Moonstone
The author of this article has marked this as a creative work, and would prefer that other users not edit it. Please respect this, and unless repairing a typo, spelling, or other minor technical error, think of this page as read-only. |
Contents
The Recent History of the Morgan Clan:
One of the last remaining direct descendants of the long-established Morgan Clan of Wessex Witches, Maria Alanna Morgan, born in the late 19th century, was her generation's Moonstone Protectress, a powerful Witch charged to saveguard the lives of her Clan against those who would wish them harm. She had twin daughters, Hazel and Mabel, with a wealthy man called Arthur Hingston. Hazel, the oldest of the twins--by a mere 13 minutes--thought for sure she would give birth to her mother's successor; but her daughter Winnifred Mildred Morgan didn't show enough promise as a Witch, nor did she have any particularly strong connection to the Moonstone Ring, the enchanted amulet that summons the Moonstone Armor, which are--along with the Garments of Cunning--the key to the Protectress' power. It was Mabel, the younger twin, who gave birth to Miranda Martina Morgan, the next Moonstone Protectress, who would surpass in power and deed all of her predecessors.
Miranda would become involved in the Occult Wars that secretly continued the hidden agenda of the real powers behind World War II. For the first time a Morgan Clan Protectress would use the power of the Moonstone Ring and Armor to fight crime on a global scale alongside many superheroes of the Golden Age. During her heroic tenure, she met a Royal Navy officer, Captain Edmond Blake. The two would pursue a heated love affair that would result in a daughter, Lucinda Lousia Morgan. Lulu, as she got nicknamed, developped a rebellious streak in reaction to both her parents' stern demeanor. Seeking more freedom, she adopted a false identity--that of ordinary girl "Louise Garmon"--and she met a young man named Carl Daniel Casey while he was vacationing in Vibora Bay. The two fell in love and she ran away with him to his native Pennsylvania. She always shirked away from his many marriage proposals, but she nonetheless gave him a son, Charles Douglas Casey. The young family was happy, but Lucinda knew she had a responsibility to her ancestral clan--she figured that having given birth to a son instead of a daughter was a clear sign she wasn't fulfilling her destiny--and thus felt obliged to abandon her new family and come back home to Vibora Bay. There she met a different man, a Sorcerer called Thierry Lucas Richardson, a distant descendant of French Alchemist Alexandre de Korval. They had a daughter, Amanda Alicia Morgan, who would use her witchy wiles to become an international supermodel. Amanda developed a romantic interest in her favorite photographer, Roderick Bradley Hopkins, and they would produce a daughter together, one who would inherit her great-grandmother's affinity for the Moonstone Ring, Miranda Maria Morgan.
In Lucinda's absence--or, as far as he knew, Louise Garmon's absence--her son Charles Casey grew up, became a fine young productive member of society and got married to an equally fine young woman named Marlene Fuller. The couple had three children together, two boys and a girl. The girl was the middle child, called Charlene, who--though not strictly considered of the Morgan lineage because of the broken matrilineality--still inherited some of her grandmother's affinity for Sorcery. She would herself become a magical superheroine called Charlatan.
But on the other side of the family, Hazel's daughter Winnifred had felt robbed by her cousin's status and prowess, and had more or less cut ties with the Morgan Clan. Unlike most Morgan Witches, she got married, to a wealthy Wizard of Irish descent named Percy O'Shaughnessy. Equally unlike most Morgan Witches, she gave birth to a son, and the pregnancy was a difficult one, resulting almost in the death of the young mother, insuring she would never have any other children. Winnifred's son Liam would follow in his father's footsteps, dabbling in Wizardry for fun and profit. He married a docile young woman from a good family who didn't care much for magic, only for its profitability. The young couple had a daugther, named Scarlet, whom the bitter Winnifred took under her grandmotherly wing. She would grow up hating the Morgan name and married into a different magical lineage, that of the Lacroix Family of French Sorcerers. With Nicholas Lacroix she would produce a child ritually conceived whom they named Ruby on account of her supernaturally red irises. Nicholas Lacroix was infamous for his nefarious dealings, but he never fancied himself a proper supervillain. Enter young Ruby--who now dubs herself Star Ruby--and plans nothing short of world domination!
Miranda Morgan, the new Moonstone
The particular details of how Miranda Morgan becomes the magical superheroine publicly known simply as Moonstone is (or should be) the subject of an upcoming Origins Comic. (I can't say when it'll be completed, or if it ever will. Sadly these things always take longer than anticipated!)
Miranda Morgan is a beautiful, vivacious, young woman who is generally quite self-confident and self-reliant. She is smart as a whip and despite being normally good-natured, she can often be quite snarky and sarcastic, at times even a tad cynical. She can also be impatient, impulsive, self-centered and too assertive. Some would say she's been spoiled rotten coming from a wealthy family, but in conjunction with her very comfortable upbringing she was often ignored and neglected by her busy parents. She was well-cared-for by her maternal grandmother back in Vibora Bay, but that obviously stopped when Miranda and her mother relocated to Millennium City when she was 11. As a result she is very individualistic and can be standoffish, perhaps as a way to cope with her ensuing fear of abandonment. Her father was especially absent from most of her life, which has lead to her having what people commonly call "daddy issues".
