"In real life, the hardest aspect of the battle between good and evil is determining which is which."
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
The Hunter was once again in the Jungles of Ind with the Albino Dwarf still clutching his back. Then suddenly the foliage began to shake as strange, tiger-headed men emerged from the forest and surrounded him. These were the Beastmen of the lands of Ind. The Hunter looked at the strange Lynians he had only heard of before and having never seen them until now. Here they were worshipped as jungle deities.
He decided to play the diplomatic approach and bow as a sign of respect. The Beastmen looked a few seconds in interest and then they began to roar with laughter.
"This is the first time a foreigner such as yourself has shown us the proper respect we deserve." said their leader, an exceptionally large Beastman.
The Hunter then decided to speak up.
"I am an Explorer; I document most of the creatures I come across. Would it be okay if I drew a sketch of you for my journal?" asked the Hunter in the native tongue of Ind.
The Beastman grinned.
"I like you!"
Inside the Gold College of Altdorf
Shirou had been introduced to the man named Balthasar Gelt after the battle's abrupt end. The Magister showed an interest in him apparently.
"You used Magic to summon your weapons during that fight." said the Supreme Patriarch stating it as fact.
"So, you noticed." responded Emiya.
"You tried to hide it by materializing your weapons in a manner as to make it look like you were taking them out from underneath your cloak." explained Balthasar.
"Show me what you can do." commented the wizard.
"As you wish." Emiya smiled as he projected his dual swords Kanshou and Bakuya.
He then swung his swords in a downward slash while Gelt materialized a sword of his own to block. They then continued to engage in a mock duel. Every slash, every parry and every clash of blades held meaning as if a verbal debate was being carried out with just their swords. They continued this for a minute until finally Balthasar had seen enough.
"I do believe you are quite skilled. But something seemed a bit strange about how you materialized your weapons. You seemed to utilize Chamon as well as a rather unique and mutable magical energy that seemed to come off of your very being. Do you happen to be aware of this?" inquired the Gold Wizard.
Shirou was shocked at his ability to sense his Od. He didn't know how to explain to him.
"Your bronze skin-tone and slanted eyes would indicate you to be a Kurgan and yet you seem to vaguely resemble a man from Nippon. You could be a man of mixed heritage. Your bizarre hair-color may indicate a mild mutation or rare genetic trait. However, that still does not explain your bizarre aura, you are free of chaos-taint and produce your own magical energy. You are not of this world, are you?" concluded the Magister Patriarch.
Shirou was surprised by how he figured that out. He didn't know how impressive the Mages of this world were. He was comparable to an Alchemist of the Atlas Institute.
"I have to say I am actually not surprised that this happened now." stated Balthasar Gelt cryptically.
"How so?" asked Shirou intrigued.
"Believe it or not I actually sensed a disturbance in the Aether I wasn't sure what it was at first but as it turns out it must've brought you and several others here from someplace elsewhere." Explained the Arch Patriarch.
Shirou was surprised by that information, if other people were sent here did anyone he knew also end up here? If Rin was here then that would be a disaster waiting to happen! He would have to look for them soon.
"Do not worry I will find the others and try to find a way for you to return home if it is at all possible. But in return I would like to have you as an apprentice for now. This is a unique research opportunity for me. You'll be provided with resources from the college and you'll have full protection from Witch Hunters." said the Gold Wizard.
"Sounds nice, I accept I suppose." answered Shirou as things were all going according to plan.
"But since you're going to be my apprentice as a cover, is there anything else you specialize in?" asked the powerful Alchemist.
"Well, I have some understanding of Blacksmithing and Engineering. Also, I'm not one to brag but I am a pretty decent cook." Shirou said smiling at that last part.
"That will do just fine." Answered Gelt.
Outside the Drakwald Forest
They had finally emerged from the haunted forest of the Drakwald. Both Ash and Guts collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
"Nobody touches my sword." muttered Guts.
"So, what's your story?" asked Ash.
"I don't like talking about it." said Guts.
"Well if it makes you feel any better asshole, I'll tell you mine." replied Ash in an irritated tone.
