The Forest of Calamity, an enormous dark and empty region in the center of all the continental maps of various Kingdoms, cities, empires, and other prominent regions, was a place associated with adventure and fear in the hearts of the people living anywhere in the continent.
But it was different for people that lived there, yes, living, and not hiding there. Other than the people of the independent Ro-han city, everyone else would find it a miracle that anyone would voluntarily choose to spend his life fighting the odds of nature.
Their primary reason for their presence here is the decision taken by one man, who has already died long ago - The Divine Bandit, 'Ro-han'.
According to the widely held beliefs of the people of Rohanic tribes, he was an orphan, who fended alone in his earlier years without any luck or magical affinity. Learning pickpocketing at a young age, he joined a little merry gang of thieves and fooled tourists and locals alike.
With a natural talent for communication and superior physical strength, he kept gaining momentum.
According to legends, he stumbled upon a Divine Manual for martial training by accident and trained according to it since he was a teenager. A Divine Manual was never even heard of across the continent. It is widely believed that any manual, whether it be martial, magical, talismanic, or skill, that contains the secrets beyond the sixth grade was Divine.
Naturally few people believed that legend though the people of the three divisions of the Rohanic tribe could be counted within those few.
By the time Ro-han was 50 years old, he was already a grade-5 warrior with bulging muscles and a body rumored to be made of divine metal.
His notoriety spread far and wide as he stole from the royal treasure vaults of various Kings and robbed multitudes of great generals and warriors.
Elusive and practical, he was rarely caught but in the end, his arrogance and greed only continued to increase until one day, he courted his death when he stole a grade-6 martial skill from one of the most ferocious warriors of the continent, Kang.
Kang lifted his broadsword and chased him for two days and two nights, as Ro-han took refuge in the 'Forest of Calamity'. The chase left him wounded and exhausted, at the end of his life.
In the end, Kang caught up to him, beheaded him, took his stolen possessions back, and ended the widespread reign of terror established by the bandit. He publicly announced that there was no manual beyond grade-5 within Ro-han's possessions, though, the believers still believed that it existed, only that he had hidden it somewhere before his death.
Although Kang was undoubtedly disappointed by the lack of a divine manual, the divine bandit's admirable escape still left a good impression on the peerless warrior, which resulted in him taking pity on the Divine Bandit's followers and sparing their life.
His followers swore to change their ways instead of seeking meaningless revenge.
The followers accepted the embrace of mother nature and built a divine sanctuary, hidden from the world, in a secluded corner of the dangerous forest, in the memory of their leader.
People from around the world came there to seek his legacy, wisdom, and most importantly, his legendary Divine manual.
Other than his followers and disciples, he soon had a lot of supporters as well, that swore to keep his legacy safe and reside near the sanctuary of their noble teacher and brave warrior.
His followers called themselves Haritas, his supporters or allies called themselves Contas, and his disciples called themselves Zaputas.
At the time of his death, he only had 3 disciples. But those 3 disciples accepted a lot of disciples, later on, to support themselves in the wilderness.
Together, these three divisions of people formed the hidden yet ferocious Rohanic tribes that voluntarily resided in the heart of the 'Forest of Calamity'.
Along with time, the Rohanic people realized their increasing disconnect with the outside world and their lack of resources. The leaders of the three divisions then united together and decided to send an elite group of warriors each, to build an independent city at the western entrance of the Forest of Calamity.
Trade flourished, and the smell of riches, risk, and bloody opportunities attracted merchants, scavengers, adventurers, and madmen. The city which was supposed to a way to communicate with the outside world ended up becoming one of the most prosperous cities on the face of the continent.
In a grand tent house within the central region of the Zaputa tribe, a burly middle-aged man and a bald square-faced old man were discussing something in hushed tones.
The burly man, surprisingly, was Uncle Danulo who has been taking of Ryne for the past two weeks, and the frail elder sitting in front of him was the tribal chief of the fiercest division of the three divisions.
The elder's brows scrunched a little as he whispered,
"Danulo, I need to take the child's affinity for magic and his aptitude towards martial arts into consideration before I make my choice."
Danulo felt a little aggrieved when he heard this and quickly refuted,
"Don't go back on your words chief, you are unmarried and alone anyways, please adopt the child. Remember, you still owe me a favor from back then."
At the mention of the favor, the elder gritted his teeth and then released a sigh before commenting like a deflating balloon.
"I'll give him food and shelter, but I'll only teach him something if he's actually to my liking not because of your favor."
Hearing the defeat and acceptance in the words of the tribal chief, Danulo felt exulted and laughed out loud. Laughingly he also expressed his underlying intention of helping the new child as he said,
"Don't worry Chief, the information is correct. You won't be disappointed. This Kid and that white-haired 'goddess' of the Contas belong to a kingdom in the far eastern desolate lands. Most probably, these two were kidnapped by that robber, 'Quintus the Wicked' you killed two weeks ago. His intent on this kidnapping is still unclear though."
The Chief looked deep in thought "According to my sources, Quintus was a dog that took bounties and chased third-class criminals all his life. How could he have found a way east when our exploration squad had been wasting so many resources and manpower all this time? However, our search for that treasure map must speed up now. 'That token' is definitely buried somewhere near the eastern corner of the forest. What do you think, Danulo?"
Danulo revealed a slightly fanatic expression "Our way towards the Divine Manual is clear once this Kid remains loyal to our tribe."
"I don't trust outsiders, Danulo, you know it as well as I do. How can I expect loyalty from one of them when backstabbing is all they do. They're all opportunists, it's in their blood."
The Chief gazed blankly at a random point in space and countered Danulo's enthusiastic suggestion with his experienced perspective. But just as Danulo was about to interject and try to persuade him again, he nodded his head lightly and said,
"It's a risk. But he's just a child. I'm willing to bear this risk. Don't worry."
The large and vigorous hunter, Danulo bowed down deeply to the Chief sincerely and said
"You won't be disappointed Chief, I'll bring the child now."