Chapter One.

"The Dusk of the Silver Sun."

Dusk entered the hollow space beside of the over-the-millennia-already-died-volcano, a little hesitant at first. This is not his first hunt, nor slightly likely that it's going to be his last. He is, undoubtly, a high-ranked hunter. One can almost effortlessly point it from the armor he wore, which is made from some Elder Dragon material, the Kushala Daora. Heck, mentioning how many years-even history and generation of monster history he'd taken away with the huge weapon stowed safely in his back, with a leather strap made from tanned Khezu hide in order to protect himself from the electricity the weapon's emanating, he is almost surely be condemned to death, be Kushalas able for speech or some kind of logical thinking.

Eyeing the surrounding with utmost care not to miss even the grazing sound made by nearby animals, the Hunter readied himself for anything that would possibly catch him off-guard, be it ever-nuisance Preys or Neopterons. Slightly feeling the urge to pull the trigger of the small, flintlock-fashioned flare gun provided by the guild as safety means-retiring the Quest, or for reporting the completion of it- stashed behind his tassel, knowing that's the fastest and safest way to retire from the quest, Dusk's hand stopped in the middle of its track. No, no, no. It's not the right time to cower out. It's more than the contract fee you're betting on the simple pull of the trigger: it's your pride as a hunter. As well as…your friend's life.

Reminiscencing the first encounter with his quarry made this young hunter's lip began to curl into a sad smile. He must pinch himself hard in the cheek (he stowed away his helmet before taking off to this quest, only putting on SwordSaint Piercing, which actually works not more as a charm: while many hunters believed that just by wearing that simple earring, your attack will not bounce the scale and shell or whatever you're hunting, Dusk himself proven this as just a scam: in fact, that very scam almost costs his life.

He was hunting an Akura that time. Being named 'The Embodiment of Evolution', that large, almost scorpion-like monster was in fact a relative of carapaceon's. Unlike its other kin, it has evolved so much that they don't need shell anymore: they has made their carapace harden even as par as Gaoren's, with properties similar to metals. Testing the almost laughable townspeak of a hunter that can cut through the thickest of hides and carapaces with a Hunter Dagger while equipping the SwordSaint Piercing, and goes to the cavern while taking nothing else than a regular guild-issued Eager Cleaver, he almost got his ass handed down to him. Luckily it is a Hunting, not a Slaying quest; he is able to lop off the monster's tail after weakening it considerably, held it under his armpit using one of its largest crystal as grip, while the monster raging in a frenzy between pain and fury trapped inside a pitfall with extra seasoning of Large-Barrel Bomb+s.

It is unknown, though, why from that day onwards he continued to put on those piercings. Is it stuck to his earlobe, or it is cursed, nobody knows. Maybe he thinks it as a good luck charm-he surely needed one, hunting the stuff of legends: SilverSol.

On the fated day, more than a year ago. He was just on a simple mission of some material-gathering. He leisurely takes his stroll along the plateau-like highland of the forest and hill, when he heard a heavy wing beats approaching.

He simply lifted his head, thinking some bird-brained bird wyvern, puny as Kut-Ku, or a stray Garuga made its way to the Rathalos' territory, just to be attacked fiercely by the King of the Skies. He will have absolutely no problem that way-

Just as he thought that, an overly-familiar silhouette covered his eyes-it is a Rathalos, no doubt. But its color…

The view, and the color glinted before his eyes will not be forgotten, even if I went senile or died, thought Dusk.

Silver.

Dusk has long heard the stories of Azure-colored Rathalos from the caravan guards, and saw a few numbers-as the red ones has been forgotten…crossed, truthfully; from his hunting list. The Association has often sending him a letter of warning, about his slaying list which consist more than fifty Rathalos- a over-than healthy number for their population. But ones with silver-colored scales-now that's one thing to ponder about.

The meeting was a mere coincidence. He is on a gathering mission, and the Rathalos, probably just encircling around to find some feed before returning to his nest. Nobody, even the scouts patrolling the area on a daily basis has reported the presence of a silver-colored Rathalos in the vicinity of Wyvern's Valley. But with that just one second of trading glances, their status has been set: Dusk as the hunted, and the Rathalos as the hunter.

Turning skillfully and gracefully in the air, unknown if such gracity comes passed down in its blood by some kind of instinct of if it is something that is learnt by experience, the Rathalos' aim is dead-set. The puny thing below there is going to be my snack, maybe the beast thought so at the time. Running with all of his might, Dusk tried to flee from sharp talons, filled with potent poison that will probably make his heart stop before he even feel the pain of the attack, or before the first trickle of blood touches the green grass below his feet.

He is under-equipped, that is for sure. As he thought that this is just a simple gathering mission, he unconditionally chooses lighter armor and weapon, so he could gather more material and taking it home with more ease. How unfortunate for him, the Rathalos just choose the right-err, unfortunate day to stroll around.

As the Rathalos dived, his speed plummets. The gravity anchoring every thing in this planet just worked its thing. Just a few meters away, just a split of a second more, then the talons will be planted in its target. In Dusk's bag, there ARE raw materials for making a Flash Bomb. The problem is, he has not blessed by time. Just a few inches away, the Rathalos shrieked in glory-

Wham!

And unfortunately for the beast, the talon never landed on its target.

Dusk has dived down under a large tree, which years of life it endured has made its root sprawled across the earth, and some of the roots has give a way to loosened earth, in the particular shape of bunny hole. While he only suffers from minor scratch and bruises from sliding through pebble-lined earth, the Rathalos above has slammed face-first into the trunk of the tree, making the root almost get plucked out by the sheer force of the impact. A few second of light contussion for the beast is more than enough for Dusk to craft a Flash Bomb. (Through his rummaging into the bag has made his hand all sticky from accidentally touching the Sap Plant). Planning the right time to lob the bomb, Dusk crawl through the 'tunnel' made from uplifted root and run, once again all with off his might. Even when the roots and pebbles dug unto his skin, the adrenaline pumped directly to his heart made his limbs feels like on fire. His concentration heightened, his action hastened. Picking the Hunter's Dagger from its sheath, he throws the blade just like a dart, only to be bounced off from the angry wyvern's head with some spark. "Heere, big lizaarrdd!" Dusk shouted, flailing his hands like crazy.

He is now standing beside a steep cliff. The distance to the bottom is not a distance a normal man can safely jump down without getting a certain death while screaming 'VOLGANOOOO~S!', nor for trained Hunters' standard: but for wyvern's standard, it is a mere ledge to leap over as means of quick take-off. "We'll see how well a blind wyvern flies." Muttered Dusk to himself, estimating how many steps the crazed wyvern needed to reach him. Ten. Nine. Eight. Each step, triggering a small quake, concealed the power enough to kill an Aptonoth. Seven. Six. Five. The beast's face is approaching. Four. Dusk can see the Machalite-colored iris of the Rathalos' eye. Three. "-NOW!" Dusk shouted loudly, throwing the Bomb directly to the eye of the Rathalos, while throwing his body away from the point of impact. It bounced from his forehead and set off, producing a blinding flash of light, even in daytime. The Rathalos shrieked as he suddenly lost his vision, and Dusk jump-dived to his left side, barely missing the thorn on the beast's chin. The beast is sent skidding above the slightly mist-covered wet grass and plunged off, head-first to the cliff.

