Shades of Grey
Chapter 1: The School of Creature Hunting and Chapter 2: The Attack

The School of Creature Hunting

THE GREATHEART ACADEMY OF CREATURE HUNTING-DECEMBER 1842

“Oh can’t they hurry up already?!” whined a girl from some distant part of the crowd of children behind me. “I want to meet my Fairy!”

“Your whining won’t make things go any faster!” countered a boy in the same vicinity. “Creature Hunters don’t whine!”

“Shut up!” the girl shot back. “How would you know what a Creature Hunter does?!”

Similar outbursts continued for the next several minutes as the anxious crowd of eight-year-olds began to grow impatient. I remember shaking with nerves, unsure of exactly what was happening. I had no idea what a Creature Hunter was, I had only woken up that morning in a white, down bed and was then told to follow the sea of children entering the great hall.

After several minutes with the crowd of restless children, a very tall man of Eastern descent with long dark hair and robes of brilliant purple and gold approached us.

“Tyrohunters,” called the man whom we would come to know as the headmaster of the school, Lord Rasna. He waved grandiously towards the crowd of children, instantly commanding their attention.

“Welcome to the Greatheart Academy of Creature Hunting.”

The children (what had he called them? Tyrohunters?) erupted into abrupt cheers of elation and excitement, as though it had been building within them and his mention of the school’s name gave them license to release it.

Lord Rasna paused respectfully with a playful smile on his face, waiting for the crowd to silence.

“I am Lord Rasna, headmaster of the Academy. I would like to offer my congratulations. You have reached the momentous occasion known as Federation Day: the day you will meet your Maisling Fairies and cement your bond. This is an important step in your lives for it signifies the beginning of your journey as a Hunter. Throughout the next ten years, you will learn, grow, and bond with your Maisling. Your Fairy will be your partner and your ally in your travels. You cannot do this alone: you need each other, so treat them well and learn everything you can about them. They will be one of the few you can call on when your battles become unsurpassable.

“After you meet with your Maisling, the two of you will be escorted by year ten Veterans to your dormitories where you will replace that all of your textbooks and your belongings have been arranged on your beds. Once again, welcome to the Academy and I congratulate you on the adventure on which you are about to embark.”

The Tyrohunters erupted again into cheers of excitement as Lord Rasna turned to the side and began speaking with Ladies Lara and Sara, the twin sisters who ran the Fairy nursery.

I remember trembling. What was a Maisling Fairy? Bond for life? What if she didn’t like me? Creature Hunting sounded important, what if I failed? What if I went down in history as the worst Hunter in the world?

A nearby Tyrohunter with long dark hair and bright ebullient eyes mistook my nerves for excitement and sought to introduce herself.

“I feel the same way. I’m Loria!”

She extended her hand and I took it eagerly, my tumultuous anxiety becoming evident in my increasing energy.

“I’m Grey!” I replied loudly, the butterflies in my stomach now performing sweeping aerial manouevres.

“Do you want to meet somewhere afterwards and get to know our Maislings together? Maybe when we graduate, we can form an alliance!” She exclaimed in elation. “Four is infinitely better than two!”

“That sounds great!” I cried, trying to match her joviality.

Loria frowned, noticing the struggle in my eyes.

“Are you nervous? It’s alright! Hunting is the most noble profession there is!”

I shuddered, unable to formulate words. Hunting monsters? What kind of life was this? What sort of lonely profession had I stumbled into?

Loria saw the worry in my expression and smiled a confident, encouraging smile before she wrapped her arm around me.

“We’ll help each other, Grey. Come on, it’ll be great! You’re about to meet the best friend you’ll ever have! I mean you’ll be able to talk to each other in your heads! She will be able to change shape to protect you no matter where you are! How amazing is that?”

I smiled. She was so effervescent and reassuring, it was difficult to not share in her joy. I felt my doubts begin to subside. I wasn’t alone: I had one friend.

“Thank you, Loria,” I replied.

She smiled at me and we both turned back to Lord Rasna as he addressed us once more.

“Tyrohunters, when we call your name, please come quickly with the nurse, she will guide you to a private room where you may meet and bond with your Maisling. Understood?”

“Yes, Lord Rasna!” the Tyros responded obediently.

“Good. Arama, Naomi!”

So the summoning began and I waited anxiously for Lord Rasna to reach the last names beginning with E. I may not remember who I was or who my parents were, but I knew my name: Grey Echo.

“Oh, this is taking forever! Why did my last name have to start with a T?” Loria asked in an exasperated voice, sharing my restlessness.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m only an E,” I replied apologetically.

“Lucky!”

“Echo, Grey!”

I stood sharply as my name was called and looked to Loria. She gave me a look of stirring encouragement. I walked quickly over to the nurse awaiting me.

“Come on then, this way,” she spat in an uncaring voice. She took my small, eight-year-old hand and led me sharply down the hallway into the Fairy nursery.

The nursery was a huge, open solarium made entirely of windows lined with thick black steel beams, letting in all the early morning sunlight. I gazed in wonderment at the endless rows of Maisling eggs in various stages of development. As the many nurses around the room tended to the eggs, I began to wonder what sort of Tyrohunter would be matched with them, what sorts of adventures they would have together in the future…if any of them would be as frightened as I was…

“Come, your Maisling is waiting for you!” the nurse, whose nametag read Mistress Bertha, said with drab impatience after she noticed my architectural preoccupation. I hurried along, afraid to breathe.

“Is my Maisling nice?” I dared to ask her. Bertha laughed.

“Your Maisling isn’t hatched yet. She’ll wake up when you enter the room and there’ll be a big moment between the two of you where the bond will solidify.”

