Chapter 9: The Exam
Someone was watching her.
Uneasily, Earilith looked behind more than once as she crossed the dark lane in the forest. "Damnation! Since when did this exams become harder than ever?" she muttered as she held her bow steady, her sharp eyes darting around as she tread carefully past the bushes.
"Your first task is to prepare yourself for any unbecoming situations."
A shrieking howl pierced the silenced air. Startled, Earilith mentally braced herself as she whirled around, her bow quivering with anticipation. "Oh man, not you again," she groaned as an orc came lumbering towards her. Drawing out two arrows, she focused on the monster's heart and shot out with deadly aim. Surprised, the orc stared at the archer dumbly before crashing ungainly onto the ground.
Earilith smiled with satisfaction. "You don't seriously think I won't be prepared for another attack from you guys, do you?" she sneered lightly as she gave the corpse one last look before resuming her journey. Then she heard a rustle among the bushes on her right.
"Now what," she groaned, her right hand already beside her barrel of arrows. This time, she heard a deep grunt before something came crashing along the thick bushes. "What in the world-?" she gasped as another orc appeared in front of her. She glanced back at the corpse, disgusted.
"You just have to bring your wide along now, do you?" the archer grumbled as she ducked the oncoming blow from the orc lady. As quick as thought, Earilith shifted her movement towards her right just before the monster dealt a blow on her. The axe narrowly missed her neck as it grazed lightly on her shoulder. Wincing slightly in pain, the archer grabbed her arrows and quickly directed it towards the monster.
The orc lady howled in anger as one of the arrows plunge into her waist. Working fast, Earilith quickly drew two more arrows and shoot them at it. Unfortunately, she had gotten in the way of the beast's axe. Droplets of blood splattered on the grass as Earilith bit her lip in pain. The axe had wounded her stomach badly. The orc lady did not even receive any major wounds on her body.
Grimly, the archer tried to ignore the stabbing pain and rained the monster with fiery arrows ceaselessly. The monster howled again and again as it tried to avoid the relentless fire elemental arrows. "Damn," she muttered angrily as she realized that her supply of arrows had just run out. At that moment, the orc lady recovered rapidly as she pulled out the arrows stuck on her body one by one. Taking one quick look at the monster, Earilith quickly step away cautiously from it and fled for safety.
"Running away is definitely not cool," she said to herself as she weaved in and out of the thick trees. Branches stuck out abominably, making it rather difficult for her to run swiftly. "Ouch," she cried repeatedly as dry, brittle branches poked her uncomfortably as she passed by them.
"Your second task is to rely on instinct and common sense."
Earilith stopped short. "Great, I'm lost," she said aloud disgustedly. She threw her bow down and began to pull the leaves stuck on her hair aggressively. Spotting a flowing river nearby, she headed there and scooped up some water to wash her muddied face. Then she took out a cloth from her waist pouch and wetted it thoroughly with the clear liquid. Gingerly, she placed the soaked cloth on her wound, wincing with pain as she did so.
"Stupid orc lady! Now I'll never reach the line in time!" she muttered as she eyed the surroundings methodically for herbs. Finally, she spotted some yellow leaves growing beneath the shade of a tree not far away. She got up slowly, wincing as she felt the pain stabbing at her stomach, and headed towards the leafy herbs. Carefully plucking a few leaves, she crushed them in her palm and placed them on the open wound.
"Ahh. That feels much better," she murmured in relief. Then, stooping down to collect her discarded bow, she checked her bearings.
"Hmm, from the looks of it, I'm way past south. Since I should be heading north, I should be going…that way," she mused as she stared thoughtfully at her surroundings. She soon started on her journey once more. She stopped a few times to recheck her bearings now and then. Satisfied that she was heading towards the right direction, she resumed her hastened pace hoping to reach the end of her exams in time.
"Your third task is based on your knowledge on nature and understanding on animals."
"Hey, what's that?" the archer exclaimed as she spotted something feathery huddled on the ground. She went towards it and bent down to examine the bundle of feathers.
"Why, it's a falcon!" she realized. The poor bird was injured; one of its wings was bleeding. Earilith hurriedly took out the remaining yellow herbs she plucked just now and crushed them before placing them gently on the injured falcon. Spotting a broad leaf nearby, she plucked it and wrapped it around the wing, using a short vine to tie it up neatly without cutting its blood circulation. Then, she picked up the injured falcon and cradled it in her arms.
"I'll take you along since I am heading to the hunter's guild. Perhaps they could find you your owner, even though he left you here wounded," she told the bird and resumed her pace.
Presently, she came to an open clearing. Just ahead, the path split up into two, each looked just like the other. Earilith stopped short. "Oh dear, which path am I to take now?" she despaired. There were no indications on which path she should take. She stepped a step on her left, then hesitated. Which path should she choose?
Suddenly, the falcon in her arms stirred and began pecking the archer gently on her arms. "Hey," she exclaimed, looking down at the bird. It kept on nibbling on her arm until it had gotten her full attention. Then, the bird flapped one of its wings.
"What are you trying to tell me, old thing?" she asked, stroking the bird. The falcon continued to flap its wings, as if trying to tell Earilith something. Puzzled, the archer glanced at the direction the wing was flapping at.
"Why, are you trying to tell me the right direction?" the delighted archer asked. As if understanding what she said, the injured falcon gave a loud reply. Earilith laughed and went to the right. It was only then that she noticed that the path she nearly took had a somewhat disgruntled atmosphere. Twigs were scattered everywhere and the grass looked as if it was trampled on a lot.
