End of Fifth Brightening of the Second Cycle,
Month of Ioannes, Season of Summer Era XIV
Ursidae…they are bears, big bears. Fur like a porcupine and 7 feet tall when on all fours, minimum. They are deadly, I’ve only ever seen one and it was busy eating a moose. They aren’t like other bears boy, they like meat. I’m no expert on animals, just which ones to stay away from. You be careful eh? Don’t want nothing happening to our visitors…
The words hung in the back of his mind like an old grandmother’s proverbial wisdom; serving as both a stimulus to his excitement and a catalyst to his fears. He wasn’t sure which. He’d made note to decide later.
Seth ventured off directly north into the Arios wilderness, looking at the crude hand-drawn map Daw-ta had provided him with only once before plowing headlong into the abyss of the unknown. He was thrilled, adrenaline coursed through his veins as freely as blood did, and there was nothing in the world that could make him as excited and exuberant as he felt now. Shouldering his bow over his left shoulder, the backpack straps over his right, Seth was prepared for a good two brightening stint into the wilderness, even though he had the supplies to survive for five.
A small feral grin tugged at his features.
He was garbed in a tan linen shirt, long-sleeved, though the sleeves were currently rolled up around his elbows, blending neatly into his skin. Dark rugged brown pants and black leather boots that skirted the height of his knees entertained his lower apparel, silver buckle slightly gleaming as his quiver was latched securely around his torso. The map Daw-ta had drawn him was stuffed into one pocket, his charcoal papyrus notes on tracking neatly folded in the other. The composite longbow he usually sported was slung over his shoulder, ready to be called upon at a moment’s notice.
Yet for now he proceeded quietly into the dense woodlands. The suns were going to set soon, but he figured he had one or two good candlemarks left to set up camp and get a feel for the environment. His dark blue eyes glittered against the verdant emerald lushness of the forest; a dire contrast between two worlds. Seth moved cautiously, studying the ground and looking for prints. Although he doubted the Ursidae would be anywhere near such preliminary parts of the forest as this, any practice he could get with his tracking lore would be beneficial to the later hunt.