The Affliction — Story
Affliction
“Look out!”
Zeydaan dove at the last possible second as the gleaming blur shot past her. She had been fighting this Valstrax with three other Hunters for nearly a half hour. It was almost done for, but it wasn't going down without a fight. Zeydaan nocked an arrow, aiming it at the silver elder dragon. She gasped, seeing the dragon with its wings pointed directly at them. When it does that…
“Take cover!” One of the other Hunters shouted.
The Valstrax unleashed a massive, crimson beam of dragon energy. Zeydaan was caught off guard, taking the laser head on. She let out a cry of pain as she was knocked off her feet. Zeydaan tumbled with the force of the beam.
Her body numbed as she rolled through the dirt. Another Hunter rushed over, dragging Zeydaan behind a rock. Red energy crackled around them. She had contracted a dragon blight.
“You remembered to pack something for that, right?” The Hunter asked.
Zeydaan sighed, pulling a nulberry from the pouch on her belt. She scarfed the berry down, feeling the blight recede. Then, it returned in full force. The other Hunter blinked at them.
“You got some rotten berries there? Here, have one of mine.” They held a nulberry out with a wry smile.
“Thanks,” Zeydaan said, quickly eating it.
Again, the blight was only temporarily reduced. Zeydaan tried another berry, to no effect. The Hunter crossed their arms, staring incredulously at Zey. They leaned around the rock, cupping their hands to either side of their mouth.
“Hey Zach! We got a bit of a problem here!”
“Yeah, I got a bigger problem over here!” The Hunter clad in Rathalos armor screamed back, “What’s fucking taking so long!”
“Our fourth contracted a blight that’s not going away!”
A blast of dragon energy scorched the bolder they hid behind.
“Just get your asses out here! Blight or not, this Valstrax is almost done for!”
The Hunter looked down at Zeydaan and shrugged. Zey sighed, and stood up. This would be really inconvenient. She scooped up her bow with a grumble. Drawing back an arrow, she dove out of cover, ready to finish the fight!
Only to see the rest of the Hunters already carving scales and other materials from the Valstrax’s still body. She fired off their arrow behind them, frustrated. At least the dragon was dead. Zeydaan reluctantly approached the corpse and began to carve for themself.
“That blight still on you?”
Zeydaan looked up across the dragon at the Hunter who had tried to help her earlier. She nodded slowly, red dragon energy crackling around her. It didn't hurt, but it was incredibly annoying.
“It is, eh? Maybe Elder Fugen would know a way to help.”
Zeydaan slowly stood, stowing their carvings.
“I hope someone knows something. This is very inconvenient.”
The ride back to Kamura was slow and quiet, the silence permeated by the crackling of dragon energy around Zeydaan. The near constant sound was grating on their nerves. A brief scan of the expressions of the other Hunters showed that it was also getting on their nerves. Zeydaan sighed and buried her face in her hands. By the time she got to Kamura, the rest of the Hunters had decided to walk alongside the cart.
Zeydaan hopped from the cart, trudging into the village. Wordlessly, she approached Elder Fugen, who looked puzzled at them.
“Hey Hunter, you uh… You alright there?”
“This blight hasn't gone away. It doesn't react to nulberries. Watch.”
With steady motion, Zeydaan pulled a nulberry from her pouch, showed it to Fugen, then ate it. The blight didn't even react. Fugen gripped his chin thoughtfully.
“That’s something else, Hunter.”
“Can you help me?”
Elder Fugen closed his eyes and folded his arms, deep in thought.
“Perhaps there is a cure for this rather troublesome blight. If nulberries by themselves aren't strong enough, we need to do something to make them stronger.”
Zeydaan furrowed their brow.
“How would we do that?”
“A tea, that would bring the nulbery’s properties out. Go wait at Yomogi’s dango shop, I’ll get it prepared.”
With a nod, Zeydaan trotted down the stairs of the steelworks, rounded the corner, and jogged up to the counter. She plopped down on one of the stools, resting her muzzle in their hand. Noticing a customer, Yomogi bounded up to Zeydaan, clipboard in hand.
“Hey! What can I getcha?”
Even though they weren’t feeling well, Yomogi’s infectious enthusiasm caused a smile to creep across their face.
“Oh, nothing right now, thank you.”
“Okay! Let me know if you change your mind!”
With a laugh, she turned around, supervising the palicos who made the bunny dango. The most popular dish in Kamura village was bunny dango, a number of residents ate it exclusively. To their merit, it was indeed a tasty meal, surprisingly filling too.
