#Scar should be allowed to hunt grian down and kill him slowly

[rat-rosemary]

Scar was having war flashbacks of having to deal with shitty medical bureaucracy

[kaihuntrr]

part eight: high tides

happy new year! heres where the story really gets going >:D

There was nothing more calming than watching clouds pass through the baby blue skies. The cool and salty sea air filled Martyn’s lungs as he emerged from the lower deck, stretching his arms above his head as he yawned. He looked around the ship, noticing Grian talking to Scar, Joel standing with Cleo, and Lizzie steering the ship as always. 

It was usually quiet for the first few days into the hunt. Though, heading to the world border should have meant fighting something around now, shouldn’t it? Shouldn’t there have been some cool fight with a big monster by now?

We’re close to the border, but not close enough.

Martyn walked up to Lizzie, a small smile on his face, “Hey.” 

“Hey,” Lizzie smiled back and turned to face him, “Did you have a good nap?”

“Yeah, but no one rang the bell, so there’s nothing much to do,” Martyn shrugged. They could play games, do some leisure activities, or sleep. Martyn enjoyed his sleep. Martyn hummed, “I’m thinking of seeing Mumbo, though. Know where he is?”

“Likely in his cabin. You know he likes it there.” Lizzie shrugged.

Martyn should’ve assumed Mumbo was there in the first place.

Martyn nodded, “I’ll give him a visit then, thanks.”

“Anytime, hunter.” Lizzie smirked, Martyn stopped in his tracks as Lizzie giggled. Teasing? Again? Couldn’t those jokes start later? The Canaries should be lucky that Martyn allowed the jokes for their amusement. It was getting annoying, but it was manageable. 

“Do not call me that.” Martyn glanced at Lizzie, rolling his eyes as he huffed. Scott was the only one to call him that, no one else. Lizzie tilted her head and Martyn smiled. He’ll let it off the hook once.

Martyn walked back to the lower deck, being careful with his footing as to not creak any floorboards to wake Bdubs up, and knocked on the wooden door at the end of the small hallway. 

He heard Mumbo’s voice through the muffled door. “You may enter.”

Mumbo’s cabin was a personal study for him. Martyn knew how many books and notes Mumbo had stashed in there, even creating detailed illustrations of higher class monsters’ anatomy in case they needed it. Mumbo’s notes were refined in this room, too. He couldn’t just submit his incomprehensible scribbles to the researchers, so Mumbo was constantly working on those when there were no monster attacks. Martyn enjoyed his time there, spitballing ideas with Mumbo or examining every note on the beasts for as much as he’s able to.

Martyn opened the door and shut it slowly behind him. He looked over at his friend, “Hey Mumbo,” his eyes widened as he saw the mess of papers scattered on the desk before him, all sorts of illegible writing and crumpled up paper scraps now chaotically placed on top. Martyn glanced at Mumbo and the papers, forcing a small smile, “What are you up to?”

Mumbo’s cabin had papers attached to strings and cork boards along with a few framed fangs of the monsters they’ve killed, glistening in the sun as windows were placed behind the desk, giving light to the room. There were books neatly organized into shelves, all about the documented creatures and Mumbo’s personal journals from the fights the Canaries had been in. Mumbo was like a personal library, storing loads of useful information for the rest of the hunters to work with.

Seeing Mumbo’s desk in that messy state caused Martyn to start worrying. Mumbo himself looked rather disheveled, with his clothes messy and loose with his hair unkempt. 

Mumbo gestured to the seat in front of his desk, “Come sit down, I need to talk to you about this,” Martyn pulled the chair closer to the desk as he sat down. Mumbo looked at the papers, “I’ve been thinking about those legends and how they’ve been described….”

“And?”

“It still doesn’t make sense to me,” Mumbo shook his head. His hands combed through his hair, trying to look a tad more presentable. “Sea princes are supposedly larger than any A class creatures. I can’t think of why they haven’t been spotted yet if they were that big.”

Mumbo had a point.

For a creature so elusive, it had to have some kind of way to hide itself. Martyn recalled the stories of sea princes being able to turn invisible, or go at high speeds underwater to avoid detection. Those monsters had some trick up their sleeve, and Martyn wasn’t sure what it was.

For some reason, Scott’s words echoed in Martyn’s mind.

“The sea is as deep as the skies are vast. You may not know everything there is to what lies beneath.”

