Miserere In Crimson - Discussion Topic

[Simulacrum]

This story has been created out of a series of posts I had planned for a Hakann arc in the BZPRPG.

 

Artwork featured (by post): Silence (Fuseli), Wild Chase (von Stuck), Lucifer (von Stuck), The Enigma (Doré).

 

EDIT:

 

Alright, found the document with almost everything! There were a couple playlists I had somehow planned to incorporate for the posts. Unfortunately for the life of me I can't remember how I had planned to use them. Here they are regardless as youtube playlists: Hakann, Battue.

 

You probably noticed the weird highlighting going on everywhere. The idea was to have every post be both a Hakann and a Battue post by creating poetry (Battue's actual "voice") out of Hakann and the quotes. The complete Battue "posts":

 

(Poem 1)

 

I tell you

When wind’s drive and whirl

Blow no longer

And the whisper at last--

Maybe I’ll tell you then

 

When the sunset

Reels to the rack and twist

And the rose a red bygone

When the love is going

the gate to the end

shall beckon So long

Maybe I’ll tell you then

 

I never knew you

I have hunted my thoughts

I have broken down the wind

and the roses for you

I shall never find any

greater than you

 

(Poem 2)

 

Red drips from

where I have been

all the blood

is off my mouth

 

of red mess

And the tiger

know

 

I was a killer.

Yes, I am a killer.

 

I come from killing.

I go to drive

red joy ahead of me

 

Red gluts and red hungers 

run in my bones

 

The child cries for a suck mother and I cry for war

 

(Poem 3)

 

A man’s face looking into the jaws and throat of life

with something proud

so proud no smash of the jaws

leaves the face 

with anything else 

than the old proud look

 

to the finish 

in the dust

Lost among

used-up cinders

This face

is a flash

Is taken from the ribs of the earth

Ready for the hammers of 

changing years

Ready for the sleeping

years of silence

Ready for the dust and fire and wind

 

this face I saw in an Aztec mask

A cry

of storm and dark 

a red prayer

A beaten shape of ashes

waiting the sunrise

proud-mouthed

proud-eyed

 

(Poem 4)

 

I am the undertow of power

battering you things of high law

 

I am a sleepless eater

of rust and rot bastioned deep

 

I am Law 

Older than

your builders proud

 

I am all

Whether you say Yes or No

I am the crumbler: to-morrow

 

(Poem 5)

 

I the fire

In reds

in pilgrims

in jaws

on beaten

and glad

 

the iron-jawed

said Thanks, O God

for grays winds blew gray patterns of sleet

the iron-jawed

sang Thanks, O God

 

You, O Child

Remember more than ever

the hunter’s moon

and the yellow hills

 

And so the iron-jawed

stand up and say

the finish is come

 

God of all empty hands

of all night sky

I and my love-child stand to-day and sing 

Thanks, O God

 

(Post III)

 

I have tasted

the underlying of all that bleeds

We are red and passion

uncertain of boundary

a child as well as emperor

 

I see

true nakedness of bone

 

I know 

the music of revelations

 

I am teeth

I hunger for red sweet

the quivering root and bone

 

I am the anointing fire

a pleasure of mine to savour or detest

 

I share veins

sculptor’s imitation of soul

 

the broken bone in smooth-running red

an immolation for aeons

 

I have lost

a stark and maskless silence

flesh torn gently into lips

 

beneath skin

behind ribs

something is gone before the start of decay

the warmth beneath the malleable cutaneous

trying to hide in the flayed remainder

it lies

 

your hands grasp

your palms, even with their calluses, feel

this frame of dust

 

This is the only taste

stimuli devouring impassivity

tearing and moving 

a delusion of separation

 

this renascence of flesh

conceived within violence

has shattered self

and left only the bloodied vestige

 

A feigned flesh

will bleed the same as any

a man of words

born still and cold

did not taste the carving

 

I feel agony no longer

 

I have eaten nociception

a mute imitation of anathema

 

beauty unspeakable

and scarlet teeth

skin more than clay

speaks of places of red and pulse

born from the daemonic

in beatific calm

 

I am the image of God

 

* * *

 

I the flesh

now broken and godless

a child abandoned

 

I have drunk the burning

ashen and heat-tempered

the touch of slowfaring rotter

passionate from dust

shining as they stride

in mindless herds of stark

 

