I returned to the encampment and resumed my training with the other avatars again. Bearing the brightest smile I could muster, I greeted my friends. They welcomed me with open arms. No one suspected any change in my emotions. Even the ever-observing Vorac could not read through my cheery mask. I hid from them so well, I almost convinced myself.
We had ten days to prepare for the final game. I was given a new set of lessons. Tepi, who was more knowledgeable in the wild than the other godlings, tried to teach me about the beast. The animal lived in the thickest jungle of the Jewel Mountain.
The summer unfurled its drowsy petals in the breeze as we sat under a pink Jamun tree by a pristine lake. We discussed who would go in the hunt.
"I know the way of the forest," Tepi said. "I know how to survive with no food or water and how to read the spoor of animals. I am the most fitted to go in the quest."