The weather this day was very gloomy and dark; leaving anyone witnessing the sky with nothing more than unease and the feeling that something was definitely wrong...

Even the birds with their faint chirping and beautiful songs have not shown themselves, afraid or wary of what is to come...

Which brings us to a port town just over the horizon called Spring Haven, famous for its port and its one of a kind springs. But, the town was nothing to sneer at as it was clearly made to withstand any emergency...

Spring Haven was built using stone bricks and slabs, as indicated by the walls and the houses inside; you could clearly see watchtowers all around the vicinity of the town, with guards posted on top, ever vigilent in case of an attack. Wood was rarely used as it was reserved for things such as windows, poles and racks to dry the laundry...

This day was rather busy, as you could clearly hear the sounds of merchants advertising their merchandise and shouting their prices, sailors singing chanties in unison as they were carrying merchandise out of their ships and into the port, children singing and playing,as well as blacksmiths hammering away at iron and steel.

The town was very busy in spite of the bad weather, and amidst all the racket, was one teenage boy doing push ups while a buffed muscular and bearded old man was sitting on top of him...

The Kid: Arrgghh......Agh.

The Old Man: Come on only 3 to go until you reach 500.

The Kid: Arrgghhhhhhhh 498.... Aghh 499 ..... annnddd 500...Huff "And then the kid suddenly collapsed"

The Old Man: Okay that's enough for now "He said before suddenly standing up and heading towards the door of the house they were training next to..."

...On the right of the door leaning against the wall were two lumps of wood that could not be considered swords, they were heavy and crude. The old man grabbed each with one hand then headed towards his young pupil...

The Old Man: Here you go "he said while throwing one of the swords on the ground" that's enough rest, come at me..."Then he took a fighting stance holding his weapon in front of him with one hand".

The Kid: Huff huf... Today you're going down Old Timer! "He said before he grabbed the sword with two hands, turned his hip to allow his left leg to get in front, and then put his sword down to his right side"

The Old Man: Aha, trash talking I see well go on, show me what you've got, Kiddo...

...And before he could finish the kid suddenly charged at him and swung his sword from the bottom right..., which was easily blocked by the old man who then proceeded to smack his opponent with a punch to the gut.

The Kid clearly hurt continued his attack and started swinging again, but instead of swinging normally he spun around to give his swing extra edge..., but unfortunately it was easily dodged by the old man...

The Old Man: Is that all you got Kid... "He said while stepping back away from the kid's slash"

...As soon as the old man was outside of the kid's range he suddenly took a step forward...He didn't even leave his opponent the time to regain his posture after spinning around, and then punched him in the stomach again, but this time even harder...

The kid suddenly dropped his weapon, and held on to his stomach while he dropped to his knees,the pain was too unbearable too withstand which made him passed out all too easily...

A middle aged woman suddenly appeared, she was apparently watching from the start...

The Woman: You could have gone easier on Grey-Shade dad, he's still a kid.

The Old Man: What do you mean a kid he's close to 16 and you know the boy wants to become a Venatores like you and his dad, so I'm preparing him.

The Woman: Dad you know I'm retired ...

The Old Man: Well, you can still take on a demon or two, i trained you after all hohohohoh "he said while laughing confidently"

The Woman: Oh, Dad

The Old Man: By the way, i gave him a tool earlier, before you started watching us...

The Woman:OH, you tested his element already ? you should've waited for me and for his dad to come home !

The Old Man: Well it is what it is. Anywho, although it wasn't much but he could light it a bit, so he is not "spirit-less"...

The Woman:That's great now he can join the academy when he gets to 16 next month.

The Old Man: I'm sure Grey will be very happy when he hears the news...

"Then suddenly a young girl that looks about the same age as Grey-Shade approached the pair..."

The Girl: Auntie Tanya, Grand pa Olaf, Uncle is back; he is at the barracks right now...

Tanya: Oh thank you Morrigan, I'll be right there. "She then made her way to the main street when suddenly she turned towards the girl..."

Tanya: ...And take care of Grey-Shade will you, he's asleep right now.

