User blog:Darknessabove/Huntsman: Echos and Whispers

In the darkness of the black abyss, there is a mirror, which if rumor is to be believed, reflects ones true self in its glass, to whomever stares in the mirror.

It is also said that the only ones that ever see the mirror are those who are cursed, to be followed by the spirits of the dead, forever charged with carrying these spirits until they die, when their flesh finally fails them.

Though this is only rumor, told amongst those veterans that have seen their fair share of blood and death.

To most, it would be a laughable thing, the thinking of a madman, or someone that had some form of hidden guilt.

Dreams though, aren't something that need to be resonable, for in dreams, anything is possible.

To the dreamer, what they see can only be truely understood by them.

Some will take their dreams as a sign, to carry out a great task or to become something greater.

Some take their dreams as a warning, to avoid a path that they should not tread.

Some however, do not want to understand.

Some, like the huntsman.

Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, to finally rest, he would arrive at this place, an abyss of darkness, a single mirror floating in this abyss.

Everytime he came, he tried to resist looking in the mirror.

Everytime he tried, he failed, his eyes staring at the glass, almost as if he was drowning in its glow.

To him, it seemed like weeks would go by, as he stared at the mirror, his body refusing to obey him, as he tried with all his might to stop staring at the glass.

He wanted to turn away, he wanted to simply forget what the mirror showed him, day after day.

Yet, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't forget what he saw in that mirror.

Sometimes, it showed a young man on a grassy field, bathed in light.

Sometimes, it showed a old man on a desolate wasteland, has wind blew up sand and dust.

No matter what it showed however, near the end of the dream, the mirror always showed the same thing.

At the end, what was reflected in the mirror wasn't a man.

It showed something... that made the huntsman sweat, it made him shiver.

It made him feel fear.

It made him desperatly want to turn around and run.

Everytime, he would turn around, attempting to escape.

Everytime, his legs would start to tremble, almost like they had turned to jelly.

Everytime, he would find another mirror in front of him, as it reflected him self in it, caked in blood.

Everytime he would see a figure behind him, its body vague and distorted, yet one part was always clear as crystal.

It would grabs his arms everytime, as his legs became bound in chains of black.

It would bring its head close to his ear, as dark figures start to crawl up his legs, beginning to engulf him.

When he was almost engulfed by these figures, he would feel the tip of a spear pierce through his chest.

He would stare at the mirror, to find his heart, in front of him, on the tip of this spear, still beating, as it started to become black, its vibrant red replaced by a putrid black.

Just before he would be fully engulfed by the black figures, his heart in front of him, a single green glow reflected in the mirror, the figure would finally speak.

It would say 5 single words.

5 words, which cut him, deeper then any blade could possibly cut, which opened a hole, greater then any chasm.

5 words, which had caused him to fall into a world of darkness.

Everytime, when the last word left the figures mouth.

He would wake.

Just another morning

The huntsman opened his eyes, heart racing, has he sat up, rubbing his head, which was soaked with sweat.

He sat there for a moment, taking a deep breath, before he got out of bed.

"Gonna be one of these days huh?" he muttered to him self, before shaking his head, exiting the bedroom as he went to get ready for another day.

20 minutes later, he was almost ready, he had his gear, which he had quickly checked, he had packed 3 days worth of food and water, there was only 2 things left to check.

First, he picked up a medalion which was resting on a table, which had a devil gem set in the center, a light blue glow coming from it.

"I hope the replacement has arrived, this ones near its limit" he muttered to him self as he wrapped the medalion round his neck.

Next, he lifted his hand up, his eye focusing on it, as he scanned it from elbow to finger tip.

He could see pulses of blue light running up and down his arms, all the way from his finger tips.

But that was what it was, pulses, not a constant stream, which displeased him.

"Looks like i'll be forced to visit her" the huntsman though to him self as he grunted.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, as he heard whispers all around him.

"Embrace death, lost dog"

"Burn, vile creature"

"Rot, parasite"

He exhaled, air leaving his mouth, as the whispers ceased, before moving to the door and opening it.

To him, it was simply another morning.

Auction

As the huntsman got into town, he found people heading towards the center of town, some human, but mostly monsters.

