8380
8380 (a.k.a. Bebo, Eighty-three)
8380 is a warforged artificer who was built by the Designers and forced to work for them and build magic items. He was then rescued by a group of rebels who rebooted him.
The reboot deleted most of his memories and original programming. He is now a curious being who just really wants to learn as much as possible, then assist in destroying the machine prince and freeing those who suffer under his rule.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Tall and lanky.
Body Features
Their body looks like it's made of a bunch of scrap parts.
Facial Features
One eye is slightly larger than the other and he is always giving off a warm reassuring smile. (not like the picture, more like the iron giant)
Identifying Characteristics
...all of him?
Special abilities
Each of his fingertips have been replaced with various tools used in carving runes and constructing magic items.
Apparel & Accessories
Usually wearing a hood along with his robes. If he is not in school uniform he is most likely dressed in a hodgepodge of random clothing items that don't fit together at all.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Built by the Designers to construct their magic items, he was later rescued by a group of rebels. In his first year he was sorted into the Grotto.
Gender Identity
Non Binary (He/They)
Education
Currently attending Ioth Academy.
In his first year he carved a small totem like object and inscribed it with runes that weren't quite right and therefore didn't really work as intended.
In his second year he took Magical History and wrote a long essay about various types of magic and their most prevalent uses throughout history. It was fairly thorough, although he did not get as much info about certain magical energies as he wouldäve wanted.
In his third year he took Runic Alphabet and his end of year test was a cylindrical cypher which used runes instead of regular letters. If you guessed wrong it would cast a defensive spell that differed depending on what combination of runes you'd chosen.
He is taking Etiology in his fourth year.
Mental Trauma
Still sometimes (mostly when he is angry) he reverts to his original programming for a short while. His eyes turn red and he stands much more rigid than normal.
Intellectual Characteristics
Very curious about everything to do with magic, but especially in constructing magic items, runes and the infernals.
Morality & Philosophy
Wants everyone to be happy and tries to be kind to everyone.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
He wants nothing more than to overthrow the machine prince and rescue those who suffer under his rule.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
He has a hard time discerning irony and sarcasm, but does not take offense he just gets confused.
Likes & Dislikes
Likes sharing knowledge and helping people. Dislikes lying but will do it if necessary.
Absolutely HATES bullies and anyone who picks on people.
Personality Quirks
Absent mindedly carves random runes in whatever is in front of him, sometimes producing unintended spells.
Hygiene
He fixes his parts when necessary using the tools on his fingertips, but he doesn't really care about polishing/cleaning them.
Social
Contacts & Relations
He keeps in contact with the rebels who rescued him. Might've made a few friends in the Cove.
Would be interested in both the Codex and the Kisjan, but he doesn't really like breaking rules so is probably leaning more towards the Codex.
Religious Views
Hates the infernals and is indifferent about the other gods unless they thwarted the infernals in some big way.
Social Aptitude
Quite strange but enjoys talking and sharing his knowledge with others.
Speech
Speaks very literally most of the time but uses new words and phrases a lot when he first learns them.
Tall, lanky warforged who was created with only one purpose: To construct magic items. He was programmed to work for the Designers, but was rescued by some rebels and rebooted. Most often called "Bebo" by his friends.
View Character Profile
Alignment
Neutral Good
Age
Uncertain
Date of Birth
Uncertain
Children
Gender
Non-Binary (He/They)
Eyes
Blue (red when reverting to original programming)
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Rusted iron and copper.
Height
6'2"
4th year Etiology exam
Bebo has been studying Etiology and would start work on an experiment about fabricating or simulating some of the effects of dawn magic by using other types of magic and materials.
They would start by scouring the library to see if anyone has ever attempted something like this before. Then they would do his own research on how different kinds of magic interacts with certain materials and runes. Finally they'd probably try to create some sort of device that at least somewhat replicated one or two effects of dawn magic in at least some minor way and document it.
Plan
1. Scour the library to see if anyone else has ever tried this and if so what they learned from it (History check).
2. Make their own research on the subject (Investigation check).
3. Finish all the complicated calculations (Arcana check).
How it went
1. (17) They were able to find a fair bit of information, but not quite as much as they'd hoped.
2. (6/24) Bebo knew absolutely nothing about this subject, but with the help of Hildegard they managed to get quite a bit of good research.
3. (11/15) The experiments were going quite badly at first. 8380 stayed up all night, trying and trying over and over again and getting absolutely nowhere. But with a bit of help from Dubin, Ruby and Luteti they managed to scrape together a passable prototype.
Arriving in the ring
So far, the ring is quite magnificent. An extreme improvement to the Grotto. My new roommate seems nice, she said she might produce some new clothes for me if I wanted. She is probably the smallest student I have seen so far. We talked about the codex for a little while. I expected Hildegard to be like the other Codex members and only speak of her studies, but she asked if I spoke infernal. Apparently Cuan, her old roommate and a fellow Codex member, is also from the clockwork city. I had not spoken infernal in a while, so perhaps it was a bit rusty (I am told this is what is called a “pun”, interesting concept. Must continue practicing). She seemed satisfied enough, which is good enough for me.
Overall it has been a pleasant experience, however there is one thing that annoys me about the ring. It’s never quiet, even in the dead of night I hear something. I asked Hildegard but she did not seem to notice it. I’m hearing it now, once again. It is metallic in nature, rhythmic, constant. It is…familiar. I have heard it before, that much is certain. But where? Two different sounds, very similar yet distinctly different. It almost sounds like a…like a clock.
