In the Hunter Healer King trilogy, “monster hunting” doesn’t just mean tracking werewolves and zombies. It means hunting the sorcerers who create them.

Algomancers are humans who bargained with evil forces to receive magical power. In exchange, they became psychic vampires who must feed on the pain and fear of others to survive. They command undead servants, transform people into monsters, and manipulate emotions like weapons. And when you see the words “monster hunting” in the context of this setting, “monster” means the algomancer as much as the creatures they control.

These are not sympathetic people. They target innocent children and animals, anyone beautiful or vulnerable, because innocence amplifies their power. They create suffering for sustenance. They are the reason Dr. Maxim os Storm carries a banishing dagger inscribed with ancient runes, and a revolver full of silver bullets.

The Bargain That Damns

Most algomancers receive their power through other algomancers rather than bargaining directly with evil Immortals. This creates chains of corruption stretching back generations, with each link in the chain feeding on human suffering to survive. The transformation is irreversible, or at least, no hunter has ever encountered an algomancer who wanted to be turned back to baseline human.

Once someone becomes an algomancer, he stops being fully human. These sorcerers can recover from wounds that would kill an ordinary person. They can command creatures of darkness. And they must feed on fear and pain.

The word “algomancer” comes from Greek algos (pain/grief) combined with the medieval sense of “-mancer” (doer of magic, not prophet). It’s a clinical term used by those who hunt them. Laypeople like Chloe Fortebat sometimes call them sorcerers. But hunters like Maxim classify them precisely, because different types require different tactics to defeat.

Why They’re So Hard to Kill

Algomancers don’t die easily. Given time, they can heal from almost anything that doesn’t kill them outright.

This is why hunters carry specialized weapons: silver bullets and blessed weapons inscribed with religious runes in Thukiel, the ancient language of Thule. These weapons are painful and unpleasant for most algomancers, and can be incapacitating in certain cases.

But even with the right weapons, you need to hit a vital organ and kill the algomancer instantly. Anything less, and they might recover. This is why Maxim and other hunters aim for certainty: heart or head, with silver or blessed steel, and don’t assume it’s over until you’re absolutely sure.

The most common weapon is the banishing dagger: a long knife with a blade inscribed with protective runes in Thukiel, and sanctified by a blessing from a priest. The sword-cross symbol (a stylized representation of a banishing dagger) has become a ward against evil throughout the Old World, much like certain religious symbols in our world’s vampire folklore.

The Human Cost

Every algomancer was once human. Every monster they command was once someone’s child, parent, or friend. Every werewolf was marked by a lupomancer and forced to transform. Every zombie (or “wight”) was a corpse possessed by an evil spirit summoned by a necromancer. Every leech was a human being slowly transformed into a hairless, sexless bloodsucking creature until nothing of their original spirit remained.

This is why Maxim and Chloe’s work matters. They’re not just fighting monsters. They’re preventing the creation of new ones. They’re protecting the innocent before algomancers can target them. They’re ending cycles of suffering that could stretch across generations.

And they’re facing enemies who were human once, but chose to become something worse.

Three Types of Algomancer

Hunters classify algomancers into three major types, each with their own powers, weaknesses, and varieties of servants:

Necromancers summon evil spirits from the underworld and bind them into corpses, creating shambling servants called wights. They often have pyrokinetic abilities, which are useful for destroying uncooperative undead without needing to touch silver or blessed weapons themselves.

Lupomancers are shapeshifters who can magically mark living people, transforming them into werewolves who must obey the lupomancer’s commands. Both lupomancers and their werewolf slaves are highly vulnerable to silver. Even a simple silver chain can completely dampen their abilities.

Kallomancers manipulate emotions directly, and can use this ability to deflect suspicion from themselves or maneuver people into doing what they want. They’re immune to silver and can touch the hilt (though not the blade) of a banishing dagger. Their servants are called leeches: horrifying creatures that were once human, transformed through a slow, agonizing process until nothing remains but an obedient predator. Many hunters consider kallomancers the most dangerous type of algomancer.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll explore each type in detail: their powers, their weaknesses, and the specific threats they pose to the people of the Old World.

Why Maxim Hunts Them

Maxim os Storm has been hunting algomancers for decades. He’s seen what they do to their victims. A long time ago, he lost his parents to a kallomancer’s attack on an airship.

He hunts them because it is necessary. Because the innocent need protection. Because every algomancer he stops is dozens or hundreds of people who won’t be transformed, tortured, or killed.

And when he meets Chloe Fortebat, a rancher’s daughter who’s just been marked by a lupomancer, his hunt becomes personal in ways he never expected. Because now it’s not just about protecting strangers. It’s about saving someone he’s starting to care about.

Want to see Maxim and Chloe face down algomancers? Start with Wolf’s Trail, where a lupomancer’s mark brings them together, and their partnership might be the only thing that can stop a monster who’s been hunting for centuries.

Read the Hunter Healer King Trilogy today!