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“Just a few more minutes… There we go,” I ran my scarred fingers over the griffon’s plume of chest feathers, soothing her into kneeling. We both watched and listened with silent breaths, three nestlings cooed and slumbered in the nest that lay just a few hundred feet below us in the dense foliage. Curling my fingers I dug down to the majestic creature’s skin to scratch at the base of its feathers, the hulking body edged closer to me.

Very few had the privilege to feel the heartbeat of one of these creatures, as my left arm sat against its torso I remarked at how pure this moment truly was. Light thumping slowed as my hand retreated back to the cold stony perch. Sweat began to pool on my collar as the radiating heat from my stakeout partner permeated through my linens. Clicking tore me away from the moment, irritation expressed through the chattering of the beast’s beak.

“What is it girl?” I asked in a hushed tone.

Bowing her head, she indicated towards the clearing beyond the nest. As soon as she had leaned forward, figures began emerging from the tree line.

First to breach from the forest was a scrawny man with deep wrinkles decorating his forehead and underlining his sunken eyes. “This must be it, look at the deep claw imprints in the mud.” The explorer announced to no-one in particular, tipping his hat to block the sun from his eyes. Two brawny warriors clad in scarlet brigandine knelt beside the discovery, one traced an excessively armoured hand through the track whilst the other prostrated himself further to smell the surrounding earth.

In a husky chipper accent, the first voice rattled from the helmet on the left. “Good work. Young, not able to take flight just yet.” Reaching into his back pocket he produced a drawstring pouch, as he dropped it into the bony hands of his guide the man buckled forward to maintain his balance, yelping in surprise. Straightening himself up he brushed the twigs and debris from the tail of his cloak and stored the pouch within the concealed wrapping of his shawl before turning back towards the forest.

“Not staying for the hunt?” Echoing from the second helmet came a younger voice, my recent experience in the West was limited but it reminded me of a boy I met from North of the Ugnis Straight. If this was right, the second tank was quite far from home.

“I need the coin, but I can’t abide by what you are about to do. I must respectfully ask that you delay your slaughter until I am out of earshot.”

Both men nodded in agreement, before each whistled out a grossly over-complicated birdsong from their cupped hands. Bodies piled out of the undergrowth, a quick estimation had their count at sixteen to our two. This time it was the griffon’s turn to console me. She released the grasp of a single talon, its gigantic claws resting delicately on my knee. For a creature that eclipsed me five times over, she was also capable of such grace and delicacy.

“Their nest is up in the fork of those two oaks, the mother should be at least five leagues away in the mountains at this time of day but don’t get complacent. Doyle, Crike, first and foremost your duty is to watch the skies. Got that?” Two battered and bruised companions nodded in response. “Good. Alice, Petyr, Ash, Nikol, you’re with me. The rest of you are setting the perimeter fire with Warren.” The second warrior raised his hand as a group flocked to him for more detailed instructions.

Patiently we sat, how my own partner remained calm at the sight of a mob of hunters surrounding her nest I may never understand. But she did. Gently I clambered into position, with an arm around the beast’s neck and the other tightly grasping onto my hooks. As the sun reached its peak over the scene, the fire was lit. Erupting around the twin oaks it encircled the nest to the cries of the three inhabitants.

With a sudden rush we dove, our combined shadow put the mob in a sudden state of shock. Before they had any chance to react the ground shuddered as we crashed down to the earth. A single beat of the griffon’s wings turned the roaring flames to flickering embers with a great plume of smoke spreading out to disorientate our enemies, the offensive charcoal smell clung to my nostrils with a vengeance.

I leapt from her back, brandishing my hooks towards a helplessly confused Doyle. With an over-arm swing the first hook caught around a rough scaled pauldren, dragging him forwards off his feet and back towards the griffon’s waiting talons. The second hook I rose in defence of an oncoming axe, in power alone it had no chance, however pivoting around the point of contact I was able to lock its wielder’s hand in place.

“Got you!” I roared, applying pressure to the exposed wrist his grip loosened with a scream. Planting my right foot I prepared to close the distance between us before a blur of barbs entered the space I hoped to be. Whipping back the griffon’s tail becoming clearer, her head dipped slightly in apology for the near-miss.

My role diminished as a threatened mother tore through the warriors like a fox might terrorise a rabbit’s hovel. I would distract any attackers at the griffon’s flank, disarming them if possible and throwing them to the ground for her to easily dispatch of. It didn’t take long for the outnumbering force to dwindle to a handful of seasoned soldiers.

“Lay down your arms!” I demanded, “Lay down your arms and you may leave this place with your lives.”

