All through her life, Sarya had loved the wild. There was little about it she hated, often going on small walks with Johan, her father, through the natural areas of Melrath. In her young Arcs she couldn't do much or go exploring often, but when the girl hit her teenage years was when her real adventuring began. Due to an injury, her father had never been able to join the Ydalir like he had wanted to, instead opting to take his place as a Hunter and provide his produce to the people of Melrath. Sarya, however, was as big a dreamer as her father had been at her age, aspiring to join the prestigious Ydalir. Both her parents supported the dream, as all good parents did, but they understood the risk. If she was going to be able to survive the wilderness of Melrath she would need practice.
During her first hunt out in the wilds, Sarya did nothing but watch, sneaking alongside her father through the trees as he held the bow in his hands, making a move on a handful of prey. As time went by a few got away, none yet caught. But Sarya never once lost the thrill or excitement she was feeling, even as an arrow missed its mark. It was part of the hunt, part of the wildlife, but it was more than that. Those animals would potentially live another day. Hunting was a part of their culture, but surviving was a part of the animals. They had escaped the death that came for them, saved their own lives. It was as beautiful as life could be in the young girls eyes, the beliefs she had grown up on shining through.
Eventually, her father took down a deer with a well-placed arrow through the neck. Both humans ran to the prey as it bled on the floor, her father quickly putting the beast out of its misery.
As the Arcs went by, the hunting fell into Sarya's hands, using a short bow to take down creatures. Yet the training she had went further than that. Her father taught her how to climb up basic trees to get herself a better viewpoint, especially as the girl was small and agile. Tracking creatures, sneaking through the wilderness around them and controlling breathing were all a part of her trials. Often, if the two weren't going hunting, Sarya would practice what she could in the safety of their garden. Both parents watched the girl with a great pride, seeing her love for the wild turn into a burning passion to progress further and grow as a hunter.
At the age of sixteen, the girl was finally good enough to hunt on her own and bring food for her family, often going out solo to bring back something nice that her mother would cook. Despite already having days full of training and work to do, Sarya kept asking her father what more she could learn and where she could focus on improving, how to become a better hunter and ready herself for the Ydalir. He told her to be patient and that he would speak with her mother about a few things. While she was out, the two argued back and forth about whether they could risk taking her to their family friend and asking for anyone that could initiate their daughter, whether it was something too dangerous for her age or not. But they knew that it would help her, not only with her chances of enduring the Ydalir but with her prestige in Melrath as a whole. While mages were often viewed with some caution, Becomers were seen to be some of the best Ydalir of all, their ties to nature closer than anyone else.
Eventually, they offered her the choice - knowing what she would choose immediately. After writing to and hearing back from the friend they decided to leave, Sarya going with her father as her mother stayed home. They made their way to their friend in Fensalir, someone that Sarya had met a few times but didn't have time to visit often, a man known as the Blackhawk to most. He met both Sarya and Johan with open arms and a great pride, talking to the girl about all of the hunts that she had been on and asking if she was ready for the next stage of her life, a life closer to the world than she had ever been before. Eagerly the girl accepted, acknowledging yet mostly ignoring the warning of pain and sacrifice that would come with her transformation. All she could focus on was her excitement.
First, she was told, she would make her self totem. Despite her excitement, the girl felt the dread for what would come of it. Despite many using fingers as their first totem, the Blackhawk intended on the teeth being used for Sarya's, finding it to be less crippling for a hunter. Blackhawk had initiated one other and seen plenty of initiations himself, assuring the girl that she would be kept safe. So, forcing a bout of confidence, the girl finally nodded. Removing her tooth was painful and took time, and the right medical attention, to recover fully. Once she had recovered enough, however, the girl was ready to be initiated. Her totem had been mixed with her hair and blood, the tooth filled with the two before being sealed over to try and preserve the totem as best as she could.
As the spark was shared she held on to the totem of herself, the tooth in her hand becoming the source of her attention as the strange feeling spread through her, at first feeling like nothing. Yet the real initiation became apparent. It was a struggle for the girl to focus so closely on who she was as her body went through the process of initiating. Yet, as time went on, her body began to stabilise until she had finally been initiated. Tattoos curled along her body, her new totem in her hands and her new powers beginning to grow.
With her new powers and tattoos to match them, the girl got the tattoo on the back of her hand to mark her as a mage. Now, Sarya has achieved her goal of becoming a part of the Ydalir, working her way towards the rank of Scout and obtaining both a new totem and an animal companion for herself.
