Connen-Nuete

Connen-Nuete Gan-Kar is the second son and scion of Hadin Gan-Kar, the (apparently legendary) Artificer who was among the core group of original Seekers. He is also the younger brother to Talo-Toecan Gan-Kar, another of the original Seekers, though while he takes after his brother in many ways, none can deny that Connen-Nuete approaches them in his own manner and fashion.

## Background

A great number of the exploits of both his father and brother have been archived by the Prophetess back in her days as an Arkhivist, but little has been published of Hadin Gan-Kar since his departure from the main Seeker corps. While ensconced upon Lore until "such time as he is needed" by Falerin, some facets of life began to trouble the elderly Seeker within the context of his new lease upon life. Talo-Toecan had filled him with a great deal of pride as his son, but many of the experiences which both father and son had survived despite the odds had shown the Artificer flaws. Flaws in the core design from which the First Son had evolved, to be sure, but also flaws in his role as Talo-Toecan's father. He also became a touch lonely, as Talo-Toecan had his own family to care for, and despite spending plenty of time with them Hadin once more felt the negative side of the solitude amidst the Menagerie.

And what is an Artificer without Artifice to work upon?

Promising himself to do better and to raise another sapient construct with proper guidance and safety, Hadin went to work. The old man in a young man's body ransacked his own workshop for every scrap and gear leftover from the creation of Talo-Toecan's original chassis, then took what he found and began to make alterations. It started with a slightly larger skeletal frame, adding in every material he could think of, regardless of rarity. Orichalcum and mithril, iridium and tungsten carbides, steels of every variety. Materials with which he revised telepathic relays, reinforced internal structures, and created an entirely new neural matrix. Added in a more natural coloration of fur to more easily blend into surroundings. Dozens more changes besides.

It took a year and a day, and when it was done, there was but one task left. Hadin Gan-Kar, the great Hack of a Mage, set up the ritual needed to bring true life to the lifeless. Twisted one of the blackest of magics, and sheared off a portion of his own soul to birth one into the artifice before him. Giving birth to Connen-Nuete Gan-Kar, his Second Son.

That was 16 cycles ago, and much as Talo-Toecan had done, Connen-Nuete has grown and evolved far beyond the concept of a mere construct of pure Artifice.

## Appearance

temp stub until player can fill it in properly ;)

In his words:

"I am Connen-Nuete Gan-Kar. Second Son of Hadin, younger brother to Talo-Toecan. I am much like my brother, though where he experienced his growth through trauma, infusion, and constantly being pressured to his absolute limits...my skills and abilities are born of growth, nurturing, and the teaching of my betters. In time, you may learn what I am capable of, but for those familiar with Talo I simply ask that you do not make the mistake that I am He in the same regards."

Connen-Nuete's hair is metallic in origin despite being patterned in a more natural darkened brown rather than Talo's gold, silver, and brassy mix. His eyes are dark, with citrine irises against a black field of shadow, but they glitter with the facets of the cut diamond of their nature. He stands shorter than Talo, only about five and a half feet, and though his features seem somewhat handsome they are youthful. A young man still growing, not helped by the outfit he is wearing.

The tunic flows to his knees, bound by a simple scarlet sash at his waist, and slit along the sides from the hips down for ease of movement. The long, voluminous sleeves look overlarge for his frame, though he seems comfortable tucking his hands together inside of them. His trousers are similarly baggy, loose against his frame, and his feet are wrapped in cloth rather than boot or apparent shoe.

Like Talo's original human format, his fingers are overlong and seemingly delicate, with an extra joint explaining the length.

## Abilities

Even though Connen-Nuete's original base chassis was modeled upon Talo-Toecan's, his ability suite has been significantly tweaked in terms of starting point. Let alone the differences that have only magnified from his much more guided and paced out upbringing, and lack of the multiple *augmentations* that Talo-Toecan's power base was injected with over the years by sources Divine, Arcane, and otherwise. Connen-Nuete's alterations also served Hadin as a later springboard into creating the later F.E.R.R.E.T. models that would serve in a much more restricted capacity as guards of the greater Menagerie when Hadin and Connen-Nuete travelled Lore. In many ways, the comparison to his older brother will shade the latter as a high powered generalist, and the mischievous youth as much more of a specialist in expression.

To begin with, Connen-Nuete's attributes of *Telepathy* are significantly retooled from his older brother's generalistic and flexible expressions. He is unable to contribute to an ansible effect capable of crossing planar boundaries, nor is he capable of expressing his telepathy over significant ranges. A mental whisper might travel, at best, about a mile or thereabouts. As far as Hadin was concerned, this is all intentional, because Connen-Nuete's telepathic gearing has been retooled into a decidedly defensive bastion of effect. Removing range expansion assemblies allowed Hadin to install redundancies and rate control valves for Connen-Nuete's telepathic expressions. While his first son is, to this day, an exceptionally powerful generalist, his second son was given every tool, trick, engram, and initial augmentation to be able to resist and overcome such telepathic threats. The very defensive nature of Connen-Nuete's telepathy also makes him very sensitive to identifying psychic influences within his surroundings - a sensitivity borne of the need for information to properly apply those robust defenses. A slightly less complex and thorough design was later utilized in the diplomatically oriented Herald model line.

As an aside, the mix of different upbringing and general retooling of psychic emitters and receivers has given Connen-Nuete an element of *Empathic Expression* which is lacking from Talo-Toecan. Mostly he uses this to detect the ambient emotions within his surroundings and the people therein, but he is capable of utilizing this psychic quirk to spread a particular emotion from him towards others. By no means so powerful as to override another's emotional state outright, it is a subtle effect that occasionally may have a use for mischief or more. Such as alongside a certain rendition of Desert Rose. Studying the development of this particular quirk led towards Hadin engineering the Jester model line.

Another core similarity to Talo-Toecan is the evolution of *Pyrokinesis* as a psychic means of expression. Here, more so than any other attribute or trait shared by both sons, is where the multiple infusions of power showcase the greatest degree of differences between the two. Talo-Toecan is capable of manifesting an outright pyroclasm upon his surroundings should he choose to do so, but is far from even inclined. Even if the joke running in the family is that he could serve the Elemental Royalty of Fire and let them take a day off every once in a while. Connen-Nuete has nowhere near that level of raw power, but curiously enough, his own self-discipline and desires to grow up to rival his brother have led to a starkly different level of control. In often having to use far, far less power to emulate effects that Talo-Toecan can do with minimal effort, Connen-Nuete has an incredible depth of finesse that his older brother completely lacks. Granted, in the realm of the pyrokinetic, finesse can often be emulated by raw power, but there are moments when finesse is certainly far more valuable. Though the chassis design for pyrokinetic expression between himself and the later Firebrand models are relatively unchanged, the psychic reservoirs are more limited for his younger sibkin, though he has worked with his sibkin to pass on some of his degree of finesse to them where he could.