Runelord
- I ween that I hung / on the windy tree,
- Hung there for nights full nine;
- With the spear I was wounded, / and offered I was
- To Othin, myself to myself,
- On the tree that none / may ever know
- What root beneath it runs.
- None made me happy / with loaf or horn,
- And there below I looked;
- I took up the runes, / shrieking I took them,
- And forthwith back I fell.
- —"Odin", Hávamál (Stanzas 138-140)
Runelord is a character concept I've been carrying around for a long time since the days of superhero paper and pencil RPGs-a former "surfer dude" who discovered a talent of ancient forms of magic.
Personality
Runelord has two distinct personas that he effects. The first one is his "working" persona-that of a master mage, confident in his magic, and capable of esoteric speech that evokes ancient mysteries and occult lore. He doesn't bother bantering with his opponents, only seeking to defeat them in the most effective way he can.
The second one is his "real" persona. Despite the burden of magic, Runelord is at heart a cheerful and outgoing man; while he appreciates the responsibilities that seem to have fallen into his lap, he still enjoys a night on the town. When he can find a way to do it, he also vacations back in his Dana Point home so he can surf the waves for an afternoon or two.
Powers
Runelord's powers derive solely from his knowledge of ancient rune magic. By invoking words created by combinations of runes, he can cause a variety of effects to manifest to either harm his foes or assist himself or his allies. One such word enables him to step between locations without crossing the intervening distance physically, while another allows him access to his sanctum (see below).
Abilities
In addition to growing knowledge of rune-lore, Runelord is a fairly talented surfer. While he isn't good enough for competitive surfing, he was good enough to at least impress onlookers on occasion. Runelord owns a small surf-shop back in California, and has some sense on how to keep it turning a profit.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Runelord requires his hands to be free to gesture, and his mouth able to speak the names of the runes that empower his spells. If he is bound or gagged, he is essentially powerless.
While the rune magic he uses is potentially wide ranging in its effects, most of such spells require a great deal of time, and possibly ritual behind them to cast-and the simple truth is that there is much about these magics that Runelord still does not understand. In other words, he cannot pull a spell out of a hat to make everything right; he may not even be able to do so with time.
Rune magic also seems to be limited in its scope, in that it can only affect the physical world. Runelord cannot use the magic to read minds, alter emotions, or engage in astral travel, for example. He can protect people from such effects, as people are physical entities, but his ability to deal with the Unseen Worlds is extremely limited.
Equipment
Runelord's most precious possession is the Book of Runes, which is essentially the instruction manual for rune-magic. Unfortunately, as it is written in a lost runic language, with its last fluent speaker dead, Runelord is forced to try to piece together the knowledge it contains.
Runelord also has a very large collection of occult tomes in his mystic sanctum, a null-space he may access so that he can study in peace. He has been known to entertain guests in his sanctum when the need calls for it.
Character History
Doug Flaire never quite envisioned his life taking the sudden twist. He was a typical student growing up at the beaches of California. He was never the most popular guy in school, but he wasn't the pariah, either. He was pretty ordinary, truth be told. He had no extraordinary talents except surfing, which he did at every opportunity. It all changed when he was 21, when he encountered a woman who was definitely not dressed for the beach-instead garbed in wizardly robes. The woman told him that she'd seen him in a vision, and he was to become her student. Doug was unsurprisingly dubious.
So she kidnapped him. For months, she subjected him to the worst torture he could imagine: learning a language inherited through the centuries, said to have been learned first by the Norse god Odin when he hung for days on the world ash tree, Yggdrasil. Eventually, he got it through his head that this woman, whose name he would never learn, was not only preparing him to become her student, but her heir: the same vision that led her to Doug also revealed to her that her death was coming.
Her death came after several years of teaching Doug, and he was prepared to both avenge his Master's death, and to use the rune-magic wisely and well. With a stack of sketches left to him by his Master, he made his way to Millennium City, in order to face his future. These sketches would help form the nucleus of the Paragons of Virtue.
Affiliations
Runelord is the nominal leader of the Paragons of Virtue, simply by virtue of the fact that he is the one with the sketches that identify its current and future members. However, Runelord feels that he is simply "one among equals". The end result is that he tends to be the one UNTIL and PRIMUS tend to contact if they want to get the attention of the Paragons as a group-and he also tends to be the one who deals with the headaches that comes with being that contact.
Nemeses
Fhtagath
Real Name: N/A
Powers/Abilities: Infernal Supernatural
Henchmen: Ice Demons (Fire)
Details: The murderer of the former Master of Runes, Fhtagath is a demon summoned to Earth to do the will of an unnamed master. Its command over lesser demons is the barest hint of its overall power.
Current Status: Banished
Black Blade
Real Name: Unknown
Powers/Abilities: Swordmaster
Henchmen: Ninjas (swordmasters)
Details: The Black Blade is a thief with a special interest in the occult and the arcane. She has recently found that someone could steal several such things in Millennium City.
Current Status: At Large