Shadowhunter Nex Gen: The Hunter Crisis

2-The Last Straw

Gwyn POV

I am used to waking up earlier than my men. Allowing dawn to not only penetrate through the sky, but also my yesterday's worries.

Being the leader of the Wild Hunt means that I must remain calm and collected in all situations, for the sake of leading my men. I use this quiet time to meditate before the sounds of the Wild Hunt fill the air.

Only this morning is too quiet. I am not complaining but this quiet feels wrong.

Walking past sleeping men, I reach Xoran and shake him awake. He shoots up, both of us grunting as he clashes his head against mine.

'I apologise Gywn. I-' cutting him of I say in haste, 'It's alright. Can you feel it? Something is not right'

Only at that moment I realised the difference. The soft nickering and neighing of our steed that has long ago become comforting background noise has disappeared.

'OUR STEED' I yell, waking all of my men from slumber just as i hear Jariah yell 'Orion'.

Finally understanding what has happened, all the men trip over themselves, racing towards their steed on the other half of our set camp.

Reaching Jariah, all the horses are laying on the ground, thankfully faint heaving of chests tell me that they are all still alive.

Pain filled moans fill the air as i watch Orion's leg twitch. By now everyone has gathered and gasps of shock and concern have added to the negative atmosphere.

Kneeling before Orion's eyes, Jariah notes,' his eyes have turned to yellow. QUICK EVERYONE CHECK THEIR EYES'

And as simply as speaking the words, all my men knelt before their sick horses praying that their eyes had not become yellow also.

In another time i would be feeling overwhelming amounts of pride for my son who so effortlessly commanded my men, as i would. Instead i am filled with stress and anxiety from the strange past experiences and now our steed's health.

However i firmly pat my Jariah's shoulder as i rise from the ground. Turning to face my men, i notice they are already looking to me for guidance.

We have never seen any sickness like this before, changing our horse's eyes to yellow. In fact, our steed have never been this ill in hundreds of years.

'What has happened here?'
'My steed's eyes!'
'Gywn, what must we do?'
My men all shout, seeking answers that i cannot answer. For i know as much as my men.

'We must treat them at once! Without our steed their is basically no Wild Hunt!' shouts Landor who sits dejectedly next to his horse.

My men shout in agreement until i interupt, 'we have never seen this type of sickness before. It is unheard of for our steed to become sick. What treatment is there that we can give? We know neither the sickness nor its treatment'
Jariah comes to stand beside me, showing his support as my second, Xoran begins to speak.

'It is true we have no means to heal our steed. That is why i propose we seek help from anyone who can restore their health'

There was an uproar of rebuke and rage. Forever we have acted independently, never needing help from anyone outside the Wild Hunt.

My men hate the idea of needing and seeking help from others. I have trained them to believe we are entirely independent. This uproar falls back onto me.

'The Wild Hunt is independent. I disagree that we need help from anyone-' Zion continues his rant but my attention moves to Xoran as he asks of my permission, 'May I?'

I don't know what he means and it seems that he was not waiting for my response anyway. Merely showing me respect as he interrupts Zion.

'Yes Zion. We are all unhappy with our predicament. But you never agree with the majority of us in minor issues, why should we listen to you for such a serious matter?'

'HEY!' Zion retaliates, but Xoran raises a hand to him, stopping his next words. From the corner of my eye, i see Jariah and Landor smile.

Xoran continues, 'Our steed will obviously not recover on their own. They need help, desperately. We cannot continue our quests without them. We need to ask for help'

I could tell exactly when the weight of the situation hit my men as they absorbed Xoran's words. They all went quiet and began nodding their heads in defeat.

As everything quieted down and everyone comforted their horses, Xoran and Jariah approached me.

It was clear Jariah spoke Xoran's thoughts when asking, 'Whose help do you plan to seek?'

Sharing a smile with Jariah i reply 'There is only one man i would trust to help us now... Magnus Bane' 

X.o.X

Another chapter done

And Magnus is now added to the picture. How does everyone feel about that?

Who wrote the chapter in your view? 

Please vote, comment and share
Love you all xx

This book can also be found with Matillym