FanFiction:The Art of the Hunt/Season 2/Chapter 2 - Departing Tanjia

S and. Lots of sand. Rock spires, cacti, sandswimming wyverns... This is the description of the Sandy Plains that the young hunters had always heard. After the recent events, their interest in this area rose as the possibility that this area was home to their nemesis was realized.

The Guild had spared no expense on research of this monster, using eyewitness accounts and running their descriptions and notes against the vast knowledge of the Guild. So far, three possible suspects had been considered: an oversized Silver Rathalos, a silver Urruduk, or an ancient Warlaros--a great wyvern from the Central World. They then narrowed it down to being a Silver Urruduk, a rare, very old version of the Urruduk that gets its name from the silver scales it gets when the pigment of youth disappears from its scales. Now, the Guild was organizing the Tanj Ten into a professional hunting clan in order to pursue this monstrosity with full Guild support.

The paperwork was astronomical, but when all 300 sheets were read through and filled out, their clan was official and they were able to organize. Each member began looking for information on their own, researching the possible whereabouts of the demonic dragon that had massacred so many. Signs pointed to a cave formed by hundreds of years' worth of weathering; it was supposedly near the ruins of Arandaguil, the old site of Loc Lac destroyed in the old wars. This rock spire was about five miles from the Sandy Plains itself, but was just close enough to be within range of the Silver Urruduk's hunting area.

The Silver Urruduk was, according to the Guild Encyclopedia, a troubling monster. "The Silver Urruduk is a large-sized Flying Pseudo Wyvern native to desert areas. Known to feed upon herbivores and shelter in caves." Was the only description they found, but hunter's notes and eyewitness accounts truly unnerved them. Some said it could rent boulders like grass, or burn trees within seconds. Some even said the thing could ignite the air in front of it, like dragons of old.

Despite all this, the hunters weren't daunted after seeing what they figured must have been the Silver Urruduk in action. At this point, they all assumed that they had seen the worst that nature could possibly throw at them. Even Noami wasn't afraid. "Sounds about right. Nothing we can't handle. Might be hard, but I, for one, am up for a challenge," She said, sitting at a private table in the student's lounge after they finished interviewing witnesses.

"I'm not exactly afraid, but at the same time, we can't go blundering into this like a pack of wild Jaggi. We'll be burned and frozen before we can say "Yian"," Taka said, taking the cautious, careful route as usual.

"He's right. If we go in there without a plan, if we aren't careful about this, we'll be destroyed in minutes. That being said... we need to go as soon as possible. What preparations remain to be made?" Reia asked the group. Out of her and Noami, it was Reia who had the level head, clear thinking, and mind for the future; Noami was much more likely to keep her mind on the present and sometimes on the past, and though she was hard to hurt or daunt at need, she wasn't very level-headed at all and she had a hard time concentrating on anything.

"Well, there's the fact that we don't have actual weapons issued to us," Brutus began before he was cut off by the voice that had greeted them outdoors the other day.

"That is of no issue; We have that particular detail covered, in addition to several others. Your camping gear, hunting equipment, basic supplies, bagging and-" He stopped short, not sure if he had anything else to add--"and... and that should be all for now! If you absolutely require anything extra, you know where to request it. Your weapons way not be of any higher tier than the Third, and you may choose your weapons before you go. That is all," He said, turning away. Each of the students thought his hesitation was incredibly odd, but none of them said anything about it.

"Reckon why they won't let us have upper tier weapons...?" Ali asked, with a lost expression on her face.

"Easy--so the weak hunters who haven't proven their worthiness aren't carrying around huge dragon claws worth millions of zenny. The guild doesn't like replacing broken weapons anyway, let alone huge damn pieces of rare dragon bone," Said Taka, in a very blunt fashion.

Ali shot him a dark look, but replied simply enough with "Makes sense.".

"Besides that, if they let hunters who gathered the materials honestly but didn't quite hunt up to it get those weapons, they'd be giving an eerie amount of power to people who maybe couldn't be trusted," Gamor said.

"But we can be trusted," Noami said in her most obvious tones.

"Whatever your skills and your trust may be, I am simply forbidden from providing you with tier four weapons. If you were to find them, perhaps, then the Guild may sing in different tones," A new voice said. The hunters sitting across the table from Noami, Reia, Taka, Yuki, and Jeren smiled. The others turned around suddenly. There, standing tall with his hammer, was the Wyverian Artisan. "With that in mind, I must deny your request for high weaponry. But don't get upset! I'm a trained rule-bender. I've made your weapons myself, carefully picking their make and model based on each student--they should serve you expertly." The artisan said, swinging his hammer down gently. The instrument landed with a dull thud. "Come with me," he finished.

