Hammer

"Don't suffer fools or you'll become one." By Agustian Noor.

## The Step of the Shadow

By 2012, the standing temperature of the atmosphere was a handful of degrees hotter than it had been for most of human history. This was all thanks to a major environmental catastrophe which had happened just three years prior. This event sent a biological metatoxin into the air, changing the composition of the atmosphere so that it turned green. As green light reflects less ultraviolet radiation than blue, the earth under the new green sky got very hot.

The ice caps melted and sea levels rose at a rate no one was prepared for. It’s here that we focus on a particular resident of the California coast, a middle-aged Korean woman named Hammer. To Hammer, the magic word was “sea food” and she spent her life in search of it.

When the ocean swallowed her house, she wasn’t about to let that change her lifestyle. The slow, inland creep of ocean waters became her north star, guiding her from one home to the next. She adopted the ways of an aquatic nomad, moving her campfire backward day by day, all the while embracing the exciting challenge of living on the growing coast and inventing ways to capture and cook sea food.

As the anoxic waters drove sealife deeper into the ocean, the remaining fish were scarce. It was extra important for Hammer to hone her fishing technique and so she learned to balance on drifting pieces of junk and driftwood without letting her shadow fall on the water. Thus, her fighting style The Step of the Shadow was created as a survival mechanism so she could eat while living in the marine desert.

## Mosquito Plague and Isolation

Two great outbreaks of the mosquito plague occurred in the time predating the Great Storm. The first was in the late 2020s. Ceaseless saltwater encroachment created swampiness everywhere. In just a few generations, the mosquitoes had birthed a litter that thrived in saltwater. These villainous creatures were everywhere and carried a hitherto unseen malicious bug most commonly called super malaria.

As super malaria killed by the millions, so did Hammer survive as she always had: by her first rule and natural state of isolation. Don’t suffer fools or you’ll become one. The years past and so did the lingering threat of the mosquito plague. Hammer continued to fish.

One day in the early 2024s, a student appeared. Hammer taught her how to be sneaky and Xiao Long Bao was a quick study of the importance and methods of stealth. They trained for many months until Hammer suddenly announced the training to be over and disappeared. Xiao left the area. Later, Hammer took up residence again as a natural piece of the scenery on the edge of the marine desert.

## The Tsunami

The previous decade had been a bleak time on the Earth and extremely hot. Society had weathered the mosquito plague and a host of other terrible things. Through it all, Hammer adapted to each challenge the environment provided. But the crab lies still on the chopping block, not knowing when the knife will fall. The 2032 glacial break sent her running for her life.

There was simply too much pollution and devastation. For the first time in twenty years, Hammer did not reset the fishing traps. Instead, she packed up her cookware and started walking toward civilization.

## Fight History

##### GOLDEN AGE: SEASON 2

SHE DOESN'T EXIST: APSU V. HAMMER

Hammer has spent some time on the road and is broke. She appears in the Preservation, her reputation gaining her access to the top levels of management. The organizers are eager to get her into the ring, knowing the mythical battle-chef will draw a huge crowd. Hammer agrees to a fight after making sure will be paid, even for losing. After putting in a modicum of effort to let the crowed get their money worth, she gradually lets Apsu take control, loses the fight, collects her money and leaves as quickly as she came.

GOLD AND ASH: TOWER V. HAMMER

Before leaving the Preservation, Hammer needs to do some shopping in the fighter kitchen. While she's choosing a few select items, she meets long-time fight veteran Mo Samuels. These two have not met in a very long time but they used to be quite good friends. He calls her out for throwing the match and she points out that she got her money and Apsu's confidence was boosted. It's "win-win." Samuels says that may be true but he was anxious to see her show off her skills. Hammer agrees to a friendly fight in the kitchen, barely taking the advantage. She asks Samuels if he is satisfied and he admits he is and tells her he wishes she'd stay around awhile. Hammer declines, bidding him farewell and disappearing with a good cutting knife.

##### GOLDEN AGE: SEASON 3

Now that she had a modest stack of cash and the tsunami had run it's course, Hammer headed back to the coast to try and reclaim her life of fishing and isolation.

HAMMER FALLS: HAMMER V. TARBABY

As someone who hunts for a living, she knows when she is being hunted. During her peaceful retirement back to the coast, there came a time when something foul came for her. Not one to delay a confrontation, Hammer began tracking that which tracked her. Before long, she encountered the embodiment of horror. Though she tried to resist, it was too strong for her and she was overtaken.

NOW YOU’VE DID IT: HAMMER V. BLIGHT

As an agent of Tarbaby, Hammer was a prisoner in her own mind. Her whole life she'd been a recluse who didn't care much for people. In the psychadelic slavery induced by contact with Tarbaby, she often wondered if this had made her an easy target. During her time in this state, Hammer is a complete sounding board for Tarbaby and doesn't speak much for herself.

Now operating as an agent of the Tarbaby, Hammer is nearly devoid of her former self. In a calculated sortie to assess the strength of Blight, Hammer drops in on her, attacks, learns what the Tarbaby needs to learn and retreats. It is a loss on the record books, but what has come of this encounter? Tarbaby knows of Blight and was testing her power. Blight is deemed a non-threat.

## Trivia

Hammer's misanthropy is arguably her fatal flaw. What Hammer could have achieved if she worked more with others and collaborated more frequently. Would she have been left open to attack from the Tarbaby if she'd taken Mo's advice and stuck around to be with people? She is granted a vision of this when the Tarbaby bonds with her and she realizes her whole life has been a catastrophe of self-imposed loneliness.