When I recovered from this symptom, I saw my mother sitting in front of me.
"Are you ready Yona? The divine hunt starts in ten minutes."
"Mother, what day is it?" I asked in shock, looking at my hands as if they would give me the answer I was looking for.
My mother turned a little pale around the nose. "I was worried when you came home white as a sheet yesterday and went straight to bed, but it seems worse than I thought!"
She came up to me quickly and put her hand to my forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever, though."
I shrugged and tried to smile at her, but it came off as a grimace.
"You must get through today Yona, otherwise you will have to wait a year for your divine blessing. That would be an embarrassment - a disgrace!"
My mother had been looking at me with concern ever since since I had regained consciousness. . I felt a strange sense of guilt. Why?
Since the quarrel with my brother Zao, I had firmly resolved not to be present at his divine hunt, but now that I had been told that I could not leave, I had no choice. My mother made it all too clear that I was participating in the hunt and my blessing. If I did not attend, she would force me to.
I nodded slowly, trying to look confident. I knew that the only way to survive this situation was by pretending to be strong.
I followed my mother out of the house and along the path towards the town square. The sun was already high in the sky and it was hot. But today all the citizens of Niantra were wearing their finest clothes. Their aim was to impress the gods.
We arrived at a small plaza and sat down on a bench. My father had left early in the morning with my brother. My mother had told me this on the way to the square.
My memory of the last few hours was simply no longer present, there was nothing. Pure emptiness.
On the way, I had tried to find out through my mother what had happened. According to her, I had come home last night complaining of a headache. I would have gone to bed without eating and slept until morning. My mother finally woke me up and I got dressed and ready for the day.
My mother was puzzled by my questions, but with the excitement of the day, she blamed it on my nervousness.
I had no idea where my brother was at that point. And I still didn't know. Despite our argument, I was discreetly worried about today. The divine hunt was a dangerous and deadly undertaking. My mother hadn't heard from him either.
I was about to ask her more, but my mother interrupted me. "I'm going to check on them before we go. You wait here Yona! Don't you dare sneak out!"
I nodded and she disappeared into the crowd. Five minutes passed.
Suddenly my eyes were covered from behind. Large rough hands blocked my view. "Hello sugar doll. How are you? You haven't been around for a while."
A grin played around my lips. "Well, you ugly chick. Have you finally escaped mummy's clutches?"
"Of course! I've become a badass cock now." With a deep laugh, he settled down beside me.
He too was wearing a festive robe. His robe was dark green and there were scattered brown and red beads embroidered into the fabric. His neck was adorned with a large chain that was full of long feathers. On his head he wore the skull of a wolf decorated with coloured lines.
"What are you doing here?" I whispered in his ear, turning to look directly into his eyes.
His smile died and he looked away. "I didn't want to miss this big event, that's all."
"You don't have to join the divine hunt!", I replied, careful not to speak too loudly.
He nodded in agreement and his pitch-black eyes glittered slightly. "It would be a shame for my mother if I didn't participate. You know she detests your mother and especially Zao. She wants me to win to show you off and you know how difficult my mother is. I have to do what she tells me."
I sighed. II knew the situation too well. My mother was also a very persuasive personality!
When my mother found out that I was friends with Lito, her rival's son, she wanted to forbid me to have contact with him, but despite resistance, we managed to remain very good friends until today.
"How are you? Your divine blessing is due tonight."
I sigh again. "You know I'm not too excited about that... but before we talk about me now... don't you need to be with the tribal elder for the hunt briefing?"
He nodded. "Yes I was just on my way there, then I saw you alone on the bench and thought I'd pay my sweetheart a visit. You must have missed me. But don't worry, I heard your call and rushed to you."
"You really are a weirdo!" Laughing, I punched him in the shoulder.
Many in the village thought for a while that the two of us were a couple, but our friendship had always been worth much more to both of us, which is why we never let it go that far.
"Don't be so mean to me," he snorted and let his gaze roam through the crowd.
I was just about to tell him what happened to me yesterday in the temple and what a fucking asshole my brother was, when two of Lito's friends came up to us. They were also wearing green festive robes, but without skulls on their heads.
"So this is where you are, Lito!" one of them said and then smiled briefly at me in greeting, which I in turn returned.
"You can't miss me with this skull on my head." Lito grimaced in annoyance.
"Lito we have to go to the village elder. You can mope about your skull on the way."
"It's OK, I'm coming! Yona, we'll talk after the divine hunt ok?"
I nodded and he hugged me goodbye before disappearing into the crowd with his friends.
"Yona!" my mother called my name as she came towards me. "I've been calling your name and waving at you the whole time!"
I exhaled deeply. "Sorry Mother, I didn't see you. Let's go."
As we walked away, I suddenly stopped and turned towards the crowd.I scanned the crowd several times but didn't spot anyone I recognised.
"Don't stand still Yona, otherwise we won't get any good seats."
We moved on and finally arrived inside the centre.
The elder was standing next to a smaller version of the temple's Euybia statue. She was holding a staff in her right hand and a ceremonial horn in her left.
The statue was made of wood and Eurybia's face was decorated with red and blue dots. In my opinion, this version had nothing to do with the magnificent statue in the temple.
In front of her, seated on a throne carved from wood, were three men. Two of them were dressed in white robes, but the third man was in a different outfit. He was wearing a black robe with a gold chain around his neck.
