*Thirty Years Ago*
**
There was a celebration in a tavern in the North, and only men were present. The shortest of them stood about 2 meters tall, and despite the cold weather, they wore half-naked clothes that exposed their war scars.
**
We all belonged to the same tribe—my tribe. The Ironheart tribe.
The celebration was for my 20th birthday. At this age, I was considered a very attractive man, with a strong physique and long braided hair hanging down on either side of my shoulders. This long hair meant that I had not yet completed my first mission.
When a Northerner completes his first mission, we cut our hair and burn it. For us, it's a ritual that represents the death of the naive boy and the beginning of his new life as a warrior.
At 20 years old, I was about to go on my first mission the next day. I had to go alone to the north and hunt a demon or a demonic creature.
We Northerners receive nicknames according to the first beast or demon we catch.
I was worried. Despite my appearance and my family's warrior traditions, I had a peaceful and inquisitive character.
After a celebration filled with fights and drinks, the next day, I packed my warm clothes and backpack and set off. My father and my younger brother came to see me off, the latter being a boy of about fifteen.
My father expressed his trust in me, while my brother, with a bit of youthful recklessness, said sarcastically, "What's with the bag, big brother, are you going for a picnic?"
I had gotten used to my brother's insensitivity. "My father and mother are in your care," I said with a smile and set off.
After hours of walking, I noticed that the light-colored, transparent ice around me was turning darker and darker. This was a sign that I had entered demon territory. A little further on, I saw the forest where my father had said he hunted in his youth.
I made my way through the forest, surrounded by curious, small, dark blue and black reptiles and rodents. Unlike other Northerners, I knew these animals were harmless, and I looked in their direction and said, "Hey little pals," waving at them.
After a few minutes, I entered the forest. I picked up both axes hanging from my waist and focused on my surroundings. These axes were big enough for a normal person to hold with two hands.
After a few minutes of walking in the forest, I came across a creature about the size of an adult male lion. It was a Draken, and I recognized it by its appearance because I often read books about animals and creatures and fed the ones I saw around my house.
**
Drakens are a type of dragon, just like Wyrnn, and this species is about the size of the average adult male lion. It has a sleek, slender body, with an elongated, serpentine shape. Its upper body is covered in smooth, scaly skin that ranges from dark gray to black. The lower body consists of a pair of legs, similar to those of a dragon, with four claws each. It also has a long, whip-like tail with a sharp point at the end, used for balance and agility.
**
I bent slightly and stood in position for the fight. At first, the Draken looked at me curiously, but when it sensed my threatening presence, it showed its mouth with a large array of sharp teeth and began to growl furiously.
After brief eye contact, the Draken charged. When the distance between us was close enough, it jumped at my head to bite. I shoved the reverse side of the axe into the drake's mouth, stopping it. I was so steady on the ground that the Draken's attack did not even shake me. With the side face of the axe in my other hand, I struck it in the stomach and knocked it away.
I wanted to capture this creature, if possible, without killing it.
The Draken moved again, this time flying around me instead of running straight at me. From down there, I could see the creature's chest glowing with purple energy. So I transferred some of my mana to my axes.
The Draken moved the purple energy in its chest to its mouth and stopped circling around me, then fired five purple energy cannons in a row.
I managed to block the first three with my axes, but the fourth struck me in the left shoulder, and I dodged the fifth by jumping back. In pain, I reflexively threw the axe in my right hand towards the Draken.
The axe pierced the Draken's left wing and passed through. With the hole in its wing, it lost its balance and fell to the ground.
I ran towards the Draken in pure rage, and when it saw me, it ran away in fear.
Unfortunately, I was not as fast as the creature, and the Draken soon disappeared from my sight. However, I knew how to track an injured beast, so it could not escape from me for long.
I strapped my axe to my belt and, with the supplies from my pack, immediately applied first aid to my left shoulder, then wrapped it in a clean white cloth.
