Prologue: History - The Hunters
Great Canyon History – The Hunters
In Great Canyon, technology flourishes. Great machines are built every day, and scientist ponies acquire great knowledge and insight into new fields of study. But there are none so great as those who work for the Ministry of the Supernatural, and none as great as the one who holds all the cards, the one who can pull any strings for any equipment he, or she may need for any mission. The Hunter Colonel had that power.
In the past, that power was traditionally held by all three of the ranking Colonels of their respective corps: the Rangers, the Hunters, and the Warriors.
What the Ministry will not admit, however, is the mission of one corps, the Hunter Corps. They do not fight flesh-and-blood enemies, like the other Corps, but fight enemies of another sort. As their name suggest, they hunt, but not for living beings from their plane of reality. They hunt Ethereals, ghost-like beings that have the ability to cause catastrophic effects, enough to bring down an entire country.
They traditionally have dark grey and blue uniforms, the spine being dark grey, with the main part of the uniform being dark blue. The half-cross/half-moon insignia of the Ministry rests on the right side of the zipper on the front, with 'Hunters' displayed in very small lettering.
The weapon of choice of a Hunter comes down to personal preference. Most prefer stealth and quiet, which generally translates into a silenced pistol, or silenced sub-machine gun. Others prefer to be unseen, and will go with a hidden crossbow. Still, others prefer the typical assassin approach of the dagger, digging in the backs of a target before they knew what hit them, removing them from the equation before any others notice that their friend is missing.
The Hunter Colonel, as mentioned before, is the official head of the Hunter Corps, and one of the most powerful officers in the Ministry. Each one is picked by merit and deed, and by personality. (For how a personality type is figured out, please turn to the chapter, 'Psionics and You.') Each Hunter must be able to give of himself, and not think of themselves when on a mission, but only think of the greater good of those around themselves. If they fall into the paradigm of self-centred behaviour, they are required, by law, to step down and let their successor take their place. Such behaviour has only occurred in one Hunter Colonel, by the name of Zaodan. No pony has ever made the sacrifices he did, but he fell into the shortcomings of bigotry and pride. His successor, the late Iridan, brought the Hunters back to their former strength, shortly before the Host Wars. (For more information on the Host Wars, please turn to the chapter, 'Wars of the Mind'.)
That Hunter Colonel was replaced by a relative newcomer, the current Hunter Colonel, Hirsan. Hailed to be the youngest Hunter to ever hold the title of Colonel, he was one of the last few Hunters remaining after the Host Wars decimated the Hunter Corps. Currently, only he remains, the last Hunter.
