//------------------------------//
// One for the History Books 
// Story: Monster Hunter World: Monsters and Magic 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

As soon as Shepard made the announcement that they would be attacking Zorah Magdaros, to capture it and study it's role in the environment, Astera was a place of excitement as Hunters and everyone else ran around to get things ready for what they were about to do. Grogar found that cannons were being readied, cannonballs were being carried out by the cart, some Hunters and Felynes were hauling out rectangular containers filled with ballista ammunition, and all sorts of supplies were on their way to the Great Ravine, as they had an entire afternoon to get ready for the arrival of the Elder Dragon that the Fifth Fleet had been tracking. It was sheer madness, challenging an Elder Dragon like this, and yet he seemed to be the only one who felt that this was a bad idea, especially since they had no idea how powerful Zorah Magdaros actually was, save for the ability to travel underwater for long periods of time and moving slowly when it was above ground. This made it look like Astera was going to war with a force of nature, something that could seriously wreck the New World if they weren't careful, and yet no one seemed to mind that fact, as everyone seemed excited for what was going on right now, making him wonder if humans were just insane.

In fact the only one that didn't seem overly excited about this situation was Sherry, as she was excited by the idea of them getting more information for their studies on Zorah Magdaros, but also felt that the plan that Shepard came up with was just insane, that it could come back to bite them at some point in time.

"So we're going to try and wear down an Elder Dragon with cannon and ballista fire," Grogar commented, taking a moment to look over the information that Shepard had given him, as they were to ambush the massive beast when it arrived in the Great Ravine, blasting it with everything that was being assembled down in the Tradeyard, before he set down the papers for a moment and held his head in frustration, "This is madness... suicide, even... Zorah Magdaros will likely smash it's way right through our defenses and just push deeper into the New World, forcing us to follow after it once Shepard realizes that this was folly."

"Still, he seems pretty set on this path... maybe he thinks we can succeed?" Sherry asked, as she knew that Grogar's magic would make a difference in the upcoming siege, it was unlike anything she had seen before and no one would be able to repeat it once he departed from this world, though she could tell that he wasn't too happy with the Commander, not that she blamed him, "Also, did you hear that the Huntsman is looking into some of Nergigante's tracks? I think both he and the Commander are thinking that that beast will interrupt our operation."

"That's the last thing we need, Nergigante returning." Grogar remarked, because fighting one Elder Dragon was already bad enough, two was just totally insane, and if he was unable to do anything to the dragon in question he knew that none of the other Hunters would be able to stall it as well, all while noticing that Patches was silent as well, knowing that if this siege went badly they were going to lose some of their friends and allies.

"Grogar, there's... there's something I think you should know," Sherry said, as she knew what had happened the first time her partner came into contact with an Elder Dragon, he nearly died after being smashed by one of Nergigante's blows, and part of her was worried that such a thing would happen again, where her worry caused some scales to form on her right wrist, which she hid as quickly as possible, "I... how should I put this... I..."

Before Sherry could finish her comment all of them heard the sound of the horn that signified a council meeting would be happening, though this time Shepard and everyone else was starting to head out, using the Barnos to leave Astera and make for the Great Ravine, to begin their operation.

"It's finally happening... this madness is finally happening." Grogar said, where he sighed for a moment, as he wasn't even looking forward to this mission, before he finished off what was in front of him and stood up, where Patches did the same not a few seconds later, taking only a moment to glance at his partner, "Come on, let's get this over with... by Celestia, let's hope we survive this mission."

Grogar found it weird that now, out of all times, he was using Celestia's name like she was a god, though as he did that he did notice the scales on Sherry's wrist, it was something he wouldn't miss after everything he had seen from her, though for right now he couldn't think much on it. Instead he sighed as he called a Barnos down to him so he and Patches could head out, where his partner stayed behind for a few seconds before doing the same thing, knowing that there would be time to talk once they had a chance to breath, without this mission hanging over their heads. Soon the air was filled with an army of Barnos, as everyone in Astera was departing for the Great Ravine, while two were required to carry the large body of the Meowscular Chef, who would be cooking for everyone during their time waiting for Zorah Magdaros to arrive, so there would be hot food waiting for them. Grogar was still surprised that he and Sherry were the only ones that were worried about this, especially after witnessing what happened when Nergigante barrelled into him, crushing most of the life out of his body in an instant, and there was no telling what would happen if Zorah Magdaros got pissed off, so he held the faint hope that Shepard would see the light and call this off.

The Great Ravine, true to it's name, was a massive ravine that rested beyond the Wildspire Waste, where Grogar found a number of caves carved into the sides of the area, both lined with all sorts of weapons and equipment, showing him that Shepard hadn't been joking, he was going to go through with this, and there were no barriers to stop the Elder Dragon once it arrived, causing Grogar to raise an eyebrow as they landed near Shepard.