Dusk watched carefully as the beast carefully sensed the feeling of free-falling, and spread his mighty wing to glide-

Only to crash unto the cliff's wall and skimmed the rock skidding downward.

Dusk nearly laughed his ass off watching that scene, one which a sane Hunter would be taking the run for their lives. He laughed so hard until the sides of his stomach starting to hurt, and remembered that he is supposed to run back to safety, instead of rolling on the grass, laughing the seemingly-poor-visioned-beast. And so, he took the trail going to his camp, almost skidding happily doing so, while the beast, still highly irritated by how his tiny prey ended up pulling a prank to him.

That is his first encounter with the beast. The second being few weeks later, when he, out of curiosity, peeked in the caves in the mountainous area of Wyvern's Valley on Greenland foe some kind of ore-bearing vein. Dusk then found out that the male beast, which made the highest cave as his nest, has found his mate: a glittering Gold Rathian, which is apparently got lost during her flight to the Ancient Tower in Blackland, and in the process of wooing her to mate with him. Once again unlucky for him, while he in this occasion is completely equipped with proper gear to send even a Elder Dragon cry flying home, some ungrateful Vespoid, spared from the chance to feel the sharpness of his newly-crafted Kirin Thundersword, has stung him in his back, producing a loud 'clang' sound, thus making the pair aware of his presence. While sprinting and zigzag hopping, trying to evade rain of fireballs aimed to him, Dusk sweared-almost cursing- that from that day onwards, no more Vespoid will be spared-he will surely crush any that passes his line of sight.

From that day on, Dusk started challenged-or to be exact, pulling pranks on that Rathalos and his mate on many occasions. From his perspective, the Silver-colored Rathalos could be called as his rival; and that beast seemingly thought so. Every time and then, he would drop on the Hunter's track, blazing everything around him to cinders, be it plant life or other monster. And so is Dusk: whenever he is feeling bored, he would drop to the wyvern's nest, only to toss a Flash Bomb, or some piece of raw meat as present…usually the tainted ones as well. He even has given the beast a rigged piece of meat, fully stuffed with Hot Pepper. The beast showered him with fireballs as it burned its mouth…or so thought Dusk, running while laughing loudly. Heck, nobody knows whatever a beast can actually taste…and Rath's tounge is supposeadly already 'burned' from the time it started spewing fire, so how the hell the beast could even taste with that smokey piece of meat is a question of how the heck the world worked.

Yet, there is not all about the two.

Dusk has actually been saved from death once by this very beast. It is, when he hunted his first Teostra in the Ancient Tower, deep into the uncharted area of Blackland. The Elder Dragon of Flame has cornered him at the top of the Tower, leaving no spare room for escape so it would just take one breath attack to singe the unlucky hunter to less than ash. In the nick of time when the Teostra inhaled, ready to unleash his signature Flamethrower that can reduce even stones and metals into less than cinders, the Rathalos appeared out of nowhere, hurling a giant fireball directly to the Elder Dragon's face, distracting its concentration and gives time for Dusk to finish that beast with a direct stab from his longsword into the depths of the Dragon's heart. Dusk cannot think anything that can serve as a reason, why would that beast leave his territory, and venturing deep into the one owned by an Elder, beside that beast sees something in him.

As thanks, one day later the Rathalos found a huge pile of Aptonoth meat beside his nesting ground; while from that Teostra material, he then craft himself a gimmick-bearing sword called 'Twin Meteor', a Sword-and-Shield typed weapon that could be altered into Dual Swords.

On many occasion after that, Dusk actually hunted beside the Silver Rathalos; while their unexpected meeting at the hunting ground is maybe, just a mere coincidence, and their goals may be ultimately different one from another, every time they met at the Hunting Ground is a special time where a human, who is supposed to hunt down a beast is accompanied by the very beast he would take down in normal condition-and where a beast, that supposed to attack any living beings by mere instinct to satiate his hunger would stand side-by-side with the very prey he would be attacking:

Their relationship surpasses the boundaries of words and species: their status is not only as 'Hunter' and 'Monster'; but 'Partners'.

Takes not more than a month after that incident for the Rathalos to completely accept Dusk as one of its kin: when repelling the Kut-Ku swarm, when slaying the stray Garuga pair. When fending off the Elder Dragon of Mist, they worked together, although their reason was not the same, the trust they've placed on each other is more than enough. Even Dusk would cooperate with him to repel any Poachers or Illegal Hunters from the Rathalos' hunting ground.

…but there is one problem, though. Although the Los has accepted him, the Gold Rathian is more than angry to find his mate accompanying a hunter more than tending her. It annoys her. Alas, every time Dusk pays a visit to the pair's nest, he is almost guaranteed to near-miss his own death ceremony, usually 'fended off' by the Rathian's fireballs, or more often, her signature backflip tailslap. Dusk has already tried to bribe her, namely by many pieces of raw meats, some monster part to chew at, even the lopped-off tail of the aforementioned Akura, as Gold Rathians tend to be attracted to shiny, glittering objects. None works, her mood as bad as boiling cauldron every time her eyes even laid at the shadow of the Hunter- but much to his relief, the crystalline-like tail is used as decoration to made the nest for soon-be laid eggs, the last time he visited.

Thus, why did he came to the nesting ground this day? Why did he looked like something has happened? Why did his expression is so glum? Why, did he wield his King Thundersword, and packed everything, whetstones and potions included, as he was to hunt an Elder Dragon?

It began a week ago. A mail-no, a parchment is sent from the Guild to the nearest Hunter Post. Dusk stand, almost like stupefied when the content of the parchment is read aloud by the barmaid:

"-the Guild has issued a bounty for anyone that can slay the pair of wyvern residing at the top of the Wyvern's Valley, namely the Gold Rathian and Silver Rathalos. The pair is thought responsible to the massive deaths of the Hunters and monsters alike. For…"

Dusk cannot hear the rest of the announcement; somewhere along the line he had dropped his mug of mead, which is making loud clattering sound as the frothy amber colored-liquid making a queue line from the bar's table until it is seeped in his modified Hunter's Tasset. He knows more than anyone does what that peculiar Rathalos-and his mate, Rathian, do. Even called 'beast', they would not attack anyone-or anything without reason-nor killing Kelbis without the urge to feed. Sure, the Rathian is in the egg-laying season right now-but even with that, can a single Rathalos cause such disaster? No, no. It cannot be, thought Dusk to himself, exiting the Post without any comment: nobody knows that he secretly befriended the very Rathalos they going to hunt. And he thought it's for the best anyone should not know.

But not for long. Almost every day after the bill is posted at the Post's wall, some kind of Hunter will arrive at the backdoor of the Post, whether critically injured or crippled for good. They had fallen when taking the slaying quest, that poses so much difficulty: none of the hunter managed to actually get a sight at whatever attacking them: only a flash of white, and the next thing they know they has been transported back to the village with the condition that is usually, worse than death. So much Hunter has fallen on this one quest, that it gained the unofficial name: 'The Silver Sun of Destruction and Golden Moon of Annihilation'. Seeing there is no more Hunter to dispatch as the remainder of the Hunters stationed at the village even visibly cowered when the Quest is mentioned, the Village Elder and local Guildmaster asked-no, almost begged Dusk to take this quest. He could not say no, because not only his license is held on line, his friend's-no, his partner's life also.

