Avatar Godfather Avatar was one of the leaders of the Rump Parliament in the City of the Saved . Biography . Godfather Avatar invariably appeared dressed in a black cloak , wearing a bone mask with antlers and a tricorn hat . Selene Walmric speculated in " " that Avatar was not an actual person ( something obviously implied by his name ) , but instead a rôle assumed by other Rump Parliament members , with a deliberate air of mystery ( no history could be found for Avatar before the City ) to draw attention from the true leaders of the Rump Parliament . This was actually very close to the truth . Avatar was not a corporeal person ; he was a " loa " . The identity of Avatar was used by — or the " loa " Avatar rode — a variety of Cousins and Godparents in the Rump Parliament at different times . But his " default " body was that of Little Brother Edward , whose fragile sense of self made him an ideal host . In AF 291 , Cllr Ved Mostyn ( actually Cousin Porsena of the Rump Parliament ) was murdered with a potent weapon . Godfather Avatar visited Laura Tobin in Paynesdown District and contracted her to investigate the incident , giving her cover as an assistant to Cllr Mesh Cos . When he left the District , his shadow remained at Tobin ' s apartment building . Godfather Avatar / Little Brother Edward was shot and killed by agents of Antipathy , and resurrected at the Epicentre in Manfold . In Paynesdown , Avatar ' s shadow began to walk . Avatar found a tattered black blanket , and used it as a stand - in for his usual cloak . He agreed with the resurrected Cousin Porsena that Edward would rescue Lon Shel , while Avatar rode Porsena . Avatar - Porsena initiated Edward as a Cousin , binding a sword to his shadow , then began to make his way to the " true " Epicentre : the " exact " centre of the larger area called " the Epicentre . " There , Avatar confronted Antipathy . He encouraged Antipathy ' s ranting , and waited for his shadow to arrive . When it did , he sorted through his shadow - arsenal until he found a Manfolk annihilation bomb . He activated it , killing himself , Porsena , and Antipathy . ( PROSE : " Of the City of the Saved . . . " ) When Lord Mayor Lucius Cassius Ignotus re - died , he was confronted by Avatar and the other four trillion killed in the Civil War . ( PROSE : " A Hundred Words from a Civil War " ) Compassion used all of her timeship children as backups for the City , so that when the original City was consumed , Godfather Avatar ( along with every other Citizen ) was restored to life again . ( PROSE : " God Encompasses " ) Personality . Godfather Avatar saw his life as a rôle in a story — he had a sardonic attitude , mocking the people around him and the situations he was in as if playing to an audience . This was exacerbated by the constant grin of his skull mask , which made him always seem to not be taking things seriously . ( PROSE : " Of the City of the Saved . . . " ) Appearance . Godfather Avatar was almost literally made of iconography , and therefore stuck to very specific regalia . It consisted of " theoretically " bulletproof Faction Paradox body armour , a black cloak , an antler ed bone mask with a speaker grille in the jaw , and a tricorn hat . ( PROSE : " Of the City of the Saved . . . " )