Monster Hunters | |
Group Information | |
Location | Active |
Date Founded | By 1800 |
Notable Members | Donegan Bane; Gracious O'Callahan |
The Monster Hunters are an independent partnership consisting of Donegan Bane and Gracious O'Callahan. Though they claim to be famous, most sorcerers have only a vague idea of who they actually are, and are more familiar with their books.
They are primarily devoted to eliminating malicious creatures such as vampires and Remnants, but their other escapades include helping Dexter Vex try to steal the God-Killers in 2013, fighting in the War of the Sanctuaries, and joining Temper Fray's resistance movement against Damocles Creed in 2022.
Function[]
Donegan and Gracious are adventurers, engineers, and inventors. They are skilled combatants, often finishing off each other's opponents in combat, and they are renowned for their talent as snipers. Even General Mantis acknowledges that they are a "credible threat".
However, Donegan and Gracious are somewhat incompetent. They have been known to forget to bring their guns on dangerous missions, and to bring guns when explicitly told to arrive unarmed. They are notoriously irresponsible, and Aurora Jane laments that she ends up stealing something whenever she's with them. Gracious is particularly incompetent. For these reasons, the Monster Hunters are fairly inept when they are left to their own devices, and function best as part of a larger group.
Most sorcerers have only a vague idea of who they actually are, and are more familiar with their books, which are popular enough that their photographs and autographs are often sought after. Their known works include:
- Monster Hunting for Beginners;
- Monster Hunting for Beginners is Probably Inadvisable;
- Seriously, Dude, Stop Monster Hunting;
- The Definitive Study of Were-Creatures;
- The Battle of Roarhaven, a historical account of the event of the same name;
- The Passions of Greta Grey, a work of romantic fiction.
They also intend to create a picture book for children called Save the Survivor, in which the child has to find the lone survivor among a sea of decapitated corpses while a chainsaw-wielding killer hunts them down. This project seems to have stalled, as they have found difficulty finding an illustrator.
History[]
The Monster Hunters met Dexter Vex at the beginning of the nineteenth century while tracking a vampire through Hong Kong. They befriended Vex, and the trio killed the vampire by driving a train over its head.
Hunt for the God-Killers[]
Vex later recruits the duo to join his team, intending to steal the God-Killers. In 2013, the team springs into action, and the Monster Hunters steal and pilot a private jet for the group to move around in. They threaten to snipe Johann Starke in the head unless he releases their allies and locks the dagger in a vault, and attack Jackie Earl's compound, successfully taking the bow as well. En route to the spear, however, the group is attacked by a rival group led by Tanith Low, and shortly afterwards they discover that the dagger and bow are actually forgeries infused with magic by Sabine Adorn.
At the request of Aurora Jane, the Monster Hunters return the somewhat-undamaged jet to its owner. They then infiltrate the English Sanctuary with the rest of the group, and fight the rage-zombies unleashed by Tanith. They are arrested afterwards, but are released as thanks for subduing the rage-zombies.
Wartime[]
Shortly afterwards, the Monster Hunters join Valkyrie Cain in rescuing Skulduggery Pleasant from Dubhóg Ni Broin. They then plan to fly to Tokyo after hearing reports of a succubus disguised as a beautiful woman, whom Gracious intends to seduce, but their plans grind to a halt when the War of the Sanctuaries breaks out.
Fighting for the Irish Sanctuary, the Monster Hunters first assist Tanith and Billy-Ray Sanguine in deactivating the Midnight Hotel, and succeed thanks to the unexpected intervention of Aurora. They then join forces with Fletcher Renn to capture Zona, and ask Fletcher to join them and illustrate their new book, Save the Survivor, though Fletcher is somewhat reluctant. Nevertheless, they continue working with Fletcher, but when the trio meets with Ajuoga, the Monster Hunters fail to stop Ajuoga from capturing him.
The Monster Hunters fight in the Battle of the Keep with Dai Maybury, but while Gracious manages to escape, Donegan is captured with Tanith and Valkyrie, who frees him. The Monster Hunters then participate in the Battle of Roarhaven.
Fighting Darquesse[]
In the aftermath of Darquesse's rise to power following the Battle of Roarhaven, the Monster Hunters are tasked by China Sorrows to capture the renegade Accelerator-powered sorcerers with Vex, Dai, Fletcher, and Saracen Rue. They ask Dai to join the group, and Dai agrees to be an "Emergency" Monster Hunter, but refuses to join them full-time on the grounds that he's a "lone wolf".
The group succeeds in apprehending six superpowered sorcerers, and is part of a force led by Skulduggery to apprehend the other superpowered sorcerers being harboured by Zafira Kerias.
When the Remnants are released by Darquesse, the Monster Hunters track them down with Vex, Dai, Fletcher, and Saracen, but are forced to abandon the hunt when Vex and Dai are both possessed. They later contribute to the final battle against Darquesse on Devastation Day, though their exact roles are unknown.
Resistance against Creed[]
In 2022, the Monster Hunters join Temper Fray's resistance movement against Damocles Creed. Gracious pre-emptively turns down leadership of the group, arguing that this would disrupt his and Donegan's partnership, before being informed that nobody intended to nominate him as leader.
They presumably fight the Shalgoth with the rest of the resistance, and are later part of the force that attacks a superpowered Crepuscular Vies, though they are met with little success. Along with everyone else, the Monster Hunters are then wiped from existence by Obsidian, though they are recreated shortly after by Darquesse.