William Gunn

## History

Born on an unnamed, developing colony within the Terminus Systems to two loving parents- William, a mechanic, and Elspie, a renowned chef, he was the first generation in the family to be born off-Earth. His ancestors, originating from Scotland, had resided in the country’s highlands for endless generations until the small family finally decided to break the cycle. They wanted to explore the stars, and after learning of new life abroad, they wanted to be the pioneers of the future. The family decided to venture out to the developing colony they wanted to be apart of. Once the family finally settled into the new land, William was conceived. However, in June of 2161 the colony in which the young human family and so many others resided was raided by batarian pirates, leading to the capture and enslavement of many human families.

Forced in chains and collars, the family longed for freedom. Elspie, William’s mother, was in the clutches of the slavers, who abused and neglected her. It wasn’t until she was finally sold that the young family was broken, and that she and her son would venture into their new life, one without their father. Sold to a batarian arms dealer by the name of Baevea, the plans she had in mind for the human toddler were grand. Elspie named the human child William Howard Gunn, after his father, and her husband, who was sold to a different master.

Baevea strove for this human toddler to become a gladiator, as she once volunteered to be. She knew the ferocious nature of humans, and from her perspective as a batarian their savage-like ways, something that could be utilized in the arena. Elspie was not a suitable candidate to undergo the brutal training of gladiators, as she had already aged and was seemingly frail. This child was the perfect opportunity to mold into the ideal warrior, a gladiator with the discipline of a turian combined with the savage nature of a human, as well as the strength of a batarian. He was going to be used as a pawn to make credits, something Baevea started to become heavily invested in. Her training grounds for her gladiators laid hidden in plain sight on the desert world of Triginta Petra, disguised as a farm should any of the few inhabitants spot it. While her slaves inhabited the “farm”, she resided comfortably on her ship.

At around the age of seven years, the human began Beavea’s training. His first weapon was a simple one: A wooden pike. Day and night she trained the human with no mercy, beatings occurring often enough to make him fear her. His mother would comfort him in the barracks they lived in, but upon discovering this, Baevea separated the two into separate living spaces. Although William picked up on the batarian tongue and was able to understand it, he found it difficult to speak. A solution to this was simple: install a sub-dermal translator in the human. She had done it with the other human, and she figured it was about time to place in the young child. He was finally able to speak to the batarian in his first language, Scottish-Gaelic, which was his family’s native tongue.

While William received training to become a gladiator, Elspie worked behind the scenes as Baevea’s personal chef. Her previous experience working in a five-star restaurant as the head chef allowed her to achieve such position so quickly, Baevea impressed by the work ethic of the human. Nonetheless, she was still a slave, but because of her hard work Elspie herself received benefits, such as a comfortable bed and pillow. But William was unable to reap the reward his mother received. Instead, William was able to receive larger meal portions made by his mother, of a quality far better than what Baevea’s average slave ate. William was resented by the other slaves for this, but there was nothing that could be done. Threatening their master’s prized possession was certainly a death sentence.

The lad finally grew into a young man, and at the age of fourteen, he participated in his first gladiatorial battle on Adek. Although small, it was setup by small-time slave owners looking to make their slaves great warriors as well. In this fight was a human and turian, particular oddities, and two batarians. All were nearly the same age, young teenagers, some of whom had received proper training to fight. William was one the lucky ones, as he had been training for the last several years of his life, day in and day out. A crowd had gathered to watch the fight, expecting enjoyment watching the young gladiators, and in particular the human, to fail and die epically, but they were deceived. Instead of the human being one of the first to fall, he stood victorious over the bodies of his victims, the bloody pike in his hands and his back covered with the claw marks of the young turian. With his success in this trial by fire, he gained a small following due to being a human gladiator, the only one ever seen. From this point onward, his career as the human gladiator began. With his victories came great rewards, not only from his master by also by sponsors. Some offered weapons and armor, others offered credits for him to fight at some arenas. William, the prized possession of Baevea, brought her the wealth and attention she so desired. As a result of this fame, it encouraged her to purchase more slaves, as she saw the success of her first warrior. To reward him, Baevea gifted the human a metal trident, one that was beautifully decorated with engravings and symbols. This weapon served as a token of the batarian’s appreciation of William’s success as a fighter and champion, while also serving as an upgrade to his armory.

As years went by, William grew into a more savage-like fighter, but also rich in spirit, his mother teaching him to value humility through means of religion. He was not interested in what his mother attempted to teach him, but, he began to believe something, what one could call a religion. The idea of Fate, a god that controlled all life and predetermined it’s end sparked in his mind. He gathered this information after participating in and watching multiple gladiator duels, and how often the announcers spoke of perished warriors who met their “Fate”. He began to believe Fate was unique to every individual, judging by the way the announcers used her name in that context. He no longer began to question of life as a gladiator, rather he embraced it, as it was the path that was chosen for him. Because of this, he saw himself as a cog in a much bigger machine, although his mother attempted to convince him otherwise, to no avail. With little sense of morals and the made up religion in his mind, he saw the gladiatorial fights as something much bigger than he and other fellow slaves could ever imagine, and if the fights were to end, everyone would feel the consequences. He was unable realize the pain and suffering he has caused over the years of fighting, a result of Baevea’s manipulative ways. As a parental figure and caretaker, as well as master, he fully trusted her and the plans she held for him.

He gained pleasure from pleasing his master, and it was one of the only things that made him happy, beside his victories in battle. Although he was well known for being a human gladiator, he was also known for killing his opponents with their own weapons, as a way to showboat his strength and skills.

