~~~ Book 1 SPOILERS Book 1 SPOILERS Book 1 SPOILERS ~~~
By definition, this article takes away some mystery of the book and its characters. However, it can all be found out just by poring through the texts themselves.
A lot of questions have come about concerning Fuchs, the mysterious and unseen witch hunter that looms in the peripheral of Battle Brothers’ first novel. I decided to collect some information straight from the novel itself and put them all on one page to perhaps better frame what is going on with this character.
The novel begins with a pair of letters from guildmaster Carsten Corrow. One details that Richter has been hunting hexen in the Lowlands for some time; the other letter discusses the status of the guild’s roster. As is per usual in the Battle Brothers universe, Carsten doesn’t actually have reliable information on his own hunters and uses plenty of conjecture, some of cynical, some hopeful. Out of all the hunters he discusses, though, only one name appears twice:
Report on hunters in the Lowland Reach, a stretch of discontiguous bogland which
provides a border to the desert realms of the Gilded folk who dwell even further below:
Dieter ~ dead, barfight.
Fuchs ~ whereabouts unknown.
Helmut ~ dead, murdered by a hexe’s grieving father.
Konrad ~ taken by the fear.
Lohan ~ missing, contracted leprosy.
Lukas ~ gone, found love.
Oscar ~ dead, alcoholism.
Richter ~ my understanding is you are alive.
Request for more hunters has been denied. Northern guilds are overburdened.
Fuchs may be in the area, but it is likely you are all alone.
Happy hunting, Richter.
Best regards,
Carsten
Later on, we get our first in-story reference to Fuchs when Thomas says that Fuchs was actually in Walddorf and that he burned the innocent woman that Richter found charred in the town center. We later find out, of course, that Thomas is just a spy lying through his teeth; it was him that killed the girl, using a witch hunter’s “costume” to do it, and he even tells Richter when he’s lying to him: “How many guys wear a hat like yours?”*1 [p.78]
It is also during this exchange where we learn that, to Richter, Fuchs is not an “ordinary man”*2, and despite Thomas’s assertion that Fuchs committed a crime, Richter is incredulous and, even if the events happened, he believes that Fuchs must have had a good reason to do it.
[Side note: There’s actually an amusing moment here if you know who Thomas really is, because Richter is in his own head wondering why Louis von Walddorf let a sellsword company leave when the lowlanders are going to need guys like that in the coming war. Of course, the answer is literally talking to him. If you recall the full scope of events, Louis used the sellswords to insert spies into Marsburg. He was also keenly aware that Claire von Sommerwein was going to be taken north and bring the northern faction into the war. Louis himself is from Sommerwein and is simply a wealthy, albeit powerhungry transplant in the Lowlands. There is one scene in which we see Louis in the lowlanders’ war room and he is sort of on the outside looking in as little more than a wealthy financier. He’s a conniving, political archetype. Naturally, it is all the “occult characters” in Richter, Fuchs, and Yuchi who end up throwing wrenches into the burgomeister’s plans.]
[*1 note that Richter’s garb and appearance is a common element in the story. For example, when Richter asks the prostitute if she’s seen Fuchs, she says: “If yer askin’ if I’ve seen a man who dresses like you, the answer is no.” When Richter first meets Sophia the homesteader, she says: “He looked like you, the man who did this. He had the same funny hat, too.” The beast slayer Elletrache sometimes refers to Richter as “black hat.”]
[*2 note that Richter does not consider Fuchs an “ordinary man”; later on, when Richter is letting his anger get the best of him and he’s about to venture out to try and kill Adelbrecht, Carsten says something to the effect that “any ordinary man would be settling down for the night.” Through the novel, Hobbs mimics Richter’s vernacular, but with Carsten we often see that Richter’s own vernacular is mimic of the guildmaster’s.]
After Adelbrecht blackmails Richter, the witch hunter’s anger festers in a scene thereafter where he conflates an image of Fuchs burning the Walddorf girl with the sellswords stabbing the Bear Merchants; these two things get bound together in his fury, compounding numerous issues which are proving to be outside his control.
However, guildmaster Carsten is of clearer mind on matters and is often outright correct, though he does not go so far as to prescribe many solutions because these elements are not within the witch hunters’ control:
[Carsten said,] “But I don’t think [Fuchs] killed this girl you speak of.”
“Oh?”
“Fuchs would not waste his talents in such a manner.”
“Who else would have done it?”
“One of Louis von Walddorf’s henchmen, presumably.”
[p.148]
Carsten also chastises and course corrects Richter for letting his anger get to his head:
“I think Fuchs killed an innocent woman and then ran off.”
Carsten made a noise. An uncertain noise. “You sure about that?”
“Not to a certainty, no.”
“Then don’t loft such accusations.”
“Alright.”
“Rescind it. For your own mind, and mine.”
“Alright. I rescind it.”
