Teenage Training

So began young Tagunban’s training, in the art of war by his father Katas and in the clever ways of the world by the shaman Yawanu. As time passed Tagunban would receive a daily training routine in addition to his lectures elaborating on the rival tribes and the nature of mana. For his physical training simple enough by running laps around the village, Then as he got older more laps would be added, he'd be forced to keep running even during the seasonal monsoon, and eventually rock would be lashed to his ankles with cord for weight. Then for the upper body was a mix of calisthenics, tree climbing, isometric exercises, and weight lifting with various rocks and boulders around the village. Though the most notable exercise however was one his father invented, a large hardwood branch would have larger and larger rocks lashed to the end of it then Tagunban would move through the various forms and techniques of the Axe Clan martial art. Swings, slashes, thrusts, back cuts, butt strokes, feints, blocks, all were practiced ad nauseum until Tagunban’s muscles memorized the correct movements, force, pressure, and timing; until his muscles broke and swelled before building back up greater than before. For Yawanu’s training Tagunban’s primary focus would be meditation, an art that while he mastered as an adult mind in an infant's body to keep himself sane; once he was old enough to regain a modicum of autonomy he largely dropped until now. Focus, control, and patience were the first goals of his new meditation. Then came breathing techniques, some greatly increased his vitality, others could warm his body even during a monsoon rain, once when he caught a fever from training in the rain he was taught a breathing technique to speed his recovery. Finally was the cultivation of his own mana, specifically spiritual and physical mana. The training of spiritual mana was done in tandem with the meditation, though in this method Tagunban would meditate with his eyes closed as Yawanu would summon his campfire spirit. Taguban’s task would be to sense the location of the spirit without opening his eyes, incremented upon as the spirit would gradually conceal itself more and more. The training of physical mana was done in a much more peculiar way, the method being for Taguban to wrestle various animals to submission and then take his knife, slit their throats and drink their blood. A practice Tagunban hated doing but at least was only done when an animal was going to be butchered to begin with. Starting with a rooster with an unconquerable fire in its soul and working his way up onto a live wild boar Yawanu asked Katas to bring back alive from a hunt. The practice was never easy on a physical or mental level, Tagunban got cut to hell under spur and tusk; and the hot blood never went down any easier. Cruel as it may be, Tagunban thought back to his life as Kagetora, when his mother had briefly worked a job in a slaughter house. Her descriptions of cows only being stunned by a metal rod before being butchered essentially alive with a river of blood thrown away as waste. Was this really so much worse? The clan only butchered animals as needed in everyday life or for celebrations like feasts, and every part of the animal was used either as food, bait, raw materials, or for Yawanu’s shamanic needs. No meat would rot in a refrigerator or fat thrown in the trash after cooking. That thought only lingered for a moment though before Tagunban refocused on his training, little did he know he would need it soon.

On Tagunban’s 13th Rain his father Katas would approach him hunting spear in hand along with his eldest half brother Katsu and older half brother Bongao. “Tagunban, today you start hunting with your brothers and I. I would have brought you sooner but Yawanu and I agreed that your training should come first.” Katas decreed as he handed Tagunban the spear. “You've done well in your training so far so it's high time we made a man of you.” Katas elaborated as he turned and walked out the hut doorway with Katsu and Bongao. By this point Katsu was a full fledged man of the tribe, with the tattoos and head trophy to prove it. Of the same tan skin as his father but whose black hair ran longer flowing in waves around his shoulders with a braid to one side. Katsu shared many of the same tattoos as Katas with the exception that he was missing many present on Katas on account of being a far younger and less distinguished warrior than his father. Katsu still lived in the family hut with his wife on account of being the oldest son meant he would inherit the hut upon Katas’s death. Bongao had only recently been initiated into the status of man by the village, his tattoos still fresh and sore and only bearing the symbols of clan and family. He possessed the almost reddish brown hair of his mother which he chose to cut short in tandem with a thin moustache on his lip. Katas by this point was fully in the early stages of old age, wrinkles and gray hair plagued his at current moment still strong body. Tagunban quickly followed his elders hunting spear in hand, Katas wielded a bow and arrow, Katsu throwing spears, and Bongao a hunting spear not unlike Tagunban’s. The trek into the higher grounds of the Highlands