An introduction of my setting is in order

I haven't always lived in New Armsdale. Where I was brought up until I was 11 was in the Village of Arx, in the De Minn Forest (just outside of New Armsdale). I still go back every so often. It will always be my first home; the home I am most comfortable in.

Some historians call my village the "miracle village". After all, it was the only thing that survived after the Big Bang. Yes. The Big Bang. You know, when the Earth exploded and miraculously unified itself again; only to leave out a small chuck, about as big as our Moon, named Lazu. Yes well, throughout that whole ordeal, the only think that remained intact was the Village of Arx. No one really knows how it happened. The only one who supposedly knows is our Elder, but he won’t tell us, no matter how much we plead.

Most think that it’s because of this miracle, that most humans share hatred towards us. They have given us the name “savages” because we live in the forest. Every since the Big Bang, there has been an unwritten treaty. We, the “savages”, do not enter the realm of the humans, and the humans do not bother us. Even though no human has ever entered the realm of the forest, they have made up this story of how we live; which, by the way, is a complete farce.

We have wooden houses, not huts. Some houses do have straw roofs, but that doesn’t mean anything. We have furniture. We have books, clothes, modern tools (just not electric ones), and musical instruments. We do not worship animal deities, we worship the 4 elements. We believe that it is the 4 elements that saved us. We may not have refrigerators, microwaves, air conditioning, and skateboards or cars, but those things are of no use to us. We hunt to obtain our food (and we don’t over do it too), salt to preserve it, fire to warm and cook it, take a dip in the many rivers and lakes the forest has to provide, and if we ever need to get somewhere fast… we use the strength of our legs.

We are a peaceful village. Even so, every child trains to become a warrior, even girls. Girls tend to have more precision, which is why there are more female archers than male. Those who can not or decide they do not wish to, service the village in other ways. Blacksmiths, seamstress, teachers, and medics are a valuable part of our village. Training is part of our teachings in school (like “physical education” in human schools). When the adults are not training, there are other things to be done: gardening, cooking, and the making of jewelry, clothes, swords, and other such things. As I said, we are a peaceful village. During my 11 years, and many, many years before than, my village has not once fought another village (humans call them “reservations”) nor entered in any kind of war. It was more like a past-time; a sport, if you will.

Perhaps, I’ve bored you with the details of my village, but believe me. I could go on and on. I never cared of the human world, mostly because it didn’t care about me. On my 11th birthday everything changed.