Zeff
| Zeff | |
|---|---|
| Groups | Reckoners |
| Homeworld | Earth (Reckoners) |
“Zeff was more like a thorny tumbleweed than a real person. ”
—Jax. [1]
Zeff is a trainer for the Reckoners. He is the chief trainer at the Coop, and personally trains Jax and Paige. He dies at the hands of Wingflare.
Zeff pushes his trainees to their limits. His favorite form of punishment is "The Post," a post outside the Coop on which trainees are forced balance for hours under the sun.[2]
Zeff has three rules at the coop. Rule 1: no excuses, ever. Rule 2: I am God. You do what I say, and no questions. Rule 3: you are weak.[2] These rules are enforced inconsistently: Jax will occasionally break these rules without receiving punishment. Zeff seems to only bring up Rule 2 when he doesn't want to answer.[1]
Despite having a sense of humor, Zeff rarely shows it, his face staying generally cold and indifferent.[3]
During an operation, Zeff and Jax are chased by Ravens and by Wingflare. Zeff gets badly wounded, and forces Jax to leave him. Wingflare pulls up a hotel and holds it over Zeff. She demands that he run, saying that if he runs fast enough, she’ll let him live. Despite his wound, Zeff stands up and defies Wingflare, refusing to play her games. Her weakness triggered, she drops the hotel on Zeff by accident, killing him.[4]
Appearance and Personality
Zeff has hard, unforgiving eyes, and has skin that looks like old stone. He has a weathered look to him, and and is likely well into his middle years. He wears a cowboy hat and drives an old once-blue pickup truck. He has a gruff Southern accent. He is harsh and unforgiving, and is a demanding task master. He is very observant, and nothing escapes his attention.[5]
History
Training Jax and Paige
Zeff is in charge of Jax’s training at the Coop. He is harsh with Jax, and makes him spend hours upon hours on The Post. He takes Jax’s sword away from him, and says Jax can have it back when he knows how to use it.[2] He shows Jax the motivator workshop, but says Jax can only work there once he reads all of the many books on motivators and science that they have there.
Zeff puts Jax through many “no-flinch games” where he puts Jax in tough situations and doesn’t let him flinch. One such exercise included having Jax lie down on the ground and having mice crawl all over him. Zeff says that the fundamentals of being an assassin are not flashy skills like being able to shoot or use a sword, but more subtle ones, like being able to sit in a bush for days without moving. Jax wants to learn to use his sword, but Zeff teaches him martial arts instead. He also makes Jax do what he calls “peaches training”, in which he makes Jax do regular exercises, but with a backpack full of peaches on his back.[1]
A girl named Paige arrives at the Coop, and Zeff begins training her along with Jax. He introduces them to each other, antagonizing them by describing to each of them how Epics murdered their families. When Zeff realizes that both of them care for others more than themselves, he declares that when one of them messes up, the other will bear the punishment.[1] At long last, Zeff starts teaching Jax swordplay. He only teaches Jax how to block strikes, and says that he can attack once he has blocked 100,000 sword strikes. After a long time training with practice swords, Jax lashes out at Zeff out of frustration and anger, striking Zeff hard in the ribs. Jax says that he has blocked the required 100,000 sword strikes. Zeff simply corrects Jax’s stance, and they continue training as if it hadn’t happened. That night, Zeff tells Jax that he has broken Rule Three: You are weak. Zeff makes Jax stand on the post, and that night, he returns Shiloh to him, polished and sharpened.[6]
Relationships
Abigail
Zeff is unmarried,[1] but he and Abigail are in love.[7]
Jax
Zeff trained Jax at the coop.[citation needed]