“The liberation of the Proxima Centauri was swift but brutal. It showed us a new side of these beings we made war on. These self-proclaimed gods.

Nothing was left to chance when it came to liberating the few inhabited worlds within the first of the Centauri stars. Our tenuous hold at the outer edge of the star system was all that connected us to the cluster of stars.

An arm of the imperial fleet was sent. A hundred capital ships. Unlike the Destiny, the Perseus class Capital ships contained advanced AI. The science of artificial intelligence has taken tremendous strides over the last hundred years.

While still easily distinguished from humans, the share processing power the AI integration into our armed forces was the fulcrum that turned our forces into something unstoppable, unyielding and unwavering.

It was during this time that a few of the Legionaries and upper echelons of citizens started displaying powers, powers that could not be explained. Powers only the greatest of our enemies had displayed until now.

Understanding these arcane powers became the only directive of the new order created by His Imperial Majesty. Its members would go by the title of Magi and only answered to the emperor's throne.

The forces of liberation faced an enemy a magnitude stronger than we had faced in the Sol system. The losses to the planetary assault forces were in the millions. If not for the advent of the legionaries awakened to power together with the assistance of the AIs, the liberation would have failed, and its mighty fleet would have been forced to retreat to Sol in shame.

Cornering the devil in its crystal palace, the Awakened was able to cut off its attempts to flee our plane and, with great sacrifice, destroy what we would learn was the avatar of something much larger.

With that, humanity had its spearhead to Alpha Centauri, but the consequences of what we destroyed that day would come to haunt us in unexpected ways.”

- Elistar Iscariot, Grand Magister during the second Kingfisher dynasty.

Fighting vertigo while trying not to look over the railing. A long, long way down, there was ground, the sweet, sweet ground. I don't care if you stink like rot and decay. I miss you.

Mira seemed to find my fear of heights hilarious as she accidentally, she assured me repeatedly, bumped into me. Snickering while I desperately reached for the railing. Four times! She bumped into me, sending me careening towards the endless abyss, guard rail or not. Four bloody times! Four times, I had to stare the death in the eyes in the last few minutes. I'm almost positive that if I hadn't had to go through my life in such detail lately, it would have been flashing before my eyes.

The worst part was that I knew I wasn't in any danger. Both the spiraling walkway and the guard rail were welded into the tree, but that didn't stop it from being a hundred or so meters down.

To say I was on edge and breathing a bit raggedly when we finally made it to the gate of the fort constructed in the three would have been an understatement. I have to admit, despite my dislike for heights, that the design was somewhat ingenious.

The spiral walkway wound its way from the forest floor to the fort gate. The actual fort was built on top of the great branches. The entire thing was made of metal and welded straight into the Ironwood. From the forest floor, it looked like a wheel on its side, with the hub wrapped around the great three and the branches taking the place of the spokes.

Instead, the branches propped up the metal sheets that made up the floor and the short wall that was more there for safety than anything else. Admittedly short wall was twice my height. To enter the fort, you had to enter the gate that guarded the only entrance from the walkway to the fort. A metal-wrapped monstrosity that would basically seal anyone under the fort if they ever tried to assault this place.

It was as close to impenetrable from the ground as I could imagine. Maybe an airborne assault? Not that I knew what aerial defenses this thing had. It could be even worse to attack by flight.

We were waved through without any questions. Something that bothered me. So I had to ask. “Is security normally that lax here, Mira?”

“What? No, you being covered in every form of goblin intestine there is and looking like you bathe in the blood of a tribe is about normal for a front-liner fighter here, and they have seen me enough times by now. We don't stand out that much.” She said while nodding to some of the Hunters walking around between what looked like stalls and shops.

The building seemed to be built in a ring around the trunk, while stalls and tents were lined up against the outer wall. A large section in the middle of the fort was kept for passage only, and man, there was a lot of traffic. I knew there were a lot of Hunters, but this was just one of many forts in the Ironwoods.

She wasn't wrong. Quite a few of them looked like they had just participated in a blood orgy. A group standing on top of one of the walls caught my eye. They looked like they had been fighting in a barrel of broken glass from their tattered clothes and many, many wounds. They looked mean and hard. Just what I wanted in my potential sacrificial lambs to have.

Two of them were pulling on a rope hanging from some sort of contraption going over the wall. No doubt going all the way to the ground.

Despite the pulley system, there had to be something heavy on the other end because they were grunting and sweating like a priest in a pleasure house. I didn't have to wait too long before the head of the largest troll I had seen in my life appeared above the ramparts.

