In the outskirts of the dense woods that surround the frontier mining town of Ashton, a short figure can be seen straddling a tall branch of an old maple tree. Despite wearing thick winter gear, the lone man hunches over with hands firmly tucked into his armpits, guarding against the cold air seeping through his protective layers.
On a day when anyone with an ounce of sense would be relaxing indoors, this outdoorsman braves the winter chill in order to hunt his prey. Ignoring the faint sounds of the evening festivities that drift over from the walls of the nearby settlement, the hunter maintains an intense focus on the ground below.
Sitting with his back to the trunk of the tree, he resembles a clump of snow piled precariously on top of the branch. A thick grey winter coat covers everything from the crown of his hooded head to the top of his worn leather boots and a thin dusting of snow obscures the outline of his body. The stillness required to maintain this disguise speaks of years of training and experience.
He has been perched on this branch for hours now, preparing to ambush the group of creatures that forage in the sparse foliage below. The target of today’s hunt is a small swarm of five redjacket bloodbeasts that have made their lair in the roots of this tree. It is rare to see a nest of bloodbeasts so close to the town, but they seem to have been driven to the outskirts of the wood due to a scarcity of food in the centre.
Redjackets bloodbeasts belong to the carapace bloodline. Like most bloodbeasts of this type, they bear a superficial resemblance to insects though they are larger, averaging a foot in length and about a third that in width. The only other characteristics that distinguish the redjacket from a normal insect are a missing pair of legs and an enlargement of their two spiral-tipped antennas.
From his viewpoint up above, the hunter can clearly track their movements by the bright red colour of their shells, which are marked by a white collar separating the head from the body. The redjacket’s name is taken from this distinctive colouring, which allows these bloodbeasts to blend in with the thick mat of fallen leaves found on the forest floor. Here in the fringes of the wood, there are less leaves covering the ground and the redjackets are easy to spot against the bare earth.
While a useful advantage, visibility alone will not guarantee the safety and success of this hunt. Underestimating a redjacket is an easy way to get hurt. The true difference that separates even the weakest bloodbeast from an ordinary animal is the fact that their blood contains special genetic codes known as the monstrous genes.
These monstrous genes grant increased strength over time and access to dangerous abilities that can manipulate elements or twist both mind and matter. Every bloodbeast instinctively learns a set of powers from their bloodline and the danger of these powers makes hunting even the weakest bloodbeasts a deadly task for the untrained. Ancient bloodbeasts have been said to rupture continents when they exert their full strength, but luckily such dangerous monsters live in isolated regions far from human habitation.
In the more settled regions of humanity, bloodbeast populations are kept low through the efforts of the League of Adventurers or the local soldiery. The average civilian might never have the opportunity to encounter one in person. However Ashton was only founded twenty years ago and it is located on the very fringes of human territory. The bloodbeasts outnumber the local human population tenfold, and only the fact that bloodbeasts prey on each other allows the humans to live their lives in safety.
Despite humanity’s success at raising numerous great civilizations over the course of human history, life on the frontier serves a humble reminder that bloodbeasts vastly outnumber all of humanity. The area covered by human settlements covers less than a hundredth of the world’s total surface area. Outside of the fragile borders tenaciously pushed into the wilderness through the sweat and blood of humanity, it is a world of monsters.
The League has established an Adventurers Hall within the walls of Ashton to ensure the town’s safety. However most of its adventurers are kept perpetually busy escorting caravans, driving away high-ranking bloodbeasts, and diverting migration patterns away from the town. So the defence of Ashton’s walls is left to the local militia and every resident must also undergo self-defence training so they can serve as a last line of defence in the very real event that a horde of bloodbeasts forms and attacks the settlement.
Among those who receive this training, the few that are confident in their own strength may choose to pursue the risky career of a hunter. Such a career comes with great risk, but the bodies of fallen bloodbeasts can also bring a hefty profit. A profit tempting enough to drive this hunter into preparing for hours, just so he could spring this ambush at the exact moment when the redjackets had left the safety of their den to forage for food in the quiet of the evening.
Every so often, a redjacket pauses in its foraging to draw back onto its hind-legs and scan the surrounding area for danger. Whenever it notices anything suspicious a dull red membrane of energy shimmers around its body as the sentry readies itself for danger before flickering away as the potential threat is dismisses. As a member of the carapace bloodline, the redjacket can call up a protective shell of energy that they can manipulate to both attack and defend.
Despite this vigilance, none of the redjackets think to look up. By habit, the redjackets rely on their camouflage and the dense canopy that can be found deeper in the woods for protection against flying foes. The hunter has carefully planned to make use of this weakness and increase the ambush’s chance of success.
Redjackets are considered the weakest of all the local bloodbeasts, but if startled they can channel an explosive burst through their barrier with the force of a strong man’s punch. This explosion also projects a viscous spray of energy that wraps the target in a tough elastic film, which lasts for several minutes before fading. The redjackets then takes this opportunity to flee and find a new hiding spot. Any attacks aimed at their fleeing backs are hindered by the film and their tough shells can endure several blows before they crack.
The hunter slowly shifts position into a crouch that allows him to rest his weight on both hands and knees. Taking care to avoid making any noise that might alert the redjackets feeding below, he slowly stretches to loosen muscles that have stiffened during the long wait. Once this is done, the hunter readies himself for the perfect moment.
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Just as one of the redjackets rises to take their watch, the hunter senses the opportunity and rolls off the branch, diving at the sentry with his arms pulled to his sides.
As he falls the hunter activates his hidden power, the ability that grants the hunter his confidence to match the bloodbeasts’ strength.
