Under the soft moonlight, several boats moved slowly on the river. The wind blowing behind the boat gives the rowers a much-needed break. But this time off brings unexpected danger that awaits them.
An arrow shot accurately through the neck of a man on the leading ship. His body stiffened, then slowly leaned forward until it fell to the river. The splashing sound started a shower of arrows that attacked the group of boats on the river.
"Wake up! Wake up! We are amb-" The sound of shouting from the front-most boat was immediately silenced by a shower of arrows. Fortunately, the sound was enough to make the other boats alert and raise their shields and weapons.
"Protect the archers!"
In this ranged battle, it was clear that the side on board did not have the upper hand. The moonlight shining on the river made their archers clearly visible. Meanwhile, their enemies hiding under the trees were almost invisible to the archers.
"Endure!" A man with a large shield shouted loudly. He threw the oars at some of the more safe parts of the boat. "Paddle! We can survive!"
In reality, he also doubted whether they could survive this ambush. It didn't take long for them to run out of arrows. The arrows the enemies shoot can certainly be used up again, but how many lives must be lost? Not to mention if the arrows they shot at the enemies were shot back at them.
The sound of drums was heard. The man and everyone looked at the source of the sound. They did not bring drums because this was a secret diplomatic group. This means there is only one other possibility.
"Enemy boats! Enemy boat!" Now the chances of them surviving fell to the ground. They couldn't even retreat.
Not long after, the boats collided. The loud sound seemed to be a sign that their time would not be long anymore. The fighters jumped into their boats and began to paint the boats and the river with blood. Some people started jumping into the river, trying to desert and escape. But where could they escape?
The sun rose, ending the bloody night. Far from the point of battle, a teenager lay limp in a cave. He was Tirnath, part of the group that was ambushed last night.
Tirnath opened his eyes slowly. He tried to move his hands, but was unable to. He could only glance that way without moving his head. "F*ck!" he shouted angrily. If it weren't for his hands being tired from having to hold his body up all night in an overturned boat, he would definitely punch the ground.
He wanted to scream and show his anger, he wanted to curse and get angry at his ambushers. But he really wanted to cry, he was tired and sad. He was scared.
With tears flowing slowly, he opened his mouth and in a trembling voice said, "I don't want to die."
"Why don't you want to die?" Suddenly a voice sounded in his ears. Tirnath was shocked, but remembering a similar moment in his childhood, he felt that this was the end of his life.
"We meet again, yes, the Reaper of Lives?" Tirnath replied in a voice that was still shaking, but his face no longer showed anger and fear.
When there was no reply, Tirnath chose to answer the question, "I don't want to die because I'm afraid of dying. I don't want to die because I'm still young. I don't want to die because I haven't found my true self."
Tirnath spoke continuously without any reply. Tirnath finally stopped talking. "I don't want to die because I want to avenge my family and for myself." After a moment of silence, Tirnath continued his speech. The tone was different, not with anger or fear, but full of hatred. A strong sense of hatred, a very deep sense of revenge. In fact, after returning from Farema Village, he will finally be able to start the first step of his revenge. But instead this ambush occurred.
"The young man with a body as fragile as yours has a very deep hatred. But hatred alone is not enough, right?"
"You..." Tirnath began to realize that the voice he heard was not the voice of the 'Reaper of Lives.'. But this voice is still familiar with other phenomena from his past. "You… are you a totem spirit?"
"You are smart, yes I am a totem spirit." Tirnath, who heard that, became a little hopeful. If his assumption is correct, then this totem spirit is a free spirit. He would not waste the opportunity to obtain the totem spirit in this second chance!
"My name is Tirnath Orvazar, may I know your name?"
"Vyras Elthar of the Velmetor Confederation."
Tirnath quickly tried to remember tribal politics, unfortunately, he had never heard of the Velmetor Confederacy. But a totem is a totem nonetheless. Tirnath, in awe and humility, spoke, "Lord Vyras, would you give me help in my quest for revenge?"
"You are smart and have a strong will."
Tirnath's face was decorated with a big smile. Finally he would have the chance to get his revenge!
"But you are too weak. I don't need a weak Custodian."
Tirnath, who heard this, was shaken. Suddenly he felt his body move, and he quickly stood up with difficulty. "I'm not weak, it's a scheme the enemy uses to kill me."
"Whether it is because of you or because of your enemies, reality shows that you are weak, and weak people are not worthy of my help."
Tirnath gritted his teeth, this was risky, but he was afraid he would lose this opportunity. "I am Tirnath Orvazar, willing to accept the Trials of Custodian!"
"You wish to accept the Trials of Custodian? With such a weak body?" Vyras was in no rush to answer. He then laughed and added insults to Tirnath.
But unfortunately for Vyras, Tirnath grew up full of humiliation. If Vyras wanted to hurt him mentally, he would have to try harder. "Yeah, I'm sure! I request the Trials of Custodian!" Tirnath shouted and emphasized the word 'request.'.
Hearing that made Vyras fall silent, and once again the two fell into silence. Suddenly, Tirnath felt his energy restored, and his body could move.
"I will give you a final offer." A totem statue appeared in front of Tirnath along with Vyras' voice. "I've recovered your stamina enough to go to Tharn Village or whatever it's called. You just need to turn around. Just turn around, and you can go home."
Tirnath, who felt his body recovering, immediately looked down. He seemed to be thinking, but not long after he let out a long breath. "I, Tirnath Orvazar, request the Trials of Custodian!" he said loudly.
Tirnath then felt a strong pressure all over his body. He immediately fell and hit the ground hard. Wounds covered Tirnath's body, but he didn't even wince. He bit his lip and endured the pain.
As the pressure got stronger, Tirnath felt that his bones were starting to move from where they should be. He started having trouble breathing, having trouble thinking. He will die.
But he wasn't afraid. Totem spirits cannot kill humans intentionally. Especially if he challenged the Trials of Custodian out loud. But the time he was waiting for did not come. He started to doubt his knowledge a little. But he didn't give up.
"I will give you the Trials of Custodian, stand tall."
Suddenly he felt the pressure disappear. He quickly stood up and looked at the totem. He felt the pressure and immediately wanted to kneel. But suddenly a rock shot very fast in the direction his head would be if he knelt down.
Vyras laughed loudly. The whole cave shook, and Tirnath, still with a straight face, laughed too. However, his face was very pale. He underestimated the intelligence of the totem spirit. 'Not being able to kill on purpose doesn't mean you can't kill unintentionally, huh? These Vyras are dangerous.'
This was enough to shake his mind. Is it safe to be the Custodian of a totem as dangerous and intelligent as Vyras?
"My previous offer is no longer valid." As if knowing what was in Tirnath's head, Vyras immediately spoke, crushing any hope for Tirnath.
Tirnath tries to control himself. He had no other choices, without Vyras' help, he would have died on the journey, he didn't doubt that. Tirnath tried to maintain his composure consciously, but his fear still lingered in his mind, and his body couldn't lie.
Seeing Tirnath's expression now showing fear, Vyras laughed loudly before continuing, "The Trials of Custodian will begin soon."
Tirnath took a long breath before answering, "I accept."