Hunters

Hunters, often called monster hunters or affixing the specific type of inhuman they hunt to their title, are those who seek to destroy inhumans that meet certain qualifications. Some seek to destroy inhumans simply for existing.

While individual hunters do exist, as do small groups, "true" hunters are born into profession. At its height, fifteen families made up the true hunter lineage, each with its own particular strengths and weaknesses. However, in current times, only a few lines still produce active hunters (these lines are known as "active families"), and it is generally estimated that those families will fall within the next fifteen years. Hunter families that no longer produce hunters due to quitting the business are referred to by other hunters as a "dead family," while hunter families that are killed entirely in the line of duty are called "extinct families."

In a strange twist, Hunter families tend to be less than human themselves as they adopt various methods to become more of a threat to inhumans, often twisting themselves into monsters of a sort.

History
Since the appearance of the first facet of the Rift... and thus, since the first monster to set foot on the Earth... there have been monster hunters. However, hunters came to the forefront in the

Families
There are fifteen families that existed in the prime of hunting. These families formed alliances, arranged marriages, and kept elaborate records of their histories. While there were some secrets kept, and lots of animosity, for the most part the families worked together to rid the world of harmful inhumans. Now, only a few families are active, and most of their effort goes not towards actually hunting, but rather keeping their methods and lines alive.

Each family has a different idea of what inhumans are considered harmful. Other differences between families include powers or abilities, views on adopting stray hunters into a proper family, and methodology.

Active Families
These families are still involved in monster hunting, at least according to the records.
 * Kalvos: Although in reality, the Kalvos family is semi-active at best, the books
 * Novikov: A family with multiple branches, including in Russia, Canada, and Australia, the Novikov family is perhaps the most powerful and influential of the active families, despite being the last family to join the hunter coalition. They claim that their youth is their strength, as they are adaptable beyond hunter norms, incorporating the latest technology and strategy into their hunts (it is said that a Novikov was the one to invent silver bullets, while in the past, a silver sword was the tradition). This strength is now used to strengthen the remaining active families as the Novikovs focus on research and development of new technology and magic, leaving the actual killing to the other four families.
 * Hoshikaze: Though originally based entirely out of Japan, now the Hoshikaze family has a branch in New York City as well. They claim to have been blessed long ago by a powerful spirit, who informed them that women of their line would always have the potential to be powerful heroes. Their origin makes them some of the least fanatical hunters, and they refuse to kill any inhuman who might be thought of as celestial or godly in origin, focusing efforts on abominations and undead. Whether or not they have any true powers remains to be seen, as it has been suggested that their powerful and heroic women are due to training and favoritism of female hunters, and not due to a divine gift.
 * Rampihaza: A hunter family from Madagascar, they now watch over much of the southern half of Africa, as well as a small amount of South America and all of New Zealand via branch families. With an enormous amount of Rampihaza children being born with the Sight, they are able to see things that few other Hunter clans do, and can often surpass even the best of camouflages. Like with the other active families, they are careful with who they hunt, only going after monsters that they have researched and are intricately familiar with, and refusing to hunt those that they have little or no information on. Due to this, in missions that combine families, they often play the role of scout or spy, using their Sight to scope out the area before another family initiates the actual battle.
 * Ryung: A South Korean family on the verge of reaching dead or extinct status... and they have been on that verge for over a century. For much of Ryung family history, they have been thought of as one of the lower-status families, as they have no known gifts or abilities that can supplement their skill. However, they are known to teach discipline and tenacity beyond the norm, as well as do anything and everything to stay alive and active, including adopting amateur hunters into their ranks, marrying hunters into other hunter families on the condition that they and their descendants be counted as a member of both families, and even, once, counting a particularly adept dog as a Ryung hunter. The Ryung family tends to focus their efforts on monsters that are dangerous to humanity, but not often deadly, combining duty and their self preservation instinct. It is a strategy that works well for them, but doesn't do much to gain favor with the other active families.

