//------------------------------//
// Astera 
// Story: Monster Hunter World: Monsters and Magic 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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With the gate closed Grogar, Sherry, and their lizard-wolf ally followed the greatsword carrying man that had come to their aid a few moments ago, especially given the pair of larger monsters that had been in their way, and walked down the path he was walking along, though his quick pace showed them that he was interested in getting back to their main base of operations and make sure Commander Shepard knew they were safe and sound. While they did that Grogar noticed that the area they were heading towards seemed to be built in a massive waterfall area that a massive monster must have collapsed in at one point in the past, due to the rib cage bones that were directly in front of them, even if there were only three sets of them and the set that was in front of them was the smallest, while the third one was the largest of them all, and that was before they turned their attention to the rest of the base. From where they were standing it was easy to spot the massive ship that was resting on the highest points of the area, the large rocks Grogar and Sherry had spotted earlier, when they were using the Barnos to escape from Zorah Magdaros, before they turned their attention to the area in front of them and discovered that there were a number of people walking about an area that looked like planks had been pulled off a ship, like the fleets repurposed their ships to create this place. Not only that it looked like the Commission had used a good bit of their ships to build a massive walkway that covered the smooth rocky area that was beyond the sets of bones, and that was before they spotted the docking area off to their right, which happened to be where their ship and the rest of the Fifth Fleet were resting, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief.

From what Grogar could tell it appeared that the area directly in front of them appeared to be a trading area, as some of the people looked like they were traders or something like that, while off to their left rested an area where some people, the researchers he realized, happened to be in the middle of either reading a mountain of books or tending to an area that looked like it grew herbs and possibly bugs, not to mention an area that seemed large enough to contain a large monster, just like the greater lizard-wolf or even the vulture-dinosaur.

"Its amazing, isn't it?" the man asked, noticing that the pair was interested in what they were seeing, due to the fact that they had said nothing as they walked towards the base that was in front of them, before he gestured towards the sets of bones that were in front of them, where Grogar noticed something interesting, there were some small orange triangle shaped flags resting between the three sets, "Just look at these bones, which the scholars claim make a natural gateway of some kind... its almost like nature meant for us to build Astera, our base of operations and our home, right here, and the First Fleet did so when they arrived."

"Astera, I like it!" Sherry stated, showing that she liked the name of the settlement that was in front of them, while at the same time Grogar nodded his head in agreement, as it was nice to know the name of the area that would be acting as their home for the foreseeable future, before she walked forward and quickly focused on the stacks of supplies that one of the people were checking out, where Grogar had to wonder if there were some exciteshrooms in the area, even though he didn't notice anything different about his partner.

"As you can see, the rest of the Fifth Fleet have arrived safe and sound... you were the only ones that went missing during the incident that happened," the man said, stating a fact that they were able to determine on their own, since all they had to do was look to their right and spot the ships in question, before all of them walked into the first part of the base and found that supplies were being moved from the couple of ships and were being distributed to the various areas of Astera, before Grogar smiled for a moment.

The reason behind the smile was because Erica and Aiden were kneeling off to their left, helping some of the others from their ship, who were either hurt or just tired from moving things off the ship, before the pair glanced over in their direction and noticed him and Sherry walking with the man that had assisted them in getting to Astera, to which both of them got up for a moment and walked over to them, even though Aiden hugged them once he reached where they were standing, all while Erica stood behind him.

"I'm glad that you guys made it!" Aiden stated, where he released the pair after a few seconds and took a step back, even though that was when Grogar noticed that he was carrying his sword and shield with him, which made sense since Aiden was one of the Hunters and he needed his weapons whenever he left this base, "You know, when we couldn't find you earlier, after we hit the water and left that Elder Dragon behind, we were so worried about the two of you that we could have started to sweat bullets, though I'm glad you're both safe and sound."

"Grogar, you might have magic, but when you guys headed to the deck of the ship and didn't return you scared all of us when we realized you were stuck on Zorah Magdaros." Erica added, though she did sound like she had been very worried about the two of them, far more worried than Aiden happened to be right now, which Grogar had a feeling that this could easily be explained due to his unique abilities that might make their mission in the New World that much easier, where a smile appeared on her face, "We were talking about leaving Astera and heading out to look for you, since we didn't like the thought of leaving you guys behind, but I'm glad that the two of you are safe and sound."

"I'm glad that the two of you, in addition to the rest of our shipmates, arrived safe and sound as well," Grogar said, as while he wasn't used to having people that cared about him, or even caring about those people in return, he was happy to see that Erica and Aiden were fine and it didn't look like anything had happened to them since the last time they had seen each other, which had been before Zorah Magdaros emerged from beneath the water, while at the same time Sherry took a moment to tear herself away from the stuff that was in front of them and nodded her head, to show that she agreed with his statement.