"Ah, Grogar, good, we're in need of your assistance," Shepard stated, though as Grogar approached him, however, both he and Sherry found a large amount of prepared wood that would be used to build scaffolding, plus ropes and other bits of material, meaning they weren't even ready for Zorah Magdaros' arrival, "As you can see, we're scrambling to get ready for when our target arrives, and I would appreciate it if you helped us form the barricades that will slow Zorah down... with your power we should be able to get both barriers up in no time."

"Sure. Tell me what needs to be done and I'll do it," Grogar remarked, because he wasn't about to argue with Shepard over this, as the man was determined to see this through and there was no stopping someone like him, so he decided to just do what he was told and get this over with, as he knew that capturing Zorah Magdaros was impossible and was eager to see what happened after this mission was over.

Sherry and Patches stood off to the side, helping the other Hunters and Commission members as they readied the rest of the cannons and ballista, plus the ammunition caches that had been prepared, while watching Grogar work, as Shepard held out a piece of paper detailing his plans. He lifted all sorts of materials into the air with his magic, moving them over to where their leader wanted each piece, eventually forming a massive walkway that linked the two sides of the Great Ravine together, though it didn't seem to be much of a strain for him and he made sure to take breaks every now and then so he didn't collapse. Once Shepard was pleased with the creation he had Grogar stop on the first one and head down to where the second would be built, allowing the other Commission members to move their ammunition, weapons, and other items into position as they prepared for their target's arrival. Sherry was still surprised by Grogar's power and his control, as he continued to display the variety of things his magic could do, making her wonder what else he might be capable of, while observing the construction of the second barrier, a perfect replica of the first one.

When that one was done he returned to her side and watched the surrounding area as the sun went down, choosing to rest and even sleep as they waited for Zorah Madgaros to arrive, because everyone needed to be ready for when the large Elder Dragon finally reached the Great Ravine.





It took a long time before anything happened to the area they were in, long enough for many of them to get some rest as they waited for their target to arrive, even Commander Shepard did the same thing, though even then Grogar knew that everyone was restless, anxious to see what happened when Zorah Magdaros finally arrived. He was still surprised by the fact that no one else thought that this was a bad idea, launching an attack on an Elder Dragon of this size and power, but at this point he had given up trying to tell others that they should back off, as Aiden and the others were far too eager for this, so he and Sherry just joined them in silence. According to the plan he had been told everyone would be firing on their target as soon as it emerged, hopefully to slow it down long enough to capture it, an impossible task he told himself, and if it broke through the first barrier than some of the Hunters would be sent onto it for some time. According to some of the Researchers there were a few magma cores scattered around Zorah Magdaros' body, which should slow it down if one or more of them were broken in some manner, but he guessed they would figure things out if it actually arrived.

As the sun started to rise, however, Grogar stirred as he felt a tremor in the earth, where the Scoutflies turned blue before flying down into the Great Ravine, shifting to a red color as the Elder Dragon smashed through the ground and rose up to march through this place, causing Shepard to call for the Commission to get to their stations as Zorah Magdaros emerged from the underground path it had been using.

Sure enough they opened fire on the Elder Dragon as soon as it started to march down the ravine, where Grogar found all sorts of cannonballs and ballista shots were being fired at their target, all while the Barnos flapped around like the end of the world was upon them, causing him to weave his magic around and calm the smaller monsters down. Of course he had no real experience with the weapons of this world, the siege ones to be exact, so he kept an eye on Zorah Magdaros as he walked up and down the section that he had been stationed on, before glancing at a pile of cannonballs that didn't seem to be in use. In that moment he tried to pick one up, finding that it was too heavy for him to carry, so he lifted it with a bit of his magic and stared at the Elder Dragon for a moment, where he gathered a bit of energy into it and hurled it through the air, like it was being shot out of a magical cannon and watched as it smashed into Zorah Magdaros' chest, but it didn't look like he did any damage to his target. In fact he was sure that the Elder Dragon in question didn't care about what was going on right now, as it just marched forward without a care in the world, ignoring the cannon fire and ballista rounds like they were mere flies to it, especially since it didn't look like they were doing any damage to the massive beast.

In fact the only thing that seemed to do anything to Zorah Magdaros were the 'binders', more powerful ballista rounds, as they were thicker and larger than the normal ones, that were designed to restrain the Elder Dragon, though in the end he and the others watched as their target tore itself free and then smashed through the first barrier like it was nothing, which was the truth given who they were thinking about.