easily took two hours at least, uphill the whole time. Though between the trio’s training and active lifestyles they made short work of the elevation gain, even if in his old age Katas occasionally had to sit and rest while he angrily grumbled about it. Still as they hiked Tagunban got to see a side of his Father and half brothers that rarely showed itself at home. Jostling, joking, and general air of jollyness far different from the usually stern and straightforward attitude present around the hut. Hunting was more than just a means of getting extra food on the table, it was an event, a social gathering for male bonding. As morning turned to evening and the party began to worry there was nothing worth hunting in the hills today, Katas would suddenly duck down with Katsu and Bongao doing the same; before Katsu would grab Tagunban by the shoulder and force him to kneel as well. “I saw an old bull Gaur out of the corner of my eye. Tagunban Bongao I want you two to stay down here while Katsu and I circle around and take shots at the beast. If all goes as planned the Gaur will be wounded and weak to where you two can finish it off with your spears. Understood?” Katas whispered in a low predatory tone of barely contained excitement. Bongao nodded and that was good enough for Katas and Katsu to start sneaking their way up the incline of the hill. Bongao would silently then guide Tagunban and himself into a nearby bush to await a wounded gaur. “A Gaur on your first hunt, I can't believe how lucky you are little brother. All we got on my first hunt was a little bush pig. I mean Gaur aren't even that common this high up in the highlands during the dry season.” Bongao hushedly whispered out of both excitement and envious disbelief, for there has long been a part of Bongao that envied Tagunman for his prodigy and the pride their father has in him for it. Before Tagunam could respond, the pair heard an enraged bovine bellow on the hilltop above them, Katas and Katsu must have struck the Gaur as planned; and just as planned the large buffalo comes stampeding down the the hill obliterating all brush in its wake while bleeding profusely from both an arrow and broken throwing spear sticking out of its flank. Either not knowing of or disregarding the pair of hunters in the bushes the gaur once it met the hillside game trail began to stampede down it in hopes of finding sanctuary. Tagunban immediately in his youthful haste lunged forward from the bushes attempting to throw his long hafted hunting spear into the rear of the running gaur.

However before he could throw his spear he would be blindsided and thrown down the steepest part of the hill by an orange mass nearly three times his weight. Bongao would see a tiger suddenly appear from the brush the gaur didn't flatten and lunge at his half brother, sending the pair down the hill; no doubt in an attempt to steal the party’s great bovine quarry. “Tagunban!!!” Bongao screamed from the top of his lungs as he ran to the Hill's edge. “Father, brother hurry! A tiger grabbed Tagunban!” Continued shouting Bongao as Tagunban and the tiger tumbled down the hill into a valley jungle. Tagunban fought back desperately against the orange whirlwind of gnashing teeth and slicing claws. The only thing that protected Tagunban’s neck, the target of the tiger’s attack, was the fact the hunting spear's wooden haft was in the way and got shattered under the tiger’s bite instead of Tagunban’s windpipe or spine. Tagunban desperately tried to push the tiger away as they tumbled down the steep hillside, however with the tiger’s great weight advantage and the razor sharp claws it sunk into Tagunban’s arm the beast went nowhere without Tagunban in its deadly embrace. Using what little remained of the spear's haft Tagunban kept the pantherine devil’s terrible bite away from his neck by holding the splintered thing in the back of its jaws with both hands. The beast in frustration lashed at Kugunban’s left arm with a plate sized paw and knife length claws. Tagunban cried out in pain in response before the pair collided with jungle ground below the hill. The tiger landing back first Katas was launched into it freeing him from the hooked claws and the sent bouncing a couple yards into the jungle. Tagunban bleeding and in pain quickly rose to his feet, the tiger however struggled to stand for a brief moment as it panted heavily trying to catch its breath from its lung having the wind knocked out of them. Tagunban scrambled looking for the spear head in the brief interim of combat but it was nowhere to be found. Instead Tagunban had to pull the knife hanging from his loincloth on a leather sheath he intended to use to help process the day’s quarry. As soon as it could, the tiger let out an earth shattering roar at Tagunban; shaking the very core of his soul inside his body. Still in turn Tagunban’s burning passion for life flared as he stood his ground knife facing forward to guard him. This was no longer about predation. Tagunban could see the pure hatred and fury in this tiger’s eyes as it stared at him. For the wounding of its pride, for the questioning of its dominance over the land, for its own demand of satisfaction the tiger demanded Tagunban's life as the price, and Tagunban