The hero dubbed as “Clementia” has been known since the earliest days that the modern “hero” has emerged from the shadows of an often intolerant society. Her origins are rumored to have begun during the shift of ancient Roman from a republic to an Imperial state that came to dominate its twilight years. She is known as a veteran of the first Rikti War that cost many heroes their lives combating the invaders. Originally, she was thought to have fallen during a raid on an underground base before Omega Team made their heroic sacrifice.

She was recovered later only to be discovered working with the Rikti that had remained after their defeat by the strike led by Hero 1 via the Omega Team. After several years detained in the “Zig” to attempt to recover the former hero, she has been released and restored to her former status. Rumors continue to follow her given the interest that Vanguard has held in her recovery. That interest seems to continue to lurk given the classified status of various 'changes' that evolved during her time with the Rikti.

Clementia is the player's first real magical concept for City of Heroes. She was developed as an attempt at a role-play character that has generated more background than many of my established characters. I had wanted a mix with the new psionic blaster set without using the main offense line and keep a story in the mystical department. Not all of the details are listed below in order to avoid spoilers. But, players familiar with the Rikti storyline from the War Zone should hold enough clues to speculate as to what may have occurred. Otherwise, feel free to catch me in game to learn more.

Affiliations

Groups

Supergroup: Paragonian Knights – Honor Battalion

Since her progress and recovery from her time with the Rikti, the reports of her success has drawn the attention of the Battalion's leader, Tassitis. Her familiarity with Rikti technology and arcane sciences has led to her initial entry into the special operations detachment of the Battalion. Since her membership, her primary assignments has rested in recovery of her abilities lost during her detainment and catching up on current events in regards to the war against the Rikti. She has also begun to pursue the rumors of the return of the Midnight Squad and whispers of their current involvements in the ongoing war.

Pax Romana (NPC Organization)

“Peace of Roman,” the term was adopted by a group formed in the late 1200's in order to to further the goal of the Roman god known as Quirinus. While not devotees or priests, the group has evolved to further the ideals of republic-style government in various nations in the world. The group has expanded to include membership in the United States, Great Britain, Italy, and France. Their main seat of power is rumored to have been relocated to the United States due to the focus on democracy and republic that the nation holds in its citizenship. Clementia holds the status of Imperator due to her role as the embodiment of the Scepter of Romulus—this role, however, is limited to a contact or agent under the orders of the Grandmaster or the group's patron.

Individuals

Quirinus (NPC)

At one time, this figure was revered among the ancient Roman Republic as the deified Romulus, the Republic's founder. He once served as the central figure of the state religious system until it's decline as Rome drifted to the ways of an Empire under successive generations. Rumors abound at his current role within the world as Rome's glory continues to affect even the modern age through language, arts, and laws. But, the mysterious entity has continued to serve as the patron of the group known as Pax Romana and the source of Clementia's power in some manner.

Tassitis

The current leader of the Honor Battalion, Tassitis has worked as one of the Paragonian Knight's leadership in the field of combating the Rikti threat. He currently fills the role of her direct commanding officer in the field for the Knights organization in Paragon City.

Justin Sterling (NPC)

A former Crusader from the thirteenth century, Sterling has run the gambit from faithless knight to the leader of Pax Romana. He was selected by the being known as Quirinus to take over as Grandmaster after the founding of the organization by Clementia. Among the organization, the immortal is considered to be the voice of their patron. Thus far, it is a role the Grandmaster has not abused since the group's inception.

Character History

Fall of the Republic

31 B.C. Born Gaia Aurelia Prisca on the day of the Battle of Actium. The daughter of a Senator of Rome, she was raised and instilled with a fierce belief in the ideals of ancient Rome before its decline. This view would come to sew the seeds of an vehement hatred for the Imperial Rome to come in the future.

27 B.C. Octavian would come to rise as the Imperator of Rome after the death of Julius Caesar's son during the downfall of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra after Actium. Eventually, he was renamed Augustus Caesar by the Senate that would fall under is control.

14 B.C. Aurelia begins her own battle against the evolution of Augustus' power despite the claims of working with the Senate to retain the constitution of the Empire. She enlists with a group of rebels and dissenters of the new ruler's power to seek out the Scepter of Romulus. Rumored to be an artifact that would imbue a selected wielder with the power of the first ruler of Rome, it is considered an attempt of desperation given that myths claims only a direct descendant of Romulus could wield the Scepter. The attempt is still made by the rebels.

