Devilblood Companies
Devilblood Companies are a collective term for mercenary bands who protected Haven cities and helped cleanse the region of Undead near the end of the Age of Darkness and the start of the Imperial Age. Found mostly operating in the Imperial Fractals, while today there are many races of people included in the ranks of these guilds - they are still primarily made up of Devilbloods, and there was a point in their history where only Devilbloods could be a part of one of these companies.
The reason for this is the natural resistance Devilbloods have to the contagion and effects of the Hollow, preventing them from rising again after death as Undead. Folktale would ascribe this to the claim that Asmodeus had on the soul of all Devilbloods being stronger than the powers of the Undead - and while the survivors of Haven cities in the Age of Darkness still did not fully trust them, it made Devilbloods the perfect mercenaries and monster hunters to protect settlements and travel between them. Over time these disparate mercenaries came together, forming the companies we now see today.
Devilblood Companies are often made up of capable warriors and hunters, now from all races. Members of these bands are often Bloodhunters, Fighters, Rangers, and Rogues. Regardless of the preferred fighting style of the individuals, each of them are given a Silvered Weapons upon earning their spot in the company and are expected to carry it with them at all times. Often silver swords, these weapons are revered and valuable to company members, often uniquely inscribed or personalized - a practice dating back to the original history of the use of Silvered Weapons in the Age of Darkness.
MAJOR COMPANIES OF MODERN DAY
While there are a handful of smaller companies throughout the Imperial Fractals, and a few companies who have been disbanded throughout history such as the Black Brook Company and Chapel Devils, the largest and most well-known companies in the region are:- The Silvertide Company, perhaps the first of the companies and one of the most influential in history and modern day, blade masters and weapons dealers operating mostly in the Silvermark.
- The Foefire Company, now the largest and perhaps most in-demand of the companies of the modern age, expert monster hunters operating throughout the Northmark and Eastmark.
- The Red Riders, also called the “hellriders” and a company with the most brutal reputation even amidst their line of work, expert cavalry fighters operating throughout the Southmark.
- Madragil's Steel, the newest of the major companies and quickly growing under a charismatic leader, expert bounty hunters and duelists operating in the Southmark and now the Eastmark.
