cave only twenty or so feet up on the Wall to his left. As the light was once again beginning to fade, Atreya decided to try his luck and see if he couldn't find a nice alcove for himself up there and maybe even spot some tracks from the new vantage point.

The climb was rather easy despite being tired from a full day of walking thanks to the ropes and picks he had been carrying in his pack. Only a minute or so later he pulled himself up over the lip of the ledge that jutted out from the Wall. When he stood and looked into the opening in the Wall, he was surprised to see that it was truly the entrance to a cave, and a path that curved up and out of sight around a bend. Curiosity getting the better of him, Atreya left the cave behind and followed the path, which went on for another ten minutes or so before leveling out and turning one last corner. A rather large lake spread out before him, completely unexpected. A lake? Inside the Walls? This was quite the find. The water was a startling blue that glimmered in the soft light that drifted down from the now open sky above. There was life in this lake, fish and plants, and the shores were crowded with teeming life as well. Atreya quickly pulled off all his gear and after only a moment of thought, took off his other clothes as well and jumped into the water. It was extremely cold and he felt it shock his system as his head went under. Sputtering and shivering, he rose to the surface, a grin on his face. It wasn’t until he brought a hand up to move the hair out of his eyes that he saw it. Far across the lake, scuttling out of another path identical to the one Atreya had traversed was a Striiyla. Atreya froze, but only for a second before his instincts and training kicked in and he very slowly exited the water and found a shrub to hide behind. His whole body was shivering now, as he hadn’t thought to dry off, but he barely noticed as he stared at the Striiyla: its jumble of eight long, bony limbs that came to points where feet might have gone, its fleshy body covered by a thick carapace that protected its head and body from everything above it. The gruesome mandibles that twitched around its mouth, which was more aptly a maw, with rows and rows of brutal teeth. And its shockingly human pair of eyes set in the front of its head.

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She didn’t miss a beat, not giving him any time to get her to open up, before changing the topic to his sister Christina. “I can’t believe Tina is already about to make her choice. It’s sad you won’t be here for the ceremony though.” Atreya was almost too shocked to continue walking. In the weeks leading up to his departure he had been solely focused on preparing. He had completely forgotten that his sister’s choosing ceremony was only in three days. “Wow” he gasped, “I totally forgot.” “Of course you did” she laughed. Atreya had little doubt about how his sister would choose, while she was not weak or incapable at all, she had a gentle heart that was more suited to working with people rather than in opposition to them. He did not begrudge her the different path she would walk from him and Celia, but was glad she knew what she wanted. A warrior’s life is not for everyone.

They continued to talk about Tina and a few other things, nothing of import, as they got closer and closer to their destination. The path winded this way and that, meandering through the city until it came to a stop just to the left of the Great Hall. In this last section of the Garden, before they would be forced back into the busy city streets, the plants were much more well kept and in far fewer numbers than what had passed before. Instead of plants and vines all along the walls, there were great big murals depicting scenes from the history of the city and its people. They were beautifully crafted and held many secrets in their illustrious visages. Atreya could stare at just one for hours, always picking up something new he had not seen before just before he would give up hope. The one that always stood out among the rest for him was a depiction of the Last Nomads, beating back a tide of horrible, long legged, insect-like creatures that stabbed with their legs and ripped with their teeth. The Striiyla. Atreya had never seen one in person, but he had spent the last eight years of his life training for the day when he finally would. His gaze drifted back to the mural.

The last nomads had found this city completely abandoned. It was only when they had truly moved in that they discovered why: Striiyla had completely infested the whole city and surrounding areas. They would come in the night, climbing down the Walls to snatch away people and animals alike. So Atreya’s ancestors had fought back, eventually, after many long years of constant struggle, pushing the Striiyla back up the Walls and into caves and crevices, far from the city. In the years following, Striiyla became a rarer and rarer sight, Atreya couldn’t even remember the last time there had been a reported sighting. He-

“Atreya”

His name, along with a gentle pull on his hand, pulled him out of his reverie. There was an edge to Celia’s voice and he quickly turned to face her before taking a step forward and putting his arms around her. As he took her in once again, it was clear, despite her continued efforts to mask it, that she was upset. The slight tilt to her head, the way she shifted her weight back and forth from leg to leg, her hands balled into fists. He knew her, knew every inch of her. “Talk to me Celia” he almost whispered, as if afraid she would run away or disappear. “I don’t want to leave while you’re upset.” She exhaled, long and slow. It seemed as if she had been holding it in for quite some time. She leaned forward into his chest, her arms wrapping around his back, and the rest of the world flitted away. There was only Celia and him. Too quickly, she began to pull away, “I’m sorry. It’s nothing” He quickly shook his head and held on tight to her. “You know I can tell when you’re lying, right?” He said, forcing a teasing smile to his face. “And besides, this might be your last time to talk with me ever, you shouldn’t waste such an opportunity.” At this she gasped, before freeing her arm only to punch him on the shoulder, her face morphing from withdrawn and upset to furious. “Don’t you dare joke about dying you great big idiot! That’s not funny at all.” Atreya finally understood, she was just nervous to see him go. Despite years of training, the Hunt was still a very dangerous rite of passage that not everyone returned victorious from, or even at all.

