What comes up from underground? The youngsters would ask when starting their long journey to the ritual grounds. Their hooved steps beat the ground. Drying mud marked their large torsos, and they all carried a makeshift weapon. The oldest were barely turned ten seasons. But if they could hold an axe or a spear, they were ready to face the world. The ritual grounds were deep in the forest, past the Scar Gully with its sharp, stringed metal spikes. Then…...
