Garamm had plunged Fahlzarm deep into the chest of a Reaver at the moment she heard the public channel hailing her ship. She went inside, curious as to the noise, dragging the skewered Reaver in with her. It writhed and screeched, its plasma weapon warped beyond recognition, as she listened intently to the message. Garamm welcomed the new direction for her to take. She had grown bored of playing around with these Reavers. They had far too strong a fixation on these plasma guns of theirs. It was beyond her why none of them understood the majesty and utility of a good bladed weapon. It was no wonder they were defeated so long ago. At least the change in setting would allow her to dispatched them with more creativity. She yanked Fahlzarm loose from her unintentional abductee, shoved the dying creature out of her ship, and left it there to rot. She then took flight, heading for this "Cerberus Gate".
On the way over, she inevitably ran afoul of Reaver gunships that thought her easy prey. The unfortunate fact for them was that her powers made dog-fighting significantly easier for her, as just about every type of ship in Elysia had something metal in it. Engaging auto-pilot so she could concentrate, she ensnared two unwitting Reaver ships in her grasp. "Now kiss." She muttered as she smooshed the two together, both of which exploded upon impact, leaving nothing but a smoking, mangled mess that Garamm released to fall lifelessly to the streets below. Another gunship swooped upon her, clipping her ship with its plasma cannons. Once again, Garamm reached out with her powers and gripped the ship, and hurled it skyward, sending it hurtling into the underbelly of the cruiser above. She doubted it would do much damage, but it would give them pause to see one of their own ships smash into them.
Re-engaging manual control, Garamm plowed forward towards the gate again. The blades on her ship would make short work of anything stupid enough to end up in her way, and she would be ready to toss about any other ships that felt like crossing her.
They landed far ahead of the other forces, moving with a decisive purpose. Their time to fight would come, but for now, they had other goals in mind. A warehouse lay before them, now undefended as its caretakers fled in the wake of the invasion. It was the perfect window of opportunity, but a tense one, as their great worry was that the ensuing conflict might destroy their prize. Their burliest member headed straight for the first door they found, getting to work with his power tool without hesitation.
"Hurry it up." Their leader, an Ortakk, began. "If we stay here too long, we might actually have to fight someone."
"I'm going as fast as I can." The burly alien replied, his voice raised over the din of his cutting instrument. "Just a little patience, and we'll have the cores. Then we'll be set for life."
His words provided little comfort to their leader, as he continued to wearily eye the skies, watching as the streaking forms multiplied and compounded. Their paymasters, this "Tiger Dominion", would have little love for mercenaries that had no intention of fighting, but they would hopefully be too busy with their little plan to bother with them. He had turned his back on his own civilization when he had chosen the life of a thief, and he could care less if these bloodthirsty humans hated him too. He just wanted them to focus on their own business long enough for him to get away with his.
"Hey boss, someone's coming!" He whipped around at the warning from his comrade, instinctively raising his rifle in the direction of the threat. An armored stranger approached, seemingly unconcerned with the fact they were confronting four armed and battle hardened mercs. Their intrusion on this operation rankled the Ortakk leader something fierce. "Hey, back off!" He barked at them, shaking his rifle threateningly. "We don't want trouble, but we'll kill you if we have to!"
His words did not phase the stranger, but they eventually stopped just a short distance from them. Even as three of their number pointed weapons directly at them, their gaze seemed to look past their aggression, seeking something. Their eyes rested on the leader, which deeply unnerved him. They seemed to stare for all too long before finally producing some device, and a female voice rang out, "Are you aware, my sweets, that as you are in the midst of a military and/or criminal action, I can legally acquire your property as salvage?"
The question baffled the lot of them, but the leader's patience had worn thin. He looked to his right hand man, signalling for him to attack. But he barely had time to nod before the stranger was already plunging a sword through his chest. The leader looked in horror as the life leaked out of one of his long time comrades. The one to his left jumped forward, hoping to blast the stranger close up with his shotgun, but all he achieved was having his throat held in a vice grip. The burly alien at the door produced his machine gun, firing off a barrage of bullets. The stranger simply used their own ally as a shield, shooting forward and then hurling the bullet riddled carcass into the burly one. In the blink of an eye, a bigger, deadlier sword appeared in her hands, which she used to slice through both the dead man and the burly one in a single stroke. It was here that the leader finally escaped his stupor, choosing to take the opportunity to shoot the stranger right in the back.
