Malaak grew up in an orphanage, her origins unknown. It is only at the age of 18 that an otherworldy encounter allowed some of her memory to return, and she realized she was here on a mission: find out the reason behind the endless war, and how to put an end to it, though why she in particular had been sent for that was something she'd need to discover as well.

Now a history major at the Lebanese University, by night she is the Guardian, searching for the remedy to the plague of war and Jinn inflicted upon her countrymen. In her group of friends, she is closest to Adrian, who shares her secret and is also aware of the Jinn. Among other things, Adrian designed and made her costume (God knows how), and recommended she learn proper combat techniques. On his advice, Malaak enrolled in a Wushu class (a more accurate name for Kung Fu) and this style characterizes her fighting. To any other than Adrian, Malaak pretends to be mortally afraid of the fighting and to run home every day after class to stay safe. In truth this is an alibi so that she can spend her evenings on patrol without her friends wondering why she' never joins their outings.

Malaak's most obvious power is the emission of a watery kind of energy that strongly affects Jinn, and that she can also focus to push against physical things, either to move them, or to propel herself for short distances. At this time nobody knows what, if anything, it would do to a human being, and she is careful to avoid this happening. She also possesses physical strength that is noteably superior to what a woman of her build should have, comparable instead to that of a very strong man. More subtle, she has the ability to enter the Dream Plane consciously, though she is only beginning to explore that.

On occasion Malaak's energy turns pure white. After her battle with Nryz on the Dream Plane, she is starting to understand why, but she doesn't know how to explain it to her human allies yet.

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As a bonus, here's a Character build designed by David Braithwaite for RPG players (note: I understand nothing about these things!)

Little is known about Adrian. An older student, come from Europe to do a PHD in Beirut, he keeps largely to himself. his gruff and aloof attitude effectively discourages anyone from attempting to befriend him. Until Malaak came along, he only tolerated Tareq's company – unless it was Tareq who was the only one to tolerate Adrian.

Adrian's gentler aspect began to make itself felt with the arrival of the apparently-bereaved orphan from the country, although he soon discovered it was only an act she was putting on to hide her real night activities. He took up an interest in her fight for reasons that he eventually revealed to her, and her alone: he had barely survived a Jinn's attack and as a result could see their true form. Adrian provides Malaak with her costume, a cool mind's advice. In return Malaak makes him the gift of an unbreakable sword made of salt, the sole physical substance that can truly hurt the Jinn. From then on he is her sidekick on the field, albeit a little too gung-ho for her comfort (unbeknownst to her, he does wear a bulletproof vest under his "suit".)

Adrian and Malaak keep their close friendship under cover as the best means of not arousing local curiosity. Only Tareq becomes aware of it, after he is let in (accidentally) to their common secret. Adrian remains as unsociable as ever, and is a perfect example of The Stoic: if you look closely, you'll notice he never opens his mouth in the comic: it takes something exceptional for his lips to part!

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Amer is even more a mystery than Adrian, although he is markedly different in his suave and worldly manners. He sought out Malaak after spotting her, and hinted that he did so because he could see ehr true nature.

Amer displays surprising insight into the world of the Jinn, though he has so far refused to explain this knowledge, citing his safety as the reason for his silence. Adrian, who has not met him personally doesn't trust him and wishes Malaak would be more circumspect in taking his advice. She on the other hand, despite not being fully comfortable with Amer, has to admit that all his advice has been so far good and helpful to her. Among other things he taught her about the Dream Plane and guided her first steps in it, and he's never asked for anything in return... yet.

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Tareq is your typical Lebanese young man: smart-dressing, all about PR (and gossip), carrying himself with casual wit and a careless demeanor verging on bravado. His classmate Zeina, whom he spends a great deal of time with, is the favourite victim of his teasing, and for a while he tried to play matchmaker between Adrian and Malaak, the two "weirdos" of his entourage. But this rather immature facade belies his genuine sensitivity and intelligence, and so he was always gentler around Malaak, feeling bad when he thought Adrian was blowing her off.

Tareq matured abruptly when Zeina was shot, leaving him to admit to himself the feelings he had for her just as he was about to lose her. His thirst for revenge just then nearly led him down a path of no-return, when another shock, the discovery that the Guardian was none other than his timid friend Malaak, brought him to his senses. He joined the Citizen Defense Brigade to continue his fight, marking his passage into manhood. Note that he still does not know about the Jinn, though he can tell by now there's something fishy going on.

