Location: Neo-Raslan
The Mermaid's Father

Roland was sweeping the steps in front of his bar, the sidewalk was quiet and though it was early in the morning it was already hot. He was sweating while he stood in the shade. His eyes gently drifted upwards to the floating platform miles above.
"Fucking Gate." He cursed as he lit a cigarette and exhaled slowly as he looked up at it. He hated that thing; he fought against it. Lost an eye for them to put it up there. Now look around; the planet's dyin, the rich live in luxery, and old soldiers like him were left to die in the dirt. Forgotten and left behind.

He smoked his cigarette and listened to the city around him.
It had been five years since Meredith had passed, and in these times he truly became lonesome. He pushed those feelings aside, and perked his ears up.
He heard it alright.
R-at. Ra-a-a-atatatatata.
Ratatatata ratatatatat
Machine-Gun fire.

"Motherfucker." He said as he turned to run inside. He cleared the floor of the bar in a few quick strides. He ducked behind the counter and retrieved his rifle.
It was a standard issue Magitch rifle, it fired concentrated burst of magic energy from specially made cartiridges. It packed a hell of a punch in a tight spot, these kids and their Machine pistols and gunpowder were nothing in comparison.
"Let them come." He said as he hunkered down behind the bar, the bottles of liquor vibrating above him.

Roland heard something else just then; he thought he heard a motorcycle.
"Nobody rides those anymore..." He thought as he looked over the edge of the bar top.

He waved his daughter away from the windows and called to her.
"Nora! Get her ass 'way from them windows!"

"Whats happening!?" She called out, her pointed ears perked as she went quickly to her fathers side as he ducked behind the bar.

"I don't know, but if I'm right; Kazen has stolen something from those damned pinheads." He said as he loaded his rifle.
"He's been gone for a while. Too long, his radio has been silent as well. I don't like it, and now I den smell the battle coming." He said as he took a drag from his cigarette and narrowed his eyes. The rumble of the motorbike grew louder, so did the sound of the gunfire. They would be on them soon.

Aurora cracked her knuckles and began to stretch as they hid behind the counter.
"Can I fight this time, papa?" She asked with exuberance as she tensed her muscles. Despite her skills, he was over protective of her. She could hand her own; mist of today's weaker bullets wouldn't harm her. But he insisted that she hold back. He didn't want anyone to learn of her gifts; let alone Heaven's gate.

A motorcycle ripped it's way through the streets of Neo-Raslan. In it's wake was a squadron of HG soldiers. The soldiers were rumbling along after the motorcycle on a military transport tank. The tank itself rolled on heavy wheels, but was surprisingly fast. Thankfully for the man on the bike; he was farm more nimble.

The young man on the motorcycle was armed to the teeth, automatic and semi-automatic weapons, a large sword with magi-tech enhancements, and a myst-gun. He could easily make wetwork of these men, but he had a bigger agenda.
He wore a black tactical suit that protected him from magical assault, and foreign techno-mancer manipulation. The riders left arm was mechanical in nature, a high-end prosthetic that was surgically grafted to his body. His hair was Long and unkempt, greying at the temples.
"Come on, come and get me." He muttered behind his helmet as he accelerated and cut a sharp left turn down an alley.

The soldiers fired shots at him as he went.
They missed.
He revved his motorbike and turned right as he exited the alley. His rendezvous point was coming up. He needed to lose these guys.

Soren stood over his Master and watched as his body dissolved into light leaving behind a sizable crystal. Argus Finch had been a good master but now it was time for Soren to move on his own. His last objective that his master had been working on was getting in touch with the resistance in Raslan city. Sadly he had no clue if that had succeeded due to Soren not knowimg how he got in contact with them. He had check all the normal means but to no avail it looked as if Soren was truly on his own.

Finally deciding to take the crystal and wipe away the tears he moved to a work desk. On it held the tools he would need to convert the crystal into the hilt of the sword his master had carried as so many others had done before him. The pieces left over would then be combined into a stone that would be set into a ring that Soren would wear. The sword was their focus different from the necklaces that all the other Spell-Binders wore because the master that started this all had been a sword mage. Something that had been snuffed out due to HG and their control over the populace. Other forms of magic had disappeared to due to them introducing Magitech. Power machines infused with magic that allowed normal people use magic. Still at a bit of a cost but not one such as Spell-Binders had.

