The Master Corps
Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The game belongs entirely to Capcom. All characters that appear in this story belong to me, unless otherwise stated.
Edited by: dashboardgecko
Chapter 12- Recollection
York gazed down at a large pack of Jaggis from his hidden perch in the trees. There were about twenty or so of the smaller ankle biters in the spacious meadow below, and a single, far larger Great Jaggi leading them. The hunter had been tracking them across Moga Island for about an hour now, waiting until the conditions would be right to attack. Now the pack was distracted by the large herd of Aptonoth it had attacked, the bright-colored carnivores yipping excitedly at the prospect of a large meal.
This should do just fine… The big one is the target, and with all the confusion the Aptonoths are kicking up this should be the perfect opportunity, the brown haired hunter thought, scratching at his chin. Let's see if they've learned anything.
With a quiet whistle, York signaled to the other three hunters waiting below that it was time to strike. At once, the three burst out of cover and charged towards the struggle between the Aptonoth and the Jaggis.
At their front was a boy of about seventeen years wearing a full set of Jaggi armor, wielding a short sword made from the bright-colored materials, a light weapon known as a Hydra Knife. A clawed shield accompanied the grey blade, a study defense despite its simple construction. Trailing hardly four steps behind him, two more hunters raced towards the fray on either side of him, hands reaching for their own weapons. The one on the left wore armor made from quality Machalite ore, offering decent defense for his entire body. Strapped to his back was a tannish metal great sword with a curved tip and a rounded-out section near the hilt, referred to as a Buster Sword. To the great sword wielder's right was a huntress wielding a Cross bowgun, garbed entirely in chainmail armor. Despite the heavy appearance of the suit it was extremely lightweight, giving the gunner much more mobility than it let on.
"Ilia, scatter them!" the great sword wielder called. The gunner took the front as the group neared the cluster of Jaggis before them, unslinging her bowgun in one swift motion. She fired a number of pellet shots into the crowd, many of the small metallic chips of buckshot finding their mark in one of the beasts before them. Several of the smaller Jaggis dropped with a single shot to the neck, head, or chest, their vitals having been shredded by the small projectiles. Others were wounded or knocked back by the shots, thinning out a good number of the Jaggis nearest them.
"Cass, clear me a path!" the short sword wielder shouted, ducking back behind the Alloy-clad hunter. The great sword wielder swung his Buster Sword in a wide horizontal arc, cutting a swath in the creatures between them. Despite the massive weight of the blade, the hunter recovered quickly, pulling his blade around in a defensive stance and charging into the herd great sword first, bulldozing through the small carnivores with his strength.
The Jaggi-clad hunter raced behind the great sword wielder as he pushed his way towards the Great Jaggi, the pack leader being too distracted by the confusion the Aptonoth were causing to notice them. After shoving his way through most of the pack, the great sword wielder ducked down low, crushing two Jaggi beneath his sword.
"Aquila, hit 'em where it hurts!" the bowgunner called, turning her attention to the Jaggi that hadn't been run down by the great sword user's charge.
The short sword wielder leapt over the great sword user's back, landing with a roll and sprinting towards the pack leader. He drew his sword as he neared, slashing a small ankle biter across the neck with the blade and slamming his shield into another's head. The beast turned just in time to see the hunter leap through the air towards it, holding his sword above his head as he neared.
Before it could react, the sharp blade had already found its mark inside the beast's open jaw, puncturing through its throat and out the bottom of its neck. With a sickening crunch, the hunter wrenched his sword free and slammed his shield against the side of the creature's head, and with a sideways roll he positioned himself at its side. With a loud shout, he plunged his sword into the Great Jaggi again, this time driving it straight through its heart and ending the pack leader's life.
The remaining Jaggis, seeing the death of their leader, backed away from the scene before racing off into the trees and disappearing from sight. The remaining Aptonoth likewise hurried out of the meadow, leaving the three hunters alone with the many carcasses around them.
"Alright, Teach! How was that?!" the great sword wielder shouted up to York, who quickly leapt down from the tree and landed in the meadow with the others, slowly getting to his feet and pulling his beaked hood back as he surveyed the area. Aside from the Great Jaggi, a pair of Aptonoth had been killed in the struggle with the pack, and the hunters had managed to bring down about a dozen of the smaller Jaggis with their surprise assault. All in all, it was an excellent execution.
"It wasn't bad at all, Cassian," York replied, approaching his three students as they removed their helmets.
The sword and shield user, Aquila, had fair features, sharp brown eyes, and short but messy dark brown hair. He was also a fair bit thinner than his companion, though still somewhat muscular. The great sword wielder, Cassian, had somewhat long sandy blond hair, an angular jaw, green eyes, and was very muscular for one of only eighteen years. The third hunter, the female bowgunner Iliana, had long black hair she held loose. She had a pair of bright blue eyes the color of lightning, though she had very soft features as well, providing something of a contrast in her appearance: fierce, yet gentle all the same.
