Part I - Exposition
It's been a custom for thousands of years, to assign nicknames to people or things they don't understand or know enough about. This is especially evident by looking at gods and culture, assigning names to planets, or even pets. And sometimes, those names live on forever. Sometimes, those names become legendary.
In this case, the owner of the name is a wandering vagabond. They would give to this nomad many names: "The Grinning Man," "The Gunslinger," or "Nightcrawler". However, one seems to come up more often than the rest; one the vagabond personally enjoys most. "Lockjaw". Perhaps it was the mask that peaked the citizens' interest. Made from an outdated welder's mask, it has a large, almost jester-like grin painted across it over a layer of white.
The wanderer always travels at night, which is one of the strangest parts about them. At this current time, not many people are able to exit the cities, unless they are of government authority. Mechanized guards that had become known as "Regulators" restricted unauthorized persons from leaving city limits with negative (and occasionally violent) consequences.
Our story begins in present day, in Southeastern Russia. A mile or two outside the city of Tynda, in a small town known as "Rzhavchina", our "Grinning Wanderer" starts his grand journey...