It's storytime...

Hello my fellow Kheldians! You might be wondering why you're here...so i might as well tell you!

With the end of my college semester coming up fast I've been drumming up ideas to help increase the skills I've been developing towards my major; Animation.

First, an animator MUST be a good story teller, and artist alike. So to develop both of these skills further I've decided to write a story over the summer months about my Peacebringer concept, named Se'At, and his fight against the Evil nictus that plague our Kheldian Race. From this story, I'm hoping to develop my own illustrated comic about him and his struggles.

Now, how does this involve you, my fellow Kheldians? Well, aside from my own Kheldian characters (Dividing the Dark, Speedy Avenger, and Se'At), there are many awesome and creative Kheldian players out there (that's you guys) with their own back stories and persona's. If I'm going to tell & illustrate a story about Kheldians, I'd absolutely love to involve you guys, the players, and your experiences with Kheldians.

Yes; I could just generate my own characters and write the story myself, but that doesn't develop my skills outside of my own little world. You guys, the players, represent a future client. In that sense, It will be my job to represent Kheldians the way WE want them to be represented, rather than solely how I see them.

If any of you are interested in being included in my little project, I would greatly appreciate some information about your characters. Who was your character before they became a Kheldian? How did they get their Kheldian abilities? What do they look like (a pic of their costume, if not I'll imagine one based on what information you give me.) How do you play your Kheldian, Are you a stealthy warshade, or an in-your-face behemoth? What are your intentions as a Kheldian, world domination, defeating the nictus, saving kittens?

For you role-players out there, what kind of personality does your Kheldian have; are you a sarcastic wise ***, or an emotionless harbinger of destruction?

Any of this information is useful and would be greatly appreciated.

If you choose to have your character/s included, all credits will be given through the use of board display names, or however you see fit. You guys are the boss of the characters here, not me


(This is solely for developing my skills as an artist and a storyteller. It will not be sold/copyrighted/ect...ect | also, No trademarks of Paragon Studios will be claimed as my own either, credit will be displayed where it is due.)

Thanks for reading guys! I look forward to your feedback!

~"Speedy"~

Wow! This looks like it'll be incredibly fun I'd gladly submit my twin Kheldians, the Templars of Truth and Judgement. I have no problems with you using them however you'd like within the comic, as long as they stay in-character. Otherwise, please, do tell me exactly what sort of information you'd like to know about them so I can provide you with all the info you need

I didn't expect a reply this fast

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diggaroo Wow! This looks like it'll be incredibly fun I'd gladly submit my twin Kheldians, the Templars of Truth and Judgement. I have no problems with you using them however you'd like within the comic, as long as they stay in-character. Otherwise, please, do tell me exactly what sort of information you'd like to know about them so I can provide you with all the info you need

They'll totally stay in character, that's the whole point of this ^_^

• Who's the Peacebringer and who is the 'Shade?
• Are your two Kheldians related in any way? Are the hosts siblings or friends? Are the Kheldian's themselves related but the hosts aren't?
• Are they from any real-world place? or just kind of "showed up."
• How did they become Kheldians?
• What are their intentions and, if possibly, personalities like?

Any of that general info would be helpful. If you want i could use the costume designs from your youtube videos of Truth and Judgment.

Aside from that, if you have an in-game bio you could PM me that or post it here. If not, just a simple statement about how you envision your Kheldians would do.

***If you wanted to...I could make them both the same character. A sort of "split Kheldian personality" type of thing. Both Kheldian's conflicting over the same host. Also, once i generate some ideas and sketches I'll send them to you for an overview to ensure they're in character**

I would say you can have my Warshade be the villain in your story, but that wouldn't be fair for everyone else, since the only logical conclusion would be that he kills you all within the first three pages.

Hmmm. I can give you two.. fairly different ones.

