Chapter 4 - The Game Of The Beasts
No one knew the reason for the visits of the beasts. Every so often, one would simply appear in the village and follow around one person of their choosing. If that person chose to stop what he was doing and ask the beast why it was there, the beast would look at the forest surrounding the village and try to lead him into it.
If he followed, he would be gone for around twenty days and return no less confused and none the wiser as to the beast's purpose.
If he chose to ignore the beast, it would eventually leave and either return every so often to behave in exactly the same manner, or would never be seen again. No one had ever been harmed by a beast or by following it and so the chosen few generally chose to follow the beasts, to play their strange game.
After the game, a beast would sometimes stay in the village, seeming to enjoy the person's company, and the person would spend time with it as though it were a kept animal, having grown somewhat fond of the beast during their travels together. Other times, a beast would divide its time between the village, near its elected friend, and other places in and beyond the forest. The last thing that happened after the uneventful adventure was that the beast left after having brought the man back safely, never to be seen again.
If you approached a beast which had not chosen you, nothing would happen. It might look at you but ultimately its main interest was the man it had chosen. It would not lead you anywhere or begin to follow you and it might even walk away from you if you were beginning to annoy it. So it was down to chance whether you experienced this pointless journey with a strange but beautiful animal.
It had almost become boring, the event of a beast's appearance. People had decided that because they could not learn the point of its game, there must not be one. Everyone followed a beast which had chosen him because it was something which you would only have one opportunity to do. No one was ever visited by more than one beast. But after your travels, you would come back to the village, disappointed and maybe cross with the beast and your life would return to the way it had been before you had left. Nothing changed. In that respect, it was an adventure without risk. A chance to leave the village and know that your life would not be put in danger for it.
So when Bramley Starling was selected to take part in the game of the beasts, it was a simple thing to agree to it.
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Companion
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