Shades of Grey

RUE DU FLEURE— MARCH 1843

“Grey!” Forma cried, shaking me awake.

“What?” I said sleepily.

“Look!”

As my eyes came into focus, I followed Forma’s gaze and saw a young dirt-caked girl unsuccessfully attempting to fight off a hostile Trenstor: a large brutish tree monster that must have stood as high as the Tower of London. The immense Trenstor had her cornered against a cliff and it began to curl its massive arm-like branches around her, trapping her in its death grip. She screamed in terror.

I loaded my large crossbow with a warning arrow, aimed for the creature’s left hand and released, hitting him dead on.

The creature looked at its injury and back at us just as Forma began to shift into a tall Volatillius and charged at him faster than lightning, leaping easily into flight just as the monster reached down to strike.

Forma and I then acted as if we were one person: moving and striking in smooth, fluid, unison motions. She circled the hulking beast as I leapt from her back onto the Trenstor’s, burning its leaves and branches with my Flamesword. I ran just behind its head and jumped off the opposite shoulder through the air, landing on Forma’s back once more as she circled the beast. We continued this strategy for several moments until the Trenstor unexpectedly turned to the left, disrupting Forma’s flight. Its monstrous arm flew into Forma’s stomach, knocking me from her back and onto the dirt road several yards away.

“Grey! Are you alright?” Forma cried once she had recovered her balance and had flown to my side.

I stood up and coughed for a few moments.

“Yes, I’m alright. Are you okay?”

“Fine, just had the wind knocked out of me,” she said with a grin.

I smiled benignantly.

“Let’s go then.”

As we both ran toward the behemoth, I raised my Flamesword and emitted a fierce battle cry. Forma changed into a Griffin and exhaled long flames over the tree’s dry top branches while I swung burning blows at its rootish feet, causing it to trip over its burning limbs like a stumbling drunkard. One more blow and I could take the monster down. In fact, I was so confident I would defeat it that I made a powerful leap to the monster’s face and cut off a great tooth to later add to my necklace.

After sitting through a particularly loud howl of pain from the Trenstor as I removed the tooth, I thrust my burning sword into its head and made a poised flip onto Forma’s back as she passed by the tree and gracefully landed near the young girl.

There was no sound for a moment except for the wailing of the Trenstor as it began to burn. Forma changed into an Ice Dragon and repeated what she had done to the Gargouille outside of Ville de la Vie. Once the monster’s pained shrieks had silenced, I turned to the frightened girl.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m not hurt. Are you alright?” she asked me with large eyes, fixed in an expression of innocent awe worthy of Candide.

I laughed.

“No harm done. What is your name?”

“I am Sadina Menzar….who are you? You fight like nothing I’ve ever seen before!”

She stared at me, her young eyes wandering up and down my weaponized frame.

“I’m Grey Echo, a Creature Hunter.”

She let out an audible gasp just as Forma shifted back to her miniature self and settled on my shoulder.

“What is the matter?” she queried. “Have they not heard of Hunters in this part of the world?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, turning to Sadina. “Is there something wrong?”

“You really are a Creature Hunter?” she asked.

“Yes, why?”

“Will you come with me?” she asked, grabbing my hands in desperation. “Will you come to see our royal steward? He would very much like to meet you!”

I glanced at Forma. She gave me a passive shrug and I agreed.

“Alright. Where are we going?” I asked.

“Esthen, the capitol of Xanthar!” she cried, urging me down the road.

“Is it very far?” Forma asked.

“No, it’s just there, beyond that hill!”

I looked to where she was pointing and felt my mouth drop. Forma collapsed onto my shoulder in amazement as well, for the sight that we beheld was beyond that of the architecturally plausible.

We saw the hill, yes, but just beyond the hill was a city that stretched out through the entire valley and snaked up the sides of the mountains at such a dizzying acclivity that it made me nauseous to think of living on such an incline. The buildings had roofs with varying shades of red or brown and walls of white stucco. Immense, intricately shaped structures and smaller houses sat near the edge of the city surrounding a massive stone palace that was immensely taller than the rest of the structures, bearing several domed turrets with long flags flapping in the crisp valley breeze.

“That is Esthen?” I asked. I visually traced the length of an immense wall that enclosed the city and saw that it did indeed circle every last building. What a powerful defence...

“Yes! In our native language, it means the Immovable City!”