Arbitrary's WIP

 Hi Friends, this is my WIP (Work in Progress) it's a novel that I've been working on forever and I decided I'm gonna put it out here chapter by chapter as well as I write it. I'm also going to be working on some short stories while I keep plugging away at this as I try to improve as a writer, so the finished product of the book might actually look nothing like the chapters I release here. Either way I think that could be cool so here you go chapter 1 of my untitled WIP.

 - Arbitrary

Chapter 1:

Napoleon never liked it up this high. The royal training grounds was hidden atop trees in the jungle surrounding the village. Climbing trees had always been easy for him his hands were large and calloused which made gripping the side of tree trunks much easier. Despite this, he always felt at a disadvantage in the trees. He had been training here for as long as he could remember, and he had gotten very good at moving through the branches, but he preferred to keep his feet on the floor.

 Military had never been a priority for his village, they were peaceful people who hadn’t participated in any of the major conflicts of the mainland. However, it was his duty to be the strongest amongst the Tribe and he took that seriously. As the chieftain’s son he was the next in line to lead the village, and in many ways the obvious choice. Napoleon filled everyday as much as he could with productivity. It was to the point that it was obsessive. Napoleon’s mother loved that about him, she tutored him in economics and diplomacy every day. She always encouraged him to push himself to be the best that he could be, no matter what that was. Napoleon’s father was a different story, he wanted the best for his son, but he made it clear that he did not need to become the Chieftain if he didn’t want to. To this end he worked tirelessly so that his son could have a fun and safe childhood. Despite this, Napoleon was hardheaded and determined to push himself farther than anyone ever had.

Today was no ordinary day. As is custom in his tribe, once a generation the Chieftain would have to relinquish his seat. Initially, his replacement would be decided by a battle between all of the strongest men in the clan. However, Napoleon’s family had won every single time; over the course of generations the ceremony had evolved into a gauntlet for the first son of the Chief. Instead of all of the strongest men fighting each other they would take turns challenging the prospective chief, if any where able to beat him, then they would take the title for themselves. Despite this evolution, Napoleon’s family remained in control without exception. Tomorrow, Napoleon would fight to become Chief, and today he would train. 

Napoleon arrived early to the training ground as a habit but had never managed to beat his trainer there. Henry led the Sworn Staffs for his father; a group of 3 soldiers that were sworn by blood at the coronation of the chieftain to defend him to their dying breath. Since the time Napoleon could raise a staff he spent as much time as he could training to be the greatest fighter alive. Although, his short stature and his propensity to let his anger and emotion control him hindered him in that endeavor. However, he would not be satisfied until he was feared and respected throughout the village for his skill with a staff. This was easier said than done, his father’s old friend Henry’s reputation preceded himself, he once famously refused back-up, and fought off a dozen brigands by himself. Just to prove to them that to attack the village would be pointless. His actions awarded the village dominance over the hills and forests to the south. As well as a constant growth in population from Brigands looking to leave a life of looting and buy into the protection the Village could offer them. Henry’s impact went farther than just his fighting capabilities. He was the reason the village even had an organized military, albeit small the military that the village had, about 25 men, was enough to defend the village from the jungle brigands. Furthermore, Henry was the one to set up the great net, a barrier or wall of sorts that marked the edge of the village’s protection. It was a tangled web of a rare plant only found on the island that could harness lightning. 

Napoleon spent much of the morning dangling from the rope he had tied around his waist and trying to decipher how he had been knocked down. Henry’s famous mantra echoing in his head every time he was beat. “Losing a fight is expected, just never lose the same way twice.” Over the course of the years Napoleon had gotten beat in more ways that he could count. The benefit to this was when lesser opponents attacked him, he could recognize their attack patterns easily. This was not the case with Henry who taught him to think of fighting as a game, lulling him into a sense of confidence and striking him down with an attack Napoleon had never seen before. 

“Today is going to be different,” Napoleon said gripping his staff tighter.

“I should hope so, you’ve been training with me for five years and I’ve never gotten to rest the way you seem to love doing.”

Napoleon knew Henry was just trying to make him angry, but knowledge of the fact and the wherewithal to keep from flying off the handle were two very different things. Napoleon charged at Henry in a fury. Henry frowned as he sidestepped Napoleons slash and pushed him into the dirt from behind.

“Your anger is a valuable tool if you can learn to control it, but if you keep letting it control you then you will continue to make obvious mistakes and you will be beaten by a lesser opponent.” Henry commanded, looking over a defeated Napoleon, before extending a hand to help him onto his feet. “You show significantly more promise than I did at your age, but I never had a problem so large as yours. If you can overcome it, you can be twice the fighter I ever was.” Napoleon brushed the dirt off of himself, acknowledging what his teacher was saying but focused on how he could break through his defense. For another two hours Napoleon trained with Henry never once managing to get the upper hand. When Henry had decided Napoleon had enough, he sent him back home to start his studying for the day.

