The Rifts of Psyche by Kyle West (popular e readers txt) 📗

as they looked at Lucian for an explanation. He turned to Fergus and tried to answer as calmly as he could. “These two weren’t. I could hear their shrieks for a long time before they ever showed up.”

“Then they’ve hunted like no wyverns I’ve ever heard of,” Fergus said. “And I’ve hunted quite a few myself.”

“Yes, with help,” Morgana said, fervently. “Lucian did it all by himself!”

Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut? Lucian kept his face neutral, but he could tell some were doubting him. It was the last thing he needed. Fergus was a respected man in the village while Lucian was an outsider, and Morgana was defending him for her own reasons. And if it was true that wyverns were silent when hunting, why hadn’t they been when attacking Lucian?

“Did he do it all by himself?” Fergus asked. “I wonder. Perhaps he happened upon a dead one in the rockslide of Snake Pass, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. We will learn of this young mage’s skill soon enough. The truth has a way of coming out eventually.”

With that Fergus left, engaging in conversation with Elder Gia as if nothing had happened.

“I’m not lying,” Lucian said, turning back to Kieron and his family.

“We know that,” Kieron said. “Fergus is top mage here, but we all saw that fang you brought Elder Ytrib. A wyvern like that wouldn’t have been careless enough to die in a rockslide.”

Lucian was glad at least he could see the truth.

“That said,” Kieron went on, “even if the fang was quite large, it was still not the biggest we’ve ever seen. Fergus hunted a wyvern several months back that was quite a bit bigger.”

“Did he, now?” Lucian wondered why Kieron was bringing this up.

“That’s true,” Julia said. “That one was probably the largest we’ve seen. Enough venom for the village’s arrows to last us months. If what I’ve heard is true, Lucian’s fang didn’t have half the venom, despite its size.”

“Better than no venom,” Lucian said.

The two girls giggled again, as if there were some joke he wasn’t getting.

“It’s no matter,” Kieron said. “You might make a fine hunter yet, if you learn from a man as experienced as Fergus. It’s one thing to kill a wyvern with magic. Quite another to do so without that benefit. Sometimes, we men go wyvern hunting in the Upper Reaches. Some of the women, too. Sometimes, we succeed. Sometimes not. But most of us only have spear, longbow, or javelins to kill with. If you want to truly test your mettle, hunt without magic.”

Lucian finally understood what they were trying to do: keep him humble. They didn’t think him some sort of god for doing what few had ever done. It was all a test, to see if he would be a good fit for the community, whether he would try to prop himself above the rest.

“You’re right. I’m no hunter. If it hadn’t been for the noise, I wouldn’t have had time to prepare my defenses.”

“Perhaps they were fledglings,” Julia offered, taking a bite of a pastry. “That could explain why they announced themselves, lacking the experience of older hunters.”

“Or perhaps they were gloombats from the Darkrift, and not wyverns at all,” Kieron added, with a cheeky smile.

“You saw that fang,” Morgana said. “That’s no gloombat!”

“I don’t know what those are,” Lucian said.

“I’ve never heard of one so high up,” Kieron said, “But gloombat venom is something we can use, though theirs is not as potent as the wyverns’. If you happened across a large gloombat, their fangs can grow almost as large.”

“They sound like terrifying creatures,” Lucian said.

Morgana giggled. “They can be kind of cute. They’re fuzzy, have large eyes, and some people even keep them as pets once they’re defanged. The feral ones are dangerous, especially when you disturb their colony.”

Again, she was staring at him. Julia watched, bemused, though Kieron seemed oblivious. Lucian was thankful for that much, at least.

Before Lucian could respond, everyone’s attention switched to Elder Ytrib, who stood in the center of the meeting hall. The light of torches and sconces lent his skin an orangey luster.

“I hope you’ve enjoyed the feast. I’d like to thank Julia and the people who put this together on such short notice.”

There was general applause and several shouts of “hear, hear.”

“Today, we welcome a new mage into our ranks. Lucian, would you please stand?”

It was the last thing Lucian wanted to do, but it wasn’t like he had a choice.

“Lucian, we hope that you bring much to our little community here. And we hope to give much in return. Tomorrow, you will learn all about life here. There are dangers, yes. Great dangers. But we all must do our part to make life worth living. The villages of the Deeprift have learned to work together according to the Code, for the good of all.”

Several applauded at this, but Elder Ytrib raised his hand, staying the noise. He leaned on his bronze spear, making it nothing more than a walking staff.

“Tomorrow is gathering day. We’ll be going to the river, which we all know can be dangerous. But I trust having another mage with us will afford additional protection.” He broke into a smile. “Besides, we have to replace all this food we just ate.”

Most laughed at that. At this point, Lucian noticed some of the women filling clay cups with some sort of liquid. Judging by the amber hue, it was alcoholic. One of the women came toward him, offering the cup. Once every person of age had a drink, Elder Ytrib continued.

“A toast. Toward the bright future of our village. May Kiro stand strong, stay safe, and prosper!”

He raised his glass, and the assembly drank. Lucian nearly coughed at the amber-hued drink, such was the kick. It was cloyingly sweet, which didn’t do much to take the bite of the alcohol off. He wiped his mouth and did his best to keep the liquor down.

Kieron clapped him on the shoulder. “Not bad