Ryaken I: A Butcher's Tale


My name is Ryaken, just another butcher from Ascaris, the mountain city. About a week ago, every hunter in the village was sent north to the last great fortress: Fort Lao Shan. Even the youngest rookie was called. No able bodied hunter was left in the village.. So the village elder called a meeting. We drew straws to find out which group would start the rounds. By that, I mean that all men were split into groups of 3, and would hunt on a rotating schedule. I'm wasn't very lucky.

Knowing the lazy cowards I got paired with, I should have known that I was going to end up on this kelbi hunt alone. The blacksmiths gave me an old blade to carry on my trip. It's handle was bent, it was probably deemed defective and ended up collecting dust until I got it. The dull shine it emits suggested that it once had a beautiful finish. The handle was decoratively covered in some type of scaly, dark blue hide with black stripes. The tip of the blade was chipped, suggesting that I was not the first to end up having to use it. I would have given anything to have it in my hands then, though. Sadly, that wasn't a possibility.

For the blade rested under the claws of a large blue creature that was rummaging through my food pack. It stood to about the height of my chest, and it's scaly hide glistened in the afternoon sun, making the black stripes along it's sides seem even more distinctive. It's mouth held a sizable amount of teeth, some of which were protruding very far. It had a scar across it's left eye, which rendered it just about useless. I screamed as a searing pain shot through my right arm. While I was scoping out the first creature, one of the same type had snuck up behind me.

It took the sleeve off my shirt and skin off my arm, but didn't bite too deep. I rolled after I pulled free and darted through the grass towards the bottom of the mountain. Through the adrenaline that numbed the pain in my arm and blurred my vision, I heard somewhat of a shriek, and then felt immense force slam into my back. It was followed by another sharp pain in my left shoulder as I toppled over. Luckily, The speed at which I was running caused both me and the creature that had leapt onto my back to go rolling across the plain. Dazed by the fall, I panicked as the creature approached slowly, it's tongue almost hanging out of it's mouth. I swung a kick at it from the ground, hoping to scare it off. It bit into my boot, though, and tore it from my foot. I scuttled back a bit, until my hands began to sink into soft mud. I was at the water's edge! Without so much as a second thought, I sprung backwards and ran into the water to about waist height, with the creature at my heels, and dove straight in. I swam as far as my breath would allow before surfacing, and when I did, the creature was at the water's edge with another of it's kind, snarling and snapping at me. I turned and headed for the other side of the lake.

I was still swimming when I heard an incredibly high pitched screech. It came from the direction of my assailant, and as I turned, I saw a pink streak hit the creature and carry it about five or six feet, forcing it to onto it's side in the dirt. As the dust cleared, I saw that the pink streak was an even larger creature. It stood on two bony, clawed legs and had two powerful wings, their blue webbing sharply contrasting with the creature's pink scales. As it's beak began to tear into the helpless creature, and it's companion fled, I turned and swam for dear life.

That was two days ago.

Ryaken had finally mustered up enough courage to venture back outside. He had been hiding in a small cave since he'd been attacked. He gripped a heavy stick tightly as he placed his left foot into the light shining into the mouth of the cave.

"Just gotta get back around this lake, then it's a mile up to Ascaris", he reminded himself.

He drew a deep breath and stepped into the light.

Ryaken ran his hand along his chest, and looked at it, only to find it covered in blood. His eyes widened in horror, and, he fell to his knees. He was kneeling in a pool of blood. Not all of it was the wyvern's. His vision began to darken and blur as he tried to get up. There was a quiet plop when his face hit the blood. It was over. Peace at last. With no fanfare or glory, the unsung hero of Ascaris gave up the ghost.

He shook his head to clear his mind, there was no room for negative thoughts like that. Temporarily blinded by the rapid change in sunlight, Ryaken shielded his eyes. As his vision cleared, he remembered how beautiful the base of the mountain was. The lake glistened with an unearthly beauty. He quickly snapped out of his trance, remembering that carelessness got him into this mess in the first place. He lowered the stick, realizing there was nothing dangerous in sight. As he began his trek around the lake, his mind began to wander. He always had this unnatural infatuation with nature's beauty… How did he end up as a butcher? He glanced at his arm and smiled. That could have ended a lot worse. And what was that pink creature? It had a gigantic beak… It could have almost passed for cute if it wasn't so vicious. He shuddered as he remembered how it tore into the blue creature. He was almost halfway around the lake, passing a heavily wooded area, when he heard a sound that sent shivers down his spine.