8 B.C. The plot to recover the Scepter is discovered by supporters of Augustus who begin to investigate the rebels' attempt to find a way to usurp the state. Guards are dispatched to ruins on the outskirts of Rome to one of the legendary Hills in the area. The ruins are revealed to be an ancient temple dedicated to Quirinus, the deified Romulus. The rebels are captured or killed forcing a move of desperation on Aurelia's part. She attempts to take the Scepter. Reports claim a blast of light struck the plotter. The artifact disappeared as soon as she was rendered unconscious from the strike.

8 B.C-12 B.C. The surviving rebels are imprisoned for their attempt to undermine the rule of Augustus. The matter is not brought directly to the Imperator due to other issues within the Empire. However, the matter is discussed to have the traitors quietly executed in order to avoid further power to their cause as martyrs given the nature of their quest. The Scepter is not mentioned to have been found. The affects of her touching the Scepter, however, are revealed when an attempt to carry out the execution order is made. Repeated attempts to her sentence carried out would meet with the same failure as different magic of the Empire became quietly involved in studying the curse. The answer would be found through one of the few remaining priests of Quirinus that was able to determine the cause of her situation—divine wrath for attempting to wield the Scepter. The visiting priest made arrangements for the surviving rebel to be sentenced to the arena on what was said to be the will of Quirinus. The order was sealed by Augustus binding her till her death or an official release by an Imperator of Rome. Under the power of the curse, she was bound to the arena due to the official seal and order that kept her from attempting to escape her fate.

172 A.D. After nearly a century and half in the arena under different guises and owners, Aurelia would come to gain her freedom. She was presented the wooden sword, the rudis, that marked the release of a gladiator from their obligations to fight.

470 A.D. The fall of the Western Empire was set well in hand as Rome has been wracked by various power struggles and civil wars for centuries. This decline would see no reemergences of the Scepter of Romulus as the myth would claim the relic was said to make during the hour of Rome's need. Various barbarian tribes had begun to strike at the province of Rome itself in Italy as the current Emperor sought to regain ground. She was discovered by a small group of priests after assisting with the defense of a small city outside of Rome proper. The priests would later be revealed as servants of Quirinus after the attacking horde was repulsed. One of the few temples dedicated to the fading state religion, it was one of the few locations that held considerable influence of the fading deity.

After watching the affects of the fall of Rome for so long, Aurelia had offered a lengthy confession in the temple proper that night. To her surprise, the source of her current state responded in the form of bearded man dressed in elaborate military-style armor reflecting an time since passed in Rome's glory. The aspect of Quirinus would come to explain her current state and the situation in Rome. When she had attempted to take the Scepter, the curse had entrapped her soul within the relic preventing her from truly finding peace. The curse would cause the Scepter to return to its maker from the world, in essence binding the defiler to Quirinus will. His words continued to explain the cruel reality that her actions held consequences further reaching than her own current state. The binding by the Scepter had caused her to be selected as its permanent wielder preventing it from presenting itself to a worthy bearer to correct the state within the Empire that had emerged. In the eyes of the angered deity, the fall of Rome... or loss of a chance at recovery was at her feet for the break-in at the ancient temple.

Her remorse would lead to a small measure of mercy. She was granted the ability to wield the powers of the Scepter. Due to her cursed state, she would not require the actual use of the Scepter. Access to those powers would be as long as she remained in favor with the fading patron of Rome. Despite the grant, however, Quirinus was quick to warn her that her pride would eventually lead to the fall of the Empire.

476 A.D. The power of the Roman Empire would finally break as the city itself was sacked by attacks on the part of barbarians that had laid waste to her lands. As predicted by Quirinus, Aurelia would come to witness the fall of the Empire in a short-time. The events would lead to a confrontation between the two in the same temple outside of Rome. In the end, her reaction to the reality of her role would lead to the loss of favor and silence from Quirinus once more. She was left in her state of the cursed outcast once more forced to continue to watch the affects in the world as the Empire's influence fully faded leaving an era of darkness and kings.

The Era of Kings

1095-1272 A.D. The time of the Crusades would come to set the stage of a painful reconciliation between her and Quirinus as the Dark Ages faded into a new era of kings. As the concept of republic faded from the minds of the nations, the new era of feudalism would continue to manifest the repercussions of Rome's fall for centuries to come. The truth of the words of her patron were learned for truth as she had come to accept the responsibility for her past failings. This time, however, her return to grace would not be as quick or as easy as their first meeting.

