Soul Caller 1 - Chapter 9 (Patreon)

With a gasp, Estva rose to her feet, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She had always expected that Merrick would gain the favor of one of the spirits, after all, he had  carried Snake’s blessing from a young age. But to hear it from his mouth, especially after he had failed to complete the ceremony on the top of Sky Mountain, was another thing entirely. She had always worried about how her brother would survive, fearful that he would be sent out of the tribe to wander through the dangerous world. But now, if it was true that he had become a spirit warrior, then he would be able to stay nearby, taking his place among the warriors of the village.

"We have to tell the elders," she said, echoing Jorn's words.

Nodding, Merrick allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and followed his sister as she tugged him out of the house. She was so excited that she ran straight to Elder Gorik's house, practically dragging him after her.

When she barged in through the gate, Estva finally remembered her manners and quickly backed up, knocking on the gate post to alert the guards of her presence. There were two spirit warriors who were responsible for guarding the elder's compound, and they had already seen her when she stormed in. At first, they reacted by drawing their weapons, but seeing her recall herself at the last second, they didn't make it hard on her and instead took her message to Elder Gorik. The stern-looking elder soon came out, walking with imperious steps to the gate.

"You want to see me? I was told it was important," Elder Gorik said, his eyes widening as he recognized Merrick.

Estva quickly bowed again, pushing her brother forward.

"Yes, Merrick has returned. He has survived his fall, and he has something to tell you."

Curious, Elder Gorik stared at Merrick, surprised when the young man met his gaze evenly. There was something different about him, something that had not appeared before, and almost immediately Elder Gorik knew exactly what it was.

"You have become a spirit warrior," he said, a slow smile spreading across his face.

Instead of responding, Merrick simply bowed, giving the traditional warrior salute with his hand over his heart.

"How? You have not gone through the ceremony. This should be impossible. Come, come, tell me of your adventure and how you were chosen."

Entering the elder's compound after him, Merrick and Estva followed him into his hut and sat down at the main table. The elder had just finished his meal and as the dishes were being cleared, Elder Gorik offered them some tea, not opening up the conversation until they each had a cup in hand. Once he had settled into his seat, he gestured for Merrick to tell his story. For the second time that hour, Merrick told of what had happened to him, speaking of the accident on the mountain and the strange event that had led him to tumble from the cliff. Speaking of how he awoke below and found that he had already become a spirit warrior, he was interrupted before he could continue.

Elder Gorik held up his hand, saying, "Never speak casually of your patron spirit. This is the greatest taboo of the spirit warrior, as to do so would give advantage to your enemies. No one should know who your patron spirit is, not even your closest family. Instead, I would simply ask, what gift were you given? For example, I was given a gift of new hands."

Pausing, Merrick thought carefully about how to respond. This was a strange custom, one that he had heard before but never actually considered, but it suited him just fine. He had never heard of the warrior spirit and so had felt uncomfortable about talking about it. Originally, he was going to ask the elder about it, but from the warning that Elder Gorik was expressing, it seemed it would be better to keep it to himself.

"I have been given the gift of new eyes," he said, mimicking the way that the elder had spoken.

"Excellent," Elder Gorik said, clapping his hands together in excitement. "We can always use more scouts and archers. While you may understand the basics of your gift now, over time you will come to understand it even better and learn how to incorporate it into all the things that you do. A gift of eyes is tremendous, no matter how it manifests, even more tremendous when we consider how fleet of foot you are. I must admit, I had expected your gift to be a gift of new feet, maybe far running or land walk, but to see that you have both a lesser blessing of Snake, and now a major blessing is an incredible boon for our village. Do not neglect your lesser blessing of natural speed, even as you continue to explore the power of your eyes. Now, you had more to tell me but I interrupted you. Tell me, how did you make your way back to us? For I know the basin you speak of and returning from it is a major feat."