still had no intention of handing it over. The tiger lunged forward like an orange bolt of lightning yet Tagunban, anticipating this reaction; dropped and rolled away before the lunge could meet him. Yet it was of little use for as the tiger landed it simply spun on one paw, landed, and lunged again before Tagunban could get back up. Tagunban protected his neck once again from the tiger’s hellish maw, but not with a piece of wood. Instead his own left forearm was taken in the tiger's jaws in place of his neck. Followed by a muffled but sharp pop Tagunban's arm exploded with pain as he felt the bone underneath break from the immense jaw strength. With his very soul burning from the immense pain Tagunban had to give a Herculean effort of mental fortitude just to keep from passing out or going into shock. Yet it was through this pain and effort that Tagunban truly awakened the potential given to him through his training. A surge of power flowed through Tagunban’s body as if his very muscles were awakening from a long slumber and rallied in the furious uproar of battle. With his right hand still holding the crude steel knife he stabbed it into the tiger’s neck, the blade not sinking more than a couple feeble inches into the muscled neck before his physical mana imbued his thrust with the power and weight of each of the beasts he had to wrestle and drink the blood of. It was then the blade sank into the neck down to its handle before Tagunban twisted the blade in the angry beast's neck letting flow a torrent of hot blood. Before the tiger could fully let go of Tagunban's arm and slink away Tagunban positioned his head as to where his mouth would catch the falling blood, the final and ultimate form of his vitality stealing training. Though the blood never healed any wound or restored his own lost blood Tagunban could feel a wave of life and vitality flow into him with the ferocity the tiger once had. Now however with a moaning whimper the tiger let go of Tagunban and slinked away into the jungle weakly knowing its death was certainly but refusing to admit it. Soon after Katas, Katsu, and Bongao had rushed to Tagunban's side having made their way down the steep hillside and actually found the wounded son. Katas knelt down quickly trusting his sons to protect him from the attempted man-eater if it was still present. “Katsu, Bongao, follow those tracks and finish off that man-eater; we can retrieve the gaur tomorrow. I'll treat Tagunban and get him to safety. Go!” Ordered Katas fiercely before the older half brothers rushed to follow the bloodied trail of the dying tiger. Katas then placed a nearby branch in Tagunban’s mouth before reaching for the black skinned head on his loincloth. “Bite onto this son, this will hurt worse than the tiger did but you won't die. I won't let you die.” Katas stated firmly grabbing an arrow from his quiver. Then as if blowing on the coals of a campfire Mana would begin to channel through the severed head and create a small jet of flame bursting forth from the tip of the arrow as Katas almost struggled to hold it still in his hand. Katas then set about agonizingly cauterizing each of Tagunban's bleeding wounds, Tagunban unfortunately would not be blessed with the mercy of passing out as he bit hard into the branch to endure the mind shattering pain. Then Katas took off his headband and with two sticks wrapped it around Tagunban's broken and burned arm creating a makeshift splint. Then before Tagunban could say anything Katas grabbed Tagunban and carried him over his back slowly up the steep hillside. It took hours and the sun had long set before the pair made it back to the village and the aid of the shaman Yawanu; if Tagunban had not stolen the tiger's vitality through drinking its blood he may have died that night.

Though it was still a long path to recovery, with a broken arm Tagunban was little help around the village and would have to forgo much of his warrior training for a year at least if not more. Though it wasn't all bad, when Katsu and Bongao returned with the dead body of the tiger still having Tagunban’s knife buried in its neck he would be hailed as a hero and legend throughout the village. In fact as reward for his victory against the tiger Tagunban received his first tattoo, a rare honor for one who hasn't reached adulthood yet. A decorative sun tattoo over his right elbow symbolizing vitality as well as an axe over it to symbolize courage and power. Alongside a pair of tiger tooth ear piercings made from the beast's canines to forever carry its ferocity alongside him and mark him as a tiger hunter to all others in the tribe. Because of his new status and the customary generosity between clan members many in the village would also aid Tagunban and his family helping them in their crop fields and in home repairs to make up for Tagunban's inability to help. This generosity in spite of him growing up around it now still shook Tagunban/Kagetora to his core. Nobody even died and still so many in the village are eager to help him and his family in return for nothing. This would be the moment where Tagunban/Kagetora began to think of himself as Tagunban in the realm of his own mind over Kagetora; simply out of pride in this community he belonged to now.