Six stone platforms waited in the training grounds, each assigned to one of the six lines of boys.
Even though they was not close but, the Tree could not be ignored.
Outside the distant stone walls which surrounded the center of the village, the tree's massive trunk extended well above the roofs. Its branches reached higher than anything the boys could see from the field and vanished into the sky.
The Tree was far but, not its roots.
They ran under the training grounds and through the whole village, hidden beneath the streets and houses. Some had worked their way through the earth and grown high enough to become hills the boys had played on and trained on as children.
Officer Jam moves forward to meet the two boys.
They each boy stand in front of a platform.
Official Rodow stepped forward.
"Today, you will receive what this village has prepared you to carry."
Official Rodow waves his hand at one of the soldiers.
The soldier runs off the stage and returns within seconds with a gold cup.
Official Rodow grabs the cup and takes