Josh Carpenter

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* Biography
* Threat Assessment
* Trivia and Notes
* Gallery

## Identity

### Legal Name

Joshua Carpenter
Yeshua (Birth Name)

### Known Aliases

Agnus Dei, Christ, Logos Dei, Good Shepherd, the Messiah, Planetary Shaman (Former), Prince of Peace, Prophet, Rabbi (Titles)
Bridgeroom, Dayspring, J.C., Josh, Shiloh, Redeemer (Nicknames)
Īsā ibn Mariam, Jehovah, Jesus of Nazareth, Josh Horn, Josh Shepherd, Nazarene, Sabriel (Aliases)

### Relatives

The Presence (Grandfather)
Eden (Grandmother)
Gabriel Demiurgos (Father)
Mariam of Nazareth (Mother)
Lucifer, Michael, and Raphael (Uncles)
Raguel (Uncle, Disembodied)
Saraquael and Uriel (Aunts)
Imogen (Half-Sister)
Wally Johnson (Half-Brother)
Ruadán (Half-Brother, Deceased)
Phosphoros, Aradia Morningstar, Asmodel, Elaine Belloc, Heraphon, Lladiz, Senael, Araquel, Suriel, Camael, and Rrall (Cousins), Kate Corrigan (Secondary cousin),
Sarah (Daughter)
The Magdalena and Rene Carpenter (Descendants)

## Biographical Information

### Date of Birth

April 6th, 5 CE

**Date of Death:** April 3rd, 33 CE

**Date of Rebirth:** April 6th, 33 CE

### Place of Birth

Bethlehem, Judea, Roman Empire

**Place of Death:** Golgotha, Judea, Roman Empire

**Place of Rebirth:** Jerusalem, Judea, Roman Empire

### Education

Mentored in Carpentry, Centuries of Experience

### Marital Status

Married / Polyamorous Relationship (Maggie Carpenter, Wife & Buddy Ha, Boyfriend)

### Residence

Apartment above his bakery — Near South, Star City, OR

## Physical Description

### Race

Supernal Nephilim (½ Archangel, ½ Supernal Judge)

### Background

Relations between the Host of Heaven and the Olympians had soured since their former alliance had fallen apart. In a power play, the Olympians mobilized their followers, first with Alexander the Great and later with the Roman Empire, to conquer and subjugate the people of Jerusalem — capital of supernal worship. But the Presence saw a chance to sour the victories of the Olympians.

The archangel Gabriel was sent to Earth, endowed with supernal power, for a divine purpose. In Nazareth, Gabriel found a young woman named Mariam, of a miraculous birth and set apart as a judge. Though aware of her nature and devoted to Heaven, Mariam was unaware of her divine purpose. The archangel met with Mariam and instructed her that she was destined to give birth to the next Planetary Shaman. Gabriel informed her that for this purpose, he had traveled to Earth to impart upon her the supernal endowment that would make *their* son a Planetary Shaman that could end both the Roman Empire and the worship of the Olympians.

Mariam agreed to embrace her destiny (by embracing Gabriel) and a child was conceived, with the supernal endowment passing from Gabriel and into Mariam. Having been ordained a judge prior to the conception, Mariam's body was quite capable of handling the immense volume of divine power bestowed upon her, much more than any mortal woman had been given before — almost the equivalent of four centuries' worth of worship from Heaven's vault. Though Mariam was able to hold this power, Gabriel stayed on Earth to watch over her by assuming the identity of a local carpenter betrothed and later married to Mariam.

### Yeshua: 5 CE - 33 CE

Due to the Olympians catching wind of Heaven's plan to secure the next Planetary Shaman, Gabriel and Mariam had to go into hiding and their son, Yeshua, would be born in the stable of an inn in Bethlehem. They would later flee into Egypt and Africa to avoid Olympian attempts to slaughter the child.

When things died down, Gabriel and Mariam returned to Nazareth to raise Yeshua. In his youth, Yeshua was taught about his destiny and supernal heritage by Mariam. However, Gabriel chose to conceal his true nature from Yeshua, teaching him carpentry so he would have a trade to support himself until he was called as a prophet or inherited the title of Planetary Shaman.