Morrigan: I will auntie. "She said before Tanya left the training ground"

Olaf: Morrigan you may be more talented than Grey-Shade when it comes to element control, but you shouldn't neglect training your body.

Morrigan: Sorry Grandpa, I had errands to run this morning.

Olaf: Oh well... You see that bucket over there fill it at the well and wake up that lazy good for nothing... I'll be going now.

Morrigan: Alright, Grandpa, but you shouldn't call Grey a good for nothing he's trying his best to train, you know.

Olaf: Yeah yeah... "He said before going inside the house"

...Morrigan then did as instructed; she took the bucket, filled it with water and then poured it on Grey-shade which made him instantly wake up, startled...

Grey-Shade: Haagh...Wait..., what? Oh it's you.

Morrigan: Rise and shine sleepyhead.

Grey-Shade: But why spray me with water? That's kind off overkill, don't you think?

Morrigan: Grandpa's instructions..., so did you get a hit in?

Grey-Shade: No he completely dominated me like always...

Morrigan: Well grandpa is an invincible demon hunter after all.

Grey-Shade: Yeah, exactly what I strive to be..., any who what brings you here?

Morrigan: Oh right, your dad is back.

Grey-Shade: Really?! Well I've got to go great him now, where is he at?

Morrigan: He's at the barracks right now, but we should hurry I think he has more work to do, so he'll be busy...

Grey-Shade: Let's go then...

...And so both of them made their way to the barracks...

Everything was peaceful as it has always been. However, as the weather indicated this day was not going to go as smoothly as usual...

Beyond the hills near a watchtower outside the town, stood a figure walking very slowly and rocking back and forth; one guard at the top of the watchtower noticed the figure, his eyes widened as he was very surprised at what he was seeing. He then alerted the town by signalling the alarm ...

The Guard: "Shouting" INJURED MAN ON SIGHT!! INJURED MAN ON... "He kept repeating...As a man was making his way through the fields dragging his right foot behind him. "

As soon as the man saw the watchtower he started waving and screaming frantically, but because of the exhaustion he suddenly fell down... The guards quickly dispatched a squad and retrieved the man, bringing him back to Spring Haven.

While the wounded man in question was being brought back, the townsfolk looked at him with both curiosity and fear, wondering just what could have made a man this wounded on the outskirts of the country of Brand-Jord. Only the dark crater was beyond them and who knows what lies there...The townsfolk just kept looking at the man, while he was being dragged across the stone pavements...

...Once the squad arrived to the barracks, they found the guards captain and Grey-shades father waiting for them there...

The G-Captain: Put him on one of the beds, you! Bring water and food, and you! Go call the doctor... "He kept giving orders to his men..."

A few moments later

...The wounded man was put on a bed and the doctor was tending to his right leg, while both the captain and Grey-shades father were waiting for the man to regain consciousness. The captain dismissed the guards earlier, so they could have privacy in the room...

The G-Captain: Say Jin, do you think its bandits that did this?

Jin: I've never dealt with bandits before so I wouldn't know. And even if it was, this guy would not be in such a state...

The G-Captain: What do you mean?

Jin: This guy has a Venatores uniform, although it's dirty and torn its undeniable... So bandits couldn't have done this...

The G-Captain: Wait..., Are you perhaps suggesting it might be DEMONS?!

...Suddenly the room became all quiet...

Jin: "Might" Before we draw conclusions, we need the guy to wake up so we can ask him...

Jin: I certainly hope I'm wrong...

The Doctor: He's starting to wake up...

... The wounded man started slowly opening his eyes until they were fully open when suddenly he started panicking and looking around the room franticly . ..

Jin: Calm down, you're safe here...

The man: ...Where am I exactly?

Jin: You're at Spring Haven to the far south of Brand-Jord's capital. So what's your name good man?

Pike: It's Pike and I'm a member of the Venatores demon hunters and the 3rd Squad "Medusa"

Jin: "Medusa" huh, are you one of Scar's men ?

Pike: Yes... Yes sir i am

Jin: So where is he now, and where are the rest of your squadmates?

Pike:Well you see...wait did you say we were at Spring Haven?!

Jin: Yeah?

Pike: Oh no... I didn't run too far...

