User blog:Eiza Borealis/Monster Hunter: Quake - Installment 1

The Guild hall in Taruza City was usually never crowded until night, when hunters returned from their long hunts with many items to sell and use to upgrade their armors and weapons. However, one hunter seemed to never go hunting do to a lack of interest in anything below a mission with a high mortality probability. He stayed in the hall, drinking the wine and sleeping on the empty seats, and his felyne comrade always stayed by his side. Every day he would come to the gathering hall in hopes of a high rank quest, and he would go on these quests before anyone else could start to think of doing them. The hunters all knew him as a man that worked only with felynes, a man that never hunted in cooperation with other hunters, and they knew his felyne comrade, Kei, as a felyne that trusted no other hunter.

The man lay asleep on the bench with an empty mug dangling from his fingers, snoring rather loud. The guild master had constantly been annoyed by his antics of never accepting a quest and drinking wine until he passed out. But today, he had found a way to get rid of him. "Eiza! Wake up!" Yelled the guild master, throwing a paperweight at him. The weight hit Eiza in the head, and he awoke as if coming out of an exorcism. "What, what?" He said. The guild master walked to him and handed him a paper. "You're being transferred to a small village in the mountains in need of protection. An above-average sized Tigrex has taken up eating the Popo that live there, and the ecosystem is in danger of failure."

"A Tigrex..? There isn't anyone else you could send to kill it?"

"We've tried, but every hunter we send has been killed and those who return are badly injured, never able to pick up a weapon again. Those that survive say the monster is enormous, multiple times larger than a normal Tigrex. They're our best teamed hunters, and they pale in comparison to you. Due to their failure, it's time for you to step up and do something."

Eiza stood up and stretched. Kei sat up with a hope in his eye that there would be something to do, and looked up at Eiza waiting for him to say he would accept. Eiza sighed and handed the paper back to the guild master after reading it, and looked outside the window towards his home. "Okay," said Eiza, "I'll go. It's about time I got a work-out after all this time of doing nothing."

Chapter 1 - The Snowy Mountain Village
Eiza kicked in the rusted door of his house. He smiled at the thought of not having to live in a run-down shack anymore. He walked to the back of the house to his kitchen, where 15 felynes sat at a table, laughing and eating. The head chef, Milo, stood up quickly, and the other four felynes stood in form. "Is it time to make you some more gourmet food, pops?" Asked Milo, eagerly rubbing his hands. "No, Milo, but you may want to start packing some food. We're moving to a new house in the mountains."

The felynes all became flurried with excitement and started packing quickly. "Where are we supposed to be heading off to anyway, dad?" Asked Kei.

"A small mountain village that was made around 300 years ago. It has large iron deposits so I'm sure many hunters and felynes will be there. It is under siege by a very large Tigrex. I'm sure it will be nothing new to us, we've killed many Tigrex."

"So when we get there, will you start taking quests again?"

"Heh, maybe. It all depends on what kinds of quests and how hard they are. You know, you can always take the other felynes on a quest without me. I know you get bored waiting around, and I know that I have taught you all to the point that you're stronger than many hunters."

"True, but we don't want to have to go on missions without you, dad! It would never be as fun!" Eiza smiled and went to his room to start packing his things. He was glad he was finally able to do something, and able to give his felynes something to do.

"Okay, kids, you all have your things packed?" Asked Eiza. The 16 felynes behind him all agreed and they began walking. It was truly a strange sight to see multiple felynes following a man, all with armor and weapons and huge sacks on their backs. They walked for days until finally getting to the mountains, and the temperature began to drop. "Hey!" Yelled Eiza to the felynes, "You all may want to start getting dressed for cold weather. It's dangerous to get cold in a place like this!"

"We'll be fine, dad, don't worry about us! We have thick coats of fur, so we're naturally prepared."

"Very well, but if I tell you to do something, do it immediately. I don't know what monsters could be in these mountains."