Miranda has a smidgen of a dark side; she loves horror movies and things most people consider to be somewhat weird. Back in High School she could be a bit of a mean girl, though the objects of her contempt were not so much the outcasts as the ones she'd call the sheeple; with her family's wealth and her beauty she could easily have been one of the popular crowd, but she generally rejected them for being too conformist and boringly predictable.Miranda's personal fashion sense can be variable and adaptable, but she usually tends to favor a certain bohemian elegance. She likes vintage clothing and accessories, from the simply casual to the very chic. Her interest in fashion is something she has in common with her supermodel mother, but unlike her, Miranda isn't interested in trends; not in following them nor even in setting them. She likes what she likes and doesn't really care what others think. She did do a bit of modeling around age 16-17, but ended up disliking the fashion industry milieu for being too fake and shallow.
Her tastes in music tend to be rather eclectic. She usually eschews contemporary popular music, preferring all manner of lesser known and older music. She'll listen--and dance--to just about anything but she definitely has a special fondness for psychedelic music (from the 1960s but also from any and all eras), gothic rock (in its most inclusive sense) and heavy metal music (especially doom metal).
As far as her morals/ethics are concerned--her Alignment, as some would say--she could best be described as being smack dab between Neutral Good and True Neutral, with perhaps a tendency to revert more to the True Neutral stance in her daily life, and shift towards Neutral Good when acting as a superheroine.
As a powerful Hereditary Witch well-versed in Arcane Sorcery, Moonstone can use a variety of spells, hexes and curses both offensively and defensively. She can cast rapid bolts, or more powerful, focused blasts of Eldritch energies reshaped into runic incursions to devastating end, or use those very same energies to fashion a shield of revolving magic circles to protect herself from harm. She can also open direct portals to Eldritch dimensions to let baneful magical energies bleed pure and unadulterated onto all of her foes, or even create an Ennesios Septile rift opening to void spaces in order to absorb energy blasts, kinetic blows or physical projectiles to further shield herself from incoming damage. She can also use healing spells to undo incurred injuries and nurture herself or her allies back to full health while battling foes.
But mostly she is a Summoner, which is to say a specific kind of Rifter who can not only open portals to other Realms, Worlds, Dimensions or Planes of Existence but also conjure forth beings from these otherworldly places and bind them to her will. As such she can also open portals to any other place on Earth--or anywhere else in the known Universe--in order to physically travel there, but only as long as she is either very familiar with the place in question or if she can somehow locate it magically with a clairvoyance spell.
Using her skills as a gymnast and as a space-warping Rifter (and aided by her enchanted boots--see Equipment section below), she can move through physical space horizontally and vertically at incommensurable speeds with grace and ease. She can also completely ignore gravity and fly, albeit without the ability to warp space around her as she does, since the mechanics of magical flight use spatial dimensions in a different way, thereby precluding the achievement of similar speeds.
Moonstone has also learned many non-combat spells, such as illusions and glamours, transmogrification spells, divination techniques, astral projection, etc., but her mastery of these other fields isn't quite up to par with her talents as a battle magician.
Moonstone relies on a few pieces of magical equipment to enhance her own Hereditary Witch's powers:
- The Moonstone Ring of Summoning: A ring made out of platinum magicum and set with a large, shimmering moonstone (a gemstone, not to be confused with a lunar rock) of great beauty, which is believed to be born from solidified rays of the Moon. Platinum magicum--a mystical variant of the rare metal platinum--is generally created by Alchemists and thought to have many magical qualities. Combining this metal with the moonstone gem greatly amplifies the magical powers of the Witch who wears it, especially her summoning abilities, and most notably the Moonstone Ring summons the Moonstone Armor of Familial Protection to which it is mystically bound.
- The Moonstone Armor of Familial Protection: A magical breastplate, designed to be worn by a woman, covering the torso, breasts and shoulders. It magically adapts to the body type of the Sorceress who wears the Ring, much like the Ring adapts to her finger. It is made of the same platinum magicum as the Moonstone Ring to which it is connected, forged presumably by the same Alchemist who created the Ring. The Morgan family attributes the creation of both the Ring and Armor to fabled French Alchemist Alexandre de Korval, who allegedly played a part in the foundation of Vibora Bay and was one of its first residents, and who was a close family friend of the Morgan clan of Witches.
The Armor prominently features nine moonstone gems, three of immense size and six much smaller ones, though still quite large in themselves. Two of the three much larger stones are set within the shoulder pieces of the Armor, fashioned to represent large demonic heads each holding a stone in its mouth while four of the six smaller stones form the demonic eyes of each shoulder piece. The third immense moonstone is placed atop the wearer's womb, with the remaining two smaller stones set on either side of it.
As its name implies, the Moonstone Armor's mystical function is that of protection, for both its wearer and her allies, and ironically it affords an even greater level of magical protection to them. It creates a magical dampening field emitted by the harmonization of the three large moonstones, which distorts the ambient etheric atmosphere and thus slows down bullets, blades, blows, etc., so they do considerably less damage to those under its protection. The wearer of the Armor being in the center of the field--much like being in the eye of the storm--is less affected by this dampening field, unless she focuses it on herself, a manoeuver that would leave her allies considerably less protected.
The Moonstone Armor normally resides in its own pocket dimension, and using the Ring to summon it sends all clothing, accessories and jewelry worn (with the exception of the Moonstone Ring itself) to that dimension. Sending back the Armor of course brings everything else back from the pocket dimension in return.