Despite the bitter, almost envious tone of Bertha’s voice, I grinned with growing excitement and followed her into a tall circular room with large glass windows lined with the same wrought iron beams on the eastern wall as the rest of the nursery. The sunlight rose just above the trees outside, illuminating a small black podium where a large clear egg with a small figure just barely visible inside sat poised on a small pillow.

“That’s her?” I asked in a small voice.

“That’s her,” stated Bertha. “Don’t be too long, we’ve got a lot more Tyrohunters to get through. When you’ve finished, go through that door and a year ten Veteran will lead up to your dormitory.”

Bertha shut the heavy door with a great thud that shook the little room. I turned towards the egg and began to walk toward it cautiously, the egg glowing brighter with each step I took. When I finally reached the podium, the egg split directly down the middle to reveal a little radiant ball of light perched on a tiny pillow.

I studied the intense light, watching as the bright light faded and revealed the six-inch tall Maisling Fairy, sleeping on the small pillow at the base of the egg.

“Wow…” I exhaled, stepping directly up to the podium. I watched her sleep for a few seconds before she awoke, stretched her arms and opened her eyes, turning to me.

Something stirred deep within me as our eyes met. I felt a sudden shifting warmth envelope my heart and begin to pulsate.

“What’s happening?” I asked, covering my heart with my hand. I should have been panicked, but I felt oddly at ease. Was this fairy doing something to me?

“I’m not sure!” she replied, her small hand over her own heart. “It feels good though!”

“Yeah…” I agreed, keeping my eyes locked on her. “I don’t mind it.”

The feeling subsided after a moment and the fairy rose to her feet with sudden energy. Her green eyes were large and sparkling with happiness and excitement.

“Hello! I’m Forma!” she cried with youthful vigour.

“Hello Forma. My name is Grey.”

🙦🗴🙤

My story truly begins at the opposite end of my education: the night of my Commencement. The ceremony began just as the sun sank beneath the French hillside. The entire populace of the academy along with family members of the graduating Veterans had gathered in the cavernous Great Hall where a stage and several hundred chairs had been set up for the occasion. The Veterans and human sized Maislings stood in their well-rehearsed formations behind the stage, shivering in nervous anticipation while the invited Xantharian Spirit Dancers performed, wishing us health and safe travel in our upcoming journeys.

The graduating Veterans were not paying attention to the elaborate dance, though; they all wanted their Flameswords the weapon only a skilled Hunter could handle and use properly, the weapon we had been training ten years to acquire.

“Oh, why can’t they just give us the damn sword and let us get on with it? I want to get out of this place!” whined a pale, blond boy named Liam Clayton. His dark-skinned male Maisling, Ryder, stood tall and tranquil next to him: the opposite of Liam’s childlike demeanour.

“Oh shut up, Liam. You’re such a baby,” Loria criticised. “The Ceremony is important!”

“Why? Why do I have to recite a stupid oath to get my Flamesword? I know very well that I’ll do everything in my power to protect the people and keep Ryder alive, why do I have to declare it?” he retorted.

“You’re such a stupid boy,” Forma interjected. “Always thinking of the weapon and never the meaning behind the action of attaining the weapon!”

“And you’re such a stupid girl,” Liam shot back tenuously, stumbling for an insult that would be as articulate as Forma’s. “Always...overcomplicating things!”

Forma scoffed, at a loss for a smarter retort.

“You’re dumb!”

“You’re ugly!”

The eyes of nearby Veterans were turned in our direction, reeking of disdain as the volume of Forma and Liam’s quarrel grew. I laughed.

“Oh, Liam,” I snickered. “You should have quit while you were ahead. Searching for your Roland to her Oliver doesn’t suit you.”

“Oh shut it, Grey,” Liam snapped.

“You shut it,” Ryder shouted in a commanding voice. “Patience is a virtue that you would do well to learn!”

Liam had no reply and simply rolled his eyes. Ryder had always retained a certain power over Liam. He was the one person who could rein Liam in. Perhaps that’s the reason they were Federated together in the first place.

Forma gave a satisfied smirk and turned back to face the front of the line.

“Silence!”

All attention shifted instantly to Lord Rasna as he stood at the front podium, adorned in bright red and violet robes of authority, glowing with paternal pride.

“We are gathered here today to witness a wondrous event. Watching the youth of today assume their roles in society is a beautiful thing...”

“Are you still not excited?” whispered an eager Forma with the irritating optimism of Pangloss. She stood shoulder to shoulder with me, wearing the long silver gown that the female Maislings wore on Commencement night and carrying a long cutlass: the traditional weapon for Maisling Fairies. She looked very ethereal and I felt quite banal standing next to her.

Some nearby Veterans waved to their families in excitement as they approached the stage. I sighed enviously.

“What’s wrong?” Forma asked with genuine concern.

“Oh I’m fine: it’s just that they all have reasons for risking their lives against Creatures we’ve only encountered in magically induced simulations and I’ll just be doing what I’ve been trained to do, not having any concept of whether or not I’ve actually made a difference and maybe, someday when I’m old, I’ll look back and realise that I truly was important. Or what if I don’t? What if I go my whole life thinking I’m worthless and when I look back over what I’ve done, it turns out I really was worthless?!”

My sentiment had come out of my mouth in one breath and I found myself staring wildly at Forma.

“Look on the bright side,” she said with a wide grin, attempting to lighten my mood. “At least you won’t be suffering of homesickness!”

“I hate how you always try to replace the silver lining sometimes,” I hissed, returning to my own bitter thoughts.

“Wouldn’t kill you to try it yourself, you know.”

I chuckled.

“Veterans!” Lord Rasna called, addressing the long line of students behind him.

“We will now proceed to the antiphon you have waited ten years to recite.”

The Veterans all placed one hand over their ruthlessly beating hearts and recited the oath that we all knew by heart.

