This is a rewrite of my previous prologue. While I was drafting the story in writing, I realized that a noob-to-pro story won't cut it, since the Monster Hunter fan fiction library is full of such stories. So, I have rewritten the entire story, and now I have updated the prologue.

Author's Note: Well, hello there. What you are about to read is my attempt at writing a fan fiction that mashes together all the Monster Hunter games into a single universe. The third generation games (at the time of writing, Monster Hunter Tri and Monster Hunter Portable 3rd) lack the creatures from previous games (not Monster Hunter Frontier, since I haven't played that). Some of you veteran hunters might remember the 'wall' Yian Kut-ku, or the colossal Lao Shan Lung, or the incredibly irritating Plesioth. After all, after numerous bites/fireballs/hipchecks/bum rushes, it is hard to forget the monsters we have learnt to hate/love. So, when I got my hands on a copy of MHP3rd, I was quite taken aback – where were the Velociprey, the Hermitaurs, the Cephalos? In fact, where are all the Carapaceons? I was rather disappointed that Capcom had decided to leave out some of the monsters from previous games, but… I'm not complaining, my favourite wyverns Tigrex and Nargacuga are in it (plus they have subspecies! Ace!) and a new class of monsters, the Fanged Wyverns, have appeared (although it consists of one monster only) and Akantor and Ukanlos, the two most badass wyverns in the history of the world, still exist even though the former doesn't have any Gravios to eat anymore… Okay, getting off topic. Anyways, enjoy the story. I'm surprised you're still reading this A/N, considering how long it is. Without further ado, I present to you…

I, ZEPHYR

A Monster Hunter Fan Fiction

Disclaimer: Monster Hunter belongs to Capcom. The author only lays claim to the written text and original characters that do not appear in the actual games.

"Can't be all that far away now…"

A lone hunter clad in Rathalos Armour sprinted through the dense forest, a sense of urgency tugging at his mind.Dammit, Ishouldbeinthevillagenow! I can't let myself be caught!

The hunter cursed inwardly at himself. If only he was better at reading maps! He had the distinct feeling that he had been walking in circles since he had stepped foot in this damned forest. His stomach was already grumbling in hunger, but he forced the feeling down – there were more important things than filling his stomach at the moment.

"Now, let's see…" The hunter glanced up at the sky, which was slowly but steadily darkening. "Am I going in the right direction?"

He unstrapped a map that was attached to his belt and unfurled it gingerly, stopping his sprint to look at the map. "According to the map, I should be…" He placed his finger on a part of the map he was certain he was at. "Here!" he said confidently. "So I guess I should go… that way?"

The hunter scratched his head in confusion as he pointed his finger in the direction of a small stream that flowed through the river. "Huh? But… I came from in there…" A vein popped in his head – groaning in irritation, he crumpled up the map and tossed it on the ground angrily.

"Screw this!" he yelled angrily. "I've been walking in damn circles all day long! When am I gonna reach the damn village?"

He sighed in exasperation, sitting down on a conveniently placed rock. The village was located fairly inland, and according to the boatmen that had dropped him off at the shoreline earlier (muchearlier – herealizedthathehadbeenstumblingaroundtheforestforhalfadaynow), at the edge of the forest. But from what he could see, the forest seemed to go on forever.

The hunter's stomach growled in protest, and he was reminded of how hungry he was. Now, the skies was getting darker, and he still hadn't eaten anything besides the meagre breakfast he had wolfed down in the transportation ship that sent him here. Due to the wild monsoon weather, the transportation ship that was travelling to Ryudo from his homeland had been forced to stop at the northern area of the Ryudo Bridge – a land bridge that connected two continents. Instead of waiting for the weather to calm down, he had taken a chance and decided to walk to Ryudo, which was several miles from the north.

The area surrounding Ryudo Village was filled with monsters – after all, the village was built at the connecting point of two continents, making hunters flock to the village to slay some of the wildlife. Jaggi, Velociprey, Conga, Bullfango – loads of highly territorial monsters roamed the area, and he had little protection besides his armour and his sword.

With a sense of pride, he unsheathed his sword and did a quick check. It was still in perfect condition, and looked beautiful – almost too beautiful to be a sword. It was crafted by one of the most talented smiths in his home village... He sighed, feeling a wave of nostalgia drift over him. He yawned suddenly and stretched his back, briefly considering spending the night in the forest.

Ignoring his aching muscles, he stood back up and continued walking. No, he had to reach the village by nightfall! If I dawdle for even half an hour, it's the end for me...

His eyes narrowed in determination. He would escape. He would never go back. He would forge a new identity in Ryudo, and start over. He would escape his horrific past, and enter a shining future... He was sure of it. At least for now.

Fifteen long, dreary minutes passed by as the hunter walked through the forest, avoiding the Bullfango he met along the way (the boars had poor eyesight, so he could easily sneak past them) and ignoring the herds of Mosswine that were peacefully grazing on mushrooms. Fifteen more minutes passed by… and he was forced to acknowledge the fact that he was lost.

