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|SubType= Humanoid Golem | |SubType= Humanoid Golem | ||
|Creators= Egyptian Gods | |Creators= Egyptian Gods | ||
|Model= | |Model= | ||
|Ethnicity= Egyptian | |Ethnicity= Egyptian | ||
|Gender= Male | |Gender= Male | ||
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|}} | |}} | ||
'''<span style="font-family:Papyrus; font-size:120%;">Created as a weapon against Chaos, but as a person grew into something so much more...</span>''' | |||
<div style="float:right">{{Marvel Power Grid | Background= #000000 | <div style="float:right">{{Marvel Power Grid | Background= #000000 | ||
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| Durability=7 | | Durability=7 | ||
| Energy Projection= | | Energy Projection=5 | ||
| Fighting Skill=4 | | Fighting Skill=4 | ||
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='''''<div style="color:#d4af37; background-color: #000000"><center>HISTORY</center></div>'''''= | ='''''<div style="color:#d4af37; background-color: #000000"><center>HISTORY</center></div>'''''= | ||
==The Netjeru 𓊹𓊹𓊹 - Gods of Ancient Egypt== | ==The Netjeru 𓊹𓊹𓊹 - Gods of Ancient Egypt== | ||
Long ago when religion was inseparable from life, the Gods existed in every natural aspect of the world. They rose out from the power of human belief and faith. They were the Netjeru and they came into existence as humankind started to believe in them, but they developed a memory of their own that they had come first. Humans made Gods who believed they made the humans. And so while the Gods have a memory going back tens of thousands of years, the reality is that they had only existed for a little over five thousand. To both the Netjeru and the humans who believed in them, the Gods predated them from the “Time Before” | Long ago when religion was inseparable from life, the Gods existed in every natural aspect of the world. They rose out from the power of human belief and faith. They were the Netjeru and they came into existence as humankind started to believe in them, but they developed a memory of their own that they had come first. Humans made Gods who believed they made the humans. And so while the Gods have a memory going back tens of thousands of years, the reality is that they had only existed for a little over five thousand. To both the Netjeru and the humans who believed in them, the Gods predated them from the creation; a “Time Before” known as Zep Tepy 𓊃𓊪𓊗𓁶𓊪𓏭. | ||
The Netjeru had limited means to interact with our world, but the stories suggested a time when Gods lived on Earth and even ruled over the people. In the early centuries of the Egyptian civilization, a myth came about that had set the stage and because the Gods were created through the power of faith, so too were the restrictions they seemingly placed on themselves and like all myths, it started with a story. | The Netjeru had limited means to interact with our world, but the stories suggested a time when Gods lived on Earth and even ruled over the people. In the early centuries of the Egyptian civilization, a myth came about that had set the stage and because the Gods were created through the power of faith, so too were the restrictions they seemingly placed on themselves and like all myths, it started with a story. | ||
==Sekhmet 𓌂𓐍𓏏𓏯𓅆 - Eye of Re 𓁹𓇴== | ==Sekhmet 𓌂𓐍𓏏𓏯𓅆 - Eye of Re 𓁹𓇴== | ||
In the Time Before, Re had grown dissatisfied with the humans and sent the Eye of Re; his daughter Sekhmet to Egypt to destroy all whom she perceived to have evil in their hearts. She ravaged the land as a bloodthirsty lioness and the unchecked slaughter fueled concern amongst the pantheon of Gods. Re agreed to call off the assault but his command to back down went ignored. | In the Time Before, Re 𓇴 had grown dissatisfied with the humans and sent the Eye of Re; his daughter Sekhmet to Egypt to destroy all whom she perceived to have evil in their hearts. She ravaged the land as a bloodthirsty lioness and the unchecked slaughter fueled concern amongst the pantheon of Gods. Re agreed to call off the assault but his command to back down went ignored. | ||
Sekhmet was beyond reasoning, so the Netjeru and the humans laid a trap with beer dyed the colour of blood. Sekhmet drank it all and in a drunken stupor fell asleep. When she awoke Sekhmet had transformed into Hathor the Goddess of love and mistress of the underworld. | Sekhmet was beyond reasoning, so the Netjeru and the humans laid a trap with beer dyed the colour of blood. Sekhmet drank it all and in a drunken stupor fell asleep. When she awoke Sekhmet had transformed into Hathor the Goddess of love and mistress of the underworld. | ||
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==Ta Netjer 𓇾𓏤𓈇𓊹𓏏𓈉 - Land of Gods== | ==Ta Netjer 𓇾𓏤𓈇𓊹𓏏𓈉 - Land of Gods== | ||
In the realm of Ta Netjer, the Sun God Re represented the light of creation | In the realm of Ta Netjer, the Sun God Re represented the light of creation. Every morning rose high into the sky to warm the land below, and at night Re descended into a space between spaces; the Duat, where the primordial Chaos Serpent Ap/p tried night after night to destroy Re so it could consume Ta Netjer and render it unto oblivion. | ||