People knew of the monsters and legends, but not much else. Scott’s words had a sense of truth in them. Capturing a sea prince would be the highlight of researchers. For something like that to be lurking under the waters, as dangerous as it was told to be, they could uncover more mysteries of the ocean.

Martyn shrugged, “Well, we don’t know everything about the sea, just its monsters.” He looked at one of the papers on the desk; a story about the sea princes forming the world border with a simple flick of their fins. Powerful monsters. He looked at Mumbo, “But if we take one down, maybe we’ll be able to learn more.”

“Maybe, but,” Mumbo leaned away and crossed his arms, “they sound very… fantastical,” he waved his hands, emphasizing the final word with a hint of skepticism in his voice. “Golden blood, a thundering heartbeat? It’s a lot to look out for.”

Martyn’s eyes narrowed in thought. It was a lot to look out for, which is why it was so confusing no one had ever seen one. But that was the reason they were farther out at sea, going to the world border. If people had been too afraid to look there, they might just notice it first.

Before TIES at the very least.

Mumbo raised his hands, “Don’t get me wrong– I believe in you and in this mission! We wouldn’t be sent out if it was an impossible task,” he sighed. He lowered his voice, Martyn looked at Mumbo in silence. “They’re just unlike anything in our notes.”

“That’s because they’re legends, Mumbo,” Martyn tilted his head, smiling. They were real, he was sure of it. Wasn’t Mumbo excited to find one before? Maybe it was the realization that the crew was actually looking for one, Mumbo got cold feet. Now wasn’t the time to chicken out. “We don’t tell stories of regular beasts because we take them on all the time. But no one has ever seen a sea prince before, so finding one makes it all the better.”

Mumbo chuckled, Martyn internally sighed in relief. At least Mumbo wasn’t too deep in his thoughts. “Better for you to tell a whole tavern? I don’t think you were supposed to say anything about it, since it’s such a big deal and all.”

Martyn’s eyes widened. Was he not supposed to say it? Shouldn’t the world know what they were doing? It wasn’t like the sea princes could hear Martyn announce it to a tavern. The tavern goers likely wouldn’t even remember because of all the drinking that night. They were fine. Besides, even if they weren’t allowed to talk about it, Martyn was bound to tell Scott. He just had to!

“Ah. You’re right,” Martyn scratched the back of his head. He smiled in embarrassment, “It’s… it’s just exciting to talk about. I’ve had this goal for a long time, and now I can almost reach it.”

I can almost reach Scott, too.

“Good on you then, but let’s not announce it to the whole world until we’ve done it, alright?” Mumbo raised an eyebrow and smiled, his jovial tone more pronounced. “It’s one thing to be on the mission, another to actually do it. I’m excited about it too.” There it was! That spark of excitement once again. Martyn could see the gears turning in the other man’s head, practically begging for ideas about these mythical beasts and what to do with them.

Martyn leaned closer on the desk, “You should be! It does make me wonder what kind of things Doc could make out of it,” he looked down at the notes of different A class monsters. Doc could create all sorts of things with their hauls, what more could he do with a sea prince? Martyn put his hand under his cheek, “If their scales really are the toughest material, maybe they could reinforce the ship better, or their sharp fangs could be used for harpoons….”

Mumbo nodded along, glossing over another tale of the sea princes; a story about their control over the beasts, manipulating them to attack human ships to feed off of the survivors. His eyebrows furrowed, “If their powers were real, imagine if we could–”

Mumbo was interrupted as the piercing sounds of the bell rang throughout the ship. Both Martyn and Mumbo’s eyes widened as they looked at each other. A beast was near.

Martyn pulled his gun out of his holster, immediately standing and rushed to the door, “We gotta go, come on!” Martyn didn’t bother to look back, he knew Mumbo would follow.

It had been beginning to get boring, but now the real fun would begin.

Martyn rushed out onto the upper deck as the ship swayed from left to right. He looked around to see the others with their weapons out and aimed at the distant beast as it swam towards them. Its vibrant red and orange carapace stuck out of the blues of the ocean, spikes adorned its back as the water began to part around it. Martyn could spot its fan-like tail crashing against the waves, coming ever so closer to him and his crew.

Martyn saw Cleo ringing the bell, but they stopped the moment their eyes laid on him and Mumbo.

“Nice of you two to join us.” Cleo smiled at the two as they pulled out their guns from their holsters. 

