Bagheera

Summer came, and with it, the ceremony started. There wasn't anyone this year, but it would change next year.

The orphans were very busy. Yurim, Wolfteeth, and Rorm were training a lot to be as ready as possible to pass the trial. Ushha and Vae were helping them when they were present, which happened very rarely. Ushha because she was most of the time at Ulga's hut, and Vae because she needed to patrol in addition to hunting. She told me that the tensions had grown so much that some squirmish occurred. No death for now, but some were gravely wounded. The peace will not remain for long.

I shared my worries with Baruba. He reassured me by telling me that our tribe won't fall so easily and that no full fledge adult can interfere with the trial. The only threat is the usual ones and the enemy's young orc. It is common knowledge that the tribe who voluntarily interferes with another tribe's ceremony will lose Nayum's blessing.

Trosh was spending most of his time with his teacher and crafting potions. Not seeing him trying to scare us was pretty suspicious. We are wondering what he is scheming this time. Zala was learning her own professions from Baruba. Uzu and Noa didn't change. They play most of the time. Fusha, Shafu, Burny, and Vorl are actively searching for a teacher. I, Zala, and Trosh pushed some pressure on them. They see us learning new and useful things while they only train from time to time. They also want to find their path.

In the past two months, I made a lot of progress. I failed two masks. My intent to merge the tattoo and the mask wasn't strong enough. But after these two failures, my intent met the bare minimum to merge them. Thus I succeeded in the third, but the effects were nearly inexistent. The ovzgal stone was easy to make because the symbols were elementary. The intent I wanted to draw was similar to my mask. It improves one sense. I took some time to make the correct symbols, but it was pretty easy with all the knowledge I already had. The problem was my intent. So I worked hard on it. But I'm now confident that it can fully merge any tier 1 draw in the item.

It is time for me to make Uzu's mask. I took the wood mask I made. I used dark wood to make the tiger mask. I was proud of this work and really didn't want to waste it.

I was near the lake in a clearing. I often used this place when I wanted some space and calm. It was easier to focus here, and I was less likely to be disturbed.

I sat down, took my brush, and closed my eyes. Once my intent was at its peak, I opened my eyes. It was the most challenging task. I had to focus on the intent but also on my brush.

I held my breath and started to draw. The beginning was the easiest part. Everything was going well for the first five minutes. My ovzgûn reserve was far from depleted, but it was starting to strain my mind. The more complex a symbol was, the more pressure it would put on the mind. The rule also applied to intent. And I was feeling it. As time passed, my headache grew. The risk would be that the pain would become too intense to bear and distract me, thus stopping the process.

But I was holding for now. I didn't dare to breathe. A bit more than half the tattoo has been drawn, and it has been an hour since I started, but I feel like it has been days. My hand was smoothly tracing the line on the mask. They were slightly glowing.

Thirty minutes later, my hand started to shake. I was enduring immense strain. I was at the peak of my concentration and decided to slow my drawing pace.

The symbol lines were painfully and slowly appearing on the mask. I lost track of time. Then came the last five centimeters. My hand was twitching, but I didn't stop. I hold on till the end of the line. 'The end of the line ?'. I fell to the side unconscious.

...

When I woke up, it was dark. I lay on the back, looking at the stars. ' I feel like I slept for years, and yet, I feel like I can fall asleep at any moment.'

I didn't want to move. I was too tired, so I kept looking at the sky. My thought started to wander. I couldn't help but think that the Earth could be somewhere with all those stars in the sky. I tried to see if I could recognize any constellation, but it was fruitless. I couldn't find the big bear.

' What were you expected, Yalak ! That you could maybe return there and reunite with your family? Dream on, and you are probably not in the same galaxy anymore. Hell, you don't even know if it's the same universe or dimension! And come back to reality, even if you come to Earth, so what ! You don't even know if there still alive. The war might have killed them.' The more I thought about it, the darker my thought became.

' I miss you !' A warm tear appeared on the of my eye and slowly slide down my cheek.

Sigh

' You can't do anything for now, Yalak ! Become as strong as possible, and maybe things will be different at this time.'

I thought of everything I gained here : Vae, Zala, the orphans, teacher.

' I don't ever want what happened on Earth ever to happen again. And for that, I need strength !'

I gaze intently at the sky.

' Don't worry, I'll take care of myself and everyone here !'

I slowly closed my eyes and started to sleep again.

...

The next morning.

I slowly stretched, revitalized.

'That was a good night !' I thought back on my night, and with a serious expression, I said :

" Time to stop taking things slowly, or I'll lose everything again !"

I looked to my right, and I found the tiger mask on the ground.

A light smile made its way to my face.

'Let's see what you can do !'

I put the mask on and carefully observed my surrounding. And as expected, my senses became sharper. I could hear, smell, and see better. Although the enhancement wasn't as strong as my wolf mask, it was decent. It was now the time to name it.

' Ah, I hate this part. How can I think of a good name!'

I looked hopefully at the mask as if it would give the desperately desired answer. But nothing came.

'Well, since remember me a black panther, I will name it.. '

"Bagheera !" I exclaim.

I was proud of the name and will not change it as I wasn't more inspired.

I gathered my intent, turned the mask around, and wrote it. It was much easier than I thought. Maybe it was because I chose the right name or because I made significant progress with intent yesterday. In any case, it was quick. I finish in five minutes. In the end, I was expecting some kind of reaction, but nothing happened.

'I guess it either doesn't like the name, or I read too many novels.'

And with the mask, I made my way back to egghead.