The Hunter and Heavens Wheel
It's a sunny day at a village called Cathar a village that was known as the birthplace of wyvernians, a strong breeze blows through the village the smiths fill the air with the sound of hammers hitting steel the tradesmen talking loudly to their customers who scrabble for items, hunters adorned with the armour of monsters they have hunted. Children ran along and pointed at the hunters guessing the monster they had slain. Zinogre, Rathalos, Tiger-rex even a Dahren Mohren clad hunter passed through. The children's smiles wide across their faces. the sun blazing across the village the children chased eachother joyfully the sweet fragrence of honey wafted into the air and blades of grass were crushed underfoot.
A man with a gray garb covering him from head to toe sat on the very edge of the village sitting on a box, staring out to the sea of clouds. he payed no mind to the hunters nor the sweet treats being cooked, nor the rare materials the vendors offered. he sat unmoving, his back to the village the only movement the wind swaying his gray cloak in the wind.
A child caught him in the corner of his eye and almost everyone didn't seem to know he was there. the little girl skipped over causiously. to her surprise while the wind was strong in the village, around him the wind seemed almost gentle and calm. She approached he man and she spoke staring at his back.
"Excuse me, mister but what are you doing?" she asked a finger on her chin.
The man moved not and instead the rustling of his cloth accompanied by the slow crinkling of armour underneath. Not turning his head he spoke with a voice as smooth as the rolling waves.
"Waiting..." he said his words leaving no room for interpretation.
"Waiting for what?"
He rustled again
"For something that could doom us all and let me see a friend, one last time..." his words were filled with sorrow that the child couldn't understand.
"Why don't you just go see your friend instead of waiting here?" she crept closer looking at his back realising there was a long sword strapped accross his back but made from a creature even she had not seen.
"My friend would not be so foolish...and I know that I would never find him with good company" the mans head lowered "For it has been quite sometime since last we met, when the beasts were in frenzy and the guild beckoned for a savior"
The girl perked up and ran in front of the man who stayed firmly affixed to his blue box, it's paint peeling and nearly gone.
"You mean the Calamity!, I love that story" she said "the one about the hunter who came with the caraveneer and slew the Shagaru Megala" she smiled and lef ther mouth hanging
"Ah yes, it's already a story is it? i suppose events turn to stories once they're over" he looked down to the girl his eyes concealed by his hood. "I was there you know, when the hunter went to the sanctuary to slay the elder dragon"
The girl sat down like a bullet and leered upwards talkiong about as fast as she had sat down.
"Tell me!, what was he like, where did he go, what did he wear, what weapon did he use, was the ace palico there?" she fired so many word the man raised his right hand.
"Calm yourself child..." he said as she hopped with her legs crossed "It was a few years ago now, but i still remember it, clear as the wind..."
The hunter had just slain a Tiger-rex that had turned beserk, it was a somewhat challenging battle but the monster was no match for the hunter. his prowess in battle met also with the strength of his palico's. They did as they normally had talking to the members of the caravan...let's see there was the wyvernian blacksmith and the lil miss, the two of them forged the strongest armours and weapons and built the strongest of vessels. Then the Salesman of the wyporium who he recieved orders for directly the caravaneer himself, his hat and falcon in tow that man could tell stories that would encapture the hearts of many and had one hell of a way with words.
Finally, there was the guild marm, a sweet girl dedicated to learning as much as she could about monsters.
"Oh and the cook!, he's my favourite" she interjected
"Ah yes and the chef, he could make mean meals that gave you the stregth to fight an army!, heck he could probably feed one" the man had the beggining of a smile across his face before he returned to his stoic expression with the hint of a smile.
The hunter was given a mission from the great guru directly to save the village from the Gore magala, however it had shed it's dark form to become the golden, Shagaru Magala. An ancient dragon said to have caused the Calamity a long time ago.
"Was he nervous?" the girl asked
the man chuckled "That hunter never showed fear or weakness, he always pulled through and got the job done...but it wouldn't surprise me if he did, it was his first elder dragon. a foe not to be taken lightly"
He looked to the horizon once more.
The hunter was proud but knew that this could be the last hunt he ever took, he prepared dilligently. he took it upon himself to complete all other quests that were yet to be completed. the peoples gratitude eased his worries slightly but he could not put it off forever. he had met the gore megala in combat several times and this felt like the final showdown between them.
He ate a large meal and celebrated with his fellow caravaneers knowing full well why he was doing it. he said goodbye despite them all giving him hope and encouraging him. he had their hope and faith and they cared for him like a family, a family he had never had. But when the final moment came and he arrived at the mountain, he was nervous, scared and i'm sure contemplating calling it quits. But he stepped forward and walked to the summit.
But when he arrived his fears and worries vanished, instead of the monsters lair he had immagined filled with corpse piles it was a field of golden grass, it was here he felt at peace and he let go... the sky was pitch black, blacker than the void and all consuming. his heart beat and the frenzied winds bellowing through the area. And he saw the creature shining like a star, beautiful is the only word to describe it.
the two circled eachother it was in this moment they understood what must be done, the Megala's scales naturally permeate the frenzy, because of how it was made it had to be slain from this world and this thought saddened the hunter. So as an honourable hunter he would give the monster a warriors death. They fought for hours the sun did not rise or set, the stars did not shine, the two were locked in combat with eachother their only drive in this moment was to kill the other.
eventually the beast rose high into the sky and dove straight down toward the hunter, the force of it caused a fissure to open that swallowed the both of them...
The man stopped talking and the girl leaned forward
"And then what happened" she snapped
"well, if you're really interested then you'll have to wait till tommorrow"
the girl groaned and trudged off before calling back "you better finish the story tommorrow"
the man smiled though she could not see it and waved back to her.
he continued staring out to the clouds as the sun began to set over them. the streaks of orange accross the sky and the gentle breeze holding him.
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