810.M30, Segmentum Ultima, Catachan System, Catachan
A family of 5 is seated around a table eating fried snakes, and smoked viper. This is a celebration day, because the last child in the family would finally become a half grown one.
Strax Venom with his family enjoying his meal and listening to his father and elder sibling expound upon their experience when they participated in their 10 year trial.
Others might think of it as boasting, but one thing a Catachan warrior would not do is disrespect the jungle. Everything they say must be real so that those who come across similar situations would be able to navigate them well.
"Strax, you are smart and a good scout, keep your eyes on the shadows. On Catachan, if you aren't the hunter, you're the fertilizer." his father said to him.
"I was chasing a grox-calf and walked right into a colony of Barking Toads. One sneeze and I'd have been vapor….haha.." his brother said, but there was a pause in there that allowed Strax to understand how dangerous it was for him.
"All of you cannot compare to Strax, he finished his studies earlier than all of you. Your father hunted a bark stalker when Strax was born." his mother finally joined into the conversation.
She and all other mothers that watched Strax grow up have a certain belief that he will become one of the best hunters on the planet.
The next morning.
Strax along with 2 other children, stand at the edge of the burn line. Each with their blades (swords in their case) secured, and traps necessary for this journey.
They will go into the jungle alone and can only come back the same time the next day.
All children of Catachan must undergo this trial. It not only prepares you for survival. It also prepares you to be self-sufficient.
Dead weight does not survive well.
"Go now, bring back what you can, and let the forest hear your name." the leader of the group said to the children.
With that they left. Parents who had their children leave, did not react any differently from other people. They simply returned to continue their business, like any other day.
Strax moved nimbly in the forest, skipping through trees and avoiding areas confirmed to have very dangerous beasts.
He passed a nest of blood wasps on his way. Giving them a wide birth.
Only to then stumble into the path of a breath taker. A flower that expels a scent that induces muscle paralysis.
No sooner had he reached into its range that he caught the scent of something. His muscles sized immediately, dropping to the floor of the forest.
In the forest this might be one of the most dangerous places to be. His body also responded, spiking his adrenaline way past what normal humans can sustain. This in turn cause him to resist the effects of the paralysis.
He got up saying
"What did i do to you" as he backed away from the flower
It gently swayed its petals as it replied to him "am i not pretty"
Strax was at a loss for words. He never really came across the true predators of the jungle during his scout mission.
"Don't you want to play" its petals swayed again
This time it increased the dose of its scent, causing the veins on Strax's head to bulge as more adrenaline is pumped into his system.
He steps back climbing into a tree hopping for some respite, but not at all. A vine lashed out from one of the tree branches.
Striking him with enough force to want to knock him off the tree. Instead of a simple collusion, the vine had barbs
"Manglevine"
The barbs stuck to his skiing dragging and peeling his skin as they moved. The second lash came in from the other side, he would not take this one.
He drew his knife cutting the first vine still attached to him. Grabbing a branch for support, he swung around the tree using his knife to sever the vine at the source.
Even then another vine was already right behind him ready to strike. His skiing compacted like that of a snake. Increasing the number of folds in that area, causing his skin there to be deser and harder than normal.
He dropped down from the tree, stabbing his knife into the roots of the vine that coiled around the tree.
A wailing sound came from the vine as its roots withered.
Immediately, Strax climbed up the tree. He began setting traps on it. Slip sections, grab rope areas, and he lay down on a very thin branch barely enough to carry his weight.
Using a rope made from manglevine to support most of his weight, he waited.
From the corner of his eyes he caught sight of a little irregularity in the shape of the tree 10 meters away from him.
He remembered the story of how his father caught a bark stalker. They move ever so slightly unlike a tree.
"My friend would you bother helping me out here" he said to the tree was on.
"There is nothing I can do for you here. I am old and almost wasted away because of the manglevine." A few leaves rustled when he heard the voice of the tree he was standing on.
"Present me with an opportunity, and I will harvest the lily, and give you space to feed"
"What will you have me do, young one."
"Bump into that tree let it tussle a bit, that is all."
With that he used the leaves as cover and moved up to a higher vantage point on the tree. Looking down on what could be a bark stalker.
He tied a harness to his waist and the other end to the thick trunk of the tree. As the old tree bumped into the tree with the suspected stalker, its body swayed lightly.
The stalker tried to match its sway but he missed the beat. Strax jumped forward over a brank from the other tree.
With a snap of the rope at full tension, he swung behind the stalker. With a push from him, and a startle stalker, it fell from the tree and into the area of the breath taker.
"Am I not beautiful."
The stalker did not understand what was said but it knew it could not move, and could possibly die with that 2 legged creature still around.
"The breath taker is patient, stalker. You can rot here in the perfume, or you can be my shadow." Strax dropped down from the tree, asking the stalker as he kept his eyes on the lily flower.
"I can help you but, a life for a life. Would you serve for the rest of your days" he continued
"Do you accept or not."