Fanfic:Tears for the Fallen 'Remastered'

'"No one plans to take the path that leads you lower." -Jerry Cantrell '

Hello, and welcome to the new iteration of Tears for the Fallen! As my writing style matured, I felt that I could write the opening chapters much more elaborately and with more detail. Plot issues will be smoothed out and a few might even be changed a bit (I'm not giving away any spoilers so don't ask). I intend to keep the old story up, to let newcomers grasp the main plot and to let old fans have something to read.

If you'd like to read the orginal story: http://monsterhunterfanon.wikia.com/wiki/Fanfic:Tears_for_the_Fallen#comm-5764

The story of the hunter Talos and his apprentice, a young girl named Azuriade. Together they will learn about each others pasts, their guilts, their secrets, and their sadness. And perhaps, through Azuriades' love, Talos will learn how to forgive himself.

Main Theme - The Unforgiven III - Metallica

Talos's Theme - The Unforgiven II - Metallica

Talos's Nightmare - Black Gives Way To Blue - Alice In Chains

All rights to the music featured here go to their respective owners.

Info on the Terracertas and a new intro will go here.

Chapter 1- New Beginnings
A bitter wind blew as I stood, my hand on the door to the guildhall. I was sure I had heard my name, ghostly through the wind. It sounded familiar, like unbound memories. I gripped the helmet I was holding tighter.

 I turned my head and saw a young girl hurrying across the snow. She wore a hooded parka and long, thick pants. Her hood fell from atop her head and revealed long, strikingly blue hair. Her eyes were a clear, watery blue, to match her hair. She had a small, straight nose and her mouth was parted in a half smile. She nearly ran into me, halting to catch her breath.

“Pardon me, young lady.” I said.

“Um, hi.” She said nervously.

“Yes?”

“Uh, um…you’re Talos, right?”

“That would be me. Who are you?”

“Oh, well, um, my name is, um, Azuriade. And, and…you, you’re the legendary hunter, Talos!” she sputtered. “No other hunter could have armor as, uh, awesome and beautiful as your Custom Z Rathalos Soul! I uh, heard you were visiting and, well, I wanted to, to, to meet you.”

“Well here I am, right in front of you.” I grinned. Being in the upper echelon of the hunting community had its perks, like fame. “Do you want me to sign you bla…?”

I had realized she wasn’t carrying a weapon. Most of the people who sought to meet me were young hunters who wanted to be elite monster slayers.

“Um, er, yeah I was, well, I was going to ask…maybe, you could well, teach me?” she stammered.

I considered this for a second. With me being a high-ranking guild hunter, not everyone who approached me with a partnership had been sincere. Money, fame, and status had all been things people had wanted in return for being my partner. I could hardly imagine a young girl like this could have plans like that, though…

“Hm. Have you any formal training?” I asked.

“Well, I had to scare some Giaprey away once…” she replied.

“Ah, so no prior experience. Difficult to say then. The art of hunting is more then just hitting a beast until is succumbs. It requires knowledge and skill.”

“Please?” she said, eyes wide.

“Well…maybe.” I sighed.

 She was willing, at the very least. In the ten years that had passed since I had begun hunting, the luster of the hunt had lost its pull on the younger generation. This girl, however, seemed to have the spark most other children lacked.

“Really? You’d really do it! I can’t believe this!” she began to almost scream with joy. People looked on in a state of confusion.

“Pipe down, girl, I mean, ah, Azuriade.” I hissed. “I’d rather avoid this kind of attention for now.”

 She promptly quieted herself, but still held on to the enormous smile.



 I abandoned the guild, taking Azuriade to the weapon’s crafter instead. I asked if I could take a peek at the inventory of each weapon, and for some time alone.

 The man quickly supplied the weapons and headed back into the workshop. Each of the weapons was in its base form, mostly made of bone. I half chuckled to myself. What a long way I had come.

“You’re obviously going to need a weapon.” I said dryly. “You won’t be able to kill a Gravios by punching it.”

“Have you tried?” she asked.

“No. But what does that have to do with this?”

“Well you said…”

“Just disregard that. You need to choose a weapon. Could you tell me what each of the different weapons are?”

“Well, ah, this is the Greatsword, and here is the Longsword, and the Sword and Shield, Dual Swords, Hammer, um, the Hunting Horn, the Lance, um, this is that gun thingy…”

“Gunlance.” I supplied.

