235 Rydels Origin (1/2)

”Only if this stays between us.”

They both nodded. Jack got up and joined Rydel in the kitchen as the two started prepping the different ingredients for what Jack assumed was a soup or stew.

”I guess I'll go first,” Rydel chuckled glumly.

His serious demeanor slowly melted to reveal a faint depression inside his eyes. ”I've got a personal grudge with the Limneer army. This is my first time on Limneer soil but my blood's already boiling. I'm not usually like Maynard; rather than seek bloodshed and growth in battle, I would just search for a smarter way to solve my problems. But this is the one time that I want to cause bloodshed.”

There was a silence between the two as Jack waited for Rydel to gather himself.

”Do you want to know why I decided to become a hunter?” asked Rydel. ”Because of my father. We grew up in the small city of Vash, I'm not sure if you know it.”

”I've been there.” Jack noticed a smile on Rydel's face but there was no happiness behind it.

Taking a big breath Rydel continued, ”When I was a kid my father would take me hunting. He would show me the best way to track down game, how to handle a bow, how I should hold the knife skinning a beast when compared to fight a beast… He was a master hunter.

”After about a week of him showing me the ropes, I felt like I could do it myself.” The proud hunter suddenly burst into laughter, the type that was self-mocking. ”I felt like I could challenge the world, like every young idiot my age. That morning I left early into the nearby woods since we lived on the outskirts of Vash. Not sure how long it took but eventually I found some deer tracks, and you know what that meant.

”Slowly and carefully I followed them. I would try to stay hidden among the bushes and the trees, or least as much as a young foolish boy would.

”After some time I finally found him. It was a buck, a big one too. I knew that grabbing it would make me make my father proud. So I did exactly what he said; slinking up to the tree and finding my window, I pulled the small bow from my back and took aim… What do you think happened?” Rydel's empty gaze met Jack's as he waited for a response.

He thought for a moment before Jack shrugged. ”Did he get away?”

”No. No, he didn't,” answered Rydel. ”Somehow I managed to hit my target but he didn't go down in a single arrow. The buck tried to escape but I didn't let up. I followed behind it at my top speed but the buck was quickly getting out of sight.

”Determined, I still followed those tracks and after a few minutes, I found the buck… But I also found a pack of dire wolves.

Tense and rigid, Rydel struggled to keep speaking. ”The buck didn't get away. It was already dead, being torn apart by some of the wolves. The lead wolf was the first to see me and let loose a howl before creeping up toward me… I froze…

”Just as the wolf lunged at me, I turned to run. Thanks to that I was lucky enough to get bitten in the leg, and not anywhere vital.” At the same time, Rydel pulled up his right pant leg to show a large scar on his calf, the lasting reminder that the wolf had given him.

”As I grew more frantic I heard the twang of a bow,” added Rydel. ”That giant dire wolf suddenly released my leg and fell limp on the ground. An arrow was lodged into his throat, leading to its brain. It was one of my dad's handcrafted arrows.”

Rydel let out a long sigh as his body started to relax again. ”The other wolves also dropped dead, one by one, by those same arrows. Seconds later my dad was rushing towards me and did his best to patch me up while I was screaming and yelling in a panic. Eventually, I calmed down, but only after he picked me up and started to carry me back.”

Jack could sense just how impactful that experience was for Rydel. But he couldn't understand why that had anything to do with the Limneer army.

So he waited. He didn't want to diminish the story and he had a feeling that Rydel wouldn't have told him that without a reason.

”My dad scolded me a lot on the way home, but I can't blame him. I needed that, otherwise, who knows if I would ever try that again,” continued Rydel. ”And once I got home my mom wouldn't stop chewing me out. I was grounded for a month after that…

”They didn't tell me right away, but apparently that dire wolf was disease-ridden and I was going to need medicine to make sure I didn't get infected.”

Jack started to hear the skin of Rydel's hands being tightly rubbed together as if he was clenching a leather whip.