Yet he knows one thing for sure: even if he could prove that the pair's innocent by any means, the target of the quest would not change in the slightest, thus right now his main priority is not to prove anything, but somehow persuade them to leave their nest…sure, with all the eggs that's soon to be hatched, even the thought of surviving would me a mere second thought for them-but if somehow!

In few day's more worth of time, from beneath the granite-colored, yet strangely fragile eggshells, future prince of the skies and princess of the earth would be born.

The night has silently conquered the earth, when he arrived on the foot of Wyvern's Valley, still lost in his train of thought. The guild transport cart quickly disappeared into the blackest of mist, eerily residing near the valley's entrance, leaving only two medium-sized Aptonoths for carrying back the bodies for the Guild-but in this case, the Guild already approved Dusk's petition, which is "All material from the monster I hunted will become mine", which would never be allowed in normal hunts, as the Guild would love making a specimen from any monster alike, much more rare-colored ones.

He quickly unpacked his things, set the tent, double-checking his equipment and items, before setting off to the Valley.

He has a bad, VERY bad premonition about this quest: something just does not feel right. Even seeing the beautifully star-clad skies above his head does not lift his spirit: his heart ached when the gentle, silver-colored moonlight struck his face. How can a single Rathalos killed a whole ten Aptonoth pack in one day? How can the most experienced of Hunters cannot even see what attacked them? Since when, Rathalos, who attacked mainly by their fireballs and poisoned talons, produce cut-like injuries that is so clean, it severs the monster's bone-no, even armor made from Basarios material-into two?

The dots didn't connect well. It is surely not a Rathalos' work, nor a Rathian's. It must something larger-one with more appetite and stomach-size to fulfill. A Tigrex? That would seem so, as the big glutton will never decline a serving of fresh meat before itself: it also ambushed its prey, quite similar to the description…but a Tigrex, famous for its steel-crushing bite and ear-deafening roar would at least produce a bite mark, not a cut wound.

Or maybe, is it a Nargacuga-the Dark Hunter? Maybe, but despite its fierceness, the black-clad demon is quite territorial. One never found the beast lurking anywhere else than the Forests, deep into the heart of Greenland. And the color-

"White." Muttered Dusk down to himself, while panting and pulling himself to the ledge: the very same ledge that he made the Rathalos fell, crashing down. The weight of his Kushala-made armor makes such climb more strenuous than usual, and because of that, he'd rested a bit more before continuing to the wyvern's nest.

When mentioned monsters, they came in all sizes and colors, from the tiniest bug to the gigantic dragons, from pure black to prismatic-colored: but when mentioned the color 'white', the number of monster declined almost to the number of finger in one's body…at least from what has officially named by the Guild and NPO-National Paleontological Organization. From the weakest, Giaprey and Giadrome, their 'white' is actually snow blue. Khezu, with none of the aforementioned quality: be it speed or stealth. It would stick like a sore thumb-no, Khezu, amidst its surrounding background. Kirin, the Thunder Beast. It certainly has speed, power…but almost no reason to attack its herbivore comrade. And the wound it inflicts is more likely to be hole-shaped stab wound than a cut, unless someone taught the beast how to do so. White Fatalis…now that's just absurd. What good for the stuff of legends show in this desolate area? And for a beast of its size, it would take more than a miracle for it to able to ambush the skilled Hunters without being noticed. That leaves the wolf twins…Nono and Kanu, as well as the Rathalos, when excluding the saber-toothed wyvern, Barioth-confined to the land of snowstorms, far north from here, or the rarely-encountered Tidal Lagiacruz, hidden from any man's view in the depth of Moga Sea.

But despite knowing all of that fact, a tiny sliver of doubt has emerged inside his mind, and now it is steadily growing in an alarming rate: that doubt is a byproduct of his own imagination, eating away on the trust he's been raising up until now.

"-why did I even suspecting them!" Yelled Dusk, slamming his armored knuckle to the stone hiding the entrance of the pair's mating ground, making the stone breaks in process because of the metal-like quality of the Daora Bracers he's now wearing. While the pair can effortlessly enter the hollowed volcano from above, a man must travel trough cracks in the wall in order to get access to the nest.

His voice echoed through the dark night, reflected by high valleys surrounding him. But none will answer him, as he is the only Human-no, Hunter, which stand on this very stage. His heart darkened. He has never felt so much anguish. Never, even when his parent abandoned him in the great depths of Ancient Jungle.

SWOOSSH.

"?" A strange, 'swooshing' sound can be heard far before him. His instinct as a hunter takes over his body's muscles before he could even think, readied his GreatSword while assuming defensive posture-Is it monster's wingbeat? A roar? Or-

SWOOSH. SWOOSH. "-what, it's just a meteor shower…" Grunted Dusk, patting his armor-clad chest in order to settle down.

In the world of Hunters, the word 'Panic' usually accompanied by 'Unprepared', which in turn rhymes with 'Death'. He knows that very well, but the imaginary tension line which is keeping his mind sane is in the verge of breaking.

In the world of Minegarde, meteor showers aren't that rare: in the Desert area of Redlands, almost every night you could see some stupid rock, attracted by the planet's gravity, being burned up by friction with the invisible air. But his relaxed action does not for long.

SWOOOOSH.

He heard a strange sound which was louder than the rest. When he faced the sky, he almost felt his heart stuck out from his gaping mouth. A meteor, stray from its group, now speeding in his direction. "…talk about bad luck. Oh, crap. OH, CRAP!" He groaned, turned back, and once again, run with all his might.

GRROOOOO.

Now the soft 'swoosh'-ing sound has been replaced with an ear-deafening roar, produced when a stray object from outside of this planet burned because friction with air. Just like the dent and scratches in a dull blade disappeared with some water, force, and of course, Whetstone, whatever thing the meteorite is made is getting chiseled down by abrasion…but that's not enough to whittle down whatever material composing the mass into smaller-than-pebble-sized dust.

"Why did this must happen today, of ALL days!" Screamed Dusk, jumping from a ledge, just in the nick of time. A loud explosion almost popped his eardrums open, as the extraterrestrial piece of object landed on the soil of Minegarde. Large 'thud' and 'thunk'-ing sound can be heard for at least a minute before the pebble and rocks, thrown high into the air because the explosion earlier has settled down.

Releasing the hands he used to cover his ear, Dusk coughed because the dust that filled the air seeps deep into his lungs. After a few cough, and covering his mouth with a piece of cloth, he stands tall, examining his surroundings.

