Chapter 43 - The Hunter and The Hunt (Patreon)

Codex: The Hunt

The Hunter must hunt; that is the universal creed of the Workshop of the Hunter's Dream. The Hunters were founded by the Gehrman, the First Hunter, shortly after the discovery of the Old Blood in the depths under the Yharnam. 

They were, are, and would ever be the pinnacle of humanity and what everyone can achieve with the Old Blood. Given the Blood Ministration, the Hunters brought prosperity and security to the Lands of the Ancient Lords that were in constant turmoil from the immeasurable hordes of Daemons, Orks, Danger Beasts, and also... the Cleric Beasts.

Only the Hunters of the Workshop were daring enough to hunt the Cleric Beasts, the creatures with hideous, twisted horns, matted fur, and a malnourished figure that emit shrieks that sound like cries of agony.

The Hunters are enjoying the highest status within the Lands of the Ancient Lords as the chosen Holy Defenders and Warriors of the Old Blood and the Great Ones. Especially when the Emperor of the Holy Arcadia Empire is the Hunter of the Workshop himself.

It was noted that only thanks to the Hunters and the Workshop was the Emperor able to unite all Grand Provinces of the Lands of the Ancient Lords. Without the power of the Workshop, some of the Grand Provinces, such as Stormwind, Klandor, Fenris, Sylvania, and Orleáns, would never bend the knee to the Reikland. 

Much less aid about the Brettonia, as the "Kingdom of Knights" had a notoriously bad relationship with the region of Reikland since the times when Lord Gwyn walked these lands.

Without the overwhelming power of the Workshop, would it be impossible to build the Skycrown Gate and push the Daemons back to the Dark Lands, or without their help, neither would the Orkish WAAAGH! destroyed one by one and culled to the last one, until they retreated back to the Orklands. 

One could say that every man, woman, and child owned their very own lives and peace to the Workshop and to the hundreds and hundreds of Hunters that died protecting their homeland during the past several thousand years.

The Hunter must Hunt.

And till today, the Hunters of the Workshop are Hunting the enemies of the Lands of the Ancient Lords. Quelling down the Beastmen Chieftain, hunting down the Cleric Beasts, or the madmen drank on their very own power.

To this day, the Hunters of the Workshop represent the pinnacle of the Lordranians, and many of the most famous figures of the Empire were members of the Workshop and of them.

Including that of the Holy Imperator of the Empire, Empress and Lord-Celestant Prime of the Stormcast Eternals, or many other individuals.

- Introduction to the Hunters of the Workshop

***

I appeared in a place that seemed to be endless; on the ground, countless white flowers were growing, and in the heights, high in the sky the gently light of the moon was shining on everything.

A lone tree with red leaves was overseeing everything that was happening in the Hunter's Dream, and next to the tree, an enormous mansion was standing proudly in typical Lodranese architecture that was unchanged in the past few thousand years.

As I walked among the white flowers, I felt a feeling of unnatural calmness and inner peace, something that was very rare for me. Around the enormous manor where the Workshop resisted, there were tens if not hundreds of graves, probably more, but I never counted them.

All of them symbolize the Hunters who put their lives for the Lordran, who put their lives to protect and to hunt the beasts. Messengers were running through the entire Hunter's Dream, carrying out various tasks and taking care of the Workshop.

Messengers are baby-like creatures who act as companions and merchants for the Hunters of the Workshop. Messengers can be seen crawling out of portals connecting the Material Plane with the Hunter's Dream. They are unseen by most, be it the normal folk or even Magicians, or others.

Only the Hunters of the Workshop are able to see them and communicate with them.

"The prodigious student has returned to the Dream... what boy, did you get tired playing ruler with the others stuffed up weaklings?"

An elderly man sitting in a wheelchair appeared as I was observing the graves of the Hunters that perished in their service to the Workshop to protect the innocent from the Clerical Beasts, Daemons, Dangers Beasts, and other dangers of the Lordran. 

The Holy Warriors of the Old Blood.

"Maybe... but it is good to see you again, Master."

