CHP27 The Hunting Trials Of The Covenant

Now, The Trials of the Covenant were going to commence under the Supervision of the Church joined with a Chief examiner sent from the Zagros Cathalos Church, the Center Church of the Cathalos Shahraab Faith, one which was higher than even Kratos-Cathalos Church of the Faith; which only had jurisdiction over the Capital Zone of the Republic .

So with his inner enlightenment that by surrendering to the Divine Cosmic Dance of the Dao, One could tap into the boundless power of the universe Combined with his goal to be a agent of positive change and transformation in Nashirah, Sargon was now ready for the Trials of the Covenant.

With a flick of his hand the Chief Supervisor from the Central Cathalos Faith all the present Initiates full of anticipation were lifted to air and together the group flew to Golden Covenant Ginkgo Draconic Forest somewhere near outside the Capital Zone. 

In the flying journey the whole Top-view Picture of The Capital was etched into the minds of these Initiates. For some it was their first time flying let alone seeing this Scenery from heights which gave them Humble Feeling compared to the vast City.

They Could see what was the RedTape Bureaucratic Zone protected by Golden Red Inner Circular Walls with Tall Heights of Several Hundreds Meter. Outside this Zone was where most of the Residents lived. They could already discriminate about the Status of Outer Zone with its merely 30 Feet Green-Silverish Outer Walls compared to the status of the Central Zone embraced tightly by these Golden Red Walls.

Soon the Group Reached on the periphery of Golden Covenant Ginkgo Draconic Forest where all the Stages and Preparations had already been prepared. There they waited sometime for other Groups from various nearby areas to come.

After enough time passed with arrivals of all, the Group Chief Supervisor from the Central Cathalos Faith began to give his Speech to the Initiates about the Grace of ShahRaab, The Most Merciful, The Most High, Best of All Planners. He tiptoed on about the History of how the Covenant came to be in , how it was revealed onto the Rashidun Prophets of the Elderkins Races back in the Dragon's Era and why it was Still continued and emphasized about the Sacredness of Trials.

"With all this Said, In this sacred Trials of the Covenant it is Heretical to kill each other or bring your hidden weapons or Pills , no matter your background if you are found guilty of these Crime whether you are children of Richest man or the Strongest Grand Senator Lords you will be Punished with the Nether Damnation Execution.", the chief supervisor proclaimed.

"I will be wishing a will you Caretakers for you all to return the Trial with a Hunt , the Quantity however shouldn't be more than three. You Can form a Team of max 5 members or go Solo. Based on the Results you have shown, Priests through them will grant you the Blessings of Shahraab onto your Divine Tattoo. "

"However remember to not overexert yourself and target the more powerful Aspirant Draconic Beast or else you may rest forever in the forest .Console yourself and don't let yourself be led astray your greed as you can reapply yourself for the Next Trials", The Chief reminded these hot blooded youths as an Strict yet gentle frightful aura emanated out of him as he motivated them, "God Willing may all of you return with Glory."

"By Essence's Grace, through Mana's Veil, with Spirit's Light, Amen.",chanted all the priest along with the Chief Supervisor

All of the present Initiates for the trial could feel Goosebumps even under the Skin as they replied as an unit as they were trained with their upper body bent from their wait in an almost kowtowing fashion.

"In Essence's Embrace, through Mana's Channel, with Spirit's Compass, Amen.", the unit proclaimed.

So they all went willing inside the forest for their trails.

So a Hunt Began.

The forest was said to be covered by Draconic creatures of all kinds & forms, some extremely weak and some terrifyingly strong. Blood Breath River which came from the source of Blood Breath Waterfalls passed as minor tributaries in the forest. It was covered with Lakes & Samps of all kinds as well however the deeper and more mysterious the part of the Forest the Denser the DiabloFrostDemon Fog was.

In the heart of the mystical forest, where ancient trees whispered secrets and the shadows held untold mysteries, a group of adolescent boys and girls gathered.

As the pale moonlight filtered through the dense canopy, the chosen initiates donned their ceremonial attire adorned with symbols of their faith. 

Each initiate carried a unique weapon, be it a gleaming sword, an enchanted bow, or a staff crackling with mystical energy of their own choosing provided by the Church.

