Several Years Prior

“Lucille, it is time for practice.”

“Okay,” Lucille reluctantly said.

“Now.” The maid’s firm grip wrenched Lucille from her chair.

She did not reply. This was “normal.” After all, she was the princess of the Shildwell Empire. She was a descendant of the strongest mage family on the planet. She must be able to endure this much, right?

Lucille entered the colosseum, a place reserved from tournaments and for the royal family’s sparring practice.

A windy greeting slammed her into the side of the building. A gasp escaped her lips.

“That poor girl,” an on looking soldier quietly said to another. “She’s only 7, and I hear she already surpasses what her father could do at twelve, yet she’s still treated average at best.”

“Yeah I know. Rennel overheard it in an argument between His and Her Majesty. But don’t let the king hear it from you—if you want to keep your head anyways.”

“Grunt”

“Lucille, you’ve grown complacent again. Our family does not have room for such shoddy work. What if someone was waiting to kill you? Block or avoid it next time.

“Yes father,” was the only reply.

Practice resumed.

*** *** ***

“Is this our young hero?” A small man with light gray hair asked as they entered the village.

Yes elder, it is as you say,” Brent respectfully replied. “His name is Reylor Seldin.”

“Seldin. Hmm. Haven’t heard that one before. Nevertheless, Reylor, welcome to the village of Splendor. My name is Glen, and I am the elder here. Please make yourself at home.” He smiled at Reylor

“Thank very much,” Reylor replied.

“Oh, we are the ones who are thankful. Speaking of which—Lesille, Mense, Gabby, come over here!”

The three children, who happened to be nearby came over, and seeing Reylor, promptly hid behind the Elder.

“Come on, now, you know what must be done. Better sooner than later.”

At the Elder’s behest, the children sheepishly walked in front of him. “We are sorry. Thank you for saving us. We won’t cause trouble for you again,” they said together.

“This is sufficient,” The old man said, waving them off.

Now please come with me Mr. Seldin, if you would be willing.”

Reylor nodded slightly, following this elder to his house.

Reylor learned quite a few things as they spoke. The Elder’s name was Glen Swelton, and he was the head of Splendor Village, a small town in the territory call Otium. The territory was once part of a great kingdom, but internal strife led to its end. The nearby kingdom of Vilnor took this opportunity to annex most of the ruined kingdom’s territory. The Otium territory was considered quite poor, and the forces of the now Vilnor Empire were already spread thin. Thus it was abandoned, remaining as its own territory.

Of course Glen had his own questions. Reylor obliged, saying that he served the prestigious house of a distant land. His arrival in this territory was caused by an accident with a teleportation gate.

“Reylor, I would have liked to have given you a great present for protecting these children, but with the encroachment of the shade, all our finances have been put to the defense of our village. I will at least provide a place for you to stay until you know what you will do next. If there is anything else we can do for you, please do not hold back. We truly are in your debt.”

Reylor nodded as an acknowledgment and began to rise from his seat. Then he paused. “Actually, there is something I would like to ask.” “Go ahead,” the elder said.

Training. To fight the shade.

Silence.

“Sigh” Reylor, this is dangerous. There are shade much stronger than the one you fought. Exponentially stronger. Do you know why we only have one hunting party? Because no one else would join. Because everyone knows. Once hunters graduate from Vilnor Empire’s most prestigious huntsmen academy, only 1 out of four survive for more than ten years. Of those that survive, less than half return with full use of all their limbs. Are you really sure you want to fight, with odds like that?”

“I will eventually be traveling. How can I live every moment of my travels in fear of the shade? This is the favor I will ask. I am willing to learn. If anything happens it will be on my own head. Furthermore, with this you can consider the debt repaid.”

Glen leaned back in resignation. “Elany” He called out.

“Yes?” a soft voice answered.

“Please take Mr. Seldin to the Hunting cabin. Tell Brent he has a new recruit.”

A young lady entered the living room where Glen and Reylor had been speaking. “Yes sir” she politely replied.

“Mr. Seldin, please fol…” She froze as her deep emerald eyes met his.

It was true he was a sight to behold. His face was like finely chiseled marble. Straight black hair flowed part way down his back. He wore a long black jacket, and exuded a strangely prestigious aura. He was—put simply—flawless. However, her countenance did not show mere enchantment. It looked more like awe mixed with confusion and fear.

“…the gods,” absently slipped from her mouth. A dark pink flushed across her cheeks as she slowly regained her senses. “Uh, er, p-please follow me.”

*** *** ***

One Year Later

“Is that guy even human?” Brent asked. “He’s been studying and sparring throughout the day and exercising throughout the night, and I swear I have not seen him take so much as a short nap.”

“He is a strange one” The delicate reply came.

“Don’t forget that weird movement thing he did facing the wolf. If his isn’t a magician then only the gods know what happened there.” Rell, one of the recruits added in before taking her seat at the large wooden table in the center of the huntsmen guild.

