#overseer zaige

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Experiment's Gone Wrong - Vezz Origins

Some people have heroic starts to their legends. For one asura, however, it was never going to be that simple…

This is just the portion regarding Vezz's departure from the Inquest. The full fic can be found here!

There were very few people permitted near Zaige’s formal workstations, to the point that no one dared go near, even when they were only lightly guarded. Those few allowed could be counted on one hand, and in this instance, Vezz counted himself lucky to be among them. Using the excuse to one of the guards that Zaige had asked him to fetch something, he slipped into the large laboratory mostly unhindered.

Nothing really seemed out of place. As it had been on the occasions he’d been in here with the supervisor, it was much more well lit than other areas of the facility, bathed in a faint pink glow as opposed to the vivid red that the rest of their number seemed to favor. Beakers and bits of projects were neatly organized across several tabletops, each marked with their priority in the greater project they were all at this facility for the end goal of completing.

And some things, he recognized. There were copies of his student blueprints, and a replica of the device that had exploded and taken off his leg not long after joining the Inquest. Instinctively, he reached down, the tips of his claws brushing against the fabric just above where he had used his necromancy to reattach and reanimate the leg, creating a prosthetic of sinew and bone. It ached, when he had to “replenish” it using the life energy of birds and rats, but it functioned.

Why would Zaige have brought it here? It was a failure. He had tried to use the life essence of a skritt to power the small device, but it had backfired completely. Perhaps he’d found a way to stabilize it?

Curiosity overrode his true purpose for being here, and he walked over to take a quick peek. There were all sorts of notes written on nearby blueprints, but one in particular caught his attention.

“Not smart enough. Need smarter.”

What did that even mean? Even as he read it, though, something cold and awful clenched in the pit of his stomach. Hadn’t Zaige mentioned progeny the night before…? No, there was no way he could do something that horrible.

Swallowing hard against the fear of what could be, he continued to poke about, pausing only when he found a small box shoved away under the only cluttered desk in the room. He would have overlooked it, but he stopped, staring at the box, ears twitching against his shoulders.

He shouldn’t overlook anything.

He should be thorough.

He had to look.

Stepping over quietly, he reached down, pulling the box out to pull off the lid. At first, what was inside looked like the typical sorts of things skritt wore in one of the few decencies their feeble rodent minds allowed them. But the closer he looked, the more he realized these were not artifacts simply picked up willy nilly. They were the belongings of children. Little tool kits, toys, dolls, ribbons and bangles undoubtedly given by doting parents.

Almost all of them were stained with blood.

His breath caught in his throat. This couldn’t be true, could it? This was all coincidental. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Zaige needed “smarter” subjects. Innovation in the minds of progeny. Figuring out how to unlock it. As an awful dread began to coil up his spine, he shoved the box aside, starting to rummage through the table it was stuffed away under. There were further notes here, more detailed. Outlining experiments, lethal ones, performed not on skritt or the odd hapless fool that came here with a mind to be a hero, but instead on progeny.

On helpless, innocent progeny.

He had no idea how many had been here. How many Zaige had terrorized, poked and prodded at. How many had lost their lives to whatever in the name of the Alchemy he thought he was doing here.

Vezz did not have many lines. He looked the other way when adult asura stumbled in and were kicked into test rooms. It made him uncomfortable at times, but he had never done any of the experiments, and it was their own fault for trying to kill people here. An eye for an eye. But to harm, to murder, children?

His hands clenched, claws dragging through wrinkled parchment, and his ears only lifted when he heard a sound nearby. “Hey- the boss said no one’s supposed to be in here!”

All his fury at this indecency seemed to bubble force and Vezz spun. It was Mhitt, a young apprentice, who stepped back uneasily at the sight of the sheer rage on the necromancer’s face. Vezz’s lip was curled back, needle sharp teeth bared, and he managed to school himself enough to hiss out just one thing: “If you value your life… you’ll run and never look back.”

To Mhitt’s credit, he did at first make as if he was going to run. But the guardian was not so easily dissuaded, and he reached for his hammer, never taking his eyes off the other asura. “I don’t know what you’re doing, Vezz, but I can’t let you do it.”

“Mhitt,” came the low reply, “you won’t have a chance to stop me.”

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For the first part of his rage, he swore he remembered very little. Mhitt was the first to fall, as Vezz had his minions at his side almost immediately, a small bone minion he often called Mindless screeching along at his heels. The fires were accidental, the result of interrupted experiments and burners knocked over as their owners attempted to protect themselves from a necromancer armed with fury, a blood fiend, a bone fiend, and a flesh golem.

