Children of The Beast

Those with CotB associations.

Jean-Claude

Jean-Claude, the killer Queen of monsters, the Commander of the Children of the Beast. She was the first monster to be born able to communicate with both man and monster, and with this and her strategic mind and cunning ways she united the monsters of the Wastelands under a single name- her name.
You could call her a gang leader, but the outfit she runs is more like a mafia- solving other people's problems with violence in exchange for products or more violence. She is working to expand the territory under her name and establish the monsters as a real true playing party in the complex political landscape of the Wastelands.

Jean-Claude is an Anghenfil, an artificial animal and a generation Zero monster built by Ascent to serve the Viperalm ground forces as a working beast. She was one of the prototype Anghenfil species and was designed after the long-extinct utahraptor, with influence from eagles, snakes and dogs in her genetics. Anghenfil were proven as versatile and useful assets, with the ability to serve as visual intimidation for Wasteland threats, move faster than a human officer, track hidden or fleeing suspects, guard and pin caught suspects, and detect hazardous substances or goods. They were also large enough to serve as ground transport for officers and carry baggage. Anghenfil were genetically designed to obsessively imprint onto one human and respond only when commanded, with training to respond viciously if their handler is threatened and otherwise remain non-reactive unless given command. The project was well-received by the Ascent board, but they insisted on testing the creatures before further funding would be given. As such, the Anghenfil were deployed into the active field.

The theropod Anghenfil was assigned to a wall patrol team under the command of Commander Jean-Claude Moulin, a Wars veteran and one of the few remaining witnesses of the Closure. While he was reticent to accept the project, the theropod was imprinted on him regardless and he took it on as a new asset. Under Cmdr. Moulin's charge, the theropod Anghenfil proved very efficient and prompted further funding into the Anghenfil project by the Board.

At the same time of the Anghenfil project, Ascent ran another experiment on the recreation of the Wasteland phenomena known as “Slipskins”, humans that could become one with a bonded animal in both mind and body and vice versa at will. While this experiment proved largely a failure, the ability to transfer a human soul into an animal body was discovered.

Cmdr. Moulin was eventually caught aiding Wasteland refugees into Viperalm and was subsequently shot thrice in the chest, arm and neck by a new recruit. However this proved a mistake, as Cmdr. Moulin was wanted alive by the Viperalm board for his Rift knowledge, and he was rushed to surgery in an attempt to save him, or at least his memories. His Anghenfil followed closely behind, unable to be parted from her handler and unable to understand why he was away from her. The team worked rapidly, but the damage to Moulin's already-aged body proved too much and there simply was no way to save him. Yet they needed his memory. A drastic decision was made.

Commander Jean-Claude Moulin's mind was implanted into the body of his beloved Anghenfil using the Project Slipskin technology. It was a last ditch attempt to preserve his knowledge. Once the operation was complete, it was expected that the Commander's soul would win out over the Anghenfil and he would reawaken as a man in a monster's body, still very much sound in mind, personality, and most importantly memory.

That hypothesis was proved wrong when the beast awoke not as the Commander, nor as the animal, but as an entirely new intelligent being with the knowledge of Moulin and the instincts of the Anghenfil. The new beast proved unruly and impossible to reason with or control, with an entirely animal psyche yet the reasoning and logic of a man, and was subsequently scheduled for destruction.

However, the creature escaped during the Drunk's rampage, and fled into the Plains. Ascent teams pursued her, but were soon recalled as tensions rose with the other Cities.

The Anghenfil wandered the Plains for a while and eventually discovered Lust, the Remnant of War, hiding in a disused section of the Undergrowth. Using her knowledge of the Rift the beast took control of the Remnant and began using it to breed a new generation of monsters she was able to communicate with and control. The escaped monster dubbed herself Jean-Claude after her old handler, and took on his role as a commander of monsters.

Jean-Claude is a confrontational, headstrong and overzealous monster, with a very strong desire and single-minded ambition. She's decisive and blunt, with a tendency for tunnel vision and great capacity for sudden violence (likely not helped by her animal nature). However, she is very intelligent, capable of rationality, and highly observant, with fantastic strategic ability and an adaptive resiliency. She is at her heart a good commander, with the ability to sympathise with her command and treat all as equals using interpersonal skills honed from memories that aren't hers and instincts that are. Monsters of course require a different command than men, but Jean-Claude can handle both with ease, and often is the one making deals with human factions.

Jean-Claude has a powerful alliance with 0UTRUN, the AI running the Undergrowth, in large part due to her handler's name and knowledge. Cmdr. Moulin was one of the men who helped make the AI, and as his last surviving legacy, Jean-Claude inherited his connection with the AI. As such, Jean-Claude is able to sequester Lust in the Undergrowth, as well as consult 0UTRUN for its' knowledge and opinions. While this alliance is currently kept secret, there are plans in place to make this a more established relationship.

