ou’ll be crippled and freezing in a day or less wearing those shoes.”

Shannon was still trying to figure out how the man knew her name when she noticed something unusual. His eyes and hair were both black. Not just dark in color, but jet black, without the slightest hint of color at all.

Shannon realized she was still wearing her shoes from the tall ship tour. She hadn’t planned on hiking through the forest with them, although she was privately pretty impressed with herself for being able to run so fast in such an old worn out pair of shoes.

The man sat down by the fire and placed the spear and other items on the ground.

“I’ve brought you a pair of boots. You’ll thank me in a week or so when your feet have healed. Your shoes don’t fit at all.”

“These were a gift. I really like these shoes.”

“The creatures of the Gacenar forests are interested in two things: strength and speed. You’ll need to be able to run, jump and climb if you plan on surviving long. Here.”

The man placed a pair of light brown boots lined with black fur in front of Shannon.

“Fur?” Shannon asked, a worried expression on her face.

“If you plan to travel any further north, your gear needs heavy lining. These boots are lined with cershay fur. It is shorn from the animals like wool from sheep. Cershay can grow ten coats in a lifetime. You needn’t fear for their safety. They are guarded like noble princes, and they all live long lives after they have given their first coats, so they may grow more. A cershay herd is more valuable than a gold mine, especially in the northern lands. Put those on.”

Shannon picked up the left boot. She turned it over and couldn’t help but notice how solidly built the soles were and the fine stitchwork that attached them to the leather. The same kind of sturdy-looking stitching ran up both sides of the boot at the center. The sole seemed to be several layers thick.

Her foot slid gracefully into the left boot without the slightest stiffness.

Not only did it fit, it fit perfectly. Shannon turned her foot this way and that. It was as if they were made just for her. Shannon was amazed at how soft and flexible the material seemed. The boot was warm, but not stifling, snug, but not tight. It also seemed to support her ankle even though there was no stiffness. The pair looked brand new but it felt as if she had been wearing this boot for years. She quickly put the other one on.

“Now you can move like a huntress.”

“How do you know my name? And my shoe size!?”

“I know many things.” The man placed an object with a shiny handle on the ground in front of Shannon. Kishi watched carefully.

“For example, I know the importance of the right tools. Take it and examine it.”

Shannon picked the object up. It was a flat leather case of some kind with a very smooth and expensive looking handle sticking out of one end. Shannon turned it over and over, but she didn’t recognize what it was until she pulled at the handle. The handle and the leather case slid apart, revealing the shiny silvery blade of a huge knife.

“A huntress would sooner give up everything of value she owns before she would give up her knife. This is a tool. Treat it as such. Without tools like these you cannot survive in this forest.”

Shannon’s father had always warned her to be very careful with knives, even the one she used to eat her dinner. This knife was much larger than any she had ever seen before, even in books or movies. The blade was easily eight inches long and the handle was intricately carved dark blue wood reinforced with a very shiny silver-colored metal. A beautiful vertical design was carved into the wood and fitted with tiny silver highlights. It almost looked like lettering of some kind, but she couldn’t tell what it said.

“What does this say?”

“They are words written in the language of the ancients. It says ‘Strength from the Darkness.’”

“The most dangerous things in this forest seem to be other people,” Shannon said, sheathing the knife carefully.

“An astute observation. You must learn to deal with any danger, regardless of its origin. When you understand the value of this–”

The man placed the spear on the ground next to the fire.

“–and the knife, you will understand the power of that Ring on your right hand.”

“You know about this Ring?”

“It is called the Obsidian Star.”

I knew it! Cici was right! This was the obsidian she was talking about!

“You must learn what this wilderness has to teach you. You must learn to pace the hunt.”

“What hunt?”

“Each night, when the light of the moon touches the Earth, the great wolves of the mighty pack gather as brothers and sisters for a noble cause. All pack members lend their strength. They learn by blood and pain to hunt as one.”

Shannon listened.

“The wolfpack teaches their pups from the day they are able to walk, and they have much to teach you. There is one among them known as the Dire Alpha. He is the greatest of all wolves in Gacenar. He will judge whether you are worthy to run with the pack. With him lies the decision whether you understand the law of the wolves, and whether you are dedicated enough to join the Feral Hunt.”

“The Feral Hunt?”

“It is a ritual, performed by the pack when the young wolves are ready. Only during the Feral Hunt can one join the pack. If they judge you worthy, they will call you Sister.”

“What if they don’t judge me worthy?”

“Then you will become the hunted. The wolfpack will not tolerate weakness. They can’t afford to endanger their survival.”

“I don’t want to be hunted by wolves! I just want to go home!”

“If your wish is to flee Gacenar, the wolfpack will not follow.”

“How will I know if I’m good enough?”

“I have not misjudged you, and neither will they. You have the strength within you to face whatever obstacle is placed before you. You are no different than a young wolf. It is your choice to take the road forward, or seek a place to hide.”

The man stood and walked a few paces from the fire.

“Call upon the power of Starlight Vale, and see what power your Ring holds.”

Shannon examined the Obsidian Star for a moment, then stood up. Her new boots were even more comfortable with her weight on her feet. She felt like she could run and jump for hours.

She held her hand out, hoping it was far enough away.

The magnificent weapon that appeared in Shannon’s left hand was surprisingly light. A shining black longbow, easily six feet in height and almost five inches wide just above the grip, rested in her hand. The Ring was gone.

The drawstring was a woven black strand, and the bow was fitted with silver bands above and below the grip. The weapon seemed perfectly fitted to Shannon’s slender hand.

“The Obsidian Longbow is said to have once shattered a castle gate with a single arrow.”

Shannon felt additional weight on her back, and something brushing through her hair. She reached back and felt the fletched ends of several arrows contained in a hunting quiver. She snapped one loose and drew it over her shoulder.

It was a light three-foot-long arrow fletched with sky blue feathers and tipped with a barbed razor-sharp head.

“This bow can bring down your mightiest enemy. But understand this:”

The man stepped closer, an intense look in his black eyes.

“A Huntress does not do violence to the creatures she serves. Your weapon is your strength, and it is to be used to defend the wilderness from which you take sustenance and to which you return sustenance in kind. You are not a marauder. You are not a scavenger.”

Shannon nodded.

“Before the wolfpack will accept you as one of their own, you must prove to me this weapon is not in the wrong hands. You are a defender of life. You will wear the night like a suit of armor, and you will strike from the shadows. You will travel this forest like the wind. The moment of truth will be when you have learned what your animal companion and the wolves have to teach you.”

“Only then can you become the Ajan Warrior of the Night.”

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