Out in the open was Zephel surrounded by curious people. Word of his presence was spreading like hot fire. A tamer of all monsters? IT was unbelievable. Some questioned why he would waste his time, dragon tamers already existed and they were the strongest of monsters no?

"Haha! Long time has passed since Dragons ruled. Variety is now the strength of the monsters and Dragons are just another part of the messy whole!" He told the elders who scoffed at the idea of taming all monsters. It was impossible either way. "No it isn't!" Zephel protested. Holding out a stone with a glowing water like light inside and a prime piece of meat in both hands. "You simply need to find what the monster enjoys eating. That's half the work." He also dug into his bag and pulled out rare fruits. "These are more valuable than gold to a true tamer. Come I will teach the young for they will understand it takes heart over anything else."

He walked over to the shack he had with drapes over it. He undid the drapes and revealed a variety of monsters all within a pocket dimension inside crystal spheres all lined up in rows. He grabbed a sphere and held it out to a young one. The child took it and it released a magical aura that made the creature appear in the air above her. A glowing light fairy that rained healing dust on her. "The one who awakens them will be their new master. Once they're yours it will be up to you to keep them well. This is responsibility."

Many were ready to grab a free obedient monster but he held his hand up to stop them. "She was just an example. Only those with true heart will be given a few monsters. The rest of you can go out and get your own for all I care." This took the crowd by surprise. But he went on. "I seek to learn more about this world's monsters. I need the ones who accept these monsters to aid me in taming more monsters across this land." He held another sphere in his hand. "Who will accept this task?"

Very few accepted as only the young was allowed. But those who did were given one or two monsters to start with and their first mission...
Out beyond the forest was a giant tree, Sunfire. There they were tasked to ask where the location of a strange beast that was recently lurking about was. Then find the monster and either defeat it and capture it or tame it as best they could.

"Remember." Zephel would tell them before their journey. "Monsters are a lot like animals. Learn their habits."

Messed up and actually edited this post when I tried to copy the part behind the hider and the textcolor, sorry. I did my best to remake it but no doubt it's slightly different.

The only reason Xuon followed the others to Zephel's shack was because his spiel had made him curious as to what monsters he might have. When he saw them his eye quickly fell on a small golden colored lizard, which he believed might be a miniature dragon of some kind. Despite Zephel mentioning that dragons were no longer the most powerful, he still fantasized about the fame he would get for owning one.

Just as then he heard Zephel said that he would give a monster to anyone who was willing to go and tame more, something he didn't particularly wanted to do. Still if he wanted to get that dragon he had too. "I'll do it but in exchange I want one of those flying lizards." He just hoped no one shared his suspicions as that might ruin his plan

"Why yes. This one is available. You seem like a kid with a good eye. Here you go." Handing the boy the sphere upon touching it the wrong creature would escape. Laughing a bit he looked at the boy with a sheepish grin. "Apologies wrong one, my eyes need fixing I suppose." The Ball tailed cat looked at its new owner with cold eyes before licking itself and getting a sniff of its new surroundings.

He handed the boy the correct orb now. Once the boy touched it the reptile would appear in a dazzling light next to him. "That there is a Fire Lizard. Most monsters don't like fire so its a good choice from the get go." He looked at the boys suspicious looks. "I think that would be enough for you. If you want another go find one in the wild. What you will need is simple. These stones." He showed the boy the glowing crystal rock. "These have soul essence inside. These take forever to mine but are worth it. Certain monsters love these. Besides that I hope you can hold out from eating prime foods because you'll need'em to gain a monster's trust."

He stepped over and grabbed a drink from his table. He stepped back out whilst sipping his cup. "Gaining a monsters trust is tricky no doubt. The rarer the beast the harder to get to want to follow you. Sometimes you have to use aggression, knocking it out and recovering it to health will be the only way for some monsters." He sighed and finished his drink. Tossing it behind him after.

"So. With the monsters you have you can only do so much. They will listen to you to an extent but they know only a handful of attacks. If you want more out of them you'll need to train them and feed them healthy meals. You can also use certain items to boost them. Tons of them exist like herbs, mushrooms, or something practical like armor. I'm sure you'll get enough funds to get what you need soon enough."