The felyne caravan moved on through the snow, and kept on until Eiza could see the village in the distance. But something wasn't right. Nobody was outside, and Eiza couldn't smell anything cooking. Eiza looked up at the ominous mountain ledge above them. It's shadow cast a strange feeling of terror through him, something he hadn't felt in a long time. He looked back at the felynes. "I want you all to head down to the village and go to that house there," he pointed at a cottage, "and start unpacking. I need to check something." Eiza handed his pack to Marco, the biggest and strongest of his comrades, and the felynes kept on through the snow until they vanished into the village. When Eiza saw them enter their house, he turned towards the rocky ledge.

He pulled a massive red Greatsword off of his back and pressed a trigger on the handle, releasing five blades from the inner hollowed area of it, walked at the ledge, and slammed his blade into the side. The mountain shook from the massive amount of earth element infused into his sword, and in the distance he heard the heavy footsteps of frantic Popo. They turned around the corner and ran past Eiza, who waited at the ledge, gazing at the top.

Suddenly, a massive shadow jumped out from the top of the ledge, and Eiza jumped back. The shadow crashed violently where Eiza had stood, and it turned it's massive body at Eiza. This was the Tigrex he had been sent here to hunt, and he knew this immediately, for it was at least four times the size of a normal Tigrex. It planted its claws firmly into the ground, and roared, causing a huge wind to gust past Eiza, who stood steady against the howl. The Tigrex charged at Eiza, and he rolled out of the way before being trampled by Tigrex' huge claws. He placed his sword on his back and ran behind Tigrex as it turned to him.

Eiza held the Greatsword at ready as Tigrex turned, and as he swung the blade from it's position touching his back, lightning trailed from his armor to the blade, and as it connected with Tigrex' head, exploded in a flash of white and black light as earth crystals erupted from the ground below. Tigrex yelped and staggered, jumping back and letting out another deafening howl. It jumped at Eiza, who barely had time to react, and missed by only a few inches. Eiza jumped out of the way, but he was too close to the edge, his foot lost grip on the edge of the cliff, and Eiza fell backwards down the mountain. As he fell, he heard the Tigrex roaring, in such a way that it sounded like a victorious laugh.

Chapter 2 - Pokke Village
Days later, Eiza awoke in the most comfortable bed he'd ever laid on. He sat up in bed and his head began to pulsate, he laid back down holding his head. "So you finally woke up, huh?" Said an older man, laughing. "I've been tending to your wounds for a while now. You took a very large fall to the ground off of that mountain. I was surprised to find you laying there still breathing! Good thing I was walking by, or you would've been a goner!"

Eiza grumbled, still holding his head. "Yeah. It was very fortunate. Are my kids okay?"

"Kids?"

"My cats."

"Oh! Yes, they're all fine. Wait a second, are you the hunter that was sent here to fight the Tigrex for us?"

"Yeah, my name is Eiza, Eiza Borealis."

"Really? The Eiza Borealis that killed Lao-Shan by himself?"

"Yes, I guess I'm that Eiza."

"Amazing! So we have a top class hunter helping us fight Tigrex! We're very lucky to have you. I'm sure that the village chief would love to meet you."

"Yeah..." Eiza sat up once more, holding his head. His stomach let out a very loud growl. He chuckled. "I would enjoy some of my kids' cooking first, though."

After eating and getting dressed, Eiza walked outside to meet everyone. The village chief and an old felyne next to her looked up at him. "Ah, you must be Eiza. We've been waiting for you for some time now. They say you can slay any monster, hm?"

"Well, I don't know about that... but after seeing that Tigrex, I'm sure I can kill it."

"Big words for someone who nearly got killed by it!" Yelled a voice from the gathering hall. A woman walked out carrying a blue longsword on her back. She wore a red kimono and hakama, trimmed with scales of what appeared to by from a Rathalos. She had long, silky black hair that shined in the sunlight, and dark blue eyes, that carried a serious expression. "Why should we trust a man with killing a monster that almost killed him?"

"Well, ma'am, I actually didn't get hit by the-"

"Don't try to make excuses with me, boy! I'm the top hunter in this village and don't forget it! I'm Ailain Yurusuchi, the protector of this village. I am the only one that should be killing that Tigrex!"