Before they could continue the conversation one of their shipmates called for some assistance and Erica made sure to drag Aiden over to whoever needed help, where Sherry waved her hand at them while they headed to the individuals they had been helping while they determined that they would catch up once everyone had settled down, before the man that had assisted Grogar and Sherry started to move again, showing that it was time for them to resume the tour of Astera and let them memorize where everything was located.

"This here is our Tradeyard... I guess the name says it all, doesn't it?" the man said, beckoning to the area that was in front of them, the one that Sherry had been staring at while Erica and Aiden had been talking to them, even if they were more interested in speaking to Grogar, where some of the people they walked by paused what they were doing and took a moment to look at Grogar, since his body and form were unknown to them, before returning to their work, "We've got it all here: Hunters to do all of the exploring and hunting, scholars that do all of the studying and researching, technicians that keep everyone going... this place, when you think about it, is the beating heart of the Commission. Oh, could you wait right here for a few seconds?"

Before Grogar or Sherry had a chance to even say anything the man headed towards an area that seemed to be more of a command center or something, while at the same time the lizard-wolf sniffed the air as it patiently waited for Grogar to do something, before the man reached the bottom of the area and informed the Commander that he had found both of the missing members of the Fifth Fleet, meaning they were going to meet Commander Shepard at last, who he was eager to meet, given how quickly he had offered Grogar a place in the fleet. Grogar quickly discovered that the armor Commander Shepard was wearing was the same as what the unnamed man was wearing, only he didn't appear to have a weapon with him, though he had short gray hair and had a few scars on his face, showing both his age and his experience in the field, where he quickly determined that he was the leader of Astera and made the decisions based on what he was told by the Hunters, scholars, technicians, and the other important figures of their base.

"Well now, you must be the one known as Grogar," Commander Shepard said, his tone confirming that he was the one that was in charge of Astera, not that anyone needed the confirmation of that fact, even though it was clear that he was studying Grogar and the fact that he had a small lizard-wolf, which he assumed was highly unusual, "and, based on what I'm seeing, it appears that you have befriended one of the local Jagras, sort of like how you talked to the Barnos in the report that Erica sent us a while ago... its a skill we've never seen before, one that might be useful in the future. Either way, allow me to welcome you, Sherry, and your friend to Astera, as we're all glad that you made it here, safe and sound... but while I would love to speak with you for a time, to learn about your powers and get you up to speed, I'm currently being pulled in eight different directions and the others need me to answer some questions or address complaints before I do anything else with the Fifth Fleet. I will, however, discuss things over council, once things settle down, and I want the two of you to be there when it happens, so feel free to take in the sights while I get things under control."

"As you wish, Commander Shepard." Grogar replied, figuring that he might as well let the Commander do whatever he needed to do with the rest of Astera, given that the Fifth Fleet was new and he likely needed to deal with the people from the First through Fourth Fleets first, while at the same time Sherry nodded her head and showed that, while she was eager to get started, she agreed with the plan, as she wanted to see more of Astera.

"Good. Johnson, our Field Team Leader, will show you two... three, I should say... around Astera and will explain things to you, so you can be ready for whatever missions we might send you on," Commander Shepard stated, to which the man with the greatsword nodded his head for a moment, to confirm that his name was Johnson and that he would do as the Commander wished, though once that was done the Commander turned around and headed back to the area he had been standing in earlier, before they arrived in Astera, though he stopped for a moment and faced them again, "Oh, and your furry friend washed up on the shore some time ago, between the arrival of the rest of the Fifth Fleet and your arrival in Astera. I think he's up at the Canteen, waiting for you two."

"Well then, let's start the tour." Johnson said, beckoning for Grogar, Sherry, and the Jagras to follow after him, despite the fact that he kept an eye on the lizard-wolf that was keeping pace with them, before he looked at the area that they were in and started to walk away from the area that lead to where the council would be held, "As you can see, this is our Stockpile, where we keep a number of goods that Hunters use out in the field, be it potions, ammunition, traps, and the rest of the necessities someone might need. Next up is the Smithy, where you'll be able to forge whatever gear you might need, be it weapons or armor, to help you complete your hunts and investigations, be it to do damage to your enemies or to protect yourself from harm... provided you have the materials necessary to do such a thing, where the workers will tell you what you might need for each piece of gear you want them to make."