Just as he squeezed the trigger, he could have sworn he saw the barrel of his gun seal shut. He only had a split second to register it before the thing exploded in his hands. He collapsed in agony, unable to do anything but stare at the mangled mess that remained of them. The stranger stood over him, and he braced for death. Instead of his end, he heard a cooing voice instead.
"Ah, you poor thing. I know, you weep..." At first, he couldn't believe his assailant was trying to comfort him. Things became somewhat more clear when she reached down and took his sword from his belt. He managed to look up, and saw the stranger had opened the visor on her helm. Everything made sense now. She was an Ortakk too. She was now cradling his sword as though it were a baby. He realised another horrifying truth. This was not just any Ortakk, it was that insane Exalted one with the sword fetish. Garamm was her name, if he remembered clearly. Just about every rogue Ortakk had heard of her. He actually began to chuckle at that moment. Their whole unit, slaughtered, just because this bitch wanted a new sword. His sword wasn't even all that special, just something he had picked up on a job. He was going to die so she could have a shiny new toy.
"...for your master lies dying. I know, it's sad. But don't cry, I will give you a new home. I'll take care of you. I'll cherish you." She then lowered the sword to his neck. "But first, a christening. The head of a traitor, the blood of a thief..." She then raised the sword once more, and swung it down hard. Those were the Ortakk rogue's last moments.
Garamm left her tiny battlefield, her new blade sheathed as she carried the Ortakk's head with her. The sword would find a place in her cargo hold, and the head would be taken to Ortakk'Nai for a tidy sum. "What do you think, my little darling?" She spoke aloud. "Will we find you some brothers..." She looked up to the sky, where ever more ships entered orbit. "...or will we bring you to safety first?"
The Ortakk culture is one of collection and obsession. Upon maturity (50 human years), every Ortakk is encouraged to leave their home and seek out a lifelong passion to take up. There are no specifications or limits placed upon this quest, and anything from knitting to jogging the span of a planet is considered a perfectly valid interest, provided one throws themselves into it with absolute zeal. It is something deeply ingrained in the Ortakk psyche and culture to become obsessed to the point of mania over their chosen passion, and very few Ortakk have been known to shake off their characteristic patterns. Whatever subject they choose, Ortakk are often compelled to form collections related to it, and even something as mundane as Human gift shop souvenirs will lead an Ortakk to collect “important artefacts” related to it. Occasionally, Ortakk have been known to develop more than one obsession, but such instances are known to be dangerous, as having to choose one over the other can have disastrous consequences on an Ortakk’s sanity.
In Ortakk society, there are a number of laws governing the nature of their obsessions, such as;
1: An Ortakk must never steal for their collection. Any Ortakk knows that the greatest pain is to lose something they own, thus the act of misappropriating an object from another, Ortakk or other, is punishable by death. Objects may be bartered for, fought for (consensually), gambled on, or taken from the dead (provided they weren’t murdered, and no legal inheritors are known), but never stolen. While Ortakk are generally solitary creatures, stealing from an Ortakk is liable to call a horde of them down on your head, which some world have learned the hard way.
2: An Ortakk may never share their collection. Those that have attempted to share collections in the past have met with and caused great tragedy, and so Ortakk law dictates that only one individual may claim legal possession over any given object or collection. Collections may be made open for viewing, but they may never be owned by more than one.
3: Outsiders must be legally dealt with to acquire objects. As self-centered and uncooperative as Ortakk society may be, they understand that outsiders do not follow their ways, and thus must be dealt with consensually and legally in order to obtain anything from them. It is not permitted to kill them, swindle them, or otherwise wrong them by any means, no matter how much an Ortakk desires that which they possess. Additionally, if/when one is working alongside an outsider to acquire an object, ownership of said object must be legally clarified before taking possession of it. One must provide demonstrable proof of an agreement to take possession of an object for it to be recognised by the Ortakk High Council, else the dispute will come before the Council for arbitration.
