Shadesworn
- The bitter, yet merciful, lesson which death teaches us is to distinguish the gold from the tinsel, the true values from the worthless chaff. The terrible events of life are great eye-openers. They force us to learn that which it is wholesome for us to know, but which habitually we try to ignore—namely, that really we have no claim on a long life; that we are each of us liable to be called off at any moment, and that the main point is not how long we live, but with what meaning we fill the short allotted span—for short it is at best.
- —Felix Adler, Life and Destiny (1913)
Shadesworn was a character doomed from almost the moment he was created-a tragic hero who had a limited amount of time left in his life, and he chose to do something meaningful with that time. Ultimately, he was killed off because-honestly-I hated the Dark Armor powerset for Scrappers.
Dark Armor
Personality
Shadesworn was a deliberate and methodical person, possibly tied to his upbringing and possibly tied to his occupation as a prosecutor. Shadesworn believed in putting criminals away, and when he got the power to actually confront these criminals "out in the wild", he was willing to do so.
He also tended to be withdrawn, knowing that his life would end far sooner than "old age"; the Oblivion Blade would be his death, and this impacted his relationships with others. He reasoned, "Why get close to people and leave holes when I'm gone? Bad enough those who already care for me will suffer."
Powers
All of Shadesworn's powers were derived from the power of the Oblivion Blade. The Blade was bound to him by mystical ties that have proven impossible to sever; when he wished for it to be in hand, it was there, and no force thus far has proven able to prevent it. MAGI mystics speculated that it was bound to his very soul.
Katana
This weapon has borne many names: The Sword of Ending, Voidcutter, Razor-Enshrouded-In-Night, and more. But it was more commonly known as the Oblivion Blade, a weapon whose history is filled with dark rumors and dark terrors. Described as "A piece of nothingness given form. A portion of oblivion given function", the Blade was both real and unreal; it has left living beings struck by it intact, while it has carved out large gashes in nearly indestructible metals. Mystics aware of the Blade have no explanation for it; the Blade made its own rules.
Being bound to the Blade, Shadesworn-despite having no previous training with such a weapon-was a fair swordsman.
Dark Armor
The Oblivion Blade's nature became a part of Shadesworn. The Void offered protection to Shadesworn, as it become inextricably linked with him. Shadesworn used this for protection against physical force and mental assault. In addition, he had been able to use it to drain the vitality away from his opponents, in order to strengthen himself in dire straits. A side effect of this aura was that it was feeding on him as well, and in an indeterminate amount of time, it would kill him.
Additional Powers
The Oblivion Blade had granted powers beyond what has been described thus far-primarily in the form of augmenting his physical speed.
Speed
He had never been clocked, but Shadesworn was capable of superhuman speed. He was not on the level of the fastest men in the city, but he easily exceeded most measures when he chose to.
Fitness
During his short career as a hero, he improved his general health and physical fitness-an irony considering his life-expectency.
Abilities
Keates was a fairly competent prosecutor; his record was reasonably good.
Weaknesses and Limitations
As noted above, the bond with the Oblivion Blade would eventually kill him; the Oblivion Blade fed on his vitality, and according to MAGI, there was no way to stop or even delay the process. The damage was slow at times, fast at others-the inconsistency made it difficult to determine how much time Shadesworn had left.
Equipment
The Oblivion Blade manifested a suit of samurai armor around Shadesworn. MAGI speculated that this may indicate the origin of the Blade is in the Japanese islands. The armor-like the Blade-was both real and unreal: it helped protect against attack, yet it possessed no apparent weight that Shadesworn could discern.
Character History
Formerly a state prosecutor in the midwest, Richard Keates discovered a skeleton while caving which bore an exotic looking sword. Upon picking it up, it bound itself to his soul and filled him with darkness and emptiness. Upon examination by MAGI, he was informed that he had come upon the fearsome and legendary Oblivion Blade, and that he had become a conduit of its power-but it came with a curse: oblivion would eventually claim him, his newfound power devouring him alive.
This was not something that thrilled him. But in spite of the best efforts of MAGI and other associated groups, no answer could be found; the Blade would kill him. It was just a matter of time. Seeing himself as a terminal patient, despite his apparent good health, he chose to relocate to Paragon City, and use the abilities he had gained for the public good until his last days arrived. Eventually, he was recruited into the Union Supreme by Champion Woman. Shadesworn served with the team without major distinction, preferring to do his work quietly-although he was heavily involved in the event known as "the Darkening". That event had caused him serious physical harm as he had nearly drowned, been used as a club by Adamastor, and flash-fried by a teammate whose powers had gone out of control. More horrific, however, was the fact that the Blade healed the harm done to him in the last instance by devouring the life-forces of Banished Pantheon shamans.
Unfortunately, time began to run out for Keates. Oblivion's power overwhelmed him, and devoured the last of his life-and imprisoned his soul in Oblivion's Realm. Heroes from the Union Supreme, in an effort to stop the manifestation of Oblivion Itself from bringing an end to everything, traveled there and freed a number of former bearers of the Oblivion Blade-including Keates, whose shade helped in bringing down the avatar of Oblivion and sealing it away for an Age. The last act complete, his shade would go to its final destination.
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