Beast Hunter
The nomadic bands that wander the Demon Realm in search of prey - long the primary source of fresh meat, furs, and leather in the realm.
Career
Qualifications
While most beast hunters are born to it, bands are always willing - and often actively seeking - strong, clever warriors to join their ranks.
Career Progression
Hunters are mostly loose in organization - while there are team captains, this role generally falls to senior hunters for their experience. Bands are led by most senior hunters - and usually those with long family lines in beast hunting. However, these roles are not official ranks with no formal titles or authority. As all risk their lives equally, all have an equal say in the band. Leaders are listened to out of respect - and if they are unable to keep the respect of their people, they will either step down or be forced out.
In the current era, many beast hunters retire to Engapoylao, a city founded to be their respite. Though they initially resisted, seeing death in combat as the honorable and only "true" retirement of their people, some saw the advantage of having the wealth of knowledge elders carried. Rich oral history has been recorded in the halls of Engapoylao's Hunter's Lodge - a hall of celebration and history built by the ancient king that founded Engapoylao in their honor.
Payment & Reimbursement
There is no formal payment for the services of beast hunters, but no city or settlement would ever refuse them entry or whatever supplies they can spare. Beast hunters are thankful, but do not expect more than this - they see their calling as reward enough.
Other Benefits
Beast hunters are one of the most respected professions in the Demon Realm - second only to blacksmiths, and even that could be considered debatable. As necessary as weapons are to survival, weapons alone do not put food in one's belly.
Perception
Purpose
While most demon settlements are found on or near rivers to use fish as a primary source of protein, regular supplementation of red meat protein is important for a healthy diet. Beast hunters fill this need - while also supplying furs, hides, and medicinal plants they can spare from their own supplies.
Social Status
While few chose the life of a beast hunter, even fewer would decline the honor if they were found worthy.
History
According to legend, the first beast hunters learned from the god Enaroy himself - a group of followers that became the First Band. From the First Band came the First Lines - the oldest and most prestigious families trace their history back to these mythical figures, taking their surnames from those First Hunters.
In the current era, beast hunters have seen a decline - with the rise of agriculture, including protein-rich crops, food is far less scarce than it once was. Stable trade in fish leather and animal husbandry with wuna herders granting access to wuna fur has made the other benefits once provided solely by hunters less necessary in the cities and the smaller settlements near them. While further afield settlements still rely on hunters, many smaller bands have dissipated - unable to sustain themselves without greater support.
Operations
Tools
Beast hunters use weapons of all kinds - while certain lineages may favor a particular weapon or fighting style, hunters on the whole use whatever weapon suits them and their prey best. Most hunters wear leather or carapace armor for its flexibility without sacrificing durability.
Beast hunters also have an array of specific tools they maintain - such as counter-miasma bombs that neutralize the acid emitted by quad-sabered lionsnakes.
Workplace
Beast hunter bands are nomadic - they travel familiar routes across the realm to hunt the biggest, most dangerous animals around in their own territories. They have armored heavyhounds as their pack animals, carrying their portable tent supplies in specially crafted side bags. Armored bristlespines and traveler bees round out their animal hunting companions, both used for safety and during hunts.
Beast hunters have ancient campsites, which they stay in for a month or two at a time before moving to the next site. These are in remote locations far from civilization, but many are shared between different bands - especially the bigger bands that go after the same large prey.
Provided Services
In addition to providing furs, meat, and leather, beast hunters keep large predator populations from becoming overcrowded - a condition that can drive them into more settled parts of the world.
Dangers & Hazards
Beast hunter is a deadly profession - in addition to the regular dangers associated with travel in the Demon Realm, hunters go after the most deadly of animals found in their home realm. And they do so in the territory of those beasts.
Type
Agricultural / Fishing / Forestry
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