Wan Za-Kama - A History

The Iron Fist, one of the most powerful organised crime gangs in the city of Lookshy, is, in theory, headed by a man called Second Clouded Mirror. Once upon a time, it was in practice too. But in those days the Iron Fist were small-time thieves and racketeers, at the mercy of larger, rival gangs. One man reversed the fortunes of the Iron Fist, the man they call Divine Son, whose real name is Wan Za-Kama.

Early Life

Wan Za-Kama (lit. 'One Son-Divine') was the only child of a minor bureaucrat in Lookshy's civilian administration. He had no father, that is to say he did; but that his father was a soldier in the city's militia who was in no way concerned with the boy's upbringing. As a result, the child was impossible for his mother to control, and before he was ten years old he had fallen in with the local gang - the small-time Iron Fist. Still a child, there was little Za-Kama could do on the racketeering side of things, but he quickly became an expert at both pickpocketing and burglary. He passed his stolen goods on to older members of the gang who then sold them on and passed a miniscule share of the money back to Za-Kama. He was useful enough that after his mother died when he was twelve, one of the older, richer members of the Iron Fist had him adopted. Za-Kama was really adopted by the entire gang.
As he grew to adulthood, his skills grew. Proportionately, so did his influence within the Iron Fist.
Za-Kama progressed first to con-artistry, for which he was particularly talented. This brought in more money than petty thievery and so granted Za-Kama his financial freedom from the Iron Fist. His leadership skills he first demonstrated by winning small skirmishes with rival gangs, and he was then allowed to lead small groups to carry out both raids and extortion-activities. His personality was magnetic, and he rose in the ranks. Za-Kama's knowledge of the 'criminal arts' was broad and quite wide-ranging, but not spectacularly greater than fellow men of his own age and upbringing. When the time came for Za-Kama to serve his National Service time in Lookshy's military, he fully expected to have been overtaken by younger blood by the time he returned to 'the streets'. But that was before he Exalted.

Exaltation

Za-Kama was nearing the end of his compulsory time in the Lookshy defence force and he was seriously considering remaining as a soldier, not returning to his old life, when he was Chosen by the Unconquered Sun to be a Solar Exalted of the Zenith Caste. At first he knew not what this meant for him, for he had heard tales of 'The Blasphemous', and at times thought it was a curse on him for the many mistakes he had made in his life - for Za-Kama was no stranger to violence and death. The one thing he knew for certain was that he could not remain in the military, as he could not hope to hide his true nature from so many Dragon-Blooded, and even in Lookshy the fate of a lone 'Anathema' was fraught with peril. He left the army as soon as was permitted and, with no better choice presenting itself, returned to the Iron Fist.

The Rise of the Iron Fist

Things were not going well for the Iron Fist. This was not due to the absence of Za-Kama, but was a trend that had begun long before. There was simply too much competition from the many other gangs. With his well-established leadership abilities and his newly honed fighting skills, Za-Kama rose beyond his previous rank, while keeping his Exalted nature a secret from even his closest lieutenants. The men under his command were undefeated, and almost single-handedly he reversed the fortunes of the Iron Fist. With every victory he was rewarded with greater status, and as the fortunes of the Iron Fist grew, so did his own fortune. Za-Kama was second in rank only to Second Clouded Mirror, when he made a mistake.

Divine Son

Overconfident of his own strategic skills, Za-Kama led a force of his men into a trap laid by the rival Red Cobra gang. His men died bravely, and would have stood firm to the last man as it looked like they were doomed. But only because Za-Kama was restraining himself. Faced with exposure or death, he let loose the full might of his divine powers against the Cobras, and slaughtered them. When the dust settled, the men of the Iron Fist he had saved with his action did not recoil from him in terror, or rise up against him, the fates he had feared, but praised him and thanked him and in their victory named him Divine Son.

The Power Behind the Throne

The men who witnessed the origin of Divine Son quickly spread the tale of his power, but not its nature. They did not recognise him as Anathema, merely as Exalted, and so it was solely this fact that became known about him.
How Za-Kama came to meet the other members of his circle, Maygra, Rising Storm and Targin, is not told here, but it must have occurred around this time, as they recognised in the tale of Divine Son a power like their own. Or perhaps the tales of their deeds reached him.
His secret was out, and now there was no need for him to hide his power completely. At this point he could have toppled Clouded Mirror and seized the Iron Fist as his own, and had the full support of the entire gang, but Za-Kama realised this was not necessary: he simply pointed this out to Clouded Mirror, and the man wisely acknowledged it. Divine Son was now the power behind the throne of the Iron Fist.
With the story of his Exalted nature out in the open, Za-Kama began to act more like the Dragon Blooded he knew of. He acquired a Manse, and began mixing with the higher echelons of society - he was easily rich enough and well mannered enough to do so, by this time.

Tempus Fugit

It is now almost twenty years later. Of the men that saw the 'birth' of Divine Son, none now live. Clouded Mirror still lives, but is now an old man. Za-Kama has not yet found a suitable successor, but knows he must do so unless he wishes to openly lead the gang himself. He does not wish to do this, for several reasons, but the most important is:

Vigilant Angel

Although the scheme of Vigilant Angel is a new one, the seeds lie in the weakness all Solar Exalted possess: that of the Limit. Twice before has Za-Kama reached his Limit, and the experiences were not pleasant for him. The first time he had no idea what to expect, and found that for three days he had openly acted against the Iron Fist, denouncing his closest companions to the militia and publicly berating other gangers to renounce their 'evil ways'. When he recovered his senses, it took considerably longer to undo the damage than to cause it - damage to both his reputation and to the Iron Fist. It took all of his Charms and powers to restore himself in the confidence of his gang, but in the end, the Iron Fist needed him.
The second time his Limit broke, the Iron Fist were warned by their experience of the first, even though it had been years before. Consequently they were somewhat prepared, and the damage he did was proportionately less.
In the years since, Za-Kama has thought often about this phenomenon of the Limit, and about what he might do to prevent his succumbing to it again, or at the least to minimise the damage he will do to his allies. Drawing on the memory of his mindset during the second Break, the idea of Vigilant Angel is simple: an alternate identity - to go with his alternate personality - that he can adopt at necessity (or even at will) that will be entirely separate from the character of Divine Son. To this end, it must be kept secret from everyone; even Divine Son, were that possible.

The Nature of the Iron Fist

The Iron Fist are a criminal gang; that is to say they are a gang of men that perform illegal activities. That does not make them evil, merely… morally suspect. Certainly the thievery, extortion and racketeering that the Iron Fist built the foundations of its power upon are considered by the great majority of people to be immoral acts. But the Iron Fist cares little for the opinions of outsiders, for the gang's real purpose is to look after its own. The key phrase is 'organised crime': crime that is organised. Crime will always exist among a society that has poor - and the poor are the Iron Fist's own. The gangs of Lookshy organise the city's crime, and as a result take money from the richer elements and spread it around the poorer. The leaders of the gangs become rich as a simple result of the working of capitalism. Their respectability - such as it is - stems from that wealth. The Iron Fist and Divine Son are no different from this. He recognises the hypocrisy of his wealth and social standing, but knows that if he insists that his lieutenants and allies show the temperance he tries to live by, they may be tempted to defect to a gang offering a more comfortable lifestyle.

---