The Augmented Few

[Ambduscias 1027]

Spoiler

 

 

The Augmented

 

 

---

 

---

 

Introduction

 

“...legends tell of the old Teuton, standing as tall as a building; with shoulders like oxen, and a flame unbeknownst to man in his eye...”

• Jean of Eshenvaurd, 1132

 

The march of societal adaptation to varying strata never ended, as the uneducated might preach; the advancement of fell deeds and idols, stretching from the bowels of the Abyss’ domain to the all-encompassing boundary of creation that is the Void and its powers that find themselves bestowed to those with idle hands, provoke reaction. Busied minds laboured, dark deeds and terrible experiments taken to with uncanny vigor by those industrious enough to search for a transcendental strength enough to give Man its own guard against what might seek to taint it.

 

Dusty records sequestered deep beneath an Aeldic monastery speak of and detail the endeavors of an alchemical collective; each of masters of their own craft, from those who sought to use reagents to subvert lead to gold and age-old pioneers of their craft came together to discuss the aforementioned problems of their times and unilaterally embarked upon a quest that might prove their most incandescent achievement - or their most lurid, though none might easily expect the winding roads and ethical queries their decisions might bring them to. They resolved on creating something purely vital; the ubermensch, as the Waldenians would come to call it; alternatively came to be known in common - roughly translated, of course - as “the Super-Men.”

 

 

---

 

---

 

“You speak of ethics; morality is the tool of the fitful, the weak - borne as a shield by those unwilling to meet the means their goal demands. We shall be burdened by no such thing.”

• Aethur Lohingren, excerpts from project logs - roughly dated 1032

 

 

 

 

None would say the process was brief. Messy, visceral implantations left many men dead; grown bodies struggled to display any symptoms before withering away under a variety of treatments, oft ranging from the induction of Bulls’ testosterone into their bloodstream and the implementation of pseudo-physiology, most of which serve little end purpose but further ailing sickly men.

 

These failures were met with sorrow. Some of these men were but blushing virgins in the face of death; their minds comprehended the concept, great as they were, but failed to visualize the suffering that burrows on a man’s face before he expires and diffuses his bowels. The first turning point in the adaptation of a new, faux-endocrineal cocktail of alchemical contents regularly administered via the mouth - though this was proven to have very minor effect, varying on the recipients age; even this process took many attempts and following failures that left its creators deeply disheartened, till one man rose a point; in more simpler, archaic terms, they came to comprehend the nature of the thyroid glands’ production capabilities, and how the organ slowly turned vestigial with age.

 

And so, they had their first step. A fitting urchin-child was taken, and one of seven philosopher-alchemists all but turned tail and departed from the endeavor, citing it as a breach of the most basic ethics of virtuous conduct. At first, all had seemed well; they managed, for what they could; using a variety of herbs and thin needles, the body seemed to accept the implantation - though things later turned south, and the first young subject was lost. With the greatest emotional turmoil surmounted, those who remained dedicated to seeing the wretched work through to its final end; for the sake of those who had been lost in the name of progress to come, from urchin to elder man; and so they labored and labored, till their hands were numb..

 

    On Augmentation

 

 

With first and foremost endeavors complete, the aforementioned endocrenial secretion cocktail they’d fed the youth saw progress. It drove their insides wild, left them racked with lasting pains - but in turn, it slowly morphed their musculature. Though the process was oft prone to mis-growths and unintentional side-effects, their bodies were wider and taller; while they aged into it, they found themselves more akin to the common Orc in physiology - at their smallest, ranging from six and a half feet to, at their maximum, seven and three quarters with shoulders akin to that of a bull; though this took horrible toll on their legs and knees in later life, leaving them with locking joints and horrible agony by the point they might retire from the affairs of war.

 

Said augmentation was the first of many to follow. A more permanent solution to the glandular issue followed later, with the implementation (following much trial and error) of an implanted ‘seed’ - a pseudo-adrenal gland, which when fed with proper chemical cocktails, could induce a temporary burst of adrenal painkillers - though, while providing the combatant with the illusion of a berserkers strength, leaves them just as vulnerable to conventional weapons as a normal man in their respective garb.

