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Built for the Hunt

Due to the nature of its creation, the plane of Crossroads is often rife with all manner of beasts, monsters, and war machines summoned to it during the ancient Planeswalker Wars. As a result, going outside one of the major cities and settlements without either proper training or an escort is a hazardous prospect.

To solve this problem, even places of learning like Enigma’s home, Magistrum City, often hire and/or train professional Rangers whose jobs are to keep track of habitats and migration patterns and behaviors, managing their populations to keep them under control without driving them to extinction.

Should any one species be flourishing to the detriment of others, they are hunted just enough to bring them back in line with the demands of the ecosystem, while also bringing in fresh meat for butchers, pelts for tanners, claws or eyes to serve as alchemical and medicinal reagents, among other materials for artisans and creators. And yet, even these Rangers can sometimes be stretched too thin to do their job.

This is where Enigma’s symbiote, Companion, comes in. As a born and bred hunter, he is more than capable of lending a hand(claw?) to the Rangers of Magistrum City when invasive or detrimental species of large monsters become too much for them to handle. As Enigma lulls himself into a peaceful sleep, Companion is more than happy to take the opportunity to let his instincts loose in a controlled and productive setting that benefits the city he and his host call home.

Whatever harms the balance of Magistrum City’s ecosystem had best watch out, because night is starting to fall, and Companion’s just about ready for his playtime.

This piece from Marsel-Defender from back in March of 2023 was a good case to dust of the symbiote Companion for a little lore piece.

As I recall, it had some time since I used Companion for any piece of art before this piece came out, and I wanted an excuse to bring him back for a one-off. It was also a good time to talk briefly about the ecology of Crossroads and how the people who live on the plane function inside the natural order.

The Rangers may not be relevant now, but they will be later.