Devil’s Legacy
Brian’s first encounter with the Grendel legacy occurred when he met Christine Spar, the adopted granddaughter of the original Grendel Hunter Rose. Christine’s son Anson Spar was kidnapped and murdered by Kabuki star Tujiro XIV on a stop in her hometown in New York. At the time Brian was the stage manager of the theatre where Tujiro was to make the next appearance on his tour. Christine was snooping around backstage at the theatre looking for a way to get to Tujiro, when Brian discovered her. She covered by saying that she wanted to interview Tujiro, and Brian provided her with tickets to that night’s sold-out opening show.
Brian was later contacted by Christine because she needed an alibi. The two were supposed to meet at Brian’s house to go to the show’s cast party together. That evening Christine first broke into Tujiro’s hotel room, and got into a fight with Tujiro and his goons. Battered and injured, Christine made her way to Brian’s home which was across the street from Tujiro’s hotel. She told Brian that she was mugged and he took her in and took care of her that night. Brian studied Tai Chi and knew about holistic medicine. Christine was originally just using him to get close to Tujiro. Now they were starting to truly bond together, and enjoyed each other’s company.
Brian would first suspect that Christine had adopted her grandfather’s alias shortly after. He knew she had written the book on Grendel, and when Grendel was seen shortly after killing one of Tujiro’s goons, Brian got suspicious. Soon after that, Christine got word that Tujiro had planned to kidnap Brian to sell him into slavery. She knew the only way to protect him was to get him out of harm’s way, so she took him out on a date. The spark between them grew, and they ended up sleeping together. However, she couldn’t keep him with her forever, so the next night, she waited on top of the building across the street from Brian’s apartment to ambush Tujiro. A fight broke out between the two that resulted in the roof of the building being set on fire and the destruction of a water tower located on the roof. Brian would only catch the tail-end of the fight from his apartment window, but could see a female Grendel fighting Tujiro before the police arrived and the pair fled.
Brian was upset at seeing what Christine truly was, and did not wish to see her when she called him the next day. However, when a local detective, Dominic Riley, questioned him about Chris in relation to the Grendel sightings, Brian kept her secret. Chris showed up at the theater to explain, but he couldn’t condone murder, even though she told him that Tujiro had killed her son. However, she did not yet tell him about the slavery ring or the fact that Tujiro was a vampire, for fear that he would not believe her. He still liked her, still responded with a sense of humor, but just could not take being part of such a violent world.
However, Chris heard more of Tujiro’s lackeys saying that they still planned to kidnap Brian. She had to keep working to protect him. In fact, Tujiro himself appeared in her room to taunt her about the fact that they were gong to do it that night. She showed up at Brian’s apartment to talk to him once more. Brian still did not believe Christine about Tujiro’s true intentions until she played for him a recording she had made of Tujiro saying that he would kidnap Brian. The two waited until Tujiro and his flunky Niccolo arrived. Christine was able to beat Tujiro who turned into a cat and was able to escape. Brian acquitted himself well in the fight: after Chris injured Niccolo, Brian took him down, elbowing him in the gut and punching him into the window. After the fight Christine would leave for New York again without saying goodbye to Brian in person.
Brian was intensely questioned by police Detective Riley concerning Grendel and the trail of carnage that Grendel had left in San Francisco related to Tujiro. Riley believed Brian to be involved or at least know more about Grendel’s identity, but could not prove anything. He let Brian go but warned Brian not to leave San Francisco.
Shortly after Christine’s return flight, Christine’s friend Ginny ( Regina Anastasi) located Brian. Ginny was worried at what was happening with Christine and traveled from New York to San Francisco to locate her. Brian and Ginny decided to travel back to New York to locate Christine. Detective Riley received word that Ginny and Brian traveled back to New York and also booked a flight to New York.
When Brian arrived in New York he settled into his room while Ginny left to track down Christine. Brian wasn’t there long before Detective Riley arrived. Riley threatened him for leaving town, and when Brian attempted to defend himself, Riley beat him cruelly and severely with his pistol grip, then left. Ginny and Christine came back to find what had happened. Christine was infuriated at what had happened to Brian, and left to find Detective Riley. She was able to find him easily, and after playing cat and mouse with him she executed him.
Not too long after, Brian was taken in by New York police Captain Wiggins and Argent the Wolf, arch nemesis of the original Grendel, Hunter Rose. Argent and Wiggins were stalling while Brian’s room was being searched. He was able to figure this out and told them that he knew what they were doing and that they wouldn’t find anything related to Grendel at his apartment, which they didn’t. Wiggins and Argent reluctantly and angrily let Brian go without any further information. When Brian arrived home he found Christine in her costume, unmasked in his apartment.
The two shared a long, passionate night. Brian believed he had convinced Christine to no longer pursue Argent and the police. Christine allowed Brian to believe this, but she had enough of the police hassling everyone she held dear. Christine left for her final battle while Brian slept. She would go to Argent’s home and the two would fight brutally to their mutual deaths.
When Brian awoke he again met up with Ginny (at one point leaping from one car to another in mid-air) and attempted to locate Christine. The two were able to figure out what had happened, and quickly headed for Argent’s home. When they arrived they found that the police were already there, headed by Captain Wiggins, and that both Argent and Christine were dead. Brian was aghast at the site of his beloved Christine’s dead body, and was escorted out by Wiggins. Wiggins warned both of them not to leave town.
