Cyline Cadesca
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Cyline Cadesca | |
| Player: @Ledain | |
| Origin: | Mutation |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Defender |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Cyline Cadesca |
| Known Aliases: | Cy, Lina, CC |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 19 |
| Height: | 5'5" |
| Weight: | 112 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Blonde (changes with form) |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Rogue Islander |
| Occupation: | University Student |
| Place of Birth: | St. Martial, Rogue Islands |
| Base of Operations: | Steel Canyon, Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Lucius Palladia - Adopted Brother |
| Known Powers | |
| Power of Life, Minor Psychic Power, Self Transformation | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Life-Giving Abilities, Recovery and Ability-boosting Buffs, Leadership Talents, Flight, Skilled in Archery, Able to Transform and Change Clothing | |
| Equipment | |
| Archery Bow, Battle Medic Armor, Blessing of Life Armor | |
| Leader of Silent Hell, Ally of AECES, Enemy of Silent Heaven | |
Quiet, bright, and positve Cyline is a decorated hero even at her young age, having saved the world from numerous dangers and crises. Having rid the world of an evil that grew unaware, and haunted Cyline since her birth, she can finally rest easy and make an attempt at a more normal life. She is currently enrolled at Paragon City University, and studies at the Steel Canyon campus. She also devotes time into helping other younger heroes to both save the city and find a place in life. She remains the leader of a small super group known as Silent Hell, and assists her allies in the super group AECES in any means possible. She spends what relaxation time she can at the second floor of the Pocket D, sipping her usual order of peach mango tea.
Contents |
History
Achieving the life she now has today is Cyline's reward for conquering the demons of her past.
The Beginning, and the Cult of Silence
Cyline's father was a German explorer, who came to the Rogue Isles hoping to investigate the ruins buried beneath them. Her mother, a few years younger than Cyline is now, was hired as a guide and escort, as a native of the Rogue Isles. Given the nature of the Isles, the expeditions were difficult. However, the group always managed to get by, and over the months a spark of love began to kindle between the explorer and his guide.
Nearly a year after the beginning of the expeditions, the group found what they believed would be the legacy they had been searching for. A cave by the shores of Cap au Diable, which had been marked on no map, had been discovered, its depths waiting to be explored. The guide found it strange, even unnatural, that such a cave would have been undiscovered for so long. Unknown to the rest of the expedition, their guide had been carrying for nearly a month. However, fearing what such a discovery would do to the explorer's reputation, and to their relationship, let alone their expedition, she kept the pregnancy a secret, and willingly ventured with the group into the cave.
The cave seemed unnatural, all right. The twisting, winding caverns descended well below sea level, seeming to stretch on for miles towards the earth's core. The entire time, the expedition's guide felt an unease, as if the cave itself were watching them as they journeyed onward.
As they finally reached the end, a dim light could be seen in the distance. The narrow cavern seemed to stretch outwards, opening into a larger space. Towards the back of the dead end, the source of the light could be seen. A sword, stuck to the dark cavern floor, pulsed of the dim light. Overcome with wonder, the lead explorer stepped forth towards the relic, his team reluctantly following a few steps behind. As they approached, they could clearly see the details of what appeared to be a corpse, whose chest the blade had penetrated before extending its tip into the floor beyond it. The corpse's flesh had decayed, its cloak and clothing ragged and tattered. Concerned not for the grave of whom he was robbing, the explorer reached for the blade, jerking it from the stone floor with surprising ease. Excited over the discovery, he grinned as he turned back to his fellows, even acting a little cocky and waving the glowing blade through the air.
...all the while, he thought not of the consequences such an act could bring about.
Creeping silently over the floor of the room, thorny vines began to make their way up the excited expedition leader's leg, and descending upon him from the roof and walls, clenching, tearing flesh, causing piercing screams to echo throughout the chamber. The blade, still glowing dimly, dropped to the cavern floor with a clang. Startled, the rest of the team turned towards their only exit -- but, were stopped as more vines stretched across the narrow passage and blocked their way. As if coming from the very darkness of the cave itself, the vines struck down and tore apart each of the explorers one by one. The only one remaining, terrified, and drenched in the blood of her lover and their comrades, the guide collapsed to her knees on the dark cavern's floor, tears falling as quickly as the drops of blood of her friends, her screams and cries going unheard to the city miles above.