He quickly headed towards the center of town, weaving inbetween the crowd, soon finding the source of the commotion.

In the center, 5 men were bound in chains, as Lilith was shouting to the crowd, causing several of the monsters to shout back.

"I'll take him for 3 gold pieces" one minotaurus said, eagerly raising and waving her arm widly"

"I'll pay 5 for him" another monster shouted, an arachnee to be precise, who licked her lips as she looked at one of the brothers, whose face seemed to drain of color, much to her amusement.

"Fuck off, he's mine you over grown insect" the minotaurus snapped as she looked at the arachnee, who grinned as she met the the minos stare.

"My my, is the overgrown bull scared that she won't be able to compete with my bedroom skills" the arachnee retroted, which caused the mino to raise her axe, growling at the arachnee.

"After i'm done beating you, i'm gonna fuck him right in front of you" the mino shouted as her eyes narrowed, more then happy to fight for her prize.

The crowd started shotuing and cheering, while some started to take bets on who would be the victor, all the while, Lilith rubbed her forhead.

"It's so much easier dealing with humans" she muttered to her self, trying to think of a way to diffuse the fight and get everyones attention back on the auction.

As the arachnee and the mino squared up, ready to fight, the huntsman stepped out from the crowd, quickly drawing their attention.

"Neither of you will be having him, he's my bounty, along with the other 4, so i decide who gets who" the huntsman said as he drew 2 knifes from his cloak, causing the mino to back off slightly.

"Damn it, why are you getting in the way, i simpl..." the mino stopped in mid sentence after she noticed a knife at her feet.

She shivered as she looked at the huntsman, he now only had one knife in his hand.

Everyone started chattering to each other, none of them even saw him move his hand, never mind throw the knife.

...Except one.

"All this time and you still hate it when people don't listen to you"

The huntsman turned around to the source of the voice, quickly sighing when he saw who it was.

"Great, you, just what i needed" he said, a hint of annoyence in his voice.

No tolorence

After having a quick but heated talk with Lilith about his cut for the auction, the huntsman had left the town center, heading towards the jackels retreat, despite the fact him and Sasha had an imprompt duel yesterday, he hoped that she had calmed down over night, after all, that bar and his "home" were the only 2 places he could relax... slightly.

As he got closer to the Jackels retreat, a small girl grabbed attempted to grab his hand, her large paw brushing against it as he moved it out of reach, causing her to pout.

"Meanie, all i want is to hold your hand" she moaned as she walked by his side, her head barly reaching up to his shoulders, if you didn't include the 2 large horns protruding from the top of her head, rubbing her hands together as they walked, made up of 3 large fingers and covered in large amounts of fur, which extended all the way to her elbow.

The huntsman quickly looked at her, through his eyes, he could tell she was at least not naked, noticing strands of spiritual energy across her body, most likely from semen which had been soaked into arachnee silk and then woven into clothing.

From the prospective of others passing by, she wore very little, infact, the thick furs covering her legs, which ran up from her hoofed feet to her knees would of served more purpose replacing the thin silk panties and top she had, actually, you couldn't really call it a top, it was more, several strands of think silk wrapped together which covered her chest, one which made it difficult to tell if she was male or female considering the size of her bust or lack of in this case.

"I never knew he was into that"

"Guess ya can't go by looks huh?"

The small girl giggled as she picked up the chatter from passers by, wiggling her hips as she did, her large fur covered tailed swishing from side to side, coated in a light brown colour.

"Hey, its official, we're a couple" she said happily as she went for his hand again, with him side stepping her attempt while tripping her up.

"Stop playing these games, your older then me, act like an adult" the huntsman said as he glared at her, with her meeting his gaze and smiling back.

"Hehe, sure, i'll be a adult... in b... hey wait" she shouted as the huntsman started walking again, picking up the pace as she got back up and ran after him, her feet leaving hoof prints in the dirt as she ran.

An unusaul monster

The 2 soon got to the Jackels retreat, the huntsman opting to sit in a secluded corner of the inn as he drank from his mug, the sensation of cool water hitting the back of his throat, before placing the mug on the table and staring at his temporary company.

"So... what reason do you have to come here?" he asked, wanting to get straight to business.

The girl opposite him grinned as she stared at him, paws resting on the table as her blue eyes looked back at him.

