Traditions

The Metabarons have 4 traditions that began with the very first Metabaron.

Abilities of a Metabaron

The first Metabaron was a skilled space pirate and bounty hunter long before he settled down. Once he did, he was exposed to a culture that prided itself in not using technology as advanced as the rest of the universe. To be a part of it he had to learn their ways. A large part of their mentality came from an adherence to Bushitaka, a way of living influenced by Japanese bushido. It demands victory at any cost. Even life comes secondly to victory. Since this way of living required being able to win any fight, and the people didn't use advanced technology, they became very skilled in the ways of bladed combat. Immense skill with weapons is passed on from Metabaron to Metabaron. Even when enormous psychic powers are available to the Metabaron, their fighting abilities are just as important. All of the Metabarons after Othon have inherited Honorata's psychic abilities. They are able to do such things as read and control minds, alter the physical world with psychic energy and even stop time.

Metabaronic Technology

The Metabarons posses technology that, in some cases, is more advanced than the rest of the galaxy. The majority of their equipment was created by the first Metabaron in the years after the loss of his son. The most well known pieces of Metabaronic technology are the Metabunker and the Metacraft, the Metabaron's home and vehicle. The Metabunker is basically a mobile asteroid. It looks like a hunk of rock but is filled with rooms and halls and has been the home of the Metabarons since Othon von Salzas, its builder. Among other things it has shields that can only be destroyed by a Metabaron and faster than light engines.

The Metacraft is black ship that has also belonged to the Metabarons since it was created by Othon von Salzas. It is equipped with hundreds of weapons capable of destroying planets and armor that can protect it from even the pressures of a black hole. It's the fastest ship in the known universe and appears to be semi-sentient. The current Metabaron has named it Crow.

Othon also created various weapons for planetary combat. Some of these include gunswords, mini-bombs (planet-crushing devices that can be implanted into the body), laser weapons, missiles and armor.

History

Othon: The First Metabaron

Othon von Salzas lived his life as a space pirate until he met Edna, the woman who would be his wife. The story of their meeting is a mystery, but they quickly fell in love. Othon gave up pirating and moved to Marmola, the planet Edna's family lived on and ruled. Edna's father, Baron Berard of Castaka, never approved of Othon, but he didn't stop his daughter from marrying him. Othon took up his new family's business of carving marble.

Marmola was a planet made entirely of marble and all the richest men came from around the galaxy to purchase finely cut marble from the Castaka's. In addition to their amazing stone cutting techniques, the Castakas had a secret. In caves beneath the planet was a blue substance called epiphyte that when placed into objects made them defy gravity. The epiphyte was used to transport the huge blocks of marble since the Castaka's didn't use very much advanced technology.

One day dignitaries from the Imperial Merchants Guild arrived on the planet and purchased some marble. While it was being cut there was an accident and tons of marble fell on Othon, trapping him. Edna knew it would take too long to cut the marble away so she demanded that her father use the epiphyte to free Othon but Berard said no, refusing to reveal the secret of the epiphyte in front of the dignitaries. Other stonecutters sided with Edna and Berard was overruled. As soon as Othon was freed and learned what had happened he was furious. He knew that revealing their secret would cause an intergalactic war when everyone found out about the epiphyte and decided they wanted it for themselves. When Berard saw Othon's anger he finally accepted him as his son, but the damage had been done.

That night, the dignitaries left with their marble and Berard held a meeting. During the meeting he and Othon took out weapons and fought. Berard took a hit to lure Othon into striking range. Berard won but spared Othon, teaching him one last lesson about sacrifice. Following their battle Berard opened his shirt and showed Othon the Castakan birthmark, a glowing white bird in the center of his chest. He said that the mark is passed down from baron to baron and said that it now belonged to Othon. Berard didn't want to be alive when the war for the epiphyte began so he willed the birthmark onto Othon's chest and held his breath until he died.

Ten days later, the battle began. Ships from all over the galaxy warred in the skies above Marmola and after a time only the Black Endoguard remained. On the planet, Othon's wife (Edna) and son (Bari) were ready to fight the entire legion of Black Endoguard warriors, an army that numbered over 4500, but Othon told them to wait. He had a plan but his family wouldn't hear it. Othon broke Bari's legs so he couldn't get out into battle but Edna got past him and ran out of the castle to be shot to pieces. After his wife's death Othon told his army the plan. He ordered his army to split into two and take the Black Endoguard from the North and South, and engage that in close combat, the specialty of Othon's people. Othon let his two best generals go into battle and attack from the sides while he went alone to combat them head on. By the end of the battle Othon had killed more than 1500 men with nothing but a dagger. After the fight, Othon paid respects to his lost friends and family and took after his son.

