Glisgiss

“There is no refuge from Glisgiss.” –Glisgiss

Glisgiss—nicknamed the “Butcher”—was a male Biosynth of the Bistin species, and one of the rare mutant “King Bistin.” After hijacking a Scattan science vessel, he sailed off of Krishkib and into the Scattan Islands. There he worked as a mechanic before becoming a Starved Gun during the early phase of the Scattan Wars. After killing his employer without being detected, Glisgiss began secretly accumulating wealth and his own army of Starved Guns until he became one of the three leading warlords in the later phase of the Scattan Wars. His forces were eventually defeated by those of Dizyade, and he was forced to flee the Scattan Islands.

Biography
Glisgiss was born to a group of lesser Bistin as a King Bistin. As an infant, he would be given Cascatine implants by his lesser Bistin parents before being abandoned in the wilderness of Krishkib. He was forced to fend for himself for much of his youth and young adult life.

=== Arrival of Scattan scientists === After the Scattan Confederation had been formed in the Scattan Islands, Scattan scientists were sent abroad to study various locations in the Shimmering Seas. One target location was the distant Krishkib, which Scattans learned of from Shivvit explorers. A team of Scattan scientists was sent to locate, capture, and study a live King Bistin, and once they landed they began searching Krishkib for such a specimen. The first King Bistin they found was Glisgiss, who was aware of their intents to capture him. Glisgiss fought back violently, and eventually killed every scientist in the crew.

Glisgiss tracked their paths back to their vessel, which had been left unattended on the shores of Krishkib. He lived in and around the vessel for months, studying it and learning the intricacies of the machinery on board. Eventually acquired enough knowledge of the vessel to take control of it, and steer it off of Krishkib. He used navigational charts on board to sail to the Scattan Islands.

When Glisgiss landed, he at first felt a need to attack the Scattans he saw there. When he realized they vastly outnumbered him, and appeared oblivious to the fact he had killed a Scattan science team, Glisgiss disembarked, began learning Scattansa, and tried to integrate into Scattan society.

=== ­Scattan Wars === During the Scattan Wars, Glisgiss used his expertise with machinery to work as a mechanic for a rogue Scattan militia, repairing their war machines and weapons. Over time however, Glisgiss began using militia supplies to experiment on his own body. He began a slow process of carefully modifying his Cascatine implants and weaponizing his body.

After the Scattan Confederation collapsed and rogue nations began turning on one another, militia leaders discovered that Glisgiss had been stealing their equipment to augment his body. Assassins were sent to kill Glisgiss, but he managed to foil all attempts on his life and kill every assassin targeting him. Glisgiss had become extremely dangerous with his new implants, and began offering himself as a high-value Starved Gun.

Little was known of Glisgiss’s activities during this period of the Scattan Wars. It was believed he assassinated key warlords, and used the chaos of the period to assume leadership of many confused soldiers. Through such acts of treachery, Glisgiss managed to become a contending warlord in the Scattan Wars.

Glisgiss was the first warlord to realize the tactical value of securing stores of Cascatine, which was a necessary component to produce the next generation of Biosynths. By sending his forces to occupy old Confederate Cascatine mines, Glisgiss acquired wealth and influence. With this wealth, Glisgiss expanded his armies by purchasing the services of legions of Starved Guns, until he controlled a sphere of influence that made him one of the three most powerful warlords in the Scattan Islands. Only Skyketh and Dizyade rivaled his power.

Glisgiss eventually found himself the target of an offensive campaign from the forces of Dizyade, who wanted to remove him as a major power in the Scattan Wars. Dizyade struck with force, and his soldiers were more convicted to their cause than Glisgiss’s. Many defected from Glisgiss’s army and joined Dizyade’s forces. The ones that remained did so purely out of fear of Glisgiss.

