The cold, gentle autumn winds blew over the central parts of the Ignisar tribe as the trinbesmen moved from one place to another.
The warriors had started preparing for the hunt, the women were sewing clothes, and the old and disabled people were either making some stone tools or helping in other things.
Even then, the central parts of the tribe were quite empty. This was due to the fact that this was the residency area for the people of the tribe who had a higher social status.
The houses of this area were also quite sturdy and made with higher quality bricks.
From an outsider's perspective, the chief should be the highest authority in the tribe, but there was another house that was even more heavily guarded and revered by the tribesmen.
This hut made out of burnt bricks was located near the very center of the Tribe, and just a little away from this hut was a huge fire altar in which a gigantic and majestic flame made crisp sounds.
Right now, the hut was being guarded by two advanced warriors, and this just went to show how much importance these tribesmen attached to the person living in the hut.
It was just a little past dawn, and the sun had just risen over the horizon when the two Tribesmen saw the two people approach them.
These were the guards who would be taking the morning shift today, and seeing them, the two night guards were ecstatic as they couldn't wait to go back and have a good rest.
They exchanged some words, and soon the night guards waved them goodbye, not being able to wait to get some much needed sleep.
As the two guards took over, the rays of the sun entered through the window of the hut, illuminating the inside.
As the place became visible to the naked eye, one could see a bunch of papers scattered around the wooden floor, the strong smell of herbs wafted in the air giving off a feeling of being inside some kind of medicine house.
There were also many bookshelves and numerous books arranged haphazardly inside the house.
In the back of the single room stood a wooden table with intricate carved designs upon it.
Behind the table on a chair sat an old man with silver white hair cascading down his shoulders and a long white beard.
The old man's skin was also wrinkled up, and yet he gave off the feeling of a wise sage.
The old man's eyes were at that moment closed as if he were sleeping.
The sun's rays that had entered the room soon fell upon his face, and his eyes gently fluttered open.
For a few minutes, he just sat there in a daze before he straightened his back and looked at the table, examining the papers on it.
This old man was the most prominent figure and the spiritual leader of the tribe, he was the 72nd generation priest of the Ignisar tribe, Solvhar.
Priest Solvhar was a dedicated and kind old man who always thought of the tribe's future and ways to better it, in fact this quality of selflessness was something every generation of Priests and chiefs of the tribe had.
Most grown-ups referred to him as the venerable Priest, but the kids called him old man Solvhar, and Solvhar himself quite enjoyed being in the company of the kids thus, he only smiled at their words.
But for the last few days, old man Solvhar had been quite worried. The divine flame of the tribe had been acting strange for the last couple of days, and even after he searched through many ancient records left by their ancestors, he could not find any similar incidents.
He had spent almost all of the previous nights here at his study searching through records and even trying to understand what the flame meant.
He could only get a vague understanding, and he did not understand if it was good or bad,
"...Great change is coming…"
Solvhar said as he looked at the papers in front of him dazedly.
Soon he was brought out of his revere when the sounds of knocking came from his door.
He looked up with a frown, wondering why the guards would disturb him when he clearly stated that he was to be left alone and no one should disturb him even if the chief himself came,
"What is it?"
He asked softly, as he knew that the matter must be important if the guards disturbed him even though he told them not to,
"v-venerable Priest, t-there is an unexpected situation, milord!"
Solvhar's frown deepened as he took the wooden walking stick he used in his hand and stood up shakily.
Using the stick, he slowly walked towards the gate and opened it.
He was greeted by the sight of a crowd that was standing outside his house. The guards were in front of him, but they didn't look at him they were staring at the front where all the people were staring.
Solvhar's eyes followed everyone's gaze confusedly before they landed on a man and a woman standing in front of him.
The woman was holding a white cloth that was definitely not something from their tribe, and this fact shocked him as there were no tribes anywhere near them, in fact, most of the tribesmen shouldn't even know about the existence of other tribes.
