I think this story is a bit more restrained compared to the original, but the amount of characters may get a bit much to keep track of, so this chapter is here as a handy guide for anyone confused.
At the very bottom is an explanation of things relating to the original for anyone who can't remember it or who isn't willing to sift through a lot of messy writing.
This is meant to be up to date for after chapter 20. If you're clicking here after getting confused in the story, then I'm going to warn you that this will contain some spoilers. Nothing too major, since the story until this point has been mainly introductions, but spoilers nonetheless.
Just for the sake of simplicity (since 6 months have passed in-story) the ages are how old they were at the time of chapter 1.
Key terminology and places:
Frontier Grounds:
The setting of this story. Referred to as the FG for short. A mostly unexplored land which the Guild has begun authorising expeditions into. The lands are officially reported uninhabited by people, but there are a few natives scattered around the place.
Zones:
The Guild has divided the FG into five zones. Each area is progressively more dangerous than the last, as a result of this the later areas are also less well documented. Just entering requires a hunter rank of fifteen, with increasing requirements for each zone. To get into each after that, it goes: thirty, fifty, seventy five and one hundred and fifty.
The rule is that an expedition only needs one hunter of the appropriate rank to reach a zone. This rule was put in place to allow non-combatants to join expeditions, it's generally expected that any hunters that journey to these places will be of appropriate strength. Of course, that isn't required, so there's nothing stopping any idiots from wandering in to seek what they're searching for.
Aura:
A mysterious force that some people possess. There isn't any official term for it. Depending on who talks about it could be called aura, a divine blessing, or a manifestation.
Its origin lies in especially strong emotions, usually some particular moment that drives a person over the edge. Whatever wish is formed in that instance becomes the unique aspect of that person's aura. Once it's realised, the user becomes physically frozen in time, unable to age.
In its basic form, it boosts the user's combat abilities by warning them of incoming attacks. On top of the lack of aging it has a few other benefits like faster recovery and increased endurance.
Each has their own unique ability they can use, a reflection of that wish. This could be just about anything, from the power to cut through anything to the power to create fire. The one drawback is that using this takes away the defensive instinct.
A power that most would dismiss as fantasy, except the ones who've been caught up in it.
Despite their immortality, aura users can't help but fight. This is what leads most of them to die before even realising that they've stopped aging.
The only way to live a normal life once more is to give up on that wish that created it. It's never easy to do.
Most of the cast have only heard about it through warnings passed down by their parents.
Characters:
DBA:
An expedition group dedicated to finding two specific men with the surname Gilmore, the first being Luke's older brother and the second being the father of the twins. The full name is Drag Those Assholes Back Expedition, but for some reason the acronym is missing about half of that. Most of the members are monster-taming hunters, as well as the children of the group from the previous story.
Luke Shoot Gilmore
Height: 167 cm
Age: 18
Weapon type: Light bowgun
Monster partner: Panzer (Barroth)
Favourite armour set: Tetranadon
Role: Gunner
Strength: 1/5
Agility: 3/5
Endurance: 1/5
Intelligence: 5/5
Reliability: 2/5
The smartest member of the group, but the least adjusted to combat. Makes up for his relative lack of experience with his wealth of knowledge, but still isn't quite at the point of being able to apply it well. His tendency to hesitate at the most vital moment is his biggest flaw, but recently he's begun to scratch at his true potential. His determination to bring his brother back seems to be the only thing driving him forward.
Avoids direct confrontation, prefers to keep his distance from the opponent.
His partner, Panzer, stands at odds with him. A brute wyvern of excessive strength, but not much else. Acts as the power that Luke lacks, and quite often has to protect him. Will go along with any plan Luke has without question.
Author's note: Luke was the first character thought of for this story, way back in 2016, a few days before G even started. He wasn't even my idea, he was thought up by the other author I'd started this story with. There wasn't really much of a plan to it, just an idea for an inheritance story at some point. The only things decided about him were being Zach's son, having a Barroth since his youth and using a light bowgun. This idea ended up getting forgotten about for a few years, the rest of the story was thought up gradually at some point from 2018 onwards.
Isabel Page
Height: 178 cm
Age: 19
Weapon type: Hammer
Monster partner: Irontusk (Tetsucabra)
Favourite armour set: Banbaro
Role: Navigator
Strength: 4/5
Agility: 2/5
Endurance: 3/5
Intelligence: 2/5
Obsession with truth: 5/5
The group's most straightforward. If you were to ask anyone that knows her to describe her in a single word, the answer would unanimously be "blunt". Rather than saying she's unafraid to speak her mind, it would be more accurate to describe it as being unable to speak anything else. A girl who values honesty above all else, after having spent her time seeing two-faced adults first-hand. The open are her allies, the closed off are her enemies. An exceedingly simple rule to live her life by. She wishes to be an iron-hearted devil who can't be hurt by anything.
Employs a very straightforward fighting style, focused on dealing as many big hits as she possibly can.
Her partner, Irontusk, is very similar to her. A straightforward fighter that aims to crush everything that stands in her way.
Author's note: Was originally meant to be the most normal of the group, which surprises me more with each chapter she's in.
Spencer Page
Height: 181 cm
Age: 19
Weapon type: Glaive
Monster partner: Storm (Tobi-Kadachi)
Favourite armour set: Thunderlord
Role: Cook
Strength: 3/5
Agility: 5/5
Endurance: 3/5
Intelligence: 1/5
Electricity: 2/5
The group's unrelenting challenger. The other twin. Despite being an idiot, he occasionally says smart things. At the start of his journey, he seemed content to just throw himself into battle, not caring if he lost. But after an encounter with the legendary protector of a mountain, he's sworn to never lose again. If he meets a strong opponent, the only choice available for him is challenging them.
