Sign of the Zodiac: Aries
[Sign 1: Aries] Tok Ara Anaru
The young man stopped his steps on the barren little hill. Again he found only an arid field. It had been five days since he had left home to feed his dead sheep[1]. But he has not found fresh green grass for the flock. Sighing softly he began to herd the flock down the sloping hillside.
For days he had wandered from one field to another, but nowhere had any grass worthy of his cattle. Everything has withered and dried up. There was no green on the ground.
The drought that lasted in Khitai for many years has choked the pulse of life with its vile fingers. The young man himself had lost more than half his flock. Not only that, the supply of drinking and eating it has begun to thin. Nothing can be taken in this cruel realm. All the trees were molten, the river dried up, even the air was suffocating. The land is no longer friendly, as if it deliberately wants to kill all the creatures that live on it.
Finally the young man reached the foot of the hill. The yellowing twilight, made the scene increasingly appear dead. The orange color on the horizon is no longer beautiful because it collides with the brownish dry land full of cracks.
The young man again breathed a desperate sigh. Let the flock fight each other over a patch of withered grass that has half dried up. He himself must rest. The night is almost approaching and he must gather energy to repel all threats that usually come when night falls.
He was not actually a coward, but rumor has it that once the sun is no longer shining, the kinokambe[2] that run rampant on the land will come out and prey on anything they encounter. No one person or animal can survive after encountering a kinokambe.
Of course he doesn't believe in superstition. According to him, ‘kinokambe’ which is widely rumored is nothing more than a forest wolf that often roams to the villages because there is no more hunting that they can eat in the forest. Naturally, no herbivore can survive without plants.
The young man did not care much about the threat of the forest wolf or kinokambe though. Although he was just an ordinary shepherd, he felt quite confident with his martial skills. He often fought with several other young men in his village. In fact, he once made a man who snatched his lover almost dying from his punch.
Fighting wolves might not be worse than fighting humans, the young man thought. After all during his few days of travel, he never once met the wolf or kinokambe that much talked about.
‘Perhaps just a fictional story to scare the children in the village,’ thought the young man while collecting dry twigs that were widely scattered nearby. He had to make a bonfire. Wolves are afraid of fire.
It was that strong determination that finally made the dim fire that was growing successfully lit even without a drop of oil. Satisfied, the young man patted his hands and sat leaning against a dry tree.
The night began to fall and the cold contrasted with the weather in the scorching daylight began to come. For a moment the young man watched his flock that had run out of grass. They bleated uneasily as if dissatisfied with the portion of his meal these few days.
The young man ignored the whining of the sheep. At least they have thick fur that can warm their bodies every night come. He himself only wore long-sleeved clothes of gray velvet with a high collar combined with trousers with matching colors.
At the end of his arms, legs, collar and chest decorated with ornaments typical of his tribe in the form of hornbills in red and yellow. He also wore a headgear decorated with horny bird feathers that stretched upwards.
The clothes were not as thick as the feathers of sheep. The cold could easily swoop in and make him shudder. He was a little sorry to have ignored his death warnings to wear thicker clothes.
Never mind, he actually doesn't want to do this. Had it not been for his uma[3] plea, perhaps he would never have wanted to replace his sick death job of herding the sheep. He did not care even when he returned there was not a single sheep that he could bring home alive. It's not his fault that all the grasslands are drying up. He was happy when all his sheep died. It is time for this kind of work to be abandoned.
He could not understand why everyone in his village was so proud to be a shepherd. A job that is not challenging at all. The young man was only 16 years old, and he did not want to waste his youth on becoming a shepherd at all.
He always dreamed of becoming uluwero[4]. Uluwero were the ones who were tasked to protect the village from the attacks of other tribes. The job was highly respected by the people in his tribe and only the chosen ones could become uluwero. They were masters of naval combat, and were excellent sailors.
The village of the Khitai tribe, where the young man lived was a small island in the middle of the Kanawallan ocean. The Khitai were one of the twelve tribes in the Luterian lands located far away at the southern end of the great landmass. The geographical conditions were slightly favorable because it made other tribes reluctant to attack the area.
