Masque
From Scratchpad
Masque is one of the seven Harbingers, and, as a deity, a member of the pantheon called the Sept. His origins are both mortal and demonic, and he was charged at apotheosis with championing freedom and acting, when necessary, as a foil to the other gods.
During his mortal life, Masque served the NWO as a linguist and cultural analyst, striving to exploit the Court of Heaven, one of the NWO's more mysterious rivals. Masque became involved with the Resistance through a 'handler' named Texas, who urged Masque to disrupt the transgenic programs of the NWO in any way he could. Finally, Masque seized an opportunity to make off with a specimen case of ten prototype retroviruses, made with supernatural DNA. These viruses supposedly had the power to "re-write" human DNA to assimilate the supernatural DNA, thus granting superhuman powers to mere mortals. As a precaution, in case he should be discovered, Masque injected himself with one of the vials; he was soon disappointed that he did not manifest superpowers overnight. Masque's theft was quickly discovered, and when the NWO came knocking on his door to 'interview' him, he surreptitiously left the specimen case in the care of his wife, who was then none the wiser.
Masque was taken away by agents of the NWO for interrogation, but en route the Order vehicle was attacked by agents of the Court of Heaven. Masque was kidnapped and brought to the Jade Princess, who wished to plumb the depths of his mind, to see what the NWO really knew about the Court. The Jade Princess telepathically tore through Masque's mind, then rebuilt it. During this period, Masque's virus completed its work, and he was reborn as a half-demon. Pleased with her new acquisition, the Jade Princess set about training Masque to serve her, ensuring his loyalty by removing his wings and subjugating him with magic.
Masque served the Jade Princess for some time in this way; his mind was his own, but he could not rebel against her explicit control. He bided his time, learning what he could of the Princess' organization. Eventually, the other Harbingers came to Singapore to rescue him; when the Jade Princess was imprisoned by Oberon, then slain by the Harbingers, her hold over Masque's mind was broken.
Masque strove to reintegrate himself with the Harbingers, and remain close to his wife, Pirouette, but it was not going to be easy. Following the "Convergence", Masque spent several weeks in the company of Asmodeus, learning what it meant to be a demon. When he returned, he was not the same man.
Meanwhile, Pirouette had given birth to Gideon, which raised further questions. Although Masque seemed to dote on his new son, there was always tension in the air, and a sense of reservation, as though Masque knew something he wasn't willing to share. The other Harbingers claimed to trust him, and perhaps some of them did; but Masque knew then that Pirouette would never fully trust him. And perhaps, he thought, rightfully so.
In an effort to stave off the eventual conflict with the Court of Heaven, Masque travelled to Korea, where he assassinated - then replaced - the Scarlet Mandarin. He then worked from the inside to maintain a modicum of control over the larger Court's actions, so that the Harbingers could take on one foe at a time - it was decided that Shaddai and Loki were the greater threats, and would be tackled first.
Thus, when the Harbingers gathered what sympathetic forces they could at a kind of Summit, it was revealed that the Scarlet Mandarin, whose attendance surprised many, was actually Masque. Masque achieved apotheosis along with the rest of the Harbingers, and became a member of the Sept of the New Age, charged with representing 'freedom' by Asmodeus during the ceremony.
During the several months when most of the Harbingers were missing - trapped in Marduk's pocket realm, and out of sync with Earth time - Monolith sent Gideon to live with Masque. Pirouette was not pleased with this arrangement upon her return, and Gideon was quickly returned to her care.
Currently, Masque rules the Korean peninsula and part of northern China as the Scarlet Mandarin; several secret facilities in North Korea have been given over to Sept control, including research facilities, a number of factories, and a subterranean prison.
'Tis an old secret of the Gods that they come in low disguises' --Ralph Waldo Emerson
LOW DISGUISES is a roleplaying campaign centering around occult, horror, and conspiracy themes using the d20 system.