That the rest of it was missing merely made it slightly less impressive. Giving Mira a nudge, I nodded toward the two people hauling it over the wall, where it landed with a great thud.

“Naww, someone finally cornered ol Grislax. There's been a bounty on his head since I before joined the guild. Poor thing. He was just eating a few sheep, maybe a farmer or two. Mostly minding his own business. I wonder how they drew him into the forest…”

“You don't seem very happy about its demise? Former lover?” To my surprise, she didn't slap me but opted to chuckle. Maybe we could find some common ground eventually.

“It's just that he's been around for what seems forever. I know. We are supposed to hunt them all down, but he was sort of a legend. I remember a year or so before I joined the guild, and he somehow managed to blunder his way into the shanties. Completely demolished a few neighborhoods before the city eventually decided to send guards and chase him away. A lot of chickens got mysteriously eaten that day, but only one person died. My neighbor. Grislax stepped on his face while fleeing.”

The satisfaction in her voice at the last part was a story all on its own.

“The bounty was up to nine gold the last time I checked.”

I almost choked when she said that. There had to be more quests like that. Sure, a week ago, nine gold would have been a joke to me, but now? Money! Give me the money! While eyeing the two people dragging and rolling the troll's head toward the largest building in the fortress, I asked. “So that's the normal rate for a quest?”

Mira snorted before answering, “If you're a silver ranker and it's considered a dangerous mission. The best quests normally go to the established teams with a good reputation anyway. Otherwise, you have to scrap crumbs together, like the rest of us. Still, it's a hundred times better than living in the shanties.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Mentally changing the trajectory for a few of my plans, I said, “I didn't know you did math. So get to silver rank as fast as possible. Got it.”

I barely managed to avoid the kick as we moved with the crowd heading towards the largest building in the fortress. Despite the pangs of hunger I was feeling, we made it to the guildhall without getting sidetracked by the aroma wafting from the stalls. By some of the sounds Mira's stomach made, I wasn't the only one. I did promise myself a day of gluttony soon though.

In my mind, the guild hall was a place filled with drunk Hunters telling stories, fighting and gambling. The air would be thick with merry-making and aggression. Sadly, I was disappointed. It looked like any other hall of bureaucracy I had seen in the kingdom.

The floor was polished black marble. I didn't want to think about how much it had cost to move this much stone out here in the woods. The olive green walls gave a luxurious feeling in the many lights hanging from the ceiling and walls. The thick wax candles were obviously scented with something that reminded me of lavender and strangely orange peel. I found the combination to be quite relaxing and took note to have some made for myself later.

The part of the entrance hall facing the three was made up of open stalls, with a sign hanging over each of the stalls explaining its purpose. On each end of the room was a door, no doubt leading deeper into the guild's offices and bureaucratic arm.

The entire process of reaching a stall was to get in the back of the line. No one tried getting past those waiting. No scuffing, and despite the constant drone of voices, no one raised their voice. It was almost aerie watching so many armed people patiently waiting and form what the closest talked about, nonessential things and pleasant banter. Some even struck up conversations across lines.

Mira, pulling on my arm, dragged us to the closest line to a stall that said, “Information and registration.” The stall next to it said, “Bounties, Queries and Quests.”

“This is not what I expected at all, Mira. I'm almost disappointed.”

“What? You wanted drunken brawls and signing? Sure, you'll find that in the cities, but not as much as you think. Here in the forest, everyone is expected to give a helping hand if there is a breach or a major incursion.”

She seemed lost in thought for a moment before continuing.

“I was in a fort a bit further northwest during a wyvern migration last year. They were going from one of the Tir domains, Tír nAill, I think, to one of the Elysium domains. Between the breaches was the fort. It was a mess and a half, but in the end, I earned enough to buy my books and earned a star for participating in the defense. It's one of the things I like about the guild. Everyone works together, and everyone has equal opportunities instead of working against each other. There was enough of that in the shanties,” She said, giving the satchel I had found with the potions and torture devices a light slap.

“My my, Mira, I didn't take you for an egalitarian. Very open-minded of you. Just don't let some lord hear you. They tend to take issues with that.”

“I ain't no egg tartan, you ogre muff.”

Reaching a hand up to my sticky hair, I had to agree. I did need a proper wash and maybe a cut.

As we drew neared the stall, I noticed some of the stalls and people standing in front of it being covered by a black barrier. Getting Mira's attention, I discreetly, or so I hoped, pointed at one of the black barriers.

