Part 17: The Huntsman's Story
#
Centuries ago members of the Watchers Council unearthed an ancient accounting of something called the Huntsman. At first they did not know what it was, but they understood enough of the texts they had found to realise two things. First, it was powerful, and second, it had something to do with the Slayer.
At that time the Slayer had served the Council well for many centuries, but they were no closer to understanding its true nature than they were when they first encountered it. They had perfected magical spells that allowed them to predict, with a high level of accuracy, who might be chosen as the next Slayer if the current one should perish. They had developed methods to hone the Slayer's skills and powers. But where it came from and what it truly was, these things were a mystery to them.
Thus much effort was dedicated to translating these ancient texts. They spoke of the Slayer and the Huntsman, describing their role in the scheme of things. Two warrior spirits, created long ago by a power without name. Male and female. Animus and Anima. Just as the Slayer would only choose females as its avatars, so did the Huntsman select only males. They were made to fight together, side by side, perfectly complementing each other.
Only something had gone wrong a long, long time ago. Somehow someone had trapped the essence of the Huntsman, locked it away from those who should have been chosen by its power. This not only deprived the side of light of one of its warriors, but it also weakened the Slayer. For together the Slayer and the Huntsman would be greater than the sum of their parts, a nearly unstoppable fighting force.
The Council, upon learning all this, dedicated their every resource to finding the trapped essence of the Huntsman. This was during a time when the forces of darkness seemed to hold the upper hand, right in the middle of the dark ages. The Watchers believed that, with the Slayer and the Huntsman fighting side by side as they were intended to, they would be able to beat back the dark. Maybe destroy it forever.
It took them decades to find what they sought. When they finally did, it took them almost again as long to break through the many and powerful magical seals and containment spells that trapped the Huntsman. Eventually, though, they managed. In the presence of the Council leaders and the current Slayer the Huntsman was freed and, as the Council's clairvoyants had predicted, it immediately chose an avatar, one of a handful of young men the Watchers had selected for this purpose.
At first everything seemed to work out just fine. The Slayer and the Huntsman went into battle side by side and nothing and no one could stand against them. Demons and vampires alike fell before them like grass before the scythe. There was passion between them as well, something the Watchers had not expected, but did nothing to hinder, either. The Slayer's name was Maria Carmella Giordano, the Huntsman was called Charles Augustine. They became lovers and were eventually married by the leader of the Council himself.
Soon, though, things started going wrong. The Watchers, at first blinded by the staggering might of their warriors, began to realise that change was upon them. Augustine threw himself into battle with a mindless dedication and aggressiveness that went above and beyond the call of duty. This was doubly strange as he had been a mild-mannered boy before being chosen by the Huntsman. Now, though, he approached the battle against the dark with a ferocity that scared even his keepers.
What frightened them even more, though, was the fact that the Slayer, Giordano, was also changing. She had been a gentle spirit, fighting because it was her sacred duty, not because she liked it. She had wept for those she could not save and had killed quickly and painlessly when she had to. Now, though, Augustine's no-prisoners approach seemed to have infected her as well. In one battle her own Watcher, a fatherly man whom she had adored, was killed by a vampire that she could easily have stopped, had she not been too busy slaughtering his companions. She dismissed her Watcher's death, not crying a single tear.
When the Watchers tried to separate them, hoping that distance would cool their lust for combat and destruction, they suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of the same violence they had so eagerly unleashed upon their enemies. Giordano and Augustine refused to be separated, killing everyone who got between them, be they human or demon.
In the end the Watchers saw no choice but to kill them both. It cost them many lives and great pain. They hoped that, with the two warriors' death, the nightmare would be over. They went so far as to make sure that the next Slayer and the next Huntsman would never, ever meet. They would not even be told about each other's existence. Each would be made to believe that they were the only warrior for the light.
It did not help, though. Slayer and Huntsman felt each other's existence across whatever distance the Watchers decided to put between them. They disregarded their orders, fought against their keepers, and found each other. It was a repeat of Giordano and Augustine. These two people, who had never even met before, immediately took to each other as if they had been made that way, igniting a passion between them that could burn the world into ashes.
Finally the Watchers came to realise that the unleashing of the Huntsman had been a mistake. Maybe it had not been the powers of the dark that had locked its essence away in the distant past. Maybe imprisoning this warrior of the light had been necessary back then.
