Once Brothers (Songs of War Fanfiction)

Chapter 7: Lost and Found (BEING REWRITTEN!!!)

(Would suggest listening to Prologue by Joris de Man)

As the morning dawned brighter over the ocean, a young ardoni walks out of his hut. He stretches the stiffness of sleep from his limbs, blinking a few times, letting his eyes adjust to the light of the rising sun. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, he begins walking down the path towards the center of the village. The gravel and grass on the ground was lined with shadows, the canopy of taiga trees providing a shade of coolness below. The forest that surrounded their village was filled with large pine trees, that never failed to litter the ground with their needles and leaves.

As he walked, his yellow markings caught the attention of his neighbors, who offered a friendly wave to him when he walked by their huts.

The young ardoni followed the pathway through the trees, the sounds of activity growing louder as he neared the heart of the village. He stopped by a few of his friends' huts, moving the vines aside as he peeked inside the leafy hollows. Most mornings his friends would sometimes sleep in late, often making themselves late for their daily chores. So the young ardoni always stopped by to check, just to make sure his friends were not beaten by sleep. To his relief, the huts were empty, his friends nowhere to be seen.

The young ardoni continues to walk down the path at a normal pace. Once he makes a final left turn, the sun's rays shine bright on him. The ardoni smiled as he squinted his eyes against the sun's warming brightness, looking in awe at the monument before him. Even after the many times, he had seen it, it never failed to amaze him. The ardoni shrine was still the crown jewel of their village, history, and their Clan. As the morning sun shined through the arching stone pillars, casting shadows on the many huts surrounding it below. The young ardoni walked down the path and down into the hollow. The shrine seeming to rise with every step he took downwards. Soon his eyes had relief from the sun's glare.

A few columns of smoke rose out of the large clearing with the many campfires lit. It was nice when all the ardoni of the Clan would gather around and share a meal before going off to work. The young ardoni was starving after the tiring work he had done the previous day!

He walked over to a large tree hut, where other ardoni were handing out food. Once it is his turn, the ardoni bows slightly as he accepts a bowl of stew and a loaf of bread. Walking through the clearing, the young ardoni could spot a few of the older members of the Clan sitting around one of the campfires. The adults would eat with the other adults, and younger ardoni, like himself, would eat with the other kids. But, he was only a few months away from being a teenager, soon he would get to learn to do a lot more things. Not that he was in any hurry.

(Would suggest listening to World Of Warcraft: Legion-Anduins Theme- Neal Acree ft. Julie Elven)

The young ardoni walked over to an area of the camp normally where he and his friends ate. As he neared the familiar clearing, he spots a young female ardoni the same age as him, sitting alone on a log looking into a campfire.

Hearing the ardoni approach, she turns, smiles, and waves. He gives her a friendly smile and wave in return. She was kind and very pretty as young as she was, however, the young ardoni had been her friend since they'd been born, and he knew never to judge someone by their looks!