I said respectfully as I turned to the man on the wheelchair. 

Gehrman, the First Hunter. 

He had shoulder-length grey hair and wore a black hat along with a brown leather jacket and trousers, a tattered mantle, and a scarf. He was always seen bound to an ornate wheelchair, and he carried a cane with him.

Also, his right foot was missing, replaced by what appears to be a dwarven-made prosthetic that was, of course, by no means less deadly.

"So, why have you come here, my most promising student?"

I still remember the days of learning under Gehrman...

It was... 

Torturous, one could say.

He was a man who believed that the experience was the best teacher.

When I learned to fight and kill, I went to the Yharnam and took the Blood Ministration and was awarded the Caryll Rune of the Moon Presence, which allowed me to enter the Hunter's Dream. 

"Ah-hah, you must be the new hunter. Welcome to the Hunter's Dream. This will be your home, for now. I am... Gehrman, friend to you, Hunters. You're sure to be in a fine haze about now, but don't think too hard about all of this. Just go out and kill a few beasts. It's for your own good. You know, it's just what Hunters do! You'll get used to it...

This is a safe haven for hunters. A Workshop where Hunters used blood to enhance their weapons and flesh. You're welcome to use whatever you find."

Those were the first words that he heard when he entered the Hunter's Dream and during that time, the Workshop didn't have that much Hunters. There were only a few of them, not even thirty or so, but they were already operating across the entirety of the Lands of the Ancient Lords.

"You should be aware of what is going at the Ulthuan right now... the things I saw, didn't really end well for those stuck-up elves right now."

As I said the elderly hunter frowned a lot; there was a huge amount of bad blood and hatred between Gehrman and the High Elves. That was mainly due to the fact that the man lived for more than four thousand years or so, and lived through the most perilous part of the history of Lordran.

Shortly after the discovery of the Old Blood, the relationship between the Lordran and the Ulthuan started deteriorating...

And very, very fast at that.

Once Lord Gwyn ascended to the higher being and vanished and the Divine Throne of Blood and Sunlight was without the ruler, the High Elves of Ulthuan, or at least some of them, saw the chance.

Since Lord Gwyn walked through the earth, they saw him as their greatest rival, competitor, and threat to their undisputed supremacy over the whole known world of Azyr. And when the Old Blood was discovered underneath the catacombs of the Yharnam, everything changed. 

The discovery of the Old Blood gave the inhabitants of the Lands of the Ancient Lords a chance to fight back, and some of the more radical High Elven supremacists were even attacking various states in the Lordran. 

Gehrman was one of the people who fought several invasions of the High Elves into the Lordran more than four thousand years ago. The Hunters at that time, like today, were not only hunting the Cleric Beasts and everything that was rendering the Lands of the Ancient Lords but also fought in the wars.

He personally slayed several thousand High Elves and killed many of their Princes, Magisters, Kings, Queens, and Heroes. I never asked about that time because it was rather a sore spot for the old man, but I often heard Big Hat Logan or Master Willem saying some bits here and there...

Apparently, Master Gehrman lost his wife and unborn child to the raids of the High Elves when they first landed in today's borders between the Grand Province of Reikland and the Grand Province of Brettonia.

From there on, the man was on a manhunt for the High Elves and slaughtered them en masse; in the Ulthuan, the High Elves, with their incredibly long lifespans, were still remembering the "Night of Crystal Scythe" very vividly, when lone Hunter entered their sacred halls and massacred entire lineages that initiated the "Great Landing" in the Lordran.

Entire noble houses that existed since immemorial were extinguished to the last woman and child; nobody was spared as blood flowed through the cities and mighty were falling like stars in the starry sky at night.

"Ts... we should leave them to rot and be devoured by the Chaos. Why waste blood on them..."

The First Hunter cursed as he moved around in his wheelchair while repeatedly curing the High Elves to extinction. Even after several millennia, the hatred for the High Elves was still very, very strong.

One could say that it was even fascinating.

"You should be aware the most that such a scenario is not possible."