And I'll try not to type up a novel. Some of this plays a bit... fast and loose with potential lore (yeah, from the person who compiled the backstory guide,) but there wasn't really any info in a spot or two, so... *shrug*

Warshade: Violet Flame
Host: Violet.
Personality: Outgoing, generally friendly, helpful sort, tends to be that way to the point where she's underestimated (think "stereotypical blonde" without the hair) - until she comes up with some oddball bit of information someone needs. Big Prince fan, to the irritation of some, worse when she starts making up lyrics. (Had one person with "Raspberry Parfait" stuck in his head for a week. And yes, does own a raspberry colored beret.)
... no, didn't do that in game to anyone at *all.* *cough*
History - reader's digest version.
Vi (as she's generally called by her closest friends) started getting underestimated in high school thanks to her personality. Didn't matter how high her grades were (graduated fifth in her class,) most of her class would probably have called her a bit "spacy." (Until they had her tutoriing them, at least.) She pretty much got into anything that got her curious - cheerleading one year, softball the next, buried in the library in between.

She kept this up in college - including, to her annoyance, the underestimation from her peers. But that, as well as her knack for ferreting out information - and a strong dislike for the Council recruiters that started showing up on campus - brought her to the attention of another group.

Which is how, two years later, she found herself in a Council base. Regardless of rank, she still felt like a glorified secretary, but the base commander - himself a longtime veteran - protected her, treating her like the daughter he'd lost years ago. For her part, she ran files, got coffee, greeted dignitaries - and fed information out to her handlers about the projects in the base.

Which is how she met Cat. She'd managed to attract the wrong sort of attention with her activities, and found herself trapped and caught. Normally this would mean a few rounds of torture, then execution - but as disappointed as the base commander was, he opted for the more 'merciful' path of implanting her with a Nictus and turning her into a double agent.

Cat, meanwhile - the only bit of his name she caught was shortened to this - was an old Nictus, one who had sought to redeem himself by feeding information to the Peacebringers. He knew he was starting to draw attention himself, and so (after learning about Vi) allowed himself to "be volunteered" for this project. It was pretty much the only way out for both of them.

He used the few moments before they were joined to quickly explain and gain her trust. Vi, going on her instincts, didn't fight him. That evening - with a relaxed guard on the "new Nictus," they escaped. (Vi losing her lunch at the first teleport, but finding it "a rush" by the fifth or sixth.) They made their way to Sunstorm and his Peacebringers, Council hot on their heels - and found themselves in the care of a friend of Vi's, who'd managed - via the military - to join with a Kheldian and become a Peacebringer herself.

They broke off and started their own, small Kheldian group, attached to one of the established supergroups in the area. They ran it successfully, getting a good reputation - good enough to be given one of the Peacebringers' problem children to reform, Voidbane.

(Aren't you glad I gave the short version? WIll go into Voidbane in a moment.)

Vi refs:
The "dunno" pic I've been using.
Older set of character refs.
Vi by Sorah Suhng.
Vi and two other Khelds (including the PB mentioned above, Illume, on the right) from the group.
Vi and an annoyed Voidbane.


Voidbane
Peacebringer
Host: Diana
Personality - Headstrong, fairly aggressive, tends to be very driven towards fighting the Nictus and their creations, but accepting of Warshades. Tends to prefer to take care of things herself instead of taking care of a group. (She tends to feel far too responsible for those under her if she does.)

Voidbane's Kheldian has been active against the Nictus for a long time - since her home world was destroyed "for the advancement of science." It wasn't even the destruction that drove her on her crusade, though it would have been enough - it was the blatantly pointless destruction and death that really pushed her to fight. And fight she did, especially when she'd learn of Nictus "research centers."

It was one of these that led her on the trail to what would become the Void Hunter mercenaries on Earth. For once, she brought the information to her superiors first - who essentially told her to settle down and not worry about it. Furious at this dismissal, she went off on her own.

Arriving on Earth, she knew she'd need a host and found her - a cop who was just as headstrong and tired of being put down (in her case for being one of the only female officers in the precinct, and young at that) as Voidbane was. Explaining she could be part of something greater, a bigger fight than what she wasn't being allowed to see on the streets.