If he had been somewhat more in control of himself, he may have recognized people he knew refusing to back down, even in the face of such wrath. Many tried to shout him down. Convince him they could bounce back from this. Smooth it over with Zaige. But Vezz no longer had time for such arguments. He had been young, foolish, naive. He’d listened to everyone but the voices with his best interests at heart, and here he was. He had been aiding and abetting child killers!

As another former comrade fell, a voice in the back of his mind reminded him: this was the end of his time with the Inquest. They would hunt him, surely. They would try to kill him, and may even succeed. But he had ceased to care.

The people here deserved to die. And maybe he did too, for refusing to pay attention to the warning signs.

He only stopped when he found himself in front of his own old lab space, and inside stood… Zaige. The mesmer was smiling faintly, just staring out the door as if nothing was wrong, but he was holding something. Cautiously, Vezz moved closer, and once he was within spitting distance, he realized what the something was: a little progeny, with wide, terrified blue eyes and thick red hair tied up tightly. Her ears, too big for her head, were pulled back sharply, and dark speckles covered her pale skin.

He knew this girl. He knew her parents. Dhass, Pheazza, his old krewemates… it was their daughter. Kinna.

Still Zaige smiled.

“Quite a number you’ve done, Vezz. And here I thought you would be more amicable to my ideas. Ah well, not everyone can be a winner. But as you can see, I have found a perfect test subject. I was going to ask your help working her into the golem design, but… well, I’m starting to think you aren’t as interested as I’d originally assumed.”

Vezz immediately drew his ears back, red eyes bright, rage written in every move, dripping from every word. “If you touch one hair on her head, Zaige…!”

The mesmer just laughed, and it was then Vezz recognized the faint ripple of magic. Zaige wasn’t here at all. This was just another illusion. “Why don’t you come and find us, then, Vezz. We’ll have a little heart to heart over this. See if we can’t put this whole messy business behind us. Everyone here is replaceable, besides. But you… you’re something special.”

Beside him, Mindless chittered, and Vezz sneered. “Where are you? I’m going to come and find you, and I will make you pay-!”

“Will you? Well. I suppose you’ll have to find me first, won’t you? Good luck, Vezz. I look forward to the outcome!”

As the last words came from the illusion before him, it began to dissipate, fading into delicate pink moths that floated away and burst into harmless nothingness. Vezz’s hands tightened on his staff. He was going to end this. Now.

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When Vezz finally located his once supervisor, he was standing in the middle of one of the golem testing labs on the bottom floor. He stood amidst ruin and flames from where Vezz had torn through here much earlier, hands folded behind him, eyes like molten amber, a thin smile carved into his angular features.

“I must admit I’m shocked, Vezz. You’re far more powerful than I had suspected. Pity it took all this to realize it, but we can always find new flunkies. You really are something special.”

Vezz didn’t want to hear it. He was bristling, panting faintly with the sheer level of magic he had done in the scant hour since his rampage had started. And yet Zaige had the nerve to stand there, not ten paces from him, as if this was just some minor setback. Was he a fool? Mad? Whatever he was, he wasn’t having it. Not anymore.

“Where’s Kinna, Zaige?” When the supervisor’s grin only widened, he took a step forward, and his voice came out louder. Shaking. “Where is she?!”

Now Zaige shrugged, gliding across the room toward a nearby console, completely ignoring the chaos reigning around him. “Somewhere. I don’t need her just yet, and I’ll need you to calm down before we begin the procedure anyway.”

Vezz drew his ears back tightly, lips curled back into a snarl. “Procedure? You won’t be doing any procedure! I’m taking Kinna home!”

“Please, like you care. You never got on with her father, and you’ll forget having “wronged” that addle-brained burner within a day. Now come, let’s to work-”

Whatever he’d been about to say was cut short when all at once, abandoning his staff, the necromancer flung himself into him, a sound tearing from his throat that was very nearly primal. The two rolled, scuffling for a moment until Vezz wound up on top, eyes burning like bloodstone as he scowled down at Zaige. And Zaige...

He couldn’t believe it. Zaige was laughing, despite where he lay, despite the fact that Vezz had him pinned, hands closed around the taller asura’s throat. The mesmer’s gold eyes were wide and wild as he stared up at the necromancer, a wicked grin cutting across his features, sharp and vivid.