[p.147]
[Side note: The theme of “certainty” and “uncertainty” is a strong one as it relates to not only the overarching theme of a low-information world, but also very strongly in regards to the witch hunters and witches themselves. The hexenjager must be of sound mind to properly confront a hexe for a hexe preys upon man’s uncertainties. When Carsten prods Richter here, he’s mostly concerned for Richter’s mindset. He doesn’t just say take it back for being an outrageous accusation, but take it back for “your own mind.” Leaving such poisonous notions to foment in the mind is like a star athlete tearing his ACL.]
Carsten illuminates Richter’s character with a contrast to Fuchs:
“Fuchs has always looked out for you,” Carsten said. “He keeps his distance, but I don’t think he’d harm anyone except those who seek to do harm to do others. His nature is not one easily corrupted. The only man I’d consider less easily sabotaged is myself.”
“I figured you’d give me some credit there, Carsten.”
“Problem with you, boy, is you’re almost too incorruptible.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“Oh my, yes.”
[p.148]
^ This is an indictment of Richter’s character. Richter gets angry with injustices, yet he rarely has recourse for them. Just at the start of the novel alone, Richter gets rebuffed by Louis multiple times, and when he talks about the Battle of Many Names it is under the framework that a lot of men died because glory hounding nobles would not listen to him. When Richter does take action, it is often times foolhardy and dangerous. At the same time, he takes the lives of those around him very seriously and often risks his own neck on their behalf. The battle at the homestead is when we first see Richter having any level of control over a situation. It doubles as a show of his leadership and tactical aptitude, but also his aggression, and it is his aggression which leads him running back into the homestead only to nearly get killed by a hexed lieutenant. A lot of Richter’s woes would be easily done away with if he simply let things slide, but that doesn’t make for an interesting protagonist ;)
Fuchs looks out for Richter:
As hinted at above, Carsten’s opening letter states Fuchs could be anywhere, but in the passing and more personal part of the letter he states that he’s likely somewhere near Richter. The book’s ending also has a letter that confirms Fuchs was indeed very nearby.
There are a number of direct references to Fuchs looking out for Richter:
[Carsten talking:] “Fuchs has always looked out for you.”
[p.148]
~~~
[Richter reading Fuchs’ note] There were […] well wishes from Fuchs.
[p.150]
~~~
When Richter talks with Carsten, the guildmaster relays this bit of info:
[Carsten talking:] “Fuchs did tell me about you and the mercenaries. And those merchants in the forest and that whole awful affair. He saw the whole thing.”
[p.149]
Should note that Fuchs found out Adelbrecht’s preferred prostitute, but he left the information and what to do with it to Richter himself. Of course, Richter is a lousy fighter and his attempted killing of Adelbrecht goes completely off the rails as he gets into that brutal melee at the whorehouse. Later, we know that Fuchs knows Richter got imprisoned because he visited the guild while Richter was in the dungeon. Later on, when the Richter/Bones company is on the road, Richter is again about to be beset by a betrayal. Once again, it’s something he knows in his heart is coming, but he has no proper recourse. Richter enters the homestead with his crossbow raised and ready to fight. This time, though, Fuchs has been far more pro-active and doesn’t simply warn Richter: he annihilates the ambush himself. There’s a long scene there where we see just how effective Fuchs really is, a stark contrast to Richter’s bumbling attempts to kill just one man.
References to Fuchs’ talents:
Both Richter and Fuchs are highly regarded witch hunters, but it is obvious that the latter’s skill-set is slightly different:
[Carsten talking]: “Look, I imagine you think Fuchs has gone cruel, but before you go hunting that wily man down and no doubt letting him cut you to ribbons in the process, which he will do if you think you can take him on…”
[p.148]
~~~
[Carsten talking]: “Fuchs only gets seen by those he wants seeing him. He was in and out. Quiet as a mouse, with the shadow of a snake.”
[p.228]
~~~
[Richter dwelling on Fuchs:] sneaking around was the one thing [Fuchs] excelled at more than anything else, even more so than sword mastery.
[p.231]
~~~
Prior to the homestead battle, Richter stumbles across a cabin filled with corpses. Sophia states that a man who looked like Richter (dressed like him), walked in and killed everyone, moving fast and efficiently. The last sentence of this segment is Richter acknowledging it is Fuchs’ handiwork:
‘Fuchs always had a way with leaving an impression, in one manner or another.’
[p.312]
~~~
Toward the end of the novel, and actually one of my favorite segments, Richter has a few moments with Adelbrecht’s sword, weighing it against the option of his crossbow. We see Richter kinda fumbling around with the weapon, both figuratively and literally. There’s a lot of meaning and character tied into his scene, but Fuchs is mentioned in passing as well: as Richter awkwardly wobbles the sword around, he muses that he has no idea how Fuchs became so proficient with such weapons. [p.453]
References to Fuchs being a mute:
Understanding that Fuchs is a mute is actually very important to the nature of the character and his relationship with Richter, which is explained in a segment below this one. There are a number of hints that Fuchs is a mute, namely that he never talks. He is also shown to have impressive handwriting, something you only acquire out of practice.