They followed him through the school and down some stairs, going far into the mountain, until they reached the armory. Few windows were here; most of the light was provided with torches and the roaring tempest in the middle of the room: the Furnace of Tanjia, the armorer's most trusted tool. Legends said it was a fire that could not be extinguished by any man-made means.

He led them to a room behind a massive rock wall, with ornate steel rods forming a screen of light for the room but keeping out glancing eyes. The artisan pulled a rope hanging nearby, lighting up the whole room by opening the hatches covering the lanterns. The room glittered and shown as if the full moon had settled in its ceiling. They could see the weapons very well now.

"To Gamor, an adept, strong, calculating young man, I give a Frozen Core." The Artisan said, handing him the weapon. "The Frozen Core is an Ice hammer, capable of freezing flesh upon contact. Be careful with it," the Artisan finished, as he turned away and picked up another weapon from the rack.

"To Noami, devoted hunter and adept archer, I give a Queen Blaster I, a tier 3 hunting bow." He said as he handed the bow and quiver to Noami. She looked over it in wonder and smiled deeply. "Be careful; it is imbued with fire."

"Jeren, my apprentice and a worthy young man, received the Type 62 Stormlance mark III make V, a modified gunlance designed to kill wyverns--more specifically, flying wyverns. It is very fast, capable of firing 60 rounds per minute in normal mode and 120 rounds per minute in mechanized, assisted-aim mode. Shh! The Guild hasn't yet confirmed my patent," the Artisan told the group as he gave Jeren the gunlance. Jeren held it up to the light and watched the shadows dance as the glittering metal shone, sending rays around the room.

"The Gubulu Muruka, a paralytic lance, goes to Calli, who has ever been a lance user. It can paralyze anything with enough hits, leaving it vulnerable to your allies. Be careful and use it intelligently and it will bring you great fortune." The Artisan finished quickly, handing her the lance and its shield.

He made is way to the rack and picked up a Shadow Saber and Shadow Shield Sword and Shield set. He looked carefully at Ali, who was concentrated on the weapon, contemplating it and hoping. "Yes, Ali, to you I give this Shadow Saber. Use it well. Keep in mind that it can poison more than monsters. With you goes my most sincere hopes for the best." The Artisan said as he handed his favorite sword and shield to Ali.

"Katrina. For you I have prepared a special gift. The Droth Drone +, capable of healing your comrades and cutting skin with jets of water. Use it with pride; it has been long in the making." The Artisan said as he gave her the weapon.

"Finally, Brutus. You are the only one who has not yet been assigned his own weapon. Choose a great sword from the Bone or Iron paths; I have not chosen one for you." The Artisan said, leaning against the wall after hanging his artisan's hammer on a wall nearby. Brutus looked to his right in remembrance, trying to remember the perks and cons of the trees. "Bone is sharper and has more elements...But it loses sharpness quicker and can't do as much damage. Iron does more damage...but..." He mused in his mind. After a few minutes, he had made his mind. "I choose Iron." He said finally.

The artisan grimly pulled from the wall a Ravager Blade. He looked with mild disapproval at Brutus and brought the weapon to him. "Don't kill yourself. You have responsibilities now, kid. Protect her. Don't die." The artisan said to him gruffly. The Artisan stepped back and addressed the group.

"You will now depart my office and head to the departure port, where you will depart these lands. There will be no ceremony. You go to save us all--to save the entirety of the Mogan and Ultimian continent. Our fate rests on your heads. You go to battle. It is likely, true, that you go to your doom. It brings to memory the Last March of the Ancients...But that is long gone." The Artisan said. He was almost finished, but recalled something.

"There is an Elder. He is said to lead the guild in its entirety from afar. Only his first name we know; he is Drake. Seek him, if you grow close to the Grim Mountains in the north. His tower is said to be on a uniquely lonely mountain at the end of the Tanj Range. Grow strong; grow fierce; and conquer this rotten death. Seek out Drake the Elder." The Artisan said, bowing his head to dismiss them.

They left the artisan's forge and walked the long way up to the the school's ground level. They mentally prepared themselves for the trip ahead of them. Within the hour, they would be gone from this place, on the hunt of a lifetime. A hunt that may take their lives.

Their minds were distraught with worry. They carefully planned each of their own wills. Each of them decided in their mind what strategies would work against this great evil. For a long time, no one spoke.

