There was a clap of thunder and Iome awoke with a start. He had been having the most unpleasant dream, a nightmare that had haunted him since the night his son was born. Ekai’s birth had not been easy and Iome’s wife had been lost because of it, ever since that night Iome had hated Ekai, blaming him for the loss of his beloved queen, and ever since that night a shadowed figure had stalked his dreams, a man with no face, yet whose eyes burned like the fires of hell.

Ekai was eight years old; his birthday was rapidly approaching and with it his first hunt. He had shown lacklustre prowess with the thrown spear and his use of weapons in general was barely acceptable by barbarian standards, had he not been gifted with an extraordinary berserk rage Iome would have had him killed for being too weak.

The shaman and a team of Iome’s retainers had taken the boy a little out of the village to a clearing in the woods, he sat with Ekai and blessed him, he also blessed his spear and prayed the two would never be parted. The shaman left for home while the guards took Ekai further into the woods. It took almost an hour for them to find a stag, but when they did Ekai managed to hurl his spear into it’s leg, the wounded stag limped off and the guards followed it to claim Ekai’s prize.. When they hadn’t returned after ten minutes Ekai began to worry, he decided to go back to the village for help, fearing his escort had been attacked by raiders or bandits. Just as he got back to the clearing he heard thunder, and the ground below his feet began to shake. He turned to see a massive creature hurtling towards him with incredible speed, it’s tiny eyes red with rage.

Ekai took to his feet with everything he had but the beast was moving too quickly, before he made it to the village the beast made a mad dash to gore him, Ekai sidestepped and managed to evade it, in doing so he noticed the spears embedded in it’s side and recognised them as belonging to his guards. They must have given up on his stag and decided to take this beast as a prize for themselves. The retainer’s glory hogging was the least of his problems for now as the animal skidded in a wide circle, turning to face him once again, now he saw the full bulk of the beast, it looked like a large and very hairy bull, it roared and charged at Ekai again, who once more sidestepped it, this time he grabbed at the spears as they passed him and rode the beast for a few seconds. One of the spears was dislodged from the animal’s side which further enraged it; Ekai landed on the floor in a heap and surveyed his surroundings.

He was at the gates of the village, there were people who would hear him shouting and come to rescue him, but there was also a cliff behind him and a mad buffalo between himself and the people. The buffalo charged again and Ekai threw the spear with all his might, it bounced harmlessly off of the animal’s head, the bull smashed into Ekai, sending him flying and gravely wounding his chest and left arm. Ekai struggled to his feet as the beast made yet another run at him, fuelled by fear and rage and hatred Ekai grabbed the beast by the horns before it struck him, as he was pushed back through the snow he knew he was going berserk, he also became aware that he was bleeding heavily. His legs grew weaker and his body grew heavy as the beast thrashed and charged with all it’s might. Ekai blacked out.

He expected to wake up in the next life, the shaman had told him it was a wonderful place where all his wishes would come true and he would be safe and happy forever. However when Ekai did awaken he found he was half buried in snow, what little of his body he could still feel was in an agony he had never known before and no matter how hard he wished it he couldn’t stand up. That meant he was still alive.

He weakly raised his head and heard gasping voices and terrified shrieks, he looked down at his body and saw he was covered in blood, that was when he decided he was definitely going to die. Looking around him he saw that apart from the man who stood over him the onlookers were in two rough groups, those around the body of the buffalo and those around it’s head. He expected one of his father’s men had lopped off the beast’s head and rescued him, but looking around he couldn’t seem to find anyone carrying an axe. The man who loomed over him picked Ekai up, the pain that shot through his whole body as a result of being moved rendering him unconscious once more.

When he awoke he was at home, in his tent, a roaring fire bathing it in an orange glow. He looked down to find his whole body bandaged up and he was coated in a mixture of a pungent smelling herbal lotion, sweat and his own blood, every muscle screamed at him when he tried to move. So did his cousin, she was sat by the end of his bed waiting for him to awaken. She ran out to fetch the shaman, and Ekai fell unconscious again, they had both returned when he awoke once more.

The shaman sat by the end of his bed and began to explain to Ekai a great many things. Over the following days Ekai learned much of the stories of his grandfather Mirs, he also learned more about his family and tribe’s history beyond his grandsire. After more than three days the shaman finally told Ekai what had happened on the day of the hunt. When his body had been pushed to it’s absolute limit and even barbarian rage had failed him he had summoned another, higher power from deep within himself. This was an ancestral power inherited from his grandfather known as Berferkerwüt, it was what had made Mirs the greatest warrior of all time. It had made Mirs’ life dangerous, as it would do to Ekai’s but it had saved Ekai, when it’s power had awoken inside him he exploded with strength far beyond his own and tore the head of the beast clean from it’s neck before the strain of the fight caused him to collapse in the snow. The shaman performed healing rituals and blessed Ekai.

At the feast there was music, wine, more food than Ekai had ever seen and much merriment, it was a truly grand affair and every member of the tribe was present. Ekai however could not enjoy himself as much as he would have liked to, partly because his body was still in agony and partly because his father hadn’t said a word to him since he went out hunting, far from being proud of him as he had hoped his father looked almost disappointed. Ekai’s father was never proud of him. The night unfolded with stories told of heroes past, the adventures that Mirs had and finally with an heroic re-telling of the tale of Ekai and the buffalo, with a surprisingly large warrior playing the part of Ekai.

When the night finally drew to a close the shaman escorted Ekai to his tent.

“Live a happy life young warrior” The shaman had said as he left. Ekai thought about this as he drifted to sleep. He awoke in pain as a strong hand was clamped over his mouth, his arms and legs were bound and he was dragged from his bed. Ekai couldn’t defend himself as the retainers who had taken him hunting just days before and his own father beat him mercilessly, once more Ekai found himself slipping into unconsciousness.

Iome lifted the bloodied pulp that was the body of his child and held it high above his head, he roared savagely and cast it over the cliff face. Only Iome watched the body fall, his men couldn’t bear the sight of the child’s limp corpse being torn and smashed by jagged rocks as it made it’s descent, coming to an eventual halt at the bottom of the mountainside. He watched his son’s battered and broken body for a few moments before he returned to his tent. Now he had killed the son who threatened his crown and had ended his queen. Feeling no remorse at the broken body that lay at the base of the mountain Iome went to his tent and fell asleep, he had never liked the weakling anyway.

Through hazy eyes Ekai saw a blinding light, he heard a faded voice and became vaguely aware that his body was rising out of the snow. The afterlife would be a better place for him he hoped.