Chivalry

Character Sheet

Background/History

Archibald Valentine, now known to the world as Chivalry, has lived most of his life without any sort of super powers at all. He was born in Boston, but not the City on a Hill – he hails from Boston, England, the American Boston’s namesake. The only child of a fairly well-off family, Archibald was fortunate enough to receive an excellent education at some of England’s top schools. His parents also instilled in him at a very young age a sense of social responsibility and the importance of treating others with respect and courtesy, forming the core of Archibald’s personal sense of honor that stayed with him throughout the course of his life.

During his studies at Oxford, which he attended for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies, Archibald revealed himself to be an extraordinary student – not only were his grades impressive, but he also became a championship fencer in his spare time. After completing his studies, however, fencing was set aside for two reasons. First, Archibald had gotten a job at Oxford, the beginnings of a lifelong career as a literature professor. Second, he had fallen in love with one of his fellow students, a pleasant girl named Martha Robinson, and now that he had a decent job, he was prepared to marry.

Archibald’s life was almost perfect, from his point of view, for the next few decades. He and his wife raised two children, Nathan and Alice, while Archibald continued to improve his scholarship. He came to work very closely with a senior professor by the name of Vincent Harris, who seemed in particular to respect Archibald’s strong sense of honor (which showed in particular in classes he taught, where cheating carried extremely heavy consequences). The only shadow on his happiness was his wife’s heart condition, which she had lived with all her life. More than once she was rushed to the hospital for emergency medication or even surgery, and each time Archibald had to come to grips with the fact that he and his children would likely outlive his wife. Finally, a few years after both their children had moved on to start lives of their own, she finally succumbed, and Archibald was left with only his work at Oxford to occupy his time.

One night, when Archibald was staying late to grade papers, Professor Harris stopped by Archibald’s office with an incredibly serious expression on his face. He revealed to Archibald that he was more than what he seemed – and he revealed a strange mark inscribed upon his right shoulder, a symbol he called the Mark of Honor.

He revealed that the Mark had been passed down since ancient times, given from one honorable man to another, bestowing upon the bearer several powers – renewed strength and vigor, the ability to turn every day items and clothing into formidable weapons and armor, and most importantly, the ability to protect others from harm. In fact, Harris was none other than the British super hero Bulwark, who had protected London from villainous threats for years. Now, Harris explained, as he was getting old, the time had come to find a new bearer for the Mark – and Harris had chosen Archibald.

Once he had overcome the initial shock of this revelation, Archibald came to fully accept the burden being laid upon him. For the next several weeks, the two scholars trained late into the night. Some of that time was spent brushing up Archibald’s fencing skills; the rest was spent learning the known history of the Mark.

The Mark of Honor, according to Harris, was only one of several Marks of Virtue – how many, he did not know. He had met the bearer of the Mark of Mercy several years previous, when she had snuck into a hospital to heal him from supervillain-inflicted wounds that would have killed him, and he had long suspected that a now-MIA American superhero named Valor likely bore the Mark of Courage, but could not be certain of how many others existed, or who bore them. This lack of knowledge, he explained, was due to a man named Vice.

Whenever Harris discussed Vice, he seemed to first look over his shoulder to ensure no one was listening; the thought of him filled the veteran superhero with fear. He knew very little about Vice, not even knowing what he looked like. He only knew that Vice was hunting the Marks of Virtue, and had killed or corrupted everyone who had ever had anything to do with the Marks – in years past, there had been an entire secret society dedicated to protecting the Marks, a society that had been destroyed at every level by Vice’s manipulations. Worse, Harris suspected that Vice might be onto him… which inspired him to move Archibald’s training along faster and faster.

Finally, the day came to pass the Mark on to Archibald. The elder scholar made Archibald recite an oath to uphold the tenets of Honor and to use the Mark’s powers to protect others from harm, then put his hand to Archibald’s shoulder. The Mark appeared there, and vanished from Harris’s shoulder. Archibald was now the bearer of the Mark of Honor.

Within a few days of the transferal, Professor Harris ceased showing up to work. Archibald believes he knows why – to go into hiding, and to hopefully lure Vice away from the Mark’s true location. Archibald constructed a superhero persona of his own, the dapper Chivalry, and used his newfound powers to protect London for a short stretch of time. Soon, however, he realized that if he wanted to avoid drawing Vice’s attention, he should not operate in the same vicinity as the now-missing Bulwark; as such, he accepted a longstanding invitation to come work at Harvard University. Now Chivalry protects the people of the city of Boston, seeking nothing in return. It is the only honorable thing to do.

Personality/Motivation

Chivalry’s primary motivation is his incredibly strong sense of honor and duty, a sense that is only magnified by the Mark of Honor itself. To him, the matter is simple – he has the ability to protect others, and therefore is obligated to do so. The fact that he is not a Boston native does not change this in the slightest.

Appearance

Archibald is no longer young. Having recently passed his sixtieth birthday, if it weren’t for the Mark of Honor, he would be in absolutely no condition to fight crime. He is 5’7” tall, of a somewhat slight build, and his age shows in his naturally white beard and hair, both which he keeps short and clean. As Chivalry, he almost always wears a dapper black trench coat, with matching black gloves, and a simple black eye-mask to protect his identity. He wields a large, black umbrella as his primary weapon of choice.

Quote

“Honor is above all.”

Powers/Tactics

The Mark of Honor is designed to ensure that the righteous warrior bearing it is always equipped for battle. As such, the bearer’s clothing acts as the Armor of Virtue, and anything they get their hands on becomes the Weapon of Virtue. Thanks to this, despite his advanced age, Chivalry is a very competent melee combatant. He is also capable of flight and able to magically bind anyone who sears an oath on his "sword." Those who wish to break the oath must exert considerable willpower and, having done are wracked with wrenching pain. Chivalry usually wields his umbrella in battle, but any object of the right approximate size and shape will do in a pinch. He uses a fencing style of “sword” play when in battle, but never seeks to kill, always to incapacitate.