Lightbrand

What began as a quest for knowledge ended with unforeseen consequences.

A fledgling superhero eager to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. Lightbrand is the third hero to bear this name, the youngest in a mystical lineage dedicated to protecting the world from the forces of darkness. While he has much potential and his powers are great, Lightbrand is still learning what it means to be a hero. The road to mastery is long and hard.

Creatively speaking, Lightbrand has been influenced most by heroes like Golden Age Green Lantern and Quasar, with a dash of Dr. Strange and Modern Age Starman. He is a legacy hero, heavily concerned with keeping the good name of his forebears and living up to their example.

Lightbrand
Player: @Vigil
"I am not the light. I only reflect that which has been given me."
Character Build
Class Focus:	Force
Power Level:	40
Research & Development:	Mysticism - Avatars
Biographical Data
Real Name:	Solomon Moore
Known Aliases:	Sol
Gender:	Male
Species:	Human
Ethnicity:	Caucasian
Place of Birth:	Boston, Massachusetts
Base of Operations:	Millennium City, Michigan
Relatives:	Rebecca Moore (mother), Franklin Vaughan (father), Jeremy Moore (grandfather), Sarah Moore (grandmother), Bethany Witt (aunt), Ryan Witt (uncle), Anthony Witt (cousin), Sophie Witt (cousin)
Characteristics
Age:	23
Height:	6'
Weight:	175
Eyes:	Blue
Hair:	Blond
Complexion:	Fair
Physical Build:	Athletic
Physical Features:	Appendectomy scar. Numerous faded scars. Cross tattoo on right forearm. Labyrinth tattoo on left shoulder. Dashing good looks.
Status
Alignment:	██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ Lawful Good
Reputation:	██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ Reputable
Identity:	Secret
Years Active:	2
Citizenship:	United States
Occupation:	Student
Education:	College graduate; Master's studies.
Marital Status:	Single
Known Powers and Abilities
Photokinesis. Divine Channeling. Flight.
Equipment and Paraphernalia
Demiplane sanctum. Various artifacts of indeterminate use.

Attributes
	Strength	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Endurance	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Agility	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Speed	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Fighting	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Projectiles	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Durability	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Resistance	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Intelligence	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Psyche	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Intuition	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Charisma	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
ReldinBox Template

History

The Lightbrand Unearthed

Lightbrand I: Dr. Jeremy Moore.

Winter, 1963. While on an archaeological expedition in the Middle East, the young Dr. Jeremy Moore discovers a strange metal rod of ancient and unknown origin. It appears to be far older than the surrounding tell, but it bears no identifying marks. It is catalogued with the other artifacts.

Several weeks later, as the dig site becomes the target of midnight raids by a band of robbers, Dr. Moore discovers that the rod is capable of radiating bright light, projecting blasts of energy, and protecting and aiding those in danger. Through careful use, Dr. Moore is able to fend off the raiders without betraying his newfound secret. Under further study he discovers that the rod is known as the Lightbrand, a magical artifact capable of channeling the very light of creation. Upon his return to the United States, Dr. Moore vows to use the Lightbrand for the benefit of humanity!

Hereditary Heroism

Spring, 1976. As Lightbrand, Jeremy has spent thirteen years protecting his hometown of Boston and the world at large from threats domestic, international, and interdimensional. In that time he has married and had two daughters. Now he discovers that his older daughter Rebecca is capable of channeling the light of creation on her own, without need of the Lightbrand rod! He begins to teach her what he knows of their mutual powers, preparing her for the future. His younger daughter Bethany never exhibits the same capability.

Daddy's Little Girl

Lightbrand II: Rebecca Moore.

Summer, 1983. Rebecca Moore, now turned 18, has been fully trained by her father. She makes her first appearance as Lightbrand II, allowing Jeremy to retire from heroing. Nevertheless, Jeremy retains the Lightbrand rod, "just in case."

Summer, 1988. Rebecca has married her high school sweetheart, Frank Vaughan, whom she has informed of her secret identity. This year, their son Solomon is born. As he grows he shows himself to be exceptionally bright and perceptive, traits certainly inherited from his mother's side. Jeremy is determined to keep a careful eye on his grandson in case he begins developing Lightbrand powers as well.

Winter, 1994. After eleven years of heroism, tragedy strikes. While breaking up the diabolic ritual of a sinister blood cult, Bethany is attacked by a powerful, unknown assailant and left paralyzed from the waist down. After spending many months in recovery, she is still able to use her powers, but is no longer willing to do so. Jeremy reluctantly comes out of retirement to fill the void. The following year Frank leaves his wife and young son. Solomon, now seven years old, is deeply traumatized by the whole affair.

Son of Darkness, Son of Light

Autumn, 1999. Rebecca and Solomon have returned to the Moore surname. Sol is growing into a brooding and rebellious young man. His grandfather's influence notwithstanding, he is without fatherly guidance and believes his mother to be weary and weak. Aggravated further by financial difficulties and troubles at school, Sol's academic performance begins to drop, he is held back twice, and he falls in with a bad crowd. He is eventually approached by a heroin distributor.