After saying all this he looked at the crowd. Raising his arms he shouted. "Whose next?"

@Rai
Though he couldn't see, the commotion caused by the other children over some sort of traveler visiting the village caught Nathaniel's attention. Slowly making his way toward the sounds of wonder and joy, he heard the stranger calling for the youth of the village to try their hand at taming monsters, and as a gift, offered to provide them with their first monster.

As a blind Orphan, many in the village treated Nathaniel as if he were worthless, and would never amount to anything; this was his chance to prove them wrong! As he hastily made his way towards the man, his acute hearing picked up something that made him stop.

Nearby, some of the older kids, who had been turned away, were bragging about how they managed to steal one of the monsters while the traveler wasn't looking. Marching up to the thieves, Nathaniel reached out to grab whatever it was that was stolen, "That isn't yours!" he exclaimed as he felt his hand wrap around a smooth sphere. A fight over the object ensued, before Nathaniel slipped and fell back, something slimy suddenly wrapped around his hand.

As heads began to turn, the true culprits did not hesitate to frame Nathaniel for their misdeed, shouting claims that they tried to stop him.

@Rai

Despite hearing Zephel call his "mini-dragon" a fire lizard Xuon still believed that he might be right about the monster, and wondered how he could best use to obtain fame and wealth. The weird cat he had gotten interested him far less, but he wasn't gonna refuse it. "Can I get these guys back in those stones myself in case something goes wrong?" He had no intention on going out in the wild and was stalling to think of a way to get out of it without breaking promise. That said if he couldn't think of anything he would do it, he had more promised after all.

Meanwhile the Fire Lizard and Bob-tailed cat got off to a bad start when the flying reptile decided that it would get around easier by riding his new teammate. The whole thing almost escalated in a fight when "the new mount" made it's displeasure clear by giving it's rider a not too painful whack with it's tail.

@Duthguy

"Unfortunately once they're out of these spheres its going to take a mage to put it back in. So I recommend for future reference when you want to change out monsters to choose wisely what you'll bring with you." He scratched his head and saw the boy was still looking a bit concerned. Children were smart and so the implications were already in his head. So he sighed. "Watch this kid." He stepped out a bit and whistled a high pitch into the air.

Soaring down near from high above was his lung dragon. It came down close and the wind picked up around the area as it did so. Zephel raised a hand to halt it and it did so. He then shooed it away and it returned to the sky. "You will need to find three calls. Train your monster by feeding them and when they answer your call correctly. These calls will help you get your monsters by your side quickly encase you need them to stay a distance away."

He heard the sounds of the people accusing the other boy. The orphan Nathaniel. He looked over to see that the child was merging with a monster. Zephel ran over and stopped short of running into the boy. "Damnit! What have you done you fool!?" @Guy0fV4lor

As the commotion went on a young girl walked from not too far off with an escort of knights. They helped her off the horse she sat on and stepped to where Zephel's spheres were. She turned to see Zephel occupied and cleared her throat loudly. To this Zephel turned to see the girl. "Oh you made it. Sorry you didn't get first pick. But I do have one you might like in there still."

As the commotion went on a young girl walked from not too far off with an escort of knights. They helped her off the horse she sat on and stepped to where Zephel's spheres were. She turned to see Zephel occupied and cleared her throat loudly. To this Zephel turned to see the girl. "Oh you made it. Sorry you didn't get first pick. But I do have one you might like in there still."

The girl pouted. "Is that how you greet a royal of Vrondi!" She spoke to him as if he were the child. He chuckled. "Things like Kings and stuff don't matter to tamers!"

The girl stomped her foot and a creature came from above and landed next to her. It was her monster, a Griffin Drake. A rare monster that she was clearly already a master of. It came to her like a good pet and stood next to her. "I'm a tamer too so you're not saying anything special! Now I'll take my free monster and leave." She turned to the spheres and Zephel sighed, shrugging. "Have it your way. Just remember what my offer is for the monster."

She held a sphere in her hands. The orb gave a mystic light. She beheld it with awe. The light turned into a mist that swirled and summoned a creature before her.

With this new slime creature she smiled proudly."I always know what to choose. Now I'll just be on my way." She and the knights turned and got back on their horses. Before she left though she looked at the others clamoring around with their weak monsters and laughed to herself at them.

