The rift behind Erik closed as reality repaired itself; cutting space was never permanent and had its limits.
"Oooh, beautiful tree!" Rex exclaimed, trotting towards a tree to mark his territory. "Marked! Oh, another beautiful tree! Marked! Marked!"
The raven perched atop Erik's shoulder and didn't even bother looking at this idiotic behavior. Erik chuckled. At least someone was enthusiastic about this place.
Sunlight reflected on white barks shining like diamonds, leaves were shaped like rubies, and the scent they emanated left a sweet aftertaste. There was only one place where these kinds of plant life forms grew.
"The Crimson Forest," Erik said. "We are in the Wolverine clan's territory, far up north, near the Lifeless Sea. Going back to the clan from here will take at least two months by foot, maybe two and a half."
Weird, the last time his mother had opened a rift to a forest a week away from Tiger Gorge.
Well, he had heard other siblings' trials took place here most of the time, though there have been two exceptions in his past life, the sixth child Myr and Erik. All he could think of was that his mother sent her children into forests that matched their talents.
That alone meant she acknowledged his path.
His bladder empty, Rex joined his side with a disappointed look. He would have wanted to mark more trees.
Caw! Caw!
"Hum? Old bone says it's not the Wolverine clan's territory but the Basara's," Rex translated.
"While it is technically true since the Basaras rule over all Nurmen, if this is what he meant, then yes, it is Basara territory. However, mother left the map as is after her conquest. Every region is led by a jarl from the main clans who report directly to her."
The jarls' only obligations were a monthly tribute, march their armies if Skadi ordered them to, and their loyalty to the Basara family. Apart from that, they could pretty much do whatever they wanted.
"The Crimson Forest is under the jurisdiction of the Wolverine clan since they've lived here for the past thousand years and know this place better than anyone else."
The raven seemed to ponder his words.
Caw! Caw!
"Old Bone says she's female, not male," Rex said. "She also says this place is the Basara clan's ancestral lands. It is a dis, dis, dis-something that you allow another clan to rule over it. She's quite old, friend. Very, very old. Maybe she's gone sen, sen, sen…"
"Senile," Erik completed Rex's sentence and patted his soft, golden fur. Old Bone scoffed but let the insult pass. She seemed tired of pecking the dog for his foolishness.
"Thanks for the correction, friend!" The dog wagged his tail. "Words are hard, but I'll learn!"
"I know you will." In a few years, the dog would rarely pause or hesitate on a word anymore.
Old Bone's origins intrigued the youngest son.
He was an open-minded man, a shaman's trait. While she didn't make sense to him, the fact Rex said she was very old picked his interest. The Basara clan's records stated they had never moved from where they were, but those dated back from a thousand years ago.
Could the raven be older than that?
'I've gotta have a thorough discussion with this bird. However, it can wait,' Erik thought, feeling the glacial air in-between his legs. 'My naked body may be accustomed to the cold thanks to my training, but nighttime temperature will still be challenging. We're far up north. I can already tell the temperature is lower than in Tiger Gorge by several degrees. Luck is on our side since we didn't walk into a snowstorm.'
Snowstorms frequently hit this region at this time of the year.
'Priority for today will be to make a warm shelter.'
Food and water wouldn't be a problem. He had already survived in the wild for long durations and knew the ways to obtain them.
The true challenge would be the beasts roaming the woods.
"Time to move you two. Let's go."
***
Later that day.
"Found them!" Rex barked, waiting in front of a hole at the foot of a small hill covered in snow.
"Good job, Rex," Erik said. "Now wait for my signal before you start digging."
Wild snow rabbits in Nurmen tended to make an emergency exit to their den. An inexperienced hunter would find nothing in the hole if they thoughtlessly dug.
Old Bone spectated from a ruby tree branch as Erik searched the surroundings for a second rabbit's hole entrance and found it hidden behind a rock.
'Cunning little things,' he thought before signaling Rex to start digging.
"Dig! Dig! Dig!" The dog enthusiastically enlarged the rabbit hole.
Meanwhile, Erik channeled [Enhance Speed] to match the creature's agility and patiently waited for his dinner to come to him.
It didn't take long before a big white rabbit ran out at full speed.
In a practiced motion, he grabbed the "ferocious beast" by the ears, snapped its neck, and left it in the snow.
Another rabbit ran out of the exit and shared the same fate.
'Good, that much food should be enough for now.' Those animals were quite fat, weighing probably four kilograms each. He'd have enough for three dinners, three breakfasts, and perhaps three lunches.
A third rabbit was about to exit but ran back inside when it saw two corpses.
