The Huntsmen
Rangers and foresters all, the Huntsmen are the only group who can safely leave the city and return un-Altered. They are not, as the name implies, all men and a fairly even split exists between the sexes. Their training is not as formal as Guild training, nor are there any specific entry requirements. Potential huntsmen must first find someone willing to take them in as an apprentice. These apprenticeships can take anything between two to ten years, dependent on the age of the pupil. When the teacher feels that their apprentice is ready they are presented to the Master of the Hunt. A series of gruelling trials are then conducted, culminating with a six week stay in the wastelands. Surviving candidates are then accepted into the ranks of the Huntsmen at the Nevernight Festival.
Expeditions into the Wastelands are a necessity due to the lack of certain resources closer to Lalenth. As well as hunting larger game, gathering herbs and harvesting timber for building, lalenthrium is only found in the forests outside the city. However anyone leaving the safety of the walls, exposes themselves to the risk of being Altered and attacked by Nightmares. The Academy of Thread Weavers researched long and hard in an attempt to find some way to protect those that ventured outside the walls. As they studied records of attacks and the appearance of the altered ones, they discovered that those carrying an item made with lalenthrium were seldom attacked. All Huntsmen were given a ward made of lalenthrium, donated by the richer noble households and the guilds. These wards are normally no bigger than a button or a marble and are engraved with the individuals mark. Like a thread weaver’s focus it is attuned to the bearer and is of little use to anyone else. Since the Huntsmen started carrying these wards, incidents of attack and alteration plummeted.
Although not an organised guild, Huntsmen are divided into four distinct ranks. These are Tenderfoot, Ranger, Huntsmen and Master of the Hunt. At the moment the rank of Master of the Hunt is held by Tomas Halern. It is Tomas who bestows rank, presides over the Huntsworn, and represent the Huntsmen in the Star Chamber.