“YuGyeom-ah! This is not a game! Take this seriously! Stop that!” KyungHee yelled from the safety of a wooden observation tower on the edge of their village while keeping a keen eye on his six pupils below who try their best to train their respective weapon techniques on the muddy ground below.

JinYoung quickly looked past his straw puppet, on which he practiced his spear attacks, to glance at YuGyeom. The younger was nowhere to be seen on the practice ground. YuGyeom’s straw puppet was still unharmed and completely left alone. As the younger had put a heavy focus on his skills with a bow and arrows, one would maybe expect to see a few stray arrows around it as well but even that was not the case.This was odd. Very odd.

Quickly, JinYoung turned his head to see if the younger might be training behind him but he didn’t see him there either. His eyes wandered once again over the field of warriors in training. However, there still was no YuGyeom in sight. Did he run away?
This would be quite unlike him. Especially since he fought so hard to be added to the training roster. He is currently the youngest member of the Nora tribe to face the Proving - a tournament held in Mother’s Heart to test balance of swiftness and strength against enemies. He had endured so much and trained harder than anyone else to earn his place on the training ground. To call himself a Brave upon winning against all of Nora’s current warrior trainees in the tournament.

As the youngest of their small tribe, YuGyeom tried to prove that he was everything but the cute sweet little child everyone sees him as. He had been six years old when he first picked up a bow and arrow to practice. He’s good. Well… actually more that. His skill with bow and arrow is still unmatched by anyone in the whole tribe.

The tall grass on the edge of their training field suddenly caught his attention. The grass can be found all around the Sacred Land. It’s high enough to hide a person when crouched and is one of the simplest ways to avoid the machines that rule the lands outside of their village.
With curious eyes watched JinYoung the red blooming tips of the grass that slowly swung in the wind. Something felt odd there. He wanted to take a step towards the field, however, KyungHee’s booming voice made him stop in his tracks.

“What are you doing, JinYoung-ah! Your enemy would have attacked you long ago. Focus!” KyungHee yelled, which made JinYoung turn his attention toward his straw puppet again.
It’s body was already quite beaten and loose moldy smelling straw was loosely scattered on the floor. Signs of his piercing stab with his weapon of choice. However, compared to the others his puppet still looked rather fine. It still had all it’s arms and the head was still attached to it as well.

With a heavy sigh, JinYoung grasped his simple spear a bit harder than before and lifted it to hit his puppet once again. However, before he could strike a movement in the tall grass made him turn his attention away from his puppet. With squinted eyes he watched the grass slightly wave in the wind. Everything looks like it should. Once he convinced himself that all was okay and lifted his spear again to hit his puppet, an arrow was shot from the field and landed in the middle of the target that was attached to his straw puppet. An arrow that nearly missed him. Multiple arrows shot through the air shortly afterwards and most found their home in the bullseye of the targets on the multiple training puppets which made all the trainee’s instantly hold still. JinYoung had seen that some were almost hit by the arrows as well, however, no one was truly hit… which felt like a small miracle.

YuGyeom jumped up from his hiding place in the field and aimed with his self crafted bow for his own straw puppet. Before he could land that arrow in it’s straw filled body, however, KyungHee’s angry voice echoed over the training ground. Heavy steps were heard from the tower and soon the big muscular man, who was in charge of their training, strode across the ground towards YuGyeom.

“This isn’t a game!” KyungHee hissed through his gritted teeth and grabbed YuGyeom by his collar to lift him off the ground by a few inches. The younger visually looked taken aback by this and let his bow fall to the ground.

The trainees instantly started to move closer to their angry coach. Eager to hear every single word of this obvious scolding YuGyeom is going to get. JinYoung stayed where he was. Unsure if he should move closer and possibly help his friend or stay out of it. The decision, however, was taken away from him once he felt Mark’s hand wrap around his wrist and softly pull him towards their friend. Quietly, they stood next to the other trainees and watched. Ready to intervene if needed. And if courage would not fail him.