As the centuries of war would come, her role was to restore the following of Quirinus in the form of servants or clergy. She was once more informed of her role as the Scepter's chosen Imperator, but her responsibility for the people had expanded well beyond the borders of the ancient Republic herself with the scattering of the surviving bloodlines. At Quirinus' orders, she was to demonstrate an acceptance of this charge for the people in a way that was not similar to her past attempts to subvert divine will in the course of nations. The goals had been set with high stakes—the restoration of her power as the Scepter's chosen or a life without purpose wandering through the ages.

The requirements by Quirinus were met over the period of the Crusades as she became involved in efforts to aid those affected by the war in Italy and southern Europe. Her excursions would also come to include the war traveled on the way to the conflict. Her interest in the matter never evolved to focus on the politics of the wars. Overtime, her efforts would garner a slow cadre of like-minded individuals in various strata of society in the area. One would be the one-time Crusader known as Justin Sterling. A former British peer, his interest in the establishment of hospitals and other service organizations would evolve into an interest in the force behind Aurelia's initiative in the matter. He would come to help her understand the role that the Scepter had destined her for—one who would establish a groundwork for changes and betterment, but would relinquish that power to another in order to move onto other areas to continue the process. By the late 1200's, a group under the leadership of Sterling would evolve to embrace the name of Pax Romana.

At first, the group's idea of Quirinus was that of simply a folk myth that Aurelia had come to claim as the source of her interest in her pursuits. That idea would later change to belief when the small group had evolved into a full order based in Italy drawing the attention of Quirinus. In 1271, Sterling and she were summoned to the temple outside of the city of Rome in order to meet. Her role as the Imperator was restored and Sterling's role as the Grandmaster was confirmed with the gift of immortality for his role in helping her see past the negative side of her curse. The relationship between Quirinus and the newly dubbed Clementia would come to endure the test of time and tempers for centuries to come having had to regain her place through merit this time around.

General Known Events

1478 A.D-1834 A.D. Era of the Inquisition. Pax Romana had expanded into the areas of Spain and England in order to continue it's charge. Over the next four hundred years, the order was responsible for waging a shadow campaign against the forces of the Church. The group was discovered in time, but managed to evade the attention of the hunters and Inquisitors. A vendetta remains between the group and the Society of Leopold within the Vatican's ranks.

1900 A.D. During this era of modernization, Clementia would immigrate with other agents of Pax Romana to begin to seed potential footholds in the area. The concept of democracy and republic in the area would draw the interest of Sterling into relocating the group's headquarters from Italy to the States. This transfer would occur later in 1920.

Fallen and Risen Again

On May 23, 200s, portals would open to spill an invasion force on Earth. No one knew their origin, but their intentions were made crystal clear. The weapons of the Rikti unleashed devastation world-wide as heroes across the globe attempted to fight back against the newcomers. Casualties were high as the war drug on. The ranks of arcane-based heroes would come to pay a high price as the Rikti's weakness to their arts was discovered and revealed. This revelation would serve to offer an additional impact in the war that was still being slowly lost as the invaders continued their agenda.

Clementia was among those that answered the call to join Vanguard at its formation June 5, 2002. Her role in the war was similar to others—gains were made at extreme costs to be paid, often times the hero's very life. She was ruled to have later been killed during the war in the process of a raid on an underground base. Eventually, the invaders would be defeated during an act of desperate courage that led to the joint strikes by the Alpha Team, led by Statesman, and the Omega Team, led by Hero 1, into the home portals of the Rikti themselves.

In late February, 2005, Clementia was recovered during a rescue mission led by Vanguard during their attempts to continue to root out surviving Rikti still at work in Paragon City. While on their mission, the team encountered a distress beacon that was active in the base. The model registered to the 2002 conflict causing fears of a trap that may be baited with the image of a fallen soldier. The beacon would indeed lead to a dangerous encounter. During the confrontation, she was revealed to be working with the Rikti. She was captured and detained in the “Zig” in Brickstown in order to determine what damage had been done to cause her to be allied with the Rikti.

Back on the Frontlines

The return of the Rikti in July, 2007, set the stage for the emergence of many figures since retired or forgotten as the world recovered from the first war. Clementia's indefinite detainment in the Zig due to the inability to restore the damage to the former hero would come to be affected by information discovered in the War Zone that would become the center of the conflict to come. It was unknown what was discovered, due to the classification of the material. But, attempts were able to later partially restore some sensibilities to her.