Spends as much time as possible in the air, overwhelms his opponent with attacks from as many directions as possible.
He first met Storm when the monster was heavily injured. The two are kindred spirits, when one wants to do something the other will naturally share that intent. Both are the kind of fools who can only see the options of accomplishing something or dying trying. Just uses a glaive without the kinsect because he can't work out how to fight with one properly, Storm is all he needs.
Author's note: Originally meant to fight with an Arzuros. Then an Astalos. The kinsect was dropped from his fighting style just for the sake of it. Perhaps an Astalos would've gone well with the insect glaive, but it seemed a bit too powerful in comparison to the rest of the group. Compared to the original, where I just carelessly handed out flagship monsters, the capability to fly carries more of a meaning in this story. He's definitely better suited to being flightless, in spite of his style always involving aerial attacks.
Maria Gilmore.
Height: 186 cm
Age: 20
Weapon type: Sword and Shield
Monster partner: Kasa (Aknosom)
Favourite armour set: Dreadking
Role: Vice-captain
Strength: 3/5
Agility: 3/5
Endurance: 4/5
Intelligence: 3/5
Kindness(?): 5/5
The group's secondary leader. An extremely nice and caring girl. The group's older sister figure. Like her weapon, she excels in nothing, but lacks any weakness. She's a kind young woman who naturally wants to protect others. Please don't worry about anything below the surface, or any impossibilities being chased after. Here to retrieve her cousin, who is also Luke's brother.
Has a well-balanced fighting style.
Kasa is everything she wants to be. Beauty and grace, all while defending. Despite their similarities, she doesn't fully believe herself to be worthy of fighting alongside her.
Author's note: She was always going to use a sword and shield, but the trouble came in deciding on her partner, which was left until I was working on the first chapter. I was considering an Anjanath just for the sake of being absurd. I even had the scene mapped out, where after everyone else's introduction she would've brought it in and gone "Isn't she cute?" as they were shocked. But after playing Rise, I found the Aknosom far more fitting. So that Anjanath was turned into the first enemy instead. Really, I have to thank Rise for a lot of this story, my interest wouldn't have been revived without it. And this choice of monster was what mainly shaped her character, before that she didn't really have that much to do.
Judah Harrison
Height: 232 cm
Age: 24
Weapon type: Lance
Monster partner: Titan (Dodogama)
Favourite armour set: Uragaan
Role: Captain
Strength: 4/5
Agility: 1/5
Endurance: 5/5
Intelligence: 4/5
Confidence: 1/5
The leader of the group. Always wearing heavy armour, he could be mistaken for a moving fortress. But in spite of that great size and power, he's really quite timid. As the most experienced hunter in the group, he's the best fit for the leader. He has the highest defensive ability of the group. Has known Luke and Mary since they were children, his aim is also to bring Luke's brother back.
His style is focused solely on defence. His role is to protect, not attack.
Unlike most of the others, Judah's purpose is to protect Titan, instead of the opposite. Titan is even shyer than he is. His role is mainly to stay out of danger and attack with explosive rocks.
Author's note: I feel like most of these for the main group will just be me talking about changes, but this guy has quite a few. The basic concept of his character was decided early on, though back then he had gynophobia just because I thought it would be funny. This ended up getting phased out in the process of making chapter 5 to just him being awkward in general.
It's also important here to bring up that the original idea for this story had them dealing with content from the frontier games (hence the name of the setting), but at some point I decided that since I understand monsters best by actually fighting them I decided to stick with only translated content (I remember that there was a way to play Frontier over here, but I never got around to making it work before the servers closed down). The reason this is important right now is because he was originally designed to fight alongside an Espinas. Now, if you're reading this in the future, this might've seemed like a dumb decision. But Espinas was only revealed for Sunbreak a few months after I began publishing this story. It's quite funny timing. Though, if I had the choice now, I'd probably still stick with Titan.
Zara Lowe
Height: 133 cm
Age: 20
Weapon type: Wirebug Puppet
Monster partner: Arachne (Nerscylla)
Favourite armour set: Baggi
Role: Doctor
Strength: 0/5
Agility: 1/5
Endurance: 0/5
Intelligence: 5/5
Bitterness: 5/5
The group's weakest. Too weak to even hunt using conventional weapons. But, even so, she refuses to give up. She fights with a puppet controlled by wirebugs, a style rarely used due to its difficulty. What motivates her isn't anything good-hearted, but simply spite. She hates the strong. So she wants to be better than them. A bitter person, but you could see her as very honest in that twistedness.
Her fighting style revolves around keeping the puppet between her and any danger. Such a difficult to control weapon can't win on either strength or speed, so she has to resort to trickery. This is why the puppet has several hidden features, even if she's not a fan of all of them.
Arachne doesn't express many emotions, but they have a silent solidarity together. The two of them are both schemers rather than direct fighters and both fight with similar methods.
Author's note: She probably had the most changes of any cast member. Originally, she was meant to be a gunner. She probably would've had a flying wyvern, maybe an Astalos but I never really decided for sure. She was also meant to be completely emotionless. I think her arc would've been something like learning to gain emotions or how to help people or something like that. But at some point I realised that I'm not good with characters like that and she was boring. I think it was only after Rise that I started thinking about a weird wirebug puppet weapon. I think her personality was probably the last to be finalised because of this, I only figured out how she should be around when she first appeared.
