Warrior's Path

The crackle of the gun sent Malik leaping forward. Deciding early to drop to all fours so that he could bound ahead more quickly, he delighted in the rush of speed. Logs and other obstacles rushed into view, and he had to react quickly to vault over them. Ropes, too, were added to the mix and these he had to crawl on his stomach to avoid.

A sheer wall of rock threatened to halt his progress. Using his speed as leverage, he bounded forward and scrabbled at the stone with his claws. Unable to find a grasp, he slipped back to the ground, landing heavily on his side.

With a hiss, Malik looked around and noted a tree growing close to the cliff face. Rushing to it, he scurried up, his claws digging deep into the bark as he rapidly climbed. Nearing the top, he jumped off and onto the flat top of the outcrop.

The next challenge was the water test.With a quick glance he realized that the river was flowing too quickly and that he would not be able to swim across. Scouting around for materials, he found a pile of old logs and decided to begin with these. Dragging some of them to the edge of the water, he calculated. “Seven total, three across, three down, and one to row. That should be just big enough to stay afloat and balanced.”

Rope. He needed rope. Scouring the area once more, Malik came across a small campsite. A tent was pitched beside the ashes of a fire. The guy ropes holding the tent up were what he was interested in, however. Unsheathing one of his claws, he neatly clipped the line from the canvas. He coiled it up, but before he could finish, a shape hammered into his side. Rolling under the attacker, Malik landed on his feet with his claws already extended.

His opponent was the giant Vladan, a cat several summers older than him and who had not yet managed to pass the course. The cat faced off against him, hissing as his ears were pointed backward. Malik hissed back, baring his fangs at the challenge. Vladan pounced suddenly, his teeth nipping at Malik’s throat. Malik managed to twist under the attack, hearing his rival’s teeth snapping at thin air. His own claws racked upwards as he turned and felt purchase on Vladan’s belly.

Before the fight could continue, Malik felt a paw on the cuff of his neck and he was bodily pulled away. Vladan found himself treated similarly, and both Maratasen were thrown aside. Malik rounded on the intruder, but the hiss died in his throat as he saw it was one of the councillors who had stopped the fight.

“First blood! This is not the combat trial. Malik has earned the right to this site. Vladan, leave.” The elder commanded, his fierce eyes flicking between the two. Vladan however had less control than Malik and he struck out at the elder cat. The councillor blocked the strike with barely any effort and swatted Vladan squarely in the face.“I said leave.” the councilor snarled again, rounding on the youngster. Vladan spat at the councilor who unsheathed his claw in warning. Despite his size, the councilor was still considerably larger, so Vladan turned tail and disappeared into the brush.

“Better continue.” the councillor said, before vanishing into a nearby bush. Acting quickly, Malik clipped another line.Coiling them over his shoulder, he returned to his construction. He found his friend Jabari had also dragged some logs to the shore and was busily pulling vines from a nearby tree. Most of his raft was already built, the vine leaves poking through showing how it was fastened.

With a smile at his friend, Malik inwardly cursed that this scouting had taken so long when such a simple solution had been so close.He was forced to watch Jabari cross the river and disappear on the other shore while he was still busily building his raft.

Finishing his own raft Malik crossed the river, guiding his craft with hurried strokes which seemed to create more noise and splashes than speed. In time he breached the shore and he leapt onto the fine sand, and bounded into the forest once again. He stumbled across a path quickly, nearby leaves fluttering lazily in the breeze.

The path looked simple and deceiving. Malik walked right onto a pile of leaves that gave way, sending him down into a hole.He scrabbled wildly against the sides to try and stop his descent, managing only to painfully scrape the pads on his paws. Landing heavily at the bottom, he paused for a moment to let the pain wash over him and nestled his paws against his chest. It didn’t take long for him to decide on a plan of escape. Malik placed one foot on the ground and one on the wall, wincing as dirt entered his small scratches. He proceeded to push off with both feet, and jamming his back on the other side while he shuffled up the shaft in a strange vertical parody of walking.

Reaching the top, he pulled himself out and immediately raced into the woods once more, almost instantly triggering a trip wire. The wire snapped at him with a moderate sting and left a small cut. Malik abruptly stopped running and dropped to the ground on his stomach. Seeing the wires low across the ground, he continued to run and jump over them until he felt one snap at his head near his ear.

Malik decided to take it slower and more cautiously as he continued, stopping from time to time to completely disarm the traps he saw but was not able to slip past. He would ease the pressure on one end of the wire with a twist and tug on the other end to release the trigger,managing to disarm multiple traps.Continuing, Malik saw the dim light at the end of the woods. He stumbled towards it now fairly fatigued. Just before he exited the forest, a large log came flying at him from the side.

He was unable to jump aside in time, but instead, rolled with the hit. That managed to soften some of the blow, but the log left his arm quite bruised. The pain was severe.He banished it from his mind, focusing instead on finishing.Finally, he reached the end of the course and stepped out of the forest to see his father waiting for him. Malik had to endure the cursory inspection Jursik gave his son, squirming at the frown growing on his father’s face as the gaze lingered on each of his injuries.

“Well done for completing the course, but I see you struggled with some challenges.” Jursik stated when his inspection was done.

“Yes, father, it was a difficult course.”

“Even so, you must commit to training and complete the next stage with fewer faults.”

Malik stood silent and stared at his father for a short time, before bowing his head under the wilting glare. The moment passed rapidly and the two began their silent walk back home. Malik spent the time thinking on his competence, while Jursik seemed to be brooding.

As they neared their home, the large arching doorway rose invitingly on the fringes of the great wood. They passed over the threshold.Already Malik felt some of the strain of the day leave him, confidence returning as he passed under the gaze of his carved ancestors forever guarding the hall. As Malik and his father walked into the meal room, they stopped under the bright light above them. Jursik’s voice woke him from his thoughts and seemed to echo in the giant room with mostly empty walls.

“You should rest now, and continue your training as soon as possible.”

Malik nodded without saying a word, fatigue already washing over him. He walked to his room and threw himself onto his bed.

The four wooden corners which held his bed were carved to small daggers. As he lay still, gazing up at the ceiling through hooded eyes, he thought back on the day and wondered how he could have improved upon anything.

He reflected on his friend Jabari, wondering how he had done after finishing with the raft. Malik knew that he had been quicker, as he and Jursik had seen his friend cross the finish. He saw, too, that Jabari had many more injuries than him.

The intelligence his friend had shown had to be considered, however, as the councillors valued both physical prowess and cunning. Just how highly valued however, he was unsure. It was entirely possible that Jabari had ranked higher due to this.

“We shall see how the council judges me tomorrow,” he mused to himself.

“I wonder what father was thinking, he was so quiet on the way home. Still, at least he wasn’t being critical, that is usually a good sign.” His thoughts dwelled on this as his eyes gently closedand the dreams of tomorrow began.

by Cameron Ames