To get to the Smithy Grogar, Sherry, and the Jagras followed Johnson up a long winding staircase made out of wood that looked like it had either been made out of wood from a ship, like the rest of Astera had been, or had been harvested from the Ancient Forest and shaped to match the rest of their base, allowing them to glance out at the area they were in and look at the rest of Astera, though as they walked Sherry decided to speak up about something she had noticed while they had been talking earlier.

"So, which fleet are you with?" Sherry asked, mostly because members of the First through Fourth Fleets wore a small flag on their attire to signify which of the fleets they belonged to, like the small red and yellow flag the Commander wore that was attached to his belt, though Grogar noticed that the man in front of them wasn't wearing one of the flags, or if he was it happened to be one that was hard to see, reminding him that the Fifth Fleet's flag was two lines of silver and a line of gold between them, with a wing-like emblem at the bottom.

"Me? I'm not with any of the fleets, I was born right here, in the New World." Johnson replied, where he glanced down at the area that Commander Shepard was in for a moment, who was in the middle of making sure everything was fine with the rest of Astera, so he could call for the council to begin and get everyone up to speed, and then turned his attention back to the stairs that they were climbing, where Grogar assumed that he was related to the Commander, "Truthfully, I've never been to the Old World, and the way things are going with the investigation into the Elder Crossing, with our lack of any real progress over the years, its unlikely that I'll ever see the Old World... which is fine with me, since I need to focus on keeping everyone safe and driving off monsters like the Great Jagras and Anjanath we saw earlier."

Grogar found that to be interesting, that there was someone in Astera that hadn't been to the Old World, much like he hadn't been to the place Sherry and the others came from, but he put that thought on hold for a moment as they reached the top of the steps and found themselves near the Smithy, which was a rather heat intensive place that had a number of individuals working on moving things around and producing whatever the Commission needed, especially with a massive bellow that fueled a massive fire. The workers nodded their heads to the group as they stopped in the doorway for a few seconds, even though they were slightly interested in Grogar's body, which was understandable since his hooves would be an interesting challenge for them if he asked them to make him any armor in the future, before Johnson had them move once more, this time heading for a wooden walkway that connected the area they were standing on, while the other side of the walkway seemed to be on a cliff of some kind and appeared to be where the Canteen was located. As they walked over the long wooden walkway Grogar also noticed that there were a number of lifts that moved between the lowest part of Astera and the massive ship that was resting between two large rocks, even though it looked like parts of it might be missing and that the Commission had put a lot of effort into making sure it stayed intact, instead of breaking it down and using the wood for something else, though he decided not to worry about it as he followed Johnson. The other thing he noted was that there was a Felyne standing in the middle of the wooden walkway, where a path to some private looking quarters had to be resting, though he decided not to bother the feline in question and continued after the man that was showing him and Karen around Astera, while the Jagras that was following him kept up with them as it took in the sights that none of its kind had gotten to see, since most of them were killed if they engaged the Hunters, or at least that was Grogar's opinion on the matter.

Sure enough when they reached the Canteen they found a number of Felynes walking around, delivering plates to all of the Hunters and members of the Commission that happened to be up there, where all of the slow cooking stations had the appearance of Felyne head's, and there was a rather buff Felyne with a large blade on its back, who was dressed as a chef, who seemed to be watching what the others of his kind were doing, though that was when Grogar and Sherry quickly noticed the one Felyne they happened to be looking for, as Patches was walking around the Canteen like he was lost, which made sense given what they had endured.

"Hey, Patches!" Sherry called out, where the Palico in question paused and then glanced in their way, where he did a little cheer for a moment before rushing over to where she and Grogar were standing, even though that ended in him jumping up into her arms and rested his head against the area that was below her neck for a moment, before he pulled away and smiled at her as she smiled at him.

Grogar was happy to see that Patches was just fine, where his Palico partner smiled at him as he rubbed the bottom of his chin for a moment, even though he was surprised when he spotted the Jagras that had followed them to Astera, but before any of them could really do anything a horn sounded and they glanced out at the area that was in front of them, so they could look down at the area the Commander was standing, meaning he must have figured out how to deal with all of the problems so he could call all the important leaders of the Commission to his side.

"Looks like he finished helping the others ahead of time," Johnson said, showing that he had been expecting it to take some time before the council horn was used and their tour was brought to an end, even though there wasn't much else he could actually show Sherry and Grogar now that they had been reunited with their third member of their group, before he beckoned to the group for a moment, "Come on, they're calling for the council to begin."