He put on a brave face for her, and although it was not so difficult to do, it was not completely true to how he felt. “I’m sorry Celia.” he said. “I know it’s dangerous. I am taking this very seriously. And I have to come back, what would this city do without me?” “I don’t care about the rest of the city,” she retorted. “All I care about is you, coming back home.” She paused for a moment. “But it's weird, I know better than most how capable of a fighter you are, I know how much you have prepared, and yet I can’t shake this terrible dread I have that you aren’t coming back.” She looked up at him, her eyes glistening in the dying light of the sun. Atreya couldn’t stand for her to be so upset, but he had no clue how to go about guaranteeing his safety to her when they both knew he could not. “I know this is really scary. I’m a little scared too, you know. But it’s just like you said Celia, I am ready. I’ve been prepping for tomorrow for the past eight years, I’m faster and stronger than most of the other hunters, and I’ve even got some intelligence to back it all up. And even if I was lacking all that, I would still make it back simply because of you.” He pulled her tight to him once again, moving his mouth to whisper into her hair. “ I will come back to you Celia. That’s a promise.” Finally, he felt her start to relax a little against him. “Alright, you better believe I’ll come to collect if you don't follow through though.” At that he laughed and ran his fingers through her curls. “ I feel sorry for whoever or whatever tries to get in your way.”

Atreya would have said more but was interrupted by a long, low blast on the city’s giant horn. It echoed through the streets and off the walls, signaling to everyone that the Hunt ceremony had begun. He looked up at the same time Celia did, both seemingly startled out of their shared world by the commanding tone. Atreya was startled by just how quickly the sun had disappeared. When had it gotten so dark? “C’mon,” he said with a laugh, “I shouldn’t be late to my own ceremony.” He took Celia’s hand in his, glad that she seemed to be feeling at least a little better and hurriedly walked towards the Great Hall.

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As Atreya reached his hand over the ledge above him, he was relieved to find an easy handhold with which to pull himself up. It had been an arduous climb, one of the longest he had ever completed. His arms were sore and shaky, his legs barely able to keep him upright as he rolled over onto his back and looked up at the sky, attempting to slow his heart rate and catch his breath. He lay there, bone tired, but wide awake. He was filled with the rush of adrenaline, with the knowledge that soon he would have his prize and could begin the journey back home. It had been another two days of following the Striiyla, but he was finally catching up to it. His only pause had come a day back when he began to see multiple sets of tracks, which was odd considering that Striiyla are mostly solitary creatures. The threat of facing even just two of those monsters was almost enough to make him turn back. But thankfully before he could decide, the tracks had separated and gone opposite ways, letting him breath again. Seeing the Striiyla in person had definitely made the whole Hunt much more tangible and while he suspected he could defeat one, only a miracle would save him from more. Trying to relax, he let his mind wander to Celia. He imagined her laying outside in the grass behind one of the city gardens, a book open before her, her legs crossed in the air above her. He thought of his parents. How they would be sitting at the diner table about now. Fresh hot food on the table. Jokes passed around with his little sister. His stomach grumbled low and hard. He couldn’t figure out if he was more excited to see his friends and family again or to have a big hot meal set before him. The meager rations he had left, combined with what he had been able to forage never left him hungry, but also never truly satisfied. He sat up, legs dangling over the side of the ledge and looked around. It took him a minute but he managed to find the small opening in the Wall that he had seen the Striiyla scurry away into earlier. It was only another hundred feet up or so. Only. A task for tomorrow if there ever was one. The ledge he had managed to find was just large enough for him to set up camp without a fear of rolling off into the empty air around him while he slept. After a smaller meal than he would have liked, Atreya unrolled his sleeping bag and lay his sword down beside it. While it was unlikely the Striiyla would approach him while the fire still burned, he would not be caught unprepared. As sleep closed in around him he thought once more of Celia and then darkness took him.

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The Great Hall’s main room had been done over from top to bottom. It was almost unrecognizable from its usual state of unembellished, orderly perfection. Vibrant greens, lush browns, yellows and reds that seemed to light up the air around them. There were flower arrangements climbing the walls and hanging from the ceiling. Vines wrapping around the supports, torches lined the walls and large braziers, usually dormant, had been brought to raging life, casting large shadows along the walls and floor of the grand room. The sturdy long tables had been pushed to the sides of the room to create a large open center for the ceremony and following celebration. As they got closer to the crowd of people gathered loosely around the center of the room, Atreya began to see many familiar faces. Someone called out “Nice of you to show up Atreya” and he quickly found his friend, Jared, among the multitude of faces. He felt Celia go on the tips of her toes to plant a quick kiss against his cheek before melting into the crowd, presumably to go find her family. Atreya slowly, although not hesitantly, walked through the crowd towards the center of the circle they had created. He quickly saw the two other hunters that would be embarking on their own quests tomorrow as well. They stood tall and proud before one of the city’s matriarchs. She gave Atreya a meaningful look and he quickened his pace before finally finding his spot and squaring his shoulders.