“Ohoho, this is brilliant! Look at you, Blightcaller. What are you going to do? Kill me?” He laughed again, and Vezz winced, his ears drawing back. The sound was so high and clear, like glass breaking, every repetition like daggers. It echoed through the empty room, above the roaring fires in nearby labs. “You? You wouldn’t even kill the skritt you were researching! Face it, Vezz: you’re not a killer. You’re barely cut out to be a scientist! All of this, everything you’ve done here? It’s all emotion, and you’ll make yourself sick every time you remember it. You might be brilliant, but do you know what you are? You’re weak. You’re weak! Only I can bring out your true potential. Without me? You’re nothing!”

Vezz drew in a ragged breath, tight as anger bubbled up in his chest. He had not come in here to kill Zaige. He had come in here to get Kinna and take her home. If that had meant leaving the Inquest, if that had meant their haunting his every move, then so be it.

But Zaige was taunting him! Dangling his own life as if testing Vezz’s resolve. This was not the plan… it had never been in the plan.

“I’m not here to kill you. I was never here to kill you.” It was a struggle to keep his voice level and even, and his hands shook as his grip tightened, like a reflex. The leathery skin under the pads of his fingers gave, and he felt more than heard Zaige wheeze as he struggled to keep breathing. “But I am here to take a little girl back to her family. And to make sure you never hurt another child again.”

Despite the determination and conviction in his voice, all he earned was another peel of laughter from Zaige, though the supervisor had to stop to drag in choked breaths when he did. “Stop me? This is progress, Vezz! Thanks to the research I've done into understanding the minds of our young, our end goal is even closer than it ever has been. So what if a few of the stupider progeny get weeded out of the ranks? One or two smart ones won't be missed, and Dhass and Pheazza's precious little Kinna is just the subject we've needed to crack this whole thing wide open. Think with your head, Vezz. Not with that shriveled old grape you call a heart.”

Quietly, as calmly as he could manage, Vezz swallowed, pushing down a lump in his throat. “Where is Kinna, Zaige. I’m not going to ask again.”

Zaige only grinned at him, eyes flashing amber in the blaring red light. “That’s a surprise, isn’t it? You’re going to have to kill me. You know that. But you can’t, because you’re a soft-hearted knuckle-sucker who doesn’t have the ears to pull that proverbial trigger. I’m right here, Vezz! You could shove down with all your might and end it now! But you won’t. Because you’re a coward. And you always will be.”

That did it.

All of his rage, his frustration, his anger… all of his sorrow at seeing the bones and bodies of children he never knew were in danger. His disbelief when poor little Kinna was dragged before him. If this monster had killed her, he would do this anyway. He had killed so many already. Why wait?

His fingers tightened as Zaige cackled, and a murmured chant passed through gritted shark-like teeth. He wondered how different this would feel, had he been mesmer or elementalist. How the magic of life flowed into him, sickly green glow tracing up into Zaige’s face and down past the collar of his ornate robes, following patterns of veins and blood through the rest of his body.

This was different, though, wasn’t it? Mesmers used trickery. Elementalists harnessed the forces of nature. He was a merchant in death. The sensation was like fire, flaring across his palms and to his fingertips, slowly up his arms. It pooled like lava in his belly and stretched further down, winding its way around his reanimated leg. There was no feeling there - the limb had been dead for far too long for that - but he could feel the sick heat at the stump where the limb was attached through very old magicks.

It was agonizing. Sacrificing rats and birds to keep his reanimated leg functioning was always a faint sting, a pinprick, like stubbing your toe or putting your hand too close to an open flame. This was like a searing, the heat of a funeral pyre burning from the inside out. And up until the end, as ragged desperate coughs and wheezing took over Zaige’s mad laughter, until the sounds died out with a whispered rush of breath, Vezz had ceased to care.

He swore he was screaming… that he tasted blood. Neither of those things mattered.

It wasn’t until the magic faded, faint green lines withdrawing into his hands and fading as they retreated into his leg, which glowed with new life, that his senses reclaimed him. And he stared in silence down at the corpse that had been Supervisor Zaige, completely drained of life, more a mummy than anything.

He couldn’t make a sound, recoiling violently from Zaige’s remains, chest heaving. His leg felt so powerful, too powerful, and the burning sensation in his gut left behind from the immense drain of pulling all that into himself was making him light-headed. He had to drag himself up with the side of an upturned table, and the instant his feet were under him, he weaved, retching violently. By the time his body had finished reacting, forcing him through adrenaline and overexertion to empty the contents of his stomach, he was gasping for air, his whole body trembling.