Dead Families
These families are those that still have living members, but those members no longer hunt monsters.
 * Ambrose: Originally based out of New York City and controlling the hunting in New England, the Ambrose family moved southwards towards the Northeast United States soon before their "death" to track the vampire known as Thorn, leaving the Hoshikaze family to fill in the gaps. Focusing primarily on vampires and similar inhumans, the Ambrose family detested the undead and its "corruptive influence," especially in more charming sorts that could lure in and fool innocent humans. Known for fighting fire with fire and using charm and deception to win their own wars, they often fell short in fair fights. Members of the Ambrose clan tended to be gifted at the magical arts and easily became witches, but even with magic and cleverness, they were unable to slay Thorn. After several attempts left them fragmented, the family withdrew from hunting entirely, changing their status to "dead." However, this status has recently come up for debate as the only known descendants, Carlie Kaine and Amelin Eliott, have been found to hunt inhumans given the right circumstances. Debate has started on the reinstatement of the Ambrose family, pending a declaration of their intentions.
 * Blum: The Blum family is based out of Germany, but by the time they left hunting, they had spread to the majority of Europe. Their reason for leaving is a cautionary tale for the remaining active families: once the most brutal and relentless of hunters, the family was deadly and efficient, but not subtle. This caught the attention of many inhumans, including a powerful siren witch who tricked the head of the family into accepting a curse disguised as a blessing. From the moment the spell was cast, inhumans would be attracted to the Blum family... some romantically, some sexually, some just curious. The head thought this to be a weapon, but as time went on, the true intention of the curse was revealed. As family member after family member saw the gentler side of inhumans, one they rarely had before, they befriended and even married inhumans. Before two centuries had passed, every living member of the Blum family had monstrous blood, though many tried desperately to hide it from the other hunters and hunt only the "evil" inhumans. Eventually, in the early 1990s, their secret was revealed, and disgraced, the now inhuman family stepped down and chose to live in relative peace, striking a deal with the remaining active families: in return for their earlier service, no inhuman of Blum lineage would ever be hunted unless they were an active threat to humanity.
 * Chadwick: Perhaps the least proud and independent of the generally proud and independent hunter clans, the Chadwicks were a newer clan that came into the coalition only before the Novikovs. Hailing from England, but moving a branch to the Midwestern United States eventually, the "cowardly" Chadwicks generally preferred to act as supplement and support to the other families, rather than hunt on their own. The Chadwicks even now possess strange powers that allow them to have accelerated speed, heightened senses, and usually, photographic memory, which gives them an edge on hunting even when their lack of technique is apparent. The only thing they tend to be truly good at, hunting wise, is sniping; having a Chadwick sniper as backup for tough targets was at one point considered standard. In current times, however, getting one is almost impossible, as the Chadwicks opted to back out of hunting and return to a normal life soon after it became apparent that the other families were falling and/or dying. A combined job with the Ambrose and Moore family was the final known hunt to have Chadwick snipers. The family sustained minimal losses, removed themselves from the hunter books, and now are said to live peacefully in Indiana.
 * Ortiz: The Argentinian Ortiz family of hunters has always been known for two things: tackling the largest monster problems that they can get their hands on (literally, as in hunting monsters twice their size or larger), and witchcraft.
 * Svetocher: Hailing from Romania, the Svetocher clan is unique among hunter families for their strict criteria as to who can and cannot become a hunter. Every member in their family is well versed in folklore and adept at defending themselves, but few actually set out on the offensive, a qualification that sets them apart from the other fourteen clans. Svetocher children born on Saturdays were said to be destined for the hunt, and from a young age were afforded training and gifted with necessary tools to become successful hunters. Children born on other days were asked to support the hunters of their family with everything they had, and had the responsibility of researching rumors of inhumans, preparing the hunters for battle, and taking care of hunter children too young to fight. Though the seemingly-random hunter selection process caused them to be criticized by other families, it seemed to work for them up until a particularly long patch, lasting many years, where no children were born on Saturday. The family head took this as a sign from God that the family was to give up hunting, and they quietly withdrew their name from the records.

Extinct Families
These families are those that have no known or recognized living members, but contained active hunters up to the point of their extinction.
 * Crowley: Known among the hunters for being curious and brilliant investigators, spies, and infiltrators, the Crowley clan always preferred to befriend and earn the trust of the beings they hunted. While often, this succeeded, infiltration was a dangerous line with risks just as great... or perhaps greater... than the risks of stereotypical hunting. On top of the dangers the hunters risked if caught, they often were forced to adopt the mantles of monsters and magic themselves just to be trusted, which sometimes overtook them, leaving them dead or worse. These dangerous and controversial methods (including their lack of known home base, though it was suspected to be in northern Canada) caused them to be the first family to be declared extinct, as every single hunter was put out of commission, usually due to a small mistake they made.
 * Moore: The Moores, once based all along the western coast of North America, were the archetype of typical hunting, exploiting age-old weaknesses rather than adapting to a modern era. At one time, they were perhaps the most powerful family, but they were edged out by the Novikovs, who were much more adaptable. Stubborn to a fault, the Moores continued to fight with wooden stakes, swords, and certain herbs, even as the monsters themselves developed defenses. Their extinction was not a single event, but rather a slow decline in which this stubborn, proud family found that less and less of them came home safely. As far as the other hunters know, no Moore escaped death, as the entire family decided they preferred to go out fighting. It is said that the last few of them went out on a combined strike with the Chadwick and Ambrose clans, hoping they could weaken the vampire Thorn enough to allow the other families to take her out.
 * Muninn: Once the most erratic family as far as a home base went, the Muninn clan made no city or specific area theirs, but rather spread out in the woods, mountains, and swamps of the southern United States of America. Powerful, but also the most secretive, they had intensely close bonds with nature and were generally powerful magic users in some form. Due to their infamous pride and refusal to record in great detail anything about their hunts, kills, training, or rituals, not much is known about them, with even the circumstances of their final stand, in which all but one member was killed, being extremely hazy.