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1st Day of the 1st Month, 3541 AM

Midnight's Old Journal, 01/01/3541

by Midnight Erebus

The start of the new year and the day of the Great Hunt! At the start of every year, teams of hunter candidates are sent out to seek out a target decided on by the seer of the village. The rest of the village feasts, tells stories of hunts, brawls in the fighting pit, sings songs of old battles and heroes and competes in games of physical prowess. It is my favorite time of year and as I sit here writing this in the middle of the drunken aftermath, I can say this year was no exception, even if I have to tend to my unconscious father.
 
The day began naturally with the Choosing. The leader of each team places their hand in a ceremonial fire and a rune representing their target would be seared into their hand. The seer would then read this rune, tell a story of the creature they must face, stories of past hunters who have faced a similar challenge. They are then reminded they have a single week to accomplish their task and are sent off. It is always a very enlightening experience, learning of the creatures that roam the areas around the mountain though there is always a little bit of tension as there has never been a year where everyone has survived. I suppose that is what the celebration is for. To relieve the tension. Still I can't help but look forward to the time my turn comes. Notroc and I are an unstoppable team! Whatever we're put up against, we will be able to take them down.
 
Which reminds me, we actually got to go in the dueling pit today. Katid and Hargak challenged us you see? Apparently this year they realized that they could get in a fight with us without getting in trouble if they challenged us to the pit. I think they came to regret it though. Notroc let out his loudest battlecry and tackled Katid down almost immediately and just began beating his face it. Hargak meanwhile got tripped up by my shadow magic. See, I learned how to create a single strand of shadow the width of a rope and control it in the last week or so. I still have a long way to go, but in a brawl? This was enough as I quickly pinned him down and twisted his arm. The fight was soon called in our favor. I don't think they'll be fighting us directly again any time soon after that public embarrassment. We were actually even given our first taste of mead! Not much due to our age, but it was sweet and warming.
 
After that we began challenging each other to some of the various competitions. Notroc beat me at arm wrestling, axe throwing and wrestling. I won at the swimming, log battle and the foot race however. After that we flirted with some of the girls our age (we both got slapped by Kalolin, probably the one downside to the day), and at the end of the day we helped with the final preparations for the food and drink during the night's feast. Not usually a particularly enjoyable job, but it wasn't often that Notroc's father shared many of his brewing techniques and quite honestly? Mead brewing actually kind of reminds me of Nilly. We only get to see the Nutcrackers for a couple weeks a year at the start of spring as they come into the region to sell their potions and herbs. I've made good friends with the youngest daughter and while I have trouble keeping up with her and all her talk of alchemy and chemistry, learning about brewing makes me feel a step closer to having some understanding of what it is she and her family does. I'm looking forward to seeing them again this year as it has been far too long.
 
Anyways, I suppose I should stop stalling and get around to carrying my father off to bed. Hopefully the rest of the week goes as well as today has. Also need to think about how I'm going to break that tie between myself and Notroc.

Continue reading...

  1. First Day on the Wanderpus
  2. The Results of Midnight's Final Exam
  3. After Action Report: Destruction of the HTTP Wanderpus
  4. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 3
  5. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 2
  6. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 1
  7. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 4
  8. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 5
  9. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 6
  10. Midnight's Old Journal, 12/23/3540
    23rd Day of the 12th Month, 3540 AM
  11. Midnight's Old Journal, 01/01/3541
    1st Day of the 1st Month, 3541 AM
  12. To Liminal's Moon
  13. Midnight's Old Journal, 05/11/3541
    11th Day of the 5th Month, 3541 AM
  14. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 1 - The Basics & Growing Up
  15. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 2 - Past Influences, Beliefs and Opinions
  16. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 3 - Relationships with Others, Likes and Dislikes
  17. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 4 - Self Images and Etc.
  18. The Storm
  19. After Mission Report: The Floating Island
  20. Midnight's Private Journal: After Legends Rise
  21. Midnight's Private Journal: After The Pot & Kettle
  22. Midnight's Personal Journal: After Call My Name
  23. Expanded Questions About Midnight - The HTML Wanderpus
  24. Midnight's Private Journal: After The Ascension
  25. Midnight's Private Journal: After Ante Up
  26. Midnight's Private Journal: After Teeth
  27. Midnight's Notes: The World Fair
  28. Midnight's Journal: After Hello Tomorrow
  29. Midnight's Journal: After Pretty Little Things
  30. Midnight's Journal: An Interesting New Sword
  31. Midnight's Journal: After R.Y.L.A.H.
  32. Midnight's Journal: After Diners, Dungeons & Dives
  33. Midnight's Journal: After Palm Reader
  34. Midnight's Journal: After Bookwyrm
  35. Midnight's Journal: After Veldt
  36. Midnight's Journal: After Where You'll Find Me Now
  37. Midnight's Journal: After A Bard's Tale
  38. Midnight's Journal: After Valhalla's Calling
  39. Midnight's Journal: After Broken
  40. Midnight's Journal: After They Know Me
  41. Midnight's Journal: After Welcome to the World
  42. Midnight's Journal: After Villainous Thing
  43. Midnight's Journal: After Curses
  44. Midnight's Journal: "The Librarian's Defeat"
  45. Midnight's Journal: "The World Changes"
  46. Midnight's Journal: After Sleep is for the Weak
  47. Midnight's Journal: After creature
  48. Midnight's Journal: After Dear Fellow Traveler
  49. Midnight's Report: After Love From The Other Side
  50. Midnight's Report: Handclap
  51. Midnight's Journal: A Story to a Giant
  52. Midnight's Journal: Constellations
  53. Midnight's Report: Wolf
  54. Midnight's Report: Of Bees and Bones
  55. Midnight's Report: Building Steam (Flower and Geoff)
  56. Midnight's Report: Nothing Breaks Like a Heart Ep. 1

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 02:52, Nov 15 2024