The Rustborn Clan
Since their initial creation, the Ratfolk of the Rustborn Clans have been slaves. Chained to the machines of the Volsung and forced to do their bidding.
MUTATIONS
The Ratfolk of the Rustborn Clans were created out of necessity. From the official stardate 5200 to 5225, humanity was beset on all sides by the diabolical armies of the demon lords. While riding the brink of extinction, humankind began all types of unorthodox experiments. The consensus was clear. They needed more soldiers. In their hour of desperation, many turned to the animals and creatures of old Earth, claiming that, due to their domestic nature, perhaps they could be mutated into dedicated troops to assist on the frontlines. A man by the name of Edgar Freinwitz was one of the lead scientists in charge of Project V. The goal was to craft obedient soldiers using the animals of old Earth. Edgar had a particular fondness for the rats and vermin of Earth. He enjoyed testing their intellect in small mazes or games he crafted, and was often even seen or heard talking to his furry companions by his fellow scientists. A harmless relationship, but one that often led him to shirk his responsibilities to the numerous other animal species simultaneously taking part in Project V. Edgar spent countless sleepless nights confined within the lab, running test after test. Desperate to unlock the secrets in gene splicing necessary to create his serum. Finally, after nearly two decades of research and development, on the eve of Octorus 5th, 2221, Edgar achieved his scientific breakthrough.
With the mutation serum nearly complete, the newly appointed Humanity Defence Committee, currently funding Project V, demanded that the serum be introduced immediately into clinical trials. However, Edgar protested, stating there were still many tests that needed to be conducted before mass producing the chemical. He explained the serum could potentially lead to severe complications if administered before these trials were completed. With the constant threat of demonic incursions at their heels, the HDC gave Edgar an ultimatum. He could either apply the serum himself, or his position and status would be revoked, and a more agreeable lead scientist would be appointed to perform the clinical trials without him. For fear of losing the lab rats he had grown so fond of, Edgar tossed aside his morality and agreed with the committee's demands. Just three weeks after his breakthrough, he administered the serum to a small white rat he’d named Winston. Winston had always been one of Edgar’s favorites and the most intelligent of his kind. To his relief, the mutation worked, and the Rustborn were created.
WINSTON
Winston was a prodigy. Or at least by that is what he would have been called were it not for his rodent nature. The serum had made Winston grow to roughly 3 feet tall in stature and had given him a more bipedal stance, though he still very much had the appearance of a rodent. He was highly intelligent, achieving well above normal scores on numerous aptitude and IQ exams. Edgar was thrilled with Winston’s performance. He spent day after day gleefully teaching him arithmetic and various languages. As time went by, Winston’s intellect grew. He became adept at scientific calculus and physics. He grew fluent in several languages. There was no obstacle he could not overcome, and soon enough, Edgar was approached by the defense committee once more for results. They were satisfied, for the moment, but wished to see more creatures like Winston so that they could be put to use in stemming the tide of demons on their doorstep.
Edgar eagerly gave them what they wanted and began to create even more of what he would refer to as his “children”. Soon, there were hundreds of Rustborn all taught math, science, language, even social studies, and history. The Rustborn collectively showed an unusually high aptitude for building and crafting. It wasn't long until the committee wanted to see the Rustborn put into action. Under Edgar’s guidance, his prototype “children” were sent out to various different worlds and put to work in construction crews crafting starships and constructs for their human counterparts. At first, the Rustborn were a welcome addition to the defense of humanity, but over time, the committee grew impatient with Professor Freinwitz. They demanded he resign from the continued creation of further Rustborn and resume his work on Project V. Winston, who had become a protégée and partner to Edgar, attempted to convince the council that his kinsmen were a great asset to the war effort, but he was met with disdain and disregarded. Edgar eventually decided to relinquish the Rustborn plan to Winston in order to appease the committee and began the final steps towards the completion of Project V. Not long after, in a fateful turn of events, the Volsung were created.
The Volsung
Professor Edgar utilized the knowledge and skill obtained from the creation of the Rustborn to quickly mutate numerous other species of Earth-born animals. Not wanting to place his beloved Rustborn alongside these new mutants, Edgar named the new group of various races the Volsung. Over the course of the project, something began to change in Edgar. Where he was kind and compassionate with the Rustborn, he was easily angered and bored with the Volsung. He grew more frustrated as the days went by. The Rustborn had been created in batches of no more than 50 or so, and each was tenderly raised. The beastfolk of the Volsung were thrown together in litters of hundreds and quickly accelerated to fighting strength. Many attributed Edgar’s change in nature to his loss of passion for the project. He was growing impatient. He loved his Rustborn child and wished to return to them swiftly, but the committee's constant pressure forced his attention elsewhere. The Volsung were haphazardly crafted into warriors capable of defending humankind. Less emphasis was placed on intellect, more effort going towards raw power. Many of the early beastfolk took an uncanny liking to the Nordic cultures of old Earth. Edgar and his scientists decided to capitalize on this interest and instilled ideals of honor through strength and courage into the Volsung in order to craft a warrior culture bred for war. This would make them superior tools in the watchful eyes of the Defense Committee.