Of course he was, but Gehrman the First Hunter was also filled with rage and hatred, despite the many millennia that he was alive.

In the case of powerful Daemons materializing on the Azyr, especially the Daemon Princes or Daemon Primarchs, then only Gehrmna, the First Hunter, as the sole Level 8 Being in the Lordran, could deal with them.

Big Hat Logan or Master Willem, who were equally powerful Sorcerers and Magic Users, couldn't leave the Empire as their presence was needed to maintain the network of the Maiglca Defesnes around the Imperium.

"Ts... as you wish, when the worst happens, I will act personally... but don't blame me if some of the pointy ears die during the fight. You know... sometimes I can't cool my power properly..."

The elderly man said as I wanted to frown because this was probably the biggest bullshit that I had ever heard. If there was one person in the entire world who would have no problems controlling his own power, it would be his Master.

He was powerful not only because of the overwhelming raw power he possessed, but I knew that his true power was because of something else. It was his vast experiences and combat skills that the man possessed.

The sheer amount of martial arts that he mastered and as one of the very, very few people alive today who obtained an Eternal Arms Mastership, he was a calamity to fight again because he was extremely adaptive to any kind of environment or enemy.

Basically, the walking killing machine.

Someone who had overwhelming power on the one hand, but also skills and masteries that were even higher than the raw power he possessed. 

"Aside from this, there is another thing that I wanted to discuss with you. There is a severe need for more Hunters, so I was thinking of giving more Runes to the prospecting Hunters to enter the Hunter's Dream."

I said, as the Hunter's Dream was the only place that could generate more Level 6 begins and even some Level 7s if there was some luck. However, right now, the number of the Senior Hunters is pitifully low, and there were only two other Level 7 Master Hunters. 

This was something that I already planned for some time, and the need for more Hunters was evident. Becoming a Hunter of the Workshop was a very hard thing, and the challenges for the prospecting Hunters were extremely high.

"More Hunters would be welcomed... there are always new and new beasts to Hunt."

I knew that Gehrman would be pleased if there were more Hunters in the Hunter's Dream because being a Hunter was a very dangerous occupation. Even though the Hunters could be brought back to life by the Great Old One, the Moon Presence, the process was lengthy.

Especially the stronger the Hunter was, the longer the process of the resurrection would be, and for some Hunters, it could take even years until they were fully reformed by the Hunter's Dream.

I had been pondering over this matter for some time already and wanted to expand the ranks of the Hunter, but it wasn't that easy, and it would require the cooperation of all parties involved in this. 

Not to mention, even though I held the Caryll Rune and could give the invitations to the Hunter's Dream, it was the Moon Presence that decided who was worthy of the honor of entering the Hunter's Dream and who wasn't.

That was something way out of my hands, and I can only hope.

"I already have a few selected ones among the Silver Knight Order, Stormcast Eternals, Imperial Legions, and even some Battle Wizards, and I gave them the Rune. It shall be to the Moon Presence to judge their worth."

As the High Priest of the Great Ones and Holy Pontiff of the Healing Church, I could only pray to the Great Ones for their mercy during the judgment and hope that soon enough, we would see many new Hunters in the Hunter's Dream. 

The Workshop was small, and there were only a few tens of Hunters for the entire Lands of the Ancient Lords. 

"Ts... Casters, useless bunch... waving sticks could even idiot, most can't even slay any beast, much less about the horrors that we face."

The old man's distaste for the Magic Users was for more than just evident; he disdained the Magic Users to a great degree. In the end, the unspoken grudge between the Workshop and Byrgenwerth was more than evident.

The oldest generation of the Hunters of the Workshop that was still alive blamed the Magicians for their unbridled and uncontrollable research into the Immaterium, and many claimed that the Eight Orders of the Magic were going against the wishes of the Great Ones and were attracting the attention of the Ruinious Powers.

I could see the narrative and where it was going to. 

Using Magic was painting the target on their back because the Magic was attracting the Daemons of the Chaos, and the more Magicians some places had, the more attractive and appealing it became for the Ruinious Powers.

