Soul Caller 1 - Chapter 1 (Patreon)

The song of the world sang to Merrick as he ran. It came from every blade of grass, every rustling leaf, and the blue sky overhead flecked with soft white, like sheep's wool after it had been cleaned. His feet pounded the earth, and he could feel the reverberation beating along with his heart like a war drums shaking in his bones. Up ahead, he could see faint smoke rising from the Teresk village he called home. Rounding the corner, he darted between two trees, his lips curling to reveal his sharp canines.

This was always his favorite part. An unexpected dip in the trail where water had carved a path long ago allowed him to leap high, grasping onto one of the branches of a low-hanging tree. Gripping it tightly, he felt his weight bearing it down toward the ground and his powerful legs pressed off, shooting him up into the air and propelling him forward, completely clearing the village wall, and landing in the yard to his home. Though it wouldn’t be his home for long. The realization struck deep within him when he saw the door being fixed in place over the hut he had been using for the last few years.

For a long time, he had simply used an animal skin, letting its heavy weight block out the cold air of winter and pinning it back during the warm months of the summer to allow the breeze to blow in. But now it was being replaced with a wooden door. The craftsmanship wasn't the issue. It was that a door was going up at all. Young trainees like Merrick who wished to be warriors, lived as the warriors did, keeping their huts free of permanent doors, a sign of their readiness to serve the tribe. It was a practice he and his friends had adopted a few years back as they began to get ready for their warrior test. And yet, a door was going up, sealing the entrance to the hut. Hearing the sound of his feet on the packed dirt, the man tacking the door in place looked around.

"Ah, Merrick, where have you been? Your sister is looking all over the place for you. Aren't you supposed to be getting ready?"

"I am getting ready," he said, defensive.

The time was coming, the time for the warrior trial, and Merrick was to participate. His sister's husband, a powerful hunter in his own right, simply grinned, remembering the time before his own trial. Though he had not been chosen as a warrior, he had made a good life for himself and there was no jealousy in his words as he laughed.

"Well, enjoy that freedom while you can, because it's not going to last. If you don't want to catch an earful, you might want to get going. Your sister's on the warpath today. You’d think that you were one of her own kids."

Nodding his thanks, Merrick paused to grab the small bag of his possessions that had been placed outside the hut and took off again, running. He seemed to always be running, but that suited him just fine. It was good to train the body, just as it was good to train the mind. But something more important lay ahead, the training of the spirit.

As was the custom of his people, Merrick, who had seen almost thirty seasons, had trained for nearly two decades now and was finally of age. It was his cohort’s turn to officially be tested to see if the spirits favored them. His sister, who already had a family of her own, had been caring for him these past years, and he was thankful, but it was time for him to forge his own way. Whether or not he succeeded in the warrior's test, he would not return. If he succeeded, he would accept a position in the tribe. If he failed, he would begin his long, wandering journey as he looked for a place for himself. Jorn, his brother-in-law, was one such wanderer who had found his place here with the tribe after meeting Merrick’s sister, Estva.

Many of the youngsters in his cohort were worried, worried that they might have to leave the village if they were not favored. But Merrick had been leaving the village for years. Though he had not left the valley completely, he knew what lay beyond, knew the song the mountains and forest could sing, and welcomed it. Heading for the tall peak in the distance, he grinned when he heard the shout behind him. He heard his name, called out by Estva, and responded by speeding up. Though strong in her own right, none but a warrior could catch Merrick when he started to run and he soon left his sister behind. His running took him through the village, dodging past the hunters selling their goods. He ignored the shouts as he continued to speed up, nearly colliding with one of the heavy bulls laden down with furs from the trappers.

With a quick twist of his body, he maneuvered around it, startling the bull, and forcing the hunter leading it to hang on to the lead rope with all his might. Still, Merrick didn’t stop, and soon he had left the small market behind. His run took him through the village, heading out of the gate on the other side where he caught sight of some of his cohort up ahead. It had been two weeks since he had last seen them since his latest journey had taken him to the far end of the valley and back, and when he saw them, he nearly burst out in laughter. All of the Teresk were handsome, with long, straight limbs of tightly packed muscle and impressive heights. Their long, pointed ears protruded from their multi-colored hair and the faint bluish green tint of their skin allowed them to blend into the forests with ease. The two sharp canines that appeared when they rolled their lips back were strong and bright, and had to be filed down regularly lest they grow so long they couldn’t be contained in their lips.

Abundant with natural beauty, Merrick thought that his friends looked ridiculous all decked out in the gear their parents had given them for their test. They wore heavy skins with so many wooden beads that they rattled when they walked. Feathered headdresses sat on their heads, making them look like birds doing a mating dance, and he knew that if he had stuck around long enough, his sister would have burdened him with the same. Merrick had no interest in dressing like a fool, however, which is one of the reasons he had cut his return so close. Slowing to a jog as he approached, he waved.

Maro saw him first and gave him a sorrowful look. A large, muscular young trainee, Maro stood a full head taller than any of the others and his massive arms bulged with muscle.

"Hey Merrick, where you been?" Maro asked.

"Oh, you know, just out exploring," Merrick replied, shrugging as he stopped by his friend. "You ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Maro said, shaking the fringed shirt that covered his arms and causing his friend to laugh.

Sellie, a young woman whose pointed ears were especially cute, flashed her canines. "And where have you been? I noticed that you are not nearly as well-dressed as the rest of us." This time, the whole group laughed at the absurdity of it.

Merrick, who was wearing nothing more than his waist skins, smirked and shrugged. "I don't know about you guys, but I actually want to be able to move. The tests that are coming up are no joke, at least if the stories are true. And I'm not about to be weighed down like the rest of you."