"I'm lost…" The hunter murmured, panic entering his voice. What if he couldn't find the village in time? He would almost certainly die out here – he was too hungry to fight and too tired to run, so the fauna would probably eat him alive if he got sloppy. And he had to get away from... from him.

"Dammit, it should be getting late now," he said, speeding up his pace. A brief sense of panic rolled through his mind, making his heart rate double–

As he pondered over which direction led to the village, a colossal roar echoed throughout the forest. The hunter flinched and almost lost his balance in shock. His face lit up in horror and recognition, his eyes wide open and filled with terror. He almost began hyperventilating, but forced himself to stay calm and ran, his greaves thumping on the ground.

Shit! He's here! Damn it, damn it...

But the hunter knew that in a forest with so much wildlife, when a large monster was in the area, most of the other monsters would try to escape it. After all, no one wants to be dinner for a wyvern. And when monsters run…

The ground began to quake slightly, then it started shaking violently.

The hunter's blue eyes widened in fear as he glanced back. "STAMPEDE!"

A herd of fleeing Bullfango tore through the plantlife as they charged blindly, desperate to get as far away from the large monster as they could. The hunter dove for cover, rolling behind a large rock that shielded him from the charging boars. The Bullfango didn't even seem to notice him as they charged off, followed by terrified Mosswine. Several Jaggi and Velociprey ran past, completely ignorant of the fact that they were mortal enemies that were always battling for territory.

The roar repeated, this time sounding much closer. The hunter gasped in fear, aware that he would be easy to spot due to the fact that his long sword probably stuck out from the rock like a sore thumb.

He flinched as a Conga leaped over the rock, panting heavily as though it had run for miles. Several other Conga followed suit, every single one of them fearing for their lives. He knew exactly what the roar belonged to – and he didn't like it one bit. His heart began to beat even faster, and adrenaline began pumping through his veins, granting him the energy for the inevitable dash for escape. He bit his lip uncertainly, as an unfamiliar feeling crept up his body.

Oh, I'm scared.

The earth shook as several heavy footsteps sounded throughout the forest. The hunter could almost hear the sound of the wyvern's guttural breathing – it couldn't be far away. He prayed that it would not see him, despite the fact that his longsword was like a flag saying "I'm over here, come and get me".

The footsteps stopped, just behind him. The hunter could smell flesh and blood, and guessed that the wyvern's last meal hadn't been too long ago. He could hear the wyvern sniffing the air, as though trying to locate something…

He heard a brief snort, the wyvern equivalent of a chuckle, and he instantly knew he had been discovered.

Swearing under his breath, he dived away from the rock he once hid under as a gigantic claw smashed it to smithereens. He narrowly evaded the attack, but the wind caused by the smash still sent him flying off into the forest. In a heartbeat, the hunter had rolled to his feet and ran for his life, a sudden rush of adrenaline flowing into his veins.

The wyvern roared an ear-splitting challenge and the hunter was forced to cover his ears to blot out the sound. His actions proved futile, however – the sound rattled through his brains, and stars began to dance in front of his eyes.

To his relief, the wyvern ceased its roar – but now it began to run in its direction. The hunter stared at the beast in terror as he tried to recover from the roar. it had a hulking, muscled body with a strong, leathery hide. It had a huge tail that swung around when it walked, knocking down any trees that hadn't fallen down in its wake. It had tiny forearms that were presumably useless for almost anything, but it also had huge, strong legs with claws that could rip a hunter in half. It had a long snout, and a chin that was covered in small bumps, making its face resemble a pickle – but what scared the hunter the most was its teeth. Jagged, serrated teeth lined its jaws, stained with the blood of many an unfortunate monster and hunter unlucky enough to stray upon it. Its eyes gazed upon its prey mercilessly, almost gleefully as drool dripped out of its mouth. This wyvern had two crossing scars over its face, the reminders of a horrible battle, many years ago. He knew exactly why there was an 'X'-shaped scar on this brute's face, and he wished he didn't know. Hungrily, the wyvern opened its jaws wide and snapped at him.

The hunter recovered from the roar just in time to roll out of the way. The wyvern's teeth met only thin air, clashing against each other with a loud clack! The hunter thanked his lucky stars as he ran, pushing his already worn-out muscles to their absolute limits. The mysterious wyvern was unfazed, however, and growled angrily as it chased after him, wanting to snap up the hunter and end his life properly this time.

His lungs burned, his legs flared in pain, but he forced every single ounce of strength he had left into a dive. The wyvern snarled as it snapped at him, trying to grab the hunter in its jaws, but it failed and toppled over onto the forest floor (flattening a clump of unfortunate plants) in what the hunter would have deemed a hilarious maneuver, had he not been in this sticky situation.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" the hunter thought, his mind too spliced to think coherently, and all thoughts came out as swears.