“I swear to eradicate all remnants of the Cosmic Rip befouling the earth, protecting the citizens and commonwealth, even if it means losing my own life in the process. I will protect my Maisling Fairy with my life and my skills. I will never seek more power than what has already been given to me. I will remain humble and complete my God-given duty.”

The Veterans relaxed as the audience clapped.

“Maislings!” Lady Lara called. The Maislings held their cutlasses above them and took one step to the right, creating their own line next to their Veterans.

“Repeat after me.”

The Maislings placed their swords above their hearts and prepared to speak their oath.

“I swear to assist my Hunter in all the duties they have accepted. I will obey and listen to them before I act but keep my Hunter humble. No Hunter shall be above their Maisling, and no Maisling shall be above their Hunter. I will use the skills I have ascertained to help my Hunter in whatever situation we may come across. I will never leave my Hunter’s side as we eradicate all remnants of the Rip, together, forever.”

The applause came once more before Lord Rasna turned to the table of newly forged Flameswords and picked up the first weapon, turning to call to the catenation of new Hunters.

“Arama, Naomi and Giselle!”

The applause began again as the Veterans started the long-awaited trek across the stage, receiving their swords and blessings from the staff. My heart began to pound nervously as Lord Rasna got closer and closer to calling my name. I had a brief flashback of Federation Day as I waited to be taken to meet Forma for the first time. Amid my impending anxiety, I felt a strange sense of closure. This really was the end of my education.

“So, you never answered my question: are you excited?” Forma interrupted my train of thought smiling happily. “I got chills saying our oath!”

“I would not call it excitement; it’s more of a paralysing fear.”

Forma laughed lightly.

“We will be fine. You worry too much.”

“Echo, Grey and Forma!”

I snapped my head up and realised that the applause this time was for me. Lord Rasna held out a long Flamesword sheath with my name engraved in gold on the leather hilt.

“Let’s go!” urged Forma.

Together, we hurried onto the stage, marching carefully to the beat of the music playing in the Great Hall. I shook Lord Rasna’s ancient hand meekly when he suddenly pulled me closer to him and whispered into my ear.

“Come to my office after the ceremony.”

I nodded meekly before Forma and I joined our fellow Veterans on the other side of the stage.

“What was that?” Forma whispered.

“I don’t know. Why would he want to see me after the ceremony?”

Forma shrugged.

“I’ve never heard of them doing that. Must be important.”

I nodded, wondering what sort of pressing matter would warrant such a plea from Lord Rasna. Could there have been a problem that prevented me from leaving? Was I to repeat a class? Did I get more time to figure out what I wanted to do with myself?

“At last!” Liam cried in satisfaction as he swung his unlit sword about in excitement in the room behind the stage.

“Ten years was well worth it for this!” exclaimed Naomi Arama nearby as she examined hers, daring to light it briefly.

“This is brilliant! I’ve never been so excited!” Loria exclaimed to me as she ran her fingers over her own Flamesword.

“Neither have I…” I lied, turning to observe my classmates and the abrupt change in their demeanour: they all appeared resolute, confident that they would succeed in life. It took several moments of applause and the feel of a lit Flamesword in our hands for us to realise the apparent and sudden truth: we were no longer Veterans of The Greatheart Academy of Creature Hunting. We were now full-fledged Creature Hunters.

I felt the fear in the air fade and turn into triumphant self-assurance.

The Attack

THE GREATHEART ACADEMY OF CREATURE HUNTING-DECEMBER 1842

After Commencement had finished, I walked slowly around the halls of the school one last time, delaying the moment when I would have to leave and venture into a world I had never seen but had sworn to protect.

“Grey, are you alright?” Forma asked, appearing next to me in her human size as I stood frozen at the end of the dormitory hall in dumb shock.

“I’m alright,” I lied.

“Grey, you’re not having second thoughts are you? You must leave now: you’ve got a Flamesword. It’s what you’ve always wanted!”

“Is it? Forma, I’ve no idea what I want! I would very much like to live long enough to discover what exactly I want. What if I die during my first battle and become as worthless as I always feared?”

Forma looked offended.

“I wouldn’t let that happen.”

I smiled and relaxed a bit as we approached the dormitories for the last time, my mind wandering casually to the reason behind Lord Rasna’s summons. Summoning was such a rare practice for Rasna: what could he possibly have to tell me?

Several Veterans then ran past us, yelling and hollering in pride.

“WE’VE DONE IT! WE’RE HUNTERS NOW!”

Forma and I cleared the walkway as they ran around the halls, laughing exuberantly.

“See, Grey? That is what you should be feeling: excessive joy and overwhelming excitement for the adventures ahead!” Forma became a hawk and flew several times around the stone rafters above me, screeching with glee.

“Alright, alright, I feel it now; I’m full of such excessive joy and excitement that I can barely stand it. Now come down and help me pack,” I called through a laugh, ascending the steps to the Veteran girls dormitories as everyone began to change into their Hunter’s uniforms.

“Grey!”

I turned and saw Loria and her Maisling, Scepta, approaching me with glints of my lacking excessive joy in their eyes.

“Hello, Loria,” I said unenthusiastically.

“Why are you so glum? We did it! We’re real Hunters now!” she cried.

“You’re not sad at all? We’re leaving the one and only place we’ve ever been to protect a world we know almost nothing about and you’re not the least bit fearful?” I asked.

Loria thought for a moment.

“No. I’m not. That’s strange!” Loria laughed and then noticed my face. “Are you sad?”

“It’s alright if you are, Grey,” consoled Scepta in her dark, knowing voice. She had always been oddly perceptive. “It’s perfectly normal.”

I forced a laugh.

“No. Of course I’m not sad. We’re leaving!”

