Manhunter Guild
"Freedom Is a Luxury We Sell"
"This one kinda looks like an escaped slave, don't you think?"
The Rise of Law
The Manhunters were not always the brutal slavers they are today. Their origins lie in the lawless chaos of a fractured world, where banditry was rampant, and warlords carved up the land with steel and fire. In these times, mercenary companies rose to fill the void left by failing governments, and among them was a guild of bounty hunters dedicated to capturing fugitives for what little law remained. They were once seen as enforcers of order, hired by city-states and merchant guilds to hunt down criminals, deserters, and debtors who sought to escape justice.
But power, like chains, tightens over time. As their influence grew, the line between justice and profit blurred. The United Cities, ever hungry for bodies to fuel their labor camps, struck a deal with the Manhunters, pay for every "criminal" they captured, no questions asked. Over time, criminals became outlaws, outlaws became vagrants, and vagrants became anyone too weak to fight back. The hunt no longer required a crime, only a price.
The Manhunters became a force feared across the lands. They still wore the guise of bounty hunters, speaking of law and order, claiming to cleanse the roads of bandits and thieves. But in reality, they were slavers with a badge, dragging the desperate and the defenseless into servitude. A beggar who stole a loaf of bread, a traveler without papers, a drifter caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, anyone could find themselves in chains.
Todays Influence
In the United Cities, they are welcomed as necessary enforcers, patrolling the streets and hunting the unwanted. In the Holy Nation, they are tolerated for their usefulness in rounding up heretics. In the The Outlands, they are despised as vultures, preying upon the weak under the pretense of justice. Some whisper that even among their ranks, there are those who feel the weight of their actions, who remember the old ways of true bounty hunting. But for most, the only law that matters is the price on a head, and the clink of coin in their pockets.
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