A large crater has opened in the valley's bedrock wall, crushing the entrance to the monsters' nesting ground "-shoot." He didn't saw that coming. The element of surprise has disappeared from his grasp. Alas, the explosion must waken the two beasts, or enraged them. Not many hunters know this, but both the Rathian and Rathalos actually hated loud sound as they hate bright flashes. And that meteorite has provided them both. He would be surprised if they didn't throw a fit right now…

"-wait." He murmured to himself, concentrating on his hearing, while standing perfectly still. The cold wind, intensified by the depth of the valley has taken away any remaining dust, and making the smoke produced by the meteorite because of its heat dissolved into the night sky-but beside the wind's howling sound, he cannot hear any sound. Be it monsters', or natural animal of the night. Not even a bird, not even a cricket. The silence as like standing on a verge of a great scene of massacre.

He quickly glanced to the valley's top. A black smoke can be seen rising from the entrance the pair usually uses. It seems like the meteorite has broken into two pieces halfway in the air out of deformations it had collected troughout its journey, which triggered at last by the friction and heat upon atmospheric entry, and the smaller one has fallen directly to the opening of the nesting site. "-Could it be!" Dusk's imagination immediately turned for the worst-case scenario.

Hoping, no, almost screamed so what he imaged not happened, he quickly throws away any unneeded weight, be it potions, whetstones, or rations. Climbing erratically, Dusk sent skidding below a few times because loose footing. After what seemed like an eternity, while gasping for breath heavily, Dusk arrived at the nest's second entrance, one which he usually used to flee from the Rathian's crazed chase. He haven't used this entrance for a long time, since the path leading to this entrance can only be reached by climbing-something that Dusk hates, especially while wearing some heavy armor.

Ending his reminiscence, Dusk silently entered the hollow space, his dominant right hand already making a knuckle around the hilt of the large sword attached at his back, then calling loudly: "-Silve! Aure!" those are nicknames he has given to them, one proof of his attachment to the pair.

Silence filled the room, almost eerily. Taking a step forward, exiting his cover, Dusk gasped as seeing his wildest imagination comes true:

The two wyverns lie lifeless on the granite-colored floor. A somewhat large crater has been dug out in the centre of the nest, nearly missing the tip of their wings. A foul-smelling white smoke can be seen rising from a single rock that stood at a strange angle, perfectly in the center of the crater.

"No…no!" Screamed Dusk, throwing his prized King Thundersword somewhere, walking slowly as if his spirit has been sucked out dry by a Khezu, to the side of the Silver Rathalos he has known too well. As magnificent as while he is alive, the lifeless wyvern almost like his is in a deep sleep. In fact, both of the wyverns looks like they died while sleeping. No injures or anything could be observed in his massive body-showing that the meteorite somehow killed him instantly. The same could be observed from the Gold Rathian. The overly-aggressive female wyvern now lies in silence, her head being pat gently by the sad hunter: something that cannot possibly happen when the monster is alive. "Their eggs! How about-"

Dusk quickly turned his head to the direction of the eggs. She had laid five large, granite-colored eggs that are placed near the crystalline Akura tail. Based on Dusk's calculation, it needs some more time, at least a week to hatch…

"-even they…didn't survive?" Whispered Dusk to himself.

The nest has been overturned by the shockwave produced by force of the impact. Not having any means of protection beside the pair of wyvern and their thick shell, the four eggs at lined at the front has been smashed completely, its contents spilling everywhere at the cave's floor. As for the last egg…

"…how…can this happen?" The egg is protected by the Akura's tail. But…

The crystalline spike that has been shattered from the force of the impact, pierced the egg in many places. While most of them only pierced shallowly to the shell due to its hardness, the longest of the crystal has pierced the upper side of that egg completely to another side. It is nearly impossible for the embryo inside to survive from such injury, even if it didn't kill it instantly.

One family, killed in one instant. By a mere rock.

Realizing that, Dusk has dropped to his knees, crying loudly while screaming in agony. He didn't want to believe, he didn't want to realize the event unfolded before him. "You fool." He said, while sobbed loudly and looking through the half-opened eye of the Rathalos. The golden-colored slit at the centre of the Machalite-colored iris looks like gleaming under the moonlight that shone its way through the opening in the ceiling. "Its looks that that promise must be canceled." Dusk said. He had told him that sometime after the eggs has hatched, he will take Silve on a quest-as a celebration for him becoming a father.

Dusk passed two hours of time, just stroking the head of the fallen beast gently. Not knowing anything to do, he just sat there, using Silve's body as cushion. He could feel the warmth-no, heat, which normally can evaporate the drops of rain fallen on the beast's body, slowly dissipating.

As dawn breaks, the two motionless bodies had become completely cold. Not having any clue how to proceed with the quest, Dusk just stood before the two corpses. "-now what should I do? I cannot even prove that they aren't the ones who attacked the Hunters…"

Just at the time he said that, a low growl can be heard before him. Before even he could turn his head to find the source of the growl, two deep gashes has been opened in his left arm. "-ngh! What the!" He screamed, sweeping the entire cave for the offender. –is it just me, or did I saw-

Swish!

"-agghh!" Not even bothered by the thickness of Kushala's shell used to fashion the armor now wore by Dusk, the attack slices right through his back, opening more wound, spilling more blood. –a flicker of white! So this is the one which attacked those Hunters! He exclaimed to himself. I cannot even catch a clear view! What's with the speed! Thought Dusk to himself, skimming the entire cavern. Just then-

"There!" Dusk shrieked, bending his body forcefully forward to evade the incoming attack. He could hear a faint 'swoosh' as something white slashed the place where his head been a fraction of second before. As he done so, he grabbed a Flash from his hidden pouch, and threw it hard to the floor. A binding flash suddenly enveloped the whole cavern, followed by a loud shriek. "! No way-"

After rolling his way out of the huge object that slammed down tho the stony floor flawlessly, Dusk finally caught a quick look at whatever attacking him. A beautiful-almost eerily magnificent being stood before him, hissing loudly. He could see its red-colored iris glowed in rage, while its stare unfocused because of the Flash earlier. "-oy, oy. You must be kidding me-" Said Dusk in low, hoarse sound as he regained his posture, only to stand still, mesmerized by the view before him.

Before him stood a small-sized, strangely colored Nargacuga, almost like bleached unnaturally. While Narugas are fairly known as The Blight of Great Forest or Shadow Stalker, the one standing in front of Dusk, while being not longer than a juvenile Ludroth, donned an entire body that is clad in iridescent-colored scales, which shines with a brilliant blue-white, like moonstone. "-crap!" He quickly dashed to grab his weapon as the white beast regained his vision, and attacked him with his signature Tail Spike shower without any movement than a single lash of the tail, unlike the black Narga which will spins its tail high over its head, that in turn will produce rattling sound that comes from the spike-like scales shed forcefully from its roots. Dusk quickly raised his sword to protect his face-as well the body behind the object, making nail-like spikes bounced off. "What do you want!" Yelled Dusk from the cover of his sword, which is answered by a low hissing sound.

Crap. First a meteorite almost falls directly to my head. Second, my friends just killed before my eyes. Now a white, for the love of GOD, WHITE Nargacuga wanted to take a bite from me? What rotten luck I have.