Loria seemed satisfied and she moved over to her bed to begin packing her things, Scepta gave me an acute stare but mercifully decided to leave Forma in charge of my emotional state and turned to follow Loria.

Forma naturally saw right through my façade.

“Very convincing,” she said vitriolically.

“Shut up and help me pack,” I quipped, ascending the winding staircase to the girl’s dormitory.

The long dormitory hall was full of Veteran girls and their Maislings trying on their new uniforms. There was a buzz of excitement as they loaded their weapons into the many varying compartments, all done with the skill and ease we had spent the last year attaining. We all knew that uniform inside and out. It was impressive, until I turned the corner to approach my own bunk and saw my own intricate uniform waiting for me.

It sat on a hanger over the edge of the mirror on my large wardrobe: the uniform I had been working my entire life to wear and now dreaded touching. It was made of varying shades of brown leather with a slight bit of purple in the bust. It hung over the monstrous boots constructed of sharp and intimidating looking pieces of metal designed to eviscerate any thick brush I might end up running through.

“If I don’t die in battle, those boots will definitely kill me,” I remarked to Forma as I slipped off my comfortable cloth slippers.

“But they look so fearsome! I almost wish I had fearsome boots to wear!” she exclaimed in pride and mild jealousy, floating over to the windowsill where her one-piece uniform sat waiting for her.

“Would you like to trade?” I offered, eyeing the simplicity of her garment.

She cocked a smile at me.

“I said almost.”

We both laughed as she excitedly ripped her outfit off the hanger and eagerly began to pull it on.

My smile faded as I turned to my complicated outfit and pulled off my Commencement robe. I pulled on the tight leather undersuit, preparing to fasten the heavy weapons casing around me. The sharp steel cage locked around my figure easily. My stomach lurched as I saw myself: this was the picture I had been dreading for months.

Forma appeared in the mirror behind me, casually tossing her hair around as she admired herself. She looked beautiful in her uniform: a less complicated version of my own. After all, all she needed to do was transform and she was ready for battle. Maislings didn’t have a hundred weapons to conceal on their person to be able to withdraw at a moment’s notice…

“Ugh, these boots are so heavy!” I complained as I slipped my feet into the great metal contraptions.

“All the better to kick Creatures in the face with!” she said with a dramatic smile as she sat down on the bed. “Now put the rest of it on! I want to see!”

Forma gestured to the mirror and I turned, seeing an unfamiliar black case sitting atop my own trunk. I gulped and opened it with a shaky hand.

Inside sat a precisely folded thick green cloak along with a brown hat, purple scarf and a black eye mask. This was it: as soon as I put these items on and loaded all my weapons, I would no longer be a student at the Greatheart Academy. I would be a real Creature Hunter.

“Grey, will you help me with my large crossbow? I can’t seem to get it to latch,” asked Naomi as she came up to my mirror from her bunk three beds away, also dressed in her uniform. She smiled when she looked up at me.

“Wow, you really look good in the uniform, Grey. It suits you,” she said, forcing her pistols into the compartments in her own fearsome looking boots.

“Thanks,” I said without any inflection. “You do too.”

“Ugh, thanks. If only I could get this damned crossbow to latch!” she remarked, turning back to the weapon in her arms. “I can’t seem to reach it...”

Naomi’s tall blonde Maisling, Giselle, then appeared behind her and stopped as she noticed something on Naomi’s back.

“Oh, I think I’ve got it,” she said. “Turn around and take a look.”

Naomi turned around to look in my mirror and I immediately saw what Giselle was speaking of: a horizontal locking mechanism sat directly over a hidden vertical quiver of arrows at the top of Naomi’s back, meant for the crossbow to be unlocked and loaded in one smooth motion. Giselle guided Naomi’s hands back and helped her load it, awakening the muscle memory inside of Naomi’s hands.

“Oh, there we are!” Naomi said as she locked the crossbow in place. She then returned to her mirror, casting me an excited glance as she went.

“We did it, Grey!”

I forced an excited smile before I turned my attention to the black case atop my trunk, dreading the process of loading my own weapons.

“Come on, Grey,” Forma remarked, sensing my dread. “Let’s do this.”

Forma stood and pulled out the many drawers and compartments of the black case to reveal the weapons, picking the two small dirks to load first.

“Here. I’m sure you can figure out where these go?” she said smartly.

I smirked at her and took the dirks, slowly placing them into the compartments on the crosshatching leather straps over my abdomen. My stomach clenched nervously as I did, almost like I had driven them into my flesh.

“This is bizarre,” I remarked as Forma handed me the small phial of healing serum – the Hunter’s analgesic – and I slid it into the tight pocket on the sleeve of my left forearm.

“Yes it is, Grey, yes it is; but here we are and there is no turning back now!” she laughed as she handed me my Flesh Pistol and my regular pistol along with their many accoutrements. I looked at my boots and slid each pistol into the small compartment between the many metal plates, placing the accessories in the smaller compartments next to them.

Forma then handed me my wrist crossbow. I looked at it carefully for a minute and strapped it over my right wrist so when I needed to fire it, I could load it by pushing my fist backwards and fire it by pulling my fist down. Why Hunters needed a large crossbow and a wrist crossbow had always puzzled me.

She then lifted my large crossbow and my quiver of arrows out of the trunk, both of which she had to load for me. She also had to load my assortment of grenades and bombs into the two pockets under my shoulder blades, both of which sat on either side of the collapsible bow that ran up the length of my spine.

“Forma, this is the most uncomfortable outfit I’ve ever worn in my life,” I remarked as I felt my movement being further restricted.

“Well, just remember what Lord Krunuk said in his lessons about the development of the uniform: it’s designed for ease and efficiency, not comfort. And I’m sure after some time you won’t even notice,” she replied, reaching in for the last packaged weapon.

