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originally posted in:The New Dojo
11/8/2016 12:59:04 PM
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"Centuries ago, Earth began to colonize Mars. During their terraforming was a great revolution of cruelty and disease brought upon by the mutation of human bacteria, but that was abruptly ended by the Scorch. The Scorch is the name of the massive solar flare that cut off all communication between Mars and Earth. Now, nearly a millennia later, there are survivors. You have the Iconoclast - a group of high-class society members who sought out to be an existentialist colony but eventually corrupted themselves through hypocrisy. They control most of Olympus Island by funding mercenaries that enforce their rule. Next is the Abbatial, a church of sorts that worships Infected abominations as pieces of a divided God. The Tribals were ex-aviators who were exiled to the ground and swore to hunt down all the Infected that plagued Mars. And finally there are the Underfolk, colonies set up in old mining settlements underground. Most of them don't even know - or want to believe - that there is a world above the surface."
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"Centuries ago....? What year were you born in Lucien?"
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"I don't quite know - no one really does. Time became obsolete after the Scorch, all we have left are old records. Most of the world doesn't even know how we got into this hellhole."
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"Do you have these records with you? I'm not sure if it could help look for the boy you look for but....I would like to find out more about you, with all due respect."
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Lucien points to his head. "All the records have been memorized up here and some recorded in my compendium - which I would prefer not to share. What else would you like to know?"
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"So you have no idea which year you are from? No records state any form of date? Or at least a clue to a time period?"
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"It could be centuries or millennia after the Scorch. Our ancestors stopped counting when they forgot the value of archiving and turned to a more... Rational mindset. So no - I do not know which year I hail from exactly. I only know that I come from a place on Mars called Olympus Island long after the Scorch."
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"Hmmm." Tesuto still did not trust this newcomer. Not only because he wore the face of a dead man, but that he had such a lack of evidence to his existence that it was as if everything he was just told was a story. Something fabricated for sympathy. "Let's get back to the boy then, hmm? How do you suppose he is here?"
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"In all honesty? I don't really know. The last thing I remembered before blacking out was seeing the boy held by Iconoclast mercenaries. They took him as ransom and I was even ready to give up my life for him - that was, before one of them hit his head with the butt of their gun. I lost it and transformed into... You get the idea." Lucien sighed and sat down by the base of the large tree, as if trying to forget such memories because of the grief they brought. "When I woke up I was here. So I can only assume the boy is here as well."
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"Hmmmm. Well, Tatakai is a large world. There are many places he could hide. What do you know about him? Anything you can tell me?"
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"His name is Alister Danet. He looks around 15-16, with dark brown hair and slightly lighter skin than mine," Lucien says as he gestures to his tanned Oriental skin. "He should be wearing some Pre-Scorch miner garments under a discarded Tribal coat. It looks like a leather fencing jacket with attached ceramic reinforcements and animal furs."
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"I was talking about who he was. As a person."
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Lucien raised his hands in disappointment, "My apologies. Old habits die hard, I suppose. Alister was an apprentice of mine, so to speak. I made a promise a long time ago to my -... An old friend. By blood debt, I would one day come to Alister's home underground and bring him to the world above, show him how to survive and be better than the best. Teach him how the world worked. Show him the best way of killing an Infected beast. And after all that? He would learn the truth." He wasn't hiding something per se, more like he seemed to be guilty of something unspoken. Something he would rather not say - but at this rate he probably wouldn't lie to Tesuto if the samurai pressed him.
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"The truth of what, Lucien?"
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"Of the boy's past," he said hesitantly. Lucien sighed and took off his hat. "I suppose you deserve the truth as well if we're to work together. Long ago when I was much younger, I was an elite Iconoclast mercenary who went rogue. My location was betrayed by my own brother and his settlement who were offered sanctuary in exchange for my life. I was imprisoned. They tortured me, pitted me against some of their experiments. I eventually escaped by the help of a defective Iconoclast member and was eventually found by the Tribals, half-frozen to death. I trained with them. Hunted with them, learned their ways. Became one of their best. Then I saw an opportunity to gain immeasurable power... All I could think about was vengeance. So I took it. And there's not a day I don't regret it. I was exiled by the Tribals after they found out what I had done - eaten one of the Abbatial's exalted abominations; eaten a piece of their divided God. So I sought out the settlement of Auburn Steppes, my brother's home. I..." He cast his eyes downwards in shame.
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"Lucien...what did you do?"
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"I killed them. I burnt them all, and those who weren't killed instantly suffered worse. The entire settlement..." Lucien looks back up at Tesuto, his pain showing in his eyes. It was clear he regretted it. "I eventually made my way to my brother's home. He became their leader in exchange for my life. We fought, I cut his wife down and then I cut him down. All the fire... My apologies. In his last dying breaths he pointed something out to me - his infant child, crying amidst the burning house. So I promised him one thing as I realized the weight of my actions. That I would teach his son to survive and fight. And one day? It would be up to him to judge me - if he truly surpassed me, he would have the skill to enact vengeance. That man was Mikhail Danet. His son was Alister Danet. My nephew. I... I know, I'm a monster. And there's not a day I don't atone for it. I'm but a mere wanderer now, branded as a demon by a people I once called my own." He turned around and shifted the collar of his coat, exposing the back of his neck and the brand upon it: some kind of multi-headed beast with flaming wings arising from a molten lake, the image itself trapped within a single drawing of an ember.
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"Your act was one of be vengeance. I would be damned if I haven't seen a similar story before. Anger can seep into ones soul, it can twist and bend it to its own will like a parasite." Tesuto stepped forward, beside Lucien. "It only leaves us once it's taken what it's wanted. Behind, it leaves regret. It leaves emptiness from what it took. What you have done...it can only be forgiven by those you have wronged. I cannot say this is alright. Or that you are a demon. For I believe that you acted to your own accord in a time where the parasite only wanted to achieve its goal. Now? We must find this boy. For the sake of his safety. But I tell you now, the truth always finds away. And it's best to not let a wound fester."
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"The boy already knows," Lucien continued. "He found out from the Tribals after him and I were separated. I don't believe in any God, Samurai. When I ate the Abbatial's exalted Angel I did not believe I became a demigod. No, I only believe in monsters and men. My atonement is to ensure no other makes the same mistakes I have; to embrace my inner demon in order to devour others. And to make sure, when the boy one day comes to the crossroads of fate, that he retains his humanity as opposed to what I have done."
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"You have to find him first though...."
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With a flick of his wrist he draws his revolver and exposes the ammo barrel, letting it spin for a few heartbeats before stopping it and loading in some .45 long colt rounds. "Yes, yes I suppose I do. Any idea as to where the boy might be? He's clearly not at this arena establishment of yours."
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"No...it seems not. Have you already investigated the village?"
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"Is there a village below the Dojo? If so, I don't believe I have."
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"Errrr...yes. You would have had to walk through it to get there...." The samurai pointed to the massive town just outside the gate. "I always thought I was rather noticeable..."
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"Just making sure. Are you ready, samurai?"
