Avatars:

The word avatar has several uses in the world of MK2K. In a general sense, it refers to a being with a living, physical, flesh-and-blood body who possesses a high degree of supernatural power. Avatars are distinguished from powerful mages in that their power is internal, and does not depend on the use of arcane magic. They are also distinct from powerful psis, in that their abilities do not come from any special mental power or force of will. An avatar's power is divine or cosmic in origin, and defies easy classification.

Three specific categories of beings have been referred to as avatars:

1.) The gods and daedra lords of the fallen pantheon, who have been forced to walk the Earth in mortal form since the Great Fall, and the former mortals who have replaced some of them.

2.) Certain chosen servants of Majestrix Kyia, who have been invested with a portion of the power she gained in the Great Fall.

3.) Yahshua Onequion, the Redeemer of Creation according to the Follower religions, is considered the avatar of the Creator-God Iluvatar by the Meraist Church.

Yahshua was a unique historical figure, whose powers cannot be subjected to experimental test; as such, it is unknown whether his nature was essentially similar to that of the modern avatars or something altogether different. The rest of this article will be concerned only with the first two types of avatar.

Powers & Abilities

All avatars share certain common characteristics:

In addition to these abilities, the ex-deities of the pantheon have the following traits:

Avatars created by Kyia have these traits:

Weaknesses

An avatar's weaknesses are few. Nevertheless, it is possible to harm and even kill them, if the proper techniques are used.

Avatars in Government

Kyia uses avatars as key figures in the executive branch of the Empire: Cabinet members, provincial governors, and mayors of key cities. Most of these are avatars whom she has empowered herself -- including Thomas X, the current mayor of Metamor City -- but a handful are members of the pantheon: Akkala, Nocturna and Rickkter all have positions in Kyia's Cabinet, while Dvalin, Oblineth and Samekkh are viceroys in charge of specific provinces.

An avatar is Kyia's eyes, ears, and mouthpiece in the part of the Empire in which he or she serves -- one part chief executive, one part ambassador, and one part superhero. Avatars are not only leaders, but also guardians; when a severe threat arises in a city or province, such as a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, the avatar is usually the first one on the scene, providing aid and defending the helpless. Because Kyia does not usually grant proxy spells that could be used to injure or kill, the avatars are not usually the ones to take out big monsters or rampaging demons that slip out of the Dreamlands; that job is left to the Lothanasi, who are better-equipped and trained in the fine art of fighting supernatural enemies. Avatars also generally don't go after mundane criminals, instead trusting the police to do their job. Kyia is a big believer in letting mortals do what they're able to do, and not taking away the dignity of self-reliance just because she or her avatars might be able to do something more efficiently.

The truth of the matter is, Kyia could never make enough avatars to police the whole Empire, anyway. Criminal activity is so widespread, and varies so much in scope, that there's no way that the avatars could keep track of it all. The avatars deliberately avoid intervening in situations that mortals can handle because, if they intervened, mortals might think their efforts weren't needed and just stop trying to police themselves. The system will never work if mortals don't take responsibility to do the good they can, whenever they can -- so most of the time, an avatar's power lies untapped, waiting for the emergency when it's really needed.

Author's Note: In addition to the in-story benefits, this self-restraint on the part of Kyia and her avatars also keeps MK2K from devolving into a superpowered slugfest between demigods. The fact that the mortal characters can't count on avatars to save the day means that their actions actually mean something. It gives them the chance to be heroes, even in a world where they stand in the shadow of some very powerful beings.

The same principle applies to the ex-deities of the pantheon. Most of the time, they're not going to be using all that power they possess -- it would deplete their reserves and make them vulnerable to attack. Most of the time it's more practical to employ mortals to do the dirty work, either by recruiting them straight out or by manipulating them from a distance. Even after living so long among mortals, the ex-deities can't quite give up their habit of using humans as pawns in their never-ending chess games. This means that the heroes' actions often have far-reaching consequences: not only are they accomplishing their own goals, but in the process they're probably helping along three or four different schemes they don't even know about. Our protagonists may become indignant when they find out that the gods are using them as playing pieces instead of doing the dirty work for themselves, but the truth is, it's better than the alternative -- for all concerned.