Left – Right: Wadjet, Bast, Sekmet, Ra, Khnum, Anubis
CLEA DATA FILE
Team Identities:
- Ra – Kato Takashima
- Anubis – Nils Gustavsson
- Khnum – Bryn Cooper
- Wadjet – Vivien Darby
- Sekmet – Elena Protales
- Bast – Jewel Mutua
CLEA Classification:
- Magic Totem Bearers
Special Skills and/or Abilities:
- Ra – Power of the Sun, Can generate heat and light
- Anubis – Power of the Jackal, Can revive people from the dead by giving them lifeforce
- Khnum- Power of the Nile, Can temporarily form objects out of sand and animate them
- Wadjet – Power of the Snake, Summon Serpents, and animate objects to behave like snakes
- Sekmet – Power of the Scorpion, Summon a pair of Giant Magical Scorpions
- Bast – Power of the Cat, Ferocious cat like fighting ability
Limitation(s)/Weakness(s):
- Like most magic, other magic can defeat it
Rap Sheet/Criminal Traits:
- N/A
Notes/History
In order to prevent the destruction of the Mortal Realm which would in turn doom them, Angels and Demons came to an understanding that resulted in an “agreement” by both their races. This forbade either Demons or Angels directly interfering in the affairs of man.
Angels for instance could influence man in their “natural” form, causing them to act favourably towards and Angel and do anything asked. This denied Demons of power which is why they both sides had ended up fighting for aeons. After the truce, Angels were still allowed to visit the mortal realm but had to do so in disguise to prevent their “light” from affecting free will. On occasion, in special circumstances they were permitted to show their true forms albeit this was rare.
Unlike Demons, Angels did not need “followers” to gain power but would protect followers of Light Based Religions if they believed a Demon was breaking the agreement and threatening such people. If an Angel was found in err afterwards then they could be punished
Demons, until the agreement was made simply came to the mortal realm and enslaved man, forcing them to follow them and claim their souls. This was the way in which a Demon gained power. However after the agreement all that changed. Demons could visit the mortal realm, but could no longer interfere. They were permitted to manipulate people by making deals so long as the person taking the deal did so under free will. Likewise the Demons could be worshipped providing they did not force people to do it.
Throughout history, despite their “agreement” Demons and Angels have clashed many times in the mortal realm. In recent times such clashes have been minimised thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides policing their own rebellious factions and punishing them accordingly.
One of the biggest clashes occurred in Ancient Egypt, and involved a rare case of Demons working together. Desperate to gain power to climb the hierarchy in the Dark Realm they combined their powers and visited the realm of man. Once here they created a magical veil which hid the entire country from the prying eyes of both Demons and Angels alike and with this in place they were free to return to the “old ways” of enslaving humans to increase their power and status.
Eventually a small group of Angels identified a magical anomaly in Africa. Everywhere in the Mortal realm, traces of magic could be found but in North Africa there appeared to be nothing. As was normal with such things, when evil was suspected the evidence needed to be taken to a higher authority, the Archangels. The Archangels though saw that though there was an unexplained lack of magic since that indicated the presence of no magic, which included Dark energies then there was nothing to worry about.
Archangels, such was their power had a tendency to produce “light” whether or not they were in their true form but rather than risk visiting the mortal realm on a trivial matter and break the agreement with the Dark Realm they chose to do nothing. The Angels tried to get them to send a messenger from the lower ranks to be certain but the matter was closed.
Unperturbed the group made contact with the Dark Realm and asked them to investigate, using the threat of possible war as a reason. The met with much the same response as they had with their own superiors and so chose to take matters into their own hands. To avoid bringing the wrath of the Archangels on all of them one of the member of the group chose to visit the mortal realm and learn if what they were worrying about was a problem or just an anomaly.
She travelled to the Mortal Realm and on her journey she passed through the veil of Dark Magic and the truth was revealed. It was just as the group had feared. Demons where in the mortal realm and were enslaving people. Now having seen what was happening with her own eyes she returned to the Realm of Light. However she was left with a problem. If the group presented new evidence then they would be guilty of disobeying their laws. Though the cause was noble the laws were strict.
Since the Archangels had refused to act in the first place and the group were already guilty the chose to finish what the had started. All six went to the Mortal Realm. Once there they used their true forms, figuring if the Demons magic shield hid their activities it would also hide their own thus they could play them at their own game. By using their “true” presence, people started to side with the Angels and the Demons started to lose followers and along with it their power. Armies of mortals then rallied with the Angels and fought to destroy what was left of the Demons and their followers.
