The Hunters of Sian

The Hunter

--

Chapter One

The Hunter

--

In a word of monsters and magic one must be willing to make difficult choices in order to survive.

When mankind lost its long-standing wars against the demons, humans became little more than servants. Living in small villagers and settlements across the land, humans were allowed their freedom in exchange for their lives. The demons rode in, taking what they needed and rounding up small collection of humans from each population to be used as the demon saw fit. This could mean death or ten years of labour. This marks the starting point for our story, on the outskirts of a small town at the end of winter.

'How many?' A tall figure in black leathers approached the fireside. He cast a long shadow, made strange by horns, and pointed tail.

'Not many. Twelve. We sent the hounds after the few stragglers.' The two figures stared at the cage. Twelve terrified humans stared back at them.

'There are runners every year,' said the first.

The second shrugged. 'It makes little difference. Humans breed like rabbits. Those prisoners that aren't selected will be used as food for our mounts if they try to run again. As soon as the hunter returns with the rest we will move out,' he grunted. They did not have to wait long. The sound of heavy wooden wheels on cobble stone told of the massive wagon now moving sluggishly towards them. Pulled by four oxen, the wagon held a massive iron cage.

The humans inside stared out at their escorts. On each side of the wagon walked a hulking dragon like creature.

They were called dracks.

Walking on four long muscular legs, they couldn't fly like the dragons of old, but they could spit acid. Easily twice the size of horses, they towered over the wagons and the oxen pulling them. They were notoriously violent creatures, bred only to obey their demon masters. One was sleek, mossy green with glittering red scales along his belly, the other was matte grey with a yellow striped chest. Each drack was ridden by an armoured demon. These demons were as different as the dracks they rode on. Some had tails, some had spikes, others fur.

'Did any of them give you any problems?'

'Only one.'

'Oh?' The demons looked into the cage. On the floor of the cage in the far corner was a girl of about ten summers, tears streaming down her face. Standing protectively over her was a boy, perhaps two or three years older. His face was set in grim determination. The other villagers edged away from him as though he had caught some sort of madness. He did stand out from the others. Not just because of his dark auburn hair, which stuck up in nearly every direction or the way he stood, shoulders back and defiant. No, it was his eyes. His eyes were strikingly lilac.

'Don't really need to ask which one was causing the trouble,' said the first demon.

'Well if nothing else, he might fetch a nice price on the exotic market,' the second one added thoughtfully.

--

Nell watched the demons retreat. He slid down the bars to the floor of the wagon away from the girl. He knew this day was coming. He had planned for it for months. Every five years or so the demons came to the village. They always took a small selection from the village, young and old. It was a method of population control and Nell knew the next time the demons came, he would be volunteered by the other villagers. His mother had passed away from lung rot two summers ago and with no other living family, he was an easy giveaway. Nell didn't blame the villagers. No one wanted to lose children or parents to the demons.