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Zeina is a stereotypical young Lebanese, deeply invested in her looks and her attractiveness, fully expecting to be treated like the princess she is. She's a complete ditz unless cornered into acting like a grown-up, and though shallow, she's good-hearted. She took Malaak under her wing upon her arrival and is constantly trying to make her embrace the Beirut night-life. She doesn't particularly like Adrian, whom she finds boorish, but that's probably because he gives her no more attention than a stray cat, and often much less.

Zeina equally received a large dose of maturity when she was shot by a sniper. She recovered fully, but not without a serious scar on her abdomen, which should bring her to rethink the importance of looks and her relationship to her body – especially now that she and Tareq were brought together by the incident. Despite their budding romance, she knows nothing about the Jinn or about Malaak being the Guardian. As far as she's concerned, Malaak's still as timorous as ever and a hopeless case.

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Before the war, Ayman Ibrahim was an engineer. After the outbreak claimed his wife as one of the earliest victims, he became one of the founders of the Citizen Defense Brigade and thanks to his expertise and proactive character, became known as "Colonel" (CDB ranks are for convenience only, see CDB entry below.) Ibrahim is an eminently practical man, no-nonsense and down-to-earth. His first encounter with the Guardian (unnamed at the time) did not go so well, and his second was worse, but they managed to put aside their differences for the sake of the cause, and now trust each other entirely. Ibrahim treats the Guardian like a comrade-in-arms but, being at heart a traditional man, he can't help but fear for the unknown young woman and feel guilty for allowing her to put herself at risk.

Layal is Col. Ibrahim's only daughter. Her mother was lost early in the war and she was raised mostly by her father, with help from the latter's mother. As a result, she is one tough gal, sharp-tongued, dry-witted, street-wise, and extremely selective about the people she hangs out with. Either you're her friend, or she ignores you. Unexpectedly, she hit it off with sweet Yeraz, her training buddy, who could not possibly be more different than her. She also accepted Malaak, perhaps at first because she was such a good subject for poking fun at, though she since acquired respect for her hard work in class. Layal doesn't enjoy her martial arts classes, which she was forced into by her father, but she does learn from them, and would be a fierce fighter if the need arose.

The only time anyone ever saw Layal weaken was when her father was mysteriously ill (in fact, possessed) and lay unresponsive in the hospital.

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Yeraz is another of Malaak's Wushu friends, and perhaps the glue that brings her and Layal together. She's a very sweet, very friendly girl, quite uncomplicated, and nobody who glimpsed her on the street would imagine that her short and rounded stature belied powerful and well-trained muscles. As an Armenian, her cultural references can contrast sharply with her friends'.

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"Nryz" is what Malaak's nemesis calls herself in the human world, her own name being quite unpronounceable. She is a Jinn of considerable power, probably an Afrit. Uniquely among Jinn, she has the ability to plan and consider what her enemy might do. She is also particularly cruel. This makes her a much more dangerous adversary than the regular Shyateen, although upon their last encounter Malaak succeeded in achieving a balance of power between them that will make Nryz think twice before directly facing the Guardian again.

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The Brigade is a motley group of civilians pooling their efforts and resources to protect their fellow citizens from what they perceive to be rampaging militias. Few of its members actually have a military background, but for the sake of organization they use a loose military-inspired hierarchy, with a handful of "colonels" at its head. Their job is to lead their men on the field and coordinate Brigade operations, which consist in rescue, intelligence, first aid, protection of people and businesses, and the like. The CDB, like the rest of the population, believes the city is prey to a number of armed groups, each pursuing its own interest. They have no idea they are dealing with a non-human enemy whose agenda is entirely removed from human affairs. To date, Malaak has not revealed the truth to her allies, fearing it would cause more harm than good.

The Brigade's equipment is as disparate as its members. There is no standard kit, only what they are able to procure. In an effort to create a consistent look, members wear blue-grey clothing while on duty, with the CDB badge featured visibly. Old helmets and rudimentary bulletproof vests are used during operations. Weapons are either relics from long- past conflicts or captured from the enemy.

The reference sheets present a few members and directions for clothing and equipment:

[More in progress]

Jinn, Hippocamp, Griffons and whatever else may arise are discussed at length in my Themes page.

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