Hunters — as distinct from bounty hunters, who make a living killing low-level tainted — are quite possibly more revered in Maratha even than mages. Mages are the symbol of civilization, the bulwark of order; the discipline and dedication of their profession requires a society to support them, and in return, they use their gifts to help secure that society.
Yet Hunters feature even more prominently in story and song than mages, because Hunters do something everyone can see and understand — they use weapons anyone can find in a smithy, pitting nothing more than honed steel and skill against creatures that come straight out of nightmare. It is many a child's dream to grow up and become a Hunter, and a nostalgic thought for many adults as well.
Despite this, no one can name a friend, a relative, or a friend of a friend that they know has become a Hunter. There is no place an applicant can test or train to join their ranks. No known headquarters at which they rest, recover, receive new tasks. One Hunter is always stationed at court, and a handful of others throughout the city; there are also Hunters for each rural district. No one knows where Hunters come from — they just are. There are no retired Hunters; there are no old Hunters. There are only those who stand against the darkness.
Hunters know more about the Tainted than anyone else living, because they are tainted. They are what every man, woman, and child fears: the foxes in the henhouse, the wolves set to guard the sheep. Yet these wolves do guard the sheep; they spend their sweat and blood so that civilization continues to exist, in the face of every powerfully predatory instinct they possess.
Warning
Because Hunters have a very specific personality and psyche archetype, and because they are exceedingly rare among the tainted population, they are restricted characters. In addition, they are subject to the same warning as all tainted characters: don't apply for one unless you're prepared for the possibility of that character's death.
For those who want to play Hunters anyway, a recommended reference is the Black Jewels Trilogy and related books by Anne Bishop; the Blood, especially Warlord Princes, have many psychological elements in common with Hunters and other high-level tainted. Kiriel and the kin (but especially Kiriel) of Michelle West's Sun Sword saga can also be a reference for behavior and mannerisms. Your average vampire/werewolf archetype may also be a decent personality reference, but much more caution is advised when drawing upon that sort of source; there are many more things they don't share with Hunters.
Physiology and Psyche
Every Hunter is a level 3 tainted, with their taint manifesting chiefly as psychological corruption. Which is to say, they appear human, or almost entirely human. Some have minor cosmetic changes which are carefully kept hidden from the people around them. Most have some degree of heightened senses, strength, speed, and/or stamina. Enough so that a single Hunter isn't immediately outmatched by most level 4 tainted creatures — just in a world of trouble.
What makes a Hunter a Hunter is their mind. Like all who possess a similar taint, they are extremely predatory in nature, even beyond feral; their bloodlust, their capacity for physical violence and cruelty, is unmatched by any uncorrupted human. It is also unmatched by those of lesser taint. The beast within, if unleashed, would gladly torture any stranger just to smell their blood, to listen to the way their heartbeats slowly ebb into silence. To dwell within the city is to stand within a mass of prey, their pulse a siren song calling the Hunter into that madness, the seductive glory of the killing field.
Yet the city stands still, its inhabitants all unaware of the wolves in their midst. No Hunter has ever gone on rampage, because Hunters are the rarest of the tainted — mentally corrupted, yet possessed of such innate willpower that they resist the taint, the hunger to kill those weaker than they. They bind themselves with a strict code of conduct, and if their behavior slips, then the Hunter either suicides in private or is most immediately hunted down by one of their own. Their survival, and their ability to protect the city, requires that the sheep never notice the wool over their eyes.
Conduct and Outlook
Hunters are always very formal in their interactions with others, in public or private, no matter how close they consider the other person to be (which usually isn't very). The ritual of polite conduct provides a pattern of thought and behavior that helps keep instinct in check.
Discipline, and its maintenance, is critical. A significant portion of each day is set aside for training of mind and body, maintaining mental sharpness. Hunters do not lie on any subject except their tainted nature, partially because of their social code, but also because they tend to be blunt and direct, not inclined to dance around an issue.