The hunter stood up wearily, his strength waning and his legs ready to give out under him. He knew he only had the strength left for one attack – a course of action that would most probably kill him – but looking at his current situation, he realized that he had little choice. Mentally berating himself for letting himself fall into this situation, he unsheathed his sword. The sword's edge gleamed under the sunlight that filtered in through the canopy, as though eager to perform well. The wyvern snarled angrily as it struggled to get up, its utter rage causing it to flail about on the ground in its attempts to get up.

You can do it! I know you can!

The hunter blinked in surprise. That sentence had come out of nowhere, as a single, feminine voice in his mind. Ah, of course, thought the hunter, allowing himself a brief smile. Another old memory... that he had taken away from him. His mind blazed in an inferno of rage suddenly, and for that moment, every single cell in his body screamed for vengeance, for blood to be spilt, for justice to be enacted!

Without any thought for his own safety, the hunter lunged forward onto the prone wyvern, his long sword glowing with a bright red aura, and began a combo he had learnt since he was a child. He fluidly chained slashes together, and with every strike, more of the wyvern's blood was splashed onto the forest floor and the sword seemed to go brighter with every slash–

With a savage cry that would've put an Elder Dragon to shame, the hunter whirled around with his sword, ready to deal the final blow of the combo. The sword glowed brightly for a split second, and he slashed the brute wyvern with all of his strength. The wyvern whimpered in pain as the blade sliced through its hide, making copious amounts of blood leak out.

It stood up almost instantly, the hunter hopping backwards warily, as large amounts of blood was pumped into its muscles, making them swell and appear bright red. Several battle scars were revealed as its huge muscles stretched its skin. The hunter's eyes widened in surprise as the wyvern raised its mighty head and roared.

To say that he was deafened would be an understatement. The hunter couldn't even scream as he let go of his sword and fell to the ground, his vision fuzzy and his limbs unresponsive. His hearing buzzed, and his world was plunged into silence.

Putting his deafness aside for the moment, he dodged out of the way of a pounce (howthehellcouldsomethingthatbigleapsixfeetintotheair?) and sheathed his weapon. He knew that he could make a break for it now, but he also knew that the wyvern would probably have little trouble chasing him down.

The wyvern growled and lunged at him, rapidly losing patience as its hunger began to act up. The hunter scrambled to his feet and ran, ignoring the stitch in his side and the beads of sweat rolling down his face as he sprinted through the undergrowth with energy given by adrenaline. He could feel the footsteps of the wyvern, shaking the very earth as it sought to devour him, smashing past trees as though they were toothpicks.

He ran in this manner for several minutes, the buzzing in his ears never fading away. The hunter panted in pain – the stitch in his side was flaring up painfully, and he was almost faint with exhaustion. Even worse, the wyvern barely seemed fazed by the numerous cuts that covered its belly, as though being slashed all over and having its blood everywhere was a daily occurrence. The hunter cursed. He should've known better than to piss it off!

His hearing returned to him suddenly, and he almost tripped and fell in surprise. Recovering his balance quickly, he continued his run, turning his head back in surprise – the wyvern's footsteps had stopped!

The wyvern was looking at the sky angrily, as though something in the air had angered it. The hunter's eyes followed its gaze, scanning the sky for anything worth noticing. He could see a winged red silhouette, circling in the skies above – shadow he absolutely recognized.

Oh, crap... A Rathalos!

He could hear a roar from the skies above, a proud roar of challenge from the king of the skies. In response, the wyvern bellowed a reply, and the hunter was forced to cover his ears again, lest he be deafened for a second time. I'm screwed! A Rathalos and this damned brute wyvern at the same time, and I don't have a damn idea which way the town is!

A drop of cold water splashed onto his nose, and the hunter blinked in surprise. The drop was followed by dozens of other drops, and before long the sky was pouring with rain. The wyvern looked to the sky furiously, eyes fixated on the Rathalos.

The hunter slowly tiptoed away from the wyvern – it was apparently so focused on the Rathalos it barely noticed him. He painstakingly crept away, walking slowly away from the wyvern...

SNAP.

Hearing the sound of a tree branch snapping, the wyvern turned to him in surprise. Its eyes blazed with killer intent, and its mouth crackled with a mysterious black-and-crimson energy.

Dragonbreath! The hunter had heard of people who were hit by Dragonbreath – they had the metal parts of their armour magnetized, and resulted in magnetic attraction so bad, most of their weapons were attracted to their own armour, making them hard to wield properly. He knew what would happen to him if this wyvern hit him with Dragonbreath, and it was not going to be pretty. The hunter took a step back, but slipped on the wet ground and fell to the ground, rain pouring all over his body. He tried to climb back up to his feet, only to realise to his horror that his legs were frozen in terror. In fact, his whole body was trembling, and his heart pounded so furiously he thought the Rathalos could hear it.

He could only watched as the wyvern inhaled, and breathed out a stream of crimson-black energy. The energy washed over him, and his mind exploded in pain, his entire past being replayed in half a second...

Then, everything went blank.

A/N: Review, would you kindly?

Please point out any typos, grammatical mistakes of out-of-place sentences. Yeah, I need a beta reader :\

And thank you for reading!