"I didn't get along with my family during my childhood I argued with my Dad a lot after my Mom left. When I hit my Teenage years, I dated a girl named Linda and my Dad got me a 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88. I eventually got a job at S-Mart in the Housewares Department while Linda worked at the Counter. I guess you could say that my life was pretty nice, until the night we chose to stay the weekend in an abandoned cabin in the woods with my sister and two of my friends. We found a book called the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis along with a Tape Recording of the previous owner of the cabin, Proffessor Raymond Knowby who was translating a passage from the book.
By playing the tape we awoke something evil in the woods, the same thing that Knowby woke up earlier in the week, the Kandarian Demon. It took everyone, it took Linda and then it came for me, it got in my hand and it went bad, so I lopped it off at the wrist. But I eventually beat it with help from Annie Knowby, Proffessor Knowby's Daughter. But the Kandarian Demon wasn't gone for good though. I would continue fighting it and other things like it ever since."
Guts sighed in frustration. He didn't understand some of the things Ash had said but got the gist of what happened.
"Okay, Fine! I'll tell you!" muttered Guts.
"I was told that I was born out of my mother's corpse that was hanging from a tree when a group of Mercenaries found me and saw me as a bad omen. A woman named Shisu decided to take care of me. She eventually died three years later right in front of me after contracting the plague. Then the leader of the group, Gambino had to raise me, I trained with the sword for three years trying to earn my keep and prove myself to him. Then one night a man named Donovan came into my tent and did things to me."
Guts didn't need to explain the implication of what that meant.
"He said that Gambino sold me to him. At first, I didn't believe it because Gambino was like a father to me. But then one-night Gambino confessed everything and blamed me for Shisu's death, then he tried to kill me. I had to kill him or else he would've killed me. Then the other Mercenaries blamed me and chased me off a cliff and left me for dead."
Guts had a genuinely hurt expression on his face at that part of the story.
"I was then found by another group of Mercenaries who took me in, then I got involved in a war. Then everything changed when I met a man named Griffith and his Band of the Hawk."
Unnamed Location in the Drakwald
Martha was tied to a cross next to yet another cross that had a woman with platinum-blonde hair tied to it. She was a sturdy beast of a woman with bulging muscles visible due to the fact that she wore next to nothing in regards to clothing. They were both going to be executed, Martha for being a Mutant and the woman named Franka for being a supposed Witch. The Priest of Sigmar was giving a passionate speech in front of a gathered Militia about the horrors of the wilderness. Then Martha spoke up angrily.
"I didn't ask to be like this! I used to be one of you! I was somewhere I shouldn't have been during a Storm of Magic when I was just a girl. I'm a victim of circumstance." she explained.
Then a Witch Hunter that was there drew a knife and cut across her mid-section drawing blood in response to her words. Martha screamed in pain but her scream slowly shifted into a braying noise. Martha then began to cry; she was going to die like this. She had always been afraid of two possible fates. Being executed as a Mutant or losing herself to the influence of Chaos.
Perhaps she was doomed from the beginning and all hope she ever had was but an illusion.
Then suddenly the woman next to her started to froth at the mouth. Then the sound of bones snapping was heard as she started to change. Her limbs began elongating and her hair fell off before pure white-fur proceeded to spread all over her body. Her facial features started to elongate as she took on a wolfish appearance as her blue-eyes became feral slits. As her transformation completed itself revealing her to be a She-Wolf, she broke through her binds.
Martha closed her eyes as the sounds of gunshots, flesh tearing and screams filled the air. Then suddenly blood splashed onto her face which made her open them only to immediately regret it afterwards. She saw the Priest of Sigmar hanging limp between the jaws of the Werewolf before he was unceremoniously bitten in half. Both halves falling to the ground.
As she looked at the gnarled and mangled bodies of the Imperial Militia. She realized the Werewolf began to approach her slowly. Martha mentally apologized to Shirou that she probably wouldn't see him again and then she closed her eyes again.
Yet instead of the death that she was expecting, she felt herself fall to the ground as her bindings were cut. She then opened her eyes again in confusion. Franka stood there once again in human form just staring.