Grogar nodded as he, Sherry, Patches, and the Jagras, which was going to need a name if it was going to follow them and not return to its pack in the Ancient Forest, though they weren't the only ones that headed down there, as the larger Feylne that served as the chef joined them, meaning it must have a seat on the council and that they would be getting to known him over the course of their stay in Astera, before Grogar focused on the other members of the council that were gathering around the table that the Commander was standing at. One of the individuals was a Hunter that carried one of the longsword weapons on his back, and he was sure the person was male due to the shape of its body, though it was wearing armor that was a mix of metal and green scales in places, though as he reached the area the Commander was in he removed his weapon from his back and placed it on the ground as he sat in a chair behind their leader. The next one he noticed was a trio of three that appeared to be walking together, one that seemed to be male and was wearing a robe-like attire, with a collar of some kind and had long hair that was in a ponytail, the second one was a shorter male that took a seat on a chair so he could see everyone, and he wore a dull yellow vest with a hardhat on his head, and the third was a lady who seemed to be wearing a cloth dress of some kind, one that was a little loose based on what he was seeing, but she seemed focused on some calculations she was making, while they waited for the council to begin. The last member of the council that Grogar could see was an elderly man who sat in a chair that was across from where the technician man was sitting, though the elderly one seemed to be more of a scholar, as he opened a book and was reading from it while he waited for everyone else to show up, though the interesting thing was that his feet ended in three claws, similar to what a young dragon had, and he was sure there was a fourth claw located partway up his legs, something he was interested in and might ask about later.

As they walked towards the table that the council would be held in, which had four different colored flags resting off to the left, which likely represented the four fleets that came before their fleet, Erica ran to where they were walking and tossed something into the air, where Grogar smiled for a moment as he caught the item with his magic and brought it over to him as he approached the area that Commander Shepard and the others were waiting in, this time with his staff in hand, but he made sure to nod towards Erica for a moment as he, Sherry, Patches, the Jagras, and Johnson joined the others, where Johnson took his position to the Commander's right.

"Now that you are all here, let us begin this council session." Commander Shepard said, drawing the attention of them all to him, even though he was only talking to those that were around him while the rest of the Commission went about their duties behind Grogar, and while he did that the Jagras seemed to take a seat and coiled its tail around itself as it tried to put its head about the top of the table, like it was interested in what was going on right now, "After tracking a migrating Elder Dragon across the sea, and having a few interesting events happen along the way, the Fifth Fleet have finally arrived in the New World and will be joining those in Astera from this day forward. Be sure to give all of them a warm welcome, as they're a fine group and are worthy comrades that will see the Commission's long efforts finally rewarded... especially with the addition of Grogar, our newest Hunter. Would you like to say a few words?"

"Yes, thank you sir!" Sherry stated, speaking before Grogar even had a chance to open his mouth, something that caused the others that were paying attention to raise their eyebrows for a moment and he remained at the ready, as he had the suspicion the council members would want him to speak at some point, before this council was over, especially since he had a Jagras following him around, something that was beyond what they were used to seeing, "We're ready to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty!"

"And I'm eager to tackle the mystery of the Elder Crossing and put my powers to use." Grogar added, as he was serious about this, because he was done working with the plans to take over a province, country, or even a world, as none of them had really worked out in the past, and he was curious as to why the Elder Dragons would suddenly migrate from the Old World and head to the New World, just like how the Guild was curious as to why it was happening, so he figured he could use his powers to aid the Commission.

"This is the Commission's core team in the New World," Commander Shepard stated, where he waved a hand towards the rest of the group that was around them, no doubt to give Grogar and Sherry an idea on who they would be working with for the foreseeable future, and it appeared that he was starting with the lady that was to their left, who was standing next to one of the elderly members of the council and the scholar that was wearing glasses, "Betty Lexington, our Provisions Manager; Sorich, our Tech Chief; Callus, our Analysis Director; Wingert, our Chief Ecologist; and our Chef, who prefers to be known by his title, the one that the rest of the Felyne's gave him, 'Meowscular Chef'... you should get to know all of them, as they'll help you and the others prepare for your field work."

"You said that you would use your powers to help us... what sort of powers are you referring to?" Callus asked, as he and the others were interested in what Grogar was talking about, though at the same time they glanced at the Jagras that was resting next to him, studying all of them as it wondered what they would do about it, because while Shepard told them about Erica's report it was hard to believe that communicating with monsters was possible.