In truth, Reylor did not sleep. As a Seldin, he was able to sustain himself on the energy of decayed space, though in a world where this energy was thin, this meant he was unable to recharge his energy reserves as quickly, unbeknownst even to him.

“His physical prowess is a bit lacking, but where in the world did he get such mental fortitude?” Brent continued. The question lingered in the air as all three were brought to their feet.

“Ding!” “Ding!” “Ding!” “Shade sighted” “Bear, it’s a bear!” “Southeast as usual.” Information came from one of the two watch towers. “Everyone, please evacuate to the strong house”

“Looks like this one will be fun!” Brent grinned. “Recruits, gather for the hunt!” “We’re using swords this time!”

The shout was soon answered by hurried footsteps and clangs of steel from the armory.

“Alright, time for a new lesson.” Brent declared, as they made their way to their target, having gathered the whole party. “Rell, what makes beast-type shades dangerous?”

“Their abilities are amplified by the infection, and they become more aggressive,” She said.

“Good.” “Now Jed, why do you think we are not using the javelins this time?”

“Because bears excel in strength, and would be too strong to hold on to?”

“Almost. It is also because they weigh too much. You can’t beat them in a pulling contest, and they are too heavy to lift off their feet by a group at our level.”

“Oooh, ok,” he assented.

“So, how do we defeat this guy, Delton?”

“Blow 'em up!”

In cases where you have battle mage, yes, but let’s assume Queen wasn’t with us. What would you do then?

No Reply.

“Almost every strength has its downfall. Bears naturally hear twice as well as humans, so when a bear turns into a shade, their ears become quite sensitive. Noise! Make lots of noise from multiple locations. This will cause stress, slowing its reaction ability. Then you can whittle it down. Normally even then it would be only possible for a seasoned hunter, but with queen’s suppression, you guys should be able to make it out in most of one piece”

Finding their target, the hunters surrounded it. Under Brent’s direction, they took turns beating their armaments together and trying to take opportunistic strikes against the bear.

Since bear-shades didn’t show up very often, Brent made full use of this “teaching opportunity,” as he saw it, waiting until the recruits were fairly exhausted before jumping in to finish it off.

The battle was tough. Heavy drops of sweat fell from Reylor’s face. The bear had swiped Rell’s arm and she had to be treated by Queen. Jed had nearly fainted from exhaustion. Even with him giving pointers and moderate support from Queen, Brent eventually decided to finish it off himself to save time—and the villagers’ nerves.

“Dong” “Dong” “Dong”

A gong sounded to alert the villagers that they were safe, sending everyone into a flurry of activity.

Reylor walked with the group back to the camp as the weary Jed followed a distance behind. Everyone showered, got dressed and made their way to the Huntsmen’s meeting area.

Brent looked like he was almost glowing from happiness.

Odd. Is he one of those weird battle junkies, or something?

Reylor looked around, noticing that all the others seemed to be in a pretty good mood, as well.

“It’s time,” Delton cheerfully said. The door to the room opened as several figures entered, each tastefully clad in a simple dress, and adorned with a floral crown.

What in the world? Reylor thought. His wondering must have been fairly obvious.

“It appears the Elder didn’t mention the perks of the job,” Brent said with a grin.

“Mr. Seldin, if you would allow me…” A girl with beautiful green eyes and soft brown curls carefully linked her arm through his.

The huntsmen were individually escorted to the Elder’s residence, which housed the town’s banquet hall. They entered and took their seats at a long oak table.

The room was actually quite small for a banquet hall. It was arrayed with various plants and simple decorations befitting of their humble means. What truly stood out, though, was how they were treated. It was as if the village wanted each one of them to have the opportunity to feel like royalty.

Unbeknownst to Reylor at the time, there was a reason for this. The mortality rate of huntsmen was incredibly high, but it was for this reason that huntsmen who made it to graduation were revered nearly as gods in the Vilnor Empire. This village followed suit in their own way. Whenever an unusually strong shade was defeated in their territory, the villagers would provide a feast for the huntsmen as thanks for protecting their homes. A shade bear was one such creature.

The elder entered the hall.

“Once again I would like to express the gratitude of our village for your efforts in protecting us from the shade, as well as assisting in other matters. I hope you enjoy this feast we have prepared for you.”

The hunters relaxed as they ate the food presented before them and listened to the music flowing from an old violin, a guitar, and various percussion instruments.

They left with lifted hearts. Even Jed seemed to have a bit of life.

*** *** ***

I t-t-touched his arm. It actually felt k-kind of normal. Elany thought, in the seclusion of her room. But… maybe that wasn’t him. Yeah I must be jumping to conclusions. No! It has to be! Even the coat was the same! But wait, that couldn’t be—someone like him wouldn’t... “Arrrghh” “It’s probably just fluke.” He looked just like that man from my dream. Yeah, it was probably just a dream. Everyone says so. They must be right. It was just a dream. But why did it feel so realistic?

Maybe I should just ask him… No, I shouldn’t do that. I’m just a servant girl. And he is… That…

She fell into a fitful sleep.