4: Obsessions based upon taboo and criminal acts will not be legally supported. In their thirst for something to devote themselves to, more than a few Ortakk have gone down paths that their fellows cannot abide by. For instance, should one desire to devote themselves to collecting the heads of those murdered by them, they would be informed that such is a forbidden act and carrying it out will be punished by execution.
The Ortakk High Council is a fairly loose governing body over the Ortakk worlds. Its primary function is to oversee disputes over ownership of objects and collections as well as pass judgement on crimes committed under Ortakk law. Ortakk law is highly simple in nature outside of ownership and possession, and thus Ortakk is often thought of as a fairly anarchic society, although not a terribly dangerous one. The Ortakk High Council keeps a record of every unsettled grievance with outsider, especially instances of theft. Any outsider that has wronged the Ortakk would do well to take caution near their space.
The Ortakk are sometimes known as “Curators”, as those that visit their worlds have noted that they all tend to open museums surrounding their chosen obsession and collection. Those that visit the museums find it an interesting, yet hostile experience, as each Curator tends to watch visitors like a hawk, and often employ robotic guards to dissuade opportunists.
Racial Features: Ortakks are a largely humanoid race, with their distinguishing features being horns of various shapes, sizes and positions upon their heads, as well as bony protrusions from their skin (the spine of an Ortakk is always exposed). Their bone structure is almost meshed with their organic skin, and their bones are harder and stronger than human bones. They also tend to have dark grey skin and eyes of various inhuman colours. On human worlds, Ortakks have occasionally been mistaken for devils due to their appearance and their propensity for bargaining for objects.
Appearance
(created by Stormserpent on DeviantArt)
(created by Benedickbana on DeviantArt)
Occupation/Concept: Obsessed Sword Collector
Training:
Sword Master: Garamm’s slavish devotion to swords and swordplay has had the obvious consequence of making her devastating with a bladed weapon in her had.
Applied Engineering: Due to many instances of swords and sword related technology in Elysium being reliant upon modern technology, Garamm has been forced to learn more about how to work with such technology in order to keep her precious swords fully maintained and working properly. Never ask her to fix something that isn’t reliant on similar technology.
Dedicated Athletics: Any Ortakk knows that when pursuing anything of value, it pays to train yourself to be the best you can be in order to claim your prize. Garamm will go to any lengths to take possession and fully utilize a sword. She would probably die a little inside if she found a sword she couldn’t swing.
Powers:
Metal Manipulation: Garamm commands substances of a metallic nature, enabling her to rip metallic weaponry from her enemies and even crush battle droids with their own casing. Used upon the Exalted, it is much easier to resist critical damage, but those whom it is used upon will certainly feel a great deal of force exerted upon them.
Sword Conjuring: Having an intrinsic connection to her beloved swords, Garamm has found herself capable of embossing them with a seal that will let her call them to her when bereft of one. All this entails is teleporting the sword of choice directly into the palm of her hand, held by the hilt.
Bolstered Strength: Garamm often wonders what use her sword arm would be if the gods hadn't seen fit to bless her with the ability to swing her blade clean through heavily armoured opponents.
Equipment:
Dasrap: One of Garamm’s “Children”, swords made using both her powers and some general smithing and engineering. This sword is lightweight and easy to use, but more importantly has been attuned to conflict with Essence. In essence, it can damage anything comprised of Essence and protect against Essence based attacks, although it cannot completely nullify such attacks, only blunt their force.
Fahlzarm (image created by Studio4Productions on DeviantArt): Another of Garamm’s “Children”, this one has had a superheated edge built into it, increasing its cutting potential. The sword is an overall two-handed weapon, although Garamm is capable of using it one-handed, it is much less effective due to the sheer weight of it.
