Ritual

When the new spring came, little Eldrin also began to grow out of his childishness. The hunting knife on his waist was finally no longer just for show. He also began to go into the mountains with the hunters in the village to hunt, although he would not go too deep into the forest, and would not stand on the front line when facing monsters. The work assigned to him was more about helping, setting traps and collecting prey, but at least it showed that he was already a hunter. Blacksmith Bobby was very happy because he spent several nights forging Eldrin's hunting knife using several pieces of precious Tempered Steel. Every time little Eldrin killed a monster with it, Bobby would be happy for a long time.

Hunting is always dangerous. There are countless monsters hidden in the long Coastal Mountains. Occasionally, lost monsters in the mountains will run to Rutheran Village. Little Eldrin encountered an Ashen Grey Wolf. This is a real level 2 monster, and even the village chief has to deal with it seriously. When encountering the wolf, little Eldrin was accompanied by only two hunters from the village. It was a tough battle, and all three of them were seriously injured, but in the end they dragged the body of the wolf back to the village. What the villagers praised was that during the whole life-and-death struggle, little Eldrin was unusually calm and composed, and responded correctly. Even the best hunter could not have done better. And if little Eldrin had not cut the tendons of the wolf's hind paw with a knife, there might be a different result.

Anyway, Eldrin encountered many dangers this year, but he always remained calm and handled them well. No matter how dangerous the situation was, he never flinched.

At the age of nine, Eldrin learned courage. This year seemed to be the easiest year, because children in the mountains never lack courage. But the courage that his mother taught Eldrin was different. Eldrin did it, and from then on, his mother no longer called him little Eldrin, but my Eldrin.

"My Eldrin has become a real man!" Ilanie would always say this with a smile every time she saw Eldrin.

But one day, Eldrin straightened his chest and answered: "A real man must also be wise!"

Ilanie was surprised, looked at Eldrin seriously, and asked, "Tell mother who told you this."

"It's written in the book!"

"Which book?" Ilanie asked patiently. Not to mention magicians, even magic apprentices have a wealth of knowledge. So Eldrin has learned several languages from Ilanie , even a very difficult and obscure ancient language. Reading is no longer a problem for Eldrin. He even finished reading several introductory books on magic during the boring winter, but Ilanie couldn't remember which book had such a sentence.

"It's the book in the attic. There are many interesting things in it. It's the first time I know that the world is so big." Eldrin said excitedly.

"Is it that book?" Ilanie remembered something and then smiled again: "That book is very interesting. My Eldrin, a real man certainly cannot lack wisdom, but perseverance, strength and courage are even more rare. My Eldrin is so smart, he will definitely not lack wisdom when he grows up. So mom will first cultivate these qualities in you, do you understand?"

"And joy!" Eldrin said hastily.

Ilanie smiled and touched Eldrin's head, saying, "Yes, and happiness! Has my Eldrin been happy these past few years?"

Little Eldrin shook his head and said sullenly, " It's not always happy. Piru bullied me, and I hate breadfruit . And, mother, what kind of person is father?"

Ilanie 's expression changed instantly, and then she said gently: "Your father is a real man..."

Eldrin immediately added, "I know! He is also the worst villain! He is the one that mother hates the most!"

Ilanie smiled. Eldrin would ask her this question several times every year, and she would always answer it in the same way. Now Eldrin could recite it by heart. However, Eldrin was a smart child. He could understand the deep hatred Ilanie had when she mentioned his father. Over time, Eldrin also hated this father.

Because there were many times when Eldrin woke up in the middle of the night and heard his mother crying softly.

The child's logic is very simple. His mother loves him the most and is the person he loves the most. What his mother hates, he hates too. Every once in a while, Eldrin would ask about his father. On the one hand, he was curious, because as long as he grew up, his mother would tell him more about his father. On the other hand, Eldrin wanted to know more about his father so that he could avenge his mother when he grew up. As for how to avenge, he was still a child and of course had no idea, but this matter was already engraved in his heart.

This time, however, Ilanie did not tell Eldrin more about his father, but only said that she had only spent a short time with Eldrin's father and that was all she knew.

"One day in the future, you will understand your father very well." Ilanie suddenly said this for some reason. As soon as she said this, her face changed, as if something was tugging at her heart. Ilanie herself didn't know why she said this.

Eldrin keenly sensed that his mother's mood had suddenly changed for the worse, so he quietly stuck out his tongue, said "I'm going to read a book", and ran to the back room. That was Ilanie 's study, and next to it was the laboratory for mixing potions. There were not many books in the study, but they were all about the basics of magic, the introduction to potions, and knowledge about the history, geography, and customs of the continent, which was very consistent with Ilanie 's identity as a magic apprentice. Eldrin liked to read here at night. There was a magic lamp in the study, the light was not bright, and with Ilanie's magic power, it could be filled once to keep the magic lamp lit for a whole night. Because oil was expensive, Ilanie was the only one who could keep the lamp lit for a long time at night, except for the village chief, the blacksmith, and the most powerful hunters .

It was in this simple but cozy little room that Eldrin quietly spent his childhood.

In those thick books, he saw another world, a world that was much broader, more complex, higher, and more magnificent than Rutheran. Little Eldrin had always secretly thought that when he grew up to be the best hunter in the village, he would take his mother away from Rutheran Village to see the world outside the mountains.

Ilanie sat alone in the living room, and heard the sound of flipping pages. Little Eldrin was studying hard again. He had already mastered the basic knowledge of magic, but he had not really learned magic. Ilanie even forbade him to practice meditation. On the mainland, if you want to be a good magician, you usually have to start meditation at the age of four or five, so that you can accumulate enough mental strength at the age of ten to start learning magic and cultivating magic. But little Eldrin didn't think there was anything wrong with this, because he didn't know anything, and he also thought his mother was always right .

Ilanie sat quietly. Just because she said one extra word tonight, the door of her memory quietly opened, and many dusty past events emerged one by one, and she couldn't suppress them.

Ilanie rubbed her forehead gently and sighed. Her eyes fell on the calendar on the table and suddenly saw a striking mark. In a dozen days, it would be Eldrin's tenth birthday. Ten years old is the boundary between a boy and a teenager, while thirteen or fourteen years old can barely be considered an adult.

Before I knew it, ten years have passed?

Ilanie stared at the dancing light in the magic lamp. The brass lamp body was polished to a bright shine, reflecting her face. She was not beautiful, but a pretty woman. However, she was one of the most beautiful women in Rutheran Village. Ten years had passed, but the years had not left any traces on her face. If it were not for the clothes that were closer to those of middle-aged women, almost no one would remember her age. If a stranger saw her, they would definitely think that Ilanie was only in her early twenties.

The face reflected in the brass lampshade was actually very strange and too ordinary to Ilanie , because she did not have such a face when she was born. A long time ago, she never even thought that she would live such a simple, hard life, and it would last for ten years. But watching Eldrin grow up day by day, she felt so fulfilled in her heart.

Ilanie walked into the study and looked at Eldrin who was reading a thick Warcraft encyclopedia with great interest. She smiled and said, "My Eldrin will be ten years old soon. Mommy has prepared a special ceremony for you to celebrate my Eldrin's growth."

"Yeah! Will there be presents?" Eldrin jumped up, revealing that he was still a boy.

"Yes, it will be a gift that will stay with you for the rest of your life. But you have to get some rest these few days, okay? It's late now, you should go to bed."