By this time, Sargon,Reeve, Suwevh & Kalid had formed a team and had entered deep in the Forest guided by their flickering torchlight where the fog was starting to appear & haunting Calls of the Draconic creatures.

"Let's be more cautious now that we are in this fog, Lets not be greedy and just survey the boundaries. Legends have it that those Initiates who trailed deep in the Fog none have come ", Reeve reminded the hot-blooded Boys tired of their constant Oneuping each other that they will have the best hunt.

"Yes !"

" As you command Madam"

"Ok Senora "

Came the replies from the boys indicating that they didn't give a shit but if you look at their faces or listen closely to their tunes , Nervousness & Fear of Uncertainty was written all over their faces.

"Hmph ! Boys will be Boys"

Zzzzz

Reeve, the keenest one in the group with the heightened senses, suddenly signaled to her group to direct their keen eyes in the air. They all noticed these subtle trembles in the air.

AZzzzzz

WindShadow wyrms suddenly launched into action from atop the branches. Being Known for their elusive nature, these at most a feet tall Dragonkin excelled in ambushes.

There were not one or two but a herd of Windshadow wyrm attacking them as if they were a herd animal. 

Sargon & his companions launched into action. 

Suwevh with his single handed Heavy Sword, Suwevh with his Dual Gladius Dirk Sword from the inventory of the church.

Reeve was also using her BloodSpirit Wand to channel her SpiritForce to manifest many MirkWood branches with much Stronger Offensive capabilities. She was also trying her best to equally focus on using her newly learned Archery Skill to restrict and hinder these Wyrms while also targeting enemies on the blindspot of her allies.

Sargon was using a single Saber that he had pre-selected and the Blood Origin that he had been preselected from the church. He would now cast small scale Fireball continuously restricting their movement while inflicting some minor damage. The Major Heavy blow came from the swings of his Saber.

"There are too many of them. We Should move out."

"Huh ? More the Enemies More the Joy of the Hunt. Haha"

"Kalid don't be a Muscle Head, even if we survive this turmoil the Quality of 3 WindShadow wyrm with this damaged corpses would neither bring us Glory nor please Shahraab "

"Sargon & Suwevh indeed are Correct. Lets try not to be too Macho, who are you trying to Impress?"Reeve lightly joked.

"Youuuu!!!!"Kalid reluctantly approved as he was in the minority,"Ok lets get a move on".

The Battle, if one could even call it, was now over and Reeve was healing them courtesy of her new MirkWood Aura that she could now successfully manifest. She had reached Small Mastery over the technique.

"We ran with our tails behind our backs." Kalid was expressing frustration.

"It just means we aren't capable or powerful enough ."

"Reeve you Nasty girl !! You did well enough to hide your progress from big brother", Sargon meanwhile was focused on a different matter altogether.

"Haha. Now I am your big Sis. you would do well to remember who is healing your slapped ass", Reeve taunted Sargon with her own sauve further spreading Salts on his wounds.

"Hmph! Only time would tell. You have nonetheless a pretty good talent for you to already attain the Aura Inception Stage of the Mirkwood technique. A Minor Success. Hmm Not bad Not Bad", Sargon assumed his Elderly stance without a tint of Shame in his eyes which further irritated Reeve.

"Guys! We are not in some playground but Golden Covenant Ginkgo Draconic Forest , we need a better plan.", Suwevh again approached the group with his Calm & Strategic mindset.

The Little team of 4 , now having recently faced such tribulations, started discussing and coming up with a plan. They decided together that it was better to hunt a Stronger but Solitary Prey rather hunt Bugs. 

Using the tactics they had learned from their Church tutelage, they were now tailing a young EmberForge Drake through the shadows of Volcanic Molten landscape of the Forest.

Emberforge Drake despite being on the lower ends of the Drake Hierarchy were creatures of both elegance & danger. It would serve as an Excellent Hunt offering provided one could kill them lest the hunter became the hunted.

This particular Drake was 4 feet tall that it was not an adult yet, it had vibrant Charcoal colored Scales covering its muscular frames reflecting the light on it with elegance of the reddish hue resembling a glowing embers.

