Prophecy: the village of wind

Chapter 1: Vera Heart

The story begins in the humble village of sandcall.

It was given this name because the top soil on the majority of the land the village occupied was covered in sand, making farming a difficult endeavor.

It was a small village, harboring less than a-hundred-fifty civilians.

It was rather primitive in structure, mostly relying on hunter-gatherer tactics to survive but, uniquely the roles weren’t gender specific.

Everyday the village would hold events early in the morning to choose who would be the hunters to hunt the meals, and with in a lesser extent choose the gatherers who held the responsibility of bringing fruits and vegetables alongside herbs for medicine.

Today’s hunting ceremony was about to begin, much to Vera’s dismay as he generally hated doing things he wasn’t ultimately required to do.

Usually, during these events, all the youths of the village would have to gather at the center of the village as the council of Elders made the selection of who would be the hunters and then the gatherers.

“Honestly, I don’t know why we have to go through with this.”

Vera let out a sigh before leaning against a nearby tree.

Vera himself wasn’t near the ever growing crowd as the time to make the selection neared.

“Heh! Do you really need a reason?!”

A voice laughed out from above him.

It was a childhood friend, Kaoru Ohba.

He would peek down towards Vera as he sat above him on a branch, his long, well-kept, purple hair flowing down.

“It’s for our survival y’know!”

He teased Vera.

“How else do you think we’ve managed to survive in these crappy woods for nearly a hundred years since we fell from Britannia, dumbass!”

He made an absurd face, mocking Vera’s unwillingness to participate in today’s harvest.

Vera became visibly upset.

“I wasn’t asking you, you Jerk!”

In response to Kaoru’s statement, Vera hopped and grabbed ahold of his hair and pulled him off of the branch.

He fell onto the floor with a loud thud.

Kaoru let out a pained cry before her sat up to face Vera.

“Ow! You bastard, that friggin’ hurt!”

Rubbed his head, the sting from having his hair pulled ailed his scalp.

“Aw, is the brave Hunter going to cry because his luxurious purple locks were tugged on???”

He mocked Kaoru, making a gesture that could only resemble a crying baby.

Kaoru quickly got onto his feet and pulled up his sleeves.

“Alright used toothbrush. I’m going to flush you down the toilet!”

Kaoru stomped towards Vera.

“T-Tooth brush?!”

Vera looked up at his short, silver hair.

“My hair doesn’t look like a toothbrush!”

They immediately began to exchange blows with each other, in many instances grabbing hold of each other’s necks.

They would wrestle like this for a few seconds before a loud horn would be heard, shaking the entire village and freezing the two boys in place.

“The ceremonial selection!”

The two boys gasped, realizing they both completely forgot that the ceremony was soon to begin.

“Beat you there!”

Kaoru teased Vera as he loosened the grip of his hair.

“You?”

Vera scoffed

“Yeah, right! You couldn’t even catch a snail if you tried!”

They both locked eyes, determination sparked within the two boys.

Then, as if a shock of electricity struck the two simultaneously, they both made a mad dash for the crowd.

At the very beginning of the race, Vera had the lead over Kaoru.

Vera’s physique was well trained and tested for this kind of activity, while Kaoru was not the most physically attuned member in the village.

But what Kaoru lacked in physical prowess, he more than made up for in magical capabilities.

In fact, among his age group in the village, Kaoru was ranked number one in magic.

Much unlike Vera, who couldn’t summon a mild breeze even if he felt like it.

Before Vera could reach the crowd, Kaoru zipped past him.

It was possible to dispute the considerable lead Vera had over him due to his early understanding of wind magic.

He was capable of manipulating the magic in such a way that would gift him flight in short bursts, thus closing the gap in no time at all.

Vera shouted out to Kaoru as he overtook his lead.

“Kaoru!”

He raised a fist as he yelled.

“I thought we agreed last time that you won’t cheat again!”

Kaoru looked back to his friend.

“Why would I when this is so much more fun?!”

Kaoru shouted out in joy before landing back onto his feet at their destination, looking back to Vera as he struggled to catch up.

“Man, when exactly do you plan on using your magic?”

Kaoru asked, unaware that Vera simply doesn’t have the capacity to learn magic to the same extent as he.

“S-Shut up, will ya?”

Vera said between heavy breaths, finally making it to the ceremonial grounds.

“I’ll do it when I feel like it.”

Kaoru dismissed his rebuttal.

“You have been saying that week after week.”

He crossed his arms.

“I gotta say, it’s getting a little stale.”

Vera regained his composure and sighed.

“Look, just shut the hell up and pay attention to the stage.”

He spoke with an annoyed tone.

“It looks like the old coots are finally gonna pick who their slaves for the day will be.”

The hum of discussion within the crowd came to a chilling silence once every seat on the stage was filled, totaling thirty seats.

After each of the seats was filled, another person entered the stage and stood before everyone.

But much unlike the hooded figures that sat behind her, she dressed much like any other villager would.

She had a fierce physique. Anyone with common sense could immediately tell that she has experienced numerous battles and has survived each one.

Her arm and legs were tattered with scars, and each one was unique in size and depth.

One of her arms up to her elbow was missing, and the wound was smooth, indicating that it must’ve been taken off with an extremely razor-sharp blade.

Her hair was wild and yet was somehow put into a high ponytail, her hair shooting out like a lions mane emerald in color.

“Sis….”

Vera looked to his friend, and an expression of sadness was written across his face.

He couldn’t blame him.