The forest was silent, save for the whisper of the wind weaving through skeletal branches. Osiris crouched by a dying fire. A pendant, carved into its surface with grooves smoothed by years of wear, was held tightly in his monstrous hand, dwarfing the delicate piece.
"She would have told you to stop sulking," came a voice from across the camp.
Aries, barely a teenager, sat on a log with his arms crossed. His hair was matted with dirt, and his face bore the stubborn defiance of youth. But his eyes—so similar to Osiris's—held a flicker of sorrow he couldn't fully mask.
Osiris glanced at the boy, his lips curving into the ghost of a smile. "And you think you know what your mother would say?"
Aries shrugged. "She'd say, 'Osiris, get up. The dead don't need your tears, but the living need your strength.' Isn't that what you always told me she said?"
The words cut deeper than the boy realized. Osiris placed the pendant back around his neck and rose to his feet, his towering frame casting a shadow over the dim firelight.
"She did say that," Osiris admitted, his voice low and heavy. "But saying it and living it are two different things."
Aries stood, his own posture mirroring his father's in stubborn resolve. "I'm not a child anymore, Father. You can't protect me from the truth. I've seen the things you've tried to hide—the marks on your chest, the way you wince when the Gate burns you. Whatever burden you carry, I'm ready to share it."
Osiris's gaze softened, but his voice remained stern. "You think you're ready? You don't know what you're asking for, Aries. The truth isn't a gift—it's a curse. It will tear you apart before it makes you stronger. If it even lets you live."
Aries stepped closer, his fists clenched. "Then teach me! Train me! I'm not afraid to die if it means I can protect what little we have left. You're always talking about the Tribe of Silas, about our legacy. Well, isn't it time I became a part of it?"
Osiris turned away, his broad shoulders tense with the weight of the conversation. He looked up at the crimson-tinged sky, where clouds twisted like specters in the fading light.
"Do you remember when your mother would sing, Aries? Her voice was like the first light after the long night."
"Yeah... I miss that. I miss her."
Osiris paused, his voice softening. "She believed you could bring light to this world too. Never forget that," he said after a long pause. "She thought we could escape this cycle, that we could find a way to break the curse without losing more lives. I wanted to believe her… but this world doesn't care for hope. It crushes it under its heel."
Aries's voice softened. "But you believed in her, didn't you?"
Osiris nodded, his hand absently brushing the Gate etched into his chest. "Every day of my life. And I believe in you, Aries. But belief isn't enough. If you want to walk this path, you'll need to be stronger than I ever was."
"I will be," Aries said, his voice firm.
The wind picked up, carrying with it the distant howl of a beast. Both father and son instinctively reached for their weapons—Osiris for his jagged blade, Aries for the makeshift spear he had crafted from scavenged parts.
"Then let's start," Osiris said, his voice cold and resolute. "No more words. Show me you're ready."
Aries nodded, his eyes alight with determination.
Time quickly passed, and in the blink of an eye, three months passed.
During these three months, they conducted long-distance endurance training every day. In addition, Aries had to undergo "The Hunter Test". This was a general term referring to methods and tactics tested over long periods within the Tribe of Silas. It was divided into two main categories: "Survival Arts" and "Resource Harvesting". These were the basic set of abilities every warrior had to master.
"Survival Arts" was subdivided into "water", "shelter", "access to food", and "subsistence". Each course contained a wide range of content.
The first was the "Water Source" course, which focused on finding water sources in different environments, divided into four broad categories: the jungle, the desert, the mountain, and the swamp. Finding water sources in the jungle was much easier compared to other environments. However, beasts lurked in the jungle; hence, the "Survival Arts" course also taught Aries how to avoid these dangers.