"I just wanted to see my big onii-chan"

Her reply did not amuse the huntsman, causing him to get up, which prompted her to lose her smile.

"Some one requested you for a job".

The huntsman paused, staring, as a thrid person joined them.

It was Fila.

"Awww Fila, why did you have to spoil the surprise" she said as she pouted, fila to lower her head.

"I am deeply sorry mistress Sera" she said, her tone that of a servant to her master, respectful and honoring.

The huntsman sat back down, looking at both of them.

He never truly understood why Sera came to see him in person, after all, not only was she one of the more powerful monsters, known for rarly turning up outside of a demon realm, she was one of the leading commanders of the demonic army, tasked with taking critical order outposts and on top of that, she already had a beloved, so in his mind, she should have no interest in him beyond business, yet she made the effort to meet him.

Then again, baphomets, as they are known, are the leaders of a monster cult called the sabbath, dedicated to teaching others the 'perks' of their faith.

A faith which the huntsman did not care for.

Still, it mattered little to him whether she met him or not, it was anoying to him whenever they met, but that was outweighted by her usefulness.

First, she paid well for his services, despite some jobs being mundane and easily carried out by others.

Secondly, she was an exceptionally talented crafter, specailising in the creation of magical trinkets and charms, which she refered to as a 'hobby', unusual considering it didn't benefit her sex life with her beloved, the single interest of most monsters.

It was her hobby that mostly kept him in contact with her, since every few months, she crafted a special item for him, a medalion, one that was vital to him, though unfortantly short lived.

He just wished that she would simply give it to him instead of messing around with him.

But thats monsters for you.

Jealousy

The huntsman, Sera and Fila sat at the table, Fila staring at the huntsman as he and sera talked.

"So, why can't you have one of your minions deliver this package, i'm sure a harpy would be faster then me" the huntsman said, somewhat anoyed that the job that Sera wanted him to do was one that didn't pay greatly.

"Well, the person who requested the package wanted a human to deliver it" Sera responded, twirling her tail with her finger.

The huntsman grunted in response... he could tell she was hiding something, but what it was, he couldn't figure out, though it was a given that a monster asking for a human corrier was looking for something beyond the package.

That or the package was an excuse to deliver a potencail husband to a hungry monster.

"Okay then, why can't you get another human to take the package then, there's bound to be an unending line of idiots willing to risk their virginity for a bit of coin" the huntsman asked, trying to pry more out of Sera.

"Well... the problem is..." Sera was cut off in mid sentence by the sound of a plate being slammed on the table.

Sera looked up to find a salamander staring at her, golden eyes fixed on Sera's red eyes.

The huntsman placed his hand on his forhead, rubbing it.

"Just what i needed right now" he muttered to him self.

Sera grinned as she met Sasha's glare.

"Don't tell me you feel... threatened by me" she said with a giggle, which caused Sasha's tail to flare up.

"Threatened... why would i be threatened by a tiny girl with no tits, after all, me and him have a bond that can't be broken" Sasha shouted in response, causing everyone in the tavern to stop talking and look at the commotion.

"Great, she knows how to get everyones attention in the worse way" the huntsman though to him self, though he was quick to get up when Sasha made a grab for him, causing her to smack her head on the floor.

"Bond huh, i can't see it" Sera muttered, making sure Sasha heard, which only served to get her more fired up.

This was promptly stopped by the huntsman hitting the table hard with his fist, getting everyones attention.

"Now look here, i... belong... to... no one and the sooner you lot understand that, the better" the huntsman said, voice monotone, as he looked at Sasha, with Sera giggling to her self, though she quickly stopped when he stared at her.

"And you, you already have a fucking husband, so stop trying to wind her up, it is not a good use of my time having to keep her under control" he stated to Sera in a irritated tone, who smiled in response.

".. so its that kind of relationship, i never knew you were into that" Sera muttered, trying to control her own giggling, with Fila now staring more intensly at the huntsman.

The huntsman sat back down, while pointing to the empty chair at the table.

"Sit there Sasha, that way things can be explained to you"

He couldn't be bothered with the hassel of having her watching his everymove, that and he didn't fancy another fight like yesterday.

