Zetsel [WIP]

If you live long enough, the world beats every last drop of compassion out of you. Those who outstretch their neck for others without expecting anything in return beckon cruelty's cleaver the most.

-- Zetsel

A former scholar in magi-tech ostracized from the academic community, Zetsel wanders the world in search of something that could permanently counteract the parasitic side effects of a grafted augment of his own making. Motivated largely by his unrelenting ambition and sense of self-preservation, Zetsel is more than willing to make a gambit to achieve what he needs, even if it means making enemies and burning bridges as he does so.

Backstory

Zetsel had always been haunted by frustration at his pitifully mundane circumstances. He was raised not in squalor, but not in any sort of luxury either; he was predisposed to magic like most of his countrymen, but his connection so weak that children half his age surpassed him easily; and he lacked any outstanding qualities that might've made him of note. This realization scared him deeply, even while young: that he would achieve nothing, and is simply relegated to another face in the crowd surrounding those bound to be greater than him. So, he studied. He studied relentlessly to pursue even a fraction of the praise and opportunities that the prodigies and talented received. By the time he reached his college years, he had clawed his way into a spot at the most prestigious institute in the country.

Zetsel's drive followed him through his late education and early career, but with each passing year in Academia, the yield of his efforts began to bear less fruit. He was being overshadowed by people who had to work half as hard as he did, and the common knowledge regarding the weakness of his innate magic circulated so far as to become his defining trait in the circles of scholars and academics whom he worked with. He retaliated with small attempts at sabotage in turn, inviting the ire of his cohort. The tension saw his contributions being removed from some projects, portions of his work being stolen and people refusing to even acknowledge him as a possible member on prestige projects. Demoralized, the quality of his work began to slip and so did the little reputation left of his commendable work ethic. He was no longer thought of as honest, but rather, manipulative and entirely spite-driven.

It was around this time that Zetsel turned towards a personal project, one he would deem the ultimate goal of his research: to find a way to fix the volatility of his magic. His next few years in his career saw him working days on end with little rest, experimenting and prototyping an apparatus that would be able to make up for his lackluster channeling abilities. Once he was satisfied with a first, workable version, he had to secure funding and turned his eye to the Grand Colloquium to present his work and perhaps rally some sponsors for his project. The issue was that spots to present at the Colloquium were highly contested, but Zetsel was not phased by this. He would do what he needed in order to secure his place. And so began several months-long campaigns against select peers he identified as the weakest links and the easiest to remove from the running.

In the end, Zetsel got his presentation. He presented a grafted technological augment, magically bonded to its user by imbuing elaborate enchantments. It would be able to accumulate magical energy from its surroundings passively, and further, be used as a conduit through which its user's magic can concentrate through. It was a perfect solution, save for the ethical questions raised by its method of acquiring energy. Zetsel boldly replied that the ability to entirely drain stored magic from sources without discrimination, including people, was part of the intent. With the crowd horrified, Zetsel was dismissed and expelled from the Academy for his blatant violation of ethics.

Zetsel's career wasn't entirely destroyed by the proposition of his magnum opus, however. A weapons-manufacturing cabal with representatives present at the Colloquium took interest in the project and approached him with a contract to complete his work, but to center the drain capabilities of the augment. Zetsel negotiated and agreed to the terms, and soon enough, the first and fully finished augment had been installed—on Zetsel himself to his request. Everything turned out to be a complete success for him in the end it seemed...

Until the Augment began to show that its side effect was more ravenous than anyone could have predicted.

• Extremely determined
• Slightly above human average strength
• Knowledgeable in various academic subjects
• Good memory/recall
• Cautious
• Acquiring information from conversation

• Augment will feed on own energy if not externally supplied
• Exhausts magic easily without amplifier
• Willing to manipulate or betray others
• Selfish
• Dishonest