No Hunter will drink alcohol — unlike most bounty hunters — or consume any drug, even for medicinal purposes, though they will use poultices, antiseptics, and other superficial treatments. Their diet is similarly limited; though Hunters will eat meat, it is only the minimum necessary to stay in good health, and they never kill their own food unless the need is dire.
Family and friends are not strong factors in a Hunter's life; in fact, so much as they forge any friendships, it is usually limited to the ranks of other Hunters. Every Hunter is a solitary soul, disinclined to get close to others — again for two reasons. One is simply their nature; they are not social creatures. The other is that letting someone close (even if only to share a confidence, to trust them) means lowering one's own barriers, the restrictions that keep their killer's instincts in check.
Role in Maratha
On average, there are six Hunters in the city proper. One stationed at court, to watch the nobles and royals for taint, and to serve as contact between the court and the Hunters at large; this is the single most stressful position a Hunter can hold, and usually has a very high turnover. The remainder patrol the city streets, tracking down and exterminating the tainted creatures that slip past the guards on the walls, as well as locating any tainted hidden within the populace. Sometimes there are more; usually, fewer.
No Hunter has to pay for anything in the city, as long as it's a reasonable purchase for their profession — and by their nature, Hunters aren't often drawn to anything they can't use, just as they care little about carrying money around. Instead, merchants submit a tally of Hunter-purchased items when taxes come due, and the cost is deducted from what they owe the government.
Relations with Mages and the Tainted
All high-level mages (3 and 4) know the truth — that the Hunters are profoundly corrupted. They can't help but know it, given their ability to sense taint. Because of this, the mages keep an eye on them, but have never been forced to intervene; the Hunters are so strongly self-policing, so quick to rid their own ranks of threats, that the mages have not had to step in.
When it comes to the tainted, Hunters are in truth far more lenient than the society they uphold. They know that the visibly tainted are less of a threat, and those whose taint is hidden a danger to everyone — for they themselves are among the latter. If given the option, Hunters will allow low-level tainted to live, but only for so long as those tainted do not draw attention to themselves. Any who are targeted by the populace, the Hunters will kill, no matter how minor their corruption.
Origin and Society
Hunters do have a society of sorts, a loose-knit association rooted in the midst of the Fringe. It is something no one else knows of, for normal humans do not venture willingly into the tainted lands. This is where most Hunters dwell, providing the first line of defense between civilization and chaos, killing many warped creatures before they can travel north.
Among their ranks are the lesser tainted, those whose minds remain human but whose bodies are decidedly other, or whose mentality is not totally incompatible with society. These people form the support structure of the Hunters, the small villages that tend to most of their needs, training the children from whose ranks the next generation of Hunters arises. Female Hunters never bear children; males only rarely sire them. Their lives are short and violent, yet there are a few more suitable youths every year to take the places of the dead, evidence of the taint's increasing strength.
Most Hunters are trained from childhood in the mental discipline and physical skills of their profession. The very best, those whose willpower is strongest, are sent north to less tainted lands, because they are less likely to slip up and reveal the truth. Those who fail the test remain in the Fringe, the wild lands where murderous fury is more of an asset than a detriment.
Very, very rarely does a Hunter come from the city to the Fringe. Hunters who live in the city watch for the hidden level 2 tainted, those who look human but are wolves at heart. Those they find, they watch. If the Hunter judges their personality appropriate and their innate willpower to be strong enough, then the city-dweller will be recruited and sent into the Fringe for training. When this happens, nothing is said to the family; no answer is provided, the person simply disappears.
Those who are recruited but refuse to become Hunters are promptly killed. Those who are sent into the Fringe may return if they continue to develop in the Hunter mold and prove suited to dealing with the peculiar aggravations city life presents to their kind. If they do return, it is generally under a different name, a use-name drawn from the world around them — and their appearance is also subtly altered by the change in taint level and lifestyle, combining with their mentality to effectively sever ties entirely with whatever prior life they lived.