Elder Fugen sat down next to them, interrupting their thoughts. He was carrying a tea kettle, which he handed to Yomogi. He smiled at Zeydaan, beaming with pride.
“This should do the trick. It’ll be just a minute. Dango’s on me if you want any, Hunter.”
For a fleeting moment, everything felt like it was going to be okay. Fugen seemed sure this would work. Zeydaan grinned, a spark of hope growing in their chest.
“Here you go, Zey!”
Yomogi placed a cup of deep blue tea and a plate of dango in front of them.
“I cooked up some dango for ya, your usual. Enjoy!”
With a hint of caution, Zeydaan glanced at Elder Fugen, who gave an optimistic thumbs up in response. Zeydaan drew in a deep breath, wolfed down a skewer of dango, then took a long drink of the nulberry tea.
Dragon energy surged around them, seeming to build to a pitch. In an instant, it burst outward, knocking loose objects around. Then, silence.
Silence broken by the crackling of a dragon blight clinging to Zeydaan’s body. Elder Fugen’s smile faded. Hinoa ran over from where she usually sat, fear in her eyes.
“Is everyone alright? What happened?”
Fugen laughed lightly, scooping up the scattered dango.
“Everything’s alright, Hinoa. Well… Not everything.”
Zeydaan’s head was completely hidden in her arms. Her hopes were quashed, shattered into dust. Why was she cursed with this unending blight? What had she done to deserve this?
“..unter. Hunter? Zeydaan!”
With a jolt, she picked her head up, staring at Elder Fugen.
“What?” She asked dryly.
“Hinoa was saying that Hojo might know something about this.”
Hinoa smiled, nodding.
“Guildmaster Hojo knows a lot about monsters, I’m sure he’s heard something that could help.”
Zeydaan was quiet for a while before speaking.
“Sure. We’ll see what he has to say.”
Slowly, Zeydaan stood from her stool, feeling mildly defeated. She trudged behind Hinoa, frustration weighing her down. As the two of them entered, they were met with boisterous laughter.
“Welcome, welcome! How can I be of service today?”
“Guildmaster Hojo!” Hinoa clapped her hands together and smiled, “I was hoping you’d be able to help this Hunter here, you see, Zeydaan contracted some kind of dragon blight that won’t go away.”
“Hmmm… A blight that cannot be cured…”
Guildmaster Hojo rubbed his chin.
“Perhaps the blight is not the cause, but a symptom?”
Zeydaan arched an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?”
“Perhaps there is something else causing this blight. Consider a disease. It may make you cough, but treating the cough will not cure the disease.”
Zeydaan’s ears folded back as they considered what Hojo said. What could the blight be a symptom of? Could she have contracted some kind of dragon virus?
“Do you think it is some kind of disease?” Hinoa asked thoughtfully.
“It very well could be,” Hojo replied, visually assessing Zeydaan, “Are you feeling well?”
Zeydaan laughed nervously under Hojo’s scrutinizing gaze.
“I feel fine, aside from this,” She said, gesturing to the red energy about them.
Guildmaster Hojo nodded, still contemplating.
“This blight is from your recent hunt? Perhaps the virus is in its incubation state?”
“If that’s the case,” Zeydaan pondered aloud, “then we would have to treat the disease, and the blight would follow?”
“Correct,” Hojo nodded, “and I may know where to find such a cure. There was a virus reported in the Kingdom recently. I believe the cure they made could also help you here.”
“Good thing that all is calm over there now,” Hinoa added with a sigh of relief, “you should be able to get a ship to the Elgado outpost with no trouble.”
“It’s worth a shot. When’s the next boat?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On wobbly legs, Zeydaan departed the Argosy, waving at Rondine. She had agreed to ferry Zeydaan, mostly because she was planning on heading to Elgado anyway. The trip wasn't that long by boat, so bringing on a Hunter for a ferry wasn't that much of an ask.
She slowly walked across the plaza, feeling curious eyes fall upon them. Instinctively, they lowered their head, trying to shrink her profile, somehow forgetting that everyone was staring at her because of the dragon energy crackling around her. As Zeydaan walked up the ramp to the command post, she noticed a wyverian man with long grey hair approaching them.
“You must be Zeydaan. I am Doctor Tadori,” he gave a curt bow, “I received a letter explaining your situation ahead of your arrival. Please, come with me.”
