He was once human, and he was the best assassin the Underdark had ever known. When he died, they commissioned their best doctor to rebuild him, copying his conscience into a synthetic body in order to continue his grisly duties. During this time, he still perceived himself as being human. Every 'death' saw him rebuilt, and then reprogrammed to forget.

But, when one of his circuits shorted, a glitch in the system allowed him to see himself for what he truly was: a walking nightmare of steel and vestigial flesh.

He swore revenge on the Underdark, and all who he felt were responsible for his undying state. He would start with the doctor who brought him back; a prodigal young woman, who has since fled the Underdark in light of more constrained morals. She is remorseful, but is it enough He knows that she is the key tounearthing the Underdark for good.

The cryo-suspended crew of a long-range cargo vessel are roused from their sleep, forced awake by the ship's automated response to a nearby distress signal. They reroute to the source, pinning it to a terrestrial planet which is mapped as being unexplored. Their cautious approach is intercepted as they brace for landing, and the vessel is shot down by a grounded monolith beneath the cloud layer.

With their ship obliterated, the survivors set up their own distress beacon, bunkering amidst the wreckage as they attempt to survey their surroundings. The planet is almost entirely alien, save for strange, human-like ruins dotted amidst the landscape. The crew must scavenge for food and supplies amidst their long wait for assistance, unearthing decrepit signs of a long-lost colony as they progress.

The haughty upper-class flock to the outer reaches, as they did every year, to witness the finale of the realm's annual tournament. Foreign nations elect their greatest knights and dukes to take part in a series of jousts and hunts, scored evenly by a neutral party and anointed victory with a small fortune as their prize.

Traditionally, unwed noblewomen would offer hand-crafted ribbons as a token of luck towards their favored participant. One such competitor receives no such gift. Rather, he is the subject of many foul rumors; tales of demon-blood and beasthood, and monstrous features beneath his black armor. When such stories reach the naive ears of the Silver Keep's heiress, she cannot help but pity him. Out of innocent kindness, she sews him a ribbon as black as his steel, and offers it to him on the morning of his victory.