Page 44 - Hunter - The Vigil

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mouth dripping with bloody juices from some strange magic gets a perfect 21 in blackjack. But is it magical? Hunters might
apple he’s had in his pocket. assume so. They also might see magic when, in reality, it’s
just a genuine coincidence. Innocents have died at the hands
Human Hearts of hunters, thinking those innocents were slinging curses or
Grown Dark fucking with fate. But they weren’t. They were just people.
And that’s a problem. Sorcerers are people, just like
It’s nice when the monsters can be easily categorized. It’s hunters. Yes, some hunters think they know how to spot
also rare. Every time a hunter thinks he has an answer, it dis- witches (strange markings, witch’s nipples, forked tongues,
appears in an eerie blur, a strange symbol burned into the cor- and so on), but rarely do such “identifiers” manifest re-
nea, or a spray of bad blood. What’s worse is that many of the liably. A witch looks like a normal human. That said,
so-called “monsters” have not only human origins, but are, by therein lies a secret advantage: they suffer just like normal
most examinations, still human in some fashion or another. humans, too. A bullet that makes a vampire laugh makes
Perhaps they wield inhuman powers or worship at the feet of a warlock die. They’re also susceptible to the same human

something fiendish, but they still have the hearts and minds foibles: paper trails from mortgages, broken marriages,
of human beings. they appear on video cameras.
Though, once more, their humanity goes back to being
Witches, Sorcerers, Magicians a problem: isn’t it murder to kill a human? Behead a vampire,
In a swamp, a warlock eludes his pursuer by carving a strange and he becomes ash. Behead a witch, and you just beheaded
symbol on that bent elbow of cypress root. Out of the bog grow a human. Not only does that conjure legal ramifications, but

vines that will snare the feet of those who come for him. some hunters have a true moral problem with hunting witch-
In a penthouse suite, a sorceress completes the ritual whose es. Those with such problems tend to hunt sorcerers with
reagents have taken her years to collect: seven tears from seven as little violence as necessary. If they can kidnap them and
blind boys, a drop of water from every ocean, a cup of blood from “deprogram” the magic out of them, great. If they can black-
three mythic beasts. The city will shudder tonight. mail them or somehow force them to stop using magic or only
On an empty city street, the air smells of ozone and the hunt- use it for the benefit of humankind, great. But all too often, it

er’s hackles rise with a numb rush of static electricity. He sees the comes down to causing them pain or death, at which point a

fiend in the third-floor window far too late. Lightning strikes not hunter starts waking up in cold sweats, wondering just what

once, but twice. kind of monster he has become.
Magic is real. It is the embodiment of supernatural will So why hunt witches at all? What harm do they bring
coupled with the rewards of ancient mysteries solved. See, to the world? Not every cell hunts them, actually. More than
humankind has always been drawn to knowledge. Sometimes one cell has found a reasonable, if competitive, partnership
that knowledge has its roots in dark foundations, allowing with a cabal of magicians. Of course, that competition can
those who learn the lore to manipulate forces perhaps best left become an issue. Sorcerers and hunters sometimes pursue
alone — at least, if a long and happy life is desired. Some hunt similar resources: verboten knowledge, ancient artifacts, eso-
that knowledge with mad abandon. Many become witches, teric secrets. Sometimes, neither side wants the other to have
channeling this knowledge directly into power. One witch is answers to such mysteries, drawing them into ideological con-
called to her power, pulled into a dream-state and given access flict rather than visceral conflict driven by, say, revenge. Some

to reality-bending magic atop a phantasmagoric watchtower. witches use power to possess power both temporal and numi-
Another must fight tooth and nail for her power, learning an- nous. Some hunters want to take that power for themselves.

cient and seemingly impossible spells, pulling them out of old Other cells know it’s necessary to hunt witches be-
books or choking them from the mouths of demons. cause while they may be human, the magic they perform is
What can’t magic do? Therein lies the mystery, and the fear. inhuman and, in turn, represents a conscious choice to do
Because it seems like magic can do just about anything. Tip dice wrong. A guy who steals a car isn’t directly hurting anyone
rolls or card hands in the witch’s favor? Call up hoary beasts from else, but he’s still punished, right? If he’s drunk and kills

a fire circle in the snowy tundra? Pull the blood out of somebody’s someone, he’s all the more culpable. Magic isn’t natural,
body? Immolate a crowd? Disappear from view? The good news some hunters say, and those who wield it are therefore un-
is it seems that few sorcerers have more than a couple of strong natural, too. The Vigil for many is about eradicating such
tricks up their sleeve. The bad news is that a hunter never knows supernature from the world.

what tricks the fiend knows until they’re in play. The final problem? Witches force some hunters to
Worse, some seem able to conjure this stuff out of thin look inward and face the darkness inside. To be clear, some
air. Others only seem like they can make such drastic effects hunters have access to Endowments from their respective
happen by long periods of meditation, ritual and ceremony. conspiracies that, to many, look like magic. Can this be jus-
Once more, how does a hunter know? Observation helps, but tified? Or are they just…witches, too? Most hunters with

only so much. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that access to strange resources justify them somehow: oh, these
some magic seems to comprise unlikely-but-still-possible co- are rituals granted by God, or I use these dread powers to repel
incidences and accidents. Sure, it’s odd that lightning strikes evil, and the end justifies the means. A few, though, recognize
the same tree thrice. Sure, it’s weird that this gambler always the cruel irony, and suffer breakdowns from the guilt.
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