From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

I've been playing the red side for a while yet i had no villains. Mech was my first attempt to play something truly evil. It turns out the character's function is evil but her personality is struggling to get a balance between jealousy and rage. This character sat stagnant for a while until for some strange reason I started playing her again. Since I have an inability to play a character for more then a week without obsessively over thinking the how and why her story began to unfold; I give credit to Reforged for making me come up with all sorts of hows and for the role play that made me look closer at the whys. I consider Mech an NPC in terms of role play it is literally an extension of the house of the branded.

Machine of War (art by
Mechination
Player: @check
Origin:	Technology/Magic
Archetype:	MasterMind
Threat Level:	50
Personal Data
Real Name:	'
Known Aliases:	Breaker Automation
Species:	Abomination
Age:	unknown
Height:	5'9
Weight:	222 lbs
Eye Color:	green glass
Hair Color:	synthetic
Biographical Data
Nationality:	Greek
Occupation:	'
Place of Birth:	Dodona Greece
Base of Operations:	The Rogue Isles
Marital Status:	n/a
Known Relatives:	n/a
Known Powers
harnesses souls as one would harness a team of horses
Known Abilities
movement, trapping souls
Equipment
com earpiece
No additional information available.

Personality

"I feel nothing. yet you ask me for compassion"

It was given life by the god of the forge, it was given form by the hands of man. Yet it was given no accomplished purpose on this earth. The Machine comes across emotionless most of the time it's internal dialogue typically does not bleed onto its expressions or actions. Yet there are emotions, very strong ones that only show themselves in the right light. It's jealousy of others seemingly natural connection to the world boils just under its metal skin. It will never fit into society. It is not a robot and it is not a person. In almost all ways, it is not alive yet it is not undead. Few can trigger an expression of the Machine's rage as much as another being of the Divine Spark. It sees them as a child might, one that feels slighted by the parents at not being the favorite and instead of directing this at the one responsible the other sibling receives all the aggression.

Containment

"I need you to fill the void inside. I need to break you."

The Machine houses the souls of many. Most of them are broken things driven mad by imprisonment, yet some retain themselves until the very end.

• The Mechanic

During World War II Samuel Falsworth was an engineer that helped to develop the Sherman Tank and various other implements of war. Sam defaulted on a mob loan on December 3rd, 1957. He did not live long enough to celebrate Christmas with his family.

• The Accountant

This particularly stubborn spirit is in charge of numbers and bookkeeping. In life he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from charity organizations during The Great Depression. He lived high on the hog for many years and by a fluke ended up trapped inside mech. convinced that he is headed for a particularly unpleasant afterlife he does anything and everything the machine wants in order to keep his place inside the metal prison.

• The Cultist

Gordon Reeve sought out Mechination after researching her vague history through a number of sources. He wanted to take possession of the device in order to repair it and create an immortal metal body. A confrontation occurred in New York City during the Great Blizzard of 1888. Although the primitive wood and steel body of the device was no match for the zealously enraged man it sacrificed itself by clinging to the Cultist and forcing them both into the cold waters of the bay. The man drowned and is still trapped inside the labyrinth, begrudgingly telling the Master Gear all about the things he learned when he was alive.

• The Teacher

1962 - Hung himself in prison following a conviction of conspiracy to commit murder. Few things are known about this man other then his great knowledge of the ancient Greek culture. It is suspected he taught English and Modern Interaction to the Machine.

Strengths

"Safety in Numbers"

The Spark of the Divine guarantees it's existence. The more souls it consumes, the more durable it's physical body becomes. It does not sleep or need eat. If Mechination was allowed to rundown it drops into a state of slumber and could effectively hibernate forever. The vessels that actively protect and defend the automaton are loyal to the greatest degree - Openly willing to sacrifice themselves in order to protect It.

Weaknesses

"..Divided we fall"'

There are those out in the world that share a certain connection with this Abomination. It is these kin that possess the power to destroy. It must gather souls and trap them in order to stay mobile even though it does not die. Only if wound down is it more susceptible to damage.

