Paleblood

Paleblood Chapter 4: Church Concerns

Another sunfall,another moonrise,and the cycle continues. By Josh's standards,his very first day in Ihyll was the most eventul day of his crusade against the beasts. A fellow Hunter,a cold Drundarian,and a precious civvie,born and bred in Ihyll,joining the two as an apprentice Hunter. However,Hoshiro,or Hoshi,as Josh came to call him,was a Hunter in name only. And once the night passed,the two would have to get weaponry for the young Ihyllian. There was only one problem. Neither Neul nor Josh knew how to perform the Ihyllian Communion,a ritual upon which a person may join a rank of Hunters but easing their inner power out,known as a Gift. Gifts are as unique as a person's fingerprint. No two persons with the same Gift exist. The chances are so very slim,they might just as well be an impossibility. As far as the Communion was concerned,Josh withnessed Kisharian Communion,however,he had now authority to perform it. Only the Kishar Pontiff could perform a Communion. Having a Church Hunter perform it would be shunned by others,and considered blasphemous. As a result,all 3 of them came to the consensus to perform a Drundarian Communion,as Neul was a native,and the Ensanguined Tome of Drundar,written by Drundar's founder states a Drundarian Hunter may perform a Communion,wheter it be for people volunteering to bolster Drundarian Ranks,or as an emergency conscription. Though they had time to think about this. Hunter or not,they were still human. After the hot rescue just mere hours earlier,the trio scuddled away in a complex of buildings,with the Hunters barricading all entraces,as the smell of the slain beast's blood was bound to attract more of these monstrosities. As the situation stood,weak moonlight cast a sickly white illumination upon Neul,a rough,patchy cloth sliding and brushing across his slender blade effortlessly,vanquishing any trace of beastly blood. It was not sufficient to bring back the polished sheen it might have once had,but the repeated motions seemed to restore some sanity to the Hunter as he concentrated upon the repeated strokes. In the most shadowed corner Hoshi laid down,his wounds mended,his black haired head resting upon a thin,yet comfortable bundle,courtesy of Josh offering his coat,who now sat with his back to the rubble,serving as a barricade to the way out,his trusty Hacksaw resting beside him,his right hand running through his locks of hair,tightening in a grasp on occasion. As was custom,as night fell,the migraines resurfaced. He was not new to this,but the hunts were starting to take their toll. He was not done by a long shot,was what the Kishar thought,his chest rythmically expanding and retracting with slow,deep breaths. Whatever may happen,he had to have faith. He has no way of knowing in what state the city was,or if his parents were still alive. He had to have faith...and he loathed every bit of it. Faith on its own grants no closure. And closure was the one thing he needed.

"Hey..how can you stay so calm with a job like that?"

The sounds of scraping and brushing stopped briefly,Neul's gaze turning upwards to meet Josh's own,one of his eyebrows cocked up in an inquisitive manner.

"Are you seriously going to start doubting your decision to become a Hunter? Now,of all times?"

"No,just...how do you manage to keep a level head during all these times. Im not unfamiliar with a Hunter's work,but...it does get to me at times." A sigh leaving his lips,his head,leaning back against the rubble,his eyes closing. No reply came for a few seconds,before a light thud and the metallic clank of something small snapped the Church Hunter to attention. A small sheath,from which several thin,crudely made cigarettes spilled out,alongside a small,rectangular thing,one Josh recognized as a lighter.

"Take a huff. It ought to help you,atleast a little bit." Neul spoke before continuing,one final brush across his blade,before continuing.

"I didn't want any of this. I was essentialy chosen to become a Hunter,wheter I liked it or not. However...I have to make it worthwhile...so I didn't go through hell for nothing." Among the smoke and gentle light of his ignited cigarette,Josh could see it clearly,a deep-seething hatred in those wintry eyes of his. He was essentially the opposite of himself. Josh became a Hunter so he may protect his parents,and his country. And Neul became one just because someone had decided so. It made some sense,after all. The hatred seemed to fuel the brutal fashion in which he dispatched the beasts,even with such a delicate,elegant blade as his was.

"Its my duty as a Hunter to find out what caused all this..and with some luck..I might even be able to rebuild my city to what it was earlier." Neul,without looking,snatched the satchel and lighter,igniting a cigarette of his own as Josh puffed away,his nerves relaxing,his face pulling a somber,sober grimace.

"Is it why you began your search? Because Drundar was overrun?"

"Yes." Neul replied simply,taking a deep,firm inhale,before the ashen cloud of tobacco escaped his lips in a sharp exhale. "You've got to understand,Drundar had their own knights,alongside the Hunters. Though Hunters did most of the dirty work,and knights used their titles to massage their own ego."

A cackle escaped Josh's throat,followed by a smokey cough. "Well,maybe if they spent their time training instead of bragging,maybe Drundar would'nt have fallen."

"Yeah,preety much."

No sooner did the sun rise,the trio was well underway to what would be the central part of Ihyll,according to both Hoshi and Josh's map. From Hoshi had told them,Ihyll's own Church Hunters were holed up in the Cathedral District. Josh and Neul could hardly believe what they had heard.

"So hold up. They hid away while the city went to shit?"

"Yeh." Hoshiro replied,wide-eyed and vindicated by Josh's shock.  "When the beasts first appeared,everyone expected them to stand up and protect the common folk. But instead,the Church Hunters holed up and locked the Cathedral District away,leaving everyone outside to die!"

Neul's expression turned sour,his head shaking as he looked about,trying to spot anything that would vaguely match the description of a cathedral ward,his distaste shared alongside his fellow Hunter and Hoshi.

"Church Hunters? More like Church Tosspots. If there is any good from breaching the perimeter,is that we will find,hopefully,some supplies,as well as gear for Hoshiro..

"What they did is unacceptable,but try considering this." Josh spoke as his steps hastened,turning around to face his companions,striding backwards in a casual manner.

"What if they were to help,but they could'nt leave?"

"Interesting theory,Josh. So what you are saying something  that something prevented the Ihyll Church Hunters from acting,yes?"

"That's what Im getting at,yes." As the two Hunters speculated,a shudder ran down Hoshiro's spine,his steps speeding up as his behavior slowly grew neurotic and nervous.

"But wait...if that is the case,you think there is something worse in the Cathedral Distric? What if no Church Hunters came out,because there are no more left?" The anxiety in his eyes and voice was palpable. The two Hunters exchanged looks.

"Sabotage?"

"Most likely. But for now...

Let's just see..."