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Chapter X: The Backstory of Talon Vermeer

The Ashes of Amsterdam

The night was cold, and the streets of Amsterdam were shrouded in fog. The city’s canals glistened under the moonlight, reflecting the dim glow of lanterns hanging from merchant ships. It was here, in the heart of the Dutch Republic, that Talon Vermeer’s story began—not as a hero, nor a villain, but as a boy burdened by the weight of knowledge too dangerous to possess.

A Child of Secrets

Talon was born in 1645, the son of a renowned Dutch mathematician and a woman whose origins were shrouded in mystery. His father, Willem Vermeer, was a scholar whose brilliance in cryptography and mechanics had earned him both admiration and suspicion. His mother, Isabella, spoke in whispers and carried a dagger concealed beneath her silk robes.

From a young age, Talon was surrounded by books, gears, and secret conversations conducted behind closed doors. He quickly learned that knowledge was a double-edged sword—it could illuminate minds, but it could also paint a target on one’s back.

“Listen well, my son,” his father once told him, pressing a leather-bound manuscript into his small hands. “What you learn here must never fall into the hands of those who seek control. Knowledge must remain free, or it becomes a shackle.”

But the world did not agree.

The Fall of the Vermeer Family

On the night of his twelfth birthday, Talon awoke to the sound of glass shattering.

He barely had time to react before the front door was kicked open, and men in dark uniforms stormed in. His father fought—using wit instead of weapons, negotiating even as armed men dragged him away. His mother, normally composed, thrust a small brass key into Talon’s trembling hands.

“Run,” she whispered, before turning to face the intruders.

Talon ran.

Through the back alleys, across the rooftops, he ran until the sound of his parents’ voices faded into the distance. When he finally stopped, gasping for breath beneath the shadow of the great Westerkerk tower, he realized something chilling—he had no home to return to.

The next morning, news spread through the city: Willem Vermeer had been executed for treason. His research, confiscated. His mother, vanished without a trace.

Talon was alone.

The Rise of the Ghost Engineer

For years, Talon survived in the underbelly of Amsterdam, using his intellect to earn his way. He repaired watches, decoded encrypted messages for smugglers, and even constructed intricate lock mechanisms that only he could open.

He became a ghost—never staying in one place too long, never using his real name.

But as he grew older, he realized something: the very people who had destroyed his family were using his father’s stolen knowledge to expand their empire. The Dutch East India Company, the royal court, the secret societies of Europe—they all thrived on stolen innovation.

And so, Talon made a decision.

If the world would steal knowledge, he would make knowledge dangerous.

The Man Behind the Curtain

By the time he was twenty-five, Talon was no longer a runaway boy. He was a name spoken in hushed tones among revolutionaries and feared by those in power.

They called him the Architect of Shadows.

His inventions could change the tide of war, his codes could break even the most secure vaults, and his words could turn the powerful against each other. But he never aligned himself with any nation or king.

He had one rule: Knowledge must be earned, not taken.

But now, as he stood at the crossroads of history—facing governments that sought to control him, and rebels who wished to use him—he began to wonder:

Was he still the master of his own destiny?

Or had he become the very thing he once despised?

As the wind howled through the Amsterdam canals, Talon clenched the brass key his mother had given him all those years ago. Somewhere, locked away, was the last piece of his family’s secret—the ultimate invention his father had died to protect.

And he was going to find it.

Even if it meant setting the world on fire.