Outskirts of Thirn (Hira 10th day of Jade 603R.T)

“Well, isn’t that Rastha Marsh is reserved for the adults? I heard that place is super scary with its powerful creatures and lurking Cretans. Only the one that the elders have approved can venture to the place.” Cruff stated the information he got from his parents. Rastha Marsh, a 3 hours journey southwest from the village was a usual hunting ground for the elites in their village. The elites usually brought home thorn fish, black beak and arf beast home to the village; unusual and hard to catch creatures which are found in abundance in the marsh.

“If you are so scared you can turn back home. Today, our aim is to capture an arf beast. If we manage to catch one then we can prove ourselves to the elders and we can join the elites for their next hunting trip.” Gon spoke brazenly leading the pack. He is full with confidence leading the group. Drim, like a good follower just nodding in agreement while Cruff was scared to his wits. Lsyn just putting his calm face on the front as he try to remember the information he read about the beast.

“Arf Beast u said? Isn’t that kinda dangerous, Gon? The beast the elites usually brought back is 2 times the size of us.” Cruff trying to persuade his brethren in aborting the suicidal mission.

“And that’s why we have 4 top demons here…..well, 3 and a half.” Gon smirked as he said the statement intending to provoke Lsyn.

“Fuck off Gon. I think we are missing something about the arf beast. Hmm….what is it? Hmmm I can’t seem to remember. I remember reading something about it.” Lsyn still trying to remember the crucial thing he had read once in a bestiary. He usually alternate between training and reading as for him the increase in one’s knowledge may alter the course of the battle. This also include the time he help his mother around the house; cleaning up and any chores given to him. It was peculiar for a warrior especially in the Freir Tribe to be able to read at a tender age because the Frier emphasises on building a strong physical earlier in life.

“Read? It’s better if you polish up your fighting skill. You should ditch the book. Can you use a book in battle? NO!!! So, bulk up like the rest of us. Well…..Except Cruff.” Drim lectured Lsyn once he heard about him reading books. He was triggered by the notion of Demon Warriors reading books. He can’t fathom the significance of a few pages in amidst the battle field. No wonder his strength is not on par with all ofus…….what is he thinking? Reading books? As if a Freir needed that sort of thing. Drim thought to himself.

“Hey, move up! We need to reach the place before sunset so that we can locate the beasts den.” Gon ushered his group to quicken their pace as the sunset are rapidly approaching them. There was no road that leads directly to the marsh. They have to venture through a thick forest before they reach the marsh. Along the way, they have encounter some of the local creatures that are common to them. Migor, silky monkey and root deer; all of the creatures they have encountered on a daily basis and see no point in hunting them. However, Lsyn suggested that they should bring some bait to entice the arf beast so the demons hunted a large Migor to bring along to Rastha Marsh. MIgor a hybrid between a tapir and a gorilla. They are quite slow but never be deceived by their look because Migor is carnivore by nature.

The whole journey took longer than 3 hours because they have to hunt the bait for their prey. They reached the marsh with 2 hours to spare before sunset. Once they reached the marsh, they were greeted by a sweet subtle smell. The marshland was very vast. It was a cluster of small islands with tall grasses with no visible hiding places. The water canal separating each islands flows at an extremely slow flow almost stagnant. It was a very beautiful place with fresh air and a very delightful scenery. However the demons didn’t come here to enjoy the scenery. They quickly try to locate one of the beast den using all of their hunting skills. Hopefully they want to locate one before the night fall because beasts usually more active in the nights. They don’t want the hunters become the hunted during the night time.

“What did you guys found?” Gon asked the boys to report their findings after they’ve split up searching for tracks in the marsh. Due to the size of the marsh, they’ve decide to split up to cover more areas of the marshland. They trod the marsh in four different directions and planned ahead to regroup at sunset.

“Nothing in my direction.” Drim answered nonchalantly.

“None in mine. Also I still think we should go back…..”

“Shut up, Cruff!! We’re already here so might as well we see it to the end. Lsyn?” Gon shouted at Cruff.

“I might have found something……but it ain’t arf beast.” Lsyn reported back. Upon hearing the report Gon’s eyes started to shine filled with expectation.

“Well, what are waiting for? A fucking invitation? Tell us what you found. I got no trail in my direction.” Gon instructed Lsyn to share his findings. Sometime he want to knock something inside the small demon’s head so that Lsyn more assertive and comply with him. His ego clouded his judgement as he see himself as the rightful successor as the chief of the tribe; a title for the strongest warrior of the Freir.

“It’s not arf beast. It’s something bigger. The tracks I’ve found lead deeper into the marsh. By the estimation of its weight and the size of the tracks its made, it is thrice the size of arf beast and it’s nastier than any creatures I’ve hunted before judging from the intensity of the smell of blood coming from its direction.” Lsyn presented his report to the group. Few expressions can be seen from the entire member of the group. Gon was brim with excitement, Drim still wearing his Noah mask filled with indifference and Cruff was terrified.

“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s start tracking this beast.” Gon started to imagine his fame when he’s finally hunt down the beast. He was intoxicated with power and due to there is none to stop him among his peers, he become obsessed in finding ways to prove his strength without considering the consequences. Cruff was already fidgeting when hearing Lsyn’s report however upon hearing Gon’s suggestion to hunt the monster, he started to sweat profusely. He froze at his seat. Drim meanwhile already packing his item to start hunting the beast like a good soldier he is.