Laura Ford
Height: 207 cm
Age: 22
Weapon type: Great sword
Monster partner: None
Favourite armour set: Nergigante
Role: Fighter
Strength: 5/5
Agility: 1/5
Endurance: 4/5
Intelligence: 1/5
Recklessness: 5/5
The group's dedicated meathead. So overwhelmingly powerful that she disrupts the rhythms of others without even thinking about it, with an abundance of confidence to match that ability. Strength like hers is an anomaly. Truly believes herself to be unbeatable. Whether it's true or not has yet to be proven.
Her ridiculous strength is the basis of her fighting style. Her attacks are slow, but she views cutting the opponent down as a matter of inevitability.
Lacks a monster to fight with, but has no need for one on account for her already monstrous power. The monster within her will devour anything in range of her, so she can't use her full power around anyone on her side. Tends to go into a state of euphoria when utilising this power, likely because of the relief of not having to hold herself back.
Author's note: This is a character who went through relatively few changes. The one major difference is that she was originally going to use dual blades. She still would've kept her role as the strongest member of the group, using fast weapons with unconventional power behind them. Her having a monster to fight alongside was never in the cards. The role of the only member of the group without a monster is an inherited one.
I also had a pretty stupid explanation for her berserker state, but I really grew to dislike it, so I cut it. The reason now is just that she's built different.
Jean Demonlord
Height: 163 cm
Age: 20
Weapon type: Hunting Horn
Monster partner: Tama (Mizutsune)
Favourite armour set: Izuchi
Role: Musician
Strength: 4/5
Agility: 2/5
Endurance: 1/5
Intelligence: 2/5?
Enjoyment of everything: 5/5
The life of the group. Always whimsical and extremely difficult for others to predict. The rest of the group have no idea what she's talking about a majority of the time. Despite presenting herself as stupid, seems to have a good understanding of many things the others are unaware of.
Her fighting style is very non-confrontational. She prefers strange movements and spends about as much time messing around as she does focusing on the fight. To confuse your enemies, you start with confusing your allies. Perhaps that's her philosophy. Or maybe it's all nonsense in the spur of the moment. Despite everything, she has a surprising amount of strength, but only seems to tap into it when it'd be funny to do so.
Tama is a trickster like her partner. She's a lot less silly, but will go along with anything and everything that Jean thinks might be funny without hesitation. Coating enemies in bubbles and watching them slip around is her favourite part of fights.
Author's note: She probably has the least changes of the entire cast, possibly because she was the final one thought up. I don't think I worked out the fox theme of her character until I realised I forgot to give her a monster and couldn't use a Qurupeco again.
Fenris Eis
Height: 210 cm
Age: 23
Weapon type: Accelaxe
Monster partner: Fang (Lunagaron)
Favourite armour set: Goss Harag
Role: Blacksmith
Strength: 3/5
Agility: 5/5
Endurance: 2/5
Intelligence: 3/5
Sense of aesthetics (for weapons, exclusively): 5/5
The group's hot and cool boy. A calm blacksmith who has yet to reveal much about himself. Despite his usual demeanour he has a strong passion for weapons and armour. Has a tendency to ignore his clients requests in favour of including features that are to his personal taste. Never refers to anyone except his partner by their names, for some reason.
His accelaxe is custom-built. Favoured strategy is overwhelming his opponents with countless deadly attacks. The axe gives him a blistering speed. His modifications seem to have made the weapon even more specialised for aggressive, close-quarters combat.
Fang is a beast that will tear through anything. Seems to only have thoughts of fighting, in contrast to his partner. Also very untrusting of anyone outside of him, though Jean has made numerous attempts to befriend him to some limited success.
Author's note: Originally, he used a charge blade, but I decided to give accelaxe another shot since the only character to use one in G was an antagonist who I don't feel I made nearly memorable enough.
Fen was going to fight alongside a Slicemargl from Monster Hunter Online until I decided to tone down on untranslated content. A while after that Rise came out, upon seeing Goss Harag I realised it was the next best fit. I'm glad that I waited before releasing the first 13 chapters of this because when Lunagaron was shown I realised that there couldn't be a monster out there more fitting for him. Goss Harag is one of my favourite monsters in the series, so it was a shame. There's an earlier draft of chapter 11 I still have where he was teamed up with one called Vorpal.
Starward Diamonds:
Another group of hunters, now headed into the FG to further refine their skills. In contrast to the DBA, they've got a pretty good handle on things, having existed for over three years at this point.
Lotus
Height: 152 cm
Age: 23
Weapon type: Gunlance
Favourite armour set: Bazelgeuse
Role: Captain
Strength: 5/5
Agility: 5/5
Endurance: 2/5
Intelligence: 4/5
Ability to be honest with his feelings: 1/5
One of the founders of the Starward Diamonds. Has an obsession with ideals. Without him, the group likely wouldn't be able to hold itself together. Had a somewhat troubled upbringing, one of the results of that is his tendency to use criticism as a form of affection. His feelings for Judah are obvious to everyone except for Judah himself.
Has exceptional destructive potential. Uses his gunlance to destroy everything in his path, as well as fling himself around at blazing speed. An ultimate attack, with very little focus on defence. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that his form of defence is to destroy everything in his path before it can hurt him. His ideal of a fight is annihilating the enemy.
Author's note: I've already talked about this guy a bit in a note at the end of a chapter so I don't need to say much about his inspiration. Though it is worth noting that a lot of the Diamonds were rip-offs of other things, intentional or not. The guy that I took his name from was already more or less a copy of Ky Kiske, so I guess he's a double rip-off. Which is why he's the only one fit to lead this group.
Also if you want to understand my thought process behind his height please type "hamster eating banana" into Google images.
