Vulen and Elluin removed their wool shirts and arm wear, which wasn't much, to begin with. Most barbaric elven tribes wore very little clothing and armor. Instead, they covered themselves in feathers, beads, tattoos, and body paint.
The mothers of the tribe who raised Vulen and Elluin stood behind their children and began the ceremony.
" I am Elvene, the mother of Elluin." She dipped her fingers in a crude bowl full of body paint and began tracing the markings on Elluin's body.
Vulen and Elluin removed their wool shirts and arm wear, which wasn't much, to begin with. Most barbaric elven tribes wore very little clothing and armor. Instead, they covered themselves in feathers, beads, tattoos, and body paint.
The mothers of the tribe who raised Vulen and Elluin stood behind their children and began the ceremony.
" I am Elvene, the mother of Elluin." She dipped her fingers in a crude bowl full of body paint and began tracing the markings on Elluin's body.
Elvene had long red hair in a ponytail with two strings of hair that went down to her chin. She had big beautiful hazel eyes, full lips, and a diamond-shaped face. Her body was slim, but the white robe she wore exposed her petite curves.
" Elluin, my prodigy child. A true warrior. An elf who trains hard and embraces his elven nature. Gifted in all forms of combat and hunting. I say as your mother, that I am proud to have raised you. You will bring prosperity and good luck to our tribe," she said while side-eyeing Vulen.
The crowd roared in cheers, chanting,
" Elluin!"
" Elluin!"
" Elluin!"
The chief struck the ground with his staff and the cheers ceased immediately.
" I am Elnora, mother of Vulen."
Elnora was a pale elf with strawberry blond hair wrapped in a ponytail. Her eyes were bright green. Her lips were cherry-red to go along with her button nose and her heart-shaped face made her look a lot more innocent than she was.
"Child, I've watched you work harder than every elf in this village. I admire your tenacity. I admire your thirst for success and power, but you are a curse in this land. A failure who has done nothing no matter how much you train. You've disappointed me for too long. Prove yourself here or take your own life. I will never accept you. We will never accept you. Your weakness makes me sick."
She finished halfway putting body paint on the boy's weird markings and walked back into the fold. The crowd was dead silent besides a few chuckles and whispers.
"It's time for the ritual to commence. Began!"
Vulen and Elluin circled each other with Elluin looking down on Vulen due to the big height difference. Vulen couldn't hide the nervousness on his face. He'd never fought in front of so many people. This only made Elluin happier as he grinned sadistically.
" Hey Vulen, do you know who's watching?" Elluin said as he pointed toward the crowd. His finger landed on Abina. The whole village knew Vulen had a crush on Abina. He would give her flowers and extra food while she would just lead him on. Abina was a short female elf, only a few inches taller than Velun himself, but her body curves made every male elf in the village salivate.
Long black hair covered one of her violet eyes. Her facial features were slim, but her cheeks were slightly plump, giving her an air of youth. No one knew who her mate was. She played all the boys in the village, but Velun was stupid enough to fall for her natural charms.
" When I finish beating the shit out of you, I'm going to ask her to mate. And guess what she's gonna say?" he said with a smirk.
Vulen felt an emotion he rarely felt. Tanyl warned him as a child not to get consumed by his anger. When Vulen was younger, the bullying he received from the child had gotten to him. He cursed them every day. Tanyl noticed the boy's behavior become more and more aggressive. He could feel something slowly changing within the boy and decided not to let it fester.
He placed a curse on Vulen's body that took away his negative emotions, but today, he felt jealousy and anger. Something inside him pleaded for him to kill Elluin.
Vulen dashed forward, wildly swinging his claws at Elluin's body. Elluin easily dodged his attacks, laughing at the boy swinging at air. The sounds of their voices did nothing more than fuel his anger, but his body was too weak to continue the attacks. Elluin dodged an attack aimed at his face and ended up at Vulen's back. He struck his liver, sending Vulen to his knees.
The fight would've ended here if it was anybody else fighting, but the chief wanted to see the boy Tanly favorited over him beaten to a pulp. He did nothing more than grin at the one-sided beating that commenced.
" Hey! Don't give up too quickly." Elluin kicked him in the face.
" Don't you want to look strong in front of your crush?"
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* Boom* He kicked in the ribs.
" Don't you want to be a strong warrior for the tribe?"
* Boom*
" Don't let your practice go to waste!"
* Boom*
The last kick to his face knocked his teeth out.
" The match is over. Elluin wins!"
The crowd roared.
Vulen lay on the ground, unable to move with shattered ribs and a fractured face. His eyes fell on the three men he admired most looking down on him.
Riggard was the chief of the tribe. He was a tall and bulky elf, a direct contrast from the slim body type most elves had. He had long gray hair and a full gray beard, making him seem more manly than those around him.
Beside him was Aelfraed, an older-looking elf with wrinkles. He wore a master mage robe, signifying his power in magic.
And lastly, a handsome green-eyed elf named Albwin. He had dark blonde hair, a medium-sized gray beard, and tribal markings on his face and arms.
The three most powerful men in the tribe stood side by side, looking down on the barely breathing boy.
As the ceremony ended, Elluin approached Abina. He got down on one knee and said," Miss Abina, I ask of you to mate with me." She looked at the boy in disgust. She wasn't impressed with his strength at all. No one knew she was born from a woman on par with the chief himself.
" I refuse. I wouldn't let such filth taint my body." She walked off, without looking at Elluin.
" What the fuck just happened!" Elluin said.
" She rejected you, dude. Your show of strength meant nothing to her. Do you know who her mother is? said a blonde elven youth.
" No. Who is it?"
"Alvina."
" * Sigh*. I had no chance in the first place."
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The ceremony ended, but Vulen was still on the ground. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes. All the negative emotions he'd felt for years had finally resurfaced at once. Shame and disappointment, hatred, envy, and pain clouded his mind. He stared into the moon as his cheeks became stained from crying.
' This place has broken me. I can't take it. I don't want to be here any longer.'
He gathered his last bit of strength and headed toward one of the shortswords laying on the ground. His breathing became unsteady as he cried silently and aimed the dagger at his heart.
' This is the end.'
With one last burst of strength, he stabbed at his heart, but an unknown force stopped him just before the blow became fatal.
" What are you doing?"