The war in the Mortal realm lasted thirty years but eventually the Angels managed to triumph. In the final battle they fought their way through demonic followers and headed towards their goal, which was to vanquish the enemy and free the Mortal Realm of their evil. However though the Demons were vanquished their evil was not. Aware of their impending doom the Demons had arranged for their most loyal follower to trap their magic and essences in object thus creating magical Totems. As the Angels moved in to finish them the Demons threatened that they would have their revenge on the Angels and those who had supported them. The outcry served well as distraction for the Angels failed to realise that as the Demons were sent into oblivion, the Dark Mages were creating the Totems.
With the Demons vanquished the threat could not happen so the Angels took the last minute outburst of their enemy as desperation. However with the Demons gone the veil of magic was now gone. That meant that since they were wearing their true forms then both Light and Dark realms could “see” them. Very quickly both sides were aware that a group of Angels had been deliberately influencing the lives of mortals.
They were prepared to accept their fate, knowing that what they had done needed to be done and therefore a worthy sacrifice to get rid of a dangerous threat to the realm of Mortals. Then they discovered that the Dark Mages were using Totems to carry out the Demons threat. That meant if they returned to the realm of Light they would be stripped of power and they could do nothing to stop the new threat. They figured if they told the Archangels about the “Demon” Totems then it would be seen as a weak defence, fabricated to save themselves.
There seemed only one logical choice and that was to hide out in the mortal realm for as long as possible until fate caught up with them. Angels had a long history of using disguises in the Mortal Realm as it was the means in which to hide their true form and visit the world of man without breaking the Agreement. The rogues figured if they chose the same tactic they might be found more quickly so they chose to use animal form instead.
The ploy worked and it gave the rogues enough time to find where the Dark Mages and the Demon Totems were. However before they could do anything about it fate finally caught them up and the Archangels managed to see through their disguises and corner them. Rather than simple be stripped of power and banished the rogues asked the Archangels if they could be “punished” by turning themselves into Totems. The rogues figured that mortal could use these Totems to fight the new evil, thus creating a balance of power. Though it was an unusual request it did not break the agreement since if a human used a Totem the person would choose to do so be using it through free will and no Angel would be directly involved.
The Archangels therefore considered the proposition and decided it was a noble request from a group that had only wanted to protect mortals. They therefore chose to honour the request and obliterated their kin, by transforming them in to six “Angel” Totems. With the rogue Angels gone and the agreement once more in tact the Light and Dark realms could enjoy the uneasy truce once more.
As the Dark Mages carried out the bidding of their fallen masters they wreaked havoc over Africa, the “Angel” Totems found their way into the hands of man. Just like the “Demon” Totems there magic Totems were “active” and thus had a “consciousness”. In the case of the Demon Totems the entity within tried to take possession of the human owner. Only if the individual had a strong will could they resist and use access the magic. In the case of the Dark Mages they did not bother fighting. The spirits that possessed the Angel Totems though knew it was wrong to try and take control of a mortal so they took a different approach by “testing” whomever had the Totem in their possession. If they were good and right they would allow unrestricted power to the magic contained within. Only strong magic wielders could bypass this “protection” but there were few with that power and most that had the potential had chosen to work for the Demons.
To the potential Totem bearer, the spirit within manifested itself as hallucination. If it so chose it could take on a more solid form. However since the communication was via the mind only the person who possessed the Totem could see the entity. To that person the spirit presented itself as a half human/half animal form, based on the same creature the Angel had used to disguise itself from the Archangels.
Initial contact was normally instigated via dreams. This was designed to prevent the owner of the Totem “knowing” what they had in their possession. Tests were normally conducted the same way and if they failed then upon waking the person would be non the wiser for what had transpired. They would simply thought they’d had a “strange dream”. If the person failed then the entity would simply used the connection with its new owner to manipulate them into handing possession to a new “candidate”. Though technically the entity was “using” humans, the Angel Totems had considered it necessary to avoid their power falling into the wrong hands.
Should a Totem owner pass the tests then the spirit in the Totem would formerly present itself without using dreams as a conduit. That person would then get instant access to the magic of the Totem resulting in the object transforming itself into mystical armour of which the helmet was shaped like an animal head, as the entity had presented itself in the dreams. This armour could be removed like any other armour but to do so entirely the wearer would lose access to the magic capabilities of the Totem.