The Asterion Order Arrives
As the war against demons progressed, the Volsung were placed on the frontlines alongside the Rustborn in the defense of humankind. From the early days of campaigning, the Volsung showed an irrefutable disdain for the Rustborn. Believing they were weak creatures due to their small stature and preference towards more industrial occupations. The Volsung ruled through strength and merit alone and had no interest in the intellect of the Rustborn. This caused rifts in their defensive lines, and eventually, the Ratfolk were sent to the rear support groups as engineers and builders. This rift between these two groups would only fester and grow further as the years went on, culminating in a bitter hatred between the species. After the Asterion Order's arrival and eventual takeover of the Earth defense committee, the Volsung and Rustborn were removed from the battlefield. The Beastfolk, judged too unstable and untrustworthy by the Order, were shelved and forgotten.
However, the Volsung were bred for battle and grew restless over the coming years. In 5231, just 6 Terran years after the Order's formal takeover, the Volsung declared their inevitable separation. The Volsung launched an assault on the grand cosmic fortress Svalin. The starship was grandiose in scale, boasting multiple shipyards and defensive structures. It was, by all definitions of the word, a floating cityscape capable of holding and sustaining billions of lives at any given time. It took the concentrated assault of millions of Beastfolk to take the spaceborn vessel in one of the bloodiest revolutionary wars to date, and countless of them lost their lives in the process. The singular battle lasted nearly 11 Terran months of ceaseless fighting. With their success, this space-bound leviathan would act as the new home of the Beastfolk. Their newly elected chieftains declared war on any who would try and stop them and scattered to the stars with their respective war bands. With them, they took the majority of the Rustborn as their slaves.
The Rustborn Rise Up
Shackled to their shipyards, within the confines of the Svalin, the Rustborn were forced to build new weapons and vessels for the nomadic war bands of the Volsung. The Beastfolk treated their cousins as no more than cattle, using them to craft fresh starships in the pursuit of conducting raids on various worlds. They were disrespected as nothing more than vermin and looked down upon by every member of the various Volsung war bands. The plight of his kinsmen eventually reached Winston, currently residing in one of the vast laboratories back on Earth. Unsure what to do, he reached out to his father and mentor, Professor Freinwitz. When he heard of the horrible fate that befell his “children,” it broke his heart. Immediately, the two set out to craft a plan to assist the Ratfolk. Utilizing a complex communication network, Winston and Edgar were able to interact with the leaders of the Rustborn Clans. Working as one, a plan was drawn up to make an escape from the clutches of their Beastfolk overlords. The Volsung were strong, but the Rustborn were cunning. Slowly, so as not to draw attention, great teleportation devices were crafted in secret down in the sewage systems of each grand starship upon which the Rustborn were placed. These devices were linked across each vessel, and all led to one singular location. The planet, Haven. Winston and Edgar had chosen the planet for its remote nature and built a duplicate teleportation device on its surface.
It took over a decade of licking the boots of their oppressors for the Rustborn to finally make their escape. Slowly, over time, the Beastfolks lessened their grip on the Rustborns' necks. Their shackles loosened. The eyes, always upon them, became dimmer. Until eventually enough wiggle room was granted to the Ratfolk to put their plan into action. During a Volsung raid into the Telios System, with most of the fighting force deployed, the Rustborn made their move. They slipped from their shackles and skulked down to the sewers beneath each starship in the Volsungs' armada. And one by one activated the teleportation devices. The large surge in energy undoubtedly was noticed by the Beastfolk, but despite their best efforts to halt them, the Rustborn slipped through the devices, destroying them behind them so as not to be followed. The Ratfolk of the Rustborn were free.
A NEW PLAN
With their lives finally placed in their own hands, the Rustborn began anew. On the planet Haven, they began further research into their teleportation technology and continue to utilize it to travel between worlds. They have developed weaponry and M.A.B.s (Mobile Assault Battlesuit) of their own in order to defend themselves from the vengeful Volsung as well as the various other races at odds with them. The Rustborn’s hunger for knowledge and scrap drives them forward in the pursuit of a great rodent utopia. Over time, this singular goal has shaped their beliefs and behaviors towards other races and species into something more sinister in nature. They often infect their target world from the undercrofts by sending out small, nearly undetectable, scouting vessels. These vessels carry groups of engineers capable of crafting teleportation devices into the sewage system of whatever city they land near. It isn’t long before Ratfolk are witnessed bursting to the surface. They swarm the defenders of the world, salvaging and scraping all they see, returning much of their findings to Haven. There, some great ritual, concerning a being known only as the All Father, takes place. Not much is known of the end goals of the Rustborn or what has happened to Professor Edgar Freinwitz, but one thing is for certain. The laws of scrap call to them, and they are desperate to answer.