Chp.15: The wizard hunter

What was the best way to be a hunter?

There were many answers to this question. For some people, a hunter had to focus primarily on physical strength, so as to be able to face any beast. For others, it was more appropriate to focus on speed, so as to be able to chase the animals. Others instead bet on intelligence, trying to beat the beasts using their brains.

The truth was, there was no right way to be a hunter; everyone had their own way. Nogg Horzales had understood this very well from his earliest days as a hunter, and as such he too had forged his own path as a hunter.

Nogg had never been very strong physically, and he knew that even if he trained hard he wouldn't be able to improve much. His constitution was very slender and lacking in muscle. Besides, he wasn't even a warrior; he was a mage, a wizard to be exact. Therefore he could not use the mana to fortify his body, only as an external weapon. Most would have felt that this would prevent him from becoming a good hunter. Hunters had to be strong, quick, quick; they had to be ready to face very dangerous beasts. Nogg could hardly blame the guild receptionist when he'd signed up as a hunter, who had strongly advised him to choose another category if he wanted to be an adventurer. But Nogg hadn't listened to him, because he'd already decided that if his body wouldn't let him hunt traditionally, then he'd make his own.

During his first few months as an adventurer, Nogg had joined many adventuring parties; even if a wizard was not well regarded in a hunting party, no one minded having a little magical support. Nogg had observed each of those hunters well, had learned their techniques, their skills... and had also understood what their weaknesses were. But above all he had observed the animals they hunted; he had studied them, one by one, and had understood many things.

Nogg understood that strength wasn't an absolute value in nature. In nature, even the most violent and powerful predators were themselves preyed upon by something else. The title of 'apex predator', although humans used to give it to many species, was actually the prerogative of very few creatures. The same was true of agility, intelligence, shrewdness, nimbleness. Each predator simply had its own way of capturing its prey: it used the characteristics that nature had given it to get the better of the others. This was the teaching Nogg had learned from nature. Therefore, having obtained enough information, he had begun to build his path as a hunter: since his body had given him a certain ability with magic, then that magic would become his hunting method.

One of the great disadvantages of being a wizard was that that they weren't very good at close combat; this was a big problem in a hunt, since if the animal attacked, it could easily kill the wizard. For this reason, the category of hunters was usually the prerogative of warriors, who could fortify their bodies to face the beasts. But Nogg had decided he didn't need to fortify his body to be stronger than his prey. What he had to do was simply hit her before she could even become aware of his presence. For this to happen, he needed two categories of spells. The first category were long range spells that could do a lot of damage once they hit their target. The second were spells that facilitated camouflage and the identification of prey.

So he began to study the spells he needed, and when none existed he created some of his own. He had learned spells that enhanced his vision, allowing him to see at night and at a much greater distance. He had learned how to generate small waves of magical energy that bumped into his prey and bounced back, alerting him to his presence as if they were sonar. He had figured out how to use wind magic to control the air around him, thus masking his scent. He had even learned to move silently and wore clothes that allowed him to blend efficiently with his surroundings. With the right training, he had become virtually invisible.

Once the camouflage problem was over, he had begun to prepare spells suitable for hunting. He had learned how to create beams of magic that moved like ropes to immobilize their prey, or that moved so fast that they severely damaged it upon impact. He had trained to be able to recite spells in the shortest possible time and to replenish his mana reserves in even less time. After a few months, he was able to cast several deadly spells in less than five minutes.

Combining all his skills, his path as a hunter was now ready. So he had begun to accept only solitary assignments from the guild; first he chose simple tasks, then more and more complex ones, until he became a master hunter. Within the guild he had quickly become known as the 'wizard hunter' and had become a legend in his own right. No matter what job he took on, he always succeeded. In the city of Sorthor, where the guild where he worked was located, his name was now on everyone's lips. Nogg was satisfied with this: he had been able to demonstrate that with his perseverance he could achieve goals that everyone else took for impossible. He had been able to become a renowned and respected hunter throughout the city where he lived and even in some nearby cities, even though he was only a pathetic level silver wizard.

