A loud, lively group of hunters in the gathering hall in Pokke Village were drinking to their recent success. The four hunters successfully hunted a Rathalos that plagued a neighboring village, Kokoto. Since it has been a problem for quite some time, this was a big celebration, mainly because Pokke Village was once again recognized by the Hunters' Guild as an active hunting village. A great hunter used to reside in Pokke Village, but after he passed away, Pokke Village's hunters lost confidence, therefore they failed quest after quest until they have been marked "inactive" by the Guild. A young hunter by the name Azen sat at a table adjacent to the partying hunters. The heat that came out of the fireplace warmed him through his mafumofu coat, and the smell of steamed fish and Popo Soup filled Azen's senses. The shadows of the people in the gathering hall cast upon some walls and on the floor danced as they mimicked their owner's movements.

Azen stood up and leaned on a window sill, looking outside the window. The cool, mountain breeze blew at his face. The night sky was filled with stars, and the moon was full. The lunar light bathed the quiet village with it's grace, and one could see several lights from the houses. The snow patch on the building's roofs were pure, and it resembled the peace that was commonly found in Pokke Village.

"Hey! Can you close that window? It's getting a bit chilly even with the fire." said a hunter.

Azen snapped out of his trance and shut the window close, before turning to the others with a smile, "Sorry! I got caught in the moment back there!"


Hours later, everyone was retiring to their homes. Others were already passed out on the tables, including Azen. Some cuddled their weapons, some cuddled each other. It wasn't until a man came bursting into the gathering hall, trying to catch his breath, that the quietness was disturbed.

"Please help us! A Giadrome and a gang of Giaprey have attacked my caravan! Please hurry, my family is in danger! My son is only an inexperienced hunter!"

The Guild Branch leader heard the man and immediately shook each hunter awake. Her voice was not heard by some, and those who did wake up were too drunk to even run. She woke Azen up, but the moment she figured out who he was, she was afraid to send him. Azen was only a Rank 1 Hunter. He hasn't received enough training to go fight a monster on the level of a Giadrome. To top it off, the Branch Leader's maternal side couldn't let the fact go that he was only 17 years of age. However reluctant the Branch Leader was, Azen was the only one able to help out immediately. He was the only choice right now.

"Azen... We have a request, and you're the one most capable of going immediately. Please get ready and talk to the man when you are." she said.

With a quick jolt, as if electrified, Azen sprung up to his feet and grabbed his Bone Scythe. The dual blades were made by Azen himself from materials he collected in earlier quests, and he was excited to see what they were capable of. The Branch Leader smiled somewhat worriedly, as if she was sending her son off to go do something risky. Despite her experienced motherly nature, the Branch Leader was young.

A big grin was plastered to Azen's face as he looked at the man, "C'mon, old man! Let's go help your family!"


Going downhill from Pokke Village, and finally into a wide clearing at the base of the Mountains, Azen and the man found the caravan. There were patches of bloody snow on the ground, but there was no one in sight. The Giadrome and the giaprey were still there, however, which meant that they haven't hunted their prey. Azen heard metal hitting scale coming from behind the caravan, and he saw a young man just like him, fending off the monsters. He had sustained injuries, and he barely had enough energy to stand. With quick feet, Azen ran to the young man's aid and lunged with his Bone Scythe. He flourished a few combinations of hacks, slashes, and stabs at the monsters. He was able to slay the Giaprey minions by his own, and now the only threat remaining was the Giadrome.

"Who... who are you?" said the injured man.

"I'm Azen, a hunter from Pokke! Your old man asked our village's guild for help, so here I am!" replied Azen with alacrity, not taking his eyes off of the Giadrome.

The Giadrome was roaming around in a circle, and eventually, it jumped up high and aimed it's large claw at Azen as it landed. Azen did not expect the monster to jump that high due to its size, and the claw ripped through his mafumofu coat, which gave him a huge gash from his shoulder to his waist. The cut wasn't deep, however, it was long, and it stung. The momentum caused Azen to fall backwards. The foot of the Giadrome was on his chest, and it attempted to bite Azen. In response, Azen swung his dual blades at the leg of the Giadrome, but he did not cut the leg off cleanly as he expected. A few scales came off of the leg, and a slash wound was evident.. Azen kept swinging when suddenly the Giadrome jumped off and hissed. The injured hunter was able to slash at the Giadrome with his Iron Katana.

"What's YOUR name?" Azen asked as he stood up.

"Derek..." he said weakly.

"Nice to meet you, Derek! I hope we become good-" Azen was cut off when the Giadrome spit out a snowball that covered Azen's whole body. "Aww, man! That was cheap!"

Azen was restrained and he tried wriggling out of the snow. He was an easy target, and this was not a safe condition to be in. Luckily, the Giadrome had some sort of delay after spitting out the snowball, which bought Azen some time. Coming to Azen's aid was Derek as he kicked Azen's torso. The snow fell off Azen's body and freed him of his restrain. The two stood side by side as they raised their weapons ready to fight the incoming Giadrome.


Dawn. The slain Giadrome lay on the snow. Azen and Derek's injuries were being treated by Derek's sisters.

"Thank you very much, young hunter! If it wasn't for you... my son would not be here right now!" said Derek's father.

The smile on his face was good enough of a reward to Azen, and Azen grinned widely as well. Derek's sisters were young, but they knew how to treat injuries as well as any doctor. The sound of footsteps made Derek's sisters turn their heads, and they saw that a few more hunters from Pokke Village arrived. They were amused at the work done by two novice hunters, and commended them well for it. As Derek and his family carried on with their journey, Azen returned to Pokke Village. There was a celebration held for him as he got promoted to a Rank 2 Hunter for his great endurance and ability to fight on such a short notice.


While Azen was watching the other hunters converse with each other in the Gathering Hall, the doors slammed open and a girl walked into the Gathering Hall, and looked high and proud. She was wearing the typical Hunters' Armor, only without the headgear. Her body armor was also modified so that her chest was well hidden, and part of her stomach was showing. Her hair was short; it only went down slightly past her jaw, and a few clips decorated her hair. Her piercing orange eyes gave off the feeling that this girl was not to be crossed.

Who was this girl? What was her business here, in Pokke Village's Gathering Hall?