Sasha was quick to respond, sitting in the empty seat, though she quickly went back to glaring at Sera.

The huntsman sighed as he looked at Sera, now wanting to wrap up business as quickly as possible and get on his way.

"So... whos the client" he asked.

"Julia Carver"

The package in question

"Julia huh, that means that i'll be delivering something that the undead want" the huntsman said with a hint of anoyence in his voice, something which surprised Sera. "Do you not like the undead, hmmm" she said as she leaned over the table, which caused Sasha to growl.

The huntsman grunted at Seras question, though she had hit the nail on the head.

The huntsman avoided the undead when ever he could, not because he was afraid of them, no, he viewed all monsters equally, neither fear, nor attraction, they did however have one anoying trait which made them more difficult to deal with, an anoying immunity to his poisons.

The huntsman relied first on his mix of venoms and poisons to incapacitate and throw off persuers, particularly monsters and in the event that didn't work, he would resort to the use of his hands, using his own supply of spritual energy to coat his fingers before attacking sensitive points and nerves on an opponents body, allowing him to incapacitate them, of course, this did expand his own reserve of spiritual enegry, not something you want to do to much in a land filled with demonic energy and monsters.

The undead however, proved practically immune to his concoctions, which meant he had to avoid them completely, or was forced to fight through them if he was cornered, since they could take a staggering level of damage before falling and in the huntsmans own words was "a complete waste of his time and energy to cripple to that extent" and that was the more common variants.

Zombies and skeletons he could ether avoid or damage a leg to decrease their mobility, ghouls provided more problematic due to their ferocity and general lack of fear or pain.

Then there's the ghosts and will-o-the-wisps, ghosts being completely incorporeal, meaning physical attacks had no effect on them, forcing the huntsman to expend devil gems with spells embedded inside or in the worse cases, his own spiritual energy to cast one of the few types of magic he could use, while will-o-the-wisps were a strange sort of undead, able to become coporeal in the event they trapped a man in their cage and well, at that point there's not much chance of escape.

Next, you have liches, undead with exceptionally high magical powers, easily out classing the human mage (if they aren't blessed), able to use necromancy to create servants from the corpses of others, which can eaisly create choas if they happen to be in a graveyard, along with a large variety of offensive and defensive magic.

Finally, you had the higher class undead types, the vampire, who not only vastly outclassed humans in terms of speed, strength, durablity and magic, they had also had the tendency to use the cover of darkness to attack prey, giving them pratically no chance to evade or counter attack.

The moment they sink their fangs into a human, it's over, the huntsman knew this from experaince where he had seen some of the most deviot and well trained soldiers of the order reduced to nothing more then quivering messes on the floor after a vampire had fed on them.

However, the one he avoided contact with at all costs were wights... and for good reason.

All the undead need spiritual energy, some get is directly through sex, others, like ghosts, sip of the spiritual enegry of a person by possessing them until they gather enough to become coporeal, while vampires get it from drinking the blood of people.

Wights, however, can simply extract it from a person with but a touch of their finger, a simple tap able being capable of practically draining a persons spritual energy, causing the victum to become exhausted, unable to fight back.

It made wights practically unfightable to the huntsman, he lacks the powerful kind of magic to combat them, his venom coated weaponary can't effect them ether, and trying to go into melee with them would result in him being quickly subdued, he may be good at manipulating his own spritual energy and using it in his attacks, but that is useless when the opponent can drain that energy away with but a meer touch.

If that wasn't enough, the undead always seemed to quickly pick up his trail, no matter how well he tried to conceal him self, which made avoiding them while traveling in lands ruled by them even more difficult.

Julia happened to be one of these wights, which was unnerving to the huntsman, however, he had dealt with her in the past and knew full well that she already had a husband, so she wouldn't go after him for that reason.

That and she could provide something for him, something which he couldn't overlook, though she always wanted something in return, something which only he could provide.

Through experimentaion with varouis demonic herbs, he had created a potent concoction, one that could turn even the most devoit follower of the order, one that had renounced all lust, devoiting their heart and soul to their god, into nothing more then a drooling, lustful beast, one that made even the lust of a lilim pale in comparison.

The delivery method varied, it could be coated on his knifes, packed into vials to be drunk or packed into bombs to desperse in an area.

