Chapter
3 – Fulfilling Obligations
For every day after work, I’ve been
training my nature magic and skills with a bow and dagger for a few hours
outside of my house. It’s fun, stress-relieving work despite coming after a day’s
work in the gardens and farms. After my older siblings hear what I’m doing,
they send their letters back saying how surprised and proud they are of me. My
father is pleased to see me training while my mother is happy enough to see me
happy again and not worried about past events. Speaking of which, a messenger
comes to him bringing news that the hunters have discovered a den of bandits
and criminals who are associated with the ones that attacked our home. Hearing
this, I set up to my father and offer my help.
“Why? Even those these bandits are associated
with the other ones, they aren’t responsible for the deaths of your friends and
coworkers,” my father says.
“This isn’t about revenge. It’s
about me wanting to help and put my skills to the test,” I say.
“Ivana,” my mother says, “I was
okay with your training, but this is too far. You’re a gardener, not a hunter.”
“God has shown me that I have power
over nature, not just through gardening, but also through my bear and the
bending of the world around me, meaning that I’m more than a simple gardener.”
My mother continues to argue with
me until my father says that he’ll send two guards to watch me while I go on
the hunt. This makes my mother simply sigh and then angrily go inside,
seemingly allowing me to do what I want.
“Be careful, Ivana,” my father says
while hugging me.
“I will, father,” I say while
hugging him back.
While with the other hunters at the
base of the tree, the nature mages call upon the innocent dead to help us in
our hunt to which the dead rise from the tree and the ground. Their bodies are
made out of what they came from while also having a pulsing red core at their
center. Among the dead, I see not only coworkers and guards that I knew that died,
but also Oshry and Ziv, which is a relief. Wood elves who die in a state of
grace can be called upon for their intercession in battles, if God allows, and
they manifest as these creatures made of wood, earth, and stone. I wave and
smile at them and they do the same, making me want to cry tears of joy, but I can
hold them back and focus on my task.
“The high elves are too busy dealing
with the politics of other kingdoms while the dark elves sculk in their swamps,
doing penance for their sins, leaving us to take care of our problems by
ourselves, and we wouldn’t have it any other way,” the leader of the hunt says
to the approval of the hunting party. “We are our brothers’ keeper and we will
get these scum off our land whether they surrender or put up a fight, so let us
hunt these men, lesser than beasts, and keep our land holy.”
We cheer and head out while riding
on the backs of our chosen animals while the dead ride on the wind and fly as if
they were angels. Going to the area where the bandits were last seen, it doesn’t
take too long to find them. Before we attack, we surround them, make ourselves
known, and let them know that they will die if they don’t surrender. Sadly for
them, they chose not to surrender and fan out to attack us, forcing us to kill
them. I send my bear to tear them to shreds while I stand to support him from
the back by picking off bandits with my bow. The battle doesn’t take long,
especially with help from the dead who meld back into nature now that their
purpose is done.
Part of me feels more satisfied than
ever because of what we did here. Not because this battle satiated a part of me
that was bloodthirsty, wanted revenge, or because it healed the wounds of the
past, but I feel like I’ve finally found my complete purpose in life. I will
not only be a gardener but also a hunter when necessary. I tell the leader of
the hunt to call upon me whenever he needs help again, which he gratefully agrees
to after seeing my skills. When I go back home, my parents embrace me, thankful
that I came back alive. I tell them all about what happened, how the battle
went, and the aid that the dead gave us.
My father finds it an exciting tale
while my mother is just happy that I’m here and helping her make dinner. We
then go about our usual nightly routine and watch the fireworks together. It’s
then that I realize that my personality and mind haven’t changed at all despite
recent events. I still think this life is Heaven on earth and I wouldn’t change
a thing about it.
The End
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