Maxim os Storm was a young man away at university when a kallomancer and her leeches attacked the airship carrying his parents.

The creatures tore through passengers and crew, drinking blood and spreading terror. By the time it was over, Maxim had lost his parents and other family members to the monsters many hunters consider the most dangerous algomancers of all.

This is personal for him. And for the Stormcrows who survived that night, kallomancers represent a threat that can never be forgiven.

Hard to Find and Hard to Kill

Kallomancers are subtle, devious sorcerers, who manipulate emotions directly. They can amplify fear until it becomes paralyzing terror. They can twist love into obsession, drain hope until their target gives up entirely, or deflect suspicion so thoroughly that they walk through crowds unnoticed. This makes them insidious in ways other algomancers aren’t. By the time you realize something is wrong, it might be too late.

They are immune to silver, and they can touch the hilt of a banishing dagger, though not the blessed blade itself. Together with their powers of manipulation, this makes it difficult to test whether a suspect is a kallomancer or not.

Once they have found a kallomancer, hunters must rely on blessed weapons, skill, speed, and the hope that the kallomancer doesn’t manipulate their emotions mid-fight. Imagine trying to strike a killing blow while the enemy is amplifying your fear, draining your courage, or making you doubt whether you’re attacking the right person.

This is why experienced hunters like Maxim approach kallomancers with cold, methodical determination. Emotion is a weapon the enemy can use against you. The only defense is discipline…and striking fast enough that the kallomancer doesn’t have time to work.

Leeches: The Transformation That Destroys

Kallomancers create servants called leeches through a slow, agonizing transformation process. The victim is drained, corrupted, reshaped over a week or more until nothing remains of their original humanity. What emerges is a hairless, sexless, vaguely humanoid creature with a mouth full of needle-sharp teeth.

Leeches drink blood. They bleed black oil when injured. They can carry out their master’s orders at about the level of a not-too-bright but very obedient dog…if that dog had opposable thumbs, could climb walls and ceilings, and hunted humans with single-minded determination.

By the time the transformation is complete, there’s no human spirit left inside. No soul to save, no person to cure. The leech is what remains when everything that made someone human has been consumed by the kallomancer’s corruption.

Whether leeches feeding on a victim speeds the transformation remains debated among hunters. Some believe it’s physical, with the leech’s bite spreading corruption through the bloodstream. Others think that it’s psychological, that the horror of being fed upon breaks the victim’s will to resist. The end result is the same either way: another leech serving the kallomancer, another human being erased from existence.

Fighting Leeches

Silver is poisonous and incapacitating to leeches, though hunters aren’t certain whether it’s inherently lethal. No one takes chances. When facing leeches, hunters aim for the heart or head with silver or blessed weapons, just like with any other algomancer servant.

The creatures are fast, strong, and agile. They can climb surfaces that should be impossible. They attack with teeth and claws, trying to drain their victims dry or begin the transformation process. This is why leeches do so much damage when they attack. They’re not mindless, but they’re single-minded. Point them at a target and they won’t stop until that target is dead or they are.

The Airship Disaster

The attack that killed Maxim’s parents happened on an airship thousands of feet above the ground. The kallomancer smuggled her leeches onboard, waited until the vessel was at cruising altitude, and then struck.

The people onboard had nowhere to run. The leeches could climb the walls and ceiling, hunting people through corridors and passenger cabins. By the time the airship crashed, dozens were dead, including King Urban os Storm and Queen Mara, Maxim’s parents.

The disaster devastated the Stormcrow community. Many families lost members that day. The attack left scars that haven’t healed even decades later. This is why the Stormcrows take a “heart or head, no exceptions” approach when dealing with leeches. The creatures killed their king and queen. They deserve no mercy, and they’ll receive none.

The Most Dangerous Sorcerer

Many hunters rank kallomancers as the most dangerous type of algomancer for several reasons:

Emotion manipulation makes them nearly impossible to interrogate or negotiate with. They can make you doubt your mission, fear your allies, or trust the enemy.

Silver immunity removes the most reliable weapon against algomancers. Blessed weapons work, but they’re rarer and require preparation.

Leeches are more versatile and deadly than wights. They can think, climb, infiltrate, and coordinate attacks in ways the wights cannot. Unlike werewolves, who are capable of rebelling against their enslavers, leeches are unswervingly loyal to the algomancer who commands them.

Psychological warfare means kallomancers can destroy lives without ever being suspected. By the time their victims are transformed into leeches, no one remembers the subtle emotional manipulation that began the process months or years earlier.

Lupomancers can be tracked by their werewolf slaves. Necromancers leave trails of corpses and wights. But a kallomancer might live in plain sight for years before anyone realizes there’s a predator in their midst.

When Kallomancers Appear

Kallomancers appear in the later books of the Hunter Healer King trilogy, after Maxim and Chloe have faced lupomancers and necromancers. By the time they encounter this most dangerous type of algomancer, they’ve learned to work together, to trust each other’s strengths, and to face threats that would overwhelm either of them alone.

And when Maxim finally faces these monstrosities, Chloe will be at his side, because some hunts require more than skill and blessed steel. They require partnership, trust, and someone who refuses to let fear win.

Ready to see Maxim face his parents’ foes? Check out the Hunter Healer King trilogy, where kallomancers and their leeches represent the ultimate test for a reluctant king and the rancher’s daughter who fights beside him.

Read the Hunter Healer King Trilogy today!