The Archer: Lost Omegas Book 1

Hunt

CYRENE

Groaning, she stretched her shoulder and legs again and stepped from her tent. She still was extremely sore from the event by the river, and still had the bruises to support her aches. She probably needed to visit the healer today, but the Skulk needed meat for their upcoming journeys, so she was taking a handful of her archers and going hunting. They were still in Serpe territory and the game around the camp was plentiful. She tied her quiver to her back, and grabbed her bow.

As she walked to the horses, the other archers already mounted, she watched the activity in the camp. Many of the mounts and grounds were buzzing around, preparing for the journey with the Lobo to the large villages. The Leads and select others would be accompanying the Commander and King Laran back to the King's Village of Siwili.

Cyrene hated Siwili, she had been several times as Lead Archer for meetings with the King. Huge, with at least seven hundred inhabitants, the village was nestled in a small valley next to the Vulpes river. The river used to be several hundred meters across, but with the droughts over the years, it grew smaller and smaller each time she had returned. She wondered what it would look like now. The village had grown out of the ability to feed itself years ago, but the stubborn villagers refused to move.

Such was the way of many Raposo villages. Their population had increased significantly over the past years, but they would not venture out to establish new villages, instead choosing to struggle and starve in the large villages. This constant state of need led the King to order the Skulk to invade Serpe lands. The Serpe would fight back, and invade Raposo lands. The Serpe desired the stones and metals found in the Raposo hills. On and on it went, a never ending cycle of need. They would reach small periods of peace when the fighting claimed too many. The Raposo and Serpe would trade resources, and there would be a few months of peace. But it never lasted. The hate between their peoples ran too deep. Too many had been slain for the other to offer forgiveness.

Yet now, with the alliance with the Lobo, the Raposo had decimated the Serpe army. They would not recover from this defeat for years. They were unable to defend themselves now. There might have been only a couple hundred that had escaped the battle that claimed well over a thousand. The Skulk, once they returned from sacrificing unsuspecting women to these northern men, would invade the near-defenseless Serpe lands and conquer them permanently.

Cyrene did not feel joy at this thought as she mounted Hibi, guiding the hunting party into the forest. Yes, the Serpe were their constant enemy. They had warred back and forth for decades. But they were still an enemy they knew, that they understood- and one they knew how to make peace with when needed. Even if it never lasted. The Lobo were an unknown. The Raposo knew little of their customs and ways. Her memory of how Lord Deimos had handled her, left her with little doubt that this knowledge gap would be devastating for the women taken from the Raposo villages.

Dismounting, she motioned for her fellow archers to do the same. They would leave the horses here and hunt on foot. She stared at the beauty surrounding her. Everything was so green, lush. Different from the plains and rolling hills with their hidden caves of her southern home. Serpe lands were hearty. Thick with forests and swamps. Listening to the birds calling one another and smelling the wet earth beneath her boots, she was struck with a sudden desire to want to stay in this area instead of leaving with the Skulk. There were numerous edible plants, plenty of game, fresh water, hearty trees, and plenty of open space. Everything they needed. Raposo lands were mainly grasses on rolling hills. Drought had plagued the southern territory for years, and made farming difficult. Many animals had left in search of water and food. Her people were surviving, but barely. The temptation of this Serpe land around her was too great to pass up. She wished that their peoples had found a way to make peace permanent, forgive one another, and share their resources. This latest war would further drive a wedge of hate between them.