“Oh yeah, the Gunlance. And then there is the Bow and the two Bowguns.”

“Well at least you’re well versed in weaponry. Just get a feel for a weapon, swing ‘em around if you need to. Just don’t hit me.”

She quickly started to pick up weapons and test them out. The Greatsword gave her some trouble, as did the Lances, but otherwise she seemed strong. It was soon apparent that she preferred the Hammer. Deftly swinging it, she seemed like a natural.

“I like this one a lot.” she grinned.

“I can tell. Let me get you a suitable one.”

I had the armorer take the weapons back and commissioned a specific hammer, the Iron Devil. It was a heavy, spiked monstrosity. She took it with undisguised glee.

“Wow…thanks! This is so cool!”

“Not a problem. If I’m going to be teaching somebody, they’d best have good equipment. Speaking off, let me get you some base armor.”

“Armor! Oh I can’t wait!”

I picked out a set of basic hunting armor, complete with some heavy metal plating on the vital areas. She quickly donned it in the armory and to meet me.

“How is it?” she asked.

“Looking more like a huntress.” I replied.

“Really?!”

“Of course. Now you just need to play the part too.”

“A mission now? Already?”

“Not quite. I’m thinking a little warm up in the training fields, and then maybe you can take a swing at something that might actually kill you.”

“Are you sure you have to put it in those terms?”

“Well with me around it would take an Elder Dragon to waste you.”

She giggled a bit, and then we headed for the training fields. Second day in Pokke and I already had an apprentice.

I had decided for a training regime of about a week. We agreed to basic physical exercise by the instructor and weaponry lessons by me. She was already in rather good shape, but a little more would help lessen the rigors of the hunt. And while she had instinctive weapon skills, much of it needed refining.

While Azuriade was getting worked into the dust, I had to take some time to prepare. This apprenticeship was little unexpected, and I had my business to attend to. Pokke wasn’t a prime vacation spot. I had work to do.

Mountains aren’t the ideal peaceful zones. Tigrex, Blangonga, Rajang, Khezu, and the like. And then there’s the occasional Elder Dragon. Like the Kirin, which is what I was up here for. Nasty little thing, in my opinion. I’ve never liked being hit with a few thousand volts. I shivered apprehensively at the thought of anything electric these days, ever since the tower.

Discomfort or not, this had to be wrapped up. I was out of here in another week, this time with an extra person. The guild would not like this. Not when I was supposed to take down that Tigrex without any interruptions…

I shook these thoughts out of my head. No use worrying about a future mission. I instead turned to my current predicament. Another young girl, another loss to be had, I thought. The memories came up in a swell. The dragon, with its red thunder. The explosion. The crash of bodies. My stomach churned, and I quickly opened the door to my room, crashing down onto the bed. The tears came, stinging and running down my cheeks.

Heaving, I sat up. My chest was fluttering. But I was used to it by now. The memories were nothing new. But they hurt every time, no matter how much time had passed.

Valkyrie…

I shuddered as the cold wind blew through me again. It felt unnatural. Wind didn’t cut into you like this. I smelled ozone, but that didn’t mean the Kirin was close. More like it was causing quite a ruckus at the summit. By instinct, I grabbed the handle of my longsword.

I hurried along, climbing the slight rises and warding off the Vespoids. A cave entrance loomed ahead; air even colder then the current gust seeped from it. I gritted my teeth and walked in.

It was dark, darker then I expected. A sliver of light came from a ways ahead, probably the exit to the outside. This is where the Kirin would be. Can’t summon thunder in caves, right?

The Kirin might not have been lounging in the cave, but other things were. A small pack of Giaprey screeched and menaced me; they were quickly cut down. I heard Vespoids and what might have been the call of a Blango, but I moved on. This had to be done fast. I had only 4 hours to bring this electrically charged horse down.

Exiting the dark cave, I had to shield my eyes against the stark white of the sky and its reflection on the snow. I was completely open now; the Kirin could fry my brains and I wouldn’t even see it. Mercifully there white plain was empty. I blinked a few times and then moved on, the cold biting into me. I fished a small vial from my belt and drank its contents. Warmth spread through my body, and I let out a sigh of relief.

I could feel the crackling energy before I even clambered through the rocky pass. The Kirin was just ahead, at the very tip of the mountain. Best voltage up there. The ozone smell just grew stronger as I sighed and pushed ahead.