Lifting the visor on their plumed helm, the crimson warrior referred to as Warren stepped forward from the cornered pack. “I have seen what you do to hunters, we would not retain the dignity you are promising!” His accent became more clear. He was not simply from North of the Ugnis Straight, but to the far North of the Ugnis Plains. He was highborn.

“I never promised dignity. However, you will live I can guarantee you that.” I responded.

“We will take our chances,” He pulled his visor back down, the metallic echo punctuated his final words. “I’d rather take my chances against two beasts than surrender!”

You heard it right, that's my job. Killing warriors. That's what i do for a living. He says to me: "But i thought warriors are good guys?" I shake my head and smile. Also brainwashed. I decide not to tell him the story right then and there, but i take him to a private place, and there i decide to tell him the whole story.

The warriors brainwashed civilians. They began hunting on what is arguably the most important thing on this planet. Manticores. You proceed to tell him how the warriors work for the government and they are profiting. But they failed to brainwash 2 people. Me, and Culuthon. Who he is and how i met him doesn't matter. All that's matters is that he is the one that gives me my missions.

You decide to tell him absolutely everything you know. And then he asks you if he can help. You kindly tell him no. He starts to get angry, and makes a bit too much noise for my liking. As an experienced hunter, i understood that there are probably warriors that heard us. So i tell him to shut the fuck up, or he will die. At that point, i hear a few walking up the hill, to where we are. They are coming from behind, so i camouflage myself. I tell him to do the same, but he doesn't listen.

And there they are. Two big guys, with a smaller one in between them. Only the big ones carry weapons.A weak formation, so probably amateurs. Thank god. Whilst i have my hand on my gun at all times, i'm still worried what will happen if they find me. I'm highly experienced with camouflage and know how to make them walk past me. Anyways, they start asking the standard questions. "What are you doing here?" "You shouldn't be here." And when the question "Is anyone else with you?" Comes, i'm begging for him not to snitch me out. He doesn't.

I can see them getting annoyed. You don't wanna annoy these guys. I know how powerful they are. He doesn't. Fatal mistake there. He gets them really pissed and eventually they kick him to the ground and shoot in his head. I do my best not to reveal myself by blowing the guy's head off right at that moment.

I wait what they will do. I hear them saying: "We can't report that." Eventually they walk over to the corpse and start fucking playing. I completely lose my shit, jump out of the bush, knock a big guy down, shoot the second big guy in the head while on the ground. I then get up, knowing i can take the small one on one. He tries to reach for one of the guns, but i put a bullet through it and neutralize the weapons. He then tries to wrestle me. This small guy thinks he can wrestle me? Sure. I wrestle him for a while and i win. I shoot him through the head, take 2 steps back, and salute the dead. It's what i always do.

Then i discover something i have never seen before. On their uniforms i found little recorders. The lights are still on, meaning they are probably still recording. I get out 3 notes and all write on them:

"We can't report that."

"Yes, I'm the one that's been killing your men for years now. You might be the next one."

I all lay it on their bodies. I take the corpse of the guy i was talking to, and get out of there, knowing if i stay there longer they're gonna find me. I go to my house, and bury his corpse close to my yard. You will be remembered. The next day i get a mission from Culuthon. It's important. This is one of the highest ranking warriors. We can't fuck this up. You see, i live in the woods near the city, which is at the coast. Culuthon tells me that this time i will have to shoot near the city, something i always hated. This was the plan:

• Target comes out of the city and comes in a convoy of security into the woods.

• He is gonna come next to a hill, which is perfect for camouflaging.

• He will come in the late afternoon, meaning i can easily camouflage myself on the east side of a hill, which is opposite to the path he will be walking on.

• I then strike on the target and using the cover of shadow, i stay still. After they leave, i go home.

Fairly straightforward, right? This is how it went. I arrived at the hill i had to shoot from. It was very steep, and there were probably 2-3 spots i could fire from. I chose for the best one, lined up my gun, and waited for him to come. You see, i always bring my sniper, a shotgun, and a classic AK-47.

It took an hour longer than expected, but they finally arrived. I decided not to waste any time, and fire straight through his neck. Killed in 1 shot. Only when i saw the backup security i realized in how much trouble i was in. We had though there were less than 10 people I'd have to deal with, but there were more than 30.

After i confirmed i have enough rounds for everybody, i began firing like crazy. They didn't know what was hitting them. They looked so damn confused they began firing in all directions. Eventually one hit the grass besides me. I knew to stay calm. These creatures have inhumane sight. If i move a single bodypart more than my finger they would see me. The last did. He missed his shot. I didn't.

"If you kill one, i'll kill 30."

The rainforest, a lush but harsh environment. Home to a variety of species of creatures large and small. Upon first glance, all one may see is vegetation but with a closer look you will see that it is teeming with life.

