//------------------------------//
// Day 1: Journey 
// Story: Monster Hunter's Journal 
// by Ajulex 
//------------------------------//

	My name is Blue Moon. I'm a stallion from Vaporia, but I've just been accepted into the Monster Hunter's Academy in the Gryphon Kingdoms. I've decided to keep a journal to keep track of my training and experiences there. Today's been so exciting for me; waking up on the zeppelin and realizing I would reach the Gryphon Kingdoms in just a few hours had my heart racing from the moment the sun rose. I had a feeling the staff were started to get annoyed by me in an endeared sort of way, I mean I was a sixteen year old starting the adventure of a lifetime! Why shouldn't I be excited and practically bouncing off the walls, asking if we were there yet every ten minutes, right? 

Peering over the edge of the airship, my face lit up as I finally saw it. The Gryphon Kingdoms, the sprawling mountains as far as the eye could see. From my vantage point in the sky, I could see many of the mountaintop cities the Gryphons were famous for. And must noticeable of them all, Gryphus, the capital of the kingdom. It was a beautiful gem of a city, spread across not just one mountain peak, but connected to another using bridges, effectively using empty space between the peaks to create their Market Row, a vast line of shops and taverns and like, suspended in a mile or two of air by the architectural masterpiece that was the bridge between mountains.

This was the destination of the zeppelin, docking at one of the city's air ports about half an hour later. I gathered my meager belongings and hurried off the zeppelin, thanking any and all if the staff I saw on the way out. They just chuckled and told me good luck. I really hope that was genuine and not ironic...I shrugged that off and head off the boat, taking my very first step into the Gryphon Kingdoms.

Making sure my belongings were in order, I did my best to take in my surroundings. The gryphon city, compared to Vaporia, was more...rustic. Medieval, I guess you could say, compared to the steampunk nature the Vaporian cities. I saw open forges, fruit stands, inns, even brothels, believe it or not. Normally they weren't the friendliest to ponies, but since I was from Vaporia and not Equestria, we were practically brethren. 

I'm sure I stood out like a sore thumb here, with my walking in a slow circle to take in the sights. Sure enough, a gryphon swooped me up with his wing and led me to his stand, running his tongue the whole way. "New to the Kingdoms, are ya? I can smell Vaporia on ya, been a long time since I been there!" He rambled off, slipping behind the counter. "Ya ever had gryphon cuisine? We fancy meat here, unlike you ponies. I know Vaporia's all connected and all that, but I ain't too sure about how close you are." He added, pointing to a few of his wares, making me realize he was a chef. A fire burned behind him and a surprisingly good smell wafted to my nose.

"Oh, uh, no, never had anything gryphon." I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed. There certainly was a lot of cooked meat here and it made my stomach flip flop. I diverted my attention and got instead absorbed in examining what looked like a flower cooked to be golden brown. "What's that, exactly?"  I asked the merchant. It had quite a succulent scent to it that really piqued my interest. 

"Aha, Grilled Downflower." He said. "Six of your currency. Crowns, right?" He asked. I nodded, pulling out the payment. I was hungry, after all, so why not spend a bit here and there, right? I handed over the payment and accepted the food wrapped in a napkin, taking a hearty bite from the side. It was juicy like a fruit and absolutely delicious. "Mm...thank you, sir." I said to the gryphon after swallowing my bite. He just chuckle and nodded, waving me on my way.

After finishing my food, I got back on track. First thing's first: a sword. The Gryphon Kingdom was well known for its warriors and their prowess in combat, so it shouldn't be hard to find a good swordsmith...right? I looked around and saw about five blacksmiths, and that was just within eyesight. Maybe this would be a little harder than I initially thought...

As I looked around, I heard the clinking of metal. I jumped as a voice spoke just beside me. "You look lost, son. Waiting for someone?" The masculine voice said in Equestrian. Luckily, both Vaporia and the Gryphons spoke it. I looked up to him, literally. He was a very strong-looking gryphon in shining steel armor, a metal beak weapon placed over his own beak. Despite this, I felt welcome by his warm smile. 

