WRAITH

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Charles (Chaz) Forsmythe IV is one of the English that believes Britain needs a Royal Family. Of course, he thinks it should be his family. According to Forsmythe family legend, Chaz's ancestors were the Saxon kings usurped by Uther Pendragon, father of the legendary King Arthur. As far as Chaz and his family are concerned, Uther's bargain with Merlin the Magician that gave him the throne cheated them out of their rightful inheritance. The myth has been kept alive through the generations and from time to time hot headed scions plotted to overthrow the crown and reestablish their birthright, but these were never very successful (or when successful, could not hold it against other forces). Choosing the arts of politics and magic over overt action, the heads of the family took a long term approach to things - seeking not to overthrow, but undermine the monarchs of the day, to ruin their reputation while at the same time promoting themselves as good, honest potential replacements.

Charles was born to this occultist branch of the family. Raised on tales of numerous jaded aristocratic occult groups, he grew up realizing that the family had allowed itself to grow too weak to ever hold power. Essentially the Forsmythes had forgotten their goal, and had almost adopted a republican point of view. He always believed that they were superior and the rightful rulers of Britain (better than this lot of Windsors at any rate). He took to the old family magics, but also to the family records because he knew that he couldn't have been the first to advocate for immediate action. He learned both the forbidden shadow magics and, from his ancestor's mistakes, how not to try and take the crown. It was his conclusion that greater magical power was needed, and in an era of super-heroes where mere power would not likely be enough to keep a hold on the throne, a very legitimate argument would be needed should he ever succeed. Using his family's resources he paid several genealogists to verify his lineage to this (possibly mythical) line of Saxon kings (and if not, then to the best of their ability to forge the necessary links). To increase his power over magic he took to stealing artifacts and books on a variety of mystic powers - but his connections to the jaded upper-classes kept him out of the police files (stealing from criminals and illegal cults also helped). The few times he was caught the whole thing was hushed up.

Chaz's involvement with the group of mystic heroes stems from one of his attempted thefts. The hero Zodiak caught Chaz trying to steal some magic items in New Orleans, but rather than turn him in, the hero offered the would-be-thief a deal, Zodiak would let him go if Chaz did him a favor. Zodiak knew that he would soon be facing the vile Death Spider and his lover the spider-demoness Aranaea and Zodiak would need some mystic clout to deal with Aranaea's power. Chaz agreed to the deal and assisted Zodiak and his allies against Death Spider and Aranaea. In semi-mockery of his costumed allies Chaz adopted his own "hero name", Ghost. With the deal done Zodiak let Chaz go, but not for long. After forming the Arcane, Zodiak tracked down Chaz again and blackmailed him into the group. Zodiak figured they could use Chaz's knowledge while keeping him on a tight leash, whereas Chaz figured he could use the group to glean some extra knowledge plus pilfer a few more items from any mystic menaces they may defeat. When Zodiak became aware that Chaz was secretly keeping some of the artifacts they were confiscating he assigned the Ebony Banshee to keep a constant watch on the Englishman.

Even with the added watchfulness of the banshee Chaz managed to sneak the occasional item while helping the Arcane, though with a great deal of sarcasm (he still maintained a "hero name", though it changed from Ghost to Wraith, even occasionally to Specter, and back to Ghost). Chaz merely bided his time waiting for the right opportunity. The right time came when the Arcane traveled to Superior City to help the Enforcers of Justice deal with a mysterious Pit of Darkness that threatened the city. While Zodiak and Solitaire tried to close the pit from the outside Chaz and the Ebony Banshee were to attack it from the inside. While inside the Pit, Chaz was contacted by the being responsible for it, the Darklord. In his dealings with magic so far Chaz had been careful to avoid the temptation of making deals with otherworldly powers, but the offer the Darklord made was not a typical Faustian deal. Chaz switched to the Darklord's side and turned on the Banshee. The Pit was deliberately closed by the Darklord, leaving the rest of the Arcane wondering what happened to the two inside. Ebony Banshee's fate remains a mystery as does whatever mission the Darklord has dispatched Chaz on, but the answer to either mystery will not be a good one.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Chaz has no real powers to speak of but he is, among other things, a knowledgeable occultist, a skilled thief, adept at mingling in high society, and above all a scheming opportunist. Over they years, even under the watchful eye of the Arcane, Chaz has gotten his hands on a few items of power which he makes use of frequently. One such item is the Dagger of St. Luther which strikes at the spirit of its target and glows when in the presence of other magic and another is the Mantle of Eclipso, which lets Chaz cast a cloud of Darkness over an area, become invisible and intangible, or transport himself or others through shadows. Chaz also possessed a pair of items called the Gauntlets of the Bean Sidhe (Banshee). Initially Chaz merely used these in combat to emulate the chilling cry of a banshee but he later discovered that the gauntlets let him take on the aspect of the Ivory Banshee, the nemesis to the Ebony Banshee. It was the gauntlets that gave Chaz the power to defeat the Ebony Banshee.

Warp Zone | DC Heroes | The Arcane | Wraith