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| − | {{TPPage
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| − | |Tinyplot=Path of Glory
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| − | |Summary=The Army of Heaven invades Manhattan led by the Archangel Michael set to destroy all of Creation in order to remake it
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| − | |Scale=Epic
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| − | |Runner=3387
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| − | |Groups=Justice League Dark, Mystic Arts
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| − | |Audience=Justice League Dark, Mystic Arts
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| − | |Genre=Dark, Cosmic, Religious, R
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| − | }}
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| − | = The Path of Glory =
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| − | [[File:Manhattan from Above.jpg|450px|center|Manhattan at Night]]
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| − | <center>
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| − | ''The darkness drops again; but now I know''<br/>
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| − | ''That twenty centuries of stony sleep''<br/>
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| − | ''Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,'' <br/>
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| − | ''And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,'' <br/>
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| − | ''Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?''<br/>
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| − | -- Yeats, ''The Second Coming''
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| − | </center>
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| − | : {{tab}}'''Plot Runner''': [[Chas Chandler]]
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| − | : {{tab}}'''Status''': Ongoing
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| − | : {{tab}}'''Tenure''': November 2021 - ???
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| − | == The Mission ==
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| − | [[File:Le Grand Saint Michel.jpg|300px|right|Le Grand Saint Michel]][[File:Michael Demiurgos.jpg|300px|right|Michael Demiurgos]]
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| − | The Archangel Michael has decided that the Great Experiment that is the Universe needs to be reclaimed and returned to the Presence in order to begin anew. What is his reasons? Why is it focused on Manhattan? And, most importantly, how can you expect to fight a being so overwhelmingly powerful?
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| − | == The History ==
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| − | The Presence is the driving force of what created all things. It goes by many names: God, Brahman, The Creator. This much is known. What isn't known is that he wasn't the direct hand in the creation. The creation of the universe was delegated to two beings. One of those was the Archangel Michael.
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| − | The Archangels, after Creation was settled, were tasked with seeing that it continued without error. But something must've gone wrong, as Michael has returned to Earth claiming it ''is'' in error and must be restarted.
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| − | ==The Story So Far==
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| − | ===Act One: The Papal Killings (Complete)===
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| − | ====The Murder Investigation====
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| − | A series of murders in Hell's Kitchen is given to Detective [[Sara Pezzini]], holder of the [[Witchblade]]. She brings in [[Cael Becker]] of the FBI/[[SHIELD]] and [[Jonathan Sims]], the Archivist, to consult. [[Phoebe Beacon]]/Balm, [[Lasariel|Lasariel Weiss]], and Virgil Solomon (ally to [[Hope Svelgate|Lady Death]]) also come to visit the latest victim of what will become known as the Papal Killer. While there, the group discovers that the one doing the killings is an avenging angel of some kind.
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| − | As the investigation continues and more murders pile up, the team starts to talk about laying traps or baiting out the angel. It becomes clear that the prime suspects for having summoned an angel are within the newly minted Justice League Dark. A plan is laid out by Jon Sims and [[Lydia Dietrich]] to capture and bind the angel, then try to exorcise it from whomever summoned the being.
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| − | [[Tim Drake|Red Robin]] tracks down the one missing crime scene, and the investigators go there to find the angel watching. It reveals itself to them, and the team discovers that Cael Becker has been taken as its latest victim. Sara, Jon, Lasariel, and [[Rien D'Arqueness]] go after Becker while Lady Death, [[John Constantine]], [[Meggan Puceanu]], Phoebe Beacon, and [[Zatanna Zatara]] track the angel to the Laughing Magician. Both sides fight the angel while trying to complete the binding--and discover that it was [[Chas Chandler]] who summoned the angel. Ultimately, the binding is successful and the angel subdued.
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| − | ====Binding and Exorcism====
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| − | It did not come without a price. Cael had been tortured and nearly killed, and then was mind-controlled into fighting Jon, who wound up pinned to a wall by a giant nail. Meggan had to call upon the energies of [[Nullspace]] to power the binding, affecting her faerie nature deeply. Phoebe had to watch Meggan go from looking like her adopted sister to a thing of nightmares. Zatanna and John had to fight a friend. Lydia's faith had been deeply challenged. And the plan to bind the angel in two places and drag it through Nullspace accidentally (very briefly) ended the universe. Just a blip, but enough to be noticed--[[Stephen Strange]], the Sorceror Supreme, is among those who notice, and comes to the JLD to find out what happened. He is, naturally, none too pleased.
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| − | Several people talk to the angel, and to Chas, while he's bound in the back room of the Laughing Magician. Chas begs Zatanna to kill him. The angel speaks to Lydia of faith. Meggan brings him sweets from Liverpool, and John tries to con some answers out of the angel. Cael faces the angel to affirm that she did not deserve the punishment it gave. Lasariel comes to comfort her boyfriend in his time of trouble. And Jon Sims, after a therapy session with [[Lucifer]] himself, uses water tainted by Hell to burn the angel's wing and force it to reveal itself as [[Michael Demiurgos]].
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| − | The exorcism... backfires. Instead of sending Michael back to the Gates of Heaven, Chas winds up there, and Michael free to go gather his army of angels to invade Manhattan. The heroes' attempts to stop Michael accidentally empower him, so that even Lady Death's sword Apocalypse is unable to stop him. Michael plans to take back those who bound him for punishment--Jon, Meggan, Rien, Zatanna, Lydia--but Jon offers to take the punishment for his friends, and inadvertently seals himself to a larger fate. Michael shows mercy in response to this act of self-sacrifice and accepts the deal; he will punish Jon alone, at a later time. He informs the group that he will return at the Epiphany, and then quite literally blows the roof off the Laughing Magician as he leaves.