Zeydaan nodded, following Dr. Tadori up to where he was set up. He searched through his cabinet-like backpack.
“You are actually rather lucky. A group of Hunters just returned with a captured Espinas roughly two hours ago.”
“How’s that make me lucky?”
Dr. Tadori turned around holding a ceramic bottle. He smiled, holding it out to them.
“I’ll explain once you take this medicine.”
Zeydaan did her best to drown her doubts with the bitter medicine. She gagged and sputtered, trying to get all of it down. It was simultaneously sludgy and watery. Despite its best attempts to not be swallowed, Zeydaan managed to get the medicine down. She took a deep breath, looking expectantly at Dr. Tadori.
“You are lucky because Espinas has a potent poison that is the key ingredient in the medicine you just took.”
Zeydaan blinked rapidly at Dr. Tadori.
“I just… drank poison?”
“Not exactly. I didn't just give you pure Espinas poison, it is just an ingredient. I do need to keep you under observation until I’m sure any potential side effects have passed.”
She let out a heavy sigh, and leaned against a nearby wall. Zeydaan couldn't help but worry what would happen if she didn't actually have a virus? Would the poison actually act as poison? She was so deep in thought, she barely noticed the dragon energy starting to slowly die down.
“Ah, Zeydaan, the medicine appears to be working.”
Her attention was brought back to her paws, watching the crimson bolts slowly growing less apparent. A smile crept across their muzzle. Was this it? Was this the solution they had been looking for the entire time? Zeydaan turned her head up towards Dr. Tadori, who smiled back. But his smile quickly faded, as the dragon energy surged around Zeydaan once more.
“Uh… That was… not supposed to happen.”
A nervous chuckle bubbled up from Zeydaan’s chest. She buried her face in her paws, letting out a muffled scream.
“There is one other thing we could try.”
Zeydaan stared coldly at Dr. Tadori.
“What else could there possibly be?”
“Well… We know that due to the nature of elemental blights, Hunters can only be affected by one blight at a time. Simply put, perhaps we should try getting you affected by another blight.”
“Sure. What could possibly go wrong.”
“Chiche should have a handful of quests for you to choose from, and I’m certain there are a number of Hunters around here who would be more than willing to help. Chiche is set up just before the ramp up here, on your left as you walk down.”
Zeydaan nodded silently, and trudged out of the command post. She silently rounded the corner, walking up to Chiche. The young girl smiled at her, pulling some papers out of her bag.
“Hello Hunter! Here are the quests we have available right now!”
She held the sheets out to Zeydaan. Each was a picture of the main monster that needed hunting, as well as a brief description of the quest in question. She leafed through the quests, not really paying much mind to them. All they really needed was something that could give them a blight. She stopped on a quest asking for someone to take out an Astalos that was running amuck in the Jungle.
“This one,” Zeydaan said dryly, pulling the page from the rest.
“Excellent! Good luck, Hunter!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jungle heat wasn't unbearable, but boy was it uncomfortable. Zeydaan stepped out of the tent, lightly fanning herself. An Astalos would be easy to find, large bug-like dragons don’t exactly hide well. With a deep breath, they climbed up a patch of vines, into the Jungle proper.
In the distance, she heard the sound of electricity crackling. That was the Astalos for sure. Slowly, she began to skulk towards the sound. The Jungle was strangely quiet, aside from the distant rumbling thunder, and the dragon energy sparking around them.
“Excuse me?”
Zeydaan’s skeleton nearly jumped out of her body, who wheeled around to see a tall wyverian wearing a dark purple coat. Their clothes were in the style of the Kingdom, and they carried an insect glaive, using it as a walking stick.
“Oh, I didn't mean to startle you, Hunter. My name is Amelia. I’m a friend of Dr. Tadori’s. When I heard of your…situation, I wanted to try to help myself.”
“If Dr. Tadori sent you, then surely he told you that nothing so far has worked, including the medicine he made.”
Amelia nodded.
“Indeed, he told me. You see, I’m a researcher. I feel that if we get a better understanding of what’s going on with you, we can fix what’s happened to you.”
“How exactly would you do that?”
“Your blood.”
“M-my blood?”
“Yes, if I am to study what's happening to you, I need a sample.”
“Alright, I guess.”
Amelia gently took Zeydaan’s arm. She pulled out a neckerchief with a wavy white symbol on it, and tied it around Zeydaan’s arm, just above her elbow.
