Welcome

Earnest Kingsolver***

Age 43

An efficient and tactical leader, Earnest Kingsolver often treats the New York City map like a chessboard. He enjoys making critical decisions and exercising his superhuman intellect. His skills with people seem equally impressive. Though hardly anyone would claim that Mr. Kingsolver is the nicest of individuals or the best of friends, he has the unquestioned support of his entire organization.

It is uncertain exactly what happens to those that disagree with Mr. Kingsolver, but they are usually persuaded quickly. Many of Kingsolver's closest followers once voiced disagreements with how he conducted his affairs. While he admits that there are inherent weaknesses in his strategems—weaknesses that are likely impossible to overcome—he will happily rely upon the quality of his units. He believes that if his strategy at least equals that of his opponents, the superior value of his allies will make the plan unstoppable. Despite his grandmaster level chess game, perhaps Kingsolver's greatest gift is his ability to scout for human talent.

Famke Kingsolver*

Age 42

For her part, Famke is a devoted wife and mother, and one of the steadier figures in the Golden Banner. She is practically canonized for her even demeanor and matronly leadership. On the other hand, she is also petrified of her husband's wrath. While she may disagree with him, she will follow his commands out of a mixture of love, fear, and respect; the actual proportion of the three varies depending on who is asked.

An avid reader, Famke's primarily busies herself in the Archives at Noten Park. Her dedication there often resuts in critical pieces of intelligence, as well as making her one of the most knowledgeable members of the Golden Banner. She has a tremendous understanding of how the world works, and her education rivals that of university professors before the Pandemic. Her understanding of all human languages makes her the head Archivist within the hegemon.

Elisa Kingsolver

Age 18

Elisa Kingsolver is the Kingsolver family's precocious daughter. She is intensely independent, though she frequently (and often subconsciously) turns a blind eye towards her parents in lieu of accomplishing other things. Not much of a fighter, Elisa sometimes feels that her more combative hegemon peers are tough to deal with, so she naturally gravitates towards the more pensive and passive members.

While she yearns to be independent, she is also a sheltered youth, and does not have much recollection of both the world before the Fallout, or much experience without living in the relative luxury of the hegemon headquarters. Her experiences leave her a little spoiled, even if she recognizes that she is of a position of esteem and power.

Because of her desire to escape the more outwardly combative individuals within the hegemon hierarchy, she has tried to form relationships with many of the other members outside of the leadership tree. Her efforts have been met with varying degrees of success.

[Alexandre] Cosmo [Grimaldi] Kingsolver**
Age 25

Bliss Matthews*
Age 24

Lydia Matthews*
Age 24

Dara Pierce*
Age 28

Emma Kavanagh
Age 26

Seneca Sepulveda**
Age 30

Ruben Dellory
Age 35

Vesper Risto
Age 27

Andris Green
Age 48

Gareth Richelieu*
Age 33

Cipriano Piazza
Age 32

Domino Rhodes
Age 24

Leon Chambers*
Age 29

Lillia Eastep
Age 37

Paola Comunale
Age 26

Zinnia Almassy*
Age 29

Hermina Kohara
Age 25

Byron Bernot
Age 28

Chandra Innocenti*
Age 26

Rhett Kissinger
Age 30

Sylvester London
Age 29

Quinn Northover
Age 24

Aidan Rybar-Valentini*

Age 28

Aidan serves as the "hunter" of the hunter-killer pair. Together with her husband, Olivier, they serve as two of Mr. Kingsolver's personal guard. In the meantime, Aidan doubles as Earnest Kingsolver's personal secretary and assistant. She's generally quiet, an effective organizer, and a smart planner. She follows her boss's orders unquestioningly, leading some to wonder if her resolve is even human; she is quick to trust those that are close to her.

Her powers fit in with her husband's. She seeks while he destroys.

Olivier Valentini*

Age 28

Olivier is another member of Earnest Kingsolver's personal guard. He's the bloodhound of the group in terms of personality, and is usually the one that is quick to spot suspicious characters. He is generally paranoid and unwilling to trust, and usually likes to see people jump through hoops before he can verify their trustworthiness.

His feedback powers allows him to remotely target locations and issue negative 'feedback' in the form of a powerful psionic attack. The attack is intensely damaging to all higher-order sentient beings, especially powered foes. Because of his need to target areas, he depends upon Aidan to sense the location and maps it out to him, who can thus issue the feedback. His Z power enables him to remotely launch his feedback (XY) attack.

Magdalena Fairburn*

Age 22

Magdalena is both a tight-lipped, yet highly conversational individual. She can speak for hours about nothing in particular, but can always find a way to deftly sidestep anything of importance or significance. The skill is not without its drawbacks, as she can often send significant amounts of time with others and they still feel like they barely know her. As a result, it is very difficult for her to form lasting relationships beyond anything superficial.

