Sunless Flame
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Sunless Flame in her humble abode. | |
| Sunless Flame | |
| Player: IanTheM1 | |
| Origin: | Mutation |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Corruptor |
| Threat Level: | Threat Level 38 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Melissa Noves |
| Known Aliases: | Confidential |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 20 |
| Height: | 6' 1" |
| Weight: | 160 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Dark brown/dusty red |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Vagabond |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City Central Hospital |
| Base of Operations: | St. Martial |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Gregory (Father), Maria (Mother) (deceased), Mark (Brother). |
| Known Powers | |
| Fire Blasting, Dark Miasma | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Arcane knowledge | |
| Equipment | |
| N/A | |
| No additional information available. | |
Sunless Flame is a Security Level 38 Fire Blast / Dark Miasma Corruptor, of the Mutation origin. She currently does not belong to a supergroup. Sunless Flame was created and is played by IanTheM1.
Also known as simply Flame in casual conversation, Sunless Flame is a character created in direct opposition to her brother, Masked Bolt.
Contents |
Origin
Melissa Noves was born a few years before the big hero boom that heralded the New Age of Heroes. As such, she never really had any heroic role models growing up, only her mother to raise her. Her father had abruptly left when she was young.
Her life was normal, or at least as normal as one's life ever is in Paragon City. Once Melissa started her teen years, however, things started going downhill. Poorer grades in school, social pressures, not to mention mom's attention being spent on her rambunctious brother all led to her becoming more and more secluded.
It was around the time Melissa was sixteen that she started noticing...oddities. Candle flames seemed to draw nearer to her when she was in the room. Her body temperature was always a few degrees higher than average. She saw shadows move at night. It was terrifying.
Then, one unassuming day, she was mad. Angry. She had gotten into an argument with her mother. And then it happened. Fire. Right from her hands. It was hard to control, and she didn't know if she even wanted to control it. Melissa fled the burning house and never looked back.
She traveled along the underground circles in Paragon for a while. Tsoo one day, Warriors the next. Sometimes someone had a problem and they came after her. Sometimes she had a problem with someone and came after them.
Eventually Melissa's travels took her to the Rogue Isles, where she quickly fit into the crime-filled streets of Port Oakes.
Powers, Abilities, and Quirks
Fire Blast
Sunless Flame is a pyrokinetic via mutation. Her pyrokinesis is mostly fueled by her rage, but is never inaccessible. It is precise enough that Melissa can control the flame of a candle.
Dark Miasma
Through a combination of her mutation and time spent reading arcane literature, Melissa has managed to focus her ability to control shadows. Acting as the inverse of her flames, Melissa uses them to heal herself, disorient her enemies, and also as a means to meditate.
Storylines
O Brother, O Sister
A story of conflict between brother and sister, and later, their father.
All forty-four chapters of O Brother, O Sister are posted at IanTheM1's Stories Page.
Reunion
(Chapters 1-11)
Melissa discovers her brother's exploits in Paragon City and, feeling bitter at his success, decides to hurt him for playing hero. After being put in the hospital from the attack, he must deal with the knowledge that someone familiar out to get him along with the fact that he may be a mutant. Both of the siblings are even more surprised when their their father returns from parts unknown.
The Test
(Chapters 12-22)
After being told that they are opposites and that it is their nature to come into conflict with each other through a strange dream featuring their father, the siblings continue on with their lives. But, Gregory has different plans for the two of them, and contracts the Earthen Devil to test the mettle of his daughter and Anthony The Scourged to lay a trap for his son.
Mark is seriously injured due to Anthony's supernatural nature and the Youth Corps must piece together what exactly is going on in order to save him. Meanwhile, Melissa struggles against the Devil himself, only to receive an unlikely ally...
And in a short aside, the cryptic Inspector LeRon comes to Paragon City.
Inspection
(Chapters 23-33)
Inspector LeRon, revealed to be the Noves siblings' wayward uncle (though not by blood), makes an attempt to bring the siblings together and make peace, but things go disastrously wrong when Gregory reappears.
Devotion
(Chapters 34-44)
The finale of the saga, concluding the events of Inspection as well as "O Brother, O Sister" as a whole.
2015 AD
Eight years in the future, nothing is at all well. The Godby Organization has usurped Arachnos and nearly taken over the world in a massive conflict. Many heroes and villains have been wiped out, captured, or enslaved. But some have survived the chaos and now stand against the organization.
The mini-series 2015 AD takes place in Paragon City, where Melissa, her brother, and the Earthen Devil are some of the final defenders of the war-torn city.
All twelve chapters are published at IanTheM1's Stories Page.
Divergence and Destinies
Several parts of the Assembled Girl story Divergence and Destinies take place in 2015 AD. It is in those chapters that the story begun in the mini-series is concluded.
The five chapters concerning 2015 AD are available at the Assembled Girl Archive.
Creator Notes and Trivia
- It's always been a bit of a challenge for IanTheM1 to write and roleplay Sunless Flame, as she rarely gets into a situation where she can show off some of her more subtle attributes. She's very bitter and has short fuse, but she does have depth - it's just hard to express. Some of this is explored further in Inspection and Devotion.
