The Legend of Umviak

[Zakky]

Darkness, fire, screams, heat, roars, light, blood, and finally... laughter.

'Umviak'[Create Hero, 1 Prime] gasped for air as he woke up. It was that dream again. He had the same dream over and over since he could barely speak. And like always, he was sweating from top to bottom. Feeling his heart pounding against his chest, Umviak decided to get off his bed as he knew he would not be able to fall back to sleep again. He knew it was better to move his body if he was to forget about the nightmare. He knew it would comeback to haunt him again but at least it would not bother him for a few days.

It was still dark out when he walked out of his ger but he could still see his tribe's flag. His tribe, the 'Iron Axe' tribe[Create Settlement, 1 Prime], was one of the bigger tribes on the 'Ulgarian plain'[Name Plain, 1 Prime] and they were the largest among the tribes located west of the 'Kakumayan lake'[Name Lake, 1 Prime]. He was a wondering orphan on the plain when hunters of the tribe found him. Luckily for him, it was the wet season so the tribe decided to accept him as their own since they could afford to raise him. The plain was a harsh place and even children born in large tribes often did not make it to adulthood. Tribes of the plain often welcomed orphans, who were often called sons of the land, to make up for children lost during dry seasons.

When he first arrived, he was only skin and bones. But as he grew, he became taller, stronger, faster, and smarter than other children of the tribe. No one could match him in both hunting and fighting. While other children were hunting birds, he came back with a wolf. By the time others could finally hunt wolves, he brought a hide of a large bear. When one of the neighbouring tribe attacked the Iron Axe tribe, he chased them by himself for a month to take his revenge. When he came after a month, he brought forty ears back.

His deeds became a legend of the tribe and adults of the tribe often spoke about how Umviak would become a great chief one day. Even the eldest shaman often said he would become the 'warrior of light', a title reserved only for the greatest warrior of the plain. Only Ulgar the Lord of the Sky was called the warrior of light when he walked alongside mortals. No man since his ascension could dared to use such an honorable title.

As he took his eyes off the flag, he saw few guard on duty walking around the nearby gers. They exchanged short nods with Umviak then continued their duty. Umviak grabbed his axes and got on his horse to leave the tribe. The tribe was going to move near the lake today to replenish water but he wanted to be ahead of the tribe to make sure there was no hostile neighbour near the lake. He would have to ride for at least half an hour just to get to the western edge of the lake. Riding around the western bank of the lake would take few hours and by the time he had finished searching the area, the tribe would be settling down near the lake.

He had to hurry if he was to finish everything before noon. The tribe was going to hold the coming of age ceremony as soon as they settled by the lake. Normally, young hunters had to hunt at least few wolves to be accepted as adults but Umviak had already done that when he was only twelve. He brought yet another bear back not too long ago. No one in the tribe questioned the chief when he decided to allow Umviak to become an adult a few years ahead of others. He was already larger than most adults and no one could beat him in 'voral'(wrestling) so there was no point on leaving him as a child. As Umviak rode off to the lake, the sun began to rise before him.