"Damn right it wasn't bad! You see how I just barreled through that pack?" Cassian laughed, kicking one of the downed ankle biters.
"Well, there would've been too many for you to go through if Ilia hadn't dropped them with her bowgun fire," the short sword wielder said, checking the edge of his sword. "If it wasn't for that brute strength of yours, those things would've chewed you apart."
"But if he hadn't rushed through them that way, there wouldn't have been a path for you to get to the Great Jaggi, Aquila," Iliana stated. "It was a group effort, guys: no one was more important than the others."
"Well said, Iliana," York commented, getting the three hunters' attention. "Out there in the world of hunters, what matters most is that you learn to work together with your friends. There are challenges some of you will be able to overcome on your own, but far more that you'll need help from friends to complete. This lesson comes easier to some than others, but you've all been showing that you do understand that. In these past few months, the three of you have been improving tremendously; you're all well ahead of who you were before you stepped off that boat onto Moga's docks."
"Guess you can take credit for that, Teach," Aquila grinned, causing the other hunters to laugh in agreement.
"Sure, it hasn't really been easy, but we'd probably all be struggling with Ludroths if you hadn't helped show us the ropes, Mr. Adler," Iliana said gratefully.
"Well, it isn't an easy profession, Iliana. That goes for all of you: no matter how good you think you are, there could always be something -or someone- that is more than you can handle. Cass, Ilia, if it weren't for your parents' help, I might not have made it out of more than a few scrapes myself."
"Oh come on, like Da could've saved you more than you saved him," Cass laughed, throwing his head back. "He couldn't hunt his way out of a paper bag! If there's one thing I've definitely found out from you, Teach, it's that somehow, someway, you will cheat death at every turn. Seriously, you proved that last week when that Diablos wrecked the cave we were in. I thought for sure you and Ilia were done for, but somehow you made it out ahead of us!"
"Even I don't know how you pulled that one off," the bowgunner giggled. York allowed himself a short smirk as he looked at the three, knowing they all wanted to find out how he had pulled off such a feat.
"Sorry kids, but this old dog's gotta keep some of his tricks secret, right?"
"Dammit Teach, you're no fun," Aquila joked. "So, what do we got planned next?"
"Something I know all of you are quite fond of: lessons." The three younger hunters groaned at their instructor's sarcasm, hanging their heads as they headed back towards the village with the white robed hunter after carving their kills.
About an hour of walking later, the group returned to the Hunter's Academy in the center of Moga Village, a thriving location for all sorts of hunters passing through on quests in the surrounding area. The building itself was two stories tall, with the lower half being used mostly as a reception hall for both old and new hunters, while the top floor was dedicated to lessons and weapon instruction for the students. The three young hunters took seats in the center of the wood paneled ring used as the sparring floor as York pulled a chair over to seat himself on.
"Alright, so, you've all been training here for about half a year now, and you've developed your abilities enough that I think it's time for you to learn about skills."
"Skills? Whaddya mean, skills? Ain't that what we've been working on this whole time?" Cassian asked.
"Yes and no. While you've been working on honing your skills with weapons themselves, there hasn't been as much training for your minds," the older hunter explained. "For instance, how many times have you heard tales of hunters being able to cut through shells and hides harder than their weapons should have been able to?"
"I think old man Burguson said something about that in the tavern the other day…" Aquila muttered, resting his head on his hand.
"Well, what he was getting at was an ability known as Mind's Eye. Hunters who train themselves properly can achieve an effect where, if they swing with the right momentum and accuracy, they can cut through even diamond hard plating, though it won't do as much damage as a swing against a soft spot."
"So what's the point of it if it doesn't make you do more damage?" Ilia asked. "Wouldn't you want to deal as much damage as possible?"
"While that is an understandable thought, what you as a gunner may fail to realize is that if a blade strikes something too hard for it to cut, there's a hell of a rebound on the wielder's arm," York elaborated. "What that skill does is prevent blademasters from having to worry about their weapons deflecting."
"So… how do we get these 'skill' things then?" Cass inquired. "Hell, if I can keep my sword from bouncing, I'll do it!"
"Not so fast there, squirt," the older hunter chuckled. "While I did say that skill is something blademasters can attain, you should also know that everyone already has their own inner abilities. You just have to unlock them first. I'd say you've already reached a point where you have one: your strength training has given you increased attacking potential, something that really helps with a heavy weapon like yours."
"But then how do we find out what our skills are?" Aquila asked. "This is the first time I've ever heard about this. And these sound a lot like those 'Armor Skills' I heard rumor of…"
"Armor skills are more of a rumor than anything. Over their careers, hunters develop their abilities along with their weapon preferences. It's something of a tell based on their preferred weapon. For example, the ability to charge a switch axe phial quicker wouldn't help a sword user like yourself in the slightest. Fortunately, you won't have to worry about that because, like you said last week, nothing else feels more right in your arms than a sword and shield. Therefore, skills you'd be more likely to have would reflect either in enhanced guard abilities, or increased elemental damage."