"Why didn't you kill me?" Martha asked.
"Because I saw myself." stated Franka sullenly.
"You were afraid of being hunted simply because of what you are." she paused before continuing.
"I know what you're thinking, why would one of the Children of Ulric be afraid? The Cult of Sigmar has hunted my kind for as long as I can remember, they think that we're no better than any other Werewolf or Mutant. We've been hunted so much that I haven't met others of my kind in years. And what has the Cult of Ulric done about this? Nothing! The reason why I'm afraid is that I'm afraid that I might be the last of my kind and that if I die Ulric's Bloodline dies with me." she finished while holding back tears.
"Now go before I change my mind." She muttered a warning.
She turned out to be a lot like Martha. They were both monsters with hearts.
The Reikwald
Goblin Slayer and Mugrub Fiendslayer had been in the forests of the Reik for only a few hours and they had already been attacked by a Giant with it's head painted green that thought it was Gork, chased by a Minotaur Beastwoman in Heat and had been harassed by a crazy person who thought he was a wizard.
"Weren't there supposed to be patrols here?" asked Goblin Slayer.
"It appears they're not as thorough as we thought." answered Mugrub Fiendslayer.
"Well what do we have here?" suddenly as if summoned by their mere mentioning, a patrol of Reikland troops appeared.
Nuln
Oda had gotten a few decent items after making a deal in Ubersreik on the way here for some smuggled Hochland Longrifles. After making it to Nuln he made another shady deal for some Imperial Great Cannons and two Helblaster Cannons. The Tiger was very persuasive. Pairing these with the Nipponese Cannons and Rocket Launchers he already owned he would be a force not to be taken lightly.
So, yeah to explain what happened in this chapter Beastmen from Ind are much more cultured than normal Beastmen. Gold Wizards are known to pay great attention to detail in order to calculate results. Also, I feel like Balthasar Gelt is very open-minded according to Lore as he is willing to break college rules by creating Gold.
Omake(Canon)
In the Underhive of Hive Primus on the Forge World of Necromunda in the Milky Way Galaxy of the 41st Millenium. A man sat in his chair with two Ogryn Bodyguards while he poured Amasec into his Recaf. He had recently caused quite the stir after showing up suddenly and becoming the leader of a powerful New Gang by using his expertise in Drug-making and Salvaging. Nobody knew just where he came from but there were many rumors. Some say he crawled out from the deepest levels of the Underhive, others claimed that he emerged fighting his way out of the blasted ruins of Hive Secundus and yet others will tell you that he walked out of the Ash Wastes in a strange suit of Power Armour while holding the severed head of an Ash Raider.
Nobody knew his name and so he was only known as The Lone Wanderer!
Omake2(Canon)
Somewhere atop the World's Edge Mountains a strange man in armor made from the bones of Dragons stood. In front of him was a Great Storm Dragon resting.
"WHY DO YOU COME HERE NORSCAN?" demanded the Dragon.
"I have come for you." answered the strange Norscan.
"YOU HAVE COME SEEKING DEATH MORTAL!" exclaimed the Dragon as it then lifted into the air and began to create a powerful storm.
"LOK VAH KOOR!" the strange man shouted causing the skies to suddenly clear.
"JOOR ZAH FRUUL!" the strange man yelled another strange incantation which attacked the Dragon's very soul forcing it to comprehend something unthinkable to a proud Dragon.
It was forced to comprehend mortality. It collapsed to the earth and then had its head forced down by the man's sabaton. The man then eventually lifted it and waited.
The Dragon having it's pride horribly wounded chose to bow it's head in defeat.
Omake3(Canon)
In the realm of Ghyran in the Age of Sigmar after the Necroquake a lone Beastwoman wandered alone and afraid hiding in the shadows of the forest. She long ago had forgotten her name, pain and suffering had become something like Old Friends to her. Suddenly a rush of unfamiliar memories flooded into her head from another life. Of a man in The-World-That-Was who took care of her and showed her how to fight. She decided that this must've been just her remembering a pleasant dream and nothing more as something like that seemed too good to have actually happened.
Martha decided to move on.
