future!au details (abraxas)

[assembles]

basics

full name: Steve Rogers

titles: Patron of the Venerated; The Sentinel of Liberty; Nomad

age: ~840

blessing: Liberty — Inspiration (to do right); sacrifice for freedom; release from fear's captive hold

affliction: Idolatry — Inspiring worship beyond reason; exploiting symbols of hope for misdeeds or to cause fear; sacrifice for control

arcana: The Hierophant

location: All over, but can most commonly be found in the Horizon, the Godlands, or somewhere in the Free Cities

appearance

details

height: ~8', varies

build: sculpted

hair: marble/blond

eyes: marble/blue

pins: here

Steve, or the Sentinel (the title by which most mortals refer to him) has embodied a sort of timelessness through the power of hero worship, which turned into just straight-up worship over time. As a result, his form has been immortalized by becoming statuesque — a monument which can never age. This look is a mishmash of Greek or Roman styles and something closer to the Statue of Liberty. This means sometimes his body seems to be made up of pure white marble with gold inlays, and other times it is the more oxidized green look. Like with many gods, his appearance is not set in stone (quite literally in this case, har har). He always has the beard now, both to play into the Greek and Roman iconography and because all of his friends wanted him to keep it grown out, and it seems that sentiment eventually spread to even his worshippers.

Depending on his current status, mood, and how much he is or isn't being worshipped at a given point in time, his appearance might be smooth and perfect (widely worshipped), or there might be parts of him that have crumbled or broken off (when he is less worshipped / more forgotten). Think of a statue that has been taken care of and preserved versus one that has been neglected. Often times the neglect comes about because of his own desire to be out of the public eye, when he decides to fill the role of Nomad.

His hardened, marble-like skin is said to be impenetrable — the perfect shield, offering him complete resilience to any sort of physical harm. He also is associated with some Statue of Liberty iconography, such as wearing a spiked crown or carrying some sort of light source like a torch. See the pinboard for more vibes.

lore & influence

For the people of the Free Cities (and further beyond that given how much time has passed and how the world of Abraxas has shifted over the years), the Sentinel is their protector, providing them with both the courage and the means to free themselves — whether it's from systems of oppression, personal and family situations in which they feel trapped, or their own inability to take a stand. People pray to the Patron of the Venerated when they feel that they have nowhere else to turn; when they require the strength and inspiration to escape their situation and find a new path.

When someone finally reaches their breaking point and proclaims that this is enough, that what is being done by the people in authority isn't right, it is believed that they have been bolstered by the Sentinel's grace. However, escaping from such a situation also often requires a more measured response through negotiation and mediation. This is where prayers will be delivered to Steve and Sam in the same breath.

However, it is believed that if someone reaches out to this particular god for a boon in a situation where they are in fact in the wrong, that it will backfire in some way, leading to a severe punishment. The Sentinel does not approve of worship from those who would ask for help for something trivial (or worse, downright immoral), and his wrath will be brought down as a result.

It is known as part of the Sentinel's lore that he used to be a mortal man who ascended to godhood, and this only makes him more remarkable in many people's eyes, who believe that he was somehow "the best of them" even before he became a god.

While it rare for him to be perceived by mortals, many speculate that he can rarely be found in plain sight, with most not ever realizing he was there. A statue might not be out of place in a graveyard, perhaps, or even in a museum. Therefore, people whisper amongst themselves that the Sentinel is always watching from close at hand, to best know how to mete out his judgment.

When it feels to mortals that the Sentinel's grace has not be felt or perceived over a long period of time, it is believed that he has chosen to forsake them after finding them wanting, and he has instead chosen to wander the realm as the Nomad. These are believed to be dark times, and many will pray that he will one day return to them to offer his aid and heroic inspiration, to lead them out of those dark days. (In truth, these are the times when Steve questions whether he should be providing boons at all or when he's depressed because he and Sam had a bad breakup).