"Alright, I think I get it…" the bowgunner stated. "So, if we have a skill, we should be able to discover it by training for that specific one? Like… if I wanted to reload my bowgun faster?"
"If you wanted to practice your loading skill, you'd want to use empty casings and reload them as swiftly as you can. Hell, if you got good enough you could probably fit another shot or two into the thing. And if you wanted to practice your guard skills, Aquila, we have the shield log set up for you to practice with over there," York said, pointing at a thin log hanging horizontally from a rope tied to the ceiling. "Just find a sweet spot in your shield that you can absorb the most damage through. And Cass, say you wanted to practice your Mind's Eye. There are large bluish boulders out in the woods that you would do well to find. They're basically the same as thick monster hides, and your weapon will bounce the same as it would on a tough shell. Time your swings properly, and you might even cut one of them."
"This is kind of a lot to take in, Teach," Aquila stated, still trying to grasp at what the instructor had said.
"Well, Iliana seemed to understand, so perhaps she can give you a hand… But it looks like we're about done for today. I'll see you all in front of the school tomorrow at dawn; we're going to bag an Arzuros. The Chief said he wanted some of the Savory Bear Paws they sometimes have, so let's see if we can't take some off its hands, eh?"
The three young hunters chuckled as they got to their feet, saying their goodbyes and heading towards the stairs. York gathered up a few sheets of paper, along with his blue and green bladed sabers, before departing the training school as well. Stepping out into the warm midafternoon sun, the hunter pulled his hood back over his head as he made his way back home, only a short walk from the school.
"Rose, I'm home!" he called as he stepped inside, setting the papers on his work table and removing his longcoat. The house smelled like freshly cooked Rathalos steaks, with… a hint of Kirin butter and some Panish to top it off. York smirked to himself as he stepped into the kitchen; he'd trained his nose to be rather acute in the years he'd lived with his wife, enough so that he could smell the ingredients she used in their meals.
"Oh, welcome back, dear!" his wife replied, turning away from her work for a moment and flashing him a cheerful, loving smile. "How were the kids today?"
"Still good. I'm glad so many of them graduated a couple months ago. Three is a lot easier to deal with than thirty, at least."
"I can imagine! What do you think of them?"
"Hah, well, I can certainly see where Hugh was involved when it comes to Cassian. That kid's all muscle and strength, I'll tell you. Iliana's a good bowgunner, and she's definitely a team player, though I'm a bit surprised she isn't as good with a long sword considering it's Zephyr and Kylie's weapon of choice. As for Aquila… The kid's got talent as a leader. He planned out their entire attack strategy, and it worked out perfectly. Too bad I don't know his parents, since they'd probably be great hunters too."
"Glad to hear they've got at least some traits of their parents, right?" Rose smirked, setting a plate of food down on the table in front of York as he sat down. "Oh, and speaking of, we got a letter from Wes today!"
"Really? Did you read it yet?" the hunter asked, beginning to eat as his wife got her own serving.
"No, I wanted to wait until you got back. I think it's better that way, don't you?"
"Trust me, I do, but that doesn't mean you weren't curious about what he said."
"I guess you're right in that regard," Rose chuckled.
After the pair finished their meal, they went into the living room, and York picked up the letter that had been resting on his desk. He unsealed it before opening the folded piece of paper inside the envelope, reading the familiar scribbles out loud.
"Dear Ma and Pa, things have been going great over here in Loc Lac. There was a pretty big event that took place a couple days ago at the arena. Guess who one of the hunters was? Yeah, me. We got to fight a new monster called 'Gear Rex', some kinda wyvern with an acid cannon on its shoulder. It put up a pretty good fight, but it couldn't handle me for long! You should have seen the crowds, cheering me and the others on the whole time.
"But, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I got the package you sent, and I'm grateful for the swords, Pa. And the meals too, Ma, those were amazing. I actually shared one with my buddy Viper. If I thought he could eat fast before, I was dead wrong; I looked away for a second and it was already gone. He said much obliged, by the way. The swords served me pretty well during the Gear Rex fight too. Way better than the older pair would have, at least. They're definitely the best early birthday gifts I've ever gotten.
"And that's about it, everything else has been going pretty well! Hope things have been going fine for both of you back in Moga! Ah, and something I'm sure both of you will be happy to hear; I've got a couple weeks off from hunts, so you could come out to visit if you want! Just thought I'd let you know. Have a good one!"
"Well, it's good to hear he's doing well," Rose sighed in relief. "Knowing he's so far from home is really nerve wracking. I got some pretty bad vibes a couple weeks ago that something horrible had happened, but I guess I was just getting anxious."
"You did always seem to have a knack for knowing when he was in trouble, at least," York chuckled, folding the letter back up. "Still, I'm getting concerned with his attitude… It seems like every letter he sends, he's getting a little cockier. I'm worried he might get in over his head soon. Maybe a visit wouldn't be a bad idea…"
"Well, you are the teacher, Mr. Adler," Rose giggled. "You can decide when the students get a break, right? A few days in Loc Lac wouldn't be bad; we could stay with Hugh and Karah!"