Significantly because the armour and the Totem were one and the same, it allowed the entity to still “appear” to the wearer. This allowed it to train the wearer and teach him or her how to use the magic contained within the Totem. As well as that the wearer could ask for the entity to appear in order to converse with it. This was allowed the wearer to hopefully find answers they were seeking, although since the entity only had the memories of the original Angel the answers being sought might not be known.
Once the six Totem bearers were found and learned how to use their mystical abilities, mankind gained powerful champions. This in time slowed the Dark Mages reign of chaos and destruction. Ending it though would take centuries. By this time the champions were known to some as the Skygods. Sometimes they used their magic to help their people in ways other than fighting evil and by doing this the Skygods gave rise to the legends of Egyptian deities.
Few people realised they were actually worshipping other mortals and when a bearer died that meant the new Totem bearer had to be found and tested. At first the entities used their abilities to “call” for new hosts, attracting prospective candidates. Whichever one was successful would become the “new” Skygod but since the armour never changed it created the illusion of immortality. Having created a legacy for the people to look up to,the Skygods both united the people and inspired them created a new age of prosperity based on the “teachings” of the gods.. That meant they had to keep the pretence for if the people learned the truth then they would cause more damage than the Dark Mages. For this reason the Skygods never removed their helmets in public places because to do so might reveal that the person underneath could have changed, thus shattering that illusion.
Inevitably after all the battles over the centuries the Skygods would have a final show down with the Dark Mages who had by then been named the Dark Gods. Though in the final outcome the Mages were killed the Demon Totems they held survived. Being magic they were hard to destroy and so to prevent new bearers using the evil, the Skygods had the Totems placed in special boxes and scattered far and wide whereupon they were buried where no man would hopefully ever find them.
The current owners of the Angel Totems now realised that their work was done. However the people looked up to the Skygods and had started to rely upon them. Such reliance meant the progress had virtually stopped so the Totem bearers decided that they should make less godly appearances in order to wean the people off needing the.
That process took a few centuries but once the people stopped believing in the Skygods the entities in the Totems decided they should go into a dormant state. This would prevent them being used to perform godly deeds whilst at the same time they would remain ready to deal with the Dark Gods should they arise.
When this happened the Totems became little more than fancy trinkets. Their owners promised to keep them safe and hand them down family lines waiting for the day when they would be needed. As the centuries passed by the Totems slowly started to scatter. Even if handed down to a family member there was no guarantee that he or she was “worthy” despite knowing the family legacy. For this reason they were “tested” the same as any other potential Totem Bearer. If found not to be worthy then a new family member would be “tested”. Sometimes nobody was found and the Totem would “call” for a new host. This led to Totems starting to jump family lines and spread far apart. Arguments between family members soon led to the “random call” being the only way Totems found new owners after the previous owner died.
“Random calling” or simply “calling” is the method active Totems found new worthy owners. This is done by broadcasting a subconscious message which attracted prospective candidates by compelling them to seek out or pick up the Totem. Once a person has hold of the object they don’t know why they wanted it but somehow they feel they “need it”. Should the person be found not worthy the Totem would send out negative vibes leading to the person wanting to discard the object
In the case of the Angel Totems once a prospective owner had taken it, when they slept they would begin testing the person in their dreams, If found worthy the person would simply feel the need to have the object on their person or closeby but nothing else. This was unlike in the past where a suitable recipient would “meet” with the Entity inside the Totem once they were considered suitable. The Angel Totems however chose to remain silent for they only wanted to reveal themselves only if the Dark God threat arose once more.
Though that was the normal method the Angel Totems chose to select new owners some like Wadjet took a unique approach. After having failures in the past with continuously calling and finding the wrong bearer, Wadjet had found a way in which the right bearer would find it. The Totem did this by calling to people at random and then manipulating that person to take them to a remote location. Then it would “call” for a new host. Anyone that found the Totem would be sent to sleep and if tested. If they failed they would awake but by then Wadjet would have used the mental connection to wipe the short term memory of the person. That often meant they had no idea how they had got to a location nor why. They would also feel compelled to ignore the trinket they could see in front of the.
Should the correct Totem Bearer be found then they would simply want to claim the trinket and keep it but with having no good reason why they had visited the location or even knew the object was there. Wadjet had performed this method many times before the Dark Gods inevitably showed up.
In selecting the current host Wadjet had deliberately had the Totem taken to a cave not far from Cairo. Of all the Totems, Wadjet was the one that had strayed the least. The cave quickly became known as the “Chasm of Amnesia” for people would disappear inside it and have to be dragged out days later having got lost and having no idea why they had ventured into it in the first place.