“K-Kinna… oh… oh no… no, I need… I have to find Kinna. Kinna?!” He whipped his head around, ears up and alert as his eyes flashed in the dying flames. “Kinna, can you hear me? Answer me!”

His answer was not the cry of a tiny progeny, but instead his bone minion Mindless, who slammed bodily into his good leg before screeching and scrabbling, biting at his robe with its little fangs, trying to draw him toward what looked like an old broom closet on the far side of the room. The little minion may not have had a brain in its fat little body, but he wasn’t going to brush it off that easily.

Shaking out his arms to try to settle his fears, he hurried over to yank the door open. There on the floor, tucked as close into the corner as she could get, was Kinna, her messy locks of thick red hair doing nothing to obscure the tears rolling down her cheeks. The relief Vezz felt was palpable, and he sighed as he knelt, reaching out his hands to her. “Come on, Kinna. Let’s get you home to your mom and dad. Pheazza and Dhass are probably beside themselves with worry.”

She hesitated briefly, but amidst all the chaos, he was the only friendly face she’d seen. And as soon as she bolted to him, he scooped her up, pulling off his hood to put over her head.

“Keep this over your eyes, Kinna. And hold tight to me. We’ll be home soon. I promise.”

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It was late when he finally reached their old krewe space, and he was dreading at first what he would find there. Dhass was the one who worked late, and Dhass was the last person he wanted to see. But who he found instead was Pheazza, sitting silently near one of the viewing walls, gently rubbing the head of her lynx Nego. The feline had its head in her lap, but it turned when Vezz slipped silently in, and that drew Pheazza’s attention as well.

She probably would have decked him on sight had he not quietly pulled the hood away from Kinna’s head, slinging it over his shoulder in silence. The girl blinked a few times, her bright blue eyes adjusting to the light, before she caught sight of the red-haired ranger nearby. “Momma!”

Pheazza didn’t hesitate a second longer, rushing over to all but tear Kinna from Vezz’s arms, choking on a sob as she curled the progeny close. She stood like that for several moments, sobbing along with her terrified daughter, her grip almost too tight as she convinced herself she wasn’t actually dreaming.

Once she had finally composed herself again, she sniffed and lifted her head, though she didn’t put Kinna down. Vezz couldn’t blame her.

“Vezz, where- how did you find her? What happened?”

“I can’t tell you, Pheazza. As much as I’d love to give you the whole story, I’d rather just leave this whole affair behind me. It will only upset you and Kinna, besides. Just suffice to say I’m no longer with the Inquest, and the people who stole Kinna will no longer be an issue going forward.”

As he spoke, Pheazza’s eyes grew wider, until finally her brow furrowed and her short ears pulled back. “You don’t just leave the Inquest. They’ll… you’re a walking target.”

He just nodded, solemn, resigned. “I know that. Believe me. That’s why I’m not staying. Besides, I doubt Dhass will have any friendly words for me, and I’d rather not try to go into hiding by being thrown in a peacemaker cell to “cool off” after a public fistfight.”

“I shouldn’t let you just walk away, Vezz. But I know you. You’ve cut your own path ever since this started, and I have to trust you know how to follow where it takes you.” She paused, shifting Kinna to one hip before reaching into a pouch at her belt. She held out her hand when she found what she was looking for, and when Vezz put his hand out after a moment of hesitation, she dropped something into his palm: a simple arrowhead. “It’s the first one I made when Caessenia started training me on the bow. She said I needed to learn by doing, if I was going to be so bullheaded. Maybe it’s sentimental on my part, but I’ve kept it ever since that day. I want you to have it.”

He frowned, his fingers curling around the small chunk of stone. It felt cool and soothing against his still aching palms. “But why?”

“Because you were my friend once. Because despite everything that’s happened, you brought my Kinna back home to me. Because I think despite everything you’ve done, you’re a good person at heart. But more importantly than anything else, because you need this now more than ever: you need a little something to always remind you that you don’t always have to fly straight. You just need to fly true.”

There was a long moment after she spoke, and when Vezz swallowed, it was past a tight lump in his throat. She had always been a strange one, but he supposed that made sense. She had been born to a merchant father and a seafaring mother in Lion’s Arch, and had spent her childhood there before coming here to attend college at her father’s behest. Zaige had called her burner, hadn’t he? A coarse way to refer to someone whose youth was spent cavorting among open walkways and sea-sprayed docks instead of solid stone and crystal. But she was too good for that. He hesitated only a moment longer, then reached out with a free arm to pull his old friend into a hug. One she returned with her own free arm. “Thank you, Phee. I’m just glad I could help get Kinna home safe.”