The battle between Re and Ap/p was widely known to the people of our realm as a battle between Good and Evil, Order and Chaos but to the divine beings of Ta Netjer it was a cyclical battle to keep the realm from total dissolution. Referred to as ma’at it loosely translated into our language to mean justice, balance, stability, and the Cosmic Order. On one side of this battle were the Gods of the Egyptian pantheon, while on the other was the Chaos serpent and any of its minions, who opposed the very idea of creation. | The battle between Re and Ap/p was widely known to the people of our realm as a battle between Good and Evil, Order 𓅓𓍱𓏤𓏛 and Chaos 𓇋𓋴𓆑𓏏𓅪 but to the divine beings of Ta Netjer it was a cyclical battle to keep the realm from total dissolution. Referred to as ma’at 𓆄𓏏𓏤 it loosely translated into our language to mean justice, balance, stability, and the Cosmic Order. On one side of this battle were the Gods of the Egyptian pantheon, while on the other was the Chaos serpent and any of its minions, who opposed the very idea of creation. | ||
Ap/p was not satisfied. It was a being fueled by ambient Chaos energy in the cosmos and it fed on it in the hopes it would eventually tip the cosmic scales, but Re always proved too powerful to overcome. Ap/p knew of our realm and while like all of the Netjeru it could not leave Ta Netjer, it was able to send splinters of itself into our realm. Those shards of Chaos were like lightning rods that attracted more Chaos energy, then sent it back across the barrier between realms to Ap/p to feed on. Little by little it grew stronger and stronger. Re continued to best it in battle, but each cycle was harder and harder to hold the serpent back. | Ap/p was not satisfied. It was a being fueled by ambient Chaos energy in the cosmos and it fed on it in the hopes it would eventually tip the cosmic scales, but Re always proved too powerful to overcome. Ap/p knew of our realm and while like all of the Netjeru it could not leave Ta Netjer, it was able to send splinters of itself into our realm. Those shards of Chaos were like lightning rods that attracted more Chaos energy, then sent it back across the barrier between realms to Ap/p to feed on. Little by little it grew stronger and stronger. Re continued to best it in battle, but each cycle was harder and harder to hold the serpent back. | ||
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None of the divine inhabitants of Ta Netjer were willing to sit idly by while Ap/p undid existence for them, but the barrier prevented any of them from going through to our realm to tackle the problem head-on. The combination of magic and science which created the barrier was intentionally beyond even their combined abilities to remove. | None of the divine inhabitants of Ta Netjer were willing to sit idly by while Ap/p undid existence for them, but the barrier prevented any of them from going through to our realm to tackle the problem head-on. The combination of magic and science which created the barrier was intentionally beyond even their combined abilities to remove. | ||
Thoth in his wisdom came to a solution and it didn’t take long for the Council of Gods; the Ennead, to agree. They would fashion a champion who contained enough of their essence to find and remove the Chaos Shards, but not enough that they would be blocked from crossing over. The potter Khnum created the likeness of clay, while Thoth and Isis worked science and magic in unison to give it life. Horus the Avenger imbued the champion with his fortitude and might. The nine members of the Ennead each offered a ninth of their soul and Isis melded them together into one singular essence. Thoth gave the gift of language and the ability to learn any relevant task quickly and deftly and inscribed the spells over the human-like clay statue. | Thoth in his wisdom came to a solution and it didn’t take long for the Council of Gods; the Ennead 𓇷𓏏𓀭𓏥, to agree. They would fashion a champion who contained enough of their essence to find and remove the Chaos Shards, but not enough that they would be blocked from crossing over. The potter Khnum 𓎸𓁠 created the likeness of clay, while Thoth 𓅝𓀭 and Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁐 worked science and magic in unison to give it life. Horus 𓅃𓀭 the Avenger imbued the champion with his fortitude and might. The nine members of the Ennead each offered a ninth of their soul and Isis melded them together into one singular essence. Thoth gave the gift of language and the ability to learn any relevant task quickly and deftly and inscribed the spells over the human-like clay statue. | ||
When the sun disk was about to disappear below the line of the horizon, they gave the lifeless clay statue to Re, to take into the Duat with him. The Duat was a place between places; a nexus where the dreaming and the dead could travel. From there Re left the statue on a boat on the great river where it found its way through the impenetrable barrier to our realm. | When the sun disk was about to disappear below the line of the horizon, they gave the lifeless clay statue to Re, to take into the Duat with him. The Duat was a place between places; a nexus where the dreaming and the dead could travel. From there Re left the statue on a boat on the great river where it found its way through the impenetrable barrier to our realm. | ||