“Oh those, never needed one, but you can ask for a confidential meeting. Won't stop people from knowing you had one, but no one will know what you talked about. The guild takes that sort of stuff seriously, I'm told. Nothing discussed under a seal of confidentiality will reach anyone but guild staff or people the Hunter wishes to divulge it to.”

“So what is stopping the guild staff from talking?”

“Rumor has it that when you officially join the staff, they take a blood oath. One of the things in the oath is not to go blabbering about guild members.”

It took me a moment to suppress my shiver, but if they actually took blood oats on their appointment.. Yeah, I would never have agreed to take one. It did give me an idea about how to make sure I had a trustworthy team, even if the method made me want to vomit.

“I see, thanks Mira.”

For some reason, my words brought a happy smile to her face. The busted lips didn't make it a particularly nice smile, but a smile nonetheless. Did she really need validation that bad?” And what insane monster had decided to force normal people to take a blood oath on, well, anything really? Crazy people, the lot of them.

The only time I had heard of it was in conjunction with the slave trade of Bravell, where such things were far too normal from my understanding, but to quote Mira, “That place was a cesspool.”

There were, of course, rumors of the royal family having strike forces and assassins sworn on the blood, but that was all it was rumors.

Feeling someone nudging me, I looked over at Mira, who was pointedly looking at the counter and the no-nonsense-looking lady who stood behind it. I wonder if the severe ponytail gave her regular headaches.

“What can the Hunters Guild do for you today?” Did she practice in front of the mirror to sound as monotone as possible?

“A yes, I would like to register as a guild member.”

The lady actually seemed pleased when she answered. “Excellent choice, sir. Please fill in the places marked with an X. Should you require help, I am certified to inform you of its content.” At the same time, to my amusement, she took a thick sheet of paper made of what looked like cotton to me, together with a glass pen and ink. I hadn't used one of those since I was four or five when learning about quills and other archaic writing utensils.

She must have caught my mood because a note of sourness entered her voice again, “Not everyone has the luxury of learning new ways of putting letters on paper. Sir. In fact, some do not even know how to read or write when they come here.”

“You are right, of course. That was tactless of me, a less generous person might even have said bordering on stupidity.”

“I assure you, Sir, that I would never stoop so low as to call a guild member any such thing.”

That she managed to say all of that without so much as an eye twitch was impressive, I was starting to like this stern lady and her opinions. If only I were ten years older.

“And I would never suggest such a thing. Does the guild offer ways for its members to become literate?”

“The Hunters Guild is a firm believer that literacy should not be a barrier to hold people in place, but rather a way to offer equal opportunity for everyone to reach new heights. Yes, all guilds have programs in the cities they are connected to across the kingdoms and the empire, both for members and those in need. Some are more successful than others as such activities often require the approval of the city ruler.”

I was starting to see where Mira got her ideas from. That said, the question of universal literacy was an interesting thought experiment.

Would a farmer who had done nothing but farming the last ten years of his life wish to continue farming when he gained the skills to seek out other professions? Would he be happy farming when he had access to works of literature that told him he was being oppressed by those owning all the land? Why should some lord even own the land the farmer's family had worked for countless generations, often even before the lord's family had come to the area? That the very system their society was based on only worked if someone was filling the role he and his family had done until now?

Then, there was the other side of the coin. What would happen if farmers, carpenters, millers, foresters and every profession that today relies on minimal to no literacy suddenly could share ideas across countries and put down records of how things worked and how things could be done better? Wouldn't society gain more as a whole by sacrificing some of the power the aristocracy wielded today?

It was a very interesting thought experiment, but not something I expected to see any time soon. The thought of gathering ideas to improve the ways things were done collectively or in the lands of a single lord, that would be me, did certainly have some merit. I would have to put it on the to be looked at when I one day returned to my lands list.

Having read over the questions that were marked with an X, and the rest for that matter, “I would like to avail myself of the guild's discretion while answering these queries.” I stated while waving a hand at the piece of paper.

To my surprise, the lady didn't even bat an eye and just asked if Mira was exempt from the wish for discretion.

Mira, who until now had been looking back and forth between us as if we were a puppet show, seemed slightly miffed when I asked her to step outside the area marked for the barrier but quickly caught herself and stepped outside the lines on the floor.

With that, we were inside a black rectangle. I could feel nothing from It, but opening myself to my power, I could feel the barrier was just a projection from a stone or crystal in the sealing. The actual enchantment was in the room above the entrance hall. There was an enchantment for the actual sound and one that turned the first enchantment visible to all as the darkest black. Interesting setup. Time to get some answers.