The setting is a kind of alternate earth story, on a planet with far fewer natural metals than Earth. Due to this resource crisis, the development of projectile weaponry simply did not occur. Humanity used swords up to the year the story happens, 2055. The Collective for a Better Tomorrow is the main "good side" of the story, an underground organized crime syndicate working against the evil plutocratic government.
The Four Winds taskforce are a rotation of the Collective's finest soldiers, often trained from early childhood to be the perfect weapons. Their defining feature is cybernetic enhancements, often not only to enhance their combat capabilities but prove their loyalty. (hint! both sides are really kinda f**ked up in this universe) If the Collective finds you capable enough, there are documented cases of older men and women becoming Winds. John was a bodyguard working for the Kuboi family, the evil guys that basically own the world. Unfortunately he found himself in a near-fatal loss against a 5-man terrorist group called the Burning Eyes, who attacked a train he was on to steal valuable technology. He was brought to intensive care, and a mysterious man offered to pay for 'experimental prosthesis' and a new blade in exchange for working for the Collective. His left arm is mechanical up to the elbow, and not only is much more resilient (able to block sword swings) but has a very useful hologram emitter for on-the-fly information. Simon was diagnosed with Cardiac Sarcoma at a very young age, too young to remember the parents that abandoned him. He grew up sickly and reclusive in the orphanage, often ferried out to the only hospital in the region to get whatever treatment he could. That is, until the Headsman came along. The Headsman adopted the 6-year-old Simon, and replaced his failing heart with one of his own design: one that pumped Simon full of various combat drugs whenever his adrenal response triggered high enough. However, the more often it triggers, the less responsive it gets.