Lifting his eyebrows, Maro suddenly reached for Merrick, attempting to grab him, but Merrick dodged backward, staying just out of reach.

"Oh no, no, no," he said, shaking his head. "If I had to guess, I'd bet my sister gave you guys a shirt for me. I'm not wearing it."

Gail and Vestev, the twins, pulled a buckskin shirt with fringes and heavy wooden beads from behind their back and grinned.

"Get him!"

Laughing, Merrick took off running, his friends helplessly chasing after him. One by one, they fell away until only Horik was keeping pace. But even Horik fell behind eventually as Merrick sprinted up the mountain.

It was these moments, these moments of freedom, when he felt as if he could fly. Cool air streamed through his lungs as he dashed forward, each of his steps carrying him half a dozen feet up the mountain. The dirt path wound up through the tall pine trees, the bed of soft needles from years past providing a sort of spring for his feet as if the earth itself urged him along. Normally, whenever he outran his friends he would turn to mock them once they finally arrived, but this time, his words died in his throat and he came to a stop.

Facing him were the elders and the powerful warriors of the village, their eyes alive with humor as they looked at him and at his friends struggling up the mountain behind him. Each and every one of the elders and warriors wore the bulky decorated shirt of the ritual, and only Merrick had a bare chest. Embarrassment rose in his chest, betraying him with a faint blush to his cheeks, and despite his efforts to keep his head up and present a confident front, he knew it was a losing battle. A few minutes later, as everyone finally made it to the top of the mountain and saw why Merrick was standing there, they all began to laugh and closed in on him, stuffing him into the shirt his sister had prepared.

Grumbling, Merrick allowed them to put the shirt on him,  tugging at the uncomfortable buckskin as he ignored the snickers of his friends. He had outrun his sister and even his companions, but he couldn't outrun the elders or the traditions they wielded. When he had arrived, Merrick had felt the slight disapproval in the heavy stares of the warriors and knew that he couldn’t buck the trend. With everyone present, and properly arrayed in their ceremonial finery, it was time to begin.

His tribe was powerful, with two hundred warriors protecting them from all manner of beasts and enemy tribes. With such a large force of warriors, they controlled the entire valley and the mountains on either side, leveraging their strength to claim the best hunting lands. From the mountain where they stood, Merrick could see both hunting grounds, and knew that if he turned, he would be able to see the haze of the lowlands to the south and the glittering ribbon of water that was the ocean to the west. These far sights called to him, and he almost hoped that he wouldn’t be chosen by the spirits. Though he loved his sister, he longed to wander free like the clouds overhead.

"Pay attention," the sharp words of the elder interrupted Merrick's thoughts and he looked up, relieved to find that Elder Gorrick was not talking directly to him, but rather to all the nervous young ones.

As the chief warrior and leader of the tribe, Elder Gorrick was overseeing this warrior's test, a great honor for those who took it. If there had been fewer test takers, it would have been overseen by one of the other, less important elders, but this time there were twenty-five young ones gathered, the largest group in memory. Together with the warriors and elders in front of them, and their families, who watched from a bit further down the mountain, they formed a large group on the top of the mountain.

"The warrior's test, a time-honored tradition of our people, will test your strength, will test your cunning, will test your courage, your agility, and your swiftness. Bear, wolf, jaguar, falcon, and snake all watch over us. They grant their attributes of strength, cunning, courage, agility, and swiftness to our warriors. They allow us to protect our people. They allow us to open new hunting lands and to bring down the mightiest beasts. And today, we will see from among you who are favored. Each of your attributes will be tested, so that you might find your right place among the people. You have spent years learning the ways of the warrior, learning the ways of the hunter. During that time, the spirits have watched over you, judging you, observing you. Today we will discover which of you have been chosen by them."

With the introduction done, Elder Gorrick gestured for the tests to begin, and the drums were struck. Together, the elders lifted their voices in song, each bringing their own harmony and interpretation of the Song of Bear, King of the Mountains. As they sang, they came forward, effortlessly carrying twenty-five massive boulders that they dropped in front of the young ones, forming a line across the top of the mountain. As the last echoes of their song faded, they invited the young ones to step forward to the boulders. Examining them carefully, Merrick saw that not all the boulders were the same size, with the largest being double the size of the smallest.

Maro, who was next to Merrick, slapped his chest with his big hands and strode over to the largest boulder, crouching and gripping it by the sides. With a bellow, he lifted it high, bringing it to his shoulder in a clean motion. His thick leg muscles bulged as he stood up, lifting the boulder above his head. Merrick hurried to grab one of the boulders next to him, feeling the weight of it by shifting it slightly as he got ready to lift it into the air. The first test was the test of strength, favored by Bear, and like Bear, it was quite simple.

Each warrior was given a boulder to lift above their head and hold until they could no longer stand it. Merrick was not fond of this test, but he had secretly practiced far from the village to ensure that he would be able to keep up. He knew that he wasn’t going to be the best, but he wanted to ensure that he wasn’t the first to let go, or his friends would never let him hear the end of it. Taking a deep breath, he let it out as he lifted the boulder he had chosen with ease, getting it to his shoulder and standing up. It had been easy enough to lift but holding it above his head was another story.

For a few minutes, everyone held their boulders up, even Sellie, who was the weakest of them. Finally, unable to maintain her position, she threw the boulder down with a pout and retreated from the line. After the first came the second and as his friends began to fail, Merrick felt his strength lagging, and his breath started to come heavily. He could feel the muscles in his arms starting to tire and perspiration began to bead on his skin, but he still held up the boulder, even when his arms began to shake. Next to him, Maro looked like he wasn’t holding anything, and even had the energy to look around at the others taking the test, his smile wide enough to reveal his fangs.