Breath in the room running low, her cries stopped. The only sound within the room was the dull humming of the glowing blade. Traumatized, and not thinking clearly, the girl stood, and walked toward the blade. Clutching the handle with one hand, she dragged the blade behind her as she stepped slowly towards the corpse it had once nailed into the floor. Her vision blurred, and the darkness of the cave offering no aid, she glanced about the details of the corpse... her vision falling last upon the face. Gazing into what should have been empty sockets, she looked into what appeared to be orbs of darkness, an endless depth, like a frightful universe beyond their existence, could be seen within the depths of this once-living entity's eyes. Falling once more to her knees, the guide kneeled before the body, as if attempting a very exhausted bow. Within the tormented mind of this poor frightened girl, she had come to the conclusion that the being they had discovered was nothing less than a "God," and that the tragedy that had befallen them was due to their carelessness and lack of respect.
Acknowledging the body's desire to live once again, the young girl felt her destiny had been determined. She would lead a group on the surface of the world, and spread message of the entity's incarnation. They would gather the power their being of worship required to rise to glory once again. That dreadful day, a Harbinger -- one bearing message of another's approach -- was born. The world would know of her God's approach. Gathering together allies of varying reasons, granting promises of redemption, she who would be known as the Harbinger of God arose from the cave's depths, and with her the rise of the Cult of Silence.
Cyline's Birth, and the Fall of the Cult of Silence
It did not take long for the newly founded cult's numbers to grow. By the beginning of summer of 1988, the Harbinger of God knew she would be unable to keep order among the cult on her own. Believing in a prophecy that had taken form in her mind, she knew the birth of her child was paramount for the resurrection of their god, and could no longer take any chances. Calling upon a handful of her most trusted and influential followers, and announced their promotions as her sub-commanders, granting them the title of Harbinger in their own right. More than ready for the task, this new group of Harbingers spread the influence of their group even further, extending well throughout the Rogue Isles, and even making their way into the streets of Paragon.
By the end of the summer of 1988, the Cult's first steps in their plan had been completed. Using technology derived from both science and magic, they took a genetic sample from the body of their deity, and merged it with that of the newborn dwelling inside the Harbinger of God's womb. September 14th, 1988, Cyline Cadesca was born into our world. The cult's purpose behind her birth was to allow their God's control over the powers of Life energy to manifest and grow within Cyline. As she would mature, this power of Life would grow, and one day become powerful enough to bring about their deity's resurrection. From birth, the young Cyline was given the title of Harbinger of Hope by the cult -- a sign that she would be the ultimate key in their sick plot.
As the years passed, the group's numbers grew ever more. More young were born into the group, many with powers of their own, whether granted by magic or science or even a mixture, or neither. Word began to spread of the group's alteration and manipulation of their youth. Heroes and Anti-Heroes alike rose to oppose the Cult. However, their power was not one to be underestimated, and many of the attacks were repelled.
By 1994, Cyline, only six years of age, began to question the motives of the group and of her own mother. Though she was well taken care of, and even worshipped by most of the group's members as a "Mother of God," she could not help but find the contrast between the kindness and the religion to be disturbing. However, she could not help but feel isolated and alone in her beliefs, and so she kept her thoughts to herself.
The same year, word began to spread through the cult's ranks of a discovery of a new source of life energy existing within Paragon city. A report came from one known as the Harbinger of Justice, requesting the presence of all the other Harbingers, including the Harbinger of God herself. Obsessed with the reincarnation of the one she believed her deity, with blessed blade in one hand, and daughter by her side, the Harbinger of God arranged for the group's trip to Paragon.
Upon their arrival in Independence Port, the Harbinger of God's group met up with a lone Harbinger of Justice. After thanking them for coming, Justice seemed to wave some kind of signal, and from all nooks and crannies around them, the group became surrounded -- Heroes, police officers, and operatives from the numerous groups devoted to bringing down villainy. It became apparent that the Harbinger of Justice had betrayed the cult.