- The Garments of Cunning: These enchanted articles of clothing were magically created by Morgan family Witches to help their clan protectress in her duties. When wearing the Garments of Cunning along with the Moonstone Armor, they will also all be sent to the Armor's pocket dimension when the protectress reverts the Moonstone Ring's spell to bring back the clothing worn prior to the Armor's summoning. Resummoning the Armor will equally bring back the Garments of Cunning. To keep them around one simply has to remove them all before reverting the spell.
They are comprised of the following:- The Cloak of Concealing: This hooded cloak is enchanted to conceal its wearer's true identity. The spell is very powerful insofar as it was designed to fool even seasoned practitioners of Sorcery. When a Morgan Witch wears that cloak, she will be completely incognito, without having to cover up her facial features in any way. People will see her face, but won't be able to identify her, even if they know her well.
Obviously, Morgan Witches are immune to this spell. It is also possible for Miranda to cast an immunity spell on someone that nullifies--temporarily--the effects of the cloak; but this spell usually doesn't last very long (its duration depends on the intensity of its casting and the amount of Eldritch energy employed).
- The Gloves of Casting: These long gloves were the recipient of a pretty straightforward enchantment to boost the offensive and defensive spellcasting both in quality and quantity. They even boost the Ring's summoning enchantments. Each glove is decorated with two small moonstones, one on the forearm, the other on the upper arm.
- The Boots of Traveling: These high boots received a similar enchantment, though one that enhances movement in physical space. They make its wearer able to run faster and jump higher, even defy gravity and fly! Each boot is decorated with three small moonstones on the lower leg and three larger cut ones at the top (mid-thigh) as well as five more on top of the toes, and each boot also features a pair of small, decorative--and mystically symbolic--wings attached at the ankle.
- The Cloak of Concealing: This hooded cloak is enchanted to conceal its wearer's true identity. The spell is very powerful insofar as it was designed to fool even seasoned practitioners of Sorcery. When a Morgan Witch wears that cloak, she will be completely incognito, without having to cover up her facial features in any way. People will see her face, but won't be able to identify her, even if they know her well.
Note: It is to be understood that these items themselves are not the source of Miranda/Moonstone's powers, but that they only serve to greatly enhance her own magic. A normal person would not be able to access their magic nor would most practitioners of Sorcery, for that matter. The Ring and Armor must have a deeply personal resonance with their wearer and the Garments of Cunning are more generally specific to the Morgan family Witches. It is to be noted also that the Ring, Armor and Garments of Cunning are indestructible items of magic, though their wearer might not be so invincible, nor even invulnerable.
Moonstone can also make use of non-magical pieces of equipment, such as S.C.U.B.A. diving gear (she could cast underwater-breathing spells, but she'd rather not rely on those, given the dire consequences of finding yourself deep in the ocean with no air to breathe in case of spell failure--on the other hand such spells could come in quite handy in case of equipment failure). She can also send the underwater equipment to the same pocket universe where the Armor and Garments of Cunning usually reside when not worn.
She sometimes also uses a hoverbike built for her by her friend--and fellow Vibora Bay resident--Juryrig. Utilizing the conjuring power of the Moonstone Ring, she created a different small pocket universe just for the flying contraption, to and from which she can send and retrieve it for her occasional usage and storage. Of course, Moonstone can fly on her own quite proficiently, thanks to the Boots of Traveling, but this vehicle is useful for crossing greater distances at a faster rate than Moonstone's top flight speed. She does feel conspicuous about her carbon footprint when she uses it though, as it can leave a fair amount of polluting smoke trails in its wake!
Some time after the Morgan Clan of Witches had relocated to--and prospered in--the city of Vibora Bay, Florida, the Matriarch of the family had a magnificently opulent mansion built, one which included an extensive library full of obscure tomes on everything Arcane and Occult.
Years later, a Morgan Clan Protectress used the power of the Moonstone Ring successfully to open a stable rift referred to as an Ennesios Trine, one of the most elaborate magical constructs yet based on the simplest of numerical harmonics. For most practioners of magic, opening an Ennesios Trine is a feat in itself, but stabilizing it to full permanence is quite another!Opening this rift in the heart of the Arcane Library caused it to be removed from the normal space-time continuum of the Material/Physical Plane and relocated somewhat halfway between worlds. It can still be accessed from within the mansion--or by portaling right inside--but it no longer exists as part of the mansion itself.
Another peculiarity of the displaced Library is that time no longer works quite in the same way as it used to do. For this reason, it is most often referred to as being Timeless; an epithet that is more hyperbole than actual fact. The reality is that it now converts the time lapsed inside from that of a simple planetary rotation to that of a full orbital one. In other words, one day in normal space-time equals one year in the Timeless Arcane Library.
This means essentially that time is accelerated at a rate of 365:1, so that an hour of real time passed inside seems stretched to 365 hours, or 15 days and 5 hours. Likewise, a mere minute in the Library becomes 6 hours and 5 minutes. It is also to be noted that one doesn't age--or become hungry or tired--according to the time passed inside, but rather as if one was still operating in normal time. So if someone who just ate doesn't need to eat again for a good 5 hours, they can read and study in the Timeless Library for what would to them seem like 76 straight days without requiring as much as a little snack!
Although as Moonstone, Miranda can summon sundry different beings from a slew of other worlds, planes or realms, she tends to summon the very same ones--or at least the same types of being--over and over again. Perhaps simply because she is more comfortable with the familiarity of it all, and in the midst of a battle is certainly not the time to experiment with the unknown. She also summons otherworldly companions that have strong connections to the Four Magical Elements, as well as some from the Light and Dark aspects of the Fifth Element or Quintessence, also known as Spirit.
