The Mermaids Father


[color=ed1c24]Kazen removed his backpack and unzipped it.
"Your 'Master' was one of my bigger allies. We go way back." Kazen said as he tossed a bundle of envelopes over to Soren.
"He knew me, when I was still; human." He said with a slight chuckle behind his mask.
"But, then again. He also gave me this;" he said as he removed his mask.
On his face was a scar; it ran from the left corner of his mouth up his cheek, pulling his face into a mocking grin.
"My gift for leaving his tutelage. But that's a story for another time. 
He lit a cigarette and eased back on his barstool.
"Roland, get me a whiskey would ya?" He asked as he adjusted his mechanical arm.[/color]

[color=004b80]Roland poured Kazen his drink and motioned for Siren to place an order.
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[color=ed1c24]Kazen stared his new ally down. He definitely had all the touch of Argus; he was his type. But he didn't know what else to think; it had been a long day. He was tired, but there was so much to do! 

"This war, isn't just a war. It's more than that. Its more than just freedom. This. This is revenge." He said as he looked to Siren with that half-grin.
"Your master and I did not part ways on good terms. If he sent you to me, he made no mention of it. It truly must mean he was desperate." He said with a sigh and a drag from his cigarette.
"This?" He motioned to the room.
"This is the resistance, Kid. The only thing we can really do is steal what we can. Fight when we can. And plan, when we can." Kazen stood up and tugged off his shirt. He was wrecked with scars, old wounds, current wounds and surgical modifications.

"I'm a disgraced former soldier. A forgotten relic from a time long gone. There was more of me then, but not now." He explained.
"Roland there? He'll tell you. I met him when his father's father ran this tavern." He stated flatly.
"They did this to me. They put their codes in my skull, scooped me out and put something else in here with me. You wanna fight Heaven's Gate? Good luck kid. The Resistance is a fairy tale built around my own selfish needs and desires." He coughed out.
"Roland I need an infusion." He muttered.
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[color=0076a3]"Aunora should have the room ready now." He said as he poured his friend another shot. [/color]

[color=ed1c24]"This arm of mine burns cores. It consumes relics in exchange for power. Heaven's Gate found a way to bypass magical focus requirements but the offset burn would obliterate the average human. Not me." He explained as he turned around and tapped a cluster of metallic nodes at the base of his neck and spine.
"I was a young man almost a hundred and seventy-five years ago. The Gate took me from the state, trained me, taught me to fight. Brought purpose to my existance. I killed for them. I grew strong, over time I became the best. Eventually the department expanded with further technomancer developments. The Heirarchy had its demands. They desired a combat unit that could stop any threat. They needed a ghost, a spook. Someone to move unseen to further their agenda. So they made it. They made me, I can tell you stories, kid. Sure, it started slow. The transfer, first it was just a health monitor. Then it's retinal enhancements. Now they've got your eyes. Then communications implants; your mind. Finally; nervous system replacement. They can puppeteer their soldiers. Half of em don't even realize it. I've had Over three hundred individual surgeries. Zero anesthesia. No consent. My entire nervous system was replaced. The arm? It was their doing. Sure, my left arm wasn't much use to start with. Doctor Wenright decided it wasn't worth keeping."
"Oh, but this?" He points to his 'smile'.
"This one he left alone. He enjoyed seeing a smile as he mutilated me, just to send me out to slaughter civilians. Political ambassadors. Mages like yourself; they were the most fun. Oh I remember it all, each one. But there's not a thing I can do about it." He knocked back the shot of whiskey and finished his cigarette.
"There isn't much hope for us now, they run everything. Aside from these few meager towns. They only come round WHEN they see her; he motions to the back room where Aunora went.
"Or of they know I've been picking off their scout patrols. They know I can't function properly without regular relic infusions. So I stay here, I kill them, I steal what I need, and I try to stay hidden. I try to protect these people, because of what I have done to them in the past." He said as he sighed.
Kazen flexed his mechanical arm and removed the canisters from his bag.
"Take these to 'Nora and have her get the rest ready. I'll be there soon."
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