Nathaniel immediately started to explain what happened to the traveler, but was suddenly cut off by the feeling of thousands of tiny needles getting thrust into his flesh. A sharp pain shooting throughout his entire nervous system, causing his body to violently spasm.

"Look boys, I think it broke!" Said on of the older kids with a laugh as they threw a kick into Nathaniel's side.

But the blind orphan could not hear them, for a loud ringing filled his ears.

@Rai

@Guy0fV4lor

"Gaaaahhh!! Kiiid! Are you alright! Speak to me!"
Zephel crawled down hysterically screaming at the child. "Damnit! I have potions inside! Someone go grab it while I mend him!" He placed a hand on the boy and a light escaped his palm. It would soothe some of the pain. But not entirely.

"I guess this will be a good time to test my new monster. Goldy! Use a healing spell on that poor boy. I'll give you a treat if you do." The girl Aelithea said with a cunning smile. Holding out a soul essence stone. The slime rattled with disapproval. She sighed. "Fine. But you will not get one after." She tossed it inside the creature which it let plop into its gooey form. The stone's glow faded and it spit it out a few meters away.

Zephel looked up to see a rune of light appear above him and the child. He stepped back and the light shined down a ray that would heal him.

Just as Xuon wanted to ask Zephel, more Aelithea arrived with her escort. Knowing better than to annoy someone clearly important, despite the negative first impression he had of her, he decided to try and break up the impending fight between his two monsters. It took some coaxing but eventually the lizard seemed to accept that its new teammate wasn't there for it ride on. His somewhat smug feeling about his first "major accomplishment" as a trainer quickly faded when ruckus broke out.

He recognized the center of attention as someone he had seen in the village before but he couldn't recall Nathanial's name. "Damnit! I have potions inside! Someone go grab it while I mend him!" "On it!" As Xuon rushed to the shack he spotted the bullies kicking Nathanial. Hoping they were smart not to really hurt them he turned to his monsters. "Teach them a lesson and don't let them escape." Like their owner said the lizard and cat went after the bullies, one of whom got hit in the side by a large ball attached to an even larger cat.

@Rai@Duthguy
Though the others tried to heal Nathaniel, their efforts were sadly in vain. Try as they may to heal him, there was simply nothing to heal, the pain was caused by the feedback of his new companion connecting to his nervous system. As the ringing grew worse, Nathaniel's pain began to subside. Slowly sitting up, he realized he could no longer feel the thing that had wrapped around his hand. "It's about time you return what you stole to this kind man..." said one of the older kids with a malicious grin as they grabbed Nathaniel's arm, trying to pry the chitinous gauntlet off of him.

When SUDDENLY!!!

Another one of the older kids was struck in the side by a ball-tailed cat! The group glared at Xuon, "Dude, what the hell!?!?!! He's a fucking thief!!! We're teaching him a lesson!" one of them said in a very aggravated tone of voice.

"Enough!" Zephel demanded. "No misusing force on anyone until I get to the bottom of this!" He whistled and down came soaring from high above was his Dragon. The winds breeze picked up as it came close this time for everyone to see. Zephel walked up to its intimidating size and began to place a hand on its snout. "What happened here? You were watching from the skies." It turned and looked at the boys shouting thievery at Nathan. It was not long until Zephel read the message it was delivering. "Hm.. Are you sure?"

The Dragon growled and unleashed a gust of wind that knocked the boy back who had stolen the sphere earlier. Zephel put a hand on his face and shook his head. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" The Dragon shook and then began to fly away. "Because I didn't ask? Great. I need to ask if I've been stolen from!" He lifted his hands in exasperation.

He turned to the true thieves and accomplices. "You boys need to leave. Now. OR these knights here may do their jobs and arrest you." He pointed to the knights guarding Aela and she chuckled at them. The knights sighed and looked at the boys threateningly. "Best do as he says."

@Guy0fV4lor@Duthguy

While it seemed the Ball-tailed cat was either smart enough to hold or not strong enough to seriously hurt a human, Zephel was understandably upset. Xuon heard him how he wanted there to be no more violence or something, but he was too busy looking for the potion he said he would grab. Since he had no idea what to look for he grabbed as many as he could and rushed outside only to a real dragon for the first time. Even though he had to admit that even not counting the size difference it looked nothing like his little lizard and he almost dropped the potions in awe. Knowing there were more important matters at hand though he ran for the powerful monster's owner. "Zephel, I didn't know what you needed so I grabbed as many as possible."