The ring however was special. It allowed Soren to connect it and the sword together so that it could be called to his hand at anytime. When the sword was stowed it lay in an interdimensional space. The master had been working on the spell and had preformed it on another item called The Tome. A very large book bound in leather instead of normal materials. It was latched together by three buckles one for each not along the spine. Soren had often wondered what was in the book but master had never divulged it's secrets. He before his death cast a spell to keep it locked until it was time for it to be opened again. No amount of tugging or pulling the buckles did any good. It was bound to another ring that Soren now wore.

Soren worked day and night to finish the hilt and ring before he set off towards the city.

Two days later

Soren had arrived at broken section in the city wall and crawl through narrowly getting smashed by a large beam that fell. He walked through the slum like area and then saw a bar called the Mermaid's Father. He headed towards the establishment until he heard machine gun fire in the distance and the roar of an engine heading towards the area. He ducked behind some crates and waited to see what would unfold.

Location: Mermaids Father
Interior

Roland shouldered his Must rifle and aimed it at the door. He wasn't as good a shot as he used to be, but his bar was lined with three inches of granite. Sure to stop most bullets. They would be safe; for a while. He just didn't like the waiting.
It was always the worst part; the wait before battle. He hated it, and he flashed back to his time in the SkyBound wars. That conflict raged and raised nearly every major settlement in his homeland of Voltweave.

"Aunora, you must be careful. We don't know what is to come of this; Argus hasn't reached out to us in months. The resistance has been crippled; and we've already lost Sabre the Red. I won't lose you to this too." He said flatly as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Aunora nodded at her fathers words.
"Yes sir." She said in response.
She had so much more to say but decided to hold her tongue. She heard the sounds of war approaching. Along with that strange twinge filled clicking of a smaller machine. Papa had called it a 'motorcycle but what was it? She would soon find out.

Location: Raslan City
Highway

Kazen rode his motorbike down the highway and looked around cautiously as he waited to see if th ey were still on his trail.
He heard the tank in the distance and his radio scanner chartered to life; they were close but still far enough his plan might work.
He stopped his bike and flipped it's kickstand out. He slid off the bike and unshouldered his backpack.
"Let's bend the rules." He said as he removed a few devices and began quickly assembling them. After a few moments a functioning droid was assembled. He switched it on and when it didn't quite fire up he smacked it. The bot clicked to life and sped off down the road.
As it left the holoprojectorclicked on and shrouded the droid in a silhouette of himself. Once the hologram was fully formed the new 'Kazen waved at his former self and sped off down the highway to distract the tank.

"Godspeed, little friend." He said in Techno-Cipher as he watched his machine do his bidding. He mounted his bike again and raced off towards the rendezvous point.

It wasn't far, and in moments he arrived. He rode up and parked his bike around back. He checked his gear and stepped over to duck behind a stack of crates. It was then he realized his spot was already taken.

"Hey, you should probably get outta here pal, things are gonna heat up." Kazen said as he slumped down with his back against the crate and began checking his rifle. It was at this point that he noted his new acquaintances' garb.
'He's A goddamned spellbinder.' He thought to himself as he shifted his weight and slid his suppressor mask over his face and put on his tracking goggles. The mask protected him from mental attack as well as spoken spells. The goggles filtered out most other magical influence. Kazen used some of their skills; but he never required a focus. His own arm was his focus; surgically grafted to his body during numerous Heaven's Gate experiments. It allowed him to use their abilities against them with none of the drawback aside from manaburn.

"What's your business here, friend? We don't have much love for your type around here; Murder-Mage*." He said as he looked over the crates and saw his hologram ride by the front of the bar.
"Too late. You'd better be against them; if not you're in my way." He said as he turned and leapt over the crates just in time to see the tank rumble past. He fired several rounds at it as he prepped a teleportation spell and triggered it.

Kazen left arm opened it's vents as it released its energy. The turbine on his forearm began to rotate. As he sprinted towards the tank firing his rifle there was a flash of light that emitted from his arm and he vanished.
He reappeared on top of the tank and kicked a soldier from his perch at the cannon.
"You're no longer welcome here!" He said as he drove his blade through the man's chest. There was a spray of blood as the man groaned. His armor cracked and gave way as the blade split his chest.

