My name is Blue Moon. I'm a stallion from Vaporia, but I've just been accepted into the Monster Hunter's Academy in the Gryphon Kingdoms. I've decided to keep a journal to keep track of my training and experiences there. Today's been so exciting for me; waking up on the zeppelin and realizing I would reach the Gryphon Kingdoms in just a few hours had my heart racing from the moment the sun rose. I had a feeling the staff were started to get annoyed by me in an endeared sort of way, I mean I was a sixteen year old starting the adventure of a lifetime! Why shouldn't I be excited and practically bouncing off the walls, asking if we were there yet every ten minutes, right?
Peering over the edge of the airship, my face lit up as I finally saw it. The Gryphon Kingdoms, the sprawling mountains as far as the eye could see. From my vantage point in the sky, I could see many of the mountaintop cities the Gryphons were famous for. And must noticeable of them all, Gryphus, the capital of the kingdom. It was a beautiful gem of a city, spread across not just one mountain peak, but connected to another using bridges, effectively using empty space between the peaks to create their Market Row, a vast line of shops and taverns and like, suspended in a mile or two of air by the architectural masterpiece that was the bridge between mountains.
This was the destination of the zeppelin, docking at one of the city's air ports about half an hour later. I gathered my meager belongings and hurried off the zeppelin, thanking any and all if the staff I saw on the way out. They just chuckled and told me good luck. I really hope that was genuine and not ironic...I shrugged that off and head off the boat, taking my very first step into the Gryphon Kingdoms.
Making sure my belongings were in order, I did my best to take in my surroundings. The gryphon city, compared to Vaporia, was more...rustic. Medieval, I guess you could say, compared to the steampunk nature the Vaporian cities. I saw open forges, fruit stands, inns, even brothels, believe it or not. Normally they weren't the friendliest to ponies, but since I was from Vaporia and not Equestria, we were practically brethren.
I'm sure I stood out like a sore thumb here, with my walking in a slow circle to take in the sights. Sure enough, a gryphon swooped me up with his wing and led me to his stand, running his tongue the whole way. "New to the Kingdoms, are ya? I can smell Vaporia on ya, been a long time since I been there!" He rambled off, slipping behind the counter. "Ya ever had gryphon cuisine? We fancy meat here, unlike you ponies. I know Vaporia's all connected and all that, but I ain't too sure about how close you are." He added, pointing to a few of his wares, making me realize he was a chef. A fire burned behind him and a surprisingly good smell wafted to my nose.
"Oh, uh, no, never had anything gryphon." I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed. There certainly was a lot of cooked meat here and it made my stomach flip flop. I diverted my attention and got instead absorbed in examining what looked like a flower cooked to be golden brown. "What's that, exactly?" I asked the merchant. It had quite a succulent scent to it that really piqued my interest.
"Aha, Grilled Downflower." He said. "Six of your currency. Crowns, right?" He asked. I nodded, pulling out the payment. I was hungry, after all, so why not spend a bit here and there, right? I handed over the payment and accepted the food wrapped in a napkin, taking a hearty bite from the side. It was juicy like a fruit and absolutely delicious. "Mm...thank you, sir." I said to the gryphon after swallowing my bite. He just chuckle and nodded, waving me on my way.
After finishing my food, I got back on track. First thing's first: a sword. The Gryphon Kingdom was well known for its warriors and their prowess in combat, so it shouldn't be hard to find a good swordsmith...right? I looked around and saw about five blacksmiths, and that was just within eyesight. Maybe this would be a little harder than I initially thought...
As I looked around, I heard the clinking of metal. I jumped as a voice spoke just beside me. "You look lost, son. Waiting for someone?" The masculine voice said in Equestrian. Luckily, both Vaporia and the Gryphons spoke it. I looked up to him, literally. He was a very strong-looking gryphon in shining steel armor, a metal beak weapon placed over his own beak. Despite this, I felt welcome by his warm smile.
"Uh, yeah. I mean, no, I'm trying to figure out where to get a sword. I mean, I know I get it from a blacksmith, but..." I trailed off, looking around, "you guys have so many. How am I supposed to choose?"
The male chuckled, putting a foot on my back and turning me to face another direction. He pointed through the crowd towards Market Row. "Head down that way and fine a smithy called Ring of Iron. Tell the guy in there Cullus sent you, and also maybe drop casually that you're from Vaporia and you'll get the best deal you could possibly get for a starter weapon. Heading to the Monster Hunter's Academy are you?" He asked, pointing at my cutie mark. I nodded eagerly, memorizing his instructions.
