The Night Guard is an ancient and secretive order of monster hunters which is featured in the rebooted universe of Killer Instinct (2013). They were originally based solely in South America, but have branched out over time. It is their self-proclaimed duty to hunt down, capture, or destroy any supernatural horrors endangering our world.
Background[]
History[]
The Night Guard was first formed in South America at an unknown date, though it is certain they date back a great many centuries. They hunted down Latin America's monsters of folklore and legend for ages, becoming a secretive group composed of the continent's greatest warriors and huntsmen.
Around 1475 BC, the evil Babylonian sorcerer Kan-Ra journeyed to South America through mystical means to escape the wrath of his nemesis--the golem Aganos. On this new continent he continued to study the forbidden arts in solitude, and he brought with him from ancient Egypt the magic blades called "Temperance and Vengeance". Kan-Ra subjugated some of the indigenous peoples, who had believed him to be a mummified ancestor returned to life, and the dark magician ruled over them in tyranny; forcing them to build a great temple complex for him. Aganos, however, eventually would find Kan-Ra.
The archenemies battled each other when the Night Guard, in its first major accomplishment, managed to trap and capture both of them. Unable to destroy either, they confiscated Temperance and Vengeance, burned Kan-Ra to ashes and somehow deactivated Aganos. The blades, Kan-Ra's ash and the golem were then sealed in the depths of the nearby temple. The Night Guard freed the tribes folk Kan-Ra had enslaved and set up a permanent base camp at the temple site, which came to be known as the City of Dawn.
The Night Guard thereafter continued its mission, but they remained mostly isolated in their traditional ways for centuries. As technology advanced however, some among the order began to travel the wider world in secret, and ventured to places as far away as Eurasia. There they tracked down dangerous artifacts and cursed relics, bringing them back to the Andes to seal them in the City of Dawn; as their predecessors did with Temperance and Vengeance, the ashes of Kan-Ra and Aganos. In Germany, members of the Night Guard would form a partnership with the von Sabrewulf family, who were a renowned lineage of knights and monster slayers in the times of medieval Europe.
Present Day[]
In the late 20th century, the fraternal sisters Maya and Mira were born into the Night Guard as twin daughters to one of the order's most esteemed hunters. On one particular mission, while hunting vampires of the Coven deep in Siberia, a prepared trap separated the two and Mira was believed to have perished in the incident. The loss of her sister had a profound impact on Maya, who, unable to fully overcome her grief, would become increasingly reckless and careless in her actions.
In 2015, the megacorporation Ultratech detected the power radiating from the magic artifacts sealed away in the City of Dawn, and sent its sinister agents to investigate. They soon attacked the Night Guard's temple in a brutal raid, their advanced technology and numbers overpowering the order's comparatively simplistic defenses. Having regained some of their strength over the centuries, Kan-Ra and Aganos managed to reawaken and escape amidst the chaos. Maya, in a rush of panic, took up the cursed blades Temperance and Vengeance to protect herself, and she managed to survive. The rest of her order was not so lucky however, and every last member was killed by Ultratech's raiding party. Determined to carry on the order's legacy, Maya set out to destroy all monsters set loose, and then rebuild the Night Guard.
During a second confrontation with Ultratech's forces, Maya and her newfound allies - Orchid, Jago and TJ Combo - were caught in a pincer attack by the corporation's agents whilst regrouping in the now deserted City of Dawn. Their fate seemed uncertain, until the artificial intelligence behind Ultratech, ARIA, called off the legions of Fulgores and Riptors under Cinder's command, and proposed an Alliance with Maya to combat the apocalyptic threat of Gargos and Eyedol—both of whom had been unleashed upon the world again by Kan-Ra's mad sorcery.
Organization[]
Branches[]
- South American branch
- European branch
- The von Sabrewulf family (formerly)
Associates & Alliances[]
- The Three Guardians: Tusk, the Watchman of the Gods; Kim Wu, the Dragon's Chosen; (Shin) Hisako, the Gatekeeper.
- The Disavowed: Orchid's underground resistance movement sabotaging Ultratech's activities.
- Glacius: A powerful extraterrestrial law enforcer aiding humanity in its last stand against Gargos.
- Ultratech: very reluctantly, as part of the Alliance offered by ARIA, Ultratech's new CEO, during the events of Shadow Lords.
