Silver Fang

As a child, Silver Fang always wanted to be something more than a healer. He dreamed about being a warrior but his father Azur always said Silver Fang was too small for his age and that he would be overlooked by the temple masters when the time for choosing apprentices came. Every day Silver Fang practiced out of sight of his father. However, he never really understood why his father was so against him becoming a warrior. His father never really liked to talk about his childhood, so he suspected it had something to do with his disapproval. Azur was always set on his son carrying on the family legacy and becoming a healer like the four generations before him.

Silver Fang's father was a very wise, slender man who was always set in his ways and didn't like change. He believed that boys should stay within their family's born legacy rather than try to become something they're not. Silver Fang was always a troublesome child, and he never completely obeyed his father. Silver Fang's sister Azul May on the other hand was never a disappointment. She always followed exactly what she was told. She even plans to marry when she becomes of age, however, it will not be an arranged marriage. Their father believed that if a daughter was to marry it should be to one of her choosing. Silver Fang and his sister were close through their childhood until it came time for them to take their place within the village, they drifted some because Azul thought he was being selfish in training to become a warrior. The problem was that he would be one of two healer apprentices and their father was focusing on the other apprentice because he showed improvement in his studies. Azur never hid his disappointment toward Silver Fang. He never got approval no matter what he did, so he focused on his dream of becoming a warrior. Silver Fang quit trying to hide it and was punished by his father for his defiance. Silver Fang's mother Azura wasn't able to do anything except treat the wounds after his father was done.

However, she has to wait until his father was out of sight to do so. Azur never laid a hand or any physical punishment on Silver Fang's mother and sister and for that Silver Fang was thankful. He took his punishments as they came but it never stopped him from training. He still completed his responsibilities around the village but once they were finished, he would train as hard as he could because he wanted to prove his father wrong. Azura and Azul never saw Silver Fang's punishments, because he was taken into the woods away from the village.

His father tried to break him but it never worked. Silver Fang still got up and stood strong. His father wanted Silver Fang to fear him but he never backed down. Azura always wished for a better life for her children. The whole village didn't believe Silver Fang was worthy to be a warrior apprentice but he had to try no matter what. Everyone in the village looked down on his family because of something in his father's past which was forbidden to speak of.

As the weeks passed the punishments got worse but never to the point where Silver Fang couldn't take care of his responsibilities. Azur tried to get his wife to talk Silver Fang out of his "selfishness" but she didn't. The only thing she did was remind her husband of how he was given a chance to follow his dream so he should let his son have an equal chance. His mother was a strong woman and very influential. She got her husband to give Silver Fang a chance. However, it didn't stop him from trying to break and tame Silver Fang. One day Silver Fang was in the forest gathering herbs; even though he doesn't intend to become a healer he still learned the herbs and medicines. The reason being that a warrior needs to be able to care for himself. That at least his father approved of.

Silver Fang's village was in the west valley forest. They were known as the Creves tribe and they were known for keeping to themselves. Their chief didn't like causing or engaging in conflict and battle unless another tribe invaded or caused harm to his tribe then he would inflict consequences. Most of the village men were hunters and married or close to the age of marriage.

The chief's wife was the spiritual woman of the tribe and they had two sons. One was chosen for a warrior last spring, while the other took the path of marriage and heir of the chief. Kirito fell for Azul May at the welcoming of the autumn ceremony and they planned to marry once both of them were of age. The chief and Azur had long talks about the marriage because there was history between the two men and no one knew the full story. If they did know any part of it, they never spoke of it; which just added to the never-ending secrets and lies that surrounded the Creves tribe. Kirito was a childhood friend of Silver Fang and Azul so they spent most of their time together in the forest. Sometimes, Kirito and Azul would run into the forest without Silver Fang to spend time alone by the stream. So eventually Silver Fang gave up and spent his days alone. Kirito was always the opposite of Silver Fang and he always took other people's sides over his.

No one in the village noticed when Silver Fang was gone because everything was always about his sister and Kirito. Their mother and father sometimes forgot they even had a son. Silver Fang never fit in anywhere in the village, nor did he follow after every other boy. Silver Fang never took any interest in any of the girls in the village, so eventually, they forgot about him too. It never really bothered him to be alone, however, being alone and being isolated are completely different. It started with Silver Fang going off and being alone but eventually, people in the village pushed him away because they thought he was a bad influence on their children. So, alone soon grew into isolation from other children, then isolation from everyone. His father always said it was his fault for being isolated. He believed that if Silver Fang started to grow up and learn his place in the village then he wouldn't be isolated. This could be true but Silver Fang didn't want to be a mindless follower.