"Yeah! I sent out a letter about two months ago, and just got the acceptance reply about a week ago. Left right away." I replied. "Thank you so much for your help, Cullus! My name's Blue Moon, I hope I see you again!" I said, shaking his claw (hand? Foot?) and hurrying in the direction he pointed out to me.
This place just seemed so homely, I thought as Cullus waved goodbye to me. Everyone was hearty, genuine, even the shopkeepers. In Vaporia, all you got were shady shopkeepers who only saw you as potential profit or a waste of time. Here, everyone seemed like friends.
I found the Ring of Iron without trouble. I didn't even need to ask directions! I stepped inside and the stagnant heat washed over me like a ley storm. Tears welled in my eyes and I coughed a few times, hearing a hearty laugh ahead of me.
"Never been in a proper smithy, 'ave ye, lad?" The accented voice said. Northern Gryphon Kingdom accent, I think? "Yep, it'll slap ye right on the kisser if ye'r not prepared for it."
A tawny gryphon grinned at me from beside the forge. His feathers were specked with natural dark brown dots, and unnatural smudges of black soot. His talons looked tougher than diamonds from his metalworking.
"Nope...I'm still a kid." I agreed with a sheepish chuckle. "Cullus should have warned me about walking in. He told me to head here to get my first weapon." I said, coughing once more. The heat was intense but I could already feel my body getting used to it.
That did the trick. He dunked the cherry-red sword he was working on into a bucket of water and walked over to the counter. "Cullus, aye? He's always good about picking out the ones with potential. Come over here, let me get a look at ye." He nodded to the side, where the counter ended. As I approached, he put on a pair of glasses that looked downright silly on him. He circled me a few times, lifting my forelegs and giving the muscles on them a squeeze, meager as they were. He turned my head side to side, examining my neck and jaw. He brought out a weird, foam-like brick and told me to bite down on it at a comfortable force, which I did. He then gave me a heavy iron bar, with cloth at the end for me to bite, and a training dummy.
"Don't worry about technique, or style right now." He said, grabbing a piece of paper and a quill. "Just swing as hard as you can for three swings, then as fast as you can for six."
I followed a few more of his instructions, and by the end I was sweating. Mostly from the heat of the room. "Vaporia doesn't get nearly this hot." I said with a breathy chuckle, dropping the hint like Cullus had instructed. "Up in the sky gets pretty chilly, but I guess you guys and your mountaintop would know all about that, right?" I added.
"Vaporia! I shoulda guessed, aye. No wonder your readings are all so good for your lack of experience." He said, making another note. Garyt, his name was, we had introduced ourselves during the exercises. "Since I like ye so much, lad, and ye got the makin's fer an amazing warrior, the sword'll cost ye...what's the money you use there? Crowns? Forty five crowns."
My jaw practically dropped. I was expecting to spend at least a hundred for a shoddy sword, but here I was getting amazing quality for just forty five. I couldn't believe my stroke of luck. And ponies say gryphons were all heartless and rude. This guy proved all those wrong."Wow, that's amazing! Thank you!" I said. He chuckled.
"Don't thank me yet, lad. I haven't made it. Go find yourself an inn, it'll be ready around noon tomorrow." He said, turning back to his forge. I smiled like a big idiot and went to go find myself a room for the night, which is where I am now. I think my first day went pretty well.
Today was the day. The big day. My heart was pounding in excitement as the sun woke me, filtering through the blinds in my inn room. I practically jumped from bed, gathering my things and galloping to Garyt's place as soon as I could. The sound of metal hitting metal and the sight of steam raising from the roof of the building sent a wave of giddiness through me.
I peered into the smithy, the flames of the forge enchanting me. I wanted to learn how to do this, and vowed that I would someday. I walked inside with a grin on my face as Garyt turned from the forge. "Ah, lad, perfect timing!" He said, landing a final slam on the red metal before dunking it in the water. Steam filled the room and I waved my hoof, the heat tickling my face.
When it cleared, I looked back to him to see him holding out a beautiful sword. The blade was steel, flawlessly shiny and unmarred. I had never seen fresh steel before, it almost looked....weird. The hilt was rather intricate, and I squinted to get a closer look at it. The curves of it were familiar but I couldn't place it, and the way that the pommel came together to look like...two heads..? I blinked. "Wait, is this...?"