During his walk home Napoleon replayed all the times he had been toyed with in his training session in his head. He wrote down all the things he did wrong so that he could remember to defend against them the next time he sparred against Henry. “feint to the right, pivot back, lunge. Hard overhead, then a hard knee to the chest.” Dozens of pages over the years trying to master the art of fighting. But for now, Napoleon had other matters to attend to. Fighting was always his favorite thing to do but never what he was best at. Napoleon had a keen knack for acquiring knowledge and he loved the hunt for new things to learn. In recent years his studies have gotten boring because they have been more and more tailored to shaping him into becoming the new chief. Not only did he have to learn all of their customs and traditions well enough to lead them, but also his workload in diplomacy and trade were becoming more difficult and relevant. Soon the entire village would look to him to maintain their status atop the island.

Throughout the years Napoleon learned a tremendous amount from various teachers that were brought to him from around the world. One thing that was beat into him from a young age was that he was special. He came from a long line of leaders with a very powerful bloodline. Not only that, but the people of his island and their ancestors were inherently superior to those of the inland. It was strictly forbidden to have children with anyone outside of your clan just to maintain their bloods purity. The island and the mainland had the same religion, but worshipped the god’s that they were descendent from. The people of Napoleons island were descendants of Uwahai, and when Uwahai created his children he imbued their blood with magic. The mainlanders all had their own sources of magic, but here on Napoleons island was the only place where the people themselves were inherently magical, at least their blood was.

Napoleon’s ancestors, the Sephirro clan, had established themselves as a powerful family early in their history, his ancestors were rumored to have been able to harness their magical ability and even control the plants and trees. This connection to nature was the basis of their relationship to Uwahai, and Napoleon spent hours a week meditating in the forest with his father. Napoleon however has always rejected religion and magic preferring to focus on earning respect and becoming the leader of his people. The most fun he had in the forest was chasing brigades and his long horse rides that he used to practice his horse-riding or sneak off to see the occasional girl. Despite his rejection of the faith of his tribe and his general dislike for nature Napoleon did grow to enjoy the time he spent meditating with his father, he found it was one of the few opportunities he got to spend time in complete silence. Napoleon’s father was a quiet, and serious leader to his people, but Napoleon always knew him as a little goofy and prone to speaking before thinking. Napoleon’s father had made it his life’s mission to instill leadership qualities that he had into his son. Although at times he could be harsh and overbearing there was no doubt that Napoleon and his father loved each other. 

Chief Sephirro was waiting for Napoleon outside his home. They weren’t scheduled to meditate that day, but Napoleon could use it and his father knew. Napoleon always felt his closest to his father while he was meditating. Even if they weren’t talking, he felt at peace with everything around him. They had been known to sit in the grove for hours not saying a single word, although before and after their silence was also the most time Napoleon ever got to talk to his Father alone. Without saying a word, Napoleon followed his father through the tall bamboo forest that was behind his home. There was a certain peace to be found in the skinny wooden walkways that sit just above the water and wind through the bamboo. After about 5 minutes of walking through the seemingly endless maze they came upon the grove, a clearing in the bamboo with a wooden floor large enough for 2-3 people at most. While maintaining their silence Napoleon and his father sat and meditated until Chief Sephirro finally broke the silence.

“Your ceremony is coming up. Are you nervous?”

“Not really, it’s the only thing I’ve prepared for my entire life, if I’m not ready for the ceremony then I don’t deserve to be Chief.”

“That’s an interesting mindset, you have prepared well, and I know in my heart you are the right choice to become Chief, but no matter how prepared you are it is not weakness to be nervous. It shows you know the importance of what you’re doing.”

“I understand the importance of the succession and me becoming Chief, what I don’t understand is the importance of the Ceremony itself. Everyone has put so much weight into this ceremony, but no one seems worried about the fight, it makes me think there is something else going on.”

“You’re getting paranoid my son, that is good, a healthy bit a paranoia can be a good thing in a leader.”

“That didn’t answer my question,” Napoleon said, raising his eyebrow at his father, who was not the type to dodge questions.

“You never asked one,” His father replied smiling to himself.

“You know what I mean, what is the big deal? I might die fighting my best friends, but all anyone cares about is a coronation ceremony, it doesn’t make any sense.

“You’ll find out soon enough my son, there are many things in this world you have yet to understand, you can have your guard up your whole life, the second you think you’ve seen it all you’ll be shocked like never before.”