Solomon Moore agrees to deal heroin in Boston. He is eleven years old.

Despite his "profession," Sol only uses once; the drug makes him sick for days and he cannot bring himself to try again.

Spring, 2000. Rebecca discovers what her son has been up to. She is understandably furious and decides that his behavior has gone far enough. She packs up their lives and moves them both from Boston to the newly-completed Millennium City, where her sister Bethany and her husband Jack have settled. Rebecca has also become tired of Jeremy's watchful eye on Solomon and his subtle encouragements toward heroism; the move distances the family emotionally as well as physically.

Shortly after the move, Solomon begins exhibiting signs of his inheritance--the light burns within him, too. Rebecca forbids him from using his powers, frightened of the danger inherent in heroism. However, Sol has found a reason to be better than he has been. He begins corresponding secretly with his grandfather. In turn, Jeremy does what he can to support his grandson academically; Sol will eventually be able to attend Millennium City University.

Summer, 2006. On his 18th birthday, Solomon receives a surprise visit from Jeremy. Like his mother before him, he has been given the responsibility of serving humanity as Lightbrand. In a ceremony resembling that of a medieval knighting, Jeremy names Solomon the next Lightbrand and bestows on him the right to wield his powers for the good of all. Rebecca is not happy, but understands the necessity.

For the next three years, Jeremy trains Sol in the use of his powers, as well as in occult lore and the meaning of heroism. He means to make his grandson as prepared as possible for the challenges and dangers he will face. More than anything else, these years of training have helped to shape Sol's worldview, turning it from one of bitterness and resentment to enlightened hope.

Autumn, 2009. The Qularr Invasion. Solomon Moore makes his debut as Lightbrand III.

Powers and Abilities

The powers of the Lightbrand emanate from the Aeon, a primeval mystic force of light, inspiration, and ideas. Sol is able to channel this energy to create, protect, and destroy. The light can be manifested in various forms of photokinesis, including but not limited to: energy blasts; energy absorption; force fields; inhibiting bonds; and flight. While he is unable to heal physical or mental injury, Sol can bolster the spirits of those around him, keeping them refreshed and heartened for challenges to come.

Sol has some occult knowledge, but he is not a sorcerer; he is simply a conduit for greater powers.

Sol makes use of a mystic sanctum located in its own demiplane, a place he calls his "Temple of Light." Originally crafted by his grandfather, the Temple serves as a retreat and a repository for the family's occult library. Interestingly, time passes at a slightly faster rate in the Temple. For every four hours spent in the Temple, only three pass on Earth. The Lightbrand rod is not found in the Temple; Jeremy keeps it elsewhere.

Apart from his powers, Sol has been gifted with genius-level intellect. His recall is astounding; while he does not have a photographic memory, he is able to memorize and synthesize information with incredible speed. He possesses broad knowledge of many different subjects.

Having been in more than a few scraps in his early years, Sol is a capable hand-to-hand combatant. He has had little formal training, however, and his fighting skills would not stand up to a dedicated practitioner.

Weaknesses

Darkness - While his powers are not affected by it, Sol has a severe dislike of darkness bordering on fear. Those exhibiting darkness-based powers, especially Qliphothic-related darkness, he treats with particular caution and, when necessary, great justice. Given the nature of his powers, he is obviously able to circumvent his feelings to an extent; on the other hand, some darkness resists his light.

Drugs - Sol remembers all too well what life as a dealer was like and the things people will do to get their next fix. Drug-related crimes often end up being a personal crusade for him. This stems in part from a strong sense of guilt--Sol is painfully aware of the possibility that his heroin may have killed someone, perhaps multiple people.

Inexperience - Ultimately, Sol is still a rookie hero. He wavers between over-eagerness and self-doubt. He can make poor decisions based on a lack of understanding.

Enemies

Gloomsoul - Lightbrand's counterpart from a mirror universe. In this parallel universe, Dr. Jeremy Moore discovered a shard of darkness known as the Gloomsoul, an artifact that channels nether energy. Solomon Moore inherited this power, which was so evil it made him decide to grow a goatee. Gloomsoul seeks a way to drain Lightbrand of his power or snuff out his light completely.

Feverdream - A mentally-disturbed woman with powers of nightmare projection and pyrokinesis. Employing a motley style, Feverdream unpredictably transgresses from maniac ecstasy to violent rage. Solomon first encountered her as she attempted to steal several of the works of 20th-century artist Francis Bacon. She is determined to capture Sol, but has never revealed what she plans to do with him if she should ever be successful.

Lathspell - A sorcerer who appears to derive much of his ability from a type of enchanted jade--Lathspell is typically seen wearing a jade mask and armor. His enmity toward Lightbrand first came when the brilliant hero stopped his removal of an Oriental jade statuette from the Millennium City Museum, humiliating him in the process. Since then, Lathspell has vowed to kill Lightbrand in retaliation. That said, Lathspell remains a small-time villain and seems to have difficulty planning for the long term.