“Alright,” she said dramatically. “Here’s the last one.”

She picked up my Flamesword from where I had casually thrown it and handed it to me. I took a moment to look at it, tracing my name etched among the decorative branches carved into the sheath. I looked at Forma’s encouraging smile and fastened the sheath around my waist, tucking it into the straps around my other leg. I stared at myself, floored at how foreign and unnatural the ensemble felt. I had been trained to move and fight in suits similar in construction to this but having the real uniform on was an entirely different feeling altogether.

Forma picked up the green cloak and held it up for me to slip on. I turned and forced my arms through the large sleeves and fastened the lock just below my bust. The cloak hung loose and open from the waist down, meant to allow easy access to the weapons situated on my back.

Forma then handed me the black mask, brown hat and long purple scarf. Forma giggled in anticipation when I had finally finished putting them on.

“Wow, Grey you look great! So formidable!”

I looked up and cocked my head, staring at myself and then looking around at my fellow Veteran girls. We all looked the same, just as armed and just as grown up; but they all wore something extra that had not been packaged for me: grins of excitement.

After having packed for as long as I possibly could I walked through the richly carpeted halls filled with paintings of many famous Hunters of years past and arrived in front of two huge golden doors carved with a detailed etching of Saint George and his infamous battle with the dragon: the doors to Lord Rasna’s office.

Forma circled my feet in the restless form of a lynx.

“Maybe you should wait outside,” I said, listlessly studying the door.

“If you go in, I go in,”she replied firmly.

She was just as stubborn as I was, so I did not push the subject and raised my hand to knock.

“Enter,” a voice replied before I had even touched the door.

I froze for a moment, taken aback at the unprompted command before Forma gently nudged my leg and I remembered to open the doors.

Lord Rasna’s office was shaped like the interior of a pyramid with a glowing glass top that lit up the entire room. Books lined the angled shelves and two elegant staircases wound up to the second level of the office. The cornices were gold and inscribed with long strings of Elfish spells, still in perfect condition from when the Elf Council first opened the school hundreds of years ago.

“Grey, have a seat.”

Lord Rasna, Lady Saryah and two other professors —Lady Sivara, Telekinesis and Telepathy professor, and Lord Camden, Ghost and Spectral Studies professor — sat in the office as well, observing me with a reluctant sense of duty.

“I am sure you are eager to leave the school and begin your travels,” began Lord Rasna.

“On the contrary, my Lord, I would really rather stay,” I interjected.

“...but we have a few things to discuss with you before you leave,” Lord Rasna concluded as though not hearing me.

“What sorts of things?” I asked in worried confusion. “Are you reclaiming my Flamesword?”

“Oh no, nothing like that, you have done nothing wrong,” Lord Rasna stated. I then noticed an obvious shift in his body language— he was about to divulge something highly important.

“It is about the first eight years of your life.”

I sat back in my chair. This was important.

“And why I cannot remember them?”

Lord Rasna nodded solemnly.

“What is your earliest memory?” asked Lady Sivara. Her blue eyes focused intently on my gray ones, as though she were attempting to extract the memory from me by sheer force of will. I had to look away to answer her.

“My earliest memory is meeting Forma on Federation Day,” I said timidly. Forma purred nostalgically at my feet.

Lady Sivara sat back in her chair, taking a deep breath before speaking again.

“Grey, I have something to confess to you. When you arrived at the school ten years ago, you did not arrive by Volatillius as the other novices do.”

She paused for a long while and I grew impatient.

“So, if not by Volatillius, how did I arrive?”

“You were brought to us by two young Hamadryads who found you raving in the forest outside of London.”

My stomach churned.

“What was I saying?” I asked cautiously.

Lady Sivara took a solemn breath before responding.

“You were raving about the monster that burnt your house and killed your parents.”

I stared at the professors and noticed that they were watching me with severe intensity, waiting for something to happen.

“Do you remember anything now?” Lady Sivara asked, her gaze piercing me.

I stiffened.

“No, I…”

The Lady’s hands suddenly flew to my temples, her stark blue irises enlarging to fill her entire eye. My muscles clenched as she began to weave her way into my mind. Forma changed into a tiger and roared, voicing her disapproval.

“Memento olim!” with Lady Saryah’s words, I was sent somewhere else.

Fire. Smoke. Screams. I wasn’t sure where I was exactly, but I felt small and afraid. I looked down at myself and saw that I was again eight years old. This must have been my house, burning around me.

I looked up and screamed as a face suddenly passed through the flames, a terrifying hollow face that seemed laced with all manners of untold evil. I recognised this face, I knew him…

“Vei muri acesta noapte!”

At the sound of the deep Romanian whisper, I stumbled out of the chair and out of Lady Saryah’s vision in a horrified stupor. Forma shifted into herself and caught me just before I hit the ground.

“Grey, what is it? What happened?” Forma asked as she helped me back into the chair.

“Yes, what did you see?” asked Lady Sivara interestedly.

“I saw...fire...and...and a face...a sunken…terrifying face!”

The speed of my breathing escalated as the fear began to creep back inside of me. The memories were filled with such potent horror but I knew none of the details. Who was this man? Why did he burn my home? Why had I survived and not my family?

“Whose face?” asked Lady Sivara quickly.

“No, that’s enough of this! We’ve got to be leaving soon, why are you doing this to her now?!” Forma protested, helping me stand.

“Forma, in order to…”

Suddenly, an explosion from downstairs ripped the tense atmosphere of the office, followed by a chorus of horrified screams and petrifying roars.

This brought me and the professors quickly back to reality. Not a second passed before we all leapt into action and raced downstairs towards the Great Hall.