The battle was long and hard-fought from both sides, each suffering heavy casualties. The young Cyline watched as her mother, the Harbinger of God, did battle with the Harbinger of Justice. Confused, she could not bring herself to root for one side or another. She understood why the group would be considered a threat and that people would oppose them. But on the other hand, they had been very good to her, and her mother was the only family she had. Falling to her knees, she cried, feeling powerless, despite the so-called "blessing" that was growing within her.
It seemed that the heroic forces of Paragon would win this day. Wrenching the blade from the Harbinger of God's hands, Justice plunged the dim-glowing blade into the stomach of his opponent. As her mother's body fell lifeless to the asphault, Cyline fainted and collapsed herself. Having won the duel with his opponent, and having defeated a force of the sickest form of evil, the victorious Harbinger of Justice noticed the blade of his opponent's light glowing dim, fading completely. Dropping the blade, he rushed to the aid of the young child Cyline. Lifting her gently into his arms, he began to carry her to one of the nearby ambulances that had arrived after the battle's aftermath, whispering assurances into her unconscious ear. "You'll be safe now. You're free. It will be hard, but no one will cause you harm any longer..."
After the battle, Cyline was kept in care at the hospital in Steel Canyon, where she received conselling to help overcome the trauma of the death of her mother. With no family to care for her, Cyline agreed to life in Paragon City. At an orphanage within Steel Canyon, which received the assistance and support of both the city and its Heroes, she received much care, and even came to admire the Heroes who fought to protect the innocents like herself. Receiving a good education, she grew up hoping someday she may be able to bring a difference to others, herself.
Graduation, and the Wyvern Operation
Spring of 2006. Cyline, age 17, graduated from Canyon High School at the top of her class. While she was quite proud of herself and her peers during the ceremony, the eerie feeling that she was being watched never disappeared. As she left the ceremony to get back to her dorm and prepare for the dinner and party celebrations, she was approached by a man in a suit. The man knew a bit about her background, particularly the fact that she was from the Rogue Isles, and that she had the ability to heal those around her. The man introduced himself as an operative of Wyvern, and offered her a position among them. Apparently, having someone familiar with the Rogue Isles would be a great help in their operations there.
While working with mercenaries was not the original idea Cyline had when she imagined becoming a hero, the salary they were offering was quite hefty, far more than their normal recruits, and more than enough for her to support herself through University. Reluctantly, she accepted the offer, and so began her career with Wyvern.
Her first operation's assignment was to hijack what they believed to be a vessel, carrying illegal US military weaponry, privately owned by a businessman near the Rogue Isles. The operation seemed to be going smoothly -- the vessel was only lightly guarded, so resistance was minimal. Too minimal. The leader of the operation smelled something fishy, and ordered everyone to return to the ship's deck.
But, it seemed they were too late. The trap had been sprung. From the air, boxes hit the deck and unfolded to reveal assault bots, armed to the teeth and immediately firing at the Wyvern ops. From below deck, a titan of a woman clad in a red coat and wearing a red hat began knocking them around and overboard with a flurry of furious energy-charged fists. Outgunned, Cyline and the remains of the Wyvern strike team ran past the assault bots, arrows flying and even managing to take down one of the drones.
At the bow of the ship, their remaining forces took their last stand, the boat rocking from the fury of the storm at sea. The remaining Wyvern soldiers either got taken down, blown overboard, or dove into the chaotic waters below. Only Cyline remained, hunched down by the railing. The titan clad in red crossed her arms and looked down at Cyline, the assault bots behind her seemingly standing at ease, weapons inactive. From the distant back of the ship, a man in a white robe, face draped in a white hood, approached. He had a familiar aura about him.
The man spoke as he neared, stepping even closer than the woman in red. "We finally meet again, Cyline. We've come to bring you back, as the Harbinger of Hope, once more." Looking up into the eyes of the one standing before her, Cyline recognized him as a fellow child of the Cult of Silence, one born with very powerful magical abilities whose mother perished during his birth, and a boy Cyline had once considered her younger, surrogate brother. Despite utter annihilation, it seemed the Cult of Silence had resurfaced once more in the past 12 years. Lucius Palladia, now known as the Harbinger of Aurora, extended an arm as though to help Cyline to her feet. Instead, she reached for the railing behind her, and thrust herself overboard.