Now it was time to track the beast. After a few hours of tracking, it was already dark, but I finally came to a house in the middle of the forest. This house probably belonged to a demon, and it was a small white house with a purple roof.
I took my axe from my waist, held it in a two-handed grip, and walked towards the house, then stood in front of the door. The door only came up to my shoulder.
I began to break down the door with the axe. There was a scream coming from inside, but I ignored it and continued to strike the door with my axe. When the door was sufficiently damaged, I kicked it down and ducked to enter.
Inside, there was a woman leaning against the wall in fear, holding a small wand in her hand. In front of her, the Draken I had injured earlier was healed, and it was growling at me as if it wanted to protect the woman from me.
...
Satoshi interrupted, took two beers from inside, came and asked.
"Don't tell me she was your wife! What a romantic first encounter.''
Sven took one of the beers and replied.
"Good guess that woman was Rosie's mother, but unfortunately she never became my wife.''
He opened the lid of the necklace and handed it to Satoshi
"This is her''
Satoshi held the necklace up to the moonlight,
"Woaah She has some nice curves unlike Rosie''
Sven hit him on the head and took the necklace from him.
"You really need to learn to think before you speak, kid.''
They both took another sip from their beers and Sven continued his story.
****
**
The woman was leaning against the wall, looking at Sven in fear.
She had green eyes and purple fluffy hair. Her loose black dress concealed her curves, dress designed in black and purple stripes just like her witch's hat.
**
She said something like "Z-zorix thranith!" and repeated it couple times. I couldn't understand what she was saying at that moment, and it wasn't important to me.
She gulped once, then in my language she said, "S-stay away!! - Please!''
I was surprised when she started to speak my language but I didn't mind at that moment; I thought she was probably imitating the voice she heard from some humans that she hunted before... So I had to complete my mission, I had to hunt down this Draken and demon, I gripped my axe in both hands and started walking towards them.
After she said something I couldn't understand… I was surprised when she started to speak my language.
The Draken was slowly backing off, growling at me, and when I got close enough, something I didn't expect happened. Instead of fighting, the demon fell on her knees and started begging for her life.
"P-please just leave us alone; if you are looking for a place to stay for the night, we can leave instead; just please spare our lives!''
How could I kill her, I hesitated, even though I knew she was just imitating humans but what if she wasn't ?
I'm sure if it was any other northerner, he would have already finished the job, but I was never heartless enough to do that... Maybe that's why my brother was always picking on me.
I didn't let down my guard, though, because I still considered the possibility that it was a demon mimicking a human. I pointed my axe at her and asked, ''How come, you can speak our language?!''
The witch replied with a trembling voice, ''W-when I was a child, my mother adopted a wounded 10-year-old northern kid who had been exiled from the Northerners. I grew up with him, but he didn't want to spend his life in this forest because he had a shorter lifespan than us. In his twenties, he decided to go on an adventure, to venture deeper into the demon kingdom, and left this forest.''
I was very confused, it couldn't be just imitation. Could mindless creature like her make up a story? Maybe she could? So I wondered if she would be able to tell her little story in detail.
I lowered my guard a little, and that Draken stopped growling at me. The witch also relaxed a little.
"How old are you, and when did this tale of yours happen?" I asked.
"My brother came to this forest seventy years ago; we were both 10 years old at that time, and we grew up''
****
Satoshi interrupted his story by spitting beer out of his mouth,
"Whaaat the f-- Eighty years old !? I didn't know you liked them old too but Damnnn!! Thats too old even for me!!''
Sven laughed and said, "Oh, Witches live much longer than us, kid. I found out later from our conversations that their aging slows down significantly after the age of twenty, their average lifespan is over two-hundred.''
"Wow so Rosie will have a long life... is that why she looks so young? And I have to go to the bathroom''
"We don't know that yet. Maybe she'll have a lifespan similar to mine! And no she already over 20''
Satoshi got up and went to the restroom and came back with more beer and sat down next to Sven, Sven said,
"You're a good drinker, kid!''