The twin sisters Isis and Nephthys named the soul “Arek”, which in their language meant Adept, and for the final piece to their plan Nephthys, the | The twin sisters Isis and Nephthys 𓉠𓁐 named the soul “Arek”, which in their language meant Adept, and for the final piece to their plan Nephthys, the Lady of the West cradled the soul under her protective wing and flew into the Duat. She had the ability to avoid the dangers of the Duat and when she’d reached the exact point where the barrier was at its weakest she slid the soul through into the world of humans. | ||
==The Arrival of Arek 𓂋𓈎𓏲𓍼𓏤𓀁== | |||
[[File:False Door.jpeg|270px|left|<font color=#00000>Trivia Time: False Doors are found in Egyptian tombs and are for the soul of the diseased to use to move back and forth between our world and the Land of the Dead.</font>| thumbnail]] | |||
Artefacts from ancient Egypt could still connect to the Duat, and Arek appeared through a gateway called a false door 𓂋𓏤𓉐𓏤𓊁. As the Gods would have it though, the particular False Door he came through wasn't located in Egypt at the time, but at Paragon City University on loan for study. | |||
When the False Door activated, the carvings on the stone facade glowed a brilliant sky blue, with the centremost panel of the artefact coalescing into a glowing portal. Arek, the confused and disoriented demigod, slid through into the realm of humans, naked and awe-struck. Equally bewildered were the two researchers in the lab at the time, who on seeing the Egyptian hieroglyphs tattooed on their guest's body (and from lives spent in a city of the strange and unusual), could do little to hide their interest and excitement. | |||
Arek looked over his bizarre surroundings and at the various tablets, papyrus documents, statuary, and gilded relics in the room with them; and on concluding that it was a place of reverence to these things, that it was some kind of temple or place of worship. Arek believed the men in white robes were priests of this world and they spoke to him softly, though he couldn't understand it at first. After they made a few attempts the blessing of Thoth unlocked the language for Arek to understand. The "priests" bombarded him with questions about who he was and where he came from and what his intentions were, but all he could do was raise his hands slowly to infer he meant no harm. They asked about the portal which had already closed behind him, but Arek could still only answer futilely in his own language. | |||
Being less than a day old Arek's abilities were still developing so he took things slowly to get his bearings and the "priests" were patient with Arek's inability to answer them at first, but once Arek could reply in a way they understood Arek had to subdue their enthusiasm. The priests were happy to tend to him and they kept him hidden away at the University while they told Arek about their lives or the work they did. They talked about Paragon City and the troubles with the various gangs, but mostly they talked about Egyptology and Arek listened intently. Arek was not modest in the least, but the two priests insisted that Arek wear clothing. A poster on the wall drew Arek's attention and the man in the image was on a stage in front of adoring fans and wore tight black leather pants and boots; bare-chested, with a black bomber jacket. Arek concentrated on the image and his bronze skin rippled and shimmered with golden light. The shapes and textures of the clothing appeared around his body and in a few seconds, Arek managed to replicate the clothing in the picture seemingly out of thin air. | |||
Arek used his time with the priests (who called themselves scientists) to learn about the world he'd now call home, even if only in vague detail. He learned about the social hierarchy and the diversity of the inhabitants of Paragon City; particularly about the super-powered and sometimes alien inhabitants. After some months spent in their company, it was time for Arek to set out into the world on his mission to recover the "Chaos Shards" as he'd been created to do. He didn't know where they were, and he knew that he'd be able to sense them when he'd get close - but the concentration of chaos energy in Paragon was enough for the City to become a focal point. | |||
His sense of their location was enough for him to know that he was in the right place at the right time, but it was a daunting task ahead of him. The Global Defense Force seemed like the perfect fit, where his mission and theirs were in sync - and so he sought them out and joined their ranks in the fight against villainy. | |||
='''''<div style="color:#d4af37; background-color: #000000"><center>APPEARANCE and PERSONALITY</center></div>'''''= | |||
==Appearance== | |||
''The Gods crafted him to be their ideal concept of a human male, resembling a '''20-something'''-year-old modern-day '''Egyptian'''.'' | |||
[[File:Arek face new.jpg|290px|left|<font color=#00000></font>| thumbnail]] | |||
* | |||
* Height '''5'11''' and (while he has an athletic but not overly muscular build due to how he was created and what he's made of) weighs a deceptive '''250 lbs'''. | |||
* Skin tone is medium sun-bronzed brown. | |||
* Eyes are '''honey-green''' that shimmer with golden energy and accentuated by subtle, but stylistic tattooed eyeliner. | |||
* Hair is dark brown almost black, while his cheeks and jaw are dusted with faint stubble. | |||
