3.

The boy looked at him curiously, not understanding such attitudes but feeling good. He assumed at the time that it was the feeling of seemingly friendly company. He had traveled what seemed like an eternity alone, crying, with no one bothering to help him. That was how the young boy grabbed the antlers in front of him with force. Despite his surprise, Quinihil remained in place with devotion and fear of hurting the fragile creature, until he heard his right horn crack and carefully moved away. He feared it was broken, but when he noticed that it was still attached to his head, he calmed down and assumed that it had only been chipped.

He looked at the boy with curiosity. He looked small and weak, as vulnerable as an insignificant ant, but apparently he was not as defenseless as he appeared. The boy, still motionless in his place, did not know what to do. He had undoubtedly done something wrong, so when the deer lowered its entire body in front of him, he did not know how to react. He had no intention of making the animal crunch again and scaring it away like the rest of the deer. Sensing this, the animal motioned for him to climb onto its back, and the boy obediently but carefully did so.

In this way, Quinihil took the boy with him and integrated him into the large family they formed. He introduced him by the name his mother had given him, Virindia Homiterra, the guide and creator. Within the herd, there were those who were curious and wanted to interact with the child but did not know how. Would he understand them? Would he accept the food they offered him? Would he know when to flee and when to prevail? Would he even know how to detect a threat? There were also those who did not seem grateful for the arrival of the strange being but could not defy the leader.

Years passed, during which they came to see him as an equal and tried to teach him the art of survival, although this became problematic when the child turned six and began to attract the attention of other species. It was not unexpected: he was a bald, pink ape living among deer, breaking rocks as if they were branches and talking to trees, even though they never answered him.

This attention brought with it the ill intentions of some of the founding beings, who had no intention of relinquishing the power they wielded and preparing the novice as Quinihil was willing to do. One of these was Sicutis, the leader of the lions, the unrivaled leader within the vast territory he shared with Quinihil, not counting Periculum, an immense reptile that lived on top of a small mountain.

Thus, Sicutis, offended by the praise for the child's seemingly unprecedented strength, declared that such titles had to be earned. After all, what is a king or hero without the people who believe in him, who validate him? Thus, some of the lions approached, hunting the deer around Virindia so that Sicutis could approach the boy and inform him personally that they would have a meeting that very night, in which the prize would be life, since only cowards fight solely for titles or treasures, and only the miserable live as losers.