Baird

At some point, an event occurred that inadvertently introduced the sound of Heavy Metal into this world. Everyone within this plane heard the sound; many were afraid and uncertain of it, and some were inspired by it. Those who were inspired by it were mostly the stronger, rational members of society, who recognized it as a sound, and found they suffered no ill effects from hearing it. At the same time, they noticed that among them--though some were similarly inspired--many of the weaker, more superstitious peoples were fearful and cowardly in the face of it. Wizards, Sages and other Elders who were called upon for counseling in the matter, brought forth bards with their stringed instruments, and found they could produce a similar sound using their instruments--specifically instruments resembling the oud and vihuela. Seeking greater precision in identifying the sound, blacksmiths were called in once it was suggested that the sound had had a metallic ring to it. The blacksmiths used their metal-shaping arts to create long strings of steel winding, and produced a sound much more similar to what they sought. By now, some time had passed, and many had forgotten what exactly the noise had sounded like. It was difficult to replicate what had been heard originally, until one magician who had been experimenting in their search for the sound, electrified the instrument and its strings with their lightning magic. The strings, once struck, produced a sound nearly identical to that of the electric guitar notes that had thundered across the land.

Though doubt had begun to spread, with so much time passing and so little progress being made, this new discovery rejuvenated the effort to replicate the sound of Heavy Metal--which it was coincidentally called by the peoples of this world, as it was well fitted to the name of the steel winding that had replaced the traditional strings of instruments. All at once, Bards began to attempt some of the chords that were heard and remembered, and using enchanted instruments, augmented with the power of arcane lightning, they were able to begin the process of perfecting their own style of Heavy Metal. For many in this world, hearing the sound reminded them of the crash of thunder, and flashes of lightning--and gradually a culture began to develop using the sound and music of Heavy Metal as a foundation. It brought about feelings of fiery passion and chaos, as well as the powerful notes of victory. Emboldening warriors and inspiring artists, this entire world began to adopt the culture--which they had by now deemed a gift from those whom they called the "Gods of Metal"--and soon there were statues, monuments and entire landscapes built or transformed into imagery akin to the covers of Heavy Metal albums known to humankind on Earth.

Gryphons, a fantastic creature respected for their strength and loyalty--and known throughout the land for their dignified manners and wisdom that ranged from historical, to the arcane--were not without influence from this cult of Heavy Metal. Certain Gryphon clans began assigning, to members of their order, the task of studying Heavy Metal and researching all that could be investigated. One such member, an archivist and junior practitioner of the arcane who had been assigned the task--following many years of success as a warrior and guardian of nearby kingdoms--had some luck in following the residual energy left in the wake of what had become known as "The Intro." This archivist discovered that the energies were strongest at a particular point in the world, and traveling to this point, the archivist compared the magical remnants to his own understanding of the arcane and found there was a subtle difference between the two. Sharing his discovery in counsel with his superiors, it was determined that magic from behind their world had opened a pathway between the two places, and that the source of Heavy Metal must have been from this other place. No portal, summoning ritual or teleportation spell known was capable of doing such a thing, but the archivist was nevertheless assigned the task of figuring it out.

For many years, the archivist watched, researched, practiced, evaluated and investigated, in the hopes of stumbling across whatever the secret was. Despite the tremendous amount of time he had dedicated, he found himself enamored of the culture surrounding Heavy Metal, and the religion-like status it had achieved. He himself began devoting time to honoring the Gods of Metal, and adopting the style of their followers, ranging from simple mannerisms to clothing and speech. Eventually, the portal was re-opened--but it was not his own doing. The archivist found himself torn from his own world, stretched through the vastness of the astral plane, and pulled into the tangible dimension of the planet Earth. The archivist's first human encounter was with the wizard who accidentally summoned him: a young human, and novice member of the Trismegistus Council, who had been practicing portal rituals while listening to his collection of heavy metal albums. It was a chance error that led to his opening the portal to the the gryphon's realm, and as it was a ritual centered around lunar movements, it was impossible to open another portal any time soon. The young initiate, after profusely apologizing, introduced the archivist to the goings-on of Earth. Taking a name for himself, the archivist became known as Baird, and was directed to UNTIL so as to receive more information regarding human culture and Earthly affairs.

In particular, Baird was able to satisfy his thirst for knowledge regarding the now mundane culture surrounding heavy metal. This did not discourage him, however, in continuing to regard Heavy Metal as something akin to religion. Discovering members of society who were and are famous for their contributions to the musical genre of metal, Baird began devoting time to praising them--not worshiping, as the inherently dignified nature of his gryphon species prevented him from going that far, but he did begin spending time listening to their music, and admiring the emotions that Heavy Metal revealed. As Baird began to adjust to life on Earth, he gradually began to recollect his mastery over the arcane, and though at first his powers manifested in a very limited capacity--seemingly out of tune with the nature of Earth compared to his own realm--he was eventually able to manipulate, if not directly summon, the elemental powers he used to control. Since he had difficulty in directly conjuring elements, Baird decided it would be easier to enchant an object: that he would no longer need to focus on summoning, but rather passively control and manipulate magic that was already available to him. A similar method to wizards who wield wands, or mages with enchanted staves, Baird augmented a tremendous battle-axe he acquired, which allowed him to control and direct elemental magics spontaneously with ease. UNTIL continued to direct him towards resources to further his understanding, and eventually, Baird arrived in Millennium City. Volunteering to utilize his powers in the fight for good, he was authorized to act in limited capacity as a superhero. Registering under ASPRA, Baird has since begun fighting street-level crime and even pursuing criminals as far north and south as Canada and the Southwest Desert, all with the intent of establishing law, order and justice in the place he now considers his home--however temporary that might be.