I have recently joined some story chain contest by @freedomexists. you can find the current one here https://steemit.com/story/@freedomexists/an-unfamiliar-road-steemit-story-chain-5-where-you-re-the-writer-and-100-whaleshares-for-the-winner. I have really enjoyed the collaboration with other writers. I wish to encourage you to add on to the story below. I will share 10sbd between all the writers in addition to the rewards on this post. I will also upvote 100% each post
worth about $.18 possibly more

Just number you part of the story and write. The rewards will be distributed after post-payout. Please take this seriously as I would like to continue the story on a weekly basis . I think that would be really cool

Chapter 1 - The rite of manhood

Janre was slowly waking up. He wanted to stay sleeping but the smell of cinnamon wafting through the air was teasing him to get out of Bed. Janre's mother was famous in Crosswind hubble for her cinnamon sticky buns. “You better come now before they are all gone lazy bones" chirped Janre's mother. Ezbell was an important woman in the hubble. She was a 3rd generation Telmute. Telmutes we trained in the lore of fire healing and she was a Master. It was very rare for telmutes to attain the level of master as most were not born with an exceptionally high level of Krass. Krass was the life energy that flowed in and out of all things. She was highly respected in Crosswind Hubble and they were honored to have a master telmute as a resident. “Janre, come eat breakfast. Do not make me ask you again". Janre recognized the tone in his mother's voice and jumped out of bed. He did not want to have to the face the consequences if she was displeased with him. He walked out to the table where his mother and sister had already begun eating the sticky buns, and sat down. Janres sister was 16 cycles and was a very pretty girl, a curvy girl with long blonde hair that all the Hubble boys chased after her. She was two cycles older than Janre and she was training to be a telmute like her mother. Janres father was killed in an accident when Janre was just a young boy and his mother never remarried. He took a bite of the sticky bun and washed it down with a drink that was made from the juice of elder berries. elder berries grew all over the western plains and were plentiful. The skins were too hard to chew but the juice was very tasty.

Today was going to be an important day. He had turned 14 cycles today and was officially a man. Every Hubble in the Western plain followed the same tradition. When the male member had reached 14 cycles he was commissioned to travel to the eastern plains and visit with the Aquaians, the water people. He would spend the next two years with them and offer his services. Every Hubble in the eastern plain would send their young men over to the Krilian’s, the fire people in the western plains to do the same. This was their way of getting to know about each other’s culture and to understand each other better. The tradition has been going on for three hundred cycles and many generations. Janre was very excited about this. He felt very comfortable around the Aquarians and was especially hoping to be reunited with his friend Bal, who had just finish his 2 cycles of service at Crosswind Hubble and recently returned to his people. It was funny, most of the Krillians just tolerated the Aquaians and didn’t seem to think very much of them, but Janre found them to be fascinating. He would spend hours with Bal listening to stories of his people.

There was a great war between Janres people and Bals people that lasted 1000 cycles. Many people lost their lives. The war was believed to be started when a Krillian King desired to take an Aquarian queen. The mixing of the races had been strictly forbidden according to the religion of both races. The elemental energy of fire flowed through the Krillians and the elemental energy of water flowed through the Aquaians . The high priests of both the Krillian and Aquaian religion believed that the energies were different and that to combine the energies would result in disaster. It would disrupt the Krass, the energy flow that sustained all life. It was forbidden for the different races to procreate and join their energies. There were those who believed that the priests were mistaken. The Aquaian King could not permit this and declared war on the Krillians. When the cost of war became too great, and the people of both races began to suffer greatly from the effects of a thousand cycles of war. Peace was declared and the tradition of the right of manhood began. The believed that each race should be required to do service for the other in order to make reparations.

Image credit http://pixbay.com