O-13 Supplementary Exoskeleton, dubbed “Canvas” (pictured in appearance scetion): Originally a piece of Ortakk technology designed to enhance movement and provide protection, Garamm has since fused all sorts of metals into it over the years, mostly from swords she owns a duplicate of or that which are irreparably broken. To look open the surface plating is to see a bizarre canvas of metals in odd places.
Recording Device: Garamm keeps a recording device with a large memory storage on her person at all times. Ortakk law dictates that a verbal contract is legally binding, and thus she endeavours to ensure she gets evidence of confirmation of ownership in all her transactions.
Airship: Garamm’s personal ship is a mostly standard Ortakk vessel, designed to allow for one of their own to live and work out of it on their lonesome. Garamm’s ship has two distinct modifications, the first being that a pair of large, superheated blades have been attached to the front to allow for the performing of ramming manoeuvres against other vessels. The other is that the cargo bay has been converted into something of a blade museum, dedicated to housing Garamm’s collection, with only a small amount of essential cargo being kept in unremarkable containers.
Motivation: Garamm’s primary and overwhelming motivation is to her collection. She feels a strong need to own and collect swords and blades of all types, as well as anything closely related enough to swords to warrant her interest. When she has no specific sword of any type to possess, she will trend towards tagging along to an active combat zone as a mercenary, seeking either to find unique swords on the battlefield or make one from all the metals bound to be flung about.
While Garamm is no stickler for rules and laws, her social condition compels her to participate in mass action undertaken by the Ortakk. As the Ortakk believe that deterring thieves through collective action is a must, so too will Garamm act with the Ortakk in order to punish those that transgress against an Ortakk.
Personality: Any who know the Ortakk know of their deep obsessions, but they would also know each Ortakk expresses their obsession differently. Some express great pride and love for what they obsess over, while others hide their interests from others almost as though they were ashamed of it. Garamm treads a middle ground, loving and adoring her collection while being less inclined to tell every last person just how much she cares for her swords, although she’ll talk the ears off anyone foolish enough to ask. As far as swords go, she likes to have at least one of every kind of sword that she can find, usually using duplicates as a source of metal or simply leaving them be. She has created a few swords over the years, both to serve her in combat as well as just for the pleasure of creating them. Those she creates she considers her “Children”, and will coo and fuss over them like a human mother over their own child. If they were destroyed in combat, Garamm would be most displeased.
As an Ortakk, Garamm has an almost inbuilt aversion to thieves. She would not admit it openly, but she has contemplated thievery many times in the past to serve her collection. Her cultural conditioning has always kept her from indulging this impulse, and while she might understand the motivation behind certain thefts, she still can’t bring herself not to think ill of those that steal. If a known thief were to approach her collection, Garamm would quickly become aggressive. It wouldn’t even matter if they had planned to steal anything or not, as Ortakk try to take as few chances as they can with their possessions. As hostile as she might be to them, Garamm would not bother to take justice into her own hands, unless the act was being committed in front of her. Ortakk hate thieves, but Garamm feels that another races’ thief is another races problem.
When the situation does not pertain to her obsession, Garamm is usually friendly enough. Ortakk are solitary creatures, but they are hardly prohibited from socializing, and Garamm is content to do so when idle. Garamm is not above offering a helping hand to others, as long as she doesn’t have anything better to do, and as long as it doesn’t conflict with Ortakk law. Garamm is clever enough to know that antagonising others does not lend to good bargaining and is thus careful not to be a pest if she can help it. Others have swords, and she wants them to be willing to bargain for those swords in good faith, and so it pays not to make them angry or otherwise against even speaking to her, let alone bartering. Even better, the right favour done here and there for a sword wielder might butter them up to a deal in the future if the object of her desire cannot be had right now.
Flaws:
Dubious Reliability: Garamm’s loyalty is to her collection and obsession alone, and can be motivate to change sides for the right offer. There are certain limits to this behaviour, but suffice to say she would gleefully switch sides in a war if the other side offered her a really spectacular sword.