Rainier

Jean-Claude's firstborn son. He is her right-hand man, and a strong influence upon the Children of the Beast, preferring diplomacy and words over force and combat.

Rainier is one of Jean-Claude's direct descendants, being her son from a pairing with one of the original Anghenfil that escaped alongside Jean-Claude. He is a triceratops-esque creature with iridescent navy skin that glows in the dark.

Rainier is Jean-Claude's firstborn and one of the first of the new generation One. He was educated both by his mother and by 0UTRUN, who he spent the majority of his childhood with in the Undergrowth. Rainier showed a clear preference for book learning and disliked his mother taking him on fighting raids and hunts. Thanks to his extensive education and to growing up while his mother was establishing the roots of her dynasty, he has extensive practical knowledge and is often consulted by his mother and other monsters for strategic advice and ideas. He is her right-hand man, and a strong influence upon the Children of the Beast.

Rainier is somewhat non-confrontational and dislikes actual fighting, preferring combat through diplomacy and words instead. He is almost more man than monster, with very little attention given to his instincts and nature and an active desire to overcome his animalistic impulses. Like his mother, he is a herbivore, but even if he could eat meat he would choose not to. He can't communicate with other monsters well, in part due to his own suppression of his nature, but communicates with men easily and would much prefer to be the one meeting and making deals with human factions, something his mother allows but not as often as he'd like. Rainier is decisive but canny and more likely to trick someone into an agreement than to force them into one. Because of his more polite personality the factions allied with the CotB prefer to meet with him and will occasionally defer to him.

It is Rainier who discovers Gullxian's forays into the Wastelands, and who leads a capture squad to take several teams into CotB control. His human connections inform him of the other teams attempting to deal with the Plains Union, and Rainier is actively monitoring them while seeking the Shatterpoints the captured team told him of. Rainier intends to use the Shatterpoints to strengthen the CotB's ranks, which Jean-Claude approves of, and to push the monsters that much further into intelligence and away from their still very bestial natures, a plan his mother isn't aware of.

He dislikes the way he has been regulated to a consultancy role and wishes to have a more active role in the expansion, especially in regards to his younger sister's actions, of which he believes she is unsuited and he should have been the one making them instead. Jean-Claude does not mediate conflicts between her children- she believes they are both old enough to resolve it their own way, and more importantly it is not in her nature to intervene in territorial and role fights. Rainier knows his sister will not back down by words alone, but fears fighting her despite his larger size as Triumph has been fighting since she was young and is known for her canny tactics.

Triumph

Jean-Claude's daughter. She is in a relationship with Bonneville, one of the humans in charge of Undergrowth Eastside, making her the first ever monster to legally reside within the Undergrowth.

Triumph is another of Jean-Claude's direct descendants, being her daughter and Rainier's half-blood younger sibling. She is a bird-like creature with iridescent cerulean feathers that glow in the dark.

Triumph was born later, into generation Two. Her father was one of the first generation. Triumph was also educated by 0UTRUN, her mother, and her older brother, but preferred learning in violence and conflict in the field with her mother over learning through speech and texts, something which made her rather close to Jean-Claude. While as intelligent as her brother, Triumph inherited her mother's violence and is less in control of herself, choosing to succumb to her animal drive more often and act upon instinct rather than rationality. Despite her quick tempered nature, Triumph is still intelligent and can be rational when pressed.

Triumph spent more time in the Undergrowth than Rainier and developed a strong alliance with 0UTRUN, whereupon she proposed a new plan to finally establish an official monster presence in the Undergrowth. As part of this plan Triumph began a relationship with one of the humans who owned an occupied segment of the Undergrowth, making her an official presence in the human-occupied segments and marking her as the 'first' monster in the Undergrowth. Triumph is the test subject- if she manages to create an overall positive opinion of the monsters among the humans, then the CotB will move further into occupied territories and potentially establish new alliances. (Unbeknownst to her, she is also 0UTRUN's test of human-monster relationships and breeding potential)

However, many factions of the Undergrowth are strongly opposed to the idea of monsters below ground, and Triumph may have to head a conflict between the different states alone (0UTRUN will not assist either side in any fights below ground). Jean-Claude believes it is an appropriate task for Triumph, likening it to her actions above with alliances with Wasteland clans, but Rainier believes Triumph is unsuited by nature for such a momentous task and thinks he should be the one heading the Undergrowth expansion, especially as Triumph's aggression escalates the tensions.