Act 2: The Journey Starts With a Single Step
Fog.
A deep unbreaking fog.
That's the last thing he seemed to remember, before falling beneath unheard waves.
It feels… strange. Watching - feeling himself drift further and further away from the surface. Where was he? He couldn't… remember, in fact, he had trouble remembering anything at this point. Why didn't that bother him? Why… why wasn't he drowning for that matter, struggling to hold his breath?
"Oh I see." His thoughts echoed outward. "This is a dream, isn't it?"
He was having a dream.
That explained things, right?
It explained why he wasn't scared. Why he wasn't panicking like he should. "It's ok then." He told himself. "Nothing bad can hurt you in a dream." He told himself as he watched the world start to darken around him, the light drifting further and further away. As the last light faded away, he found his "drop into darkness" end. Something resting against his back as he glanced to the side.
He found nothing but darkness greeting him.
At least, that was until he moved; barely getting to his feet when the shadows beneath him started to giveaway. Peeling, swept away, by a great howling gale with a roar that so sudden it deafened him. It pushed back the darkness and when it recovered he the life and light that had once been hidden from him.
"Where am I?" He questioned and found no answer. He found himself standing at the heart of a great forest and overlooking the rest of the world. "I feel I've seen this place before." He thought aloud, staring at the peaceful scenery before turning his gaze skyward to see a flock of wyverns flying by.
When the world is full of wyverns
A voice called out as the sky suddenly changed.
The legend is revived
The gale that tore through the area tasted like smoked wood and charred soil.
Meat is eaten, Bone is crunched,
And blood is sucked up dry
When he managed to uncover his eyes he saw the world was burning. As far as the eyes could see he saw nothing but destruction. Under a black sun he saw exactly what was being said.
He burns the earth
and melts through iron
He boils the rivers
and mows down trees
He awakens the winds
and lights an inferno
There was only one myth that could all this, and though it was far away, he knew it was there beyond the horizon, and he felt it's gaze turn in his direction
He is called Fatalis
The wyvern of destiny
He is called Fatalis
The wyvern of destruction
Call for help
Run for your lives
And don't forget to
Pray to the skies
He is called Fatalis
The wyvern of destiny
He is called Fatalis
The wyvern of destruction
Fatalis, Fatalis
Heaven and Earth are yours
Fatalis, Fatalis
From beyond the horizon he heard the living myth roar.
Heaven and Earth are yours
"Gales… Gales." Pulling himself from his sleep as he found Erza nudging him. "Wake up, it's morning."
"Oh~" He half responded and half groaned as he sat up taking a minute to wipe his brow as he looked up at Erza. "What happened?"
"You were dreaming." Erza stated as she leaned up and offered Gales a hand. Gales didn't take it though, instead his attention continued to drift to his surroundings as he took them in. The forest was still standing and he saw creatures just wandering around minding their own business. He glanced upward to notice a few birds flying across the sky. Looking back to Erza he saw her Halk resting on the ground alongside Gram, the latter taking a minute to scratch his ear. He took Erza's hand as she helped him up. "You ok?"
"Yeah." Gales scratched his head. "Why do you ask?"
"You were singing in your sleep." Erza asked. "It was hard to make out but you were definitely singing."
"Oh…" Gales chuckled as he lowered his hand. "Well, normally I talk in my sleep, right? Singing isnt that not far off." He stated with a chuckle as Erza just stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. He wasn't wrong after all.
"Anyway, let's go, we're almost to town."
"Right." Gales stated as he smiled, took a minute to pet Gram's head before they pressed on.
Asta wasn't the largest village, but that wasn't to say it was necessarily small either. It was rather well sized. Like countless others it was born of wood, with steel peppered here and there; most noticeably at the old Hunter's Forge. Both Gales and Erza glanced at the old village, either nodding or waving as they were greeted by the villagers who took a moment to acknowledge their presence.
Gram was more inclined to stare down anything that seemed to get too close to his partner while Mael, Erza's Halk just took to trudging along on the ground like some kind of sentry. Erza simply patted his head, grateful for how protective the Wulg was of them. "You really don't like strangers, do you?" Gram seemed to look at her. "Well to be fair everyone outside of the keep is a stranger to all of us." She realized as her wingdrake made a noise.
"I'm sure it'll pass in time." Gales chimed in as they continued walking through the village.
"Big puppy!" The four heard a child call out as they tugged on their mother's hand and pointed with the other. "Mama, big puppy!
Gram got a look on his face as Erza had to resist snickering. Gales on the other hand openly released a laugh.
He was not a puppy.
Gram was anything but a puppy.
"Let it go Gram, she doesn't mean any harm." Gales told him as they continued looking for the Hunter's Guild.