Pale blue eyes glow with an inner light from the shadow of his hood and five long shining red blades burst out from pre-tailored slits in his thick coat. A pair of wavy blades slides out at perpendicular angles from the sides of his forearms. Two short and sturdy blades curve downwards from each of his shoulders. Finally, a single thick blade that resembles a shark’s fin juts forth from the centre of his back.
Despite these changes in his profile, the hunter stays on a direct course for the sentry. The blade on his right forearm begins to radiate with an internal heat. In response to the sound of the hunter falling off the branch, the alarmed sentry cranes its head backwards and summons its protective shell.
However it is too little, too late.
With a swing of the hunter’s right arm, a smouldering surge of energy travels from the base of the blade to the tip where it erupts in a stream of fire. The redjacket instinctively responds by loosing a bolt of red energy at the hunter. The bolt sails past the hunter’s head as the momentum of the swing sends him into a spin. However the fire strikes its target, impacting the weak-point made in the redjacket’s shell by its attack and flames spread its entire body. It crumples to the forest floor with a dying screech of pain.
The other members of the swarm panic at the sudden attack, but their reactions are slow. This gives the hunter time to pick off another redjacket with a glowing swing of his left arm as he lands on his feet in a spin. The second redjacket doesn’t have time to call up its shield before the burning embers impact its face, blowing its head backwards as it falls to the ground.
The remaining three redjackets flee without any attempts to retaliate. Their ability to react to the threat is overwhelmed by the suddenness of the assault and the death of two members of their swarm fills the rest with fear.
The hunter watches them leave without considering a pursuit. Despite the ease with which he dispatched two of their number, a cornered redjacket is still a dangerous foe.
A tackle from a bloodbeast of their size can break bones and they can call for help by clashing their two long antennae against each other to create a loud chime. Other redjackets would likely be too cowardly to assist, but the chime might attract a redjacket that has gone through its growth phase to become a greater bloodbeast. Borrowing the ranking system set by the League of Adventurers to note the strength of their adventurers, redjackets belong to the lowest tier of ‘rookies’ and the greater redjackets to the next tier of ‘trainees’.
The hunter might barely have the strength to fend off a greater redjacket, but such a fight would leave him seriously injured and vulnerable to further attacks. Fortunately, greater redjackets lair deeper in the woods and would never tolerate other creatures sharing their hunting grounds in winter, even those of the same bloodline. The low chance of having to run into a greater bloodbeast is what makes today’s hunt such a fortunate opportunity.
The hunter slowly catches his breath as he remains on guard. His arms are held in a boxer’s stance with his two fists braced in front of his face. With the blades protruding from his forearms, shoulders, and back, a ring of blades is created to intercept any surprise attack. The hunter slowly turns to scan his surroundings, making sure that his ambush hasn’t attracted any attention. However the small clearing beneath the tree remains empty and the only sounds that can be heard are the rapidly fading rustle of the fleeing redjackets.
With a short huff to release his tension, the hunter reverses the transformation and blades began to slowly sink back into his skin. Keeping the power active saps his energy and risks a strong bloodbeast detecting his presence. Bloodbeasts often possess strong territorial instincts that drive them to chase away interlopers. While an ordinary human shouldn’t be able to trigger these instincts, the hunter is making use of the power that flows through a bloodbeast’s fire bloodline.
In the distant past, humanity studied the genetic codes that grant bloodbeasts their abilities. While they couldn’t find a way to neutralize bloodbeast forever, they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams when adapting these genes for human integration. Humanity gained the ability to bond with a bloodbeast’s bloodline, and through careful homogenization, modern humans are now able to activate a bloodline upon reaching puberty. Those who choose to train the powers their bloodline grants are known as bloodline refiners.
This title can also be applied to the hunter, who casually bends down to harvest the rewards of his ambush from the cooling corpses of the two deceased redjackets. Their meat and blood might be worth some money, but not the effort needed to drag their burnt bodies back to town. The true profit lies in their antennae, which remain unharmed despite the scorching they received. These tough horn-like appendages can be polished into ornaments or carved into parts for instruments. With the Hall acting as an intermediary, the hunter should be able to receive a good price for the two pairs of antennae.
After wrapping the antennae in oiled paper and slipping the package into an inner pocket of his coat, the hunter stands up and prepares to head back to town. Before he even takes a step, he stiffens as the hairs on the back of his neck rise in response to some unseen threat. The hunter drops into a crouch and shuffles into cover behind the tree. His head turns on a swivel as he tries to spot the impending danger, but it is his ears that first prick up as they catch a noise heading in his direction.
The hunter discerns that the source of the sound as coming from further into the woods. He cranes his eyes in that direction and spots three redjackets crashing through the underbrush in his direction. His lips move in silent curses as he tries to figure out why the redjackets are showing such unusual courage. Given their usual habits, they should avoid returning to a location with a known predator.
Setting this thought aside for latter consideration, the hunter quickly activates his bloodline and grows his blades. Fortunately, two of their number have already fallen. Unfortunately, there are still three left. He needs to be careful if he wants to fend off the remaining bloodbeasts without serious injury. The best tactic that the hunter can think of on such short notice is to avoid the first wave of attacks and counterattack before their shields have a chance to regenerate.
As the redjackets draw closer, the blades on his forearms and shoulders begin to radiate heat. His shoulder blades might be less accurate, but they can at least suppress an enemy trying to flank him. When they close into firing range, the hunter summons a glowing white dome of energy in front of him. The use of this power reveals his dual-type fire and carapace bloodline.
However his preparations go unneeded as the redjackets veer away from his position and continue running past him without any attempts at evasion.
Rather than relaxing, the hunter grows increasingly concerned. He quickly puts together the clues as he absently turns to watch the redjackets flee into the snowfield that lies between the town and the woods. When a thunderous roar is heard behind him, in the opposite direction of the fleeing redjackets, the hunter feels no surprise, only fear.