@Duthguy

"Uhm.. thanks? I see what's going on now. This boy has fused with this monster. At least momentarily." He sighed, scratching his head. "I don't think there's a unpainful way to remove it. It will have to let you go on its own. Once it matures." He looked Nathan in the eyes by kneeling down. "Seems you're already well on your way to becoming a trainer. Though you've still got a long way to go. Anyhow!"

He got up. Looked at Xuon and laughed. "Well I'd say you can keep two of those for yourself and your monsters." He grabbed the other potions from him. Leaving him with two medium healing potions. "I suppose you're short one monster." He walked over to the spheres. Grabbing one and handing it to Xuon, along with some high quality dried meat.

"Take it. See what's inside."

@Guy0fV4lor

Jones arrived at the shack, her eyes widened in shock at the sight of it. Strange and wonderful monsters dotted it, they were held inside crystal spheres like they were wares on display in a shop. Jones no different than many others had been come here, following the words about a strange monster tamer. She had written it off as no more than silly rumours, or exaggerated tales of reality, however the sight alone proved that rumours it was not.

She saw the guards, and wondered if a commotion had gone on. Warily with her eyes on them she walked into the shack. "Is this a zoo?" She asked aloud, "why so many monsters in one place?"

Zephel looked up in surprise at another young one coming into where the collection was held. He smiled at her underneath his covering. "This is far greater than a Zoo. It's more like a pet shop. However this is just the beginning." Pointing to his massive dragon in the sky Zephel then pointed back to the girl. "What's your name little girl? Do YOU have what it takes to be a master tamer such as I!" He pointed to himself cockily. "With the right monsters you can take on any challenge, defeat any menace! This world isn't always nice and there are far stronger monsters out there!" He waved his hand pointing to the outside world. He then pulled out a map from his pocket. "Here is the map of our land, the Edafos." He handed her the map if she so chose to accept his proposal. "I will give you a new pet, it will be capable of defeating other monsters which you can use later. If you capture them of course! That's not too hard though. Some monsters will want to follow you if you feed them what they like. Others may do so out of respect! Or who knows!" He chuckled. "Are you up for the task lass?"
@Mogget

Jones eyed Zephel with a suspicious glare as she sized the old man up for all that he was worth, she turned her eyes up to the skies and stared at the sky. She saw Zephel's dragon, and her eyes briefly widened in wonder. Then she was pulled back down when he referred back to her. She cautiously took the map from his hand, and held it in her right hand. Perhaps a sign that she had already accepted what had been offered.

"What's the price?" She asked bluntly, "can't be for free. It's too damn suspicious someone like you coming out into the middle of nowhere holding all of these wonderful monsters. Am I gonna owe you a thousand gold coins if I select a single monster?" She asked suspiciously with hooded eyes.

@Rai

Zephel seemed to chuckle at her question. He felt her suspicion growing and felt the need to laugh, which came out nervously. He then went quiet and gave her a serious look, directly into her eyes. "Look." He began. "I've seen the potential a single tamer has to change this world for the better. This mysterious garden we live on has many secrets and the various creatures that live off of it and protect it hold those very secrets. I want young tamers like yourself to go out and spread your potential in a positive way. So there will be a harmony between man and monster." He held a bag with a few items inside. Three soul gems, food, and three small healing potions. "This is a beginners pack. For your first quest." He said. Holding up a orb with a creature inside. "You also will need a companion. Choose one from the collection please."

He presented to her the row of orbs containing various monsters. Most were simple creatures. "Only one now. This will begin your journey, and your harmonizing with monsters."

@Mogget

Jones heard everything he had to say, saw what he had to offer, and she finally made her decision. "Alright." She accepted in a flat tone, Jones reached out and took the Soul Gems, the food, and the healing potions from Zephel. "I believe you. You're probably not lying, otherwise you're the best actor in the world."

She walked over to the rows of monsters, and picked out a small bug like one. With a burst an Acquizari appeared in front of her.