Special Thanks To…

The Claymore community at the Animesuki forum, for without their contributions this quality and length of work would never have been possible. I'd like to thank my primary editors, MiriaJiyuu, Shelter, joe_fh, and Shiek927, whose input was instrumental in shaping the storyline. I'd also like to thank my secondary editors like Weird D, Ryuken, evil_kenshin, FormerAbyssalone, FragrantFlora, and Loivissa. I'd also like to thank Loivissa for putting in the time and skill to draw a great custom cover for this fanfiction. Last but not least, I'd like to thank all my fans, whose enthusiasm kept me going…

This fanfiction is an over 500-hour labor of love, so I'd love if those reading it were constructive in any critiques you might have. I appreciate you reading and hope you enjoyed the novel. As thanks for you reading this far, I've added a small spoiler on what you will see in "Claymore: New Era"'s sequel, "The Silver-eyed Empress".

Preview of "The Silver-eyed Empress"

Here's a little relevant information to better understand the scene:

Takes place on main continent in the Redwood Coast region

Individuals concerned: two silver-eyed slayers

"We should go back," Kasia pleaded to her stubborn stepsister.

"Not a frickin' chance. Not when the rest of them were just sitting there watching it like some sort of gladiator sport," Rima sneered.

Rima had grabbed her and headed into the Forest of Giants. Kasia was regretting her decision to follow along in her exhaustion. The forest was nearly pitch dark, lit only by irregular flashes of lightning from a coming storm and a little moonlight. Even though silver-eyed fighters had excellent night vision, it was still difficult to see in the immense forest. Overhead the trees groaned with the rush of the oncoming wind, a small pattering of rain coming down.

"Shouldn't we stop for the night? There's a storm coming, and we'll get drenched," Kasia pleaded.

"I don't care," Rima replied. "I'm hot on the trail of our Dragonkin. I found his footprint a little ways from here."

Kasia's stomach felt sick; the last thing she wanted right now was to track a lethally dangerous Dragonkin.

"Oh come on," Rima said, exasperated. "I said we were tracking it. Did you actually think I was dumb enough to take on a Smok with just two of us?"

"You were giving me that impression earlier Rima," Kasia pointed out. "I don't understand why Noir snapped like that though. I understand she regarded James as her 'possession', but—"

"It wasn't your fault Kasia," Rima reassured. "You remember poor Celestina having that breakdown right before the final test?"

"Well yeah," Kasia admitted while clambering over an enormous fallen Redwood trunk covered in moss. "She started crying and then attacked our trainer before he could announce the test's start."

"Noir had a breakdown just like Celestina. Liang says she had a nightmarish mission against a Dragonkin ten years ago, and I'm guessing it traumatized her. Her superiors still needed a veteran like her, so they stationed her on the quietest front they could find."

"Yeah, but she attacked me over James, and…" Kasia stopped as she considered Rima's words more carefully. "Oh, you mean—"

"I bet she was nearly pissing herself in fear," Rima interrupted while jumping off the fallen Redwood onto the fern-covered forest floor below. "Then you come along and smooth-talked her prize possession, and she freaked out and thought she was about to lose everything."

"I was NOT smooth-talking James," Kasia huffed a little loudly.

"Quiet," Rima snapped, listening intently.

Kasia walked up alongside Rima and asked, "What is it?"

"I could've sworn I heard a roar just now," Rima whispered.

The storm was finally overhead now, a steady heavy rain coming down, drenching the two of them as Rima listened.

"Rima, if I can't hear anything in this storm, then you most certainly can't," Kasia huffed. "Come on, let's go back. This place is scaring the hell out of me."

Kasia began walking down a clear portion of the forest floor and then abruptly fell into an enormous puddle.

"Goddamit," Kasia cursed.

Rima ran up, looking impressed while standing idly by.

"Ah come on, can't you help me up at least?"

Rima grabbed her by the right arm and hoisted her up, and then pointed back to the puddle. Kasia turned to look, a mere glance being enough to churn her stomach with unease. The puddle was the footprint of something massive with three pointed toes in a dinosaur-like shape. The footprint Kasia estimated to be longer than Rima was tall; it belonged to a monster.

"Oh no," Rima muttered.

"What? Did you hear anything?"

"No," Rima said, looking around in deep concentration to check the surroundings. "But that footprint is pointed straight in the direction of our camp."

Kasia followed frantically behind Rima, running along muddy trails, over fallen logs, dodging falling limbs, the Dragonkin's trail easily lit by the flashing light of lightning overhead. Great crashes of thunder interrupted the rushing sounds of the wind and the heavy patter of the downpour. They followed, finding an occasional enormous footprint or smashed patch of ferns and kept on, frantic. The trail was not deviating in the slightest, even as it wound its way around the enormous Redwoods all around them.

"It's going to find our camp at this rate," Kasia gasped.

"Damn bastard," Rima cursed, "Just my luck; I won't be there when it arrives!"

They kept running down the trail for an hour, finding nothing but more Redwoods and the occasional footprint. It was when Rima found a particularly fresh footprint that they stopped for a breather.

"Hold it," Rima ordered. "I recognize these woods. I think we're only a fifteen minute run from camp. Is it just me, or is the only yoki you feel Havel's?"

Kasia noticed that James' yoki was further ahead, but it was understandably distressed from the wound he'd gotten earlier in the evening. There was just one problem with Havel's yoki other than this; he was headed straight towards them.

Kasia groaned, "Oh no, he's probably trying to find us—"

"Cool it," Rima snapped. "James wouldn't be going anywhere, not when his mistress is hurt. The only reason he's heading straight towards us is he's running for his life."

"No, that thing couldn't have hit camp already, we just left it four hours ago," Kasia cried, feeling a horrible sense of depression creeping up on her.

"It's chasing James," Rima declared, looking at a puddle of water underneath a large fern.

Kasia yelled in alarm, "We've got to go to James!"

It was at this moment that the puddle rippled, not from the rain but from the impact of something hitting the ground far away. Kasia stopped talking and glanced down, as did Rima. It rippled yet again, this time more strongly.

"We're going to ambush this thing right here," Rima declared.

Kasia glanced around but didn't find much room to maneuver, with plenty of downed logs, enormous tree trunks, and muddy trails hindering her mobility.

"No Rima, we've got to get to a more open spot," Kasia pointed out.

"The field operations manual says to ambush them, so that's what we're going to do," Rima snapped. "Now grow some ovaries and shut up about the odds of us winning."

Kasia couldn't remember a time her heart was beating more loudly. She followed Rima up over a fallen tree trunk and behind some ferns and waited. The rain kept pouring while the puddle underneath the nearby fern rippled ever faster. They were still hiding when James' yoki came within a few hundred yards, the sound of vegetation crushing not far behind.

James rounded a nearby tree, gasping, clutching his bloodied right arm, his sword planted on his back. James kept running straight towards them when something enormous rounded the tree with a massive thud.

Kasia whispered in fear to Rima, "That's a Dragonkin?"