The hunter's great bell rung loudly from the eldertree watchtowers, alerting the village of the return of the Great King and his band of demon hunters.

Lief, Graine and the fox-girl weaseled through the thick crowd of flocking Asla'ati to the great bridge, the sacred path to the Sunless Lands where the demons lurked.

"Vos'hana! The Hunters have returned! Vos'hana! Vos'hana!" loudly announced the Elders, while rattling their demonchimes and banging their hand drums.

The fox-girl hissed as the sound of the chime rung in her ears, sending her to the floor, shrieking in pain.

"Vos'hana!" chanted the Elders as they shook their chimes through the crowd.

"The demonchimes," Graine noted, "It seems to be affecting her like it does the demons that it wards off. We've got to silence them. Ask the Elders to stop it, Lief!"

Lief watched as the fox-girl kicked on the floor, whimpering.

Graine pulled off his cloak to cover up the fox-girl. Flocking Asla'ati men and women shuffled by them, only briefly looking at the scene.

"It's okay," assured Graine to the panicked fox-girl, "You'll be okay."

Light illuminated from the fox-girl, first as a bright shining light in her heart and then light pierced through her skins running along her veins. Her hazel eyes flooded with white light, becoming absent of colour as Corrin and Nawa separated into themselves, released from a bright flare of light masked in the cloak surrounding them.

The two boys watched as the fox-girl was no more, vanishing within mere moments.

Corrin staggered, falling to the floor.

"The demonchimes," panted Corrin, "they hurt so much."

Graine cradled Corrin, holding the girl close.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"My ears feel like they are bleeding." she mumbled.

"The chimes aren't loud, Corrin. It's like dry rice in a hollow wooden staff. I think it only affects the fox form and the magic that was used. It's meant to ward off demons."

Nawa stood quietly, glaring at Graine and the Elders in the crowd.

"Do you think you could fuse back together with Nawa?" questioned Lief.

"I don't know how any of it worked," answered Corrin, "it was so sudden."

"The hunters approach!" shouted the crowd of people gathered at the great bridge all at once.

"The hunters are returning, Corrin!" Lief added, tapping on her shoulder.

Corrin's heart raced. Her grandfather was returning, finally.

"Are you sure you're okay?" repeated Graine.

"I'm fine, just exhausted," replied Corrin as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, "I can't seem to catch my breath right now."

Corrin, Lief, Graine and Nawa watched as the lantern staves of the hunters began to peek from out of the thick forest brush between the large towering eldertrees of the far forests.

"Here they come," clapped Graine with a big smile. "This is always the best part."

"The King is probably going to be showing off again, eh, Corrin?" grinned Lief.

"Do you think your grandfather's going to be carrying the head of the beast, Corrin?"

Corrin stood on her tippy-toes to look over Graine's shoulder as the hunters came into view. Feeling Corrin's breath on his shoulder, Graine moved Corrin in front of him so that she could get a better view of their approach.

"I remember last time. Your grandfather, King Koronin, had the head of the Vana'atos over his shoulders, flaunting his victory to all of the Chara Nation," laughed Graine, "The old man is a show boat. That's for sure. I can't even begin to imagine how heavy that beast's head must have been."

Corrin let out a faint smile. "I do remember," she replied. "He wouldn't stop telling the stories of the hunt over and over. I was relieved when he left for another hunt just to get some new tales to hear," she beamed, with a closed-mouth smile.

"Your grandfather is a legendary hunter," grinned Lief, "No man shares his might, or his skills or his mind. All of the Asla'ati in the Chara Nation know of his feats. I don't know how he does it. He once told me he had slayed a Vana'atos with his bare hands. He pried its jaw in half and split its head open. That's insane if it is true," said Lief, excited, "The Vana'atos of the Sunless Lands are vicious monsters. Luckily on my demon hunt we only encountered Rangda beasts. Those are pretty easy."

"Only with his guidance is slaying the Vana'atos made possible." added Graine.

"For sure. He's an amazing tracker as well," agreed Lief.

Lief looked over at Graine, noticing Graine was nervously rubbing his arm.