"W-what...are you..?" The soldier gurgled out.
"A mistake." Kazen replied as he drove his fist into the man's helmet, destroying his surveillance unit. He tore off the man's helmet and threw it aside.
"You'll look upon my face as a I send you back to your precious Gate." He said as he forced his sword deeper into the man's chest, turned it and raked it downward, tearing through him.
"All of you, you've over stepped your bounds. Heaven's Gate has no purpose here, leave us and you will be spared. Otherwise; well, your commander seems to have met my demands niceley." He said as he hooped down from the tank. In the midst of his attack the other soldiers had been caught off-gaurd; as most were when they saw his skills.

As the new guy flipped down his gear and spoke Soren asked himself a question who was he talking about. Then he realized that the man wasn't of the garden variety. Soren watched as the man took of and over the crates. He then saw what was causing all the commotion. A tank had rolled up and the man was charging straight for it. On the tank was a Heaven's Gate insignia and then his blood began to boil. With this reaction his sword flared to life in his hand. Soren mentally thought the word Enthunder and suddenly his sword began to crackle with electricity. He then shot up into the air and came back down in the middle of everyone jabbing his sword down into the middle of the ground. A wave of energy crackled outwards and bounced from person to person.You have no worries. Heaven's Gate will pay for their sins against the planet!" He shouted to the man as his sword changed from flames to fire. He swung his sword in a wide arc and a disk of flame extended from him knocking anything back and charring the front of the tank.

Neo-Raslan

The Mermaid's Father

"Traitor! You will be executed at the Lord Marshall's feet for your crimes." The lieutenant shouted as he shouldered his rifle and fired a burst shot at the assailant. The other troops readied their weapons in response to the mage and the traitor in their midst.
"Keep your guns up!" He ordered

Kazen turned to see the Spellbinder utilizing his own skill set to maim a few of the troops.

He spun on his heels in response to the rounds that had slammed into the back of his left shoulder. They bullets ricocheted off of the metal plates of his arm and he grinned beneath his mask.
'Thank you for giving me a reason.' He thought to himself.
"They had their chance." He said as he drew his rifle and began executing the soldiers with precision shots. His movements were superhumanly quick, each round impacted within seconds of the first. In a flash the remaining soldiers lay dead; Magitech rounds embedded in their skulls.

Kazen shouldered his rifle and stepped down off of the tank. He removed his mask and looked to his new ally.
"Sometimes grease is grease. Sometimes it's slime." He said as he spit on the ground and lit a cigarette.
"They will be back, but we won't be here long."

As the man came down off the tank and spat on the ground Soren raised an eye brow at him. "So I'm guessing either you are part of the resistance or you really really hate these guys for something they did to you and judging by your arm it must be that." Soren then turned from the man and brought up holo screens. This was done by using a combination of elements and his techno-mancy. Once screen had a read out of the tanks programming and the other had diagnostics running for the condition of the tank. "Well if they do show up again they will have to ger passed ole goliath before they go anywhere. The tank rumbled back to life just barely and rolled over to the beginning of the road. Once there it took aim and an other automatic weapons also be came trained on the road ahead. "There we go. Now that can buy us some time for a get away if we so need it. Now do to business. Are you in the rebellion or passing through? Then the bar caught his attention again and without waiting for the man to respond he started off in it's direction.

[color=ed1c24][/color]Neo-Raslan

Kazen took a lomg drag on his cigarette as he looked around at the numerous dead soldiers.

"They're filth. Simple as that." He said bluntly as he shouldered his rifle and panned over the corpses once again. He flipped up his goggles and ran his hand through his long brown hair. It was twinges with grey at the temples; but much too early for a man of his apparent physical age.

"Yeah, you could say something like that." He said in response to the man's questions about his arm.
"It was partially them, partially myself."
He said as he tightened the strap that held his backpack in place and turned to approach the bar.
He watched curiously as his new companion manipulated the tank and reprogrammed it.
"Clever." He muttered to himself.