It was difficult for Silver Fang to train because he had to train himself rather than have a teacher. After all, healers are not officially accepted as possible warriors. However, every boy that is of age has the opportunity to try out for a spot as a warrior apprentice. He was not accepted by the teachers in the village to be able to train with the other boys his age. However, if there was an adult that offered to train him then he could but he is not officially allowed to train. Silver Fang would train before dawn every morning and after dusk every night. Since he didn't have any friends in the village he trained and spent every day alone except when he had to be with his family. Training to be a warrior is not easy because you have to have endurance, different kinds of strength, agility, speed, and more. Without the proper training makes it harder to be chosen by temple masters but sometimes being self-trained is better than having a teacher because you work twice as hard and in some ways are even better than those who are trained by a teacher. Every person has strengths and weaknesses naturally so they have to work on their weaknesses a little harder.

Silver Fang knew he would have to train longer and harder than the other eligible boys because he was at a disadvantage. However, he has always been the fastest boy in the village and close to the strongest. What people don't understand is that it's not all about strength and speed because not everything a warrior does is based on just those two alone. There are times when you need to be smarter and plan things out before following through with it. With this in mind, not only did he spend his days working on his sword skills, but he also remembered his father's teaching about the different herbs and what they are used for as well. He worked on building traps for hunting, he practiced building shelter in all weather types. Eventually, he built obstacle courses in the forest, some that were stationary and others that moved to challenge his reflexes and response times. He challenged himself on stealth by walking in and out of the village late at night past the night patrol until he was good enough to be undetected. Every day Silver Fang would practice each skill he has developed and honed over the past 5 years in preparation for the ceremony that is only one week away.

One day Silver Fang got up before dawn and went into the forest to train for there was only one week left before the ceremony. He knew that the week before the ceremony is the most crucial because it is his last chance to hone his skills and prepare for the coming trials. He knows it will take everything he has to survive. As he walked toward the stream where his training grounds lay hidden in the dense trees and undergrowth, he realized he was being followed but he acted as if he didn't know they were there. Since he did not know who or what was following him, Silver Fang decided to pick up his pace into a light jog. For the past week, he has increased his training because one afternoon after finishing his daily duties in the village he spotted the others training and realized what he was up against. After that day Silver Fang realized that if he even wanted to stand a chance at surviving the first trial against the other boys he would need to outsmart them as well as be faster than them because they are all at least twice his size and would have him in strength. Upon reaching the towering willow tree that stretched over the stream, Silver Fang realized that his tail was still nearby. In hopes to get them to come out of hiding Silver Fang began his daily training.

This consisted of a three-part run that took him over the stream and through a mile of the dense forest before he turned east heading to the rock cliffs that lead to the falls overlooking the east valley. Once he got to the falls he had to take a narrow path that scaled the rock wall behind the falls until he reached the bottom. Upon reaching the bottom of the cliff Silver Fang had to swim back across the river just below the falls and once he gets across he finished the run that ends at the west-facing rock formation half a mile from the river. He took a minute to steady his breathing before continuing to the next stage of his day.

One of Silver Fang's favorite training exercises is when he travels through the trees. He knows every route and mile of the forest that surrounds his home because over the last 5 years he would take a different direction. First, he would take the route on foot to explore and see what he would face ahead then the following day he would travel in the trees, learning the movement of each type of tree in the different seasons as well as how each tree connected to the next and where the gaps were. He would take a route multiple times to find the best path and fastest route because he knew that his path through the treetops would give him an advantage over his other competitors. He wouldn't just swing from the branches but he would also climb up into the treetop where he could almost walk from treetop to treetop without being seen from below.

As Silver Fang got ready to enter the canopy above he realized that his tail was much closer than they have been all day. Silver Fang turned around calmly like he was trying to decide which direction to take today but in reality, he was trying to spot his tail. He was able to glimpse was appeared to be a maroon jacket flash by a tree before it was gone. He thought he would have an advantage if he took the canopy to sneak up on his tail so he swiftly jumped up and caught the low hanging branch of an Evergreen tree and climbed to the middle of the tree. Once he knew he was out of sight from the ground he walked in the direction he saw the maroon color disappear.