The things and beings which Moonstone summons can also be attributed to sub-elements, which is to say the sub-division of an element that is akin to one of the other elements. Each of the Four Magical Elements contains four sub-elements, for a grand total of sixteen sub-elements total. Similarly, the Quintessence, or Spirit Element, can also be sub-divided in sub-elements, as well as the Four Elements be attributed a spiritual sub-element, which thus increases the total to twenty-five sub-elements. But sub-elemental attributions are just a more technical way of specifying the more precise elemental qualities of any particular being or thing.
- Booky: When a spell is required, nothing beats extensive research within the hallowed walls of the Timeless Arcane Library, but when it is not particularly convenient to hop there Moonstone can summon the Morgan Clan's Book of Shadows. It is a centuries-old Grimoire created and carefully nurtured by Morgan Witches to serve as a repository of all the magical operations of the Matriarchs of the Clan as well as those of the Moonstone Protectress. Over time, the book acquired its own spirit or consciousness, so to speak, allowing it to magically fly through the air--and even talk!--all on its own. Since Lucinda Morgan ritualized a lot of her research into the Occult, she created a link between the Book of Shadows and the Library itself, thus allowing quick access to pertinent passages from almost any volume located in the Library. This, however, doesn't mean full access to everything, but rather a very useful way to access specific practical information quickly when out of the Library. It can also serve as an index to the Library, which is equally useful to Miranda when her grandmother isn't around to find for her the books she needs. Miranda started calling the ancient volume "Booky" and apparently it doesn't seem to mind the familiarity. (Magical Element: Spirit. Sub-elements: Earth and Air of Spirit.)
- Twinkly: An enchanted candle that has magically acquired some sort of semi-sentience through a mystical detection spell. It floats and hovers around Moonstone and will resonate with ambient magical energies--even very hard to detect ones--and express its findings through color changes of its flame. Usually, it's the same normal yellowy-orange color of any regular candle flame, but upon detection it will turn scarlet red for evil or Ebon magic; blue for good or neutral Arcane magic; a deep green for natural or Primal magic; a sickly green for toxic or Infernal magic; a bright golden yellow for Celestial or Radiant magic; purple for Chaotic or Dark magic; and it will also turn pink when psionic activity is detected. Since Twinkly's flame is a magical manifestation and not a product of any actual physical combustion, it doesn't burn away any of the candle's wax. And while it does generate light, it doesn't generate any perceivable heat. (Magical Element: Spirit. Sub-element: Fire of Spirit.)
- Bitey: A Qliphotic Imp. The first critter which Miranda managed to summon when she was learning her art. She was quite proud of herself for succeeding on her first try! The little guy is a handful and can be a bit troublesome--he does like to bite a lot, hence the name. Since he is rather tiny and has no means of visual or even olfactory perception, he's not very useful at all in battle situations but Miranda is quite fond of him and keeps him around sort of like as a pet, or as a Witch's Familiar, and because he keeps her on her toes, magically speaking. He's also a great conversation piece and a funny way to amaze her friends! (Magical Element: None/Chaos.)
- Dusty: A walking--or lumbering to be more precise--lump of living clay. There is not much else to say about this strange creature which was Miranda's first true ally in her superheroic endeavors. It hails from a dusky and dusty world of perpetual twilight, where things that should not exist often tend to do so. He is strong, resistant and loyal to a fault, if not particularly smart. Like, at all! Miranda often wonders how something which is made out of dirt can actually be DUMBER than dirt! (Magical Element: Earth. Sub-element: Water of Earth.)
- Freezie: In the Great Beyond there ARE Hells that have literally frozen over! Freezie is a demonic Frost Hound from a very cold hell dimension. She is useful to Miranda in that she can chill her opponents with her frozen breath as well as bite them with sharp, ice-cold teeth and can even summon snowstorms to blind her foes as well as occasionally trap them in ice cages! She can also provide Miranda some relief from the heat and stagnant humidity when she spends time in Vibora Bay during the hot summer months! (Magical Element: Water. Sub-element: Earth of Water.)
- Breezy: An Elemental being from the etheric plane of the Air Element. A whirlwind coalesced in humanoid form, this being is closer to the Genies of Arabian Sorcery (Jinni) than to the Sylphs of Western Occultism, since Miranda used an old Arabic spell to summon and bind it to her will. Miranda also enjoys Breezy's talents when it gets too hot, or when she wants to feel the wind in her hair! (Magical Element: Air. Sub-element: Spirit of Air.)
- Lava Boy (a.k.a. The Hotty!): A powerful Lava Demon from a more stereotypical fiery hell dimension. As a haughty High Lord of Hell, he is Miranda's hardest creature to control; she cannot leave the summoning circle at all otherwise she'll lose her control of him, and he'll more likely just vanish back to whence he came to avoid the humiliation of being controlled again. He would instead try to kill his captor were it not for the binding oath she originally made him swear never to hurt her nor her allies. But from within her conjuring circle, Miranda loves to taunt and playfully torment her hot Lava Boy, even making him dance for her amusement! (Magical Element: Fire. Sub-element: Earth and Water of Fire.)
