Hunters and The Church

The Hunters and The Church are the two main organizations in Zeilgasht.  Not a government per se, though considering how much authority they hold, they may as well be. While not at odds, their respective leaders…complicated to say the least past can occasionally cause issues, along with their opposing ideologies.

The Church

The Church is the more socially active

member of the two, usually working in relief efforts to help people in the aftermath of a Damned attack or other major disaster. They also help the more impoverished people of Zeilgasht, making sure that they always have enough food. The Church believes that true righteousness and good comes from the heart, in an unplanned act of valor. This comes from their belief in their goddess, often called The One Who Waits Above, or She Who Awaits The Brave, who is a goddess of success, bravery, justice and light. There is no agreed upon version of her apparent or name, as you could ask 1,000 people and get 1,000 different answers, if not more. The Church oftentimes gives lessons about The One Who Waits Above to schoolchildren. These lessons often result in a students motivation to join The Church. The Church sees themselves as saviors of both the common folk, as well as The Damned, as they did not wish for their transformation, therefore killing them is truly an act of mercy. Joining the church is relatively simple, though it requires a test that could happen at any moment. The test goes like this: A random person the examinee has never met and has no relation with has a mishap, possibly slipping and hurting themselves, or dropping good, or otherwise messing up their job. According to their teachings, the examinee should help the person, regardless of how it may inconvenience them. If they choose not to, they will not be allowed to fully join The Church.

Alexander Vailamin is the leader of The Church. A 125 year old elf, he would be considered handsome by traditional standards, if you ignore the fact that his left eye was gouged out, and there is an empty socket and scarred flesh where it should be. He refuses to cover it up as: “I am no better than you. I am but a man of faith. We are all people, with scars, blemishes and imperfections. I simply accept mine, and you should do the same”. A powerful spell caster, he isn’t one to engage in combat without good reason, but when he does, all know it’s important and not to get in his way, lest you be struck down by a searing bolt of flame of column of pure light. How he lost his eye is unknown, though it’s commonly speculated that it has something do do with the leader of The Hunters. Finally, The Churches main base of operations is The Temple of Arcadia, a massive cathedral/tower at the very center of Zeilgasht, tall and impressive, it’s said to be one of the largest structures constructed. The Tower has various rooms for prayer and sermons, as well as a large food and clothing bank for the less fortunate and privileged

The Hunters

The Hunters are the main defense force of Zeilgasht, some working as the police force, while the rest (as their name implies) hunt down The Damned. While The Church sees themselves as holy cleansers and mercifully, The Hunters are not, and see The Damned as an evil that must be purged, by any means necessary. The Hunters follow three main tenets 1. No man left behind. It’s either none of us or it’s all of us. The only exception to this is when a commanding officer tells you to retreat, sacrificing themselves. 2. Show no mercy. Rip and tear, until the work is done. 3. When it comes to a choice of slay the beast or save the people, choose the beast. The lives of the many outweighs those of the few. These tenants are often seen as absurd and extreme but most Hunters follow them to a tee. The process of becoming a Hunter is…grueling to say the least. Most Hunters start their dream in their early teenage years, as all enrolled in school must take the Hunter Academy Eligibility Assessment, which is a sequence of physical exams. Passing this assessment makes you eligible to join The Hunter Academy once you reach the age of 16 (or your race’s equivalent) though you can join at any age below 60 (or your race’s equivalent) After 4 years of study and training, you must finally take the Hunter Suitability Exams, an absolutely brutal 24 hours of physical and written tests. 3 2 hour written exams to start, then 18 hours of physical torture (according to participants). In order to pass, you must score a cumulative 70 percent overall, including all of your scores on the physical and written tests. The highest scorer as of now scored an 81. The average score (of those who pass) is 73%. To put into perspective how impressive it is to pass, around 20,000 people take the exams every year, around 200 pass. Of the 200 or so that pass, less than half survive to retirement. Though failing to pass the exams does not mean the end of your career. Those who fail the exam by less than 5% can join the Civilian Division, which works as a traditional police force for less massive issues. And those who seem to have a knack for the more scientific problems (such as equipment and attempting to find a cure for The plague) can join the Research Department, which works more closely with The Church than your average Hunter, as there are always issues that can be solved with a fusion of magic, science and a little bit of faith.

The Hunters are lead by Elenora Zellengrad, a tiefling in her 60s (going on 70) though she remains quite spry for her age, likely due to all the years spent on hunts. Her left arm is missing, replaced with a magical prosthetic, which supposedly doubles as a weapon. As for how she lost it isn’t clear, but many believe that it’s the same reason Alexander only has one eye, and they did lose them at around the same time…anyways, she’s been described as stern and commanding. Incredibly determined, she has the sole wish of eradicating The Damned, regardless of the means by which they do it. Lastly, while many hunters have their own house or apartment, several stay at their base of operations: The Hunter’s den. Which is actually a massive series of tunnels formed from what used to be the catacombs from the early days of The Plague. This quite useful as it has exits throughout the city, allows Hunters to quickly travel across the city without having to deal with civilians or other obstacles. The main entrance and exit to The Hunters Den is located inside The Tower of Valor, resulting in members of The Church and Hunters intersecting paths quite frequently. Though most don’t hold any ill will or grudging to their counterparts.