1 You Can Call Me Mogu

In a far-away land, a young man dug the earth open. He was in search for something.

"Almost there." He removed the soil from his hand until he found what he was searching for. "Finally, here it is." He took out the stuff and took a good look at it.

It was an iron ball, an old rusty one. Suddenly, it started to glow brightly. His eyes shut closed due to the massive light that emerged from it.

"You are destined... Joseph, you are destined…" A voice came out of the ball.

Suddenly, he felt that the ball got heated immensely. He winced and dropped it in reflex.

"Oye, Joseph. Are you going to sleep all day?" He heard another voice before he opened his eyes. It was a familiar voice this time.

"Ah, Uncle Argus, is it morning already?" He had already realized he was having a dream as he had the same dream over and over.

"Yeah, come on. We are about to go to hunting. George is waiting for you," Uncle Argus said and walked out of the tent. Argus was a bald old man of short stature with a dense gray beard.

Joseph yawned and got up. He picked up his sword along with his bow and arrows, dressed up, and headed out as well. He first headed to the brook to wash his face.

While he washed his face, he saw his reflection in the water. Blonde short hair, blue eyes, white face - just like his father's. He missed his father too much ever since he died in a battle with another vicious tribe called Mogars. His mother had passed away while giving birth to him. Since childhood, he had very few people close to him.

Joseph belonged to a warrior tribe of Rakhtars. They used to move around in search of food. They even raided caravans and villages occasionally for food and goods. The harsh climate and terrain they lived in made it difficult for them to find a suitable place to stay for a long duration. So, they continuously moved and settled for just a few months in a place.

It was the season for them to move, and they were in the middle of their displacement. They needed a hunt so that they would not run out of food on the way.

Joseph looked around after he returned from the brook. Everyone was preparing to move. Some warriors of the tribe were training and were having a spar with each other. "Oye, Joseph. Come here, have a spar with me," One of them called out to him.

A young woman in red watched Joseph from a distance. Her eyes sparkled and her lips formed a smile.

"I am sorry, Kyther. I can't spar with you right now. I have to go hunt. Master George is waiting."

"Ah, too bad. I wanted to have a spar with one of the best warriors here," Kyther said.

"Maybe next time. You will be beaten again though," Joseph said and turned to walk away.

"Hah, I will beat you this time," Kyther said and pointed his sword at him. He took a glance at the young woman who watched them from a distance.

"In your dreams, you bushy bear," Joseph mocked him.

"Oye, don't call me that," Kyther reacted. The other warriors around them chuckled.

Kyther was indeed like a bear with long hair tied in multiple braids, bushy beard and moustache, and a large round body. The male warriors (including Kyther) of the tribe wore wolf's skin around their shoulders to keep themselves warm.

Joseph turned. "What would you do if I call you a bushy bear? Aren't you one?" His voice had a teasing tone.

At this, Kyther swung his sword but Joseph jumped aside and evaded the attack. "You are too slow, bushy bear." At this, Kyther swung his sword diagonally in down to up motion. The target was Joseph's neck. Of course, he was not serious about killing him. He knew Joseph would dodge his attacks.

Exactly as he expected, Joseph jumped backwards and evaded the attack again. "I am not in the mood to fight you, Kyther. I am going to be late. Master George would be angry."

Kyther paused for a moment and put the sword in sheath tied to his waist. "Fine. But I won't let this slide. Promise me that we would have a spar soon."

"Why are you so eager to get beaten?" Joseph asked, again in a teasing manner. "At this rate, Liliya would choose to marry me instead of you. Who would want to get eloped with a loser?" The surrounding warriors laughed at this.

"Oye, only I can marry Liliya," Kyther hissed. "I will beat you the next time we spar. I will prove my worthiness to her." He again glanced at the woman.

Joseph turned to leave. "Yeah, yeah, you say this every time." He moved his steps to walk away.

"I have gotten stronger, you handsome freak," Kyther said his words before Joseph left. "I will smash that face of yours which attracts chicks like a magnet."

When Joseph left, a dude named Tyler approached Kyther. "Are you jealous of Joseph, Kyther?"

"Shut up!" Kyther reacted. "I am not jealous of anyone."

"Then why do you always comment on his looks?"

"Because he comments on my physique. Happy?" Kyther seemed pissed, so, Tyler didn't argue with him. But he knew Kyther would not let him get away easily. "Now, you insolent man, you have angered this mighty warrior and future leader of Rakhtars. You will have to spar with me now. I won't let you go after you try to play with my honour, Tyler."

"Heh," Tyler smirked. "Future leader, my ass. You are just jealous of Joseph because you know Liliya likes him."

"You…" Kyther breathed fire at this moment.

Joseph watched them from afar as they engaged in a duel. He mumbled with a smile, "Brave men, but idiots as well."

