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Description

When the Flame Eternal first burnt bright, it was a beacon of hope in a fledgling universe. Peoples were drawn to it. Many worshipped it. It was seen as a god, as an inspiration and as a thing to be awed at. One saw it as a thing to be possessed. This being, Nebulon, travelled to where the Flame Eternal resided, at the heart of the universe, and through falsehoods, he communed with the Flame Eternal. The Flame, sentient as it was, revealed it had been seeking beings to imbue with its power to spread its message of goodwill amongst the stars. He was a shaman of his people, a sorceror in fact. He kept this hidden from the Flame Eternal. He pledged to be its vassal, to bring its hope and glory to the universe. And the Flame Eternal and Nebulon were unified. In that moment, their minds melded, the Flame saw the truth. It saw evil intent. It pulled away but too late. Nebulon now possessed a fragment of the Flame Eternal. And with that power he sought to make himself a god across the cosmos. Realising it was not enough to share minds with others, to ask them to spread hope, the flame knew it must empower others to oppose evil. That was how it first created the Beacon-Force. It chose a number of worthy beings from different planets. Their first mission was to imprison Nebulon. To that end, they created an artefact to house him. They caught him, trapped him, and hurled the object into a backwater galaxy where he’d never be discovered by intelligent life. Which is where the pendant rised until it was found in the 40s by Cedar City resident, Rex Longwood. Rex became the Golden Age hero the Purple Beacon. And then, suddenly, retired. It wasn’t due to age. It was due to the pendant itself and the purple fire it immitted. At first it had acted upon Rex’s will. When justice was needed, he’d touch the pendant and the flame would come forth. It would enact a twisted kind of ironic justice. But most of the time, nobody was truly hurt. Then he would awake in the morning to find the criminal behind a case he was investigating had died in cruel and perverse turns of fate. A kidnapper had been found tied up in the boot of a car, choked to death on bank notes. A thief had been the victim of back alley organ-harvesting gone wrong. But there were never any clues as to who had committed the crimes on the criminals. But Rex knew. He snuck to the scenes of the crimes and he could sense it. The energies of his pendant. When he slept, it acted of its own accord. As other heroes of his generation waned, Rex had given the pendant to the local museum as a curiosity. Then his son Alex picked it up and became a hero, wielding the energies of the pendant. All seemed well. Then the same things started happening to Alex. He had never revealed to his grandfather that he was the hero Flameheart. Now he had no choice. He spoke to Rex and the truth was revealed. This had always been the case. This was what the pendant did. And so, Alex tried to be rid of it. But it was too late. From the pendant came the flaming figure of Neblon. Now free after millennia, he attacked the city. The heroes tried to fight back. Alex, stripped of the thing that gave him his powers, could only watch; all the energy of the empty pendant now residing in Nebulon. But in the final moment, his grandfather Rex stepped forward. Nebulon mocked the old man who had been so afraid of power that he ran from it. But Rex had a secret too. Not all the flame lived within Nebulon. Over years of use, some of it had entered Rex. And it had dwelt there, grown within his heart. He truly had a heart of flame. And he turned his body into a fiery pillar of purple light and battled Nebulon, ultimately defeating him. In the aftermath, he was without a body. And so, he found a home in the pendant itself. He did not have enough power to renew the heart but at least his mind would not perish. And Nebulon was destroyed.

Description

When the Flame Eternal first burnt bright, it was a beacon of hope in a fledgling universe. Peoples were drawn to it. Many worshipped it. It was seen as a god, as an inspiration and as a thing to be awed at. One saw it as a thing to be possessed. This being, Nebulon, travelled to where the Flame Eternal resided, at the heart of the universe, and through falsehoods, he communed with the Flame Eternal. The Flame, sentient as it was, revealed it had been seeking beings to imbue with its power to spread its message of goodwill amongst the stars. He was a shaman of his people, a sorceror in fact. He kept this hidden from the Flame Eternal. He pledged to be its vassal, to bring its hope and glory to the universe. And the Flame Eternal and Nebulon were unified. In that moment, their minds melded, the Flame saw the truth. It saw evil intent. It pulled away but too late. Nebulon now possessed a fragment of the Flame Eternal. And with that power he sought to make himself a god across the cosmos. Realising it was not enough to share minds with others, to ask them to spread hope, the flame knew it must empower others to oppose evil. That was how it first created the Beacon-Force. It chose a number of worthy beings from different planets. Their first mission was to imprison Nebulon. To that end, they created an artefact to house him. They caught him, trapped him, and hurled the object into a backwater galaxy where he’d never be discovered by intelligent life. Which is where the pendant rised until it was found in the 40s by Cedar City resident, Rex Longwood. Rex became the Golden Age hero the Purple Beacon. And then, suddenly, retired. It wasn’t due to age. It was due to the pendant itself and the purple fire it immitted. At first it had acted upon Rex’s will. When justice was needed, he’d touch the pendant and the flame would come forth. It would enact a twisted kind of ironic justice. But most of the time, nobody was truly hurt. Then he would awake in the morning to find the criminal behind a case he was investigating had died in cruel and perverse turns of fate. A kidnapper had been found tied up in the boot of a car, choked to death on bank notes. A thief had been the victim of back alley organ-harvesting gone wrong. But there were never any clues as to who had committed the crimes on the criminals. But Rex knew. He snuck to the scenes of the crimes and he could sense it. The energies of his pendant. When he slept, it acted of its own accord. As other heroes of his generation waned, Rex had given the pendant to the local museum as a curiosity. Then his son Alex picked it up and became a hero, wielding the energies of the pendant. All seemed well. Then the same things started happening to Alex. He had never revealed to his grandfather that he was the hero Flameheart. Now he had no choice. He spoke to Rex and the truth was revealed. This had always been the case. This was what the pendant did. And so, Alex tried to be rid of it. But it was too late. From the pendant came the flaming figure of Neblon. Now free after millennia, he attacked the city. The heroes tried to fight back. Alex, stripped of the thing that gave him his powers, could only watch; all the energy of the empty pendant now residing in Nebulon. But in the final moment, his grandfather Rex stepped forward. Nebulon mocked the old man who had been so afraid of power that he ran from it. But Rex had a secret too. Not all the flame lived within Nebulon. Over years of use, some of it had entered Rex. And it had dwelt there, grown within his heart. He truly had a heart of flame. And he turned his body into a fiery pillar of purple light and battled Nebulon, ultimately defeating him. In the aftermath, he was without a body. And so, he found a home in the pendant itself. He did not have enough power to renew the heart but at least his mind would not perish. And Nebulon was destroyed.