So yeah, but at the same time, it would be foolish not to just use the Magic because Magic was the lifeblood of the Lordran, and every single Hunter of the Workshop was using the Magic every time they hunted.

Yet many of the Scholars and other individuals were conducting their research into the Powers of Ruin, and the chance of being corrupted was...

Rahter high mildy said. 

As I was thinking about the thing that we were talking about, suddenly, all of my senses were screaming at me the word danger as I warped several meters away from my current location, dodging the silverish blade that was too familiar to my eyes.

Looking at the place where my Master's wheelchair was empty, it was clear that the old man had decided to initiate the spar between us. 

 "Good, good lad... it seems that pushing pencil and playing stuffed bird didn't dull your senses much. Yet..."

The old man stood several tens of meters away from me, with his scythe in his hands, as the Burial Blade, his famed Divine Weapon that was on the same level as my lance, the Longinuslanze Testament, already shone with menacing light.

Even though the elderly man appeared like a frail old man, his facade was now nowhere to be found as he was replaced by the most dangerous killer that have ever walked through the Lands of the Ancient Lords. 

I was sure that if Gehrman was born during the Age of Ancients, when the Lord Gwyn walked through the earth, he would be no less famous and important than the Lord of Cinder. The old man was always like this, attacking without announcing and testing the skills, not to mention something that I really prided myself about, that I was his best student together with Maria. 

In a moment, I summoned the Longinuslanze Testament to my right hand, and I immediately rushed at the First Hunter because several times we fought against each other, I never attacked first. 

Usually, I counterattacked when he attacked, as my combat style revolved around exploiting the mistakes and weaknesses of my enemy. Unfortunately for me, someone like Gehrman doesn't have any weakness in his combat stance and combat style, and he doesn't make mistakes.

Never ever.

He had far more than enough experience to make such a mistake, and thus, it was incomparably harder to fight such an enemy as the First Hunter. Nevertheless, it was already some time since I fought against my Master.

Usually, my sparring partner was Maria or the members of the Stormcast Eternals, but Maria was comparable to me in the aspect of skill and the Stormcast Eternals while best of the best, they were nowhere near me in the aspect of the martial skills and combat capabilities.

I spent several centuries polishing my skills through the Workshop and trained personally under the Gehrman the First Hunter. My martial skills were something that only a few people across the world could match, and there were no more than a hundred or so of them who had the same level of martial skills as me or Maria.

A certain part of me was rather glad at the prospect of another fight against the elderly Hunter because I felt that I hit some sort of block when it came to the progression of my martial skills.

Only by fighting someone incomparably skilled would my martial capabilities advance to a new dimension.

"But you are not paying attention once again... repeating the same mistake it seems, my dearest student."

The elderly man stated with creepy laughter as he swung the Burial Blade at his head with clear intent to kill, as the old man wasn't really holding back. Of course, he would hold back the killing blow, but crippling him for some time?

Of course, that would happen.

I instantly blocked the incoming strike of the Burial Blade with the Longinuslanze Testament, but suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my right leg, only to see a dagger stabbed in my leg, as he must throw it when I was focusing on the Burial Blade that appeared to be far more dangerous. 

Even though such a wound was lowering my mobility a bit, it wasn't anything serious that would hinder me in the combat, though it was rather a steep reminder of the fact that I shouldn't daydream during the spar. 

Especially when fighting someone like the Gehrman the First Hunter, who was as ruthless as he was skilled. Yet, this was making the entire fight even more interesting, truth to be told, because it greatly added a thrill element to the fight that wasn't present before. 

In truth, I never won any fight against the elderly Hunter, as he was always several steps ahead of me when we fought. I wasn't really that surprised as the old man outclassed me in every single attribute possible out here.

He was stronger, faster, and more durable, and that was just his physical dimension, but his experiences were the ones that separated him from the rest of the high-level individuals.

***

3rd POV

Hunter's Dream, Hunter's Workshop

Fighting against the Gehrman the First Hunter was always an experience for Karl Franz, because even though he has completed his apprenticeship with the Master of the Hunter's Workshop, he was still getting his ass handed to him, by the eldest Hunter. 