"-! Shoo-" Distracted, even for a second has its own price to pay in the Hunter's world. Another deep gash has appeared in Dusk's knuckle, and the white beast once again disappeared from his view. "-lay still for a while, dammit!" Shouted Dusk, swinging his Greatsword to strike the cavern's floor, producing blue sparks of electricity which strikes wildly, while hoping this would be enough to stop the phantom-like beast from disappearing-

Yet his wild guess missed the mark. The display of flashing light and sound seems to annoy the white Nargacuga more than making it afraid-now it's in a complete rage mode, adding more speed to already warp-like movement, its eyes glowing , leaving brilliant blue instead of red trail. Now I'm screwed. Thought Dusk, suddenly sent flying across the floor with a Tail Whip, even when he has guarded it, and met the walls of the cavern with a loud 'thud'. "*hack*!" He coughed, his back felt like crap, almost like a crazy Rajang has tackled him from behind, despite the small stature of the beast. My back's killin' me-but at least now it can't attack me from behind…

The white Nargacuga roared, making even the bravest Dusk cower inside his armor. But instead of caught in the pace, he braves himself and muttered: "Now you cannot use sneak-attack like before. All you can do-is directly attack me!" And inversely, that also applies to him. When coming to range, the Nargacuga clearly has the advantage-its leap can cover few yards in ease, and the distance between them is clearly less than ten foot; not mentioning it could also perform the Tail Spike shower. Playing defensive, Dusk assumes the guarding stance. Measuring the distance and reach of his weapon, he regretted not bringing any weapon that has longer reach-such as Spears. But when taking the agility of his enemy…

"-well, this is fine enough." He muttered, tightening the grasp to his blade's long hilt.

The white Nargacuga hissed and roared while encircling Dusk in half-and-circle, but to no avail. Having the upper hand in the battle is something rarely experienced by Hunters; and is not something that could be thrown away in reckless abandon-

Roaarr!

"-tch!"

The Nargacuga ended up as the one taking the first step. It lunged into Dusk from a Prowler Stance, brandishing its bladed forelegs-a product of the evolution that the researchers concluded as the branching from true wyvern gait.

Nargacuga, as well as Barioth and Tigrex belonged to the pseudowyvern subclass. It means while they cannot fly as much as flying wyvern, for example Rathalos could, they had adapted their forelimb, which is used to fly in the blue skies to walk in the muddy ground. Their wings have degenerated to what looks like a webbed claw, which can still be used to glide for long distances. But in Nargacuga's case, the forelimb's bones had further evolved to what looks like blade-like appendages, which sharpness rivals the sharpest of swords.

The slashing move was too wide, as expected from a beast which solely hunts based on instinct. Seeing an opening, Dusk aligns his Greatsword horizontally, and lunges forward for a stab-

SHRAAAAA!

A high-pitched shriek echoed inside the cave. Blood spurts from the open wound at the Naruga's left foreleg-

The foremost blade, which sliced right through Thundersword's serrated edges has been trapped in the last spike near the hilt, less than an inch from his fingers. Not losing this chance, Dusk quickly turned the sword, and kicked it hard, making the blade's weight acts as a ball-and-chain for the wyvern's foreleg. Almost instaneous with that move, he unstheated his Hunting Knife and slammed it to the wing with all of his strength-breaking both the Knife and the Blade near its base, ripping the webbing and flesh alike. The white-colored Cutting Wing now standing in an odd angle, piercing the stone floor underneath with great ease.

Knowing its greatest weapon, speed-would be hindered because of its injury, instinct immediately takes over the action of the wounded beast. Limping because of the pain when it shifted its body weight to the injured leg, the white Nargacuga retreated. A loud shrieking sound can be heard from the outside.

Dusk fell to the ground. His knee has given out. "-w…whew. I made it…" he gasped loudly, filling his lungs with air. He almost didn't dare to breathe before-

"That's right! What the hell's a Narga doing here?" He asked to himself while walking toward one of the Spikes launched by the beast. Much to his surprise, the spikes are barbed, unlike its normal counterpart, so removing them from the bedrock seemed to be pointless. Yet he managed to collect some that has been deflected by his own blade.

"-!" Smelling a familiar fishy scent, which comes not from the blood spilt, he looks back beyond his shoulder- Of course.

Nargacuga, while being a proud wyvern which lives solely by hunting, is especially known to be attracted by the smell of another wyvern's, or herbivore's egg. It liked eggs so much, that the Aptonoths never dared to lay their eggs in the Great Forest; they laid their egg farther than that. "-so it's the cause why that darned wyvern appeared here…" Mumbled Dusk to himself, his eye fixated to the blade-like object which glimmered in red puddle. He pulled the Cutting Wing from the ground and examined it. This would make a great material for swords…

Crack.

A cracking sound diverts his attention. He looks back and found a single Velociprey has entered the cave, seemingly attracted by the scent of blood. The beast has crushed a small skull, which ironically, came from another Velociprey. Dusk made a quick whipping movement with his wrist, and threw the white-colored Cutting Wing to the Prey. Much to his amazement, the Wing clearly severed the Prey's neck!

It was uncalled for. All he wanted is to scare the beast away-but the sharpness of the Blade ended up killing it. Blood gushes from the arterial vessel of the beast, showering the ground around. "-crap. Now more Prey's going to get here…"

If the Prey gathered here, nothing will stop them from scavenging Silve and Aure's bodies. But if Carved- A feeling of guilt and disgust slowly creep through Dusk's spine. "They're MY friends' for god's sake! Why the HELL I'm thinking about carving them-?"

Because you're a hunter, duh?

"-but…" Dusk's heart now underwent a struggle, between carving his friends for material, and letting their bodies in this place. "If I left their bodies here, there's no chance the Prey's will leave them alone. And if I carved them…" He then glances a quick look to the wyvern's bodies. "-it is not for the sake of Materials, nor for the sake of pity." Then, he pulled the Wing out from the stone wall, as his Knife is as good as gone, takes off his safety gloves and makes a deep cut into his right palm: one shaped like the sun. It's almost scary how did the gash didn't even feel hurt: until the red liquid started flowing he virtually didn't feel anything. Panting, he straightneded his palm hard enough so the red, thick liquid every beings in the world, beasts and humans included had inside their body, emerged from the cut.

He then walked to Silve's and Aure's corpse. "-it's for honoring the dead."

He placed his right palm, which has the symbol of the sun carved to it to Silve's lifeless head. "With the offering of blood, I shall make a pledge. The one bridging the Hunter and the Hunted." He said in a clear voice. "Thou lifeless body shall be my daily bread. Thy Fangs and Claws shall be my blade. Thy Shell and Scales shall be my shield. Your Wing, Tail, Flesh, Blood-Every bit of your fallen body, entrust to me-" Then Dusk pulled his palm, leaving behind sun-shaped stain in Silve's forehead. "-so you could, once again, hunt beside me." Dusk did the same for Aure, albeit the symbol was one of the crescent moon.

The prayer has been sung. It was the prayer for the fallen comrade in battle. The original prayer is meant of calming the fallen Hunter's soul, so they can pass on to the next life. It has become an unspoken tradition that if a Hunter fell in battle, his weapons and armor should be recovered by anyone who witnesses the event. After singing the prayer, he must wear the equipment, and then reported the event to the Guild. Based on the fallen family's decision, the Hunter could receive a part of the equipment he delivered: the name of the fallen should be engraved into the equipment as remainder, who wielded the equipment before him. It is not unusual to find a piece of equipment which bears more than hundred previous owners: the Epitaph-series is one of the most suitable example. (In fact, this custom seemed to be originating from the discovery of the Epitaph-weapon series, which created thousands of years ago with the method that makes present day's smith scratched their head out of confusion.)