As of now, she is currently working to combat the Rikti menace that has returned. Despite the expected desire of revenge, her motives seem more along the lines of pity for the Rikti despite her time with them.

Power Profile

Overview & Origins

Her original powers have come to originate from a mystical relic known as the Scepter of Romulus. The scepter has long held an mysterious origin with even its references obscured in early Roman lore. It was said that the relic was created by Romulus after the death of Remus and the foundation of the Empire under his rule. As the first King of Rome, Romulus was said to have gained the favor of the gods to further the foundation of his new city. The Scepter would come to be rumored to be the mark of a true Imperator of the Empire selected from Romulus' bloodline. In a time that Rome was in mortal peril, the Scepter was rumored to appear to a chosen descendant of the first King. This chosen party would come to bear divine power to bring about events to restore the threatened Republic.

The story went on to further include that the chosen wielder was expected to release the Scepter once their duty was passed. Under this lore, the Scepter was said to embody the spirit of Rome as a republic by causing the blessed party to seek to restore the nation to the people. However, a curse was whispered to hang over the relic that if the wielder refused to release power, they would fall under a curse of civil wars until their mandate was surrendered. For a long time, it was thought the Scepter was simply a folklore spun by the Senate in order to keep those chosen to lead the armies during emergencies to follow the tradition to surrender power as expected. However, the Scepter was later discovered by a group of rebels that had sought to overthrow Augustus Caesar.

Clementia had taken the Scepter and endured the wrath of Quirinus for not being of his bloodline. Her offense against the divine entity has been said to be the root of her current powers. This story is often claimed when explanations for her current state of immortality and control of lightning.

Since her recovery from her capture by the Rikti, she has show an additional manifestation of psionic ability. The degree of this power is unknown as it is studied. But, the templates of her potential seem to show a similarity to that of a Rikti Mentalist suggesting possible alterations while in their custody. Confirmation or denial of this fact has remained classified since the return of the Rikti in 2007.

Power Matrix Index

Divine Furor (Electrical Blast)

Since her first emergence as a hero, Clementia has shown a trademark talent for arcane abilities often bordering on divine. These traits have mainly shown in the abilities to wield lightning in a limited manner allowing for disruption of electrical systems and affecting biological creatures. These abilities have been similar to the more commonly seen abilities among heroes bearing a similar profile allowing them to manipulate modern day electrical sources. Her ability seems rooted in conjuration and focusing ether, or universal matter, into a new form specialized in electrical forces.

Wrath of Romulus (Immortality)

At first, this ability was considered a curse due to the manner that she gained this trait. Once she had obtained the Scepter, Clementia manifested a form of immortality that appeared to freeze her physical form in time. A form of divine wrath, this trait has come to render her immune to age. The ability has further been demonstrated by her ability to recover from extreme cases of injury that have been confirmed to be fatal in many cases for mortals and some super-powered beings. The curse or blessing is theorized to have reduced her form into a base form of ether or divine essence that will reconstitute after a period of time. This recovery period can be extensive depending on the severity. It does not share the trademarks of regeneration that allows the subject to recovery instantly. With enough damage, she can be 'dispelled' or disincorporated for a long period of time until able to recover. The ability does not seem to affect her mind, however. Clementia has shown the ability to mentally adapt to new modern technology and even the affects of extensive mental conditioning without her mental biochemistry restoring to its Roman era mentality.

Psionic Manipulation (Mental Manipulation)

Her ability to affect the mind has been determined not to originate from the original affects of her empowerment by the Scepter of Romulus. At present, her ability seems to be limited to close proximity to her targets, but the effects can range from confusion to potential disorientation.

Weakness

The primary source of her power also serves as a weakness of those abilities. Clementia is rumored to only hold her abilities to manipulate lightning as long as she holds favor with the entity known as Quirinus. While her immortality seems linked to an ancient divine judgment, her other powers are affected by the whim of her odd patron. The Scepter that empowers her existence has not been discovered since it disappeared after her curse.

Random Trivia

• Theme Song for the character would be: "Blood Bound" by Hammerfall
• Despite her current role as the Imperator of the Scepter, she still holds to a Christian faith due to the conversion of the late Empire
• Background was created when player had too much time in their hands and was done when she was level 2.

Contact Info

• Global Handle: @Gravewhisper