"You have indeed gotten better, my dearest apprentice, yet as Hunter, you have still a very long path ahead."

Out of nowhere, he heard his Master's voice behind him as he was knocked down by the Burial Blade that hit him in his back, sending him crashing on the ground, while insanely Gehrman's prosthetic dwarven-made leg was pressed on his shoulder and blade of the Burial Blade was on his neck.

Everything happened so fast that he barely had any time to react to the situation. 

"You should come more often to have spar... you would get all rusty behind all of that paperwork and doing nothing."

The elderly Hunter stated that as he returned to his wheelchair, he ejected Karl Franz from the Hunter's Dream as one final gift. Being ejected from the Hunter's Dream was a rather unpleasant experience because it felt like being thrown down from the top of the mountain and falling onto one's face.

***

Lands of the Ancient Lords, Holy Arcadia Empire, Grand Principality of the Reikland, Holy Imperial Capital of Anor Londo, End of the January of Year 10,282 - of the Imperial Lordranese Callendar 

After taking care of the matter within the Hunter's Dream, several days have passed since then and everything started moving. The Imperial Army of the Holy Arcadia Empire started moving and sending the forces to the Ulthuan.

Several whole Imperial Legions, entire Divisions of the Imperial Battle Wizard Legion were also departing to the Ten Kingdoms of Ulthuan together with several fleets from the Imperial Navy and also the newly established Air Fleets that were too making their way to the Ulthuan. 

Hunters from the Hunter's Workshop geared their trick weapons and tools needed to hunt the powerful Daemons, were already located in the Ulthuan and doing their best to control the situation. 

There were plenty of the Daemon Nobles and several Daemon Lords confirmed, so the Hunters from the Workshop already started hunting the creatures down one by one. It was highly possible that this entire operation was headed by the Level 8 Daemon Primarch, so for that one, either Gehrman would make a move or the High Elves would be forced to reveal their hidden cards.

Due to the severity of the situation and the vision that he received through the Sha Naqba Imuru: The Omniscient Omnipotent Star, some of the important people within the Holy Arcadia Empire had to depart for the Ulthuan to oversee the situation personally.

This even included the Imperial Bashar Jacques d'Orleáns, several High Scholars of the Byrgenwerth, and even three Patriarchs of the Magic Orders from the Eight Orders of Magic who departed there personally.

Aside from them, there were several more, and there were even rumors that the Big Hat Logan would personally head to the Ulthuan as a means to secure the transition of the Arcane knowledge to the Empire while also helping against the forces of Ruin.

He really hoped that the vision that he saw through the Sha Naqba Imuru: The Omniscient Omnipotent Star would never come realized because it would greatly weaken the forces of the Order to the point where one of the superpowers of the world had fallen down. 

Even though it was a rather tempting idea for him and many people at HighCom.

He stopped caring for that right now because today was the day they were departing to the Conclave of the Forge that would take place within the Dwarrowfelds in two months or so, and the journey alone there would take them around one month or so.

Because Karl Franz wanted to show Cirilla and Cersei around the place and around the Lordran, they were taking the G-1 Mobile Base they were using during their trip to the Athel Loren. 

At the same time, they would be accompanied by several contingents of the Stormcast Eternals who would be taking Warwagons with them as protection details. Right now, they were loading the things and their belongings onto the G-1 Mobile Base because they would need a lot of clothes and some supplies for the prolonged journey.

Actually, though, a lot of the said things that were being moved by the servants to the G-1 Mobile base were actually clothes of his fianceés, especially clothes belonging to the Cersei, but even many that belonged to Maria because she was convinced to appear more gracefully during the Conclave.

And while the armor of the Stormcast Eternals or the Hunter Uniform of the Workshop would please the dwarves a bit, it would be going against the social customs and traditions. The gravity of the event required appropriate clothes and outfits.

"Can we already go? It's been more than two hours, and you are still not ready..."