- The Walkers: Miranda's own small army of the Walking Dead. She can summon rotting, decomposing corpses reanimated with the Light of Spirit (the proverbial Breath of Life), not so much from the ground around her--although they do seem to rise from it when they appear near her--but from various cemeteries and battle fields located all over this (and other versions of) Earth. Her control of the Spirit element not being as strong, they never last long, she constantly has to summon more, and she can only summon a handful at a time. She can't communicate with them in any other way than simply unleashing them on her foes. For that reason she has never bothered with naming them individually like she does her other pets. (Magical Element: Spirit/Light. Sub-element: Earth of Light Spirit.)
- The Black Jackals: These are literally beings of pure darkness, shadows made substantial, denizens of the dark, deserted, spiritual wastes of the Egyptian psychopomp God Anubis and created in his image. They seem to have no real individuality, yet they whisper strange thoughts reeking of madness to Miranda, something she finds kind of freaky and usually manages to block out. But they are obedient enough when the task at hand is inflicting pain and misery upon her foes. As it is with the Walkers, her control of the Spirit element not being as strong, they vanish soon after being summoned, so she continuously has to bring more to the Physical Realm. Again she entertains no particular relation with these... things? and as such she doesn't give them individual names. (Magical Element: Spirit/Darkness. Sub-element: Air of Dark Spirit.)
Miranda has spent many days in the timeless Arcane Library of the Morgan Clan's Vibora Bay mansion, and one day in our world equals a year in there, since the temporal flow of the Library obeys different dimensional rules. As such, despite her relatively young physical age, she has mastered her art and acquired A LOT of knowledge about Magic, Mysticism, Sorcery, Demonology, Necromancy, and all manner of things Occult and Arcane.
She has deeply studied and eventually mastered the difficult language of Jid'oni Dibur, the Old Tongue of the Wizards on which much of her spells and rituals depend to succeed.But Miranda's talents and skills are not just in the realm of the mystical, some are also quite physical. She trained as a gymnast from Elementary to High School. She didn't like to compete, but she nevertheless became a pretty deft acrobat. She is also quite adept at yoga, a really agile tennis player and a very decent swimmer.
Notwithstanding her astonishing magical powers, Miranda Morgan is still just a young human girl. As such she is very vulnerable to just about anything that could harm or kill a normal person. When she summons the Moonstone Armor, she--and, to an even greater extent, her allies--get a significant amount of protection from harm, but that level of protection is finite and can still be overcome by massive attacks (massive in either quantity or quality, or both).
Moonstone's ability to open stable rifts or portals which one can use to travel elsewhere instantaneously requires a lot of concentration and as such it is not something she can do on the fly, especially not in battle situations. Places she knows very well and to where she has portaled often, like her apartment in Downtown, Millennium City or the Morgan family mansion in Vibora Bay (including the Timeless Arcane Library), are easier to access and require less time and mental effort to open portals to them, but she still needs to be able to focus undisturbed for a few seconds. Summoning back demons with whom she has already established a strong bond, as well as mindless creatures or demonic minions, is easier and she can even do it in battle situations, but she cannot call forth any strong-willed demon she hasn't already bound to her will. Likewise, aside from battle magic spells she has already mastered, any other type of spell will require preparation and concentration so she can't do those on the fly either.
Despite her natural talents and her many days--i.e. mystical years--of study, she is still rather inexperienced as a superheroine, which can in itself lead to mistakes and miscalculations that could have dire repercussions.
She can also be overconfident at times, perhaps even arrogant, which can make her susceptible to taking unnecessary risks. Her fear of abandonment can instinctively make her refrain from teamwork or at least from fully trusting teammates whom she doesn't control, which is to say whom she hasn't magically bound to her will.
Coming soon to a PDb page near you!
More coming soon to a PDb page near you!
- Lucinda Morgan: Miranda's grandmother. An avid reader, Lucinda spent almost all of her evenings--sometimes late into the night--in the Timeless Arcane Library, acquiring more theoretical and practical knowledge than any Morgan Witch ever had before. Nana Lucinda, as she's always preferred to be called by her granddaughter, was Miranda's primary caregiver for as long as Miranda can remember. When Amanda decided to move from Vibora Bay to Millennium City permanently eight years ago, taking her young daughter with her, Miranda found herself deprived of her Nana's attentions for the first time, leading her to develop feelings of abandonment. When she returned to Vibora Bay at age 18, Miranda's powers and memories were finally restored. There Nana Lucinda was able to help develop her powers to their full capacity.
- Amanda Morgan: Miranda's mother. Not as gifted a Witch as her daughter, Amanda has nonetheless used her talents to make it big in the more mundane world of high fashion. Through the use of glamours to enhance her own considerable beauty and sundry prosperity spells to create profitable opportunities, she has become a famous international model, best-known as the face of Desire, the immensely popular perfume. Her career has often taken her away from her family, to the great detriment of her daughter. Some might think this emotional distance was due to some resentment that her daughter was far more powerful a Witch who was prophesied to become the clan protectress, but really Amanda truly loves her daughter and she deeply fears losing her, which may be why she subconsciously tries to distance herself from her to lessen the pain of what she feels is an almost inevitable occupational hazard.
- Rod Hopkins: Miranda's father. He never married Amanda, as neither wanted to get tied up in wedlock, but he has tried to be there for his daughter, despite not being overly welcome in the Morgan family by Lucinda. He is a famous fashion photographer who also does some photojournalism and has pretensions of being an artistic photographer as well. Like Amanda, he often has to travel for work and isn't always there when his daughter needs him.