Pondering all that the elder had said, Merrick continued in his story, speaking of his first encounter with the wolf, speaking of its demise in the lake. After that, he told of the decisions he made, the way he had thought through the problem of survival, until ultimately he had made the decision to leave, fleeing from the bear and climbing the cliff. Throughout his explanation, Elder Gorik nodded, his eyes bright. It was clear that the village had gained another talented warrior, and he was excited for it.

"This is wonderful. It is wonderful that you are here. It is wonderful that you have returned to us. Praise the spirits. Now, I have a few words to speak to you," he said. "Estva, thank you for bringing your brother here. If you would give me a few moments with him, I will return him to you soon."

“Of course,” Estva said, bowing her head to the Elder.

Standing, she patted her brother on the shoulder, her face beaming with pride, and left to wait outside. When she had gone, Merrick realized that Elder Gorik's face had grown stern. Sudden trepidation filled him, and he saw a terrifying sight. The Elder's hand flickered across the table, grabbing him around the throat. Fingers like bands of steel closed down on him, until his breath was gone from his body. As his vision darkened, he felt the snap of his neck radiating through his body as his spine gave way. Fear flooded through him, and Merrick lunged backwards, gaining distance from the Elder.

And then the sensation faded, and Merrick found himself standing six feet back from the table, staring at the Elder, whose hand was half raised. Slowly, Elder Gorik put his hand down, his eyes rife with curiosity.

"Tell me what you just saw," the Elder said, his voice deep and imposing.

Merrick, who was still recovering from the terrifying sight, shook his head, laughing nervously. A low chuckle escaped Elder Gorik, and he smiled, his canines bright.

"What you have just experienced is something that every warrior must go through. It is called the Ceremony of Humility, and it is performed to ensure that new warriors understand their place in the world. Compared to a spirit warrior, a mortal is nothing. But even a new warrior, compared to an old warrior, is nothing. Simply because you have been blessed by the spirits does not mean you have escaped the hierarchy of this world. Understand this. Understand your place in it, and you will be able to make the correct decision in every circumstance. Listen to me, and listen well. You have become a spirit warrior, and your gift seems powerful. But understand this. You are simply at the beginning. You have much to learn, much growth to go through, before you gain real power. This is not to discount what you already have, but to inform you of what you must become. It is not until you learn to master your gift that you will be able to help the village. Bear this in mind. But at the same time, you cannot let fear control you. Do you understand?"

Merrick, stabilizing his breathing, nodded. He did understand. He had managed, through his courage, to overcome many challenges in the basin. And yet, in the face of the bear, there was nothing he could do but run. Similarly, Elder Gorik was giving him the same lesson. Just because he had gained new power, new strength, did not mean that he was invincible. Instead, it meant that he needed to be more cautious, more careful. He needed to understand better where his place was in the world, so he did not make poor decisions, did not make fatal decisions from overconfidence. Bowing, he inscribed this lesson into his heart, vowing that he would not forget it. As he straightened up, Elder Gorik patted the table, gesturing for him to sit down again.

"You must strive to reach the point that when you think of what just happened, you are confident in not only defending yourself, but in striking in return. Now, to more practical business. You have missed the gathering of wisdom that most young warriors go through because of your absence. Furthermore, the other groups have already left for their first hunt. From what you have told me, you have more than proven yourself, but the first hunt cannot be skipped. It just so happens that because of your fall, one group was short a person. People you know, in fact, your friends, Maro and Sellie, are both waiting for a new warrior to return to form a group of three so that they can go on their first hunt. But now that you're here, we can arrange it right away. I will send you out tomorrow with Barak, a fantastic warrior who will guide the three of you on your first hunt. Meet him here at first light and he will provide more details tomorrow. Do you have any questions?”

Merrick thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"No, I'm excited to complete my first hunt."

"I've heard of how you came back wearing a wolf skin, and from your own words, it sounds like that wasn’t the only creature you were able to hunt successfully, so I imagine you’ll do well. But still, it would be good to understand the methods of the spirit warriors of our village because everyone has their own tricks. Barak will be a good guide."