"Hah, they'd probably wonder why Cassian and Iliana wouldn't be coming along!"
"Maybe Epplen could come out of retirement for a week?"
"Okay, I'm supposed to help them along with their training, Mrs. Adler, not condemn them to hell."
The pair laughed and shared a kiss before Rose returned to the kitchen to clean up, and York took a seat at his workbench. A pair of intricate handles rested to his left, which he had made after a long process of deciphering the old lettering on the schematic his son had sent all those months before. They would definitely make a powerful pair of swords… if he could get the blades right. Every metal he had tried using them with had ended with the blades shattering completely, no matter how strong he made them.
Maybe that old coot at the forge has some suggestions, he thought to himself before moving on to another project.
Before he got too invested in the small gun-like device he was assembling, though, he spared a glance up at the sword mounted on the wall above the table. After a moment, the hunter pushed himself up and took the blade down, inspecting the pale, straight white blade closely. Whatever metal it had been made from was absurdly strong, and it held an extremely sharp edge that had proven there was little it couldn't cut. Now that he was really staring at the sword, though, he could make out some faint runes carved into it, almost like small messages of some kind.
Maybe I'll look into these some other time. It would be nice to learn more about it, to be honest… The hunter slashed the sword through empty space once, hearing the light woosh it made as it sliced through the air, before returning it to its place on the wall above him. With a short sigh, York seated himself again and began to work on his contraption.
"York... York...! Come on dear, time to wake up!"
York wearily pushed himself up from his workbench, rubbing his good eye tiredly. "Ugh... Rose...? How long was I out?"
"A couple hours... again. You really shouldn't put so much effort into these gadgets of yours. It's past midnight already!"
"Is it really? Blast, and I thought I'd have this thing done before then..."
"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" Rose huffed, picking up the small gun device. "You've been working on this thing for who knows how long, even after you almost blew your hand off with it! And have you looked at yourself recently? You've hardly been sleeping at all, aside from when you pass out at your desk. That isn't healthy!"
"I... guess you're right... Not really doing wonders for my back either," York chuckled, standing up and cracking his back as he stretched. "Okay, that kinda hurt..."
"Alright, here's what the plan will be for tomorrow then," the green-eyed woman said. "I'm going to go out and put a notice on the school saying that you're taking a day off for personal reasons, and you are going to pack all this junk into your chest until you've gotten some proper rest in. Understood?"
"Rose, that seems a little-"
"Understood?"
"...Alright, fine..." York sighed. "You remember the way to the school, right?"
"Just around the corner, I know. I want this table cleared once I get back, okay?"
"Alright, alright! I'll get it done."
"Good," she smiled, grabbing a piece of paper. She scribbled a short notice on it before heading out the door, leaving the one-eyed hunter alone in their home.
"I swear, even after all these years I can barely hold an argument with her..." he mumbled, picking up some of his creations and walking over to his item box. He kicked the lid open, revealing a giant mess of materials and tools within. He gently laid the devices on top of the pile, making sure that the lid wouldn't close on them and damage them.
Before he shut it, though, York noticed something strange within the box. A sort of pulsating red light was faintly shimmering at the bottom, something he'd never paid attention to before.
"What the...? I don't have anything that glows like that... Do I...?"
His curiosity getting the better of him, the hunter reached his hand into the box. It took him a minute of shifting scales, hides, and other materials away as he reached further inside, but eventually his hand came to rest on a bumpy gem-like object. He tightened his grasp around the orb before pulling it out of the chest, looking over the gem closely. It pulsated like magma, though it was only slightly warm to the touch. It felt much like the obsidian at the Volcano, yet it seemed as though it wasn't from that region. It was only after handling the gem that he remembered where it had come from.
Ah, this is...! Of course, this is that gem I found in the Tundra all those years ago! I completely forgot I had this! I guess I forgot to sell it off... But why was something that feels like obsidian in the Tundra? The Volcano is almost four hundred miles from there... Now that he was looking at it, though, he realized there might be more to this ruby than he realized. There was something strange... no, ancient about it that seemed like it was trying to call out to him.
"Just what exactly are you, I wonder..." he mumbled, staring intently at the glowing orb.
Suddenly, the gem flared with a strong red light, casting a powerful crimson glow throughout the whole room. York shielded his good eye from the intensity of the glare, watching as several 'tendrils' of the red light began to shoot out from the orb. One of the tendrils struck the blade hanging on the wall near the sword's hilt, lighting up one of the runes with a powerful orange light.
"What the hell?! This is...!" He stared at the glowing orange rune in the blade, feeling as though his mind was being pulled into the blade...
York blinked his eye open and groaned as he pushed himself up. At least, he felt like he did. Something felt incredibly off to him as he looked around.
