Chereads / The Dragon Purge / Chapter 2 - Hunting

Chapter 2 - Hunting

In the middle of the desolate winter the smithing village still hidden upon the mountain 200 years later this village called Velga had honed its children to the most extreme way possible. A certain child named Baldur like the rest grew up in this barbaric fashion they started their training at 5 years old learning to make traps and use weapon's along with training their archery. And by the age of 14 were expected to hunt for their own survival or die starving. They would then start their journey of the world at 16 as the ways of their village Velga for the past 100 years. Baldur had been down at the foothills of the mountain leaving while the moon was still high so he could check his traps eat and get back up the mountain for his morning training.

Baldur had been successful in his endeavors. Two of his five traps had some well sized rabbits he might even be able to make a new pair of gloves with them before he left on his coming of age journey. He got to skinning them and making a log fire to cook without giving much smoke. The lean meat was good nourishment in the morning and would keep him full till the end of the afternoon for the hardy day ahead of him. He finished prepping and eating the rabbits as it was time to start the arduous journey back up the mountain.

As Baldur began his climb back up the mountain. He ran into other children who had just finished their fires and decided to give some advice to the younger ones on their traps and to be more successful with them as he and the older class would not likely see them again. As the younger ones would have to learn hard lessons of starvation before they mastered the art. For these children were naught allowed to hunt any big game as they could decide not to hunt for a week and lose precious skills they would have otherwise learned. With plenty of time Baldur made the climb back to Velga Village in a record time his extra training was paying off. It was surprising a young one such as him would willingly put himself through such hardships as extra practice to become the absolute best. their program was meant to drive each child to their absolute limits, yet Baldur endured longer. They were astonished because of how far north and how cold it was but it did not dampen his spirits for he knew that cold was the only thing keeping the Dragons from finding them the lack of oxygen from being so high on the mountains. Baldur unlike the other children was a orphan his parents being the first adults to die in the village from something besides old age, it had been 150 years ago. mostly children died and didn't make it to adulthood with the harsh conditions, but that culture was needed if they were to retaliate against their foe. Baldur's parents had an unfortunate ending while searching to see if other Human villages had made it out alive and not just theirs, but they never returned. So Baldur was left an orphan because the village did not want to risk such a talented child being killed on such an adventure they had Baldur stay and continue his training he had always believed they ran into a dragon. He had a deep driven hatred for the dragons that's what drove him to such extents. 

Baldur had made it back to the village and went to the nearby frozen lake. there was a 300 meter stretch that was kept clean of ice and they would use in the practice but Baldur would strip down and swim back and forth 10 times each every morning. he would then start running around the entire village 20 times as the village was only a half mile around at most he would then proceed to go to the sparing center and swing his boarding axe and shield for 1000 repetitions and then he switched to his spear for another 1000 repetitions of each form for the spear. By that hour it was time for their morning training.

Baldur and the other teens of his age group which totaled 9 had gathered together as 8 of the kids in his class had perished already due to various events. They waited for their instructor to arrive as today marked the day they would take their first journey out of the mountains to see what awaited them if they deemed them worthy to go and explore the world and take revenge on their ways if possible. not many returned as which kept this village hidden the population never superseded the game and scarce plants of the area. Mr. Gavid had arrived and asked them all if they were prepared to make the journey. They would spend the next three months traveling the outer lands that used to belong to the Humans still desolate from the Dragon's onslaught 200 years ago. Though not as barren as before the forest had yet to grow back to its former glory the wildlife just beginning to sprout back into the area not much big game but still some the trees in the area seemed to be doing well after so long but most trees in these regions now barely grew over a hundred feet tall when they used to span hundreds of feet tall and be filled with all types of different wildlife.

As Mr. Gavid brought the Baldur and his class down the mountain to get started, he asked them all if they had caught a good breakfast for the coming journey ahead. Baldur and his five other classmates as three would stay behind to live in the village as their skills weren't up to par. The rest had prepared well and even made some new gear for the coming trip satisfied with the class's preparation Mr. Gavid continued down the mountain for the start of their journey to see who would leave for the fight and who would remain in the village.