It was a scorching hot day in Ludonia as Aurin and Luna walked to the park. Today, Aurin had decided to give Skrow a chance to stretch his wings while Luna was followed by Spritzard, who she kept dousing with water; she wasn’t so great in the intense heat.

Baxter Park was the largest park in the city, and it was covered in tourists. Thankfully, because it was such a large park, there was still plenty of space for everyone whether it was busy or not. Most people were seeking shade under the trees, others were eating ice cream, while others still were going for Minakai rides on the lake.

Aurin stood and watched as a Doripper threw a bunch of kids into the water; they had thought it was a good idea to start poking its fins. Skrow flew over the lake and back, having a great time.

Luna meanwhile was captivated by a Minakai battle that was going on in the grass. A tiny little Driftseed was spitting a barrage of seeds at a small squid made of stone; a Stopod, an unevolved Cephelarock. Aurin walked over to join her, and the two clapped politely as the Stopod knocked the Driftseed out of the sky with rocks that it spat from its mouth.

“Kyle wouldn’t be happy with that outcome,” said Aurin.

“Why?” asked Luna.

“He would take it as an insult that the earliest form of Wingbloom would lose to a stone with legs.”

“Do you think he’s that petty?”

“Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I think it would depend on what I say.”

“He’s not contrarian just because of you,” giggled Luna.

Aurin frowned. “It seems that way sometimes.”

The two tamers and their Minakai waited by the lake, until they spotted Hunter approaching with two others in tow; a beautiful woman with sleek black hair and a sunhat, and a small boy who couldn’t have been more than four years old. Luna waved to them enthusiastically.

“Hello,” said Hunter as he and his family stopped before Aurin and Luna. “I’d like both of you to meet my wife, Petunia, and my son, Saxon.”

“It’s a pleasure,” said Petunia, shaking Aurin and Luna’s hand delicately who introduced themselves in return. “Don’t be shy, Saxon, you can say hello too.”

“Hello,” muttered the young boy nervously.

Aurin squatted down beside him. “I’ve heard you want to be a tamer just like your dad,” he said, at which Saxon nodded. "Do you want to play with my Skrow? You can throw things into the air and he’ll catch them for you.”

Skrow cawed loudly, happy to entertain the young boy. “Can I, dad? Please?” said Saxon, turning towards Hunter and clasping his hands together.

“Of course, but don’t wander off,” replied Hunter. “Thanks for that, Aurin.”

“It’s no trouble!”

“No Shamtile or Innogon today?”

“We thought we would rotate our Minakai while we’re in Ludonia,” said Luna. “It’s not fair to leave them all stuck at the ranch, so Shamtile and Inno are going to rest up today.”

“How are you feeling about the tournament, Aurin?” asked Petunia. “Hunter always speaks very highly of your abilities.”

Aurin laughed awkwardly. “Honestly, I’ll be happy if I can make it through the first round. There are tough opponents in the Hazelton regional, but the tamers here in Ludonia will be another story altogether.”

“Hunter made the top sixteen last year, so this year’s goal is the top eight, but if the pair of you fight before that then don’t hold back.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” said Aurin. “If anything, he should hold back and give me a pass this time.”

Everyone laughed, then they started walking along the path of loose stones. They were still missing one person, Gardner. He had told Aurin the previous evening that he was going to come to the park early and have a few battles with random tamers. If there was one place the nature enthusiast would thrive, it was a park filled with all kinds of trees, hundreds of species of flowers, and with tamers to battle.

“Finish him off, Desparee,” came Gardner’s voice from within a crowd of people; they had circled around to watch him fight.

As the group approached, they could see a flash of brown light as Gardner’s opponent banished his Minakai, followed by another flash—light blue this time—as a new monster was summoned to take its teammate’s place.

Aurin grabbed onto Skrow’s legs, and the black bird carried him onto a tree branch to get a better look. Gardner was fighting a woman who was dressed very elegantly in a sundress and summer hat. She looked high-class, but she had a fierce look on her face, one of not wanting to be embarrassed in front of the crowd of onlookers.

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The woman’s Anacondice wrapped itself around Gardner’s Desparee, who conjured roots from the ground. The roots pulled at the icy snake, but it tightened its body and continued to constrict Gardner’s Desparee.

“Smack it with a trunk fist,” ordered Gardner.

Desparee’s fists became coated in a thick layer of rough bark. He thumped Anacondice hard, then again, then again. Each hit left a deeper and deeper dent in the construct snake. By the look on its face, it was struggling to maintain its grip around Desparee. With a final strike, the Anacondice hissed loudly and uncoiled itself. It writhed in pain, and Desparee gave it a swift kick to the face. The snake was defeated and Gardner’s Minakai wept; knowing Desparee, they were not tears of joy.

The woman banished her Minakai and stormed off, while the crowd cheered for Gardner. He looked very proud of himself, soaking up all the praise. Aurin lowered himself down from the branch and walked up to his friend.

“I didn’t know you were here already,” said Gardner. “Did you watch the battle?”

“Everyone’s here,” replied Aurin. “Your Desparee is getting tougher and tougher. I can’t wait to see how both of ours compare. It’s been far too long since our last battle.”

“What better place for it, eh?” chuckled Gardner. “If we’re not fighting in the championships, I’ll be gutted. To come all this way and not have a battle would be a travesty, mate.”

“It would feel like a wasted trip if we both got bested by strangers, right?”

