Damian Gerard

Damian is very unlike most people in the world in which he resides.  For here, all manner of monsters and creatures exist.  Most view humans as prey, others as toys.  Then there's the very rare species who won't try to kill a human on sight.  Like.... dogs.  Man's best friend and all, right?

Now, in this environment, how did we fragile humans survive?  For a long time, it was a fierce struggle.  Groups of people, either in towns, or just bands of wanderers, would fight together just to fight off any threats that came their way.  And then the Hunters made their appearance.  And while they made life much better for the human race... they were not met with smiles and open arms.

Why would these saviors of humanity be met so negatively?  Because to many, they can't always be considered human anymore.  They were just as much a monster as a dire wolf or ogre or wraith..  Hunters have to undergo modifications or mutations to be able to fight one-to-one with even the strongest monsters.  Of course, brawn isn't everything.  They use magic as well, which didn't help their status with villagers.

However, the Hunters are an organization.  Once they had shown themselves after years of preperation, they needed funding.  And they rarely lend their services without some sort of payment.  Payment varies, though they will always accept coin.  One is to pay the hunter for the work they do, as that's largely the only part of the organization that needs to be directly funded.  They need to eat.

Now that you know what Hunters are, who's this young fighter in black we see? This is Damian.  Damian Gerard, the youngest Hunter to date.  And this is his story.

His story begins when he was just a toddler, no older than six or so.  His hometown was attacked by a very powerful monster, though not much is known beyond that.  He was the only survivor, and by the time a Hunter arrived, there wasn't anything left.  Except for the cries of an infant.  This hunter decided that it'd be better to bring this child with him back to the Hunter's Keep, rather than let it stay where it was and burn in the ashes of it's home town.

This was both a good decision, and a bad one at the same time.  The boy decided that he wanted to fight.  He wanted to find the monster that slaughtered his village, and he wanted to do the same to it.  The fire of vengance burned brightly in the youngster, and nobody argued against him.

Damian grew quickly, both physically, mentally, and metaphorically.  His natural aptitude for combat was high, as he showed often by defeating other trainees who spoke poorly of him to his face.  Often they made fun of him, saying that he was cursed for being the only survivor of a monster attack.  He didn't take well to that.

But inbetween fights and lectures, the young hunter trained endlessly, honing his skills.  Often, he would travel with a full-fledged hunter to get more field experience.  He knew he needed it.  But his days of following were nearing an end.

The day came when Damian was finally inducted as an official hunter.  He would recieve his mutations, then set off to find a beast to hunt.  Their title would be based on their fight, or the beast they killed, or how they killed it.  Another Hunter was to accompany them to watch, and bear witness.

Damian, of course, chose something that many thought was out of his league.  He chose to slay a Lich, beings viewed as the highest of undead creatures.  Creatures of this caliber were usually taken down in teams, and yet Damian refused assistance, and insisted that he would do it himself.

Naturally, this lead most of the hunters to believe he would die.  Even many of the veteran hunters told him that he was a fool.  But one had to accompany him to bear witness.  So the man who saved his life was selected to do so.

And so the day came, when the two arrived at a Lich's lair, and Damian prepared for his fight.  Or really, he just drew his short-sword and crossbow.  The battle ensued shortly after.  It was long, and drawn-out, because Damian was fighting a beast greater than he.  His witness only watched, and waited for the child to die, not lifting a finger to help.  Just as Damian had asked.

But he didn't.  Damian fought like a demon, and eventually killed the lich, and stood victorious over it's burning corpse, set aflame by Damian's potent fire magic.  But Damian, not satisfied with his mentor as his witness, searched the area, and took the Lich's valued treasure.  It was a fiery orange stone, and it glowed brightly with power.  He didn't know it, but it was the Hermes Stone.  It's power is on an entirely different level from most other magical items.

Of course, there was no way for him to know that this magical stone was something that could alter him.  When he reached for it, the stone shattered, and it's shards flew into the boy's arm, 'planting' it's power into him.  His arm changed, became metalic, and turned black and orange.  He had a new blade on his elbow, and could spew flames from it at will.  It was, of course, a very painful and forced metamorphasis, and it put Damian on the ground for quite a long time.  But he did eventually rise, with a new arm which was both his prize and lesson.  Be careful around magic things.

So when the young man returned to Hunter's Keep, he showed his new arm as proof, and had his mentor attest to what he said.  His title was granted to him on that day, and he would carry it with him forever more.  Because of his relentless fighting nature, affinity for fire magic, and his new arm, he was dubbed the "Burning Slayer".

And so the young man set out by himself for the first time as an official Hunter.  His quest to find the beast that destroyed his town had begun.  But he's also constantly seeking more knowledge about his arm.  It largely confused him.  What was it?  Why did it fuse with him?  He had to find the answers, to everything.