Dusk started his work with Silve. Not because any particular reason, but because the Blazing Fire Sacs tend to be deriotate faster than the Deadly Poison Sacs. Cutting just in the thin line where soft, leathery-with pearl-like texture and distinctive black striping from the underneath area of the beast are joined with the scaly part, Dusk carefully skinned the pelt of the Rathalos-and found himself almost frightened to the bone because of the Wing's sharpness—sure, the place he's been making the cut is the weakest possible area on a Rathalos's body, but even Silversol's-no, Silve's glittering, hard scales that remain unscathed even after deflecting a full-charge from a Machalite Blade cannot provide enough protection from the Wing's edge.

After securing the 'pelt', if it could called so, then he began to collect the scales from the wing-joint area, which is the most vulnerable spot in Rathalos' body. Then, after all the scales are collected and safely stashed, then he began to remove the shells lining the wing's joint. After that the wings could be safely removed, with the webbing still intact.

Then, he proceeds to the back area. The thick plating shell of the aged Rathalos, comprised by age-hardened scales are probably one of the valuable materials sought by the Guild and the Hunters alike. In case of SilverSols, their price obviously can fly far beyond those of rust and azure varieties. Slowly and carefully, tracing the areas where the plate-like shell and the spine conjoined with the Wing, Dusk secured the largest plate, one on the humped back of the beast; he then observed it: the glitter and the weight of the carapace is nowhere similar to any living flesh-and-blood material, instead it's strikingly near the level of metal's. He continued to carve each of the carapaces with highly-trained hands, until he arrived on the Rathalos' base of the neck. "-sorry." He murmured in low voice, before tearing open the neck cavity with his knife. After looking at the internal organ for a glance, he found what he seeks for: the Blazing Fire Sacs, placed neatly before the thing that looked like a Screamer-or exactly, vocal chords. Carefully cutting the oval-shaped sac, he tied the each of the canals twice with tendons cut from the neck area before completely removed it. One slight mistake would trigger the fine dust contained in the sac into blazing explosion, hence the name. In fact, he had seen many hunters getting more than just a blister when inappropriate handling is (dilibatkan/delibrated) in the process of carving these small sacs.

Next comes the hardest part of carving a monster: its brainstem.

Not until recently the uses of monster's brainstem comes to light to the Hunters. One slightly miscalculated experiment is all it needed to make a spark grows into a wildfire.

A crafter unexpectedly forgot to remove the brainstem from a fire wyvern's spine, which is used to fashion a fire-elemental sword. Guess what happened when the power source of the sacs, the blood, is infused into the weapon?

The weapon set ablaze. Literally. With the Hunter wielding it and all.

It seems that by having a brainstem incorporated in elemental-infused weapon, which is primarily made using sacs of monsters (there are certain elements which does not need these, such as Ice, Water and Dragon elements) greatly increases the sacs' production and efficiency: the elemental sacs could last longer before going 'exhausted', making the weapon could be used for extended period of time before the sacs needed to be replaced, or the brainstem itself deteriotated-because up until now, currently there's no way known to preserve a monster's organ indefinitely- the record of the longest part-preserving for brainstems are 4 years, with daily blood-liquid treatment.

Dusk carefully examined the joint between the first and the second spine. Reversing his grip on the White Naruga's Wing so it would look like he's grabbing an axe, he slowly scrapes the inter-vertebral disc, showing what looks like a huge lump of milk-colored material with pearly sheen.

Once again, holding his breath, he examined the stem. The color's just perfect. No single blood-stain could be seen on the brainstem, which clearly showed that the beast's cause of death is not a blunt trauma on the neck, or poisoning. Then Dusk severs all of the muscles which connected the skull with the neck, after tightly tying the blood vessels: the blood must not be spilt, as it is worth more than any liquid in the wyvern's body; and only the wyvern's blood could be used to power the sacs extracted from the very same body. As wyverns' blood has a strange tendency not to clot when exposed to air when the beast has already fallen, they could be stored almost indefinitely…except when it made contact with soil or poison.

After the skull has been detached, comes the most difficult part: that is, trying to pull out the brainstem from the spine cavity without breaking it. It incorporates slow pulling movement, as well as balancing the weight of the material. Usually this chore must be done in groups-but in this moment there are no one-wait, let me rephrase that: Dusk would not allow anyone to interfere in this Crafting, be it Gandart, his adopt-father, or Vieze-

He quickly repel those disturbing thought of, what would happened if I were to tell that I carved my friend by my own hand?, and proceeded. After a few minutes, the whole brainstem is collected. From one end to another, it covers a few yards' worth of distance, not mentioning the branches of nerves. He rolled it up carefully as not to break the already-fragile organ, then safely put it on a large container, made by hollowing a tree stump and filled it with the golden-colored fluid, extracted from inside the beast's skull and sealed it tightly using a Sap Plant-made glue.

The next part is the talons and the tail. Almost every hunter know that Rathalos's talon is filled with deadly poison, but not much actually know where the poison is originated: secured between its scale-covered claws are Poison Sacs. While they are not as lethal as Gypceros or Iodrome's toxin, it is guaranteed to kill anything smaller than an Apceros in an instant, humans included. Once again tying the bases of the Sac so the content won't be spilled, Dusk extracted four Poison Sacs, two from each feet.

Lastly, the tail. It is one of the most versatile material that is provided by Rathalos: some fashioned it as a shield, some as lances while others actually used it as hammers, while the most suitable would be Diablos'. The value of a Rathalos's tail was determined at the exact time it was cut: the longer the 'tail' portion, the more versatile the material would be. For the safe side, Dusk cut the tail in traditional fashion, which is removing the muscle attached-

*Clink*

"-hmm?" He heard something unusual. There supposed to be nothing in his makeshift-knife's path, be it bones or something else. He dipped-no, thrusts his arms inside the flesh of the tail, and quickly pulled it out because something inside is burning his fingertips. "Aww! This is!" He exclaimed, cutting the flesh around the object so it can be seen more clearly-and pulled it out, ignoring the painful burning sensation it inflicted to his palm-

A brilliant, dancing crimson light filled the cavern, as someone has started a bonfire. The chilly air has been replaced with gentle warmth, as the sun has completely risen. Inside the gaping hole at the Rathalos's tail, a crimson-colored stone with silvery sheen can be seen, glimmering with otherworldly brilliance.

A Rathalos Ruby-wait, Silver Rathalos Ruby. Much larger than normal Rathalos Ruby, that is usually found as pebble-sized raws, this jewel is almost…no, almost TOO perfect.

"-you kept this from me? Damn, Silve…" Said Dusk; but not out at anger-his eyes quickly began to water as he stares inside the fist-sized gem: a clear, transparent-colored gem that is filled with swirling vermillion light, alternating with silvery streaks could be seen dancing inside of the stone. One thing is certain, it is no mere play of light on the eye: it seemed like the stone itself are alive.

