In CoH I had this idea for a Mech/Powersuit character, but the origin was Magic rather than Tech. I imagined some young geomancer (earth magician) who was kinda scared of his/her own power but wanted to be a hero. So, instead of calling up volcanoes in the middle of the city, they called up an armored avatar to beat up bullies the old-fashioned way.
[URL=http://s105.photobucket.com/user/fireheart5150/media/My%20Characters/StonewallJack4.jpg.html][IMG]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/fireheart5150/My%20Characters/th_StonewallJack4.jpg[/IMG][/URL] (click for bigger) Stonewall Jack was the result.

After CoH, a friend was trying to get me involved in a supers RPG (WtC), grabbed that character-shot and said, "Who is this? Let's make this character in the RPG system."

So I started writing, trying to explain the character, had a Bunch of different memes and ideas trying to be expressed and came up with something I really liked. It would have been impossible in CoH and may be impossible in CoT (as a single character), but that RPG has a power-variation that could support it.

[h2]Name: Adiamante[/h2]
[h3] Identity: Caitlynn Moss[/h3]

[b]Archetype:[/b] Multi-morph
[list]
[*] [b]The Lady[/b] - Controller/Operater - Earth Control and Healing/Debuffing
[*] [b]The Knight[/b] - Tanker/Stalwart - Sword/Mace/Fist and Shield/Invunerability
[*] [b]The Knave[/b] - Scrapper/Enforcer - Dagger/Hands and Stealth[/list]

[b]Movement:[/b] Speed/Teleportation/Parkour

[h3]History[/h3]
Dr. Alwyn Moss, professor of a dozen earth sciences, all related to Geology, did not respond well to his wife's death in a car accident during the Event. He took his young daughter, Caitlynn, and fled the painful memories, taking solace in the earth and stone beneath his feet.

Caitlynn grew up on the road, and in scientific camps all over the world, raised as much by other scientists, grad students and interns as by her father. She was exposed to dozens of languages and cultures, but her father spoke mostly of Geology. Interesting stones and landforms and problems of erosion, caves and soil, and what it all meant, were constant features of her growing environment.

By the time she was a pre-teen, Caitlynn was thoroughly educated, in nigh evangelical terms, in a wide variety of -ologies relating to earth, stone, and natural processes. She’d never had a long-term home, save for occasions when they stayed with family, friends, and colleagues. Often this was only long enough for Caitlynn to demonstrate her academic progress and satisfy Child Protective Services, or for holidays.

Caitlynn also grew up with a nigh-insatiable curiosity and a drive to explore and find things out. All over the world, many people were charmed by her questing innocence, when they weren’t annoyed. Others were terrified at the way her clever mind cut through confusion and dug out the kernel of inner truth.

After many years of nigh-constant travel, Dr, Moss was showing signs of being more interested in domestic matters again. He picked up a grant to fund a study of some unusual formations, recently exposed by erosion, along the Appalachian Trail. It was an opportunity for he, Caitlynn, and his dearest colleague to spend some quality time together.

Caitlynn fully supported this adult behavior, but that didn’t mean she wanted to watch, so she waited for the grown-ups to get involved in studying the site and excused herself to go exploring. Shortly, she discovered a strange cave and impulsively decided to check it out. With the Maglite from her belt, she stepped into strangeness.

The tunnel was smooth and easy to negotiate, but the rocks looked… wrong. They weren’t the right type for this area. Fascinated, Caitlynn walked deeper. There were unusual crystalline inclusions in the walls of the cave, which picked up energy from her light and seemed to return it. After a long, but smooth descent, Caitlynn came to an open chamber. The chamber had been decorated with wondrous cave-paintings, but, again, these images were… wrong, somehow, They looked like Stone Age paintings from Europe, not like Native American art at all!

At the end, on a raised pedestal was a slightly larger than life-size statue, an enormous Gaia figure, posed a bit like a buddha, with crossed legs and relaxed arms. It was remarkably detailed and lifelike.

While she was standing and looking at the amazing figure she felt a tremor in the ground. With a horrendous roaring sound, the whole cavern began to shake and rocks fell from the darkness overhead. Several of them struck Caitlynn, knocking her down and she blacked out. When she regained consciousness, the room was filling with rushing water and she could see nothing but the gently glowing Gaia figure.

Caitlynn scrambled into the stone woman’s lap, nearly blind from pain and crying in terror. Huddling between the sheltering arms, she cried out to her barely remembered mother, “Oh, god, Mother! Mother, save me! Hold me, keep me. I need your strength or I will surely die!”

