The Hunting Grounds

The cha'ari spend their formative years in their birth villages. They learn everything that could be expected of them including flying and using weapons and tools. The cha'ari will always return to The Rookery when it is time to roost and give life to the new generations, but the location’s safety for raising the young is also reflected in its most dangerous location. The last test a cha'ari must face when growing up is one of the most important skills of all: the hunt.
No matter where in the Rookery a young cha'ari resides, they all go to the same place to learn the hunt and prove their worth. It has no formal name as geographically it is no different than any other forest bordering The Barrier Mountains, however, there always seems to be an emphasis when discussing The Forest. The words carry a heavy tone to reflect both how dangerous and significant they are to The Rookery and its people.
The Forest is located in the widest part of the mountain range, where a great river once flowed. Now, millennia later, the river has dried due to the tidal locking and in its place a massive forest has sprung. It is beset on all sides by The Barrier Mountains, isolating it and its creatures from the rest of the world. This has led the life of The Forest to be wholly separate and different from the surrounding areas and other forests in The Rookery. It is not uncommon for young, brave cha'ari to come back from their hunt shaken and speaking of the monsters within The Forest.
The hunt is a right of passage in the life of every resident of The Rookery. Though every cha'ari will have used a weapon earlier in their life by necessity of safety, they will only know how to defend themselves. This will teach them how to survive. Very few items are allowed to be taken by the huntling, so they are called, into The Forest. They have been trained to craft weapons, build snares and other traps, and to forage. Even with all this training, this is still the bare minimum to expect from anyone going on the hunt.
The hunt serves two purposes. The first and more obvious purpose is to impart the necessary skills and mindset to the younger generation. This helps ensure that no matter the circumstances in a dangerous and unpredictable place like Venus, the cha'ari will survive. The second purpose is more ceremonial and culturally significant. Should the worst come to pass and your entire village be dependent on you through some act of violence or illness, you must be able to provide for your entire village. A trophy will always be brought back with the huntling when they have completed their hunt, and with the creatures lurking in the shadowy depths of The Forest, that could be anything.