"Hunters, get to a hitching post and get onto Zorah's back!" Shepard shouted, all while those who wouldn't head heading onto the back of the massive beast were moving so they could get into position at the second barrier, to which he took a moment and turned towards Grogar, who paused for a moment, "Grogar, I need you to reinforce the barrier with your magic, whatever you can spare to make sure we have enough time to slow Zorah down... maybe you can try talking to it as well, anything that might help our operation out."

"I'll do what I can, but Nergigante is out there... I can almost feel it." Grogar replied, as he had a feeling that the brutal and dangerous beast was out there somewhere, watching them try in vain to stop Zorah Magdaros in it's tracks, though once he said that he used one of the Barnos and traveled to the next barrier, finding that everyone was getting ready for their target to get close.

He did as Shepard ordered, channeling a bit of his magic into the barrier so it would be far more sturdy than before, while debating whether or not he should add a magical barrier to slow down the Elder Dragon, before deciding that he could figure it out later as he landed. In that moment he levitated into the air and rushed back to where the massive beast was currently walking, using the levitation power he had unlocked to get as close as he dared to Zorah Magdaros' face, before calling out to the Elder Dragon that was marching towards the second barrier. He knew that there was a slim chance of this working as he intended, given what happened with Nergigante, though as Zorah Magdaros walked he was sure that a growl or noise came from it in response, sounding like an old man that was near death, like he had a few weeks left, only he didn't get much of a response from the beast. It was a start, though not the best when he considered what was going on at the moment, though he jumped backwards and used some ice magic on the ground, summoning a barricade of pure ice to try and slow down the massive creature that was in front of him, but, as he expected, their target overheated the entire area and smashed his way through his magical barricade.

As Zorah Magdaros did that, however, a horn blew and Grogar turned his attention to something that was behind their target, a black mass he recognized, to which he gathered his magic and burst through the air, where he draw his shield for a second and channeled his power into it as he smashed into Nergigante's side, knocking it out of the air and dropped the two of them onto the massive Elder Dragon's back.

"You?! I thought I killed you!" Nergigante growled, where this time Grogar was able to understand the Elder Dragon that had nearly ended his life just a few days ago, and was surprised to find that it was actually a female monster, a brutal one to be exact, before she gripped the hard ground below them, "Get... out... of... MY WAY!"

This time around Grogar did the smart thing and dodged the incoming attack, as Nergigante leapt at him and smashed her right claws into the ground he had been standing on, meaning this had to be more like a protective shell that ensured the massive Elder Dragon didn't take damage, all while keeping his shield at the ready. He wasn't foolish enough to believe that he was capable of taking down Nergigante, not with how badly she had wrecked him the first time around, though at the same time he knew that coming back from near death meant that his powers would escalate at an alarming rate, so it was a high risk and high reward situation, but for now he focused on wearing down Nergigante. So he continued to dodge the incoming attacks, observing his foe as she tried to smash him into the ground and rend the life from his body, but he also knew that the brutal Elder Dragon had more moves than what he had seen so far, especially one that involved his foe striking the ground with her wing and grinding against the stone to smash her foes. Even though he tanked the attack he also used his power to cushion his movements, preventing him from hitting a stone wall again, where Grogar gathered a bit more of his power and tried something else out, he channeled it along the edge of his blade and swung it, loosing a wave of energy that surprised Nergigante, blasting her in the side in the process.

As he expected it didn't do anything to his foe, as Nergigante emerged without much damage, though as he did that he smile a little, as the Huntsman rushed by him and swung at their foe, forcing her back as he managed to break a couple of her arm spikes, though as she regrew them Zorah Magdaros shuddered. In that moment Grogar realized something, they had approached the second barricade and the others had restrained the massive Elder Dragon with the binders, but, as he expected, it was all for nothing as he pushed forward and broke out of their hold, before raising himself up like he was going to smash the barrier to bits. That motion caused Nergigante to growl in annoyance before taking off, showing them that she wasn't about to stick around and might come back when they weren't bothering Zorah Magdaros, though in that moment Grogar collected the Huntsman with his magic and leapt off of their target, landing near Sherry as they watched as he smashed through the barrier like it was nothing. His earlier feeling had been correct, they didn't stand a chance at capturing the massive Elder Dragon, and he counted themselves lucky that no one had perished during the fight, all while observing as Zorah Magdaros returned to his normal walking speed and headed for the end wall of the Great Ravine, as he was likely going to push through it and continue deeper into the New World.

In that moment he sighed and sat down, as they needed to regroup and go over what had happened, not to mention the next move they had to take to learn more about the Elder Crossing and why Nergigante was so interested in hunting one of the Elder Dragons, though he was eager to see what the others had to saw when they returned to Astera.