> [!quote] The Glints Came a-Riding <br>*Traditional [[Andar|Andaran]] Nursery Rhymes and Other Folk Tales* <br>Pellinet of Leodin, 1,066 AC *Silver in their scabbards* *The glints came a-ridin'* *To the alderman they blabbered* *And the [[monsters]] went a dyin'* *Gone, gone, the beasties in their nests* *Gone, gone, the gold inside our chests* --- In the wake of the [[Coalescence]], uncountable [[monsters]] plagued Runera, forcing the survivors of the catastrophe behind feeble palisades and crumbling barbicans whilst these horrors roamed the wilds and made the dark, forgotten places of the world their homes. The people wanted for heroes to save them. They never came. But the glints did. Quickly it was discovered that silvered weapons were one of the few weaknesses shared amongst this horrific menagerie, and those who possessed these now-cherished implements were in a position to take advantage of the desperation of the common folk. First, they were called silvermen out of respect for their daringness and professionalism. But once their delinquency and untrustworthiness became known, the term "glint" was used as an insult, and eventually simply became their title. Today, glints are itinerant mercenaries specializing in the hunting of [[monsters]], named for the bright glinting of the silver [[weapons]] they carry, and the coin for which they lust. Few if any glints can be considered heroes; most are no better than common thugs, some are even criminals, and hardly any are ever true to their word. Ultimately, most glints care only for two things: the silver in their scabbards, and the crowns which they earn. Glints wander from village to village in search of grease-stained parchment shoddily pinned to rotting notice boards: contracts. These formal agreements made between glints and a village's alderman promise them compensation in return for the slaying of [[monsters]] that harry the common folk. What this compensation entails is a matter of negotiation between the glints and the alderman, with both parties attempting to exploit the desperation of the other. An alderman may offer glints a tidy sum if the abomination has already claimed the lives of a dozen villagefolk, while glints may accept a lower price for their services if their purses have grown thin and their stomachs thinner still. Glints rarely work alone. Most form glinting gangs out of necessity; many [[monsters]] can easily kill a single [[Men|man]] armed with a silver sword, but in numbers there is strength and a chance at survival. These gangs are often in cutthroat competition with each other, engaging in bidding wars for contracts wherein the gang who is willing to offer the lowest price for the greatest danger wins. Gangs even sometimes vie directly for the same contract, with the coin going to the first gang to present the monster's head to the alderman, by whatever means necessary. Members of a glinting gang take on different roles. Faces are responsible for negotiating the best possible contract for the gang by using their [[skills]] of persuasion, beguilement, and deception. Sniffs specialize in the tracking of the [[monsters]] themselves, relying upon their expertise in survival and knowledge of monster lore. Hacks have a simple role: to be excellent killers that slay [[monsters]] in the quickest and most efficient manner possible. Tacts have the unique task of researching valuable knowledge related to [[monsters]] in forgotten tomes and then using these findings to formulate precise battle strategies. Despite their tendency to work in gangs, rarely do glints enjoy friendly and peaceful relations with their fellows. Oftentimes glinting gangs disband violently and explosively due to betrayals, rivalries, romances, or "heated disagreements" over the splitting of coin. It is said that anyone can be a glint. This is true, in a twisted manner; the scant requirements for the profession have attracted folk of all walks of life, especially miscreants and outcasts who can find acceptance in no other place. After all, to become a glint, one needs only two things: a silvered [[Weapons|weapon]], and a complete disregard for untold danger. The freedom afforded by glinting has sparked dreams of wonder and adventure in the hearts of many a young boy and girl. Those foolish enough to take up their fathers' rusted old swords and set out in search of ogrets and kobolds to slay often wind up shitting their britches and running home with their tails between their legs if they are lucky, or being digested in the belly of some wretched horror if they are not. Those who still desire to become glints but have not yet earned enough coin to pay for their first silver [[weapons]] are known as scrags. These aspirants are often employed at pathetic wages by glinting gangs to serve as frontline fodder with the distant promise of one day being afforded their own silver. Rarely, however, do scrags survive enough hunts to become glints; most often they are disemboweled, decapitated, dismembered, or otherwise rendered "indisposed" before being quickly replaced by another scrag desperate for a chance at greatness. Glinting contracts take gangs not only deep into shadowy forests, snow-capped peaks, and stormy highlands, but also forsaken ruins, haunted catacombs, and labyrinthian caverns. Indeed, many aldermen, castellans, and bailiffs have charged gangs with the retrieval of valuable artifacts from the fell depths of these dark places, knowing that only those armed with silver and headless of peril will have a chance at defending themselves against the many terrors that lie along the way. When contracts are scarce, glints will also brave these grim warrens of their volition, searching for treasures that lay hidden amongst the gloom. Beyond this, glints are sometimes contracted for their aid unrelated to [[monsters]], wherein their lethality and cunning is taken advantage of for the purposes of hired killings, heists, sabotages, and other matters of [[Men|men]]. These contracts may seem safer on the surface, but are often just as fraught with peril due to the treachery and spite that lies in the hearts of all mortals. Commonly, a glint's greatest fear is not the many terrible [[monsters]] which they face, but rather their fiercest competitor: the Vigilant Brothers. Many a glint has been scared off from a potentially lucrative contract by even the faintest whisper of a Brother having been sent to deal with the abomination. Not only do the Brothers slay [[monsters]] for free, rendering futile the service of the glints, but where a gang of half a dozen glints may be required to kill a wyvern, basilisk, or leshy, only a single Brother is necessary. The strength, speed, and cunning granted by their mutations renders them lethal not only to the [[monsters]] they hunt, but also to any glints who may run afoul of them. Few Brothers tolerate the unprincipled and amateurish practices of their "colleagues," and have been known to leave glints peppered porcupine-like with bolts from their crossbows, bleeding profusely in the den of the monster they are hunting, providing one final service as live bait. As such, most glints avoid even travelling in the same barony or earldom as a Brother, preferring not to stoke their ire.