“This uh, might hurt just a bit. The gathering of a blood sample is inelegant at the moment. It is a budding field of research.”
“How exactly are you-”
Zeydaan was interrupted by the searing pain of steel parting flesh on the back of her forearm. She yelped, tightening their grip on her bow. Dragon energy surged around them, seeming to spike with her emotions.
“I do apologize, Hunter. This is… a bit of a brutal method. I’ve almost got enough, just a moment more.”
A few seconds later, Zeydaan felt the neckerchief being untied, and a bandage being wrapped around her wound. The swirling red energy died down, returning to the levels it normally rested at.
“Is that… all you need?” Zeydaan groaned.
“Yes. I’m going to take it back to my lab near Bherna. As soon as I have something, I’ll return and let you know.”
“Uh, thanks, I guess.”
Amelia gently patted Zeydaan’s back.
“I’m sure I’ll find something, Hunter.”
With that, Amelia used her glaive to stand up, gave a wave, then walked off. Zeydaan sighed. What an odd encounter. It had completely distracted them from her quest. She shook her head, refocusing herself. Bow half drawn, she crept through the underbrush. Another distant rumble of thunder guided her steps. She stalked into a clearing, and gasped.
There was the Astalos, sure enough, sizing up a Mizutsune. In a flash, the wyverns began to fight. The Astalos dove for the Mizutsune, but it jumped out of the way, firing a volley of bubbles. None of them hit, as the Astalos circled around, only for it to be caught by the Mizutsune’s jet stream of water. Zeydaan saw an opportunity approaching, and began to flank around the clearing.
As the Astalos tackled the Mizutsune to the ground, Zeydaan readied an arrow. She trained it on the Astalos as it was thrown off of the Mizutsune. Once it was stunned, she let the arrow fly, embedded itself into the Astalos’s crest.
Seizing the opening, the Miztsune fled. Zeydaan rushed into the clearing, circling the Astalos. As she ran, she loosed arrow after arrow, riddling the dazed wyvern. The Astalos roared, snapping out of its daze. It immediately took to the skies, sending bolts of green lightning down at Zeydaan.
She had to get hit here, but… Oh it was gonna hurt. Worse than that researcher cutting their arm. Zeydaan grit her teeth, and dove straight into the oncoming electricity. It seared, sending blazing lines of pure pain all through her body.
When her senses returned to her, she found herself splayed out on the ground, twitching. In a daze, she held up her hands to see if she had gotten thunder blight. But there was no blight other than the same ever-persistent dragon blight.
Emotions swirled within them. Fear, sadness, confusion… all welling up into a burst of anger. She suddenly leapt to her feet, bow still in hand. The Astalos that had been standing curiously over them recoiled in shock. Before it could react, Zeydaan pelted arrow after arrow into its chitinous hide.
Suddenly, the fight was back on, arrows and lightning volleying back and forth. The wyvern and Hunter danced wildly, striking at each other. Until a single arrow caught the Astalos in the right wing, knocking it off balance. Zeydaan pressed the advantage, firing more arrows, as the beast let out its final roar.
Her heart pounded as she stood over the felled wyvern. Instincts took over, and she began to carve materials from the Astalos. As she did, she considered everything that had happened. It was all an exercise in futility, coming out to the kingdom, Dr. Tadori’s medicine, Amelia taking her blood, going to get a thunder blight, all of it was useless! In a fit of anger, she threw her head back and bellowed a roar of rage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Guildhall was silent as Zeydaan trudged in. Guildmaster Hojo smiled at first, but upon seeing the blight still shrouded around Zeydaan, he frowned.
“No luck then, Hunter?” He inquired, caution in his voice.
A flare of anger rushed up Zeydaan’s chest.
“No!” She snapped, “Not a single thing has worked!”
“Easy, Hunter. No need to be hostile.”
“Right,” Zeydaan sighed, trying to ease her emotions.
It had become steadily harder to control the anger she had welling up inside her. Like trying to bail out a sinking ship. She drew in a deep breath, trying to calm down.
“Why don't you have some dango, Hunter? Take some time to relax.”
Zeydaan nodded, only half paying attention to where she was going. She plopped down in her seat, propping her head up with one hand. Idly, she placed an order for some dango without thinking. Their ears perked up to the distant sound of laughter. As they looked over towards the source, a pair of Hunters, the laughter became stifled. It only took Zeydaan a moment to realize the Hunters were laughing at her. That was all it took.
