Chapter 2: The Emerald Hunt Arc: The Emerald Hunt
"Eighteen years ago brave men and women defended this village from the Forrest King…" the elderly man looks down at the vast crowd from a high pedestal, behind him a scarlet cloth blanketing a large object that towers over the village folk. "…and today, we honour the fallen heroes with our annual Emerald Hunt to usher in a new generation of knights" the elder places his hand on the cloth and unveils a marble statue of a muscular knight wielding a hammer and a slender feminine knight with angelic wings standing back to back in a noble upright posture. "…with this statue, in memory of Alana The Sky wrath, Brutus the war hammer and all those who perished on that fateful night. Let us bow our heads and pray." All the villagers in the square bow their heads, as the elder utters, "Lord Dyrarsir…"
Within the crowd of people in attendance a certain caramel skinned teenager pays no attention to the elder's speech. After all, he has heard the same story thousands of times from thousands of people, but never from his father oddly enough. The teenager had and wore a grey tunic, black trousers and sandals.
His gaze diverts from the elderly spokesperson to birds soaring above them, he couldn't wait to leave home and be free from the weight of his father's legacy. A sudden poke to the back jolts him back to reality. He turns his head back to face a pale skinned adolescent peering at him through his black straight hair.
"What?" he snaps.
"Bow your damned head, Alex! Father is watching." Alex slyly scans the area till his eyes meet the stern gaze of his father who is perched on the roof of a building. Alex instinctively bows his head afterwards, for it is considered rude not to pay homage to the village heroes. Not that it mattered to him in the first place.
"In the glory of Dyrarsir," concludes the elder,
"Glory to Dyrarsir," echoes the crowd as they lift their heads. The young man behind him takes a step forward and stands next to Alex, just as the elder continued.
"In the spirit of Alana and Brutus, those who aspire to become knights will form partnerships of two and enter the forest to hunt monsters for their essence. Those who succeed will be knighted, and hence receive their letters of recommendation from the general guild ambassador. Meaning they can leave the village to join guilds in the capital" upon hearing this crowd goes into a frenzy of excited whistles and claps. "A new age of heroes!" a random voice calls out from the cheering crowd.
"However," The elder spoke over their cheers causing the uproar to cease, "There have been reports of a Zheng just outside the Redwood boundary." This causes a buzz of anxious whispers in the crowd. "Is it safe for our children to go hunting?!" yells a woman's voice.
"We have local knights patrolling the boundary until the S ranked knight from the capital arrives. By no means are any parties allowed to cross the boundary." The old man smiled and points at the cottage where the scarred Broin is perched watching over the proceedings. "With us today is The Wolf of Redwood, one of our heroes and a survivor of the Behemoth attack!" The crowd's tone changes from dread and concern to praise as they cheer for Broin, who smiles dryly in response and waves his one hand hesitantly at the masses. The teenager claps slowly from within the crowd, while looking up at his father with distain.
"Tomorrow, your legacy won't shadow me anymore. Tomorrow, I become my own man," he mouthed. The young man beside him placed his hand on his shoulder and grins at him in response. "When you smile like that I get worried, Maximus" says the lad.
"As you fucking should, brother," Max sings.
"…will you tell me or-"
"Patience Alex. Not now, but soon. Really soon," Max's dastardly grin widens
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Alex blocks a vertical wooden sword slash from his brother Maximus. Max easily towers over him and to make matters worse he is overly aggressive; each spontaneous swing he makes threatens to break through Alex's guard. The young man blocks strike after strike all the while calculating how to overcome his sparring partner.
"Max, don't just fight with your muscles. Think!" yells Broin who watches over the sparring from on top of a neck-high stone monument. Max ignores his father's advice and proceeds to swing wildly at Alex's side. The wooden sword lands with a loud 'THUD!' causing Alex to wince in pain, but before Max can draw back his sword Alex wedges the weapon with his armpit and twists, snapping Maximus' weapon. He follows up with a shoulder tackle which knocks the surprised Max onto his butt in the grassy plain.
"Well played" gasps Maximus, "I surrender," as he lifts his hands in surrender. Alex doesn't respond but instead falls to the ground clinching his ribs in pain, the brothers look at each other and burst into laughter. Broin disembarks from the stone monument and makes his way towards his sons.