 

Later, some ventured forth and pressed the idea of vestigial organs - duplicates of the functioning, in the chance of the capcity) though these were not commonplace, considering the surgical acumen required to keep a man alive through the procedures - often resulting in extreme attrition when they were implemented.firsts’ failure - such as a secondary heart and a quad-set of lungs, attached to the initial tracheal tubes via a crude filtration system (in addition, providing them a stronger ability to hold their breath - considering the additional

 

Many of these came with their own lackluster additions; the Augmented is almost constantly in pain, often leading to a rash and aggressive personality built from a young age - the cocktail of chemicals is, the vast majority of the time, lethal to nonhumans, and ineffective on Orcs and Ologs; it’s their testosterone mixed into tapped fluids from Orcish youngs glands harvested, so it can’t further augment their strength any further than their present status.

 

    Culture

 

For the most part, the rites and processes required were lost during long periods of civil strife and the dissolution of the pseudo-triumvirate that pioneered the modification of the Human body; but that is not to say that the practice is wholly dead, as the first of the youths formed something of a chapter in which they sold their blades in service as an accomplished organization of mercenaries across the known world - of which knew of them only as Strongmen, oft-referred to as Orcbloods for their impressive stature.

 

Even after the first creators union dissolved, they remained; their eldest selecting youth, mostly those orphaned by the frequent wars that scoured the surface of [insert generic continent name here] for dozens of years at a time, subjecting them to the same horrible processes that they themselves once experienced, offering youth a chance at redemption via the only method they knew of; glorious melee combat.

 

So many years hence, few know the intricacies of the rituals and instead perceive them as blessings; the fine details of alchemies and Mutagens required for the process to take hold and successfully bind is no longer trial and error, but sacrosanct duty -- failures, whose bodies reject the chemicals, are seen as those too weak or unworthy. It is often that these are taken with religious connotations, be they taken as Cannonist, Xionist, Adunian Creatorist, or otherwise; the specific instances vary with the party of individuals and the current establishments with the archaic knowledge required to complete the processes.

 

 

---

 

“Blood and thunder!”

• Brother-Chaplain Hensley Harrison of Blackpool - anti-Savoyard Warcry, 1942

 

Strengths and Weaknesses

 

Without a doubt, the Augmented’s strength is significant; their frame has loadbearing capacity compared to the normal Human, and carries a great deal more weight and possibility for muscle between it’s broad shoulder blades. However, like every large man, it suffers a distinct weakness of the knees - even with thick  legs, they still experience duress over a long life, weak from start and nigh-crippled at the end. Aside from this is the taxation upon the heart, which must work in overtime to ensure all muscles are supplied with enough blood; while a secondary implant makes it so that it will not produce too early a death, excess strain (such as that produced by mental magic) is easily capable of sending them into cardiac arrest.

 

In addition to this and their particularly odd glandular implants, their heightened adrenaline makes any variety of short-term focus almost impossible; they can’t steady their minds on delicate tasks such as Voidal, fell, or for the most part any variety of voidal Magic, nor would , migraines, severe nausea and so forth. deign to permit themselves to touch such - their (generally) culture instills a deep seated hatred of the unnatural from a young age, if raised with a proper enclave. However, said adrenaline provides them with great, impressive stamina - though once it runs dry (generally within fifteen emotes), they experience severe crash symptoms, including but not limited to vomittingmost

 

Generally, their personalities are less than friendly; this is attributed to the harsh, stark upbringing most experience, leaving them lacking adequate social skills with an excess of strength to back up fitful anger. While tools such as gold or divine enchantments might not work upon them, often times conventional means suffice.

 

 

 

---

 

---

 

Red lines

 

• Strong but not greater than that of a conventional mortal creature, with slightly post-Orcish strength (closer to Orc than Olog, but between metrics).

• Wholly mortal; can be slain with conventional means or magical, though none have a special reaction with their upbringing and powers.

• Has to be raised from between the ages of 8-22; characters older than that are incapable of adapting to the changes.

• Shorter than Human lifespan (80 years from 150).

• Cannot use Magic.

• Humans only.

• angry marines

 

 

credits:

 

me i wrote it at 5am with the energy a cup of hot coco provided me

games workshop for inspiration

 

Edited September 21, 2017 by Ambduscias

[Jentos 6930]

[wolfdwg 1509]

Battle Bruva. Alfa Legion is ready!

[GDPR 014 24]

 

[kingnothing 547]

+1

[FreeHongKong 934]

Thank you for submitting your piece! This is now under review and you can expect a verdict in roughly a week.

[FreeHongKong 934]

This lore is pending, you will be contacted regarding the issues raised by the lore team so you may fix it. You have 2 weeks to make the changes, beginning from when you are contacted. Once you have edited your piece, send me a forum PM and your piece will be reviewed to ensure the changes have been made.

[FreeHongKong 934]

Killed at request