William’s past is filled with many great and memorable fights, and there is one in particular that he considers the greatest. After stable owners contacted one another to bring together their champions, the gladiators found themselves in massive, empty arena to fight against a new foe: A harvester with its wings clipped. William found himself in the arena with a batarian, krogan, and turian and with such a diverse group possessing varying skills, and working together instead of against one another, he held high hopes for the result of the battle. However, the outcome left both the batarian and krogan dead, but with the axe and shield wielding turian and trident baring human standing victorious. The feat of defeating a harvester without the use of modern weaponry caught the attention of fellow slaves and audiences alike, and since Baevea was a rather small stable owner, it caught the attention of other larger stable owners as well. As a result of his tremendous success in the arena, the relationship between William and his mother had began to diminish, the pair growing distant as his popularity grew.

Following this harvester event, William was sold off to pursue larger and greater fights, under the wing of a turian stable owner by the name of Retok. Baevea enjoyed the large sum of credits she received for the price over William, and gave him up without hesitation. This would ultimately lead to the separation of he and his mother, and with the fact they were growing distant, he didn’t pay much mind to it.

The following years of success came with many close calls, with one in particular nearly ending his life; While gloating and taunting his opponent in the arena, William’s throat was partially slit by an opponent he had thought was dead. However, the scar that now rests from one side of his neck to the other is a trophy he carries proudly, as he believes it shows his resilience as a fighter. His belief in Fate continuously strengthened as time went on, realizing the success and strength she had brought him. William recognized her as a generous, yet unforgiving god, but he still praised her for the gifts she bestowed upon him.

Despite his victories and the fame he brought his turian master, they all seemed to be in vain. He saw no reward in his success, and was continuously treated lowly by the turian. Unlike Baevea, in spite of her ruthless attitude, she rewarded him for a job well done. As he spent more and more time fighting on her behalf, he realized his mistreatment, and began to grow a hatred to his now apparent oppressor over the years. Through the already bitter attitude other gladiators had toward Retok, William was greatly influenced by his peers, who had been enduring the suffering for years on end. Through the like mindedness of the other slaves sparked a rebellion, one that William found himself apart of. Although the stable owner rarely saw their slaves in person, a rare occasion gave William the opportunity to strike at his master, with the other slaves dealing with her bodyguards. Although some gladiator lives were lost in the process, an overwhelmingly large amount survived, and they quickly fled. With these now free gladiators secretly fleeing the stable, some attempted to find a way off planet, while others sought revenge on other stable owners. William wanted to seek a new master, one that would treat him with a high regard and reward him for his work. This plan of his was foiled by other slaves, who managed to convince him that they should flee to the Citadel, where they can be totally free and not have to worry about mercenaries coming after them. To the slaves who had never seen the Citadel, and from the stories told, it was a place of peace, a safe haven for all those who sought it, but all this was hearsay. William and a few other slaves successfully managed to find a trading ship carrying illegal cargo back to the Citadel, and sneaked in prior to take off. They hid in the cargo bay, and their great escape finally met its conclusion. Upon arriving at the Citadel, William and the slaves were arrested by C-SEC, as well as the crew carrying the cargo upon discovering the contents.

They were separated and interrogated for three long days, officers attempting to figure out who these mysterious people were. William attempted to convince them he was a gladiator that used to fight for a batarian stable owner, his argument reinforced by the fact he had a metal trident with him. Although Will’s expressive attitude puzzled the interrogators, they were eventually let go upon figuring out all their stories lined up. They registered as new citizens to the unfamiliar place, a place they would be able to call home. Not too long after finding sanction in the new place, the now former-slaves split, embarking to create a new life for themselves. Creditless, William often found himself in the lower levels of the Citadel. It wasn’t before long that William sought a job, as his realization that this invisible currency was his ticket to purchasing necessities. His intimidating presence landed him a job as a bouncer, something he began to take great pride in. His training as a gladiator made its appearance once again, his skills as a fighter often used to separate bar fights, or even remove rowdy customers.

William made enough money to feed and clothe himself, but not enough to have a roof over his head constantly. He found himself asleep on the lower level floors of the Citadel, where he would rise daily to work, then back into the ground. It was miserable for some time, barely able to keep financially stable with the added fear of not eating properly. But, it was a life he had grown used to as a slave. Adapting into this civilized life was more difficult than he originally anticipated, as all he knew was fighting and killing. Both, however, were illegal. He found it difficult to keep his mind off his mother, as he knew she was still a slave, an old one at that, he did nothing but work and work. It angered him, but he had nobody to be angry at other than himself, for leaving what little was left of his family behind. It pent up within him, and it began to affect his work. He grew less and less patient, until he released his anger on a poor man. Only two months into his job he was fired for using excessive force over a man who attempted to pick a fight with William.

With separate incidents landing him some nights in jail, and landing on his record, he quickly was left unemployed. With almost no chance of finding a job anywhere in the Citadel, even on the lower levels, he left for a chance to start anew. With what little he possessed, he ventured to Omega in search for work, eventually landing himself a job as a bouncer, then bodyguard to VIPs within Blue Baby, a strip club that employed him.

He did not care much for the war against the reapers, and was neither fearful or too concerned for the fate of the universe, as he saw it as Fate’s plan: Unchangeable and inevitable. Though, when he was given an invitation to RIFT, and he saw the opportunity to fight, and for something good at that, he jumped at the chance. Though he does explicitly say it, saving the universe is second. Fighting, on the other hand, it is his primary reason for joining. To experience the thrill of fighting, life or death, he would give anything for it. And perhaps, when the ordeal was over, he would have built up enough credits to rescue his mother. Through negotiation or force, he was going to get her back.

Though he doesn’t say it, or may not realize it, it’s all for her.