A Slave's Voice (Revision Pending)

As of 3/30/18, this story is temporarily complete until I revise it in the future.

Are those who spare the lives of monsters weak, or are they kind? Does it take more strength to let an opponent live, or to extinguish the flame of life? For those born in Tartha, the answer is to mercilessly kill that which poses a threat or may grow to become one. Children who fail the rite to prove their worth as hunters in this merciless land are exiled.

A nameless boy travels north. Having failed his rite, he was given the mark of exile and sent north to survive on his own. That is his punishment for not living up to the expectations of his culture. There is no room in the tribes of Tartha for a failed hunter that would rather care for a monster than kill it.

He knows nothing of the lands beyond Tartha, but he soon discovers there is more cruelty to the world than simply being abandoned by his family and tribe. He discovers that the world he lives in is one where kind people are horribly treated for no apparent reason other than because somebody else wishes to assert their dominance over them.

Is that all there is to this world? Suffering and cruelty?

He may not know the answers to these questions, but he does know one thing: he must survive.

Daily updates at 7am EST, 1500 words per chapter minimum.

Author\'s Note: This story deals with some pretty dark themes very early on, such as the main character being a victim of: slavery, rape, mental and physical abuse, grooming, torture, and being forced to kill. Does that sound too edgy or dark for you? Then you probably shouldn\'t read this. Furthermore, there is a heavy psychological element involved that will most likely not make sense and just look like bad writing unless you read far enough. There are several moments earlier on that sound like they don\'t make sense until you have all the pieces to the puzzle. However, I will be the first one to admit that I am very inexperienced at writing anything serious and psychological like this. It is very much an amateur work in comparison to what I usually write. I hope that you can still enjoy it if you choose to read it!