Bal
Height: 205 cm
Age: 28
Weapon type: Heavy bowgun
Favourite armour set: Ceanataur
Role: Tactician
Strength: 2/5
Agility: 3/5
Endurance: 3/5
Intelligence: 5/5
Hair: 0/5
The second founding member of the Diamonds. Considers himself to be an ordinary guy, and is probably the only one in the group who seems to have things fully together. Often has to act polite in Lotus' place. He'd probably be the vice-captain or even captain, but he has a strong distaste for being the leader.
He seems approachable most of the time, but when in battle his presence shifts completely. He fights with a calculatedness that only years of experience can bring about. Prefers sniping, will stay out of danger as much as possible. His ideal fight would involve outsmarting the opponent while remaining untouched.
Author's note: Jojuuu Senjin Mushibugyou is a manga that I think is kinda good at its best, but one that held my attention for far longer than something great would. I think I got the visual for a collected and polite bald guy with a rifle from Isshin from that. Honestly, I didn't put that much thought into Bal when first creating him, he was just designed as the dedicated heavy weapons guy. But now that I've fleshed him out a bit more I think he's probably one of my favourites. His refined calmness and having a few years on the rest of the cast give him a very unique appeal which I don't feel I've entirely captured yet.
Kalo
Height: 184 cm
Age: 22
Weapon type: Dual blades
Favourite armour set: Kula Ya-ku head, other than that uses a mixed set.
Role: Vice-captain
Strength: 3/5
Agility: 5/5
Endurance: 2/5
Intelligence: 3/5
Heads: 2/5
The silent vice-captain of the group. Kalo's most identifiable trait from a glance is the Kula Ya-Ku head that he has never once been seen without, even by his own teammates. Communicates through sign language since he was born deaf. Slightly eccentric, but effective nonetheless. The reason why he wears the bird head is unknown. Some theories from the other Diamonds include: intimidation purposes, for covering up scars, or that it's his real face.
His skill with the dual blades are comparable to a strong wind that tears the target apart. He focuses everything on attack speed, overwhelming the opponent. Ideal fight would be defeating the opponent without leaving even a single opening.
Author's note: Probably the most obvious rip-off of them all.
Milla
Height: 187.2 cm
Age: 25
Weapon type: Longsword
Favourite armour set: Bnahabra
Role: Navigator
Strength: 4/5
Agility: 4/5
Endurance: 1/5
Intelligence: 2/5
Bloodlust: 5/5
A girl that has an obsession with blood and other girls. Always wears excessively cute armour into battle. Claims to be a vampire. She is completely smitten with Sol and as a result of that is trying to work out a way to bite through armour.
Milla uses the reach of her sword to control the opponent's movement, her swings resembling fangs. It's a form of defending while attacking. Performing this requires an excessive number of swings, which tires her out quickly. To compensate, she quickly recovers after drinking blood. It's unknown whether or not this is a placebo. Ideal fight would be to hack away at the opponent while preventing them from escaping.
Author's note: I think what I derived her name from should be pretty obvious. Vampires have always been gay for all of history. Also I gave her a weird fighting style because I realised I want to make the characters introduced in this story more unique.
Sol
Height: 222 cm
Age: 25
Weapon type: Dual shields
Favourite armour set: Gravios
Role: Tank
Strength: 4/5
Agility: 1/5
Endurance: 5/5
Intelligence: 3/5
Armour: 5/5
The tallest member of the group, constantly clad in heavy armour. She never seems to remove it at any point. Also the nicest there, always polite. Close with Milla.
Uses two shields at once for absolute defence. She can attack with the shields, but she doesn't like to. She prefers blocking hits for her allies instead. Ideal fight would be one where everyone on her side remains unscathed.
Author's note: The one with the least to talk about. I called her Sol because a vampire lusting after the sun was pretty funny to me.
Michael
Height: 181 cm
Age: 18
Weapon type: Insect glaive
Favourite armour set: Tigrex
Role: Cook
Strength: 3/5
Agility: 5/5
Endurance: 4/5
Intelligence: 1/5
Fighting spirit: 5/5
The newest recruit, a determined fighter. Highly competitive. Enjoys fighting the most out of all the Diamonds.
Fights using an insect glaive in the standard way, in contrast to Spence. Though one thing that makes him stick out is his distaste for dodging attacks. The type to take a lot of hits and still remain standing. His ideal vision of a fight is both sides standing blooded and bruised, each's thoughts solely dedicated to punching the one right in front of them.
Author's note: This guy was made to be like the protagonist of a delinquent manga. Specifically, Maeda Taison from Rokudenashi Blues. Whose name is derived from Mike Tyson. So this ended up with Michael. In the time between deciding on his name and writing his introduction Crows ended up replacing it as my favourite delinquent manga, though.
Stanley
Height: 199 cm
Age: 20
Weapon type: Charge blade
Favourite armour set: Tobi-Kadachi
Role: Executor
Strength: 5/5
Agility: 2/5
Endurance: 5/5
Intelligence: 3/5
Kill: 5/5
The most normal looking guy in the entire group. Has all the standard things you'd expect from a person. If you looked up the definition of a person in a visual dictionary you would probably find a photo of him. Seems slightly hollow.
His fighting style is exactly what would be expected of one called an executor. Wastes no time in switching into axe mode when it's ready. His ideal is simply to cut as many heads as possible.
Author's note: I think he was one of the first ones that I thought of. I picked Stanley because it was the most normal sounding name I could think of. I've never met anyone who goes by it, but it just seems like something standard regardless. Sorry if you're called that.