Once in a while, a material, called 'Dragonite' or 'Wyvern Stone'-not to be confused with the ore with same name, 'Dragonite Ore', could be formed inside on a monster's body. While it is usually made from worthless material, such as fur, bones and scales, but as the material ingested, the until-today-not-quite-yet-understood-hell-of-a-bodily-function of the wyvern will take over. Mimicking the Earth's way to produce gemstones from a mere rock, sand and your-run-on-a-mill dirt, the internal body physiology and probably, the crushing pressure produced when the surrounding muscles worked slowly tempered whatever material into gem-class solids. Some theorized that the stones are formed by condensation of beast's blood, but until now there's not a single experiment creating stones in that way worked.

It would take more than years of consuming the same material over and over, so a brilliant, evenly colored stone could be produced. And, each of the stone is unique, as they posses their own elemental properties: Rathalos' Rubies are naturally enchanted with blazing Flames, as even touching one would produce burn-marks. Rathian Emeralds are formed from pure Poison in crystal form and merely dipping the stone into a pool of pure water will cause the pool transforms into deadly poison puddle. Lagiacruz's Sapphire contained bolts of Storm in its wake, and so on. While many rich people sees these material as mere objects of adornment, Hunters prized them above all material as Decorations: a simple slotting can produce the same effect as having elemental sacs embedded in the weapon, thus sparing them from the constant need of beast's blood to power the sacs (although some claimed Monster Juice and Broth could be used as replacement in case of Lightning of Thunder Sacs, both comes from Khezu).

As trivia, even Felynes could produce these kinds of stones. While it is named 'Felyne Fur Ruby', what it is originated from, as you can already guess from the name, is just a hairball that cannot be expelled from their body. Kinda yucky, yet it is being favorite of noblewoman's for brightening their rings and claps.

"-you're next." Muttered Dusk to Aure, which of course, cannot even speak in the first place. Starting from the same place as the Rathalos, he began tracing the underbelly's sides of the beast to find the exact spot to begin his carve. As he finds it, he began tearing open the rough hide of the golden-scaled beast. All the process are the same as the Rathalos', the one slightly different is, instead of a magnificent plate on the top of her back, Rathian-kind sports needle-like spikes jutting from their back, which is thought to be used as a kind of sensor: since they didn't fly much, they must be aware of their surrounding more than their male counterpart-but more than that, each of the Spike is filled with potent poison, for God-knows-what-reason. Removal of the needle must be done one-by-one, otherwise the complex net-like duct system that channels poison to each of the Spike will leaked out, and in the end it will seeps into the beast's system, degenerating every organ system.

Painstaking care must also be exercised when handling the bundle of needle. If one didn't bind them tightly, some of the needle will be loosened, thus making them scattered. Fully understanding this, Dusk binds the needle with some tendon extracted from the ligaments supporting the wing, and supported the base of the needle with a piece from the Velociprey's hide. When all 1213 of the Rathian's Spikes are extracted, not counting the damaged ones, the Deadly Poison Sacs comes next. Dusk secured three large Sac from the humped back, before start de-shelling the female wyvern.

*thunk*

"…not you too." Murmured Dusk in awe. Once again, his carving blade has struck something hard, when it is highly unlikely to be anything inside the largest Poison Sac at the end of the Rathian's tail. Opening the largest Sac he had seen until now, once again, something unbelievable came out.

Covered in strangely slimy purple-colored substance, which is highly likely concentrated poison, a beautiful gem came into light. This time it is a richly-colored gem with a gradation from deep green to golden glitter-Gold Rathian Emerald. Taking care not to touch it for prolonged period, as his hands are already suffered minor burns after handling the SilverSol Ruby, Dusk quickly rinsed the poison on the surface of the gem with water from his waterskin-yet to no avail. Even after emptying the content of the container, the gooey, purplish substance didn't get washed, but increased. It seems this gem, as the normal Rathian's ones has the ability to turn ANY kind of liquid it touched into poison…thought Dusk inwardly as he stowed the stone inside the waterskin, making a mental note for himself not to drink anymore from that pouch.

It takes no more than half a day for the skilled hunter to completely disassemble the bodies of the two beasts. It has done so expertly and beautifully, even the most skilled carver will be put in shame if he or she looked at Dusk's work.

There is no material trashed, or actually, left behind after the Carve, than entrails and some muscle mass. Even the most difficult material to obtain, the Wyvern Marrows could be secured without the need of breaking the Rathalos' spike-like appendage which extended from its lower jaw. After arranging all the material so it would fit the pelt carved first, he looked upon a pile of intestines: what left from a Rathalos he called 'friend'. The gigantic pair of five-lobed lungs is covered in blood; and the intestinal tract is empty: it seemed that they haven't eaten for the last two days, and the main cause of their deaths is lung rupture and massive hemorrhage, caused by shockwave produced at the time the meteorite struck.

His stomach turned. Resisting the urge to throw up, he looked at his palms, which now bears a sun and moon-shaped scar. His wound already closed because he grasped the Ruby with his bare hand after cutting himself, causing the fresh wound dried almost immediately, replaced by another minor burns. "Your spirits will forever live inside of me." He vowed, while bowing to that pile of organs, and draws open his foldable pickaxe. Then he used that Novacrystal-pointed pick to expand the crater while ignoring the pain on his palms, which is formed when the meteorite struck-to make a grave, where the left-overs would be buried.

After pouring dirt over the remaining organs, Dusk picked up one of the shattered Akura's crystal and erected it in the place of tombstone. He etched 'Here lies Silve, the Silver Sun' horizontally across the crystal with the help of the Wing. Then he did the same for the remaining Aure's organs, and once again placed a grave-marker. This time it reads: 'Here lies Aure. The Golden Moon .'

"…" The blackened stone, which is the main cause why the two wyverns he proudly called 'friend' ended up as a pile of organs, came across his sight. He had tossed it aside earlier, when he dug the grave. Upon further examination, he could see a metallic glitter running through the sides of the stone. Should I bring this stone back? He knows full well that this very stone, slightly larger than Kut-Ku's egg at the grasp of his hands is the one which killed his friends. Using the metal, whatever it is, contained in this stone would mean…

Then, he remembered Gandart's word. "Feelin' pity? Us Blacksmiths does not, young un'. Be it carving a weapn' outta Red Horn which 'as pierced dozens o' life, it means nothing for me. It is not the history of the material needed to create a weapn', nor the meaning behind one. A Blood-stained Matrial's just another Material, no more, no less."

The Wyverian elder said so, even while intoxicated by his alcoholic drinks. Having lived for at least 300 years more than average humans, it is almost certain he also had experienced something like this before as he, in his prime age, was almost legendary Material Hunter. Otherwise, that comment would not be expresses in such a sad tone.

He stashed the stone safely, wrapped in the remaining Velociprey hide. "Now how can I bring these outside?" He murmured to himself. The opening in the wall is a tight-fit with the size of the smallest heap of the material combined. Unpacking them would mean more time needed to reach his home village.

