The Huntmasters of Ealdé

Tradition

"I find myself often forced to bear the weight of the truth; the truth that the leaders of our realm are born in the blood of beasts. Manlings, like the creatures of Ingrs, must kill to survive. I fear that one day our natural endurance and instict will lead to our inevitable destruct but, for now, we must kill to survive—we must eat the flesh of the Lord of Sleep's children"

- Gefdon, Leader and Huntmaster of the Runce Clan

The most difficult thing about living within the realm of Eladé is that there are very few places to farm. The manlings and Lauma alike are forced to hunt the plentiful beasts of the Ingrs forest to survive. Conservation is a constant battle and it is always up to the Hunt Master of a clan to determine when to hunt and when to let the beasts recover in population so that they won't starve.

The occupation of the Huntmaster almost always falls upon the leader of clans, as such an important task should fall to the leader of their people: the Lineāl. The delicate balance of maintaining the population of beasts whilst refraining from stealing game from other clans is an incredibly difficult duty to manage, and it often leads to conflict over territory. This, however, is only one of the Huntmaster's many duties. They are also responsible for training the next generation of hunters and gatherers.

When a Huntmaster grows too old to carry on their duties, they assign the duty to the most competent hunter within the clan who later goes through the ritual of becoming the leader of the clan. While it is common for Lineāls to pass on the duty to their next of kin, it isn't unusual for the duty to pass on to someone who does not share their blood. This very gesture has led to heavy disputes amongst clans, some even splitting or fading into nothing due to conflict and infighting.