She awoke once more in a hospital in Paragon City, this time on Talos Island. The Wyvern operation, kept secret to the public, had been a failure. But, what Cyline had learned from it, is that the demons of her past were not yet done. From the ashes the Cult of Silence left behind, arose the corporation known as Silent Heaven, controlled by twelve new Harbingers. With bow in hand, and the spark of Life glowing within her, Cyline knew there was no escaping the fate that waited before her.
A Group to Oppose Heaven
Knowing she had allies helped Cyline feel assured. The group spent most of its time helping with the efforts to clean up the streets of Paragon City. However, an aspiring hero can only focus on the small fry for so long. As a result of what Cyline believed her inexperience as a leader, the group began to fall apart. Fewer and fewer of the heroes visited their base in Steel Canyon anymore.
Feeling as alone as she had at any point in her life, Cyline too left the base. Realizing that she needed to find her own strength, before she could ever hope to lead anyone in battle, she set out on her own to make a difference to the city.
Giving herself the title of Battle Medic, Cyline assisted other heroes of the city by supporting them in battle. After earning herself the right to don a cape, she even designed herself a costume for the task, and learned to control the outer appearance of her body to transform in and out of the costume at will.
A few months into her heroing career, Cyline met up with Luminates, one of her group members who was surprised to find that even she had abandoned their base. Reunited, they worked together on many missions, and offered one another consistent aid. Not long after, knowing that others had found themselves once again returning to the base, a now much more experienced Cyline returned to leading the supergroup.
By security level 40, Cyline could feel the flame of Life she'd been born with burning as fiercely as ever. She knew Silent Heaven would be waiting any day now, hoping to use that power to finally resurrect their deity. However, she began to feel a new kind of power growing within, as well. It felt so similar, that she could barely recognize it from her own powers of life, but she could sense there was something there.
She and Luminates joined Vanguard to assist with the war against the Rikti. Cyline also offered her full support to Portal Corp. in helping with the Multidimensional war. Ever confident, each successive operation ended in success. However, during a lot of the close calls she and her groups had come across, her form would often change, shifting from the black and green uniform of her Battle Medic form into an armor of white and gold that covered her body, with great feathered wings stretched out from below her shoulders. The new transformation made her seem celestial, and she could feel stronger energy coursing through her, allowing her to be of more assistance to her comrades.
The new powers also gave her minor psychic control, able to grant herself resistance to enemy attacks, and even repelling entire groups of enemies, preventing them from attacking her allies.
Having assisted both Lady Grey and Statesman by method of task force, Cyline had become a respectably decorated hero, and a true savior of the world. She knew the time was coming, where she would have to face off with the evil of Silent Heaven, of the Cult of Silence, once and for all.
The Final Battle
Knowing it was time for the final showdown, Cyline amassed her forces into a 6-man task force. Accompanying her were Luminates, Samonji, Lerinth Rahlian, Skyrunde, and Kaeli Azure. Having used her connections to secure a submarine, Cyline led the group to the Rogue Isles, and into the caverns her parents had ventured nearly two decades prior.
Through the caverns, the only resistance were from the Harbingers themselves -- the shadowy Harbinger of Obscurity, the adamant Harbinger of the Abyss, and the electrifying Harbinger of Judgment all sought to end the group's journey. However, Cyline's team overcame each villain in turn.
In the very bottom depths of the caverns, the group reached their goal. However, instead of a dark and forgotten cave, they found a large, open temple, with a stairway leading to the back of the room, where in a massive throne sat the lifeless body of the deity the Cultists had worshipped. And beyond even that, a massive crystal, color of violet with emerald energy swirling about it. Between Cyline's team and the stairway, stood two more opponents -- the Harbinger of Aurora, eagerly awaiting a reunion with his surrogate sister; and the mastermind behind Silent Heaven, the shadowy necromancer known as the Harbinger of Truth. While Cyline acted to counter Aurora's debuffing energies with the Life forces she posessed, the rest of her team sought to combat Truth's undead army.