He had continued with that life for about fifty years. By now he was approaching the age of seventy, and he was getting too old. His body was clearly showing the signs of aging: his hair and beard, although always clean-shaven and groomed to prevent them from getting in the way of hunting, had turned gray and subsequently turned white. His vision had slowly blurred and his skin had wrinkled. He didn't have long to live now. Yet he had continued with his profession. Many had advised him to retire, to enjoy the time he had left, but Nogg could not imagine a better way to use that time than to hunt. Hunting was his passion, his life. Some had told him that sooner or later he would find a beast that would kill him. He had laughed at that statement: after all, what hunter was so cowardly as not to consider the possibility of becoming the hunted? This was the rule of nature. And he didn't mind that kind of death at all.

And so, when good news had come about the war with the beastmen, who claimed that most of their army had been defeated, and when bounties subsequently appeared regarding the various animals that escaped and were now free throughout the territory between the two nations , Nogg had decided to embark on his last journey. He would travel all the way across the border, hunting and killing every beast in his path. He didn't care about the sizes: he hadn't even looked at them. He just wanted to hunt. By doing so, he would almost certainly meet his end: the beasts that escaped the battlefield were extremely dangerous and Nogg wasn't sure he could deal with many of them. It would almost certainly end up being a basilisk's meal. But Nogg didn't care. He didn't mind that his story ended that way. In fact, that was exactly how he wanted it to end.

And so there he was, alone, wandering along the border with his trusty camouflage cloak confusing him with the stones on the ground, looking for his next prey. His eyes roamed all over the land, and his tired old feet kept moving. Since he had started that journey he had already killed several wolves, lions and even a bear, but they were prey he had faced many times before; he wanted something new, something that would give him the excitement of the chase. Until, after a long wait, he found something that he never saw before.

Not far from him was a pond, and there a creature was drinking. It looked like a huge horned lizard, more than five meters long, covered with spines and with showy horns on its head. Nogg couldn't remember ever seeing such a beautiful animal: its scales were silvery and reflected the sunlight in such a way that they almost looked like white snow. Nogg couldn't identify what kind of animal it was, but he didn't care. That creature absolutely had to be added to his collection. He raised his hand and concentrated, taking aim before summoning the magic. He knew he had only one chance: as an experienced hunter, he could clearly see that the muscles of those legs must grant the beast extraordinary speed and agility, so if he missed it, it would have caught up with him and attacked before he could use another magic. He absolutely couldn't miss.

In his mind he quickly recited a prayer to Ishtana, the Goddess of Hunt who had assisted him until that day. His mouth opened, ready to recite the spell. His lips started to move. Nogg concentrated all his mana, ready to unleash his magic…

But he couldn't do it: something jumped at him from behind and knocked him to the ground. His old body fell and hit the rocks with his belly, causing him a series of pains. Out of the corner of his eye, Nogg could see more silver scales moving behind him. He realized he'd made a fatal mistake: he hadn't checked to see if the beast had a companion. He was about to cast a defensive spell, but suddenly a voice came from behind him: "What did you want to do to my sister, you bastard!?"

Nogg was quite surprised. He was sure there were no other people around. He tried to turn his head to look, but the beast above him pinned him down. The creature was extremely strong and he had no chance to get up. "Urgh... I didn't want to hurt anyone, believe me" he murmured trying to convince his mysterious interlocutor. "I was just..."

"Rhaegal, wait! Let him go!"

This time the voice came from in front of him. Nogg raised his head, and to his surprise what he saw wasn't a person… but the same creature he had been hunting earlier. A thought crosses his mind, making his eyes widen. Is it possible that...

His suspicions were confirmed when the silver lizard opened its mouth: "Don't hurt him! He didn't hurt us!"