“Grey! This way!” Forma cried before she changed into a Griffin. I quickly leapt atop her back and she took off, flying down the many staircases and through the labrythine hallways, allowing me to reach the Great Hall before the Lords and Ladies.

When we arrived, I slid off Forma’s back as she changed into herself and began dodging frightened students running in all directions in wild panic. I saw Naomi standing at the doors to the Great Hall with Giselle. Both were conversing with worried year six Tyros and a few new Hunters.

“Grey! Thank God!” Naomi exclaimed, throwing her arms around me. “We thought you were caught in the explosion!”

“What happened?” I asked pointedly. The group looked at me strangely.

“Were you not just inside the Great Hall?” asked a new Hunter named Kleric White.

“No, I had a meeting with Lord Rasna. What happened?” I queried in a solid voice, my fear from moments before melting away.

Naomi turned to me with a heavy expression.

“Alataurs just attacked.”

Forma and I both gasped.

“Why?!” I exclaimed.

“No one knows why. The new Hunters, some professors and a few brave Tyros are working to fight them but it is difficult. They are very strong and very angry,” Giselle replied with tired eyes.

I withdrew my Flamesword and looked to Forma. She smiled and shifted into a Redlight Dragon, echoing my exact thoughts. I turned to the Great Hall just as she roared with adrenaline.

“Care to join us?” I offered to the others.

Naomi and Kleric drew their Flameswords in response. Giselle transformed into a Blacklight Dragon, mirroring Forma’s energy.

“Excellent,” I replied as I pulled my scarf over my nose and mouth, turning toward the Great Hall, racing toward the ruined doorway, pausing first to assess the situation before proceeding. My heart stopped when I saw it.

Alataurs were large horse-man hybrids with four powerful stallion legs and powerful tattooed human torsos. They wore their hair in long white braids that matched their braided tails. Alataurs were proud creatures that didn’t feel the need to wear copious amounts of armor or weapons: just a simple sword and spear. Judging by the competent fighting I observed; they didn’t need to bother.

Kleric and Naomi immediately joined the other new Hunters in assuming their roles as protectors as they attempted to fight while the younger Tyros ran for the safe rooms. Giselle shifted smoothly into a powerful dragon as she leapt over what was left of the outer wall and and immediately stepped into combat with at least a dozen Alataur warriors, drawing their attentions away from the school.

“Where is she?!” shouted one of the stronger male Alataurs as he began to attack Lord Daryn, the combat professor, who skilfully blocked the Alataur’s blows.

“Where is whom?” Lord Daryn questioned. The Alataur easily wrapped his large hand around Lord Daryn’s throat and lifted him from the ground.

“The one we have been sent for! The girl he seeks! The spawn of Echo!”

I covered my gaping mouth in horror. They were looking for me.

“Grey, I don’t suggest you do what you are thinking of doing,” Forma cautioned, reading my face perfectly. Kleric and Naomi also looked to me briefly in shock before returning to their respective battles.

“I knew you wouldn’t,” I said, taking several deep breaths as I readied to surrender and end this bizarre assault when several sudden voices stopped me.

“NO!”

I turned and saw the Lords and Ladies rushing toward me. They looked in on the battle in the Great Hall and I watched their eyes widen in cognizant horror.

“Lord Camden,” said Lord Rasna in a commanding voice. “Remove her immediately.”

“Yes sir,” replied Lord Camden. He grabbed me and began pulling me away from the battle and towards the huge portcullis at the front of the Entrance Hall.

“Wait! No! They’re looking for me!” I pleaded loudly. “I can end this!”

“You have to leave now!” Lord Camden had an uncharacteristically wild look in his eyes as he shouted at me. “Don’t speak again! Just go!”

Lord Camden clamped his huge hand over my mouth and grabbed Forma roughly with the other. He walked briskly down the main corridor to the Entrance Hall, releasing his hold on us to lift the large portcullis over the entrance to the school.

The black iron grate lifted and Lord Camden quickly shoved me out onto the lowered wooden drawbridge, pushing me down a dirt path framed by a dark canopy of trees in the surrounding Fortescue Forest. Lord Camden then grabbed my shoulders suddenly and looked at me with wildly frightening urgency.

“Grey, you have to leave now and get as far away from here as you can. It’s not safe.”

“No! I can end this!” I called. “I can help!”

“No! They will kill you!”

A sudden crash from the Great Hall seemed to echo his statement and Lord Camden revised his plan for my escape.

“This won’t work. Follow me,” he ordered, pulling back one of the tapestries that hung in the foyer. One of the large concrete tiles sat behind it, slightly looser than the rest, which he promptly pulled back to reveal a secret hallway.

“No!” I countered, standing firm. Forma landed on my shoulder, standing with just as much resolve.

Lord Camden looked frustrated.

“You don’t understand. They cannot replace you or all hope is lost!”

“Why?” I countered, drawing my Flamesword. “Haven’t I spent the last ten years being told that my life means nothing unless it’s sacrificed to protect people? Isn’t that one of the decrees of the Hunter Code?!”

Lord Camden looked as though he could’ve killed me if he weren’t trying to save me.

“You must escape! It is most important that you survive!”

“But not anyone else? Why am I so important?” I snapped with bravado.

Lord Camden then unexpectedly shoved me into the hallway, in frustration.

“Go and do not look back!”

He promptly closed the door to the hallway before I heard a locking mechanism slide into place. He had locked us in, giving us no choice but to run.

“What the hell was that?!” Forma asked rhetorically.

I couldn’t move. I could only stare at the door, wondering why the Lords and Ladies would be so anxious to get me out but not the rest of the Veterans. I wanted to trust them but this was suspicious. What could they be hiding from me?