The head of the Young Emberforge Drake was adorned with a crown of curved horns, and its eyes burn with an inner fire, revealing an intelligence that belied its feral nature. Long, sinuous tail tipped with a fiery crest added to its majestic appearance.

Kalid then suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of EmberForge Drake . The Young Drake was suddenly excited that he found an unique prey & was imagining the taste of Kalids teared limbs unaware of the Hunt that was prepared for him.

Although enticing fear it had one particular weakness that Kalid & his group were placing their bet on. It had a weak speed in general until of course it evolved into FlyingEmber Drakes which would have additional Sturdy and bat-like Golden Wings designed with intricate patterns.

So Kalid was able to successfully evade its attacks of Breathing Scorching Fire dulling it with his recent expertise of Water Magic and Seeping the remaining with his Heavy Sword.

This was the 1s time he regretted that had pure Singular Water Element roots. It was no easy task evading carefully while simultaneously taunting Drake. He was even cursing his group for choosing this Drake just because he had Water element which could negate its Fire element attacks.

The young Drake was now even more infuriated with this tiny Lunch that was seemingly refusing to go to its belly. It had lost all the sense of itself & was now charging madly without any consideration. 

It had also nearly got Kalid one time.

Excited, it furiously charged again but to its surprise there were suddenly these translucent Branches forming a rope with which it got its leg entangled , rolled down the sloppy hill and fell down the pit that Sargon & co had prepared beforehand. 

"Attack with your all might" Suwevh initiated his call to arms and was the first to attack Drake that was increasingly being wrapped by the branches carefully avoiding those branches with his Gladuis twin Swords.

Sargon also attacked with his sword and not his fireball, well aware of some fire resistance of the Drake.

"Haha Boy, that was just an appetizer. Now get ready to get some real Slappings from this Daddy.", Kalid proclaimed and attacked with a full energy frenzy seemingly losing all the fatigue from all round Olympic running.

 "Zeez what is up with him ? Has Kalid gone crazy ? Uhh Boys !!"said Reeve who was handling the most difficult task of ensuring the teared manifested branches were replaced with new ones keeping the drake stationary in the vegetative state.

Finally they were now done with the procedure and the drake was almost on the verge of the dead. Now came the important decision of who was going to be the one who will authentically hunt Drake by giving its final blow & putting it into Sleep forever with a ritualistic method .

Sargon & Suwevh were not for this spot as they both knew they were the ones who contributed the least , even Sargon was not that Shameless.

"Addressing the team we all know that although it was Kalid who taunted and solve as Bait, it was me who was the main force, the main reason that Drake was willing to be in Vegetative state willingly to let its 'ass Slapped', both figuratively and literally " , Reeve rested her case as if she was some lawyer or class captain back from earth while not leaving an opportunity to taunt and put down Kalid.

"Youu. You only did some minor work. But it was my water magic whose damage got deep inside its body; otherwise what would be making it stationary even do ? By the time you guys did enough damage the Drake boy would have left his ass and fled . Let me also remind you that it was me who was also made as The Bait. Don't you know any Shame?"

"Don't you lack any courtesy towards fairer sex ? Hmph Such a bully."

"I am Contributed the most, my lady . And FACTS DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS."

"Ok. Reeve, let's calm down. Clearly the hunt should go to Kalid. I can't be partial towards you. How about it? The next hunt is yours ?"Sargon tried to calm Reeve while Suwevh was cooling down the Tempered Kalid.

"Well Well Well.Is it not nice to see such a deep bonded Team ?", a feminine voice was heard

"By the sense of logic and facts, should the hunt not belong to us? Who could be so generous as us who provided you security so that you could hunt in peace while we fended off nearby Draconic Beasts", a hoarse voice replied back.

Sensing these two new voices, Sargon & his group were alerted and looking out for its source.

From the Foggy Volcanic Steam came three figures.

Two Boys & One Girls.

Kalid & Suwevh couldn't recognize any of the figures while Sargon & Reeve recognized one figure among them.

"Long time no see. SARGON"

"Bryant Ivar !!!", exclaimed Sargon & Reeve together.