Her willingness to stand up to her superiors and the Nictus both gained her a small following of younger Peacebringers and Warshades who wanted to fight, *now.* She tried to dissuade them from joining "her" fight, not wanting to feel responsible for them, but eventually forged them (along with other allies) into a fast hitting strike group.

Her stubbornness was what finally brought her down. Knowing she was on their trail, a group of Council and Nictus laid a trap to kill - or if she somehow managed to survive, highly discredit her. It worked extremely well. Planting information, they led Voidbane to a labyrinthine, "secret" base complex where she discovered what looked like hundreds of Cysts. Had she investigated, waited even, she may have picked up something odd about them. Instead, she started to attack.

Had she done so less than an hour later, the school and public buildings above would have been full of people. As it was, the ground caved in and destroyed the buildings, sending twenty people (including two kids dropped off at school early) to the hospital.

It was a sick, quiet Voidbane brought to the tribunal. Stripped of her rank, the supergroup formed around her forcibly dissolved, the Kheldians of her group sent elsewhere (under a close eye,) she was given one last chance. Her powers restrained, essentially a criminal, she was handed over to Violet Flame and her group for retraining, after which she would either have learned to work with a group - or be locked up for the duration.

She felt she was lucky to get just that.

Voidbane - (Vigilante really suits her.)



... and those are the really, *really* short versions. >.>

See my Guides and Tutorials

Here's the long form of Starless Knight's bio. I've often wished the game would allow us just a little more room...

Warshade Name: Starless Knight
Human Name: Stephen Blythe
Kheldian Name: Event Horizon

Stephen Blythe was a college physics professor dying of cancer. Chemotherapy had been unsuccessful in halting the progress of the disease, leaving Blythe facing what would probably be the last few months of his life. He took a sabbatical from work and spent his time putting his life in order and trying to come to terms with his fate.

Late one night while gazing at the stars from his patio, Stephen saw what looked to be a shooting star. He smiled, as the last time he had been fortunate enough to see one was when he was a child. As he gazed at the purple and white light, he realized it was actually getting brighter. After a moment a tiny voice in the back of Stephen's mind told him it was getting entirely too bright....

Stephen's house was rocked by an explosion as something crashed into it. Heedless of any danger Stephen staggered over the remains of what was once his living room. He just had to see what it was. He was rather surprised to find not a stellar object or piece of a satellite, but a young man in a tattered black and purple costume. Even more startling was the fact the man was still alive.

The man looked over at Stephen, his eyes glowing with an eerie purple light. "I'm dying, but part of me can live on in you if you're willing. You will become something new, the illness I sense in you will be gone, and you will never be alone again." Swallowing hard, Stephen simply nodded. After all, what did he have to lose? The young man smiled and closed his eyes.

There was a moment of absolute silence, then a black and purple mass of energy rose from the man. It hovered in the air for a moment, and Stephen quite clearly heard a voice unlike any he had heard before say "thank you." Then Stephen's world shattered.

When the fire department responded to the report of an explosion a few minutes later, they found the house a complete shambles. Hovering in the air over it was a hero they didn't recognize. He was carrying what looked to be another hero in an identical costume. He smiled and nodded at the men, then vanished in a swirl of purple light.

The human Stephen Blythe and the Kheldian Event Horizon each faced death that night. After their merging they found a new lease on life, and they have not been idle. Since that time the combined entity known to the citizens of Paragon as Starless Knight has been an almost constant sight throughout the city.

**********

Edited to add a few image links:
Original Costume
Second Costume
Current Look

I'm going to quote with @Display name, just to make this SO much easier for me

@Memphis Bill: Wow. Absolutely love it, all of it. It was a great read; just enough to leave me wanting more. I already have a really good sense of Voidbane, and Violet.

@Steel_Shaman: Great bio! I'm getting that whole "Knows the value of life" vibe from Starless Knight.

@THB:
I was kind of hoping you would go in that direction I still need an antagonist, Reqiuem is just to small scale for my scope of the plot. I could use someone to fill a "Brutal Overlord" role. interested?

Feel free to throw my characters in there (think I told you ingame when you told me about this idea anyway that you could), Speedster.

