The Hunter's Apprentice (6 page)

-Well, I guess I can tell you a bit about it, he said playing with his beard. Where to start…where to start…from the beginning naturally…except that no one knows about the beginning of this story…

-Just tell me about those voices, will you?, said Aerys with a sigh.

-Yes…that would be a good starting point, said Erasmus. Well…you heard the voice right?(Aerys nodded). Everyone who ventures near enough to the forest hears a voice. I did too but fortunately I am a magical creature so I could resist the temptation. Humans fall for it and it demands a great amount of determination to be able to just hold its effects off momentarily.

-That’s why the hunter did not waste time there, said Aerys.

-That’s’ right. Although I doubt he would have had any trouble in such a small lapse of time. He is a very powerful man. There are very few like him. But he is cautious and rightly so for he knows the power of that forest. You cannot be overconfident. Never.

-I can’t say for sure to whom these voices are but these entities are powerful…well the word powerful itself is not strong enough. These entities are probably as old as the forest itself. I have been able to discover three of them after decades of studying and researching and I am sure there are others.

He lifted his finger and moved it in the air. Three blurry forms appeared with different colors.

-The voice you heard was the benevolent one, he said and the blue blurry form shone. Putting it simple, this voice is the good one. It will not harm you in any way but will help you or ask for your help as it did with the bear.

He snapped his finger and the second form reddened.

-The second voice is the malicious one. This voice Is the one you should worry about. It is evil and its sole aim is to destroy anyone who ventures near enough.

-Surely no one is stupid enough to follow an evil voice, said Aerys.

-No…that’s not how it works. Do you think it will threaten you to enter? No…far from it. The evil voice is cunning and it will trick you. It may take the voice of the good one to attract you or it can force you to enter just by the power of its voice. Very few can actually resist its force. However it very really chooses this option.

-And the third one?

-Ah the third one…said Erasmus with a smile. I’m the one who discovered it. You see for a long time we thought that there were only two different entities. The good and the evil. But I found that there was a third one.

-And is it good or evil?

-I cannot say for sure, said Erasmus thinking. This voice is quite different from the rest. It likes to trick travelers. Not to harm them though although I have yet to prove it. But I am sure that this particular voice has a joker personality. He loves to trick people but he doesn’t harm them. Few have actually heard this voice though and I have collected information on their experiences. They all agree on the fact that this voice is just playful.

-If I had not experienced that, I would have said all this is a load of crap, said Aerys.

-It is not though, said Erasmus. So please don’t wander ay closer to the forest as from now.

CHAPTER 5

The following days passed without any more incidents. Aerys studied most of the time in the study room under the supervision of Erasmus who kept a close watch on him. The only subject where he had some difficulty was languages. There were so many of them; human and non human, that he had a lot of difficulty to memorize them. Some were relatively easy like the human languages which were not really different than the Amestrian language. Others proved to be tougher like the language of trolls to quote only one. He wondered about the utility of all this. For one he did not know that trolls could speak and secondly he doubted that he would have a casual conversation with one of them one day.

However, with the help of Erasmus he was learning more and more every day and it felt really good to know things. He listened every night to the conversations between Erasmus and the hunter as they talked about things that happened or was happening in the country. The hunter received messages nearly every day. Messenger eagles came in at any time through the kitchen’s window and after delivering their messages, they returned flew away with sometimes an answer from the hunter.

He eventually began to learn about healing and Erasmus began to take him out every afternoon to teach him about medicinal herbs. He disliked this study for he had to taste every herb that Erasmus pointed to and most of them were not really tasty. However studying outside meant that he could ask Erasmus questions on the hunter.

-Why does he drink so much?, Aerys asked Erasmus one day as they walked in the clearing. He was teaching him about comestible roots and herbs. They sure were not savory but Erasmus pointed out that in time of needs, one had to do whatever he could to survive. So Aerys had to taste every roots and herbs he pointed to. It left a sour taste in his mouth.

-Its complicated, he replied as he pointed to a new herb.

-We have time, said Aerys grimly as he plucked the herb and began to eat it. This one tasted rather good though.

-Its Ithilis, a healing herb. It takes off any fatigue you have.

Aerys did not feel any effect and he looked at Erasmus with a puzzled look.

-You are not tired idiot, he sighed. But trust me when you are, you will be glad to find it. Now, he added in a lower voice, concerning your master. It is not up to me to tell you his story. One day he might tell you himself or not. It’s his decision.

Aerys looked at him angrily.

-Every time I ask you about something, you say you will tell me later. But why not now? It’s frustrating you know.

Erasmus sighed.

-Why do people drink?, he asked as he showed him a little golden flower.

Aerys knelt down and smelled it. A fair perfume exuded from it.

-Mmm…because they like it?, he replied as he put the flower inside his mouth. Something as beautiful and good smelling was deemed to be delicious.

He was wrong. It had a foul taste and he spat it out. The gnome smiled.

-Don’t trust what your eyes see lad. Don’t you know the saying; whatever shines is not gold? So don’t judge something based on its look. Generally good looking things taste the worst or are deadly.

He pointed to another flower which was dull. Aerys looked at it with apprehension.

- So why do people drink?, he asked as he plucked it.

