He had a different name once Marion Ren. The moment he gave up his name feels like lifetimes ago even though it has not even been a decade. Growing up in Nexus he was forced to fight for everything he ever had. He was the youngest son in a line of children from barely noble parents. They had the bare necessities of life with the ambition for political power and clout, but any morsels of extra they had were given to the eldest first, and nothing was ever left to the youngest of the family. Fortunately, he was a blessed mortal. Tall, strong, handsome, exceptionally perceptive and more. Even with all these natural gifts he saw the lazy, entitled, weak, pathetic children of those in power be rewarded. The best jobs, the beautiful wives, the money, the power and the favors. Time and time again he watched himself get passed over despite being stronger, smarter, faster… better than his peers.
His one flaw, the biggest a man can have some say, was ignorance. Never having had initial success with the opposite sex when he was shown some attention, he found himself smitten and overwhelmed. She was beautiful, funny, smart, and most important of all, she liked him. Their love was deep and pure, a tale for the ages. Until he found out she was just using him, she was a jilted lover. The man she was seeking to get revenge on was a member of a powerful local family and when he confronted her about it she confessed. Faced with suffering a rather fatal accident in a back-alley or running away, he chose to run away. There was a legion military push for irregulars, and he shipped out that very same night.
Never having been in the wilderness before, he didn’t have near the skills of some of the men. Intelligence, a little dedication coupled with some natural talent saw him quickly rise in rank to one of the advanced scouting parties. It was a position of authority for the irregulars, and the men respected him. They were attached to a realm force under a powerful Dragon-blooded, Cathak Koles. Marion felt pride and for the first time realized that he was being acknowledged for what he could do instead of who his parents were. He trained with the legion for more almost 6 months before he was shipped out. The Empress’ Tear they called it, that was their forward operating base east of the scavenger lands. The barbarians were spitting in the eye of the Empress and her kindness, going against the natural order, and they were here to bring them the salvation of the immaculate philosophy. He had never been to the fort before, and it was a staging ground for all their assaults. There was Cathak Koles, and four other dragon-blooded leaders. They were impressive and magnanimous, and he began to read the immaculate philosophy with earnestness after hearing them preach it.
He never realized how much he had hated the city until his first scouting mission into the jungles. The openness, the vibrancy, the clean air and water. Yes, it had its dangers, but you could forge your own destiny, gather your own food, hunt your own game live your own life out here. He was attached to a scale of forces led by Cathak Koles, and his fang was the forward scouting party. They located these heathens, reported back to the rest of the scale and moved on. He never did see what happened to the people he found, that wasn’t his job. His duty was to find them and move on. It was four months of this before they were ordered back to the Empress’ Tear, and he was ready to see all the people he had made friends with and regroup. Meeting up with the rest of his scale, he saw the wagonloads of peoples caged, dozens of them. He didnt care as much about the men, but all the women and children gave him pause.
The intervening weeks of travel required feeding and taking care of the prisoners. This necessitated talking and interacting with them. There was a younger girl named Ho-mei, no more than 14, who reminded him of his sister. He became hopeful that they would be converted to the truth of the immaculate philosophy once they made it back to the fort. Once they made it back to camp everything went wrong. The fort was filled with hundreds of prisoners in various states of filth and emaciation. Worse yet, were the Fae who came to buy them. They were nothing more than slave traders. It had only been a few weeks, but his worldview had been irrevocably altered. He had seen women go into the command post of Cathak Koles and never come out. So when he went to the cages and pointed for Ho-mei to come with him he could stand by no longer. Interposing himself between the two he lectured the prince of the earth on immaculate philosophy, and as he began to talk he implored the rest of the men, the other Dragon-blooded to say something, to do something. A snide remark from a fire aspect and the laughter of the gathered men sealed his fate. Through chortled laugher he sniped at Cathak Koles, “Sounds like this man has more balls than you, and from the sound of it knows more about the faith too.”
He didn’t know how long he had been a prisoner of the Dragon-blooded, but his fury and desire for vengeance ran deep. First, he took his eyes, using a toxic combination of chemicals that burned slowly for hours. “So perceptive little mortal, reading the texts, thinking you know so much. Let’s see you read the text now.” He couldn’t see the mans smile, but he could hear it in his voice. Second, he came for his tongue. “Think you can lecture me? You are nothing to any of, pathetic and worthless. Like a dog.” His contempt was palpable. Third, he came for his body, using fire to burn and scar. “Quite the handsome man aren’t you, think your little slave girl will want you now?” The joy of his laughter haunted his dreams.
Through it all the Dragon-blooded kept him breathing making sure he would live another day. Marion tried to beg for death, but his mumblings were mocked. “I cant understand you, if you want something you will have to show me.” And that was when he tossed him the knife. Quite certain Marion was no threat to the man, he offered to him. “Use it, end your pathetic suffering, cause I wont do you even that favor.” Every day for weeks he taunted the man, he had already broken his body and his mind, but he wouldn’t be satisfied until he shattered his spirit as well. He used Ho-mei and her suffering to torment Marion further. One night, when he could bear her whimpering no longer, the beaten man picked up the knife and used it on one of his wrists. Cathak Koles had been watching. “You pathetic wretch, this beaten, broken savage girl is too much for you handle? You are…AAAAHHH” His speech was interrupted by a tiny little beaten girl launching herself at her tormenter. “We may be beaten, but we are never broken!” she screamed as she stabbed him over and over again with the tiny little cheese knife from the table.
In that moment time seemed to slow, and his vision, though blurry was partially restored, he watched the man turn and beat the girl, his back a bloody mess from the numerous stab wounds. She appeared to him in the body of Ho-mei, but he knew she represented more than just one little girl, she represented everyone, pointing at his wrist spoke to him. “I suppose it is about time, this girl showed more courage than you. At least she fought back. But fine, let me help you then if this is what you want. Maybe its best that you should just lay down and give up, let them win.” And with that she plucked the knife from his hand and laid it against his other wrist. “Shall I?” Suddenly his tongue was restored, he could speak but he uttered only one word. “No.”
His escape was like a lurid dream where the details disappear if you try to focus on any one part. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the jungle, a free man, a new man, kissed by the moon goddess. The silver pack found him shortly after that and he spent time living and learning under Raksi the queen of fangs. She was a callous and cruel creature but could be reasoned with. He did what she asked and return she used her magic to help guide his quest to find his people, Ho-mei’s people. They were descended from a people who lived in a great city of the jungle thousands of years before, and the people had spread all over the east both north and south since they abandoned it. Slowly he gathered them together over years of planning and hunting. He became Khaine The Silver Wrought Reaver, their god. They became his people The Unbroken.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:25, Fri 03 Apr 2020.