Vicke:
Height: 175 cm
Age: 19
Weapon type: Switch axe
Favourite armour set: Almudron
Role: Blacksmith
Strength: 4/5
Agility: 3/5
Endurance: 3/5
Intelligence: 3/5
Hotbloodedness: 5/5
The group's punk. Incredibly impulsive with a short temper.
An over the top fighting style. Large attacks. Enjoys explosions quite a bit, though she didn't get a chance to properly show that off in the group training for quite obvious reasons. Ideal outcome of a fight is scorched earth.
Author's note: I can't recall what the inspiration for her was exactly, she just sort of showed up in my notes.
Doctor Professor Science
Height: 201 cm
Age: 32
Weapon type: Magnet spike
Favourite armour set: Gigginox
Role: Scientist
Strength: 2/5
Agility: 5/5
Endurance: 3/5
Intelligence: 5/5
Science: 5/5
An extremely confident scientist. When he first joined the group he just went by Doctor, he adds and removes words from his name periodically. Takes great joy in explaining things, regardless of whether the listeners are interested.
Uses a magnet spike, which he considers to be the strongest of all weapons because of its obscurity. Uses its abilities to move at a near untouchable speed, occasionally to his own detriment. Ideal is a scientific victory, whatever that means.
Author's note: He was included just so I could finally have someone use magnet spikes. The joke of calling someone a doctor professor is something I thought of for a ttrpg character. Also he was originally going to be Luke's opponent until Bal became more developed / I decided to give Luke more of a leading role in that round.
Requiem Knights:
A mysterious group with the intent of determining the story's path. They hold their meetings in a room with large stained glass paintings behind each seat. They have an interest in Joseph Gilmore, which gives them a reason to target his children.
Apollo
Height: 208 cm
Age: 30
Manifestation: Necrosis Nectar
Strength: 2/5
Agility: 4/5
Endurance: 2/5
Intelligence: 4/5
Venom: 5/5
A man who seems to hold a deep grudge against Joseph for reasons not fully stated. Has a tendency to overtalk, especially when he has the advantage. Lost his right arm to the mask wearer. A soul of poison.
Relies on his ability for all encounters. Prefers to stick to the shadows, though he didn't get a good chance to display his skills before due to the battle taking place in the middle of the day. Maybe next time?
The rest have yet to be formally introduced, so there's not much that can be said about them yet.
The scared woman. A soul of destruction.
The aggressive man. A soul of storms.
The laid-back man. A soul of paradise.
The mysterious voice. A soul of mirage.
The old man. A soul of earth.
The serious woman. A soul of sky.
The man who was divining. A soul of destiny.
The leader. A soul of souls.
Other characters:
Terrence Gandor
Height: 182 cm
Age: 44
Weapon type: Bow
Monster partner: Demi (Kecha-Wacha)
Favourite armour set: Orangaten
Strength: 2/5
Agility: 4/5
Endurance: 2/5
Intelligence: 4/5
Experience: 4/5
A member of the old group, the first from it to reappear in this story. The son of the famous "Frozen Demon", Terrence was raised by his village to succeed his father, even if such a thing to his detriment. A lot of things happened, in the end he finally broke free from that weight he'd spent his entire life being crushed under. Nowadays he's not by any means popular, but he is a well-respected hunter to those that know him. Outgrown a lot of his impulsiveness back from when he was young, now he's entirely calm and collected. Perhaps a little tired.
Physically, he's hardly strong enough to keep up with the more dangerous monsters. Wins fights through tactics, synchronising with Demi to entrap the opponent using careful arrow placement. In the best case scenario, the two utilise a never-ending flurry of attacks that's impossible for the opponent to break free from.
Demi has been his partner for longer than the majority of this story's cast has been alive. The son of a well-known Ash Kecha-Wacha called Skull-Mask, who was made a target due to being mistaken for his father. A mix between an Ash Kecha and a regular one, who by some miracle gained the powers of both. Upon realising his situation Terrence could only feel empathy, so he offered him a chance to fight together. The two have been inseparable since. At this point, they share a bond bordering on telepathy.
Author's note: I realise that bringing him back first might seem like an odd decision, but since he was the youngest cast member in G I thought it'd be good to start with how different he is now. Having him go from a kid learning to be a hunter to a middle aged man teaching others is a very unique feeling. I quite like it.
Sam Greenthorne
Height: 160 cm
Age: 15
Weapon type: Bow
Monster partner: Name undecided (Rajang)
Favourite armour set: Iron
Strength: 1/5
Agility: 3/5
Endurance: 1/5
Intelligence: 2/5
Determination: 5/5
The impulsive hunter-in-training who can't stand being seen as weak to the extent that she'd run into danger to disprove it. Training under Terrence.
Still working out her own fighting style, has a preference for close-range shots.
After her interactions with the group she got the inspiration to try befriending a Rajang they had just fought, due to the similarities between them. By some miracle she succeeded, so now she's become ridiculously powerful. The two still don't know how to fight that well together yet, she hasn't even thought of a name for it.
Author's note: Her surname is so stupid I'm really proud of it. Maybe an Espinas would've been more fitting with a name like that, though? Also I only realised when writing this out that introducing three bow users outside the main group in the first arc, one of which is completely unrelated, might've been a slightly bad decision.
Mysterious bow girl.
Information not filled out yet.
The girl who showed up for a while to instruct Laura and Spence on how to get stronger, but forgot to give her own name. Very airheaded. Always pauses for a short while after being asked a question. Has a habit of leaning on objects strangely for no apparent reason. Appeared to be searching for someone dangerous, but forgot to warn the rest of this before departing.
The masked individual.
Information unknown. Capabilities unseen.