It can not be. The city is leagues away, it can not be the clock. Surely it is just a student project. No. Even as I write this I know it is not true. Words are escaping my mouth as if spoken by someone…something else. Words I have not spoken, nor heard, for years.
The design is inexorable.
Admission to Ioth Academy
8380 and Sahna had been on the run for weeks, agents of the machine prince hunting and tracking them every step of the way. Sahna said she had figured out a plan, but would not share what it was with 8380. They had travelled to the camp beneath the golden sphere, which was dauntingly large when it was this close. 8380 had only ever seen it far off in the distance, but now he was standing almost right next to it.
Sahna and 8380 weaved through the camp, ignoring all the looks the refugees gave them as they rushed towards the golden barrier that separated the school from the rest of the world. A large figure with broad shoulders, wearing a cloak and a hood, stood at the base of the sphere. Sahna walked up to him and gestured for 8380 to stay a bit further back. She spoke to the figure for a bit, then it looked up at 8380 and he noticed that under the hood was a minotaur. The minotaur thought for a while, then shook his head and began backing away from Sahna.
“Wait!”, she shouted and pulled something from her bag. It was the metal rose 8380 had given her the day they first met.
“HE made this!”, she said, pointing back at him. The minotaur approached once more, took the flower and examined it closely. 8380 approached slowly, curious as to what was actually going on.
“And you’re certain he is not being controlled anymore?”, the minotaur said in a booming voice.
“Yes...please, the academy is the only place he’ll be safe.”, Sahna said, tears now trickling down her cheeks. The minotaur took one final look at 8380, then sighed and looked down at Sahna.
“Say your goodbyes, then I’ll take...it...in.”, the minotaur said as he began pocketing the rose.
“That is Sahna’s.”, 8380 said, his monotone voice seemed to clang like metal as he spoke. The minotaur froze and looked at him with an inscrutible look on his face.
“That is Sahna’s, and you cannot have it.”, 8380 said, staring at the stonefaced minotaur with his hand outstretched. The minotaur thought for a moment and then placed the rose in the metal hand. 8380 turned to Sahna and knelt down. He held out the rose to her, but she just smiled and shook her head.
“Keep it with you. Give it to me the next time we meet.”, she said, looking at him through teary eyes.
“I do not understand.”, 8380 said. Sahna shook her head and said:
“We don’t have much time, just go with the minotaur for now. We’ll see each other again soon, I promise.”, she said, more tears flowing down her face. 8380 reached one of his big hands out and wiped some of the tears from her face.
“Goodbye then. For now.”, he said.
“Goodbye Bebo, I’ll miss you.”, she said and hugged him tightly.
“I will miss you too.”, 8380 said. Then he stood up, looked at Sahna one more time, nodded, and walked over to the minotaur. He was standing a little bit further towards the golden sphere, drawing a circle filled with runes in the ground. 8380 walked over to him and turned to look back at Sahna one last time. She was still standing where they had said goodbye. He raised his hand to wave, then he saw it. A robed figure in the camp stood a little bit behind Sahna, skulking in the shadows. Something poked out of the cloak. Something shiny like metal, and razor sharp.
“Sahna, look out!”, he said as loudly as he could, he took one step out of the circle as the figure fired the bolt and disappeared into the crowd. The bolt flew through the air and sank into Sahna’s back. A look of shock now mingled with the teary smile she had worn before the bolt had struck her. A massive, incredibly strong hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him back into the circle as it activated. Shining light erupted around him as he stumbled backwards and fell.
He landed, not upon the dirt of the refugee camp, but on the cold stone floor of Ioth Academy. Next to him, now slightly bent and dented, lay the metal rose. 8380 sat up and picked up the flower, cradling it in his hands. The last memento of his one and only best friend. And as he stared at it, the petals began to bend backwards and fall off. He caught each of the tiny metal plates in his hands and looked at the remains of the flower, now as dead as the one who’s name was inscribed upon its stem.
Brief Backstory
8380 used to work in a factory in the clockwork city, until a group of rebels rescued him from its cruel grasp. In their attack on the factory his original body was badly hurt, but not unsaveable. The brightest engineer the rebels had, a gnome woman called Sahna Lightspark, managed to both reassemble him with the help of scrap parts and reboot his memory almost completely. The gnome taught him to speak common and showed him the basics of engineering, something he took quite a liking to and got quite good at.
On one of his walks with Sahna, who had become a sort of big sister to him, he took a piece of metal, shaped it into a rose and inscribed it with Sahna’s name, written in runes. When it was in close proximity to Sahna it would bloom and emit sparks in varying colors. When it was further away from her it would close up tightly and not open for anything until she was close to it again. 8380 gave the rose to Sahna and when she asked how he had made it he was stunned. He did not know. It had just sort of...come to him naturally. After that it was like something had awoken within him. The knowledge of runes. He started writing runes all the time without even really thinking about it, sometimes causing spells to activate when he didn’t mean to. When he had been with the rebels for a few months Sahna gave him a gift. She had built him a new pair of hands. Each finger was equipped with a different tool that could be used for engineering and artificing.
Unbeknownst to them, The Designer’s were furious at the loss of one of their warforged servants and had sent agents after him. The first agent took down 10 of the rebel warriors before it was finally killed. The rebels concluded that they weren’t safe with 8380 there so they decided to send him away. Sahna was furious and said that if he left, she did too. And so they both packed their bags and went on the run, with the agents of the machine prince right behind them.
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