The entire school suddenly shook under the force of an explosion from the south half of the campus. I gasped quietly in horror as I heard pained, distant screams.

“Forma, people are dying!” I exhaled in horror. “Our friends are dying!”

“Come on,” she replied in a level voice. “Let’s see where this goes. Maybe we can circle back and help.”

I nodded and stepped in front of her, using my Flamesword to light the darkened hallway. The explosions and screams of terror only increased the further down the tunnel we travelled. My stomach clenched with each earth-shattering blow. The fact that I had been hustled out a secret passageway like a weakling made me sick. My pre-Commencement nerves began to turn into feelings of rage. Now I wanted to fight: why wouldn’t they let me?

“The girl, Rasna! The daughter of Echo!”

Forma and I stopped as the interjecting voice cut through the cool air in the escape passage. We both cringed as we heard sounds of a struggle floating in through a crack in the wall on our right. We pressed up against it and saw Lord Rasna locked in combat with an extremely large Alataur, fighting amongst the rubble that had been his office less than an hour ago. My throat clenched as I watched the skilled Rasna fight, covered in blood and bruises.

“I told you, she died years ago!” Rasna replied, bringing his staff down over the Alataur. The Alataur blocked it, but a wave of magical blue energy suddenly flew from its tip and caused the ceiling to collapse. The Alataur buckled slightly under the force but held his steady footing.

“Do not lie to me, Alastor! We know she is here! He has been seeking her!”

“Everyone has been seeking her but as I’ve told you, she is dead,” Rasna lied easily. “She died of consumption six years ago.”

The Alataur leaned into Rasna’s weary face and lifted him by the throat.

“I will not tolerate your fabrications!”

He then threw Rasna across the room and galloped out of the office, leaving Rasna to fall limply into a pile of rubble.

“Oh God, Forma!”I exhaled, backing away from the crack.

“Come on, we need to get back inside!”she replied in a similar voice of horror. I nodded and followed her as she ran down the dark passage.

Irritatingly enough, there were no other doors or openings through which we could escape. We could only run forward, listening to the explosions of battle and screams of terror above us.

Finally, we saw a light streaming in through the cracks in what was clearly a wooden hatch in the ceiling: we had reached the end.

I ran at top speed to the end of the hallway and found the trap door directly above us. I shoved my shoulder against it, but multiple heavy objects sat over it, preventing the door from moving. I groaned as I realized where we were.

“It’s the storage shed,” I remarked to Forma.

She looked up and studied the door. She then gave me a cocky grin.

“Allow me.”

I took a brief step back as Forma changed swiftly into a Serthra — a great flying serpent — and leapt upwards, smashing easily through the door, leaving a gaping chasm in her wake. This also unfortunately happened at the exact moment that the largest explosion of the night ripped open the campus. I buckled briefly under the force of it before I heard a distant rumble in the tunnel behind us. I looked up just in time to watch as the escape corridor began to collapse.

“Grey! Hurry!” Forma called distantly.

I geared up my strength, leapt easily out of the tunnel and landed clumsily in the arms of a practice dummy Lord Daryn often used to teach year one students basic combat skills. I took a moment to breathe as I heard the rubble settle inside the tunnel below us.

“Grey!” Forma called from outside, her voice cracking in distress. I leapt upwards and ran to her side, stopping suddenly when I saw it.

The school was no more: in its place was a burning pile of rubble, the smoke stretching far over the countryside. It was hard to think that merely a few hours ago I was standing in line waiting to receive my Flamesword.

Forma and I did not move for several moments. We just stood very still in mournful silence as our only home burned.

“Come on, we should see if anyone is still alive,” Forma suggested finally, taking my hand. I nodded and followed, still in shock.

We had not taken two steps forward when the enormous flames wavered as the entire Alataur army flew out of the wreckage, cackling and screaming like tribal banshees.

Forma and I quickly sought refuge in the forest, watching carefully as the Alataurs landed near us, stomping their great hooves in frustration.

“Did you replace her?” a dark-haired Alataur asked in a gruff voice. “The Magus will be angry if she is not found.”

“Nah, the old man wouldn’t tell me anything. What’d you do with the other children?” asked the other, a large tattoo covering most of his face.

“They’re still in the safe rooms, but they’re of no concern: they will be dead soon enough. The fire is spreading quickly.”

“But what about the vampire? What will he say when he replaces out we failed?”

The dark-haired Alataur just laughed.

“We have not failed. She is no longer under Rasna’s protection. She is now out in the open, all we have to do is replace her.”

The other Centaurs smiled at each other and stamped their hooves again.

“Everyone! Scour the forest! She can’t be far!”

They gave great tribal ululations before flying into the air and encircling the burning school.

“Let’s go!” I urged Forma telepathically.

She nodded and changed once again into a Serthra. I leapt atop her back, hanging on with all my strength as she flew in the opposite direction through the Fortescue Forest, slowly gaining altitude until she broke through the canopy. Unfortunately, the Alataurs heard the trees rustle and locked onto our trail.

“After her!” called the dark-haired Alataur whom I took to be their leader. Immediately there was a thunderous beating of wings as they all turned to follow us.

Forma increased her speed and smoothly changed into a large Incendila; giant eagles known for their swift flying speed. She effortlessly performed barrel rolls and changed direction often in her attempts to shake them, but the Alataurs were prepared for everything she had.

“I can’t lose them!” she cried. “Do something!”

I looked behind me, realizing that it was my job as Hunter to somehow defeat these Creatures or divert their attention: it was my job to protect us. This was no magical simulation. This was real.

I looked back as each Alataur drew three arrows from their quivers and aimed them at me, preparing to release. I then looked down at the many weapons adorning my uniform. What the devil was I supposed to use? Why couldn’t I remember anything useful?!