Martyn looked at the beast as it approached, holding a hand over his eyes, “What’s the beast this time?”

“It isn’t the size of a class B, so it shouldn’t be a problem,” Grian shrugged. He turned to Mumbo, “What do you think?”

Mumbo pulled out his telescope as he walked to the railing, “It’s a class D, scuttler–” he flinched as he saw the beast poke its head out of the water as it closed in the distance between them, “Its underbelly is soft, wait for it to jump!”

Scuttlers were simply shrimp, but bigger and uglier than their regular counterparts. As a class D, Martyn didn’t think of it too much. A swift strike to its underbelly, or breaking through its carapace to strike at its brain was enough to kill it.

It wouldn’t be a problem.

The beast roared as it sped towards them. Joel stared the beast down as he pointed his cannon at it and motioned to the crew, “Brace yourselves! Scar, Bdubs– fire!”

Scar and Bdubs shot their cannons, rattling the deck of the ship. The round metal balls hit the hard exoskeleton, causing cracks to appear in its armor. The scuttler dove down, resurfacing on the other side of the ship. Grian and Cleo shot at the beast, bullets pinging off its armor. Lizzie made the ship faster, swerving around the monster for the others to get a better shot at it.

Tha-thump.

Martyn whipped his head around as he heard a faint sound.

Tha-thump.

“What’s that noise?” Martyn looked around quickly, trying to make sense of what he heard through the chaos and noises of battle. The adrenaline rush he got in battle was usually crazy, but he was sure his own heartbeat wasn’t the one he was hearing.

Joel shook his head, his attention on the scuttler as he loaded his handgun and ran towards the beast, “Gah, who cares– focus on the beast!” 

The beast let out an ear-grating screech before scuttling up the metal walls of the ship. It reared its head back and bit at the edge of the deck, the top of its jaw crushing the railing along the upper deck as Joel narrowly avoided the sudden action with a stumble that sent him rolling to the deck, cracking his shoulder against the wood.

The scuttlers smaller claws grabbed the ship’s side, where the metal plating began, as it bit harder on the wooden railing. The reinforced wall made an audible crunch as the wood behind it chipped.

Martyn rushed to help Joel up, firing at the scuttler himself as he dragged Joel away from it. His bullet bounded right off its shell before the beast opened its jaws to take another bite at the deck. He looked up, “Lizzie! Can you get the ship out of here?!”

Lizzie shook her head. “I can’t! The thing’s grip is too tight! I’ll just take it with us!” She messed with the levers next to the steering wheel in an attempt to shake the beast. Her heart visibly sank, but she had a determined look on her face, “You have to kill it!”

Joel pushed Martyn off him as he pulled himself to his feet. “Cleo, Bdubs, with me! Shoot for its claws!” Joel shouted at the two, motioning to the beast before them.

“Scar, Martyn, you two wait for my signal! Mumbo, come here, we gotta lure it!” Grian gave Scar and Martyn a nod before he looked at Mumbo and grabbed a harpoon.

Mumbo hastily followed Grian as they began to climb the ladder, “Aw come on, why me?”

“Who wouldn’t want to take a bite out of a nobleman?” Grian laughed. He took small glances at the fight below him and Lizzie attempted to move the ship, shaking his head with a smile before climbing faster.

“Joel, running out of bullets here!” Cleo loaded the last of their ammunition and fired it off on the scuttler’s armor as it continued to slowly chip away.

“Take a harpoon then!” Bdubs hurriedly grabbed one of the large spears and tossed it Cleo’s way. They grinned and threw the weapon at the monster’s forehead and the scuttler roared as it let go of the ship. Bdubs locked eyes with Grian as the captain signaled for them to stop, “Get down!”

“Up here, monster!” Grian shouted, readying his harpoon. The crew ducked, flattening themselves against the ship, leaving Grian and Mumbo as the only visible targets. The scuttler growled and dove down beneath the water.

Martyn and Scar hefted their own harpoons. Martyn clenched his in a tight grip as he prepared to jump.

The scuttler rose out of the water, exposing its underbelly.

“Scar, Martyn, now!”

Martyn locked eyes with Scar for a brief moment before the two of them took a running leap off the side of the ship and drove their spears into the beast’s soft underside. The scuttler wailed and thrashed wildly but collapsed backwards into the sea. Water splashed and rocked the hunting ship as Scar and Martyn stood on the monster’s still convulsing chest, waiting in anticipation for the few seconds it took before it stopped moving.

