Break of Dawne: Waruk 1
Author’s note: This is an experiment. I’m exploring new ways to tell the story of Break of Dawne. When I first started ideating on the story, I planned to write from several different POV characters, including Waruk. What I’ve written previously on this site has been in first person because that’s what came naturally, and I wasn’t sure if this story would fit into the YA category or Adult category. I’m experimenting with the tone of the story in this piece. Waruk’s perspective is very different than the Joye’s, and I want the writing to reflect that. Please enjoy!
P.S. You’ll see some 3rd-person POV of Joye in this new style in the future.
Waruk jogged up the steep mountain path, leading his pack by several strides. His galviron axe rode on his back, sharpened that morning for a singular purpose: to slay the monster who murdered his mother.
Eyes fixed on the path, Waruk burned with the collective fury of his tribe. It was his responsibility, nay his privilege, to hunt the creature responsible for this foul deed. For six days, he’d followed the bloody trail. His quarry led him across the range of the Snarlspine Mountains, a dangerous yet familiar place for Waruk and his hunting pack.
Jagged rocks and splintered trees lined the path on either side. A large patch of fresh blood stained a felled tree blocking the path. He slowed to a halt and examined the scene. Flecks of raw meat covered the ground, with strips of hide and matted fur caught on the branches.
“Take heart,” Waruk called to his fellow hunters, who finally had a chance to catch up. “For we near the beast,” Waruk added. He vaulted over the tree and resumed his pace up the mountain.
“Wait!” a voice called from the pack, which was still gathering around the tree.
Waruk stopped abruptly, and turned with a scowl. Rayben, a recent recruit, stood at the front of the pack, hunched with his hands on his knees.
“We’ve been at this all morning. And many days before. If we’re close… perhaps we could rest for a moment. Can’t fight that thing if I’m still… gasping for breath.” Mouth agape and eyes wide, Rayben heaved a heavy sigh.
Pathetic. The monster killed the queen, marred the honor of the clan, and insulted their reign on this mountain, yet this worm would let it escape?
“If you are that weak, then we will use you as bait instead of as a hunter. For that purpose, it does not matter if you are out of breath, so keep moving, for I shall have need of you soon,” Waruk said with a curled grin then resumed his jog.
The son of the chief would suffer no weakness. He experienced the might of his race from an early age. Snarlbeasts ran in fear at the sound of his step. Bloatskins scurried to their mudholes when he approached the river bank. Aerothrashers took to the sky when he knocked an arrow in their general vicinity.
But this monster, this foreign creature, thinks itself an exception. Thinks itself outside the authority of the rockbiters. Wrong.
Rockbiters are the masters of these mountains. What roams above and what lies beneath are ours for the taking, Waruk thought.
And take he did. Waruk forged the very axe on his back with galviron ore that he himself mined with his bare hands from the heart of the mountain. It rode with him now into battle, into glory, a reflection of the unbending will of the rockbiter blood in his veins.
Distant footfalls trailed behind Waruk, but he did not look back. Those too weak to continue, even new members like Rayben, forfeited their claim to any spoils of the hunt.
And spoils there would be. The monster had towered over the huts and walls of High Crag. The palisade that repelled so many threats before bent beneath the awesome weight of this marvelous beast. It casually strolled through Waruk’s home with an impudent gait, crushing buildings and rockbiters alike. A feat Waruk would have thought impossible had he not seen it himself. Had he not seen his mother die.
Capturing such a prize would bring renown for a lifetime and glory for generations. It would prove to the chief that the rockbiters are more than miners, more than rock benders. That they deserve the world, and there’s nothing that could stop them.
Next Post in this series: Break of Dawne: Waruk 2
Send Me Your Thoughts!
I’d love to hear from you. You can start a conversation with me at ethan@faithdragon.com
If you want to be notified whenever I release a new excerpt, chapter, or update, sign up for my email list below.