Even so, the role of uluwero remains very sacred. They are a symbol of the strength and pride of the Khitai tribe, whose majority are herders.
Uluwero. That was the young man's goal. He then began to imagine himself fighting in the middle of the sea with Mandau at hand against the Leirus, Giyatsa or Makhor. The delusion cradled his mind and made the young man's spirit tempestuous.
For a moment he forgot the cold that pierced his bones. He did not even realize that the atmosphere had turned silent. The whining of his sheep had long since stopped. Total darkness surrounded the young man and the glow of the bonfire began to dim as if defeated by the darkness of the night. I don't know what happened to the sheep.
Usually they still blemish until midnight or sometimes until the morning before. Now the sheep were so calm that night had just come.
Even the wind stopped moving making the air hang oddly in the silence of the night. Once again the young man did not realize the strange thing that was happening. He was still drowning in his own imagination.
Suddenly there was a loud crackling sound that shocked the young man and broke his reverie. The young man soon realized that he was covered in darkness. The bonfire that was previously burning brightly was now almost dead.
With a slash motion, the young man pulled out a small knife from his waist while trying to sharpen all his senses. The flame of the bonfire had died completely and in the midst of that total darkness, the young man could not see anything at all.
Even though he had tried so hard to sharpen his hearing, he had not heard the wind at all. The strange tense situation lasted for a while, until finally the young man decided to take bold action.
“Ewa kei heka?[8]” asked the young man a little loudly.
There's no answer.
“Ewa kei heka?! [5]” the young man again exclaimed with more courage.
The next second a long, horrible growling sound answered his call. Her romantics fur instantly stood up and a rapid beating of heart in her chest. The young man immediately jumped to his feet with a small blade unsheathed in front of him.
“Ewa kotu?! Bayan kei hetu![6]” exclaimed the young man with a vibrating voice.
Once again the sound of growling answered his call. Despite the trepidation, the young man remained vigilant. He tried to figure out the source of the growling sound, but it felt like it was coming from all directions. Suddenly the young man realized before him, about five meters in front of him, a pair of enormous and vicious red eyes were staring at him with murderous intent.
Those enormous, red eyes floated amidst the darkness. During a few minutes of observing, the young man realized that he was looking at a creature whose height might be twice his height.
Fortunately, at the right moment the young man found his courage. At least he now knew that he was facing some sort of forest beast slightly larger than him. But that's not a problem, because the two big red eyes are clearly visible in the middle of the darkness and can help the young man see the movement of the creature.
While adjusting his breath to calm down, the young man prepared to launch his attack. However, before the young man could make his first move, the creature had already pounced on him with a barely visible speed. The young man's reflexes slammed his body to the side to dodge at the right moment. His life was helped but his shoulder and left arm were scratched by the creature.
A sense of heat and pain invaded the young man's body. He felt a rush of blood pouring through his chest and stomach. The young man groaned slowly but immediately tried to stand up and face the mysterious creature.
Once again the creature let out a growling sound that established the fur of Rome. But the young man was no longer too afraid. His courage has fully risen. Even now he feels challenged to defeat the alien creature.
Eagerly, he charged towards the giant creature before him. Even though his left arm was starting to feel numb, he remained reckless. However, before he managed to reach the creature, his body was suddenly struck by something soft, warm and fragrant. For some time he was lulled by the smell of a cool tropical forest to feel like floating in the air.
He was sure that the thing grabbing him was not the creature he was fighting against, for he could see the pair of fierce red eyes drifting away from him.
The next second he was thrown out of the air and hit the hard dry ground. The pain on his shoulder sent the young man back to reality. Groaning loudly, he got back up and looked for the existence of the mysterious creature that attacked him.
Unfortunately the darkness seemed to have swallowed him. His head felt so dizzy and heavy. The young man fell back to the ground and lost consciousness.
...***...
[1] queen: Father
[2] kinokambe: Evil spirits
[3] uma: mother
[4] uluwero: Khitai tribal protectorate.
[5] Ewa kei heka?: Who is there?
[6] Ewa kotu?! Bayan kei hetu!:Who are you?! If you dare, come here!