"Maximus, strength does not guarantee victory. Think before you act. Consider the risks and rewards." He turns his head slightly to Alex's position, "Alex, stop trying to be omniscient. Analysing the situation is good, but over-analysing in battle leads to hesitation. You will die before you even land a hit on the enemy".
"What we lack as individuals we compensate as a team," Alex replies monotonously.
"Well said Alex! If we wanted to we could hunt the Zheng" snickered Max.
"And end up being torn apart like the fucking idiots that you are," Broin snaps disapproving such childish claims.
"But I recall the legends saying you killed an Omega Wolf at our age. I think the two of us can handle the Zheng," Maximus responds with a mischievous smile.
"I didn't go looking for a fight with an Omega," Broin says, "and neither should you. Don't go searching for a death that could've been avoided. I heard some Genbu where spotted near the river. Try hunting that rather than attempting suicide,"
"Tis but a joke, Father. Alex is too cowardly to hunt it with me," which summons Alex's peeved glare as he sits up. Before Broin could say another word a little girl, no older than ten, climbs on top of the monument behind Broin and interrupts them.
"Mum said supper is ready!" She yells. Broin grabs her and places her on the ground. He proceeds to pat her head gently but keeps his stern gaze on his sons. His eyes soften as he runs her fingers across her black hair.
"Don't be stupid. Listen to what the elder said." He adds on coldly before hoisting the child onto his shoulders. "Let's go eat. That's enough for today." He begins to limp towards the house on the edge of the horizon. The two brothers slowly rise up, but before Alex could take a step, Max grabs his arm.
"Fuck the old man!" he whispers. "Tomorrow, we go hunt ourselves a Zheng."
"And why the hell would we do that?" asks Alex. Max looks ahead to make sure his father is a safe distance away.
"Let me show you." Max lifts his other empty hand and opens his palm.
"…There's nothing there…What exactly am I-"
"Shush, you impatient prick!" Max snaps. Alex already tired and irritated sighs and drops his gaze from his obnoxious brother's face to his equally obnoxious palm. Suddenly small blue sparks of lighting leap from Max's palm and, soon enough, his hand and creates a blue orb of lightning. Alex looks over his shoulder to make sure no one was looking,
Alex gasps. "When did you-?"
"What can I say, I am the chosen one," Max boasts. "Changed your mind yet after seeing your gifted brother with an A ranked elemental beast?" Neither of them makes a sound. Alex pushes back his dreadlocks thinking of what to say next. Max wasn't lying. Even just by witnessing a small snippet of his lightning ability he knew Max had enough raw power to kill an A rank monster. Where did Maximus get the Thekwane essence? Can I bet my life on such an alien ability I only just witnessed? After running the information through his head Alex responds.
"Okay we will hunt the Zheng but listen to every word I say"
"You will be the brains, I will be the muscles," Max grins.
"You mean brawn?"
"Potatoes tomatoes"
"If I get there before you two…!" yells Broin halfway between them and their cottage.
"Yes father!" yells the brothers. Max sprints towards the warm light of the hut in the distance. Alex remains still the meadows, running over what to do next in his head.
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Alex takes a seat next to his younger sister just as his mother places a silver pot in the centre of the table. Her long red hair and rosy cheeks enhance her radiating smile even though tears welled up her green eyes. Alex can tell his mother is trying her hardest not to show her emotions so as to not dampen the mood. She leans forward and kisses his forehead, then Max's before taking her seat next to Broin. From Alex's perspective dinner was as lively as usual; Maximus told light hearted stories involving village gossip, Harmony and his mother listening intently whilst his father remained silent, his scarred face shows no emotion as he ate his food in silence.
"So my mate Rodger came back from the capital yesterday, he got kicked out of his guild cause he fucked up on a mission"
"Language!" Harmony snaps, visibly upset.
"My apologies, princess." The sarcasm intensifies her pout. "Anyway, he is getting posted as a village patrol knight. From what he told me, the capital nobles are so stuck up they do not even bother hunting Beast Essence. They buy them straight from mages without bothering to do the work. Unbelievable!"
"Daddy, you have been to the capital right?" Harmony asks.
"Yeah, that was a long time ago."
"Tell us a story from when you were a knight daddy." At this moment Alex felt a sensation of agitation overwhelm him, he already knows what his father would say but he is hoping he would hear another response. With a visibly uncomfortable expression Broin answers slowly,
"Sorry sweetheart, maybe some other time." Alex felt something in him snap.
