White Glint

Real Name: Taavi Virtanen
Renegade Name: White Glint
Title: Naarajärvi’s Mercenary
Alignment: True Neutral
DoB: November 3, 1918
Gender: Male
Race: Human (Artificial Metahuman)
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 189 lbs
Blood type: O-






In younger days, Taavi was an enthusiastic patriot with a reckless streak and a naive outlook on life. Always desiring to see the best in all situations, he was willing to put his life on the line to save others.

Following his experimentation as a Soviet PoW, he shed his naive outlook, and saw war for the bitter affair that it was, but nonetheless maintained a hot-blooded and patriotic streak. Being a veteran of three wars left him desiring to live in peace despite an inherent predilection toward danger.

Seeing friends grow old and die while he’s stuck in his twenties left a mark on his view of the value of life. When combined with his experiences in war, he was left an embittered cynic - an idealist who has been disappointed time after time.

Becoming the chief breadwinner for a relatively isolated town in the Arctic Circle has rekindled meaning in his life. A mercenary on its behalf, he’s known for his warm, friendly, and compassionate demeanor when left to his own devices - once he’s on assignment, he’s all business.



Born in Finland during the last month of the First World War, Taavi Virtanen lived out in the countryside with his parents. His formative years prior to the outbreak of the Second World War were spent home-schooled and doing physical labor on his parents’ farm, where he also learned to shoot.

As soon as he came of age, Taavi did his mandatory compulsory armed service, performing a two-year duty before mustering out. He hadn’t mustered out for very long, however, since the Winter War sparked at the end of November soon after he turned 20. Like many who had performed their tours as conscripts, Taavi was called back into duty.

His early days as a conscript ended in disaster as he was taken as a PoW. Strings were pulled and he was shipped off into Soviet territories by a renegade general in the Red Army. An unknown Soviet initiative had been underway to artificially splice in the Meta Gene on normal human beings. While the program was initially composed of volunteers, the high attrition rates combined with the use of Soviet conscripts in the Winter War left the initiative short of suitable candidates.

The procedure was done through a combination of invasive surgeries of organ transplants from Meta individuals, along with blood infusions and chemical induction, the program was done without anesthesia. Taavi was aware the whole time what was happening. There was no immediate effect after the procedure for weeks, but Taavi was among the fortunate few who actually survived the process.

With no apparent results, Taavi was silently moved back to the PoW camps, where he was ultimately released soon after the ratification of the Moscow Peace Treaty. In the post-war, he got on well with fellow veterans of the Winter War, including the legendary White Death, Simo Häyhä himself (a friendship that would last until the latter’s death in 2002).

It wouldn’t be until late into the Continuation War and then the Lapland War that Taavi would notice the effects of the Soviet program firsthand, first manifesting during the Battle of Tornio. An increase in reflex speed, an increase in physical tolerance under G-Forces, a lack of aging, and (most notably), increased physical speed that reached the sound barrier. Taavi personally racked up a kill count of 32.

Following the Lapland War, Taavi wanted to get as far away from his bloody past as he could, and emigrated to the United States. He spent the 1950s in Harlem, and it was still relatively safe and non-violent compared to the modern day. He had moved to Maine as the Cold War dragged on, even becoming a naturalized US citizen.

Taavi traveled from place to place within the US through his long life, unable to truly quench his wanderlust. He would frequently intervene in crimes throughout this period. It wasn’t until late in the 90s that he returned to Finland in response to word that Simo Häyhä was living out the rest of his days in a war veteran’s nursing home in Hamina. Taavi was determined to be there for his old wartime comrade until he passed away - to this day, he takes annual trips to Simo’s resting place, reminiscing about the days gone by, and the years that passed by.

With all of his friends of the Winter War and beyond passing on while he himself grew lonelier, Taavi started turning to drinking and ignoring getting involved in other people’s affairs. It wouldn’t be until the mid 2020s, after he was badly wounded, that he was brought to the obscure town Naarajärvi, that his life started to have purpose again.

Once a town on the cutting edge of technology in the previous decade, Naarajärvi’s scientists saw all their development pilfered by larger figures. One of the scientists was Eemil Jarvi - though a talented scientist in his own right, Eemil’s true talent lies in the world of politics.

With its sole technological contribution to the world gone, Naarajärvi fell into a deep economic crisis. Relying on a Meta to act as the town’s breadwinner - a mercenary for hire - was the inevitable resolution to keep food on the table. With his abilities and an outdated suit of semi-powered armor, Taavi agreed to use his experience to keep Naarajärvi funded and fed.

Partly in reference to his powers and appearance and partly out of respect for Simo, he took the callsign “White Glint”. He travels so fast that he appears as a “white glint” from a distance.



Super Speed: Taavi has speed well surpassing any average human. During the Laplands War, this speed met the sound barrier, and it’s only increased since, to the point where he leaves behind an afterimage.

Enhanced Reflexes: Enhanced speed is no good if the user cannot react in time to change direction or brake. Taavi’s reflexes are nearly eight times as fast as a normal human’s.

Increased Physical Tolerance: The sudden change in direction traveling at the speeds that Taavi does would easily cause a normal human to pass out. Taavi’s unique physiology allows him to survive the intense G-Forces that his body is subjected to.



Momentum: Because of his considerable speed combined with his mass, Taavi can’t exactly stop on a dime, even with the assistance of his power armor’s reverse thrust.

Fragile Speedster: While he can tolerate the intense G-Forces that his powers subject him to, Taavi is no more resilient to gunshots than any normal human.

Muggle Strength: His enhanced reflexes may make his responsiveness better, but Taavi is no stronger in a physical brawl compared to a normal human of his build unless in semi-powered armor. He weight trains frequently to compensate for this shortcoming.



Rosenthal Corporation Type-HOGIRE semi-powered armor: Painted white, this hopelessly outdated power armor uses an older-generation fission battery that gives off trace levels of radiation. Provides slight boosts to physical strength. Only marginally more protective than military-grade steel plating, the main part of this suit is its thruster module that allows the user to hover over water and - for Taavi - doubles as an emergency brake when he needs to stop.

Sako TRG-42: While most modern sniper rifles are accurized versions of standard rifles, the TRG series - manufactured by Finnish manufacturer Sako - was designed from the ground up to be a precision weapon. First introduced at the end of the 20th century, the TRG-42 is a bolt-action sniper rifle chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum, with five-round detachable magazines.





The Ageless: For whatever reason, the surgical procedures that artificially infused the Meta gene into him also kept his body in a state of biological stasis, rendering him unable to age. Of course, his other biological processes, such as endocrine, immune, and digestive functions still need to be serviced (in layman's terms, he can still get sick, still needs to eat, and can still suffer hormonal imbalances that can affect his overall health).

Cell Degeneration (as of Alert of 2030): The Soviet experiments that gave Taavi his powers were crude, and doomed him to eventual death. Encountering the Lich Queen jump-started his breakdown, and he is doomed to die within five years, even with treatment. He suffers occasional, but violent, coughing fits.