Dread Fighter

**Dread Fighters**, alternatively regarded as **Hunters** are a sub-race of Human who have undergone extensive training and exposure to supernatural forces originating from arcane magic in order to be strengthened and conditioned for the purpose of hunting down demonic entities.

## Overview

Dread Fighters, as previously explained, are humans who have undergone exposure to demonic substances and practices in order to combat them effectively — because it is very difficult to do without proficiency as a Mage. Each individual Dread Fighter is trained from birth in order to become an optimal weapon for mankind's exploitation. Their lessons begin with the knowledge behind a simple ghoul's physiology and end with the most advanced knowledge of runes and weapon skills. Once their training has been complete and all of their attributes have been enhanced through exposure to different potions and demonic essences, they are able to go and roam the world holding the official title of a Dread Fighter.

In order to be identified as a Dread Fighter, every apprenticed is stitched a certain cloak for themselves. These cloaks are labelled under the title **Black Heart**, and are laced with protective effects from the runes etched within the fabric, thereby making it very difficult for demonic possession and associated abilities — unless of the highest level — to take a hold of them. Moreover, it allows for some level of resistance against Magic of all kinds, albeit this is marginally weaker than the defensive measures against demons. With this cloak, Dread Fighters are identified among humans and, occasionally, other races as well.

They act as mercenaries, for the most part, accepting specifically designed contracts to hunt down beasts that ordinary military forces have not been able to take down. As a result, they are constantly travelling and have a vast repertoire of contacts under their belt; this is especially true if they have been an official Dread Fighter for several years. In accordance, the reactions upon seeing a Dread Fighter in the locale are quite mixed. Some boil with rage, while others praise them in admiration. However, the characteristic principles of a Dread Fighter require them to act on their lonesome and without regard for tasks that cause unnecessary attention drawn to themselves, which is why they often remain in the shadows and out-of-sight.

## History

Little is known about the history of Dread Fighters, especially given their refusal to reveal the intricacies to those outside of their inner circle. From what has been gathered from Dread Fighters speaking with one another, the origins of this sub-race comes from hundreds of years ago, where a frighteningly immoral and sadistic Witch altered the physiology of her son and developed him into a fighting weapon of extraordinary prowess to combat a demon that was haunting her, with his completion meaning the death of the said Demon for good. Post-haste, this practice seemed to continue among other similarly-minded Witches, until it bloomed into a full-blown civilization regarded as the **"Malefaux Order"**, translated as the **"Order of False Witches"**.

## Abilities

As modified humans, Dread Fighters possess the same anatomical basis as them. However, by nature of the modifications being magical, Dread Fighters possess a remarkably diverse slew of abilities that enable them to combat virtually any opponent of a supernatural origin.

**Enhanced Physical Capabilities**: In addition to the strict diet imposed on Dread Fighters that mutagenizes their bodies to surpass their human physical limits, trainees also go through significant physical conditioning with standard exercises in order to fully bring about their latent physical potential. In accordance to this regime, Dread Fighters are capable of tremendous feats of physical strength. They can almost effortlessly wield any weapon regardless of size or weight, move at speeds that enable them to travel at speeds on-par with organisms capable of flight, and endure titanic assaults of magical or physical origin without succumbing to their wounds. While each individual Dread Fighter's prowess differs, the focal point remains that, to simple humans, their prowess is clearly of supernatural origin.

**Enhanced Sensory Perception**: Dread Fighters are also well-renown for their extremely potent senses, seemingly developed through exposure to concoctions derived by exotic beast species and training to enhance the senses to accommodate for any situation. However, what specifically defines them beyond common humans is their ability to hyper-focus their senses in order to look at the world from a microscopic perspective. They are noted to be able to track normally untraceable footprints, latch onto lost scents and listen to sounds from a considerable distance away. This makes them extraordinary trackers and heightens the efficiency of their contract fulfillment by a significant margin.

**Conditioned Intelligence**: As their epithet as **Hunters** would imply, Dread Fighters have been conditioned since the beginning of their training to possess near-omniscient knowledge of creatures from all origins, although they specialize in beasts above all else. Consequently, they can easily identify almost any opponent by virtue of their physical or behavioral traits and subsequently alter their combat patterns and strategies to achieve ultimate victory.

**Armament Proficiency**: Regardless of the supernatural enhancements undertaken by their bodies, humans are nonetheless humans; they are biologically incapable of producing the force comparable to beasts. As a result, they are trained periodically in virtually every weapon type, before specializing in the select few weapons that optimize an individual Dread Fighter's skills. Although it is normally mandatory to specialize in a weapon that befits close range and long-range for the purposes of versatility. When fully trained, a Dread Fighter's individual skill in their chosen weapon tends to be on the level of rare masters by conventional Human standards.

**Alchemy Prowess**: By virtue of the concoctions devised to enhance their attributes, Dread Fighters are also given the necessary knowledge, equipment and skills needed to brew a variety of different potions and oils needed to enhance selective skills, increase their rate of recovery or allow their strikes to perform greater damage against an opponent. However, given that they are not alchemists by nature, the Dread Fighters undoubtedly require the recipes on their person to concoct these products.

**Runic Magic Prowess**: In addition to their prowess in alchemy, Dread Fighters are also forced to dabble in limited strains of Arcane Magic: Runic Magic. Runic Magic functions through the inscription of certain words that bend surrounding Ether to the Mage's will, thereby enabling them to cast spells of various types. However, the trade-off for this is the casting time as well as the necessity to inscribe these runes with utmost accuracy; the slightest mishap in the inscription of these runes can either create a spell of vastly different functionality or simply backfire on the user entirely. For this reason, all Dread Fighters are also equipped with a spellbook to memorize over the course of their lives.

## Trivia

* **Dread Fighters** are primarily inspired by "Witchers" from the game series The Witcher.

* In addition, their primary name is derived from the same class from the Fire Emblem game series, specifically from its Fire Emblem: Awakening installment.