Introducing: Zane
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 12:16AM Captain Zane is head of the outlaw group called the Blood Guard, and he hates authority. While some call him "Zane the insane," there is a method to his madness. Zane doesn't mind the term though, because if people don't know what to expect, it gives him the upper hand.
Zane's purple suit is unusually tailored and it's reinforced with rare green dragon scales, partly for armor but mostly for style. I wonder what Midori has to say about that.
Zane's crew, who he calls the Blood Guard, are a band of outlaws that answer to Zane. One of his main activities seems to be staking out the roads and demanding what he calls a "traveller's tax" to any who would pass. If they refuse, he fights them for the tax, which is why he has skilled fighters on hand such as Vendetta (and someday Troq).
While some see this as mere thieving, Zane does it for much more lofty reasons. He asserts that his power to tax comes from his ability to do so. If no one can stop him, then his law is as good as anyone else's. Or more to the point, why should he listen to Flagstone's law? Why should anyone? It's not like Quince achieved power there legitimately, and even if he had, it's not like Flagstone's laws help the Realm. The Realm is in the worst state it's been in for ages. Resources are draining all over the place, and for what--to produce more of Onimaru's useless clockwork soldiers? Personal freedoms have been sacrificed in the name of "protection," which disgusts Zane. One of Zane's favorite quotes is from the great lawyer Jefferson Degrey: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little safety deserve neither." So why should we care what Flagstone says? Zane's defiance and infamy has become an increasing embarrassment to Flagstone, which is exactly his goal.
Zane took an interest in Grave after realizing that Grave is one of the strongest warriors in the Realm. That's exactly the kind of person he could use on the Blood Guard. Interestingly, his speech to Grave is almost the same as Rook and DeGrey's: that Grave's inaction and disinterest in politics actually condones Flagstone's actions, whether he likes it or not. Zane trash talks whatever it is the golem and lawyer would say to actually do about it though. Something useless about civil disobedience? That just got DeGrey into Daggerfall Prison. Something else useless about some fighting tournament? How about burning the real problem to the ground so a new age can begin? It's true that Zane happens to enjoy blowing things up and burning them to the ground, but that's beside the point. In this case, it's the right thing to do, says Zane!
In a fighting game, Zane is all offense with no defense. In Flash Duel the Landmine is one of his offensive tools:
He can use his Shoulder Ram ability (or the general push ability) to knock people into the Landmine, which then makes them sitting ducks for the next turn.
There's a certain poetry to Zane's mayhem. He likes to have some fun while he's making a statement and crashing the establishment. He has one of the more playful chips in Puzzle Strike:
Crash Potato is a hilarious chip that Zane can trade you for your Crash Gem. Zane gets your valuable Crash Gem while you get his basically terrible Crash Potato. At least you can trade back later, though that will cost you an action. Zane can try to use this window of opportunity when you don't have a real Crash Gem to try to rush you down and end the game.
Zane keeps people on their toes, and he shakes things up. He questions the status quo and seeks to tear it down so we can all have a better future. People have a lot invested in the status quo though, and they see Zane as a dangerous villain.
And with that, the launch of fantasystrike.com is nearly upon us!
Reader Comments (5)
Ah, delicious crash potato salad, with a side of crash potato fries. And you need to have some crash tomato ketchup on the side as well...
<<Zane's purple suit is unusually tailored and it's reinforced with rare green dragon scales, partly for armor but mostly for style. I wonder what Midori has to say about that.>>
Isn't Midori dead though? I thought the Deathstrike Dragon killed him.
<<Zane's crew, who he calls the Blood Guard, are a band of outlaws that answer to Zane. >>
He's an anarchist right? I wonder if he sees the irony in the situation.
Imagine four potatoes on the edge of a cliff. Say a direct copy of the potato nearest the cliff is sent to the back of the line of potatoes and takes the place of the first potato. The formerly first potato becomes the second, the second becomes the third, and the fourth falls off the cliff.
Time works the same way.
jmw: Midori dies at some point in the story, but I don't see how that invalidates the wonder of what he would say. You seem to be assume a lot about when he dies vs when Zane had that suit also. I mean there's a huge overlap in time.
Grave: "Your arguments are interesting, and I would almost be persuaded if not for the fact that you DRESSED YOURSELF IN MY MASTER'S REMAINS."
This definately wouldn't be the canon explanation, but it's fun (if disturbing) to contemplate.