The Royal Hunter Association of Greater Asia does not accept any weaklings; nor does the Imperial Hunter Association of Caesaric Roma. In fact, very many aren't capable of holding the title of Hunter Escort. Those who are eligible must possess great strength; both body and soul. Most Hunters are chosen because their fathers before them were Hunters. In some rare instances they can be chosen by the great Buddha or the Olympian Gods, as infants. The most rare case, is where one must plead with the reigning Hunter Judge of the Cities of Five. A Hunter must have the strength, speed and intelligence of three men combined. The most counted factor in Hunter selection is the fact that they may never show any emotion. With the exception of being in battle. A Hunter must never hate. A hunter must never love. And no matter how much anguish they have, they are not ever allowed to shed tears. As for beliefs: they worship the deities of their native area, with justice and law as their guides. These basic Hunter Laws are enforced to keep them talented in the arts of combat and strategy. But more importantly to keep them with nothing to lose. The lack of emotional resraint seems to "explode" when they are faced in battle.
The majority of Hunter recruits never make it to the graduation ceremony. For many, the level of stress on the body is too much to handle. For the physically stronger of recruits, the mental and emotional stress can bring them to the knees. Those that do get accepted into the Hunter Association, have been proven to excell in all required areas. They can now ascend up the ranks. There are a total of seven ranks to the Hunter Association. The first is: Hunter Recruit; no real experience of combat. The Recruit may advance to the second rank: Hunter Apprentice; he is taught by a more experienced Hunter in the field. The Apprentice may rise up to the most common of Hunter ranks: Hunter Escort/Guard ("Royal" if from Asia; "Imperial" if from Roma); they have fully completed their training and are ready to go join a hunter squad. The fourth rank is: Hunter Commander; the Escort/Guard may prove to be able to lead a squad of Escorts/Guards into battle. If the Commander is proven to be exceptional, he will be ripped from the basic Chain of Command and put into the next rank: Secret Hunter Agent. The Agent will perform special tasks that require him to go solo, into enemy infested terroritories. If the agent proves to be exceptional in this rank he will finally ascend to the rank of Master Hunter. The Master will be recycled into the Hunter Chain of Command and will have authority over all squads in their native land, being Asia or Roma. The final rank has never been attained by any Master; this Hunter will be recorded as the greatest to ever set foot on the Silkroad. He must have skills directly given from the Heavens making him virtually the most powerful being, rival only to the seventh rank of the thief class. He will rise to unite the mutual allies of the Royal Hunter Association of Greater Asia and the Imperial Hunter Association of Caesaric Roma and cast out all evil from the known world.
Hunters can be easily distinguished by the unique equipment they wear. The Hunters of Roma sport finely tailored capes, while the Hunters of Asia sport a unique bejeweled back-piece with spikes. Individual Hunter Rank can be distinguished on how marvelous the Hunter Identity back-pieces appear (decent to heaven-like).