The Tank Taxi Transportation company arrived to carry them, incognito, to the pad where the Guild Airship would leave the shores of the Tanzia Province and drop them off at a random location in the north. While riding on the hourlong trip, Taka began to compose a letter to the only person he remembered from his past life.

Dear Relcia,

''It has been months, I think, if not years, since I have seen you. I no longer remember anything older than a few months ago, when I was delivered to Moga from an unknown location. All I have is my memory of you in that distant land, wherever it may be.''

''We're going on a big Hunt today. It makes me shudder, thinking about it. Such a graceful creature it was! Glittering with silver tones, shining like the rays of the full moon. Beautiful. But it killed many people... Many people that did no wrong. I am so conflicted right now, Relcia, it's tearing me apart. This is a conflict which I wish I never would have had part in. I must now make my decision; save the life of this beautiful beast, or aid in destroying it, saving many more lives...Lives that I do not know or love. Sometimes, speaking the languages of the beasts is a curse. It is an even bigger curse to feel apologetic for them, and yet be a hunter... The sad melancholy of life.''

''I think I know what I will do. I will help. I will aid them in destroying it. My heart does not wish it...but if I am to have any humanity in me, it must be accepted; that things die, and sometimes they must die. Sometimes, something one enjoys must be sacrificed so that others can enjoy their own lives. Everything must end eventually, I suppose...

''My feelings for you have not died, nor have they cooled. Every day... Every day I search farther for you, looking through hundreds of records for traces of your existence. It has been so long since I have seen you... I have nearly forgotten your face. When we depart on this hunt, I will keep looking for you; my eyes will be peeled for anything that could lead me back.

I hope this letter gets to you...and I hope it finds you well.

Get busy living, or get busy dying.

With love, Taka

Taka looked up and around. The Port was slowly growing bigger and the fog was beginning to thicken as they grew ever closer to the sea. He smiled and folded his parchment, placing it lovingly in an envelope and sealing it with Elder's Sticky, an adhesive made from gluehoppers. He sighed.

Katrina noticed this, as she was cleaning her Hunting Horn and sitting with her back towards the front of the wagon. She frowned distrustfully when she noticed Taka's distinct happiness. "I don't see how anyone here but you could be that happy," She muttered under her breath.

"Well, not all of us hate everything," Taka said, looking at her without raising his head. "I'm smiling...because I'm nostalgic, alright? Believe you me, I know what loss is. And sometimes it doesn't show off as depression. Sometimes, good memories take over. You should try it sometime," Taka said, the smile on his face slowly fading as he spoke.

"Ass," thought Katrina, but she said nothing.

Jeren was the first one to speak up when they finally reached the port. "Port, ho!" He said loudly in his clear voice. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm certainly ready to get off of this wagon and into the field as quickly as I can." The young hunter said gladly as he hopped from his place on the front of the wagon onto the road. He then walked beside it until they reached the port where they would depart.

Their equipment was stowed in boxes on the wagon, which were easily enough moved into the airship and reorganized. They had an aptonoth-leather bag for their personal effects, which they stored on an overhead rack in the airship. When they were finally fully organized, they began to say their goodbyes to the people around them that weren't coming. Among them were Gamor's mother, Katrina's father, and Brutus's older sister, Aysa.

Aysa walked up to Brutus and smiled. "Heh... ! My little bro is finally going. Not just on a field trip, on a real hunt," She said, and hugged Brutus close. "I'm so proud of you, Brutus," she whispered in his ear. She wiped a tear and chuckled, smiling widely as she watched him smile back and board the airship.

Gamor walked up to his mother. "Mother..." He began.

"Don't," his mother replied after a moment of silence, "I forgive you. I know what fate lies for you. Go to it, then. Come back carrying your Hammer, or being carried upon it!" She said boldly, looking proudly, confidently, at her now-grown son.

Gamor nodded and boarded the airship, placing his hammer down and nodding with finality towards his mother.

Finally, Katrina and her father were the only two left. "Dad, I am going to miss you so much," She cried very quietly, "But I promise I will be back. Wish me luck," She asked as she pulled away.

"Good luck, Katrina. I love you. Your mother loved you. Keep us in your thoughts," Her father replied as they both wiped tears from their faces. Katrina boarded the ship.

The airship lifted its transport bridge, which functioned double as a gate. Knock. The fumes and engine roared. Whoosh. The airship was lifted up into the air, and began its slow and steady trudge against the wind, going north, away from this land. They had finally departed.

To be continued in FanFiction:The Art of the Hunt/Season 2/Chapter 3 - In the Airship