"Uh, yeah. I mean, no, I'm trying to figure out where to get a sword. I mean, I know I get it from a blacksmith, but..." I trailed off, looking around, "you guys have so many. How am I supposed to choose?"

The male chuckled, putting a foot on my back and turning me to face another direction. He pointed through the crowd towards Market Row. "Head down that way and fine a smithy called Ring of Iron. Tell the guy in there Cullus sent you, and also maybe drop casually that you're from Vaporia and you'll get the best deal you could possibly get for a starter weapon. Heading to the Monster Hunter's Academy are you?" He asked, pointing at my cutie mark. I nodded eagerly, memorizing his instructions. 

"Yeah! I sent out a letter about two months ago, and just got the acceptance reply about a week ago. Left right away." I replied. "Thank you so much for your help, Cullus! My name's Blue Moon, I hope I see you again!" I said, shaking his claw (hand? Foot?) and hurrying in the direction he pointed out to me. 

This place just seemed so homely, I thought as Cullus waved goodbye to me. Everyone was hearty, genuine, even the shopkeepers. In Vaporia, all you got were shady shopkeepers who only saw you as potential profit or a waste of time. Here, everyone seemed like friends. 

I found the Ring of Iron without trouble. I didn't even need to ask directions! I stepped inside and the stagnant heat washed over me like a ley storm. Tears welled in my eyes and I coughed a few times, hearing a hearty laugh ahead of me. 

"Never been in a proper smithy, 'ave ye, lad?" The accented voice said. Northern Gryphon Kingdom accent, I think? "Yep, it'll slap ye right on the kisser if ye'r not prepared for it."

A tawny gryphon grinned at me from beside the forge. His feathers were specked with natural dark brown dots, and unnatural smudges of black soot. His talons looked tougher than diamonds from his metalworking. 

"Nope...I'm still a kid." I agreed with a sheepish chuckle. "Cullus should have warned me about walking in. He told me to head here to get my first weapon." I said, coughing once more. The heat was intense but I could already feel my body getting used to it. 

That did the trick. He dunked the cherry-red sword he was working on into a bucket of water and walked over to the counter. "Cullus, aye? He's always good about picking out the ones with potential. Come over here, let me get a look at ye." He nodded to the side, where the counter ended. As I approached, he put on a pair of glasses that looked downright silly on him. He circled me a few times, lifting my forelegs and giving the muscles on them a squeeze, meager as they were. He turned my head side to side, examining my neck and jaw. He brought out a weird, foam-like brick and told me to bite down on it at a comfortable force, which I did. He then gave me a heavy iron bar, with cloth at the end for me to bite, and a training dummy. 

"Don't worry about technique, or style right now." He said, grabbing a piece of paper and a quill. "Just swing as hard as you can for three swings, then as fast as you can for six."

I followed a few more of his instructions, and by the end I was sweating. Mostly from the heat of the room. "Vaporia doesn't get nearly this hot." I said with a breathy chuckle, dropping the hint like Cullus had instructed. "Up in the sky gets pretty chilly, but I guess you guys and your mountaintop would know all about that, right?" I added.

"Vaporia! I shoulda guessed, aye. No wonder your readings are all so good for your lack of experience." He said, making another note. Garyt, his name was, we had introduced ourselves during the exercises. "Since I like ye so much, lad, and ye got the makin's fer an amazing warrior, the sword'll cost ye...what's the money you use there? Crowns? Forty five crowns."

My jaw practically dropped. I was expecting to spend at least a hundred for a shoddy sword, but here I was getting amazing quality for just forty five. I couldn't believe my stroke of luck. And ponies say gryphons were all heartless and rude. This guy proved all those wrong."Wow, that's amazing! Thank you!" I said. He chuckled.

"Don't thank me yet, lad. I haven't made it. Go find yourself an inn, it'll be ready around noon tomorrow." He said, turning back to his forge. I smiled like a big idiot and went to go find myself a room for the night, which is where I am now. I think my first day went pretty well.