The First Ubtir

Rudsis had never thought of the origin of the things that were needed for him to ply his profession as a guard. Nor had he ever thought of all the work required to make them.

His spears, for example. He knew how to take care of, and maintain them. But he'd never had to make one for himself. After that night in which they'd been defeated by Treni, the only weapon he had left was the sword, and he did not know how to handle it.

So he had to look for a suitably long, sturdy piece of straight wood that might serve as a spear. After that, he had to find a stone that was sharp enough to taper the tip and make it end on a point capable of piercing the hide of animals. A stone tip would have been better, an obsidian one, but he didn't know to how to cut stone. It was only now that he wondered how it could have been done.

A bow and arrow would have been better. That way, he wouldn't have to get close to kill something and get its blood, but if he didn't know how to make a spear, much less a bow. He also figured that if he didn't have the tools to make a good spear, he definitely lacked those to make a bow. For one thing, he couldn't even begin to guess how to make a string.

While he searched for a stone to prepare a spear tip, he thought of his clothes, the food that had been made ready for him every day when he was a guard, his sandals, and everything else. All that was made by others so that he had the necessary equpiment.

"One person supports another, who supports another, who supports another," he realized. It was all a like a big chain. "And people were free to choose their place in that chain. Now, they're being made to support a single person. They're having their place in the chain chosen for them so that Treni can be great.

"But it's the same with kings and queens. The only difference is that people were allowed to choose their place in the chain. It's still a chain, though. If we're all part of it, are we truly free? Or are we made to think that we're free when we're allowed to choose our place?"

These thoughts were strange to Rudsis. He'd never had reason to think them. But now that his time was being occupied with searching for the most rudimentary materials and tools, trying to get something that would have been so simple to get in civilization…

He didn't like how dependent he was of others. When this was done, he promised himself he'd learn everything he needed to be able to survive without aid. Thankfully, he'd taken those first steps by learning what he could from the woodsman that had been his guide.

"But if I did everything myself, all my time would be taken up with my mere survival. I would not be free to do anything else…"

Rudsis shook his head. None of this were things or questions he cared to consider.

"I'll free the folk," he thought. "I'll become king, and be free of all chains and needs. But I'll make sure no one lives in the streets. I'll make sure no one is lacking anything."

His makeshift spear was done. Unfortunately, now he had to hunt, which was something he'd only ever seen the woodsman do, but never done himself.

It took him a whole day, but he finally managed to sneak close enough to a group of turkeys and spear one of them. That night, he delighted in his dinner, and made sure not to clean his weapon. He needed the blood of a dead thing to repel the spider, as the owl had told him.

Early the next morning, he had to set out before the break of day because he knew it would take very long to find the campsite again. That was another thing he'd been able to learn from the woodsman, but only superficially: how to find his way in the woods.

It was night again by the time he got close enough to recognize the area surrounding the camp, and he decided to face the monster in the light of day. Rudsis built a shoddy shelter with tree branches, and spent the night eating rations he'd made from the turkey without daring to light a fire.

He heard the chirping of the spider all that night, but it never got close to him.

Nerves frayed, when the sun was finally up, he approached the campsite as stealthily as it was possible for an inexperienced person to do so. The knuckles of his hands were white due to the tightness with which he gripped the spear.

Once the site was in his view, he hid behind a tree and looked around at each and every single thing. When he was sure he couldn't see the monster hiding, Rudsis walked ahead, hid behind another trunk, and looked at each and every single thing again. He wanted to try and spot the monster. Spiders hid themselves incredibly well, becoming practically invisible, and he supposed this one would be no different.

From the floor, Rudsis picked up a stone as big as a hand, and threw it at the camp, hoping it would make the monster move so he could see it. Nothing happened.

"Maybe it's not here any more," thought Rudsis. He approached faster, but without letting his guard down.

As he got closer, he saw the body of the woodsman. It was desiccated, the skin taut over the bones, eye sockets empty.

The sword was exactly where he'd left it, and he could take the woodsman's bow--

A leaf fell from the crests of the trees above.

Rudsis jumped back just in time to avoid the monster, which would have landed on top of him. The spider jumped forward while spinning to face Rudsis, who got a good look at it for the first time. It was about the size of a horse, a cross between a locust and a spider with an elongated, thin, hairy body, eight legs, six eyes, and two protruding mandibles. Its serrated hind legs were rubbing one against the other wildly, making it's grave chirping sound. The noise was savage, making every single fiber in Rudsis' body tense up uncomfortably.

The monster lifted its front legs, bending the front side of its body upwards in a menacing, intimidating pose. Rudsis jumped to a side just in case, and managed to avoid a blob of viscous liquid of a sickly green-yellow color. The spider lunged forward, but Rudsis spun to a side to dodge, and slashed at one of the front legs. The attack connected, but it did nothing. The tip of the spear scraped the monster's leg as it would have on stone, and made the same noise.

As quick as lightning, the spider threw itself at Rudsis again without even having to turn. The guard hadn't regained his footing from his previous dodge, and the spider had him on the ground beneath itself. Panicking, Rudsis tried to stab its underside, but the point would not penetrate the spider's skin. The monster was light, however, and Rudsis managed to lift it off the ground and roll to a side.

Acting on instict, predicting where the spider's mouth would be as it moved to lunge at Rudsis again, he thrust forward with the spear.

It went directly into the thing's mouth, between its mandibles.

The spider hissed, stopped chirping, and jumped back at least twenty paces, crashing against a tree. It's feet flailed in a grotesque flurry of jerks as it clumsily tried to regain its balance, spitting that same green-yellow liquid everywhere. It climbed the tree, got lost in the foliage, and moved among the branches away from the campsite.

On his knees, Rudsis gasped, unable to think of anything but the fact that he was safe, alive. That he'd fought a monster, and survived.

"Well done," said the owl's voice.

Rudsis sat propping himself with his hands behind his back, chuckled, and looked up. The owl was perched on a tree above.

"Are you ready to keep going?" it asked.

"Yeah." Rudsis took a few more seconds to gasp. "Yeah." He got up, took the sword, bow and arrows, and followed the owl as it flew from branch to branch, guiding him.