Suddenly showed up when the group was fighting Apollo, and promptly erased his arm. Possesses the power to instantly erase anything within a certain distance of them. The Requiem Knights are working under the assumption that they're someone they once met two decades in the past. Who they are, what they're planning, where they are now, when they'll act and which side they're on are questions that are impossible to answer right now. Only one thing is clear. They are against the Requiem Knights.
Original DBA
Original DBA characters. These will be more brief, they're just to clear things up if they get referenced.
Joseph Gilmore:
The group's biggest idiot, as well as the former main character. Fought using a longsword. His former partner was Daimyo, a Daimyo Hermitaur he found as a child, but after his death he was replaced by Nargy, who he still fights alongside.
Spent most of his life swearing revenge on a Molten Tigrex responsible for destroying his home village. His aura ability was derived from the young boy's wish to grow strong enough to defeat it, which allowed him to inherit the powers of fallen aura users. The first aura user that died near him was David, leading to mountain slash being mistaken for his ability for a while.
He finally achieved his revenge in the fight against Armageddon, but was left with nothing to go on for afterwards. As this battle concluded, he became host to a large group of souls known as the world. Following their orders, he began to lead the aura users on a quest to wipe out all monsters. He was stopped by his friends before anything could be accomplished.
A failure of a hero who only hurt those he believed he could save and then went on to destroy the world. But in the end he learnt how to keep living, so it wasn't all that bad.
The father of the twins.
Zach Gilmore:
The group's leader, sort of. Used a gunlance and fought with Zappy, a Ludroth he'd raised from an egg. Liked wyvern's fires a bit too much. Got injured a lot over the course of the story.
The father of Luke and his brother who has yet to be formally introduced.
Ben Gilmore.
The group's chief violence enjoyer. Used a switch axe. Partner was Plessy, a Plesioth that enjoyed the same things he did. Ended up going out in a blaze of glory during the war, catalysing the negative spirals of those close to him.
Callum Gilmore:
The group's background character. Dual blades user. Worked with (or maybe for) Sanchez, the greatest of all Jaggi. Not much remarkable about him, but a decent guy. Lost an arm in the fight against Judgement.
Father of Mary.
Riko Ford:
The group's phantom swordsman. Used a greatsword. The only one not to use a monster, for whatever reason. In his childhood he became friends with a Chameleos that he named Kam, but due to some mistakes the two parted ways. He drifted for a while, unable to become someone, until finally confronting the phantom years later. Got quite close to Anthony, started dating him after this, but losing his love in the battle against Armageddon awakened him. His resolve was to never be defeated, since that was what caused it. He was finally talked down by Alexandra.
Father of Laura.
Anthony Smith:
The group's flashy guy. His weapon of choice was a hammer and his partner was Wave, a Lagiacrus. In the past he was a blacksmith, but ruined everything due to his feelings of inferiority. This was what probably led him to always try to stand out. Made a promise with Riko to take him to his home village sometime. Died before fulfilling it.
Alexandra Harrison:
The group's strongest. Wielded a lance, learnt to fight alongside a wolf of lightning that she called Zino as the story went on. When she was just starting out, she met a girl called Jude who dreamed of becoming the strongest hunter and joined her group for a while. After a tragic disaster the group except for her was wiped out, so she inherited that wish out of guilt. Did a ridiculous amount of training, more than any others in the group. Took a while to learn to get along with Zino properly. Learned to curb her grief ever so slightly as the series progressed.
Mother of Judah.
Sean Lowe:
The group's money lover. Fought with a heavy bowgun and Azure, a creatively named Azure Rathalos. Didn't have much value beyond what they could earn. This was how he coped with past events, to prevent himself from being hurt again. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. Childhood friends with Alicia and Matt, even after leaving them both behind he was unable to get rid of them, much like those emotions that he tried to abandon.
Father of Zara.
Alicia Diaz:
The group's lovestruck girl. A light bowgun main and the partner of Ayano. Was saved by Sean when they were young. No matter how much he changed, she still kept believing his old self would return. Her love sometimes reached a state that could only be called frightening. She lost her life in the fight against Armageddon, which transformed the two men she cared about the most for better and for worse.
Mattias Griffin:
The group's eternal third wheel. Used a medium bowgun. Got along well with Klaus, a Diablos. Was in love with Alicia for having saved him in turn. Even after getting turned on, he couldn't just let go of those feelings. Perceived Sean as a rival (the feeling was not mutual). After Alicia's death he wished with all his soul to control everything, which manifested as the power to move any object within the range of his aura. Was defeated by Sean anyway and forced to return to living as a human.
Lyra Windgralde:
The group's junior thief. Used an Insect Glaive. One of her partners in crime was a Malfestio called Chante. A deadpan girl raised by Melynx. Was recruited into the group by Zach. Still cared about others, she just lacked any way of showing it. After Shoot died to save her, she wanted to disappear. Which is the power she gained. Something that completely erased any traces of her. Even so, the ones that remained were still able to find her.
Mother of Luke and his brother who has yet to be formally introduced.
Shoot Windgralde:
The group's senior thief. Chante was technically his monster partner as well. A Melynx, and Lyra's father. Lost his family before, which led him to take her in. Chose travelling with her over staying in his village. Very overprotective of her. In the fight against Armageddon he died to save her. He was happy, in the end.
Luke (and his brother who I'm tired of specifying hasn't been formally introduced yet)'s grandfather. Luke got his middle name from him.