He was surrounded by utter chaos: men and women wearing white robes were combatting figures dressed in black outfits in a medium-sized marble room supported by a number of pillars. It only took him a moment to leap to his feet and assume a combat stance, expecting them to try and attack him, but the hunter was met only with surprise as he realized he couldn't even see his own body. It just seemed like he was there, yet not at the same time.
What the hell...? Where is this? And why the hell am I invisible? Why does this weird shit always happen to me...
Relaxing himself as much as he could, the one-eyed hunter made his way through the chaos, watching the battle unfold around him. He noted that many of the white-robed men and women wielded pale swords, much like the one he had. There was one figure who seemed to stand out the most to him, though: a man wearing an outfit not unlike his own, with his hood drawn up over his head. From what York could see, he had clear blue eyes the same hue as his own, and somewhat short brown hair. He was fighting two black-robed figures, having little difficulty in holding both off at once.
The first of the robed figures swung a black blade at him, which the man parried with his white sword before attempting to counterattack. The second figure stopped his blade and shoved him back, though, allowing the pair to keep their numerical superiority over the man.
"Seems you're quite the troublesome bunch, no?" the man stated, glancing between the two hooded figures as they leveled their swords at him. They both swung their swords at him simultaneously, though the man was able to block both swords with his own. He ducked below the blades, causing the two black-robed figures to stumble forward, and drove his white sword into the first one's chest, killing him instantly. Before the other could react, a long blade sprang out of the man's sleeve, a sharpened hook acting as its tip. The man drove the hook into the back of the figure's neck and wrenched his arm back, throwing the man's corpse to the ground and pulling his blade free in one move.
The man glanced around at the confusion around him, making as if to rejoin his companions in the fight. However, he flinched as a severed torso landed nearby him, and a man wearing heavy grey armor over his robes ran over to him, hefting a bloodied great sword.
"Still holding up, eh, Virgil? This mess has definitely been a bloody one!"
"Where have they been coming in from? And more importantly, how did so many of them find this hideout? This is the third surprise attack the Brilliant Darkness has launched this month!"
"We'll have to figure that out after we repel these bastards! There's more of them on the ground floor heading in through the main hall! Help cut them off down there! We can handle the rest of them here!"
"Alright, watch your back! We don't need any more bodies to bury!"
"To you as well, old friend!" the man replied, turning back to reengage the invaders.
"And Felix! Keep Elena safe! I saw her up here before the ambush, so she must still be nearby!"
"Will do! Now get going! This attack isn't gonna repel itself!"
Virgil? Felix? I know father was a member of the group opposing the Brilliant Darkness, but old man Felix was involved too? Those runes in the sword must be messages of some kind... Is this... the past...?
As Virgil darted away, York found himself being pulled along after him, as if he couldn't stay far from his father's position. He darted past a number of black-robed figures, making his way towards a stairwell leading to the level below. They attempted to pursue him, but several of the white-robed men and women covered his escape, ambushing the group with daggers, swords, and more of the hooked wrist blades.
As he neared the stairwell, another black-robed figure appeared in the frame, blocking his path. Another figure lunged at him from the side, attempting to run the white-robed man through with a black metal sword. Virgil caught the man's wrist before the blade reached him, dodging out of the way of its sharp edge. He countered by impaling the bottom of the figure's jaw with his hook, and with a quick twist he threw the man over his back and into the one blocking his path, knocking both down the stairs. There was a sickly snap as the other man landed against the edge of a stair, breaking his neck from the fall. Without breaking pace, Virgil ran down after them, darting through the spiraling staircase and over the two corpses of the figures he had just slain.
Upon exiting the stairwell, York found them in another large hall supported by tall marble pillars, with a large hole blasted in what was presumably the entrance to the hideout. A large number of black-robed figures were fighting a much smaller number of white-robed men and women, and many more were pressing through behind them.
"About time you got down here, Virgil!" one of the white-robed men shouted, slashing his attacker across the chest and backing away from the fray to join Virgil. "We need a way to seal off the entrance! We've already plugged up the other breaches, but this one is the worst yet! At this rate we might need to fall back!"
Virgil shifted his gaze about the room, as if looking for something that could help put the odds back in their favor. A loud blast drew both of their attentions to the fray, where a white-robed women was tossing small bombs into the crowd of invaders.
"I have a plan," Virgil said, glancing up at the top of one of the pillars. York followed his gaze, seeing a number of cracks in the marble. "Sophitia, toss me one of those bombs!"
The woman, hearing his shout, turned swiftly and tossed him a small bronze orb with a short fuse attached to it. He caught it and dropped it into his pouch before turning towards a wooden scaffold leading up to the ceiling.
"It's good that we never got around to the repairs," he mumbled, running over to the scaffold, kicking his way up the wooden frame, and grabbing hold of the timber structure as he began to climb it.
