DNMC: Dearg
By U.R. Ahzum
Special Thanks to Monty Oum
The sun. A blazing orb of light that shines brighter than anything in the land. The sword. The most noble and most versatile of all weapons. The strength. Strength to wield the power of these two as one in a fiery dance of fury.
In the beginning, there was nothing. Then, a light shone through, giving birth to the first humans to walk the earth. However, humanity was born into an unforgiving world filled with darkness. And within the darkness lie the Creatures of Grimm.
In order to combat the Grimm, an entire society of warriors was created to face the dangers no one man could face. These warriors became the Huntsmen and Huntresses. However, even with the Huntsmen and Huntresses fighting against the Grimm, many lights were still lost to the darkness.
This, however, did not cause the human spirit to waver. For generations, humans have fought against the Grimm, carrying with them whatever reason they deem fit to fight against the darkness that surrounds them. Some fight to protect, others fight to entertain. Whatever their reason is, all fight for one universal purpose: To bring light into a world of darkness.
This is the story of one of these brave warriors of light. One who possessed strength beyond his years. One with a head of burning red hair. One whose purpose is not simply to protect and not merely to entertain.
For weeks, he has journeyed through a dark, frozen wood known by all as Winter Wood. Much of this terrain is left uncharted, due to the harsh temperatures and cold-thriving Grimm. All that has ever been made known to the people of the world beyond is that it is a frozen tundra with very few signs of life coming from it. The warrior feared none of this, for he has gotten used to the cold and the Grimm.
However, the Winter Wood offers more than just cold and Grimm. And the Wood was more than happy to deliver a grim reminder of this truth.
The ground started to rumble and quake. The warrior looked around and saw an enormous fissure headed his way. In a state of panic, the warrior ran as quickly as he can to escape a fall into an icy grave. But the ground was beginning to break faster than he could run. Soon, one fissure became two, then two became four, until the entire terrain began to tear itself asunder. The warrior made a mad dash to the other side of the cataclysm, leaping across from one piece of debris to another.
The warrior made his way to safety just barely as he latched onto the edge. He struggled to pull himself up as he glared down into a bottomless pit of ice and stone. Finally, after great physical and spiritual strain, he's safe. After taking a short rest, he dusted the snow off of him and continued his journey.
"Wow. All that strength training and you couldn't lift a few hundred pounds? D'Arg, what is wrong with you?" As he muttered these words, a shadow began to lurch in the ruins of the catastrophe that had almost become his tomb. As he muttered these words, the warrior known as D'Arg began to reflect upon how he first came upon this predicament.
Somewhere in the forgotten city of Mantle, there stood a small hut that is home to a legendary trainer and a master Huntress. D'Arg entered this small abode with a pair of swords, each as large as he is, strapped to his back. "So, Master. You wanted to see me?"
"Naturally," The Master responded while facing a map of the world. "D'Arg, what do you know about a forest by the name of Winter Wood?"
"You mean besides the fact that it's basically a slab of ice with trees growing out of it? Nothing much," D'Arg jested.
But The Master was not amused. She simply turned her head slightly and responded with, "Then I take it you will consider my assignment to you as an educational field trip." She turned to D'Arg and continued briefing him on his task. "The Winter Wood is, as you describe, a slab of ice with trees growing out of it. However, it is also one of many places in the world that no mapmaker has been able to fully chart out, thus making a large portion of it virtually unknown. Your task will be to venture out into these wilds with nothing but your weapons at your side and survive there for one month. Always stay vigilant, as these woods are riddled with Grimm. If you are not careful here, you will die. Are you prepared for this task, D'Arg?"
D'Arg gave an overly confident smirk and replied with a hearty "Yes I am."
"No I'm not," he shivered. A blizzard had kicked up in the time D'Arg reflected on his poor choice of words, forcing him into a cave that happened to crumble into existence, courtesy of potentially ages worth of erosion. His only source of warmth was a small fire he used to cook a rabbit that was unfortunate enough to get caught in the rubble.
After feasting upon its gamey flesh, D'Arg started to ponder as to what he could possibly gain from this journey. So far, all he was able to draw from this journey was that Winter Wood deserved a name that did more than simply broadcast to the world that it was filled with ice and snow. But he knew that there was far more to this escapade that that.
The blizzard finally ebbed and D'Arg proceeded through the frozen tundra once again. "Hope I find out what Master wanted me to learn while I'm here. Ain't got that much time left…" D'Arg reflected once more upon the day he first set out on this journey, hoping that it will give him a clue on what The Master wants from him…
D'Arg polished his faithful swords one last time as he prepared to embark to a land very few venture to and even fewer venture back from. Just as he was about to take his first step, The Master came and delivered a small warning. "D'Arg, before you go rushing off into unknown territory, it is important to remember that I will come to personally escort you home at the end of the month. But bear in mind that I will only do so if you can answer this one question: What does it mean to be a Huntsman or a Huntress?"
D'Arg was confused at this prospect, for he thought he knew all that there was to know about being a Huntsman. "Umm… Isn't it about going on adventures and protecting the people?"
