The Primal Hunter

Holstred frowned as he read over the report in front of him. They would have to increase security personnel in certain districts if this development continued. Dissidence had been growing over the last few years, ever since he and the other slaves arrived. The natives had mostly been welcoming, but some weren’t huge fans, especially of those who weren’t humans.

When Ms. Wells was still on Earth, she kept everyone in check, but now that she had gone to Nevermore, a lot of annoying people had come out of the woodwork. Arthur was doing his best, and he had quelled much of the dissatisfaction on a more global scale, but in this city, his influence had little sway. This was a problem, as this was also the most multi-cultural and multi-racial city on the entire planet, as the majority of those brought to Earth from elsewhere chose to settle down here.

This had led to a lot of crime. Holstred wanted to say that the former slaves were innocent in this entire matter, but there was a lot of tension there, hidden under the surface. A lingering fear of the future and of what it would bring. Many of the freed slaves also weren’t sure what to do with themselves after finding themselves on an entirely new planet, making them lash out.

And then there was perhaps the biggest issue… Earth had many factions, some of which had been the ones gifting the slaves to the Chosen of the Malefic Viper. Seeing a merchant proudly wearing the emblems of the same faction that once slaughtered your family, ruined your home planet, and then enslaved and sold you off could be triggering, to say the least.

All of this is to say that sometimes when one has a melting pot, some of the individual ingredients have a problem properly mixing. Especially given how short a time it had been. After a few decades, Holstred believed many of these cultural issues would naturally fade, but for now, they had to deal with the current situation at hand before it got worse.

While outright murders were rare, they did happen. With the system, everyone now had power, and there was a big disparity between individuals. Those more powerful could easily kill anyone who bothered them with little effort, which could be a recipe for disaster. Most would control themselves, but sometimes emotions got too high, or someone truly vile decided to ignore the laws to take another life.

Holstred was the man Ms. Wells had entrusted to help uphold the law of Haven. A responsibility he had taken on him with pride, and he had more than willingly sworn a Knight’s Oath toward the woman, offering his unquestionable loyalty. Despite it effectively making her his master, It was far different than the forced servitude of a slave contract. It was his choice, and should she step onto a path deemed too evil, the oath would cease to be.

He was the former Knight Commander on his own planet before they lost the war and he was enslaved, so he did have some experience in leadership. While he hadn’t established any knight order, he had been put in charge of what Ms. Wells called a security force. With her, and many of the other top brass, absent, he had taken on even more work than simply security.

And he personally cared a lot about the security of Haven. His wife and child both lived in the city, and he wanted it to be the safest environment it could possibly be. Compared to many other areas of the multiverse, it was surely already considered very safe… but Holstred still wasn’t satisfied, as he began to consider an action plan to address some of the on-the-surface non-violent organizations against certain races or people that had begun to appear. Many of them were suspected of backing or inciting actual violence behind the scenes, but without proof, moving against them would only lead to more problems…

As Holstred was deep in thought, a magic token vibrated on the table before a voice appeared:

“Sir, he’s here again… more insistent than usual…” the voice of the woman on the other end said in an exhausted tone.

Holstred instantly knew who she was talking about as he answered. “Alright, alright, just send him up.”

Maybe this would be good for him. A brief respite from actual important matters. Because the man who was about to come was as far from important as he could possibly be.

Less than thirty seconds passed before the door to his office opened, and a man walked in with slightly disheveled hair. Once he saw Holstred, he smiled. “Honored knight! Hard at work, as always! Truly a respectable figure, even if you are surrounded by dark influences, you remain a light within the darkness fighting off evil!”

“Hello Greg, what can I do for you today?” Holstred asked, knowing what was about to come.

“I ask myself what can be done every single day, but before we ask what we can do, we need to understand what needs to be done, and for that to happen, we need to understand our situation and the world at large!” Greg said, more or less going on the same spiel as usual.

Holstred just leaned back as the man took the chance and summoned a whiteboard filled to the brim with… stuff.

remember where we left off last

Holstred just said, honestly not at all remembering the ramblings

anyway, as I said last, I believe I have finally cracked the code regarding the name Haven and the hidden meanings behind the Dome of Secrets, but that is not what is important

thousands of times before and is using

and his quest to force through what he considers an ideal future is as clear as day. But, no, this has to do

could be amusing, Holstred

their hidden list of members of the Dark Ones. Even the name is a clue… Nevermore. It’s telling them they are to “never more” speak of the Board of Leaders they now belong to. Or are you truly trying to say it’s a coincidence so many influential people are put on the same list like that? Preposterous!” Greg spoke with a level of certainty and confidence in his voice that Holstred

was ultimately harmless and more of a fun distraction. Somehow, the man had become convinced Holstred was someone who could be trusted, in part because he was a slave before and secondly because he had been a Knight Commander. Greg somehow had a skill that gave him a general sense as to what kind of Path others walked down, and knowing Holstred was a knight apparently meant he was a man of honor who could be be trusted in the fight against the Dark

has been stolen; if detected on

Commander nodding along almost automatically. About half an hour later, Greg’s fervor finally died down as he took a deep breath, which also signified that Holstred should at least

be extra cautious of any lines in magic circles longer

on the lookout,” Holstred

have allies fighting the good fight with me,” Greg smiled as he took away the whiteboard. “I shall return

his shoulder but saw nothing there. When he turned back to Greg, he saw the man already

loudly as he jumped through one of the windows, phasing right through it using magic as he took flight, breaking quite a few air traffic rules in

for a moment before he shook his head. “I hope he

named Greg had referred to as a knight. Sandy had tried to convince him to do some prank that included separating the entire space of the office from the rest of the world,

that off, Greg entered. Jake wondered what the guy was about and thought it would be fine to surprise two people at once… but once the guy started

Apparently, he had quite a few secret identities, hidden powers, and was a super mastermind villain beyond comprehension by

Greg suddenly looked straight at Jake before screaming and jumping out the damn window before flying away, leaving Jake still standing there invisible as the knight muttered with hopes

very brief, though, as Jake instantly knew who was responsible. “Sandy… what did you

all along and told the guy the Dark Ones are always watching and that the truth is more dangerous than he could possibly imagine? No, I would definitely never do that, ever. But if I did,

before sighing and walking around the table toward the door. Jake opened it - his stealth skill, making sure the

realized Jake wasn’t even going to play their original

to actually give me some useful information and not be scared shitless or view me as some deranged lunatic,

Thayne, Killer of

his hand and knocked on the door. On the other side, he saw

“Who goes there?”

second before his eyes opened wide in realization. Scrambling, the man practically jumped over the table and knelt down in front of Jake, his head way too close to

in a tone that had far more fear than any other emotion in it. This probably

Earth who didn’t get directly involved in matters and wasn’t a symbol of fear, but one of stability

hadn’t worked super well. His reputation – or, more accurately, the reputation of the Malefic Viper – was just not that good. At least