Clambering onto the flat summit, I noticed the Kirin instantly. It was standing motionlessly in the center of the area, lightning crackling around it. There was no sign of any other monsters. I drew my weapon, a thin metal katana. Quietly I crept along the rock face, keeping my back flat against the wall. The monster hadn’t noticed me yet.

But it will now, I thought as I leapt from cover, swinging the blade above my head. I crossed the snow swiftly, and the blade caught the Kirin directly on the horn. Sparks flew as my blade clashed with the tough spike, and I grunted as I hopped back. I had hoped to cut the horn off from the start, in order to lower the potency of the beasts lightning.

The Kirin recovered from the shock of a sword smashing into its face, and let out a burst of lightning all around it. I backed up; in its surprise the Kirin could let all hell loose. Thunder raged in the clouds above, and static filled the air. I could feel it crackling around my armor.

“Better finish this up quickly.” I grunted, and rushed the beast.

The Kirin let out a whinny and blasted lightning in my direction; I rolled under the searing bolt and jabbed forward, in a crouching position. Small flecks of blood flew as my blade dug into the Kirin’s leg. But the wound was minor, as the Kirin backed up swiftly and prepared another blast. Thunder swirled around it’s horn, and for a second it looked red.

I dove to the side, still seeing that flash of red thunder, like a bloody stain. I gritted my teeth and jumped up, avoiding the ensuing bolt of lightning, which was mercifully blue once more, swinging my blade hard into the monsters neck. Blood sprayed across the pure white snow, and a long jagged cut had appeared on the Kirin’s neck.

Now it was angry, sharp bolts of static forming around its mane. The clouds had a ghostly blue look to them, and I could feel the airborne static racing across my body, having penetrated my armor. I shivered as the electricity crawled across my skin.

I didn’t have much time, I thought. Clambering around in that cave and up the slope had taken a while. This Kirin had gonna go down fast, that was a given. I had no time to waste. Just like the tower…I stopped myself. Not now.

The Kirin let out what could pass as a scream of rage and reared back. I knew this trick, and quickly dashed to the side. Seconds later, the Kirin burst towards where I had just been standing, sending electric shocks crisscrossing behind it. A searing blue bolt just barely missed me, shooting off past my face. I stumbled back, dodging a second bolt, which passed by my leg.

Regaining my balance, I looked up to see the Kirin rushing my position. I had barely any time to dodge; its body caught my arm and sent my sword into the air. It fell straight down and stood, impaled in the icy ground.

“Fuck you.” I spat. The Kirin shook its head in annoyance.

I considered trying to get my weapon, but immediately dropped the idea. The monster would fry me before I could wrench it free from the ice. Instead I drew my hunting knife. This was going to have to be done the hard way. I grimaced.

The monster turned and reared back, this time with blue energy swirling around its horn. The sky grumbled and struck out, lashing the summit with heavy bolts of lightning. I rolled deftly to the side, barely avoiding getting struck. As soon as the bolts began to dissipate, I rushed forward and caught the Kirin by the horn. My hand tingled as electricity from the monster began to race up it.

“Fuck you!” I growled and pushed its head back. It struggled against me, whinnying.

My hand was beginning to sting. Static like needles pierced each finger. I drew the knife back; the pain was in my arm now. Screaming with rage, I thrust the knife deep into the wound I had made before. Blood sprayed like a geyser, making my armor slick with its warmth, and I could hear the blade grinding through bone. The Kirin thrashed, and lightning whipped down from the sky like tentacles. Then it was still.

I pushed the body away, letting it tumble into the snow. Blood was running down my armor like a river, and had already condensed into a crimson blotch in the snow. I took my helmet off and spat; the blood was in my mouth too. It tasted extremely metallic. I took a swig of whiskey from my hipflask to wash it out.

With the deed done, I could head back. I didn’t bother to set up a flare; I could carry the Kirin myself. I slung the body over my back, hefting it to one shoulder. Blood oozed from the enormous neck wound. The body was still warm, and I could feel an electric tingle coming off it.

It took me another hour to trek down the mountain and reach the village. The Kirin’s body seemed to grow heavier every other step. I stopped at the lake, marveling at just how much blood a monster could have. There was an enormous red stain running from my neckpiece all the way down to my greaves. Blood had stained my back as well.