A Mother’s Wrath: To steal from or destroy a piece of Garamm’s collection would quickly earn her ire. To attempt to destroy her precious “Children” would absolutely infuriate her. In such a heightened emotional state, she would be much more careless in action.
Bio: The rearing of Ortakk children would likely seem cold and even inhumane to the more empathetic of individuals. Rather than being raised by their parent, whom only gave birth to them due the compulsion of the Ortakk Mating Season, they are taken to large scale childcare centres where dedicated professionals provide them with a basic education as well as attempting to drill the ethics of Ortakk society into their skulls. Ortakk children often visit their parents, but their meetings are devoid of emotion and warmth, and any Ortakk consider their spawn a threat to their collections more than anything. Like so many before her, Garamm was raised in a great complex alongside countless other Ortakk children on the planet Kaius (hence her last name), all hearing of how someday they will be sent forth to find that which they feel they can devote their life to. Before finding their own obsessions, Ortakk people are somewhat similar to other races in basic behaviour. Garamm herself was terrified of the idea of embarking on her own journey, fearing the idea of leaving behind everything that was familiar to her. She ultimately had little choice in the matter, and upon maturity, she was bundled off into her own craft and set on an automatic course for the nearest inhabited planet.
As most Ortakks did, Garamm fell in with roaming ships and groups in need of hands to do odd jobs. Ortakks were expected to learn quickly and find a place for themselves, and those that didn’t were taken advantage of or found their death unexpectedly. Garamm served on multiple small vessels before she finally found her place in life. It was on board a human vessel bound for Lunar Confederation space where they came under attack by pirates. The vessel put up the best fight it could, but its motley crew were no match for hardened criminals. Garamm had a sword plunged through her chest and was left for dead. Her thoughts dwelt on many things, from how she was going to die alone without having found a purpose, to how she would be killed by that which the Ortakk hated most, and even on how beautiful the craftsmanship on this blade was. Her memory of the events that followed is still hazy, but what she remembers most is pulling that beautiful specimen out of her chest and pursuing the pirates with it. She awakened later to be told that she had managed to save what was left of the crew singlehandedly, and that by their best guesses, she had Exalted. Garamm was glad to be alive, but even happier to have finally found her passion – a passion for swords.
Garamm left that ship and its crew immediately upon arriving at their destination. The crew were almost glad to be rid of her. In spite of having saved their lives, the mania she had been displaying over her sword had been deeply frightening many of them. She got aboard the first vessel that would take her back to Kaius, and they recognised that she had found her calling. Gifting her a personal vessel, they sent her on her way once more, and she would never turn back. Since that day, Garamm has acquired many swords, with her cargo hold having become a veritable rainbow of different bladed weapons. Her exploits in acquiring new and unique swords added to her growing legend, and some battlefield commanders that hear of her being spotted amongst their enemies reach for their swords instinctively, knowing she might seek to claim them as “rightful battlefield salvage”. Finding herself inundated with swords from countless battles, Garamm took to re-purposing those she had too many of in order to create new ones. Those she created personally she named her “Children”, and she treats them with the utmost care.
Extra Info: A sword is incapable of being Dragon Blooded.
The Ortakk culture is one of collection and obsession. Upon maturity (50 human years), every Ortakk is encouraged to leave their home and seek out a lifelong passion to take up. There are no specifications or limits placed upon this quest, and anything from knitting to jogging the span of a planet is considered a perfectly valid interest, provided one throws themselves into it with absolute zeal. It is something deeply ingrained in the Ortakk psyche and culture to become obsessed to the point of mania over their chosen passion, and very few Ortakk have been known to shake off their characteristic patterns. Whatever subject they choose, Ortakk are often compelled to form collections related to it, and even something as mundane as Human gift shop souvenirs will lead an Ortakk to collect “important artefacts” related to it. Occasionally, Ortakk have been known to develop more than one obsession, but such instances are known to be dangerous, as having to choose one over the other can have disastrous consequences on an Ortakk’s sanity.