Yeshua emulated his mother's devotion and his father's laid-back approach. He spent many nights reflecting on what kind of prophet he would become. Many of the lessons his mother taught him depicted a wrathful and vengeful God, who was almost worshipped out of fear. But his father's example resonated with Yeshua more and he felt that a loving deity offering support and forgiveness was a more honest depiction of God. Going against the teachings offered by the official texts, Yeshua followed his heart when it came to matters of his faith.

Yeshua's work as a young carpenter helped him develop a creative mind. In his idle time, he often sought out storytellers. He saw the value in using a crafted narrative as a teaching tool and began to develop his own in preparation of his ministry. His favorite storyteller was a bard from Magdala who Yeshua would court and marry.

Yeshua would become a Planetary Shaman with the death of the previous one in 27 CE. Gabriel then revealed his angelic nature to Yeshua and appointed him as a Prophet of God. The Presence went further than this, making Yeshua the Logos Dei — the Word of God, giving him power to reshape the doctrine of worship on Earth.

Using his status as a prophet, Yeshua called twelve apostles — many of them were other craftsmen and tradesmen, some were radicals or criminals, and others were professionals that abandoned their wealth and luxuries. The apostles would aid Yeshua in spreading his message and restructuring supernal worship on Earth.

Yeshua's ministry focused on forgiveness, tolerance, and love. It was not recieved well during this time. The Romans, traditional Jews, and even factions among Heaven conspired to put an end to Yeshua. Heaven forsook him, the Jews tried him, and the Romans tortured him to the brink of death. But in his final moments, Yeshua found one convert — his cousin Heraphon, who stepped forward to end Yeshua's suffering.

## Threat Assessment

### Resources

* **Supernal Nephilic Physiology:** As the son of mortal and angel, Joshua is a nephil charged with supernal power.
	+ ***Biokinesis:*** Joshua is a powerful healer. With a touch, he cure blindness or other physical disabilities caused by injury or illness. He can eradicate disease from a body and can even raise the dead. The use of this power is particularly taxing on him.
	+ ***Empathy:*** Joshua can sense the emotions of people around him. This is a passive sense that measures the collective emotions in his area, but he can concentrate to focus on a single individual for a more in-depth assessment of their emotional state. With a touch, Joshua can override a person's emotions with his own, allow hem to share in the emotions he is sensing around him, or can temporarily purge certain emotions.
	+ ***Enhanced Physicality:*** By merit his muscle fibers being renforced with supernal power, Joshua is more physically capable than his human appearance would suggest.
	+ ***Exorcism:*** By releasing a wave of supernal energy from his hand, Joshua has the power to cast demons out of possessing mortal bodies or saturate an area to the point of causing a manifested infernal a great deal of discomfort of pain, prompting them to flee. Joshua can do so from a distance for the expulsion of common demons, but may require prolonged contact to counter the influence of an archdemon.
	+ ***Immortality:*** Joshua does not age or suffer from most illness.
	+ ***Limited Cosmic Awareness:*** Joshua is aware of powerful events happening on his plane of existence. He is also attuned to a psychic frequency which angels use to communicate with one another across most of reality and its many subsidiary realities. Joshua can also sense whatever someone speaks his name with the intent to call him to their location.
	+ ***Linguistic Instinct:*** Joshua can speak, read understand, and write any and all mortal languages — including those which are encrypted.
	+ ***Supernatural Senses:*** Joshua can perceive and interact with spirits and ephemerals.
* **Residual Shamanic Power:** Though Joshua has lost his status as a Planetary Shaman, he is still retains a marginal connection to the Garden of Ancestral Memory.
	+ ***Garden of Ancestral Memory:*** As a Planetary Shaman, had access to the psychic network of all previous Planetary Shamans known as the Garden of Ancestral Memory (located between the Garden of Forking Ways and the Light at the End in the Dreaming). This gave him the innate ability to use any and all their skills, wisdom, and knowledge without effort. However, since losing his status as a Shaman, Joshua can only access the Garden of Ancestral Memory while dreaming or in a state of meditation. Also, he cannot freely make use of previous Shaman's skills or knowledge — nor he can the current Shaman access Joshua's abilities.
	+ ***Sorcery:*** As a Planetary Shaman, Joshua's sorcery was almost absolute. If he could conceive and believe in his abilities in poetic terms, the intrinsic fields would make it happen. Since the loss of his status as the Planetary Shaman, Joshua's magic is restricted to the spell he had mastered by routine use prior his death. Joshua's "greatest hits" include turning water to wine, walking on water, control over the weather, commanding fish to fill fishermen's nets, duplicating food to feed the masses and causing tress to prosper or wither.

