Tales of magic: grimoire of transmogrification

Opening arc: Crow and quill

Chapter 0- "Hunter."

________________

April 24, 1886

Pridon

________________

Skilled warriors have weapons.

So do brave hunters.

Feral beasts also have fangs and claws, which are much like weapons. Weapons forged for the express purpose of killing their target.

William always believed he also possessed a weapon. One that performed its purpose exceedingly well.

The name of the weapon he possessed never left his thoughts. It was...

"Hunter."

William turned his head towards the direction of the voice. It was a female. She was young, attractive and appeared to be amused. It was jarring to see someone dressed in a nice gown in the woods. These woods. There were no rules against it, but she looked completely unprepared.

"Who are you, and why do you know that name?" His voice was stern and serious, but he betrayed no emotion.

"What do you mean? Does the word 'Hunter' mean anything special?" She said it coquettishly.

"Stop playing stupid. It doesn't suit you."

'The Crown is so secretive about the Book, so much so that it is known only to a select few high-ranking members of the Court and the Mages themselves. If this woman knows my Title then she must also know about the Book, so she has to be either a noble trusted by the Crown, a Mage like myself, or a Mage's associate.'

"Who are you really?"

'She has black hair and skin; she doesn't look like she's among the Court of Pridon. Her clothes look nice, though they aren't really all that expensive. She's either not rich, or she's pretending to be less affluent than she really is. If I could take a guess on her age, she'll be in her early twenties...not married I see, no ring. She doesn't appear to be wearing any other ornament other than her cheap-looking earrings and that pendant hanging from her neck. Wait! It appears to be a timepiece. What a good-looking make it is.....so good that it can't be normal. On closer inspection with my Eyes, the truth is revealed. It isn't normal. I see. Magic, huh?'

'She must be Clock.' William concluded.

"Are you done staring?" The woman asked, frowning at him.

'She seems upset, I wonder why?'

"Oh...well, sorry. It's just that, you're so beautiful."

'If she discovers that I know her Title, the ritual of the Book dictates that the deed be done. I'm not in the mood for this; I have far more pressing matters to attend to. She doesn't look like she's about to attack me, either. Regardless, I shouldn't let my guard down. She's already spoken my Title, though. I'm worried.'

"Thanks for the compliment... even though it's very boring."

"I don't understand what you mean by boring."

"I'm just saying that's not a proper way to flatter a lady."

"I wasn't trying to do that..."

"You were just giving an excuse for staring at me?"

"What is wrong with that?"

"You tell me, you apologized."

'Is she always so impossible? You came here to say something, so just say it and get out already!'

William approached her, avoiding thorns and thick bushes, until he finally stood close to her.

"Fine, I will introduce myself, my name is William Sharpside. Fair lady, would you be so kind as to give me your name?" He stared right at her as he bowed his head.

"I'm not exactly fair, and I'm not a queen either, Mr. Prince. Drop the act, so we can get to business."

'Says the person who has been wasting my time from the start.' A vein bulged on his forehead, but his humble facade didn't break.

"The Crown has a message for you. The Seer has realized the existence of two souls fated to join. These two, bearing the Title of Quill and Crow, shall come from the town of Weidson. Right now, they are still there. No more results can be provided on their abilities or Power."

"Fated, huh? So no matter what, they will join the Ritual. I certainly feel sorry for them." His voice softened.

"So do I. By the way, I'm not ready to fight you, Hunter. That's why I'm hiding my identity."

"And you're doing quite the good job."

"Thanks, finally a proper complement!"

The lady wasn't smiling, but her eyes appeared to be glowering with excitement. William only shook his head.

"You're exactly who they say you are. For a moment, I thought you aren't, but you're quite the gentleman."

'And you're quite the idiot. I'm nowhere close to being a real gentleman... I'm.... I'm being too distracted, I have to focus on what's important. Why did the Crown give me this information? And even more importantly, how did she find me?'

"How did the Crown contact you?"

"She sent a proxy. Told me she could kill me with a single word and sent me on my way to find you. Said she would know if I disobeyed her. Strangely, I believed."

'The Seer must have some kind of powerful surveillance magic. The Crown probably sent Clock here because she's the closest to my current location, and they aren't ready to waste resources on teleportation magic... The Crown is just as persuasive as always.'

"Thanks for the information, I'll be on my way now!"

"Wait, it should be obvious, right?"

"Your Title, no, no, it's well hidden. In fact, it's the most closely guarded secret I have ever encountered. Of course, I don't know it."

"I'm not talking about that. You really love to talk, don't you? I'm talking about what the Crown wants you to do."

"I understand... I have to go to Weidson and eliminate the threats the moment they pop up. The problem is I don't know who they are."

"But you're Hunter, though. You are too good at finding people, especially enemies you can cut down."

"You are right. But I need more information on my would-be targets."

"I knew you'd agree. You're afraid of the Crown too..."

"Don't call it fear; William Sharpside fears no man...or woman... You could say, I'm very wary of someone who can kill men without even standing up from that throne of hers. Now, I'm assuming you have more to say?"

