Elevation of Mana Chapter 10 Flight of the Bumblebee

Every day with the boys was different, or at least interesting.  There were a number of games and the like to do, all of which were led by Ninden.  He was the oldest, and while he wasn't the most skilled at all of them it seemed part of his position as the eldest boy was to make sure that all the other boys were taught what they needed to know.

Of course every game we played or task we took up was related to hunting, or finding food.  Men in our tribe primarily went out to search for high value and high risk targets like beasts and meat, while the women went for the safer and more regular foods.  Everyone wanted both, but there were many days when the men of the group came back with almost nothing to show for their labors, particularly if some prey had led them along all day.  Nobody was terribly bothered though, because sometimes they came back with a bounty of food for their efforts.

I even got to see one evening several of the men, one clearly Ninden's father, giving him lessons on what to teach with the changing seasons.  He nodded along, paying close attention, for while it was clear he knew these already, it was his job to make sure all of us did.  I didn't know how much longer he'd be with the children though, as he was one of the oldest of us, and would, in at most a few years, be pulled away to join the men in their daily endeavors.

I was somewhere around the age of three now, and had finally been getting a decent amount of magic training in.  While the adults still watched me like a hawk, the boys not as much, and it was easy for me to push a bit of magic into spear throwing, or fire lighting, things that we did often.  I could feel my skills improving almost daily as I worked more and more of it, seeming to grow like a muscle.

I also certified that it was indeed so that I needed proper visualization.  Just making the idea of what I wanted wouldn't work, but instead I also needed to visualize how it worked.  Fire for example didn't need just the thought of the bright flame, but for it to go well also needed the understanding of flames being plasma, and the idea of oxidation reactions, even the three pillars of fire of heat, fuel, and air helped.  While I was careful about it when I was unwatched I could throw small balls of the stuff with very minimal effort when visualizing all of these.

Today though, we were after bees.  Honey was a rare treat, and while much beloved by everyone wasn't something people went after much.  The women didn't like messing with the bees and the men seemed to be more inclined towards larger game that could feed more.  We boys though, we had the time and inclination to seek this target with viciousness.

The fine cool day that was as much spring as there was here glowed with early morning light.  For the last few days we'd been planning, readying for our hunt.  There were certain small baskets, replaced now with a few little pots, to ready, and one of the men to recruit.  The boys weren't allowed out alone, no matter the reason, so a chaperone was needed.  We'd established that there was a beehive somewhere north of the clearing used for this time of year, but not it's exact location.

The man we managed to snag was Ninden's father Niyen.  He didn't talk much, staying back a bit as we caught a bee and held it under a small pot.

"Alright everyone, you know the plan.  When we let him out, we follow close back to his hive.  If we're lucky we won't need to catch another, but if we do, be ready," Ninden said, looking at all of us.

Ninden and Olond had spears for this trip, as both were more experienced and larger than the rest of us, as did Ninden's dad, who looked at us before we could let loose our quarry.

"Boys, we shouldn't run into any beasts, but if we do, you're to run back here.  Myself and the older lads will throw spears to slow down anything, but we're not hunting animals today.  If you see one, you run, understood?"  He asked, to nods all around.

The warning given the boys looked at me.  "Well Elian, you're the youngest, so what say you to starting the chase?"  Olond asked, always happy to give me something that I could to do help.

"Let's go!"  I enthused, lifting the pot and releasing the bee.

A cheer went up from our small group and we set off after the insect.  It flitted left and right, and we kept eyes on it the whole way.  I'd never been out into the woods proper before and struggled a bit to keep up, but with a good push I managed it.  The bee led us through several patches of trees and bushes, before finally coming to a rocky hill.

"We can't be far, bees don't go much further than this from their hives.  Keep an eye on the trees as we go up," Ninden declared.

While most of the boys flew up the first few rocks they were a real issue for me.  Ninden's father stood back watching as I tried to pull my way up the first, and at a small cough from him our leader turned, jumping back down to help me up.

"Thanks!"  I said as he offered a hand, the both us us quickly ascending the stony hill.

Before we'd made it to the top I could already see the problem.  The bee, fast as it was didn't need to slow to climb up the hill, whereas we did.  I looked around for a few moments before finally looking at Ninden's dad.

"Er," I began.

He shook his head.  "It's your hunt boy, not mine.  I'm just here to make sure you're safe."

Olond, who had by far the best senses of all of us pointed after a few moments.  "There!"

