The Howl

In this world, there are Monsters. Cruel, wicked and voracious, their appetites are equal only to the deeds Man themselves can inflict on another in the name of surviving. At the hands of these, when the world is ripped asunder by those who once whispered of how precious life is and devoured by the jaws of creatures of untold bloodlust, the point of breaking is inevitable. Man or Monster, life does not discriminate; you live or you die, or a third more sinister option.

If you hear a Howl when you stand the precipice, will you find the fire inside your soul to follow? Or will you welcome death as the kinder option?

Becoming a Hunter is no easy task. A Wolf is always hungry, and a companion for life however wretched it becomes from that moment forward. Most Hunters find that the high from their new life wears fast, as the reality of their situation begins to dawn on them. The first Hunt is always the most daunting, clumsy as cubs. Those that can survive their new, bloodied dog eat dog world, might find that their names get murmured into certain ears, and certain ears will be forced to act.

The world of Hunters is as ravenous as any. Hunting alone might yield a freedom to pick and choose hunts to the leisure of the Hunter, but some may not be able to compete with the packs of a Hunter’s Guild. Pockets of them exist, though small and secretive, and often competitive over Hunts with each other. It is not unheard of for Hunter Guilds to start small scale wars with one another, purposely seeking our smaller Guilds to send them running from their territory and their prized Monsters. After all, Hunting certain problem Monsters doesn’t just reward the Wolves—money makes the world go round, and even Hunters are not oblivious to this. Hunting in a pack may be against the Wolf’s nature but it has its benefits; it’s keeps order and sees that the most experienced Hunter becomes the leader, ensuring that their numbers give them the highest rate of success as well as the ability to take down Monsters any one line Hunter may not have otherwise had a chance.

There is another reason joining a Guild can be beneficial, it that is a secret kept by only the oldest members. It wouldn’t be good for morale if Hunters knew that at any moment, after too many Hunts, too much lost humanity, any one of them might become the Hunted until that moment comes.

But the choice is up to a Hunter. To join the safety of a Guild and hunt in a pack, or to reap the benefits all on their own, the Wolf has become an irreplaceable symbiotic, locked into the Hunter’s side.

Hunter Guilds are not prestigious places; known as a last bastion and necessary evil for those who have had to face the difficult choice of death or Monster, it is one of the few places where Hunters can still feel a connection to society. Ostracized from common communities and feared by political bodies for the power the wield, Hunters may find that Guilds are the last place they might be able to cling to some semblance of home. This is not to be mistaken, of course, as a complete embrace--Hunters must earn their places and rights in a Pack, by proving themselves capable on a Hunt. The lowest in the pecking order sees that their Wolves are fed the least; keeping them weak and liable to be picked for the most unsavory of missions--including acting as bait, with the remorselessness of not being thought of twice should they fail to defend themselves if things go south. Pack Leaders, on the other hand, are the most skilled--whether with fighting prowess or with Bonded Contract, they are the Hunters with both the most experience and the most knowledge to lead Hunts against larger, more fearsome Monsters with success. At the top of the food chain, the divvying of the Hunt's portions falls on their shoulders, with most rewarding their own Wolves for the increase in power. A double-edged sword, when a Wolf will take just as much Humanity for every claim.