5 May 1988
Dear True Noir,
I am very grateful that you have taken the time to respond to me! I had just come back from a scouting mission and was nearly killed by men of an infamous criminal, Friday Monday. To my surprise, I showed no fear during the fight, for even though I was still a little girl, the men showed no fear to me.
As you expected, I have passed my training, which was imposed by the elders and the Mystic of my village, and by myself. As a reward, I was given a new tree hut, two concubines who were named Quill and Lulu, and one husband of a similar age named Haré so I could have babies with. However, Haré and I weren't too interested in each other. He would rather go out and play with his friends out in the forest and hunt wild boars. It was all good anyway, because he a big distraction to me and my duty as the Mystic's protector, and the Mystic even agreed with me.
My concubines, or rather my maidservants, were in their teens, and are very loyal. They were willing to do anything I ask them to do, but I don't ask for much. All I demand for them is to cook, clean, and bathe when needed.
Despite all this, I am not as well off as we think. Even though we barely manage to feed ourselves and take care of our own health, our village is poor and small. It is located at the side of small mountain range. Though we are located in the middle of the war zone, we are almost always spared from stray fire, stray bombs, and invasions, the latter of which I kept at bay. The Mystic had always claimed that the spirits of Saruon and the power of one of the three Holy Books, Thirstary.
The population hovers around one hundred, with forty-percent men and sixty-percent women. The men go out to hunt, gather, or trade with outsiders, while the women stay behind to till our farmlands and take care of the children. Before you get any ideas, they all live on the ground by the mountain. Only I live in a tree hut, which serves as a vantage point so I could spot intruders from one meter away up to a kilometer away.
The Mystic has told me that the mountain holds the remains of a lost technological civilization that dates back way before the Egyptians. However, the ruins inside the caves are sacred, and those who go in there without a pure heart never come back alive. If they did, they would be found dead afterwards in the jungles. Not very many foreign scholars come by here to research the caves.
We have a council of three elders, but the one who holds true power is our Mystic. She has many extraordinary abilities, such as precognition and the ability to read the hearts people. She even has the ability to read a person's heart through the letter you sent me, although I have to admit that she has not told me your future. Then again, everyone knows that she is a definite psychic.
It is unknown how or why she has those powers, but everyone and I agree that it came from the gods, and not necessarily from the books as the naysayers claim. Still, I am very curious about the book known as Thirstary. It rarely leaves the altar of her cabin, and I was forbidden to transport it unless necessary. One of my duties as her protector is to protect that book from getting stolen, and so far no has ever attempted getting past me.
Speaking of which, I'm having trouble deciding on what kind of weapon I should use to kill the trespassers. At first I used a machete, but it didn't cleave through my enemy cleanly and made lots of mess. I tried guns, but I could not find any more bullets and found them too much of a hassle to worry about in this moist jungle environment. I find that using explosives very unpleasant and unpredictable.
So far, I settled on using knives, but the ones my village supply me are of poor quality and they break easily. I went through dozens of knives, and so far the most effective way for me to kill is through my bare fists and using the weapons my enemies have on them against them. True Noir, I want your advice on how I should deal this problem. What is the most effective, most affordable, and high quality I can get my hands on an extremely limited budget? I don't want to burden my village's needs with my needs, and I can hold out beating my enemies to a pulp using rocks and sticks. I'd imagine you would be blessed with various killing tools where you live.
Boy is it getting rainy here. We're about to approach the typhoon season in Gazth-Sonika, but it is good since the soldiers' weapons get waterlogged and makes them difficult to fire their guns.
I hope this letter reaches you. The war is going on full swing, and the current government is getting suspicious of all mail and package delivers. I have full faith on the courier my Mystic has selected for me.
Yours Truly,
The Village Girl
P.S. - What do I do with all the bodies I ask? With the ones I kill in the battlefield, I leave them there. For those who get close to my village, I usually throw them off the cliff. There were a few who I didn't have the heart to kill for they were weak and had surrendered. Whenever that happens, I would take her to the Mystic, who would then use her powers on them. I could have sworn that she used the Thirstary on them. Whatever she had done to them, I have never seen them again. It was almost as if they have never existed in the first place.
P.P.S. - As with you, the Mystic have assisted me with my writing of my letters, for you see she is a graduate from a prestigious college inside the capital city despite being only fifteen years old. In some ways, she is also like my mother, especially after my mother had died. The Mystic would often bathe with me whenever she got a chance. I'll tell her more about her in my next letter.
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