The scaffold reached around most of the room, with several crossbeams connecting to the other pillars to offer extra support. Virgil finished his climb in no time, hoisting himself onto the upper platform and making his way over to the pillar with the large crack in it. Some of the black-robed figures noticed the man as he made his way across, with a number of them beginning to climb the scaffold after him. The hooded man simply pulled out a number of throwing knives in between his fingers and threw them at the invaders, striking down several of them with one throw. One of them managed to make it up to wear he stood, though, drawing a black sword and leveling it at the man.
"Sorry, but I don't have time for a meet and greet," Virgil said, holding his right arm out before him. Instead of another blade, a pair of wing-like devices folded out from his bracer, taking the form of a miniature bow in a split second. He quickly loaded a bolt onto the weapon and shot the projectile at the man, striking him in the throat with pin-point accuracy. The black-robed figure merely stumbled back, clutching at his throat, before falling off the platform, knocking down another one of his allies in the process.
The blue-eyed man wasn't going to wait for any more of the figures to reach him, though. He raced across the rest of the scaffold until he was next to the damaged pillar, though several more of the black-robed men had reached the top of the platform by then and were chasing after him. Virgil quickly lit the fuse and wedged the bomb inside one of the larger cracks along the pillar, backing away quickly to avoid the blast radius. He got back to the main platform just before the explosive detonated, causing him to flinch as several small bits of wood and marble flew towards him.
He recovered quickly, watching as the pillar began to tilt forward towards the breach. With a loud crack, the pillar fractured into three large pieces and tumbled down to the floor below, two chunks crashing into the floor just in front of the entrance and completely blocking it off with rubble. The third piece landed in the midst of the large group of invaders, crushing a number of them beneath the marble slab.
Virgil returned his attention to the immediate threat before him, though: half a dozen of the black-robed figures had climbed up to where he stood, and while the platform was only wide enough to allow them to stand single file, York knew that six-on-one wasn't a favorable matchup in any scenario. A splintering noise sounded around them as one of the men took a step towards the white-robed warrior; the blast from the bomb had damaged the scaffolding, and one of the logs keeping it together had snapped!
The blue eyed man took only a second to glance at the invaders before leaping off the scaffold, barely making it in time to avoid the structure's collapse. He extended the hooked blade from his wrist and drove the end into the wall, the metal somehow managing to cut into the marble and slow Virgil's descent towards the ground. He landed deftly and retracted the weapon before drawing his sword and engaging another pair of the black-robed invaders.
In his spectral condition, York could only watch the spectacle in awe; he hadn't realized how good of a fighter his father had been in his youth. When he had met the man in those ruins on the Sandy Plains all those years ago, he looked to be in his sixties, but here, from what York could tell, the man was in his mid twenties, and at the peak of his condition. The one-eyed hunter watched as Virgil easily broke through guard of the first figure and impaled him on his white blade, pulling it free and offing the second with his hooked wrist blade.
I'm gonna have to make myself one of those, York thought as the man retracted the hooked blade and made his way back towards his allies.
"Good job! That'll keep them from getting more numbers!" one of the white-robed men shouted.
"Wait, the ceiling! Look!" The white-robed figures turned their gazes up, as did York. From where the pillar had been destroyed, even more cracks were spreading across the ceiling, creating a web of splinters in the pale stone. "The roof's going to come down! Everybody, get to the stairs!"
The majority of the men and women made a beeline for the stairs, while a small number stayed back to keep the remaining invaders from pursuing them. Virgil just reached the stairs before the ceiling crumbled, raining large chunks of debris upon all those remaining in the main hall, be it defender or invader. Virgil took only a moment to look back at the rubble blocking the bottom of the stairway before racing up after the others who escaped the collapse and returning to the room where he had been fighting in before.
Felix was just finishing off the last of the invaders with his great sword, knocking the figure across the chamber with a wide swing. The surviving men and women let out a cheer of victory at the sight of the last invader's fall, but they didn't take time to celebrate. They immediately took to caring for the wounded while Virgil made his way over to where Felix was resting, the tip of his blade planted in the floor.
"I thought we were having an earthquake," the great sword wielder stated, wiping his brow. "Just what exactly did you do down there?"
"I collapsed one of the support pillars to cut off the last breach, but it brought down most of the cave above as well," Virgil replied, before gesturing towards himself and the other men and women who made it out. "No one survived aside from us."
"Blast... How many would you say we lost down there?"
"I do not know the exact number, but around half a dozen perished with the collapse. More fell in battle."
"So many dead..." Felix groaned, pushing himself up from the pommel of his sword. "These attacks have been far too effective to just be pure strokes of luck, Virgil. There has to be a leak!"
"Felix, there's no need to jump to conclusions. Our enemy is well informed-"
"Well informed? This is the second bloody hideout we've lost to the Brilliant Darkness! The damage is too great to salvage the structure, and most of the living quarters were cut off due to explosives they brought in!"
"They may have rendered our hideout destroyed, but the losses they suffered are far greater than ours numerically," the blue eyed man stated. "We can move on to another hideout. We still have many they haven't touched yet."
