Achirynce Guards

**Achirynce Guards** are antagonistic Riders fought in *Monster Hunter Stories Ultimate*.

## Description

The Achirynce Guards, true to their name, are guards tasked with upkeeping the Achirynce Prison and withholding its secrets by any means necessary. Male and female guards wear the same armour set, which can make it hard to distinguish them from one another at first glance. This armour consists of a silver helmet with large, rectangular eyeholes and an opening that exposes the mouth and chin, a thin, silver breastplate, black armour with ring-like patterns on the upper arms and thighs, silver gloves, and silver boots.

## Personality

The Achirynce Guards as a whole bear no animosity towards those they're tasked with violently apprehending and imprisoning, simply viewing their actions as just part of their job, and display a mercenary attitude towards their occupation, only attacking prisoners and assisting in the enslavement of magnetic monsters like Korax H'kiral for the sake of making a ton of money and stating at times that they wouldn't take such hazardous work if the paycheck wasn't great. However, they are fully aware of what the prison was truly intended for, which the silence and slaughter of those who criticized a corrupt sect of the Hunter's Guild in addition to the craft of artificial monsters so said sect can use them in protection rackets, and many of them display emotional detachment from the atrocities they help fuel, which can make them come off as little better than their bosses. All of them express fear towards the magnetic monsters they're tasked with imprisoning, most notably the aforementioned Korax H'kiral, due to the immense power it wields, and will do everything in their power to keep them from breaking free from their binds and going on a rampage, even if it results in hundreds of them dying, for the monsters could bring down the entire operation if they broke free. That said, if they notice the player wandering around the prison, they will sometimes put their focus on them instead to keep them from potentially revealing the prison's secrets, and will do so in a violent, aggressive manner, even if the player is unarmed and defenseless.

## Background

Four years prior the events of *Monster Hunter Stories Ultimate*, a group of enigmatic, immensely wealthy Guild officials known only as the Dengeki Triad created a prison facility called the Achirynce Prison, which, unbeknownst to the general public and many Guild members alike, was designed for the purpose of silencing anyone who would criticize and oppose them in addition to serving as a laboratory where the trio could create artificial monsters, then send them to attack hapless villages and towns as part of an elaborate protection racket. Using the power of magnetic monsters they subdued and captured with the aid of their Monsties, including the First-Class Elder Korax H'kiral, they held their creations together in one piece so they would remain viable at all times. Knowing that they couldn't manage the prisoners and enslaved monsters alike by themselves on a daily basis in the event that they staged a prison riot, the trio decided to put up "help wanted" posters all across the world, requesting that applicants help maintain the prison in exchange for huge payloads per week and confidentiality regarding the events that took place within it. These applicants were put through intensive training regiments by the Achirynce Warden to ensure that they would have the strength and stamina needed to keep the prisoners and monsters in line, and were given weapons designed to inflict immense pain and silvery armour designed to withstand electric shocks and magnetism in the event that the prisoners and monsters attacked them. Although the pay proved to be just as generous as what was promised to them, the applicants were constantly faced with the threat of riots by enslaved monsters due to many of them wielding immense power in addition to the prison having faulty restraints, and Korax H'kiral in particular would often massacre them with its wide range of elemental abilities, and not helping matters was that prisoners would sometimes attempt to sneak away in the event that the monsters rioted. Although many of the guards were unhappy with this drawback, they were ultimately willing to put up with it due to the pay being very generous in addition to the Warden threatening to feed them to the monsters if they mutinied. Unfortunately for them, one particular Rider suspected of murdering Guild associates despite the lack of evidence tying them to the crime would soon be dropped off in the prison just as Korax H'Kiral made its latest, and greatest, attempt to escape...

## Abilities

The Achirynce Guards, as Sword and Shield users, have access to a wide range of offensive and defensive abilities, and can alert other guards as well as artificial monsters to the player's presence if they detect them. Should one defeat the player in battle, they will strip them of all their gear and Monsties and stash them away in a storage room, forcing the player to run away from any encounters until they get them back. Their armour also grants them resistance to Thunder, Fire, Dragon, Wind, and Magnetism, which provides some help for when they're tasked with subduing rampages caused by escaped monsters like Korax H'kiral.

## Tropes that Apply to Them

* Early-Bird Cameo: One can be found in Dundorma Town during the Low-Rank campaign, taking time off work to hear the Diva sing.
* Everyone Has Standards: Even though they knowingly work for a corrupt sect of the Guild that sends innocent people to their deaths for petty reasons, creates artificial monsters to use in protection rackets, and enslaves monsters in addition to helping them cover up their crimes, they barely tolerate the presence of Donatien Violectro and will insult him behind closed doors, finding him creepy and disgusting.
* Heel-Face Turn: Upon the shutdown of the Achirynce Prison following the exposure of the crimes committed there, the surviving guards reveal what they know to the authorities and stop antagonizing the player due to no longer being on the job.
* Mix-and-Match Weapon: All of them wield a Sword and Shield called a Batorebo, which resembles a cross between a baton and a ararebo (a short, one-handed kanabō). According to one guard, this design was chosen to increase unbearable pain inflicted onto targets without sacrificing weapon durability, allowing them to be subdued easier.
* Lack of Empathy: Many of them are emotionally detached from the atrocities they knowingly contribute to, not caring what happens as long as they get paid, and some characters, like the more moral prisoners within the Achirynce Prison, find it chilling.
* Oh, Crap!: Any time an enslaved monster breaks free from its binds and goes on a rampage, they start to panic. This is especially notable when Korax H'kiral breaks free from its binds and begins slaughtering hundreds of people, whether they be guards or prisoners, in its mad rage due to the immense power it wields.
* Patrolling Mooks: When not attempting to subdue monsters like Korax H'kiral, their main purpose is to patrol the Achirynce Prison in search of escaped prisoners and trespassers, beating them up, confiscating their gear and Monsties, and tossing them in a cell upon a successful apprehension. Should they detect a player, they'll alert other guards and artificial monsters to their presence as well.
* Police Brutality: They have little issue with using excessive force on prisoners and trespassers, even if they're unarmed and defenseless. This includes the player after they get tossed in the Achirynce Prison following a frame-up and stripped of their equipment and Monsties.
* Punch-Clock Villain: None of them bear any animosity towards the player, their prisoners, or the monsters they're tasked with imprisoning, only attacking them because it's their job to do so. Some of them even state that if it wasn't for the handsome paychecks they were given, they wouldn't risk their lives attempting to apprehend dangerous monsters like Korax H'kiral, and they won't attack the player when off-duty.
* Shock and Awe: All of them wield Thunder-Elemental weapons and have at least one Thunder Monstie in their party.
* Villains Out Shopping: When not patrolling for and violently apprehending prisoners, trespassers, or enslaved monsters, they're fairly relaxed, which is evidenced by guards in the prison's break rooms partaking in mundane activities like playing cards, dancing, drinking tea, making scrapbooks, and talking about characters they find cute. Should the player step in the break room and interrupt them, they won't attack due to being off-duty, even if some of them are annoyed by their presence.
* Weapon of Choice: All of them wield a Sword and Shield called the Batorebo.

## Notes and Trivia

* The storage rooms they stash the player's confiscated equipment and Monsties in are randomized, which can make reacquiring them a tedious task.
* The design of their Batorebos was partially inspired by the kanabō-like batons wielded by the Prison Guards from *Sonny 2*.