Natasha Holystone:
The group's hotblooded twin. Used a charge blade, fought with Aki, who was a Brachydios. One of the girls from another country that was taken over by monsters. Took a while to adapt to how different things were across the sea. The outspoken one, tended to resolve any problem with explosions. Ben recruited both of them into the group. Almost died in the final battle but succeeded in saving her sister. Decided to go back to their home country afterwards.
Natalie Holystone:
The group's chill twin. Used a hunting horn. Went with the most obvious pick for a hunting horn, which was a Crimson Qurupeco called Frega. The nice one. Tended to hold her thoughts in much to her own detriment, after some past trauma. This reached its peak in the fight against Armageddon, which finally led to her awakening aura. Her ability was defensive, automatically creating spikes when something got too close. She was saved by the one who refused to fear getting hurt. Decided to stay in the country of hunters afterwards.
Edward Demonlord:
The group's lord of hell. In his own words, his ultra-death weapon of choice was a sword and shield and his pact was forged with Revelation-Beast XIII, the twenty-seventh seat of the wyverns of the first circle of the unchained one (a Yian Garuga). Recruited by Callum. Always said absurd things about powers beyond the comprehension of the other characters. The bastard child of a noble family but he doesn't want anything to do with that. Decided that the role of a villain is just fine for him, and that he's fine with continuing to live for selfish reasons. He supposedly founded a cult after the original story ended.
Father of Jean.
Vert Blank:
The group's trained killer. Used tonfas, fought with Vrai, a Seregios. The guild had a plan to take in abandoned children and raise them to fight. These were disposable pawns raised without any emotions, akin to living dolls. Their lack of emotion is exactly why they had no value as anything other than dolls. This girl was raised as one of these. After an encounter with the protagonists, she began to question this way of life and escaped to become a hunter. She changed her name and partnered with Vrai shortly after.
Despite having been raised to lack a personality, the more Vert interacted with others she found herself becoming someone short-tempered, yet caring. Was recruited by Joseph and Terrence, spent the most time with those two. In the end, the assassin tragically fell in battle as a human.
Joshua Lawson:
The group's former enemy turned into an ally. Best known for using a scythe, which gained him the nickname "Reaper's Envoy". He also went by the name Reaper in the group he was introduced as a part of. Later partnered with Frost, a Barioth.
He began as a hunter in Kotoko. Two of his friends died to deviant monsters that weren't supposed to be there. He and the other survivor, Isaac, awakened in response. His wish was to cut through anything. After dealing with the monsters, the two turned their gaze to the hunters that had failed to kill those monsters in the first place. It was after this that he became known as the reaper. They formed a group dedicated to wiping out any hunters they deemed unworthy. Those who became hunters to escape sins, for example. This is what led them to target the original four. After a drawn-out fight, the group was defeated.
Having lost but somehow survived, Joshua wandered for a while. He ran into Frost and fought him, gaining the Barioth's respect. It was after this that he gave up on his wish, not having a reason to continue without Isaac.
Josh's next goal was to atone for his murders. To start, he offered to join the main group. Joseph still disliked him after their fights, but the rest seemed willing to accept him. Was always slightly too willing to sacrifice himself to accomplish things. He was the one that helped save Terrence.
At the end of the series his plan was to travel around and help aura users with resolving their problems.
Judgement:
Isaac:
The leader. Went by Judge. Used an accelaxe. Known as the "Frozen Flames". His wish was to burn everything away. Referred to aura abilities as divine blessings. By the time he was introduced in the series he was a hollow man who could only think of burning evil away. But he did truly care for his friends. That was why it all started. Died when the group crashed his airship.
Zenya:
The sniper. Also went by Scope. There were seven members of Judgement, but she's one of the only three worth noting. The mother of Jude. Alexandra tracked her down just to apologise. Distraught over her daughter's death, she blamed the only target she could find. She gained the ability to see anything within a certain range of her, an extremely useful ability for her fighting style. Her grief over her daughter's death is what made her a part of Judgement, but when offered the chance to kill Alexandra she couldn't follow through, realising how pointless it all was. Sacrificed herself to save Alexandra from Isaac. She would've had a good chance of winning, had she not become the first aura user in the series to forfeit her status just a few moments before.
The guild's executives.
Fallon Bachika:
The guild's former leader and the incarnation of humanity. The strongest single being to ever have existed, if you could define her as such a thing. Her manifestation allowed her to absorb the abilities of fallen aura users. She was raised by a group of aura users dedicated to the extermination of monsters. After several millennia, the rest of the group fell. She took in the souls of her comrades and joined the new civilisation that had formed in their absence to begin the group's plans anew. During the battle of Armageddon she and the rest of the executives fell in battle, but their powers were inherited.
Lion Hart:
The warrior of promised victory. His manifestation allowed him to see into the future. He was the most powerful hunter of his time (excluding the two cheaters), but below his cold exterior lay a cowardly mind.
Roy Tanner:
The warrior of knowledge. Possessed a manifestation to allow him to instantly analyse anything. A man who only lived to observe what fascinated him.
Muskular Muscloso:
The warrior of power. His manifestation reinforced his body to the point of being able to destroy monsters with just his fists. Prideful and arrogant. Fallon made him bring dual blades on him on hunts to act as a cover story.
Hitoiki Costelli:
The warrior of song. Could enhance the effects of her songs to a ridiculous degree with her manifestation. A constantly upbeat woman. Perhaps out of place in such a group.
Gol Platin:
The warrior of radiance. His manifestation mimicked the effects of a flash bomb, but with a far greater intensinity. Widely agreed upon to have been the most vain man in recorded history. His power was ironic, seeing as it prevented anyone from seeing him.
