Taron Mannix | Peacekeeper | FIN

Taron didn’t exactly have the typical childhood although nor was it a bad one. Despite being torn from his mother’s breast as soon as he came of age, he had what is considered ’a fruitful start to life.’ A protégé rodent, raised like a predator. There was no say in the path he would take, instead he was forced to navigate the ones placed in front of him, the destination already mapped out. Normality for Taron was in the training centre, there was no other way for him to know better. Forced only to socialise with chosen peers, the only contact with normal world he had was when he looked out of the window to see the rats foraging in the garbage.

Sold like meat in the market, his father had earned a fair profit by selling him to the gambler. The gambler, a man rearing children for profit by hosting late night illegal fights. Many came with cash filled in their pockets and in return they’d get a betting slip. Only if their choice won would they earn that cash back and a little bit more but of course every fight was fixed. The ultimate dream for the gambler was for one of his profits to volunteer, returning with the wealth of victorship but of course he had to make do with the earnings from the fights.

For a while, Taron was perfectly happily with the life. Growing up in a large house, filled with kids similar to his age. Food always filled his stomach every day, training helped mould his body and he had friends on his corridor. The big house in District One was his home, he didn’t know any better. Only when he turned eight was he forced into the fights, to make things fair his opponents were of a similar age and strength. At first he was made to purposely lose the fights but when the gambler saw potential in him, from time to time he was able to relish in victory.

Growing out of his juvenile childish ways as soon as Taron became a teenager, hormones kicked in and the rebellious stage of life waved hello. Curiosity struck him the most, for years his corridor lived above the girl’s and the only time he’d see the girls was at food time and in the centre. Recreational time was only allowed for an hour and each child was secluded to their corridor to socialise but Taron plucked the courage to explore. Sneaking downstairs at the age of fourteen one evening, he was met by giggling savages. Kidnapping him and dragging the poor boy into one of their rooms, the girls did their work on him. Stripping him naked and forcing him to wear a dress, the girls entertained themselves by humiliating the poor boy although Taron enjoyed the company of the females; they were totally opposite to the boys upstairs.

Continuously creeping downstairs every other evening, slowly the girls no longer humiliated Taron and instead socialised like perfectly normal human beings. Taron had fallen for a girl named Violet and his cravings to be in her presence compelled him to tiptoe downstairs more often than not.

Excelling in the use of projectiles in the training centre, the gambler caught on to his gift and created a new way to earn profit. Setting up something similar to a circus act, the gambler made Taron throw knives at various targets, including prostitutes off the streets, unwillingly strapped to wooden posts. (Although the whole idea was that Taron would not hit them and the women walked away unscathed…every time). Continuing with his training, Taron was no longer needed in the illegal fighting pits as his knife throwing performances were earning a little more than double than what he would have got in those rings. Everything in his life was perfectly happily, he didn’t know any better.

Traveling downstairs to his feminine exhibitions, his relationship with Violet blossomed but boys from upstairs slowly begin to discover his little adventures. One by one, a new boy followed him downstairs and that’s when Taron’s competition really got serious. Jared Maddocks, a boy the same age as him, a boy slowly becoming a pain in the neck for Taron. Just like Taron, Jared excelled in something that was worthy enough to be a street performance, juggling items on fire. With the risks involved in the act, many more emptied their pockets for Jared than they did for Taron so he was slowly becoming a menace but there was another major thing that made Taron rattle. Jared fought hard for Violet’s hand also and the dim-witted blonde couldn’t decide on either boy so indulged in watching them fight for her love. Knowing no better, Taron wouldn’t let the fish he caught before Jared slip out of his hands so easily.

For years the Taron and Jared clashed and in romance they would meet. When a child turned 19 in the house, they would be tossed out like waste as they were deemed useless and that time came for Taron. Promising Violet, who was a year younger than him that he'd find a way to put a ring on her finger, he sought out for a new life. Together Taron and Jared left the house, taking separate paths to the relief of Taron. Finding himself a quaint little job in a shop selling a collection of bizarre items to the District One citizens, all seemed well for about a year. Realising that he had put himself on a dead ended path, Taron decided to take a detour onto a different route. Slowly it was becoming hard for Taron to control his life. From the very start, foundations were built for him, routes mapped for him to walk down and as soon as he left that house, he was stuck without any way to navigate himself.