Years Ago
"Alright." Alan clasped his hands together as he settled in a chair in front of his students. "Today we'll be covering the Hunter's Guild." He stated as he looked at everyone. " That is the central governing organization that you will be reporting to after you graduate and leave here as Hunters." He paused. "To begin, the Guild was created in the pursuit of the regional ecosystems being damaged by preventing existing species from becoming extinct." He stated as he pointed his hands forward. "Understand there are many ways to damage an ecosystem; things like environmental destruction and forced migration are things we can't prevent, but we can ensure that the population of species doesn't drop to 0." He paused as he looked at his students. "To do this the Hunter's Guild documents the population of every monster species located in their respective regions and should a certain species drop to low, they will forbid you from hunting that species until its numbers are replenished." He paused. "Understand we are not trying to wipe out entire species." He stressed. "Doing that will upset the ecosystem's natural balance. Remember; the herbivores eat the plants, the carnivores eat the herbivores. When the carnivores die they return to the earth and become the plants which start the cycle over again. We do not disturb that balance, we are a part of it after all." He stated before returning to his feet. And turning towards the board. "Now let's move on to how you'll be able to identify a Guild hall…"
It's really noisy in the Guild hall.
There are Hunters talking about their previous adventures, there are those eating and drinking without a care in the world.
To be honest it kinda reminds them of home.
"Next in line, please!" The guild receptionist called out as both Gales and Erza stepped forward "Hello, what can I do for you two?"
"We'd like to register as Hunters!" They said together as the receptionist just looked at the two of them in surprise before looking them over.
Gales dressed himself in a style of woven gear while Erza wore chainmail.
Gales had a form of Greatsword on his back while Erza had a sword and shield on her person.
Both had light bowguns on their person not to mention carving knifes and a pouch and bag of sorts.
The Wulg that had gear as well, a small folded Cayne blade resting on its form.
Even the Halk had some form of gear, a saddle harness with a bag of sort on its back not to menton some steel plated talons. That were attached but not on its feet.
"Oh!" The receptionist stated as she looked at the four. "Forgive me, I thought you were already hunters."
"Really?" Erza stated as the receptionist nodded her head before pulling out two sheets from under the table and handed them to the pair.
"Anyway, if you wish to join, please fill out these forms." She stated as she watched the pair of monsties drop their heads on the counter as they stared up on the woman. "I take you want to sign up too?" She asked good naturedly as the wulg and halk made a noise. She pulled out two more sheets and the monsties bit into them to hold them before turning to their partners.
"Alright give us a sec guys." Gales stated as he started filling out the form.
It didn't take that long to fill out the sheets of paper, and when they were done they just handed them back to the receptionist.
"Ok, lets see. Erza Crimson. Your… 14? And your from Caer Eldenwyrm?"
"Yes!" Erza puffed up proudly as the receptionist looked her over.
A 14 year old should not have a body like hers.
"Next, Gales Ashe, you're 14 as well, and you're also from Caer Eldenwyrm?
"That's right." Again, a 14 year old shouldn't have had a body like his.
"Next is Gram." The Wulg yelped in acknowledgement. "You're also 14 and your also from Caer Eldenwyrm?" A bark of acknowledgement. "Lastly we have Mael." The Halk made a noise. "You are… 14 as well, and your also from Caer Eldenwyrm." She stated as she stacked the papers together and nodded. 'I never heard of Eldenwyrm, maybe it's one of the new Hunter/Rider villages?' Etching something on four cards to the pair.
"Wooden Cards?"
"Those are guild Cards, they help identify hunters." The receptionist stated."These list your general information, your name, title, hunter ranking, what tasks you've completed and what species you've successfully hunted." She explained as Erza and Gales set a pair of cards in their monsties pouches. "You'll be starting out as Low Rank Hunters, your duties won't solely encompass hunting alone - at least not particularly dangerous monsters. Many of the quests available to you will encompass gathering raw meat or materials for the villages."
"Well you gotta start somewhere right?" Gales looked at Erza as she nodded her head and smiled.
"Exactly, we all have to start at the bottom and work our way up."
"That's exactly the case." The receptionist stated as she smiled. "Now because you'll just be starting out, we'll be putting your hunting Rank at 1. Would you like me to explain what that means?"
"No thank you." The pair stated.
"The hunter's rank determines what kind of quests we can undertake, Right. Those with a ranking from 1-thru-4 for Low Rank Hunters, 4-thou-7 for High Rank Hunters and 7-10 for G-Rank, correct."
"That's exactly it." She stated with a smile. "Now that your registration is finished, please turn your attention towards the board over there if you want to start hunting. Please select a quest suitable for your appropriate ranking."
"What would you recommend for starters?" Gales asked as the receptionist seemed to think for a moment.
"For starting Hunters I'd recommend either collecting meat or certain herbs and ores for the village."
Thanks, we'll do that." Erza stated as she looked towards the quest board and started heading over.
"Hey wait up!" Gales stated as he and the monsties chased after Erza. "Someone's eager to get started."
"Don't tell me you aren't."
"Of course I am." Gales broke out in a grin. "I mean it's not gonna be much for our first quest together, but hey, we all gotta start somewhere right?" They stated as they started searching the board for something they could do in order to get their feet wet. "So what do you think we should do?"