Part I - Head Above The Water
The Jabberwocky of Santa Prisca was the product of the illicit relationship between a prisoner and a guard that led to the young boy being raised amongst Death Row Inmates. While the early phases of his life were far from comfortable he was instilled with a few valuable lessons that he took to heart. In order they were; Never Distrust your Fear. Treasure The Trust Of Others. Always Aim Beyond The Surface.
These 3 points became the main principles that guided the young man throughout his life. Rarely mentioning them aloud under the belief that most people wouldn't trust the source of that wisdom. Despite this, he still thinks of the Death Row inmates that served as Mentors for him to be genuine replacements for a mother and father, sharing the roles between them.
As for his birth mother, she was released shortly after giving birth to him, and despite the agony, they claimed she felt the woman had little choice in the matter of leaving him behind. Entrusting Ambrose to those that took the brunt of the blame for their combined crimes the woman figured he'd be well taken care of. Even blackmailed the Warden into just keeping the knowledge to himself, burying her son in the bowels of the prison until whispers of him were left to rise by officials who could no longer be ignored. Though until that time both the guards and inmates that knew of this secret were silenced by all the benefits a warden could muster for them. Making the life of Ambrose easier despite the rather rough environment.
Beyond just living Ambrose was instructed in a few subjects for study. Mainly the skills that a murderer or thief would find appealing. From lock picking to acupuncture, and body disposal from the time that he could walk. Learning to read and write later on after that. His life was smooth beyond the few violent struggles he witnessed between the gangs of prisoners. Until the government came knocking that is. Apparently, the public didn't find his existence appealing. Made those of the inner city look bad for allowing it to happen and those of the slums were making a ruckus. Needless to say, it was a unanimous decision to have him freed.
And who was the public that most wanted him freed? Scientists. Several of them made attempts to visit him in prison over the years. All denied of course and now they were back. Spilling news of his story to whoever would listen. A guard let the secret slip, but they were soon silenced by a woman calling herself Holo Synépeia. A striking figure in the same field of pseudo-sciences that studied the potential of mysterious phenomena in the world. Claiming to be his she took the media by storm with their striking resemblance and brushed aside any claims of the impossibility behind it all. But you couldn't deny that violet mane or those amber eyes no matter how hard they tried.
Holo was an overbearing woman to say the least. Full of smiles, and cheers that even a young boy could tell hid something inside. Ambrose didn't mind of course, nor did his mentors who allowed him to go without much of a fuss. Hardly even said goodbye before shooing him off to a new life. He couldn't really tell what his so-called aunt wanted from him but it clearly had something to do with his mother. The woman was never not mentioning her since they left his former home. Either bragging about her or slipping in strange jabs about their family or hair color. Needless to say, the entire ordeal was beyond strange, and despite his having expressed these concerns to her she never really seemed bothered by his worries. Just happy that everything was going as she planned.
All was swell up until their first outing together. Should have been a nice, relaxing trip to the beach—his first one at that. But partway through both he, as well as his aunt, were kidnapped by men in Black Suits. Ambrose panicked of course, how else should he have reacted?
Went kicking and screaming but his aunt was surprisingly stoic throughout the entire ordeal. Worrying over her wasn't going to get him anywhere though, so even as they tossed them into a trunk he still struggled in an attempt to escape. Flailed around until that tiny body of his just couldn't anymore. At that point they had already arrived at their destination; Relica Labs.
Part II - Chest Below The Flames
Relica Labs was established early by the Synépeia family nearly 60 years prior under the name of a bulter of the head at the time. Used primarily as a research institute behind the current circulation of cold medicines its primary purpose was the study of Occult Phenomena that may have existed in the world. And Holo was the current head researcher behind it. The kidnapping stunt was just a way to introduce him to his actual new home. While the other was stuffed with body doubles, and burned down. She'd faked their deaths for reasons she never really explained.