"-ah! How about this…?" He then remembered that he carries some Gunpowder. Using that explosive stuff in this condition can be considered extreme thinking…but in this case, it seemed to be the best option. Packing the black powder inside leather pouches, once again taken from the Prey's pelt, he sprinkled some of the powder as igniting fuse. "Now to do this…" He took out the signal gun and replaced the flare with small pebble, not forgetting to place some gunpowder.

He walked away for a quite a distance, before firing the gun. The flaming projectile flew in a wide arc before striking at the pouch, producing a loud blast. As he had calculated the force of the blast needed to break the already-crumbling rock open, the explosion wouldn't have to be so grand.

The entrance has opened wider, allowing Dusk to carry the materials back on his shoulder. Hunters don't being born with herculean strength, they trained for it. Especially, for Greatsword and Hammer users. Wielding a weapon that heavy will surely build some muscle.

Using a specially-designed flute, he called for the Aptonoths. Not waiting for long, the carriage arrived with the distinctive ricketing sound of some old wooden wheel. Mounting the Materials upon the cart, Dusk could feel all the tension disappeared from his body: it's almost like he is breathing in Gravios's sleep-inducing gas. "-shoot. I've got no stamina left. Guess the packing of the tent and the other thing's will have to wait for later…" He murmured. Taking out the small gun and loading the flare round, he aimed for the blue skies spread open before him, and fired the round. The bullet produced a loud high-pitched noise, as well as bright red flash as it soared through the skies.

"-ngh!" Dusk flinched, his hand instinctively covered his eye. Taking cover from the blinding light, a signal that signifies that the Balloon from the Elder Dragon Observation Community, an affiliate of the Guild has received this signal. They will send a letter to the guild using some of their Letter-Falcons, reporting the status of the Quest.

"-I leave it to you guys then. Take me home." Said Dusk, tugging the reins lightly. The Aptonoths begin to walk, ever felt so slowly. Nodding away because of the exhaustion, Dusk's eyelids slowly shuts. The exhaustion has taken the toll, and he is rendered asleep.

He dreamed about his mighty friend, ever-so-magnificent Silver-colored Wyvern. In his dream, he hunted beside the wyvern, as well as five little red hatchlings. As the wheel slowly turned, as the small steps of the Apceros' pair lessened the distance between him and his home, Dusk in enveloped in a veil of deep sleep.

End Of Chapter One


Character Profile.

Name: Dusk (Real name unknown. But his real name is supposed to be engraved in the bracelet he's been holding since baby. The item in question is now being stashed somewhere by Gandart)

Title: The Creator (Given by the Guild), Hero of Silver Sun (Given by Felli), Insensitive Beast (by Vieze).

Age: about 18 to 19 years old. Begin training as Gandart's apprentice at age 15. Has no prior education as a Hunter, but his time on Great Jungle has given him much sense needed to hunt a beast.

Hunter Rank: 17 (Material Hunter Rank: 10, Crafter Rank: 8)

Skin: White; it is still unknown where does he originated from, though. At least it is not from Redlands or Silverlands.

Build: Averagely muscular. Has the agility and reflex to match a Kirin's speed, due to his life in Great Forest. Unfortunately that gift is hindered by the armor he has to wear in his hunts.

Weapon Proficiency: Uses all weapons just fine, but has terrible sense of aim. At such, he always fails when using long-range weapons. Has the ability to tinker with weapons, giving them gimmicks that usually consists of transformation, combination between two weapons or separation into smaller forms.

Armor Proficiency: Light-to-medium armors, has only one Heavy class armor (which is Kushala Set) used to hunt Elder Dragons as the Heavy ones "-too cumbersome to move about." Then why did you didn't craft one which is not cumbersome? "-too little time for it."

Biography:

A baby abandoned at the depths of the Great Jungle, which is later found by Gandart in his Gathering Missions wearing Narga's Pelt as his garments, and a dagger made from a small Cutting Wing in his hand. It is unknown where it comes, did he slay a Narga hatchling for it or not; Adopted by Gandart as his son, and are thought the way of the lands, as well as the way of Hunter. As his experience from living in the Great Forest consisted by scavenging and hunting, Gandart later taught him the way of Material Hunter, and it seemed that he liked it more than the way of Hunters. The last training he had, where he is left behind in a cast-off island with no preparations, had awakened his crafter ability. When Gandart picked him up, he had built a forge himself and tempered a simple armor to protect himself from the materials he found on the island. Has a trauma about crafting armors for other people's uses because of an accident in his training years. Annoyingly cheerful (when it comes to teasing his childhood friend Vieze), but in reality a deep thinker, and wishes the most for peace between humans and beasts alike.

Name: Silve

Species: Silver Rathalos (nicknamed 'Silversol' by Hunters)

Data:

A stray Silversol that is befriended by the hunter Dusk. Shows a high level of intellect, as it could obey verbal command as 'stay here', 'ambush him', 'diversion', and many more. Killed by a stray meteorite with his mate Aure, the Golden Rathian.

Name: Aure

Species: Gold Rathian (some named it 'Aurian')

Data:

Silve's pair. Has found herself a mate incidentally after strayed off her flight-path to Ancient Tower. Unlike Silve who assumes friendly gestures to Dusk, Aure will dole out any attack possible to chase away the hunter from her mate. Even bribery has no effect on her. Her trademark move is 'Dusk-fender triple tailslap-to-fireball combo', which probably will kill a normal hunter at her first strike.


Well, that's the first chapter...or more fittingly, the prelude to the story. Because this is my first story to be published (in English), please post your suggestion using the review function (^.^) b

Incidentally, how do you portray the main character, Dusk's emotion and action? Well, since this is just only the first chapter, I'm sure his thought and emotion still doesn't get relayed that much, but...

Oh. And if you do play the Monster Hunter series, you'll definitely notice something. That's right, the White Nargacuga.

Ever since it's being introduced as the flagship monster in the MHP2G, the popularity of that black kitten still lingers up until now. And because of (read: solely of) the bad-ass-level of said creature, many players tried to create a skin-mod for recoloring purpose. Well, I tried to crank up that attempt to another level, creating a new monster altogether. Oh, and do remember it: later on she would be a rather important character in advancing the plot-line.

Edit:

Oh. My. God!

It seems that Capcom (c) had, finally, released their own version of White Narga...well, they dubbed it 'Naruga Rare Species'.

This novel, is based solely on MHP3rd version of Monster Hunter franchise. (In fact, the very reason of this novel being created was the ahwshumeness of the flagship monster, Jinouga) At such, many monsters from Yukumo area will appear in later chapters, not excluding ones from latter games.

Even so, the resemblance between the official version in MHPtri-G and the one I made in this story was rather close...if in fact they are indeed the same. Maybe because they read this story somewhere? Or maybe because the developmental team read one of my posts in Minegarde? Or in MonHun Wiki? Or...

Well, it doesn't matter. There are as many coincidences as there's stars on the skies. Call it pride, call it boasting...

But humans do hold their beliefs well.

Guess I'll post again my ideas about the Mother of All Jhens, Nephritas and her distant cousin Oceanus, the Lord of All Deus. Or maybe the true nature of Dragon Element. Or maybe a brand-new Elder Dragon idea...

Who knows? Tune in for the next update.

~December 29, 2010~ (Yes, I wrote this story exactly one year ago.)