Akira Hirotaka (Edge)

Weight: 130

Apparent Age: 40

Archetype: Physical Adept: Circle 50

Preferred Weapon: Katana

Runner Song:

Bio: Well I guess karma was shinning brightly on the life of Edge as of recently, this former Wind Runner has now been welcomed into the ranks of Helix. Edge had already been arrested and was sitting behind bars as the two teams where engaged in a bloody war that rendered them almost extinct and called for the surviving members to bond together in a new team called Helix. Edge was sitting on death row and was scheduled to stand trial the first week on January 2074 and was facing multiple counts of murder, espionage, treason and property destruction. If found guilty he would have been sentenced to death by hanging, it seems the fates have intervened and returned Edge to the world he so belongs in. This man has been running the shadows here and in Asia since he was a small child and has worked for everyone and anyone that can afford his fee.

         Edge before he arrived here in Seattle was a soldier for the Japanese crime syndicate the Yakuza who he served loyally for over a decade, though do to a personal issue he was forced to flee Japan after murdering the head of the clan he served. Edge killed the man when he was ordered to assassinate a close personal friend of his, a man known only as Gargoyle. Edge decided that killing the clan leader would be safer, then engaging his friend in mortal combat. This forced Edge to flee Japan and come to the states, though for this career criminal the only opportunity he had open to him in Seattle was becoming a shadow warrior and working within the underbelly of the city. This is how he became friends with other upcoming legends Quickdraw, Nightshade and the other founders of the runner team known as the Wind Runners.

       Edge has been involved in many operations through his tenure within the shadows, the biggest of them all being the Titanic operation with many friends and allies from his generation and the founding fathers. This operation allowed these runners to feel what it’s like to hit the big time, and with a sudden influx of cash Edge was able to slow down his work and be much more selective over his operations and charge a much higher rate for such a skilled warrior. Edge used this down time to live the dream and focus on his magical studies and climb the latter of his adept circle that he formed with Arrow, Ripper, and Electra. During this time the shadows where suffering from a dry spell of new runners and the work was piling up and so was the demand for skilled runners to take to the streets, this is when Edge and the others of his generation picked up the slack and filled the void left behind by the retiring elders and do to their actions these runners would become popularized through the media and so would begin the era of the media runner.

      During this time the media grabbed hold of these shadow warriors and would make them bigger then God as they would have their images plastered all over the sliver screen, toys, lunch-boxes and basically anything else corporate America could merchandise. As their popularity soared with the citizens, they would just bask in the glory and absorb everything and for some they would start believing the hype and they would fall victim to dangers of a life in  the shadows. Well for Edge he knew that all of this was dangerous and he tried to stay to the shadows, knowing that the Yakuza would be able to easily locate him do to all the media presence and this could end with his death at their hands. He had already been warned by his friend and Wolf Pack member the Gargoyle that the Yakuza had issued a death decree for him. The Gargoyle had made sure that they would think twice about hunting Edge, but he could only do so much as he was busy dealing with his own issues.

      Though during the golden age of glory, the current runners that once had an influx of work and could charge anything they deemed for the job. Suddenly had the rug pulled out from underneath them as the shadows began filling with hundreds of wannabes and rookies that all wanted to live the dream and be just like their idols on the screen. This caused the corporations that where funding this to make even more money as they began selling pre-packaged kits that would include everything someone knew to the shadows would need. Though this start up kit was part of the problem, it was low grade equipment and most of it was modelled to look like the hero’s of the shadows gear. This low grade equipment and the shadows filling with unskilled wannabes would cause a strain on the real runners who needed to work to survive and those who should never have stepped of the bus in the first place. Edge watched as the world was changing and he didn’t like what he saw, the new influx of runners were all fakes and they where just portraying the stereotypes portrayed in every movie and television show ever.