“Just that means more than you’ll ever know, gory. Here, you’d better go.” Smiling, she leaned back, shifting so she was holding Kinna with both arms. “Dhass will be back with the search party soon. Izza made me stay here this time since I’ve been running myself ragged… her sister Pyrria’s orders, you know. Now I’m glad they did. Won’t he be surprised when he gets home and our little spark is home all safe and sound.”

“Ah, it’s a shame I’ll miss the look on his face. You take care, Phee. And you too, Kinna. Don’t you go wandering off from your mother, all right? She worries.”

The girl gave an indignant little sniff, but she did nod, little claws dug into the fabric of her mother’s shirt. Vezz gave a faint smile, then nodded to them both, slipping off silently into the night.

[rataprimus]

Overseer Zaige

Calm, clever, and charismatic, Overseer Zaige was the supervisor of a hidden facility in Metrica Province dedicated to finding a solution to the issues associated with fusing living minds to golems. A brilliant researcher and mesmer of considerable skill, he was a favorite among ranked members of the Inquest for his sheer dedication and determination. Many considered him well spoken and a pleasure to talk to, but more than a few people seemed to believe he may have had something up his sleeve, and some say he could’ve talked a miser out of his last copper.

At the present time, it’s unknown just how far his research progressed, but a known factor in his research at the time of his death and the destruction of the Theta-9 facility was determining whether it would be easier to fuse more malleable minds - progeny - into golemite bodies. While he had made great strides, whether he was ever successful is up for debate.

It’s still largely unclear exactly what happened in Theta-9. When an investigative team approached the site roughly a week after the main facility lost contact, they found a smoldering ruin. Almost everyone had been slaughtered, and Overseer Zaige was found in one of the underground research labs, an empty husk of a corpse showing signs of having been drained of all life by necromantic ability.

Later reports indicate that one survivor named a former researcher at the facility, Blightcaller Vezz, as the one who killed the staff and razed the facility, and it’s believed he murdered Zaige in cold blood as well.

So I finally finished this! Vezz’s old supervisor Zaige, the man in charge of the facility he once worked in, and the one Vezz killed with his necromancy. He was an absolute garbage fire and I can’t rightly say whether or not he’ll be missed. Love his design though.

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This man is trapped in a sword now.

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Thinking about Zaige and Zatte because they're both Inquest nepotism babies whose parents are decently high ranking in the organization, and how much they look (looked in Zaige's case I suppose lmao) down on @wall-legion's Zanthe.

Not just for his lack of interest in their shared father's work, but also because they - like a lot of asura in core asuran society - are kind of shitty about his disability.

Zaige got what was coming to him well in advance of ever really having a lot of interaction with his little brother, thanks to Vezz, but Zatte's still out there, being absolutely terrible. Will she end up like her older brother? Hard to say.

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I think sometimes about the fact that Zaige was utterly convinced that Vezz would see the wonder of his vision. He was enamored with Vezz, though whether that was lust being misconstrued because of passionate intensity is up for debate. And he had this... perfect version of him in his head that more closely aligned with my original ideas for Vezz but were nothing like the person he actually is.

I think that's why Zaige was so sure Vezz would change his mind. Even after his grief and rage fueled rampage through the facility. This was a game! They were expendable, Vezz was special!

In the end, his own delusional hubris got him killed. Vezz wasn't fighting smart or well; he was in a blind rage. Zaige could've actually won if he'd taken the situation seriously.

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One of these days I'm going to pay someone to draw this scene because I can never catch the exact emotion I want.

But regardless.

He couldn’t believe it. Zaige was laughing, despite where he lay, despite the fact that Vezz had him pinned, hands closed around the taller asura’s throat. The mesmer’s gold eyes were wide and wild as he stared up at the necromancer, a wicked grin cutting across his features, sharp and vivid. “Ohoho, this is brilliant! Look at you, Blightcaller. What are you going to do? Kill me?” He laughed again, and Vezz winced, his ears drawing back. The sound was so high and clear, like glass breaking, every repetition like daggers. It echoed through the empty room, above the roaring fires in nearby labs. “You? You wouldn’t even kill the skritt you were researching! Face it, Vezz: you’re not a killer. You’re barely cut out to be a scientist! All of this, everything you’ve done here? It’s all emotion, and you’ll make yourself sick every time you remember it. You might be brilliant, but do you know what you are? You’re weak. You’re weak! Only I can bring out your true potential. Without me? You’re nothing!”