[Richter speaking to Carsten:] “[Fuchs] never talked to me.”
“He never was one for much talking.”
“You know what I mean.”
[p.147]
~~~
“[Fuchs] only told me in passing, wrote it out in his way.”
[p.149]
~~~
[Thomas talking to Yuchi]: “While Richter was away doing business, another witch hunter arrived in town. Fella by the name of Fuchs. Never said a word, just handed us some letters saying who he was. He moped around town for a while, then disappeared. Curious fella.”
[p.191]
~~~
[Richter and Carsten talking.]
[Richter:] “[Did Fuchs] say anything to you?”
“No new letters, I’m afraid. I think him just allowing me to know he was there was sufficient enough dialogue between us two.”
[p.228]
~~~
[When Richter talks to Immerwahr the monk at the end of the novel.]
[Richter:] “[Did Fuchs or the girl] talk to you?”
“Well. The man didn’t. He didn’t say so much as a word. Everything he needed to say he wrote out on a piece of paper which is fine. I have my education and his handwriting was impeccable. Absolutely impeccable!”
[p.461]
~~~
[Richter picks up Fuchs’ note left in the homestead.]
The first letter was immaculate: an R, the backbone straight and flared out at the end like a poleaxe, the looping hump of the letter, shielded, curved, blessed in its ink, the leg of the letter, that which makes it what it is, swept out, altogether looking like a stalwart fighter standing against the world, and the ink went on to underline the rest of the name: ‘Richter.’
[p.309]
Fuchs / Richter – why the relationship?
While on the road north, Bones and Richter have a conversation about their pasts. Surprisingly, Richter has nothing unique about him as a person. He was just an ugly refugee from a destroyed village who took up ditch digging/welling. He states he got fired from that job cause he broke off to go find a boy missing in the forest. In that discussion, Richter doesn’t dwell on saving the boy long, but instead relates it to him transitioning into a pathfinder and then going off to eventually partake in the Battle of Many Names. However, later on in the novel, a dying Bones returns to that topic and we get this exchange:
“First commander of a nameless company,” Bones said with a laugh and a shake of his head. He took another drink. When he set the canteen down, he said, “Can I ask you something?”
“Is it about Dagentear?”
Bones grinned. “No… I know you won’t speak to it. This is about that boy.”
“Hobbs?”
“No, not that boy. The… other one. You said when you were young you were working on wellheads in a forest village, and the villagers needed help finding a missing boy.” Bones tilted his head. “And you said you found him deep in the woods.”
“Oh. Him,” Richter said. “I’d rather not—”
“You said he got lost, but what… how does a boy who grows up in the forest… get lost in his own neck of the woods? Was it a witch that took him, Richter?” Bones turned his bandaged face to him, some vague notion of those empty sockets staring out. He tilted his head. “Richter…?”
Richter sighed. “Aye, it was a witch. I found the kid leashed up in her yard. She had already mutilated him, but he was alive and that was good enough. I cut him loose and we ran.”
Bones took a drink from the canteen. He lowered it into his lap and said, “What did the witch do the boy?”
“She cut his tongue out,” Richter said.
“That’s…” Bones’ arms slackened. “That’s… awful.”
“Many years later, when I became a hexenjäger, I requested those very same woods as my first track. And in those very same woods I found that very same witch. By then she was an old and dying hag. Could hardly move. Had a hexed man with her for protection. I shot him dead. And then I took a torch and held it under her chin until she stopped moving.”
[p.346]
Richter is pretty workmanlike with how he dispatches witches, but this one is slightly different. He didn’t just kill this witch, he did it in arguably the worst manner possible. There is a suggestion of things being personal. Usually, I like to leave interpretations to readers, but this time I’ll just say it outright: when Richter mentions a boy who had his tongue cut out, he is 100% talking about Fuchs here. In that framework, the rest of the relationship is open to interpretation.
Fuchs vs. Yuchi
Taking everything stated above, it is very possible that Fuchs, just as he saw Adelbrecht’s betrayal and the homestead ambush, likely saw Yuchi descend upon Richter. While we know that Fuchs’ martial skills are top notch, he does not intervene. Yuchi himself faces a number of opponents one vs. one and he never loses in those scenarios, not even when fighting against those who have a ranged advantage with bows/crossbows. Going back to the contrast between Richter and Fuchs, the one thing Richter has going in his favor is that he is a man of tremendous resolve. “Incorruptible,” as Carsten put it. The idea here is that for as powerful as Fuchs is, he could not have won this battle, but Richter could, and he’d have to do it on his own. It was in essence a massive resolve check.
The Details of Fuchs’ Letters
Despite Fuchs’ writing appearing a number of times throughout the story, you never actually see precisely what he says. You are meant to infer it from that which comes after. Action and reaction. The same way I treat character development in general, for that matter. I mostly did this to keep Fuchs at arm’s length from the plot while at the same time guiding it in the same manner that characters must deal with the Battle Brothers world: with a lot of mystery and hearsay.