“As we stand as true hunters, we use our innate gifts to help facilitate the cycle of nature. Our pack in particular upholds a responsibility by culling the poisons of a free world, ancient and new.”
-Yenkaran to Glass
Hunters of the Circle, also known as “The Circle”, “Meat Wizards”, or “Blood Bandits”, consist of a global cult that indulges in the illegal practice of carnoism. Unlike typical cults, which are usually localized and led by a leader, these cults are unnaturally occurring phenomena that manifest in regions of the world where the ratio of hunters to grazers is balanced.
A follower of The Circle, is known as a true hunter.
Hunters of the Circle
Type
Cannibal Cult
Location
Global
Notable Members
Demonym
True Hunter
Coat of Arms
A large circle containing two smaller circles
Beliefs
As recited by Yenkaran, The Circle believes in the everlasting cycle of nature, one that seeks absolute balance in existence, and one that Hunters and Grazers have their own role to play. In particular, Hunters are meant to use their innate biology to consume Grazers to keep them from curtailing the order of a natural and free world.
History
The history of The Circle is one rooted mystery, with most of the information on the subject originating from ancient Mandaskan texts and the sparse number of archeological discoveries in northern Hovehko. There are some rumors that tablets holding records of their society are being held in secret in the mountain temples north of Mandasko city. Shintaric officials however, deny such claims, saying that, “whatever the meat monsters may have chiseled with their teeth would not be worth the dung tablets it was baked on.”
As such, only the insight that exists into The Circle comes from the Shintaric Covenant, their ancient enemies.
From the texts that do exist, the Circle is known as a horde, one that swept across the northern badlands of Hovehko like a plague. Any sort of official diplomacy with the Mandaskan Empire was tenuous at best, and The Circle only ever responded to Shintuln dignitaries. But for the early nations that lie beyond the borders of Daunto’s children, The Circle would strike without warning and seek to consume or enslave the local population as livestock. The most notable of these groups being the early Herdish people of Hwombazu. The most notable conflict, however, would be the total war between The Circle and Mandasko.
Mandaskan sources cite much a story of the brave Shintaric people that would valiantly and definitively defeat the scourge with the divine help of the Lightkeepers, a rare sight in times of war. This war also coincided with a great rebellion in Hwombazu, accelerating the decline of The Circle. In terms of the damage inflicted on the Mandaskan Empire, records do acknowledge the great sacrifice of the people to preserve Daunto’s holy light, but the full extent can only be inferred due to the sudden lack of information of entire armies in the records, something not seen until the collapse of the empire a couple centuries later during Starfall.
In the current day, hunters consuming grazers is considered an extreme and freak occurrence, one met with instant execution, and a wider resurgence of the Circle has not been recorded since.