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So @wall-legion has the best ideas.

Zaige's mesmer magic didn't appear as butterflies. It appeared as snakes.

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I really should talk more about Zatte, and by extension Zaige, because they're both absolutely Inquest nepotism babies.

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I forgot to ask, does anyone else know about Zaige's spirit being in Vezz's sword?

A few people do, mostly in the guild! Vezz can actually talk to him and most of the time it's arguing or Zaige trying to tear him down.

The ones in the guild who know are the team's revenants, Deshauna and Zanthe, and the other necromancers, Danica and Rissia. As of right now, Zatte does not know that her brother's spirit is in his greatsword.

That's probably not going to go well when she finds out.

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Sometimes I think about the moment Vezz killed Zaige, because that moment is burned into his memories.

Before the massacre at Theta-9... he'd never killed anyone.

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The Theta-9 Research Facility

(Note: the location doesn't exist in game, so I use the inner complex to represent it.)

Located roughly two miles from the Thaumanova Reactor site sits an innocuous entryway with an asura gate that does not work... or at least, it doesn't appear to work at first blush. Behind this gate, those with the proper clearance will find the Theta-9 Research Facility, previously overseen by Overseer Zaige, an influential mesmer within the Inquest.

Very little is known overall about the sort of research that had been performed at Theta-9 prior to what is referred to by traumatized survivors as the Fire Dawn Massacre. It is said that they were inspired by the research of Oola, and that Zaige was fascinated with the notion of younger minds being more malleable to golemic transfer, based on the initially canned research of the future commander, Vezz of Cautti.

Researchers from this facility were frequently seen at the Splorg Metamystics Laboratory, "recruiting" progeny who were enrolled in classes at the lab. There were several disappearances during the time the lab was active, leading to investigations that unfortunately went nowhere, leaving grieving parents with no notion of where their child might be.

At least, not at the time.

Roughly one year following the events of the Fire Dawn Massacre, former Inquest researcher and then Pact Commander Vezz opened up about actions and research he had witnessed prior to learning the truth about the facility.

Zaige's obsession with "youthful minds being more malleable to golemic transfer" and his secret reopening of Vezz's canned research had led to the kidnapping of and experimentation on multiple progeny, resulting in their deaths. The only survivor, a six year old girl named Yixxi, was eventually reunited with her mother after Vezz tore through the facility in a fit of grief, guilt, and anger.

There was a mixture of shock and outrage at this revelation, though one of the commander's guildmates - a merchant named Pheazza, whose daughter Yixxi had been one of the kidnapped - spoke in the commander's defense. The Inquest was heavily scrutinized, but Councilor Yahk quickly made a statement dismissing Zaige's actions as those of a rogue agent, and praised the commander on taking care of the situation quickly and efficiently, however bloody it may have been.

Many questions remain surrounding the defunct facility, but some have suspected that it may have been reactivated, as Inquest agents have been seen in the vicinity of the non-functional gate...

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Switching gears to talk about my old sad sack, Vezz is my third oldest (existing) character and was, for a very long time, my main commander (in our commander quartet). Covers his childhood and his personal story, which is his time with the Inquest.

In all truth, Vezz probably feels a lot like he's plagued by misfortune.

The oldest son of a promising experimental gastronomist named Cautti and her first contract, a Synergetics professor named Vilarr, he was a pretty normal kid. Vilarr, however, saw nothing but faults in his first son, seeing him as a failure from a young age, not worthy of carrying his own mantle forward.

It was that attitude that caused Cautti to end their contract prematurely, but her next contract a few years later fared about as poorly for Vezz.

Larrs often pitted his own son with Cautti, Vezz's younger half brother Teall, against his older brother, and made certain to imprint on Larrs that his older brother was the reason things eventually didn't work out with their mother Cautti.

He was a tense child after that, with both his father and his stepfather's disapproval looming over him, but he entered the college of Synergetics regardless, where he met the group that would become members of his first post-college krewe: Pheazza, Dhass, and Izza.

Though he graduated with decent marks (genius third rank), it still did little to negate his father's behavior towards him, and he went into his first krewe with a bitterness and a chip on his shoulder that would prove his own personal downfall.