Lady can be a Dark Watcher-esque persona (in that she doesn't really talk to anyone about her background, as she's a lot older than you would think with her young face), and if you want Squiddy, he's...um, well, youngish and enthusiastic. Lady will be the logical/methodical one (with a bit of a temper if/when she gets annoyed), and Squiddy will be eager to run up and beat up the bad dudes without stopping to think. He's...well, his bio is more of a satire of the game (He's Stone that got infected with Kheldian DNA), so you're free to ad lib that however works best.

Hmmm, okay, I have a PB and a WS, both with rather extensive backgrounds. But both of them are a bit unusual, since the WS definitely doesn't see himself as a 'binary alien fusion' and is actually kinda weirded-out by the typical Kheldian. He considers himself a single integrated entity. Which is, in a way, completely accurate, since he has been 'joined' since about 4 months before his birth.

The PB... is a human-form, 'cosmic-powered college professor'. As far as his background is concerned, he's not a Kheldian at all, but got his powers through exposure to 'The Phoenix' of myth and legend. He's a former 'Indiana Jones-type', though technically a 'villain' at that time, but encountering the Phoenix transformed him into a 1-year-old child and pretty much burned away all of the darkness of his old life.

That said, despite the way the not-PB experiences his powers and his life, there is no reason why he could Not be explained as a strange sort of Kheldian... He hears voices in his head and flings light around - thus he might, indeed, be one of those 'binary alien fusion' guys.

If you're interested, I can post the things I have for these two characters.

Be Well!
Fireheart

I think our characters may be able to relate, Dechs. Having two voices inside our head and all >_>. Can you imagine the two of them going haywire? Might not be so good for the rest of our team

Thanks so much guys! There is an insane amount of potential here. With all of these unique and awesome Bios I'm already getting really attached to the characters. :3

@Diggaroo. That dual-host combination is awesome. Just like Shaman's "Starless Knight" I get that whole knows the value of life vibe. Although Starless' value is more focused on himself, Templar's is focused on others. These two could easily make a really powerful pairing, lots of good story here.

(No need to apologise by the way. I make typing errors all the timek.) *giggles*

@Stone. I figured you still wanted in I like the whole "Kheldian DNA" backstory for squid. oddly enough, i sort of envisioned squid to be that type of person. Aside from that, do you want any back story in terms of the hosts? Or a bit more of a static character?

@Fireheart. Your warshade's story sounds really enticing. Could I hear some more? On terms of your peacebringer, He'd be a great addition to the group. Even if he's not exactly Kheldian material, it doesn't mean that he can't help out his friends.

@Dechs. I'll have to take a read through your link a bit later considering that I don't have much time until my next class. >.< Aside from that, I see a lot of potential here. If Teven is fueling his nictus, who is fighting the demon's control...i wonder what would happen if he ever became weakened during combat and the demon took over for a while...*hint hint*

Thanks so much everyone for the info!

I've also written a bit of 'pure story', to show a bit more of Starlight Saint's character.

**Okay, after some more discussion and thought, and juggling a few more ideas, I decided I should Write. Don't worry much about powers and origins, villains and heroes, but just write the character and see what comes of it.

Therefore:

The Chorus is quiet tonight, an undifferentiated whisper, like a quiet tide, rustling against a distant shore. No surges of idea, no unexplained sensations, or urges, no mysterious reflexes.

This is fine by me, as I’m not on duty, not wearing the mantle of the Champion, not on patrol or out looking for trouble. I’m just relaxing in my own self, down at the neighborhood palace of pretentious potations, sipping some very nice cinnamon chai and grading a few papers. The evening is warm, but the breeze is cooling, sweetly scented by someone’s night-blooming jasmine, with a hint of old smog coming off the street, for contrast.

I hear a bit of laughter and see three young people, two boys and a girl, strolling up the street, out for a bit of fun on a warm Friday night. Dinner and a movie, drinks and dancing, or just hanging out, it was a nice night to be enjoying life.