Her saving grace, however, is her staunch loyalty to those that have developed special places in her heart. She has strong bonds, particularly, with her employer, Earnest Kingsolver, and her lover, Nimue Willoughby. Amongst these individuals, she is willing to trust them with anything, even if she is aware of the potential danger that that could represent. To the rest of the hegemon, she is a 'fun' individual, though few of them claim to know her, and just as few readily think about including her in their interaction.

Mr. Kingsolver keeps her around for her unique power, which allows her to instantly channel and amplify any power of an individual that she touches, often by extreme amounts. This allows her to use the terrifying scale of powers of anyone that she touches. Of course, this skill also has limitations. It seems not to work on Mr. Kingsolver himself (for reasons unknown), or amongst certain other members of the golden Banner, such as Nimue's inherent power (Psychic Simulation) or Cosmo Grimaldi, perhaps because he has evolved defenses for such a thing.

Nimue Willoughby*

Age 21

A loud, obnoxious girl, Nimue is frequently the center of attention. She is often selfish, and thinks of solely herself, leading others to doubt her maturity. This is rarely intentional, as she still wants to make others feel good, but her natural proclivities often mean that she forgets to sympathize or empathize with those around her. Though very talkative, Nimue still rarely wastes words. She does not like to talk about nothings, and will usually get into academic arguments with anyone that she finds smart enough to engage in them.

Generally an optimist, Nimue takes pride in her ability to make others smile, even if only superficially. She has a rare ability to brighten the mood of those around her, even if she frequently annoys them at the same time. Her talent in interacting with people ensure that she has a lot of friends and admirers, as most people can look past her obnoxious loquaciousness and occasional selfishness for her good humor and wily charms.

Her power allows her to simulate the power of other individuals that she can truly empathize with, and thus briefly channel their powers. She can only channel one power at a time, and the effects of these powers are never permanent. Mostly, her power is only marginally useful except when in conjunction with her lover, Magdalena, who can magnify the effect of her power many times through double conduction, allowing for a feedback loop to create massive effects.

Jamello Lombardi**
Age 28

Jamello is an intensely, intensely quiet guy. Generally, he speaks a word or two at the most, if he speaks at all. He reveals little, and is generally impossible to engage in conversation. But, his silence should not be confused with apathy. Jamello's eyes and ears are almost always open and receiving, witnessing and hearing new information that he stores away for future use. His awareness of others around him and his curt and often dismissive replies often cause others to label him as creepy.

He says very little, and emotes even less. Usually, Jamello is eerily stoic, silent even in the most remarkable circumstances. His ideal role would probably be a stationary royal guard, unflinching and unflappable even in the face of tourists and onlookers. Yet this remarkable austerity does not mean Jamello is humorless. His replies, rare as they are, are often hilarious to those that hear them, and he has little difficulty in making someone look uproariously stupid.

Not surprisingly for such a silent person, Jamello operates best on his own. Mr. Kingsolver uses him exclusively for covert, night missions, and he is an exceedingly efficient "problem solver." His power allows him to manipulate the energy state of objects, causing things to combust, or creating deadly laser streams. He can also absorb energy from the environment, greatly enhancing all of his physical attributes. Though no one knows exactly how efficient Jamello really is, most people believe that his kill count exceeds that of all of the Golden Banner lieutenants put together.

Suggested Model: Daniel Sunjata

Cathan Fischer**
Age 26

Cold and power-hungry, Cathan Fischer still falls perfectly in line with Earnest Kingsolver's wishes. Mr. Kingsolver seems to be the only one who can control him, as Cathan is confrontational to everyone else in the hegemon. He has an obsession with being the best, and he is willing to pick fights over the pettiest of things in order to prove that he's better than everyone else. Despite his arrogance, however, Cathan is a meticulous and capable problem solver, and he gets the job done better than almost anyone short of Jamello.

An accomplished brawler, Cathan likes to finish off fights at close range, despite having powers that allow him to end battles from afar. He loves the thrill of the hunt, and he often uses that thrill as a substitute for all the other joys that he may never get to experience. Because of his desire to be the undisputed champion of the Golden Banner, he often clashes with the other heavy hitters of the Golden Banner, most notably Jamello Lombardi, Seneca Sepulveda, Cosmo Grimaldi, and Leon Chambers. Because of Earnest Kingsolver's warning, Cathan usually avoids confronting any council member and their immediate family, with Cosmo being one of the main exceptions.

Cruelty is one of his strong suits, as Cathan has a long sadistic streak. However, he is still very much a human being, and he develops attachments quickly and generally does what he can to avoid harming them. However, he tends to put those that he grows fond of on pedestals, and as soon as they fail to measure up to his lofty expectations, he ditches them just as quickly.

