A flicker of bright, white lightning pierced the stormy sky high above the Welshmar Republic's capital, quickly accompanied by rumbling thunder as strange, unnatural arrows, floated just below, two hundred feet or so from the ground.

Not long after the thunder had faded away, a shrill, whistling sound erupted as a red streak of light rose high into the air before exploding, creating another blood red arrow which pointed towards the ground.

This arrow was almost the same as the seventy odd arrows, in various stages of fading away due to the passage of time, that lingered in a strange, zig-zag-like pattern behind it.

The only difference between the arrows was the colour. There seemed to be an even mix between red and yellow arrows, with only a handful of green arrows, numbering no more than five.

Meanwhile, in the streets below, this sight caused the soldiers and guards, who had been using markers as a guide, to shiver as a chilling sense of dread started to engrain itself in their hearts.

Still, even though with each marker released, they knew more of their comrades had died, the Capital was ablaze with the sight and sounds of activity.

Heavily armoured knights, both those on foot and mounted upon majestic warhorses, raced through the streets as blockades and checkpoints were hastily set up across the city.

Groups of archers, all wearing the nation's colours, swarmed across the rooftops they could reach, watching both the ground and sky for anything suspicious while clutching small tubes in their hands.

The elite troops continuously rushed towards the most recent markers, with the intent of running their quarry to ground, as legions of regular soldiers dressed in dull, silver armour or private guards, in dark brown leather attire, carried out a city-wide search and lockdown, arresting and interrogating anyone that they came across.

It would be safe to say if there weren't such a significant military presence on the streets but the walls instead, that the city would have seemed like it was under siege by a fearsome enemy.

However, while most of the soldiers and guards took up positions at critical locations, many were doing something that the general population, or those inexperienced with hunting primordial beasts with strong affinities, couldn't understand.

Groups of men and women were placing brightly glowing, incredibly expensive, crystals at the sides of dark roads and alleyways, illuminating these areas as if they were scared of the dark.

However, if one were to look at it from the air, it was clear that these stones were being strategically placed, like bright, glowing rivers, throughout the capital.

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One of these teams, helping to extend a line of glowing light and defences designed to trap their opponent, were illuminating one such dark alley.

"Another team has been wiped out," sighed a leather-clad warrior as he anxiously gazed at the newest red arrow to appear in the sky.

While their numbers were impressive in the eyes of a standing army, the manpower the government could utilise in the capital was not enough to cover even half of the cityscape comprehensively. As such, they had been forced to split their forces into smaller and smaller groups while desperately praying for reinforcements or good news that they had cornered their foe.

The guard, with a full head of ginger hair, was standing with his back to a dimly lit walkway that connected the two main streets together. Behind him, the sound of his two companions working echoed against the stone walls.

They were in the process of setting up glow stones so that two guards could be positioned at either end and have an unobstructed line of sight.

The man scratched his patchy beard, yet his other hand never left the sword at his waist. "It looks like it's on the other side of Peach Way. Guess Tom's team have managed to drive it in this direction."

While the man's words indicated that things were going well, or at least to plan, it was clear by his tone that he wasn't happy about what he had said.

"Well, we are hunting a royal primordial beast," spat the oldest man there, looking to be approaching his late thirties. "Forget that this weather is almost perfect for a creature with a strong dark affinity, it was powerful enough to kill the First Princess and her bodyguard, what chance to us lowly guardsmen have if we run across it?"

"So what the hell are we doing out here then?" whined the last man in a tense voice, his hands shaking as he hastily tried to position one of the glow stones. "That thing has killed royal knights, men who were Gem ranked masters wearing power armour. Aren't we just seeking death by antagonising it like this? Why not let the royal guard and those stupid mercenaries take the risk and go back home to our families?"

"Because we have mouths to feed and it could be our loved ones that come face to face with that monster if everyone chickens out." The older man sighed while somewhat secretly agreeing with his companion. "Night is approaching, and if we don't get this beast locked down, or at least away from the residential areas, the streets might run red with blood come morning."

After the older man finishing placing his stone, the man turned around and patted the slightly shaking man on the shoulder in a friendly manner while revealing a toothful smile. "Don't worry lad; it isn't our job to fight or even engage the beast. We just need to put these lights up and if we get unlucky, pop a flare and run for our lives. Let those who are more qualified take the risk. It's not like we will get anything but a belly ache out of it even if we were successful and achieved some merit."

"Thanks, Geoff," The man, looking to be in his early twenties took a deep breath before taking another glow stone out of a nearby box and walking to the next dark area.

The two men slowly worked their way down the alley, being around a hundred and fifty meters in length, placing glow stones at regular intervals as they leapfrogged each other's positions.

After a few minutes of silence, each gem needing to be fixed to the wall before being activated with their essence, the young man opened his mouth again. "Worst case, you think we can outrun it?"

He had broken the silence to alleviate the churning fear that been gradually building in his stomach, believing that his comrades would provide some sort of reassurance.