By Jon of the Shred & Jean-Pierre Van Damme
The Neon Wolves is a spiritual prequel to Jean-Pierre Van Damme's “End of Days.” Featuring 13 tracks and a slew of killer artists, Neon Wolves also features a 12,000 word short story by Jean-Pierre Van Damme and Jon of the Shred (with help from Ray Satler) and a side scroller beat 'em up developed by KFDDA and Jon of the Shred. (But mostly Kaleb.)
Synthetix.FM in association with Scythe and Hellrayser productions brings you two chapters of the story and a few screen shots from the game, “The Wrath of Pazuzu.” Enjoy!
Prologue
Tales of the Future
It is the year 2025, a dark and bloody time in the city of Macropolis. Violence and societal decay wreak havoc throughout the city, humanity suffocating from the stench of their own immoral depravity. The people have become cold and selfish, caring only about survival. The constant gang warfare throughout the streets and alleyways is a daily threat to their lives. The Macropolis Police department are powerless to stop it – most are either bought off or indifferent. And everyone is completely aware of the corruption - despite the lack of an effort from the mainstream media. Journalistic integrity is dead and rotting. The media twists stories and falsifies news to manipulate society, but the people are numb to it – too smart to fall for their lies, yet too apathetic to do anything to better the situation.
Throughout Macropolis, and even beyond the outskirts of the cities in desolate surrounding towns, gang members run unchallenged. Each of the gangs, instead, fight each other over business deals, some claimingstake in the arms distribution race and others recklessly trafficking dangerous synthetic drugs. Arms dealing was a profitable black market for the gangs. And so much more money was to be made off drugs. With millions living in poverty within Macropolis, hundreds of thousands were abusing drugs daily to dull their sorrows and inspire a counterfeit complacency, loyal clientele to the very gangs they feared.
Arrests were futile as the courts were paid off, blackmailed or threatened – very rarely would gang members receive a serious sentence. Entire juries had been murdered in the past, and the citizens of Macropolis were too scared to risk their lives to send a criminal to prison, when the imprisoned would be quickly replaced with three more.
The skyline of Macropolis is dotted with colourful neon billboards and sprawling skyscrapers. The streets below are flooded with garbage. A thick smog cloud hangs over the city, coating the streets in a perpetual haze. And Macropolis never sleeps. You can hear constant brawling of outlaws, gun shots and shattering glass, and the constant howling of sirens from police cars and ambulances.
Chapter One
The Neon Wolves
One of the toughest and most feared gangs throughout Macropolis is the Neon Wolves, a rag tag group of road weary bikers. “Blood and honour” is the Neon Wolve’s mantra, and the code they live by. In contrast to many of the other Macropolis gangs, the Neon Wolves steer clear of drug dealing. None of the members of the club think kindly of the cheap synthetic drugs flooding the streets. But they more than make up for their drug sobriety with the alcohol they imbibe.
The club finances itself through small, victimless crimes and security gigs. The Neon Wolves collect protection money from local strip clubs and bars, providing these businesses with protection from smaller gangs. When money is particularly rough, the Neon Wolves steal cars for their richest client, a mysterious man who has them drive the stolen merchandise to a holding container at the Macropolis port. The Neon Wolves do get their hands dirty, but they never resort to dealing drugs or assassination contracts – their crimes were victimless. The blood of the innocent would not stain their hands. It was only in self defense they killed.
The Neon Wolves currently had 13 members in their ranks. They were certainly not the biggest club in town, but the Neon Wolves had the highest reputation among the citizens of Macropolis. The citizens trusted the Neon Wolves, and some even drank with them. Loyalty and brotherhood came first for them, and the citizens admired their ethics...and feared their wrath.
All orders were executed with moral precision. But business is business. There was no renegotiating contracts, no cheating out a client. And untrustworthy clients would not go unpunished...they were guilty. They had abandoned their innocence. Trust and loyalty are essential to the longevity of the club and all are their business relationships.
