[ WP ] Each year your village holds a rite of passage challenge that must be completed by every adolescent to be accepted as an adult . It is to climb the local Mountain Beast , a massive creature as tall as the sky . This year is your first attempt . . .

It is the first day. I, Shamir of Tuledge, am about to undertake the ritual of adulthood. Like my father before me, I shall climb the beast of the valley, a lumbering colossus who has rested two miles south of our village. The beast seldom moves, and has sat in the same spot for over a thousand years. It's shadow is cast over the village during the hottest days of the year. 
 
 Little is known about this beast. For as far as anyone can remember, it has always been there. It sits, watching us. It does not harm us, but it does not protect us either. It is just there. It watches. It only moves when too many people try to leave it's watch. then it stops. 
 
 And now, I am to climb it. I am prepared, I have supplies, I have tools. I have the blessing of our gods, and I have waited many a day for this moment. My mother was hesitant, but she knows it is time for my climb. This is how we reach adulthood, by standing on the top of the beast, and bringing the fruit from the tree at the top. 
 
 The base of the beast is a gentle slope. It's an easy walk. But the higher I get the steeper the slope becomes. It quickly goes from walking uphill to proper climbing. This is the easy part. This part of the beast never moves. I spent most of my childhood scaling walls, climbing up the cliffs of our valley. There is n't a single place I have n't climbed, and I have learnt from our villages master climbers. I make the climb gradually, finding hand holds, and foot rests. 
 
 But it is a big climb. The beast reaches to the clouds and beyond. It must have a view of the entire world from where it is. And soon, I too, will see what it sees, as all my elders have. They are men, they underwent this ritual, and they all talk of what they saw, though none will share what they saw with me. I have not earned that right. But I will. 
 
 I climb higher. Into the moving sections. The climb is much harder now, I have to be conscious of my movements. The beast moves sometimes of it's own free will, sometimes to better observe me. But that's all it does, is watch. 
 
 Upon nightfall, I am a third of the way up. I find a plateau, one that moves little, and make camp. Before I sleep I look down at my village. It already looks so tiny, but I can not yet see outside the valley I have called home for my entire life. I can see more than I have ever seen, but it is yet nothing new. 
 
 That night I find it hard to sleep. Even ignoring the fact that I am alone, in a bed that is not my own, the constant movement, and the noises of the wild keep me unsettled. In the end I manage only a few hours of sleep, before I emerge with the morning sun. I look to the beast, and realise that for the first time in over a day it is not looking at me. This soon changes and I can feel it's gaze. I match it, and as if to confirm, the ground beneath my feet shakes. 
 
 That's when I realise where I am. I am several hours lower than I was. Not completely at where I started, but I had lost a lot of time. I now understand why this is a challenge. If I am going to beat the beast, I will need to spend more time climbing. Eager I pack my camp and keep moving forwards. 
 
 The climb is now harsh. Yesterday the Gods blessed me with sunlight, today they dismiss me with light rain that make climbing the beast slippery. Despite this I move, my arms gripping tighter. I will not be beaten by a little water. That is not the Tuledge way. My father would never allow it. 
 
 The rocks spent hours swaying and moving. It was rhythmic, as though the beast was singing, though I did not hear a note. Nevertheless, it made the timing a little easier. For several hours I climb, surpassing yesterdays height by a good margin before it again becomes too dark to climb. I make camp, almost halfway up and look to my village. From here I can vaguely make out the tops of trees outside our valley. It was something new. For the first time in hours I smile. I am now seeing something new. 
 
 I sleep better that night than I did the first. My spirits had been renewed by the earlier successes, and the wind had died down, making everything quieter. 
 
 But when I woke up I found myself in the same place as before. In my bewilderment I look to the face of the beast. A delighted smirk looked down at me. The beast was mocking me. and my entire days efforts yeeterday was in vein. In determination I grit my teeth and look to my opponent. I will take his challenge. 
 
 I keep climbing. I ignore my bodies aches. I ignore the blisters and the sore feet. I block out the pain of the cuts on my hands, the feel of stiffness in my arms, and that dull ache in my legs. I ignore the pounding in my head, and focus entirely on the climb and I keep going. 
 
 Night falls, and I do n't stop. I clearly need to get further. I need to clear as much as I can. I do n't know how the beast moved my camp, but I will not allow it to happen again. I keep going higher and higher, through the darkness. I will not be beaten. 
 
 And yet I am. I ca n't keep going forever. Plyatu, the Goddess of sleep makes her intentions known, and I ca n't ignore her siren song forever. I ca n't even make out how high I am, it's too dark. So I stop, and I rest. I make the best possible camp considering the darkness, and do my best to sleep through the nights storm. 
 
 I wake up groggy. I step outside, and yet again I am back where I awoke on day two. angrily I yell out in frustration, cursing the mountain beast. As if in response it shakes violently, jostling my camp and causing me to loose my footing. I yell hard until my voice is hoarse, and the beast simply keeps shaking until I can not shout further. 
 
 In frustration I do n't move. I ca n't move. It's not for lack of desire either, but I quickly learn that morning that I had overdone it the day before. I need the rest. Valiently I try to ignore it, but unlike yesterday I simply ca n't. Over the course of the day I make slow progress and climb, but I do n't even get as high as I did on day one before once again night falls and I am forced to stop. 
 
 I make camp again, and I offer a prayer to the Gods, instructing them not to let the beast move me. I will do this, even if I need to take weeks to do this. I will not be defeated. I will not relent. I will not fail. As I close my eyes that night, my stomach grumbles, and I do my best to ignore my hunger. 
 
 And then I wake up again. Back where I have woken up every day. I am now starving. My rations have run out, and food is scarce on the beast. I slowly look upwards, looking at the mountain. Once again it looks at me, and it's eyes pierce through my soul. It looks at me wondering why I have n't quit. Truthfully, I ca n't quit. I will beat the beast. It is what I came here to do. 
 
 Again I climb. My entire body is now fighting against it. My arms are in agony, my legs moreso. I make the slowest progress yet, and begin to wonder how futile it all is? No matter how hard I struggle, the beast moves me back. It all seems to be a joke to the beast. I go for just an hour before I simply can not. My body is now winning. I lay on the ground, head to the sky, watching the birds flying overhead. 
 
 I lay there for longer than I climbed. My entire body feels broken. My energy is gone. My stomach is empty. I have gotten nowhere. In my mind I wonder how anybody has beaten the beast? How could anyone get to the top? I surrender for the day and make camp here. In the evening I am able to catch a small mouse scurrying, and though it is not much, to my hunger, the rodent is a feast. 
 
 And sure enough, I wake up in the same spot as always. As soon as I woke up I knew I had, even before I had properly looked. I stick my head out of my tent, and I just sigh. I look to the beast, it's watching me as it has done all this week. 
 
 `` How can I get to the top of you?'' I ask feebly. 
 
 From beneath me, the ground rumbles. Suddenly I feel myself get jolted upwards. The entire ground I lifted. I look around in shock and see the valley get lower and lower. I watch as the walls seem to lower, and I see the trees from behind the valley emerge once more, and as I rise I see more and more. I begin to take in the world beyond, and I see several other villages, each guarded by their own mountain beast. 
 
 Within moments I am high above everything. The beast had raised me up to the top. I steady myself, and slowly walk forwards, my aches temporarily defeated by my enthusiasm. As I look around I see the tree, it's fruit ripe and ready to be picked. I walk over to the tree, and reach for a fruit. I sit and eat it, wondering how long my ancestors took?
