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 hailshad fromalways abeen countryhaunted brimmingby withfrustration magic,at his pitifully mundane circumstances. He was raised not in squalor, but not in any sort of luxury either; he was notpredisposed to magic like most of his countrymen, but his connection so fortunate.weak While most otherthat children half his age couldsurpassed exercisehim theireasily; abilitiesand 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 simplethe displays,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 veryclawed 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 showfind for.a way to fix the volatility of his magic. His magicnext 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 feeble,satisfied unablewith a first, workable version, he had to besecure sustainedfunding evenand duringturned channelinghis beyondeye ato cracklethe orGrand two.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 school,the end, Zetsel learnedgot quicklyhis 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 hethe wouldability neverto beentirely gooddrain enoughstored ifmagic hefrom remainedsources without discrimination, including people, was part of the wayintent. he is. He would never seeWith the praisescrowd sung about the prodigies in his cohort and that he will always be passed over for opportunities. He was doomed to amount to absolutely nothing if he stayed content. So he poured all his efforts into his studies; if he could brute force his way to standing aside the "greats", he will find a way.

His efforts were not in vain.horrified, Zetsel was accepteddismissed intoand expelled from the most prestigious college of magical studies in the country, and he was on track to becoming a scholar in enchantment and artificing. However, it became apparent efforts alone were not enough. He would continue in Academia for his career, but frustration with his limitations would lead him to fixate on finding a solution.

After few years of personal research, he came up with the mechanics of an augment that could act as a reservoir. It would draw on surroundings passively, or be absorbed from an object in the user's reach: an elegant solution to his self-ascribed hindrance. 

On the night he presented his magnum opus to the greater colloquium, the scholars were horrified to find out that the augment was a permanently grafted fixture on the body of its host and that if the user so pleased, it could rip the magic potential out of another living being. When pressed, Zetsel boldly answered that the latter was an intentional feature, that the augment would find supply in whatever it could with little discrimination. This upset the committee, who ousted him on the spotAcademy for his blatant disregardviolation for researchof ethics.

ItZetsel's career wasn't longentirely afterdestroyed thatby athe shadowyproposition of his magnum opus, however. A weapons-manufacturing cabal with representatives present at the Colloquium took interest in Zetsel'sthe workproject and soughtapproached him outwith ina contract to complete his work, but to center the aftermathdrain of the controversy. They offered that in between projects they assigned him, he was permitted to develop the augment further, only this time, its capacity to parasitise was a primary feature. He accepted, and after six years of continuous work, he finished a stable first iterationcapabilities of the augment. HeZetsel was,negotiated however,and unableagreed to convincethe terms, and soon enough, the first and fully finished augment had been installed—on Zetsel himself to his employersrequest. Everything turned out to supplybe a complete success for him ain subjectthe to attachend it to. Out of options, Zetsel volunteered himself.seemed...

AtUntil first,the itAugment was flawless. Zetsel was ablebegan to discover the fullest capacity of his magic for the first time and his employers found components of this research valuable for their own projects... but soon it became clearshow that theits augmentside effect was more potentravenous than they were expecting. It was ravenous and sapped from their facilities, and Zetsel would also find himself fatigued if the augment was not charged frequently. It wasn't a failure, but it had too many drawbacks for them to use. Happy enough with the residual results, the cabal gave him a hefty payment, but forbade him from returning to work with them until heanyone could findhave a solution.

And now, Zetsel roams the world, trying to find a source powerful enough to satiate the mechanical parasite for good.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