In Ortakk society, there are a number of laws governing the nature of their obsessions, such as;
1: An Ortakk must never steal for their collection. Any Ortakk knows that the greatest pain is to lose something they own, thus the act of misappropriating an object from another, Ortakk or other, is punishable by death. Objects may be bartered for, fought for (consensually), gambled on, or taken from the dead (provided they weren’t murdered, and no legal inheritors are known), but never stolen. While Ortakk are generally solitary creatures, stealing from an Ortakk is liable to call a horde of them down on your head, which some world have learned the hard way.
2: An Ortakk may never share their collection. Those that have attempted to share collections in the past have met with and caused great tragedy, and so Ortakk law dictates that only one individual may claim legal possession over any given object or collection. Collections may be made open for viewing, but they may never be owned by more than one.
3: Outsiders must be legally dealt with to acquire objects. As self-centered and uncooperative as Ortakk society may be, they understand that outsiders do not follow their ways, and thus must be dealt with consensually and legally in order to obtain anything from them. It is not permitted to kill them, swindle them, or otherwise wrong them by any means, no matter how much an Ortakk desires that which they possess. Additionally, if/when one is working alongside an outsider to acquire an object, ownership of said object must be legally clarified before taking possession of it. One must provide demonstrable proof of an agreement to take possession of an object for it to be recognised by the Ortakk High Council, else the dispute will come before the Council for arbitration.
4: Obsessions based upon taboo and criminal acts will not be legally supported. In their thirst for something to devote themselves to, more than a few Ortakk have gone down paths that their fellows cannot abide by. For instance, should one desire to devote themselves to collecting the heads of those murdered by them, they would be informed that such is a forbidden act and carrying it out will be punished by execution.
The Ortakk High Council is a fairly loose governing body over the Ortakk worlds. Its primary function is to oversee disputes over ownership of objects and collections as well as pass judgement on crimes committed under Ortakk law. Ortakk law is highly simple in nature outside of ownership and possession, and thus Ortakk is often thought of as a fairly anarchic society, although not a terribly dangerous one. The Ortakk High Council keeps a record of every unsettled grievance with outsider, especially instances of theft. Any outsider that has wronged the Ortakk would do well to take caution near their space.
The Ortakk are sometimes known as “Curators”, as those that visit their worlds have noted that they all tend to open museums surrounding their chosen obsession and collection. Those that visit the museums find it an interesting, yet hostile experience, as each Curator tends to watch visitors like a hawk, and often employ robotic guards to dissuade opportunists.
Racial Features: Ortakks are a largely humanoid race, with their distinguishing features being horns of various shapes, sizes and positions upon their heads, as well as bony protrusions from their skin (the spine of an Ortakk is always exposed). Their bone structure is almost meshed with their organic skin, and their bones are harder and stronger than human bones. They also tend to have dark grey skin and eyes of various inhuman colours. On human worlds, Ortakks have occasionally been mistaken for devils due to their appearance and their propensity for bargaining for objects.
Appearance
(created by Stormserpent on DeviantArt)
(created by Benedickbana on DeviantArt)
Occupation/Concept: Obsessed Sword Collector
Training:
Sword Master: Garamm’s slavish devotion to swords and swordplay has had the obvious consequence of making her devastating with a bladed weapon in her had.
Applied Engineering: Due to many instances of swords and sword related technology in Elysium being reliant upon modern technology, Garamm has been forced to learn more about how to work with such technology in order to keep her precious swords fully maintained and working properly. Never ask her to fix something that isn’t reliant on similar technology.
Dedicated Athletics: Any Ortakk knows that when pursuing anything of value, it pays to train yourself to be the best you can be in order to claim your prize. Garamm will go to any lengths to take possession and fully utilize a sword. She would probably die a little inside if she found a sword she couldn’t swing.
Powers:
Metal Manipulation: Garamm commands substances of a metallic nature, enabling her to rip metallic weaponry from her enemies and even crush battle droids with their own casing. Used upon the Exalted, it is much easier to resist critical damage, but those whom it is used upon will certainly feel a great deal of force exerted upon them.