- Charlene Casey: The Sorceress publicly known as Charlatan who also happens to be the daughter of Lucinda's first-born son, and is thus Miranda's older cousin. She isn't technically a Morgan Witch (because of the broken matrilineage), even though she did in all likelihood inherit some modicum of magical talent from her grandmother. Charlene and Miranda weren't particularly close before they both became magical superheroines, and though they do see each other more now, they are still not all that close, but they will collaborate or help each other out when the need calls for it.
- Charles Casey: Miranda's Uncle Charlie, Cousin Charlene's father. He works at an insurance company. He is Lucinda's first-born child and is now aware of the magical world of the Morgan side of the family. He has asked his niece to keep an eye on his daughter, as he assumes--perhaps correctly--that Miranda is more at home in this strange world of magical dangers.
- Sylvia Seibel: Amanda Morgan's longtime agent at the modeling agency which has always represented her, International Modeling Agency Group Enterprises. She's almost a member of the family, and Miranda grew up calling her "Auntie Sylvia". She was hoping that Miranda would follow in her mother's footsteps and even got her several modeling gigs a few years ago. She is very disappointed that Miranda instead became embittered with--and moved away from--the fashion world.
- Latrina Washington: Miranda's bestie. The only other girl in Miranda's senior class who's also originally from Vibora Bay, Florida, albeit from the wrong side of the tracks (they met in Millennium City, while attending High School; they never knew of each other's existence while they both resided in Vibora Bay). She hails from a Weston family that has ties to the Sovereign Sons gang and her mother has had plenty of trouble with the law, often getting arrested for minor infractions, especially drug possession charges. Latrina can be acerbic and her friendship with Miranda often appears to be more conflictual than amicable to onlookers. Their bond is rooted in both of them being social outsiders and of course being from the same hometown.
- Bryan Weiss: Miranda's chemistry teacher back in High School. He is very affable and highly intelligent and he is quite fond of Miranda as a student and appreciates her academic potential. He was probably Miranda's favorite teacher; she greatly admires him, especially for his intelligence, knowledge and his teaching abilities and work ethic. This admiration can translate in Miranda often having an almost flirtatious demeanor with him. Interestingly, Mr. Weiss bears somewhat of a resemblance to her maternal grandfather, the Elemental Sorcerer Thierry Richardson, whom she has never met since he disappeared long before she was born.
- Matt Davison: One of Miranda's former schoolmates, more specifically her chemistry lab partner. He was always pretty geeky and shy and he got bullied a lot, something Miranda found distasteful and she never had a problem with chastising his bullies. But that only made them tease him more so he asked her explicitly not to fight his battles for him. He developed quite a crush on her, which was of course unrequited, but Miranda still felt sorry for him so she accepted to go on one date with him.
Fun (and some perhaps not-so-fun) Facts about Miranda Morgan/Moonstone and the people in her life, that may or may not be of a Trivial nature.
- - Miranda almost died as a child as a result of practicing interdimensional magic. Her mother insisted that her powers and memories be bound until adulthood to prevent any other mishaps from endangering her life. She regained her long-lost powers and memories when the binding spell expired as she turned eighteen.
- - She was named after her great-grandmother, Miranda Martina Morgan, the previous clan protectress of the Morgan family Witches, who was secretly a superheroine involved in the Occult Wars that started in the years prior to World War II and lasted long after it.
- - Despite the considerable family fortune, Lucinda Morgan worked as a municipal Librarian in Vibora Bay after her daughter Amanda and granddaughter Miranda relocated to Millennium City, helping to foster in local children a thirst for knowledge and a love of reading. After work, she would be spending most of her nights in the Timeless Arcane Library of the Morgan Clan's family mansion; she has read at least twice each and every volume to be found there, and some many more times.
- - Miranda's mother, Amanda Morgan, is a famous socialite and international fashion model who is best known for being the face of Desire, the renowned perfume. After so many years in the industry, she still routinely appears in many runway shows and her face very often graces the covers of the most iconic fashion magazines.
- - Miranda's parents never got married, and broke up when she was still a young child. They have remained quite friendly though, even still hooking up from time to time.
- - After Lucinda reconnected with her son Charlie, she invited his then 18-year-old daughter Charlene to come spend the summer at the family mansion, in part to test whether she had any magical talents or potential. Charlene ended up babysitting her younger cousin quite often.
- - Bitey, Miranda's pet Qliphotic Imp, rarely leaves her sight. She passes him off as her service animal when in school.
- - When questioned about Bitey, Miranda usually discloses quite matter-of-factly and nonchalantly that she is a Witch and that he just happens to be her familiar. Most people simply assume that she's either lying or joking and that Bitey's a mutated rat or ferret, a genetically-created flying monkey, or some such thing, perhaps even a convincingly realistic-looking animatronic doll! But when some befuddled people appear to believe her, she'll roll her eyes as if to imply that she was only joking and that she thinks they are being overly credulous, which only serves to make them feel even more confused.
- - For some reason Miranda gets a kick out of fooling people with the Cloak of Concealing. She would change in front of people and be amazed at its magic in that people just wouldn't be able to put two and two together and realize that she and Moonstone are the same person. To her, that just never gets old!
- - Alternately, she does find it a bit tedious to have to constantly recast an immunity spell on those people to whom she reveals her secret identity.
