Grand Adventures of the Witch King

The Coming of Age Ceremon

Tambe village, a great and well-known place among all the other villages. It had the strongest warriors and the best mages in this outer rim of the forest, not to mention a place that had the best beauties one could ever find in all the villages, something the natives of Tambe village were very proud of. 

Heck, they couldn’t be more proud after surviving the great battle against a legendary evil spirit known to wipe out entire villages! 

However, if one asked the natives of this little place what they thought of their home, they would say they loved it, for who didn’t love the only place that could keep one safe against the nightmares walking in all forms and sizes out in there in the forest. So to them all, it was a wonderful place akin to a safe haven surrounded by danger and despair in the form of beasts, plants, and the terrain not forgetting the nightmare creatures in the depths within it.

It was a prosperous little settlement with women being at home working and looking after the children, sometimes they would start little gardens behind their yards with the help of their husbands and children.

The men if they were not at their farm fields they would either be at their gatherings or out hunting if they want with a party, at times they would take their wives along for they were essential in the healing and support against any dangerous situations that were very common in these woods.

That was just the surface analysis from the perspective of a visitor or guest. A simple life, a simple paradise, for simple-minded natives that just wanted to live happily by either farming, hunting, and raising their livestock with their families until they returned to their ancestors on their deathbeds or in an unfortunate circumstance in the belly of a beast or in the ground somewhere in the forest, simplicity at its finest was what these people strived for.

However, to them from youth, the young men in the village start their training, muscle building, stamina, and endurance training and exercises. They would be taught weapon training too as well as crafting and maintenance.

All that from age 10 to 16. Their instructors would always test and examine the ones that had the potential to become warriors, so during this time period of 6 years, there were dropouts that had been forcibly removed. This was to ensure unnecessary death by the time they were out there hunting their beast forms.

The ones who made it until the age of 16 were the best of the best from the youths, each one working hard to prove that they belong in the ranks of the elite of their village and get a chance to receive a blessing from their sacred treasure, the Claw in the gem.

It was worshiped, revered, and protected to the highest degree. There was a rumor that it was offered sacrifices that only the chief, elders, and protectors knew of.

After that, they would be allowed to leave the village to go hunting for beasts. It does not matter if they fought it and killed, stole it, or received any form of help to subdue the beast. As long as it died by their hand.

And like the previous battle that showed the transformations of the leaders of the village, the youth would gain such strength and power too.

Of course due to the technique being low leveled, one can only get as strong as the beast they kill and have to work harder to push it to the limits. For youths like Yuje, who has greater potential and natural-born strength than anyone his age or many that are older than him, it was believed that he would ascend faster and higher than anyone ever had.

But this technique enables the successful youths to gain great strength that they didn’t have previously in a short amount of time and unlike the one that belongs to the gem, this one is permanent. 

Now on to the females, for the females it was slightly somewhat the same, they too would receive training. But it was less physical, more magical training, or as magical as this place could get.

They had to learn healing, potion-making, meditation, and many other forms of magic and those that managed to reach the ranking the shaman required would be the ones that head to the shaman’s place for a week to receive the final part of their training at age 16 and it was not easy too for many often fail at this part.

And as such, most of the time a young man who has successfully finished his training and gotten his beast form would marry a young woman that has gotten all her magic training done and at times a few of the others that had not succeeded, but being human they would want the best of the best and not chose some of these maidens unless they were beauties, which was almost all of them.

Perhaps this was also one of the many reasons Yuje hated Ullo, it was because of Assini. She was the best of the best this village had ever seen in her magic studies as well as looks and temperament, or so Ullo had heard anyway as he was always too busy to care and had his sights beyond this little place.

Other than finding her a little pretty, Ullo had no other thoughts about her at all and ignored her completely. But that didn't make things better for Yuje as; first, Ullo never explained his thoughts and was stronger than him. And second; Assini didn't bother with him at all and would stay away from him. 

Now for how they were together along with Yuje's little crew when they spied at him using magic was strange, to say the least.

"Not like it all matters to me really." Uttered Ezekiel as he steadily limped towards the platform where his predecessor was convicted last time.

‘Haha! Seems like things are coming back to this place for one last time.’ He mused mentally.

Crack!

Just as he was 300m away from the venue, a small sound of bones breaking suddenly made him stop his tracks. He looked down and reached in his cloak. 

He then pulled out a necklace that was tied around his neck, it had a simple leather rope and on it was a green glowing skull of a small bird and it was crumbling at visible speed in his hands. Soon enough it became dust that was blown away in the wind. Shaking off the dust from his hand and fingers, Ezekiel had no change in expression at this as he started moving once more.

This was the talisman he had been using for all these months to keep him from the thoughts and minds of everyone usually by now he would have filled it with essence to keep in one piece and functional, and now it has finally run out of energy.

“Not that it matters anymore, as everything is in order. Now all I have to do is wait while enjoying the celebrations and entertainment these people will put on, it has been a while since I enjoyed a real tribal event after all.” With a small chuckle, Ezekiel managed to a place far away from the brightly lit and crowded areas. 

That and with his cloak, he was barely noticeable. 

On the platform were the chief and the elders that had fully recovered after three months, this time their wives were sitting there with them. Each one was adorned in the best and fanciest outfits, robes, togas, furs, and hides of various materials and beasts.

"By the ancestors! This has been the best ceremony I have ever had, even more than my own when I was one of the participants and got my beast form!"

"Haha! Indeed, I remember my first time being alone out there for days just to hunt my very own form.” 