Apparently, it was to escape the prying eyes of a stalker but he knew better than that by now. At the time he didn't know why she'd done it nor could he wrap his little brain around the possible reasons either. With nowhere else to go he just tossed any thoughts about the incident to the back of his mind. Spending the next 8 years living with his aunt's numerous pranks, bonding with the employees, and never really leaving the lab aside from the occasional shopping trip.
Vastly different from before he'd matured quite a bit during his time with Holo and came to respect the self-proclaimed genius despite the mischievous nature she hid behind that mind. Often made him think of her more as a big sister than an aunt most of the time. Made him both love and despise her all the more whenever she spoke her mind. Through her prodding, he was often forced to mingle with her colleagues at any number of boring gatherings. Always full of adults who often looked down on him for his age, and refused to exchange ideas surrounding their findings. Not even with his aunt for the exact same reason.
Largely due to this Ambrose made a big deal out of helping those at Relica in making their discoveries to show that he wasn't just a youthful face. Still, he craved more contact than that of know-it-alls and brainiacs. Getting involved with the offshoots of the few gangs that were wreaking havoc nearby helped him find his first real friends. The Threshers were a small gang that barely possessed any members, but they were decent enough. Avoided most forms of trouble apart from straight-up brawling. They all just seemed addicted to the thrill of it, not the territory they gained from winning.
Ambrose mainly only dared to go outside for the sake of meeting these friends he managed to finally make. Or at least just the boy Stefan that was a couple of years older than the rest. A die-hard martial artist with a flair for a dynamic entrance. If not for him warming up to Ambrose in the first place he may have just remained alone all this time. Served him his first loss and despite the rivalry, they retained an obvious friendship. His aunt kept a spotter on her nephew whenever he went out but didn't separate him from the gang because of the first genuine smile he displayed since being adopted.
Eventually, she even removed the spotters altogether since no major incidents had ever occurred. A mistake on her part as the roaches soon emerged when her guard was down In an attempt to capture Ambrose, they ambushed him and took the Threshers hostage while they were trying to defend him. They should've just run as they were handled with little effort on the part of the assailants. With Stefan being the only holdout. Managing to free the others who were forced to run to get help. And oh what a mistake that was on his part. With them gone Stefan leapt into action. Striking the would-be leader of this assault who responded by filling the kid with lead. An entire clip of the gun flooded his chest at a moment's notice. Laughter rang through the air, and it all went dark.
Cheerful clouds that were once a joyful white were painted through with darkened hue. Golden Pages then rained down from the sky like stars descending from above. One of them fell before a tearful Ambrose who struggled to pick it up. Compelled to do so by an unknown force. A voice flooded into his mind filling it with knowledge he didn't quite understand. The same could be said for Holo who arrived to witness her nephew engulfed in the malicious aura of a draconic beast that cult a swath through all that would oppose them. It was over in a flash and a young Ambrose would never recall what transpired there. His only gift was a lost eye that served as the price for such strength, and the knowledge behind how to activate the strange ability he had acquired. But the details behind the event and even the loss of Stefan did weigh heavily on his mind for years to come.
From the fruitful age of 18 he drank his pain away. Wandering the streets of the slum for 3 years until his aunt found him again. To his surprise, she wasn't angry with him, or even disappointed in what he'd become. If nothing else she held a deep sadness in her eyes. Whether that snapped him out of it or if the lack of money from gambling it all away had Ambrose did find his way out of this bump on the road after a year of work. Scrapping together enough money to buy a bar he called the "Waltzing Maw", and through his aunts' connections he managed to rent out a small office above it for a moderate price. In exchange, he had to look into those men who attacked him all those years ago. Apparently, they were looking for his mother. She was making trouble for them all again.
The Synépeia family and anyone like them were being hunted down for their ability to attract what normally couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Encounters with the supernatural were on the rise. And with magic reawakening all across the world; ordinary citizens, criminals, and even the snobbish elite have gained powers beyond compare. The impossible became possible. Chaos was let loose. Passions flared. And the Jabberwocky Of Santa Prisca set out on his own for the sake of discovering what was unraveling the fabric of their world one case at a time!
Part III - Down The Path Beyond