Suggested Model: Carmine Giovinazzo

Leila Bouvier*
Age 27

A quiet, nonchalant woman, Leila is usually very hard to analyze, as she keeps most of her tumultuous emotions bottled under the surface. Naturally, when she does release them, they tend to be more furious, but she is usually able to keep these under wraps. Whenever she gets a temper, she tries to quell it before it becomes too difficult, but the resulting suppression of her emotions is starting to take a toll on her, as she feels mentally exhausted. Nevertheless, she is scared of what could happen if her furious temper gets loose and she offends the wrong person.

Despite presenting a tough exterior, Leila is frightened by a number of figures in the Golden Banner. She understands that she could not beat many of the better members of the Banner in a fight, and that the Golden Banner is so chalk full of elite members that one could be just around the corner. So, she steps gingerly and is generally afraid of setting people off. Leila is one of the newest converts to the Golden Banner. She used to be a member of the Imperials gang, which served under the Crimson Saber, before she jumped sides at a chance to gain a permanent hegemon position.

She does not agree with the Golden Banner hegemon ideologically, per se, but she still values their willingness to appreciate her, as opposed to the Crimson Saber who never got around to accepting her into their ranks. However, she also recognizes that she may have angered some of her former allies, and is afraid of confronting them.

Suggested Model: Deanna Russo

Armand Samuels*
Age 33

One of the “originals,” Armand is perfectly at ease in the hegemon. In fact, he is one of the unspoken emotional leaders of the organization, as many people look to him for his levelheadedness and even-keel decision-making. He has developed a creative use of his powers that others in the hegemon have tried to duplicate, and he regularly inspires others to come up with more unusual but brilliant strategies in defeating their foes. To date, Armand has produced more than any other hegemon figure.

As he is easy to get along with, Armand is fairly popular in the hegemon, but he is also unambitious and most people see him more as a fun-loving man than a potential player in the affairs of the organization. His calm and collected exterior helps him on solo missions, though, as he is capable of thinking clearly without a dependence upon anyone else. Between his independence and his creative mind, Armand is an excellent problem solver, and he works better alone. Unlike Jamello or Cathan, who are either too eerily quiet or rambunctiously combative, Armand's decision to work alone is purely his own.

Suggested Model: Nathan Fillion

Lorelai Carroll**
Age 25

Being an orphan, along with being the youngest Problem Solver, has toughened up Lorelai. She knows how to fend for herself, and despises people who underestimates her ability, particularly because of her age or slender frame. Over the years, she has developed a cagey, savvy understanding of navigating the world around her, and she knows how to use her brains and instincts just as well as her power and brawn.

Lorelai likes to avoid conflict, and she attacks with stealth whenever possible. Her plan usually consists of sudden bursts to surprise her opponents, so that she can finish them off quickly. Even though she does not agree completely with the violence, she is more than willing to execute her orders because of how empowering and important they make her feel.

Her power allows her to phase across large distances rapidly. She can also, with effort and mental concentration, physically make herself, or part of herself, be present at a certain location. For example, she can will herself to be in two places at once, even though only one of them is her true body.

Suggested Model: Maryna Linchuk

Jasper Safarian*
Age 30

The passionate Jasper is easily enthused. He throws his attention towards almost anything that piques his interest, and it does not take much to strike his fancy. Jasper is excellent at starting something, but not particularly great at finishing it, as his interests are always vast and his mind constantly racing. He is a smart individual, but frequently he gets too far ahead and envisions the final product without proper appreciation for the busywork along the way. Even so, he still attempts his best at finishing them, but he is usually sidetracked by something else.

Jasper's talent within the hegemon comes from his remarkable ability to multitask. If he is given a straightforward mission, he is actually more inclined to fail it than if given a more complex mission that requires a good deal of thinking outside the box. Jasper's intellect loves freedom for his creativity, and his solutions are rarely straightforward or conventional. In fact, Jasper's unconventional ways have actually led towards a slight arrogance towards the conventional methods; he prefers things that are unpredictable and more interesting.

Suggested Model: Michael Rady

Josée Villeneuve*
Age 31

Of all of the Problem Solvers, Jamello is widely regarded as the best, but Josée is, perhaps, regarded as the smartest. Her intelligence is astounding and bordering on superhuman. Because of her remarkable ability to plan ahead, she is lethal when given time to prepare. That makes Josée a perfect storm in terms of problem solving, as she has a meticulous work ethic and an insatiable appetite towards perfectionism. If she sees a flaw in her methodology, she will work tirelessly to correct it.

This intellect has given her a modicum of renown and prestige within the hegemon, as most people know to see Josée whenever they need something that demands her talents. But her genius has its downsides, as she grows bored of politics and is not much for small talk. Instead, she relies on speaking with a few elite members of the hegemon, such as Mr. Kingsolver, Seneca Sepulveda, or even Jamello Lombardi. Because of both of their similar reclusivities, Josée is perhaps the one person that can get close to Jamello.

Suggested Model: Yvonne Strahovsky