'What the…'
He thought as his eyes landed on the baby boy wrapped in the white cloth of unknown origin.
The boy's hair was a deep shade of black, and his skin was milky smooth white, but the thing that caught the priest's attention the most were the boy's eyes.
They were a deep shade of red and orange as if an ember was burning within them.
Most surprisingly, the kid did not scream even though there were so many people around him, instead, he giggled and made 'ga ga' sounds.
Solvhar was at first shocked to see the cloth, but after a while of looking at the baby he grew confused.
He and some of the other tribesmen who specialized in medicine were the ones who helped in the delivery of newborns, and as far as he remembered, he didn't think he had seen any records of such a boy with an unusual eye colour.
It took him a few seconds to gather his thoughts before he could look at the guards seriously and open his mouth,
"What happened here?"
The Guards, upon hearing the voice of the priest, gulped down a throat full of saliva as if to show their shock at what they had just heard,
"M-milord, this is Zoryan and Solara, they are a family who live in the outer circle of the village, they came here to meet you regarding an important matter…"
One of the guards said and then stopped mid way as if he were hesitating.
Solvhar grew more impatient and couldn't help but glare at the guard as if to order him to continue,
"They…they are saying that they found a baby floating in the river and brought it here."
For a second, Solvhar seemed to have lost his footing as he stumbled a little.
The guards quickly caught him to stabilize him, but he told them that he was ok now.
He came forward with shaky steps and looked at the baby,
'Is he from another tribe? No, they are too far away, more than that a child cannot survive on sea so long.'
A thousand thoughts went through his head, and yet he couldn't figure out the origins of the kid,
"Zoryan and Solara was it? may i have a look?"
He asked, not taking his eyes off of the baby. Solara quickly but gently handed him the baby.
As Solvhar took the baby in his arms, he felt a kind of familiarity with him, his eyes widened as he turned around and started walking.
The other followed quickly to see what the Priest was doing.
Soon, Solvhar was in a huge open area behind his hut and stood in front of the divine flame altar.
The flames danced on the altar as they made crisp sounds. This was the ancient divine flame that was protected throughout the generations of their tribe, and it had never once been extinguished.
Moreover, the people of the tribe believed that this was a part of the sun, which they worshiped as their god. But this flame wasn't just for show, it gave the tribesmen their power and made them strong enough to fight with the beasts out in the forest.
Many frowned at what the Priest was doing, but they did not ask any questions as they held the priest in high regard and would not question his decisions.
The flame suddenly flared up and came out of the Altar, but no one was afraid of it as this was the origin of their power, the thing that protected them and the thing that they worshipped as an avatar of their god.
A thin string of fire came out of it and touched the feet of the baby, and in reaction, the baby just giggled a bit as if someone was tickling him.
Soon, the string returned, and the flames went back to the way they were.
Everyone was curious about what had happened, but no one spoke.
The Priest turned around and then with a smile opened his mouth,
"The child has been accepted by the flame! He shall be treated as a part of the tribe from now on!"
Everyone was confused, and then their confused expressions gradually turned into shock as a lot of them gulped down audable.
As far as they knew, something like this had never happened before, not even in their great-grandfather's times.
Solvhar returned the boy into Solara's embrace and looked at them with a gentle expression,
"He is the blessing of the sun god given to you both. Take care of him."
He said as the couple broke into tears, they had wanted a child for so long, but they had never thought they would get one, but now surprisingly, their wish was fulfilled.
Solara couldn't stop her tears from flowing, and she brought her face near the baby's forehead, kissing it gently,
"My lord, can my child have the honor of being named by you?"
She said to the priest. It would be a great boon for them as they respected and revered the priest a lot.
Solvhar only smiled gently as he looked up at the sky, or more specifically at the sun, then lowering his head he looked at the child,
"The child is blessed by the divine sun, so from now on, his name shall be…."
Solara and Zoryan waited with an anticipating gaze, This was the start of a new chapter of their lives,
"Sundrin!"