The small campfire has burned down to smoldering embers, the feeble glow dimly bathing the area in a blood colored light which is somehow appropriate and, oddly enough, strangely soothing to my soul. The carcass of the selshis is suspended over the coals on a forked stick, softly crackling as the fat renders out of the meat, crisping the outside. The skin that I removed earlier has been salted and is drying in a small stretching frame placed near the firepit, but far enough away to keep it from burning. It will make a nice sheath or belt, or perhaps, with a few more skins, I will make a new satchel for my second-mother, K'miza; hers is beginning to wear thin in places.
I have been out here for just short of a fortnight, living off the land, surviving within the rules set by the Sea of Fire; there is always something new to learn. Here, in this place that I call home, you learn, or you die, it is that simple. There is little room for mistakes and very few second chances; the Sea of Fire is merciless and unforgiving.
I am two moons into my fifteenth year and in the midst of my sixteenth trial of manhood, called Biedi Zom, or, in common, the Trial of the Sun. I wear the scars given for completion of my previous fifteen trials upon the left side of my face, beginning just over my left eyebrow they are so numerous and interconnected that they now extend nearly to my jawline. I am proud of my scars, they are who and what I am. I am Radeek Andoran of the Mir'sheq... I am Tehir.
I remove the selshis from the fire and begin to eat. It is succulent and delicious and I relish the taste. I've always loved selshis, it's one of my favorites, unique in its flavor and very tender, one has only to take care of the bones, they are numerous and quite easy to choke on if care is not taken. I've eaten enough selshis to know this and if it is properly cooked it pretty much falls off the bone anyway, and my second-mother taught me how to prepare it so I have little worry.
Tomorrow night I will move my camp, I have taken all the resources that I dare from this area. It is never good to hunt or gather everything available from any one place unless it is a dire emergency, for it takes a great amount of time for the land to recover if it is cleared of game and forageable foodstuffs.
As I continue to eat the selshis I consider my options. That is one of the benefits of being alone, all considerations are based solely upon my own wants and needs. The drawback is that I must do everything myself, hunt, gather, find water and shelter, the list goes on and on and I must consider my energy expenditures. Prioritizing everything is paramount if I am to survive.
I am still in pretty good shape, I've had enough to eat and a small spring is close by which eliminates my worry about water and makes hunting much easier since the game also needs water; some I have trapped and others I have taken with arrows, I am proficient with either. From the animals I've killed I now have two waterskins and a number of other implements and clothing articles. While I would not say I have everything I need or am overly comfortable I do have the basic necessities which I will add to as time progresses and opportunities become available.
I believe that I will head southeast, I know of a good area about three nights travel from here, sheltered from the sun with a decent water supply, if it hasn't dried up for the season. I always travel at night whenever possible, the sun can make things difficult, although it is considerably more hazardous to travel at night due to the fact that some of the more dangerous fauna choose this time to hunt; I will have to be on my guard.
It took me four nights rather than three to reach my new "home", I had to detour due to signs of morduska activity along my chosen path. One does not temp fate when it comes to the morduska for they are a dangerous foe and more often than not the unsuspecting traveller becomes a meal for the morduska. Vigilence is the key, you must always be alert and on your guard and it is always safer to avoid morduska entirely.
My water supply here is not as plentiful as at my previous site, but it is enough... it will have to be. With careful rationing and limiting my daytime activities I should be all right. I won't be able to stay here as long as I had hoped to though and my next objective is a week or so away. I will need to have more water for my journey so I will need to acquire the means to carry it, and that means hunting for larger game. A nice sized morduska is probably the answer, something two or two and a half armspans wide.
I can get so much that would be of use from an animal that size, the hide, water containers, meat, which I can also dry or smoke and take with me, the teeth, and a host of other items of use. Of course, I could just as easily be of use to the morduska... as its next meal.
I prepare to hunt the elusive morduska by making spears, spears that are nearly twice as long as my height. These will be needed to goad the morduska out of the sand where I can see it and get a good shot with my longbow. Morduska hunt by burrowing into the sand and waiting for prey to walk over it. It then gives a mighty flap of its "wings", propelling the victim to its toothy maw which is located in the center of the top of its back. Once a victim walks upon a morduska death is almost a certainty, few have ever escaped.
A wary hunter can defeat a morduska though, and that's where the spears come in. I will not use them to dispatch the morduska, only to locate one and irritate it enough that it sheds the sand on top of it and rises to confront the source of the irritation. I will use the spears to prod the sand in front of me carefully but forcefully, their length keeping me a safe distance from the beast, hopefully. Then, if all goes according to plan, I can kill the creature with my longbow, hitting a lethal spot.
I set out for the rolling dunes of sand, the bases of which are prime hunting areas for the morduska. I choose a high dune from which to observe my surroundings; morduska sometimes kick up quite a cloud of dust when they burrow and cover themselves with the loose sand. This must be done during the heat of the day which I would rather avoid, but need overcomes want in some situations.
I sit for hours in the burning sun, unmoving. My burnoose protects me from the blowing sand and the harsh rays of the sun, but it is still far from comfortable. Sweat trickles from my pores and is absorbed into the ridgeweaver silk of my clothing, where it evaporates in the sun, helping to cool me. I sip occasionally from my waterskin, sparingly using my water, as I have been taught.
It is early afternoon before I finally see what I have been watching for... a small dustcloud about a half mile away. I take one final sip from my waterskin and, picking up my spears, I head off in the direction of the dustcloud where the fate of two denizens of the Sea of Fire awaits each of us.
As I approach my objective from the top of the dune I ready my spears. Having walked along the top of the line of dunes as close as I dared I now must cross two other dunes to reach the area I saw the morduska sign and there is always the possibility that between us there could be another morduska which had not moved.
I ready myself to descend the loose sand of the dune, one slip and I will slide and tumble all the way to the bottom and quite possibly into the gaping maw of a morduska. I proceed down the sand very carefully, making sure of my footing, prodding all the while with my spears, not only searching for morduska, but to maintain my balance and rate of descent.
I find nothing at the bottom of either dune and upon reaching the top of the final dune I prepare myself. I don't see any sign of the waiting morduska but I really expected none, morduska are masters of stealth. Using my spears as before I carefully begin my descent; my mouth is dry with anxiety and anticipation.
As I near the bottom of the dune I jab my left spear into the sand and feel resistance... and a small bit of movement. I have found the morduska. I quickly withdraw the spear and thrust again, with much more force and am rewarded with more movement under the sand. The shifting sand reveals the approximate size of the morduska and it is pretty much the animal I want for my needs.
I stab hard with my right spear, at the same time releasing my grasp on both spears and ready my bow. I am rewarded with an explosion of sand and the sound of one very angry morduska reaches my ears. The beast is fully exposed now and I quickly find the front of the creature and bury an arrow into it's brain, followed by three more in rapid succession.
The morduska lies quivering on the sand, dead. Today it was my fate to be the victor, perhaps tomorrow it will be my foes turn, that is the way of it. The morduska gave me all I needed, and more. I survived my sixteenth trial and the next six as well. I returned to my clan and each time I was rewarded with a new mark, a new scar, an end as well as a new beginning, for you see, though I am a man I am also something more... I am Tehir
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