It certainly was now.
The Watchers lured the Huntsman into a trap, separated him from the Slayer, and recast the same seals and wards that had bound him once before. Its current avatar, a young man named Alexander Hamish, withered and died almost immediately. No new Huntsman was called, its essence locked up once again. The Slayer who had been at his side, a girl called Maliya, went insane. There was no curing her and ten months after the binding she was killed to make room for a new Slayer, one uncontaminated by the inexplicable bond with the Huntsman.
Every piece of information about the Huntsman was encoded and then locked away, sealed with a warning never to set it free again unless the world itself was in peril. The Watchers knew that there might come a time when the fighting fury of the Huntsman and the Slayer combined might be the only thing that could save the world from destruction, but they hoped it never would never come to that.
For the price was much too high.
#
Silence answered Giles as he finished reading, everyone trying to digest what they had just learned. Angel was unconsciously pulling Buffy tighter against himself, the Slayer still shivering slightly.
Finally it was Willow who found her voice first.
"Why did they free it?" she asked Giles.
"That's what I'd like to know," Buffy added. "I mean ... God, I ..."
"I understand, Buffy," Giles assured her. "That was actually one of the first questions I asked the Council when they started sending me information. It appears that they are in possession of several major prophecies that predict a great battle in the near future, no more than a year or two down the road."
He sighed. "I guess they thought they would need the Huntsman's power for this battle."
"Fools," Angel whispered.
"They did not know most of what I just read, Angel. They only knew that the Huntsman was a creature of great power."
"All the more foolish to free it then when they knew so little about it."
Buffy shook her head, trying to get her thoughts back under control. "Okay, let's just ... let's just take a few steps back and start at the beginning, okay? From what you just told us ... I mean, you are telling me that I have no choice in this? That it's ... what, fated?"
"I don't accept that," Angel said. "Whatever truth this text might contain it was wrong about one thing. Buffy broke away from King, broke whatever spell he had over her."
"It wasn't King who had her under a spell, Angel," Giles reminded him, weary of the anger he could see in the other man's eyes. "The Slayer and the Huntsman are drawn to one another. King would have no more control over it than Buffy."
"But Buffy had control! She broke away from him, not the other way around."
"I'm not sure I could do it again," Buffy confessed, whispering. "It was so ... powerful. Like my thoughts were just ... swept away."
"What about the rest?" Willow asked. "I mean ... it said that you would be more powerful together than apart. Did you ... I mean, did you feel stronger?"
Buffy closed her eyes, shuddering as memories overcame her.
"We were ... interrupted ... by three vampires. We ... God, we just tore them apart with our bare hands. It took about ten seconds."
"Giles, we need to find something to protect Buffy from this ... whatever it is that draws them together."
"I agree, Angel. The Council is still looking into it and I am doing my own research here. Until then, though, the best thing we can do is try to ensure that Buffy and King do not meet face to face again."
Buffy looked up.
"He was stalking me. I ... I couldn't really place the feeling before, but now that I ... know what he ... feels like, I know he has been following me for a while."
Angel cursed. "Then he probably knows where you live. Everything."
"This is strange, though," Giles frowned. "If he has been here for a time then the two of you should have ... I mean, the text says that Slayer and Huntsman were drawn together immediately. You should have felt his presence and ... well ..."
"I did feel him," Buffy said. "I just ... I just didn't know what I was feeling."
Giles shook his head. "We are still missing something here. I'm not sure what it is, though."
"Buffy could simply be stronger of will than those two Slayers mentioned in the text," Angel offered.
"A possibility, yes. I just wish there was some way to be sure about it."
"I have an associate in Los Angeles," Angel told the others. "He has some ... unusual connections. I will ask him to look into this, maybe he can find out some things."
"Good, every pair of eyes helps. Buffy, you should get some sleep now."
Buffy, never having moved from Angel's side, looked up at him with shock still evident in her large eyes.
"You ... you're staying, right?"
He leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. "Just try and make me leave you!"
Giles and Willow shared another look as the couple left together, but said nothing. The redhead made a mental note to press her friend for details the first chance she got, though. Something was going on between these two and she intended to find out what it was.
They could certainly use a little happiness in their lives right now. Maybe not perfect happiness, though.