Regardless of the way it was delivered, its effects were almost instantanous.

That said, only Julia and a few other monsters knew of its exsistance and only the huntsman knew the correct blend of herbs and conditions to bring it to its full potency and he made sure that the only blueprints to this concoction were kept in his head.

It would live with him and die with him.

The huntsman leant back on his chair for a moment, thinking, before sitting forwards, looking Sera dead in the eyes.

"Did she ask for me specifically to deliver the package?" he asked, it was Julias way of requesting his concoction, an agreement of sorts between them.

Sera nodded, while Sasha now glared at him.

Shocking words

"Everyone out, NOW"

The sound of Sasha's voice, filled with anger echoed throughout the inn, causing any one sober enough to stand to get out the inn, they weren't stupid, a angry salamander could easily go on a wrecking spree.

As Sasha continued to glare at the huntsman, he could feel Sashas gaze on him, though that was partly due to the fact she was funneling her demonic energy his way.

He sighed as he got up, looking at Sasha, before speaking.

"First, stop sending all that demonic energy at me, its anoying and a waste of your energy, secondly, the package she wants has nothing to do with having sex with me or anything related to that" he said, hoping it would passify her.

It did not.

She quickly got up and grabbed him by the collar, with Sera and Fila quickly getting up, getting ready to fight.

Sasha quickly turned and glared at them, all 3 locked in a staring contest, until Sasha's face dropped in surprise, turning around to face the huntsman.

He had muttered something, something which Sasha had heard, clear as day.

She shook him, wanting to make sure what he had just said was real, that she hadn't imagined the words which had been spoken by him.

"s... sa... say it again" she said, voice quiveirng, hands weakening, her grip loosening on the huntsman collar.

He stared at her as she looked at him, observing the shift in energy through out her body, the once unstable flow of demonic energy had become calmer.

"Come with me" he said, louder this time, which caused confusion on Sera's face, while Fila's was blank, though inside her mind, the activity was any thing but blank.

Sasha let go of the huntsman, blinking a few times, before moving to embrace him, her face lighting up, though she quickly stopped when she saw 2 knifes floating in mind air.

"Don't get me wrong, i did not say those words because i have any attachment to you, i simply need some muscle for this trip, and few can trump a salamander when it comes to that" he said, which caused Sasha's face to drop.

He wasn't stupid, trying to go that deep in undead territory alone was not something he would willing do, unless he had no choice, especially one which is so vast and full of undead and while having a monster which clearly showed interest in him travel with him was a risk, he could use that interest and direct it in protecting him, thus allowing him to save his own energy.

After all, he could always just seperate from her if he had to and well, he surmised there was a good chance that she would of followed him even if he hadn't asked her to come with him, this way, he at least didn't have to constantly watched his own back.

He though for a moment on this choice, wondering if it truly was a good idea, before having his attention drawn to Sasha, who was now grinning.

"So that means ya like me?" she estaticaly said, causing the huntsman to sigh.

"Monsters" he though to him self, sighing.

Setting off

After getting the medallion off Sera, gathered any intel he could regarding the area aorund his detination and what the orde rmay be doing aorund there, along with final supply checks, he walked towards the exit of Sanctuary to find Sasha there, incredibly eager to set off.

The moment she spotted the huntsman, she came charging over, which was promptly met with him tripping her up.

"Stop wasting energy, we have along trip ahead" he said as she got bakc up on her feet.

While she didn't like the cold treatment he gave her, she was still closer to him then she had been before and she was determined to get closer sitll during this trip.

She would show him the flames of her passion, she would smother him with them, till he could take no more, embracing her as their bodies rubbed together, the heat from their love warming their bodies through out the night.

She only snapped out of that fantasy when she saw the huntsman heading off without her, forcing her to run after him as they exited the town.

Unseen stalker

As Sasha and the huntsman exited Sanctuary, their're departure did not go unnoticed.

Perched on one of the trees, 2 red eyes glared at them.

"He's mine, no one else is allowed to mount him but me"

She quickly jumped down ffrom the tree, following her prey.

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

Index

Authors notes:

Update 11-07-2015: Minor spelling and grammar corrections.

Finally done, yes i can be slow, i know that.

Laterz