A statuesque face can't really express many emotions, can it? This feeds into the fact that Steve has never felt that he could ever show weakness. Still, rumors float around that in times of true distress, blood will leak from his eyes, invoking the weeping statue phenomenon. Eerie.

abilities

🌟 Impervious — Steve's body now being made up of a hard marble means that it is almost impossible to do any sort of physical harm to him. If he's hit hard enough, gold cracks might appear, leaving a sort of kintsugi effect on his otherwise perfect marble look. Either way, it's well-known that he can stand back up from pretty much any hit that he takes because his body is now the shield.
🌟 Thunderbolt — The Sentinel, for reasons that most do not fully understand but also choose not to question, contains Zeus-like abilities to call down bolts of lightning. The sound is so loud that some refer to it as bringing down the "hammer of judgment," and it is believed that when this sort of power is used, it is because he has found someone unworthy. (When he uses this power, his eyes briefly turn a bright blue.)
🌟 Heroism — Many of the Sentinel's boons come in the form of inspiring people by making them realize just what they're truly capable of by giving them the motivation and the bravery to push ahead and accomplish what they might have been too scared to before. This could be more about adjusting their mindset by filling them with determination, or by giving them a burst of physical strength or resilience to tackle the problem in front of them.
🌟 Command — The Sentinel can impose a command on someone. While this could be a means of urging them to move and take action when they feel paralyzed by fear, it can have a darker form to it as well, with him wresting control away from them by compelling them to perform an action. Often this manifests as them simply hearing his booming voice in their head, but it is also an order that could be delivered by him in person, which would make it far more potent. While it is possible for even a mortal (and certainly another god) to resist this, it will require strength of will on their part and there could very well be consequences as a result.

story

god bonds

Steve and Sam have been linked together as gods for about as long as either of them have been worshipped, viewed as two sides of the same coin — a detail that extends back to their complementary arcana signs, Justice and the Hierophant. This means that they are viewed as always somehow connected, even in times when the two of them were at odds over the years. It was believed that they would eventually come together again, and this has proved to be true. Both of them provide freedom, if in different ways. Naturally, they are also believed to be partners and lovers.

history

Steve's ascent into godhood is not something that he wanted, or something that he accepted easily. He had already seen back on Earth how he had been somewhat deified as a war hero after his assumed death, with monuments and statues built in his name, and even that was enough to make him uncomfortable. Here in Abraxas, though, he wasn't simply a dead war hero to look up to, but a member of the exclusive, mysterious group of Summoned who arrived from beyond the stars. Not only that, he was spending almost all of his waking hours helping out the people of the Free Cities, acting as their champion.

Tasks like helping with rebuilding after the Libertas attacks, assuring safety for the workers of the mining camp, defeating the Thunderjaw that came through the rift, or ensuring that civilians caught in the storm received shelter — all of this influence built and built, causing people to hero worship Steve for his selfless good deeds. Eventually, this hero worship became true worship, and Steve started to develop abilities beyond what he'd ever possessed before, granted by both his connection to the Singularity and the power of faith.

Steve struggled with this. He did not want to be viewed as a hero, let alone a god. However, if he was granted this sort of power, it would be wrong not to use it to help others. And so it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even if he tried to remain under the radar and help people without them being able to trace it back to him, somehow it would always come out, and so the people started to think of Steve as their Sentinel. This caused friction between him and Sam, who wanted to avoid using his own god powers at all costs, driving a wedge between them that took years and circumstances to heal from. They have split up at least one other time over the 800 years (details bending), but have since then reconnected, their bond stronger than ever.

When Steve has tried to deny his godhood and remove himself from the public eye and consciousness, he has instead taken on the title of Nomad, doing his utmost to still provide aid and boons without it being attributed to him. This has worked for him off and on throughout the years, but the Sentinel has never truly been forgotten.

Sam's almost obsessive need to hold onto memories means that Steve remembers more than most. He remembers his name, he remembers that he originally came from Earth, he remembers what the Avengers are at least in broad terms — though his original time period and the details of how he became a super-soldier have faded, along with many other specifics.

horizon

TBA

ooc

PLAYER: court . TIMEZONE: pst . CONTACT: demonology

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