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Background
- Danielle Moonstar is the only child of William and Peggy Lonestar, and the granddaughter of Black Eagle. When she was a young child, her parents were declared dead, and presumed victims of a bear attack. A lot of blood was found, but no bodies were ever recovered, and Danielle could not get any adult to listen to her story of a monstrous bear made out of shadow that took her parents away. She was put into a few months of counseling, then fostered to a nice Caucasian family in the area. This arrangement lasted for a couple of years, until the young rebellious child ran away from her foster family, and lived with her Grandfather. Black Eagle had little patience for the 'White Man' and his schools, so agreed to teach Danielle in the 'old ways'.
- As a teenager, Dani began to suffer nightmares and severe headaches, and became increasingly convinced that the 'demon bear' that killed her parents was coming back. Her empathic abilities developed fairly calmly during puberty, until Black Eagle woke her up from a nightmare, and her distressed mind yanked out an image of her grandfather's darkest fears. For a while, they tried to work through it together, but Black Eagle eventually reached out to a small private school way out east. Confident that this 'Xavier' could help his granddaughter come to grips with her 'curse', Black Eagle persuaded Dani to enroll and give the school a fair shot.
- Dani spent several months at the school, and did indeed learn how to handle her mutant gifts (indeed, learned what 'mutant' means), as well as more traditional classes. She first took the codename 'Pysche', then changed it to 'Mirage' for team exercises. Eventually, though, life interrupted again. Danielle received news that her grandfather had been attacked and killed by a wild bear. No longer a frightened child, the angry young woman gathered her belongings and returned to Colorado to track down the horrible monster that took the last of her family from her. She had almost convinced herself that the 'demon bear' was just a nightmare born of childhood trauma, but since nobody else could find the beast responsible, she took it on herself to exact revenge.
- Danielle went looking for the Demon Bear. Danielle found it…
- To this day, the memories of what exactly happened deep in the Rockies that night are still a dark blur. The mundane weapons Dani brought with her had no real effect on the Bear, but its claws and paws were solid enough to severely wound the young woman. She remembers lashing out with all of her mutant power, then passing out from the strain. Whatever the Bear saw, it fled into the night, leaving Dani collapsed and injured in the snow. When she came to her senses, Danielle struggled her way into a nearby cave for shelter, unsure she'd survive through the night.
- She woke on soft grass, with warm sun beating down on a gently rolling plain. The scents on the air were unlike any she knew, and of the Rocky Mountains, there was no sign. A large white stallion stood over her, calmly whuffling her hair before munching a few choice tufts of grass. Unsure if she was dead or merely dreaming, Dani tried to rise, only to discover she was still enjoying some nasty injuries. The strange horse offered support as she winced her way to her feet, and she leaned against his shoulder to catch her breath. Before she could fully assess her wounds, the sound of thundering hooves drew her eyes across the plains. A half-dozen hunters, with nets and wicked spears, charged at the white horse, likely not even seeing the girl until she defiantly stepped between hunters and prey. The hunters laughed and taunted, until a second white horse appeared, this time soaring through the skies on large wings. And carrying a female warrior with blazing eyes. Dani stood her ground until the hunters fled in panic, then collapsed as the valkyrie hurried over to her and the pegasus she defended.
- The next few weeks were a blur, but Danielle recovered quickly from her injuries and discovered that the horse, Brightwind, was constantly in her mind. She learned that her bravery and selflessness, despite being both wounded and outnumbered, had impressed the young woman who found her, as well as her sisters of the Valkyrior. Despite being naturally darker than the others, Danielle trained and bonded with the others, becoming a full valkyrie of Asgard, riding with them to various battlefields, learning their customs and forms of combat. All told, she spent two years in Asgard, until the familiar gnawing nightmares began to return. Her unfinished business with the Demon Bear weighed on her heart, until she asked for, and was granted, permission to return to Midgard.. Earth. Brightwind came home with her, and she found only a few short months had passed for the rest of the world. Better still, the nightmares of the Bear began to fade again, and she ventured back east, to see what else life can throw at her.
IC Events
Traits
- Empathic Illusions: Danielle's mutant gifts are empathic in nature, rather than true telepathy. Her most developed, and most frequently used, ability involves the creation and projection of realistic three-dimensional illusions, typically pulled from her target's extreme fear or extreme desire, which typically evokes the appropriate emotional responses. She has worked hard to acquire control over this ability, but under duress, it's still very possible for this power to slip out of her control. Few of her victims appreciate their darkest fears or deepest desires being put on display for everyone to see, and Dani herself has no control over what the actual illusion will contain. A skilled telepath would be able to deflect her power, or even turn it back on Dani herself.
- Animal Empathy: Her favorite part of being a mutant? Animals love her. Which is lucky, because she loves animals. She possesses a low-level empathic ability to communicate with pretty much any animal in her immediate area. More intelligent or sensitive animals respond better to her, but she has no fear of any natural mammal, bird, fish, amphibian, or reptile. Arthropods need not apply, thanks.
- Psi-shield: Her primary goal in training at Xavier's School was to learn full control over her power of illusions, and to keep her subconscious mind from latching onto other people. It turns out that such control works both directions rather nicely, and she has built herself a reasonably solid mental barrier. A determined telepath could work past it, of course, but her mind is protected from casual scans and prods.
- Death Sight: It is the function of the valkyrie to choose who lives and who dies in battle. As a member of that sisterhood, Danielle now has the ability to sense when death is imminent. The more certain the fate, the stronger her sense becomes, until she can vividly see a 'death glow', or a personalized death 'avatar' over someone about to die. She is also capable of facing and speaking with Death itself, and at least theoretically able to prevent Death from claiming its fated victim. Of course, thwarting Death probably has … unintended consequences.
- Enhanced Strength: She is not really aware of it, but her time in Asgard (particularly living among and training with the valkyries) had some beneficial physical effects. Danielle now possesses low-level superhuman strength and durabilty. She'll never go toe-to-toe with Thor or Hulk, but she can definitely hold her own in a tussle with an average Asgardian troublemaker.