Sword Conjuring: Having an intrinsic connection to her beloved swords, Garamm has found herself capable of embossing them with a seal that will let her call them to her when bereft of one. All this entails is teleporting the sword of choice directly into the palm of her hand, held by the hilt.
Bolstered Strength: Garamm often wonders what use her sword arm would be if the gods hadn't seen fit to bless her with the ability to swing her blade clean through heavily armoured opponents.
Equipment:
Dasrap: One of Garamm’s “Children”, swords made using both her powers and some general smithing and engineering. This sword is lightweight and easy to use, but more importantly has been attuned to conflict with Essence. In essence, it can damage anything comprised of Essence and protect against Essence based attacks, although it cannot completely nullify such attacks, only blunt their force.
Fahlzarm (image created by Studio4Productions on DeviantArt): Another of Garamm’s “Children”, this one has had a superheated edge built into it, increasing its cutting potential. The sword is an overall two-handed weapon, although Garamm is capable of using it one-handed, it is much less effective due to the sheer weight of it.
O-13 Supplementary Exoskeleton, dubbed “Canvas” (pictured in appearance scetion): Originally a piece of Ortakk technology designed to enhance movement and provide protection, Garamm has since fused all sorts of metals into it over the years, mostly from swords she owns a duplicate of or that which are irreparably broken. To look open the surface plating is to see a bizarre canvas of metals in odd places.
Recording Device: Garamm keeps a recording device with a large memory storage on her person at all times. Ortakk law dictates that a verbal contract is legally binding, and thus she endeavours to ensure she gets evidence of confirmation of ownership in all her transactions.
Airship: Garamm’s personal ship is a mostly standard Ortakk vessel, designed to allow for one of their own to live and work out of it on their lonesome. Garamm’s ship has two distinct modifications, the first being that a pair of large, superheated blades have been attached to the front to allow for the performing of ramming manoeuvres against other vessels. The other is that the cargo bay has been converted into something of a blade museum, dedicated to housing Garamm’s collection, with only a small amount of essential cargo being kept in unremarkable containers.
Motivation: Garamm’s primary and overwhelming motivation is to her collection. She feels a strong need to own and collect swords and blades of all types, as well as anything closely related enough to swords to warrant her interest. When she has no specific sword of any type to possess, she will trend towards tagging along to an active combat zone as a mercenary, seeking either to find unique swords on the battlefield or make one from all the metals bound to be flung about.
While Garamm is no stickler for rules and laws, her social condition compels her to participate in mass action undertaken by the Ortakk. As the Ortakk believe that deterring thieves through collective action is a must, so too will Garamm act with the Ortakk in order to punish those that transgress against an Ortakk.
Personality: Any who know the Ortakk know of their deep obsessions, but they would also know each Ortakk expresses their obsession differently. Some express great pride and love for what they obsess over, while others hide their interests from others almost as though they were ashamed of it. Garamm treads a middle ground, loving and adoring her collection while being less inclined to tell every last person just how much she cares for her swords, although she’ll talk the ears off anyone foolish enough to ask. As far as swords go, she likes to have at least one of every kind of sword that she can find, usually using duplicates as a source of metal or simply leaving them be. She has created a few swords over the years, both to serve her in combat as well as just for the pleasure of creating them. Those she creates she considers her “Children”, and will coo and fuss over them like a human mother over their own child. If they were destroyed in combat, Garamm would be most displeased.
As an Ortakk, Garamm has an almost inbuilt aversion to thieves. She would not admit it openly, but she has contemplated thievery many times in the past to serve her collection. Her cultural conditioning has always kept her from indulging this impulse, and while she might understand the motivation behind certain thefts, she still can’t bring herself not to think ill of those that steal. If a known thief were to approach her collection, Garamm would quickly become aggressive. It wouldn’t even matter if they had planned to steal anything or not, as Ortakk try to take as few chances as they can with their possessions. As hostile as she might be to them, Garamm would not bother to take justice into her own hands, unless the act was being committed in front of her. Ortakk hate thieves, but Garamm feels that another races’ thief is another races problem.
