Alaric moved forward, approaching the iron fence that served as the border of the Sarua Clan. Not much was known about them, their home lying within the crevice of two mountains. No one other than traders ever get in, so it is hard to say what their culture and lifestyle is like.
The fence was tall, the bars were think and heavyset with pointed tops. They were very old, but no rust could be seen on their glistening black surfaces, though moss, mold and vines did creep up on the fence from the ground, the ivy coiling and ensnaring the metal.
Alaric walked up to the metal gate, placing his hand in the bar. He peered between the opening, trying to spot any signs of the living on the other side. But there was nothing. It was just a stretching pathway that went on, covered by the canopy of thick trees above, giving a dark yet comforting scenery. He pulled on the gate. It jangled slightly, but for the most part it was unmoving, locked.
"Hello?" Alaric called out. "Is anyone there?"
He listened, waiting for a response, but no such thing ever came. It was just dead silence. He wondered why their perimeter seemed so unguarded.
Alaric glanced up, debating whether or not he should just climb the gate and walk in. But he didn't want to make himself an enemy of them.
The sun had fallen now and the air began to grow cold. Looking around, Alaric tried to think of a way he could get someone's attention. But he could no think of any that wouldn't make him appear as a threat.
He groaned in irritation. It was so strange to him that no one was around. Why would they leave their borders so unguarded? Has the fact that they've never taken part in any of the wars gotten to them or something, causing them to be weak and fearless of the outside world?
"Hey kid. What are ya doin here?" Came a gruff voice.
Alaric turned and saw a burly man who carried two dead rabbits in his hands. His arms were large and hair and he was bald, save for the gruff beard. He had dark skin and his eyes were a light cold blue. He wore a thick jacket and tattered pants. On his back was strung a simplistically crafted bow, accompanied by a quiver of arrows.
Alaric bowed his head, "My name is Alaric. I've denounced my last name.. for reason I will only express to a given party of importance."
"Well, uptight are we? Why ya talk like that, kid? You raised by royals or somethin?" The man asked, raising one of his thick brows.
"I.. would prefer not to answer your inquiry." Alaric avoided the question.
"Why are ya here, kid?" The man asked again, sounding annoyed.
"To join the Sarua Clan."
"Oh?" The man then looked Alaric up and down, his eyes glancing from the kimono to the hair clip to the swords. "You are from Mortadire."
"I will not lie to you, you've assumed accurately." Alaric responded.
"Stop talkin like that, goddamn. Look, I don't care what business you were a part of, and I don't care why you are here. If you wanna try to join us I won't stop ya, but I will say you ain't gettin in for free. Ya gotta prove your worth." The man explained, walking forward past Alaric.
"Prove my worth? How might I do such?" Alaric asked.
"You gotta prove ya can hold your own in combat." He said gruffly.
"Is that all?" He inquired, completely fine with those terms, confident that he could easily hold his own against the inexperienced members of the Sarua Clan. He highly doubted they even knew proper stance.
"Yeah. For now. Come on, then. I'll tak ya to the boss man." He shifted one of the rabbits to another hand and then held one out to Alaric, palms upward slightly. "My name is Brigham. And you were..? I forgot."
Alaric glanced at the man's hand. It was at least twice the size of his own. He place his hand in Brigham's and shook it. The man's grip was not surprising, considering his size.
"Alaric… Alaric Mortadire. Fourth son to the king. Though, I've denounce my family name, so simply refer to me as Alaric." He spoke.
"Hm. I imagine ya got yer reasons. Well, you'll have to tell the boss. And I'll inform ya, I'm one of the generals, so, your remark earlier about only sharing to a specific part of importance or whatever, I would be of that party." Brigham said with a grin.
"Oh. I see, I do apologize for my disrespect." Alaric gave a nod.
"Nah, it's fine. Don't be so uptight here, we are nothin like those prissy Ettra and Mortadire folk."
"Oh.. I see." Alaric withdrew his hand. As he did Brigham glanced down at it, seeing the blood caked into his palms.
"I see you had a go of it then. I must say, I am interested to here your story, kiddo. But it can wait til we talk to Sardan." Brigham spoke, turning and pulling out a key. He inserted it into the lock, twisted it and the gate swung open.
He moved aside, holding out an arm motioning for Alaric to go first. "Come along then." He said brusquely.
Alaric walked past the gates and past the border of Sarua. And now he stood within the territory of another Clan. He only hoped it wouldn't come to be his downfall later on.
Alaric began to walk down the path, Brigham following behind. The forest, even in the night, seemed to glow, the moon being brighter here for some reason and filtering down through the trees above.
"Just follow the path a ways, we will reach the town soon." Brigham spoke.
"Alright." Alaric responded. For the most part, the scenery was quite boring. But then he began to see strange stone carvings and statues of beasts and intriguing creatures he'd only ever read about in children's stories.
Dragons, gargoyles, strange demons, deformed angels, gods of worship, winged lions, and a wide array of other creatures lined the sides of the pathway.
"What is all this?" Alaric asked.
"It is our culture. The beings of the world, elements, all of it. Nature is our being, these creatures are respected and worshiped by us. These statues serve as our respect to these phantasmal beings." Brigham spoke.
"You believe such creatures exist?" Alaric inquired in doubt.
"Do you not?" Brigham retorted.
"No. Though, I guess I could not say for my self, since I've never left the borders of my Clan till now." Alaric explained.
"I see. Well, allow me to give you forewarning, kiddo. Disbelief will be your downfall."
Alaric found those words intriguing. Why would disbelief lead to his own defeat? It didn't make sense to him. Did these people honestly believe in mythical beings? It was so alien to him. He had worshiped gods before, but to his Clan the gods are simply the powers of the elements, storms, fires, rain, hurricanes, all of these are the wraths of the gods. Did these people believe the same thing, or was it something different?
To Alaric it seemed that the Sarua Clan believe in figures and beings as their gods of worship, while also believing in magical creatures. Compared to his Clan, where the gods themselves are the elements, have no body or form, it just seemed so strange.
"Here we are then." Brigham spoke as they came upon an opening in the forest where which stretched out a large expansive valley, small wood houses and buildings piled into the sides of it. "Welcome to Sarua."
"It is.." Alaric was about to say underwhelming, but he decided against it, "interesting."
Brigham suddenly laughed, a hefty booming laugh. "Don't sound so disappointed. I imagine that, compared to where you are from, this looks like nothing more than your average village."
"Yes. It does." Alaric responded honestly.
"Is what it is. The temple is this way, follow me." Brigham said. He led Alaric down the path a ways before turning left down a shoot off path that lead around a couple blocks of building before leading up to a large stone temple that seemed run-down and ancient.
Symbols of which Alaric could not read nor describe were scrawled across the stone faces, as though the structure had been forged by the hands of the gods.
"What language is that?" Alaric asked, perplexed.
"It is the Ancient Tongue of the first clan. It's been lost over time. None of us know what it says either." Brigham answered.
The burly man lay the dead rabbits upon the ground outside the temple. He walked up to the steps, bowed slightly while clapping his hands together, then ascended the steps into the temple, motioning for Alaric to follow.