January 1st 1830
-Huntsman Guild of Great Britain
Personal Journal of Leon Wagner.
Second Entry.
I awoke this morning to the rather unpleasant sound of Benjamin's usual morning drinking in his bed before then belching heavily right beside in my ear.
While he may be my friend, this does not mean he is necessarily easy to live with. This long bearded individual has long since been an oddity in our small order of discipline and commitment. Regardless of his unorthodox behavior among our trio, he is among the best hunters I have ever known.
This tall American stretched his arms wide apart and greeted me with a hearty hello before taking another swing of his drink. Smiling across ear to ear as he got up and quickly dressed himself in his fur pelt coat and racoon tailed hat to prepare for his last morning here. He usually slept in, but today he wouldn't miss this for the world. He had been waiting for a chance like this all his life.
My rugged friend had grown up in the rocky mountains of the United State's of America. A young but ambitious nation that dreamed of glory and expansion westward to lands untamed. An environment certainly fitting for Benjamin to hail from.
Raised as the the only son of a fur trapper. He ventured out into the wilderness as a young boy searching for the most wild and dangerous animals to hunt roaming the vast untamed frontier. Wanting to prove himself the best trapper in all the land. A task that he fulfilled rather sooner than he expected at the mere age of nineteen.
After drowning his boredom in taverns with kegs of beer, he heard tale of a war being raged across all of Europe against the most vicious creatures of the night ever to appear throughout the known world.
He could not resist such a challenge and practically leapt at the opportunity to join in his last chance at personal glory. Unfortunately for him, this quest for adventure had been bashed by the time he arrived in Europe. For The vampiric war had all but come to an end.
Undeterred by this newfound peace, he instead opted to join the next best thing to prove himself against the only worthy game left for him to face.
And so now here he is. A wild, arrogant, and brutish man wanting to fight monsters just for the sake of boredom. While his motivations may not be the most noble or selfless, his skills as a tracker and as an expert sharpshooter I heavily admire. As well as his sense of humor.
Preferring to use firearms, beartraps, and his trusty hunting knife. He has become a living embodiment of stubborn American determination and unrelenting resolve against any obstacle in his path that dare impede him. And while he often disagrees with the old methods of our guild behind closed doors, he is still heavily committed to facing the creatures of the night he will be tasked with killing. As any man could ever hope to be when confronting such danger.
I believe that he will succeed by his own unique brutal way. An approach I approve wholeheartedly so long as it gets the job done.
I greeted him before leaving my bunk to donn my guild uniform. A chain mail shirt, steel armor and shoulder pieces as well as my cloak and huntsman helm. While it will certainly not stop a bullet or cannonball. It is still a perfect method for defending me from harm against the savage attacks of claws and fangs that will test its might.
As I fiddled with the straps across my boots I looked beside me out into the sunlit courtyard to see that Noriko had already awoken well before both me and Benjmain as usual in order to instruct early. Always Willing and eager to personally help Headmaster Archevald train the other orphaned novices from the red death in the dueling arena against captured sedated monsters just as all three of us once did ourselves so long ago. Such fond times. With such incredible people.
Norkio. Dear Noriko. The most disciplined person I have ever met. She has sailed from across the sea from a faraway eastern land to fulfill her purpose of upholding her family tradition. Her father and mother were among the numerous huntsman who gave their lives in service fighting against Dracula's horde years ago. Now she says she is honor bound to carry on the responsibilities of her proud lineage and her ancestors as the last of her family line.
Preferring more traditional way of the past, she has become an expert martial artist, whose skills in swordsmanship and archery I have yet to find an equal. Her scarlet red karuta armor has been passed down through generations and she appears utterly terrifying whenever she dons the ancient attire. Resembling the Oni demon's and Yokai her clan has hunted down for centuries. Her quarry are certainly in for a fright wherever they lurk!
She is as focused in her path as a person could ever be. And I have had the great privilege of training beside her these past years and calling her my friend. And While she very rarely speaks, she is among the kindest, most sincere, and fiercest people I have ever known. I can only hope to commit myself in my task as wholeheartedly as she does every single day. But I will certainly try.
Benjamin fights for Glory.
Noriko fights for Honor.
But what of me? I have yet to figure what it is that fuels my purpose against my prey. Even attempting the thought makes me furious to my core. Revenge? Justice? Perhaps I will never know.
Maybe why I fight does not even matter. All I know is that I have seen first hand what such monsters bring upon any in their path. And I will make sure no other innocent ever suffers a similar fate as I did. If I must give up all freedom and personal interests I had before I joined. Then so be it. So long as they are safe against tyranny, then this destiny I am setting for myself will do just fine.
I will be going out into the courtyard to train with Noriko and Benjamin one final time soon. He is especially excited to show off his new revolver he obtained through gambling on leave, as well as testing his own personal skill with it. The two are always at odds about which method is better. The ways of the past or the ways of the future.
It does not matter to me personally whether I use guns or swords. So long as it helps me succeed in my mission, any tool is the right one.
This old castle has been my home for as long as I can remember. But I knew I would not stay in the safe confines of these ancient stone walls forever. We will be summoned for the ceremony at sunset and my mind races as to what dangers' I will face beyond my final graduation. What deadly creatures will I find and destroy. What exotic places will my first assignment take me? Whatever come's next. I have never been more excited or filled with pride about being able to serve humanity. My life begins now. And I know we will do great things for the world in the coming year.
Until then. I lie and wait with my comrades to face my destiny.
-Leon Wagner.