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The Hunted One
Back in the Medieval Era,distant Kingdoms battled over their lands. The name of these two reigns were Lazuli and Nivariu. The King of Lazuli, Aston and the king of Nivariu, Shozen, had battled over their lands for ages. They say both kings had hired assassins, called Hunters to murder the King of the fallen kingdom, Noiru. One of them succeeded. The Lazuli kingdom took over the fallen kingdom's lands and murdered millions of people. Years after, they now battle to defeat one another and take over the fallen land. The game of Hunters begins once more.. In a quiet hut, in the Lune Forest, there lived a man named Larion. He lived alone. Every morning he would grab his bow and dagger and hunt down a deer or two. He would go to the waterfall and take a swim. One day, this man heard some horses approaching while he was hunting. He hid behind a tree as the horses stopped, their riders dismounting. Larion took a look at the riders,"Hmph..Royal Riders.." He muttered. The Royal Riders were armed messengers from the kingdom and Larion knew he had to be careful with them. He came out from behind the tree, aiming with his bow at the knights,"What is your business here?" He asked. One of the riders placed his hands on his sword, ready to wield it. The other rider raised his hands,"We have come here by order of the king of this lands, Shozen..We have been sent to ask of your assistance to the king." The rider explained. Larion kept his sight on the rider who was ready to wield his sword and replied,"What kind of assistance does your king ask of me?" He asked. The rider pulled down his hands down to his pocket. Larion aimed his bow at him, alarmed,"It's just a scroll!" The rider exclaimed, frowning. He pulled out the scroll and threw it at Larion,"We were forbidden to read what this scroll contains" He said, as Larion caught the scroll, unwraping it. In it the following was written:
Laurion, Hunter of the Kingdom of Nivariu, hither to the castle for i ask of your assistance..
I am needed of you to be the Hunter once more.
Please, summon yourself to the castle.You would do good to accept.
Riches await you here, but first you must accept and assassinate the target..
King Shozen
Larion scoffed as he finished reading the scroll,"Why should i accept to this?... Very well then, I shall go to the castle.. You may leave now.."He said, turning around as he began to walk away,"We were ordered to escort you back to the castle this very day.." said the rider. Larion stopped walking and scoffed once more,"Figures..What's to expect from a greedy king?.." He said to himself before he turned back around,"Very well then..I'm to mount one of your horses if that's the case." He said, walking up to the rider with hands on his sword,"Excuse me..You're in my way"He said smirking. The rider growled slightly, stepping aside,"Well then,riders..If you are to escort me,better be fast.." He said,before riding off. The riders quickly mounted on the remaining horse, riding off aswell, after Larion. They rode out of the forest into Lune Plains, the border between Lazuli and Nivariu. By nightfall they had reached Shozen's Castle. The wide gates pulled open, letting Larion and the riders into Niva Town. Thousands of houses surrounded the castle, followed by a large wall around them. The air was festive, children running around laughing. Young couples making out in dark corners. Women singing and drunk men. It seems there was a festival going on, though everything seemed in order. Larion and the riders hurried through the streets until they got to the Castle Gate and into the Castle Yards. They headed inside the castle, walking through the hallways,"Hmm..It seems this place hasn't changed a bit over the years.." Larion said, looking around. They walked into the Throne Chamber, where the king, Shozen, was. He greeted Larion and the riders with a smirk,"Welcome back once more, Larion!" He chuckled, standing up, with his arms wide open, walking down the steps. "I knew you'd accept!" He said, giving a tight hug to Larion. Then he backed away, with his hands on Larion's shoulders,"So,are you ready to do this final hunt?" He asked. Larion looked seriously at Shozen,"I think you misunderstood my presence here, Shozen, I came here to seek an explanation of WHY i should accept this. When clearly, i stopped hunting long ago.." Shozen took his hands off of Larion's shoulder, turning around,"Hmm.. I am desperate, Larion.. I got valuable information from a reliable source that the king Aston has hired a hunter to come and assassinate me.. I plan to take him out first. You see, even though he would die, his hired hunter would still hunt me down unless he is also killed. I doubt that will happen and i