I clambered up the last slope and entered the village gate. People flocked around me, awed by the Kirin’s corpse, wrinkling their noses at the overwhelming stench of blood. Hunting isn’t as clean a business as people make it out to be. I headed for the guildhall, where I could have the corpse stripped and hopefully pull some nice materials off it. My Khezu blade needed a re-oiling and a little Kirin hide on the hilt would be nice.

The harvesters took the body, saying it would be processed as quickly as they could. Sure, whatever you say, I thought. I had never liked the Guild, despite being in its upper echelon. Maybe it was because it was their fault that mission had ended so…no, I wouldn’t think about that, not now.

Azuriade was waiting at the training arena, red-faced and sweaty. The trainer had worked her hard, then. The Iron Devil was propped against a tree, and she held her helm in the crook of her arm.

“Hey.” I said.

“Oh, hi!” She exclaimed. “What’s that all over your armor?”

“Haven’t seen blood before?” I said dryly.

“Of course I have! But, that’s a lot of blood…are you hurt or something?!?”

“No, no, I’m fine. Merely a quick hunt. Had to wrap something up.”

“Oh? Was it that Kirin thing…?”

“Yep. Those things bleed like mad, it seems.”

“Are you gonna clean up first?”

“Nah, we need to get training. You’ve only got one week to get into shape.”

“What are we doing after this week?”

“Well, I need to take you on an actual hunt. Then we’re heading for the desert.”

“The desert?! What?”

“I have an assignment there, and I can’t just leave you here. You’ll be coming with me.”

“Really! Oh, wow…my friends are going to be so jealous…”

“I’m sure they will be. Your parents know this apprenticeship, correct?”

“Um, well…my parents, they’re, well…gone.”

“Oh. I’m quite sorry. Truly. Whom would you be living with then?”

“I live by myself.”

“You? You can’t be more then 18.”

“I’m 16. But yes, I live by myself. The elder helps me out sometimes, but for the most part I do can do things myself.”

“Well then, seems like you know a bit of self-sufficiency already. That’s important when you get stranded during a hunt.”

“Stranded…do you think that would actually happen?”

“It’s a possibility. However, if you know how to survive it’s no problem. Well, until we run out of food.”

“Don’t say stuff like that.”

“Only kidding anyway. C’mon, we have to get some training in.”

“Agreed.”

I stopped by the armory to acquire a hammer, and then we headed for the training arena. Azuriade was looking nervous as she pulled her helm on. I leaned against the handle of my hammer and grinned under my helm.

“Do you even know how to hold it?” I asked.

“Um, sorta. I think.” She said, lifting the hammer up, holding it with the head raised.

“No, no, no. You don’t want to hold it up all the time like that. You’ll kill your arm. Just relax that arm and let the head drag a bit.”

She quickly did this and assumed the usual pose of a hammer user. Fast learner, I thought. I drew my own hammer and prepared myself.

“I haven’t used a hammer in a ages, so please excuse me if I’m rusty.” I acknowledged.

‘It’s all right. I don’t even know how to use one yet.”

“Well it’s quite simple.” I said. “We’ll want to start with the basic control necessary to swing the hammer. You’ve got a lot of unbalanced weight on that, and if you don’t control the strength of your swing it might leave you open.”

I drew the hammer back, and then thrust it forward in side swing. I grunted at the exertion it took to keep the head from swinging past my leg. She tried to mimic this motion, but didn’t keep it in line. The weapon swung round her and she tripped.

“Gotta keep it steady. Exert your strength over it; make it like an extension of your body. In that way you can control how strong it is and still hold it steady when you swing.” I said as she got up.

“I know, I know. I’m just not used to it.” She replied, brushing the dust off her armor. “Nobody ever is when they start off. Plus, you’re starting two or three years late. So when you do get it right, keep that in mind. Would show you’re better then some seasoned hunters.”

For the next two hours I drilled her through the basics. She took a while to get used to the weight of the hammer and how to control its swing. This is why I mastered the longsword, I thought. You don’t have to deal with any weight imbalances.

She finally got the hang of it after some time. I grinned as she performed some basic moves as smoothly as any hammer expert. Of course there were always the advanced techniques, but that was for later on in the week.

“You know about putting a bit more strength in the swing, right?” I asked.

“What?” she said.

“Most hammer users call it a charge attack. I find that name stupid. You’re not really charging anything. But by very nearly exhausting yourself by holding the hammer back, you get that nice boost of adrenaline. It’s a very powerful technique.”