### Weaknesses

* **Empathy:** Joshua is made weak when surrendered by crowds consumed with hate.
* **Enochian Laws:** Joshua is bound by ancient laws to a certain degree. It is possible that Joshua is a trickster, given his willingness to defy authority and conventions.
* **Pacifism:** Joshua will not resort to violence to defend himself, preferring to suffer the pain of injuries rather than suffer the emotional toll of having hurt another. He can be brought to violent actions when in the defense of others — particularly children.
* **Vice — Gluttony:** Joshua has inherited his father's sweet tooth.
* **Vice — Wrath:** Though not an angry or violent person by any measure, Joshua can be overwhelmed with a 'righteous anger' when he is exposed to the suffering of others, particularly children, or atrocities being carried out — particularly in his name.
* **Vulnerability — Infernal Energy:** Infernal energy can contaminate Joshua's being.

### Analytics

* **Physicality:** 3 — Trained / Exceptional
* **Occult:** 5 — Master / Remarkable
* **Weaponry:** 2 — Basic / Typical
* **Expertise:** 2 — Basic / Typical
* **Ranged:** 2 — Basic / Typical
* **Strategy:** 2 — Basic / Typical
	+ **TOTAL:** 28
	+ **RANKING:** Minimal Threat

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

#### Maggie

* Magdalene relocated to Nazareth, interested in meeting Yeshua. While he was interested in her songs and stories (and that she had a similar name to his mother), she was interested in his dormant power as the Seven deadly Sins inside demanded its corruption — a power they could use to rule the world. Despite this, Yeshua and the Magdalene fell in love and married; both recognized the power in each other. The power gave them a kinship and mutual understanding, but they loved the other for the person they were and not the power they had — much to the Ogdru Jahad's displeasure.
* When his power matured, becoming the newest Planetary Shaman, Yeshua closed his woodworking shop, bid farewell to his parents, and prepared to travel to the desert to meditate and fully awaken his new powers safely. The Magdalene joined him, becoming the first of his followers.
* The Seven Deadly Sins possessed Magdalene and tried to kill him. Yeshua resisted and used his power to cast the Ogdru Jahad out of his wife, bind them with magic, and summon angels to imprison the demons. Yet, the supernal power he used to expel the demons was so great that the Magdalene's own infernal-infused blood was rendered inert, causing her to begin to die.
* Lucifer Morningstar and his three closest lieutenants appeared. Lucifer kept hold of the Magdalene's witch contract, as he tempted Yeshua to abandon his mission. As they debated, the Fallen kept the angels at bay. When the Devil realized that Yeshua could not be persuaded, they prepared to depart with the Magdalene's soul — only to realize then that the infernal endowment Lucifer had given her had been washed away and with it, his claim to her soul. Yeshua then offered the Magdalene an infusion of his own supernal power to replace the infernal essence she had lost and required to survive.
* The Magdalene would become Yeshua's right-hand woman as he set out to make great change. When he was killed, the Magdalene was eager to return the favor and summoned the archangel Gabriel to conspire with him to undo what was done.

### Notes

* His aliases are nods to religious and historical terms:
	+ Īsā ibn Maryam is the penultimate prophet and messenger of Allah and the Messiah, who was sent to guide the Children of Israel in the Islam.
	+ Jehovah is a Latinization and the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible, who is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism.
	+ Nazarene is a title used to describe people from the city of Nazareth in the New Testament.
	+ Yeshua was a common alternative form of the name Joshua in later books of the Hebrew Bible.
	+ Shiloh is a Biblical place, mentioned in Genesis 49:10. meaning Heavenly Peace and representing a messiah.
* The title of Planetary Shaman is a nod to the *Wildstorm* Comics and Jesus was among the shamans.
* His descendant Rene Carpenter is a character from *Vigilante* Vol 2.

## Gallery

Josh Carpenter.jpgJosh CarpenterSabriel (Winged).jpgSabrielSponsorship Needed - Male.pngJosh Carpenter (Variant)
## Network Files

Network Files Josh Carpenter.jpgNetwork Files: Josh Carpenter

## Links and References

* Appearances of Josh Carpenter

1. ↑ Network Files: Josh Carpenter
2. ↑ Network Files: The Sage
3. ↑ Network Files: Maggie Carpenter