My already wavering confidence shattered completely when I felt an arrow fly right through my hair, centimetres away from my face. I had to act fast.

“Find a thick cloud bank!” I said, manoeuvring my hand down towards my stash of bombs.

She obeyed instantly, swiftly catching an updraft and disappearing into a thick bank of clouds overhead, all within a fraction of a second. Forma then shifted back into a Serthra and we both curled up as tightly as we could, hidden inside the cloud.

“Oy!” called the leader. “Fan out!”

The formation of Alataurs then flew out and up, right over our heads.

“Fly up!”I urged.

She nodded and unfurled her serpentine body, flying swiftly upwards. She carefully broke through the top of the cloud bank and settled overhead, just as the Alataurs regrouped below.

“She’s not here,” reported one.

“She’s got to be… she’s just a child, she can’t have gone far!” snapped the leader. “No one rests until we have her in custody!”

He could not have given me a better cue. Right as he finished his sentence, I pulled the latch of one of my bombs and dropped it below. It went off right in the middle of the horde, knocking them back as the pieces that were left fell into the canopy below.

“Wow, that was so violent!” I remarked as Forma shifted into a Volatillius — a winged horse.

“But grand! What a spectacle for your first real world battle!” Forma remarked.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I replie, holding my hand over my mouth as I saw the bloodied limbs of the Alataurs scattered in the trees below.

“Alright, let’s go back and see if anyone else survived.”

I nodded, unable to speak, and crouched flat against her as she flew with disorientating speed back towards the school.

We arrived back at the smoldering ruins of the school within minutes, landing safely several feet away. I promptly leapt off her back and approached the wreckage, a hundred different emotions rising within me. I was about to step inside and try to replace the door to the safe rooms, but a paralysing sense of shock stopped me. Forma saw my dilemma immediately and transformed into a Fire Sprite and stepped easily onto the flames, unaffected by the burning wreckage.

“Step back, Grey. I’ll do it. It’s alright.”

I stood still, watching Forma as she disappeared into the smoking wreckage of the Academy. I thought about all it had been for so many Hunters over the centuries, all it had been for me. And it was just gone in a night?

“They’re alive,” she called after a moment.

I exhaled in relief.

“They are?” I choked as she reemerged from the ruins and flew quietly to my side, transforming back into herself.

“Yes. The doors to the safe rooms have been forced open from the inside and it looks like all the stores of emergency supplies have been taken. They’re not here, but they’re alive.”

I breathed another sigh of relief and felt my knees buckle. My friends were alive. They had made it out. I collapsed to my knees in exhaustion, looking over the rubble.

“Forma, what just happened?!” I cried, holding my head in my hands. “We almost died, and we haven’t even been out in the world for twenty-four hours yet!”

I began hyperventilating in a panic. Forma knelt next to me and wrapped her arm over my shoulder.

“What am I supposed to do?!” I cried after a moment, sitting up and gesturing to the mutilated Alataurs. “An army of Alataurs was sent looking for me sent by God only knows who…”

Something then caught my eye and redirected my panicked breathing: a piece of paper on the ground that had fallen from the satchel of one of the Alataurs. It had my name on it.

I walked over and picked it up.

WANTED:

Grey Echo. AGE 18. Wanted alive for Crimes Unspeakable.

Reward 100,000,000 Napoleons and removal of your species from the List of Dangerous Creatures.

Upon apprehension, bring promptly to the Vicar’s Chambers of the Catedrala de Moarte in Vikka, Romania. Ask for Evan Suveran.

I stared at the paper, mouth agape. Crimes unspeakable? I had just graduated! What sort of things could I have possibly done?

“What is it?” Forma asked, crouching over my shoulder to read.

She took it promptly out of my hand to inspect it more closely and I was all too happy to let her have it, seeing as my hands were shaking so badly now that I couldn’t read the words.

“Vikka?!” Forma cried when she arrived at it. “As in the city of Vanguard Vampires? That Vikka?”

I barely managed a nod.

“What business could you possibly have there? she wondered aloud.

“Hell if I know!” I snapped. “Who is this Evan person?”

As I spoke the words, the answer came to me. Just hours ago, Lady Sivara had revealed that my parents had been killed in a terrible fire. The face I had seen in Lord Rasna’s office had been that of a Vanguard: sharply angular and hollow. The Alataur had said the vampire would be angry if he found out they didn’t catch me. Was it possible…?

“Do you think that Evan is the Vanguard who killed my parents?”

Forma gave a short intake of breath.

“The face you saw in Rasna’s office, it was a Vanguard?”

I nodded, taking the poster back from her. I stared at his name for a long time, wondering why he would want me badly enough to kill my family and then massacre my friends ten years later.

“He might’ve been the one who sent the Alataurs after you,” she mused aloud. “Grey I really don’t think we should go toward the person, nay vampire, who is trying to kill you. That’s just my opinion and gut instinct.”

I was silent for a while, thinking about our options which were sadly not in abundance. The whole idea of Creature Hunting was so directionless and forlorn it was a wonder any Creature was ever successfully Hunted. I trudged through the emotional Slough of Despond in those moments, feeling such dark hopelessness and cynicism towards my future as I contemplated my dismal fate that I damned the whole Creature Hunting profession.

“We have to,” I said finally, standing and deciding in one moment what our next course of action would be. “I need to know why. If I run, more people could die and aren’t I supposed to do all I can to prevent…that?”

My voice was shaking slightly, but I stood firm. Forma sighed in mildly irritated understanding.

“You want to go to a city completely overtaken by the smartest, most aggressive vampires in the Creature world and search for the one that wants you dead with only three hours as a Hunter under your belt?”

I looked at his name on the poster. My fists curled around the edges of the paper.

“Yes.”