The Guild of Slayers

A Slayer is someone who has undergone extensive training, ruthless mental and physical conditioning, and mysterious rituals in preparation for becoming an itinerant monster slayer for hire. Slayers are trained in small batches, usually consisting of ten to fifteen kids, the vast majority of which don’t survive the training. They usually die to monsters, but even fewer survive the infamous Slayer Mutations, the final part of the process, in which the subject is subjected to toxic chemicals which, in addition to making them infertile, mutate them into something more than human.

Despite the many differences between individual slayers, such as school, personal differences, and general worldview, one thing that unites all of them is the slayer's code; the idea that a slayer doesn’t work for free. They’re not selfless heroes, they’re businessmen who provide an invaluable service to the community, and if there’s no gold to be had, there’s no slayer to be found. Although they hunt the monsters that plague the people, they are hated and feared for their unnatural appearance, a constant reminder of the evils that lurk in the world. You will never find a slayer working a guard post for a fort, since they are restless creatures, migrating across great distances, taking contracts as they go, and moving on.

There are multiple schools of the slayers, each being a hidden stronghold in a remote location in the world. Slayers recruit new members of their guild by acquiring young children, typically orphans, who would otherwise be left to die in poverty. Slayers have a foul reputation though, and people typically think that they simply kidnap babies, which is only the case in rare occasions.

The three slayer schools are:


 * The School of the Bear, with the hidden, imposing stronghold Fen Dactus in the Telfaruhm mountains. The school of the bear is the most prominent slayer school. The school of the bear is the school that prefers a more practical and straightforward approach in combat, focusing on martial ability and skill. During the time of Crysius and Raniax, the bear slayers paid tribute to the dragons in gold and jewelry, which the dragons happily collected from the meadow in front of the stronghold every fortnight. The slayers also all wear cloaks of elvenkind which helped them hide and camouflage themselves from sight when traveling the mountain paths.
 * The School of the Manticore, with the hidden, ancient temple Kala'Ruina deep in the western Sunjann jungle. The school of the manticore is the oldest slayer school. Kala'Ruina was built in an ancient, abandoned Sunjanni temple built by aboriginal humans. The school of the manticore focuses on the research, development, and improvement of the products of slayer alchemy, as well as their ability to utilize their toxicity. The manticore school's members find that success in combat and hunting comes from good preparation with the right consumables for the job.
 * The School of the Griffin, with the remote cavern keep Felagost built on the dangerous and remote Covent Island. The school of the griffin specializes in the use and mastery of signs and other magic. Although slayers typically only use very basic arcane magic, the griffin school's members train to further their abilities beyond just that.
 * The School of the Viper, with their underground sewer abode called the Dwelling of the Snake, in the city of Qatara, in Merziin. The school and its base of operations have a long-lasting symbiosis with the city of Qatara, in which the city government harbors and protects the schools members and sewer home, and in return the school provides an unseen threat of force as an enforcement of law in the city. Any who commit crime in the city know that the viper may strike out at them, swaying them from the path of crime. The school of the viper specializes in stealth and assassination, often featuring twin small blades and an assassination-based approach to killing monsters. Their fighting style utilizes sinuous, unpredictable movements using the two blades ("fangs").