In that moment it finally hit him. Tomorrow he would finally go on his Hunt. It was no longer a distant goal to work towards, no longer something to dream about. It was real and it was happening right now. He barely noticed as the crowd began to quiet down until the matriarch cleared her throat and began to speak. “ Tonight, we honor these brave few for their courage, their tenacity, their strength and their will. Long have we kept the Hunt alive in our people, ever since the Last Nomads drove the Striiyla back, up and into the Walls and the wilderness. We carry on the tradition of protecting our people, but that is not all the Hunt is for anymore. These special few, these hunters, go out to prove themselves to our city, to earn prestige and positions of great importance.” At this she turned her attention away from the larger crowd and onto the three of them standing before her. “Return victorious, with proof of your kill, and you shall forever be known as Champion. But this is no task for one with an unsure heart. No one will begrudge you your safety. Now is the time to speak if you would withdraw yourself from the Hunt.” She waited for a moment, the crowd completely silent. That one moment drew on for an eternity it seemed. Atreya could feel a bead of sweat trickling down his back, he could hear the soft tap of a shoe somewhere behind him and to the left, he could feel the heat radiating off his peers, his friends, beside him. No one spoke up. The matriarch, content with the silence, waited just one more moment before she began to speak again. “And with that past us, now we can begin in earnest. Hunters, step forward so we may proceed.”

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He woke with a start as a small avalanche of rocks cascaded down the Wall and onto the ledge around him. The only reason debris would be falling off the Wall was if a Striiyla was climbing somewhere above him. He quickly felt around for his sword in the darkness that enveloped him and stood before slipping out of his tent ready to fight. He looked up to see the monster only about twenty or thirty feet above him, staring down into his very core. Steeling himself for the battle to come, he realized too late that the ledge he was on was much too small. But he could never outrun the Striiyla if he tried to descend, and so he stood his ground. The Striiyla began to chitter as it made its way down the Wall, its legs stabbing into the Wall regardless of whether it was stone or earth. Time seemed to slow to a snail’s pace as Atreya waited for his opponent to approach. Fifteen feet away. Ten feet away. Five. Until suddenly the world sprang back to life as the Striiyla jabbed with its front two legs at Atreya’s chest. He dodged, but just barely as the Striiyla jumped down from its perch on the Wall and he was forced back towards the edge of the cliff and the open air. He rushed towards the monster, and there was nothing in the world except for Atreya and his foe.

The fight was as fierce as anything he could have imagined. It took all his training to keep his composure in the face of such a horrible enemy. He swung at one leg as it lashed out to stab him with its sharpened tip only to be cut along his calf by another. The Striiyla screeched at him as his sword made contact and left a deep gash along one of its front legs. His victory was short lived though, as the Striiyla did not slow its onslaught of attacks. It was all he could do to dodge and parry them all. He was losing. Atreya knew he had to turn the tide somehow or this was his end. The Striiyla screeched as it continued to stab at him with a multitude of sharp tipped legs, each as lethal as the last. He was quickly accruing cuts all along his arms and legs and after a particularly close call, felt his legs buckle beneath him from all the cuts and strain. He could see the Striiyla wind up its legs and saw himself impaled on them, his consciousness fading. In that last second his mind flew to Celia, to his promise.

Another wave of adrenaline shot through his body and was able to roll under the Striiyla’s attacks, finding himself directly beneath it, staring up at its fleshy, exposed underbelly for only a split second before stabbing his sword up and into the beast with every last ounce of energy he could muster. Hot, salty blood came pouring out of the Striiyla and onto his entire body as the creature writhed in pain. But it was still not defeated. As Atreya tried to free his sword from the Striiyla, it managed to find his leg and sink its teeth in around his ankle, causing him to scream out as if in answer to the Striiyla’s cry. Somehow, he managed to keep his grip on his sword and pry it free before stabbing up into the unprotected flesh once more. As another torrent of blood spilled from the Striiyla, its shrieks turned into gurgles as it fell onto its side, legs twitching every now and then.

It took Atreya three whole days before he could break camp and begin his journey back home. While impatient to get back, he had never been more content in his life. Emotions surged through his body. He had done it. He had trained his whole life for this moment and he had really, truly, emerged triumphant. Beat up and bruised, but victorious.

One that fourth day, Atreya was up with the sun, and had his camp packed in five minutes. He set his mind once more to his beloved Celia, and set off towards home, a new confidence in his step.