“Would it be better to be defeated by Hunter again?”

Aurin thought for a second. “Okay, I’ll take the stranger,” he said, and the pair laughed. As the crowd dispersed, Aurin and Gardner walked over to join the other four.

“Great win,” beamed Luna.

“Now to keep it up in the tournament,” said Hunter. “It’s going to be an exciting one this year, I can feel it.”

“I’m going to take Saxon to the lake if you want to take everyone else to the museum,” said Petunia to her husband.

“Museum?” asked Aurin.

“Yes,” said Hunter. “I thought that while we were here, we would visit the museum at the edge of the park before it gets too busy. Saxon would spend most of the day climbing up the stairs and trying to slide back down, so we thought it would be best if I took you all over and we meet up again for lunch.”

“Is it a Minakai museum?” asked Aurin, prompting Luna to roll her eyes.

“No, but there’s a fascinating Minakai section that’s the entire reason I want to bring you there.”

Suddenly exciting, Aurin agreed enthusiastically. The four wandered across Baxter Park, with Skrow and Spritzard hovering alongside them. It was busy enough already, so Aurin was dreading how crowded it would be a few hours from now.

The museum was within the boundaries of the park, overlooking a grand statue of a regal-looking gentleman with a proud Flaround standing by his side. The man looked familiar, but Aurin couldn’t place him. It certainly wasn’t the king nor was it any of his immediate family.

“Lord Hakwe,” said Hunter, following Aurin’s eyes and look of confusion. “The first ever national champion and once of the financiers of the museum. Quite the inspirational fellow if you dig into his past, I have to say.”

“Lord Hawke, of course,” said Aurin. He remembered reading a book that talked about him a few years ago. He had seen his face alongside other former champions of Bretonia.

The quartet walked into the museum, but Skrow and Spritzard had to wait outside; something that neither of the Minakai minded. The woman at the front desk said something about Frogre getting too rowdy a few weeks ago and destroying one of the exhibits in excitement.

Hunter led them past a lot of the historical sections and exhibits about their grand country, and towards what he knew they would want to see most. “Take a look at this,” he said, pointing towards the skeleton of what appeared to be a deer.

Aurin and Luna looked at each other, while Gardner started reading the nearby plaque. “Are we missing something?” asked Aurin. “It’s just a deer.”

“No, it isn’t a deer,” said Hunter. “Look much more closely.”

Luna leaned in and squinted hard. “Is that…rocks on its bones? It’s a Minakai.”

Gardner was nodding. “It says here that it’s called a Terrafawn that first appeared in Gallander,” he said.

“Where’s Gallander?” asked Aurin, but Gardner shrugged.

“They don’t teach you kids history anymore, do they?” sighed Hunter. “Gallander is an old country, long since removed from the maps, that was noted not be the first place that Minakai appeared. We’re talking well over a millennium ago, probably closer to two millennia.”

“And this was one of the Minakai that appeared back then?” asked Aurin.

Hunter nodded. “That’s right. Who knows what happened to it. Is it extinct? Maybe, but you need to remember that Minakai are not from our world. It’s possible that it only appears in a tower that has been locked for centuries. They could be thriving in that tower, unable to fully cross into our world because they’re sealed within the walls and their eggs are locked up with them.”

“Look at this one!” exclaimed Luna, pointing at another skeleton.

It was a much taller and bulkier humanoid Minakai, even as a skeleton it was evidently huge. Aurin could only imagine what it would have looked like with flesh and…fur? Scales? It was hard to say, but it was a powerful-looking beast.

“Snosquatch,” said Hunter. “It was an ice-elemental. I’ve heard rumours that it’s an incredibly rare find up in Dunpeak Tower in the mountains, but I’ve never seen any confirmation. Rumours are plentiful about these missing Minakai and how they may be brought back.”

“Where do you hear all this?” asked Gardner, a puzzled look on his face.

“I’m involved in various circles,” said Hunter. “One of those circles is a group of collectors, who aspire to own one of each species. If you can name a Minakai, most of them have it already. They pay a pretty penny for it too.”

“Even an Ethruki?” asked Aurin.

“I haven’t seen one, but I would say so,” said Hunter.

“Let’s hope they don’t run afoul of Zodiac.”

“These collectors would bring Zodiac to its knees if their collections were harmed in any way. I’m talking about a level of power that you cannot imagine. In fact, it was one of them who supplied the Microbot egg to the tournament last year. A lot of them are quite insular, but a few of them can be quite generous.”

“Here’s a question I’ve always wondered,” said Aurin.

“Hit me with it.”

“If there are lost Minakai, does that also mean there are lost evolutions to Minakai we see plenty of today?”

Hunter beckoned the three tamers to follow him. He led them over to a glass display cabinet where a large fang was held up on a stand. “This fang should answer your question. It’s similar to your Leonite’s teeth, right?”

“Yes, but it’s much bigger,” said a wide-eyed Aurin.

“What’s interesting about this fang is that it contains genetic material similar to Cubtem, but not to Leonite. That suggests that it’s a split evolutionary path, where Cubtem either used to evolve into Leonite, or it could evolve into one of two forms and this form has been lost.”

Hunter continued to show the three younger tamers the exhibits, explaining each to the wide-eyed trio who took everything in. It was becoming clearer to them all, especially Aurin, just how deep the history—and the mystery—of Minakai was.