"You haven't been on a hunt, have you?" prodded Lief to Graine, "I guess you need a clan and a family to do so."

"--Stop it." interrupted Corrin, "Let us be silent as we watch my grandfather return."

Graine looked over at Lief glaring. Lief smiled back with a big silly grin.

Bright lights glimmered in the pitch black horizon from the lit oil torches and flickering lantern staves held by the hunters in the far distance. Corrin watched as the hunters approached over the horizon, their lanterns shining through the thick of the surrounding forest.

The sounds of the hunters rattling and shaking their chimes grew louder as they dawned closer. The shaking of chimes and rattles was told to keep the Vana'atos away, but Corrin wasn't sure how much of it was just old tradition.

"The pack looks smaller," murmured a faint voice in the crowd.

"Look at the size! How many of them have fallen?!" shouted an upset man behind Corrin.

"Where is the Sozo? There is no leader of the pack," whispered another.

Corrin's pounding heart, slowed. Her grandfather had led the pack for many years. She feared the worst.

The green cloaks of the hunters emerged into view as the chimes and drums grew louder.

The group of sulking hunters crossed over the great bridge and through the gathered villagers. Corrin watched as each crestfallen hunter made its way through the astonished crowd, passing her by without a glance.

Her grandfather was nowhere to be seen.

Each hunter hung its head down low, walking across the great bridge ashamed. Some with bleeding gashes, bandages and torn limbs, others with tears in their eyes.

"Where is my grandfather?" yelped Corrin aloud as she watched hunter after hunter pass.

Graine pulled his hand from out of his long sleeved cloth garment that was wrapped around his chest and placed it on the short girl's shoulder to comfort her.

"Where's the Sozo?" Corrin shouted, "Where's my grandfather?"

Tears filled Corrin's eyes, smudging the black Phoenix Dancer makeup framing her blue eyes. Black charcoal paint began to run down her face.

The hunters kept walking with their heads down, avoiding eye contact with Corrin. Each hunter looked away immediately upon noticing the young girl gazing up at them with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Tamaio, a veteran hunter and old friend of the King, approached Corrin and Graine, alongside his hunting companions Hammit, and Bonoto.

Tamaio was a tall, lanky man with a clean shaven face and short pulled-back hair. A tattered bandana covered his left eye, which he lost to the Sonokwa hunt. His hunter's garb was made of the leather of the Sonokwa and over his shoulder was the skull of the same demon, which served to proudly display his kill and merits as a hunter.

Hammit was a much larger man than Tamaio. Hammit was muscular with a thick braided beard, wielding an oversized cleaver made of enormous bone, hide and iron.

Bonoto was a fair-skinned man. It was hard to tell if he was a man or in fact a woman under all of his garb. Two filthy bandanas covered most of his face only revealing gentle brown eyes with long lashes. He rarely talked, but was said to be the nimblest of the hunters.

"Tamaio! Where's my grandfather! Why won't these men look at me!" cried Corrin.

Tamaio cleared his throat nervously, turning to the other hunters who stared back at him. The two hunters in his company turned away, walking backwards in through the crowd away from Tamaio to avoid the conversation.

Corrin could tell what they were about to say.

"Our leader, our King, Great Koronin Nagalia, has been lost to the hunt of the Hamatsa demon," he announced loud enough for the crowd surrounding him to hear.

"We've lost our hunt to the Vana'atos. We bring home nothing but broken bones, and blood, and the loss of great hunters" he sobbed falling to his knees exhausted. "I'm sorry, Corrin. I'm so sorry." sobbed Tamaio.

Tamaio weeped as the crowd panicked, shouting at the hunters for failing their hunt.

"Are you sure he's gone?" questioned Corrin as she took a knee, lowering herself to Tamaio, "My grandfather does not simply fall to demons. He's still out there. We have to go back out there."

Tamaio nodded looking up, then continued to hang his head to the floor.

Corrin knelt on the great bridge, resting her head on the sulking Tamaio.

"We must gather our able hunters and march back in,' she spoke in his ear, wiping a tear before it rolled off her cheek, "Our King does not fall to demons. He's still out there."