-You don’t know? Try and think about it. You give up too quickly.

He racked his brains in search of an idea. He had never drank alcohol before so how was he supposed to know. The only thing he knew was that it procured a warm feeling when you drank it or at least that was what old Elric had told him.

He shook his head.

-I have never drunk anything in my life, he pointed out.

-Really?, said Erasmus with incredulity. Well at least you have some senses. I’ll give you an advice. Don’t ever taste that. If you do, it is more probable that you will never stop.

But Aerys was not interested in his advices right now. He wanted to know the reason behind the drinking behavior of the hunter.

-So can you tell me the reason?, he asked impatiently.

-I guess I can, replied Erasmus slowly. The reason why people drink so much is because it usually helps them to forget.

-To forget what?

-Well something which they want to forget you fool.

That was very irritating. Erasmus had this manner of talking that was never direct. He delighted to use words to make his interlocutor look like a fool.

-I know that they drink to forget something which they want to forget. What’s the thing they want to forget?

-Anything that hurt them lad, he replied in a low voice. When something bad has happened and you have no choice but to live with it, generally you tend to search for something to ease the pain and help you forget about it,. That’s where alcohol comes in.

-So the hunter wants to forget something then. What is it? he asked with big eyes.

Erasmus waved him off.

-I won’t tell you as it’s not my secret and I would not ask the hunter if I was you. He does not like to talk about it very much. But trust me lad, it’s something everyone would want to forget.

I remained silent wondering what it could be about. What had happened to him? A bunch of scenarios appeared in my mind. I knew that it did not concern me but I was determined to find out the truth. I then remembered something.

-How come that he’s never drunk? I asked.

Since I had met him, he had always been drinking wine many times  aday. He never had a bottle very far from him but surprisingly he was always sober.

Erasmus sighed sadly.

-This is his curse, he said. Whatever the amount of wine he drinks he never gets drunk enough.

-Why does he drink then if it has no effect on him?

-oh it does have. It’s just that it takes time and when he finally gets drunk, it is pretty bad. He usually passes out for a couple of days at least. The last time, he slept for more than a week.

-Really, I exclaimed doubtful. How is such a thing even possible?

-This is what happens when you deal with magical beasts or monsters. You don’t come out of it unharmed.

I stopped collecting the herbs and faced him.

-You mean that … I too will become like him? I asked frightened.

He looked away.

-Not like him for it depends on many things and on what kind of creature you face. But its certain that you won’t come out of it without any … let’s say side effects.

I shivered. I did not want to that to happen. What if I became like the hunter? This thought was not really appealing.

-Now don’t get all worked up, said Erasmus hurryingly. There is also a chance that nothing will happen to you.

His voice was not very convincing.

-You know of any hunter like this?

He looked away.

Aerys had his first lesson with the hunter the following day. Since his arrival, he had only studied under the supervision of Erasmus but as the hunter pointed out, there were things that could not be taught in books. He followed him outside the house and they walked towards the lone tree where there were two wooden swords that rested against its trunk. Aerys felt uncomfortable.

He did not like fighting that much. He never had. He was not a coward but he never had the desire to fight. He had fought once or twice back at the village and he had always lost. He just did not have it in him. The hunter did not know that though and he tossed him one wooden sword. He grabbed it agilely in the air and faced him.

-As you have realized by now, we will start your combat training today. So tell me, did you ever hold a sword before.

Aerys shook his head. The only weapon he ever held was a knife that Master Elric sometimes let him use to skin rabbits that they caught in the forest. He felt like it was just yesterday but yet it was so far away. The sadness invaded him again when he realized that he would never go hunting with him again.

-Stay attentive lad, barked the hunter taking position. A hunter needs to be able to defend himself and kill when it is required. So open your eyes and ears.

The rest of the day Aerys watched the hunter as he taught him different battle stances. Some were a bit ridiculous but he managed not to laugh. Drake ordered him to try each one and then narrowed the lesson down to two stances; an attacking one and a defensive one. They were the simplest positions but they were very effective. Aerys practiced for hours while Drake rested against the tree and drank. It was not until noon that he was finally satisfied. Aerys was sweating heavily by then and his clothes stuck with his skin and that it was very uncomfortable.

He continued to train every morning from then. The hunter would come and watch his practice and correct him every time something was wrong. And it happened every time for he was inflexible. He wanted everything to be perfect for as he loved to say:

-One mistake and you are dead kid.

Aerys trusted him on that assumption for Erasmus had told him that Drake was the longest living hunter in the country. This had surprised him and scared him at the same time. If living up to his age was a feat, it was hardly appealing. He did not want to die so soon. Erasmus also told him about how many hunters died each year and how much more apprentices followed them. When he asked him about the reasons for such high number of deaths, he had laughed.

-It’s a dangerous trade. The most dangerous of all. Do you really think that you can come out unhurt fighting dragons and giants?

-But did they not train? I had asked surprised.

-I will explain to you the factors why hunters die, he said. The first one is rather straightforward. They run into something strong and against whom their chances of survival are narrow.

Aerys shuddered just from thinking about this. They were truly living n a terrifying world and his job was to kill those indomitable monsters. Would he be able to do so? He was less sure about being the right person as he learned more and more about what he would be facing.