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They were Zai’s best trackers. Their job was to discover the trails of the animal spirits and leave behind markers for the rest of the Hunters to follow. Some of the trackers were also shadow warriors, but only a few, for Queen Gaia preferred to reserve her most lethal soldiers for war.
But the annual Hunt was a form of war, wasn’t it? The most violent, brutal form.
They rarely took prisoners. And even when they did, when the Blood Moon Queen tired of playing with her toys, they were inevitably exterminated like vermin.
Zai hated taking prisoners.
The reason he always killed with one stroke was to deal a quick, honorable death to his foes. But Queen Gaia cared nothing for honor. His task this day, as always, was to do his duty and keep the Queen safe from attack, but also to prevent her, as much as he was able, from indulging in her cruel, sadistic ways.
Tuning his senses to the sounds and scents around him, he knew instinctively that it was time to launch the second line. He did so with an arm signal, deploying the riders who would begin the chase.
Their role was to herd the prey, so that they became easier targets for the Queen to execute. Sometimes, they would wound the animals first, making them weaker, slower.
After all, Queen Gaia liked to toy with the prey before she killed them.
She was a ruthlessly efficient warrioress. Few across the entire empire could claim to be her equal in battle, and even fewer could best her. Her Gift was a supreme strength, fueled even further by the adrenaline of battle, or by violent acts in general.
Sometimes, it was as if she felt no pain. Even when wounded, she didn’t slow down. She was a demon addicted to bloodlust.
Hence, her title: the Blood Moon Queen.
Zai glimpsed the twisted smile on her lips as they leisurely followed the first two lines of hunters on horseback.
Every year, for almost as long as he’d been the Master Hunter, he contemplated the accidental murder of the Queen.
It would be so easy. No doubt his own death would be a matter of course if he attempted the deed, but he often thought it would be worth it.
As the Hunt progressed, he was usually one of only a handful of Hunters left at her side. An errant arrow, a glance of his sword…he could deal her a mortal wound before she sensed the betrayal.
She would fight back, and he wouldn’t be guaranteed success even if he managed to take her by surprise. He also had the other guards to subdue, Hunters he’d trained personally. He didn’t relish killing his comrades. They would be sacrificed as collateral damage.
He’d contemplated these actions countless times.
But what would happen if he did succeed in removing the Queen? Would the world be any better than it was before?
He couldn’t be sure. He knew no other kind of life.
In the end, whether it was honor or his own existence, it wasn’t enough to make him act.
And so, he quelled the rage against her cruelty and violence and took his place at her right side, always one step ahead in case danger awaited them.
He was only a hunter. Not even a lowly foot soldier in her legions.
He was no one.
As they forayed deeper into the forest, the giant, centuries-old trees shielding them in semi-darkness, thick foliage and twisted branches blocking out the sun, the sounds of large beasts scattering and the Hunters’ chase grew more immediate.
Deep-throated growls. Muffled roars and the scrapes of claws. A few screams rent the air as the Beasts took down their pursuers.
They would lose quite a few of Zai’s one hundred Hunters this year. The Queen chose where to focus the hunt with purpose. She would be willing to sacrifice all of the Hunters to achieve her goals.
This particular forest was home to three different tribes of landed Beasts. The smallest was led by a panther; that group would be the easiest to subdue based on the reconnaissance Zai had done. The largest group was led by a lion. Together, the pride presented a formidable united front, but as long as they took down the leader, the rest would fall with little effort.
The most dangerous group was led by a liger. The Queen chose this forest specifically to hunt and capture this rare creature for her personal trophy. Depending on how the hunt proceeded, if she could take the Beast alive, she might even keep him indefinitely as a plaything in her dungeons.
All of the scouts’ reports said the same. That the liger was extremely powerful and shrewd. He protected his territory and his dependents without fail. Other animal spirits recognized his authority and sought to join his clan. His reputation was building rapidly, almost to the same degree as the Tiger King who inhabited a forest-jungle toward the south.
As such, Queen Gaia targeted this forest to bring him down before the liger could further consolidate his power.
