[Complete] Eroh has reached his seventeenth spring and has finally become a man. With manhood comes a gift: marriage to the woman he loves. But when a strange new woman from another world enters his life, he is stuck with the decision to honor his...
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Every bone in my body ached, and every muscle screamed. The pain was far more intense than any growth pains, like I was twisted in ropes, then crushed by a boulder. Darkness was all around me. I fought to open my eyelids. They were stuck, or I was blind.
A deep, unfamiliar tone expelled from my throat. Almost human, mostly beast. "Where am I?"
I was hoping to hear her voice. Just the sound would give me comfort. Allow me at least peace of mind while my body rest beaten. I wouldn't get that. Only a voice that was as burly as mine had become. I knew my father's voice.
"You are resting in the temple's healing room."
I sighed and gruffed. "Nhedri?"
Father's silence told me something was wrong. "She has gone back to Bronzebuck to prepare for the wedding. She wanted to stay by your side. To say her farewell to you, but it is forbidden to see you in your cocooned condition."
That was why my limbs didn't respond when I tried to work them. They had cut a hole in the mold to allow my nose to draw air and my mouth to take in food and water. I couldn't remember eating anything. Not in a long time. Last I remembered was being covered in goo. And then ... and then ... my body constricted while my lungs waned. There was nothing after that. No dreams. No nightmares. Only darkness.
"How long have I been out?"
"Four days. Your body handled the mold well."
Father seemed surprised. Maybe they didn't think my scrawny frame could handle the pressure of sharpening. I wonder if he worried for my safety? If he worried if I'd make it or not? Or he boasted that I would come out on the other side stronger than any man. What were the thoughts in his last four day?
His tone pained. "You handled it better than I as a boy."
I chucked, and it hurt. Everything hurt. My lungs ached the most. "I doubt that."
"It's true." He said. "I've always been strong and powerful, but strength doesn't help with the mold."
"What does?"
"The courage of your spirit ..."
If I could I would've raised my eyebrow at the absurdity of his response. My father's spirit could lift the spirits of our clan. Only one with true courage could do that. One with the prowess to be a Chief.
My dry lips stuck, and I forced them apart. "You're the most courageous person I know, father. No man can match your valiancy. You fear nothing."
He chuckled loudly. "If I feared nothing, I would be dead. Fear is what drives a man in the hardest of situations. And I feared the sharpening above all else. Courage and fear go hand-in-hand. And if you have one without the other, it'll weaken your spirit. When I shaped all I felt was fear. It nearly killed me. But you ... you were full of courage ... a fool's courage."