"Well, I have access to magic, something I haven't seen anyone else wield," Grogar replied, deciding that it was best not to tell anyone about the world he had come from, since it was clear they assumed he was from an unknown landmass that they hadn't explored yet, and just demonstrate his power for them, to which he let go of his staff and levitated it with his magic, where he carefully spun it around the area they were in, allowing them to see what he was doing before collecting his weapon and then rubbed the Jagras' head for a few seconds, who let out a happy hiss, "the other power, the one that is more important to our research, is the ability to communicate and understand the monsters that we share this world with. I used it earlier, when Sherry and I were in the Ancient Forest, where we hid inside some bushes so the pack of Jagras would leave without noticing us, and this one hissed at them and convinced the rest of the pack to leave, before it showed us the way to the gate Johnson encountered us near, even if we were interrupted by a Great Jagras and an Anjanath."

"Really? Forgive me for sounding like I don't believe you, its just... well, we've never encountered someone like you before and its hard to believe you possess this secondary power." Betty commented, where Grogar didn't blame her for saying that, because he was breaking their understanding of their world by just being there and using his magic, so adding yet another power to the list, being able to communicate with the monsters and potentially learn more about them by just talking to them, might be a little too much for them to consider right now.

It was in that moment that the Jagras hissed for a few seconds, causing the members of the council to pause as everyone turned towards it, where Grogar could tell that the hissing seemed to be a comment of some kind and it seemed to be staring at Betty and Callus as it did that, no doubt due to the fact that they were the ones that were talking right now, while Commander Shepard and the others looked like they were curious as to what was going on.

"What is it saying?" Sherry asked, because she knew what Erica and the others from their ship knew, Grogar could talk to the Barnos that had been following the ship and that had prompted them to send the letter to the Commander as soon as it had been discovered, so she was eager to see what the Jagras was saying and if it would prove that her partner had such a power to those that didn't believe him.

"First of all, its not an 'it', rather its a 'she'," Grogar answered, though while he knew that they could have figured that out by studying the creature that was standing next to him, just like the Commission did whenever they captured monsters to study and learn more about them, this gave him a chance to show off his skills, "She also said that she's surprised by the fact that some of you don't believe me, since this is the first time one of her kind has willingly entered this area, alive to be exact, and that she's not attacking anyone like the rest of her kind would if they were placed in her position. Basically she's surprised by the fact that her sudden change from her nature hasn't convinced you that I'm telling the truth... her words, not mine."

"I, for one, believe that Grogar is telling the truth, and I believe that his power will be useful in solving the mystery that has brought us to the New World," Commander Shepard said, showing the rest of the council that he trusted what Erica had put in her letter, especially now that they had witnessed him talking to a Jagras, a creature Grogar knew nothing about and had only just encountered shortly after his arrival in the New World, before he focused on the main topic that they had gathered to talk about, "Now, for those of you who don't know what's going on, the latest Elder Dragon to migrate to the New World is a beast known as Zorah Magdaros, a massive monster who carries a mountain of fire on its back, and its the Research Commission's mission to figure out why the Elder Dragons are migrating to this landmass."

"As you no doubt know, Elder Dragons have been with us since the dawn of time," Wingert commented, which was the moment that the Meowscular Chef glanced at him, something that was mimicked by the rest of the council members, as all of them were interested in what he might have to say, even though it appeared that he was reminding Grogar of the fact before he said something new, "where they alter the ecosystems they live in, reshape the land, and leave disaster in their wake. From what we have been able to determine they flock to this continent, though we have been unable to figure out why they're doing that... its a mystery that has grabbed the attention of the Guild and they'll stop at nothing to find out the truth of what's going on."

"With the aid of the Fifth Fleet, we will find the missing link!" Commander Shepard stated, drawing the attention of the rest of the council members to him once more, even though he knew that everyone was eager to figure out why the Elder Crossing happened in the first place, be they from the First Fleet or the other fleets that were in Astera, before he focused on Grogar, Sherry, and their friends for a moment, "Sherry, I need you and Grogar, along with your friends, to look into why we're seeing an increase in the local Jagras population and help us secure Astera, though once we're done with those two objectives we can focus on Zorah Magdaros and the path he cut through the Ancient Forest, or part of it anyway, as a team is already studying his movements and should arrive in due time. Everyone else, you know the drill, make sure our Hunters have everything they need for when they're out in the field, as their banner promises change and it will be up to them to fulfill that promise. Other than that, you are all dismissed for the time being."

Grogar, Sherry, and the others nodded their heads, to show the Commander that they understood his orders and that they would head out and get themselves ready for when Grogar took to the field and investigated what was going on with the Jagras population, which was a step in the right direction since it would make sure Astera was safe and sound before they turned their attention to their main investigation, not to mention Zorah Magdaros, something Grogar was interested in figuring out as he focused on his first hunt and what he would be learning.