Witch Hunter (class)

**Witch Hunters**

**Jade’s private army, though to some degree autonomous, the witch hunters, are outrageously powerful. They are widely agreed to be the strongest single fighting force in the universe. They are an elite, incredibly select group who have sworn loyalty to Jade to the point of his own blade, and on the weight of their own immortal souls. The reason for this is that they are the only people Jade has taught his particular magics, his deepest ways of the blade, and his method for developing a soul. The vow of loyalty is mostly there so people don’t teach these secrets. But they often act as the Larrell family guards. They actually have a large degree of autonomy. They have free reign to enter combats, wars, and politics on their own names and their own whimsy, though only so long as they believe that what they are doing is right, and they know the price.**

**They know a special ritual that, when completed, allows them to enter a ritual combat. By completing this ritual, they can reinforce their souls, gaining the strength of whatever type of beast they defeat. Basically, say one kills a dwarf this way. They then gain plus two to constitution and a resistance to strong alcohol. Essentially, they can take the racial bonuses of anything they kill, and it is cumulative. Some of the lords and ladies of the witch hunters have killed dragons. One has even managed to put down a phoenix for good. Queen Lilith Page of the Iron Reich has slain a genie, dragon, arc basilisk, guardian angel, Hexed typhoons, and garadoth. ((She’s a hardass)). But she is not the strongest. Major Archonsteel, king of the Dawnway Knights, killed the chosen of Ragnarock.**

**They all get specific magics of the races they defeat in this ritual, and they are beyond tough, and their skill and training is past scary. They were personally trained by Jade with the blade. Their armor is light, but the base kit is made of pitfiend hide. They have a specific uniform. They are watchful, well organized, and terrifyingly efficient. And, because they are not scary enough yet, they are so well versed in group combat that they can match a Nemantian legion. That’s the basics.**

**The witch hunters are split into several orders. The leader of each order is referred to, and holds the same court rank, as a high king or queen, with the Knights of the Dawnway receiving special treatment for every member. While every witch hunter holds authority akin to a baron, it is unofficially accepted that the Knights of the Dawnway are dukes and duchesses. And Major ((Pronounced My-Or)) might as well be a legend in terms of court rank. The orders are as follows; each interprets Jade’s will in a different way, and their purposes are listed below:**

* **The Opal Crusade**
* **The Scarlet Inquisition**
* **The Silver March**

* + **The strangest order is the Silver March, or, as most call it, the Free March. They believe that Jade is not always right, and that the power can be put to use in places that need it, rather than only places that Jade would approve of. The fact that Jade allows them to exist is good enough justification for most of the orders, except for Lilith, who really hates anything that doesn’t bend its knee to the witch hunter himself. Vexin is the king of the Free March.**
* **The Iron Reich**
* **The Pilgrim Guard**

* + **The Pilgrim Guard defends new civilizations. The king of the Pilgrim Guard is Maltha Dome, but Marianne Page, one of the few survivors of the strike team on the staircase, is one of the two people who didn’t join the Knights of the Dawnway, and unlike the only other person to do so, her younger sister Lilith Page, she went back to her order. But, when she returned, she refused to take the crown, saying she wouldn’t be a good fit for the job. So Maltha kept his job, but realistically, Marianne runs the guard.**
* **The Onyx Guard**

* + **Members of the Onyx Guard live only to guard the members of the Larrell Family**
* **The Emerald Hunt**

* + **The Emerald Hunt are basically mercenaries that work to further and fulfill contracts they feel Jade would approve of.**
* **The Knights of the Dawn Way**