When the situation does not pertain to her obsession, Garamm is usually friendly enough. Ortakk are solitary creatures, but they are hardly prohibited from socializing, and Garamm is content to do so when idle. Garamm is not above offering a helping hand to others, as long as she doesn’t have anything better to do, and as long as it doesn’t conflict with Ortakk law. Garamm is clever enough to know that antagonising others does not lend to good bargaining and is thus careful not to be a pest if she can help it. Others have swords, and she wants them to be willing to bargain for those swords in good faith, and so it pays not to make them angry or otherwise against even speaking to her, let alone bartering. Even better, the right favour done here and there for a sword wielder might butter them up to a deal in the future if the object of her desire cannot be had right now.
Flaws:
Dubious Reliability: Garamm’s loyalty is to her collection and obsession alone, and can be motivate to change sides for the right offer. There are certain limits to this behaviour, but suffice to say she would gleefully switch sides in a war if the other side offered her a really spectacular sword.
A Mother’s Wrath: To steal from or destroy a piece of Garamm’s collection would quickly earn her ire. To attempt to destroy her precious “Children” would absolutely infuriate her. In such a heightened emotional state, she would be much more careless in action.
Bio: The rearing of Ortakk children would likely seem cold and even inhumane to the more empathetic of individuals. Rather than being raised by their parent, whom only gave birth to them due the compulsion of the Ortakk Mating Season, they are taken to large scale childcare centres where dedicated professionals provide them with a basic education as well as attempting to drill the ethics of Ortakk society into their skulls. Ortakk children often visit their parents, but their meetings are devoid of emotion and warmth, and any Ortakk consider their spawn a threat to their collections more than anything. Like so many before her, Garamm was raised in a great complex alongside countless other Ortakk children on the planet Kaius (hence her last name), all hearing of how someday they will be sent forth to find that which they feel they can devote their life to. Before finding their own obsessions, Ortakk people are somewhat similar to other races in basic behaviour. Garamm herself was terrified of the idea of embarking on her own journey, fearing the idea of leaving behind everything that was familiar to her. She ultimately had little choice in the matter, and upon maturity, she was bundled off into her own craft and set on an automatic course for the nearest inhabited planet.
As most Ortakks did, Garamm fell in with roaming ships and groups in need of hands to do odd jobs. Ortakks were expected to learn quickly and find a place for themselves, and those that didn’t were taken advantage of or found their death unexpectedly. Garamm served on multiple small vessels before she finally found her place in life. It was on board a human vessel bound for Lunar Confederation space where they came under attack by pirates. The vessel put up the best fight it could, but its motley crew were no match for hardened criminals. Garamm had a sword plunged through her chest and was left for dead. Her thoughts dwelt on many things, from how she was going to die alone without having found a purpose, to how she would be killed by that which the Ortakk hated most, and even on how beautiful the craftsmanship on this blade was. Her memory of the events that followed is still hazy, but what she remembers most is pulling that beautiful specimen out of her chest and pursuing the pirates with it. She awakened later to be told that she had managed to save what was left of the crew singlehandedly, and that by their best guesses, she had Exalted. Garamm was glad to be alive, but even happier to have finally found her passion – a passion for swords.
Garamm left that ship and its crew immediately upon arriving at their destination. The crew were almost glad to be rid of her. In spite of having saved their lives, the mania she had been displaying over her sword had been deeply frightening many of them. She got aboard the first vessel that would take her back to Kaius, and they recognised that she had found her calling. Gifting her a personal vessel, they sent her on her way once more, and she would never turn back. Since that day, Garamm has acquired many swords, with her cargo hold having become a veritable rainbow of different bladed weapons. Her exploits in acquiring new and unique swords added to her growing legend, and some battlefield commanders that hear of her being spotted amongst their enemies reach for their swords instinctively, knowing she might seek to claim them as “rightful battlefield salvage”. Finding herself inundated with swords from countless battles, Garamm took to re-purposing those she had too many of in order to create new ones. Those she created personally she named her “Children”, and she treats them with the utmost care.
Extra Info: A sword is incapable of being Dragon Blooded.
Member