I’m not sure what it is that calls to me, a stray gesture, a bit of too-loud laughter, or perhaps the Chorus is not as quiet as I thought, but something is not right. I put down my pen and carefully stack the papers, while I glance about – what’s not right? The girl… my eyes sharpen as I carefully, casually, look at the girl and her friends. I glance around a bit more, to be sure there’s nothing else, then focus back on the lady in question.

The girl needs escape – she’s hiding it well, trying to act ‘naturally’, but something about her practically shouts ‘trapped, must escape’ and I have no idea why or how I know that, I just do. The fellows… they seem perfectly ordinary guys, but there is an air of coercion about them, nothing particularly bad, or wrong, but they have plans and they don’t expect to lose their… fun. I understand that I’m interpreting extremely subtle body language, much more subtle than what I’ve learned in classes at the dojo…

Or something in me is reading that language and telling me the meanings. The Chorus and its gift of knowledge is always subtle. Happily, this doesn’t seem to be major trouble, the Chorus is not ‘shouting’ at me, like it sometimes does. Just ordinary, everyday trouble… a young lady who is having second thoughts about her friends and their ‘fun’… whatever it is, and I really don’t want to know… but… I do have to intervene. I have to open the gate for her, to escape, to think, to reconsider, and to choose the path to her future.

Decision made, action chosen, I feel a surge in the Light and, carefully smooth it out. There will be no need for violent action, no desperate call for healing, it’s a purely social problem with a purely social solution. Talk, not fight, and certainly not Light, is the answer to the problem.

Still, I feel grateful for the wash of energy, simmering beneath my skin, I’m fully alert now, though I haven’t moved from my relaxed posture. And, yes, the Chorus is livelier now, too. I can feel it pulling close, still quiet, still subtle, but ready. Ready to rush thousands of years of experience into helping me solve the problem, the very simple, simple problem – just open the gate, so the girl can get out.

The trio is getting closer, now, so I get ready. I open my senses, ready to react to the smallest change, ready to act… perfectly normal. I’m a college professor, not a superhero… at least not here and now, perfectly ordinary... right.

I look up and pretend to ‘suddenly notice and recognize’ them… or her, at least. “Oh… excellent,” I exclaim, waving the sheaf of papers at them. The top paper is boldly blazoned with a scarlet ‘F-minus’, “I hoped I’d be able to catch you outside of class, Miss,” I say, with another flourish of the ‘F-minus’. All three of them have stopped now, surprised at a stranger’s interruption, and to my heightened senses, the lady is clearly confused, while the lads were cycling guilt, fear, and defiance, along with their surprise.

“M-my paper… um, Professor?” she stumbled in confusion.

I smiled reassuringly, but inside I was straining, pushing, thinking “Come on, you! Come on, Chorus! Reach her, kick her, Clue her! This might be escape! Go, go, go!” and I strove to reach out, through the voices in my head, and touch her with inspiration. “Yes, the paper you were going to write for my class.” Playing for time, I glanced at the ‘F-minus’, then said, “Oh, not this paper!” I chuckled warmly, “This bozo is trying to pass off quotes and plot elements from ‘300’ as a legitimate paper on the Battle of Thermopylae. ‘This. Is. Sparta!’ my ***!”

“Anyway,” I continued, “I’d like to talk about your paper.” ((Reach her Chorus! Clue her!)) “It shouldn’t take very long, just a few minutes.” I shift my attention to the boys, “If you gentlemen don’t mind, please. I just need a moment. She can catch up with you later.” ((Go, go, go!))

I’m not psychic, never telepathized, or whatever, anything in my life, but somehow she got it, and I watched the penny drop and hope flared in her eyes, and I smiled and relaxed. She said, “Oh, that paper, of course Professor!” Then, “I’m sorry guys, I need to do this. You go ahead, I’ll catch up in a few minutes and meet you there, okay?” The lads were reluctant, but soon persuaded, and they left.

“Please have a seat, rest a bit, Miss,” I said quietly. She was thinking quite hard, but held on to her purse and settled gracefully into the offered chair, “Janet,” she muttered distractedly, “My name is Janet.” I smiled gently and said, “Thank you, Miss… Janet. May I offer you a warm drink, or a cool one? The cinnamon chai is quite good.” I raised my cup and took a drink.