'There was another one?' Snow rabbits usually lived in duos, not a trio unless it was a young one. He wondered if he should kill it too, but remembered his shamanic knowledge.
"Rex, move away from the entrance hole and let the rabbit out!" The poor creature was probably trying to exit the other way, but a dog was barring its path.
"Huh? But why? More dog food is always good!"
"We'll only take what we need, Rex. More and we might disturb the ecosystem of this place." That was exaggerated, but he wanted to teach the dog a lesson. "So step aside."
"Alright," Rex reluctantly walked away. A few moments later, the rabbit left its habitat in search of another. "What now, friend? We eat?"
"Not yet. Your job is to dig a shelter for tonight using the den we just emptied." Night would be upon them in two hours top, and they needed a safe place to sleep. "Enlarge the tunnels just enough for us to fit inside, but not too much or it'll crumble. I'll help you."
"Got it! Dig! Dig! Dig!"
"And please do it in silence," Erik loved the dog like a little brother, however, he ought to learn to keep his tongue to himself sometimes.
"Oh, sorry, I'll be silent." He started whispering. "Dig, dig." Well, at least Rex wasn't so loud anymore.
Erik gazed up. The raven hadn't moved one feather, she just kept staring at him with her judgmental eyes.
It was disturbing.
He knew she was testing him, every totem beast would after the summoning—Rex was a special case.
Basara children must demonstrate their worth to their future life companions. It may take hours, days, or weeks, but eventually, the beast acknowledged them before a month passes.
Old Bone appeared rather difficult to please, though.
He shrugged the matter aside and started pelting the rabbits. That kind of thick fur would do wonders for his lower parts once he'd craft underwear with it.
Erik made a quick job of the two corpses. Rabbits were far easier to pelt than bigger beasts like wolves and bears.
Once the corpses were cleansed, he buried their guts to hide the scent as much as possible, stored them on a tree, then went back to the emergency hole.
"Okay Rock, time to work," he said, focusing on his contracted spirit he could feel throbbing inside.
Rock exited its dwelling then flew out of his palm into the hole and immediately started to enlarge, a basic shamanic art called [Unearth].
Inside the tunnel, Rock commanded the stones, earth, and roots to exit this place using Erik's mana through the shamanic art [Spiritual Link].
Both entities' thoughts and energies were linked by an invisible golden thread directly connected to Erik's bosom.
Contracted spirits were visible without using [Shaman Senses] but Erik activated it nonetheless. There was something he wanted to check.
He saw earth spirits leaving the den, either coaxed by Rock or chased out and sighed with relief, no ghost had follow—
White's blurry head suddenly popped out of the hole.
"Damnation!" Erik jumped in surprise. "Stop appearing like that!" One day, that ghost would give him a heart attack if it kept doing that. "Why the Void are you following me!? Just tell me what you want!"
The lost soul stepped out and faced him. Expecting White to remain silent as usual, Erik sighed his frustration.
However, the ghost did something different this time around. It lifted its sausage-like arm and pointed somewhere.
Intrigued, Erik followed the direction: the distant Everow mountain range.
It was an unnaturally long series of mountains stretching for thousands of kilometers from one end of Nurmen to the other, separating the continent in two. Only one clear path to the other side existed, and it was occupied by the Basara clan at Tiger Gorge.
One could climb the mountains to reach the other side, but not many people would survive such a journey since powerful beasts and giants roamed the mountain range's upper levels.
"You want me to go there?"
White nodded.
"Will you stop following me if I do?"
It shook its head in denial.
"Bastard," Erik sighed, then cursed once more. "Whatever, I've already planned to journey there to find worthy opponents, but I'll only stick to the foot of the mountain range. No climbing, if that's what you're asking for. That'd be suicidal at my current level."
White nodded, seemingly satisfied with this much, and misted away.
"Friend!" Rex, the ever loyal, ran to his side. "I heard your scream. You okay?"
"Huh? What scream?" He blatantly lied, ashamed. "You sure you heard, right?"
"There is no danger?" The dog blinked in incomprehension.
"No danger. Return to your task, Rex."
The totem beast turned his tail and went back into the tunnel he had been digging, mumbling some inaudible words.
———
Lore Extract:
"The Everow Mountain range is… abnormal, ancient for most, new for a handful. Rumors tell about its origin. Some say it is a natural formation, hardly believable. Others say the giants inhabiting its highest peak, Jotunheim, built it long ago to prevent the encroachment of civilization, something I can get behind. A few rumors say the gods themselves created it."
—Diary of a Retired Warrior