These have no lips and no eyes

these of red and surging

 

I evoke the shapes of broken and peeled

ulterior scarlet

 

I the empty sockets 

the shattered teeth

the magnificent and hollow

 

* * * 

 

I have seen the face

cinder-red and deadening

 

I have tasted the marrow of hope

in the wastelands 

in the flesh

in the eyes

memories of half-forgotten blood and wind

 

born great and of ruin made graceful

I have loathed and lusted after a hollow soul

I have resounded to the cry of rage and bloodlust

 

There is fear of the holy

in the remains of feeble and bloodstained lips

 

Those who console themselves in darkness

see an illusion of imperfect form

 

senses ignored in preference for the imagined

such man chooses

 

Only the dead

their wisdom concealed

deep beneath

and consumed in reverence

 

* * *

 

I the child of anathema

eyes open and gangrened

spoke with words weary

and innocent

 

You will come holding

the hands of Death

and life awaits you

the last child

 

the face of Death

masked in the flesh

of an ancient name

and given breath

 

I have tasted crimson

christened by a long job

of killing

 

And here are the profiles that would have reflected the changes made to Hakann (and the introduction of Battue). These help clarify some of the concepts introduced, although they're crazy long! Also some more Battue stuff in the quotes.

 

 

-Miserere in Crimson-

 

Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.

Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?

Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

 

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

 

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

 

-Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

 

Name: Hakann

Species: Skakdi
Gender: Male

Appearance: A death mask stained scarlet, Hakann is the husk of a once-living being, gaining a semblance of life only when awakened by pain. He is considerably taller than a normal Skakdi (much, much taller than the average Toa / on par with the average Vortixx), and his torso and limbs are composed of sublime muscle, capable of ferocious power or adroit precision. The unreflective shades of red that compose his body are scarred by years of bloodshed, turning his organic components into a hypertrophic tapestry of violence. Sunken deep in a face composed of features sharper than most knives, his eyes are empty black circles due to Battue's tampering, cruel mimicry of gouged void. When Battue activates, his body seems to simultaneously straighten and harden, becoming a collection of negatives and scars complete with obsidian-sharp claws, teeth, and spines. He carries his myriad tools and weapons via bandoleers, belts, and his satchel, which (along with Battue and his armor) are completely hidden by his Muaka-hide cloak.

Powers:

-Extreme resistance to heat: before Battue removed the ability, Hakann was able to fire beams of concentrated extreme heat (capable of melting stone and metal) from his eyes with no injury to his person. Although he is unable to access his Heat Vision or his elemental power, he retains his extreme resistance to heat.

-Hakann can “activate” Battue, accessing her power to make himself much, much faster, stronger, and more agile for up to the comfortable limit of five minutes (identical to a Parakuka's boost, except that acceptable usage lasts half as long). Like Parakuka usage, this comes at the cost of fatigue, and the longer Hakann maintains the activation, the stronger the following fatigue is. If used for extreme amounts of time, the resulting physical taxation may even result in death. This power has another very important weakness, listed in the appropriate section.

-Due to Battue's connection, Hakann's senses have been vastly increased (identical to a Mask of Sensory Aptitude user, including proprioception & equilibrioception increase). This has made him extremely resistant to brightness-based overstimulation, painful sounds, fetid odors, etc., due to a combination of resistance-via-repeated-exposure (seeing how even the smallest stimuli is incredibly painful) and his pain asymbolia. She has also fused the power of his Thermographic Contact Lenses directly into his body, leading to an enhanced sixth sense of precise thermoception (separate from his vision).

Abilities: Hakann is a virtuoso of violence. His entire life has been dedicated to perfecting his skill in two fields: surviving despite the best efforts of those around him, and effectively removing all threats to his person. As such, he possesses the qualities and knowledge you would expect from a man who often finds himself having to end lives with his bare hands (and rarely within the desired CQC range). Hakann possesses a ferocious tendency, acquired through careful mental and physical training, to continue thriving in the face of the worst combat situations. Due to a combination of pain asymoblia, pseudo-sadomasochism, a focus on counterattacking, and superior reach and strength in comparison to most potential opponents, Hakann's defensive techniques and tactics are extremely effective against most melee and some ranged combatants, and the combination of his martial prowess and innate endurance makes him nightmarish when matched against foes who focus on depleting their opponent's stamina. As far as offense goes, Hakann is an artist with a deep and prodigious understanding of the structure and techniques of his medium. Thanks to the combination of myriad years of training and his innate and achieved physical characteristics, he possesses strength, speed, stamina, and agility befitting his size and conditioning, equaling that of any trained Po-Toa/Skakdi or Vortixx. His physical characteristics are complemented by his fighting style, which is absolutely devoid of anything resembling the spirituality, conservation-of-life, or self-restraint found in any reasonably well-intentioned martial art; Hakann strikes to kill, maim, or cripple as quickly and effectively as possible, and has trained with the intention of assuming the worst position/situation possible (see: most military combatives). Battue's assistance, although it comes at a great cost, renders his abilities exponentially more useful.