Napoleon got up from his meditation, he would have loved to stay longer, but he had a busy day today and he had to get moving. He really didn’t want to make his teacher angry, she was a really sweet lady, but had a temper that could boil water. He scurried through the bamboo, and past his house and finally came upon the schoolhouse. Outside there were some children helping their teacher water the plants. Being a teacher in the village was a great honor, to educate others was seen as a holy act that improves everyone’s lives. The villages head teacher was tremendously respected and knowledgeable. She looked younger than she really was, partly due to the fact that she was very petite, and skinny, she had a full head of long brown hair that she kept in a thick braid that ran down to the middle of her back. Many people claim that she has only ever smiled and that no one had seen her anything less than happy. Napoleon knew this was not the whole truth, he had seen her sad, angry, and on more occasions than he’d like to admit, furious.

“You’re late, on the most important day of your life, you better have a good excuse,” Napoleon’s teacher scolded as he walked into his tutoring house. The tutoring house was a modest cabin large enough for only one class of about 50 students. School ran almost all day and was split up by age, but after all the classes were over Napoleon continued with his 1-on-1 tutoring.

“I’m sorry Mom, I was with Dad he wanted to meditate and talk to me.”

Napoleon’s mother lit up when she heard Napoleon’s excuse. “I think your father is more nervous than anyone on this island. He was never a fan of the ceremony, he even fought to have it abolished, until Henry convinced him otherwise.”

“Mom you have to tell me what the big deal about this ceremony is, I asked Dad, but he just blew me off, I’ve never been more confused.

“The Ceremony huh, well I suppose your father wouldn’t tell you anything about it would he. Well, I can tell you some things about the Ceremony, but there are things that are kept secret for a reason.

“Anything at all please, my mind won’t stop racing with the possibilities.”

“Very well—you may want to sit down… The Ceremony is the longest tradition that this island has, once a generation we choose a new leader, it is a vigorous test that few could ever hope to pass.”

“I know all this already; this is just public knowledge.” Napoleon interrupted.

“Patience, you can’t learn if you aren’t listening and you can’t listen while you’re talking. Now, where was I? Oh right, the test, you have been trained from the minute you were born to become the greatest leader that you could be, but that will not help you with the test. You will be judged not on the strength of your body and mind, but of your heart. Your dedication to the village, and your willingness to go beyond what is asked of other citizens to protect the ones that you love.”

“That doesn’t really tell me anything though,” Napoleon noted, visibly frustrated that no one was telling him anything.

“I promise that you have all the knowledge you need for the Ceremony; now come you must finish your speech for when you become the Chieftain. 

Napoleon shook his head and followed his mother to the table where she had already set out paper and ink. Napoleon spent the next hour editing a speech with the help of his mother. He cared for his people above all else and he wanted that to be known to them, and this was the perfect opportunity for him. However, it was more difficult than he could imagine. He wanted to come off as confident, but not arrogant, and wise despite his years while avoiding patronizing his people. He had always struggled to balance the concept that he was to lead those that had taught him, people he respected and went to for advice and help. How was he supposed to then become the person the entire town looked to for answers? 

Napoleon went through what felt like hundreds drafts before he could find an opening that he thought would suit his first words as Chief. Even after he finished writing the rest of his speech, something didn’t sit right with Napoleon about his opening line. As he walked to the was room after his lesson, he kept repeating his essay to himself. As per his mother’s advice Napoleon wanted to make the words come out naturally, so it wouldn’t sound so much like a prepared speech. He felt like a doll being dressed up and presented already and he didn’t want his people to think of him as a political puppet. During Napoleon’s studies he had learned about the governments of the mainland countries. Gutravon, the most powerful country in the world, was supposedly led by a great and benevolent king. However, even in his small island on the other side of the world Napoleon knew that the real power was in the hands of General Calligan. Napoleon refused to let himself become like Gutravon’s king. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand before you now humbled, and honored to be chosen as your leader.” Was it too cliché? Would he really mean those words when he stood in front of them? A million questions raced through Napoleon’s head, but he would have his answer soon enough. Before returning home, Napoleon had to go pick up his ceremonial clothes from town. They were being specially sewn together to fit him and would only be worn once in his life. He hated that he had to wear ceremonial clothes at all, but Napoleon counted his blessings that he could wear his own armor in the fights. The center of town was not far from the schoolhouse, although nothing really was far from anything in this town. In terms of area the village was very small, but nowhere in the world had they mastered architecture in trees as well as they have in Napoleon’s town. There was an intricate pulley system that allowed platforms to rise and fall on set intervals, and there were extravagant bridges built from trees and vines that connected the large treehouses on each level. Before Napoleon could even get off the ground level, he heard someone calling after him.

    “HEY NAP,” an enormous figure emerged from behind a tree jogging to meet Napoleon.