"Yes, that is true," The Master assured, "but there is more to it than that. If you can answer my one question, then I will personally escort you back to Mantle. If not, you will simply have to wait another month."
D'Arg blurted out in astonishment, "WHAT?! ARE YOU FOR REAL?!"
"You could always swim back," The Master remarked.
"WHAT?! NO NO NO NO NO! It's okay! It's okay! I'll figure it out by the end of the month! I promise," D'Arg assured in a panic.
"Let us hope that you do," The Master retorted as she left the room. "I will be waiting for you in the northernmost region. I expect to see you there very soon," she added.
"I'm screwed…" With today being the final day and D'Arg not knowing the answer to The Master's question, he might as well not face her at all. But his pride as a Huntsman would not allow that, so he decided to head north and take whatever punishments to come like a man.
That's when he heard it. A growling sound from somewhere in the not-far-off distance. D'Arg scanned the area, found nothing, and kept walking. It happened again, followed by a whooshing sound. D'Arg knew that something was there that time. At first, he thought it was a snow leopard, but it moved too fast. He then confirmed it to be a puma, but this was the wrong climate. Finally, they came. An entire pack of jaguar Grimm!
Upon sight, D'Arg brandished his swords and took a stance as the Grimm started to encircle and intimidate him. However, they weren't intimidating him. Instead, D'Arg casually remarked, "Whoa! Wasn't expecting you guys. You here to meet my master too?"
A few of them growled even louder while a few others started to show their teeth and claws. They all closed in on the cocky Huntsman, ready to pounce. D'Arg did something along those lines with a smile that brings with it a love for battle. "Well, I'm sure she'd be flattered, but I don't think she's really a cat person."
A Grimm came in from behind! D'Arg cleaved it in two! "Must be rubbing off on me."
The slaughter began! One Grimm came in from the left. The warrior dodged and sliced the Grimm in half. Two more pounced at him. The warrior blocked using his faithful weapons, threw them into a tree, and jumped onto a third one. It tried to shake him off, but to no avail. The warrior then eviscerated the Grimm, sending it back to the darkness that spawned it.
One after another, each Grimm fell to this mighty warrior's blade. But this victory streak would not go on forever. Two of the Grimm proceeded to chop down one of the massive trees of the forest, sending it toppling on top of D'Arg's head! He dodged, but found himself at the mercy of even more Grimm. The pack started to grow stronger in numbers while D'Arg grew weaker in strength. That's when he unleashed his secret weapon: shotguns built into his swords!
One shot from his guns was all he needed to disintegrate these demons, and one swipe from his swords was all he needed to eviscerate them. However, what the Grimm lacked in strength they made up for in speed and agility. Two attributes D'Arg was sorely lacking compared to these hellspawn. To make matters worse, D'Arg heard a very familiar rumbling in the distance.
"Not again!" D'Arg wanted to clear himself an opening, but he ran out of bullets and needed time to reload. He braced himself for a simultaneous attack from the Grimm and the Winter Wood. He prepared to counter as a number of Grimm charged right at him, and…
A tree fell to the ground and crushed them! D'Arg was astonished at this event, for he knew that was not him. Was it… the Winter Wood?
Either way, D'Arg took advantage of this by planting his swords in the ground and performing a quick reload. The slaughter resumed as D'Arg blasted and sliced the Grimm apart in a fiery dance of fury. But none of this mattered to the Alpha. Something made very clear as it let loose a roar that can rattle your very soul.
"Wow. You're big. Almost as big as that Ursa I killed once," D'Arg remarked. The Alpha then sent a barrage of ice and wood down upon him. D'Arg dodged and unloaded several more rounds, but this only aggravated the Alpha. It then swiped at D'Arg with an enormous paw, knocking him into a tree.
D'Arg, left in a daze, staggers back to his feet despite how he was up against an Alpha Grimm and its pack. Then, he heard the rumbling again, only this time, it has created cracks in the ground they were standing on. Whether or not this was the godsend he needed right now, it did not matter. D'Arg had a chance to finish off the Grimm and he was not going to waste it. He pulled a second trigger on each of his swords, setting them ablaze. The Grimm were taken aback by this sight, as he started to burn bright as the sun. Finally, D'Arg struck the earth with his mighty blades and shattered the terrain, sending the demons that stood before him back to Hell.
As for D'Arg, he was left holding on for dear life once again, this time hanging on by his swords driven into the icy stone wall. "Dear God, I hope this doesn't become a habit…"
After he pulled himself out of yet another pit, D'Arg noticed the sun rising on the horizon. He also noticed an icebreaker boat on the frozen beach. It was The Master. At last! D'Arg ran towards the beach, ready to give his answer.
"Welp, wish me luck Master." Back at The Master's hut, D'Arg set forth on his escapade to complete his task. The Master gazed off into the distance as she watched her protégée go off into the world on his own for the very first time.
"D'Arg," she muttered to herself, "what you say is true, Huntsmen and Huntresses must devote their lives to ones of adventure and dedicate themselves to protecting the people. But we do more than just that. We as Huntsmen and Huntresses must also fight for our world. We are all connected to each other through invisible bonds that can never be broken. We are all part of one Grand Design of the universe. We are all one."