Dread Hunter

They come in the night, ripping and tearing, spilling innocent blood, and come sunrise, nothing is the same anymore... those are your heroes, no different than the monsters they hunt.

— Survivor of a Dread Hunter's aid

  Talbot is a region plagued by constant fear, much of which dwells only in their paranoid psyche or deep-rooted superstitions. However, unfortunately, much of what they fear is painfully real and actively preying upon them. The woods of the Queen's Scar are a deeply forboding place filled with ever-present shadows and terrors that crawl within them. All too often, Scar-Born nightmares will venture forth to feast on defenseless communities. These can take many forms - Chimera, Minotaurs, Giant Boars, Hippogriffs, Manticores, Owl Bears, Harpies, Drakes, and a myriad of other fae legends. The forest seems to spontaneously birth these mythical things into being, born perhaps from leftover energies within the ruins of the Queen's Palace. Or maybe they sneak in through some hidden doorway into the Black Road. Whatever the origin, the Dread Hunters are the ones called upon to root them out and destroy them. Rarely do they let the death toll of Talboti citizens get in the way of a successful hunt. Their justification is the greater damage these things are capable of. Still, in truth, these warriors see themselves as above the common man, and their station justifies any atrocity required of them.   The tradition of the Dread Hunters arose in the years after the Queen's Rebuke while Talbot was still reeling from the devastation. Many of the first hunters came from the ranks of the loyalist bards that helped overthrow the collaborator government that had aligned itself with the Fae and the Shadow Court. These hardened artist-soldiers were well-versed in the enemy and had years of experience fighting them. They knew the danger that a single surviving fae could represent, and so they began a campaign of bloody purges against any and all fae, fae creatures, and even former fae collaborators. From their start, the Dread Hunters earned a grim reputation- burning fae alive in public displays and leaving executed collaborators strung up for all to see. War had changed the loyalist bards into something else. They were left bitter and filled with indignation, knowing that if only others had listened, all of this ruination could have been avoided. Rarely did they hesitate to take that out on those deemed responsible.   Many of the first Dread Hunters would go on to form lodges of their own, each dedicated to a particular set of skills, type of monster, or battle doctrine. For example, the Black Wolf Lodge regularly ventures into the Queen's Scar itself to seek out prey. The Witch Hammer are specialists in interrogation, torture, and the persecution of what they deem as witchcraft; all in the pursuit of curtailing those that would use the arts of the old enemy against their fellow man. Others, like the Grave Wardens, focus on threats recognizable to even outsiders - Undead roam the Scar while restless spirits, both mortal and fae, haunt the region. Most of these lodges number less than a dozen though a few of the most renown are comparable to mercenary companies.   Outside of Talbot's borders, Dread Hunters are a rare sight. From time to time, they may be found tracking a particularly elusive quarry that has slithered elsewhere in Tairos. At other times, they may be employed by foreign patrons who are in dire need of experienced monster hunters. In either case, these appearances are only possible with a considerable payment of aurins, relics, and Manacite.   Regarding Manacite, the stone holds particular importance for them. Dread Hunters often make use of spells, magic items, and unnatural abilities that require this arcane fuel to function. While Talbot as a whole generally shuns manacite, Dread Hunters often prefer it to aurins as a payment for services rendered. Many of their lodges are obsessed with finding a lost cache of manacite that the Montissier government stockpiled during the years of fae collaboration. When Montissier's estate fell, the manacite he was given by the Autumn Queen had vanished. The senile old man had no idea what had become of the payment he was given in exchange for betraying his people, and many Dread Hunters suspect it's buried somewhere in Talbot's territory. Rumors of the Montissier Stockpile often draw the attention of the Dread Hunter Lodges, and they are as likely to pay handsomely for tips as they are to permanently silence anyone with information in an effort to keep their competition out of the loop.