In an instant, Zeydaan completely lost control of herself. Unable to stop herself, she jumped out of her seat and stormed over to the Hunters. She slammed her fist on the table, and leaned in with a ferocious snarl.
“You think this is funny? This shit I’m going through is funny to you?!”
“Hey, calm the hell down!” One of the Hunters snapped back.
“We were laughing at the Palico that tripped, asshole.” Retorted the other.
Zeydaan stormed back to her seat, embarrassment tinting her fury. Her paws ran over the top of her head, she felt a number of rough spots, but quickly dismissed them in her anger. She grumbled as she gnawed on the dango that was waiting for her. Someone tapped on her back gently. In response, Zeydaan spun around with a growl. The palico holding a cup of tea fell back with a scared meow, spilling tea on the ground. It quickly scampered off with a hiss.
“Hunter!” Hojo shouted, “I understand you are ailing, but please refrain from harassing the Palicos!”
That was enough embarrassment to knock Zeydaan back to her senses. She groaned, realizing what she had done. The silence that rose in the Guildhall was broken only by the dragon blight crackling around Zeydaan. At a time like this, there was really only one thing to do. Go on a hunt to blow off some steam.
Cautiously, she stood up, and walked over to see what quests had already been posted. She pulled down a note about a group of three Hunters needing help with a Rathalos. Really? These weak Hunters needed help with one Rathalos? Pitiful, but she would give these hunters a hand. Without another word, Zeydaan set out to find these hopeless Hunters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey hey! Welcome to the party!”
Zeydaan slowly walked over to the trio of Hunters, sizing them up. The cheerful one that was welcoming them wore Zinogre armor wielding a longsword.
“My name is Zeydaan,” she said with a curt bow.
“I’m Thomas,” the Hunter replied with a toothy smile, “The one in the Basarios armor is Judy, and the one in the Nargacuga kit is Cyrus.”
Zeydaan faked a smile, waving at the other two.
“What’s with the blight?” Judy prodded, “You just got here, shouldn't be afflicted.”
A wisp of rage rose through Zeydaan. She cringed at the mention of her affliction.
“You can’t just ask someone that!” Tom cried, gently punching Judy in the arm, “It’s like asking why someone’s got a cold. Sometimes it just happens.”
“...let’s just get on with the hunt…” Cyrus’s voice was very soft, but forceful, “...we’ve already carted twice, so please be careful…”
Twice? On a Rathalos? At this rank? These Hunters were, as they thought, completely hopeless. Zeydaan jogged ahead of the group, having spotted the wyvern from camp.
“We only were having problems because someone decided to try out new techniques that they hadn't practiced yet,” Judy said with a huff.
“I knew they would work, you were just being a coward and wouldn’t throw me!”
“...both of you carted because of it…who cares whose fault it was…”
Zeydaan groaned softly. Their arguing was infuriating. Just one hunt, then these squabbling weaklings would be gone. A sudden, bellowing roar called their focus back. The Rathalos raised its head, gathering flames in its maw. Zeydaan strafed left around it, drawing her bow.
Just as she let their first arrow fly, her aim was knocked off course by Tom swinging wide. Zeydaan growled, and drew another, only for her bow to be hit again. The energy around Zeydaan spiked, swirling ferociously. She ran to the right, easily dodging around Judy’s hammer.
It seemed that every attempt Zeydaan made to attack the monster, one of the three other Hunters would somehow make her miss. Each miss made them angrier. As she grew angrier, the aura around her swirled more intensely.
Zeydaan climbed up on some rocks, hoping to finally have a clear shot. She took her time to aim carefully, following the Rathalos’s head. An opening! Zeydaan loosed her arrow, excitement building!
But the Rathalos was already slain. Zeydaan screamed, fury overwhelming her. These weak, hopeless hunters had brought her here just to be mocked! The nerve of these fools! They would show these pitiful, ungrateful-
“Hey Zey! Come get your carves in!”
It took them a moment to deal with the cognitive dissonance of Tom being nice to her, after what she believed was a mockery. Slowly, she climbed down, and began to carve the wyvern. Something in the back of her head was turning, there was something about the corpse that she wanted. The meat, some deeper part of her craved eating the meat.
It was a bone deep craving, one that she needed to sate, else be driven mad. Once Zeydaan was certain none of the hunters were looking, she cut a small sliver of flesh, and hungrily scarfed it down. While profane, it curbed her desire for meat. Not wanting to fully contemplate the ramifications of what she had just done, Zeydaan quickly stood up, and joined the group of Hunters heading back to Kamura.