“So…I just hold it back? And that makes it stronger?”

“Well, two things. You have to exert yourself, wear yourself out a bit, move around with it. Also, when you do this technique, forget everything I ever said about hammer control. Just let it all out. Go ahead, try it.”

“Can I see you do it first?”

“I suppose so.” I said, picking up my hammer.

I quickly pulled the hammer back and began sprinting forward. The iron head bounced behind me, trying to pull my arms down. I tightened my grip as my arms began to burn. Right about now, I thought.

I skidded to a stop and pulled the hammer above my head. Then I slammed it down with all my strength, snarling as it hit the ground. Stone and dust flew up around me, and a heavy shockwave rumbled across the ground. I wrenched the hammer free from the ground, lifted my helm, and spat. The hit had left a rather impressive crater in the arena floor.

“That’s how you do it.” I grinned. She looked delighted. “Now go ahead, you try.”

I couldn’t see her face under her helm, but she was probably straining to keep the hammer up as she dashed forward. With a quick grunt, she brought the hammer up, then down. The crater was slight; she hadn’t put all her strength into it.

“Oh. That wasn’t that good.” She mumbled.

“It’s fine, really. No one every gets it on their first time. Your arms have to get used to it, so that they can put up with more abuse. Then you’ll get the full strength out of it.”

“You sure? I dunno if I can do this right...”

“Don’t worry.” I gave her a pat on the back. “You’ve got a full week ahead of you. You’ll have hammering down as good as any expert.”

“Think so? Maybe.”

“Look at it this way. If you don’t, you’ll probably end up dead.”

“That’s mean.”

“Negative reinforcement isn’t preferable to positive reinforcement, now is it?”

“Still mean.”

“Well you weren’t being very positive. C’mon, the light is fading. Time to get some rest. More work tomorrow.”

This regime would continue for the whole week. Each day I tried to teach her something new while perfecting her style. She picked all of it up quite fast; by the middle of the week the craters she made with the charge rivaled mine. This was good, I thought. A fast learner with a sense of spirit. A person like that was hard to find these days. Maybe she would be one of those select few apprentices who actually grow to my level.

During the hours I had before the hammer training, I chased away boredom by constantly hunting. Azuriade would meet me for the lessons and find me covered in some monsters blood, my blade and my armor nicked and dented. It keeps my mind from becoming lazy. But that wasn’t the only thing I was keeping my mind from. The devil does not leave ones back easily.

It was hard to stave the pain away, even after all these years. I tried again and again, but the remorse and guilt always came back. Nothing could chase it away. Years ago I had accepted the pain in an attempt to lessen it. But even now I felt the pangs of regret, the result of the loss of the only love I ever had.

I tried to distract myself, but the memory was open now. It rushed out in a flood of rage and pain, that dreadful day when it all came crashing down around me. It took only a day to destroy me, to rip out my insides and replace them with sorrow. Good things usually take time to happen; it’s worst of the worst that can happen in mere minutes.

I shuddered as a chill went through me. Water lapped across my boots and brought me back to reality. I was standing on the shore of the mountain lake, staring out across its vastness. Removing my helm, I wiped the tears from my eyes. Then I sat down, still shaking. Small waves brushed in and out, seemingly in an attempt to soothe me. But nothing would work now; I had opened the door to darkness and let it all in.

Trying to shun the memories, I stood up again. Azuriades lesson was in a few minutes, but I didn’t know if I could do it today. Not after succumbing to my misery. I felt awful, depriving her of training. But I couldn’t focus, not when my mind was far off, reliving that distant memory on the very top of that forsaken Tower. The storm of red lightning, the deafening explosion, that feeling of indescribable horror as I watch it all fall away…

“No!” I shouted, the sound echoing across the lake.

 My hands were shaking with rage. I had drawn my longsword, and now I thrust it down; it impaled the ground and stood there, wobbling slightly, standing straight up. Not unlike how my blade had looked as I flung it down into the stone of the tower, all those years ago, when everything went black. Stop it, I thought, stop thinking about it. But it would do me no good. I put my helmet on, tore my sword from the earth and headed back to the village, head bowed.



 Azuriade was at the tree as usual. She saw me immediately and started forward, but stopped with a puzzled look on her face; obviously noting my depressed appearance. I stopped before her and lifted my head.