One beast down, a lot more to go.

Martyn took a deep breath. Hunting was fun, but gods, it was tiring sometimes. 

“Good job there, Martyn!” Scar wrapped his arm around Martyn’s shoulders and grinned. 

Martyn smiled, “You didn’t do so bad yourself, Scar.”

Scar released his hold on Martyn and the two moved to take their harpoons out of the dead beast’s flesh. One, two–

Martyn slipped on the beast’s carapace as he pulled out his harpoon. The weapon fell into the ocean, plunging into its depths as Martyn tumbled down with it. The sudden cold waters closed around him, the impact hadn’t given Martyn the chance to hold his breath as shock took hold. He scrambled to grab onto anything secure, his hands skidding uselessly against the scuttler’s shell. Nevermind the spear. It had already sunk out of reach. 

Don’t panic. 

Martyn could feel himself sinking deeper. The cold, salty water got into his eyes, forcing them shut as he tried to swim up. Water rushed into his ears, filling it with the deathly silence of the ocean and–

Tha-thump.

That sound.

Tha-thump.

Was it louder than earlier?

Tha-thump.

Martyn was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt something grab his arm. His head broke the surface and he gasped for air,opening his eyes to the bright skies as Scar held him.

“Martyn– Martyn!” Scar’s eyes widened. He gave Martyn a smile, “Don’t panic! Everything’s okay, look at me.”

Martyn took short breaths. He saw the ship next to them with his friends looking on. At least they were nearby.

Scar pulled Martyn up and got him on the scuttler carcass. He gestured to the ship, “You’re safe. Let’s head up so you can dry off, okay?”

Martyn nodded, focusing on his breath as he climbed up the ladder to the deck. Solid ground. The most solid ground he could have while he was out on sea, at least. Martyn shook off some of the dripping water and shivered as the sea air passed him. He stared at his feet and crossed his arms, suddenly flinching as he felt something get thrown on him.

Oh. It was just a towel.

Martyn started drying himself off as Grian turned to him, “Are you alright?” He looked up at Martyn, his eyes narrowed as they locked eyes.

“I’m– I’m good,” Martyn shook his head, forcing a smile. He tilted his head to the open seas, “The water’s a lot colder here.” He shivered as he continued to dry the water out of his clothes and hair. 

“It’s getting colder too. It is autumn after all,” Grian shrugged. He turned to the front of the ship, the engine purring as they moved across the water, “Plus, we’re getting closer to the world border.”

Martyn’s eyes lit up. No time for feeling shocked. If the border was close, he had to be ready. Grian motioned for Martyn to follow him, and he did. “How close are we, exactly?”

“Not too far now.” Grian smiled, crossing his arms as he rested against the railing. He stared into the distance and narrowed his eyes, as if looking for the tell-tale signs of mist and sharpened rocks.

Martyn looked around, seeing the others work on repairs on the ship while Lizzie continued to steer forward. Another moment of silence until the next battle. Martyn untangled his braided hair and began to dry the soaking mess. He looked into the distance too, “Hey, Grian?”

Grian’s eyes glanced at Martyn, “Hm?”

“...What made you stop believing in the sea princes?”

Grian flinched, “That’s a loaded question.”

“Aw, come on Grian,” Martyn rolled his eyes as he began to braid his hair, “You and I both told those stories to your brothers and Lizzie, how come you’ve stopped believing in them?”

Grian hummed and Martyn stayed silent.

Martyn knew that he and Grian had grown up with similar stories and had told them to the others. But at some point in their life, Grian’s stories had come to an abrupt stop. And Martyn didn’t remember Grian sharing his excitement when the king had told them about their mission either. Martyn looked at Grian as a sharp sigh escaped the captain.

“They scared Jimmy,” Grian said softly, “I loved making fun of him for it, but…” He looked down and clenched his arms, “They freaked him out.”

“How so?”

Grian snorted. “You of all people should know, Martyn.” He looked at Martyn and raised his eyebrows as he shifted against the railing, “Just because they’re glory stories to you doesn’t mean it’s like that for everyone.”

Martyn rolled his eyes, “I know that,” he sighed. He bit his lip, remembering the past. Jimmy was a scaredy-cat, always screaming at the sight of anything. Maybe if Martyn had stopped teasing him so much, Jimmy would’ve loved hunting as much as he did. “I wished you’d told me sooner so I could’ve stopped teasing Jimmy too.”

