Dreamkatcher
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Ready for Action | |
| Dreamkatcher | |
| Player: @Locksbane | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Controller |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Michael Alan Drake |
| Known Aliases: | DK, Dream |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 36 |
| Height: | 6'2" |
| Weight: | 195 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Silvery white |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | US Citizen |
| Occupation: | Hero, consultant, business owner |
| Place of Birth: | Philadelphia, PA |
| Base of Operations: | Talos Island |
| Marital Status: | Partnered with Brian Hardesty |
| Known Relatives: | Mark Hanson(nephew), Bethany Hanson(sister), Carl Hanson(brother-in-law) |
| Known Powers | |
| Illusion, weather control, accomplished mage | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Power manipulation | |
| Equipment | |
| variety of magical items and weapons | |
| No additional information available. | |
Dreamkatcher was the second character Locksbane created in COH, but quickly became the user's main character. The player's habit of frequently speaking in the wrong channel has caused the character's initials of "DK" to become synonymous with "mistell" among his supergroup. The player hopes to promote this into wide usage. Hey, any fame is still fame.
Contents |
Affiliations
Supergroup: The Phoenix Force
Former Assosication: Guardian Angels Reborn (disbanded by order of Paragon City Council)
Personality
Dreamkatcher tends to be thoughtful and introspective, to the point of seeming stand-offish. He has a tendency to fade into the background and observe those around him rather than join into a conversation. Once he feels that he has a grasp of the conversation/situation, he freely offers any opinions or information he might have. He is strongly protective of any he considers friends or family, and will go to any length necessary to help them. He tends to sympathize with those who dabble in magic, and does his best to steer them toward responsible use of their power. He loves being outdoors during thunderstorms, and takes every opportunity to "ride the winds".
Powers
Dreamkatcher is the last in a line of pureblood Gypsies, who trace their bloodline back past the middle ages. This bloodline manifests as magical power in certain individuals, and Dreamkatcher is indeed a powerful mage.
Sorcery and Magic
Dreamkatcher has great magical ability, and is capable of producing a variety of effects through his powers. He can create totally realistic, 3-D illusions with all sensory components. He can convince people to see whatever he wants them to, believe they have taken physical damage to the point that they experience the pain associated with real wounds, and create flashes of blinding light. He can also detect whatever a person most fears and draw it forth in a semi-physical form to terrify or cow his opponents. By creating small warps in reality, he can teleport others to his location. He is capable of erecting protective wards that can withstand great amounts of damage before failing, and with preparation, can perform feats such as opening/closing dimensional portals, locating people or objects over great distances, assuming the form of his family's namesake (a dragon), and many others. His greatest ability is that which allows him to separate his consciousness into fragments of light and force, which take semi-physical form as duplicates of himself to aid in battle. He can also summon a "force elemental", a being of pure light and power, to aid him.
Weather Control
Dreamkatcher has almost total control over the weather around him. He can create virtually any weather condition he wishes, from winds to snow to violent thunderstorms. These powers depend on concentration to be maintained, and such focus is very draining to him. The larger the area affected, the more he is tired by the exercise. These powers are affected by his emotions, and intense emotion can affect the weather around him, regardless of his actual wishes.
Flight
By manipulating the air currents around him, Dreamkatcher can fly as fast as any wind can. By generating his own high-altitude jetstream, he can cross great distances, but this requires a tremendous expenditure of power. His control over the air permits him to breathe and protects him from air friction and cold. He can carry an as yet undetermined amount of weight with him when flying, as he uses magic to aid in the transport.
Metamagic
By meditation, training, and practising certain rituals, Dreamkatcher has increased his ability to manipulate his magical power. He can drastically reduce the amount of power necessary to perform magical feats for a short time, boost the side effects of his powers, and fire bolts of pure magical force from his hands. Through the use of fetishes and focus items, he can boost the abilities of others as well. These items must be specifically produced for and keyed to the person who will use them.
Character History
Dreamkatcher, aka Michael Alan Drake, was born into a family with a distinguished bloodline. The family could trace their ancestry back past the middle ages, and family tradition held that they had at one time had a very unusual patron, the dragon Perianwyr. This was generally held by the younger generations to be merely fanciful folk tales, however, and most took it as such. Michael was the last male to be born into the family in his generation, and fate chose him to be the receptacle of the family legacy. He was born with the potential for great magical power, but this remained dormant throughout much of his childhood. As he grew into puberty, he came to realize the fact that he was homosexual, and the constant need to hide his orientation took a toll on him emotionally. Finally, after being outed by a spiteful classmate who discovered his secret, he gave up trying to hide and fully accepted himself. His family was of great support to him, especially his sister Bethany. While the two of them helped clean the attic of their grandfather's old house after his disappearance and presumed death, Michael found an old trunk containing books written in a strange language that he was able to read. Upon reading one passage aloud, Michael felt his mind expand and literally shatter from the power he had called forth. In the ensuing weeks, as he tried to recover from the explosive emergence of his power, Bethany helped him regain his sanity. She presented him with letters addressed to him which she had found in the trunk, which proved to be written by their grandfather. The old man had somehow known that Michael was the next mage to arise in the family, and had intended the trunk of books for him. Also in the letters were admonitions to use his gifts wisely and included several contacts for possible tutelage in magic. After making contact with some of those mentioned, Michael began his training, and quickly gained a degree of mastery over his abilities. After graduating high school, he followed his dream of studying forensic science, and enrolled in college intending to become a detective.