"Yes. Their names start with J and L respectively. Both are commoners, and J is an aspiring novelist, while L is a pianist, both of them are related. Oh, I almost forgot, there are actually three Mages in that city, or rather there will be when the other two awaken."

"Which mage is it?"

"It's either Beast or Sword. Those are the only ones unaccounted for by the Crown."

William sighed.

'Sword is most likely Ein. I don't want to face him; crossing swords with him is a pain. On the other hand, Beast is just who I want to kill. It's a monster that deserves nothing but suffering and death for the tragedies it has caused.'

"Why is the information on the fated so cryptic?"

"I don't know. It's probably restrictions on Seer's abilities. Or divination is probably just obscure like that. Well, that's all the information I have to give you. I've done my part now... Time to go home."

"Wait... You shouldn't walk alone at this time of the night. It's almost midnight. Come on, let's spend the night in the town."

"That's exactly what I wanted to do, minus the 'let's' part. There are quite a few nice inns here in Rimus. And I'm fine on my own. You should get going towards Weidson. If you start your journey now, you'll get there in about two days."

"What if I say I'm too tired to go traveling across the nation throughout the night."

"You don't look tired. Also, you're supposed to have night vision among your list of abilities, traveling at night is convenient for you."

"Hmm.... I just remembered something. I have an important matter to attend to. Now that I think about it, you should join me."

"What kind of important matter?"

William kept silent, and instead of making his way towards Rimus, he went deeper into the woods. Clock grumbled, but followed.

Throughout their brief journey through the woods, Clock complained about how cold it was, and how the insects were eating her alive. William, for the most part, just ignored her.

"I don't need noise, okay. If you make too much, you'll wake it up." William whispered, his words firm.

Her face went pale.

"..... What do you mean by 'it'?" She spoke almost inaudibly. Her voice trembled ever so slightly. The edge of William's lips curled up, but she didn't seem to notice.

"To clarify, my little damsel-in-distress, I speak of a monster when I say the word 'It'." His voice was a bit louder. Her eyes darted around, her body trembled when he said 'monster'.

"I will kill you for dragging me into this when all of this is over..."

"That's if you live long enough to get the chance..."

Clock went silent.

William's smile only grew wider.

'There it is.'

Ever since he became Hunter, his eyes had become far more sensitive. He also gained the ability to see in the dark and see much further in the distance than a common man. His Eyes move and follow his enemies, so he cannot lose sight of them. His Ears can detect truth from lies. His hands can wield any weapon made for killing animals, and his body was strong enough to let him walk, run or climb for days without pausing or stopping to rest, as long as he is on a hunt for prey. These abilities expend Power, though. As far as he knew, his greatest improvement (or weapon) was his spell casting ability; his 'Knowledge.'

William stopped abruptly. In front of him lay a massive beast that appeared to be a two-headed lion. This creature had two sets of eyes in each head, and both of its heads were facing in opposite directions. It was lying down on its belly, and all of its eyes were tightly shut. Its chest muscles expanded and contracted slowly as it unconsciously inhaled and exhaled. The only other evidence that it was alive was the low guttural noise that it made that William could only liken to some sort of snore.

"Meet my friend Lion!"

"Stop talking so loud; it's going to wake up." Clock whimpered, shaking.

"It sleeps like a log. It won't wake up even if I was clapping and stomping my feet."

"You lied to me."

"People lie to get what they want, it's not personal. I just wanted you to shut up... Oh and, I don't remember actually lying to you, it's just a misunderstanding on your part."

William grinned at her.

"You sicken me." She hissed.

"Thanks."

William proceeded to crouch in front of the beast, producing a small dagger from his jacket. Then he knelt on top of it, slowly and gently. When it didn't stir, he proceeded to surgically slit a particular artery on one of its necks. Blood spattered out from it, and the beast would have made noise if he hadn't shoved his boot into the mouth that was about to scream. William didn't hesitate to slit the other throat, and watched it twitch and flail around helplessly for a moment before it stopped. Only then did he let go of it.

Almost immediately after getting up from the thing, the tall man began to speak in a different language.

"Rune sanguinis, carnis et ossis, pro potentia, verba mea connectunt spiritibus sanguinis, carnis et ossis, et praecipe ut corpus meum confirmet incantamento quod dicitur.."

William paused for a second to catch his breath. While he was speaking, a strange pattern under his shirt started to glow deep crimson. It dimmed a bit when he paused.

"Incantatio muscularis. Virtus decem hominum!"

The glowing intensified, then stopped abruptly. There was no noticeable change in William's body though.

The hunter wasted no time standing around after casting his spell. He effortlessly hauled the carcass of the fallen beast and balanced it on his right shoulder with his left hand for support.

"That's done."

William smirked as he turned to look at Clock.

"Why did you drag me along then?"

"It was for your protection. It should be past twelve already; the full moon is out. The real danger still lurks within these woods, and I can't let you roam free."

"You're not making any sense. What do you mean by real danger? And how are you protecting me?"

"As far as you are with me, the Wolf will avoid you. It's afraid of me."

"A werewolf is afraid of you?" She didn't sound convinced.

"Yes. He is. Now, I'm done with this, let's head over to the town, shall we?"

The two of them went on their way towards Rimus.

_____________