He carries himself proudly with his shoulders back, his spine straight and his chest heroically inflated. When he talks to others he always looks them in the eye, and while he lacks a system of true internal organs, he simulates breathing and blinking. | |||
The clothes he wears are a construct of his abilities; formed of the liquid gold which runs through his veins as life-blood, and used as a raw material. The end result is something inspired by a rockstar, with tight black pants and knee-high boots, and a waist-length bomber jacket with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows. In most cases, any outfit he normally wears is open-chested to maximize his solar absorption, with the exception of his 'superhero suit'. | |||
Arek would just as soon wear something more familiar to the ancient people of Egypt like a wraparound linen kilt and sandals, but his choices in clothing are mostly driven by his desire to meet the bare minimum level of modesty which he has observed in the modern world. | |||
''No one has seen Arek's raw form; a body made of clay and gold, and only know him by the simulated organic form that he purposefully presents.'' | |||
==Personality== | |||
='''''<div style="color:#d4af37; background-color: #000000"><center>ABILITIES</center></div>'''''= | ='''''<div style="color:#d4af37; background-color: #000000"><center>ABILITIES</center></div>'''''= | ||
==Powers== | ==Powers== | ||
'''Solar Absorption''': Arek absorbs the radiation of the sun and stores it like a walking capacitor. | '''Solar Absorption''': Arek absorbs the radiation of the sun and stores it like a walking capacitor. On average with moderate use of his powers, his reserves can last 24 hours. | ||
'''Solar-Enhanced Strength''': Another trait of his unique physiology is super strength, though he has limits and he is not the strongest patriotic hero around. His solar-fueled strength in theory has no upper limit, though he's very far from testing just how much that could be. | '''Solar-Enhanced Strength''': Another trait of his unique physiology is super-strength, though he has limits and he is not the strongest patriotic hero around. His solar-fueled strength in theory has no upper limit, though he's very far from testing just how much that could be. | ||
[[File:Arek Slam JPG.jpg|right| in-game pic]] | [[File:Arek Slam JPG.jpg|right| in-game pic]] | ||
'''Impervious Skin''': The energy stored in his body will fortify his skin. | '''Impervious Skin''': The energy stored in his body will fortify his skin. | ||
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'''Regeneration''': So long as Arek is in the sun, his endurance, stamina and physical regeneration are vastly accelerated to the point of nigh invulnerability. | '''Regeneration''': So long as Arek is in the sun, his endurance, stamina and physical regeneration are vastly accelerated to the point of nigh invulnerability. | ||
'''Solar Energy Release''': Arek can tap into his energy reserves and send out a shockwave of carefully controlled solar radiation to weaken enemies in his immediate vicinity. | '''Solar Energy Release''': Arek can tap into his energy reserves and send out a shockwave of carefully controlled solar radiation to weaken enemies in his immediate vicinity. With enough focus he can use pulses of solar radiation to energize his allies and strengthen their attacks and resolve. | ||
'''Flight''': | '''Flight''': By generating a field of solar energy around himself, Arek can propel himself through the air or hover in place. | ||
'''Teleportation''': | '''Netherworld Access''': As a side effect of his unique physiology, Arek can enter an intermediary realm called the Duat 𓇽𓏏𓉐. This netherworld is a sort of hub for him and from there he can access realms such as the ghostly plane or the dreamscape by forcing his soul to leave his body. Doing so is quite dangerous, as in the Duat his strength and solar-based abilities are virtually non-existent. | ||
'''Teleportation''': By slipping into the Duat, Arek can use this netherworld to instantaneously move from one physical location to another. The range of his teleportation in theory has no upper limit, but the farther he has travels the more his reserves are depleted. | |||
==Skills== | ==Skills== | ||
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'''Enhanced Contextual Eidetic Learning''': Arek is a very quick study in any subject that can relate to his mission to retrieve the Chaos Shards to a near expert level, but if something is not contextually related then his ability to learn it is hampered significantly. | '''Enhanced Contextual Eidetic Learning''': Arek is a very quick study in any subject that can relate to his mission to retrieve the Chaos Shards to a near expert level, but if something is not contextually related then his ability to learn it is hampered significantly. | ||
'''Practitioner of Heka 𓎛𓂓𓄿𓀁𓏪''': A form of magic which can be costly to perform, and requires a specific set of "ingredients". A word is written (as hieroglyphs) on a piece of paper, then consecrated with his blood. By focusing his divine energy on the word and desired outcome and once he reads the spell aloud and eats the paper, the spell is cast. The greater the impact of the outcome, the more costly it is as it's linked to his lifeforce. | |||
