Rite of Passage

“So you decided this all on your own?”

“Yes, by my own accord. As the heir I have a certain degree of authority to make contracts.”

“That doesn’t mean you agree to whatever the other person has to say!”

Inanna’s frantic shouts filled the area. Taetel could hear it more than he wanted to.

“It’s not unreasonable. We need to increase our relations with the neighboring villages. Not to mention, this summoning statue would bring my familiar to life. You were here when father approved of taking advantage of any opportunity involving a summoning statue.”

“You foolish child.”

“I’m not wrong.”

“I don’t care about what’s right or wrong, Taetel! I need you to understand that making these hasty decisions has consequences.”

“I’m prepared.”

“No you’re not. Deep down, you’re still that child who knows no better. Why can’t you just understand that?”

At some point, Inanna’s voice was no longer filled with anger, and yet it still trembled, fragile like the ego of those foolish enough to stay put and think it was the correct, moral choice to make.

“I grew up. That version of me no longer exists. He’s not coming back.”

“I’m starting to believe that’s true.”

Inanna let out a frustrated breath and headed off into a room. When she came back, she had a single piece of chest armor. It was small and some rust was yet to be cleaned off.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

Since when did they have that? Taetel furrowed his eyebrows and hesitantly took it into his hands. Light. Unexpectedly, it weighed almost nothing.

“You will need it. It will at least make it so you don’t immediately kill yourself. It was forged during your father’s fighting days.”

“It won’t fit me.”

“Just put it on.”

Inanna pushed the armor against Taetel’s chest. And so he took it, and tried to put it on. The armor grew. To be precise, it grew into Taetel’s size before snuggly wrapping itself around him.

“Since when did we have this?”

“Since always, Taetel. Your father planned on giving it to you once you took his place.”

“I’ll take good care of it.”

“You better. And come back alive. Someone has to do the fighting in this place.”

Taetel nodded and exited the hut, choosing to take a walk around the village. As he waited for the heir of the other village to arrive, he watched the nearby children play around. They swung their swords in fervor before they gathered around and formed a circle. Taetel raised an eyebrow before approaching the group.

“What is going on here?” he asked.

“We found this!”

“Take this!”

“Yeah!”

An ugly and tiny skeleton creature went in circles. With sluggish crawls, it tried to escape the onslaught of wooden swords attacking its body. Though tiny, its claws and jaws were sharp, ready to leave severe wounds.

“The barrier must’ve weakened it.”

Taetel mused, rubbing his chin as the kids took turns beating it. Soon it no longer showed signs of self-defense. At most, it tried digging a hole in the ground to presumably hide in.

“Kill it.”

“What? Why?”

“Yeah! Mommy says these creatures hurt us!”

“We have to protect ourselves!”

Taetel ignored the kid's words and stomped on the creature, killing it in a single blow. Then just as fast, he flicked the forehead of the kids.

“Listen, if you want to become warriors, learn to stop getting emotional. Don’t waste time on playing with your food. If you’re able to kill it, then do it as soon as possible.”

Regardless, to have kids exhibit behavior similar to those creatures brought a bitter taste to Taetel’s mouth.

“You know, back in my day, I used—“

“Old man!”

“Grandpa!”

“Oldie!”

“Shut up! I’m not even that old,” he retorted in mock offense.

“Are you sure you can make it out of here?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

An offended Honami retorted, her hand twitching in a manner that Taetel expected an attack at any moment. The two were currently traversing through the fog-filled forest, their figures small in comparison to the surrounding mountains.

After the heir of the neighboring village arrived with a couple of guards, Taetel decided it was time to depart.

“This is the correct path, right? I won’t get ambushed and assassinated?”

“Wha—? Of course not! Are you making fun of me?” she said. “This is a serious situation. Don’t lose focus. Enchanted beasts could attack at any moment.”

Strangely enough, Honami was right. Behind them, a creature crawled closer and Taetel sunk the blade of his sword on the ground, killing the beast in one attack.

The threats shouldn’t have been this weak, it was as if something weakened them.

“And even then, she struggled with these weaklings,” he mumbled under his breath in amusement.

“Did you say something?”

