Basten

basten has always been the consummate professional in every way, firstly by (grand) design and later as a defence mechanism. the knowledge of his status as an expendable commodity fast-tracked his path to autonomy and also sewed the seeds of a deep existential dread. though his tone remains necessarily calm, competent, and deferential, basten's eyes are beginning to open to the injustice of his existence.

while he is a highly trained assassin and spy, more than capable of looking after himself, basten is also a face dancer; the common people who believe in his kind fear and revile them, and the nobility view them as subhuman—either an asset or a hazdrd based exclusively on familiarity. basten's nature forces him to work in solitude with and under the sole protection of his creator. it is dangerous to be a monster; it is riskier still to be individual.

under the layers of fear and intrigue, the real man—the basten with the golden eyes eyes—is idealistic and unflinching; tender and curious; even a bit naive. he knows more about the world and its dealings than most men but far less about matters of community or passion... and he has always been drawn to what he least understands.

• historically, face dancers were average people trained to mimic others using acting and makeup, enhanced by plastic surgery; their principal use was entertainment—they served as comedians, impersonators, and actors.
• as time went on, certain magic users began to use magical manipulation to enhance the natural aptitude for phenotypic plasticity; face dancers enhanced in such a way could change height, increase and decrease apparent mass, change coloring and texture, and change facial features. these developing identity-stealing skills made them highly sought-after as spies and assassins and they were hired by many great houses in their continual political, financial, and military conflicts.
• face dancing as a hirable profession has almost entirely died out as modern face dancers are "made-to-order" and able to physiologically change their appearance in order to impersonate other people. they are used to replace people whom the creator may find useful to (usually after assassinating the original); in this way they may infiltrate and control various groups. face dancers are neither male nor female, changing their sex/gender to fit the person they mimic.
• at the time of basten's existence, a project has begun to produce even more "advanced" face dancers; these new creations are genetic eunuchs, sterile creatures with full sentience but no sense of self until they assume the identity of an assassinated person. though able to adopt the memories of a recently-deceased person (a power basten does not possess), these new face dancers exist in a permanent hypnotic state under the full control of their masters.