The men with the white robes were clearly priests from the temple. In the middle with the black robe sat our village chief. His name was Pano and he was just but also feared by everyone.
In front of the three men knelt the male warriors who would take part in this hunt. Women were forbidden to participate in this hunt. There was no real reason, if you asked explicitly for the reason, you would have been told that it had always been that way.
Among the kneeling warriors I could spot Lito and my brother Zao. The latter was also festively dressed. The colour combination was similar to Lito's. Zao also wore a skull on his head. This one, however, was a stag.
A loud drumbeat filled the square and suddenly silence fell.
"Today is the divine hunt in honour of our patron goddess and ruler of Niantra: Eurybia!" The voice of the village leader resounded across the square and some flinched.
"To express our gratitude once again, here kneel before me the warriors of Niantra who will set out on the hunt today!"
Now one of the priests rose and looked into the crowd.
"The task of the warriors will be to hunt down the bull Chuptri who rages on our island, killing numerous of us and spreading fear and terror."
Chuptri was a being sent by the gods. On Niantra he caused great havoc and devastated many places and killed many people.
The attempt to kill it years ago failed.
The people around me began to whisper loudly among themselves. My mother gripped my hand in fear. "He will die - all of them will die!"
The priest continued, "The hunters will need to find him and bring back his horns. We will sacrifice the horns to Eurybia in order to appease her wrath and make her forgive our sins.
"Will the warriors rise?"
Many of them stood up and shouted loudly, "No!"
"NO!"
"I want to live!"
"I want to live!"
The whispers became louder and the drums beat even harder.
"Silence!" The voice of the village chief made everyone fall silent abruptly. "What a shame! How dare you rise up and loudly disrupt our sacred ceremonies! What a disgrace! Sanctify our traditions and be faithful believers or go away and sin to burn in hell!"
Lito and my brother did not join in the disturbance, which made me breathe a discreet sigh of relief.
After the village chief's speech, the warriors looked down at the ground, concerned. "Priests, you may proceed and finish your declarations."
The priest nodded and continued.
"The victorious warriors will take part in a ritual which will enable them to gain the blessings of Eurybia. All who are willing to sacrifice their lives in her name, should raise their hand!"
All the warriors raised their hands quickly.
"The glory of our goddess has been lost for so long that we now feel ashamed. Our enemies have grown stronger and bolder so we will slay this calamity in the name of our goddess and offer it to her."
The warriors beat their chests with their fists in approval and I looked at Lito more closely.
His gaze was stubbornly straight ahead and he seemed convinced that he could lay the bull. I caught the same glimpse of my brother, who also looked highly motivated.
Next to me, my mother began to tremble slightly. "They will all die."
"Calm down mother."
She pressed her lips together and tried to calm herself.
The priest continued, "The head of each warrior must be covered with a golden helmet and they must carry a shield with the image of Eurybia engraved on it."
One of the priests took a gold helmet from the table and placed it on the head of the first warrior. Then he handed over a huge golden shield with an engraving of Eurybia.
When it was Lito and my brother's turn, they took off their animal skulls and put on their helmets. When all the warriors had received their battle gear, the priest continued.
"Let us pray to our goddess to give us courage and strength," the priest said and blew into the horn.
This instrument was made from the skin of a bull. When blowing it, the sounds were enhanced and the sound was amplified. With that, the divine hunt had begun.
While the warriors set off, the village waited in the square for them to return.
Long tables were set up and the village centre was festively decorated. I also helped with the set-up. The warriors had until evening, if they did not make it back to the village by then, the divine hunt was not successful. Unfortunately, this had no effect on my divine blessing, which was also due this evening.
And so we all waited, impatiently and nervously.
Suddenly, an unfortunately all too familiar voice sounded behind me. "Hello future sister-in-law."
My anger boiled up symbolically inside me when I heard Haus's voice behind me. Slowly I turned around. "What do you want?"
"Well, don't be cheeky, after all, I'm going to marry your elder brother tomorrow and I'll be above you in rank. So you will have to do what I tell you!" Hua grinned smugly.
I hated her. Everything about her.
She was beautiful and arrogant and she was laughing at me. "I'm sure you will. Try to make my life harder, I will make your life hell so that you will run crying to your father. You will have wished that you had never become my sister-in-law." I spat furiously.
Hua stared at me for a moment and then burst out laughing. "Oh, how I love this girl. I think she really hates me. I like it!"
She laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks.
I clenched my teeth and tried to calm myself. "Get lost."
Hua laughed out loud again. "Just this once I will go. From tomorrow, you will no longer be able to escape me."
With these words she turned and disappeared into the crowd.
I swallowed hard and squeezed my mother's hand tightly. "I hate her..."
At that moment, Tlaca appeared next to me. "It's alright Yona." She patted my back comfortingly. "I know you're annoyed, but she's only a spoiled brat and I hope that she will grow up soon."
"You don't believe that yourself," I laughed mockingly and then settled down at one of the tables that had been set up. Tlaca sat down with me. "Where are you when I need you?" I asked her.
"I'm sorry, my father. I wasn't allowed to leave until he had my mother's full attention again."
I nodded and dropped my head on the table. "Tlaca there is something wrong with me."
"What do you mean?" she asked alligently.
"I have something to tell you..."