Snowpaw
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Kayla "Snowpaw" Fortune
Contents |
Origin
Kayla Fortune, registered under the hero name Snowpaw, is a young hero new to Paragon City. Her superpowers are magical in nature, being granted to her from the Spirit Realm, and rely on harnessing the harsh power of the cold, arctic north. She is a spunky and animated character, very vocal and loquacious, but is sweet and dear to her closest of friends. Eager to achieve and prove herself, Snowpaw often pick challenges beyond her capabilities, and is usually only saved by help from fellow heroes, or plain dumb luck. Which is good, since she rarely travels alone, being somewhat phobic of solitude. She is a fast learner despite her aversion to warnings, choosing rather to learn by doing even if it means failure. She has a strong attitude that lends well to heroism, and is a valuable ally to those that put their trust in her.
In-game Biography
Snowpaw
Kayla was the daughter of the famous explorer and adventurer Dr. Roy Fortune, who explored the corners of the arctic circle looking for lost artifacts of cultures long vanished. In her youth, Kayla became very acquainted with the Inuit people and their customs.
On one fateful expedition, the Fortunes were lost to a terrible blizzard. Unable to see through the storm, Kayla found herself trapped in the frozen wastes. Doing only what she knew from the Elder Shaman's advice, she pleaded with the Great Spirits for help, and lo, they carried her away on the light of the aurora. Her father, sadly, was never found.
Awaking in town, the shamans named her "Aputasham" or Snow-paw, and entrusted her with the protection of the Great Spirits, Wolf, Seal, Bear and Owl. She was imbued with the light of the borealis, and the strength of the northern winds. Now she journeys the earth to find where she belongs, and carry on the legacy of her lost father.
Kayla Fortune
Talk into this thing? Naturally? Okay. I'll try.
I'm Kayla, and I'm seventeen. I was born in Nunavut. My mom is Inuit. And yes, my dad is the famous late explorer Dr. Roy Fortune. So I lived with him in New York City and went on his expeditions. I went home to my mother's village many times, and it was them who taught me to open up to shamanic practice. Once I could commune with my totems, they named me Aputasham, the snow-paw.
I work with my totems, but I found I can't rely on them. They're fickle spirits. So Insulator built me some fancy tech to keep me on the job. Now I have the best of both worlds, high tech toys and spirit magic. It works out better than you might think.
What about me? Personally? I dunno. I like to be lazy. I also like mint ice cream. I drive a Bimmer that used to be my dad's. I have an older pushy brother, Nate. That's about it. Can we be done? Just stamp the form, and I'll go back to doing what I do. Register my hero name as "Snowpaw". Thanks.
Affiliations
Active member of the Teen Phalanx.
Known Associates
- Nikkor
- Lil Homie
- Shadow-Kat
- Insulator
- Epode
- Gremlin
- Mac Sidhe
- Brand-X
- Vladimir Alexandros
- Oscar Shawe
- Russian Joule
- Stefan Guigar
- Delta Tech
- Boyce Crane
Powers
Shamanism
Kayla's supernatual abilities are spiritual in nature, pulled mostly through her shamanic practices. Her ability to commune with totem spirits allows her to leverage the primal nature of the arctic, from the icy winds to the animals that protect it. Her path as a shaman makes her a spirit healer, and she can "dreamwalk" in the spirit realm for answers or to help others. The only other magic she has learned that has not been granted to her by her shamanic practice is the summoning of fire, which was taught to her by the mage Kaleiope.
- Spirit Shapeshifting - She can take the forms of the spirit animals she communes with. These totems are fickle and do not always aquiesce, but when she is in good standing with them they will empower her with their primal essence.
To date, Kayla has communed with Snowy Owl, Artic Wolf and Snow Leopard, and there is promise in her future to commune with Polar Bear.
- Spirit Walking - Kayla can enter a deep meditation and leave her body to venture into the spirit realm. This is how she communes with her totems and is blessed by them. She may also find wayward spirits, or see into the spirits of others in this way. This is very effective in detecting magical disturbances as well.
- Spirit Healing - Trained in the ways of shamanic healing, Kayla is a witch doctor of sorts. She can heal most physical wounds and diseases, particularly those surrounding toxicity and impurity. However, she pays a great cost as she must first take the infliction on to herself. Where this was necessary in her home village, she rarely plays the role of a field medic, and instead helps those who may be suffering from long-term afflictions.
- Arctic Summoning - The first true skill she mastered was that of summoning the icy, arctic winds. She can create storms and whirling vorteces of razor-sharp ice, or lightning. It is a storm summoning of special significance, as it carries upon it the vengeance of the great white north.
- Fire Summoning - Her latest foray into magic was learning the antithesis of her practice, that of summoning fire. It has helped greatly on her polar expeditions, and in her mind, brings her magic in balance with itself.
