The Hunters Exhortation

The blade slays the beast
The jade protects you from an Oni’s feast
Beware aid from the Yamambas of the Leaf

The Hunter's Exhortation is a rhyme that Dragon Kindred of the hunter class tell their children when training them how to hunt. It reminds hunters of the three biggest dangers when entering the Perennial Woodlands.

The Blade Slays the Beast

Hunters carry a variety of weapons, depending on their individual skillsets and strengths. Although the bow and the spear are common weapons for hunting. However, no hunter would enter the Perennial Woodlands without multiple blades hidden across their body. Most notably, hunters wear unassuming cuffs around both their wrists and ankles. When they apply pressure at a certain angle, the cuff releases a dagger.

The onamazu is a large beast that preys on unassuming folk that walk over its territory. Swimming beneath the muddy marshlands of the forest, only the most experienced of hunters can detect the slight vibrations before the onamazu pounces. The size of a hippo, with razorsharp teeth, the onamazu can swallow its prey in one gulp. Though sometimes will bite clean through their limbs. A hunter that is swallowed and not crunched has minutes to slice through the onamazu from inside before digestive acids begin dissolving their prey.

The Jade Protects You From an Oni's Feast

by maroyendesign

Oni arrived in Adazuri around the same time as the Twelve Taboos. Cruel fiends, their high intelligence and innate spellcasting make them one of the most formidable foes in the Perennial Woods. Oni can turn invisible at will and cutting off their head won't kill them. Striking their third eye may slow them long enough to hide, but oni are expert trackers. Flattery may buy a few more hours of life, but the oni will strike once bored. Their only known weakness is cold-iron-hardened jade, forged by the dwarves of the Lofty Peaks. Any invisible oni within 30 feet of a jade blade or amulet must reveal themselves. Furthermore stabbing an oni in their third eye with the jade blade will weaken them long enough to allow a hunter to escape the Perennial Woodlands. Beheading an Oni with a jade ax will permanently kill an oni.

Beware aid from the Yamambas of the Leaf

The yamambas appear as old women with long, silver-white hair and dresses made of leaves. Yamamba only appear to hunters when they need help. If a yamamba attempts to hand a hunter something they dropped, they must never take it. Doing so means the hunter accepted aid. A person who accepts aid from a yamamba must return the favor. If the yamamba turns down the hunter's suggestions, they must return the favor with a kiss. The yamamba's kiss gives its victim's Sapping Fatigue, a disease that will age a person one year for every day passed.

by maroyendesign