       This is what would cause the shadows to erupt into a civil war, and would forever tarnish the reputations of the next generation of runners as careless killers, and camera hogs. They where portrayed as soulless towards the rookies and thought of as destroyers of the craft not heeding the warnings given to them from the prior generation. Well during this time, Edge and the others where dealing with the invasion of the Tir Tangier, The Space Control Board, The DAOD Project, the Native Invasions, and the Winds of Change that was starting to blow much earlier then ever before. They where also engaged in a bloody civil war with the wannabes that would engage the seasoned runners trying to make a name for themselves by bringing down a legend. Seattle during the late 2050’s and early 2060’s was not a very welcoming place as the next generation of runners would gather for protection at the Jackal’s Lantern and they would welcome the new kids into their bar. Though most of these youngsters where to blinded by Hollywood that they would not be able to respect there elders as teachers, mentors like Gargoyle was for Edge and they would just disrespect them, assault them or even worse snitch on them to the Police in an attempt to secure their place in the pecking order.

       The biggest issue this caused, was the next generation of runners was shell shocked, they had been welcomed by their elders and they returned the favour. Though when they reached out to the Hollywood crazed generation they where assaulted and many lost their lives to the young coming in. So when the age was shifting once again for the generation known as the new breed to replace the next generation they were very distrusting and would not release their grasp over the shadows and pass the torch. Edge and others of his generation where worried that this new breed would be even worse then the younger ones prior and this would spell doom for their business, and their livelihood.

       Well by the late 2060’s the shadows where once again erupting as exactly what Edge feared would happen did in fact happen. For ever one new breed that actually played by the unwritten code of the shadows they had to deal with twenty that wouldn’t play by the rules. This would eventually lead to another war between runners and would cast the final nail in the coffin of their generation. This would bring the sleeping giants out of retirement, the old timers of the founding father generation and these old dogs would lash out at who they saw as the problem. Edge and his generation where dealing with a bigger problem as more and more old timers where returning to Seattle and they had their sights set on them.

       By the current date according to Fable and even Edge have stated that the winds are blowing again way to early and this time they are blowing harder then ever before. The founding fathers have begun executing the next generation for their sins and the new breed has been left to inherit a serious problem do to the chaos the wannabes have caused. The popularity of the runner is at an all time low, and the people are divided between the morality and need of these relics from an earlier age. The people feel they no longer need the runners and the corporations tired of dealing with the antics of the posers and wannabes have turned inward and have begun recruiting their own special shadow warrior teams. Edge fears that this is a sign that the end for all runners is near and the founders and the next generation need to unify and stand as one against both the influx of posers and now the UCAS.

       Edge once worked for General James O’Brian back in the early 2050’s and he said even back then he could tell their was something seriously off with him. James had an evil inside him that was well concealed. Though even being friends with the former Urban Strike members there was an unspoken rule to never speak about James and just allow things to go as normal. Though the problems that have been dumped onto the next generation can be traced back to when James became a power player in the system and started his famous runner rehabilitation program. As Edge states “Do the math chummer.”

       Well through the years this man would become one serious beast and he wouldn’t allow himself to slip away into the shadows knowing that the problem was not the few true warriors of his generation but the mass flood of unskilled, unprofessional, movie runners that where becoming even more violent as the years went by. This problem is starting to infect even the new breed and Edge won’t stand for it any more, he knows the founders have stopped trying to kill them for now. But he fears once the war is over, if their is even a city left to work in the founders will refocus and continue their assault on them. Though according to Stamps from the founding fathers “They might have failed to heed the warnings, but they have proven to be worthy adversaries and now they are worthy allies.” It seems that the war between the generations has ended, but these runners have a bigger problem to deal with and thats the False Flag.

       There is no information about his escape from prison, but with Edge back on the streets the enemies of Seattle beware. He is filled with anger and frustration and after finding out about the death of many of his friends during the Battle for Seattle he has sworn by his blade to avenge all his fallen brothers and bring down the False Flag one servant at a time. With Edge he is a man of few words and prefers to let his actions speak for him, so when he makes a claim like that anyone who serves the Flag better think twice before heading into work.

Page Written By: Shadow Writer