"Yer cutie mark." Garyt said with a nod. "Recreated it with the hilt. Thought it might suit ye." He chuckled. The gruff gryphon nodded towards the training dummies. "Go on then, give 'er a swing!" He said with a big grin, obviously proud of his handiwork. I didn't need to be told twice. I gripped the hilt in my teeth, taking a moment of tilting my head back and forth to get a feel for the weight and presence of it.
Taking a deep breath, I let my instincts take over and took a fighting stance against the dummy. This was my first hunt the first real test. I had never swung a real sword before, just the decorative sword from the side of the zeppelin when I got my cutie mark. I swung the sword sharply to the right, the tip creating a tear in the cloth the size of a hair. I was aiming for the whole thing, maybe this would take a bit to get used to....
"You'll need to practice at the Academy, aye, but ye have a lot of potential." Garyt said. "And when ye get famous for yer feats, make sure to send a few potential customers my way. Tell 'em I made yet first sword." He gave me a thunderous pat on the back, causing me to almost drop my brand new sword. My teeth tightened against the hilt and the gryphon gave a hearty laugh. "Gonna have to work on yer grip, son."
I smiled warmly, taking the sheath he offered and strapping it to my back. It was a bit of a struggle, but I managed to twist my neck to slide the sword into the sheath. I'll have to find a solution to that; that was a little uncomfortable and I wouldn't be able to draw it too quickly. "Thank you for everything, Garyt." I said sincerely. He had helped me so much....he redefined what most ponies thought of gryphons.
"Don't mention it, lad. Now hurry up; ye don't want to miss the next line down the mountain." He said with a chuckle, waving a wing as I left. He was right; if I missed this next lift down the mountain I don't think I could survive the wait for the next one and probably try to jump down the mountain myself. I'm not known for my patience, I'll be completely honest.
I trotted through town with vigor in my step, pure excitement radiating from me like a star. Today was the real day. I would arrive at the Monster Hunter's Academy today. I shifted on my hooves as I stood in line for the lift. The crowd was mostly consisted very young, very old, or very crippled gryphons along with a couple earth ponies and unicorns. Creatures that couldn't just fly down. At long last, I heard the whirring noise that marked the arrival of the lift: a huge train car-like box, suspended through a series of cables that descended down into the clouds below them. I gulped, sudden dizziness overwhelming me, but I shook myself out of it. Get it together, Moon. You're going to be a strong, brave Monster Hunter! You can't be getting fear of heights!
I paid the fare, stepping into the iron box, taking a seat by the window to observe the scenery as we descended through the sky. Was this what is was like to fly? No wonder winged ones were so whimsical much of the time. I heard the door shut and lock, and the gears winding up as we began to move. My heart leapt to my throat once again, which quickly was becoming a habit. The car lurched forward, beginning the trip down the cables to the bottom of the mountain. I gulped. This seemed like a deathtrap, but I trusted the engineering of the gryphons.
"Wait! Wait, hold the car!" I heard a voice through the window and looked back towards the retreating loading dock. A unicorn mare was running towards us, but we were already gone, there was nothing she could do but wait an hour or so for the next one. "Come on, just for a second! Augh!" She let out a huff of frustration as she slid to a halt at the end of the dock, teetering precariously on the edge. Her eyes scanned the car until they met mine. "Hey, big guy! Hold out your hoof!" She shouted. Seeing my look of disbelief, she rolled her eyes. "Just do it! And brace yourself!" She wouldn't do it, I thought as I held my hoof out the window, bracing my hooves against the wall of the car.
Or so I thought. I held back a gasp as I watched her sprint and leap from the dock, nowhere near making the jump. I stretched out my arm as far as I could but it was hopeless. Am I about to watch someone just kill herself!? Her horn let out a spark, then a mocha glow enveloped it and with a flash of light she vanished. Suddenly, I was jerked down by a weight against my extended hoof, as she suddenly appeared and gripped it, slamming into the side of the car as I pulled her up, both of us slightly panting. She was pretty, I'll say that much. A paler yellow coat that wasn't blinding, more like buttercup, light brown eyes, and a wavy brown mane, the color of rich chocolate.
"Are you crazy!?" The attendant demanded, fear fading from his beak. "The force of that spell could have knocked the car off the cable!" He growled at her. She just smiled widely, seeming unfazed by his aggression as she got to her hooves and dusted herself off. She dropped some bits in his talon and patted his beak.
"But it didn't. What's life without risks?" She said in her chime-like voice, turning to walk down the aisle and choose the seat beside me after giving me a quick once over. "Thanks." She said with a smile at me. "Nice sword." She remarked towards me with a nod.