After some time with the krewe, tensions rose between him and Dhass while Dhass and Pheazza were navigating their first contract - and Pheazza was pregnant.

This led to a fist-fight in the lab.

Vezz left angry, and though Pheazza pressed Dhass to apologize for the words he'd spoken that led to the fight, it was already too late. Wandering Metrica late at night, Vezz was approached by another former classmate, Korrix... with a job opportunity.

It was through this that Vezz began working with the Theta-9 Inquest research facility, a secret underground lab hidden away in Metrica Province.

Early in his time as a researcher there, he had his first accident: a lab explosion took his leg off at the knee. In pain and panicking, he used his necromancy to draw life from nearby rats and mice to "repower" his accidentally amputated leg, turning it into a necromantic prosthesis. This odd turn of events was what initially got him the notice of the facility's overseer, the mesmer Zaige.

In his time at Theta-9, Vezz experienced popularity he had never really experienced growing up or in college. He was well liked for his manners and elegant turn of phrase, and a natural, friendly charm... and he had a number of lovers. Zaige himself eventually became one of those, and eventually the only one.

But this charmed time wouldn't last forever. Six years into his tenure with the Inquest, Vezz started to grow suspicious of an experiment Zaige had been hinting to him. When his curiosity could no longer be held back, he snuck into Zaige's private lab to find the answers.

What he found would change him forever.

He found trinkets, artifacts, poppets and children's clothing. Zaige had been using his own research on necromantic golemancy... and applying it to progeny. Killing dozens. He'd been murdering children.

In a guilty, horrified, grief-stricken rage, Vezz tore through the Theta-9 facility, killing 50+ Inquest researchers he'd considered companions, friends, and even lovers, in order to get to Zaige. He found him holding a girl named Yixxi hostage... a girl Vezz knew well.

She was Dhass and Pheazza's daughter.

A scuffle ensued, and in the end, Vezz emerged triumphant, gripping Zaige's throat as he drew the lifeforce from him, forcing it into his necromantic prosthetic leg.

Horrified at what he'd done, he did the only thing that he could do: he stole Zaige's sword, returned Yixxi to her mother, then went into hiding. His self-imposed exile wouldn't last forever, though. Zojja had a plan for dealing with the dragons, and she knew someone with nothing to lose and everything to gain...

[ratasum]

So I'd mentioned earlier today wanting to post more music that relates to my characters, and first off I'm sharing this: Night Runner's "Magnum Bullets (feat. Dan Avidan)." Specifically in relation to Vezz and the massacre at Theta-9.

I specifically relate this to his fleeing the Inquest because of the vibe of the song, so Imma break down some of the lyrics to how I relate them in.

(It's honestly MADNESS how well this song fits him. This has been Vezz's story for almost ten years. But I digress.)

No longer I pretend The staircase I descend Will lead me anywhere but my unscripted end My heart and hands collide The gun lays at my side Too late to turn back, only fate's left to decide

For those unfamiliar with his past, Vezz decided to leave the Inquest when he found out his old college research was being used by his then lover and overseer - Zaige - to place children into golems, killing them in the process. It shattered him... especially when he learned that not only had this been going on for years now and he hadn't noticed, Zaige had also kidnapped his old krewemate Pheazza's daughter Yixxi as a final proof of concept experiment.

He meant to have Vezz throw the lever to prove his loyalty to the Inquest once and for all.

And he couldn't do it. His choice was made the minute he saw Yixxi's face looking back at him through Zaige's illusions. He couldn't let one more child die, whether it had been his former krewemate's daughter or not.

Back up the stairs again I am a different man A broken mirror only shows as best it can Running in shoes that shine With blood that isn't mine A stinging trophy of the battles I've survived

That choice, in the end, sealed the fate of everyone in that facility that night. Everyone who tried to stop him or got in his way wound up killed, bodies left scattered in his wake, fires raging from interrupted and destroyed experiments. All in a furious, guild-blinded hunt for Zaige. He was injured, though not terribly so. Bloodied, mostly from those he'd killed in his mad rampage.

Alive, only to take his vengeance and save Yixxi to get her back to her mother.

No longer I defend The choices I pretend Could make amends that heal the loss of precious time My conscience paralyzed Against the rising tide Of haunting memories that drown a wasted life

He knows he can't change what he's done. What he's allowed to happen here. But he can kill Zaige. And he does, straddling his former lover's chest, listening to his strangled cackling as his claws dig into his throat, blood red eyes wide and fangs bared as his necromancy rips the lifeforce from the man prone beneath him, feeding it into his necromantic prosthesis... and into the sword gripped tightly in Zaige's shriveling hand.