One of the clubs few rules required every member to own their own hover bike. Their traditional attire was that of denim cowls and leather vests, featuring an insignia of the Neon Wolves logo on each cut. Club members to ascend past the rank of soldier would have the clubs logo tattooed.
Out of 13 members there are 4 prospects, a President, a Vice President, a female hacker who relayed information to the gang, a guru mechanic and a weaponry enthusiast.
The weapons expert, Casey Jones, was a former Macropolis police officer. He was suspended from duty after an incident with a local serial killer. Casey witnessed the dreaded Butcher of Macropolis kill a young woman right in front of him. He was on the scenes mere seconds into the murder, just short of saving her life. The Macropolis Police Department had been tracking this lunatic for months...and here he stood before him, butchering an innocent woman. Casey saw red, rushed forward and beat the butcher half to death with just his fists, recklessly abandoning protocol in his blind rage. But he was too late...the woman died. He was expelled from the force when the Butcher of Macropolis was deemed brain dead - his cache of bodies may never be discovered now. Since that day, that moment in fact, Casey turned his back on the law.
Casey is in charge of the armoury and personally sees to the maintenance of all pistols and rifles. A talented marksman with an extensive knowledge of guns and other weaponry, he was in charge of all arms deals, and was quite the salesman at that. Arms dealing was one of the most profitable businesses for the Neon Wolves. Casey Jones wore a signature brown trench coat with the patch of the club on it’s back. He never left the house unarmed.
Wayne Namtab serves as the Neon Wolve’s mechanic. Wayne used to run his own hover bike shop, until the Macropolis economy went belly up and he started losing money. He had been an ally of the Neon Wolves for years, and when his business went under they immediately welcomed him into the fold. Renowned as a master with the screwdriver, it is said Wayne could repair anything with a little time and some duct tape. Wayne has short black hair and generous stubble. Wayne’s face is decorated with deep scars from his days as a veteran in the war with Jakith. He took to wearing a welder’s face shield when in battle, and the tradition carried over when he started running assignments with the Neon Wolves. In his spare time Wayne hits the weights, and is the biggest and strongest member of the club.
The hacker Ayane Kirito was one of the women in the club. She is a master of espionage and online crimes, her username RikYa being feared in the hacker community and internet black markets alike. Ayane maintained radio contact with everyone as she monitored all operations from the Neon Wolves fortified home base located underneath their bar.
Ayane had installed an internal GPS tracker to keep into each hover bike to keep constant surveillance on the team. She hacked the frequencies so only she had access to their locations. Additionally, Ayane hacks into numerous frequencies to monitor the police radio, news media outlets, and even Daymon Corporation activities. She aspires to one day hack into Paragon, a feat no hacker had ever accomplished. Through targeted hacker attacks, Ayane ensures that nothing is reported about the club’s more dubious jobs and makes sure the member’s criminal files are kept clean. She has shoulder-length pink hair and several piercings. Ayane was quite attractive, not just physically, but in her warm personailty and bright feminine manner. She was dating President Shadow, and she was tough as nails to boot.
Ray Savoini was the newly appointed Vice President, and besides Shadow, Ray is the last of the surviving founding members. Ray and Shadow grew up as boys in the same apartment blocking, finding themselves in dangerous situations together frequently. They have always had each others backs, and have fought side by side many times. Ray has a long, full beard and a large septum piercing through his nose. Ray frequently ties his long hair back into a pony tail. When his older brother was killed, Ray Savoini took on the mantle as vice president. The Wolves voted in favour of his promotion unanimously – a true testament to his moral code and loyal character.
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Hope you guys enjoyed the first two chapters! To check out the rest of the story, follow this link to the bandcamp page (https://jonoftheshred.bandcamp.com/album/the-neon-wolves) and be sure to check out www.scythesaga.com to play the game!
And now, for some screen shots of the video as produced by Scythe sub-division Hellrayser Studios. In “The Wrath of Pazuzu,” you'll play as Thomas Shadow, younger brother of the Neon Wolves President Michael Shadow. The events take place several years before the events of “The Neon Wolves.” Here are some screen shots to give you an idea.