“I wish I did, but,” Grian’s voice lowered, “These were the cards we were dealt with.”

Another wave of silence washed over the two. The rolling sea and faint birdsong were all that they could hear, along with the intermittent sounds of hammering as the ship was being repaired. 

Maybe Grian should stop staring into the sea like that. He looks awful.

Martyn placed a hand on Grian’s shoulder, “Well, people won’t have to be afraid anymore,” he looked at his captain and grinned. “We’ll take on that beast.”

Grian smiled, but it quickly vanished. “I wish he could have seen that.” 

Martyn didn’t know what else to say after that. Perhaps the silence was good for now. He looked out into the distance, seeing the faint outline of rocks up ahead. His eyes widened and his heart soared. They were close.

Though, it was odd that there was only one monst–

“Another one?!” Bdubs’ scream alerted the two, Martyn turned to look behind him.

A shrill shriek echoed over the waves, revealing another scuttler.

“These are class D!” Mumbo shouted, “They may not be too large, but they swarm!”

The beast began to charge at them, but something looked off as it came closer. Martyn ran to the nearest railing to the scuttler, leaning over the edge to take a closer look. His eyes widened.

It had fresh wounds.

There were cracks at its exoskeleton and looked to have one of its eyes missing. The water around it was clouded in blood as it swam towards them. It echoed a roar and rammed the ship, its sheer speed and impact caused the ship to sway violently as a loud crack was heard.

That wasn’t normal.

As the ship reoriented itself, Martyn’s first thought was to look for the beast. It wouldn’t be hard with all the cloudied blood. 

Huh.

Wasn’t it going to attack them?

Martyn watched as the beast swam… away from them. It was… running away…? Why? 

Martyn shook his head. He turned to his crew, a manic grin on his face. “It’s fleeing, let’s strike it down!”

“Hey! What gives?!” Bdubs slammed his hands on the railing and was shaking with excitement.“Give us a proper fight!” 

“Nothing more exciting than another beast, especially from one that runs.” Joel chuckled. He put a hand on Bdubs’ shoulder and smiled at him, then at Martyn. 

Now we get to give it a taste of its own medicine!

“You can’t swim forever, beast!” Martyn leaned against the railing, watching as the creature swam further and further away from them. It could swim away, but it clearly wouldn’t last for too much longer. 

The ship’s engine roared as it continued to gain speed, completely disregarding the carcass of the previous beast for the thrill of the chase. Martyn and the rest of the Canaries cheered on as they followed the bleeding beast. 

They failed to see the scuttler’s lifeless body get dragged under the waves by something far larger. Larger than anything the hunters have ever faced.

Sometimes, the hunter becomes the hunted.

[aurabird]

For All It’s Worth

Legend tells of a great war between two stags and their champions. Scott is the reincarnation of Aeor's champion, Alinar; but the reincarnation of Exor's champion, Connel, remains unknown to him.

He doesn't think he'll ever get the chance when crystalline corruption consumes the Empires he has come to know for centuries and leave only him and two others the sole survivors of the land.

That is when strangers come from worlds beyond his own, one such individual offering to use demigod-like powers to save them all.

But with this plan comes consequence, and with that consequence comes prophecy.

Inspired by @phoenixfyrebird​‘s crossover AU where 3rd Life is after Empires and is where Scott finally meets Exor’s champion

Ao3 Link

--------------

For as long as Scott could remember, the twelve Empires had existed together; their rulers granted longevity of life and immortality from everything but old age due to ancient magic left behind by Gods when they banished a horrible corruption from the land centuries ago.

All elves knew the story, but Scott had only recently learned of the underlying prophecy that came with it. The reincarnations of Connel and Alinar would fight for their respective Gods in a battle for the fate of the world; and that failure to stop the evil of the former would lead to an eternal winter.

Scott knew that he was the reincarnation of Alinar but he had no idea who Connel was reborn as. He had suspicions of course; Fwhip's affinity for the crystalized redstone that corrupted whatever land was around it and Sausage's constant practicing of blood magic being the most likely in his mind, but so far they really didn't seem to give off 'reincarnation of a great evil' vibes, despite their chaotic and unhinged behavior.