- - She had to cast such an immunity spell on her cousin Charlene, but perhaps because she's a relative she only had to cast it once. It seems so far to be having a permanent effect.
- - At first Miranda was not completely comfortable running around in the Moonstone outfit despite having witnessed the power of the Cloak of Concealing several times. She thought she could still get recognized so she instinctively used to pull all her hair back and hide it inside the hood and cinching it tighter around her face. After a long while of seeing just how strong and persistent the Cloak's spell was, she started wearing the hood in a more relaxed and casual way, letting her long hair hang out of it freely.
- - Because of the persistently confusing effect of the Cloak of Concealing's spell, she is technically registered with PRIMUS but her secret identity isn't recorded.
- - Her proficiency in opening portals has made it quite easy and very practical for Miranda/Moonstone to travel back and forth almost instantaneously between Millennium City and Vibora Bay.
- - Spending many days studying in the Timeless Arcane Library has had a profound impact on Miranda's psyche. She is already technically older, mentally speaking, than most living people on Earth, and yet she is still physically only 19 years old.
- - The time she spent in that Library as a child with her grandmother probably explains why she was always more mature for her age in her early teen years, even after the binding and forgetting spells clouded the memories of her experiences there.
- - The first time that Miranda spent a little over 5 hours in the Timeless Arcane Library--which corresponds to over two and a half months!--after she got her powers and memories back, she felt like she had forgotten what food tasted like!
- - Miranda usually also uses the Timeless Library as the place to do her more mundane studies and where she writes her term papers for her university courses. It ends up saving her a lot of time which she can better use to fight crime.
- - At university, Miranda has yet to declare any major, preferring to take whichever course appeals to her. She is fond of History, Art History, Archeology, Anthropology, Philosophy and Comparative Religion.
- - Miranda's overall favorite band is the American gothic metal band Type O Negative. Coincidentally, it's also her blood type.
More coming soon to a PDb page near you!
- Legacy Character: Miranda is the latest in a long line of Morgan Clan Protectresses to use magical powers to defend the innocent, albeit only the second one to do so as a publicly known superheroine and extend this protection to people outside her family.
- Hot Witch: As a beautiful and sexy young female with magical powers, Moonstone definitely qualifies as a Hot Witch.
- Aloof Dark Haired Girl: Miranda's hair is very long and very dark and her psychological issues--as well as her mental age being much older than her body's, thanks to the Timeless Arcane Library--tend to make her aloof and standoffish.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: While Miranda's skin isn't quite ivory white, she still has a pretty fair complexion and her hair is definitely Raven colored.
- Goth Girls Know Magic: Miranda doesn't explicitly self-identify as Goth--or as anything else really--but many people would call her that, based primarily on her appearance (long black hair and heavy eye makeup), demeanor and some of her musical preferences. And boy does she know magic!
- Excessive Evil Eyeshadow: Miranda subverts this trope by wearing an excessive amount of eye makeup--especially mascara--and not actually being evil.
- True Neutral: In her daily life, Miranda's individualism and laissez-faire attitude can best be expressed as being truly Neutral.
- Neutral Good: When donning the enchanted items that make up her superheroic outfit, Miranda becomes Moonstone, and as such the heavy responsibility that comes with this transformation makes her more aware of the plight of others and consequently more selfless, thus shifting her morality towards the side of pure Goodness. While she always respects the ideals of Law & Order for all the good they can provide and help sustain, she doesn't yet feel obligated to bend to the whims of the letter of the law, which may in actuality not always be on the side of good.
- Most Common Superpower: Moonstone's no exception to this rule! (As clearly illustrated by the panel on the right side.)
- Magical Accessory: Super-Trope to the following. Could also extend to the moonstone-adorned Garments of Cunning by virtue of the said gems.
- Ring of Power: Moonstone's magical Ring of Summoning grants her a major increase to her natural Rifter/Summoner powers, allowing her to summon the Moonstone Armor of Familial Protection to which it is intimately--and mystically--connected.
- Loyal Phlebotinum: The Moonstone Ring can only be used by a very specific person, a Witch of the Morgan family deemed to be the Clan Protectress. Miranda also has a strong psychic connection to it, enabling her to find it if it ever gets lost.
- Instant Costume Change: Using the Ring to Summon the Armor sends all articles of clothing and accessories worn to the Armor's pocket dimension and also brings back the accompanying Garments of Cunning. Likewise this process can be reversed.
- Instant Armor: A variant of the previous trope, this one refers to the supernatural teleportation of the Moonstone Armor of Familial Protection itself.
- Shoulders Of Doom: The Moonstone Armor features huge pauldrons that are fashioned in the shape of demonic heads. Interestingly, Miranda often echoes that look in her daily life by wearing a blouse with poofy sleeves.
- Invisibility Cloak: Although, this trope is subverted by the invisibility being more metaphorical than literal; it is Miranda's secret identity that remains invisible. Wearing the Cloak of Concealing doesn't affect Moonstone's actual visibility, just anybody's ability to recognize her as being Miranda Morgan, even if they know her well or have just witnessed her transformation.
- Dressed Like A Dominatrix: Moonstone's magical superheroine outfit is somewhat reminiscent of a dominatrix. Aside from the cloak, It's basically just a metallic corset, a pair of opera gloves and a pair of thigh high boots! Her attire also mirrors her independent and assertive demeanor as well as her control of (demonic) servants bound to her will.
