Chapter One
I crouched down low in the grass, feeling the soft breeze blow into my face. I was in place, the wind blowing so that it couldn't possibly give my position away. Through the dense green leaves and rough trees I could see the rabbit nibbling away at a patch of grass. It was only a few paces away and I knew that I had to be deadly silent, or otherwise there would be no dinner tonight. With skill and precision that accumulated over the years I notched an arrow without disturbing any of the leaves. Slowly I drew back the string and felt the tension grow in the bow. Aiming right at the heart of the little creature I muttered a quick prayer to the goddess and released the string. My arrow flew true and hit its mark, right in the chest of the rabbit. It never stood a chance; I hadn't missed a mark since the incident.
Slowly I stood up, unclenching my cramped leg muscles. I had been on the hunt since noon, and the rabbit was the first game I spotted. This had me worried; I couldn't be away from home for that long on a regular basis. I walked over to the rabbit and pulled the arrow out of its heart; I brushed what blood I could off on the leaves and put the arrow back in my quiver. I couldn't afford to leave anything behind. I picked up the rabbit by its hind legs and tired a rope around them. Then I slung the rabbit over my shoulder and proceeded to walk back to the game trail, which would eventually lead back to the Main Road. I had to hurry if I was to make it home and prepare and cook the rabbit before dark.
I found the trail and set off at a brisk pace, the sun hanging low in the sky in front of me. As the sun swung a little lower in the sky I reached the Main Road, and noted without surprise that it was empty. The Main Road was called the Main Road because it was, well the main road. It leads to the village where I was born and raised, the village where I will be tied down to for as long as my mother still breathed. It wasn't a bad village; it was a quintessential village with all the shops and businesses you would expect to find in a small village. My village was named after the goddess Artemis and so cleverly called: the Village of Artemis. It was a part of the 12 villages spread around the Western Lands, each one named after a god or goddess which ruled over Olympus. In my 16 years I had only visited the neighboring Village of Apollo and Village of Zeus, and I knew there was no chance that I would ever visit Olympus City, a bustling city built in respects to the gods. As a child I would fantasize about leaving the Villages and moving into the city, where I could finally start building a life for myself. My dreams crumbled to dust four years ago when my father died of a stray hunting arrow, and I was left with the responsibility of caring for my sickly mother. She had some disease that the doctor couldn't cure, and there was no way she could take care of herself.
As I passed the first few houses, I came across the worn out billboard which was supposed to be used to advertise events and parties. However these occurred so seldom in the Village that the sign had started to give under the harsh elements, and the only poster still standing there was faded away, but still clear enough to read. "JOIN THE HUNT" was written in big bold letters across the top, and below was a sketch of Dimitry, the son of the High council member which ruled over Olympus and its neighboring lands. The council had twelve members, with two leaders awarded the title 'high' council, they were the ones who made the decisions and ruled all of our lives. Dimitry had participated in the Hunt since he came of age at 18, and now three years later he still holds the position of 1st place. I didn't understand why people even bothered to join into the hunt anymore, when it was clear that Dimitry wasn't going anywhere. For that matter I didn't know why Dimirty participated, the absurd amount of reward money given to 1st place wasn't something he needed. Being the son of the high council, money and luxury wasn't something he was deprived of.
People from the village often asked me why I didn't go and compete in the hunt. According to them I was the best hunter in all of the Villages combined. They say I could take on Dimitry, and even beat him. They had a lot more faith in me than I did in myself. Not that it wouldn't be fun to try, but I wasn't about to indulge in inane games which only served for the amusement of the rich people of the City. Oh sure they always give a good reason for the hunt. Like last year, it was so important to hunt down a hydra that was running lose, wreaking havoc everywhere it went. Everyone knew those were just lies, the council lets a mythical creature lose every year so that it can be later be killed in the Hunt. That's what the rumors are, and I firmly believed them. The council and the City were so advanced there is no way a simple creature could get past them. The Hunt was just another source of entertainment, the participants free actors who could actually get killed on stage and no one would care. It makes the Hunt more exciting. Even if I decided to go I knew I would never actually make it in. there was a qualification round all participants had to go through and the council then decided who went through. Two years ago a kid from the Villages went to compete. He launched a spear a good three meters behind the qualification line and he never got in. in his place went a kid who barely shot an arrow into the target area. He died two weeks into the Hunt.
