A Brother to Cain

[Krahl]

(Numero Uno)

"It is said that Man has many gifts endowed upon him that allow him to labor and enjoy the fruits of his success, but that his greatest downfall will always be succumbing to greed."

[Krahl]

The long and brutal winter that plagued the tundra was nearing its end as the Hamuhlak* came to Skavia. Though often overlooked by kingdoms and empires peopled by men of learning and civilization, the coming of spring was a time of celebration amongst the tribes and clans of barbarians that populated Skavia. It was an end to incessant decay and death and a return to times less savaged by the whims of winter as Nature breathed life back into the land and its people. Though the people to the south had forgotten the old ways, Skavians took pride in their heritage and celebrated it freely, even if it was only amongst themselves.

A pagan holiday, Hamuhlak was a celebration that lasted a fortnight. It began on the night of the full moon and was signaled with the blowing of the ceremonial horn atop the hills of Gath. Though it was considered an honor to signal the start of the celebration, each clan and tribe took their turn which was often meted out by war and strife over the previous year. Afterwards when it was decided which clan would be given the honor that year, a boy who was reaching the year of Ljod** was selected by the distinguished tribe and given the sacred horn. He would then perform a pilgrimage to the hills the day before the full moon and would travel with only the clothes on his back, the horn, and a skin of water. Though, given the savageness of the tundra, it was also custom for the boy to travel with a knife given to him by the shaman of his tribe.

Very few boys within a tribe actually got to receive this great honor, and because only a handful of them every generation actually get to partake in this part of the ceremony, it was widely held that to be the bearer of the horn meant that the boy was destined to become the next leader of the Berir'ung***, and would be put under the shaman's watchful eye immediately after the celebration where the boy would be groomed to become more than just a warrior. Just as well, this celebration was among the biggest of festivals of the year, and to be the boy who blew the horn that started it not only gave him the hallmark of a very bright future, but gave immediate respect to the boy and prime choice of many of the young girls from any of the tribes.

With all those honors and privileges bestowed upon the boy who was destined to become a great man one day, it was reasonable to assume that it was a position that every boy within a tribe vied for. For many years it was common for these boys to compete and sometimes commit acts of horrendous violence to cripple or knock out others who were competition for having this honor bestowed upon them. But, this practice was discontinued under threat of death for those involved after it was seen that an entire generation of men could be wiped out over the course of a year and a tribe's presence within Skavia was endangered. With that in mind, it wasn't uncommon for families with multiple sons to carry out this kind of carnage among themselves in privacy.

However, with spring already here and the honor of his entire tribe at stake, Krahl was selected to be this year's hornblower. He is seventeen years old.

*The Great Thaw
**Manhood.
***War Party. Leader of the Berir'ung is an honorary position bestowed upon someone in times of war, which gives him complete command of the horde that makes up the tribes and clans of Skavia.