“Just an incantation.”

Not paying attention to his surroundings, his gaze landed on the necklace on her neck. There was a polished mana stone in the shape of a ram-headed staff. The craftsmanship was praiseworthy, easily better than anything produced in Taetel’s village.

And they arrived.

“…”

Taetel’s pupils dilated as he was forced to take in the sight before him. Prosperity. His village wasn’t comparable in the slightest. Architecture foreign to Taetel made up every living enclosure. The same materials were used—wood, mud, rocks—or so Taetel assumed. Regarding how they were built, Taetel was none the wiser.

The barrier, too, showed clear signs of being more advanced. Instead of the usual mana placed on top of each wooden piece, they were somehow engraved within the wood itself, creating a flow of automatic mana. No recharging.

“You people have really outdone yourselves ever since you got that new leader, huh?”

“Huh? I assure you this could only be possible due to my grandparents laying the foundation. My father took advantage of the system and established a better one.”

“Lady Honami! We’ve waited for your arrival! Is that…?”

“Yes. Negotiations were successful. Taetel will be joining us in the upcoming harvest.”

“Make sure not to hold me back! Not that I expect much from subpar warriors!”

Taetel chuckled and with a slight lean of his back, he was unable to hold it any longer, bursting into a laughter rivaling a war cry.

“Lady Honami…”

“Don’t pay attention to his antics. That’s how he is.”

“You act like that’s a bad thing,” Taetel teased.

“It is. There isn’t anything worth laughing about in this world.”

“I’m glad you two made it here safely.”

Taetel turned in the direction of the voice and was met with an old man with a beard that ran from his chin to his torso.

“Who’s this old man?” Taetel asked.

“Show some respect! This is Lord Enki!”

Honami gave a jab to Taetel’s abdomen before she kneeled, gently raising her closed fists in a greeting. With that done, she took back up, though not after trying to push Taetel into doing the same.

“Ohoho. Such vitality from you two. Oh, to be young.”

“You’ve been an old man for as long as I can remember. I started thinking those rumors were fabricated.”

From generation to generation, Enki seemed immune to aging. He always appeared as an old man, apparently even during the inception of Taetel’s village. According to Inanna, at least.

“For once you say something insightful. I’ve never really thought about it like that,” Honami mused.

“Young Taetel. How is Inanna doing? Well, I presume?”

Taetel scratched the back of his neck. His nails dug deep into the skin, leaving faint red lines.

“She’s doing well. If there’s any message you want to deliver, I’ll do my utmost to forward it.”

“That won’t be necessary. Much thankful for the offer, however.”

“Don’t mention it, old man.”

Taetel, eventually, found himself chatting inside the village's most prosperous house. Taetel leaned back, hands relaxed, he spoke in a fervent tone.

“Being the future leader of your village is no easy thing. Countless people try to bring you down or put down your achievements. Jealousy, I tell you.”

“That sounds like quite the predicament, young Taetel. But remember, he who stands on top becomes stagnant unless those below him follow.”

Enki’s words were that—just words. Words that Taetel brushed off, believing them to be shallow advice. However, since Enki generously listened to Taetel’s rambles, he should, likewise, make the effort to reciprocate.

“I understand. In the end, our purpose is to serve the people.”

Unlike those before him, Enki proved to be worthy of respect. Even so, Taetel kept referring to him without the proper title, much to Honami’s anger.

“Enough with the talk,” said Enki. “While it certainly is a pleasure to converse with such an ambitious young man like yourself, I do recall having matters to attend to.”

“Don’t worry, lord Enki, I’ll fill Taetel with the rest of the details regarding our arrangement!”

“Please do. Now, if you excuse me.”

What a shame. As quickly as his appearance, Enki’s figure disappeared and left Taetel with Honami, who had her arms crossed.

“Taetel. I don’t think I need to tell you this again—“

“Save your breath for the explanation, not some lecture I’m obviously not going to listen to.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“It’s part of my charm as a leader.”

“No, genuinely.”

Honami’s face twisted into a scowl at Taetel’s shrug. Getting the message, she reluctantly closed her eyes and presumably mentally prepared herself.