==Notable Traits== | ==Notable Traits== | ||
[[File:Arek Main 2 JPG.jpg|right|<font color=#00000>Trivia Time: Arek only wears a supersuit while on official missions.</font>| thumbnail]] | |||
'''Hieroglyphic Tattoos''': The most notable is the empowering symbol of life, ankh 𓋹 in the middle of his chest on his sternum; but around his collarbone, down his spine, on his upper arms, and his thighs are specially inscribed spells. They all serve a purpose and contribute to not only his life but grant him a vast array of abilities. | '''Hieroglyphic Tattoos''': The most notable is the empowering symbol of life, ankh 𓋹 in the middle of his chest on his sternum; but around his collarbone, down his spine, on his upper arms, and his thighs are specially inscribed spells. They all serve a purpose and contribute to not only his life but grant him a vast array of abilities. | ||
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'''Guyliner''': Arek's eyes are permanently rimmed in the style seen in ancient Egyptian artwork. | '''Guyliner''': Arek's eyes are permanently rimmed in the style seen in ancient Egyptian artwork. | ||
='''''<div style="color:#d4af37; background-color: #000000"><center>ROLEPLAY HOOKS</center></div>'''''= | ='''''<div style="color:#d4af37; background-color: #000000"><center>ROLEPLAY HOOKS</center></div>'''''= | ||
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*Arek doesn't have a private identity and works openly with the Global Defense Force and the United Nations. | *Arek doesn't have a private identity and works openly with the Global Defense Force and the United Nations. | ||
*He has continually announced his mission in this realm to find mystical | *He has continually announced his mission in this realm to find mystical artefacts that he refers to as "Chaos Shards". He openly enlists the help of others and offers his aid to any who might need it. | ||
====Physical Traits==== | ====Physical Traits==== | ||
*His body is covered in mystical tattoos of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. | *His body is covered in mystical tattoos of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and as he uses his abilities they faintly glow. The radiance is proportionate to how much power he puts into his abilities. | ||
*His eyes pulse with a gold shimmer in the timing of a heartbeat. | *His eyes pulse with a gold shimmer in the timing of a heartbeat. | ||
*His body is made of artificial materials of divine origin, complete with mimicked internal organs. His skin feels like soft, warm flesh but his body is a constant temperature similar to that of normal humans. | |||
*He doesn't sweat; doesn't eat or drink; doesn't require sleep, among other oddities. | |||
*His blood is a mystically maintained liquid gold. While his skin is extremely durable if he were to somehow bleed the warm golden liquid could eventually harden if not in contact with his body; such as drops on the ground. Not only would bleeding be a big deal for him, but the knowledge of his valuable lifeblood could cause a great deal of harm. | |||
====Magic and Metaphysics==== | |||
*While not a magic user in the conventional sense Arek gives off a magical aura to those who are sensitive to it. Arek can perform a type of ancient Egyptian magic called heka 𓎛𓂓𓄿𓀁𓏪. | |||
*Telepaths will either sense nothing from him, or else they'll read an overwhelming amount of information that would be impossible to parse. His mind and core memory are made up of nine parts; each part from one of the Ennead of Gods of his realm of origin. | |||
='''''<div style="color:#d4af37; background-color: #000000"><center>TRIVIA</center></div>'''''= | ='''''<div style="color:#d4af37; background-color: #000000"><center>TRIVIA</center></div>'''''= | ||
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*Arek was programmed to be a weapon, but with an adaptive learning centre. The more relevant to his mission, the easier and faster he can learn new information. | *Arek was programmed to be a weapon, but with an adaptive learning centre. The more relevant to his mission, the easier and faster he can learn new information. | ||
*Arek doesn't breathe, eat, or sleep, or even ''blink'', but he will make the effort to appear as if he does. | *Arek doesn't breathe, eat, or sleep, or even ''blink'', but he will make the effort to appear as if he does. | ||
Latest revision as of 00:01, 24 June 2021
Flight
Nigh Invulnerability
Created as a weapon against Chaos, but as a person grew into something so much more...
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HISTORY
The Netjeru 𓊹𓊹𓊹 - Gods of Ancient Egypt
Long ago when religion was inseparable from life, the Gods existed in every natural aspect of the world. They rose out from the power of human belief and faith. They were the Netjeru and they came into existence as humankind started to believe in them, but they developed a memory of their own that they had come first. Humans made Gods who believed they made the humans. And so while the Gods have a memory going back tens of thousands of years, the reality is that they had only existed for a little over five thousand. To both the Netjeru and the humans who believed in them, the Gods predated them from the creation; a “Time Before” known as Zep Tepy 𓊃𓊪𓊗𓁶𓊪𓏭.