“May I suggest something?” Lsyn chirped in.

“What?” All eyes were on him. Cruff was begging with his eyes to abort the hunt.

“I suggest that we stop for the night because we’re at disadvantage to hunt at nights and tomorrow we start early but before we hunt this thing, it’s better if we widen our options by tracking more into the marsh. And if we still can’t track a single beast aside from this one, then we hunt it by noon. What do you guys say?” Lsyn suggested. He was a having a mixed feeling about hunting this creature. It was too easy to track and as if it wanted to be followed. He was also scared as the footprints it left suggested that the beast wasn’t just enormous but also agile.

“Hmmmm….that is also right. Even though we are blessed with partial night vision, we can’t hunt the thing at a disadvantage. I am for the suggestion Gon but I don’t understand why we need to track another beast while we can hunt this one.” Drim finally opening his mouth to talk. He rarely agrees with Lsyn’s opinions but Lsyn was thankful for his agreement in this one. Lsyn having a hard time to convince the hard headed Gon but with Drim’s help he might be able to. Gon was contemplating Drim’s suggestion in silence.

“We need to widen our options because we need to bring something home from the hunt right? If we fail with the beast not that I think we will fail, we can pursue the others as a failsafe plan right?” Lsyn further adding more excuses to fortify his suggestion. He still want to proceed with his suggestion earlier because he already considered the risk of undertaking such dangerous mission.

“Well, you have a fair point there. I also agree with what Lsyn had suggested. Furthermore out of the four of us, Lsyn is the best hunter here. He can identify the beast weight, movement and habits just by its paw prints. I am quite impressed by the analysis earlier. Maybe that’s why you are smaller than us.” Drim complimented with a snide sarcasm remark at the end of his sentence.

Yes. Drim has eaten the bait. Now it’s time to bait the big fish. Lsyn thought to himself while hiding a grin due to his perfectly planned bait. He’s now playing the master puppeteer where he want to guide Gon to follow his suggestions subtly but there is no other way unless he can make Drim dance in his palm. Now that phase 1 is complete, next is to wait for the big fish to bite.

“If that’s the case, I’ll follow what you’ve said Lsyn but……the big beast is our main hunt. I don’t want to return before we meet this beast and nothing can satisfy me now that you’re found a large target for us.” Gon finally decided on the hunt after a while in deep thought. Cruff almost burst into tears with the majority agreement among his companions. Reluctantly, he had to agree with the group otherwise he would be left behind.

“Ok, where should we set camp?” Cruff said nervously.

Snake path, Godstain Mountain. (Hira 11th day of Jade 603R.T)

The wind was blowing harsh against the slow moving caravans riding through the snake path of Godstain. The caravan was packed with demons of the Freir tribe as they were returning after being summoned by their king. The two caravans rocked slowly withstanding the harsh wind blowing at them. Four fiercely looking Zaracals are mounted to each of the caravans. Most of the demons are already fallen asleep except for the drivers and a small few of them. Among the awake was Hrutt, one of the elders of Freir. He was deep in thought while watching the faded Jade and stars in the sky. Next to him was Kunika, the Freir’s shaman rocking slowly with the caravans.

“Can’t sleep?” Kunika opened his mouth.

“Yeah. Looking forward to get home to my wife.” Hrutt answered. His mind is still lingering on the previous meeting with the King. The king had presented an impossible suggestion that shocked most of the demon leaders in the Gian.

“Still thinking about the suggestion heh? I hope the king has something in plan because the suggestion that he just gave is out of this world. Made me think that he had some more agendas that he hadn’t told us.” The shaman knew very well what had keep the elder awake. He also perplexed as he heard the proposal by the king earlier. His mind was racing then thinking of any possibilities of such outrageous proposal.

“Well, nothing really escape you huh, Kunika. No wonder the gods have been talking to you.” Hrutt paused for a while before continuing his words. He tried to tread lightly on the subject that he’s going to comment for fear to be label as a traitor among the demons.

“I don’t know about this new suggestion by the new emperor. Sure he pointed out all the goodness in it but I can only see it as a sign of submission to the other party. We, the demons are the pinnacle of the gods creation submit to an inferior race. I’m shocked that nobody would slit his throat as he suggest it.” Hrutt said as he clenched his fist. His dissatisfaction to the king new suggestion had clearly shown on his rough face.

“Maybe he already dismembered all the people who oppose this idea! Heck, maybe there’s an assassin waiting to take your head.” Kunika tried to make a joke but the joke was dry like the wind that currently blowing at them.

“I’m serious Kunika. Lending our might to others signifying that we see them as equal but to fight under their banner is saying that we submit ourselves to their rule. We need to do something about this.” Hrutt said afterward. Kunika silenced himself at the corner of the caravan considering his word before he started to talk again.

“So, you’re suggesting we overthrow the king? Is that what you’re trying to say? Am I hearing myself right?” Kunika asked in whispers.

“The king expect each tribe answer by the end of the month. I suggest that we meet with the other leaders and end this madness.” Hrutt was filled with determination on opposing the King’s proposal. Even though he will be committing a blasphemous act in defying the king, he would never let his tribe bow down to anyone.

“Well, things gonna be busy now. Both options we’ve been presented end up in war. But……I rather die in a war among my brethren rather than among the beast. I’m in. We need to gather our forces though.” Kunika answered with enthusiasm.

“That wouldn’t be any problem.” Hrutt said with a smile started to shape on his face.