TO BE CONTINUED
#
Centuries ago members of the Watchers Council unearthed an ancient accounting of something called the Huntsman. At first they did not know what it was, but they understood enough of the texts they had found to realise two things. First, it was powerful, and second, it had something to do with the Slayer.
At that time the Slayer had served the Council well for many centuries, but they were no closer to understanding its true nature than they were when they first encountered it. They had perfected magical spells that allowed them to predict, with a high level of accuracy, who might be chosen as the next Slayer if the current one should perish. They had developed methods to hone the Slayer's skills and powers. But where it came from and what it truly was, these things were a mystery to them.
Thus much effort was dedicated to translating these ancient texts. They spoke of the Slayer and the Huntsman, describing their role in the scheme of things. Two warrior spirits, created long ago by a power without name. Male and female. Animus and Anima. Just as the Slayer would only choose females as its avatars, so did the Huntsman select only males. They were made to fight together, side by side, perfectly complementing each other.
Only something had gone wrong a long, long time ago. Somehow someone had trapped the essence of the Huntsman, locked it away from those who should have been chosen by its power. This not only deprived the side of light of one of its warriors, but it also weakened the Slayer. For together the Slayer and the Huntsman would be greater than the sum of their parts, a nearly unstoppable fighting force.
The Council, upon learning all this, dedicated their every resource to finding the trapped essence of the Huntsman. This was during a time when the forces of darkness seemed to hold the upper hand, right in the middle of the dark ages. The Watchers believed that, with the Slayer and the Huntsman fighting side by side as they were intended to, they would be able to beat back the dark. Maybe destroy it forever.
It took them decades to find what they sought. When they finally did, it took them almost again as long to break through the many and powerful magical seals and containment spells that trapped the Huntsman. Eventually, though, they managed. In the presence of the Council leaders and the current Slayer the Huntsman was freed and, as the Council's clairvoyants had predicted, it immediately chose an avatar, one of a handful of young men the Watchers had selected for this purpose.
At first everything seemed to work out just fine. The Slayer and the Huntsman went into battle side by side and nothing and no one could stand against them. Demons and vampires alike fell before them like grass before the scythe. There was passion between them as well, something the Watchers had not expected, but did nothing to hinder, either. The Slayer's name was Maria Carmella Giordano, the Huntsman was called Charles Augustine. They became lovers and were eventually married by the leader of the Council himself.
Soon, though, things started going wrong. The Watchers, at first blinded by the staggering might of their warriors, began to realise that change was upon them. Augustine threw himself into battle with a mindless dedication and aggressiveness that went above and beyond the call of duty. This was doubly strange as he had been a mild-mannered boy before being chosen by the Huntsman. Now, though, he approached the battle against the dark with a ferocity that scared even his keepers.
What frightened them even more, though, was the fact that the Slayer, Giordano, was also changing. She had been a gentle spirit, fighting because it was her sacred duty, not because she liked it. She had wept for those she could not save and had killed quickly and painlessly when she had to. Now, though, Augustine's no-prisoners approach seemed to have infected her as well. In one battle her own Watcher, a fatherly man whom she had adored, was killed by a vampire that she could easily have stopped, had she not been too busy slaughtering his companions. She dismissed her Watcher's death, not crying a single tear.
When the Watchers tried to separate them, hoping that distance would cool their lust for combat and destruction, they suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of the same violence they had so eagerly unleashed upon their enemies. Giordano and Augustine refused to be separated, killing everyone who got between them, be they human or demon.
In the end the Watchers saw no choice but to kill them both. It cost them many lives and great pain. They hoped that, with the two warriors' death, the nightmare would be over. They went so far as to make sure that the next Slayer and the next Huntsman would never, ever meet. They would not even be told about each other's existence. Each would be made to believe that they were the only warrior for the light.
It did not help, though. Slayer and Huntsman felt each other's existence across whatever distance the Watchers decided to put between them. They disregarded their orders, fought against their keepers, and found each other. It was a repeat of Giordano and Augustine. These two people, who had never even met before, immediately took to each other as if they had been made that way, igniting a passion between them that could burn the world into ashes.
Finally the Watchers came to realise that the unleashing of the Huntsman had been a mistake. Maybe it had not been the powers of the dark that had locked its essence away in the distant past. Maybe imprisoning this warrior of the light had been necessary back then.
