“Rashendala! Rashendala!” Suwa was shouting the great beast’s name as he wandered through the woods. “Where are you!?”

Suwa could remember a time in the past, which now felt like a lifetime ago, when he would leave the Endora village and sneak about as quietly as possible. Before, he was too afraid of being discovered, so he made as little noise as possible. But now, now he was the hunter.

He, of course, wasn’t completely without a clue as to where he could find Rashendala because stories were told about the dark jungle where he made his lair. And that was where Suwa was making his way to.

Suwa also expected that his shouting would eventually draw the attention of nearby beasts, which was partly his intention. He no longer felt any need nor desire to hide. So, when he heard rustling in the bushes around him, Suwa welcomed the ambush that had been made against him.

The forest here was filled with all manner of beasts, some of which were gentler than others—uninterested in hunting or consuming meat—but none too friendly with gehm. Regardless of this fact, the only beasts that would be planning to pounce on him now would be some kind of aggressive hunter, which Suwa no longer felt afraid of.

 When two beasts leaped from the bushes, Suwa raised his spear and thrust it at one of the assailants while avoiding the other. The First beast fell to the ground, unmoving, and the second began to panic when it realized what was happening.

“Viska?” The beast still standing checked on its fallen companion. “Viska, are you okay?” The beast snarled at Suwa when it realized that its companion wasn't moving.

The beasts seemed to be wolf-like in appearance, and exceptional pack hunters. But when they came across Suwa, they must have considered him easy prey. Unfortunately for them, Suwa wasn't in the mood to be anyone's snack.

“Can you lead me to Rashendala?”

The beast only responded to Suwa with a growl until he removed his spear from its companion. “You wander here knowing that it is Rashendala’s domain?”

“I'm here because I know Rashendala is close by.”

“You're arrogant for a gehm.”

“And you talk a lot for a dead dog,” Suwa taunted, forming a ball of flame in his hand to intimidate the beast.

With one more look at his dead companion, the beast agreed, “Fine, this way. But don't expect to leave this forest alive.”

“Save it. I'm tired of listening to beasts and their empty words.”

“Ha,” the beast laughed mockingly, “You must be one of the troublesome gehm I've heard about. You, and those like you will bring an end to all your kind. Seeking out Rashendala will only hasten it.”

“Quiet.”

Suwa continued to follow the beast deeper into the forest. The idea that the beast might be leading him astray didn't even cross his mind. Luckily, or unluckily, for him, no beast would consider such a thing necessary. To anyone in these woods, the thought of seeking Rashendala was the same as seeking death.

As they continued to travel, Suwa could hear more rustling in the bushes, and occasionally saw a flash of something moving in the shadows as various beasts gathered and followed their progress. Not all the beasts moving in the shadows seemed interested in watching Suwa, however. Most seemed to be passing them on their way to some yet unreached location. Still, it wasn't long before the place the beasts were gathering became known to Suwa.

As they pushed through some brush, the beast leading Suwa suddenly sprinted ahead, leaving Suwa behind.

“Wait! You're taking me to Rashendala!” Suwa shouted after the beast, but it disappeared before he could catch it. As he looked around, he could see more beasts gathered around on all sides—most on the ground between the trees, but some were even clinging to the trees themselves—however, none of them approached. Suwa readied his spear again, but it was met only with the collective laughter of all the beasts watching him. Then he heard the creaking of trees as they were swayed by force.

Suwa turned back around to look in the direction the beast from before had fled—the direction from which he heard the noise—and was met with the face of a giant snake.

“I heard you were looking for me,” Rashendala said with a hiss. His tongue was thin compared to his body when it flicked in front of Suwa, but compared to Suwa, it was likely the width of his arm.

“Rashendala,” Suwa stared down the serpent who tilted its head forward to get a better look at the little gehm before him.

“For a gehm to have entered these woods alone, I knew it must be dangerous,” Rashendala flicked his tongue again, “Or crazy. It seems you are only crazy.”

Rage was the only thing keeping Suwa on his feet. The snake’s head alone was larger than Suwa, and its body wasn't entirely visible as it weaved through the trees around them. Looking deeper into the snake's eyes, Suwa's breathing continued to become faster and his body heavier.

“I have no business with you,” the enormous snake claimed with a terrifying yawn, his jaws opening wide enough that he could have swallowed Suwa without even feeling it. “It seems I've wasted my time."

As Rashendala turned his head to leave, Suwa closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. Opening his eyes again, he shouted, “I may not seem dangerous to you now, but I came to kill you, Rashendala!”