"For how long, hmm? They're hunting us down, Virgil! There's only so many of us, and there seems to be far more of them every time they launch an assault! We need to bring them down, before they can do any more damage!"
"There is only so much they can do. Master Drock will give us a path to travel, my friend. It is a simple matter of time before we can take the fight to our enemy."
"A simple matter of time?! Virgil, look around you! Do you see how many of our brothers and sisters have fallen? They might have lost more than us, but that does not lessen the damage done to us!"
"Enough!"
The pair turned to face an elderly man wearing light grey robes approaching them, supporting himself with a long walking stick. Despite his weakened, aged appearance, every man and woman in the room bowed respectfully at his presence. He came to a stop by Virgil and Felix, glancing between the two with a stern, calm gaze.
"There has been enough strife within these walls for one day, don't you think? There is no need for aggression between brothers."
"Master Drock, it is good to see you are unharmed," Virgil said, bowing to the elder. "I wasn't trying to incite an argument, I was just discussing with Felix how-"
"Discussing? You were blowing off all the losses we suffered, trying to make things seem like they're better than they are!" Felix shouted. "Have you no respect for those who died today? No remorse for their passing? You dare call yourself an Oath Keeper with that attitude?!"
"Felix, silence yourself!" Drock commanded, his voice practically booming across the entire chamber and bringing the pair to complete silence. "Neither of you are in the wrong. Virgil, you apply your logic to situations such as this, and find your own answers through that. Felix, you allow your emotions and your feelings to guide you, which is also a viable way to see the world. Understand, our Oath has many interpretations to it, and of how to fulfill its requirements. Both of you have your own speculations on the topic, and though juvenile, they show promise."
"But that isn't good enough!" Felix defended. "It doesn't matter how we interpret the Oath if we don't act on it! Our purpose is to stop the Brilliant Darkness and prevent the rise of the Alatreon again! I know the threat that dragon poses. I felt its presence, and its claws! Were it not for my comrades, it would have slain me on the spot! And now, most those same comrades are dead, and the last of them has become the conduit for the dragon's awakening! I know what our purpose is, Master, and I swear, I will see it done... And I will save every comrade I can along the way."
Virgil and Drock watched as the man turned away, fuming silently as he strode across the chamber and entered a hallway leading further into the complex, disappearing from sight. The elderly man let out a short, disappointed sigh at the sight, turning back to face the blue-eyed man.
"Virgil, I wish to know how you understand our Oath. Tell me, how do you see the world?"
"As an object that needs protection from evil."
"And its inhabitants?"
"People and creatures that the dark ones would prey upon if given the chance."
"What of the nature of mankind?"
"Free willed, but ignorant of what true freedom is."
"And what is true freedom?"
"...The knowledge of how to act, and how not to act."
"I see... When you came of age, you recited our Oath to the letter. That you would protect the world, its inhabitants, and their nature from those that would corrupt them. Your answers are certainly in no way incorrect, though you may wish to reflect upon your views sometime. Perhaps then you would be able to understand Felix's point of view."
"If I may say, Master, I believe his time among those hunters has had a far greater effect on him than you predicted it would."
"It may have, but the opposite could be true as well. He was rather stoic as a child, much as how you were more outgoing. Time is a more effective tutor in the ways of life than most... The world works in mysterious ways, Virgil. Do well to remember that."
"Of course, Master. If I may be dismissed, I would like to find Elena to ascertain she is unharmed."
"Lady Elena is safe. She was wounded in the leg during the initial attack, but was able to escape further injury. She's resting in the west wing right now, along with some of the other wounded."
"Thank you, Master Drock."
Virgil bowed to the man once more before heading towards the hall to the west wing, with York drifting behind him as he continued to watch the scene unravel.
So, old man Felix used to be that hot headed? Now I've seen everything... I'd never be able to put up with all this orderly bull crap though.
Virgil entered a smaller room branching off from the hall, in which numerous wounded men and women were propped up against walls or lying on the floor while others tended to them. The blue-eyed man must've found who he was looking for immediately, because almost as soon as he entered he made his way over to a blonde haired woman seated with her back to the wall, looking over the fresh bandages on her leg. Her bright green eyes lit up upon seeing him approach.
"Virgil! Oh, thank heavens you're alright!" the woman cried, making as if to push herself up, though she had great difficulty in doing so on account of her leg. Virgil crouched down to her level so she wouldn't have to stand, and the pair embraced for a long while before parting, staring intently at each other.
"There was a great number of losses today, Elena, though none we can't recover from. We still achieved victory, but I'm just glad that you're safe," he said with a small hint of a smile.
"There you go again, trying to make everything sound better than it is," Elena chuckled, reaching out and taking hold of his hand. "I know we lost a large number of people today, Virgil. You don't have to try to cover it up for my sake."
"...It is believed that the hideout is lost. We will have to move on to another within the next few hours if we are to survive."
"That's more like it. Now, tell me, were you the cause of all that rumbling before?"