Curious as to the strange phenomenon British adventure tourist, Vivien Darby decided to take a look. Since she had come from so far away that meant she was actually out of range of Wadjet’s “calling” making her a truly random candidate. Deep inside the cavern, Vivien found the trinket and instantly collapsed unconscious. The Totem tested her and found that Vivien worked in the fire and rescue service back home and often volunteered for aide work in foreign countries instead of taking holidays like “normal people”. There was never a more worthy recipient for the Totem. Upon awakening, Vivien could remember finding the Totem and how she had arrived at her location but not why she had fallen asleep but was aware of a strange dream.
Subconsciously Wadjet had made her put the Totem in her pocket and only later in her hotel room did she find it. Normally if she found such an object she would have handed it over to the authorities, presuming someone had lost it but some reason Vivien could not. She just felt the need to have it on her. With the Totem in her possession the cave lost “its” ability to give people amnesia.
Unlike the Demon Totems, the Angel Totems could not locate the others of their kind but they could “detect” when the Dark Gods returned. By then they had become the Gods of Avarice and whilst they had teamed up except one they had a distinct advantage. Ironically the event that would see them locating the last Demon Totem would also led to the Skygods start coming together.
That event was an Tour of Ancient Egyptian Relics. As part of the literature for the tour, pictures were displayed of the various artefacts, one of which was a box that contained the last Demon Totem. The historians and the organisers had no idea what was on the inside since they could not break the seals. They were also unaware that the text on the outside had been placed at a later date, by priests who had realised what they had found and by mystical enchantments on it to restrict the evil Totem’s ability to “call”.
By the time the tour reached Europa, the Gods of Avarice had learned of the box. Since they had great power and figured any opposition would be no match for them they chose to steal it on the gala opening night. By taking it then, in a room full of VIPs they figured they would solidify their power over others. What they did not bargain was that one of the bodyguards was Bryn Cooper who had in his possession the Khnum Totem.
Through his eyes Khnum had seen the box in the brochure. Bryne did not know why but he wanted the bodyguard assignment even though he found celebrities irritating. Wadjet had also “seen” the brochure and Vivien had managed to get herself onto the guest list. Owner of the Anubis Totem, Swedish business man and explorer Nils Gustavsson had felt compelled to visit Europa despite the fact he did not particularly like cities. His entrepreneurial status got him on the guest list.
When Rave and Stardom struck, the three Skygods emerged. Whilst the spirits of the Angels had vowed never to “control” whomever held their Totems, they had little choice since there was no time to train their “owners”. As Stardom and Rave started “playing” sick games with the guests and having fun, in a flash of light, Khnum, Anubis and Wadjet appeared.
Both sides attacked each other for a few minutes and whilst the Skygods had the numerical advantage, Rave and Stardom could neutralise that by threatening civilians. This allowed them to retreat, taking the box with them. With the crisis over the Totems changed the humans into their “civilian” clothing. Nils, Vivien and Bryn then somehow recognised what they were. Luckily in the confusion nobody had noticed the transformation to and from their armoured guise.
They agreed to meet up later that evening at Nils’s hotel suite to discuss what had happened. It was together that the entities inside the Totems finally appeared before them. Normally only the Totem Bearer could see their respective “spirit” but at close range the Totems were able to work as one so Nils, Vivien and Bryn could all see Anubis, Wadjet and Khnum.
The Skygods explained the history of who they were and how the Totems worked and informed the three Totem Bearers of their new potential and also the fact they were the only ones capable of dealing with the Gods of Avarice. The three entities promised to train them and made it clear they would never again take control over their bodies unless a situation turned dire. The trio also mentioned that there were another three of their kin which would be needed to face the threat posed by the Demon Totems. Though a lot to take in, since they had owned the Totems for some time, Bryn, Nils and Vivien all felt that what they were being told was something they “already knew”.
By next morning the press were already showing pictures on the new heroes in town. The Totem Bearers got a lucky break with the media since they had not made the link between them as people and the armoured heroes they had changed into.
The robbery also had another positive in that the “publicity” hit all the news channels and they got the attention of the three remaining Skygods. It would take another two weeks for Kato, Jewel and Elena to come to Europa and meet up with Nils, Bryn and Vivien but as soon as that happened, the training could start so the next time they encountered the Gods of Avarice they would be ready.