Skills: Hakann is the weakest of the Piraka so far as sheer, intrinsic power is concerned. His comrades can steal abilities, separate into millions of mentally-controlled particles, and create inescapable prisons. He can grow more physically powerful at the very high cost of risking death in the subsequent period of weakness, and possessed even less ability before Battue's additions. As such, from a perspective of pure power, he should very well be dead, for all of his “allies” would kill him if given the smallest chance. The reason for his survival is simple: he compensates for his lack of elemental (or otherwise supernatural) power with physical and mental adroitness. Hakann is a polymath that has grown frighteningly close to the realm of the pantomath: any and every skill that will help him perform his dastardly deeds with maximum effect and aplomb is not only understood but mastered. Avak has his machines to work on and perfect, and Thok his beauty; Hakann has his physical disciplines and his marksmanship, his skills and his techniques. Lockpicking, stealth, trapping, survival (both urban and otherwise), combat of each and every sort (Hakann is an especially skilled marksman and CQC specialist): you name it, he’s perfected a personal technique, not to mention both started and burned down a school devoted to the craft. Three noteworthy skills in particular are: the handling/repair/maintenance of firearms and most other ranged weaponry (Hakann is especially skilled when handling his Lava Launcher and is able to repair almost any damage to his beloved tool, given time and resources), medicine/anatomy, the usage of poisons (professionally and for personal pleasure), and the sort of survival and environmental adaption skills you would expect from a professional assassin. With the assistance of Battue's continual sensory enhancement, Hakann has also become an extremely skilled scent-tracker, a master of non-verbal communication and body language analysis (both visual and olfactory), and is extremely adept in examining his environment for tactical purposes (especially the foiling of attempted stealth, which his paranoia tends to lead him to obsess over).

Technology:

 -Lava Launcher: The Lava Launcher is Hakann's weapon of choice. When fired, the Lava Launcher shoots a compressed sphere of lava at the target, melting through the armour, flesh, and bones of the unprepared. The Launcher's projectiles move at a speed nearly exactly between those of a crossbow and pistol. Although not incredibly fast (subsonic), it is an accurate and precise weapon, comparable to any normal firearm in that regard. The weapon can be charged to produce lava balls of varying size and viscosity (the longer the projectile is charged, the more compressed and dense the projectile is: if released quickly, a projectile loses some of that compression upon contact). Generating the minimum-sized lava sphere takes approximately 2 seconds of charging (the result is a sphere of felsic lava that is only fairly viscous after contact, meaning very little target penetration excluding initial impact), while the largest possible projectile takes approximately 12 seconds and possesses extreme heat and penetrating power (due to its being ultramafic lava compressed into a dense projectile). The Lava Launcher also has an Energy Claw on its back end, which can shock opponents, a feature Hakann happily abuses in torture sessions with quiet or (formerly) stoic victims. This claw can also be used as a melee weapon, especially ideal for use in countering metallic weapons and delivering surprising shocks. Due to its accuracy and range, the Lava Launcher, while certainly usable in close-quarters, is specialized and highly efficient for ranged combat. (Approved by Nuju)
 -Macuahuitl: Taken directly from the Vault's tech pile. An impressive tool made of a single piece of the metal that composes Rahkshi armour, sharpened to a literal razor edge (this makes it, technically speaking, not a true or traditional macuahuitl, but it functions in the same fashion). It is a weapon of Makuta, powered with Kraata ability of Shattering, proportionally increasing the power of the weapon's blows (about 1.75x), making it very effective in delivering blunt force trauma or deeply penetrating cuts. However, due to its construction, it is slower than swords and other slashing weapons of similar size. (Approved by Nuju)

