> Castlevania: Neigh of Shadows
>  by monkey king
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter: 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are story begins like many others with a 22 year old man dressed in his Richter Belmont cosplay that he spent weeks putting together, heading to the local annual anime convention. As he walked through row after row of different venders. However, he stopped dead in his tracks as he came across a booth with nothing on it.

This was curious to see at any convention, but what was even more curious was the man behind the booth. Sitting there was a man dressed in a luxuries suit and tie with a red handkerchief sticking out the pocket, long black hair, and skin pale as a deadmans.

The pale man smiled as he gazed at the cosplayer and said,” My if it isn’t one of the famous Belmonts, Richter Belmont to be precise.”  

Richter smirked back at the pale man and said back,” Yes it is I, now I ask you what is going on here?” As he said this he motioned towards the empty booth. “I have never seen a vender with nothing to sell.” he stated in a curious tone.

The pale man smiled as he said,” Oh I have something to sell, if you are truly interested.” He then reached underneath the booth  and pulled out a wooden box. As he set the box on the table and opened the top he said,” I believe as a Belmont you should be able to recognise this.” 

Richters eyes widened in disbelief sitting before him now was the famous whip of Simon Belomnt, the Hunter Whip. Slowly he reached out and grabbed the whip and asked,” This looks amazing, where did you get it?”

With a small warm smile the pale man said,” I got it from an old friend.” His tone then suddenly turned serious as he asked,” Now tell me, are you interested in purchasing this item or not?”

Richter rubbed his chin as he said,” Depends on how much you are asking for it.” There was only so much cash he brought, and would like some extra cash encase he finds anything else he would like to buy. 

The Pale man tapped his chin as he said,” Sense this weapon once belonged to the Belmonts, I believe that a hundred dollars would suffice.” 

This was shocking to the cosplayer, how could such a high quality recreation be so cheap? He was sure that if he were to order such an item online then it would cost at least twice that much. Not wanting to let such a wonderful find slip through his fingers. Pulling out his wallet he graded a hundred dollar bill and handed it to the pale man.

 As the money was taken the pale man motioned for him to take the whip, which Ricther was more than happy to do. Lifting the Hunter whip out of the box to further inspect his purchase. However, his vision slowly started to become hazy and he felt like he was going to collapse. He placed his free hand and the side of his head and looked at the Pale man wanting to ask him what was going on.

But it was like the Pale man knew what the cosplayer wanted to ask and said,” I know that right now things might seem strange, but trust me it will soon pass.” A  small frown soon to hold on the man's face as he then said,” I am sorry to do this to you my young friend, but the strength of the Belmonts is needed where you are going. I do hope you can learn to forgive me.”

Richter wanted to ask what the man meant but before that he was completely overtaken by the haze and fell into a deep darkness. 

The concept of time meant nothing in the infinite void of darkness. Days, months, years, they all just blended together. However, just as quick as the darkness came did it start to dissipate with a white light taking its place. 

Once the light's intensity dissipated, and he could see clearly once more, Richter found himself in a truly peculiar spot. Where once the roof of the convention hall hung above him was now replaced by the canopy of a forest and he was lying on its floor. Groaning he pulled himself into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes in annoyance. 

Like most people who suddenly found themselves in an unfamiliar place he asked three questions. How did I get here, where am I, and most importantly why him? However, Richters questions would have to wait as the snap of a twig could be going from behind him. 

As if on sheer instinct, Richter hurried to his feet and reached to his right side where the vampire killer hung from his belt. But as soon as his hand grazed its hilt a burning sensation shot through his hand. Jerking his hand back in shock he gasped out,” Shit!”

This gasp seemed to act as a sort of signal to whatever snapped a twig. A monstrous wolf made of wood charged at Richter, knocking him onto his back. The monster opened its maw and with a snap tried to bite into his head, only missing by hair by slightly moving his head to the side. 

Richter quickly moved his legs under the beast's chest and violently bucked it off. Temporarily freed, he hopped to his feet and stared the wooden wolf down. His odds seemed slim without the vampire killer to aid him. However, suddenly a feminine voice rang through his mind saying,” Use the Hunter whip.” His eyes shot open realizing that he forgot about the Hunter whip he had just bought. The only problem was that he didn’t know where it was.

Richter quickly surveyed around him trying to find the whip and when he did his heart nearly stopped. On the ground next to where he once laid was the Hunter whip. Now this would be fine, if it wasn’t for the fact that the wooden beast was standing over it.

That whip was his only way out of this mess still in one piece. Richter clenched his fists before charging towards the whip, and the monster. This caused the wooden wolf to crouch before pouncing at him. 

Right as the two were about to collide, Richter turned his charge into a slide and passed underneath the monster's belly. He slid right next to the whip and picked it up. Clenching the whip in hand he turned to see the wolf land on the ground and turn to face him.

As Richter stared into the wolf's golden eyes a wave of determination overtook him. His grip on the Hunter Whip tightened as he reeled his arm back, waiting for the beast to strike again so he might take it down. However, he didn’t have to wait long as the wolf charged towards him before pouncing into the air, its maw rear to take a bite out of him.

Richter closed his eyes for a second before opening them again with a glare. In a flash he pulled his arm forward causing the Hunter Whip to fly forward with a snap, making a line right down the middle of the wolf. Slowly the wolf started to split down the middle, both halves flying past him landing on the ground with a thud.

Slowly Richter turned to look at the two halves of the wolf. He noticed that instead of blood pouring from the arboreal monster a thick golden sap flowed instead. Turning his attention from the wooden corpse to the Whip in his hand and looked it over. There wasn’t a drop of blood, or sap in this case, on the whip. It was like it hadn’t just cut through the beast.

This, all of this, was just getting too much for Richter’s mind to handle. Being sent to another world would be enough to make anyone go crazy, taking on a wooden monster and winning double so. But one after another was for some reason not. Like “I don’t know  what is going on anyways so I might as well roll with it”.  

Richter let out a sigh before starting to roll up the whip around his fist. He then looked out toward the shrouded forest. Knowing he had nowhere else to go he knew what he had to do. With a slightly defeated sigh he started walking into the glen. All the while clutching the Hunter Whip tightly in his hand, stealing himself for whatever he might face next.