"Don't worry Harmony the whole town won't shut up about it. You can ask our next door neighbour, Miss Agatha. Hell, you'll hear more about your town hero father from a random stranger than this sorry excuse of a man"
"Alex!" his mother gasps.
"Dad hates himself Harmony. How the hell am I expected to be proud of his legacy when he doesn't take pride in himself?!"
"Alex, Calm down," whispers Maximus. Alex looks his father in the eye and continues;
"I'm grateful for everything you taught me, but I'm sick and tired of being this 'ideal son' that's meant to uphold your legacy. I'm tired of the way this town sees me and I'm tired of your shit! I promise you this, dad: I will surpass you. And when it's all said and done, I won't end up as a hateful prick like you are." The table goes silent as Broin remains emotionless. He gazes at his son's enraged face.
"You feel burdened by the deeds of my past, and you're angry at the reality of my present." Broin sighed then looks down in defeat. "Alex, when you look at me you see an obstacle. When I look in the mirror all I see is a failure, and you'll soon find out. No matter what we do or what we become, the past is a part of us."
"I want nothing to do with your past." And with that, Alex storms out of the room. Max politely excuses himself and follows after his brother. Alex walks into the meadow and looks up at the full moon. A month from now he would be a knight in the capital free at last. His brother walks behind him.
"You know you sounded like an ungrateful piece of shit, right?" Maximus calls out.
Alex sighs, realizing what he had said and instantly feels the feeling of regret. "I know. It's just…" He struggles to conjure up the right words. "…I just want him to look at us. To see us as actual people and not this…thing…he remembers. For fuck's sake Max, he hasn't wished me a happy birthday from as far as I can remember. And mom just goes with it as if she doesn't have a choice."
"You forget I have to share a birthday with you, right?" Max stares at him jokingly to lighten Alex up
"That's not the point, Max"
"Then what is? Father lost his comrades and watched this village burn to ash."
"That shouldn't matter to us." Max ignores this and proceeds,
"Try to understand his pain, Alexander. I might not be as smart as you, but at least I can try to put myself in the same boots as the people around me."
Alex sighs, "I'll try then"
"Excellent!" The two look up at night sky gaze at the haphazard constellation for the next couple of hours after which they make their way back home.
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As they approach the house, Alex notices the orange ambers of his father's pipe glowing in the darkness; Broin tilts his head back and spews a cloud of grey smoke.
"Father" Maximus greets politely before they try making their way into the house. Alex attempts to follow, but Broin raises his hand signalling for his sons' attention.
"I only want the best for you, but…. I haven't been the best role model for you two, let alone the best father"
"I was out of line dad, I didn't mean-"
"No need to explain, Alex. I have been an island to you two since birth, and in Max's case since adoption. It's my fault." He stops smoking his pipe. "Alex, when you said you'll surpass me and leave behind my legacy, did you mean it?"
"Yes I did"
"I'm glad," responds Broin softly before placing his pipe against his lips. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day for you two."
"Yes father," answers his sons in unison before making their way into the house, leaving their father alone with nothing but his thoughts and pipe. After that talk with Max, Alex wonders if one day he would end up as self-loathing as his father, uncomfortable with memories of the past just like him. He shoves that thought back in the darkest pits of his mind and goes into his room
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The village elder stands on the wooden podium looking down at crowd of excited hopefuls sanding outside the gates of Redwood behind them vast acres of forest with beasts waiting to be hunted. He smiled at crowd and begins to speak
"Today marks the beginning of the Emerald Hunt. And remember; only those who obtain monster essence are legible to become knights of the realm. If you miss this opportunity you may have to wait a whole year for the monsters to be this plentiful. We have Knights patrolling the area to ensure none of you end up becoming prey to the monsters, and they have orders only to intervene if your life is in danger. Also keep in mind they can't be within your vicinity all the time, so do be careful." Alex and Max stand within the crowd dressed in full suits of iron armour. Alex's hand trembles violently, but this doesn't go past Maximus. He looks at his brother.
"Do not worry, brother. With my new powers, we cannot lose!" Alex smiles and draws his sword from the sheath on his back, slowly running his hand across the silver edge.
"Worry? I can't wait for this tedious speech to finish so we can get this hunt started."
"May Dyrasir be with you. And let the Emerald hunt begin!" declares the elder.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone