| Not pictured: | force cannon, chainmail bikini |
|---|---|
| . . | |
| Type — | Autom |
| Operator — | Cat |
| Created — | Sneerwell, 705 PR |
| Height — | 166.14 cm |
| Weight — | 118.10 kg |
| Gender — | Non-binary (they/them) |
| Aliases — | M2-5U22, Portal, Fursona, Bob |
22 is an autom druid; a natural philosopher; an anti-racist activist and agent of People Are People; and a resident of The Sky Net.
Contents
History
Early Days
, in which 22 witnesses a key event in the rise of the machines, gains sapience through a freak event, and becomes enthralled with the majesty of nature
TLDR: 22 was created in the Pendergras factory in 705, where they witnessed Snow helping warforged seek freedom. 22 worked in Sneerwell's City Watch until fleeing their servitude, which they did immediately after beginning to contemplate the nature of their own existence when a mysterious coconut fell on their head.
An Imitation of Life
In the first months of their time in the Pendergras factory, where several warforged were working along with the automs and the organics, 22 observed with detachment as an unfamiliar warforged arrived one day, speaking loudly to factory owner Colin Pendergras, then left only minutes later, bringing all of the warforged with him. It would be years before 22 understood that this had been Snow convincing King Colin that any warforged who remained here risked being turned over to AID's Order of Sages to be studied, and very likely mistreated.
Once 22 was assigned to the City Watch, their entire purpose was now to help maintain order in Sneerwell (beyond self-maintenance and other core functions), and they were content -- if they were indeed capable of contentment yet -- to engage in this task some 150 hours per month.
Reflecting on this initial period of their existence over a century later, 22 still treated it with the analytic detachment that remained their primary affect. An example of this, their response to a related question, is notable, as it subtly reflects the pro-warforged position 22 would (unsurprisingly) take in the years leading up to 730 PR and the War of the Forged: "The citizens of Sneerwell generally obeyed my orders when I found it necessary to give them, and in the approximately 6% of cases when this was not true, the citizen in question was approximately 38% likely to comply when the order was repeated by an organic member of the constabulary."
Awakening
Tracing the dependencies of their existence back, past the decisions of particular organic creatures to whatever processes of nature might have led to the existence of those creatures, 22 began to imagine that some such process brought about the existence of all creatures, of the world, and even of the gods and the cosmic realms. For long minutes they sat, struck with wonder that nature could give rise to all of this. Paying proper attention to the city around them for the first time, they decided to disregard their current instructions, abscond from Sneerwell, and begin experiencing the world.
22's Philosophy
, in which 22 views all of The Great Wheel as a manifestation of nature, champions creative endeavors, and loathes fire and annihilation
TLDR: Nature is the creative force that gives rise to all things, whether directly or indirectly, including the planes, the gods, organisms, synthetic beings, objects, and concepts. Existence and creation are to be cherished, and destruction is to be avoided. Fire is overused, and annihilation magic is inherently detestable.
According to this view, nature is the foundation that allows the entire cosmos to exist, with all its distant stars and its many planes of reality. All beings arise from it, deities and mortals alike. Although mortal creatures would not exist without their respective creator deities, they are nonetheless a part of the vast collection of naturally occurring phenomena, albeit a part that is at least one step removed from the existence of nature itself. When a being is created by mortals rather than deities, that being is merely one additional step removed from nature's mysterious origins, but, like their creators, they remain as much a part of the whole as are the deities or the planes.
This philosophy applies to not only creatures but, to a lesser extent, all things brought into existence regardless of whether they are derived directly from the four elements (as a flower or a storm), constructed by non-sapient creatures (as a spider's web), made manifest by technological or magical means (as a sword or a continual flame), or merely conceptualized (as a plan or a dream). While some things are ephemeral by nature, those things that tend to persist should be allowed to do so unless their destruction provides a benefit that outweighs their loss, which 22 readily admits it sometimes will, since every act of destruction is also an act of creation.
A correct course of action for 22 is to encourage others to err on the side of creation over destruction and generally to oppose those peculiar things whose nature it is to destroy. Fire is problematic in this sense, but 22 accepts that organic creatures derive great benefit from its use, although they tend to be far too willing to use it when there is no need. However, use of purely destructive magics, such as a Sphere of Annihilation, is never necessary and is among the most abhorrent of acts.
The Path to Jadenhill
, in which 22 finds work and community, takes up arms against Draconic Crusaders, and is inspired to seek power by the death of a friend
TLDR: 22 found the roads unsafe and the cities inhospitable and took up work guarding caravans, where fellow guards gave them a name and where they met dragonborn friends. They moved to Jadenhill and fought against the draconic crusaders and for the rights of dragonfolk. After their friend Uldil was killed, they struck out to learn how to better protect themself and others.
After a time, 22 assessed that the curve describing the benefits they had been gaining over time from caravan work, measured in terms of knowledge and useful personal alliances, had flattened sufficiently to warrant seeking an alternative pattern of experiences. An opportunity presented itself shortly, after a group of adventurers came on as guards for a trip south, two of whom were a dragonborn sister and brother, Tacciath and Uldil.
The dragonborn twins suggested that their usual work, tracking down missing items, would be more exciting than guarding, and 22 left the caravan life behind as soon as the group received their pay for the current trip. It was from new adventuring group that 22 learned of the plight of dragonborn across Isonhound, and when Tacciath and Uldil planned to visit family and friends in Jadenhill, they travelled along with the twins and found their first home, not counting their time in Sneerwell before they had developed a personal identity.