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| − | ===Act Two: The Battle of Manhattan (Ongoing)===
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| − | ====Preparations====
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| − | Reeling from the loss of their friend, the Justice League Dark begins to prepare for the invasion and find allies--and inadvertently makes enemies. [[Caitlin Fairchild]] of the [[Titans]], coming to investigate the ruins of the Laughing Magician, calls upon Michael's power when Lucifer's demons arrive. She soon gets a visit from Michael, and begins to speak of the glories and peace Michael promises, gathering followers in St. Patrick's, her parish church.
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| − | New members of the Justice League Dark arrive in time to aid the cause, including the Atlantean sorceror [[Atrun Rai|Atrun-Rai]] and [[Johnny Blaze]], the Ghost Rider. [[Nettie Crowe]] (recently returned from an accident with a blood doll) gathers the JLD to astrally project themselves to the [[Fundamental Realms|Silver City]] in [[Heaven]], to see if they can rescue Chas. They find him merged with the Gates of Heaven, and Michael preparing an army. The [[Heavenly Host|Archangel Uriel]] arrives to give the group some scope of what's happening and ushers them away.
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| − | A series of angelic visitations begins to outline the scope of the trial our heroes face. [[Heavenly Host|Raphael]] comes to Cael, to help her recover from her torture at Michael's hands. [[Heavenly Host|Gabriel]] comes to Lydia, to reaffirm her faith and direct her to help where needed most. And Uriel comes to Jon on Christmas morning, informing him that he has been placed at the center of the conflict. This conflict is greater in scope than they could have imagined--they are participating in nothing less than a trial for the fate of their universe. Michael wishes to re-make the universe so that it will be more stable, but Uriel and [[Gaea]] conspired to allow mortals a chance to right things themselves. Gaea puts forward Her champions with a heavy heart, but with faith in their ability to succeed in the end.
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| − | Allies are gathered, plans made, evacuations called. The Justice League Dark will face the vanguard of the Host on January 6th, but they will not be alone. They call upon the [[Justice League]], the Titans, SHIELD, the [[Avengers]], the [[X-Men]], even the [[Brotherhood|Brotherhood of Mutants]]. Lady Death is preparing her own army for war, her own goal to destroy Michael by any means necessary.
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| − | In the meantime, Caitlin is gathering followers, and power, as Michael's own mortal champion in the fight. Lasariel Weiss--now Asariel Basotini--has reverted to using her true name, and is learning about her true heritage as one of the Nephilim. The meteor carrying the Vanguard of the Host is nearing Earth--as catalogued by [[Jane Foster]]--and people are flocking to New York, hoping to be there when Heaven arrives on Earth.
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| − | ====Arrival of the Vanguard====
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| − | Dawn on January 6th reveals the angelic vanguard to the world. The angels arrive at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where the defenders of Manhattan are gathered to meet them. The force splits in two.
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| − | On one side, Gaea's Champion and Michael's Champion--Jon Sims and Caitlin Fairchild--face off, while Lady Death takes on Michael and her undead horde takes on his armies. Atrun-Rai is killed, Sims is nearly killed, and Caitlin experiences pain like she's never known when Sims hits her with the power of the Void. Lydia flees the battle, and Cael shoots Michael with bullets infused with the last of the unholy water Sims got from Lucifer. That and Lady Death's strikes are enough to cause Michael to explode--which turns out to raise his angels from the dead.
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| − | On the other, [[Bruce Wayne|Batman]] takes charge, leading Zatanna, Sara, Red Robin, Phoebe, and Johnny in the battle. Batman takes Michael on directly, his strikes infused with a piece of the Cross--and causes Michael to show fear. Zatanna, Phoebe, and Tim hold off the angelic army while the Ghost Rider damages Michael. Sara and the Witchblade find themselves facing a foe stronger than any they've ever encountered--which causes Witchblade to briefly take over.
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| − | Both sides call for a retreat. The mortals head to Grand Central Station, fortified by [[Michael Erickson|Red Sentinel]] and taken by SHIELD and the JLD as headquarters for the defense of Manhattan. Offers of help begin to flood in while those who've already been in the fight try to make sense of what's happening. Sims is promoted to full Agent of SHIELD and Field Commander of the Manhattan operation--while [[Peggy Carter]] laments that she can't be out in the field.
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| − | ===Act Three: The War of Heaven and Earth (Mid-February 2022 to April 2022)===
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| − | Coming Soon...
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| | ==The Players== | | ==The Players== |
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| − | | + | [[Michael Demiurgos]] - The Revelator, General of the [[Heavenly Host]], Slayer of the Dragon. The Archangel Michael was inadvertently summoned by [[Chas Chandler]] in an attempt seize power to help those he cared for the most. Part of his bargain for this power was a measure of autonomy to act upon the world as he saw fit. His ultimate goal: to Reclaim all of Creation and return it to The Presence to see that the instability within the universe does not lead to a catastrophic collapse of all universes everywhere. |
| − | ==Logs==
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| − | {{Tinyplot
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| − | |Tinyplot=Path of Glory
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| − | }}
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