The Ancestor Stone by Joel R. Hunt

Becoming a man had been harder in my grandfather’s youth, or so he delighted in telling me. The Sacred Forest was wild and overgrown. A boy needed to battle dangerous beasts, avoid poisonous plants, ascend the Ancestor Stone and carve off a piece to present to the tribe.

Only then would he become a man.

Now, the path was well trodden, the beasts tame, the flora dying. My forefathers had braved a treacherous journey so that mine would be safe.

I was grateful.

Until I came to the centre of the forest.

There was no Ancestor Stone left to carve.