“I think that went really well!” Tom stated confidently.
Anger began to well up in Zeydaan’s chest.
“Well,” Judy snorted, “Our fourth here didn't really do anything. All she did was show up, get in our way, then carve the Rath’s body.”
The anger burned into fury, bursting forth, spurring Zeydaan into action.
“I was getting in your way!?” she shouted, “Every time I tried to fire an arrow at the damn monster, one of you hit me or got in my way!”
Judy stopped in her tracks, wheeling around.
“We would have been just fine with or without you,” she jabbed a finger into Zeydaan’s chest, then quickly recoiled after hitting something scaly.
“You are hopeless!” The dragon energy around Zeydaan quickly became a whirlwind as her anger filled her words, “If I wasn't here, you would have failed miserably! You already were beaten by that Rathalos twice before I showed up!”
Before Judy could respond, Tom forced his way between her and Zeydaan and pushed them apart.
“Cool it you two! Let’s just get back to Kamura, then we can go our separate ways, and forget this happened, okay?”
Wordlessly, Zeydaan pushed her way through the group, and stormed ahead, quickly outpacing the others with minimal effort. She stewed in her anger and frustration the entire way to Kamura, the aura around them growing more fierce the longer she stewed.
Out of the foliage, a Jaggi leapt at Zeydaan. She reacted faster than she thought possible, catching the wyvern in mid air with an arrow. In a blur, she dashed around to where the Jaggi was going to land, and slammed it into the dirt with another arrow. Zeydaan stood triumphantly over it. Giddy laughter bubbled out her mouth, feeling a sense of satisfaction in finally having hunted something. She needed to get back to Kamura, and quickly. More hunts awaited them, with less whiny Hunters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been two weeks since Zeydaan had started her hunting spree. She had been taking quests nonstop, riding the adrenaline being the most powerful Hunter in all of Kamura. Confidently, she strode into the Guildhall, to see a gathering of Hunters in the center of the room. Guildmaster Hojo waved to Zeydaan, motioning them to approach. She did so, leaning over to Hojo.
“What’s going on?” Zeydaan asked.
“These Hunters have taken issue with some of your behavior of late. They meant to spring it on you, but I did not think that was fair.”
“What? My behavior?”
Guildmaster Hojo cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably.
“You haven’t been… the most cooperative Hunter as of late.”
“Why do I need to be cooperative? I’m the strongest Hunter in all of Kamura!”
As she exclaimed that, the other Hunters in the room turned towards Zeydaan. Her ears flattened against her head, feeling threatened. One Hunter wearing Basarios armor pushed their way to the front, then pointed an accusatory finger toward Zeydaan.
“You! All this is your fault, you boastful lout!”
Zeydaan growled, lowering her head. These weak Hunters really were getting on her nerves. Another Hunter stepped forward, pointing as well.
“They’re the one who barged into our quest and stole the kill for themself!”
Accusations began to pile up. Someone complained about each of her recent hunts, taking issue with the smallest things. Her veins boiled with rage. These hopeless, ungrateful Hunters. How dare they! Zeydaan was sick of it.
“ENOUGH!” she bellowed, a gust of burning wind blowing from her back, “I have heard enough! You are ungrateful for my help, so you simply won't have it!”
Fuming, Zeydaan stormed out of the Guildhall. If those lazy Hunters were going to gang up on her, then she simply would hunt by herself. Zeydaan was so caught up in her anger, that she didn't see the person walking towards her. She collided with the person, stumbling back.
“Watch where you’re-”
She got a good look at who she knocked over. It was Amelia, the wyverian researcher that took her blood. Zeydaan helped her to her feet.
“Ah, Zeydaan,” she said as she was helped up, “I was just asking after you. Er, are you alright?”
She faked a smile, still seething underneath. The swirling vortex of dragon energy around them betrayed their façade, however.
“I’m fine,” she said through grit teeth, “is there something I can help you with?”
“Yes, I need you to come with me for an exam. I’ve rented a room in town, so you won’t have to dress down to your small clothes in a tent. This way, if you please.”
Reluctantly, Zeydaan followed Amelia up the road, into a small house. Amelia closed a curtain behind them as they entered.
“I do, unfortunately, need you to dress down. If it makes you more comfortable, I can turn my back while you take your armor off.”
“Uh… Yeah.”