accept my fate, but i do not intend to leave my lands at the mercy of Aston! My son is to be the next king, though he is still to young to learn how to be brave.. What i ask of you is to hunt king Aston and take my son with you. To teach him your ways. I want a brave son that is cold in battle once he is king!" Shozen explained. Larion looked down and then back up at Shozen,"So you want me to teach your son the ways of the Hunters?" He asked,"Is that even a sane decision!? Is it what your son asks!?" He asked before a a young man entered the Throne Chamber,"Yes. It is what i desire.." The young man said, walking up to Larion and his father. He stood next to Shozen,"Larion, meet Zoren, my son!.." Shozen said, introducing his soon. Zoren slightly bowed to Larion,"Its a pleasure to meet you, sir.." Larion nodded slightly and looked at Shozen,"Very well then.. I accept.. But only if you swear that i will never be summoned back to do the hunts!" He said. Shozen nodded,"Mark my words.. You'll never be brought back. You'll be rewarded fairly." Larion interrupted him,"I don't need riches.. All i need is for you to understand that this will be my last hunt!" He said, before turning around,"Don't you need to get ready!?" Shozen asked,"All i need is my bow, my dagger and my hands... Zoren! Hither!" Larion shouted as he walked out of the Throne Chamber. Zoren followed Laurion, eventually getting back to the Castle Yards.There, two royal horses were awaiting Larion and Zoren,"Better get a bow boy. I wont be teaching you how to be a swordsman, i am teaching you to be a hunter!" Larion said as he mounted on one of the horses. Zoren nodded as a royal rider brought him a bow and a dagger. He mounted the horse and they took off to Lazuli kingdom. The journey was going to be long. First, they had to cross the Lune Plains. Then, they had to go through the Border Woods, right before they got to Border Town. In this town, thiefs roamed the streets. Hunters usually hang out around this specific town. It would make a good place for Zoren to learn the way of the Hunter deeply. After Border Town comes the Lazuli Kingdom. The final hunting ground for Larion. Shortly after they departed from Nivariu Kingdom, Larion and Zoren stop in the middle of Lune Plains to camp for the rest of the night,"What are we doing?" Zoren asked as he saw Larion dismount his horse,"What do you think i'm doing? I'm setting up camp. We ain't going to ride through the night! Besides, you need all the energy you can for tomorrow before we part to Border Forest." Larion said. Zoren dismounted afterwards, looking at the bags that were on his horse,"Don't you think we should have something to eat then? Before we go to rest." He said,"Alright then. I'll set up the camp, you get the fire going!" Larion nodded. Shortly after, the camp was set up, but Zoren didn't manage to get a fire going,"Sorry.. I've never done anything like this before.." He said, frowning,"Ugh, just.. Limit yourself on bringing the bags over here while i start the fire!" Larion said, kneeling down. Zoren nodded slightly, going back to his horses. He got the bags and got back to Larion, the fire up and running,"So, what's there to cook?" Larion asked. Zoren nodded and opened the bag, looking inside of it with his hand in it,"Eh.. Well, the only thing we can cook from here is the potatoes. The rest is apples and some bread.." He said, hading the bag to Larion. He took the bag and took some potatoes out,"Go look for two small knifes i have on my horse." Larion said. Zoren nodded, walking back to the horses. He looked around the bags that were on Larion's horse and took out two small knifes and took them back to Larion. He took one and cutted a small slice of a potatoe,placing it on the fire,"Do the same.." He said to Zoren. He nodded, doing exactly the same thing Larion did. After a bit,the slices were cooked and they ate them. They kept this until they were full, also eating an apple and some bread,"Well... Not exactly the food i would eat but atleast i aint hungry!" Zoren said, smiling a little. Larion didn't say anything and got up,"It's time to rest. Tomorrow a long day awaits you. We'll start trainning tomorrow, first thing in the morning!" He said, laying down and closing his eyes. Zoren nodded, slowly getting up and stretching. He then layed down, his
head on a rock, closing his eyes aswell, both falling asleep
Rise and Shine
