Fabian had already found his calling at the grand Imperial Foundry as a young engineer.
Corrupt and decadent though the old Solaris Empire was, Fabian's instructors could still be amazed at the young man's extraordinary talent for applied science.
Ever the hothead, Fabian followed in the footsteps of his classmates to the Rebels when the evils of the nobility became too tyrannical to ignore. Here, talents nurtured by the Empire returned to them with devastating effectiveness thanks to the increasingly famous "Master of Arms" Fabian. The mostly older cohort of Imperial loyalists were sorely outmatched by the kind of firepower the young upstart was willing to bring onto the battlefield —especially when he went to test it himself.
After doing more than his fair share to bring down the old Empire under the combined weight of the peasants' anger, Fabian could have practically asked for anything from the new government. Instead, he left the Rebels at the peak of his fame to begin a much quieter, simpler life with his new family.
Months passed, then years, then a decade flew by in Fabian's happy family life in their cold new world. And then disaster! A sudden storm wiped out more than half of the inhabitants of Fabian's City, including his dear wife and children. There was no greater sorrow for Fabian than this. In the midst of raging despair, Fabian threw himself like a madman into his work: protecting survivors from other such calamities with his new inventions.
Customers' orders began to flow. Skill created success. Success attracted attention.
Attention attracted Fabian's wealthiest client yet, an old duke from the Solaris Empire who had since become a mighty Chief.
Fabian's new client seemed to have infinite money and ambitions to match: ideas of a fortress on wheels. One that could safely transport survivors through any kind of storm or hazard! As the Chief would often remind Fabian, only he was capable of creating such a life-saving marvel.
This was Fabian's grandest project. It only took several years and the invention of several new technologies before the grand
"Typhon Tank" could be created. Tank by name, it may more accurately described as a fortress on treads. Imperial Foundry teachers would have cried to behold such a work of mechanical genius.
No sooner had Fabian handed his Typhon over to the duke did he discover the awful truth: he was no City Chief, but a senior officer in Phaethon's tyrannical army. And what he had handed over were the keys to destroying any City on the Tundra, a wonder weapon to transform Phaethon into an indestructible whirlwind of suffering. Fabian had committed a terrible wrong. Surely he had not helped the Rebels take down an empire only to cement the dominance of their evil kin decades later?
It was reason enough for Fabian to throw himself into the development of new and more powerful weapons which, unlike the Typhon, are less capable of large-scale death and destruction. His latest passion projects include armor-piercing artillery and bombs of all kinds. For Fabian has vowed to undo his latest and greatest mistake. Yet some might say what he really needs is a brave and just Chief willing to partner with this strange inventor.