The Mermaids Father

There was a great commotion outside the bar and Roland held firm to his rifle as he waited the battle.
It seemed like a lot of action in such a small timeframe, but all at once the battle stopped.
Roland guarded his daughter as he held firm to his stance. His gun wad trained on the door and ready to fire.

Kazen stepped quickly and placed his hand flat against the door as Soren attempted to open it.
"Hold, there, 'Friend', why are you here? What interest do you have in the resistance?" He asked as he drew a blade and held it to his throat.
"Speak any ilk and I'll cut your tongue from your neck. There is little time, and I have zero patience for smug zealots." He spoke quickly and direct.

"They've sent your kind before." He said as he knocked on the door in a rapid pattern with his left hand.
"Roland. Open the door, we've got a Murder-Mage that needs a drink." He then drew his side-arm; it was a modified Heaven's Gate repulsed rifle. He had shortened it down to a hand-cannon, it had enough firepower to liquid the Mages organs before he could attempt a counterattack.

Roland looked to his daughter.
"It's Kazen; hurry now. Go get the chambers ready." He whispered to her as he began slowly moving toward the door.
The girl got up and disappeared through the back door of the tavern.

"Didn't know we was takin in strays." Roland said as he opened the door to see the two men. Kazen held a knife to the mages throat and a pistol in his left hand; pressed firmly against the other man's vitals.

Kazen moved quickly and withdrew his weapons, he then sidestepped and shoved his companion into the tavern.

"Welcome back! Now, let it be known to ye; try any of your spells in this place? You'll only harm yerself." He said as he pointed at the ceiling.
All along the walls, the ceiling the floor, every window and doorway was covered in runes.
"Your pagan rituals stay outside of my doorstep." He had bound the entire tavern and it's foundations in protective runes from his homeland; his people were naturally resistant to magic and it's properties hence why Heaven's Gate sought war with his people.

He felt the steel touch his throat and realized that this was definitely not the person that his master had been on contact with. The situation was to be expected though. His master had reminded him that if he appeared to the resistance in the ceremonial clothes that he might be treated poorly. As soon as he shoved inside and sat down he looked around the room and took comfort in the fact that the wards weren't going to keep his sword out if he should need it. It would cover them from spells if they were fired upon and the walls seemed pretty damn strong for a bar. "If either of you are quite done peacocking I'd love a chance to talk instead of being threatened. Now if I wanted you dead I could have hacked that tank to fire mortar shell after mortar shell at this place till it was a sand box. I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm hear to join. My master Argus Finch sent me. Said he had a contact here and wanted to get me started before he died. Sadly he didn't get his last wish. I made the journey here and was hoping to join without the threat of my life but it seems we are at a conundrum. Now my master did send word though I don't know how cause I was never privy to that information as I was his pupil not his equal. So my question to you gentlemen is do either of you have a letter from him explaining me or him?" Soren stopped talking mentally checked on the the tank. Yep still connected and nothing coming it seemed.

The Mermaids Father

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.

Roland poured Kazen his drink and motioned for Siren to place an order.

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.

"Aunora should have the room ready now." He said as he poured his friend another shot of whiskey.
"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."

The Mermaids Father

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.

Roland poured Kazen his drink and motioned for Siren to place an order.

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.

"Aunora should have the room ready now." He said as he poured his friend another shot.

"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."

At the sight of the envelopes Soren's mind began to ponder. How had all the other letters been received but the others had not? The animal carrying them was probably killed or died naturally but it still gave Soren suspicions. "Yes he was desperate. Either way I'm here now and it doesn't matter if this is for revenge or not. Your scars define you and I think the only reason you haven't put an end to all this is because you just might feel that if you did you would have nothing to live for. Now we can keep this charade up or you can let me help. I might be able to help with that arm and the implants if you wish I can't tell from the way you just spoke about all of it you view the pain as a badge of honor or the reminder to keep fighting. It doesn't matter cause either way I can help. Soren looked to Roland. "Rum, the bottle and what ever computer parts you can manage. I'll pay by giving you that tank and taking it off their circuit of control. He looked back to Kazen. "Keep calling me kid or mage if you like, but my name is Soren and I'd like to get started. With that he fell silent and closed his eyes communicating with the tank. Seconds later it was completely disconnected for HG control and communications. Soren did this but still kept the tank active incase of an incursion.