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The Wyld Hunt

Once, long ago, the Wyld Hunt rode freely across the face of Creation. Demons, Fair Folk, rogue gods and the dreaded Anathema learned to hate and fear their passage, as the Hunt, paragons of the Immaculate Order, unfettered by politics or infighting, kept the world safe.

Those days are long gone, however. What remains is a pan-national organization, divided against itself, restricted in its abilities, and forced to resort to measures that many of its members consider distasteful at best and disgraceful at worst in order to continue to fulfill their divine mandate.

Membership

The Wyld Hunt is an unaligned group of Dragon-Blooded and mortals that is attached to the Immaculate Order. While there are a number of Immaculate monks within its membership, it also includes a large number of secular Dragon-Blooded from all walks of life, who have decided that the continued safety of the world is more important than their own concerns (or, that their own concerns can be better served within the Hunt). Many Hunstmen stay only for a time before moving on to other issues. All told, the Hunt numbers over five hundred Dragon-Blooded, and close to ten times that many mortals.

Most of the Hunt's membership comes from the more loyal nations, especially Pangu, but Dragon-Blooded can join from anywhere in the world without fear of prejudice. This is one of the few areas where the Hunt truly shines, and viewpoints from every corner of the world can be found herein.

In days past, the organization of the Wyld Hunt was simple. It was divided easily into the support and the hunters, and roamed freely through the world. In modern times, however, the number of nations that the Hunt must draw from leads to a number of new organizational changes and rules.

The most important law of the Hunt is that no member of the Wyld Hunt shall take part in any political movement, war, or other internal issue except to directly oppose Anathema and other monsters. Even then, only the foul creatures and their minions can be fought. In addition, the Hunt must be seen to be lawful; as such, the Hunt cannot break any laws of nations in which they are deployed, and anyone who does will find themselves heavily punished (with a notable exception, below).

Territory

The Wyld Hunt is based in Pangu, on the slopes of the Imperial Mountain, and retains free access throughout the nation. Pangu tends to have a "shoot first, then question passersby" approach to Anathema, and the lack of concern about collateral means that the Hunt has true free reign here. In Deheleshen and Chiaroscuro, the Hunt is more constrained, and is required to operate alongside local government. Despite this, few requests are denied, and as long as local Hunstmen operate with discretion, they are able to do so freely.

Relations and operations in New Estasia and the Balmori Republic are much more strained. In both nations, the Hunt finds itself forced to operate only in support of local authorities, rather than the opposite being true, and the Hunt often chafes under the restrictions that both nations place, up to not being allowed to hunt certain monsters.

Finally, the Western League and Rathess are both actively unfriendly or hostile towards the Hunt, and open to the dreaded Anathema. Because of this, the Hunt is forced to operate entirely in secrecy if it wishes to work in these nations. Because of this, only the most important targets are selected and destroy.

Organization

The Wyld Hunt is divided into five organizations, each named after one of the Immaculate Dragons. Above these five are the leaders of the Hunt. While rank in one branch of the Hunt does not grant direct control, anyone can generally expect their orders to be followed unless they are countered by someone of equal or higher rank within the branch of the one following orders.

The rank-and-file of the Hunt are the simple servants, soldiers, or buerocrats. Servants in every branch are simply servants, lacking in any official ranking term or Backing rating. Servants are always mortals.

Above simple servants are the 'shikari', those who have attained some rank and authority, but still very little. Shikari are always either young dragon-blooded, or experienced mortals, and have Backing 1. Shikari either serve as squad leaders for a squad of ten soldiers (or managers for a group of buerocrats, or the like), or as their own elite teams.

The Amercer govern the Shikari, and help to direct them and servants either against monsters, or otherwise take minor manegierial and team leadership positions. Amercers make up about a fifth of the offical Hunt; they usually govern three to five Shikari, as well as a number of servants in most branches. Amercer have Backing 2, and are almost always Dragon-Blooded; only the best mortals ever reach this position.

Venerers are the managers and tacticians of the Hunt, and make up the higher-ranking members of the Hunt. The Venerers oversee entire sections and operations, typically overseeing five to ten Amercers and their teams. Venerers are always Exalts, and have Backing 3.

The Ostiaries are the leaders of the branches, and bear the most responisibility for their spheres of influence. As a rule, there are only four ostiaries per branch at any given time; occasionally, this number will rise to five or fall to three, but four is the standard. The Ostiaries help to determine Hunt policies and govern their branches' complete areas. Ostiaries are Backing 4.

Finally, the Exarchs rule their organizations, and between them are the controllers of the Hunt. There is only a single Exarch for each of the five branches of the Hunt.

The Branches

The five branches are named after the five Dragons, and are as follows:

The Soldiers of Hesiesh are the most numerous and traditional Hunters. Taking their cue from the Fire Dragon, they hunt down and slay the Anathema, using teams of soldiers and heavy support squads. As a rule, the Soldiers of Hesiesh have a full five squads of soldiers supporting each team of five elite soldiers, who are almost always Dragon-Blooded. Multiple teams co-operate when dealing with serious threats.

The Scholars of Mela are a more reserved and less active branch of the Hunt. Instead of battling the Anathema on the front lines, the Scholars remain at Hunt bases and research Anathema magic, construction artifacts and studying lore to better fight the constant recurrances of the foe.

The Ordainers of Pasiap serve as the bureaucracy of the Hunt. To them falls the task of ensuring that equipment, food, lodgings, and the like are properly arranged and sent out. Theirs is the organization, budgeting, and logistics of the Hunt.

The Spokesmen of Sextes Jylis serve as the mouth of the Hunt. They cover the propaganda, searching for new recruits into the Hunt and warning the world about the Anathema. It is their job to sway public opinion and help to reinforce the Hunt's control.

Finally, the least-spoken of branch of the Hunt are the Shadows of Danaa'd. There are many places where the Hunt cannot go... officially. The Shadows work in small, tightly-knit teams. They range into areas where the monsters cannot learn of the Hunt, through hostile territory and allied alike, using stealth and secrecy to assasinate their foes. Some would call them murderers. Others understand the difficulties of the modern Hunt.