by Louis IX
Check first chapter for disclaimer and global warnings.
Definitively DefiantArmsmaster wasn't just a name, it was also a job description. And just because he liked halberds for their versatility and size, he had trained with other weapons too. And, at the beginning, it was a mere kitchen knife, and he had no armour.
Colin Wallis was a teenager, at home, preparing for his next role-playing game with his friends. It was his refuge. As a gangly teen with a severe speech impediment when he was nervous, he didn't like social situations much. Except that, when playing, he was passionate instead of nervous, and it liberated him. Playing as if he was someone else allowed him to ignore, for a time, his own problems.
His mother came back from work and he turned to welcome her, except that someone rushed inside behind her, taking advantage of the still slightly open door, and he barely had time to gasp just as a longsword (1d8 damage) went through her heart (critical damage), killing her. The shock was enough to trigger something deep in his mind, and he grabbed the knife with which he had prepared his last sandwich, before hurling himself at the attacker, his rage blinding him.
Strangely, for an uncoordinated teenager, he was able to fight his way close and stab the home invader in the neck. And, grabbing the fallen sword, he whirled and sliced through another's arm – because they were more than one. The gangsters fled.
It took some time for him to recover his wits and call the police, and some more time for everything to be calm again. And, during the aftermath, he learned even more about medieval weaponry… and armour. In the weeks that followed, he bought steel rings and a pair of pliers, and crafted his first armour – a chainmail vest with leather shoulder pads.
His first night out happened when he heard a commotion in the house facing his. And he noticed a group of evildoers among which was one he recognized due to his missing forearm. He called the police, and was asked to stay put, but the perpetrators' modus operandi being to kill first, he hurried there to defend the family living there. And he succeeded in killing another, before the police came to arrest the rest.
His weapon worked well, as did his armour, but he felt that he could improve them. So he did, and that was his first Tinker fugue.
Later, he would spend some time patrolling his neighbourhood, on his bike. Which he would augment as well.
It was as if he was now playing in reality what he had been doing as a game for years: a crafty melee fighter – in his gaming group, distance damage was the mage shtick, and the cleric did all the healing… as well as being the face of the party.
After his mother's death, he had moved in with his father, and lost his group of gamers too. He had no idea how he could find others for these roles in real life, too. Which meant that he often found himself wounded, in his self-assigned mission to bring order to his community, with no one to bring him back to full health in a couple of rounds.
But he endured. And he improved his equipment. All the time. He thought he was making his sword magical, but he quickly discovered that his ability was to create miniaturized technological upgrades… that still worked with the weapon. Such as the inclusion of a grappling hook thrower with a twine able to reel him anywhere. Or making the blade strong enough to cut through other metals. Or coating it in specially-designed particles to keep the blade sharp over time.
And Colin became Armsmaster.
And when prompted for his assignation, he opted for his childhood town: Brockton Bay.
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To be continued… wheneverAuthor's notes: Just a short one, that wouldn't leave my mind until I committed it in writing.