Paragon City
Upon graduation from college, Michael accepted a job with the Paragon City Police Department, speciallizing in forensic magic and acting as liaison with MAGI for cases involving magical threats. He quickly grew disenchanted with the work, however, as the old guard of the force did not take magic seriously. Most of his time was spent simply convincing his superiors that the evidence he produced was valid. Even still, much of his work was rejected as inadmissable for evidence purposes. After several conversations with individuals from MAGI, he decided to go to work for them directly as a consultant and field agent. He was kept busy investigating magical and otherworldly phenomena, and saw a good deal of the world in the process. During this time, he personally amassed a collection of magical grimoires and tomes from his explorations. He continued working to master his art, and opened an exotic curio shop in Talos Island, selling books, magical paraphernalia, and interesting items collected from around the world. Some of these are true magic, but all are minor items which tend to be more popular for their value as conversation pieces. He also bought and redesigned, with the money inherited from his grandfather's estate, a sizable condo in Talos, which he refers to as his loft. The apartment was reworked to accomodate a shielded magical workroom, and from this secure area he continued his studies.
A Hero is Born
His travels having convinced him that magical criminals were becoming a serious problem, Michael turned his attention to the growing threats of the Skulls and the Hellions, two street gangs who were becoming a danger to Paragon City under the leadership of magically powerful individuals. Inspired by some of the costumed heros he had dealt with during his tenure at the PCPD, Michael created the identity of Dreamkatcher, and took the battle to the streets. Through much effort and investigation, he tracked down the leaders of both gangs and managed to arrest a sizable number on both sides. This stemmed the tide, but as any rookie hero knows, it did not remove their influence completely. Dreamkatcher also clashed with other magical threats such as the Outcasts, a group of mutant teens and young adults who were attempting to bolster their abilities with magical artifacts provided by the Tsoo, an Asian crime cartel involved in every possible criminal activity. He met the young hero known as Brimstone Bobby while investigating the Outcasts. Bobby, himself a former Outcast member, had reformed and was working as a hero to atone for his actions while with the gang. Through Bobby, Dreamkatcher met the members of the Guardian Angels Reborn, a group of superhumans operating out of King's Row. He was accepted by the group, although their leader, Caios, never really allowed him to get close to her, and made the acquaintance of Spirit of Stone, a kindhearted but mentally-challenged hero, and Mediroid, a scientist whose mind was trapped in the body of the android he had created.
Playing God
It was shortly after joining the Angels that Dreamkatcher discovered some unsettling things about his powers. Brimstone Bobby had been kidnapped by a transformed Lost calling himself the Preacher Man. The Lost intended to use Bobby as a pawn in his bid to create an army of superhuman servants. Bobby was partially transformed into a Rikti, and the Angels were forced to battle him to save him. During the fight, Doc Green, a friend of Bobby's whom the Preacher Man was holding hostage, was accidentally killed. After the battle, Bobby was devastated, and Dreamkatcher desperately wanted to help his friend. With the encouragement and prodding of Arwyn, a ghostly member of the Angels, Dreamkatcher was able enter a trance-like state and access family memories of an ancient magic, capable of resurrecting a recently slain person. With the help of Spirit of Stone, Arwyn, and a reluctant Caios, Dreamkatcher fashioned a new body from the earth and called Doc Green's spirit back into the world. Doc Green was brought back to life with no ill effects, albeit shaken by the experience. Although done for noble reasons, this act deeply rattled the religious Bobby, and prompted Dreamkatcher to do a great deal of soul-searching in the following weeks, as he tried to divine the source of the heretofore buried knowledge.
