Captain August Leighton

Capt. August Leighton, a British expatriate, big game hunter, former officer in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and veteran of the Anglo-Zulu War, is the former head of the Explorer's Society, Brimstone Chapter and brother of the local Territorial Rangers chapter leader, Lieutenant Willard Leighton.

Capt. Leighton is a large, red-faced man with a handlebar mustache and gray streaked hair. British, friendly and gregarious. Seems to enjoy adventure and “the joy of the hunt.” Welcoming to new Society members and loves to regale people with war and hunting stories. He can be a bit bombastic and doesn’t like to get caught up in the “particulars” of things.

The Leighton brothers hail from the city of Colchester in Essex County, England. Their family was wealthy and aristocratic, however they were both avid hunters and in their twenties became career soldiers in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. Willard was very analytical from a young age, and August was more emotional and easily riled. Even though August was six years older, the boys were always intensely competitive in everything they did. In the early 1870s they were stationed in South Africa, August as a Captain and Willard as a Lieutenant, and fought in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. During the conflict, both of them saw something entirely strange that completely changed their worldview. After the war, they both requested dischargement from the Army and relocated to the American Southwest, so they could more freely explore the strange and unknown.

In 1880 the brothers were hired by the Explorer’s Society branch in Santa Fe, NM. They became reliable employees and helped to document and hunt the strange creatures in the desert for over a year, traveling to other towns in New Mexico and elsewhere in the West. However, during this time Willard became intensely aware of the lawlessness of the region, how acts of justice were few and far between, and how the critters they were studying often preyed on innocent townspeople. He approached the leadership of the Society with his complaints, and surprisingly they let him in on a powerful secret: the Society is merely a front for the Twilight Legion, which seeks out and eliminates supernatural threats. They offered both brothers full positions within the Society so they could continue to do their work in the region. August agreed, but Willard declined, moving instead to the Territorial Rangers so he could more directly combat threats.

After three years, Willard had attained the rank of Lieutenant in the Rangers (the same rank as his Royal Army designation) and was stationed near Brimstone, NM. He was given charge of the local Rangers chapter and moved his operations to Cross Bar Ranch which is 25 miles southwest of the town, after helping the ranch owners with some local trouble.

August continued his work with the Explorer's Society, welcoming new members to the Brimstone chapter and enjoying "hunting parties" as well as a good amount of drink. He was often seen in the company of Lord Gaithwynn, a Welsh aristocrat and famed hunter who had retired to the region.

August's sometimes spotty judgement got the better of him when the Rail Barons became more oppositional to the Society, after it became apparent that Black River Rail owner Mina Devlin had plans to build a rail spur to Brimstone and challenge Lone Star Rail's monopoly of the region. Leighton directly threatened Devlin in a letter, and she took immediate hostile action by having her flunkies destroy the El Paso depot belonging to Bayou Vermillion Rail and leaving evidence that led to the Society. Bayou Vermillion responded by sending a train laden with ghost rock bombs north to destroy Brimstone, and kidnapping Leighton and putting him aboard the train. By quick action of troubleshooters from Brimstone, the train was stopped and Leighton rescued. However, it was clear that his star was falling and he was given an "early retirement" from the Society. He and Gaithwynn left town soon after.

A few months later, Leighton returned to Brimstone with grim news: he and Gaithwynn in their travels had visited other chapters of the Society and found that almost all of them had senior members murdered recently. Though the Society leadership didn't believe them, the pair hired troubleshooters from Brimstone and brought them to Shan Fan aboard the S&R Airlines Aeroquest Three, as they believed this to be the location of the murderer. After the mission was successful and the murderers were caught, Leighton decided to remain in the region at the invitation of local Society leader Captain Roderick Pennington-Smythe.