“Hmm, no, not yet, maybe,” she murmured, “How did you know?” She looked me in the eye, and firmly repeated, “How did you know?”

“I can’t say,” I replied honestly. “I can’t say how I knew, or what I knew, or if I knew anything. I know what I saw. At the dojo, I’m learning many things… how to see your opponent, how to read his strengths and weaknesses and intentions. I saw you and I didn’t get any of those. I looked at you and I saw… the uncertain bird, trapped in the flock, and not at all sure you wanted to go… where they were going. So I opened the gate, to let you out, so you could stop, and think, and choose where you want to fly.”

“Are you sure you’re a professor and not a philosopher?” she asked, with a wry tilt of her head.

I laughed quietly and said, “Oh, I am many things, teacher, student, philosopher…” I shook my head, “Many things. Right now… I’m just some benevolent stranger, offering you a chair, half a table, and a beverage, and some time and quiet to think.”

And she smiled. And she was beautiful. And she went and got her own drink – some vile coffee-thing, with sixteen hyphenated names and a cherry on top, but, hey, it was her money and her choice. And we sat in silence, while I graded papers and she thought.

Finally, she stood and said, “Thank you, Teacher. This little bird will fly away home. From now on, the flock can go where it will, but I will chart my own course. Maybe find a dojo and see if I can learn how to see the truth in people.” She gave a little bow of her head and walked away into the darkness, but I think she was seeing more clearly, now, despite the dark.

“Be Well, little bird, fly free!” I whispered after her.

***
Be Well!
Fireheart

I'm of the opinion that it's always helpful to have a character who either isn't ... or can't be ... all that they seem. The very nature of that "blank slate" in the direction of "unfinished" can occasionally be very useful in lending a necessary interest in resolving the ambiguities that revolve around such incompleteness (since they beg for answers).

One of the things that I noticed and marked about everyone else's Kheldians that I came across (when reading bios), whether they be PC or NPC is that the Kheldians always seem to have an extremely major impact on the Host's sense of identity ... even when that bonding results in more of a symbiotic "sharing" of minds rather than anything akin to a "hostile takeover" (per se). Sometimes the merging of personalities results in quite radical changes, enough so that the resulting blend bears little resemblance to that of the prior individuals. Others put the Kheldian aspect of the relationship into such a Front and Center position as to render the Human partner into being virtually a background character (or an afterthought) where the Kheldian person/personality is the dominant force in the relationship.

I wanted a character where that sort of "conventional wisdom" was turned on its head ... where the Kheldian involved in the host/symbiont relationship not only *wasn't* the dominant partner in defining the resultant blend of personalities. So instead, I took things to the opposite extreme, where being able to identify the "original" Warshade who blended with Ms Terry is something of a mystery ... which then brings up all kinds of questions as to why that should be so. Is Ms Terry's Warshade counterpart "on the run" or otherwise in hiding from someone/something? Was her Warshade partner incredibly weak willed or in some other way "deficient" such that he/she/it either can't be, or isn't willing, to be more dominant/forceful in their relationship? Is Ms Terry (the human) more "powerful" than she appears to be, meaning she's somehow gained the upper hand over her Kheldian parter and is somehow "dominating" them (either deliberately or un/subconsciously)?

What makes this all the more interesting is that Ms Terry's $Battlecry is ... "Your soul is my chew toy!" ... which earned her a comment of "MFing Warshade indeed!" from none other than The Man Himself (a Mr. D K) on a Dr Q TF one fine afternoon this past year. Ms Terry often speaks about her Warshade abilities (particularly Stygian Circle) in decidedly Necromantic terms with the sort of relish rarely seen outside of gamer geek circles. She is also a Tri-former, so it's not as if the "range" of her Kheldian abilities are somehow "limited" to just those of being human.



And yet, it is always Ms Terry ... the human persona ... which everyone who interacts with her sees ... leading to the still unanswered question of ... who *did* Ms Terry blend with to become who (and what) she is today?

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...