Sermon

Sermon is a character in *BERZERK!* He is part of The Team, a government sponsored group of young heroes that is maintained by Origin.

## Early-Life

Jeremiah was born and raised in rural Texas by a very conservatively Christian family. He was well cared for physically; his family was well off, his father a successful engineer and his mother a stay at home mom. Emotionally, however, he didn't get as much support. His father was often away from home and his mother was usually cold, only addressing him and his brother and sisters when they didn't have their shirts tucked in or hadn't finished their dinners. This was especially strained as Jeremiah began to identify and confront his sexuality; however, for the sake of himself, he held that piece of himself hidden from everybody, including himself; as much as he could, that is.

Overall, though, Jeremiah's life was relatively unassuming. His grades were good, he had friends at school, he had siblings he cared about and who cared for him, his parents were cold, but not overwhelmingly so; up to his 13th birthday, Jeremiah's life was nothing one could call atypical.

## Discovering Powers

On Jeremiah's 13th birthday, he had a party in his backyard with his friends and his siblings. When climbing a tree, his youngest sister fell, and landed hard on her arm; it twisted and bled, and she wouldn't stop crying from the pain. While his mother dialed for an ambulance, Jeremiah cradled his sister and whispered a prayer under his breath; a prayer for healing, and to take the pain away. As he spoke, a ball of golden, glowing light began to emanate from his hand. As he finished his prayer, his sister grew quiet, and her arm didn't twist around anymore. When the ambulance arrived, the EMTs found her in perfect health, save for a bit of dirt.

After they had left, Jeremiah's mother asked what had happened, and when Jeremiah's sister told her, she roughly took his arm and dragged him into the house. She screamed at him, calling him a demon, a messenger from the devil who had cursed her daughter with his horrid magic. She gave him 10 minutes to pack his bags, and when that was up, she threw him out into the street, and made it very clear he was never to return.

## Joining The Team

Word quickly spread around the small, tight knit town that Jeremiah was not to be trusted; he had what they only knew as magic, and was nothing more than a hollow shell inhabited by a demon. No matter how much his friends or siblings begged, no adult would take him in, leaving Jeremiah to wander the streets alone, cursing the God that he believed in so much. He eventually took to the highway, walking to the next town over. Lacking food and water, he only made it a day before collapsing of exhaustion.

When he woke up, he found himself in a bright, sterile room, with the man he would soon learn to be Origin sitting to his left. Origin had heard his story and taken it upon himself to rescue Jeremiah from his situation, and allowed him to join his team of metahumans; others with powers like the ones Jeremiah possessed. It was at that moment that Jeremiah thanked the Lord, for His forgiveness and bringing him to a place that would take care of him and be his haven. He continues to pray every day for the safety of his siblings, and of every member in the town he grew up in, for even those that hated him he knew deserved goodness and light.

## Powers and Abilities

Sermon's powers are all spoken-word based. In order to activate his powers, Sermon must begin to audibly pray. Due to his reliance on spoken word to activate his powers, the limits of his powers are unknown. It is possible that more combinations of words could provide different results, but those two powers are the only ones that he knows of.

**Healing**: Sermon has the power to heal. By putting his hands on someone and speaking a prayer, he heals them back to a state before they suffered that injury or malady. Sermon only has the power to heal, not to raise the dead. If anyone is injured too badly before he can reach them, there isn't anything he can do.

**Forcefields:** Sermon can create shields, barriers of energy that prevent anything from moving through it. They can range from only covering himself to a circle approximately 30 feet around him, and they remain where they are until he takes them down or they are broken. The smaller the circle, the more powerful the protection is.

## Weaknesses

* **No Offense**: Sermon is, at his heart, a nurturer and carer, making his abilities entirely defensive. He needs space and time to activate both of his abilities, so any opponent with an overwhelming offense will be difficult to deal with.
* **Emotional Dependency:** Sermon has an almost obsessive care for others. He has a special crutch in Hortus, who he relies on, but he would be very willing to sacrifice his life for any member of the team. While this may appear a strength, and in some ways it is, his over-reliance and overprotection on and of his teammates can hold in back and cloud his judgement in important moments.

## Paraphernalia

* **Prayer Book:** Small, brown, leather-bound holds his most important prayers. The pages are edged in gold leaf and some of the text is smudged and worn.
* **Expandable shield:** A gift from Origin that is shaped as a ring and worn on his right ring finger. He can press the top of it and it expands into a circular metal shield.
* **Ivy Bracelet:** A gift from Hortus.

## Trivia

* Sermon is a knitter. Every person in the team has at least 3 scarves that he's made for them, and the various sitting areas at headquarters are made much warmer by the various blankets and other knitted paraphernalia that he's put there.
* Sermon identifies with the Episcopalian sect of Christianity.
* As decided by Amy, the Taylor Swift songs that best reflect Sermon are, "This Love" and "Ivy," and his album is *Lover*.
* When originally creating Sermon, Will was inspired by identity politic discourse. Although they are not religious, Will wanted to show that being queer and religious is not taboo.