Origin

"Show me the fires of the Underworld and I will forge you a Monster"

The mechanism that powers Mechination was created by Daedalus during his early experiments in securing his own immortality. Inspired by Hephaestus it contains a Spark of the Divine directly passed down by the Hephaestus himself. The result was flawed and unable to pertinently contain the soul. Daedalus' interpretation of the Gods' Design may in itself be flawed.

He allowed the device to wind down and was unable to fully realize the potential and eventually discarded it. The device was salvaged and obtained a reputation as the "Breaker Automaton" before it was once again lost to Time. The full potential of this contraption was not realized until 1846 when an understudy at the newly opened Smithsonian Institute stole the heart-sized box of bronze and iron in order to either copy it or sell it on the Black Market.

Abomination

a rose by any other name...

Hephaestus inspired the Mechination's construction and it is thought that the flaw originated with the interpretation. The flaw being the consumption of the soul instead of making it immortal. Yet, recent events have unfolded to question this: The late God once built a throne that trapped Hera herself - How could he fail so badly with Mechination?

Rumors

• Mechination's contract with Branded was obtained through underhanded means
  
• At this time it contains the souls of 1012 people who all lived during or after 1851
  
• It is unclear with the closing of branded where mech will go or if it will leave the house it built. time will tell
  

Powers

The soul is what powers a human being and in its own right can generate tremendous force. The mechanism that allows the Machine to run traps these souls in a maze-like brass and iron construct. These souls try desperately to escape the trap only to fuel it in the process. Once the potential energy is extracted the soul is vented to wander forever without the energy or the will to seek the afterlife it so desperately fought for. This allows Mechination to move and function much like a steam powered automaton. In it's quest of purpose it has found a way to replicate itself on a base level. The vessels that follow it around are merely copies. Each contain one soul eager to do the Machine's bidding to either win their freedom, or want one more murderous rampage before being dragged into the Hellfire.

Below is an image of the current vessels in use by Mech please note that the majority were damaged beyond repair and new souls have taken their places inside newly machined vessels

This Shade is lovingly referred to simply as `The Mechanic` or by his true name, Samueal Falsworth. Being in debt to the Mafia in 1957 lead to a chronic case of death. Thankfully, he was spared a most foul afterlife. In return he's been engineering Mechination's upgrades since the day he died.

Roleplay Notes

• Mech is not a robot, she contains no substantial electrical power source.
• Over the years her limbs have been replaced by modern military grade memory steel enhancements. This allows her to function almost without affect from an EMP or other weapon usually deployed against robotics.
• Other then her heart mechanism her eye lenses are some of the only remaining original parts from 1846.
• Characters that can see spirits or hear them would get a sense of dread around Mech.
• The dark mist that vents from the steel abomination is whats left of a soul after its been broken. Unable to communicate beyond rambling gibberish, it no longer has the strength or will to reach the afterlife. This weakening is permanent.
• Once a soul has been used up it has no more purpose and is therefore jettisoned.
• If you have a pesky alt you'd like closure on before you delete them. Mechination is available to retire them

Trivia

• Mech is an Abomination.
  
• Mech technically has about as much gender as a toaster or a blender
  
• A very important part in her gearbox was once a cog in the golden throne that trapped Hera
  
• The understudy that stole the original mechanism was unable to copy it so he built it into

the body of a mannequin and used it in a private sideshow during the 1851 Worlds Fair powering it with steam to mimic a woman going through the motions of baking bread. On the 2nd night of the Fair a worker fell to his death nearby while replacing faulty wiring and Mech hasn't stopped moving since.

• The "mask" that Mech sometimes wears is the remains of one Elizabeth Moorly. She died in 1917 when she fall off a horse and struck her cheek on a rock. By sheer chance Mech was nearby and witnessed the fall. Elizabeth asked it with her dying breath to carry news of her death to her husband. In exchange for this favor she gave Mech permission to create a facade from her flesh.
  

Character Inspirations

• Ancient Greeks built complicated automaton that have always interested me.
  
• My father had a small collection of wind up tin toys that I would play with as a child.
  
• I like the steampunk genre.
  

Footnotes