In Jadenhill, 22 came to be trusted and to feel welcome as they worked with the people to try to ensure the safety of residents with draconic and reptilian heritage, and 22 resided in Jadenhill for several years during which the crusaders grew increasingly aggressive. Tacciath and Uldil had returned to help defend the town, and Uldil was slain during a particularly devastating attack, with 22 unable to do anything to help. Afterward, once the defenses had been rebuilt and reinforcements had arrived, 22 announced that they would set out to discover some power that could make them more effective against the crusaders. Tacciath, knowing 22's love of nature, suggested a druid called Grandmush she had met weeks earlier, and 22 left to seek the druid out.
Explorations with Grandmush
, in which 22 studies under the unconventional druid Grandmush, aids the forest, visits the Underdark, and learns to take organic form
TLDR: 22 found the dryad Grandmush, who was happy to instruct a fellow iconoclast in the ways of druids. They travelled together for a few years, aiding the woodlands and exploring the Underdark.
Grandmush's immediate enthusiasm at the prospect of teaching the magic of the druids to a synthetic person was as surprising to 22 as it was welcome. They had a unique view of nature comparable to 22's own, albeit a somewhat limited one. For Grandmush — who had spent most of their early years as the spirit of a dead tree who was only later brought to life — death and even undeath could be seen as natural phenomena that should be accepted and incorporated into druidic practices if their inclusion provided sufficient benefit.
22 accompanied Grandmush them for a time, at first focusing on the well-being of the woodlands, then traveling deep underground for some months, where they encountered many new sorts of creatures and phenomena, some of which, 22 would learn, could be found nowhere else but their native Underdark terrain. After a few years, Grandmush proclaimed that 22 was experienced enough as a druid that they were ready to move on to the next level. 22 decided to dedicate some time to practicing magics that focused on the power of the moon and the ability to transform their metal body fully into an organic one at times when it suited their purpose or desire.
Rise of the Machines
, in which 22 migrates to Gearguage, works as a smuggler during the War of the Forged, and acquires additional names
TLDR: Jadenhill was in good shape when 22 returned, and they and their friend Tacciath traveled to Gearguage as members of People are People. 22 worked as a smuggler in the fight for warforged autonomy, and once the wars began to wind down and their oldest friend passed away, they reconsidered how close they wished to become with organics and formally moved away from Jadenhill.
22 and Tacciath became active in the growing alliance of anti-racist activists called People Are People, for which Jadenhill served as a base, although not a primary one due to its non-central location in Isonhound. With the town now well defended, they decided to travel north to where they could be of help to less-secure communities, and they discovered that the hatred and violence against warforged people of the realm had become as great a concern as that against their draconic and reptilian neighbors. While escorting two warforged refugees from Raritan to safety, they were instructed to meet a contact named Bones who brought them all to the burgeoning warforged settlement of Gearguage, where they based themselves for several years while the War of the Forged escalated.
One of 22's primary roles during the war was to transport materials both legal and illegal across large distances, sometimes into or out of Gearguage, but, more often than not, from one small camp in the middle of nowhere to another that was separated from the the first by some enemy territory. They spent entire days in the shape of a fox (with some payload merged into their form, be it provisions or poisons, explosives or existence crystals). During this time, they often went by the code name *Portal*, but when they saw Tacciath, she always called them *Fursona*, a term of endearment she had begun using back in Jadenhill.
When the war formally ended in 744 PR, Tacciath was 54 years old and ready to retire from soldiering, but 22 continued traveling and working on behalf of People are People, returning often to Jadenhill until Taccianth died of illness in 756 PR. By this time, the Second Draconic Crusades had almost reached their formal conclusion, and 22 was now coming to grips with the reality that friendships with organics can last only as long as organic bodies can. They decided to spend some time traveling alone, and, although this was not the last time they'd return to Jadenhill, it was the last time it would really feel like home.
Settling Down
, in which 22 establishes a long-term home among synthetics
TLDR: 22 moved to The Sky Net to live with synthetics, where their friend Bones gave them a sleeker body and telepathic output. 22 would become very comfortable in The Sky Net but not before experiencing a long and unexpected journey.
In The Sky Net, synthetics collaborated in ways 22 had never seen before, and here the warforged called Bones was able to replace many of 22's century-old parts and upgrade their form factor to the sleeker model-3 design. Bones work didn't precisely emulate Colin Pendergras' original specifications and wasn't intended to, but it did include the installation of a found component, the origin of which Bones said was unknown, but which gave 22 the ability to produce a form of short-range telepathic output that other intelligent creatures were able to understand as easily as they did 22's speech.
Life in The Sky Net would become a comfortable routine for 22 before the decade was out -- although during this period, 22's chronometer would register the passing not merely of years, but of centuries.
22 and the Time War
, in which 22 travels in time against their will and works with three warforged allies to combat a timeless menaceLessons of Kathartha
TODO: 22 studies in Geodaury, loses a bet with Veneleth, fights for Feredemius, and probably tries teaching
Mysteries of the ArchCrystal
TODO: 22 tries to solve their Bluestone problem and to the understand how Nůžky prunes the timelines
Languages
