The annual competition was more than just a fight between competitors, it was a festival for them. For the villagers, it was the only event that was celebrated, that too once in a year. The hunters had doubled their efforts in the prior week, ensuring an abundance of food. Bonfires burned through the night and laughter echoed in every corner of the village.
After three days as the celebration neared its end, all twenty participants were called forth. The elders stood before them and soon the first elder spoke up her voice filled with authority "From this day" the first Elder announced, "all the competitors who cleared the first round shall be recognized as half hunters and they bear the right to challenge the Hunter Squad members".
For the villagers, it was a sacred honor. The Hunter Squad stood as the pride of the village and also its unbreakable shield. If danger ever threatened the village, it first had to break through them. They were the ones who fought in the wild to bring food for the village and if any mishap happened they were the ones who resolved it.
Even being a half hunter was hard because, each villager could only take part in the annual competition twice in their lifetime. It ensured fairness, giving new competitors a chance to rise each year instead of being overshadowed by the same names.
After the competition ended, life began to return to normal. The instructor called Vayu and told him that he was on guard duty tonight, as Vayu was walking back to his training room he saw his father "father why are you here?" Vayu asked curiously.
"We are going for hunt son, as the food supplies are low after the festival" his father said.
"best of luck father" he said and walked towards his training room , as the evening approached he finished his training and went towards his home. There he had some light dinner as eating plenty can make you sleepy, so they were instructed to eat less whenever you are on a guard duty.
After dinner he packed some fruits in a small bag and filled his water pouch before making his way toward his post.
This time, his guard post was different. It lay near the archery range, where the land sloped upward, creating a wide gap between the forest and the village. From here, one could see clearly into the woods below. It was considered the easiest post, so only a few guards were stationed here.
Vayu sat down on a rock, leaning on his back comfortably. Today he was gonna explore this side of the forest, when moon goes down and there will be complete darkness, he would slip into the forest quietly, he would have 3 hours before the guard duty ends and in that time he will be back to his guard post.
For now the night was clear, the moon hanging bright above, silver light spilling across the treetops. Tonight, the fog seemed thinner than usual, giving him a better view of the forest line.
As he was watching the forest line, something stirred.
At first, he dismissed it as his imagination or some play of shadows. But the movement happened again, then again, his eyes narrowed.
It was an animal. He was sure of it now. But something about it was strange. It wasn't moving forward or backwards. Instead, it seemed to be leaping in place, over and over again.
Puzzled, Vayu picked up a stone, weighed it in his hand, then throwed it with full force toward the animal.
The creature was startled, clearly shaken by the impact, but what unsettled Vayu most was that it didn't run. It kept jumping in the same spot, as though it was bound by something.
Vayu's curiosity rose, he got up and ran across the open field, his footsteps pounding against the earth. Animals have sharp instincts, so they rarely revealed themselves in the open. But this one was jumping out in open, it could only mean two things, either it was too dumb to realize the danger… or it was too frightened by something else.
Could it be the beast?
His heart skipped a beat at the thought, but he shook his head. No that monster lived deep on the other side of the forest. Predators like that never left their territory.
Then what is it? Some other beast he don't know about?
Question after question popped up into his mind as he closed the distance. He didn't care if any villager or passing guard caught sight of him running towards the forest. His focus was narrowed solely on the creature.
Soon he reached the creature. Under the pale moonlight, he finally saw it clearly — a tusk deer, its sharp antlers glinting like spears. It wasn't running or grazing, just jumping nervously in one spot.
Vayu slowed down his steps, his left hand stretched forward in a gesture to calm the animal, his right hand gripping the hilt of his dagger just in case the deer attacked him. He kept his breaths steady, not wanting to startle it further. The deer's eyes were wide with fear.
Time dragged on, half an hour passed before the creature's eased down accepting Vayu's presence, its stance lowering slightly. Finally, it allowed Vayu to approach.
That's when he saw it.
A thick rope dug into the flesh of its hind leg, cutting off its movements. Someone had trapped it, But who?. It couldn't be the villagers they were strictly forbidden from crossing the boundary and he saw no one crossing the boundary. So then… who else could have done this?
Many more questions swirled in his mind. All his life, he had believed that their village was the only human settlement in this world. The thought of others existing beyond the forest had never crossed him seriously—until now.
But if someone had set this trap… then maybe, just maybe, there were others.
Before he could think anything else, he heard a sound, a sound of footsteps. The footsteps were heavy and clear so whosoever this was, they knew this terrain very well, as the footsteps draw closer, Vayu without hesitation, darted to the other side of the tree and pressing himself flat behind the tree, hiding himself completely, without making any noise.
Through the gaps he watched. Two shadow figures was moving steadily in his direction.
As the two came closer and their faces become clear in the moonlight, they were members of the Hunter Squad and what's more surprising was, one of them was Shen. This confused Vayu even more because the hunter squad hunted on the biggest mountain which is one of the mountain surrounding the village, because many beast roamed there, entry was not allowed to villagers except hunter squad members, so why there were here , because this was also considered a part of forest, where no one was allowed to enter, not even the hunter squad. More questions filled his mind, but he stayed calm, not wanting to get discovered.
"Why are we here?" Shen asked, his voice sharp with impatience. "I wanted to go ahead with the squad."
"Don't worry, you'll get your chance what's the hurry" the other hunter replied in a low and calm tone. "The newest men take care of the traps closest to the village. The farther we go, the more men we leave behind. We always put two people beside every trap. Looks like we have already got a deer in ours, you should be glad" he said hitting Shen's chest lightly with the back of his hand.
Shen looked toward the trapped animal. "It's still lively," he muttered.
The other hunter glanced once at the deer and said "Let it tire itself till morning and then we'll kill it. Now come, we should check the other traps".
They turned and walked away, their boots crunching softly on the undergrowth. Vayu stayed pressed against the ground, until their voices faded into the night. When silence returned, he quickly got up on his feet.
His eyes were drawn back to the deer. It was still struggling, its eyes wild with panic. His fingers itched toward the dagger at his waist. He wanted to cut the rope, he hands slowly reaching towards the dagger, he wanted to let the creature flee back into the safety of the woods. But he cannot because the thought of the what will happen afterwards stopped his hand midway. If the rope was cut, the hunters would know someone had been there. Then the elders would investigate and when they searched for suspects, who else would they blame expect him, because he was on the guard duty at the nearest guard post when this happened ?
Vayu took a step back "Sorry," he whispered "I can't free you… forgive me."
Then, before he commit a mistake, he turned and ran. The ground pounding beneath his feet, his chest burned, his breath came ragged with every stride he took, but he didn't dare stop until his post came into sight.
Finally he sat onto the rock outside, leaning forward with his hands braced on his knees, lungs heaving. Sweat clung to his temples despite the cool night air. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, not only from the sprint but from the weight of guilt pressing down on him.
He stared back into the forest, the deer was still jumping, trying to free itself from the binding. Vayu turned away his face not wanting to look anymore. Soon it was dawn and another guard came in to resume his duty and Vayu went back home, but his mind filled with questions.