"Well, I suppose I could start working on a hammer. Sad thing is, none of these beasts have a skull worth makin' in the head. Good bones for hilts and things. I think I could make a great sword out of these. You like them?" The Blacksmith was doing an impression of someone who was pleasant, rather than trying pleasantness on for size. He gestured to a Great sword he had already made from the bones of the Ratombi. He forced a smile, but gave up on it rather quickly. He huffed.

"Well, perhaps a bow would be better from these parts. The Ratombi was built a lot like the Lagombi, so it should have some good tendons." I suggested. I was trying to be helpful. That wasn't the reception.

"If you think you can do my job better than me, fine!" The blacksmith threw up his hands, and slid down his hammer to me. "You build yourself a new weapon. Did yur precious mentor teach you how to do that? Can it withstand the blow of a Uragaan? HM?!"

I opened my mouth. My 'precious Mentor' had warned me about opening my mouth. I conveniently forgot about it. "Fine! If you want to make nothing but Great Swords, since I don't see anything else here, I'll take one. Then, when I die because its not a weapon I can use properly, they won't blame me. Oh no. They will not blame their precious hunter. They will blame you for making a bad weapon with the materials I worked so hard to give you."

I didn't want an answer. I didn't want a new hammer, nor a bow. I wanted to leave. That's what I did. I turned my back on that stubborn goat of a smith and I went back to my hut. I spent the rest of the day building things out of my resources. I spent the day making things I could actually use.

To myself, I wondered if I would have to learn how to use the Great Sword to survive.

Dinner was a bit of a treat. They used some spices bought from the Guild's market. Though they used little, they made each pinch count. The girls were no one to be out against Jaggis, but the Jaggis couldn't be beat in the kitchen. A Jaggi was delicious, especially with a twinge of Saffron.

"This is amazing." I beamed. "What's the occasion?"

"Oh, no occasion." They had weak smiles. "We just-"

"We're testing the recipe. One of our festivals is coming up soon, and since Jaggi meat is a big thing here, we want it to be at its best."

I then realized it was because they didn't want me angry with them the way I was with the Blacksmith. I...I felt bad. As much as the Blacksmith deserved his verbal thrashing, I didn't want others thinking they were in danger of a bad temper, either. I smiled my best at them. They took it as a sign of grace.

"What kind of festival?"

"I hear we are having a celebration." The Chieftain had called me into the tent rather late, and I was blinking more frequently. His head was rested on his knuckles. "Tell me, what is this celebration about?"

"The Girls, in the Kitchens, they said it was a traditional festival to celebrate the water of the lake." I knew the girls were lying when they mentioned a festival, but on the same hand, I figured the town could use one. The more the girls made up to make the lie sound genuine, the more excited about a festival they became. "Well, clean water in general, but catered to our lake. Something about a legend of the Sun trying to poison the land with its heat."

"Ah, but the water of the oceans reflected the sun back into the sky before it could scorch the land." The Chieftain smiled. "Do you know how the legend goes?"

"Well, no." I admitted. I thought the story had been made up, too. Perhaps in every bit of fiction, there is a bit of truth. "I didn't grow up with it. I think we came from different tribes, this village and mine."

"This village is your village, now." The Chieftain replied. I nodded. He nodded. He leaned back into his chair. "Then this story shall be yours to hear. Sit, and I will tell you the story myself. Then, when you bear children, you can sit them down and you can tell it to them. The old tribes are no more, but their stories are still told. Sit, sit."

Long ago, after the Earth was young, the Sun grew jealous of its beauty. It decided that it could scorch the world, and make it barren like the other planets, so that it would no longer burn with jealousy.

But, as the sun came close to kiss the world with Death, the life of the planet sprung up into the waters. The planet did not want to die, and be barren like the other planets. It saw the Sun, and cried out, "How can I survive?"

Then, the waters of the seas cried out to the Earth. "Do not despair, oh lovely planet, for you are alone. We will pull a dead planet for you, and put it between us and the Sun. The Sun won't be able to reach us, and no harm will be done."

So the Earth praised the Sea, and the Sea set to work. It pulled together, forming tides, and it reached out into the spaces, and found the Earth a moon. They set it between the Earth and the Sun.

It blocked out the likeness of the Sun, but it could not stop its reach. Around the moon the Sun came, its long tendrils pushing aside the moon. The moon spun around the planet, around and around, and the Sea could only hold it tight enough to keep it close to Earth. The Sun came closer.

Then the Sea cried out for the Earth's forgiveness. Though the Sea had failed, the Earth did not hate the sea. "Do not be with sorrow, dear Sea. It was not your doing, that the Sun has hated me. I shall always remember your kindness and your strength, when I am a barren planet."

The Sea could not accept this for Earth. The Sea rose up over the planet to meet the Sun. "I will not let you do this evil thing. You are powerful, but you have so say over me."

The Sun laughed, and drew nearer. However, when the sun tried to scoop up the Sea and cast it away, the Sea reflected the Sun's light back into the sky. No matter how much light the Sun cast down on the planet, the Sea did not become barren.