“Understood,” Amelia said, turning on her heel, “let me know when you’re done.”
Even though she had her back turned, it was still incredibly awkward for Zeydaan to take off her armor. Once the light plates were removed, and she was in only her undergarments, she let out a held breath.
“Okay, you can turn around.”
Amelia spun back around, and quickly went to work. She looked very carefully over Zeydaan’s arms, parting the fur with a comb. As she went, she mumbled to herself, occasionally shaking her head.
“Have you noticed any changes in your own behavior?” she asked as she prodded a particular tough spot on Zeydaan’s side.
“I-I don’t know. Like what?”
Amelia looked Zeydaan in the eyes.
“Hyper aggression, inability to control your mood, outbursts, anything like that?”
“Not really,” she replied, lying through her teeth.
Unsatisfied with that answer, Amelia probed further.
“Have you felt that your personality is any different than it was when we first met?”
“I feel fine.”
Amelia grumbled something, then continued with her exam.
“Can you take a deep breath for me?”
Zeydaan drew in a long breath, then exhaled slowly. Behind her, she heard the sound of papers rustling.
“That is significant…” Amelia said to herself, looking over Zeydaan’s back.
A hint of fear popped up in the depths of Zeydaan’s mind. What was significant about her breathing? Was something happening to her? She was suddenly jolted back into focus by a sharp pain.
“Agh! What the hell?!”
Zeydaan looked down at Amelia, who held a small silver scale.
“Apologies, I didn't think you would feel that.”
The aura around Zeydaan kicked up, arcing dragon energy off her body.
“Ah, please remain calm, Zeydaan.”
“Calm? Calm!? How the hell am I supposed to be calm while you’re down there stabbing me and mumbling to yourself!? What is happening to me?!”
Amelia slowly stood up, and gently placed a hand on Zeydaan’s shoulder.
“I am going to be honest with you. I have no idea. Nothing like this has ever been recorded before. The sample I took, the longer I studied it, the more it looked like Elder Dragon blood. I urge you to remain calm while an understanding of this is brought about.”
Panic and anger blended together in her mind.
“I… I think we’re done here.”
Amelia frowned.
“You should come with me to my lab, so-”
“No!” Zeydaan exclaimed, then took a moment to continue, “No. I’m staying here. Good bye.”
“Ah… Very well.”
Amelia turned to walk away, but stopped at the doorway.
“If I find something that could help you, I will return. Please keep yourself in good health.”
Zeydaan didn't look back as she left. She instead knelt down to redress. As she picked up her chest piece, she paused. The inner lining on the back had been charred, but not by fire.
By dragon energy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Panting, Zeydaan stood over the freshly felled Arzuros. It had fought ferociously, but was ultimately no match for her. She knelt down, and began to carve the beast. Hide and meat, sloppily cut by shaking paws. She briefly contemplated gorging themself on the meat here and now, but snapped out of the primal urge. It needed to be hauled to camp.
Ever since she had decided that Kamura was no longer worth visiting, she had set up a secluded camp in the Shrine Ruins. The quiet was calming to her, and there were plenty of things to hunt and eat in the area. It was almost like it was her own territory.
As Zeydaan approached their camp, she noticed a pair of silhouettes standing there. They crouched low, and crept out of view. If these two were trying to ambush her, they had another thing coming. Slowly, she flanked around behind the pair, then leapt wildly from the brush, tackling one to the ground.
“Zeydaan!”
Her eyes adjusted, focusing on who she had pinned down. It was Dr. Tadori. She reluctantly backed off, letting him stand up. The other silhouette was Amelia. Zeydaan growled at her, then shook her head, and stood up.
“What do you two want?” they snarled.
“We are here to help you,” Dr. Tadori said softly, “Amelia and I have been working on a cure to your affliction.”
Zeydaan snorted.
“Because those worked every time you tried before.”
Amelia gently grabbed her wrist, looking over her arm.
“These scales are significantly more present than when I was examining Zeydaan a week ago. The changes may be exponential, I fear.”
Zeydaan wrenched her arm free of Amelia’s grip with a snarl. Dr. Tadori set down his pack and pulled out a large clay jar. He removed the lid, causing a potent odor to waft out. Zeydaan sneezed from a single whiff, and turned her nose up at it.
“We believe this ointment will help you, Zeydaan,” Dr. Tadori said, approaching them, “please allow us to administer it.”
