I awoke before the tent flap opened. I had always been a light sleeper and the footsteps outside were crisp. I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I covered myself with the skins and awaited called out to the approaching clansmen. One poke their head in to check on me. She had short brown hair and a ring in her nose. I nodded at her, and she nodded back. I slid on my short leather trousers and a sleeveless wool top. Today was my nineteenth birthday, and this was my wake-up call.

Outside my tent were 4 warriors. The tiredness showed on their faces as they formed up. We set off at once. 2 in front. 2 behind. The lead and rear held torches to light the way. The torches weren't that necessary as the moon was out but I'd appreciate them when we entered the forest. We waded through the sea of tents. Every now and then we passed someone sitting outside. We also passed the dying embers of over a hundred camp fires. As we approached the edge of the camp I started to get nervous. Butterflies fluttered about in my stomach. I had a stressful day ahead of me, and I couldn't lose my cool now.

The forest was dark, and I could hear crickets now and then sing in the trees. The slope gradually sloped upwards and the path grew rockier. Mid morning we reached a small clearing in the trees where a fire pit was dug. The trees were short here. The altitude had stunted their growth to just over the tallest of my escorts. The warriors set down their packs and turned to me. They didn't need to say anything. I knew the way from there. I started up the path as they started to set up their camp. I found the cave near the summit at about midday, I decided to wait until nightfall to enter. Instead I climbed a bit more to meditate on the summit.

When the sun kissed the mountains on the horizon I stood up. I descended to the cave. I stood before it and peered in. I'd been preparing for this moment for years. This was my final test as a warrior. Every warrior must be able to face even their deepest fears. So when they had completed their training they were sent to the cave to be tested. In this cave someone's true fears manifested themselves. The warrior must face their greatest fear and return. Only then could they be a warrior.

The cave was cold. And much darker than I'd anticipated. I wondered how deep I needed to be. I eventually met a back wall though, and determined that this was as far as I'd need to go. I sat down slowly and took a deep breath, readying myself. I waited for something to come. I thought about my fears. I didn’t really fear that much. Spiders were kinda creepy. I don’t love cliffs. The only thing I was afraid of was failing my test, or hurting someone else by accident.

Hours passed and I took to meditation. The cave was deathly quiet. I could hear every breath and heartbeat as if it was shouting. I could hear wind in the distance, but it was faint. It was like I was fading away. I’d lost feeling in my limbs at that point, and I was slowly slipping into sleep.

I woke up some time later and found my way outside. It was already mid morning and leaning toward noon. The harsh light hurt my eyes after the night of intense darkness. I shielded my face and looked out over the valley. The green mountains were a familiar and welcome sight, though something seemed off. The night was bothering me. Why hadn’t I seen anything? Was I not meant to be a warrior? I started down the mountain. Maybe I had no fears. Nothing to come true. I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

I could see smoke from a fire down the mountain. The warriors must have a cookfire in the clearing. I was suddenly aware of how hungry I was. I eagerly quickened my pace. I pulled out my canteen and took a sip to quell my stomach. On I walked, anticipating the company of people. Half an hour later I reached the camp.

I smelled the blood before I entered the camp. Then I heard the flies. The sight was too much. I started to wretch what little was in me. I got back up and took in the scene a second time. 3 women were strewn about the camp. I noted one’s intestine draped over the tent like a rope. It was like the 3 of them had suddenly exploded. I immediately checked the tent for the fourth. I searched the camp for any sign of an attacker. I spied a trail of blood smears leading down the trail. I followed it about 100 meters before deciding to turn back. I considered trying to scrape together the remains of the 3 girls, but decided against it. Instead I through their heads in the fire so they wouldn’t rot but instead burn down to bone. I grabbed one of the packs in the tent and started down the trail again.

Once I had cleared the smell I stopped to dig some nuts out of the bag I stole. I ate them as I ran, following the bloor trail. Pretty soon the blood began to fade. That meant there was a good chance the 4th warrior was alive. Either that or the attacker.

I rounded a bend in a switchback and spied her. She had propped herself up against a tree. As I approached she stirred. Her eyes went wide at the sight of me, and she let out a strangled scream. I threw my hands up and stopped. She stopped screaming but was still trying to crawl away. I told her it was ok, and I was here to help her. She eventually stopped and turned back to me. I approached her and gave her some water. Then I sat down with her and asked her what happened. She looked at me for a moment and started sobbing. The group of warriors had been sitting around the fire early this morning when they saw me return from the cave. I had told them I couldn’t do it. I’d run out and slept on the summit out of shame. One of the warriors made a comment about how I was a disappointment, and I snapped. I ran at her and grabbed at her arm, pulling 2 fingers off. I’d then turned at one of the other and tripped her, before stopping her face into a sharp stone. I then had pulled the dead warriors knife and stabbed the third and fourth. I’d then started to tear the fingerless one to shreds with the knife, giving the fourth warrior a chance to run, and run she did, bleeding all the way. I had killed them. That was my fear.