The Sun became afraid because of the Sea's determination and strength. "What are you, that you might rebel against me so? Are you stone, who fears nothing and knows nothing? Are you a Moon, who is dead and therefore cannot be killed? What are you?"

"I am Water, and I am the Sea. I am the Daughter of the Earth and the source of her Beauty. You cannot remove me from Earth. You cannot vanquish her beauty."

The Sun looked at the other planets, and saw that none of them had Water. None of them had Beauty. The Sun grew afraid, but still in awe, and without a word, fled back into the stars before the water could vanquish it.

Though the Earth had been saved, the Sun's light had damaged the surface of the land. The soil was dry and burnt, and the creatures of the Earth had died. Though the planet was still alive, the Earth was in mourning.

The Sea had one last idea. It crept up onto the land, its very opposite, and rested on the land. The Sea began to sink into the land, and it became afraid. Still, it would do anything to see the Earth live.

Then, after a time, long before the Sea could crawl over all the Earth, it noticed that in some parts, not all of its water would go down. Its bitterness and sorrow were absorbed by the Earth, and it became clean. It became a new Water, and the beaten and the bruised of the land drank of this water, just to see it.

Then, through hope, and love, the Miracle of Life occurred. The Earth dried her tears and looked upon her surface. Life had become new again. Furthermore, she was more beautiful than ever before. The Sea, for there was still much of her, danced in her bed. There were no words that could be said.

"And to this day, we celebrate the Ocean's gifts of Lakes and Rivers, Brooks and Streams, which have given us life when all was lost." The Chieftain finished. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. "It is not tradition to have a festival, as this is a somber celebration, but perhaps it is time for this to change."

"With the Campsite finished," I began musing. "Our resources are no longer tied up. There haven't been much trouble from the valley, either. We wouldn't suffer from the taxes of a Festival."

"You think like one who leads." He said. I looked up to meet his eyes. "That is good. As you have noticed today, though you are not a Chief, many respect your word as law. I do not mind it, but if you misuse it, it will harm my people. My people revere you. Do not betray them."

I nodded quickly. I looked at my feet. "I am sorry, my Chief. I meant no harm."

"Not even Monsters mean harm, I find." He smiled. "Do not hang your head; not tonight. We must go out and meet the people now."

"But...it is late?"

"The people are excited. Do you think they are going to sleep? No, we must tell them to rest so that we can work on this Festival when the sun rises. Otherwise, we will have trouble in the night. Come, help me walk, Hunter. I am tired, and I am old. This is not a good combination after sunset. Or before."

By the time I had finished my piece of the Morning Vigil over the valley, the village was explosive with joy. There were banners hung from tents, special plates planned, and business was storing their goods for the week. The greatest change was that the Fishermen were planning a long trip out to the nearest port. They were taking what was left of the Ratombi and its young to be traded for festival fare, and whatever tools they could find.

"I'll be keeping watch over the village. I don't want anything to crop up during the celebration." I offered. I turned to my hut to get my hammer, but Hide caught my shoulder. "What's up?"

"No can do. Chieftain said you're not to wander off." He seemed pained. "Before anything else, you have a to-do list. The festival plans require everyone to pitch in. No self-assignments until its over."

"But what if-"

"You nailed the Ratombi before it caused trouble because Jaryin stood vigil over the night and did his job. He saw when something was amiss and reported it to the right people. If something is wrong with the valley, he'll find it. That's why he was chosen to stand Vigil. No one knows the valley like him."

So it was that I had no argument, and I accepted the long list of things that I was supposed to do. I expected them to be Hunter things, or things where I stood around and used my hammer for useful purposes. This was not the case. I was asked to do things that were...mundane.

I was tasked with helping this kitchen girls. The list said 'help them cook', but 'helping them cook' became sweeping and scrubbing and the occasional taste testing. The taste testing, however, made the whole obsessive cleaning thing worth it.

The strongest task, and the one I thought most about, was the unloading and reloading of the ships. They had to take off all the things they kept on the ship, from garbage bins to spears. Then they had to sort what they removed. Then they had to put the select items back on, and arrange it in a way to make room for the things that were going to the Trade Post. Then, someone made the point that this might be a good fishing opportunity to get fish that we might not normally have, so more stuff was added to the boats. This made the boats to heavy, and so things had to be removed...

Despite all the work that had to be put into the festival, everyone glowed. The closest thing they had to a proper celebration was the feast from when I first arrived. They said it was good to eat, but even better to party. I saw some of the families trading nights of dealing with the children, so that a secret brew could be made in the night. I asked what the brew was of, though I was sure I knew, and they said I wasn't old enough to be knocked on my ass that fast. I made the point that I had been thrown by monsters and survived. They laughed and walked away. Apparently, I wasn't having any of their sacred brew.

With the fishing ships finally sent off to the Trade, they announced that they would return in four days, and on the fifth dawn, the Festival would begin. The Chieftain made a ceremony for sending them off. Then, at the last moment, which apparently was known to everyone but me, I was thrown onto the last ship. I stumbled to find my balance, and then turned to see the entire Village waving away.

The village was small, and to my surprise, it didn't get much smaller as we sailed away.