A Jagged Adventure

CHAPTER ONE

The mighty Rathalos rose from the rock, his wings sweeping shattered bones and leaf litter aside. He stood tall and noticed a beam of sunlight filtering down from the giant hole in the cavern above. He tilted his head in just the right way so that the scar on his jaw could get some of the soothing summer rays. The heat felt good on the old Long Sword wound.

"My King," a soft voice addressed the flying Wyvern from a ledge off to the side.

"Hmmm?" The King did not want to pull his head out of the rays of the sun. "What is it, my Queen?"

"They are moving."

The Rathalos' heart quickened, and he turned away from the sunlight to lumber over to his mate. The Rathian whom he had taken for a mate the autumn prior was resting on their clutch, and she shifted so that her beloved mate could gaze down and watch their offspring shivering and shaking with the thin shell casings. The King's eyes shone with love, and he stepped aside to let the last rays of sunlight rest on their first clutch of eggs. The shadows beneath the shells grew more energized.

"They are perfect." The King said solemnly. "They will hatch any day now, and they will be perfect."

"You sound like a proud mamma," The Queen chuckled, her spikey shoulders rising and falling with laughter.

The King narrowed his eyes.

"Just because I am the King of the Skies, does that mean I cannot show emotion?" He asked.

"Of course you can," The Rathian wacked him playfully with her barbed tail. "That's why I chose you as my mate. The charm of your wing spikes was nothing compared to the love I could see within your heart."

"I... I don't know whether to be offended or flattered."

The Rathian laughed again, and in hearing her gentle, sweet laughter the King fell in love with his Queen all over again. He went up to her and they spent the rest of the day cuddling underneath one another's wings and nuzzling each other affectionately. Their eggs responded to the show of affection by growing calmer and drifting off to sleep.

- - -

"RAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

The King woke with a start, and his head shot up to scan their moonlit nest. By his side, his Queen slept on, her wings rising and falling peacefully. He was confused. He could have sworn that was her that he had heard screaming. He glanced at her again. Underneath her green form, the eggs were unharmed.

Just a dream...

The King's lids dropped heavily, but as he lay his head down to sleep, an internal alarm sounding of danger jolted him awake. He listened, holding his breath.

A sniffing noise. A shuffling sound. The King's eyes shot wide and he turned his head to see a Palamute rounding the corner of the cave and walk with confidence right into their den.

The King and the lone Palamute locked eyes. The King fought back panic, his heart already racing faster than he had ever felt before. Where there was a Palamute, there was always a-

A humanoid shout came from out of sight, and the Palamute began barking, his frenzy echoing all around the cavern. At the same time, the King reared back, spread his wings, and let out a roar so loud that his Queen woke with a startled shriek and nearly crushed the eggs. The King felt flames lick his throat and tongue as he launched himself into the air and dove at the Palamute.

The Palamute ducked out of the way, arrows were loosed from somewhere within the cavern, and the battle for their family's right to exist began.

The King fought with every scale, blood and flame that he'd been born with. He torched Palamutes and sent them hurtling around the cavern in blind panic. He landed on an unsuspecting Palico and stopped it from using an herbal smoke bomb to heal its hunters. He torched the four hunters that charged past him until his throat hurt and he could only produce sparks. With a harsh cry of rage, he noticed the hunters didn't even pay him any mind. They had something else in their sights. He got distracted by a Palamute jumping in front of his face, but stepped around it to look in the direction the hunters were heading. His blood ran cold.

They were after the nest!

His Queen stood over the nest, taking all of the arrows that were meant for her clutch. She wailed in pain, but stood strong and blasted fireball after fireball at the oncoming hunters. One flaming sphere caught a hunter on fire, and they abandoned their assault to run around, screaming, before falling to the ground motionless.

"My King!" The Queen roared, "I cannot hold them back!"

"I'm coming!" The King roared, and became airborne once more.

A hunter noticed his approach and turned to face the Rathalos. Without missing a beat, the large flying wyvern landed on the Hunter, crushing him beneath his talons, and then continued to his mate's side.

A black and tan Palamute had watched the Hunter fall, and his eyes were filled with horror. The Rathalos and the Palamute gazed at each other, and the King growled at it menacingly. The Palamute bared its fangs, but just then another Hunter fell to the tail of the Rathian. The Palamute was keenly aware of the bodies of hunters, palico and palamute alike strewn around the nest, and he slowly began to back up.

"They're retreating!" The King cried as the hunting party fled the nesting site. "Three hunters dead, all Palico destroyed and two Palamute fleeing for the hills! That'll show them! That'll..."

The Queen silently walked forward, causing the King to trail off. Her wings were dragging on the ground, and her talons were slow and cumbersome. She was staring at something on the floor near the entrance to the nest.

The King followed her, and when he saw what she saw, he did not want to believe it. He blinked, shaking his head, then looked back at an empty nest, void of all four eggs. Before the Queen, strewn upon the ground, were the scattered remains of pale eggshell and flying wyvern embryos, torn to pieces by Palamutes and scattered around the entrance to their home.

The King gazed upon a tiny red and black torso and felt hatred burning within himself. His hate became his voice and he screamed out until his voice cracked and went mute.

"Why?" The Queen whispered weakly. "Why did they not kill me to?"

The King turned to face his mate, and saw that her eyes were dull, almost lifeless. Grief overcame him, and he embraced her. She twined her tail and neck around his, and they stayed that way all night, wailing, shrieking, sometimes biting each other in shared grief and unimaginable frustration.

When the sun rose, The King knew what they needed to do.

"My love, my sweet, sweet Queen," he said softly, lifting her head with his tail so that she would look into his eyes. "We have been wronged. But they will not go unpunished. Our hatchlings will not have lost their lives in vain. I will make sure of that."

"How?" The Queen, once ready to fall, seemed to liven up just a touch.

The King turned and stepped out of their nest until he stood, overlooking the forest and hills. He beckoned for his mate, and she stood beside him.

"Do you know of The Great Desert?" The King asked.

"Every monster worth a hunter's time does." The Queen blinked, clearly confused.

The King lashed his tail. Every monster worth a hunter's time! Never again would monsters fear hunters.

"Today, we leave for that desert." He snarled. "We need to find the Melynx Mercenaries who live there, and we need them to help us get a message to those hunters. They know all the dialects of every beating heart on this accursed land. Those hunters will know our wrath, and we will make sure Kokoto Village never harms another monster ever again!"

He turned to his mate and saw that her eyes shone with acceptance and resolve.

"What do you say, my Queen?" The King asked, spreading his wings slightly. "Shall we go and make those hunters pay?"

"No," The Queen snarled, her ferociousness catching even The King off guard. Her eyes blazed, and she lashed her wings, taking off without another word. "We won't make them pay. We will make all of Kokoto pay. We will make every hunter alive pay. We will make the whole world pay!"