Eras of war and peace came and went for them and, just when all twelve empires had found harmony, destruction arrived at their doorstep in a familiar form.

It was all an accident, but it claimed its cultivator first. Count Fwhip of the Grimlands had become infected and twisted by the very magic he studied until his own sister had to cut him down to save him from madness. Her kingdom fell shortly after along with that of the Undergrove and the Lost Empire.

Mezalea and the Ocean Empire were next to fall, the latter ruler sacrificing herself to save her husband. The Cod Empire where the heartbroken king settled was not spared, nor was the neighboring Mythland, whose ruler perished trying to help the Cod and Mezalian Kings. Pixandria's ruler went shortly thereafter, followed by those of Smallhold and House Blossom.

Rivendell was the only kingdom left unaffected, protected by the magic of Aeor. Twelve rulers had been reduced to a mere three in just a few months time, and even now the crystalline corruption had begun to creep closer, bypassing the protection of the elven kingdom.

 Joel didn't want to die, for it was his wife's last wish that he survive.

Jimmy knew he had to live in order to keep the memories of the fallen alive

And Scott knew that as Aeor's champion, he could not surrender until the prophecy came to be

 They would have to flee, leave everything they knew behind with nothing but what they could carry. Even then, though, the corruption would never slow, it would catch up to them eventually, it would consume everything in its path until nothing was left.

Still, they took their chances.

Several days they traveled, several days the corruption just followed them. Sometimes they'd get a few days of reprieve, others they barely had time to rest. While Scott himself could fly with his natural wings, Joel and Jimmy's elytras had long broken by this point and with no time to rest and repair them, they would be forced to walk from this point on.

It was a battle they knew they'd never win and the trio was well aware that they were on borrowed time, why bother running anymore?

But, that is when two purple rifts tore open nearby them, pulsating and hissing with magic unlike they'd ever seen. From these portals came people, eleven to be exact. Ten from one, and a single person from the other. They'd been told the stories and fables of worlds beyond their own, and these strangers couldn't have been from anywhere else with the entrances they made.

As it turned out, these strangers were the sole survivors of worlds that had faced destruction of their own. The first group, from a world they called Hermitcraft, had once housed twenty-six individuals; of them, only ten remained. When asked about the cause of their home's destruction, three of them had guilt flash across their faces.

Vengeful beings called Watchers had destroyed the world, punishment for the guilty trio's insolence. The avian in the red jumper was a Watcher himself once, but fled from them with the only two survivors of his original home, Evo. He used most of the power he had to open a portal and escape with the group behind him now.

As for the other, the man in a sleeveless and torn suit, he came from a world known as Legacy. He had not been there very long before Withers and the decay they brought with them consumed and torn it apart.

That was when the three former-kings shared their tale, lamenting that these individuals had only left behind two destroyed worlds in favor of what would soon be another. There was no escaping the crystalline corruption that inched closer and closer by the hour, it would consume them all in time.

However, there was a small ray of hope. The avian from Hermircraft explained that he had enough power left from his time as a Watcher to teleport them all far away from the corrupted lands and put up a barrier that would protect them should the corruption ever reach that far. It wasn't the most ideal scenario, but it was all they had. In agreement, the fourteen found themselves in an area protected within a 700 x 700 radius. Plenty of room to thrive, plenty of room to live...

...then they realized a fatal flaw.

The magic that brought them back upon death, Respawn Magic, as the world-jumpers had called it, was limited within such boundaries. The avian, Grian, deducted that there was only enough in the area to bring them all back twice. Three lives to live, they had to make them count.

It didn't take long for the universe to alert them to the next flaw. With the dwindling respawn magic came consequence; a slow decent into madness would come with each death. Those on their second life would grow paranoid, flighty, and hostile. Those on their last life became  chaotic, aggressive, and bloodthirsty.

Collectively, they decided to call this curse by a fitting name:

3rd Life

--------------

Scott and Jimmy had grown close in the journey prior to the current living accommodations the fourteen of them were faced with, and the two of them took up residence in a flower forest with Joel not too far off. Joel had been invited to live with them, but the former king could not bear to live with the now-lovers, heart still broken by the loss of his wife. Instead, he befriended wolves, living alone with his canine companions.

Hermitcrafts survivors scattered; Cleo, Bdubs, Impulse, and Tango in a castle, Scar and Grian now bound by debt settled in the desert, BigB lived on his own, and lastly Martyn, Ren, Etho and the one Legate survivor, Skizz, ran an enchanting business in the taiga.

