It had been a day since Raj and Ram left the village to hunt the scarred tiger. The entire village which was praying had been almost plunged into despair.
Many If not almost all people had given up on believing that Raj and Ram would succeed. The only ones who kept believing were the two wives, Vidur, Tejas, and Anju who was the other daughter of Ram.
The family members were waiting for Raj and Ram's return. They kept believing that they would return. And so they waited.
An hour went by.
Two hours.
Three hours.
Four hours... Five hours...
In the end, The sun disappeared from the sky and the moon came out.
Night had fallen yet they didn't return. The villagers gathered around them. The woman started to counsel the wives who were on the verge of breaking into tears.
The elders sighed while the people close to Raj and Ram started wiping their tears. Tejas and Vidur looked in the direction of the forest just to be disappointed.
Anju also went to her mother and aunt. Just as all hope was lost, Tejas excitedly shouted.
"Look! They are back!!"
The entire village turned their heads. The ones with weak eyesight squinted their eyes as they were barely able to see the silhouette of two men approaching.
The wives wiped their tears and again cried but this time they cried the tears of happiness. Tejas and Vidur also looked at their fathers as they wiped their tears off.
In the distance, Ram held the head of the tiger as high as he could while Raj was carrying one half and dragging the other of the Tiger's dead body.
As the villagers rejoiced with happiness, The duo finally returned after the successful hunt.
The rest of the hunters stepped forward and took care of bringing the Tiger's dead body. After entrusting the body of the tiger to other hunters, Raj and Ram walked towards their families.
They hugged their wives as a happy family reunion took place.
Tejas and Vidur were also very excited to see their father. They had always considered their fathers as heroes.
Now, the position of the hero was even further solidified in their hearts. Both of them considered their fathers as the strongest fighters in the world.
This also sparked the flame of wanting to be like their fathers in their hearts. Tejas and Vidur hoped to become as strong as their fathers, The strongest warriors for them.
...
After the incident, the reputation of Raj and Ram soared. In both of the villages, everyone was now aware of their grand feat.
Proceeding the hunt of the Tiger, the old village chief also declared Ram as the new Village chief. To which, all villagers agreed.
Ram donned the scarred head of the Tiger as his crown. He swore an oath to forever protect his brothers, villagers, and hunters.
Similarly, Raj became the leader of a battalion of hunters. His massive body wore the specially woven tiger fur as his sign of leadership and honour.
Raj and Ram became the symbol of motivation not just to their sons but also to every youth of both the villages.
So, the successful tiger hunt seemingly set off a series of events that ignited the flame of hunting in many. Everything was smooth sailing for Tejas and Vidur too.
Since both of them were 15 years old, they wanted to learn how to use the blade and a bow. They started to train with their fathers.
Raj and Ram were also more than willing to teach their skills to their son. However, Due to the extreme workload they had as the Village chief and the Battalion leader, they couldn't fully commit themselves to teaching their sons.
So, Tejas and Vidur didn't make any significant improvement too. But They were content with it for now.
But, despite the improvement being slow, It was still there.
Tejas and Vidur vigorously trained Basic blade techniques and Archery. Although all they could use was a wooden sword and tree barks for training.
They were improving slowly but surely.
One evening, Ram and Raj called their sons to talk. Tejas and Vidur arrived at the training grounds. Since the sun was already down, It was completely empty.
Tejas and Vidur were confused at first as to why they were called. But it was all answered when Raj took out a pair of Khukuris and Ram took out two bows.
The fathers looked at their sons and spoke,
"Listen kids, We will get busier in the future. We won't be able to foresee your training as much as we were hoping to. So, All we can do is help in the best way we can."
Raj handed Khukuris with pretty slick designs to the boys while Ram gave them two strong bows. They had picked these weapons for their sons themselves.
"So, When you become older. We hope that you will become the best warriors."
Ram spoke his thoughts while caressing the hair of Vidur while Raj knelt to the height of Tejas.
"Yes, We hope that you will surpass us too."
Tejas and Vidur looked at the weapons in their hands and a flame of determination started burning in their hearts.
"Don't worry father, We promise to become the strongest warriors in the world. Just like you!!"
"Yes, We will definitely protect our villages too!"
The two boys swore to reach the top of the world...