Ihsan
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| [[Image:|300px|]] | |
| Ihsan | |
| Player: | |
| Origin: | Mutant |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Corrupter |
| Security Level: | 29 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Unknown |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Human Mutant |
| Age: | unknown |
| Height: | 5' 8" |
| Weight: | 130 |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | White (Brown) |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Presumed American |
| Occupation: | Mystic |
| Place of Birth: | Unknown |
| Base of Operations: | N/A (Nation) |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | None Known |
| Known Powers | |
| Life Force Augmentation | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Martial Arts/ Meditation | |
| Equipment | |
| None | |
| No additional information available. | |
"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."
- - Matthew 10:16
Contents |
Affiliations
Ihsan is an Archon of Nation. Where Canvas is a diplomat, Auroral a general, Ihsan is a prophet and a seer, a guide in emotional and spiritual matters for the Evolved of Nation. Ihsan obviously has much rapport with her fellow Archons and Agony, and has been known to give advice to the other members of Nation.
Personality
"Few things haunt as true serenity."
- - Graveyard inscription
From the outside, Ihsan can seem withdrawn. She is quiet, rarely speaking, and she often simply sits and watches something for hours at a time, such as the struggle of a lone leaf against the wind on a dying tree, or the arcing motions of a single bird above the smokestacks of Sharkhead Isle.
Yet, when dealing with one of Nation, one of her fellow Evolved, she has a most intense manner of listening. She simply watches, her eyes on her audience, and create a kind of silence that her audience simple feels compelled to fill.
There is no compulsion at work; Ihsan simply loves her fellow Evolved, and has an everflowing wellspring of patience. She does not inquire, nor pry; she simply sits, and patiently waits for the person seeking her help to unwind their problems before her, and then offers her wisdom.
So very often, she's right. A veritable wellspring of intellect, Ihsan constantly gives the impression that she is subtly sad; sad that you have to ask her help, that you have not realised the problem yourself. Yet, she is longsuffering, and always willing to put her friends and followers on the right path.
Powers
Ihsan posses a rare gift indeed. The ability to manipulate both the life force in any living being. In particular she has spent her life becoming in tune with the stronger 'Alpha Radiance' possessed by the Evolved learning to augment their natural genetic gifts, raising them to the height of their potential while in her presence.
This ability, in some cases, can unleash latent potential in Neutrals permanently, granting them access to their talents. With Agony's recently discovered 'Formula 13' the effects may become tremendous.
Perhaps most visually impressive is her ability to actually project the life-glow (as she calls it) into offensive blasts. This is the crudest use of her abilities.
Abilities
One could argue that many of Ihsan's powers as an Evolved stem from her personal training. Prior to her attendance to various forms of meditation and martial study, she was little more than a neverending battery, a power source that could be tapped but just as much could sit dormant.
Ihsan can reach out and touch the ki of another, invigorating and empowering them. The subject thinks faster, reacts quicker, dodges the hit or takes it better, and in general, is loaned some of Ihsan's phenomenal martial prowess. So doing actually suffuses Ihsan's own martial ability, but
It has been suggested that Ihsan can only use these powers to benefit an Evolved. This has proven to not necessarily be the case, as she has been seen granting vigor and power to Neutrals[1].
Ihsan has a vast wellspring of knowledge, of how people act, and why they choose to act. Her life experience - even after her recent withdrawl from the world - has given her a great deal of understanding of how people act, and, more importantly, the nature of incentive.
Weaknesses and Limitations
"No god but Evolution."
- - Ihsan
Ihsan's is ultimately, the fountainhead for an amazing aspect of power. However, as the channel and the conduit, she can bear only so much strain herself. Simply put, Ihsan can make others more powerful than she can make herself.
Ihsan can often come across as aloof, or oddly impatient with others. There's a certain sadness about her, not about anything that's wrong per se, but that she herself lacks something in the world around her[2].
Character History
The mutant known as Ihsan was born during the year 1854 to a ranching family in what would later become modern Kansas. Although it was obvious from the day of her birth that she was different, due to the strange markings on her face, the full extent of her birthright would not become apparent until much later. Although she carried the stigma of being a female child (what's worse, an un-marriageable female child) she lived a mostly prosaic farm life until the winter of 1863 when a strange traveler happened upon her family's ranch.
The Stranger was allegedly the sole survivor of a detachment who had been wiped out during the course of the second Sioux War. In reality he was a traveling hedge wizard doing his best to avoid dying in the cold. Although the family did their best to avoid <Ihsan> having contact with the stranger, mostly due to their embarrassment of her, he was none-the-less aware of her within moments of coming near the ranch. Of course, having no real knowledge of what a mutant even was, the Stranger assumed she was just some natural node of energy and decided to use her to that effect. Killing her family and binding her with spells the stranger and Ihsan soon disappeared into the mountains of Colorado after the snows melted and spring set in. Before the end of the year Ihsan was a gibbering emaciated wreck kept alive only by the energies coursing through her and fed into the Stranger to augment his power. And so she remained for decades, and then a century as the energies coursing through her body were siphoned to sustain the stranger and allow him to control a cult eventually numbering in the hundreds in his vast hidden complex in the Colorado Rockies.
In 1997, during a high point in her Captivity, Ihsan was suddenly rescued. The cult formed by the Stranger was dismantled in rather gruesome fashion, as Agony, still not having perfected his Alpha-Boosting equipment, singlehandedly drove every member insane or killed them outright by heart-attack. The Mutant Terrorist had been combing the world seeking those with specific talents to help him in founding an organization he had been planning for decades, one that would elevate the Mutant race (the Evolved, or Evos) to its own supremacy. The fight between The Stranger and Agony was brutal, but short, with Agony barely coming out on top after having received grievous wounds by the Stranger's magics. He realized that the girl's potential was limitless, and around her he could base the beginnings of an Evolved society, with her holding the religious edge to match his own political masterminding. He flew her away, cradling her in his unfeeling arms, and brought her East, to Central City, where they remained for two years, during the duration of the 'Arclite Incident'.
During this entire time they remained in Central, he cared for her, making certain to feed and educate her, offering her literature and explanations, and occasionally allowing her freedoms to do what he could not, such as go outside, always stressing their need to hide from those who would further abuse and exploit her.
In the winter of 2005, after having moved to Paragon City and after Agony was freed from confinement in Ziggursky Prison and shortly after the founding of Nation proper, Ihsan (named for the Arabic term meaning "perfection" or "excellence") approached the Exarch and informed him she had much to think on. Sequestering herself in her meditation room on Nation she entered a deep mediative trance, falling inside the pathways of 'life' to which her power provided her access.
So she remained, unmoving, until two years later she opened her eyes and uttered simply: 'I'm ready." before stepping out of her chamber and down to Terra.
Footnotes
- ↑ What is not realised is that Evolved can handle the strain that Ihsan's ki powers put on them, while Neutrals can't. Every instance of Ihsan inflaming and invigorating or healing and empowering a Neutral can be seen as summarily lopping a few years off the end of that Neutral's life.
- ↑ The fact is, Ihsan sees a kind of future, following the strands of life as they ricochet off one another. With this sense of prophecy, she can often be seen as existing in a perpetual state of frustration, seeing the world as it is, and the world as it will be.