Finding out that Jared had somehow acquired a job training the careers, Taron pursued for something greater than a merchant. Watching the men in white armour parade around the District square inspired him to take the route to the training academy. Being the dim-witted fool that he was, Taron hadn’t realise that his plan of taking Violet’s hand would be shattered as soon as he stepped into the academy but he took the path he set out himself anyway.

As soon as he met his class, Taron really stood out like a sore thumb. Hard laboured men and women surrounded him; many from the lower Districts, only a handful were past careers. Men with greatly uncontrollable beards while Taron was still battling trying to force his stubble fluff to grow out more.

Not exactly excelling at the top of his class, Taron was walking on thin ice in every activity that he participated in. Noted as ‘Using his mouth too much and needs to learn respect,’ many of the aspiring peackeepers disliked him in his class, due to his cocky attitude although it didn’t persuade Taron to change his ways. He didn’t know any better.

Somehow graduating from the academy, Taron changed more physically than he did mentally, not just because of the new uniform. Eventually with the help of two District Seven lumberjacks, he was able to force his stubble fluff to bloom into a fully grown beard, trimming it to a way he preferred. His face grew hard with the labour he was made to do in the training, his juvenile ways were hidden under his masculine appearance. Throughout his training, his addiction to love never left his mind. There was no way to remember Violet than the memories burrowed to the back of his head, to be projected the minutes before he went to sleep on an evening. Finding out that his ties with anyone back home were cut, the great news of his first assignment brought back hope.

Being posted back home in One, he left it awhile before seeking out his sweetheart. Bonding quickly with those he worked with, Taron spent most of his evenings sat around a table with a cigarette in his mouth, cards in his hands and a bottle not far from his reach. Relaxed with is profession, he saw his job more like a hobby than a serious task. Having fun with the hooligans that broke the law, Taron enjoyed humiliating them for his entertainment from time to time, the other peacekeepers got involved in his acts.

Leaving it a year to slyly investigate where Violet was, her whereabouts came unexpectedly premature to Taron. Another peacekeeper found her body lifeless and battered…and pregnant. Word was that Jared had won the race for Violet’s hand but their relationship was not a healthy one due to the result. Jared had disappeared and Taron immediately believed that he was the cause for her death. Continuing with his work, Taron sought out a way to avenge his sweetheart by tracking down Jared with the powers that had been bestowed upon him.

Growing more bold every day, those in higher power disliked Taron due to his cheeky nature, an overly confident know it all. Expressing his opinions to his colleagues due to their work, Taron never really kept his opinions to himself and expressed them in every way possible. It’s as if his mind is too bothered about something else than rethinking the words that it transmits from his mouth.

Looking down on the fresh meat that join his squad, he can be very patronizing to those who are posted with him to learn the ways of patrolling District One. His mind filled with revenge, he didn’t exactly want to teach the ropes to newbies. With the power he could reach, Taron is adamant on being promoted to a rank that allows him to track down Jared instead of being stuck in his home District.

Although unlike most wishes, his surprisingly came true.

An ordinary day would grant him the power to do so. Interrupted by a supposed criminal while questioning a shopkeeper, Taron threw his baton towards the guy, knocking him clean out. The man was being tracked down by a supposed bounty hunting peacekeeper who thanked Taron for his assistance. The man put his name forwards to Gilead Locke, the  leader of a secret band of Bounty Hunting peacekeepers.

Slightly disliking the man that runs the operation, Taron battled with his attitude to make sure his place amongst the hunters would be allowed. Surprisingly, he was accepted but his ‘punk-ass’ attitude could still put his place amongst the hunters in danger as he seeks revenge for his sweetheart.