Meanwhile, Master George and Argus discussed some important issues of the tribe. They both were sitting on their horses and stared at the woods afar.

"We have little food left. I hope we find some good hunt this time," Argus said with a concerned face.

"I hope so. May The God have mercy on us," George replied before looking around. "Where is Joseph? Is he late again?" He frowned.

"Ah, I had woken him up. Maybe he stopped by his friends for a spar," Argus said.

George sighed. "Our young warriors have trained well and become strong. Maybe it is time for me to step down as the leader of the tribe and choose a young, energetic one who will let you go on a lot of adventures." George was an old man with a strong built. He had long gray hair tied in a braid and had a thick gray moustache.

"We still need you, George. The young ones are still not ready to lead our tribe," Argus replied. "Or do you have someone in your mind?"

"There is someone…" George thought for a bit and continued, "But you are right. It is not the right time for me to step down."

As they talked, Joseph arrived on his beautiful brown horse. "I am sorry, Master George. I am late."

"The best warriors are those who are punctual. You might be strong and have better skills, but what makes a warrior a great one is discipline," George said. "You clearly have to work a lot in this field."

"I will keep this in mind, Master." Joseph said opposite of what he had in his mind. "This old man lectured me again" is what he thought.

"Now, should we go?" Argus said. "It is already late."

"Yeah," George moved his horse ahead. Both of them followed along with a few soldiers.

Deep in the woods, someone ran for their life. It was a wounded old man who was bleeding from his belly. It seemed like someone had stabbed him. He kept running even if his body had no energy left.

"Stop, you old bastard!" A man covered in black from head to toe shouted at him. "Just give us 'The Sphere' and we will spare your life!" Many of the masked dudes like him who covered their faces up till their noses chased the old man.

The old man carried something in a leather bag hung at his left shoulder. It seemed more like he was protecting whatever was inside the bag.

Suddenly, a masked man threw a dagger, and it stabbed his back near the right shoulder. "Ah!" He fell down and a rusty iron ball flew out of the bag and rolled away to finally stop at a distance.

"You old bastard," A masked man walked to him and pushed his face to the ground with his foot. "Did you think you could escape from us?" The old man moaned in pain. Another one of the masked men went to pick up the iron ball.

As he was about to pick it up, an arrow hit him at his chest. "Ah!" He dropped to the ground and his soul left his body.

"What is happening?" The masked men were perplexed. Too many arrows came at them all of a sudden. "Who is shooting these arrows!?" They had to hide behind the trees to protect themselves.

Joseph arrived with George, Argus and others. They approached the old man while continuously shooting the arrows. Joseph side-glanced at the rusty iron ball and his eyes widened in surprise as it resembled the iron ball he saw in his dreams.

The one leading the masked men realized they could not win against them. "Retreat! Fall back! Retreat!" He shouted. They all retreated at his command. The warriors from the tribe chased them except Joseph who stayed to help the old man.

He sat down and kept the old man's head on his lap. He realized the old man was taking his last breath.

"Please… protect the sphere…" The old man said in a low, uneven voice before closing his eyes for eternity.

Joseph gently put his head on the ground and moved to the iron ball. When he took a closer look, he became sure that it was the same rusty iron ball he saw in his dreams. He picked it up. "Is it just a coincidence?" He thought. Suddenly, the sphere glowed. He started to have visions pouring into his head.

An old dude, a silhouette of a man, a battle between two armies, a woman, those masked dudes. He saw these all in fragments. The sphere began to heat up and he had to drop it. As soon as he dropped it, he stopped seeing those strange images.

"Ah," He grabbed his head. "What was that?" While he was thinking, he heard a voice.

"Umm… h-hey, are you okay?"

He looked around but saw no one. "Who is it?"

"I am here."

He did not know what was happening anymore. The voice came from the sphere which was white in colour now.

"Are you all right?" The sphere talked.

"What the hell!?" Joseph freaked out and jumped back to reach a safe distance.

"Uhh… you don't have to be scared," The sphere spoke.

"How are you speaking? What are you?" Joseph pulled out his sword.

The fear of the unknown. Although Joseph had seen the sphere multiple times in his dreams, he never thought it would converse with him.

"I am just a cute ball. I know I am too cute for you to be freaked out but believe me, I am not dangerous," The sphere replied.

"You say some weird things for a ball," Joseph said.

"I have a name, actually. I am Bubu-Mogu. You can call me Mogu."

"I am Joseph of Rakhtar tribe."

"Nice to meet you, Joseph. I hope I will have a great time with you. Maybe I will become dearer to you than your own balls. I am lovely, you know."

"You are weird."

At this moment, Joseph understood a journey awaited him. What was this talking sphere? Who was the old man? Who were those masked men? What was the secret behind his dreams? He needed those answers.