At the same time that Renard was briefing Emile, Astar was sipping tea in the meeting room of the Hermit's Home waiting for Vivian to bring some documents. He was a bit nervous since it had been a while seen he had been in a Hermit's Home or any of The Hunt's establishments. He hadn't left The Hunt in the best of scenarios and his thoughts wandered as his mind went back to that day.
The rage he felt that day, as he sought justice for his family and friends nearly led him to blows with his guildmates. If his best friends hadn't restrained him, then he might not be alive today. He might have been a respected member of the guild with great accolades but attacking guildmates in the headquarters would have been a death sentence.
The smug smile of those arrogant bastards as they explain to him in a conceited tone that is getting rid of Harold and his band wasn't not in their interest, even though Harold was terrorising beastkin villages in the outskirts of Erasmus. They said that because of those villages weren't in their territory they couldn't intervene, and he was banned from attacking them. They told him that villagers weren't worth antagonising their competitors.
When he heard that he couldn't kill his parents' killer because of politics, something broke inside him. Since he was a child, being part of The Hunt has always been his dream and worked extremely hard to attain it. Their motto of being the guardians of beastkin had been the guiding star during their torturous training regime and he aspired to be a hero like Casimir, a person that beastkin could look up to.
When he joined The Hunt, he found many people with similar aspirations as him and he knew he was with the right peers. As an initiate, he worked hard to clear bandits and deserters from nearby villages and fought with blood and sweat to defend the guild's honour.
So when he received a message from his mother that his home village, which was under another guild's territory, was being attacked by bandits, he dropped everything and quickly ran home. What he saw broke his heart as the ruins of his home were laid bare, the homes of neighbours burned and their bodies dragged to the street and stripped naked.
When he arrived at his family's home, his mind nearly broke as the naked and mutilated bodies of his parents, his brother and his brother's family were left outside the burnt husk of their home, upon seeing the bodies of his niece and nephew, a wail from deep within his soul escaped his throat. He tried in desperation to find any sign of life to no avail. Only the lifeless gaze of his sister-in-law greeted him, the rest of his family's eyes had been gouged out as their eyes were used as ingredients by some witches.
It was in this state of grief that the members of the local guild arrived languidly. Astar had run with all his might so he arrived not long after the bandits had left but it still was impossible for him to arrive before the local guild. This guild might have a subsidiary of The Hunt's greatest competitor, The Shield of Erasmus, but a band of bandits should still be within their limit. If his mother could contact him, then the mayor should have been able to contact the local guild.
The fact they only arrived now was proof that something was wrong with the situation. Still blinded with grief he went to confront the leader of the arriving party. He shouted at them "Why the hell are you arriving just now?"
The party was shocked that someone was here already, they hadn't expected someone to be here for another few hours given this village's remote location. They were sent to clean up the ruined village and collect anything valuable. Based on Harold's band's previous attacks, they knew that the devastation would be too cruel for observers. To minimise the public outrage and scrutiny of the Erasmus government, they would get rid of the bodies and burn the village down completely.
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The leader of the party analysed Astar closely, and upon seeing he didn't wear the insignia of the Shield he gained some confidence. "Who are you? Identify yourself and state your business. You are in the territory of The Shield of Erasmus, the guardians of this great nation. We are from The Buckler, and we have been given jurisdiction over this area. I once again repeat this, identify yourself and state your purpose here. Otherwise, we will hold you responsible for the devastation of this village."
Astar's vision started to turn red before he calmed himself. "My name is Astar Nightfang, and I'm an S-rank member of The Hunt. This is the village that I grew up in, and my parents live... lived here. I received a distress call a few hours ago about a bandit attack. I rushed here but I was too late."
He took out his guild badge to show the Buckler guildmembers. He looked them over and saw that they were in peak condition, with no blood or tears on their uniforms. He looked the party leader in the eyes "Now that I've answered your questions, let me ask you one. Why are you only here now? You should have received distress before me, so why are you arriving only now?"
The party leader flinched at the vicious look in Astar's eyes but remembered where he was and that he had a dozen of guildmembers behind him. Clearing his throat he stepped forward "You have no authority here, and we do not have to answer ourselves to a mutt from The Hunt."
Astar stalked forward "You didn't answer my question bootlicker. Why is a village under your jurisdiction as you said, destroyed by bandits?"
The leader stammered "We came as quickly as we could."
Astar stepped up to him "Really, it takes you a few hours to mobilize a force to your own territory. Why do I find that so hard to believe."
The wind in the area began to churn and rise around the group. Astar's magic surged and pressed down on the party, and the leader realized that he truly was an S-rank member of Erasmus's greatest guild.
"W-w-what are you doing? You can't hurt us, we are under the protection of The Shield."
However, Astar was too far gone. The sight of these... these... these corrupt, cowardly excuses for beastkin that were supposed to protect his family. And as that thought entered his mind, Astar's mind lost all control.
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Astar's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Vivian walked in with a tablet and took a seat near him. She gave him a beautiful smile "I'm sorry that you had to wait so long. It took me some time to gather the correct information."
She slid the tablet to him "It's all on this tablet, but I must say that I didn't realise that you were a member of The Hunt yourself. One of the youngest S-rank members in history at that, you know I've always wanted to meet 'The Verdant Tempest'."
Astar gave a small smile, "I gave up that title and rank when I left the guild. I don't deserve to be called it anymore."
Vivian reached out and grabbed his hand, "No, you do deserve it. What happened to you was a tragedy and how these people dealt with it was a shameful scar on the guild. A lot has changed since that incident and Guild master Casimir personally oversaw the reformation and you know that if you want to come back..."
Astar interrupted her but didn't move his hand away "I know that things have changed but that relationship is still not healed. I'm happy with my current situation."
Vivian's smile didn't fade "I'm glad you are happy. My grandmother really misses you and was so distraught about your treatment. She told me that you were one of those who embodied The Hunt's ethos the best."
"Your grandmother?"
"Yes, I'm the granddaughter of Valeria Azadeen."
Seeing the shock on Astar's face, she couldn't help but laugh. "I know that I don't look like her now but I've been told that my true appearance is a spitting image of her when she was younger."
She noticed that she was still holding his hand and quickly let it go. Before she could find a way to diffuse the awkward situation, the ring on her finger buzzed.
She put a bit of her magic into the ring and her eyes widened. She stood up and went to the monitor at the other end of the room. Configuring some settings, she realised she had forgotten something. Turning toward Astar she said "I'm sorry for the short notice my Lord, but I've just received a call request. It's from Lord Vulcan but if you don't want to talk with him, I can cancel it."
Astar froze for a moment as he was stuck in two minds, he hadn't expected to talk with his former guildmates. He thought of the last time that he had met Vulcan and decided that he owed him at least a conversation.
"It's fine, since I decided to use his ring I should at least talk to him."