Zac
Deep beneath Zaun's Sump, a toxic spill coursed through a chemtech seam, gathering in a secluded cavern where it birthed something extraordinary. From this humble pool of primordial ooze, Zac emerged--a sentient being shaped by the chaos of his origin. Now, he roams the labyrinth of pipes threading through the city, surfacing at times to aid the helpless or to restore Zaun's fractured infrastructure, his presence a quiet force for good amid the sprawling undercity.
Opening
Welcome, lore-lovers, to Liandrug, where stories come to life! Today, we dive into the fascinating tale of Zac, a being born from Zaun's chaos and shaped by kindness and tragedy. So grab a seat, and let's unravel this gooey hero's journey together!
The Chronicle
In the shadowy depths of Zaun's Sump, a toxic spill seeped through a chemtech seam, gathering in a hidden cavern and giving rise to something miraculous. From the churning ooze, Zac emerged--a sentient being born of the city's alchemical chaos. He now roams the pipes and tunnels, a silent guardian who mends broken structures and offers aid to the helpless.
Zac's first brush with Zaun's people came when a group of children stumbled upon the mysterious "Returning Pool." They tossed stones into its surface, only to have them flung back playfully. Word of this strange phenomenon spread among the Sump's inhabitants, eventually drawing the attention of a cabal of chemtech alchymists. Despite protests from locals, the alchymists drained the pool into vats and spirited its contents away for study.
In their laboratories, the alchymists subjected the gelatinous mass to a series of experiments designed to explore its behavior. To their astonishment, it mirrored the treatment it received. Kindness brought out a childlike joy, while pain and hostility triggered violent outbursts, resulting in the deaths of several augmented sump-scrappers. Most of the researchers dismissed these responses as mere reflexes, but two among them suspected something far deeper.
Digging into the project's origins, the dissenting alchymists uncovered a chilling truth. The experiments were funded by Saito Takeda, a ruthless Chem-Baron infamous for his brutal gang wars. Takeda sought to create a soldier--an unstoppable fighter who could endure grievous injuries, infiltrate impossible spaces, and obey without question. The creature had even been given a name: the Zaun Amorphous Combatant.
But as their observations continued, the two alchymists noticed behaviors in the substance that defied simple reactions to external stimuli. They saw signs of independent thought, a flicker of true sentience. Naming the creature Zac, they came to believe he was more than an experiment--he was a thinking, feeling being. Their pleas to halt the project were dismissed by their spindle-limbed leader, leaving Zac's fate in the hands of ambition and greed.
Refusing to let Zac's fate be one of violence and cruelty, the two dissenting alchymists began covertly countering the harsh lessons of their colleagues. They introduced Zac to acts of kindness, teaching him the difference between right and wrong. Their efforts bore fruit--Zac expressed sorrow when one of them hurt her hand and showed distress when another killed a rat in the lab. But as the experiments grew crueler, their patience wore thin.
During the quiet of Zaun's Progress Day remembrances, the two seized their chance. They drained Zac into a wheeled septic tank and spirited him away to a distant part of the city. When their betrayal was discovered, Baron Takeda's enforcers were dispatched to hunt them down. Yet, Zaun's vast, labyrinthine depths offered countless hiding places, and the researchers eluded capture. They had intended to set Zac free, but Zac refused to leave them. They had shown him kindness, and to Zac, they were family. Touched by his loyalty, the pair embraced their bond with him, considering Zac their adoptive son.
To stay hidden, they altered their appearances and settled in a remote corner of the Sump. Zac adapted quickly, learning to mimic their voices and even shaping his form to produce sound. For years, he lived with his adoptive parents, retreating into sump pools or the cracks of the rock when danger loomed. They shared the wonders of the world with him--the moon rising above the Sun Gates, the rainbow hues dancing on Zaun's stained-glass roofs, and the vibrant chaos of the city. Yet, they also taught him of its darker truths: cruelty, prejudice, and violence. Zac rejected these vices, choosing instead to follow his parents' example of helping others quietly and without fanfare.
The trio used their chemtech knowledge for good, treating the sick, repairing broken machinery, and aiding those in need. These were golden years for Zac, who roamed Zaun's vast network of pipes and hidden crevices. However, his sentience came with a challenge--he was deeply sensitive to the emotions around him. Overwhelming stimuli could flood his senses, causing him to absorb the dominant feelings in his environment, whether benevolent or malevolent.
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While Zac often intervened to protect the downtrodden from bullies and thugs, tales of his deeds spread unevenly through Zaun. Some stories painted him as a savior, a guardian of the helpless, while others blamed him for destruction: factories reduced to rubble or deep fissures tearing through Sump neighborhoods. In truth, Zac's path was one of learning and growth, shaped by a city both beautiful and brutal.
The whispers of Zac's deeds eventually reached the ears of Saito Takeda, who still considered the creature his property. Frustrated by failed attempts to replicate Zac from the remnants left behind in his vat, Takeda sent a band of augmented thugs to reclaim him. They tracked Zac's parents to their hidden home and attacked. Though the researchers fought valiantly with their chemtech ingenuity, their defenses eventually fell. Takeda had ordered them captured alive, but his enforcers showed no mercy, killing them in the chaos.
Far below Zaun, Zac was exploring subterranean seams when he felt the pang of his parents' distress. Rushing through the pipes, he arrived too late. The sight of their lifeless bodies filled him with a rage so fierce that it unleashed a fury unlike anything Takeda's men had faced. Zac stretched, smashed, and crushed with unrelenting force, annihilating the augmented attackers in a whirlwind of grief and destruction. In his uncontrolled anguish, he demolished nearby dwellings, leaving the area in ruins.
When the surge of battle subsided, Zac was overwhelmed by guilt for the damage he had caused. Determined to honor his parents' legacy, he vowed to repair what he had destroyed. With tireless effort, he helped rebuild the shattered homes, but once the work was done, he disappeared into Zaun's endless maze of pipes and tunnels.
Now, Zac lives in solitude, hidden within the city's labyrinthine underbelly. He absorbs the emotions of Zaun's people, a tide of joy, sorrow, hope, and despair that shapes his existence. To some, he is a guardian, appearing from cracks in the rock or broken pipes to aid those in need. Yet, in darker times, when the city's mood sours, his sudden presence stirs unease--a shadowy figure born of Zaun's chaos, both a symbol of its kindness and a reminder of its brutality.
Closing Words
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