Easily fifteen feet up in one of the trees was a hole, in and out of which dozens of insects flew every moment.  It was the hive, and in a very inopportune place.  We'd prepared for that though.  While Ninden was piled on with skins tied over him to keep the stings away the rest of us got to work.  I prepared the fire, with lots of green leaves in a little pot to smoke the bees while the other boys set to readying baskets and the like.

While it wasn't fun pissing off a hive of bees the whole operation went as by the book as possible.  Half a dozen elves, mostly young boys passed the readied as our brave leader took a stick and broke open the hollow full of golden sweetness.  He chucked down the pieces of hive into our waiting baskets as we all cheered, retreating as each filled.

Soon as we had our prize we retreated.  The angry bees wouldn't follow us too far, even if we had raided their home, so getting away was our first priority.  Everyone took a few stings, self included, but that was the price to pay for what we got.

And oh did we ever get.  We had filled up to the brim on honey and as we laughed through our retreat we couldn't help but smile.  Everyone had a bite when we reached the bottom of the hill, a prize for a successful hunt.  Ninden got his first, as he'd been the one to climb, but soon each had a small bit of comb to chew on, spitting the wax into the smoke pot when done.

I pulled off a piece, the same size as the ones we boys had had and took it to our escort, holding it out to him.

"It was your hunt not mine," he said, smiling.

So I shrugged, halving it's size and offering it again.  "Maybe, but you helped too."

"Yeah," one of the boys replied.

"You did," Olond agreed with me.

"Take some, father," his son finally said, leading the man to smile.

"Very well.  What will you do with the rest?"  He asked as he finally took the small piece.

"Share most of it with everyone else of course," I answered.

That was apparently the right answer as a cheer went up.  This group of elves, tribe as it was was not like the humans of my old world.  We were all too close, and too close to the edge for anyone to be stingy with their work.  Sure, some things weren't shared, and many weren't shared equally, but most of it was, particularly food.  All of us boys would go home with a private stash of honey to do with as we and our family pleased, but a fair bit would be shared with everyone.  Even those who didn't have sons on this excursion would get a small bit of the honey.

The way home was filled with chatter and a quiet song of victory.  Each and every one of us was thrilled at the day's successes, and no matter that we'd all taken a few hits from pointed butts we couldn't help but be happy.

As I thought back I found that there were few, very few, times in my previous life that I'd felt like this.  I was proud of a job well done, satisfied and happy that I'd done my part, as we all had.  I was also thrilled with my friends, each who recognized the success of the others.  It was refreshing in ways I hadn't anticipated, and brought a true smile to my face.

As we were approaching the clearing something odd happened.  From just in front of us, behind the covers of the trees shot upwards a purple star.  It climbed and climbed, making an ear-splitting keening noise as it reached towards the heavens, there it exploded with light, a brilliant marker for all to see.

I'd never seen that before, but I was clearly the only one, as the whole group froze briefly in terror.

"Boys, back to the village, now!"  Our chaperone yelled, pulling us from our stupor.

We had to follow him a bit forward, as the path to the village intersected the clearing, and that would be the fastest way.  Not that any of us kept up, all of us ran, with Ninden reaching to pick me up from the ground.  My short legs would not do for the run we needed to make.

The scene when we got there chilled my blood.  The star as it was had to have been some kind of warning, as a bear of incomparable size stood in the middle of the clearing.  It was covered in spiky growths, and roared in anger at all around it.  Many of the women had scattered, fleeing back to the village path, while a few stood firm, covering their retreat.

From here and there a few bolts of energy flew at the beast from the fleeing elves.  None had more than Elaya though.  From each of her hands came a barrage of flames and water balls, homing in and slamming into the beast, who seemed to care little.  Based on the colors my guess was that she must have been the one to send up the call for help.

Mother too stood, some tongues of energy ripping out towards the beast, while others aimed at the ground around its feet.  It seemed to quickly find the source of the vines and roots trying to keep it in place, and with a shake ripped them before charging at mother in rage.

Ninden's father was running forward, but too slow.  With a flash of magic around him he blurred and threw his spear like a missile, the point lodging into the beast's side.  His son let me down for the briefest of moments, sending his own smaller projectile into the fray with an identical movement.  It seemed he'd inherited the trick that his father had.

Now on the ground I readied myself.  I'd never used my magic to fight, but I'd thought of one or two things.  There was a small trill of fear until I saw mother turn, trying to flee or dodge the charging beast.  The look of terror on her face as the monster tried to take her steeled me like nothing before and I let my hands raise.  That was my family, as true as any I'd ever had, and this thing was not going to take anyone from me.