Floating mountains lood behind the treetops. Not a few hills but imposing mountains. Their peaks pierced the sky and disappeared in the clouds. Vertiginous icy cliffs prevented an easy ascent. Could one only cross them? Gabrielle, in spite of squinting her eyes, did not see the end of the mountain archipelago. She could only see peaks, culminating higher and higher. The eternal snows were beautiful from far away. The girl knew the frost was lethal, but the most beautiful roses had thorns to protect them. Gabrielle smiled at the beauty of nature. She felt so small beside it. Small but hopeful.
Behind her, under the hill, was the temporary camp of her clan. The Gaeserts were a nomadic clan. They had stopped for the week and would be leaving again soon. Gabrielle had finished collecting so flowers for the clan's apothecary and healer. After a last look toward the majestic mountains, she headed for the camp.
As she reached the bottom of the hill, she nodded to Gael. The teenager would soon be sixteen. He was already old enough to be given adult tasks. Tasks that no one wanted to do, such as unnecessarily standing guard at the clan entrance. According to the apothecary, it was a way to keep the young people busy, train them, and make them work for the clan's benefit. The boy returned her greeting before looking back at the horizon with a confident pose and a superior air. Silly, as if you could stop any threat the Shaman might have missed.
Gabrielle liked Gael. He thought he was a great warrior while he hadn't hunted anything fiercer than a spider, but at least he tried to act like an adult. He focused on the clan's survival, not stupid children's quarrels. Not like so people. As if called by her thought, a burst of voice resounded in the direction of the won's tents. Gabrielle had a bad presentint and hurried.
.
Behind Cerdà's tent, a small crowd had gathered. The cook must have gone hunting. Otherwise, none of the children present would have dared to raise their voices. Being a hunter ant being able to venture outside the camp alone and face monsters. Only the best warriors could beco hunters. Cerdà was the best hunter in the clan. Respected by all, the Shaman and the Chief listened to her advice carefully.
But when the cat's away, the mice will play. If only they would play...
"What's going on here?" she asked one of the boys. The little one gasped before turning back to her.
"Oh Gabrielle, it's just you! You scared to death! I thought Cerdà or another cook had co ho from the eting. Oh, as you can see, nothing special is going on. Just another fight between Broli and Agata. Broli is going to celebrate his sixteenth birthday, and the ceremony will take place tomorrow night. He wants to know who is the best warrior before that. That's stupid if you ask ."
"Of course, it's stupid. Broli will be a defender. If he still hasn't figured out that attacking Agata was useless, he'll end up developing the wrong skills. Agata is just as stupid for agreeing. Broli is an idiot, but she is not. She should have refused the fight."
"Honor..."
"What honor can you gain against your own clan? What honor can one lose when one is a child who has none? No one listens to the Shaman..."
Gabrielle stepped forward. In the center of a circle of children was a young boy bleeding profusely while wearing a gigantic smile. Opposite him was a young girl, breathless but intact. Constitution and Vitality versus Agility and Perception. A mistake from Agata would be enough to guarantee Broli's victory, but Gaeserts don't make mistakes. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here.
The confrontation had already been played a hundred tis last year. Broli never let more than three days go by before provoking Agata. The young woman was the best among the girls, but Gabrielle suspected Broli had other interests in provoking her. In his defense, he was surely not aware of it himself!
Whatever the reasons, the results were always the sa. Agata won. With difficulty, she always took longer, but she won. The girl had to be three tis faster at running than he was, and she was accelerating five tis more quickly. Broli would have had every chance to win in a confined space, but not outdoors. Both youngsters had the sa strength, but Agata's agility turned that strength into speed. Broli's constitution allowed him to use his strength to increase his power. Broli would win an arm wrestle a hundred tis, and Agata would escape that sa arm wrestle a hundred tis. But if Broli had been able to use a submission technique, the girl would never have been able to break free.
Agata was not stupid and would never have accepted a fight under unfavorable conditions. It was even a clan rule. When you can't win, run away. It was the rule that had allowed the Gaesert to survive in Elysium. The clan mbers were wise enough to know they were weak.
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