|
|
Background
The Primordial Chaos: A fragment of the chaos before all things awakens, and deigns itself a creator- it creates monsters and nightmares Eventually, among mankind it comes to be worshiped as a Goddess named by the Babylonians as Tiamat.
*1934: Zane is born in San Diego, California. His father is in the military. His mother is a school teacher.
*1934-1940: Zanes early childhood is fairly uneventful, enjoying the life on the west coast in a tight-knit community. Zane is different than the other kids- He is plagued with night-terrors and nightmares from an early age. Visions of darkness. Visions of pain. Monsters in every shadow.
November 1941: In October of 1941, Zanes father is transferred to Hawaii. The family moves with him. On Sunday December 7th, 1941 Zane is playing on the base housing alone after breakfast when he spies airplanes on the horizon. He stands in awe at what follows. His father never comes home from work. A lot of people dont come home from work.
1942-1945: The nightmares continue and becomes ever more regular. Everyday. Expected. His mother has remarried to another man on base. Zanes stepfather is a kind man, and does what he can to help the young Zane work through his grief at losing his father. This is cut short by WWII. His Stepfather, also a soldier, is sent to fight in the Pacific. His Stepfather returns largely unharmed, and mostly well by the end of the war. He begins to tell stories of heroism and bravery to his stepson who absorbs the stories well. Heroes help to keep the nightmares at bay.
1945-1950:As Zanes teen years come into play he grows somewhat more rebellious. Hes learned to live with his constant nightmares- theyre normal to him. They dont bother him. He sleeps comfortably through the nights. The family moves to back to the mainland, as Zanes stepfather is transferred back to the mainland. They end up in Los Angeles. There, Zane falls into a bad crowd, running with punk kids. Sneaking out after bedtime. His parents start to crack down- so Zane runs away. He lies about his age and is able to join the military.
1950-1953-With the outbreak of war in Asia, Zane decides to go out and do his own thing. To get away from his parents. The Army is good for him, and he excels despite his age (They think hes 18, of course.). Hes chosen to join the Eighth Army Ranger Company, and serves starting with the Battle of Pusan, and manages to survive the Battle of the Congchon River on Hill 205. He is one of 10 who survive the battle. When the Eight Army Ranger Company is disbanded, hes reintegrated into 187th Infantry Regiment for the remainder of the war.
1953-1955: Zane goes under additional training for the purposes of special operations. He becomes a Green Beret, and joins US Special Forces. He is sent to Vietnam under the cover of a Military Advisor. The nature of his missions in Vietnam, along with those of his brothers in arms are considered secret. Very bad things are done in the name of Freedom and the war continues to escalate.
1955-1962:While in Vietnam, Zanes actions continue. He is decorated time and time again for his work with the US Military- his roll having changed from an Adviser to that of a member of a deep infiltration hunter-killer squad sent to assassinate, interrogate, and destroy Viet-Cong soldiers and assets.
1962-1963: One one of Zanes missions something happens. His fellow soldiers do not survive the event- wherein their nightmares all rose from the earth and devoured them all. Zane survives- his life-long experience with nightmares leaving him unafraid when his own rise up to try and devour him. He defeats his own nightmare- and gains the attention of something ancient. It rises up, coils around him, and devours his very soul. Zane is forever changed, and resigns from the US Army at the end of 1962. Zane spends the majority of 1963 just trying to come to terms with who and what he has become. During this time, hes approached by the Cult of Tiamat- who want him to further their agenda. During the battle he overcomes their high priest, devours the whole of his soul and at Tiamats urging takes his magic sword: The Sword of Sargon. After this, he turns towards getting to know the horror that lives within the space his soul was. He begins to hunt and feed on those who need to be taught a lesson. Petty thieves, criminals, thugs- those are his primary prey. He learns a name- Tiamat. She is the whisper in his ears, now. She wants him to kill- instead, he resits. Hes had enough killing. Instead, he learns to feed the beast with fragments of the soul of evil men- struck free when theyre taught a lesson that strikes them to the core. The kind of lesson that cant be ignored. Tiamat is happy with feeding this way, and accepts it.
1964: Zane comes to New York City, a place hes certain will have enough feeding grounds to satiate the growing hunger inside of him- and maybe to find some answers as to what he has become.
IC Events
Traits
- ** *Soulless: Zed has no human soul, it has been devoured. This is a benefit and a bane. Those things which target the soul have no effect on him.
- *Chosen of Tiamat: Being chosen by the Mother of Monsters he is able to see monsters for what they are, and his sight is mystically attuned to the flow of magical energies. He can sense mystical energies in places, people, or things. He is specifically attuned to people and things that could be considered Heroic or Monstrous- that is they could be consider heroes or monsters of legend. Tiamat is filling Zed with her energies over time- creating a more terrible monster. This, too, can be sensed by those with the proper knowledge.
- *Dragon-Kin: Dragons are Tiamats first children- so it is Dragons that color Zeds abilities. Dragons of Babylonian are creatures of poison and pestilence. Zeds blood is poisonous, and he is able to breath clouds of poison gas in amounts that can fill a cube of 25 feet on each dimension. Like dragons, his flesh and bones are mystically toughened- his bones can not be broken by mundane means, and his skin can only be broken by mystical means or unique and special materials. He is stronger than normal humans, able to lift easily 5 tons without trouble, or deadlift/push/pull up to 10 tons with effort.
- *Knowledge of Tiamat: Zed has a mystic connection to a vast store of ancient knowledge, rituals, and general information. He is, basically, a walking mystical library. He is able to speak and read mystical languages, ancient dead tongues, and the languages of intelligent mystic creatures. This information is from his other half- who has her own opinions and feelings that will color the information he receives.
- *Skeleton Key: All things came from the Primordial Chaos. Timats chosen has a back door into other realms. Zed is able to open doors typically closed to others- roads to other realms, doorways into the underworld, mystically closed gates. To open a door to the Astral plane Zed needs to draw a door on a surface- the way he draws the door is unimportant- he can use chalk, a pencil, blood- anything that can mark a surface. Anywhere else, however, requires a proper entry location- a mystic door, a recently closed portal, a weak-point of some kind.
- *Soul Eating**: The very thing that created him by devouring his soul has granted the same power to Zed. Its how he survives, now. He requires no human food or drink, no sleep, no rest- only the taste of souls. While he can wholly devour a soul (This would take about 2 minutes) leaving a husk behind- he chooses not to. A taste is enough- a little sip from which the victim will eventually recover. The soul, as it turns out, can regrow with time. However, losing a piece of your soul is extremely traumatic and may cause mental, spiritual, or physical problems. These issues are typically mental- PTSD, depression, or other mental health issues, but physical issues such as immune problems, weak bones or muscles, are not unheard of. Spiritually, issues are those that might affect the soul- a weak soul can lead to being easier to possess, for instance. Physical, skin to skin contact is required for this ability as is access to the mouth. Zed seems to breath in the soul which can be seen by any who watch.