Grey Hunt

The Grey Hunt is a covert group of hunters wielding firearms enchanted with whitestone and led by a Grand Mistress/Master/Champion/Purveyor. The Grand Mistress, along with rest of the hunt, is tasked with protecting Whitestone by tending to the surrounding Parchwood and wiping out any mundane or supernatural threats. The Grand Mistress/Master is also in charge of local diplomacy.

History

Historically, many of the dangers the Grey Hunt dealt with had their origin in a cataclysmic battle between the Dawnfather and the Chained Oblivion during the Calamity, which created the valley in which Whitestone is located and scarred the surrounding land, giving birth to a multitude of dangerous creatures.

When Lady Melanie de Rolo ruled the city-state (after the death of her husband, Lord Wolf de Rolo, in or after the 730s PD), she decided that, taking advantage of the fact that a third of the city had been destroyed by the Great Whitestone Fire, it was a good opportunity to expand its limits, so they began to occupy land in the Parchwood Timberlands to cover a sacred place that the first settlers of the city used to use as a makeshift temple of the Dawnfather. However, problems started to appear including supernatural activity and wild animal attacks.

The dowager Lady de Rolo consulted Ivan von Musel, a cousin of hers who had been studying for a year in the city as a cleric of Erathis, the Lawbearer, and he told her that she must have offended the deity by expanding Whitestone without showing her due respect to the goddess of civilization. After Ivan resolved the conflict with the Prime Deity (killing a grey dire wolf sent by Erathis to test him and mark how far the city-state should expand) Lady Melanie created the Third House of Whitestone as a thank you, and gave Ivan the title of Grand Master of the Grey Hunt, as an incentive for him to stay in the city. At least from that moment on, the functions of the Grey Hunt and its leader as they are now known were established.

Decades later, in around 802 PD, the title of Grand Purveyor of the Grey Hunt ended up in the hands of Regae Anders, a member of one of the local noble families. He wasn't very respected, and eventually died, before or around 805 PD, when the Briarwoods occupied Whitestone (which brought shame to House Anders).

During that dark period of the city's history the Grey Hunt was officially defunct, but after the de Rolo family was restored, Vex'ahlia was granted its leadership by Percival de Rolo. Not long after, Cassandra de Rolo (Percy's sister and the member of the family who was staying in Whitestone and sitting in its council) confirmed the appointment and tasked Vex with rebuilding the ranks. Vex'ahlia killed a gray render to obtain the position of leader, but after discovering the creature's offspring she tried (and failed) to befriend it for a year before the young monstrosity moved to the south. Despite not wanting to kill it as well, the new Grand Mistress made sure that her hunters were vigilant in case the gray render returned and/or became a threat to anyone's safety.

In 836 PD, the Grey Hunters had already fireweapons made by Lord de Rolo, and had enough knowledge to use them and even make them or do modifications to the existing ones; they had the duty of return any of those weapons to Whitestone if they found it in the wrong hands. Percival de Rolo had some fears about how dangerous those hunters could become if they ever became evil; however, it hasn't happened so far, since the Grey Hunt is still under the authority of the very respected Lady Vex'ahlia, the Grand Mistress and wife of Lord Percival. Around this time the Grey Hunt was an elite force trained in hand-to-hand combat, markmanship, espionage (they have contacts in many places of the continent) and etiquette, and they were headquartered on the ruins of a failed city expansion to the east, in the basement of a godless temple, deep in the Parchwood Timberlands, where they kept their weapons and records; thus they only went to the Grey Hunt Manor for formal (usually less important) meetings, and even the Grand Mistress rarely uses this estate. Vex'ahlia de Rolo did consider potential new members for the Grey Hunt, usually giving them a task to prove themselves, like hunting an ember roc in less than three months. The grey hunters by then kept dangers away and even dealt with longer-lived threats, like undead giants that had managed to survive more than two decades after Lady Briarwood turned them into zombies.

As of 843 PD, Lady Vex'ahlia was still the Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt.

Known members

• Ivan von Musel - The first Grand Master of the Grey Hunt
• Regae Anders - Grand Purveyor of the Grey Hunt three years before Delilah and Sylas Briarwood attacked Whitestone
• Vex'ahlia de Rolo - Current Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt

Galdric the Moonlit Wolf also protects the Parchwood, acting as an ally for the Grey Hunt and the city-state, and being considered an honorary member of the Grey Hunt by Lord and Lady de Rolo.