The G-Captain: What do you mean by that? Run from what exactly? Is it bandits?

Pike: No not bandits...

Jin: It's as I though then...

Pike: ...It was DEMONS!!!

Pike: Our squad was annihilated on a mission to Knife Peak...Captain Scar too...

Jin: For fuck sake..., wait but that doesn't make sense.

The G-Captain: What do you mean?

Jin: How are you alive then? There's no way you could have survived this long without a squad covering your back, and that leg...

Pike: ...I didn't sir..., I was actually saved...

...And the man unwilling to give up on life started to crawl away from the figures he knew the identity of, bloodthirsty demons. Then he suddenly noticed a silhouette in front of him , but it was very hard to discern the details of the figure as the moon was directly behind it. Nonetheless, it kept getting closer and closer...

Pike: What are you..."He said while noticing that the figure had a human form or silhouete"

Pike: Please stop playing with me and kill me already...You God damn DEMONS!!!

...Then suddenly the human figure passed right next Pike, which allowed the latter to get a glimpse of the man in front of him; a man wearing clothes that were hiding most of his body except his face. It looked like that of a skull but with frightening horns; one of the horns was broken at the middle and his head transitioned from horns to long hair. The mysterious man's appearance made him look more demon than human to the delirious Pike...

Pike: What in the angels name is th... "Before he even finished his sentence the man rushed into the fray and at the demons behind Pike..."

...Pike,who was trying his best to stay awake, could only discern one thing while watching the whole thing in the dark, black flames that barely lit the area around the demons and the man summoning it. But Pike couldn't watch any longer, due to the exhaustion and the pain of his injury he passed out, not knowing whether he would survive the night or not...

Many hours later...

...Pike suddenly woke up from dim rays of light. It was morning, and he could not stop smelling this horrid burning smell coming from behind him, once he turned around he was shocked to see a pile of a dozen demon bodies burnet to a crisp...

A feat no man could possibly accomplish in Pike's eyes, "It must have been an angel...or a monster" he thought to himself before deciding to stop thinking about it and getting away from this place. After some rummaging around he took his undershirt, ripped it and used it a bandage to stop the bleeding at leasr; he found he was extremely lucky the bleeding wasn't too bad. He then found a stick long enough to stand with and made his way north...

Jin: That's quite a tale you have there, chief, but I don't believe you...

The G-Captain: Why not, it makes perfect sense?

Jin: Look here. Do you even know how hard it is to control your element directly?

The G-Captain: ...Very hard?

Jin: wrong, it's impossible and if you try to do it you will die; even I can't control fire directly, only a royal can do so without re precautions...

Pike: But sir..., It's What I Saw!

Jin: Yeah sure...

The G-Captain: Look Jin, even if he dreamed about his saviour, the fact remains that a demon hunter squad was wiped out, and it's possible it was done by demons...We shouldn't disregard his story just like that.

Jin: That's true...

...Outside of the barracks Grey-Shade's mom is arguing with the guard ...

The guard: Please, I can't let you in Tanya, it's the captain's orders to stop anyone from coming inside the barracks for now...

Tanya: But my husband is inside and I can't just wait for him at home, I haven't seen Jin in months and who knows if he got more work to do. I could at least talk with him before then, don't you think?

The guard: Still I cannot let you in.

Tanya: Great... "She said before noticing in the corner of her eye two figures approaching her and the guard"

...It was Grey-shade and Morrigan making their way to the barracks...

Grey-Shade: Hey mom! "He yelled while heading towards Tanya with Morrigan beside him"

Grey-Shade: Huff... We ran from home to catch up with you, did you meet dad yet?

Tanya: No not yet, because of a stupid order given by the guard captain...

The Guard: Heeyy don't insult the captain just like that.

Tanya: I can say whatever I want thank you. "She said while crossing her arms"

Grey-Shade: Haha...

Morrigan: Well we can do nothing about it, auntie; let's just wait for uncle to finish his business.

The guard: Thank you, a girl with some sense...

Tanya: Oh shut up you!

...A few moements later, a rather peculiar fog started approaching the town,making the weather much gloomier than before...

Chapter:End