~Chapter 3- The Earth Deity~

The fourteen-year-old Aero stretched in the teepee he had been staying in as of late. His rough black hair was messy as he shifted about in his sleep. He parted the cloth serving as a door and stepped outside, looking out on the lake before him.

Aero had been staying with the tribe of wolf riders that lived around Lupine Lake for some time. Naturally formed stone walls surrounded their community, and far above them was a stone bridge.

The men prepared their wolves for the daily hunt while the women knitted together the pelts of animals to serve as clothing and searched the nearby bushes for berries and fruit. With his fairer skin and rural clothes, one could tell Aero was an outsider.

Aero saw Oopa was already busy with her mother Ocaha. Both shared the same tan skin and had their black hair braided behind them. Oopa saw Aero, spoke to her mother, and then headed over to greet him.

"Morning, Aero!" Oopa greeted, her hands knitted behind her.

"Mornin!"

Oopa looked around to make sure her father wasn't around, then landed a quick kiss on Aero's cheek before rushing back to her mother. The boy couldn't help but blush.

Aero dug around in his pocket and pulled out a red orb. He found it with the intent of giving it to Oopa. They had a green one which they believed provided them good fortune, but it was stolen by a Masked Kid. But when Aero returned with the red orb in hand, they didn't want it.

"Our tribe has been doing better without the orb. If anything, having it tempted people to steal it," Chief Borjo, Oopa's father, explained.

Aero kept it as a souvenir. He was sure that the Masked One would come for it, and he looked forward to another fight with him.

"Aero!" The muscular Borjo called out to him. His long black hair slid down his back and shoulders, "Can you fetch Hopper for the hunt?"

"Yeah, give me one second," Aero answered casually. He walked past the wolves who were having saddles thrown over them. Each wolf stood a little taller than him and could carry two of the tribe's warriors at a time.

Aero went to the edge of the community to a small cave, one that he formed himself. Inside it rested an animal that many saw as a terrifying monster, a grey and white-haired canine beast with long legs, a bulbous head, and no tail. When it stood straight, it was at least 3 meters tall. A breed of canine larger than any other known dog. A fearsome Chihuahua named Hopper.

Hopper stayed in a cave on the periphery of Lupine Lake.

The dog liked its privacy. It slept splayed out in the cave, with its tongue hanging out.

"Hey bud," Aero approached Hopper and began scratching behind its ear, involuntarily began kicking its leg and woke slowly. The Chihuahua lapped at the boy with its tongue.

Aero greeted the rest of the warriors from atop Hopper. The Chihuahua growled at the other wolves, but Aero scratched behind his ear to calm it down. The temperamental Hopper didn't integrate well with the tribe at first. He constantly barked at the people and fought with the wolves. But over time, he acclimated.

Borjo wasn't sure about allowing Hopper to reside in their tribe, at least until it saw how the beast did during a hunt.

Soon the warriors were ready to depart, and they left the settlement in haste. The warriors wielded bows and spears from atop their wolves, but Aero held nothing. Those with strength like his needed no weapon. Hopper led the way with the wolves following close behind.

They found a squirrel, a large and swift creature with a giant tooth able to gnaw through trees. Its large bushy tail usually gave away its position. The tribe used to approach such a beast with great care. But Aero and Hopper could handle it on their own.

Hopper's speed rivaled the squirrels, and as soon as Aero gripped the beast's tail, it was unable to escape. The squirrel tried to bite him, but he held its jaws open with his hands. Hopper bit down on its neck and ended it quickly.

With the squirrel's body tied up in a net, they pulled it back to the lake. But some of the warriors wanted to keep going. They were used to being out in the brush for hours looking for game.

Borjo placed a hand on Aero's shoulder, "Well done!"

"Glad I can help," Aero said with a big smirk. The squirrel's meat should be nearly enough to feed the tribe, ending the hunt for the day.

"We should keep going," Raton, one of the tribe's young hunters insisted, "We could make a competition out of who can hunt the most."

"We have enough. It would be wrong of us to hunt for sport. We only take what we need," Borjo explained.

"Yeah, and it's pretty mean to kill things for fun," Aero added.

Raton was quiet, but Aero could tell he was still anxious.

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Days later, Aero was in the midst of a training exercise to push the limits of his strength. Oopa and Hopper watched. Well, Oopa watched. Hopper was basking in the sun at the lakeside.

Though the tournament was still over a year away, Aero wanted to push himself until then. He would see his friends and family again at the next tournament. Maybe his father would be there too.

Aero swung a log over his shoulder and jumped as high as he could into the air. At first, Aero had trouble getting off the ground, only managing a few meters. But with repetition and time, he became stronger, bounding higher and higher.

Aero could truly see the results when he jumped without the log weighing him down. He practically flew into the air, so high that he could see the entire lake. But when he was at the apex of his jump, he saw a group riding their wolves towards the nearby pine forest.