A week later the Imperial Couple arrived on Marmola and they worked out a deal to get the epiphyte. Othon was made obscenely rich, was given a new planet, and was gifted with the last horse in the galaxy, which he gave to his son. Bari formed a deep connection with his steed while his legs healed but one night thieves came to the planet and stole it. Bari went after them but Othon didn't think he would catch the criminals since his legs were still weak. Othon took off after them in the dense fog and killed the first three without a problem. The last one was riding away on the horse and Othon threw his spear through its chest and unhorsed the man. Othon drew closer and was horrified to see that he had killed his son. While he was grieving the last thief shot him and destroyed his pelvis. Othon killed him and was only able to make it back to his palace with the aid of his dead son's horse.

Othon got cybernetic implants to repair his damaged body (starting the metabaronic tradition of mutilation and mechanical replacements) and spent a large part of his fortune creating the first metabaronic weapons. Filled with suffering and rage after the loss of his son and inability to have another (since his destroyed reproductive organs had been replaced with machinary like the rest of his pelvic area) Othon became a violent and dangerous man. He kept his two concubines although they could not satisfy him, and they were not allowed to speak in his presence.

One night Othon heard news that the royal couple's fetus had finally been created (the emporer was sterile so the fetus had to be made in a lab on a far away planet) and that it was being transported to the royal couple. Othon new that if he had heard it then criminals and pirates would have as well and that the fetus was in danger. Sure enough the transport ship was attacked by ships launched from a hidden base disguised as a planet. The Purple Endoguard ships defending the transport ship were outnumbered and while they could hold off the attackers, they couldn't defeat them. The battle went on for weeks and the call went out for anyone with ideas to turn the tide. Othon, a brilliant strategist, had a plan immediately and flew to the golden planet where the royal couple lived. Once he landed the guards tried to stop him because he had come unannounced, but he took down any man who stood in his way and walked straight up to the royal couple. He told them his plan and was given the remaining ships of the fleet and flew to the battle. The other ships were painted to hide in an asteroid field while Othon to his ship to the planet/base and attacked it. When the enemy ships saw their base under attack they flew through the asteroids to reach Othon but where destroyed by the hidden ships. Othon then went to take his place at the head of the ships protecting the transport vessel but he was ordered to go to the back. Insulted, he flew his ship through the armored transport, stole the fetus, and flew off to the golden planet at faster-than-light speeds that no other ship had ever, or would ever, reach.

When Othon reached the golden planet and presented the royal family with their child (male and female siamese twins joined at the back, a prophecy fulfilling child) he was knighted as Metabaron. The royal couple promised Othon a that they would search the galaxy for a gift that would fulfill him.

Some time later an imperial vessel landed on Othon's planet. His gift had arrived. Into his castle walked a woman that was to be his wife. The woman was Honorata, a priestess of Shabda-Oud. The priestesses were largely considered whores and witches so Othon was not pleased to see her at first. When he looked into her eyes though, that changed. Othon's concubines pleaded for him to kill her and said she had put a spell on him, but Othon sent them away.

Othon and Honorata soon fell madly in love but because of Othon's robotic parts, nothing could come of it. One night, during a lunar eclipse, Honorata took Othon to their room and pricked his finger with her nail telling him that he would have a child of his blood...

Nine months later Othon's servant told him that his concubines had taken Honorata to the top of the palace and were going to throw her off. He took his sons horse and rode to his armory. Loading one of his guns with a dart full of epiphyte, he ran to a ledge where he could see his concubines about to jump with his wife. As they did, Othon shot Honorata. She floated and her would-be murderers fell to their deaths. Othon got in his ship and went to pick Honorata up, but before he could she gave birth in midair. Once they were in the ship Honorata told Othon that she had given birth to a son and they named him Aghnar. She also told him that he could never tell anyone that Aghnar was a boy. She then revealed why.

Honorata had been sent chosen by the other priestesses of Shabda-Oud to be Othon's gift in order to seduce him and have a special child. She had planned on giving birth to a hermaphrodite so it would fulfill a prophecy saying that an androgynous being would one day rule the galaxy. It's father being the most dangerous man in existence would also add to its power. Fortunately, in her time with Othon she had genuinely fallen in love with him and so she gave him the son he had wanted.

