Otherhunters

I bolt up awake to see my surroundings were completely different.

I wasn't in the forest anymore, no. The woods and trees were changed to a stone and freezing room with the windows covered with iron bars as my only light source. The only thing inside the room was a shabby bed that feels like jagged rocks on your back when you lie down on it and several swords and axes leaning on the wall from the floor. Marks and scratches adorn the wall, some from weapons and some from nails clawing on it.

This is a familiar place for me, of course it is. It's we're I and the rest of the hunters grew up. This stone and icy hell carved at the side of a mountain is the home of the otherhunters, The Fanged Bastion. And this room? Is mine.

The door to my room opens to a man dressed similarly as me. With a long black raincoat that completely hides his body besides his height that rivals myself. The light from the window reveals the many knives hidden beneath his coat.

"You're finally awake, Wolf. Finally finished wallowing in your room?"

"What do you want Elk?"

The hooded man in the door shrugs and shakes his head.

"Me? Nothing at all. Well, maybe a thank you or two for carrying your half dead body out of the forest after losing to a chaos beast."

"The beast is dead and its body lies rotting in the forest and you dare to call that a lost?"

"Yes its dead, and you would have joined it if it weren't for me. Not like that witch you were supposed to be hunting."

Wolf turns his head towards Elf, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Are you just here to mock me for my failures?"

"No, I'm not mocking you for your failures... I'm reminding you about your failures."

In a blink of an eye, Wolf throws an axe aimed at Elk's face. Just as quickly, Elk parries the axe with one of his knives. Causing the axe to fly off and hit the wall.

"One more word from that mouth and I'll rip your tongue out with my own bare hands!"

Elk holsters his knife back to his raincoat.

"As much as I would love to prove you wrong... The Apex is calling for you."

"?!"

The Apex the master of the otherhunters.

And the oldest living otherhunter, living even before the age of chaos.

"What does the master want with me?"

"Who knows? But its most likely to discuss your recent failure. He was very much looking forward to have that witch's head. Hopefully he will be merciful and you will only receive a beheading for your failure."

Wolf controls the urge of pounce and tear Elk to pieces as he takes a deep breathe and leaves the room to meet his fate. Passing by Elk at the door who only grins at him mockingly.

Walking down the dark halls shows several large murals carved into the walls, with plaques under the murals revealing their names. It shows the many tragedies that befell Valkyria because of the mages, in order of their history from oldest to most recent.

The Fall of the Vein

The Night of the Witch King

The Collapse of the Northern Bastion

The Red Child

At the end of the murals is a man who was looking at the Mural of 'The Red Child'. He was wearing a long raincoat covering his body, but his head, instead of a cloak covering it, was covered with the skull of a deer. His body was hunched while he carried a walking stick in his hand for him to lean his body on.

Wolf drops to his knee and lowers his head at the sight of the man.

"Master."

The Apex barely looks at Wolf as his eyes continue to gaze at the mural while he speaks.

"Why did you fail?"

"I-I underestimated my prey... Master..."

The Apex's voice was heavy and cold like a blizzard. 

"A rebellion has risen up from the far east of the kingdom, and is growing rapidly. Made up of many men and others. So many that the crows cannot keep their eyes on all of them."

The room starts to feel colder as the Apex speaks.

Wolf clenches his fist as he to fights the urge to shake in fear.

"If that witch's head was on a pike. It would have greatly discouraged many of them to lay down their support for these others... and surrender them to their deserved fate."

*CRACK*

The Apex's hand clenches on his walking stick causing the stick to let out a loud crack that echoes through the halls, breaking the stick. All while the Apex looks at the carved mural with scorn. The mural showing the king of Valkyria crying as he holds the dead body of his infant child.

The Apex drops the broken stick to the ground while Wolf holds his breathe.

"Take Elk with you. Find that witch."

"....U-understood... Master...."

The Apex then wordlessly walks down the corridor and disappear in its darkness.

Wolf continues to kneel, with his legs to weak to stand up.

That boy...

Wolf's teeth start to grind in anger. His fear turning into anger.

That boy was a chaos beast... No.... He knew how to speak our tongue... That boy was a demon.

If chaos beasts were mere soldiers, then demons are their generals.

It was his fault that I failed! He helped that damned witch!

A look of dark determination starts to form on Wolf's face.

I will find him. I will rip his head out from his body. Then, and only then will my honor as a hunter be restored.