Gentle moonlight fell upon his face as Sundrin's eyes fluttered a bit, and then he drowsily opened them.
Sitting up straight, he stared dazedly in front of him, his eyes were unfocused, and the same could be said for his clouded mind.
He got up from his bed and stood up, his entire lean, muscular body he had formed after training for so many months could be seen.
Walking towards the gates, he gently opened them so as not to disturb the others who were still sleeping and got out of the cottage.
Look at the sky, he could tell that there was still some time left before sunrise.
He was always a light sleeper and did not like sleeping much anyway, but the recent events had caused him to sleep even less often, agitating him.
Slowly, he stepped forward and headed for the waterfall.
On his way, he broke a small branch of the Leem tree located near the garden and started chewing on it. Instantly, his mouth was filled with the fragrant juices of the branch as he continued on his way.
Soon enough, he reached his destination and, throwing the leem branch away, he picked up some water and rinsed his mouth. Then he took up some more water and splashed it on his face to clear his mind.
Feeling the cool soothing sensation upon his face, he felt truly awake, and after doing this a few times more, he sat down on the grassy fields and started stargazing.
As he looked upon the stars that were scattered across the night sky, like glittering dust scattered across deep blue water, his emotions calmed down a bit.
For the past few days, he had been worrying about many things, and some things he had never even contemplated before had started to fill his brain as if it were a persistent mosquito buzzing near his ear.
He wondered what the changing of the flames' colour during the awakening ceremony meant.
He wondered what his origins were. When he lost control five days ago, he somehow knew it had something to do with his body and bloodline, but he never told anybody about it.
He wondered if, across these vast lands if there are more tribes. The tribe's people were unaware of whether they existed.
But most importantly…..
".....Why did my parents abandon me…."
He wondered out loud and couldn't help but release a deep sigh of resignation as he stared at the vast sky.
Suddenly, the sounds of grass rustling came from behind him. Immediately alert he got up and spun around, ready to fight.
But once he saw who it was, he released a relaxed sigh and bowed,
"Greetings, teacher."
Survath nodded as he came closer to him and stopped just in front of him,
"Couldn't sleep?"
He asked with his stern voice as he looked up at the sky, looking at the stars.
Sundrin couldn't help but let out a wry smile as he nodded in acknowledgement,
"Your mind seems to be thinking of something."
Sundrin shuddered as he heard his teacher's words as if he could see right through him,
"Sundrin, what do you think discipline means?"
Caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, Sundrin squinted his eyes and tried to think of a response,
"Doesn't it mean to do stuff systematically and get the things you don't wanna do done?"
Upon hearing his response, the third elder showed a rare amused smile as he shook his head,
"You're partially correct, but how does one become 'disciplined'? Is it just blazing through the things, and then one day you're disciplined? No. You first need to love the process."
"While doing so, your mind will wander off, just like a mischievous child, you need to give it a slap and bring it back on track. I have taught many students throughout my life and know for a fact that punishment is a better way to learn than Reward."
"But that enough won't make you disciplined, your mind will wander off again, you will need to bring it back again, this cycle will continue, until one day you just wake up and do the thing without even thinking about it. It will have become your second nature by then."
Saying this, the third elder looked straight at Sundrin, his smile disappeared as he continued,
"The only thing in your hands is the present, sulking about the past will not get you anywhere, as you cannot change it, worrying about the future won't help you, as you cannot predict it."
"Only focus on the present and do your duty, the answers will come by themselves."
Hearing the words of his master, Sundrin felt enlightened, and although he knew what Survath said deep down, he needed someone to tell him this straight to his face,
"Thank you, master…"
He said as a smile formed on his lips and he bowed to his teacher,
"Remember, Sundrin, there are many things out there. Raise your strength, and move forward to see what the outside world holds."
Having finally said this, Survath turned around and started walking away, but not before saying some final words,
"I may not say this openly, but you are one of the best students I have had throughout my life, and I want you to not only be the tribe's best Archer, but the world's best Archer."
Upon hearing these words, Sundrin's eyes widened,
'World? Not tribe?'
It seemed that Survath had revealed to him one of the answers he had been looking for all this time.
With shaking eyes, he got up and exhaled as he looked at the first rays of the sun shining upon the water of the stream.
'....There are more tribes out there.
With this final thought, he started heading back, his master had imparted to him the valuable knowledge of discipline, and just like he said, he would focus not on the past or future but the present.
For now, what he needed to do was score well on the hunt, and he was planning to do just that.
.
.
.
.
The sun shone brightly upon the heads of Torvyn and Sundrin as they both made their way through the dense forest following the instructor who was leading them towards their positions.
By now they had come a long way from the encampment and even if both of them wanted to go back, they had no idea in which direction they should head.
Suddenly, the instructor who was guiding them stopped in front of them and turned around to face the two,
"This will be as far as I can accompany you. Try to do your best. Although I will keep an eye out for you waiting nearby if serious danger arises, it would be best for you to clear this test by yourselves."
The guard said with a serious tone, then jumped onto the branch of a tree and hopped from one branch to another as he disappeared in the distance.
Sundrin and Torvyn looked at each other and nodded seriously. The time had come,
"Students!"
The voice of the third elder rang out through the forest, he was probably amplifying his sound through Chakra,
"For the next seven days, you will stay in this forest and hunt any beasts you can! Your guards will evaluate your results after these seven days, and you will be given an appropriate reward and position!"
"Now!"
As the voice entered Sundrin's ears and the fresh scent wafted in the air, he felt more alive than he had ever been.
Releasing a final breath, his eyes shone with a deep light, and Survath's last words echoed out through the forest,
"Let the hunt begin!!"