And, during that breakthrough moment, Caitlynn become one with the ancient stone. In her place arose the Crystal Lady, who stood calmly amidst the disaster and walked up into the late afternoon sunlight.

There, she found her father and prospective step-mother, but they were shocked and defensive, frightened by something. She reached out and whispered, “Daddy?” He didn’t move, but his staring eyes got wider, as he responded, “Cait?” he seemed to tremble with fear.

Then Caitlynn saw her own reaching hands. They were nearly transparent, formed of smooth, shining crystal, and she brought them back to touch each other, and then to touch her face. Cool, smooth, and hard as stone, but still sensitive to the touch, she was intrigued, but frightened and Wanted to be Herself, not… whatever this was!

And, just like that, the crystal lady evaporated and Caitlynn was standing in her place.

Now, Caitlynn Moss attends Hillwood Academy and her father is teaching at a nearby university, with her new stepmother as his assistant. As a concerned parent, Alwyn Moss does give occasional geo-science seminars at the Academy. He won’t let anything come between himself and his daughter, not even superpowers.

[h3]Appearance and Personality[/h3]
Caitlynn is a tallish, slender teen, with curling sable hair and intense blue eyes. Her skin is tawny where it is not deeply tanned. Her slenderness conceals her wiry strength, endurance, and athleticism from years of living in the field. She is almost indifferent to clothing, as long as it is comfortable and appropriate to the environment. Whenever she can get away with it, she goes barefoot, her slender toes gripping the ground, resentful of the way footwear muffles her connection with the earth.

She is almost aggressively confident, cheerful and engaging, which can be distressing to those from a more sheltered upbringing. Her intelligence and curiosity leads her to question almost everything and she has very little tolerance for willful obfuscation. She speaks several of the world’s languages fluently and can get by in many of the rest. She is completely unconcerned by issues of class or caste, unless firmly instructed on protocol. Her sheer, stubborn willpower is both her greatest asset and her worst handicap.

The Lady is a six foot tall, powerfully built woman with generous curves, formed of solid Q-carbon crystal. She may appear completely transparent, or translucent, or ‘frosted’, as she pleases and the details of her features can change, seemingly at will or whim, or possibly under the influence of social forces.

Usually, she appears to have long, wavy hair and to be wearing a flowing dress of ancient design, but she has also manifested wearing the very latest fashions, as if she had just come from a party. Unless she acts to damp it, her crystalline form glows, sourcelessly, from within.

The Lady is usually cool and regal in manner, gentle and considerate to her allies, informed with ancient wisdom. However, she has been observed in a towering rage, before bringing down some unspeakable stony doom on an enemy. Nevertheless, friends recognize that this person is still Caitlynn, though influenced by other memories.

The Knight appears in different sizes and shapes, from short and stout, to tall and slender, to big as a mountain. In all forms, the Knight is composed of fine-grained black stone, like basalt, but denser. The Knight may manifest as a powerful, but otherwise nearly featureless human figure, or resemble a finely crafted suit of armor, embellished with gold and studded with mysterious green crystals.

The Knight is a warrior and defender, informed with memories of battles lost and won. In many ways, assuming the Knight’s form frightens Caitlynn, as those memories can be terrible things and she wonders that it doesn’t seem to have any symptoms of PTSD. However, the Knight’s memories also protect her, absorbing any terrible things she is forced to do, and the fear, anger, terror and disgust that might otherwise overwhelm her.

Outwardly, the Knight exhibits the warrior’s virtues of patience, courage, support of comrades, and a willingness to do… whatever it takes. However, Caitlynn is in control and there are things she will not do.

Latest in the roster of stone avatars is the Knave, a medium sized figure of fluid grace, seemingly formed of glossy liquid obsidian. The Knave could take any convenient form, but usually manifests as a jaunty, roguish humanoid. It carries no weapons, but can shape it’s hands and limbs into claws, spikes, or axes with lethal speed.

Despite this deadliness, the Knave is the form that most resembles Caitlynn, herself, being wily, clever, and intensely curious. The Knave tends to avoid conflict, slipping around it and continuing with the mission. The Knave is expert at detection, subversion, penetrating defenses and avoiding the same, going where it needs to and ferreting out secrets.

Yet, that very deadliness fills Caitlynn with caution and concern, that the Knave might accidentally, casually, cut an innocent life short.

What do you think?

Be Well!
Fireheart