"We're done hunting today, aren't we?" Aero asked as he landed on the ground.

"We should be. Why?"

"I saw a hunting party out there..." As he spoke, Aero realized it might be Raton and some of the other hunters.

"Tell Borjo! I'm going after them!" Aero said, opting to chase after them on foot since Hopper was asleep. He dug his foot into the ground as he went into a sprint, cracking the earth beneath him as he did.

Aero could see the hunters heading into a nearby pine forest to the northwest, a place brimming with wildlife. Borjo had intentionally left those forests alone, wishing to allow life to flourish there and avoid stunting its growth.

Aero bounded through the air into the trees and traveled from branch to branch in the forest, carefully avoiding the prickly pines. He could hear the sound of wailing beasts near a flowing river. He hurried towards the river and found the bodies of several bears, small furry creatures which didn't even reach up to his knee. The bodies were simply left in the woods; they weren't even killing them for food! Aero could hear the laughter of the hunters nearby.

Raton was readying his bow, aiming for a deer in the woods. He released the arrow and expected the deer to cry out moments later, but Aero jumped in its path and grabbed the arrow out of the air. He snapped it in half, and the deer scrambled away to safety.

"That's enough!" Aero shouted.

"Mind your own business kid," Raton quipped.

Aero darted forward, stopping short of Raton and the other hunters, "There's no need to kill like this!"

"You can't tell us what to do kid! You may have the chief's favor, but you are not one of us," Raton scowled.

Aero punched Raton square in the nose. Granted it was a soft jab from him, if he had seriously hit him, it would've knocked him unconscious or worse. Nevertheless, Raton's nose was bloodied from the blow and he reeled back.

"We're heading back now! Unless anyone else has something to say!" Aero said sternly.

Aero walked the hunters out of the forest. He was sure this wasn't the first time they hunted for sport, but he was determined to make sure it was the last.

As they left the forest, Aero saw a massive figure looming in the distance, a massive Ram with curled horns and an aggressive stance. It must've been at least 10 meters tall. Where did it come from? Its back hooves raked the ground, and it charged at them. They retreated into the woods for safety.

The Ram furiously knocked its horns against a tree and it fell over, creating a tremor when it struck the ground. It paced outside the interim of the woods like a predator stalking its prey. Something about its movements seemed strangely deliberate. Even with his strength, Aero didn't dare challenge an animal of this size. The Ram beat its horn against another tree, it fell in their direction.

"Show yourself!" A deep and commanding voice boomed. It was the Ram. "You've defiled this land long enough. Face me!"

How was it speaking? Raton and the other hunters trembled. "What is that thing?" Aero asked.

"The Earth Deity, Ramesses," Raton haggardly said, "He's come for us!"

"What is he here for?"

"People say Ramesses was chosen by the Goddess herself to look after this land and protect it. But I didn't think he was real," Raton bitterly said, "He must be angry at what we've done..."

"Serves you right for killing all those animals!" Aero shouted. He considered leaving Raton and the others to their fate, but that didn't feel right. "Is Ramesses a good guy?"

Raton and the others nodded slowly. Aero looked out at Ramesses, who was trotting outside of the forest. Perhaps, he could be reasoned with?

"I'm going to go talk to him."

Before the others could protest, Aero launched himself into the trees and began traveling from branch to branch out of the forest until he came upon the massive Ram.

"Hi there!" Aero hollered.

Ramesses's eyes slowly drifted to Aero, "You are not the one I seek. You may leave."

"You're looking for those jerks in the forest, aren't ya?" Aero spoke as if to a good friend, "If I knew they were sneaking out to hunt like this, I would've stopped them."

Ramesses's eyes were fixed on the forest, "I won't allow them another chance. Their callous disregard for nature shall not go unpunished."

Aero descended down tree branches so he could look directly into Ramesses's eyes, "Look, they probably deserve it. But can you give them just one more chance? We'll take the animals they killed today and bring it to a nearby town so it doesn't go to waste."

Ramesses's eyes bore into Aero, "Child, it's unwise to argue with a servant of the goddess."

Aero shrugged, "Maybe. But I had to try."

Ramesses stared, pondering the boy's words. He took a more relaxed stance, "Very well, child. But if these men decide to hunt for sport again, I will hold you accountable as well."

"Trust me, it'll never happen again. If we ever do happen to hunt more than we need, I'll take it to one of the cities so it doesn't go to waste."

Ramesses stared at Aero, "You remind me of another Ralosian who dared to defy me many years ago. I hope you are never so foolish."

"I wouldn't try to fight you. I'm pretty strong, but you're huge! I wouldn't stand a chance!"

"You're an odd boy," Ramesses remarked as he began to turn his massive frame away from the forest, "Tell those hunters what we discussed."

Ramesses trotted away from Aero, sending subtle tremors through the ground as he went. The Earth Deity appeared to evaporate into the air in a haze.