Tech Gear
With all her shamanic practice, one might find Kayla to be opposed to technology. However, one does not grow up in Manhattan without a reverence for the advancements of mankind. She likes nice cars and lives very much so in the urban light. So when one fateful day her totems abandoned her at a near fatal moment, she decided not to trust the fickle and selfish spirits with her life at all times. Instead, she entrusted Insulator to build her an armored battle suit, which would keep her frail, all-too-human body from harm while on duty. The suit is rarely worn these days, but she keeps it on standby with a teleporting wrist device. Instead, she has decided to keep one perk of the suit, the high-powered concussion gauntlets that grant her a hand-to-hand combat advantage she never had. Now skilled in various martial arts from her trusted crime-fighting friends, she uses these martial skills to complement her magic when getting the job done.
- Armored Suit - Codenamed the SNO-PAw, the combat-ready suit is on its third iteration. The SN0-3 is equipped with muscle augmentation, concussion gauntlets and booster jets. It is lightweight at .5 tons, and with helmet, can handle the vacuum of space. It has been through multiple adjustments with the help of Gremlin and Delta Tech, but as Kayla feels more confident without it, may not see another revision for some time.
- Concussion Gauntlets - Originally connected to the main power supply of the SN0-1, the gauntlets proved to be the most valuable piece of the combat suit. As such, Kayla had Gremlin detatch the gauntlets from the suit, and run on their own independent power supplies. At first, power consumption and overheating were a major concern, but tweaks by Delta Tech have brought their power level up, and their weight down. Still, the heavy gloves have proven to be a great workout for Kayla, and she is now more combat capable than ever.
Tenure
Kayla has been in Paragon City since 2009, and has already established herself as a vital member to the Teen Phalanx, as well as the hero community as a whole.
Storylines
2009
Having finally settled in Paragon City after settling matters with her father's estate in New York, Kayla decided that her new powers were best put to helping the citizens of Paragon City while searching for more clues to her family legacy, as her father had been born here. She quickly found alliances with other local heroes, and has dropped feet first into the fray. It's been a very fast ride, leaving little time for adjustment as she is thrown from threat to threat. Now that the dust is starting to settle, Kayla is acclimating to her environment, and beginning to find a few friends. She's still having nightmares of the fateful day she lost her father, though, and this drives her to continue searching for her family history.
2010
After working in Paragon City and honing her elemental abilities, Kayla received a telegraph from Nunavut that simply said "FOUND FORTUNE COME SOON". She flew to Iqaluit and drove north to the fishing village where she was raised, but RCMP officers intercepted her, and escorted her to an outpost on the Hudson Bay.
She was introduced to Chief Superintendent Andros Wilkes, who explained that he sent the telegraph and that it was a matter of conflict. Kayla, frustrated by the obfuscation, demanded to see her father. It was carefully explained to her that it was not her father that was found, but her missing mother, Desna Fortune. For the first time, Kayla met her mother and discovered her true Inuit roots. Desna also explained that her father was not deceased, but was indisposed fighting off a growing yeti population in the arctic. Deciding not to persue further, Kayla returned to Paragon City with a stronger understanding of her past and a clear ambition to grow as a spiritual guide, and walk the shamanic path completely.
Roleplay elements
Kayla can be a bit polar in her attitude. She is either overly sweet and caregiving, or she is hostile and difficult. She does not actively choose one over the other, it is entirely up to a matter of trust. Her heart collapses on those she holds dear, and allows herself to be completely vulerable. For all others, she keeps a quilled armor of sassy attitude and poor manners ready. She is aware of this flaw, and does try her best to meet most halfway, but one betrayal of her trust generally sets people on the outs. Few have breeched this gap, the most notable being Vladimir Alexandros, who went from being her worst personal adversary to closest adult friend.
By nature, she defends the weak, and looks to help those who have difficulty helping themselves. This is particularly true of children, especially the youngest or least capable of the Teen Phalanx. This empathy has granted her the role of Resident Assistant, so that she can better help the younger or newer members with their troubles.
Trivia
Kayla's father, Dr. Roy Fortune, is an homage to other famous comic explorers, such as Dr. Quest and Dr. Venture. And of course, Indiana Jones. To differ from these explorers and to work with Kayla's shamanic background, I set his expeditions in the arctic. If Dr. Fortune is indeed dead (!), I suspect he was killed by a yeti.
Kayla Fortune is the spiritual successor of an old MUSH character I used to play named Kayna Shobayashi. This was mostly unintentional, but after playing Kayla for a few years I now realized their many similarities.
When I first rolled up Kayla as Snowpaw, I had absolutely intended her to be a storm-summoning shaman. What I didn't intend was for her to become a long-term character, let alone my main.
Kayla is now a Kinetic Melee, which is a personal homage to Battle Angel Alita, who fought with plasma from her cyborg hands. I made Kayla fight with her concussion gauntlets and martial arts in the same manner. I have been a fan of Alita for 17 years, and look forward to the inevitable James Cameron movie, even if it does put a permanent twist on my favorite childhood manga heroine.
After having a depressing severance from my original supergroup, I used Snowpaw as a way to begin a fresh start. I was welcomed back with open arms and don't intend on leaving again, even if I have another long hiatus.
Sign Board
Met Kayla? Have something to say? Go ahead and post it here.
- @Lemmo - Like this!
- @Akkai - Or THIS!