Kara Kanap:
The warrior of dreams. A constantly drowsy member of the group whose aura would replicate that tiredness in others. The question of how someone could manifest a power like that is far more interesting than anything else about her.
Corra Fay:
The warrior of counters. Used a longsword, her manifestation increased the damage of her counters to a ridiculous degree. The aura only affected the damage dealt, the counters were based on her own skill. Had it been different, she would've been far less powerful. Spent most of her time outside combat arguing with Roy.
Morgan Tanashi:
The warrior of void. Her manifestation allowed her to move anywhere within the range of her aura instantaneously, giving the illusion of teleportation when used in quick succession. Silent and bloodthirsty. Even her thoughts were only of battle.
There were other aura users from around the world who were recruited for the battle.
Aron Gandor:
The Frozen Demon. Gained fame for defeating a Ukanlos single-handedly. His ability was to use his aura to hold anything in place, from objects to living things, but the amount he could cover was limited to the size of his own body. Bad at dealing with large numbers of enemies, but unrivalled in a solo fight. Despite having intelligence which allowed him to utilise such a simple ability to great effect, he was nothing but a fool whose inability to let go of what he'd lost led him to be unable to hold what still remained. If it's any consolation, the frozen heart seemed to realise the error of its ways just a few moments before its end.
Fa:
Iron woman. Strong willed and stoic. Defeated by being crashed through a castle. Name was taken from Zeta Gundam.
Raf:
Wind controlling boy. Deadpan. Defeated by a woman finally reaching the sky, only to realise there wasn't a point once she got there.
Avery:
Explosions lover. Very loud. Manifestation created explosions. Defeated by the quietest member of the enemy team.
Dawn hunters. A group of hunters formed in the early 14th century. Annihilated a few years after two travelling brothers joined it. The majority of the group isn't really worth mentioning.
David Gilmore:
The younger brother. Wielded a greatsword. A shell of a human, reanimated by his brother's command to live. After killing him, he used Maria to keep living as a human. After losing even her, there really was nothing left behind. Only something that could cut.
Maria:
Was very dedicated to her group. Their deaths devastated her. After the end of everything, she and David left everything behind. Met the first four a few years later. She died while fighting monsters, which finally pushed David over the edge.
Allen Gilmore:
The older brother. Wielded a longsword. Manipulative. His ability empowered those who followed his orders beyond normal limits. The first target was his brother. Even acts beyond normal possibilities like becoming frenzied in the same way as a monster became achievable. His leadership resulted in most of the group being wiped out. In the end he became something that could only think of exterminating monsters, forcing David to put him down.
Plot summary of the important parts of DBA.
The group started out with just four brothers, all fighting alongside monsters. This was in 1343. In 1345, they decided to recruit more members.
This is when Riko, Anthony and Alexandra joined the group. After some more fights, they moved to Dundorma. This is when Sean and Alicia joined the group.
About a year or so passed during this section.
A short while later, the group had a run-in with a Molten Tigrex that Joseph had sworn revenge on. This is when he began to use his power as an aura user. But he was too weak to save Daimyo or finish the Tigrex off.
This is when they all split up to travel the world for three years and grow stronger.
Joseph began to fight alongside Nargy in this time. He also mentored Terrence and was reunited with Vert.
Zach caught Lyra and Shoot before recruiting them into the group.
Ben met the twins.
And Callum met Ed.
Upon the group's return in 1350, they entered a tournament. This is where they ran into Isaac and Joshua.
They gained an interest in Joseph for his status as an aura user, but upon checking out the backgrounds of the original four they marked them as targets.
This is when the group found out about the unique abilities of aura users.
Most of them were captured, Callum and Sanchez managed to escape to tell the others. This led to a rescue operation being launched. After some fighting, Judgement was defeated.
Callum lost an arm in the process. Joshua dropped to his assumed death, but somehow survived.
He returned a short while later, having given up on his wish, dedicating his life to repentance.
Things progressed as normal for another two years or so. Over the course of his battles, Joseph slowly started to realise his ability to use the powers of aura users he'd met in the past.
Things came to an end in 1352. An organised group of monsters called Armageddon attacked Dundorma, declaring war.
Joseph and several other aura users were recruited to lead.
The casualties were numerous. Several members of the group fell in the final battle.
Even the guild's leaders perished. It was only as she was on the verge of death that the leader revealed her plan.
Aura users were awakened by especially strong emotions, the most effective being grief and rage. This battle had created an abundant amount of tragedies.
After defeating the Molten Tigrex, Joseph was left without a purpose. He inherited all the powers of the fallen aura users, which gave him a new goal.
He gathered the aura users and led them as instructed. Their objective was simple. To wipe out all monsters and make the world one that humans ruled over.
The remaining ones who hadn't become aura users went to stop them, and were successful in helping their friends let go of their problems. At the end of it all Joseph was finally forced to see sense. He gave up on the will of the dead souls, finally releasing them.
After hearing the world's full history, the other aura users finally let go.
The group returned to Dundorma, but split up a while later to go down their own paths.
A lot of what fell between the two stories still has yet to be revealed, but a few things are clear.
Edward founded a cult.
Alexandra began leading an elite group of hunters called the Knights of the Wolf.
Zach, Lyra and Callum remained as normal hunters.
Terrence also remained a normal hunter, but failed to stay in contact with the rest.
Joseph hasn't had any contact with the rest since then. He had two children, but disappeared without a trace.
In 1374, Spencer and Isabel Page encountered Luke and Mary Gilmore at the entrance to the Frontier Grounds. The former were searching for their father, the latter were searching for Luke's brother.
And so this story began.
Even twenty four years later, they seem to be getting caught up in the ripples of the past.