Starved Guns

“Starved Guns” was the nickname given to a mercenary class that emerged during the Scattan Wars. Though operating primarily in the Scattan Islands, Starved Guns continued to be contracted for various operations across the Shimmering Seas after the Scattan Wars.

Name
The exact origin of the term “Starved Gun” was unknown, but its usage increased with the advent of the Scattan Wars, and quickly entered common vernacular across the Scattan Islands. The name was believed to be in reference to a commonly observed fact that most of the beings entering mercenary work were Biosynths in desperate need of food and shelter. As the Scattan Confederation began fragmenting into separate warring factions, rogue warlords often provided better accommodations and pay than the former government.

Generally Starved Guns were Biosynth species, but the term also came to include species that entered mercenary work that had migrated to the Shimmering Seas from the Matoran Universe. These species included Skakdi and on rare occasions even Matoran and Toa.

History
When the first nations of the Scattan Islands began separating from the Scattan Confederation, the rebelling nations began assembling militias of volunteers to defend against the Confederation’s armies attempting to reign them back in. However volunteers alone were not enough against the Confederation’s forces, and so the nations began offering pay, shelter, and food to any Biosynths willing to fight. With no functioning government or functioning markets to purchase food from, many Biosynths accepted these mercenary positions and joined the rogue militias. These new mercenaries were quickly dubbed “Starved Guns” for their willingness to commit to long, dangerous campaigns in exchange for immediate necessities.

With time even the separatist nations and the militias supported by them would disintegrate into rival factions, only to be replaced by warlords within the factions who assumed control of the militia volunteers and the Starved Guns that fought beside them. The warlords promised the Starved Guns payment after the Scattan Confederation was defeated, as eventually it was. This left the Scattan Islands in a state of relative anarchy, with no legitimate governments to enforce order. Warlords left over from the war against the Confederation began pooling their resources to create armed syndicates to defend their territory, and employed Starved Guns for these purposes. These territories effectively became the new nations of the islands, and persisting rivalries between warlords often sparked small battles in which there would be sudden need for mass amounts of Starved Guns.

As the Scattan Wars neared an end with the Scattan warlord Skyketh assuming control of most of the Scattan Islands, mercenaries were used primarily for policing duties as a new government was created under his rule. Many former Starved Guns began finding more conventional jobs within the newly created country of Orscatta, as Skyketh’s government outlawed the practice of mercenary hiring. But the need for armed guns-for-hire never vanished. Criminals and warlords that remained active in the Scattan Islands and across the Shimmering Seas continued to employ Starved Guns, and certain islands and areas of the Shimmering Seas became known as black markets for prospective employers looking for mercenaries without the eyes of Orscatta watching.

Known "Starved Guns"
Auzzath

Glisgiss

Gorvok

Grehil

Naks

Sadisma

Vyzia

Wellis

Wullthaug