Hoping to bring a hasty end to the battle, the heroes sought to bring down the Mastermind. With one, well-placed attack, Truth's body was cleaved in two. However, to the heroes' dismay, the undead onslaught resumed. The distant, foreboding voice of their true opponent began to laugh, even mock them. Piecing itself back together, Truth's body revealed it, too, to be nothing more than another undead puppet. The real battle began from that point on.
Even worse, the crystal within the room, known as the Enercryst, became fully active. The result was the forcing out of more and more of Cyline's life-giving energies, radiating through the entire room, and draining it into the regenerating corpse planted upon the throne.
Nothing seemed to be working, and the battle appeared endless. The foreboding voice echoed again, taunting the heroes to kill Cyline if they wanted to stop his plans. While it made sense, they could not bring themselves to turn on their friend, and instead turned their attention to the regenerating corpse instead, rushing in with a full-on assault.
Unfortunately, it was too late. With a burst of light, the corpse had fully regenerated, a black coat flowing down its body, armor of obsidian covering him further, as hair striped of white and black flowed down passed his shoulders. The deity of the cult had been born -- an ancient sorcerer of godly power and the utmost evil hovered before them now. Nethril, the Incarnate, was reborn.
Finally realizing he'd been fighting for the wrong side, the Harbinger of Aurora joined Cyline's group. Also, a half-beaten Harbinger of Judgment had arrived, intent on taking Nethril down herself. However, the monster seemed too much for her, and so the group of eight, heroes and villains, united in battle against the evil entity.
While difficult, victory seemed assured, as their combined attacks began to bring the godly being down. However, just before the group claimed victory, Nethril turned his attention to Cyline, and in the blink of an eye sucked forth all of the power she had left within her. Just like that, Cyline lost her power of Life, now reclaimed by the Entity who had granted it to her. Using the reclaimed power, Nethril's regeneration powers shot through the roof. In a single attack, that filled the room with an incredible amount of raw magic power that sizzled against the temple walls even after the attack, Nethril decimated the entire group.
When hope seemed lost, Cyline though she heard a voice in the distance, calling out to her. "Awaken, my child.." it said. Feeling her energy coming back, Cyline's form changed to the Blessing of Life, as white flames began to surround her, filling her with energy. She came to realize that Nethril was not the only "God" who had been watching out for her. Blessed by the entity she believed to be Apollo, Cyline engaged Nethril alone. The clash of light and dark seemed deadlocked in a futile struggle. In order to overcome the foe, Cyline asked her allies to focus their life energies on her, so that together they may defeat him.
Empowered, Cyline delivered one final punch to Nethril's midriff, knocking the wind out of him completely. Unleashing an attack of her own that flooded the room with blinding light, she finished the evil sorcerer off once and for all -- no, not with death. That would have been too good for such an evil. Instead, she had taken every last bit of Nethril's power, and destroyed it. The sentence she had chosen was an eternity to life as a powerless, human being. For every life he had taken in his existence since the dawn of time, he would have to live out his sentence. With another ray of light from her hand, Cyline teleported the fallen deity to a jail cell for his crimes.
But, the power had left Cyline's own body in bad shape. As she collapsed, it seemed she wouldn't be coming back to Paragon with her allies. But, as long as her life were no longer a threat to the entire world, she could pass away happy.
...Lucius, on the other hand, thought differently. Cyline deserved to live. Using up a large amount of his own energy, he gave Cyline enough time to reach Paragon City with the rest of them, and receive the medical attention she needed to recover.
After the Battle
Thanks to the care of her adopted brother, Cyline lived. Due to the intense amount of energy her body had released that day, she suffered from a condition the doctors called Overburn. She remained in the hospital for about a week, before being allowed to return to her apartment. Even then, it took three more weeks, forbidden from the use of any powers or placing herself in harm's way, to fully recover. Wanting the best for their lives, Cyline enrolled herself in University, and pushed some of her younger supergroup members to go back to High School themselves and graduate. During her recovery time, she spent a large deal of her time relaxing in the Pocket D.
Having returned to the action of a Hero life, Cyline continues to lead the Silent Hell group, their new purpose to clean up the rest of the threats to their world, and hopes to bring about peace for everyone.
(( More to come in the near future ))
