The Lightningale
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Gale posing for a picture among friends | |
| The Lightningale | |
| Player: @Lightningale | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Controller |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Abigail Elizabeth Chase |
| Known Aliases: | Gale, Light, Abby |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 28 |
| Height: | 6' |
| Weight: | 126 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Blue/Green |
| Hair Color: | Blond |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Licensed Super Hero, Paragon University Student, Public Relations Assistant at MAGI |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City, Rhode Island |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Laura (Mother; Deceased), Alex (Father), Roger (Brother), Frank (Brother), Michelle (Sister; Deceased) |
| Known Powers | |
| Mind Control, Storm Summoning, Flight, Fire Mastery | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Superior Memory, Songspelling | |
| Equipment | |
| Silvertwine Bracelet, Blackwand, the Counter-Thorn, Book of Minor Incantations | |
| No additional information available. | |
The Lightningale was first introduced to the Virtue Universe in June 2004, created to fill an apparent gap in Paragon’s super-powered crimefighting force. In the aftermath of the Rikti Invasion, nearly all members of Paragon's premiere magical supergroup, the Midnight Squad, had been destroyed or forced into hiding. Their absence allowed dark magic groups like the Circle of Thorns to expand to previously unseen proportions.
The Lightningale thus appeared to help turn the tide, as one of the first of a new generation of magical heroes with enough candor to take the fight to the streets. She is co-founder of a supergroup toward that end, the Midnight Avengers, who continue to plague purveyors of the dark arts to this day. Gale’s look, personality, and methods come from an amalgamation of comic and literary influences. She is probably best described as a singing blend of Supergirl and Hermione.
Contents |
Affiliations
- St Ignus (Mentor)
- Bosal (Associate)
- Rejuvenate (Associate)
- Evan Malone (Associate)
- Prof. Midnight (Associate)
- Soul Kiln (Associate)
- Contact (Brother; retired hero)
Supergroup: The Midnight Avengers
Personality
In and out of costume, Gale is extroverted and passionate, quick to smile and zealous to distinguish herself in a crowd. She tends to be an over-achiever, taking on many tasks and problems at a time, and placing the bulk of any burden on her own shoulders. She regards her intellect as her primary ability and approaches most assignments with serious thought and preparation. Her experiences in the arcane arts have left her open-minded where religion and philosophy are concerned.
Relationally she is usually open and friendly, quick to notice the accomplishments of her friends and associates, and sympathetic to those in distress. She's highly curious, which leads her occasionally to press too deep into the affairs of others, and she combines a strong sense of personal style with a weakness for vanity.
Since founding the Avengers, the Lightningale has grown considerably in her confidence and ability to lead, preferring non-hierarchical power structures and room for dialogue. She will readily step up to make important decisions and direct the course of events where a problem arises and a figurehead is needed.
Powers and Abilities
Superior Memory
Abigail Chase has always been gifted with an exceptional ability to remember the things she sees and hears. While not a supernatural trait, her talent for recall gave her a significant advantage in most classes growing up and allowed her more time to absorb the complex histories and enchantments that she was secretly studying on the side.
In particular, Gale's ability to remember vocabulary has allowed her to become something of a dead language polyglot. Her spells utilize a variety of tongues and influences from the hieroglyphs of Egypt to the tonal runes of Mu, and she specialized in Attic Greek and Latin at Oxford.
Songspelling
Since at least age eight, Gale has been able to manipulate air pressure through song. Though she herself only recently discovered it, this incredible ability is a divine gift from Zeus and may come with strings attached. Up until this revelation, however, the sorceress suspected genetic mutation, and she kept the ability a secret through much of her childhood. Gale is possessed of a very fine soprano, and she has made an effort to keep her voice trained and healthy. As her talent to cast through song has grown in adulthood, so too have her abilities to change the weather. While songspelling, Gale's voice changes timbre and has a supernatural reverberation.
Psychokinetic Spells (Mind Control)
“I’m not psychic per se, but I know how to change people’s minds.” - Gale
Although she has no constant telepathic link or extra-sensory perception, Gale specializes in enchantments that influence the “mental essence” of things and tap the connection between mind (νους) and body (σωμα). Also known as psychomancy, this focus allows her to quickly incapacitate, confuse, and even bodily manipulate people and some objects.
Many of these spells are now so practiced that the Lightningale need only speak a finishing word to initiate the effect, and she can often affect subjects in a wide area. This gives her a powerful element of control in potentially dire situations. After careful review, MAGI has given her complete discretion in the use of psychomancy and occasionally asked her to act as an instructor to beginning students of that art.