PARADIGM - The strange, implacable android known as PARADIGM claims to be the prophet and herald of the merciless Mechanon, created to prepare the planet earth for the annihilation of all organic life. Whether or not PARADIGM's claim is true remains to be seen, but in the meantime his path has crossed with Lightbrand's on more than one occasion.

Kriegfaust - With a name like this, how could he be anything other than a Nazi? The protege of an escaped Nazi war criminal, Kriegfaust has emerged from the jungles of South America with a personal army of super-soldiers, all of them dedicated to spreading iron-fist fascism across the globe!

Nyx - Lightbrand's most mysterious enemy yet! The shadowy being known only as Nyx has only appeared twice, has never spoken to him, and has shown no signs of its true purpose. Sol doesn't even know if Nyx is male or female (or both, or neither!).

Personal Life

When not caught up in adventures and heroism, Solomon is a graduate student at MCU. He focuses on the humanities, with particular interest in theology, mythology, and philosophy. He works as a teaching assistant for two classes. He loves books and collects them, often without reading them.

Solomon is a dedicated Christian, though he tends toward gnosticism or mysticism. He has a small cross tattoo on the inside of his right forearm and a medieval labyrinth on his left shoulder.

Solomon maintains a strict code against killing in all of his endeavors. He believes that good and evil are real forces in the world, but he also recognizes that there are many shades of gray between them. His costume is intended to instill a sense of hope and inspiration rather than fear and intimidation.

In spite of a questionable past, Sol is an idealist and an optimist. He recognizes that things don’t always go according to plan, and sometimes evil gets the upper hand. Even so, he knows that good will triumph in the end thanks to the tenacity of good men and women. He tries to be understanding and compassionate towards those who want to do good, but unmoving in the face of unrepentant evil. He's an intellectual and prefers to think through or around problems rather than smash or blast them.

Solomon is celibate. This is not a vow; it's simply the way he lives his life. His reasoning is based mostly on the possibility than any child he fathers could inherit his powers; therefore he wants to be responsible. That said, he is definitely attracted to women and gets rather twitterpated around attractive members of the opposite sex, especially when they flirt with him.

Politically, Solomon tends toward left-of-center. He believes in compassion toward all and rehabilitation of criminals; in a way, he sees himself as an example of how people can be better if given strong guidance. That said, he also believes that a strong government is necessary to prevent societal chaos.

Because Solomon is new to the heroing thing, he's still trying to work out exactly how he's supposed to act. This leads him to being very professional and straightforward one moment, and cracking jokes the next. No one's told him yet that he can just be himself.

Let there be light!

Trivia

Sol likes the movies of Wes Anderson, David Lynch, and the Coen brothers. He also has a thing for B movies.

Sol is a voracious reader and collector of books, both fiction and non-fiction.

Sol listens to a lot of prog rock, New Wave, jazz, and classical music. He can't stand Sapphire's music, which is funny because he's got a huge celeb crush on her.

Sol is currently working on his master's thesis. That is, he's supposed to be. Its tentative title is "Mysticism and Mayhem: A Study of Violence and Higher States of Mind." Either that or "Someone to Play Tetherball: Solitude and Relationships in Napoleon Dynamite."

Sol tries to be a writer, but is generally terrible at it.

Common Knowledge

Lightbrands I and II were fairly well-known along the Eastern Seaboard; anyone familiar with them is also likely to have heard of Lightbrand III. He is known to be a relatively recent hero in Millennium City, but has yet to distinguish himself in any significant way.

Lightbrand has steadfastly refused to voice his support for any political candidate or religious figure. He also refuses to take part in merchandising or advertising.

The origin of Lightbrand's powers is not widely known. The public assumes there is some connection among the three heroes bearing that name, given the similarity of their powers, but they have not been specifically connected as family members. Those with mystical bent have hypothesized (in some cases correctly) the source of their powers.

Lightbrand is known to use elevated forms of speech while heroing. It's not usually to the level of Shakespearean English, but it can be somewhat hokey.

Lightbrand has recently been seen in the company of certain members of the Silver Age Sentinels.

Roleplaying Hooks

As a book collector, Solomon spends much of his time in bookstores, especially older, privately-owned ones. If trying to acquire a rare book of an occult origin, Sol may have some odd magical trinket to offer in exchange.

Solomon tries to keep his identity a secret. However, he isn't aware of the best identity-protection methods, and someone with enough time and know-how would likely be able to discover him.

Solomon has no official address. He tends to live in the Temple of Light, as this saves on both rent and time. He receives mail at a Post Office box.

Since Solomon works and studies at MCU, he can often be found there.

Since his father left him at such an early age, Sol tends to collect father figures. He tends to latch on unconsciously to male heroes and advisors who are older and/or more experienced than he is.

Solomon favors problems that are either magic- or drug-related. He could be found investigating anything along those lines.