Standing up, Elder Gorik smiled at Merrick and brought him to the door. Just before Merrick left, the elder reached out his large hand and blocked the way, his expression serious as he looked at the young spirit warrior.

"And finally, a word before you go. This is a warning given to all young warriors, so heed it carefully. When you enter the world, you do so under the watch of the Great Spirit who blessed you. Do not take lightly voices who claim to be this spirit. There are many false voices in the world who, given a chance, will lead you down the wrong path. Trust the voice of your heart. Trust the spirit who watches over you. That is all."

Bowing, Merrick thanked the Elder for his guidance and left the room. Outside, his sister was waiting for him, pacing back and forth with excitement.

"What did he say? Are you going on your first hunt?"

Estva had already expected it, and Merrick thought that maybe he should have as well. Nodding his head, he spoke simply, "Yes. We'll leave tomorrow. I'm heading out with Barak. Maro and Sellie as well."

"Oh, that's wonderful. That's so exciting," Estva said, ecstatic.

She led the way home, walking like preening peacocks, incredibly proud of Merrick. Though she didn't say anything, it was clear that word had started to spread of their visit to the Elder, and curious villagers came out to look at them. Feeling fairly self-conscious, Merrick tried to hurry his sister home, but instead, she slowed down, smiling even wider as she kept him from running off. When they finally arrived home, Jorn met them at the gate. He noticed Merrick's blushing skin and laughed.

"Has she been showing you off?"

Grumbling under his breath, Merrick just rolled his eyes and headed for his room. He was about to step through the door when it banged open, narrowly missing his nose.

"Merrick!" a loud voice bellowed, and two huge arms wrapped around him, nearly squeezing the life out of him.

"Put him down. He can't breathe," Sellie said, tugging on Maro's arm as he lifted Merrick in the air.

"Serves him right, falling off a cliff like that,” Maro said, his voice entirely too loud.

Finally released from his big friend's bear-like grip, Merrick coughed to catch his breath.

"Hello," he said, strangely nervous and unsure how to greet his friends.

Reaching out, Sellie gave him a quick hug as well, much gentler than Maro’s squeeze, and then stood back, looking at him.

"You look great, considering you've been alone in the wilderness for three weeks," she said. It seemed that they had already gotten a rundown of the story from Jorn and knew that Merrick had become a warrior.

"Did you go talk to the Elder?" Sellie asked, her eyes bright with curiosity.

Nodding, Merrick explained what had happened and how the elder had assigned him to their team.

"Yes, and I'll be going on the hunt with you tomorrow."

"Oh, praise the spirits," Maro rumbled. "I was afraid we were going to get one of the others. It's not that I don't like them at all, but they'll have already been on a hunt, and no doubt they'll lord that over us."

“We can talk about that tomorrow,” Sellie said, pushing Maro out of the way. “I want to hear about your amazing adventure.

With a wide smile, Merrick followed her to a wide stone in the yard that functioned as a bench and the three of them sat down. Late into the night, Merrick talked with his friends, reminiscing about his time in the basin and telling them the story of how he fought with the wolves again and again. Both of them, excited to go out on hunts for themselves, drank up every word, completely fascinated. Sellie especially asked him many questions, until he had told the story a dozen times. Sighing, she looked up at the bright stars overhead, her gaze filled with visions of adventure.

"I'd love to see that waterfall," she said.

"Well, once we're official spirit warriors, we can go explore it," Maro said, nodding.

Merrick was about to agree, and then he remembered the bear.

"Yeah, but there's a pretty big bear down there."

"Bear? I could take on a bear," Maro said, flexing his muscles.

Rolling her eyes, Sellie patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you could, Maro. I'm sure you could. If your strength didn't get it, you could knock it out with your odor."

"Hey, I don't smell that bad," Maro protested, sniffing at himself.