Weather Manipulation (Storm Summoning)
The Lightningale's ability to change air pressure (and thus the weather) is a far more complicated matter than her talent with psychomancy. Her ability to "sing to the wind" manifested in childhood, but remained unexplained until after her registration as a super-powered hero.
Returning from one of her first missions in Astoria, Gale was engulfed in blinding light and bodily translated into the presence of an entity who identified himself as Ζευς. Despite limited alliance with otherworldly entities such as Grey and Hermes, Abigail Chase had no known prior contact with this being. Ζευς indicated that she had received his patronage because of her uncanny resemblance to his daughter ‛Ελενη. This patronage included limited divine protection and a fraction of the power of winds.
After returning to Astoria, the Lightningale has had no other such episodes, but her powers have expanded considerably. She can summon hurricane force winds, condense moisture into dangerous storm clouds, and form hailstorms in seconds, all with an intuitive grace, and all through song. The apparent lack of consequent atmospheric instability in the face of these formations still remains a mystery.
Flight
Gale's ability to fly is a combination of her storm and telekinetic powers. Changes in air pressure and subsequent winds help give her the lift to take to the air and stay aloft. These winds are fickle, however, requiring the sorceress to use telekinetic magic to steady herself and direct her course over the city.
Flame Spells (Fire Mastery)
Having been trained in the mystic arts by Justin Ignatius (aka St Ignus), a true master of arcane fire, the Lightningale could not help but pick up a few of his tricks. With simple gestures, she can summon a variety of flames and manipulate them to her advantage. In combat, she most often relies upon a simple burst of heat to weaken her foes. Her allies barely perceive this magical heat and remain unharmed by it. Mundane fire is an entirely different animal, however, and Gale has no more control over it than the average person.
Artifacts & Minor Enchantments
In addition to her signature spells, the Lightningale relies on a variety of minor magics in and out of costume. Some of the most notable:
- Twined Silver - The only artifact that can be found on Gale at any time. It appears as a bracelet made of three to four strands of etched silver wire and was originally designed by Abigail Chase during her years studying at Oxford. Capable of storing spells, the bracelet has a surprising variety of uses. The sorceress has been seen using it to establish portals, analyze other artifacts, and pull simple objects out of thin air. Only the Lightningale herself knows the full range of its power, but variations of the Twined Silver are carried by all Midnight Avengers.
- The Counter-Thorn - The Lightningale's greatest invention, and the fruit of more than five years of focused research. A curved horn of ivory banded with alchemically produced metals, the Counter-Thorn is still in its prototypical phase. The antithesis of the Spirit Thorns used by the Circle of Thorns, it serves as a conduit for soul transfer, channels the original soul back into a possessed body, and imprisons the possessing soul. It is meant to act as a focus in a complex ritual and improper use could prove disastrous. Thus, Gale only carries it on her person on rare occasions.
- Godric's Book of Minor Incantations - Disguised as a simple leather journal, this small tome serves as Gale's catch-all when unexpected difficulties arise. At a simple spoken password, the journal entries quickly rearrange themselves to display the book's true content: a small library of useful cantrips in short-hand, indexed by use. Among Gale's favorites are a simple stealth charm and a summons to bring allies to her immediate location.
- The Blackwand - One of M.A.G.I.'s many duplicates of the original artifact, Gale keeps this loaned arcane rod with her whenever she expects to encounter a fight. The wand is over two feet long and channels a tremendous amount of negative energy in a focusing crystal at its tip. Gale uses it with twinge of distaste after being convinced of its usefulness by Gregor Richardson.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Forthcoming...
Character History
Forthcoming...
Recent Events
Forthcoming...
Rogues Gallery
Forthcoming...
Character Trivia
The Lightningale: Anatomy of a Name
Forthcoming...
The Lightningale and Diane Kruger
A few times a year, the question comes up on the Virtue forum: Who would play your character in a Virtue universe movie? Ever since the first of these threads, a strong connection has emerged between the roles of actress Diane Kruger and the Lightningale. What's strange is that this connection is largely coincidental. As a bit of fun trivia, here are the three main links:
1. In the Disney movie, National Treasure, Kruger played a historian named Abigail Chase. The Lightningale's backstory, both her alter ego and her interest in history, were developed without the writer ever having seen or heard of the film.
2. In 2004, Warner Bros. released the epic Troy, with Kruger in a starring role as Helen of Troy, whose face "launch'd a thousand ships". Gale received her ability to summon storms as a direct result of her resemblance to Helen. Again, this direction for the character occurred independently of the film.
3. Starring in the French film Joyeux Noël in 2005, Diane played a talented German soprano, Anna Sorenson, whose song helps soothe the tension between opponents on the front lines. The Lightningale is a soprano and has been vocally trained for operatic performance, appearing in several roles at the Paragon Civic Opera.