“Sigh! I still have nightmares to this day."

"This year’s youths are lucky, I heard that they are going to get even stronger blessings, we might get a lot of high-level beasts users this time around."

"My son is in this group, even if he is not as strong as that little monster Yuje, he should be able to make me his old man very proud!"

“Ah! The beautiful lasses of our village are finally out, haha! I would like to see the looks on the young man after what they present!”

“Speak for yourself, that time when it was you back then, you were drooling like a beast in heat! Hahaha!”

Even when sitting far, Ezekiel could hear the excited discussions and chatter. 

He heard an interesting piece of news, but it didn’t matter what they said, so it was best he enjoyed himself as there was soon going to be a tribal dance being presented by all the young maidens that were 16 no matter whether they would go to the shaman’s place or not. 

The reason was that this was a tradition as well as make sure to capture the eyes of the young even those that had already passed their ceremony the previous years and make themselves more desirable to them even if they had no magic powers, a sort of second chance. And lastly to encourage the participants to survive so that they can come back and claim them.

There was a large space between the platform and the seats of the crowd, creating some sort of stage for the performer tonight. 

Soon the atmosphere got hushed and quiet as a group of men and women holding a bunch of instruments walked over to this little stage, but more towards the back. Each instrument was somewhat similar to the ones Ezekiel remembers from Earth and the others from the memories of Ullo as he once watched this ceremony but ignored it afterward, knowing that he will never participate and that it was pointless in his sight and just trained.

There were many instruments that were the same as the ones from Earth, from large hand drums made from wood and hides, strange ones that looked like tambourines and maracas. There were flutes and stringed instruments that he couldn’t identify but from the memories of Ullo one of these produced sounds that were a mixture between a guitar and violin, strange but it is a strange world after all.

Once they settled down, there was a deep silence that permeated the air, before the drums started beating in rhythm, then the tambourines shook followed by the other instruments picked up and rhythmic and somewhat jovial beat came off the instruments, the sound and beat were strange to Ezekiel but he had to admit that it was quite catchy and fit the occasion. 

Soon enough the beautiful maidens began pouring in, the entire atmosphere lit up as they all came in, about 20 of them, all dressed up in traditional miniskirts made of orange clothes that had been decorated with colorful plumes of feathers from different beasts, this showed off their thick and well-toned thighs, bubbly and large rears that shook mesmerizingly in the air as they twisted their hips and toned smooth bellies hypnotically. 

They wore the same for their tops that just covered their ample breasts that jiggle with each motion when they threw up their slender arms covered with feathered wrist bands and contorted their bare shoulders along with seductive glances and swinging of their hair. They wore their most beautiful jewels and necklaces. Each one wore their own unique headdresses to stand out, but none were too big to fall off or obstruct anyone else, each maiden glowing full of beauty and radiating amorous vibes that scratched at the hearts of all the young men present. 

So much so the spectating young participants of the ceremony could not take their eyes off them as if they were seeing these maidens of their village for the very first time, the beat in the background drew their minds, the movements of the maidens drew their eyes that they didn’t know one which one to focus, everything about them lit up a fire within their blood surging towards their hearts and made them almost breathe fire from their noses like mad beasts. 

But there was no doubt that they all had the fiery determination to return successful in 5 days’ time!

The crowd went wild and celebrated with them, some of the older women got up from their seats and also moved to the rhythm in remembrance of their own time back in the day when they too had to dance for the crowd and their current husbands, those that had daughters there puffed out their chests at this in pride as if they were the ones dancing in right there at this moment. 

The older man just enjoyed the view, those that had no daughters there ogled their fresh and young bodies with fervor, causing their older and stagnate blood to move once more with fresh vitality and heat.

Tonight no one back home is going to sleep and the women felt that when they saw the heat in their husbands’ eyes that peek at them. 

For Ezekiel the moment these lovely ladies stepped out, he almost believed that he was at a festive celebration back on earth such as the fire dances and the carnivals he would attend on occasion. Even if he was immortal back then, he did enjoy the finer things in life at least. 

There were many of them to not notice, even Assini. Well, she was the best but it seems like none of the other girls could actually lose out to her at all. Like the young men going to the forest all alone, this was also a sort of survival challenge so that they have a place to stay in their home and not be married off elsewhere.

Soon the captivating show was done, it might have seemed fast but it actually went on for a full 10minutes, as each girl got a chance to show their special dance moves taught by their mothers and grandmothers.

When they were their bodies glistening with droplets of sweat in the night air, and their chests would undulate greatly with each heaving breath that and their fragrances and scents wafted over the young participants who were conveniently sitting closer to the stage and covered the young lads with their pheromones that heavily assaulted their noses and stirred up their loins.

The ones that didn’t feel this were the rest of the crowds that stood up and clapped for them with loud cheers and praises. Soon enough there were drinks and snacks that were brought to the crowds, they had eaten a large feast earlier this afternoon already, but they needed to quench their thirst after that performance.

The youth also got drinks, it was not alcoholic beverages. For that was left for when they returned from the forest. And the ones that brought them their drinks were none other than the girls. There were about 30 young men, oftentimes it was half the number that returned, but none of the girls treated them as if they were going to die, each one was treated fairly for they didn’t know who was going to return. 

Sure they might have seen some of them perform better than the others but they were told that it barely made a difference once they stepped out there.

Even the weakest performing individual in the one-on-one combat could actually be smart and cunning, so it was not a surprise that they would be the ones to return instead.