 -Revolver: Taken directly from the Vault's tech pile. A double-action 3-shot revolver chambered in a cartridge similar to .500 S&W Magnum. Looks like a sinister, long-barrelled hybrid of the 1851 Colt Navy Revolver and a Colt Python, coloured in varying shades of black and grey and composed out of the unreflective metal used for Rahkshi armour. Requires a fair amount of time to reload (it's a fixed cylinder revolver) and three shots in quick succession requires a cooldown period. Its ammunition is jacketed hollow point (all metallic components of the cartridge are made of the same material as the firearm). (Approved by Tyler)

Equipment:

-(2) Combat knives (Construction similar to an elongated Ka-Bar, except with a non-slip covering for the handle. One with trench-knife handguard, other without, carried on separate belts).

-(3) Karambit knives, hidden on his person.

-(5) Throwing / general use knives (two in bandoleers, three hidden).

-(1) Dual purpose Tomahawk/Hatchet (for use both in and out of combat, on bandoleer).

-(3) Photothermic grenades (hidden), timed fuse design. Hakann also carries a large, extremely dangerous pull-fuse grenade in his satchel: this grenade has an additional, hidden safety feature to completely prevent accidental or forced activation.

-Poisoning equipment, assorted poisons (hemlock, strychnine, arsenic, belladonna, batrachotoxin, etc.), carried in satchel. Hakann is a consummate user of poisons and an expert in analyzing their effects.

-Satchel, containing torture tools, lockpicking tools, medical supplies, weapon repair/maintenance tools, and a variety of other equipment. The satchel carries paper and writing utensils for when communication is required.

-Bandoleers, for carrying ammunition and weapons.

Armour: Hakann wears a suit of armour designed for a combination of vital defensive properties, mobility, and offensive usage (also of note, it is a design that lacks rattling plates or rustling chainmail, still allowing, and even focusing on, stealth): it consists of a cuirass/ballistic armour (covering back, front, and sides of his torso down to the hip, composed of layered metal ideal for projectile and melee defense, and then insulated by a thick layer of carefully arranged electrically nonconductive fabric to resist electrical shocks and further resist projectiles [in the fashion of real life usage of silk in early ballistic vests]: long story short, the majority of projectiles are going to be extremely weakened or completely neutralised, although Hakann still gets all of that wonderful blunt trauma that the padding is unable to diffuse), greaves (expanded to encompass the entirety of the shin, and possessing kneecap armour, subtly spiked and reinforced for striking. The entire armour piece is reinforced with extra padding to reduce the force of tibia-directed blows), and a unique arm armour design (think a bladed vambrace that extends to a weaponisable elbow covering, and armor protecting the hand with something between a gauntlet and a cestus; it provides protection to the first joint of Hakann's fingers, and turns a normal strike into something much more painful, while simultaneously protecting his palm from harm and allowing great dexterity. The several blades on the edge of the vambrace itself are useful for countering and climbing). All vulnerable areas of his body not protected by metallic armour are covered by either leather or leather-with-metallic-plate armour, unreflective and designed for mobility and stealth. All pieces of armour are carefully underlaid with the same nonconductive fabric padding used on the cuirass. His cloak, made of Muaka hide and reinforced in certain areas with Muaka bone, is an important aspect of his armour, serving to hide his torso-protection from ranged combatants and weaken the effect of electrical attacks (due to its insulation with nonconducting fabrics), and hiding the movements of his hands when drawing/using his weapons. (Approved by Tyler)

Voice: Once, there was a susurration that lied between baritone and bass in depth and richness. Now, due to a distinct lack of a tongue, there is nothing.
Weaknesses: Hakann is unable to speak due to his lack of a tongue, and must rely on his handsignals or Decima to control his Rahkshi (and writing or Decima to communicate with others). Battue is Hakann's only source of offensive power, putting him at a strict disadvantage in comparison to other Parakuka users if the fight continues on for a long time. Hakann's only tools for ranged combat are his revolver and the Lava Launcher, putting him at a disadvantage when in combat with most elementalists. Battue has all of the weaknesses found in normal Parakuka (as well as a shorter timespan of power release). Battue's activation results in mental agony for Hakann, often leading to Battue gaining control of his body until he is able to recover his mental fortitude enough to overpower her presence. Battue is a very aggressive individual, causing these periods of absence to become life-threatening berserker situations if they occur in combat. Battue is able to control his body even when not activated, meaning there is always a risk that Hakann will disappear in moments when he is needed.