She glanced on the path she was on now. The road was clear of withered leaved and the grass was as green as ever. "Now I get it," she realized, "That road was taken by many archers before me. But why this road?" She mused and pondered for a while. Then she shrugged. "If it's what falcon here said, then I guess it's all right for me to take this path. After all, why bother taking what everyone else took? I bet this path would give me a better challenge. Hope you will be better, falcon," she told the bird, wagging her finger at it. The falcon cawed at her in reply.
So she continued her journey. "Ah drat, I'm running out of time," she muttered as she realized the sun was about to set. Quickening her pace, she weaved in and out in the forest, following the path as she went.
"Ouch! These leaves are prickly!" she cried as she passed by a prickly bush. The whole time she was journeying, her path was filled nothing but thick, dense forests; some so thick she could barely pass through. Still, they don't call it exams for nothing, thought Earilith grimly as she fended off some annoying leaves that were sticking on her hair.
After what seemed like ages, she finally reached the end of the forests. "Yes!" she exclaimed, her face turned upwards to embrace the cool air on her damp skin.
"Congratulation, Earilith Sensedriell. You have made it just in time."
Startled, the archer turned around and faced a male hunter smiling at her. She relaxed and smiled back in return. "Thanks. I found this falcon during my exams by the way. Any idea whose it might be?" she asked as she showed the injured falcon to him.
The examiner smiled again, "It's yours Ms. Sensedriell. You have proven that you are capable of understanding the importance of nature's lives, including this bird, by rescuing it from its near death."
"Mine?" she asked, amazed. She looked down at the bird and hugged it in delight. "Does this mean I passed the exams?" she asked. She knew that only qualified hunters and huntresses were allowed to rare falcons as their pets.
The hunter nodded his head and explained, "You were given three tasks during the test. The first was to test your ability to react sensibly under dangerous circumstances. The escapade with the orc lady was the test. You realized that you could not defeat the monster without any weapons in hand and you did not try to defeat it with your own bare hands. That was your ability to react on certain situations."
"Your second task was to rely solely on instinct as well as your common sense. You were injured and instead of trying to continue your journey in pain, you searched the area for medicinal herbs to aid you. That too, can help you a great deal in your journey. Your third and final task, on the other hand, tested you on your knowledge of nature and understanding towards animals, including the falcon you are carrying. When given two paths to choose from, you realized the difference of the two paths just before taking them. True, you did attain some help from the falcon, but it too shows that you were able to stop and try to understand the falcon. That, Ms. Sensedriell, is what a hunter should always do; communicating with their falcons."
Earilith looked amazed. "Wow, I didn't know those were part of the tests. I thought I was just asked to try and get past the forest before sunset," she said.
"That was the base idea. Most archers do not realize the importance of those three tasks that you have performed. A hunter, or a huntress in your case, should always be attuned to nature and its surroundings. Moreover, it is wise for one to keep a sensible mind even when one is forced to face difficult and dangerous situations. Remember that, Earilith Sensedriell, and you will be a great huntress," the hunter said.
He then produced the official uniform of a huntress and handed it to the delighted archer. "Wear it proud and keep our guild's reputation clean. Oh, and you should name your falcon too. It would be for the best," he said.
The archer, now huntress, smiled. "Thanks. I'll name this falcon Stigma. It'll remind me of the three tasks I had just performed anyway," she said laughingly.
The examiner smiled. "Very well then. Congratulations on your exams, Earilith Sensedriell. You are now officially a huntress from this day onwards!"
"Are you sure you did the right thing?" asked a voice quietly.
The blonde sighed. "I'm sure it is for the best, brother. There is nothing much we can do without her," she said softly. Anexia stood up and stared at her brother. She understood how he felt. Having carried a family burden since the age of ten can do strange things to one's emotions.
"But Anne, how can we be sure if the same thing doesn't happen again? How can we be sure that darkness will win…again?"
"I don't know, I just don't know. But we still have to take our chances with her. It's our only way out, don't you see? Remember mum's words? 'When dark falls on light, and light seeks the wielder, only one shall prevail, if one of each sticks together'" quoted the assassin steadily.
The priest banged his hand on the wooden table nearby in frustration. "Look, for all we know, those words are crap! You don't even know what those words mean in the first place!" he scowled in frustration.
Gently, Anexia went up to her brother and hugged him. Then, drawing away, she reminded him, "True, but it's the only thing we have left to follow." She felt her brother's body go limp as the tenseness left his body. He sighed gustily as his arms fell limply to his sides.
"Yeah, I suppose it is, isn't it?" he said ironically, detangling himself from her. He looked outside through the murky window. Both the priest and the assassin were at a dilapidated room just a few blocks away from the inn the alchemist was staying. Although the place was in a mess, the assassin had assumed that the place was the best if they were to keep an eye on the raven-haired alchemist.
"I wonder how long are we to stay at this filth?" he mused aloud, still peering through the window, as though he expected a few wild beasts to suddenly rampage the streets. Anexia laughed at her brother's impatience. Still, it wasn't at all fun to stay with dirt and grime the whole day.
"Well, if you really do hate this filth, then I suggest we clear up this place to make it more…habitable. What do you say?" she suggested, a wide grin on her mouth. She knew her brother hated household chores more than anything else. She waited patiently for his reply as she watched him grimace and weighing the chances of living with filth and forcing himself to actually work for cleanliness.
"All right, I'll do it," he said finally, rolling up his sleeves decisively. Anexia smiled at his antiques. "Okay, deal with the dirt on the floor while I wipe the muck out from the walls," she ordered, placing her prized katars aside on a worn-out rocking chair nearby. And they spent the whole day clearing out the room…