Part of her plan had included kidnapping the child when it was 7 and delivering it to her masters, but now that she loved Othon, they had to figure out a way to protect his child. They settled on keeping the child's sex a secret for the seven years, hoping to have a proper plan by then. That night while they were sleeping, Aghnar started to float out of his crib. As soon as Othon realized that the epiphyte that had save Honorata's life had made his son weightless, he screamed in fury and took up a knife to kill his son, a boy that would never become a real warrior. Honorata was only able to stop him by revealing that the effort that she had used to have the boy had left her sterile, meaning that if he died, there would no chance for Othon to have another son. Honorata clamped weights on Aghnar's legs so he would be grounded and Othon decided to let him live, but said that he could not bear to see his son. Honorata agreed to take him away and train him for the seven years that were assured to them. At the end of that time they would return and Othon would test him to see if he was worthy, and if not, he would kill the boy and himself, ending the line of Metabarons before it started.

Honorata took Aghnar to the sacred mountain Anasirma. It was a forbidden and dangerous place with deadly chasms and even more deadly beasts. They found a cave of crystals and made that their home. In the cave Aghnar found and befriended a woolly toad and even taught it to speak. When Aghnar turned five, Honorata told him to kill his pet and friend. Before dying the creature asked, "Why Master?" and Aghnar responded, "Duty comes before love." Aghnar took his sword and sliced him in two, shedding one tear as he did so. For crying, Honorata whipped him, leaving a scar that would never heal. Using Shabda-Oud meditation techniques, Aghnar learned to control his nervous system and free his body from the tyranny of pain. After this had been mastered, Honorata began to train her son in combat. She fought him at every opportunity, often ambushing him as he did routine chores. He learned never to trust anyone, not even his mother, and eventually he was no longer caught off guard when she attacked. She periodically added more weights to him to build up his strength as they trained. Honorata had superhuman strength as well as psychic abilities and he was forced to fight her every day, learning to use and defend against weapons of the body and the mind. On the day before his seventh birthday Aghnar finally beat his mother. She clad him in armor and gave him a sword, telling him that the next day he would meet his father. Riding a winged beast, Aghnar and Honorata returned to Othon and his castle.

Othon had decided to pit his son against a robo-killer, a nearly indestructable machine with eight blade covered arms. The only way to destroy it was by avoiding the arms and setting off its self-destruct mechanism. The battle lasted for over an hour but Aghnar eventually won. Othon was displeased because Aghnar had used his flying abilities so he devised another test. He put his sons legs in a device that would squeeze them until Aghnar told it to stop. It was horrible test of strength of will and pain tolerance, but Aghnar passed, not protesting once until his legs were completely removed. After the ordeal, Othon grafted robotic legs to his sons body, finally giving him real weight and making him a Metabaron.

Soon after that, three priestesses of the Shabda-Oud arrived to inspect Othon's son. Aghnar killed all three of them but their ship was still in orbit. The thing was a cetacyborg, a creature made of flesh, magic and technology that was capable of destroying worlds. Othon took his ship to space to fight the monster ship but he found it to be indestructible. The only way he could to see to beat it was to attack from inside of it. He flew inside the beasts mouth and headed for its brain. Even that was nearly impossible though since the cetacyborg's body produced destructive acids capable of eating through his ship. By the time he reached the brain much of his ship had been eroded and he was practically drinking in the monster's acid by the mouthful. He eventually killed the beast and made it out but his lungs had been corroded and he was coughing up blood.

When Othon returned to the planet he loaded up the Metabunker and was preparing to take his family to another planet when Honorata revealed that she couldn't go with him. The Priestesses had implanted a micro-H bomb in her heart so if she ever betrayed them whatever planet she was on would be destroyed. She knew that it would soon explode but she hadn't wanted to slow Othon down so she hadn't told him about the bomb until right when he was leaving. Othon was forced to take his son and leave his wife, but he vowed to get revenge on the Shabda-Oud.

The Metabunker landed on the planet Perdita, a place with extreme gravity, enormous insects and floating apes. On the planet, Othon told Aghnar that he had spy-needles all over the universe that would tell him where the Shabda-Oud planet was, but it would be ten years before the signals would reach Perdita. That meant that Aghnar had ten years to prepare to face the witches of the Shabda-Oud. At that point, Othon told Aghnar that he would have to kill him. The acid in Othon's body would kill him in a few days but he wanted Aghnar to kill him before then. It would prove to Othon that Aghnar was truly worthy of being the next Metabaron. At first Aghnar refused but when Othon attacked he was forced to defend himself. Aghnar used the mental powers his mother had gifted him to paralyze his father but Othon told him that he had oko mini-bombs implanted all over his body and they would detonate if Aghnar touched him the wrong way. Aghnar reasoned that Othon couldn't have bombs in his brain if he could think properly, so he drove his weapon through his father's skull and killed him.

Aghnar: The Second Metabaron