The Netjeru had limited means to interact with our world, but the stories suggested a time when Gods lived on Earth and even ruled over the people. In the early centuries of the Egyptian civilization, a myth came about that had set the stage and because the Gods were created through the power of faith, so too were the restrictions they seemingly placed on themselves and like all myths, it started with a story.
Sekhmet 𓌂𓐍𓏏𓏯𓅆 - Eye of Re 𓁹𓇴
In the Time Before, Re 𓇴 had grown dissatisfied with the humans and sent the Eye of Re; his daughter Sekhmet to Egypt to destroy all whom she perceived to have evil in their hearts. She ravaged the land as a bloodthirsty lioness and the unchecked slaughter fueled concern amongst the pantheon of Gods. Re agreed to call off the assault but his command to back down went ignored.
Sekhmet was beyond reasoning, so the Netjeru and the humans laid a trap with beer dyed the colour of blood. Sekhmet drank it all and in a drunken stupor fell asleep. When she awoke Sekhmet had transformed into Hathor the Goddess of love and mistress of the underworld.
Once peace had returned to the land Re, in his wisdom as King of the Gods decided that humans should be able to go forward without their intervention and that ultimately the Gods could only cause further harm. The Gods set out and created a realm of their own, to which they permanently exiled themselves. That realm became Ta Netjer.
Ta Netjer 𓇾𓏤𓈇𓊹𓏏𓈉 - Land of Gods
In the realm of Ta Netjer, the Sun God Re represented the light of creation. Every morning rose high into the sky to warm the land below, and at night Re descended into a space between spaces; the Duat, where the primordial Chaos Serpent Ap/p tried night after night to destroy Re so it could consume Ta Netjer and render it unto oblivion.
The battle between Re and Ap/p was widely known to the people of our realm as a battle between Good and Evil, Order 𓅓𓍱𓏤𓏛 and Chaos 𓇋𓋴𓆑𓏏𓅪 but to the divine beings of Ta Netjer it was a cyclical battle to keep the realm from total dissolution. Referred to as ma’at 𓆄𓏏𓏤 it loosely translated into our language to mean justice, balance, stability, and the Cosmic Order. On one side of this battle were the Gods of the Egyptian pantheon, while on the other was the Chaos serpent and any of its minions, who opposed the very idea of creation.
Ap/p was not satisfied. It was a being fueled by ambient Chaos energy in the cosmos and it fed on it in the hopes it would eventually tip the cosmic scales, but Re always proved too powerful to overcome. Ap/p knew of our realm and while like all of the Netjeru it could not leave Ta Netjer, it was able to send splinters of itself into our realm. Those shards of Chaos were like lightning rods that attracted more Chaos energy, then sent it back across the barrier between realms to Ap/p to feed on. Little by little it grew stronger and stronger. Re continued to best it in battle, but each cycle was harder and harder to hold the serpent back.
None of the divine inhabitants of Ta Netjer were willing to sit idly by while Ap/p undid existence for them, but the barrier prevented any of them from going through to our realm to tackle the problem head-on. The combination of magic and science which created the barrier was intentionally beyond even their combined abilities to remove.
Thoth in his wisdom came to a solution and it didn’t take long for the Council of Gods; the Ennead 𓇷𓏏𓀭𓏥, to agree. They would fashion a champion who contained enough of their essence to find and remove the Chaos Shards, but not enough that they would be blocked from crossing over. The potter Khnum 𓎸𓁠 created the likeness of clay, while Thoth 𓅝𓀭 and Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁐 worked science and magic in unison to give it life. Horus 𓅃𓀭 the Avenger imbued the champion with his fortitude and might. The nine members of the Ennead each offered a ninth of their soul and Isis melded them together into one singular essence. Thoth gave the gift of language and the ability to learn any relevant task quickly and deftly and inscribed the spells over the human-like clay statue.
When the sun disk was about to disappear below the line of the horizon, they gave the lifeless clay statue to Re, to take into the Duat with him. The Duat was a place between places; a nexus where the dreaming and the dead could travel. From there Re left the statue on a boat on the great river where it found its way through the impenetrable barrier to our realm.
The twin sisters Isis and Nephthys 𓉠𓁐 named the soul “Arek”, which in their language meant Adept, and for the final piece to their plan Nephthys, the Lady of the West cradled the soul under her protective wing and flew into the Duat. She had the ability to avoid the dangers of the Duat and when she’d reached the exact point where the barrier was at its weakest she slid the soul through into the world of humans.
The Arrival of Arek 𓂋𓈎𓏲𓍼𓏤𓀁
Artefacts from ancient Egypt could still connect to the Duat, and Arek appeared through a gateway called a false door 𓂋𓏤𓉐𓏤𓊁. As the Gods would have it though, the particular False Door he came through wasn't located in Egypt at the time, but at Paragon City University on loan for study.