In time, Glisgiss was reduced to a single stronghold, and he began planning to evacuate the island once Dizyade’s forces landed to take it. As he was preparing to leave, a crew of Starved Guns fighting for Dizyade made up of Auzzath, Vyzia, Wullthaug and Sadisma infiltrated his stronghold and confronted Glisgiss in person. The four had orders to kill or capture Glisgiss, but Glisgiss managed to fight off all of them and secure an escape for himself. This battle signaled the end of Glisgiss’s power in the Scattan Islands. Glisgiss himself however disappeared, and was believed to live on elsewhere in the Shimmering Seas long after the Scattan Wars.

­Personality
Growing up a lone King Bistin isolated from others of his species, Glisgiss developed a proclivity for solitude at an early age, and was capable of sustaining himself alone virtually anywhere. It was unknown how he earned the name “Glisgiss,” but some have observed lesser Bistin made noises that sounded similar to “Glisgiss.” Glisgiss himself rarely spoke, and when he did he usually spoke of himself in the third person.

Glisgiss was believed to be highly intelligent, not just in comparison to lesser Bistin, but among other sentient Biosynths. He had what appeared to be an almost natural skill with machines, and was adept at modifying his own body’s implants. As a leader and warlord, Glisgiss was cold and pragmatic, and chose targets carefully and with reason. He was known for his excessive cruelty to his enemies and even subordinates. He reveled in watching enemies suffer in torture, or die slowly at his own hands, and was nicknamed the “Butcher” by associates and enemies for how he mutilated the bodies of those he killed. His tendency towards solitude meant that he often delegated smaller tasks to lieutenants so he could be by himself. Sometimes he ordered his subordinates to carry out punishments and gather intelligence, and so Glisgiss became feared for “seeing without being seen.”

=== ­Augmented abilities === At the height of his augmentations, Glisgiss was a powerful combatant. As a member of the Bistin species, Glisgiss’s senses were excellent. His large compound eyes could track the movement of an opponent effectively, and often allowed Glisgiss to counterattack before the enemy was ready. His sensitive antennae could detect faraway disturbances in the air, and this frequently alerted Glisgiss to would-be ambushers well before they attacked. Additionally, Glisgiss retained the strong grip of Bistin feet, allowing him to stick to surfaces he walked or climbed. This meant that Glisgiss rarely stumbled or fell during a brawl, and could easily climb vertical surfaces. As a King Bistin, Glisgiss retained the durability of his carapace, and improved upon it through augmentations.

After extensively augmenting his body, Glisgiss’s torso and arms had been outfitted with a large pumping apparatus. One function of this apparatus was in its ability to turn a portion of nutrients acquired from food into specialized chemical stimulants. These stimulants would then be pumped into key areas in his flesh, engorging his muscles and strengthening his carapace. This not only made Glisgiss especially resistant to environmental extremes, but also provided excellent protection from physical trauma and damage in combat.

Weapons
The network of pumps throughout Glisgiss’s body not only sent chemical stimulants into his muscles, but also into his acid-producing glands. Injected with the stimulants his body produced, Glisgiss’s jaw glands bulged in size, producing a more corrosive acid at nearly three times the volume of natural Bistin. Additional pumps were hooked to these engorged acid-producing glands, and ran all the way down to his arm-mounted blades.

These blades were designed to channel Glisgiss’s acid, and could fire it in long streams at opponents. From range, these streams of highly corrosive acid could burn holes in walls or obstacles. Fired from range at an enemy, Glisgiss’s acid could eat through armor and stun enemies from a distance. At close range, these blades could be driven into an opponent, bringing the acid from Glisgiss’s mouth directly into the body of a target and dissolving them from the inside. Glisgiss’s blades were also capable of absorbing the paste made from his enhanced Bistin acid.

This extensive modification to Glisgiss’s body essentially turned his blades into additional mouths through which he could consume enemy flesh, and weaponized his acid glands. Glisgiss retained the naturally poor digestive systems all Bistin suffered from, however. If Glisgiss consumed food, he would enter a digestive lethargy like all Bistin. Because of this, Glisgiss usually waited until his immediate area was clear of enemies before he consumed any food.