It certainly was now.
The Watchers lured the Huntsman into a trap, separated him from the Slayer, and recast the same seals and wards that had bound him once before. Its current avatar, a young man named Alexander Hamish, withered and died almost immediately. No new Huntsman was called, its essence locked up once again. The Slayer who had been at his side, a girl called Maliya, went insane. There was no curing her and ten months after the binding she was killed to make room for a new Slayer, one uncontaminated by the inexplicable bond with the Huntsman.
Every piece of information about the Huntsman was encoded and then locked away, sealed with a warning never to set it free again unless the world itself was in peril. The Watchers knew that there might come a time when the fighting fury of the Huntsman and the Slayer combined might be the only thing that could save the world from destruction, but they hoped it never would never come to that.
For the price was much too high.
#
Silence answered Giles as he finished reading, everyone trying to digest what they had just learned. Angel was unconsciously pulling Buffy tighter against himself, the Slayer still shivering slightly.
Finally it was Willow who found her voice first.
"Why did they free it?" she asked Giles.
"That's what I'd like to know," Buffy added. "I mean ... God, I ..."
"I understand, Buffy," Giles assured her. "That was actually one of the first questions I asked the Council when they started sending me information. It appears that they are in possession of several major prophecies that predict a great battle in the near future, no more than a year or two down the road."
He sighed. "I guess they thought they would need the Huntsman's power for this battle."
"Fools," Angel whispered.
"They did not know most of what I just read, Angel. They only knew that the Huntsman was a creature of great power."
"All the more foolish to free it then when they knew so little about it."
Buffy shook her head, trying to get her thoughts back under control. "Okay, let's just ... let's just take a few steps back and start at the beginning, okay? From what you just told us ... I mean, you are telling me that I have no choice in this? That it's ... what, fated?"
"I don't accept that," Angel said. "Whatever truth this text might contain it was wrong about one thing. Buffy broke away from King, broke whatever spell he had over her."
"It wasn't King who had her under a spell, Angel," Giles reminded him, weary of the anger he could see in the other man's eyes. "The Slayer and the Huntsman are drawn to one another. King would have no more control over it than Buffy."
"But Buffy had control! She broke away from him, not the other way around."
"I'm not sure I could do it again," Buffy confessed, whispering. "It was so ... powerful. Like my thoughts were just ... swept away."
"What about the rest?" Willow asked. "I mean ... it said that you would be more powerful together than apart. Did you ... I mean, did you feel stronger?"
Buffy closed her eyes, shuddering as memories overcame her.
"We were ... interrupted ... by three vampires. We ... God, we just tore them apart with our bare hands. It took about ten seconds."
"Giles, we need to find something to protect Buffy from this ... whatever it is that draws them together."
"I agree, Angel. The Council is still looking into it and I am doing my own research here. Until then, though, the best thing we can do is try to ensure that Buffy and King do not meet face to face again."
Buffy looked up.
"He was stalking me. I ... I couldn't really place the feeling before, but now that I ... know what he ... feels like, I know he has been following me for a while."
Angel cursed. "Then he probably knows where you live. Everything."
"This is strange, though," Giles frowned. "If he has been here for a time then the two of you should have ... I mean, the text says that Slayer and Huntsman were drawn together immediately. You should have felt his presence and ... well ..."
"I did feel him," Buffy said. "I just ... I just didn't know what I was feeling."
Giles shook his head. "We are still missing something here. I'm not sure what it is, though."
"Buffy could simply be stronger of will than those two Slayers mentioned in the text," Angel offered.
"A possibility, yes. I just wish there was some way to be sure about it."
"I have an associate in Los Angeles," Angel told the others. "He has some ... unusual connections. I will ask him to look into this, maybe he can find out some things."
"Good, every pair of eyes helps. Buffy, you should get some sleep now."
Buffy, never having moved from Angel's side, looked up at him with shock still evident in her large eyes.
"You ... you're staying, right?"
He leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. "Just try and make me leave you!"
Giles and Willow shared another look as the couple left together, but said nothing. The redhead made a mental note to press her friend for details the first chance she got, though. Something was going on between these two and she intended to find out what it was.
They could certainly use a little happiness in their lives right now. Maybe not perfect happiness, though.
TO BE CONTINUED