We will begin our journey following the daily life of the rare beauty known as Burnicus alivicus, it being more commonly known by it's nickname, Dragon. This dragon in particular has just gotten out of a fight it seems. It walks with a limp, many of it's scales are either damaged or missing. Dragons use their scales for regulating their internal temperature, if they lose too many they are unable to produce their fire. In such an environment where injury could be decisive factor on whether one gets their next meal or not, losing one's only means of defense could prove disastrous. The dragon slowly observes its surroundings before taking a sip from the oasis. Though they choose their dens in secluded areas, they are known to be the most cautious animals on the planet. After all, one can never be too sure if they are next on the menu.

Unfortunately for our friend, it looks like they are not alone. It seems that a Monsticia hunta, otherwise known as Monster hunter, has managed to slip past its detection unnoticed. Dragons have gone through many millennia of evolution and have developed higher brain functions than most creatures. It would only make since that for such a creature to have a predator, that predator would need to evolve to be smarter. You see, the monster hunter is quite an intelligent creature as they have developed their usage of tools. When combined with the reproductive feature they have, known as opposable thumbs, they can create a quite deadly combo. Deep in the brush, we see the monster hunter utilizing its excellent camouflage. Now watch as Monsticia hunta takes out its Magnum VK11 Spartan Railcannon and takes aim. It must be precise, if it misses, its quarry could escape again.

The dragon reels in pain, but is still able to fend for itself. Fortunately for it, its natural armor proved tough enough to withstand yet another blow from Monsticia hunta. The dragon seems to have expended too much of its energy and is now too weak to fly away. The Monster hunter is not backing down, the Dragon will have to fight if it wants to continue living. Battles like these are often one sided you see, as the Monster hunter and Dragon have a bit of an evolutionary arms race going on and currently Monsticia hunta is winning it. As the two fight, the Monster hunter's tough plating proves to be too resistant to the Dragon's weakened flames and talons. With a shout of victory, the Monster hunter climbs atop the Dragon's belly and prepares to finish it off with a final blow to the jugular. The dragon has closed its eyes, resigning to its fate. This is the way of nature, kill or be killed, only the fittest will survive.

However, nature always has a funny way of keeping itself in check. While Monsticia hunta are near the top of this ecosystem's food chain, they are not its apex predators. For you see, the strength of the Monster hunter has ironically made it the main prey item of this ecosystem's apex. The Monsticia hunta in it's moment of victory has failed to notice it's natural enemy, Hunta hunta a.k.a. the Yautja or Predator, materializing behind it. Boasting flawless camouflage along with superior strength and intellect, the Yautja are an opportunistic species that only prey upon the strongest and most abundant of prey items. It extends its metal claws and, in one swift blow, skewers its prize onto them. It will feast well tonight; one Monster hunter can feed a Yautja family for up to a month. Yautja do not recognize the dragon as a worthy prey item due to their scarcity, so it will only leave with one meal this evening.

The Burnicus alivicus will live to see another day. Though this does not ensure the survival of its species and many others as a whole. This beautiful forest may not remain the way it is if things continue at this rate. If we can do something about it, then do it. We can do it. We must do it. Then there will be a future for this planet.

When I signed up to become a Monster Hunter, I knew and believed in the code enforced by the Guild... Hunters pay to go on our hunts, we hunt monsters that are causing problems, to keep their populations controlled, and to keep the rest of the environment healthy....so when I found out that some Hunters were disrespecting that code...I vowed to weed them out and put a quick stop to them...it doesn't matter if it's out of greed, fear, or revenge...Our way of life being in harmony with these giant majestic creatures by proving our selfs against them until we meet the "One" that's our match...that is worth more than than your selfish crusade...you all have been warned.

An anti poaching task force if you will

Monster hunting used to be a respectable profession.

Now, it's not uncommon to see Teostra armour, Daora weapons when one strolls into any of the Commission's base. Even Fatalis equipment - forged from the mythical dragon monster that would lay waste to nations in centuries past, now hangs unceremoniously on one a dozen Master hunters in any hunters' hub.

With technology, monster hunting has become too lucrative, and too quickly. Remember when the Research Commission does, well, "research" ?

Greed has overtaken our kingdoms. Hubris has overcome wisdom. The ecology is disintegrating before our eyes. People ask why Gaismagorm, an ancient beast of a thousand years, has arisen to resist us. Why Xeno'Jiiva, a hybrid dragon of a thousand species, would be formed to fight us.

The answer is simple: we have become the monsters. And nature is fighting back.

Today I take the head of a Master hunter. An innocent beast lives. Tomorrow I'll take a head of another, another beast will live. A losing battle to be sure, but as I breathe, I'll continue my fight as a true Monster Hunter - a title I was given as I first held my sword, and as Sapphire Star - a title I have forsaken for decades.