"This son of a bitch was going to put some kind of spell on you, sister!" the mysterious voice snarled again, which Nogg was now sure belonged to the beast above him. "If you expect me to let him out of here alive...!"

"Rhaegal, please! I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding!" the lizard exclaimed. "Let me talk to him. I'm sure he'll be useful!"

Silence fell for a moment, then Nogg was violently spun. The wizard was finally able to see the creature that was above him just before, which turned out to be identical to the other, but with decidedly more conspicuous horns and more evident muscles. "Just think of doing anything to my sister, and I swear I'll kill you" it growled, then it finally let go and walked away a few steps in disdain.

The other silver lizard reached out a paw towards Nogg, as if to reach out for his hand. "Sorry. My brother is a bit overprotective of me" it said. "I am Sisna, by the way"

Nogg had completely forgotten by now that he was going to use magic to strike those creatures; the situation was so strange that he was no longer even thinking about it. With some reluctance, he accepted the lizard's help, which allowed him to become sedated again. "Thank you. My name is Nogg, Nogg Horzales" he said. "You two... are dragons, aren't you?"

Sisna nodded. "Have you seen dragons before?"

"No, but I can't think of any other animals that can talk" Nogg replied. "I never imagined I'd meet a dragon. Until today I've only heard of them in stories... and you're a little different than I imagined"

"If you imagined giant monsters with huge wings, then that's the look my brother and I will get when we grow up" Sisna said.

"When you will grow up?" Nogg was quite surprised. "Forgive me, I'm not a dragon expert. How old are you?"

"Six months" Sisna replied.

Nogg nearly spat out saliva. The stories he'd heard about dragons claimed they were very large, but he'd always imagined them little larger than a wyvern. But if they were already so big when they were six months old, then who knows what kind of giants they would have become as adults! "You are quite young. Shouldn't you be with your parents at this age?"

Sisna let out a snort. "I don't know what human parents are like... but dragon parents aren't exactly good parents" she replied. "When we were born, there were seventeen of us. Now it's just me and my brother"

Nogg's eyes widened. "Oh… I'm sorry" he said, realizing the mistake he'd made. From seventeen cubs there were only two left... he didn't dare imagine how difficult the life of those two dragons had been, and they were only six months old! He looked at the other dragon, who from what he understood was called Rhaegal, and he said: "I understand why you care so much about your sister. I know what it means to feel responsible for someone else's life"

"Mph! Don't try to get into my good graces, old man!" the dragon growled. "Sister, you know how I think about interacting with humans. Ask him what you want and then send him away, before I decide to eat him!"

Nogg swallowed lightly, and he thought maybe it was better to prepare a defensive spell, but Sisna reassured him: "Don't worry, my brother just wants to intimidate you. That's how he is" she told him. "Listen, you're a hunter, aren't you? Would you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Nogg was somewhat surprised by that question. "Uh... yes, I'm a hunter. But what questions would you like to ask me?"

Sisna handed him a sheet. Nogg looked at it and found that it was a bounty list of dangerous animals that had escaped from the beastmen army. Evidently, the two dragons had met other adventurers before. "We stole it from some of your colleagues" Sisna explained. "Listen, we want to go north, beyond the desert. We don't want trouble with your people. But we don't know these animals, and if we meet them we could end badly. Could you describe them to us? I promise I won't hurt you and I will leave you go when you're done. I don't know if you know, but dragons always keep their promises"

After that, Sisna looked at Rhaegal. The latter returned her gaze for a moment, then he snorted: "Okay, I promise it too. Now are you going to answer or not?"

Nogg considered those words. He didn't know if that story that dragons always kept their promises was true, but in legends they always were, so it probably was. Also, Sisna had told him they wanted to go north, away from the human realm, so by helping them he wouldn't hurt anyone. The dragons seemed to really just want to leave. He could pity them after all: they seemed to have already lost a lot, and they were so young... even if the most logical choice would have been to kill them before they became adults, he decided it was better to help them. "Okay. Tell me, what are the animals you don't know?"