Burkut
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| Burkut | |
|---|---|
| Public Identity: | Burkut |
| Global Handle: | @WildClaw |
| Real Name: | Alia Dyami |
| Legal Status: | Licensed Hero |
| Clearance: | Secret |
| Affiliations: | None |
| Reputation: | Newbie |
| Base: | Studio Apartment in Galaxy City |
| Physical Data | |
| Species: | Human |
| Sex/Gender: | Heterosexual Female |
| Age: | 25 |
| Handedness: | Right |
| Height: | 5'10" |
| Weight: | 160 lbs [1] |
| Eye Color: | Light Hazel |
| Skin Color: | Light Olive |
| Hair Color: | Brown, usually died with gold or red streaks. |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American [2] |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City |
| Social Status: | Upper Middle Class |
| Education: | University [3] |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Relatives: | Stan Bolitch [Grandfather], David Dyami [Father], Lulia Dyami [Twin Sister] |
| Powers and Skills | |
| Origin: | Technological [4] |
| Archetype: | Defender [Trick Arrow/Archery] |
| Powers: | Eagle's Wings [5] Eagle's Eyes [6] |
| Vulnerabilities: | Necrophobic, Inexperienced |
| Equipment: | Bow & Arrows [7] |
| Skills: | Acrobatics & Athetics [8] Archery |
   | |
Burkut
Alia Dyami is a computer support engineer living in Gateway City but has been trained in the skills of gymnastics (specifically vaulting) and archery by her maternal grandfather, the original Burkut, Stan Bolitch. Wearing a mystic eagle feather amulet that she discovered by accident [11], she has gained the powers of the eagle and a pair of wings to match. With these abilities she has taken on her grandfather's hero name Burkut, which translates as Eagle in his native language, specifically what Westerners call the Golden Eagle. She had thought about using the name 'Golden Eagle' instead, but having heard about a vigilante in the California region that was using that name and the reputation he had already garnered, she decided to stay with her cultural background.
Alia is able to wear the feather amulet at all times, transforming when she utters a magic phrase. When under the influence of the feather, Alia displays enhanced strength and agility to support natural flight, as well as considerably enhanced vision (and a second, transparent eyelid that appears to protect the eye from damage).
The transformation is only visible in a change to Alia's eyes and the addition of wings. It does not spontaneously create a costume or allow the wings to penetrate her existing clothes.
The equipment she uses is all made by herself or with the assistance of her grandfather. While made with a high level of craftsmanship, and uses many special-effect tricks learned from Stan's time with Hollywood, neither Alia nor Stan have the unlimited funds or access to truly advanced technology necessary to compete at the level of heroes such as Manticore.
Personality-wise Alia is very respectful, is a bit of a daydreamer, and yet has a small cruel streak that shows up as sarcasm. She is also somewhat necrophobic, having difficulty dealing with dead bodies and the like.
The Family
Besides Stan, Alia's secret identity is only known to her twin sister Lulia, a civil engineer who actively helps keeping this secret from the rest of the family.
Alia's mother, Stan's daughter, Saya passed away from complications a few days after giving birth to the twins. Their father, David Dyami, is a police officer of Hopi descent working in LA. Several years after Saya's passing David married Annette Reed, a defense attorney. They divorced ten years later, surprisingly amicably, and Annette is still considered part of the family by Alia.
Alia has two uncles, Nick and Garry, who each have families of their own and are rarely around.
The Original Burkut
In the early 60's a movie called "The Golden Yurt" was made in Mongolia, which was then a member state of the USSR. One of the background actors, a Kazakh tribesman by the name of Yerzhan Zhanbolatich, decided that movies were his future but that the opportunities in the USSR were far too limited. Using his experience with horses, he managed to get onto the Soviet Olympic Equestrian team in 1968 as a farrier, horse wrangler, and reserve eventing rider. Being in a support role, rather than one of the stars, it was easier to slip across the Mexico/US border and defect. He found himself in Hollywood with the Anglicized name Stan Bolitch. An excellent acrobat, horseman, and archer, he found work as a stuntman in many westerns and historical films. However, this barely provided a working wage for his new family having married Margaret Hazel, a US citizen and social worker he had met during his defection, and relatively quickly gaining two sons, Nick and Garry, and a daughter, Saya. To compensate, he worked several part-time jobs as well to cover.
Several years after becoming established in the US, disturbed by the difference in police treatment of the rich and poor, and the high crime rate in the poorer areas of Los Angeles, the actor took on the identity of Burkut (Eagle in his native language, specifically what Westerners call the Golden Eagle). With his archery, his pet eagle Aidos, he fought local gangsters for a few years. However, he did not go 'prime time', as he could not support his family and being a hero at the same time.
Stan now calls himself Berkutchi, meaning the Eagle Trainer, and spends considerable time designing exercise routines and training regimens for his granddaughter.
Footnotes
- ↑ When transformed, Burkut's bones are hollow and thin, however the bone material itself is considerably denser and stronger. As such there is no weight change.
- ↑ Burkut comes from a mixed Native American (Hopi) and Turkish (Kazakh Mongolian) ancestry.
- ↑ Bachelors degree in Computer Engineering.
- ↑ Burkut transforms due to a magical amulet, and her gymnastic training would be considered natural, but her primary abilies revolve around her archery equipment which is technological in nature.
- ↑ Burkut's wings and her correspondingly strengthened musculature allows for natural flight, and are part of the feather amulet transformation.
- ↑ Burkut's vision is increased in accuity dramatically with her transformation.
- ↑ A classic Turkish horse bow, plus several different arrows all handcrafted by Burkut herself. Many of her arrows have technological heads based on tasers, smoke grenades or other similar items.
- ↑ Burkut has been trained as a gymnast and horsewoman combined in the sport of Vaulting. She is near, if not at Olympic-level at this skill.
- ↑ Specifically Computer Engineering, however her knowledge of electronics and chemistry is also reasonably high.
- ↑ This skill is in general unarmed combat, and is not at a level that could be called true martial arts.
- ↑ It is extremely unlikely this was a true accident. There are many mysterious forces that likely influenced this event.
