//-------------------------------------------------------// Tanzia Guild Hunters -by corvusbray- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// 1. A Dire Escape //-------------------------------------------------------// 1. A Dire Escape A fan of flames arc across the ground. Ponies ran from them as fast as they could but a few could not make it. The flames caught and burned them alive where they stood, screaming in agony as the flesh burned away. Monsters erupted from the flames, long serpentine uroktors leap from the ground, snapping at a few other ponies as they galloped away. Another dozen were taken. One little colt looked out in horror from his home. His mother had made for a dash for the door but an uroktor leaps from the ground under her, and spears her through. It then proceeds to drag her back down the hole. Finally after several minutes, hunters rushed to the villages aid. The hunters of the village belonged to  the Tanzia Port, and they lived here in the village as its safe guards. Two moved here after they became good friends with others within the village and the other two were only here recently to get away from the life at the cities. They rush the monsters; one stops short and stands up to draw a massive bow before loosing two quick shots, another runs up and flings the massive sword off his back and slices it clean through an uroktor as he gallops ahead, and the other two rise as they draw a small sword each and double team another. After almost twenty to thirty minutes of fighting, there is a deep and powerful roar. The four hunters stop in their tracks and look into the blind smoke. They knew this roar. The roar of a Dire Miralis, the most feared monster of the Island Nations. Legends say the beast itself gave birth, and others say it will eventually destroy the world. The colt in the window ducks away from his vantage point, scared. The bowmare turns up when she sees the colt duck away. "Gastro, check upstairs," she calls to one of the swordsman with a nod of her head. She looses another few arrows sending another set of uroktors to Tartarus. Gastro, the swordsman hightails it to the building, slaying another monster as it pops up from the ground. The other two hunters battled a large group of uroktors together, fending the monsters off and distracting them from their gunner and the other citizens. The colt ran downstairs in hopes he could get to his father's cellar, but runs into the hunter, Gastro. "You okay boy?" he asks. The colt couldn't believe it, a hunter coming to rescue him. He nods shakily, still scared from what happened to his mother. "Good, we have to go, something bad is coming," he says quickly, guiding the boy to the door. Just as they left the door, molten balls of lava rain down in torrents. The two in front managed to dodge but the uroktors were not so lucky. They were beast of lava, but not even they could withstand the temperatures of this molten rock. One other was caught in the torrent. The bow mare who had lived in the village for the past twenty years got hit. Not even her Rathian armour could save her. Gastro cries in utter horror as it hit her. "At least she didn't feel the pain," the colt hears the stallion say softly before calling out to his fellow hunters, "Let's go. We are no match for a Dire Miralis!" The colt's breath catches. Everypony knew the legends of the Miralis. Some say it created the world, others say it will destroy it. The other two saw what had happened to their sister. She had been the younger one's teacher when they became rookies, and so gave no after thought to leaving. They ran from house to house, gathering the ponies who thought hiding would save them. Uroktors still popped up but were ended by the hunters. Dire Miralis stil crawled along, blasting out lava. Several more unfortunate uroktors die in another blast as does two ponies, a mother and her filly. Ponies were boarding ships and rushing away as fast as they could. The local guard withheld all any ship that still had room, and when full hurried it out to sea. as they were almost done, the wave of hidden ponies rush out, the hunters behind them. Gastro leaned down and told the running colt, "You're faster, tell the guard to pack everypony up, on the bucking double!" The colt spurrs into action and gallops ahead, hopping from the pony to pony to reach the Captain. The captain glances down at the young colt and reaches down to hurry him along but the colt refused. He points to the lead hunter and then at the smoke ahead. He makes a hurry motion with his hoof urgently, and then the Miralis' head appears, followed by the body. The Hunter's must have seen the look of horror on the ponies that were facing toward the Miralis because the stopped and reared about. They knew they were no mach, but they may be able to distract it. With a whinny they charge. The captain takes nothing for granted, knowing full well they'll die he shouts out, "Pile your plots onto the bucking boats. We leave in three!" He turns to usher the colt onto  the boat but can't find him. the captain merely assumes he left for a boat and resumes organizing the evacuation. The colt had run forward and grabbed a heavy bowgun that a guard had placed to assist others. He gallops a bit more and braces himself as he struggles to draw back the massive weapon. Once cocked he does his best to aim and he fires. The shot arcs through the air and hits Miralis dead in the eye. The elder dragon rears back in pain, roaring. Gastro looks back in amazement at the young colt and notices that while they had been fighting, the majority of the ponies are on board. Some  of the guard were joining him. The other two leaped at the underbelly, hacking and slashing. The one with the sword and shield made several shallow cuts, and the one with the greatsword just smashed in the scales. Gastro turns back to them and cries out. The stomach erupts and molten rock blasts away the two hunters, incinerating them instantaneously. With a cry of anguish, he turns and runs to the shocked colt and scoops him. He then makes a beeline for the final boat. The lone guard just stands there, shell shocked by this. The helmsman seeing the two almost there sets off with just enough distance that allows the stallion to jump and land with ease. He then faces the Miralis and watches as the boat sails away. As the island is swallowed by smoke, a familiar colt shuffles up beside him and looks up. "I thought hunters never die?" the colt asks him. Gastro down at the colt sadly and with a tear in his eye says, "Only through memory, do they live eternally."