He wanted to complain, but unfortunately, around him, there was only Cirila, and she didn't have many clothes or anything... at least he thought so, because she was spending all of her time within the Imperial Palace of the Anor Londo. 

Karl Franz cursed in frustration that it was taking so long, as he noticed his youngest fianceé, who was instructing servants on where to transport what crate and how to handle the things that contained more fragile things. 

He shook his head in total frustration, because he didn't really understand why the hell she needed too many things. On the other hand, they would stay there for one month or so, and during that one month, she wanted to have one or two outfits for every single day.

Every single one of them.

That was something around 50 dresses, accessories, jewelry, and so.

"That should be almost everything. Ciri's things are already loaded; we have been ordering them from the best designers for the past week, and Maria's has been as well. Though for those, I should be hacking them according to the command of the Lady Annalise."

That was something that she had been ordered personally by Lady Annalise as the Matriarch of the House Vileblood knew the tendencies of her daughter very well and her strong disdain for formal clothes.

Even Cirilla had there many things, that were bought from the various shops in the Anor Londo, as she would be going together with them to the Conclave of the Forge. Fortunately enough, everything was soon enough loaded onto the G-1 Mobile Base, and they were always free to go.

The journey to the Dwarrowdelf would take them some time, but with the G-1 Mobile Base, it would be much faster and much more comfortable. When everything was loaded onto the G-1 Mobile Base, they finally left the Imperial Holy Capital of the Anor Londo towards the Dwarrowdelf in the Grand Province of Khaz-Modan.

***

Three Weeks Later, G-1 Mobile Base, On the Way to the Grand Province of Khaz-Modan, the border between the Grand Province of Reikland and the Grand Province of Brettonnia. 

For three weeks, they were on the way to the Grand Province of Khaz-Modan as they were heading towards the port, where they would take the ship to the Khaz-Modan and go the rest of the journey with the G-1 Mobile Base that would be transported through the Sea of Claws by the ship.

Fortunately enough, the Holy Arcadia Empire had enormously large ships that were capable of transporting something that was even as huge as the G-1 Mobile Bases were. The one among their party that enjoyed the journey the most was probably Ciri, because she got to see another part of the Lordran and the Lands of the Ancient Lord.

The Anor Londo, the City of Gods, was one of the, if not the most magnificent places in the entire Azyr, but at the same time, it wasn't like the rest of the Holy Arcadia Empire looked, because it was a City built for the Gods.

At least, that was the way Lord Gwyn built the city; in his vision, it was the most grandiose and majestic place that anyone could come across and will come across.

Now, when they were passing through the smaller cities, towns, villages and military fortresses and castles of the local nobles, one could see how the ordinary people of the Holy Arcadia Empire lived and how everything functioned within the Imperium.

Life in the Anor Londo was vastly different from the one that was taking place outside of the Anor Londo. The same thing could be said about Yharnam, which was the religious capital of the Empire; Faust, which was the magical capital of the Empire; and Cainhurst, which was the militaristic capital of the Empire. 

When they passed through some smaller cities, they made a stop at the places, while Karl Franz took it as an opportunity to inspect the territory of the Holy Arcadia Empire and how the Imperial Governors, Administrators and Bureaucrats were doing their work.

Fortunately enough, he didn't find anything bad because then, they would receive a visit from the Officio Assassinorum and be dealt with accordingly. The punishments for the corruption and abuse of power within the Holy Arcadia Empire were especially harsh and very often resulted in death.

Meanwhile, he was inspecting the city; Maria took both Ciri and Cersei into the city, and they went through the merchant district a bit to pass some time. For both of them, this was the first time visiting a rather average Imperial city. 

So, indeed, it was rather an experience for the both of them, because compared to the majestic and dignified Anor Londo that, while being one if not the biggest city in the world, was lacking the population. Or the Faust that was filled with nothing, just Magicians, Sorcerers, and their creation, and Yharnam filled with the clergy of the Healing Church, this place looked..

Normal?

It was bustling with people, either Humans or Dwarves, that were doing their things, buying and selling things