Chapter 9 — The hunt is eternal

Chapter 9 — The hunt is eternal

I enter the ranger tower as people pass around me. The interior is gigantic and the structure is spiraled around a central staircase which allows to reach all the floors of the tower. The tower itself is built in stone which is reminiscent of a kind of black marble.

In the center of the great hall is a century-old tree that looks like it came from a fantasy world and just below it is a statue that looks like it represents a goddess. The statue itself looks carved out of a completely pure ivory. She seems to have a soft and firm face at the same time without being expressive and looking straight ahead. She is dressed in a sort of long toga. In her right hand is a bow while in the left is an owl. The statue is set up in such a way that it seems practically impossible not to see it in the hall.

On the side of the hall, some kind of elevator seems to be available to go up to the higher floors, but I hope I'm not concerned and head to what looks like a reception where I ask for the direction to become a Tamer before heading there. Most of the people I meet have bows and are dressed as rangers like the engraving on the outside of the tower. As I walk forward, applause begins to ring louder and louder from the crowd in the tower and from all floors. This is where I see the people causing this commotion.

Faces covered with earth and filth as if they had just hunted for several weeks, clothes torn in various places and covered with blood, a group of about fifteen rangers advance inside the tower followed by a pack of wolves. Some have scars on their faces or are one-eyed. Others look awfully young to be in this group, younger than me, and look no better than the rest.

The crowd gathers to welcome them while leaving room for them to pass. The applause seems to gradually take shape and looking above me I can see that on the upper floors people are gathering around the railings and stamping their feet making the tower shake. The sight is mind-boggling, I don't know who they are, but here all the people who seem to be part of the ranger tower seem to know them as heroes. The group stops in the middle of the tower while the applause and vibrations of the ground still resound. One of the group members appears to be on the verge of passing out and is held back by one of the others. A man in the front who appears to be the leader of the group raises his bow to the sky and the sounds of cheering and applause increase deafeningly further. The entire tower seems to respond to every gesture.

Later, I learned that the group was returning from the fifteenth floor of the tower and that the custom is to return immediately to the ranger tower after each floor to announce it. The rule is apparently immutable and applies to anyone whose main class is one of those in the Ranger Tower. The moment is all the more important as the group finished the fifteenth world in three months while it had been more than a year since this level had been reached by several groups without anyone being able to pass it.

Then the silence gradually begins to fall from the top of the tower. On the stairs, people all drop to one knee, letting a woman pass. She is the living version of the statue in the hall and just seeing her, there is no doubt that despite her physique, she is not "human". Her eyes are of a supernatural electric green color, her brown hair and her skin white without any trace of imperfection. Taller than any man. She is both magnificent and unattainable. At the sight of her, I too get down on one knee like everyone else around me. I don't know why I am doing it, but my body is acting in spite of me. I glance at the group of rangers in the center of the hall who are also doing the same thing as best they can for some who were already having trouble standing. Silence has returned to the tower and no one seems to be able to move.

The "Presence" since I do not even know what her name is, approaches the leader of the group and makes him get up using the tips of her fingers and calls the others behind him to do the same with a simple hand gesture. That's when her loud, clear voice rang out in the hall after a few moments of silence.

"Today is a day to remember, as the sons of the tower come back victorious from their hunt. May everyone here witness and celebrate this victory. You who have overcome, do not be ashamed of your weaknesses, for they make you stronger and are an example for all. I give you my blessing rangers, may it bring you courage on your journeys. And remember, the hunt is eternal. "

Everyone in the hall then begins to repeat this last sentence. The woman then decides to whisper a few words to the leader of the group without me being able to hear, but afterwards he decides to kneel again while the others behind him do the same. The moment seems to last forever until finally the woman suddenly transforms into a gigantic bird and flies off towards the top of the tower. For a few moments, not a word or a movement takes the crowd of people as they contemplate the flight of this "divinity." Until finally in a new roar the whole crowd straightens up, once again cheering the group of rangers.

Frankly, I'm not sure what to think of the scene. It's a bit like having witnessed something important without actually knowing how important it is. I myself after seeing this almost want to become a Ranger.

The group of rangers then leaves in the direction of the exit, probably to go and heal themselves while a piece of the crowd leaves with them. Calm soon returns in the lobby even as small groups continue to discuss what just happened.

I decide to head for the part of the tower dedicated to Tamers without further delay. I'll ask Cyrus for information on all of this but I should not dwell anymore here.

It is on the second floor that the dedicated wing of the Tamers is located and not a living soul on the horizon. I find a double door with an engraving like the one on the entrance where a hooded woman is holding a mouse in her hands. Without further ado I open and I go inside and in front of me stands the person who will be my teacher.

"You took a long time. "

I stammer a simple hello as I am approached by a stranger. I would really like to know why everyone knows when I arrive… Is this woman like Cyrus who appears when needed? Is this a trait shared by all of the people of the Tower?

In short. The woman in front of me is some sort of kidult girl with messy blond hair and covered with a sort of leather harness that is an integral part of her outfit. She is shorter than me and stares at me impatiently while having a smile on her face. She asks me to follow her and she leads me to the next room.

"I could give you a long talk about what a Tamer does and what you get involved in, but we'll start with a practical exercise, that's better."

That's when she pushes me inside another room, walks in and locks the door before putting the key in her shirt pocket. I look inside the room and see a cage with several mice inside. There are different objects on a table next to the cage table: food, water in a basin, toys, the list goes on. It almost looks like a sort of garage sale so much so that the room is covered with a number of objects that I wouldn't dare to list. There is also a bed which the adolescent goes on.

"First exercise. Tame a mouse. If you don't feel like doing it, you just have to wait until the end of my nap so that I open the door again AND don't try to come and take the key from me or I call the guard. If you really need help, I allow you to wake me up once. You have all day for that, good luck. "

Then she lies down in bed and seems to fall asleep immediately.