The Devil Inside
Before Christine’s death she sent Brian the location where she buried her notes as well as the original journals of her grandfather Hunter Rose. Brian knew that he would not be able to smuggle these journals out of town, and he had to understand the truth behind what drove both Christine Spar and Hunter Rose. Brian decided to leave his life in San Francisco behind and remain in New York. People he knew said this wasn’t like him. He knew that it wasn’t–it was more like Christine. He started doodling images of Grendel in the margins of his own journal.
Brian kept the journals of Christine Spar and Hunter Rose buried in the location where he had found them in the park. He would continually return to their location in an effort to gain more insight into Christine’s life and death. Meanwhile the city began to get to him. New York city was nothing like San Francisco. The city was loud, fast and violent. He began to despise its inhabitants. Everywhere he turned he found ingrates, bums, addicts, people that he felt had no respect for themselves or anyone else. He and Regina attempted for a time to maintain contact, however this didn’t last. The two simply moved apart, having no interest in dinners where no one would actually say anything. Five months passed when he hadn’t even heard from Regina. He had seen how she lived, and didn’t want to invite her over to see the way that he had to live. He had stopped practicing his Tai Chi, and his meditation did nothing for him.
The only apartment he could afford was filthy and run down. He had found a job as a theater manager at a similarly run down theater. Those who worked at the theater weren’t any better than the filth he ran into on the streets. They whined and bickered at him and with each other. There was little room for storage. The actors were tired, run down drug abusers. As Brian continued to live this way he began to feel a connection to the darkness. He finds a Kabuki mask in the theater, and begins to obsess about it as a symbol of the evil that was Tujiro.
In continuing to study the only true remaining Grendel artifacts he began to understand what it meant to Christine. He even fashioned a mask for himself, much like Christine’s, out of scraps of fabric. He eventually began to hallucinate about Christine, and started thinking heavily about the spirit of Grendel. Like Hunter Rose he would use the darkness to help him, he would find direction. He would use the darkness to make himself strong and deadly. He was Grendel. One evening he chose to finally meet up with the darkness. He was alone at the theater and on stage he put on his mask. The night watchman came in because of the noise. Brian could feel his fear, and was disgusted by him. He knocked the guard out and fled. He felt that the man was lucky that he didn’t kill him. However, he was sickened by what he had done, and went home to throw up.
Not long after arriving home, Regina showed up and let herself in. It appeared that Detective Wiggins had been continuing to bother both of them. Regina attempted to hold a conversation, but Brian’s sour attitude revolted her. Regina stormed out of his apartment after being insulted by Brian. Wiggins showed up at the theater and harassed him about the journals. He got angrier and angrier about the people he works with, and with the city. He got a bow and arrow set from the theater prop room.
The next time Brian was at the park with the Grendel journals he got ready to shoot an arrow at Argent’s former residence, but manages to control himself and stops. Then a would-be mugger with a blade threatened him. When the mugger noticed that he was wearing a Grendel mask he became frightened and flees. Brian shot the man with his bow. He spotted a witness who pleaded with him and attempted to run away. Brian fired another arrow at her and missed–perhaps intentionally. When he got home he had trouble coming to grips with the fact that he just killed a man. He feels horrible about it for the remainder of the night. He also notices something just as horrible: he has been writing on the backs of his journal pages using his left hand, and under the control of Grendel. These scrawls started just as quotes from the writings of Chris and Hunter, but evolved into new, individual thoughts. Brian now knew he was under the control of Grendel. The spirit of Grendel realized it had a problem: Brian, unlike his other hosts, was trying to fight him.
The next day he is greeted outside of the theater by Detective Wiggins, who questions him about the newest Grendel murder in the park. Wiggins can tell that Brian is lying when he claims to have no knowledge of the attack. Brian becomes unnerved when Wiggins tells him that he has a team searching Brian’s apartment. After the argument, Brian storms off into the theater. He tells off his annoying employees, taking control for the first time since he’s been in New York. However, he finds out that the prop manager has gotten rid of the Kabuki mask.
At this point Brian’s rage has a direction and focus: Wiggins. He began to follow Wiggins secretly. He learned everything he can about Wiggins’ daily routine: how he arrived to and from work, where he shopped, where he liked to walk in the evening, and his casual enjoyment of burlesque shows. One evening while Brian was following Wiggins he became careless. He wanted Wiggins to be afraid of him, and allowed himself to be seen everywhere Wiggins went. He basically mimicked Christine Spar’s stalking of Detective Riley, except that Spar was far more successful. He shot an arrow tipped with a small explosive at the cab Wiggins took, which does little. He remained in the back of the burlesque show that Wiggins attended, and then followed him to the park. Wiggins began to play with Brian. Brian fired an arrow at Wiggins, which he casually dodged. When Wiggins walked to the crime scene that Brian created nights before, he reached for his gun. Brian aimed an arrow, but Wiggins was too quick. He turned first at Brian, striking him down. Brian fell out of the tree he was perched in, and died in the snow.
The entire time that Brian stalked Wiggins, he was also battle Grendel internally. Grendel said that he was getting a “kick out of this host” for his plans, and because of his hope of fighting back. Brian wanted to thwart Grendel’s intent. It is possible that Brian intentionally missed when he shot at Wiggins, and let himself be shot; he says in his journals that he is not afraid to die in order to stop Grendel. Unfortunately, Grendel is well aware that it is eternal, and that Brian’s body is just a shell. When Brian dies, Grendel just finds another host.
Abilities
Brian Li Sung is a normal human, with average speed, strength, and agility. He studied Tai Chi, which gave him some fighting ability and some knowledge of natural healing. Unlike his two predecessors, Brian does not possess any of Hunter Rose’s original weapons or costume. His costume is comprised of a mask that he made with no additional technological enhancements, and his primary weapon is a bow and arrow.