Personality: Hakann is best described as a paranoid-narcissist with extremely violent antisocial tendencies. He for all intents and purposes lacks the ability to feel regret, and the severity of his psychopathology has stripped him of almost all desirable or empathic qualities. He views himself as literally supreme in almost all aspects of existence, resulting in a megalomania compounded by the severity of his grandiose delusions. The paranoia aspect comes from a combination of his surroundings (see: how each of the Piraka want to violently kill everyone) and a furiously narcissistic revulsion towards submission in even the most minor fashion. It is also of note that his perception is warped by a twisted and deformed version of sadomasochism: he finds both the causing and receiving of pain and injury the highest expression of innate superiority, as well as the only true way he can feel anything resembling an emotional high, and is constantly searching for new ways to cause or experience agony, resulting in a hideous combination of bizarrely pseudo-sexual sadomasochism and a pain asymbolia strongly leaning towards positive perception of pain. All of this means that in social interactions he is (when not masking his normal self for his own purposes; it's very important to note that the antisocial side of Hakann has learned out of necessity to mask all of the above personality with a variety of other presentations) calculating and efficient at best, horrifyingly sadistic and utterly alien at worst. The introduction of Battue has severely subdued his egoism: she has hammered into him the realisation that he is not the deity he previously believed, and replaced most of his overblown grandiloquence with a cadaverous dispassion. Where he once would defend his perceived superiority with pretentious displays, now he will stand in utter, unblinking silence. TL,DR: Not a very nice fellow, lots of violent sadomasochism and malignant narcissism.
Alignment: Neutral Evil, although Hakann will happily act as if this were not case assuming the timing is right and the payoff is considerable. He only places violence over survival if he's been unable to act on his homicidal impulses for quite some time. Otherwise, it's whatever he interprets as best for him.
Bio: N/A.

 

-The Blood of Mors / The Bone of Nemesis-

 

And a poet said, "Speak to us of Beauty."

 

Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide?

And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech?

 

The aggrieved and the injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle.

Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us."

 

And the passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread.

Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."

 

The tired and the weary say, "Beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit.

Her voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow."

 

But the restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains,

And with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions."

 

-Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

 

Name: Battue

Species: Parakuka prototype

Appearance: A deathly-thin collection of exoskeleton joints and teeth, Battue is considerably slimmer and longer than a Parakuka. Unlike her Kraata-esque successors, Battue is very arthropodal in appearance, resembling the Makuta-tainted result of a combination of scorpion, horseshoe crab, and centipede. Battue's main similarity to Parakuka is her connection to her host: like a Parakuka, Battue is attached to the base the skull. The split and scarred skin surrounding her reveals how vicious her attachment to her current host was, and hints to the power her small size conceals. She is normally hidden by Hakann's hooded cloak.

Powers: Battue absorbs energy from Hakann, which she can use to supercharge her host and grant highly improved physical abilities. She continually provides sensory enhancement. Due to her experimental nature and place of origin, she lacks the foreign-technology aversion of her brethren. Battue has an exceedingly strong will and is able to overpower Hakann's mind with only a small amount of effort, letting her precisely control his body. When she or Hakann activates her onrush of energy, she often takes control of his body until she either grows disinterested or he is able to force his way back by strength of will.

Personality: Battue is to Hakann what Hakann is to a highly moral being: psychotic and antisocial to a disgustingly violent degree. While most Parakuka communicate via effective and simple images, she only speaks with Hakann when she wishes to enervate him. Although he would never admit it, Hakann is terrified of her. She is utterly and completely psychopathic to the point where the term seems far too kind, and Hakann knows that he pales in comparison.

Bio: An experiment that predates the Parakuka and forms the basis for their creation, Battue is the paragon of the animalism found in Makuta's creations, and the result of the combination of all of the worst, most horrifying components of the Dark God's offspring. Battue was not created with the lifecycle of a normal Parakuka; there was no growth, no gradual improvement. She was torn from the darkness and formed as a monster, with no time wasted letting her grow into her current state. Hakann, a selfish and cowardly individual who (despite the best efforts of many others) had reached Makuta's Vault alive, found her and was bonded to her against his will. She now siphons off his energy and drives him on to glorify Makuta via the holy act of violence.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Simulacrum