"Ailain we've been through this before," said the chief, "You cannot hunt the Tigrex as your skill is too low. If your comrades were with you you could, but they are gone so I'm afraid you can't."

"But it isn't fair, chief! I want to take revenge on that Tigrex for what it did! I want to be the one that slays it! I want it's blood to cover my sword, not his!"

"I'm sorry, Ailain, but that's the rules. Your hunter rank is too low to do this yourself." Ailain stormed off towards a house down the road, and slammed the door shut behind her. "Well, now that that's settled," said the chief, "Let's guide you around the village before you go out after Tigrex."

The chief led Eiza to a shop where a man behind the desk sat in the chair and a felyne lay sleeping on the desk. "These are the armorsmiths. If you want new armor and weapons, bring the materials here and they will work their magic to bring you the highest grade armor and weapons availible. Or if you just want some quick armor, the felyne there asleep will sell you some cheap armor and weapons if you're in a hurry." The chief then led Eiza to a lift, "This is the lift to Pokke farm. All hunters are allowed to take resources from it, but only a certain amount per day." The chief then led Eiza to the gathering hall. "And this is the gathering hall, where you will be able to take quests after you kill the Tigrex. And Eiza, I know all about your habits of sleeping in the hall all day. You don't want to do that around Ailain or the guild master here, they are both very fiery women and don't take kindly to laziness!" The chief then chuckled and walked back over to her chair by a fire. "Feel free to do whatever you want, because tomorrow I want you to start hunting that Tigrex!"

Eiza walked to his house, and opened the door, then looked down the road at Ailain's house and closed the door. He walked down the road and stood at the door step. He knocked on the door and Ailain opened it very quickly. She saw him and a look of disgust came over her face. "What do you want?" She sneered, "Come to rub that mission in my face?"

"No, nothing like that," Eiza replied, "I just wanted to know if you'd want to take a walk with me, maybe to clear your mind?"

Ailain looked at Eiza funny. "No one has ever come to me asking me something like that, they just go out hunting the Tigrex."

"So is that a yes?"

"Fine, but don't try anything funny!" Eiza smiled and they began walking down the road together.

Chapter 3 - Memories
"I was born here 20 years ago and raised by a miner and hunter that helped each other by going on gathering quests. They taught me the meaning of friendship and teamwork. I always dreamed of being a hunter, and my mother always taught me how to use a longsword. My father helped me get strong by taking me mining while my mother was away. I loved them very much, until that day..."

"They went on a gathering quest high in the mountains, and they were killed... by the Tigrex you were sent here to hunt." Eiza looked at Ailain, shocked. He had no clue why she hated that Tigrex so much, but it was all clear now. "So I vowed," She continued, "To get strong and use my mother's True Devil Slicer to end that Tigrex. I trained every day, and I found a group of hunters that would gladly take me, but at the last second they left without me, and Tigrex devoured them like it did my parents."

"Wow, Ailain, if I had known I would have gladly let you go kill it..."

"But I can't, I'm a low rank hunter, I cannot go on the quest to kill the Tigrex due to it's size." She looked up at Eiza and smiled, moving in closer to him, "But now I can! You can take me on the quest and we can attack it! I can kill it and you can have have all the rewards, I swear!" Eiza backed up a little and looked down from the bridge they stood on and into the water. "I'm sorry, Ailain," he said, "But I can't."

"What!? Why not!? I've waited my whole life to kill this thing! And you come along and try to steal the moment from me? You're my only chance at killing this Tigrex and taking my revenge! Why can't you take me?"

"Because I always take a felyne on a quest, and if I were to party with you I wouldn't be able to take them." Ailain stared at Eiza with a look of disbelief. "Are you serious right now? The only reason you won't take me to kill Tigrex is because of a stupid cat!?" Eiza looked up and smiled. "I have bad memories too, you know." He said, "I'll tell you how it came to be that I always take my comrades on quests."