"Not really, but I like to listen old people's story so with that it's like drinking water, anyway continue Pops!''
Sven was relieved that he could finally tell this story to someone. So he smiled and continued to tell his story.
****
The more I talked to the woman, the more I realized that everything I had known about demons was all lies. I began to feel remorse, understanding that perhaps my people were the truly cruel ones. The person in front of me was not an imitation of anything, but a person with thoughts and feelings like myself.
Towards the end of our conversation, I fell to my knees, overwhelmed by regret. I felt an emptiness within me that I couldn't quite understand.
Draken, who had been growling at me earlier, now behaved more like a pet dog than a wild beast. He climbed onto my knees and looked at my face, as if trying to cheer me up. I came to my senses when he licked my face.
The woman covered her mouth with her hand and laughed, then extended her hand to me. "By the way, I'm Iris Blackthorn. What's yours?"
Still a little shocked, I gently shook her delicate hand. "I... I'm Sven Ironheart," I stammered, panic rising within me. I couldn't return to my village without hunting a creature. It would be a dishonor for me and my family.
When I explained my situation to Iris, she made a suggestion. "Would it work if you just captured a beast and said you tamed it or something?"
My initial goal was to capture the Draken without killing it. "Of course, it would be a great honor for my family to catch a monster, let alone train it."
Iris pointed to the Draken and said, "Then how about taking Cosmo back to your village? You can say you tamed him, and I don't think he will cause you any trouble. He is a smart boy, right, Cosmo!?"
Meanwhile, Draken was panting with his tongue out and a silly expression on his face. I laughed at the animal's expression and petted its head. "Of course, it would be wonderful."
Iris smiled, as if she had gotten what she wanted. "Then Cosmo is in your care. After you convince your family, I'd like you to bring him back here once in a while, because he m-might miss me!"
I stood up from the ground, approached Iris, and knelt in front of her, placing one of my knees on the ground. I placed my right hand on my heart, greeted her with a slight bow, and thanked her.
**It was a northern gesture to express gratitude to someone who had helped them.**
Iris blushed a little. "S-sure, you're welcome... When you come back, I need to know your mana so that I can recognize you and remove the barrier around the house. So, can I hold your hand?"
I reached out my hand to her. Iris looked into my eyes, and for a moment, her green eyes glowed.
I had one question in my mind. If there was a barrier in this house, how did I enter without any problems? I asked Iris. She replied that after she recognized Cosmo's mana and removed the barrier, she had forgotten to reactivate it in her panic.
I had a different question this time: wouldn't it be enough for her to recognize Cosmo's mana when he visits her again? At that moment, I saw Iris's blushing face as she held my hand, and I guessed why. I felt a little embarrassed, though I didn't show it.
"W-well, I'm off then... Cosmo, come here, buddy, we have a long way to go."
Iris nodded while trying to avoid eye contact, and we set off towards my village.
Cosmo and I journeyed to my village together. Before entering, I tied a rope around his neck so that the other Northerners wouldn't misunderstand the situation and cause trouble.
Cosmo was much more intelligent than I had initially thought. He understood and did whatever I said, which made it easier to convince the villagers and my family that I had subdued and tamed him with my strength.
Even though the rest of the village and my family were proud of me, my own blood—my little brother—never approved of my peaceful nature. He believed that creatures like Cosmo should be slaughtered without question.
Arrangements to celebrate the success of my first mission were made. Everyone in the village gathered; it was time for the elder to give me my title, and then the celebrations could begin.
Normally, as part of the ritual, the blood of the creature we hunted would be poured over our heads, symbolizing becoming a true warrior. Afterward, the village elder would enchant us and bestow our title. Since I caught Cosmo instead of hunting him, the first part of the ritual was skipped.
After the village elder engraved the enchantment runes on my body, he gave me the title of Sven the Beast Master.
**
All night, there were celebrations and events for my success. At the end of the night, I made an unusual decision. Unlike tradition, I refused to cut my long hair, as if trying to express to the world that I didn't want to become a warrior.
**