When the False Door activated, the carvings on the stone facade glowed a brilliant sky blue, with the centremost panel of the artefact coalescing into a glowing portal. Arek, the confused and disoriented demigod, slid through into the realm of humans, naked and awe-struck. Equally bewildered were the two researchers in the lab at the time, who on seeing the Egyptian hieroglyphs tattooed on their guest's body (and from lives spent in a city of the strange and unusual), could do little to hide their interest and excitement.
Arek looked over his bizarre surroundings and at the various tablets, papyrus documents, statuary, and gilded relics in the room with them; and on concluding that it was a place of reverence to these things, that it was some kind of temple or place of worship. Arek believed the men in white robes were priests of this world and they spoke to him softly, though he couldn't understand it at first. After they made a few attempts the blessing of Thoth unlocked the language for Arek to understand. The "priests" bombarded him with questions about who he was and where he came from and what his intentions were, but all he could do was raise his hands slowly to infer he meant no harm. They asked about the portal which had already closed behind him, but Arek could still only answer futilely in his own language.
Being less than a day old Arek's abilities were still developing so he took things slowly to get his bearings and the "priests" were patient with Arek's inability to answer them at first, but once Arek could reply in a way they understood Arek had to subdue their enthusiasm. The priests were happy to tend to him and they kept him hidden away at the University while they told Arek about their lives or the work they did. They talked about Paragon City and the troubles with the various gangs, but mostly they talked about Egyptology and Arek listened intently. Arek was not modest in the least, but the two priests insisted that Arek wear clothing. A poster on the wall drew Arek's attention and the man in the image was on a stage in front of adoring fans and wore tight black leather pants and boots; bare-chested, with a black bomber jacket. Arek concentrated on the image and his bronze skin rippled and shimmered with golden light. The shapes and textures of the clothing appeared around his body and in a few seconds, Arek managed to replicate the clothing in the picture seemingly out of thin air.
Arek used his time with the priests (who called themselves scientists) to learn about the world he'd now call home, even if only in vague detail. He learned about the social hierarchy and the diversity of the inhabitants of Paragon City; particularly about the super-powered and sometimes alien inhabitants. After some months spent in their company, it was time for Arek to set out into the world on his mission to recover the "Chaos Shards" as he'd been created to do. He didn't know where they were, and he knew that he'd be able to sense them when he'd get close - but the concentration of chaos energy in Paragon was enough for the City to become a focal point.
His sense of their location was enough for him to know that he was in the right place at the right time, but it was a daunting task ahead of him. The Global Defense Force seemed like the perfect fit, where his mission and theirs were in sync - and so he sought them out and joined their ranks in the fight against villainy.
APPEARANCE and PERSONALITY
Appearance
The Gods crafted him to be their ideal concept of a human male, resembling a 20-something-year-old modern-day Egyptian.
- Height 5'11 and (while he has an athletic but not overly muscular build due to how he was created and what he's made of) weighs a deceptive 250 lbs.
- Skin tone is medium sun-bronzed brown.
- Eyes are honey-green that shimmer with golden energy and accentuated by subtle, but stylistic tattooed eyeliner.
- Hair is dark brown almost black, while his cheeks and jaw are dusted with faint stubble.
He carries himself proudly with his shoulders back, his spine straight and his chest heroically inflated. When he talks to others he always looks them in the eye, and while he lacks a system of true internal organs, he simulates breathing and blinking.
The clothes he wears are a construct of his abilities; formed of the liquid gold which runs through his veins as life-blood, and used as a raw material. The end result is something inspired by a rockstar, with tight black pants and knee-high boots, and a waist-length bomber jacket with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows. In most cases, any outfit he normally wears is open-chested to maximize his solar absorption, with the exception of his 'superhero suit'.
Arek would just as soon wear something more familiar to the ancient people of Egypt like a wraparound linen kilt and sandals, but his choices in clothing are mostly driven by his desire to meet the bare minimum level of modesty which he has observed in the modern world.
No one has seen Arek's raw form; a body made of clay and gold, and only know him by the simulated organic form that he purposefully presents.
Personality
ABILITIES
Powers
Solar Absorption: Arek absorbs the radiation of the sun and stores it like a walking capacitor. On average with moderate use of his powers, his reserves can last 24 hours.
Solar-Enhanced Strength: Another trait of his unique physiology is super-strength, though he has limits and he is not the strongest patriotic hero around. His solar-fueled strength in theory has no upper limit, though he's very far from testing just how much that could be.
Impervious Skin: The energy stored in his body will fortify his skin.
Regeneration: So long as Arek is in the sun, his endurance, stamina and physical regeneration are vastly accelerated to the point of nigh invulnerability.