Instinctively, he took two great bounds and leapt to the floor with his hands covering his head. As he kissed the ground, a great dust cloud was kicked up by the sudden gust. Standing to face this pink terror, he gripped his stick with both hands and got ready to dodge another attack. The dust cleared, and he stared straight into the eyes of the monster that would probably take his life if he wasn't fast enough. It's twitched a bit and it released a piercing screech. It's breath reeked of blood. Ryaken planted both feet, swalled a mountain of air, and let out a guttural roar. Birds fled their roosts as it echoed, and the monster's ears flared up.

The creature rushed at him head-on, beak gaping. Ryaken jumped to the side, turned and began the fastest sprint of his life, in the direction of Ascaris. He heard a thud shortly after, and figured it had lost balance and fallen flat. There was no way it could go very far running as awkwardly as it did. He began to let out a snicker when the ground beneath his feet practically exploded, he was sent flying into the lake, his clothes ablaze. Still unsure of what happened, his vision cleared and he realized that he was sinking to the bottom of the lake. Instinct screamed at him to surface, but something beckoned him to wait. Surely enough, that something was right. Through his clouded vision, he saw a silhouette pass over the water. It was looking to finish this easy meal, but he would give it no such satisfaction. Colors began to flash in front of his eyes, his body reminding him that he could not hide under the surface forever, so he cautiously approached the surface. As he exploded out of the water, he took a giant gulp of air and disappeared as quickly as he had come. He swam under the surface until he could tell that it was shallow enough for him to run through effectively. He silently poked his head up, and his whole body followed in the same fashion. The monster seemed to have lost interest. It was taking off, probably to forage elsewhere.

Resuming his mad dash for the trail, he realized something. If he did not at least make this thing realize that humans could fight back, his village would definitely be attacked. There was no way he could make it up the entire open trail, anyway. It would easily spot and finish him. He had to make a stand. He sighed and turned, headed back for the forest.

Right where he left it. The sword that the blacksmiths gave him was still there in the clearing. His pack was shredded and trampled, but his sword was safe. He smiled as he placed it on his belt. With his carving knife, he sharpened two sticks that were each about three feet long. He began to formulate a plan, and soon found himself in a tree with his weapons making final preparations. He said a quick prayer, and released a blood-curdling scream, mimicking a dying animal. It echoed eerily. Now he just had to wait.

Within five minutes, the monster was creeping through the brush, looking for the wounded animal it had heard. It's ears were standing as straight as swords and it's eyes were cold and merciless. It neared the tree Ryaken was waiting in with it's head down, following a trail of blood. It heard a roar and saw Ryaken falling through the air with his spear ready to kill it. The monster closed it's eyes instinctively.

There was a snap and a groan. The spear snapped in half, it's tip barely jabbing the surface of the creature's back. It turned to face this noble butcher with murderous intent. It drew closer, slowly. He backed up slowly as well, trying not to make sudden movements until he could get behind a tree. Then he tripped. He let out a yelp of fear, and the creature's claw was upon his chest before his head hit the ground. It pressed him slowly, causing blood to flow from his nose. It reared back for the killing blow, but it felt a sharp pain in it's side. It screeched and jumped backwards, shocked by the blow. It turned to find the source of this pain, and it saw Ryaken's blade protruding from it's stomach. It was filled with rage. It jumped up and down violently, then shook it's head to clear it's vision. It saw Ryaken soaring towards it with his spear in hand, then it saw nothing, felt nothing, and was nothing. It shook the ground as it fell to the ground, dead.

As he stood over the one thing he had never even dreamed of doing, he realized that it was bleeding out incredibly fast. The ground, and even his boots were soaked in blood. So were his pants, and what remailed of his shirt. Then, puzzled, he replayed the battle in his head. It's claw was firmly placed on his stomach. When it leapt back, its claw raked across his body, tearing through skin and muscle.

"UGH!" He spit up blood.

"NO!"

In disbelief, Ryaken ran his hand along his chest...


Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter.


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