“I’ll humor you,” she replied, “but if this doesn't work, you leave me alone. Got it?!”
The two wyverians nodded. With cautious hands, they began to rub the odorus paste over Zeydaan’s arms and legs, chest and back. It stunk, horribly. Zeydaan did her best not to mind the smell, but it was slowly making them angry.
It was a tedious process, the application of the curative ointment. Amelia and Dr. Tadori did their best to be gentle, but it was not always possible. With each passing moment, the dragon aura around Zeydaan grew more active, sparking bolts of crimson across her fur and scales.
“How much longer is this going to take,” she demanded.
“We are almost done,” Dr. Tadori replied, “try to remain calm. Extreme emotions seem to expedite these changes.”
Zeydaan grumbled, grinding her teeth.
“There,” Amelia said, stepping back, “that should do it.”
Dr. Tadori joined her, smiling gently at Zeydaan. Every inch of her body tingled in the worst way, like an unscratchable itch. She stood silent for only thirty seconds, before bursting out in a fit of growling, trying to scratch herself.
“That is… not the reaction I expected,” Amelia stated, tilting her head, “was our ratio off?”
“Of course not,” Dr. Tadori replied, turning to her, “we followed your notes exactly.”
“Then why-”
“SHUT UP!” Zeydaan screamed, stomping her feet, “I’m done! I’m done with all of this! Leave me alone!”
“Zeydaan,” Amelia took a step towards them, “you should come with us. There have been reports of a Shagaru Magala sighting in the area, and it is just not-”
“That glittery BASTARD!” Zeydaan scooped up her bow, “I thought I had sent him packing, but NO! He’s still here!”
“You’re not seriously-”
“This is MY territory! I’m not about to let that golden wannabe set up HERE!”
Despite the damned itching, she had to do something about that Shagaru Magala. Clutching her bow, she scurried off into the Ruins. It was easy to track Magalas, they left behind a certain trail of destruction and death in their wake that was easy to follow. Zeydaan ran on all fours, it was faster that way.
A peculiar scent hit her nostrils as she bolted through the brush. Not quite the stench of death, but something close. It had to be that Shagaru Magala. She followed it, claws bulging, digging into the ground as she scampered. A roar bellowed out her maw as she rushed into the clearing where the Shagaru Magala was feeding on an Aknosom.
The golden wyvern slowly turned around to face Zeydaan. It let out its own roar, stomping ferociously. As it rushed at Zeydaan, she dodged to the side, dragon aura bursting to life. Her armor creaked and groaned. Zeydaan yelped in pain as her muscles swelled. Beneath her skin, her body was shifting. But the Shagaru Magala was not waiting around for her to sit through the changes.
A black and purple ball of energy flew from the Magala’s jaws, directly towards Zeydaan. She had no issue dodging around it, leaving scraps of armor behind. Zeydaan’s forelegs buckled, shining silver scales rippling out from underneath fur. Her bulging claws sharpened and grew into large talons. She dug into the ground, throwing themself at the Magala with incredible speed and ferocity.
Her lunge was dodged by the Magala rearing back, and Zeydaan was caught in the side by a wing slam. The blow knocked them back in a burst of fur, revealing more gleaming silver scales. She angrily flicked her slender, glittery tail as she slid back. Not wasting a second, she leapt head first back into the fray. More fur shed as her skull shifted, becoming streamlined and spiked. Her beak-like jaw stayed shut tight as she rushed at the Magala, who reared up to match them.
The duo of wyverns clashed, locking foreclaws. Valstrax roared at its foe, who tried to blast her with purple energy in response. The golden wyvern was being overpowered, but it refused to give in. It lifted its powerful wing arms out, and quickly brought them back down on the Valstrax, aiming to crush it. A flash of dragon energy stopped the attack, as Valstrax flexed its newly formed wings. The Magala swung again, desperately trying to subdue the Valstrax. This only served to anger the silver wyvern.
Dragon energy began to jet out of the tips of the Valstrax’s wings. The force allowed the Valstrax to turn the tide of the clash, using all of its energy to push the Magala over, pinning it to the ground. Belly up, the Shagaru Magala was completely vulnerable, and with one well placed puncture, the fight was over.
Valstrax bellowed triumphantly, its dragon aura a gleaming crimson vortex. With a leap, the Valstrax took to the skies, leaving a scarlet trail behind it. The Star of Despair flew over the Shrine Ruins, making sure all who saw it knew that this was its territory, and it was not to be challenged.