- Everything's Sparkly With Jewelry: Moonstone's name comes from her magical Ring, Armor as well as her Gloves and Boots heavily decorated with actual sparkly moonstone gems.
- Power Glows: When Miranda becomes Moonstone, all manner of glowy auras can be seen about her, from runic manifestations to floating orbs or rotating protective magic circles.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Moonstone's attire could be misconstrued as looking perhaps more villainous than heroic (dark colors, hooded cloak, demonic imagery on the shoulder pieces) combined to being accompanied by actual demons!
- Summon Magic: Moonstone can use offensive and defensive magic spells but she is primarily a Summoner who conjures up various demons to come fight with and for her.
- Elemental Powers: Moonstone summons demonic beings that are connected to--or in some cases made out of--the four Elements (five when counting Spirit, the Quintessence).
- Familiar: Moonstone/Miranda is rarely seen without her familiar Qliphotic Imp whom she affectionately calls Bitey.
- Baby Talk: Miranda finds Bitey to be completely adorable and totally cute (instead of unsettlingly repellent as most people would), and therefore treats him like most people would treat a cute little kitten, complete with indulging in the absurd baby talk. "Why, yes! Yes he is! He's a good widdle impy-nimpy! Who's a good widdle Qliphotic Imp? Huh? You are! Yes, you're Mommy's good widdle impy-nimpy!"
- Our Demons Are Different: The concept of "Demons" in the Moonstone universe isn't limited to one Judeo-Christian interpretation, and they themselves come from many different dimensions and have equally different appearances, powers and agendas.
- Necromancer: Moonstone qualifies as a Necromancer as she can summon dead corpses reanimated with the Light of Spirit. She can also perform the more accurate definition of Necromancy, which is to say the divination method consisting of interrogating the spirits of the dead.
- Magical Library: The Timeless Arcane Library of the Morgan mansion is a perfect example of this trope.
- Vain Sorceress: Miranda's mother, the supermodel Amanda Morgan, sort of qualifies as one, albeit without the sinister or villainous implications.
- Parental Abandonment: Miranda's parents were always rather busy while she was growing up, traveling around the globe for various fashion-related assignments (modeling or photographing). This has left her psychologically scarred.
- Trismegistus Council: If you ever consulted the magical organization for any required expertise on mystical subjects, they might refer you to Moonstone; after all, her grandmother is a member of the Council!
- Summoning: If you just happen to be a demon of any kind, it is possible you were summoned to this realm by Moonstone.
- Portaling: If you originate from a parallel version of Earth, perhaps Moonstone played a part either in getting you here by opening a portal or in trapping you here by inadvertently closing it, or perhaps you seek her help in trying to get back to your world.
- SNN: You watch the Super News Network? Ever since she became active as a superheroine, Moonstone has been the subject of a few exposés on SNN, as well as being regularly featured on daily newscasts whenever she fights crime publicly.
- UNTIL/UNITY: Moonstone has a connection to both UNTIL--through her working and personal relationships with UNTIL Special Ops officer codenamed G.I. Joan and former United States Army Corps of Engineers turned UNTIL Space Agency astronaut turned superhero Molecular Man--and UNTIL's super team UNITY, since she was asked to join because of her unique set of skills for special assignments.
- Fashionista: You love the world of high fashion? You will surely recognize supermodel Amanda Morgan's daughter Miranda (only in her civilian clothes though) from her mother's social media platforms and perhaps even from her own short stint as a model.
- Moonstone Theme: The Rattles - The Witch Awesome 1970 psychedelic song by German band The Rattles. It's strange, groovy, lively, whimsical and foreboding all at once.
- Moonstone Battle Theme: Rosetta Stone - The Witch A cover of The Rattles' song by '90s goth band Rosetta Stone. The same considerations listed above for the original version apply here, but with a much heavier sound.
- Moonstone Path Theme: Psychedelic Witchcraft - Wicked Ways A modern take (from 2016) on the spooky psychedelic sound, totally fits Moonstone's journey deeper into the mysteries of the Craft.
- Moonstone Conjuring Theme: Psychedelic Witchcraft - A Creature A modern take (from 2016) on the spooky psychedelic sound, to accompany Moonstone's dealings in Demonology.
- Bitey's Theme: Megadeth - Bite the Hand This one is kind of self-explanatory! As hectic as the inside of Bitey's tiny brain!
- Dusty's Theme: Leo Moracchioli - Another One Bites the Dust (Metal Version) A very energetic, brutal yet quirky cover of Queen's classic song by Leo Moracchioli, a brilliant one-man-band metal musician. Exemplifies Dusty's enthusiasm at serving Moonstone in making sure that yet another one of her foes bites the dust!
- Freezie's Theme: Winter - Eternal Frost Colder's than Dante's Ninth Circle of Hell! Befitting of a Frost Hound's freezing nature.
- Breezy's Theme: Type O Negative - Summer Breeze The 1972 Seals and Crofts hit never felt so heavy as when sung by Peter Steele. One of Miranda's favorite songs ever!
- Lava Boy's Theme: Electric Six - Turn Me Loose (Loverboy Cover) Cover of iconic Canadian rock band Loverboy's classic song by the undisputed masters of Disco Metal, Electric Six! Perfect to make the High Lord of Hell dance the night away!
Here are a cover and random pages from potentially upcoming comic books:
More coming soon to a PDb page near you!