The Other
The tremendous amount of power that Dreamkatcher had accessed during the resurrection awoke something deep within him, and he began to experience blackouts and lost time episodes. These grew worse when he began to deal with the strange Carnival of Shadows, a hedonistic group of villains who seemed intent only on sating their appetites for wealth and debauchery. After coming into contact with one of the psychic masks worn by the Carnival members, a fraction of Dreamkatcher's consciousness took on it's own individuality and began trying to usurp control over their shared body. This shard of personality, whom Dreamkatcher came to think of as the Other, began taking control during moments of stress, unconsciousness, or in areas of dark influence. Eventually, Dreamkatcher sought the aid of one of his old teachers, Kadao Kestrel, who now ran a magical paraphernalia shop in Founder's Falls. With Kadao's help, as well as that of the Circle of Thorns defector, Akarist, Dreamkatcher was able to hold off the influence of the Other for a time. Things came to a head some weeks later, however, as he assisted the Angels in trying to track down a killer roaming King's Row. Assigned to patrol with Spirit of Stone, Dreamkatcher was shocked to see his dear friend transform under the the full moon into the beast responsible for the killings. Stone had been bitten by a werewolf during an earlier battle, and the infection had at last manifested. Trying to hold the beast until the other Angels arrived, Dreamkatcher was knocked senseless by the transformed Stone. The Angels arrived in time to subdue the beast, and the Other took the opportunity to take complete control over Dreamkatcher's unconscious body. He cruelly thanked Stone, who had been returned to his normal form, for the chance to escape, and then used Dream's magical powers to flee the Angels, who attempted to capture him but failed. After a frantic search, the Angels tracked the Other to a place of power in the Hollows, where he was attempting to use the resurrection spell to create a body of his own, since he had discovered that he could not simply destroy Dreamkatcher, their minds being two sides of the same coin. The Other planned to use a Circle of Thorns spell to seperate himself from the shared mind and transfer into the new body. The Angels were not able to prevent the formation of the body, but with aid from a strenuously resisting Dreamkatcher, disrupted the transference and trapped the Other within a Circle soul crystal.
Guardian of a Different Kind
While recovering from the ordeal, Michael was contacted by his sister, who told him that her son, Mark, had run away, and she believed that he was heading to Paragon City. The teenager had manifested powers of his own and set fire to his father's hair during an argument. Tracking the bus to Skyway City, Michael arrived in time to save Mark from a mugging attempt by several Troll gangers. After having a long talk with his nephew and hearing his side of the story, Michael called his sister and brother-in-law and suggested that he be made Mark's guardian, since the teen would be able to get the training and support he needed from GIFT. Mark had also confessed that he himself was gay, and Michael, recalling his forced outing, was determined that his nephew not be subjected to the same abuse. Soon after arriving in Paragon, Mark began his training and was soon provisionally licensed as the hero Salamandyr. During this time, Michael also met Brian Hardesty when he saved the police officer from being killed by a Thorn mage. The two began dating, and Brian eventually moved into the loft with Michael and Mark.
Angels of the Apocalypse
The Guardian Angels began encountering Rikti who were different from those normally found in Paragon City. They seemed to be magically capable, as well as exhibiting other superhuman abilities. After investigation proved that these Rikti were indeed from a divergent reality, the Angels discovered full scale invasion plans. An attempt to shut down one of the main portals being used was successful, but one of the Angels, Drogan Alheron, was captured as they escaped. Despite the Angels attempts to warn the city of the impending invasion, they were not taken seriously, and the group decided to take action on their own. They enlisted the help of several minor villains, including Soulfyre, Burntheart, Eiskrieg, and Replimax, Caios' nemesis Karnage and a contingent of the Sky Raiders. While one group worked to contain the invasion to Perez Park, another, including Dreamkatcher, went through the portal in an attempt to both shut it down permanently and save Drogan. Dreamkatcher, having come to terms with his powers again after the Other's takeover, managed to achieve his full potential as a mage and claimed his heritage as a descendant of Perianwyr. Taking on the form of a great azure drake, Dreamkatcher, along with Caios and Karnage, cut a swath through the Rikti lines, giving the others a chance to find Drogan. Tapping into the primal lifeforce of the alternate Earth, Dreamkatcher, with the unwitting aid of a cadre of Rikti mages, froze the planet in time, thus allowing the Angels to escape back through the portal, closing it behind them and destroying the remaining invasion force. The effort of time-locking the Rikti world and then imploding the portal created a backlash that knocked Dreamkatcher into a semi-coma for some time, but he eventually recovered, although his powers are somewhat diminished. Only time will tell if he will recover and return to the height of his power. Manipulating magic on such a scale also had the effect of turning his hair from it's former black to a silvery white. Also, as a result of the Angels consorting with known villains, their charter was revoked by the City Council, although the individual members were allowed to keep their hero licenses as recognition of their stopping the invasion. Dreamkatcher has since joined The Phoenix Force.
PRIME Academy
Michael's latest challenge came in a more mundane form. His nephew was expelled from school for presenting a danger to other students. Mark had inadvertantly used his powers to protect a friend when another student pulled a gun. The schoolboard, in spite of the circumstances, voted to expell Mark, both for the protection of the other students and "for his own good". After exhausting all other routes, Michael had called in favors and, along with a few others, opened the PRIME academy. The academy is intended to be a school for gifted students, be they mutants, magical, techological or otherwise, who have had problems fitting in with the standard educational system. Since his magical work takes him away on short notice, he has turned the headmaster position of the school over to his friend Robert Johnson, aka Brimstone Bobby. Michael still serves as a mentor to magical based students, as well as lecturing on magical subejct matter.