The next morning, Larion woke up with a soft yawn,"Hey.. Kid, where are you?" He asked, looking around until he spotted Zoren and got up. He walked up to Zoren,pocking him slightly with his boot,"Hey, wake up already!" He said. Suddenly, Zoren takes out a knife, trying to stab Larion's leg. He jumps back, dodging Zoren's move,"What are you doing!?" Larion asked, taking out his dagger,"You said we were to train today! Well, let's start!" Zoren said, charging towards Larion. As Zoren got close, Larion quickly kicks his hand, making him drop the knife, punching him on his stomach, making him fall on his knees"This is not how we are to train!.. Yet! Today is hand to hand combat!" Larion said, grabbing the knife,"Ngh.. I-i thought w-we would start with weapons.." Zoren groanned, standing up,"You're not ready for that yet... Well then.. Get ready! Show me what you got!" Larion said, awaiting for Zoren try his fist move. Zoren nodded, charging at Larion. As he got close, he threw a kick to Larion's ribs, but Larion quickly blocked his attack, throwing a soft punch at Zoren's knee, enough to cause him a slight pain. Zoren backed away, his hands on his knee,"I wont be all easy with you, you know.. I'll limit myself, but you better catch up to my moves or you'll be dead in no time in a real fight!" Larion said, getting on his fighting pose,"Right!.." Zoren said, charging again towards Larion. As he got close, he launched a punch towards Larion's face. Larion dodges easily, punching Zoren slightly on his ribs, causing him to cough and back away,"Better be fast,kid! You must react quickly." Larion said. Zoren nodded and charged again towards Larion. As he got close, he launched a kick towards Larion's knee. Larion backed away, but as soon as he did, Zoren jumped forward, toward Larion. As he did,he threw another punch, blocked by Larion, but he quickly kicks Larion on his ribs, making back away,"Ahg!..Y-you've gotten better..Heh.." Larion said with a smirk. He then charged towards Zoren,"Lets see if you can block me!" He shouted as he got close to Zoren, throwing a punch. Zoren blocked it, but Larion quickly kicked his leg, causing him to fall on one knee. He then throws another punch at Zoren, but he blocks it, kicking Larion's leg, causing him to fall. Zoren quickly stands up and steps back as Larion also stands up. Larion throws a punch to Zoren but he blocks it. He then attempts to kick him again but Zoren kicks his leg, blocking the attack. Zoren quickly pushes Larion away, throwing a kick to his ribs. Larion wasn't able to block it and falls to the ground,"Agh!..F-for your first time in training you do pretty food.. Heh.. It's over.. We must head to Border Woods now. We will get there by noon. Lets hurry!" Larion said as he stand up. Zoren nods and they both head back to the horses. The pack their things, mounting on their horses and they take off to Border Woods. Later that day, at sunset they had reached Border Woods,"Here we are.. We're gonna spend two days training here.. I know it is not much, but you have proven you are worthy to be trained. So i'll train you slightly in our journey. Once this hunt is done for, i will train you personally. Deal?" Larion said as he looked at Zoren. Zoren nodded with a slight smile,"Let's go!" He said to Larion as they both go into Border Woods. They get to a waterfall and the both dismount their horses,"Here's what we're gonna do. We are to split here. You're training in this woods is to learn how to survive. Which means, this bags.." Larion said as he took the bag of food that was on Zoren's horse,"Isn't needed. All you need is your bow and dagger here. While you hunt for survival, i want you to look for me. But be silent. Hunters are always silent when seeking a target. Tomorrow you start the search and remember to hunt... Today, rest." He said as he mounted his horse,"Good luck, Zoren.."He said as he took off,"W-wait! I-i don't know how to hunt!" Zoren shouted, but Larion had already left. He sighed and got camp set.
When the sun finally set, Zoren finally was able to get a fire going. He layed down afterwards and drifted off to sleep, looking at the starry sky.
Survival Of The Fittest
The next morning, Zoren wakes up, yawning He stretches as he stands up and looks around,"Well, i guess i gotta hunt breakfast now.. Hmm.." He groans, walking up to his horse, grabbing his bow and dagger. He heads deeper into the woods, spotting a deer,"Heh, guess it's my lucky day then.." Zoren said as he aimed with his bow, before realizing he didn't have any arrows," What the hell?... Ugh! I have to make my own arrows.." He said, walking silently away towards some branches that were on the ground," Hmm.. These are perfect for arrows.." He says as he begins to carve some arrows with his dagger. He managed to carve atleast four arrows, getting up and heading back to where the deer was. As he does, he notice that the deer was running away," Eh? What's wrong with the deer? Huh!?" He asked himself, before taking cover as he noticed some hunters from the Lazuli Kingdom, chasing the deer with their bows
 xXZanza · Tue Jul 30, 2013 @ 11:32pm · 0 Comments |