In the end, Zaige is left a husk. Vezz grabs Yixxi, and - in a fit of what can perhaps only be considered sentimentality - Zaige's greatsword. And he leaves, knowing there's no place for him left in the world.

Magnum bullets Always wanting more Magnum bullets Closing every door

For now.

[ratasum]

Vezz: Joined at 20 to try to prove himself to a father that honestly couldn't care less about him and a world that overlooked him only to discover six years in that his overseer/lover at the time had found his old research on blending necromancy and golemancy indicating that younger minds work better and stolen it, resulting in Zaige using said research to experiment on and kill children. This resulted in Vezz going into a blind rage and going on a rampage through the facility before killing Zaige with his own hands (and inadvertently binding him to his own greatsword). A violent resignation.

Rhenn: Created by his father to be the Perfect Asura. When Tebb died at Claw Island, Prikk pushed him to find the Priory agents performing their ceremony and volunteer himself, angling himself to be made the commander. As time passed and he spent more time away from his father's influence, he started to realize that MAYBE his upbringing was really fucked up. In season 4 he found out for certain that he was never meant to be a son. He was an experimental proof of concept. He has a nasty spiral for a little bit after that, officially cutting ties with the Inquest.

[ratasum]

💀7, 💀8, 💀9, and 💀10 for Vezz? (wearing a NECRO MAIN badge pinned to my shirt)

GW2 Profession Ask

7. What’s the most unethical spell they’ve ever cast, and what prompted them to use it?

Without question, it was the magic he normally used to utilize to power his necromantic prosthetic leg. Typically it was a little weird (he'd drain the life from rodents and small birds to keep it "fed," so to speak), but during the massacre at Theta-9, it became something so much more horrific.

Pinning his lover, the overseer Zaige, to the ground, hands around his throat, he drained the life force from him instead. He still remembers it feeling wrong. Like fire running through every nerve and vein. In the end, he left Zaige a desiccated corpse with his spirit trapped in the greatsword he'd once used as a mesmer, which Vezz did end up taking with him.

He was angry, grieving, and guilt stricken, having just learned Zaige had been using his old research to experiment on and murder progeny. Blinded by emotion, he reacted in the moment. Some small part of him regrets killing him that way.

8. How do they feel about the unsavory reputation attached to many necromancers?

He doesn't mind it too much. He learned early on that much of the distaste comes from misunderstanding of how the magic is used and what it does, and historical unpleasantness between human beliefs and Zhaitan rising. He does try to be as mindful as he can of not raising minions in front of people, though.

To be fair, regardless, he hasn't really done much minionmancing in years since figuring out how to channel his magic through Zaige's greatsword. It's probably for the best he doesn't tell anyone he can do it because the sword is possessed, though.

9. Do they use minions much? If so, do they rather mass-summon disposable soldiers or handcraft sturdier creations?

Not really. His wife is a minionmancer but since becoming a Reaper (by accident), he uses that less and less. He does still have his first creation, Mindless, though no one has the slightest clue how the fat, particularly stupid little bone minion is even still functional and hasn't rotted away.

Best guess anyone has is it managed to absorb a little dragon magic itself. Now it's basically the family's weird house cat. You'll often see one of the twins carrying it around like any kid might a particularly agreeable cat.

10. Has their necromancy impacted their feelings on death and loss at all?

I would say that it hasn't, not really. Much more impactful on how he views death, grief, and loss are the things he experienced as commander. Seeing carnage on a massive scale with not much he could've done to prevent it, seeing creatures like Zhaitan and people like Joko make a mockery of the loss of life.

Those things are what made him even more firm in his belief that life should be protected. Necromancy is a means to an end, but life is something precious that can never be replaced.

[ratasum]

I should clarify that the reason Vezz is such a high profile target despite his serving in the role of commander is because of what he did. He was a researcher, and not high rank, despite Zaige being an overseer and his very obvious interest - both romantically and professionally - in Vezz.

But killing every researcher in a facility and its overseer, razing everything in sight in a fit of blind, guilt-riddled, grief stricken panic didn't exactly sit well with the higher ups.

(Also considering that the Inquest still has an active role in politics on the Arcane Council and there's been no indication this idea is dissuaded, even having the Arcane Eye and the council turned on them for killing him I don't think would help.)