"Who else could it have been?" the man replied with a sarcastic smirk, causing Elena to laugh again.
"I just had to make sure. After all, I was rather worried you had gotten caught up in it."
"Death hasn't come for me yet, and I feel it won't for many years. How bad was your leg wounded?"
"Just a sword wound, nothing that won't heal with a little time. How about you? Anything worse than that cut on your cheek?"
Virgil reached up to the left side of his face, feeling at the thin cut that crossed his cheek. It had been a minor wound, enough so that he hadn't even felt it until now, though it was still bleeding slightly.
"Ah, that must've come from one of those bits of shrapnel the bomb sent flying at me... It's nothing to worry about. I'm far too good of a fighter to be bested by the Brilliant Darkness' members, that I can assure you of," the blue eyed man stated, a barely noticeable tone of arrogance in his voice.
"Virgil... You know that it only takes one mistake to be..."
"I know, I was just trying to cheer you up a little."
"Well, in that case, thank you," Elena chuckled. "I won't keep you for long, Virgil. I'm sure Master Drock will need all the able hands he can get to help with getting the survivors out of here..."
"Very well. I'll visit you again before we depart. Rest easy, my dear."
Virgil kissed Elena on the hand before getting to his feet, giving her one last quick smile before heading off again, back towards the hall. This time, though, York found himself unable to follow after his father. Everything began to glow with a bright white light, the people within the room disappearing, and York found himself again blacking out, with strange, distorted voices being the last thing he heard.
The hunter came to on the floor of his living room with the gem still in his grasp, the intense red light having faded away. York pushed himself up with a slight groan, feeling extremely disoriented. Had that really happened? Did he really just see a memory of his father? What could it have all meant? And, most importantly, how had that all happened?
I better not be going senile... he wryly thought to himself, pushing himself off the floor. He held the small glowing orb up, noting that the light it had given off before was far dimmer than it had been. It almost seemed like the gem was... resting.
York contemplated throwing the gem out then and there; whatever it was, it wasn't man made, and there was definitely something ominous about the object... Yet it had somehow awakened a message held within Virgil's sword for York to view, something that intrigued the one-eyed hunter more than anything. Just what was this thing?
He heard the front door open behind him, causing the hunter to turn quickly as Rose stepped inside, shutting the door lightly behind her. She gazed at him and gave him a concerned, worried look.
"York? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost... Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, really. Just... wasn't too happy about having to put all my things away for a day." Whatever this gem was whatever it had caused him to see, this wasn't something York felt his wife had to know about. She'll probably think I'm crazier than I already am...
"...If you say so..." she mumbled disbelievingly. "It's too late to argue about this anyways. Are you ready to head upstairs?"
"Of course, hun, just a minute. I have to put one last thing away. Don't wait for me," he grinned, giving her as comforting a look as he could. He managed to glean a smile out of his wife, who walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss.
"You know I'll always wait for you, York. Just don't be late," she smirked, making her way up to their room.
York breathed a sigh of relief and gave the ruby one last look, the once glowing red stone now a dormant black color in the dim lighting of the room. He wearily set it on top of the pile of objects in his chest before shutting the lid and locking it tight.
There may be more messages in the sword... Perhaps another few looks sometime wouldn't hurt too bad.
Author Notes: Well, this was probably a bit unexpected, wasn't it? Surprise surprise, there's going to be a few sections centered around York and his past! Virgil was only a minor character in The Hunter's Oath, though I felt that more characterization focused on him would answer many questions left unanswered in the last tale. The main inspiration for the Virgil "memory" section was the Assassin's Creed Revelations parts where you relived Altair's memories, which were some of my favorite parts in that game. Some of Virgil's armaments were lifted from other games as well, namely the hook blade (quite obviously) from Revelations and the new "Phantom Blade" that'll be included in AC Unity, though this one is more of a bow in my design than a crossbow...
Now, as I'm sure you're all wondering, yes, this chapter is a fair bit shorter than normal. However, there is good reason for it! Originally, this chapter and the next were one and the same, with a timeskip taking place after the York segment. Dashboardgecko and I agreed that for the sake of fluency, it would be better to not have any forward timeskips take place during chapters, only in between them. So, the next one might be a little shorter than normal as well. BUT! This won't be a routine thing, I can assure you; in fact, I'm thinking that chapter 14 might even be longer than normal, so hey, you'll still get your money's worth! Well, I mean, if your WERE paying money... Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and don't worry, next time we'll be back to Wes and Co. for a little while. Don't forget to leave a review about what you thought, and I hope to see you next time, my faithful reader!
P.S. I am still sticking with Saturday biweekly releases, but my schedule tomorrow won't afford me the time to use a computer to post it then, so here's a special Friday edition for you all!
Playing: MH3U, GTA V, AC Revelations
Listening to: The Offspring, Papa Roach
Watching: The downfall of mankind (it's happening all around us, after all)
Reading: The Lost Civilization: DLC by dashboardgecko