Solar Energy Release: Arek can tap into his energy reserves and send out a shockwave of carefully controlled solar radiation to weaken enemies in his immediate vicinity. With enough focus he can use pulses of solar radiation to energize his allies and strengthen their attacks and resolve.
Flight: By generating a field of solar energy around himself, Arek can propel himself through the air or hover in place.
Netherworld Access: As a side effect of his unique physiology, Arek can enter an intermediary realm called the Duat 𓇽𓏏𓉐. This netherworld is a sort of hub for him and from there he can access realms such as the ghostly plane or the dreamscape by forcing his soul to leave his body. Doing so is quite dangerous, as in the Duat his strength and solar-based abilities are virtually non-existent.
Teleportation: By slipping into the Duat, Arek can use this netherworld to instantaneously move from one physical location to another. The range of his teleportation in theory has no upper limit, but the farther he has travels the more his reserves are depleted.
Skills
The God Thoth 𓇋𓀭 gave Arek a number of specialized skills to aid him in his mission, through hieroglyphic spells inscribed on his body along with his more conventional powers.
Adaptive Linguistics: On hearing a few sentences of an Earthly language, Arek gains the ability to understand that language. Prolonged exposure to any language gives him the eventual ability to speak it as well but can take months. Once Arek can understand and speak a language, he is able to read that language as well.
Enhanced Contextual Eidetic Learning: Arek is a very quick study in any subject that can relate to his mission to retrieve the Chaos Shards to a near expert level, but if something is not contextually related then his ability to learn it is hampered significantly.
Practitioner of Heka 𓎛𓂓𓄿𓀁𓏪: A form of magic which can be costly to perform, and requires a specific set of "ingredients". A word is written (as hieroglyphs) on a piece of paper, then consecrated with his blood. By focusing his divine energy on the word and desired outcome and once he reads the spell aloud and eats the paper, the spell is cast. The greater the impact of the outcome, the more costly it is as it's linked to his lifeforce.
Notable Traits
Hieroglyphic Tattoos: The most notable is the empowering symbol of life, ankh 𓋹 in the middle of his chest on his sternum; but around his collarbone, down his spine, on his upper arms, and his thighs are specially inscribed spells. They all serve a purpose and contribute to not only his life but grant him a vast array of abilities.
Gold Bands: Around his wrists and biceps are a pair of gold cuffs. Arek wears them at all times and they allow him to focus his power through his arms into his fists. They are inscribed with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in spells to denote strength and power.
Guyliner: Arek's eyes are permanently rimmed in the style seen in ancient Egyptian artwork.
ROLEPLAY HOOKS
Superhero Identity
- Arek doesn't have a private identity and works openly with the Global Defense Force and the United Nations.
- He has continually announced his mission in this realm to find mystical artefacts that he refers to as "Chaos Shards". He openly enlists the help of others and offers his aid to any who might need it.
Physical Traits
- His body is covered in mystical tattoos of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and as he uses his abilities they faintly glow. The radiance is proportionate to how much power he puts into his abilities.
- His eyes pulse with a gold shimmer in the timing of a heartbeat.
- His body is made of artificial materials of divine origin, complete with mimicked internal organs. His skin feels like soft, warm flesh but his body is a constant temperature similar to that of normal humans.
- He doesn't sweat; doesn't eat or drink; doesn't require sleep, among other oddities.
- His blood is a mystically maintained liquid gold. While his skin is extremely durable if he were to somehow bleed the warm golden liquid could eventually harden if not in contact with his body; such as drops on the ground. Not only would bleeding be a big deal for him, but the knowledge of his valuable lifeblood could cause a great deal of harm.
Magic and Metaphysics
- While not a magic user in the conventional sense Arek gives off a magical aura to those who are sensitive to it. Arek can perform a type of ancient Egyptian magic called heka 𓎛𓂓𓄿𓀁𓏪.
- Telepaths will either sense nothing from him, or else they'll read an overwhelming amount of information that would be impossible to parse. His mind and core memory are made up of nine parts; each part from one of the Ennead of Gods of his realm of origin.
TRIVIA
- Arek absorbs solar energy through the surface area of his bare skin. He needs direct exposure to the sun and if cut off for too long, could lapse him into a coma-like state.
- While wearing a full supersuit his power levels drop considerably, but he chooses to honour the modesty and uniformity of it while working with the GDF.
- The more he uses his powers the faster he burns through his reserves and needs to recharge.
- He is completely clueless about modern pop culture. While he has the knowledge to use modern language, he lacks the context to understand colloquialisms or dialect differences.
- Arek was programmed to be a weapon, but with an adaptive learning centre. The more relevant to his mission, the easier and faster he can learn new information.
- Arek doesn't breathe, eat, or sleep, or even blink, but he will make the effort to appear as if he does.