Despite the lingering threats of limited respawn magic and the curse of death slowly leading to madness, things went relatively fine...until Scar fell into a ravine, costing him his first life.

After that, he became antagonistic and manipulative, getting whatever he wanted through fear from everyone he swindled...

...until he didn't. Ren didn't surrender to Scar's tyranny and remained defiant; something that cost the hybrid his first life, and the second ones of both Skizz and Jimmy. It also caused Ren to do something drastic, something that struck Scott with fear and realization.

Scott was present when Ren asked to be sacrificed by Martyn, as it was the only way to make him strong enough to bring about the Red Winter. At first, the elf had thought nothing of the words, but when Ren lifted his head and Scott saw the veins of corruption webbing across the hybrid's face, once-blue eyes now glowing red as blood and full of a lust for destruction and chaos, the pieces fell into place.

Despite everything Scott had not forgotten the prophecy he'd learned so long ago, and until that moment, he didn't expect to ever meet Exor's champion before dying to a fraying world. But before him stood the reincarnation of Connel, the harbinger of eternal winter.

That night, he confided the info and the prophecy to Jimmy and Joel, both of them in disbelief. They didn't get to talk about it much, however, before Ren and his Hand showed up and demanded tribute and sacrifice through threat and force.

Jimmy burned their banner in defiance and Scott's gaze met that of Ren, allowing him to see the realization that flashed in the Red King's eyes. He too, had made the connection; why else would he proceed to have Skizz to shoot Jimmy down in the desert when there were plenty of other targets? He wanted a reaction from Scott, he wanted to send a message.

Lives were taken, blood was spilled. Joel and Scott had been the hunters of Ren and Martyn at first, but now they were the hunted, pinned down in the crater of what had once been the desert. If the elf had any doubts about the hybrid's true identity before, they were gone now. Ren openly admitted to being Connel before lunching forwards with the intent to kill.

Scott heard the sound of a body being skewered onto metal, but upon opening his eyes he realized that it wasn't his body impaled on Ren's sword...it was Joel's.

"Run..." was the dying order given to him, and with a heavy heart Scott followed the command, making his way to the Crastle where he took refuge within the building's walls. That night, he told the tale, of the corruption and the eternal winter; of his destiny to stop Ren...no, Connel. He asked them to fight by his side in a final battle. They all agreed, they had vengeance in their hearts as well.

The battle of Dogwarts was brutal, crimson dying the water and staining the grass as it pooled from fallen bodies. Now, Scott faced Ren alone, the two of them the only survivors of their respective armies.

Like prophecy foretold they clashed, the reincarnations of Alinar and Connel fought with unyielding vigor, staining snow with blood as their weapons tore through flesh and arrows pierced through skin.

But only one of them would win, with a final cry full of anguish about those he'd lost, Scott drove his sword through Ren's heart. Exor's champion was dead, he had won.

The victory felt hollow to him; he was surrounded by bodies and had already buried countless more, he was the only one left in a fraying world and Scott could already see the crystalline corruption that'd taken everything from him already at the edges of the magical barrier. He was out of time...and there was still one life left to go.

After burring the bodies of the newly-fallen, ally and enemy alike, Scott made his way to the highest peak near Dogwarts...and let himself fall. His instinct told him to catch himself and fly, but he didn't listen, only welcomed the air blowing past his face.

A sickening crack...agonizing pain as bones shattered...and then blissful darkness.

--------------

Darkness...

Darkness...

Darkness...

Light...?

Scott's eyelids flickered open, light and color filling them as he looked at the sky from between the thick canopy of the jungle...

Wait, jungle?

He jolted up as the gears began to turn. He knew this place, but the last time he'd seen it, it was corrupted by red crystals and the colors of everything were far more vibrant compared to the muted shades they were now.

"There you are! I was wondering when you were going to show up!"

Scott's blood went cold at the voice...the last time he'd heard it was...

The elf dared to turn around, his heart skipping a beat at who he saw before him.

Dressed in his Codfather attire, stood Jimmy with a goofy grin on his face. Behind him, the rest of those that had ruled empires lost to corruption so, so long ago. "J-Jimmy? Guys? Where are...?"

Jimmy extended a hand and spoke "This is it, this is the end."

"Is it...home?"

"It's home, Scott. It's home."