"Oh, thanks. Just had it made, came out if the forge today." I told her and apparently we were pretending that tat exciting start to the day didn't just happen. I was feeling pretty proud of it. I felt like it was going to take me far. "Got it from a really nice gryphon name Geryt."
She nodded, looking at the sword, then doing a double take at me like she just noticed me. "Oh, wow, you're a big guy! You've got a babyface, so I don't think you're very old, but you've got a stature that'll dwarf full grown stallions in a couple years!" She observed. I was surprised with how intuitive she was.
"Uh. Y-yeah, I'm just sixteen. I've always been big for my age." I said with a shrug. "Good thing too, it gives me a natural edge over monsters. Or at least puts me on a more level playing field." I reasoned. Her eyes lit up and she grinned.
"Oh, you're a Monster Hunter, too? I take it you're heading to the Academy right now? First day?"she asked me, rapid-fire. I blinked, processing for a moment before smiling lightly. Another Monster Hunter! A classmate, even, maybe a friend in the unfamiliar world I'm delving into? Helps that she's a cute mare as well, though my natural male ego made me think she wouldn't go very far compared to me. I knew it was wrong to think that, but it was just an instinctual thought, you know?
"Yeah, first day. I've been looking forward to this for months, and I was so excited when I got the acceptance letter. Hopefully I can impress some people. Get noticed." I said. "Not that it's the reason I'm here. Monster Hunting is my talent, and I want to be the best I can be, no matter the cost." I said, leaning to show her my cutie mark. She leaned to show me hers, which I made sure to not stare at too long. Why were cutie marks in such awkward places? Hers was a glowing spell book, being circled by two dragons. Similar to mine.
"Hey, get your own life story, that one's mine!" She teased. "Copycat. I guess this means we'll be rivals, huh? We can't both be the best, after all." She said, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. After a second, I grinned as the lift ground to a halt.
"I guess so. But you're not gonna beat me, I assure you of that." I said, a new fire in my heart. A rival! I'll always have a goal now, I'll always have a reason to become better and better. "My name's Blue Moon, by the way." I introduced myself. She stood, and I notice how graceful and agile she was, ducking through the other occupants until she hopped off the lift and turned to look at me through the window before I had even gotten out of the seat, crowded as that car was.
"Well, Blue Moon, I'll be seeing you around, then." She said, and vanished into the crowd without so much as telling me her name.
Reading the journal, you seem to notice a few dark spots speckling the page, almost like water droplets of some sort.
I got off the lift and opened up the map I had packed in my bag. After getting my bearings, I began the long walk down the road, my excitement driving me forward. About an hour's walk and I'd be entering the sprawling campus, and the next chapter of my life will officially begin!
~~~
Okay, more like two hours. And the Gryphon Kingdoms are pretty hot when you're not up on the mountains. Dizzy from the heat, my weariness was washed away as I saw the first if the buildings on the horizon. Forgetting how tired I was, I broke into a run, my goal finally before my eyes. I could see gryphons and the occasional pony sparring on the training grounds, surrounded by a crowd that was cheering them on. I saw a fenced-off area that contained a few monsters I didn't recognize, along with a gryphon in there, outsmarting a couple left and right, seemingly attempting to get a flag at the other end of the maze.
Walking past these, I saw what must have been a garden. A couple earth ponies and a gryphon stood amongst it, tending to the vibrant, exotic plants that sprouted from the ground. A few of them, I swear were moving. This place was beautifully insane. I finally made my way to the main building, entering the office. The gryphon secretary looked up at me, then looked me up and down. "I don't recognize you. Are you new? Can I see your letter of acceptance?" She asked. I nodded, digging in my bag for it before presenting the rolled-up parchment to her. She looked it over and nodded, turning to look through her files in a desk behind her.
I waited patiently, looking around the room. Paintings lined the walls of various students that had become successful hunters to this day. I recognized most of the names. Scarlet, the gryphon well known for her heroic actions during the dragon attack on the gryphon capital a few years back. Far Sight, the unicorn who used magic to take down some if the biggest creatures to date. Jax, the gryphon with the stature if a giant, wielding a sword in his talon and a shield on his wing, who's feats were nigh countless. He was the most famous of them all.
"Here you are, Mr. Moon." The gryphon interrupted my train of thought. "You got here just in time. Mass orientation is tomorrow, which is when we'll register you." She said, turning and handing me a key. "Your dorm room is past the Training Pit, room D27. Come back here at eight in the morning, sharp, to meet the other new students and register." She said, smiling. "Welcome to the Academy. Go get some rest."