“You could have hit any of your cammerades! You could have hurt them!” KyungHee yelled.
Everyone else would have caved in and apologized just by seeing the angry expression on KyungHee’s face. Let alone his tone of voice. No one questioned KyungHee’s training methods or even his scoldings. For many of them he was an idol as he had won the title of Brave a few years ago during his own Proving.

Not YuGyeom though.

“But I didn’t hurt them, did I? I knew that I wouldn't hit them. If I would I wouldn’t have gone through with it,” YuGyeom said calmly and stared back at their coach without showing any regret or remorse. The grip of KyungHee’s hand around YuGyeom’s collar got tighter and even though this must have hurt YuGyeom, the younger did not flinch one bit.

“Reckless! It does not matter what you believe you were able to do or not. This could have hurt your colleagues. If this would have happened in a fight outside…”
“If this would have happened in a fight outside I would have saved you all by doing this. What I did was what we should learn from you to do. Fighting in a practical manner. There is no use fighting…”
“That’s enough. You’ve started overstepping lines quite a while ago but I tell you one more step and you will regret it,” KyungHee yelled while throwing YuGyeom to the ground. The younger hit the ground hard. The pain that resulted because of that was clearly visible on his face.

“You know what happens to people who pull off stunts like yours? Who risk hurting others or truly hurt them?” KyungHee asked while slowly leaning down.
YuGyeom stayed silent which obviously displeased their couch. Instantly he straightened himself up again and glanced at the rest of his trainees. His eyes landed on JinYoung, which was also a silent demand to give him the answer to the question he just had asked.

JinYoung gulped before taking a small step forward. He took a deep breath before replying in a small voice: “Outcast. People who disobey the laws of the Nora tribe or hurt others will become Outcasts”

Pleased, KyungHee grins at JinYoung after hearing his answer before turning back to the youngest of the group.
“You heard that, kid? Consider yourself lucky today. If you act reckless again there will be no next time”

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

“Can you believe that? Sure, it was dangerous but the way YuGyeom pulled it off... He’s getting better and better at this combat thing. He sure will be tough to beat during the Proving,” Mark said while strolling through the village with JinYoung after their training.

The sun was already setting behind the close by mountains and the sky slowly changed its colour from a clear blue to a deep red. Soon it’ll be all dark and only the lights of the fire lantern would lead them their way to their huts on the other side of the village. Before they could go to their homes and rest, however, their stomachs needed the well deserved evening meal that would be served in the middle of the village.

Everyone would get together and share a meal there every evening. The meal was usually nothing big. Reason for that is the way their tribe gathered all the ingredients. Their tribe frowned upon changing their environment which means that all food is either gathered by finding wild plants, hunting or fishing. Only during rare occasions, like the Proving for example, different foods like bell peppers, corn and tomatoes are traded in and used in their meals.

JinYoung loved the food he was given every evening with or without traded in foods. The aromatic smell of various herbs and seasoned meat usually lingered for a few hours in the air. A smell that always made him feel warm on the inside. It was home.

The smell now guided the two young men towards the village center which was located on a slightly higher area than most of the houses. The village center was the one spot in the village where life happens. Multiple shops and work spaces were located there. The most important area there, however, was the food court. Multiple villagers have gathered there already. In front of some of them was an already filled plate. Others are still standing in line to get themself a good bite of today's meal. Chatter and laughter surrounded the two men when they got in line for their portions. The closer they got to the source of the delicious smell the louder JinYoung’s stomach started to rumble.

The two of them almost reached the end of the line when suddenly a young man put his arms around them. A bright smile graces his face.
“What took you so long? I’m starving! Let’s eat!” the man said and pushed his friends quickly forward so they can grab a plate. The newcomer instantly started to jump up and down a little once he received his own plate in excitement .

JinYoung and Mark quickly exchange a quick look. They will tell their friend what happened during training. However, they were not sure if it was that bright of an idea to talk about it where others can hear about it as well. The other trainees will talk about it but those talks will likely only happen in their own small groups as well. They all might not be the biggest of friends with each other but loyalty between them existed.