Catherine Veraya

== Summary ==
Catherine Veraya is the current High Commander of the Seekers and right-hand-woman of Banshee. While not powered at birth, her proximity to the Night's Paragon, along with constant training under Banshee have granted her the status of a deadly combatant and infiltrator.
She was the main combat trainer and caretaker of Cypher as she was growing up, almost a big-sister figure to her. However, as Cypher grew apart from her mother, Cath grew closer. 
Cypher believes the influence of the Paragon also affected Catherine like it did her mother, although perhaps to a lesser degree. Nowadays, Catherine is antagonistic towards Cypher, believing her to have forsaken her duty to her mother by leaving.
== Appearance ==
Catherine stands at 5'7", with a muscular but lithe body, hewn from constant training and activity. She wears her dark-blonde hair kept back, the ends of it tinged black from her sorcery. Her expressions differs from stern to amused, whether commanding soldiers or smiling at her enemies mistakes.
She commonly wears a black, sleeveless combat jumpsuit, adorned with belts, holsters, and tools needed to do her job. A dark red and tan jacket coats her upper body, covering her exposed arms and giving extra pockets. Dark marks cover her face and arms, only faintly when not in use, but glowing red when in combat.
A heavy handgun, near-future in appearance, marked with magical sigils and brands, frequently adorns her hip. Furthermore, a collapsible quarterstaff is almost always on her back hip, hidden beneath her jacket.
At nightime or in covert operations, she is known to wear a dark cloak and hood to better conceal her. However, she generally disposes of it if she gets in combat, as it gets in her way.
== Powers and Tools ==
=== Heavy Combat Training ===
With her own training, and that under Banshee, Catherine is an extremely capable combatant. Favoring quick strikes but heavy blows, she is quite capable with handguns, polearms, and her fists. Her preferred polearm is that of a quarterstaff, balanced and quick. With handguns, she prefers heavier ones, especially ones imbued with fire magic.
=== Darkness Manipulation ===
Her long and close proximity with the Paragon, along with her frequent runic brands, have given her powers similar to Banshee, although of less strength and without the sigils and sorcery she casts. Instead, she has gained the ability to create dark fogs and warp through them, even turning her to fog for a brief second to avoid weapons or magic. Furthermore, her actions as caretaker of the Paragon for a long time has given her the brief ability to sense and manipulate shadows, allowing her to track people and infiltrate locations easily.
=== Inhuman Strength and Endurance ===
Her endurance and strength is manipulated beyond that of a normal human, frequently known to pursue a task for days without sleeping. She falters against those with superhuman strength, but with enough blows she could even take them down.
== Backstory ==
Catherine was a back alley brawler for a couple years after dropping out of high school, being surprisingly good at it for her age. One night, the makeshift arena erupted into a riot, and Catherine almost got killed before being saved by Banshee, at the time known as Rune, who was searching the area in hunt of information on the Paragon.
Owing her life to Banshee, she got recruited by her to help train her newly teen daughter, a super like her, in combat. Acting as both a trainer and friend to Ivy, and a caretaker of Banshee's secret citadel, Cath gained a sense of duty and pride in her new position.
As the years grew on, Catherine acted as a big-sister figure to Ivy. However, Catherine's frequent proximity to the Paragon, along with the darkening attitude and requests of Banshee changed her. While she had a sense of duty before, she gained an unwavering loyalty to Banshee, and a harsher mood with it. Soon, her and Ivy would argue about it all, and relations soured. When Ivy left to become Cypher, Catherine quickly labeled her a traitor, and her actions in the Seekers doubled.
== Agenda ==
As High Commander of the Seekers, Catherine seems to be mostly in charge of them, relaying information back and forth between them and Banshee, who frequently remains in her Citadel with the Paragon. Her unwavering loyalty and unfaltering endurance beckon new recruits to join someone so firmly believing in their cause. For with the Paragon complete, the Seekers can finally destroy the evil of the world, at any cost.
She also works as an Operator herself, her heavy powers and ability to infiltrate intensely useful for operations which are high priority. When they are certain a Piece of Paragon is available, you can count on either Catherine or Banshee being there to get it.
== Artist Credits ==
Art by Aurelian Rantet, edited for use.
Category:Characters
Category:NPC
Category:B-Verse