    “Oh, hey Lance what are you doing here?” Lancelot was Napoleon’s best friend, and training partner since they could walk.

    “Nothing important, just getting my armor polished for tomorrow. Sorry that I’m gonna have to beat you and take your Chieftain position, I promise it’s not personal,” Lance joked.

    “Aww that’s cute, it’s almost like in the 17 years we’ve been friends you were able to beat me!” Napoleon responded, smirking as he brushed by him.

    “Don’t let that head of yours get too big pretty boy, or I’m gonna have too easy a target tomorrow. If you’re not careful Noah might try something tricky and beat you,” Lance said as he came up next to him.     “So, what are you up to? I got some time before Smithies is done with my armor, I’ll come with.”

    “Yea I’m more than aware Noah’s going to try something and, I’m just going to the old ladies place, she’s sewing my ceremonial garb for before I knock you out.” Napoleon and Lance stepped on the elevator that brought them all the way to the fourth level of town, after crossing 2 long bridges they came across a small treehouse, one of the oldest in town, and home to the oldest lady in the village.

    “Hey granny,” both boys echoed. Although neither of them were related, it was a sign of respect to the elders of the village. 

    “Hi boys, I just finished your clothes Napoleon, and Lance I have some fruit for your mother, could you bring it back for me?” Granny Chiyo said as she lifted a small box and dropped it on the table in the middle of the room. “Go ahead and try it on we need to make sure it fits.” Napoleon pulled his ceremonial clothes out of the box, it was just a long white tunic with a golden detail that looked like the vines of a tree, and a pair of black pants. All of the clothes fit perfectly, and Napoleon was surprised at how much he liked the clothes. He folded them back into the box and thanked Chiyo. “Give your parents my best boys, and come back soon, you’re always welcome here.” Chiyo called as the boys left the house and started their descent back to the jungle floor.

    “Hey so I gotta go drop this fruit off at my mom’s place, your house is on the way so wanna walk with me?” Lancelot asked as they were lowered on the elevator.

    “Yea for sure, but we should be getting home, it’s late and I want you on your a-game tomorrow so there are no excuses when I flatten you.

    “Alright relax buddy we get it,” Lance rolled his eyes and picked up his walking pace to match Napoleon’s. “You know in all the time that we’ve known each other I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to your house.”

    “Yea no one really has, I dunno I feel like it’s weird,” Napoleon responded, looking away and to the ground.

    “Yea I get that, imagine getting caught drinking or doing something dumb by the chief of the village, waay worse than getting caught by Getserch’s drunk of a father,” Lancelot jeered.

Napoleon laughed but the conversation didn’t get much further than that, luckily for them they came across Napoleon’s house soon. The Sephirro palace was as much a place to live as it was a work of art. Over the course of generations, the Sephirro clan leaders manipulated the growth patterns of hundreds of trees. In time they were able to make a grand palace larger than any house in the village, without harming a single tree. Now, it looks as though there is just one enormous tree that has been hollowed out into a house, but in reality, the trees were just grown together.

    “This is fucking crazy dude, you live here?” Lancelot exclaimed; jaw dropped.

    “Yea dude, the house has been in my family for generations we created it apparently, I don’t even get how though,” Napoleon said, taking time to acknowledge and appreciate his own house for the first time in a while.

    “Maybe they used magic, can’t your family still control nature like in the old days?” Lance asked.

    “Come on dude get serious, any magical ability we had is long gone by now,” Napoleon answered.

    “I don’t know about that dude I heard a rumor that your dad can even make plants grow faster, they say that’s how he got us out of the famine a couple years ago, he just made plants bear fruit faster.”

    “If that were true, we’d hear about it far more often, I promise you,” Napoleon said dismissing Lance entirely.

    “Alright well listen, I gotta head home and then go back and get my armor, but rest up you’ll need it tomorrow,” Lance said as he bumped fists with Napoleon.

    “You too dude, and best of luck. You’re more than welcome to lose, but I’d prefer if you lost to me, and I’ll never forgive you if you lose to Noah.

    “Ha-ha you got it, I’ll walk by tomorrow morning and we can walk over together,” Lance called back as he turned and continued on to his house.

Napoleon walked into his house to find it empty, except for the servants that were scurrying around cleaning the house for the ceremony tomorrow. Although the entire town is expected to come to the fights, only those that participate in the Ceremony are allowed to participate. It is also always held in the Sephirro household, another thing that felt strange to Napoleon, they rarely had visitor’s and never invited guests, but they did host a coronation ceremony that they kept secret from even those who are participating it. Napoleon tried to get his mind off of how strange the circumstances felt and practiced his speech over and over again in his head. After a while, he decided to call it an early night, after all tomorrow was to be the greatest day of his life.