The Awakening, Act II: About Hunters
Title: About Hunters
Author: Karvath
Background
Magic has long held a sacred and glorious position amongst our people, and is revered nearly universally amongst us as the true power in our world. It quickly became apparent that with the prevalence of magical talent amongst our people, most regular warriors would be unable to make much headway against magic users. With this problem in mind, a special caste of warriors was trained and designated as the Hunters and Huntresses. The job and task of a Hunter is to deal with rogue and dangerous mages, and they are trained from a young age in how a mage may cast a variety of spells, and how to defeat and systematically remove a mages ability to tap into the void and call forth magic. It is thanks to this training that Hunters are seen as the deadliest of warriors and the most dangerous of opponents for those trained in the arts of magery. A very specialized set of equipment and skills is passed down to these Hunters to assist them in their dangerous task, but one of the most unique are their living weapons, called Stingers.
The Hunters Skills
A Hunter is taught from a very young age the arts of stealth and assassination, as the easiest way to eliminate a more powerful enemy is to do so when they are caught unawares. In addition to these skills, they are also taught hand to hand, close combat, unarmed combat, and acrobatic skills to allow them to keep fights confined to ranges that limit a mages ability to fight back and concentrate. It is at these close quarters that most Hunters engage their targets, and they are absolutely lethal. A mage who finds themself engaging a Hunter in close combat is generally fighting a losing fight, and rarely manages to last longer than a few brief moments.
The Hunters Equipment
Hunters carry with them an array of useful tools in defeating mages, among them everything from basic tools such as rope, blindfolds, daggers, and gags to more exotic and rare items such as blinding powder and silencing powder. These last are some of the most useful but also most difficult to replace items due to the scarcity of their components. Their use can swiftly cause a mage to be rendered incapable of even the lowliest of cantrips, as the vast majority of spells require a spoken component and the ability to aim at the target. Since the advent of the Hunters as a warrior caste, mages have done their best to attempt to combat the way that Hunters prey on their weaknesses, and some spells have been fashioned that require only gestures, but these spells have limited strength and usage, and there is no known defense against the most potent of the Hunters weapons... the living weapons known as Stingers.
The Living Weapons,
Stingers
Stingers were first
discovered in the
wilderness of Ishpuria in
days long past, and their
abilities seem to be
unique amongst creatures.
Wild Stingers are
snakelike creatures
covered in venomous barbs
that they can fire or
propel at their prey. They
seem to have thrived in
Ishpuria by preying on
magic using creatures
that were difficult to be
predated upon by almost
any other creature thanks
to the effect of their
unique venom coating the
barbs on their bodies... it
has the ability to sap a
mages ability to reach
into the void and pull
forth magic. The venom is
disorienting and nauseating
as well, causing even non
magic users to be sent
reeling from their effects
and left as easy prey
for the main body of the
creature. A Wild Stinger
can be sated for weeks
on a creature the size
of a gazer larva, or
longer with larger prey.
It also seems to derive
some of its nutrition
from the magical prowess
of its prey in a way
that is still not
understood. Hunters keep
their Stingers fed on a
diet of beetles, insects,
and the occasional imp.
It was under the guidance
of the Matriarchs
themselves that the first
of the Wild Stingers was
converted into a weapon
for the Hunters. Since
that occurrence, it has
been considered the mark
of a true Hunter to be
in possession of one of
the living weapons, and
makes it nigh impossible
to impersonate someone in
the Hunter caste. Each
living weapon forms a
bond with the Hunter who
uses it and it is not
unheard of for Stingers
that lose their Hunter to
become feral and have to
be put down.
Back to The Awakening, Act II: Ilshenar
