Scene 3
Ghelfunn awoke like most mornings, with his tweedmouth goosican licking his face. The goosican was the friendliest breed in the Fifth Realm, beloved for its hunting abilities and loyalty to its owner. When born, the four-legged goosican would emotionally attach itself to whomever it first licked, in an instant. Luckily, Ghelfunn passed that test and for the last four Winters has been at Ghelfunn's side.
"Get off me, Tooloo," Ghelfunn said with a yawn. "Silly beast. I'm awake." Ghelfunn sat up in his bed, looking tired. Tooloo looked at Ghelfunn with that soulful grin on his face that meant let's eat.
Ghelfunn's father, Dham Drathoy, found a shop in the marketplace set aside for various kinds of animals. He wanted a tweedmouth for Ghelfunns' sixth Winter Celebration, a time when a child in the Fifth Kingdom began to take on certain responsibilities. Caring for a goosican would be the first step in a long journey to manhood. At least that was Dham Drathoy's plan.
Ghelfunn dressed and walked into the cooking den. His father was making breakfast. Tooloo quickly found his bowl of mashed gruelshu, wasting no time gulping it down. The cooking den was Drathoy's favorite room in the house. He loved to cook.
"Sit down, son," Drathoy said. "Your breakfast is getting cold. Did you sleep well?"
"I was sleeping great when Tooloo decided to lick my face off," Ghelfunn said. "I wish I could train that tweeder to obey me. He won't listen. I say let me sleep and all he does is look at me. I know he's laughing at me." Ghelfunn took a bite of his father's bread, the best bread in the Fifth Realm according to those who were lucky enough to get a bite.
"It takes patience," Drathoy said. "You can't give up on him. He's still young for a tweedmouth. I'm patient with you, right? I will never give up on you. Training takes patience and time. He loves you. A day will come when you will be thankful Tooloo was licking your face."
After breakfast, Ghelfunn prepared for studies. In the Fifth Realm, the young studied together in a nearby temple complex. Tooloo, of course, was never allowed inside. This irritated him greatly. On this particular morning, however, Ghelfunn was going to skip his studies and run to the market. If his father found out, then Holy Grief would ascend on him like a smothering blanket. He had to be careful.
Ghelfunn prepared for a day of study at the temple as he always did. He packed his satchel with writings and books, said good-bye to his father, then walked out the front door with Tooloo lagging behind. Drathoy said goodbye and looked at his son leaving the house, then returned to the cooking den.
Is father still looking? Is he suspicious? Ghelfunn thought. I feel so guilty. Looking at Tooloo, Ghelfunn said under his breath very quietly, "We need to hurry. I must do this. I have no choice. My life, and my father's life, is at stake."
Ghelfunn walked down the street from his house and saw his friend, Stoyvit, standing in the front garden of his house. Stoyvit and Ghelfunn had been neighbors since both were born, close friends whom often spent days playing together in the grasslands east of town. Stoyvit was bigger than Ghelfunn, had long blonde hair streaming down to the mid-waist which was typical for his family's tribe. Ghelfunn often teased Stoyvit about his height and weight, mostly because he was jealous. To be a warrior, Ghelfunn often thought, I need to be as tall and strong as Stoyvit.
