Primordial Earth
Jake's story begins on an Earth vastly different from our own. The air is highly toxic, the landscape volatile and the native lifeforms all hyper aggressive and resilient on a scale that this world cannot comprehend. It was here that he was born, raised as a member of a warrior clan of a species that existed as defiant raiders and barbarians, alone against the more highly advanced civilisations of their world.
During his time there he made a number of allies, some of which would be encountered again, some years after his sudden and unexplained disappearance from that world...((Click for more information on Primordial Earth and her people.))
Legacy History
Not all heroes start as angels. Scant hours after his arrival in Primal Earth the facility responsible for the abduction of Jake and his clan-brother came under attack from Arachnos. During this assault the two alien arrivals proved their worth taking down a number of superior equipped and armed foes despite their disorientation from their sudden relocation. And yet in the end numbers proved superior dragging one of the two down and away for their own purposes, leaving the broken forces of Longbow and Portal Corp to recover in the aftermath.
Several months later Longbow operations came under attack by an unknown and previously unencountered metahuman threat in the employ of Arachnos. Further incidents revealed this to be the missing Flea, having since been trained and indoctrinated by Arachnos, programmed to act as a living weapon and striking hard, fast and efficiently against leadership targets in Longbow's forward bases. Soon enough Paragon's heroes found themselves under attack by this same weapon which seemed to live for the thrill of the hunt...((Click here for complete details.))
Shattered Minds, Shattered Souls, Shattered Allegiances
Following Jake's open betrayal of Arachnos as well as the ongoing issues with his 'other' and the state of his mind he found himself wandering aimlessly in a terrible state of being. His moods were irrational and his aggressive natures were seeking more suitable targets to hunt. The end result was an aggressive and destructive campaign against both Crey and Malta which quickly caught the public eye. Already a known 'hero hunter' the public were taken aback by this sudden shift in stance and support began to build up.
However, even as this one man campaign of vengeance gained public support his mindscape was in a state of collapse. The damage done from his betrayal of Arachnos was beginning to take its toll and soon enough he needed the assistance of those few heroes he had met that were willing to believe he could change. The result was an arcane ritual, designed to expunge the fragment of his other that was causing so much damage and destroy it completely. However, such was this fragment's desire to live and destroy that those heroes came under attack and it escaped. The result haunts Jake to this day, existing as the monstrous and twisted version of himself known as Despair.
Monsters and Heroes
His mind healing and public opinion of him turning around this was the start of a new age for Jake. The world seemed prepared to accept him and to trust him as a hero, rather than to view him as an errant monster. However this was not always to be the case. Though Jake thrived in the hero community, working hard to build bridges and form bonds similar to the clan-bonds of his home dimension there was always the seed of doubt, as well as the memories of those he had offended or injured in his attempts to change.
The first attack came against his new family in Maggie's Rock when the Rikti returned for a second, renewed offensive. While fighting to save the children he in turn was attacked, brought down low by the resilient and nightmarish spawn of his other. Despair had survived and it had used the attentions of the Rikti as cover for its own infiltration. Worse still was the realisation that Despair had been involved in a number of unexplained and unconnected attacks on various friends and family of Jake. Injured and weak Jake himself began to suffer the first seeds of doubt. The concern that he might be dangerous to those around him.
This event and his subsequent self-imposed exile and 'World Tour' ((Click here for complete details)) would plant the seeds of the events to follow in coming months. Wherever he found hope, doubt swiftly followed. Friends and family had begun to turn against him and his various connections to different groups of heroes had started to become an obstacle as many questioned the nature of his commitments. In addition, old enemies were waiting to strike and did so without hesistating, abducting his daughter Stephanie and turning her against him even as those closest to him abandoned him
The result was devastating. He lost control. He slipped and went feral, butchering his way to Eden to hide and avoid the world. Any chance of nobility was all but lost until events unfolded with The Palladium Sentry and the abduction of Divine Maiden. It was this event that would ultimately splinter the group and it was this event that would leave the deepest impression of Jake in the memories of the many. A journey to the Underworld, a confrontation with a god and a sacrifice...though he returned nearly a year later he was never the same and all bonds of kinship were lost.
A New Purpose: Watchman
Jake remained absent from the public eye for a number of years. He had all but abandoned his new clan and those few allies he had made in the hero world. For a while he was forgotten. A relic living in the jungles of Eden, a monster alone amongst its own kind. At least, until the emergence of others. For while Jake had faded away into obscurity, Despair had not, choosing to exist as a twisted angelic enforcer for ERA and contributing to their actions against Paragon. Heeding the call to arms once more Jake emerged from the wilderness and started to walk the path of the hero once more.
Yet he was still alone. There was no kinship. No clan. He was an exile amongst his older allies and untrusted by the newer generation of heroes. In addition the older heroes still knew him as a hunter and a deadly killer in his own right. He persisted, fighting where he could, even as an exile and in time he was directed toward a group known as The Grey Watch. They too had a history which was being rebuilt. They too could remember times the younger generation could not.
It was a natural fit, though Jake's more surly moods proved awkward for the sake of interaction. Recent events however brought about a change. Recently Jake had suffered a tragedy and a loss unlike anything he had encountered before and when he returned from where he had disappeared off too...things were different. Gone was the anger and hatred, gone was the childish attitude. Instead his moods were more sombre, almost grim at points. He was a survivor and now his attentions had turned toward the younger ones, seeking to guide them along the right path rather than letting them suffer as he had once.
Recent events have gone from bad to worse. Jake's new clan, the one which he has most recently learned to value and dedicated himself to wholly following his return has sundered, going their seperate ways. As such he is on his own once again, a lone hunter seemingly destined to wander from place to place, offering wisdom and assistance where needed as he continues to attempt to redeem himself and restore his lost honour. ((The details of his journey will occur as the 'SG', The Last Hunter.))