“What’s wrong? Bad hunt?” she asked, looking rather worried.

“No, no, I’m fine. But I can’t teach you today.” I sighed.

“What? This is the last day before the mission you promised me! I need some more tips!” she exclaimed.

“I’m sorry Azuriade. I promise we’ll still go on the mission. But I can’t. Not right now.”

“Really? Aw…what am I gonna do then?”

“Ask the Instructor to let you fight some basic monsters. He’ll know what to give you. I’m sorry, I really am, but…I just can’t right now.”

“It’s alright. I hope you feel better, okay?”

“Thank you. I’ll try.”

I walked back to my lodgings, leaving Azuriade behind and feeling horrible about it. I was already feeling terrible in the first place, and this didn’t help. Tomorrow was going to be her first mission and she wouldn’t even have adequate training the day before.

At least she hadn’t questioned me. I couldn’t even begin to explain the horror that my life had become to her. And I wouldn’t be able to. She would have no use for the information. She might even turn away from me, try to find a new mentor, maybe thinking she was giving me time to figure things out. But I had already gotten my time for that, and I had not used it.

 Instead I had delved deeper into my sorrow, bringing up all the pain that I had withstood throughout my life, all the anger pent up inside of me. I had gone so far as to be lost in my despair. The only thing that saved me now was the thrill of the hunt. While I battled ferocious monsters, I could forget all the horrors of my life. Thus I had made it my career, and now, I was one of the best of the best.

However, things had begun slowly for me. I grew up in a small cabin just outside Kokoto Village. My father was an exotic goods trader, my mother a dark-skinned women from the desert tribes that my father had taken a liking to. I’m sure that at some point they really did love each other. But distance can hamper even the best relationships, and my father was away all the time.

It didn’t help that he would take me along with him. While these experiences were the best moments of my childhood, they surely soured my mothers’ feelings for her husband. She was the one who always had to stay behind, hardly getting to see her son, having to do all the work. When I reflect upon my father, I realize that he wasn’t the greatest man in the world. I don’t think he had much respect for anyone.

Several paid hunters who accompanied us on dangerous missions introduced me to hunting. Seeing them fight off monsters was often my favorite part of the trading trips. I was determined to become a hunter, I told my father. But he wouldn’t allow it. At the time I was selfish, as all children are, and hated him for this. This was when I was eleven. I would not have to hate him for long.

My father was killed almost a year later. It was not an accident on the trade routes, not a monster. He was murdered; killed in our own home by an insane hunter who my father had hired to protect the caravans. Coming under the guise of collecting his pay, the man murdered my father before our very eyes, before stealing most of our money and dashing off. I managed to protect my mother, and myself, but I could not catch him. His name was Harper. I have not yet forgotten it.

I woke up a few hours later, having drifted off to sleep. The light was growing dim, barely illuminating the room. I groaned and swung my legs over the bed, shaking the sleep from my head. Thin shafts of yellow light revealed hanging dust particles, floating through the musty room. I lit the candle on the bedside table, getting dressed in the flickering light. Before pulling on my shirt, I examined my physique. Ripped, I thought, chuckling to myself.

I lit the other candles in the room and donned my armor. After all these years, I had gotten used to the weight, and the azure armor felt like a second skin now. I grinned as I looked down at the helmet, a ferocious arrangement of blue scales and black spines, a red plume snaking its way down to the floor from the back.

Rathalos armor had always been my preference. I began with the basic set; soon it had been upgraded to S-rank, then X. Eventually, after singlehandedly taking out an enormous Azure Rathalos, I was bequeathed with this beauty of a set, Custom Z. This armor had seen me through thick and thin. It would take an enormous amount of persuasion to make me even consider changing armors now.

I finished strapping everything on and then picked up my longsword from its spot on the wall; Wailing Cleaver ‘Shin’, a finely crafted steel blade imbued with lightning, thanks to Khezu extract. I was hoping to get it re-oiled with some Kirin fat to help project the element better, as well as get some of the hide crafted into the hilt.

The sun was fading as I stepped outside. Azuriade would hopefully be home right now; I didn’t want to see her at the moment. I sighed and walked towards the guildhall, hoping that the harvesters had readied the materials. The glowing lights from the hall windows told me that they were at least still at work. I sighed as I walked down the dusty road, towards the hall. A new beginning for me perhaps, but I was apprehensive yet.