"About five years ago when I was an upstart hunter, I had a boy I used to go on quests with all the time. His name was Seiros. We went on many quests - easy ones, mind you, for we were only children - and got much experience in fighting Kut-Kus and Congalalas, we were best friends. However, that ended one day when we returned home."

"His felyne chef, Kei, had tried to cook us a delicious gourmet meal, and he was very good at doing so. We ate his food all the time, I loved him and we were great friends. The fact that he could cook was amazing due to the fact that he was but a kitten, but Seiros let him cook anyway. However the day we returned from a mission to hunt a Kirin, we returned badly injured and hungry. Seiros was in a terrible mood, and Kei had failed at cooking a meal for us - horribly."

"We walked in and it was a mess," Eiza chuckled, "Burnt food on the floor, the ceiling over the stove was burnt terribly, and the room was just wrecked. In the center of it with a mop was Kei, trying his best to peel some dried mystery meat from the floor. Seiros was extremely angry with Kei. His words left a wound in my heart that has failed to heal, and every time I look at Kei I hear them - 'You horrible worthless cat! Get out of here and don't come back, lest I impale you with my spear!' And he kicked Kei out the door with such force that I thought he had killed the poor cat, and Kei ran off, crying."

"I turned to Seiros and gritted my teeth, 'Why did you do that!? He didn't try to do this intentionally!' and he replied to me, 'What? You're going to stand up for that horrible little creature? I thought you were better than that, Borealis!' I yelled at him again, 'No felyne deserves that treatment, no matter what they did wrong! They are living creatures and deserve the same rights we get!' And he pulled his spear on me and tried to stab me with it. I dodged and slammed him with my Ravager Blade, busting a hole in the wall. He went flying out into the middle of the road with a huge gash running the length of his body."

"' I should have known better than to be friends with you, worthless scum, you're just like that cat!' He yelled at me many times more and people in the streets had stopped what they were doings to watch. Nobody had seen him try to kill me with his spear, they only knew that I had almost mortally wounded him. But you must understand, when anyone tries to kill you, there are no rules at that point."

"I put my sword back on my back and ran in the direction that Kei had run, and found him crying next to an old woman with a huge pack on her back. I ran up to them and the old woman yelled at me, 'Get out of here, you urchin! You abused this poor kitty and now you expect me to except a 'sorry'!?' And I said no, but I do want to apologize for what my former friend had done, and that I wanted to help Kei and have him join my family. I asked Kei if he would join me, and he jumped into my arms and we hugged each other. Since then, he has told many felynes about what I've done and how I care for my felynes, and now every felyne I have refers to me as father, dad, or pops, and I call them all my children. That is why I can't leave them at home, I don't want to let them down."

Ailain lowered her head in awe at Eiza's reason. She looked up at him. "I see. Then... have fun killing Tigrex."

Eiza lay in bed that night wondering if he should let Ailain come with him or not. He didn't want to have his felynes lose trust in him... but Ailain deserved to slay Tigrex more than he did. He finally had to get up and ask his comrades. He walked to Kei and the others and stomped the floor, waking them all up. "Kids," he said, "I want to ask you one thing. Tomorrow, the mission to kill Tigrex, can you sit this one out?"

"What!? Dad, why?" Said Enric, shocked. The felynes began talking frantically and Eiza calmed them down, and told them about Ailain.

"Wow," Said Kei, "That is a very sad story. I truly understand how she feels..."

"Yes, that's why I wanted to take her instead of you guys, you can all train until we return."

"Well, as the leader of the comrades, I must say that her reason is very just! We will absolutely allow it!" All of the comrades let out a simultaneous 'meow' to concur their thoughts, and Eiza smiled. "Thanks guys," he said, "You're the best."

The next day Eiza punched the door to Ailain's house increadibly hard and Ailain flew open the door angry. "What do you think you're doing, it's six in the morn- oh! Hi, Eiza!" Eiza smiled.

"I'm about to go off on the mission, he said."

"Oh, well, good luck then. And give it a good hit for me, okay?"

"What? Why would I do that if you're coming along to do that?" Ailain looked up at Eiza slowly and smiled with glee...