The snake stopped, and the jungle became silent. It felt as if the world itself was holding its breath. And then—

Laughter. Rashendala laughed so deeply that even the ground and trees shook as if to join him, and every beast around them participated in the mockery. The jungle roared with such howling laughter that Suwa winced, but being mocked only heightened his anger.

“You? Little, unknown gehm, surely you jest. You think you have come to slay me?” At the sound of Rashendala’s voice, everything fell silent once again. “I would laugh. If I weren't so insulted.”

Rashendala raised his head, lifting it high enough to match the height of some trees, and then looked down at the tiny gehm who dared oppose him. The sight of the giant snake poised to crush him was more than intimidating, but Suwa held onto his nerves.

“But you do know me,” Suwa claimed, barely managing to keep the strength in his voice as he shouted up at the snake. “I once plucked a purple flower from a plant that tried to kill me. And then I gave that flower to my sister as a souvenir.”

“You!” Askret roared from the crowd of beasts. “Rashendala, do not waste your time on this one anymore. Please, allow me to dispose of him.”

The great serpent shifted its eyes to look at Askret in silence as he stepped forward. After a slow blink, the large beast responded with only a nod.

Suwa wasn't entirely sure what was going on until Askret approached him even closer and laughed, “You let your sister take the blame for your actions, and then after all this time, you come to give yourself up? It's far too late to make any kind of exchange, gehm, but I will gladly take your life as well.”

When Suwa realized that he had lost Rashendala’s attention, that it was Askret he needed to focus on, he pointed his spear toward the large cat.

“I didn't come here to make an exchange. I already know that I am too late—that I was unaware of what was happening. But I know now, and I came to end Rashendala’s life, but I will start with you if you want.”

“Foolish ramblings of a scared gehm child.”

Askret lunged at Suwa, sweeping his paw toward Suwa’s face. As Suwa stepped back with one foot and leaned away from the strike, he also guided Askret's paw with the back of his spear to ensure he stayed clear of the sharp claws intending to rend his flesh. The moment Askret’s paw hit the ground, Suwa created a burst of flames in his hand and tried to bring it down on the beast.

Askret leaped away, and the flames meant for him set fire to the ground where he was just standing. Their exchange had taken a mere second at most, but Askret's entire demeanor changed. He was still confident that the boy was not a threat, but he was no longer interested in playing.

“No matter what tricks you use, era will never listen to the will of a gehm the way it does for a beast. Your kind will not change anything no matter how much you struggle,” Askret claimed before smiling. With a taunt, he added, “When I saw the sisrien flower in that girl's hair, I knew that she couldn't have been the one responsible for killing the vines. But she still served as a good excuse to take a few gehm earlier than usual. I suppose I should thank you for the opportunity.”

Despite Askret's taunting, Suwa stayed calm, and the beast released a dissatisfied tsk. However, what he didn't realize was that the flames of rage were already burning so hot in Suwa's chest that they threatened to consume him. His calm appearance was only a ruse.

The two locked in conflict were illuminated by the orange glow of the flickering fire left by Suwa’s previous attack as they circled around one another in search of an opening. Once again, Askret was the first to leap forward. Just as he pounced, Suwa lunged forward with his spear, but the ground between them shifted upward just enough For Askret to quickly spring from and change the direction of his momentum. With Askret shifting from jumping forward to jumping up, he was able to completely avoid the tip of Suwa's spear, and even countered with a strike from his back leg.

Suwa was knocked backwards from the kick, which even tore some of the skin on his chest. He slid on his back across the ground while using the momentum to roll to his feet. With such an impact, he was just barely able to keep his grip on his spear, and every part of his body ached.

“Do not forget that you’re not the only one who can control era,” Askret said in a triumphant tone as he approached the winded Suwa.

Suwa could barely stand and was on one knee with his empty hand resting on the ground. His heavy breathing hurt his ribs where Askret had kicked him, but he tried his best to mask the pain. Even as Askret got closer, Suwa failed to look up or stand. Just as Askret was nearing the winded gehm, the ground beneath him sank, pulling Askret down with it.

“And don't believe that you're the only one who can manipulate the earth,” Askret heard Suwa mock. When the cat looked up from the hole he had fallen into, he saw Suwa standing there with his spear raised. All Askret could manage was a frustrated growl before Suwa thrust his spear into the beast’s heart.

Victorious, Suwa looked around at the other beasts who had been watching. All were staring at him in disbelief after seeing Askret's defeat, and Suwa took the moment to wipe the blood and dirt from the side of his mouth with the back of his hand. Then, he pointed his spear at Rashendala.

“I hope you haven't forgotten. I'm still planning to kill you next.”

Rashendala scoffed. The gehm was more capable than he expected, but it was hardly a threat. After only a brief instant of silence, the beast opened his mouth to respond:

“Kill him.”