Costume

Mask

Mantra's mask is apparently able to enhance her innate magical abilities, giving her a far greater range of power and control than she has naturally. (A trait shared by her armor, as well.) Although she has developed her magical skills to be able to function without the aid of the mask, her abilities are greatly diminished. This ability is not unique to Mantra, since others who have used the mask (including Boneyard's wives and NecroMantra) have shown similar enhanced magical powers.

One interesting side effect of the mask is that it cannot be removed by normal means, at least not by people lacking magical abilities. Mantra can magically hide or remove the mask herself, and can use the charm given to her by Archimage to switch to her civilian identity.

Armor

Similar to her mask, Mantra's armor is able to enhance her magical abilities, although to what extent remains unclear. It is also able to afford her some protection against attack (the parts that it covers, anyway ), and can deflect small arms fire. Like the mask, the armor apparently cannot be removed by people who lack magical powers, and could be "hidden" by using the charm.

The history of the armor seems to be closely tied to the Sword of Fangs. The gem on the armor is a perfect fit for the sword when it transforms into the ring-bracelet, and Topaz has asserted that these artifacts are both considered sacred to her people.

Cloak

Of all the items that made up her costume, Mantra's cloak was perhaps the most unusual. Visually unremarkable, she initially used it just as a large piece of cloth which combined with her powers over the air, enabled her to fly. However, she soon discovered that the cloak was capable of much more, as it could absorb bullets, energy blasts, items, or even entire people and then redirect them in a time and direction of her choosing.

Mantra would later discover that the cloak was in fact a doorway to an entire "pocket dimension" which was a patchwork world that Archimage had constructed, using it as a place to keep acquisitions he deemed "interesting." Although most of the world was destroyed during a conflict with the Overlord, one castle remained that was a seeming repository of mystic items, including books, scrolls, and weapons.

The Sword of Fangs

Unlike most of the rest of her costume, the Sword of Fangs was not specifically given to Mantra by Archimage. Instead, Mantra took it from Boneyard, who had the artifact in his possession when Lukasz became Mantra. Despite the question of ownership, however, the sword was clearly meant to be part of her costume; as Mantra quickly discovered, the sword was able to transform into a bracelet-sized ring that would perfectly fit over the gem on her armor. This transformation also appears to work as a sort of compass that points towards Mantra when the sword is not in her possession.

An excellent blade, the Sword of Fangs also appears to have some degree of magical abilities, although the extent of these is not fully known. Aside from it's aforementioned transforming capabilities, Mantra has also been able to summon the sword to her hand, and the blade is said to be indestructible. The vampire Rune has commented that it is capable of much more, but Mantra has not yet discovered these powers.

In a bit of historical irony, Boneyard had apparently loaned the sword to Warstrike during the mission where Warstrike killed Lukasz's last male incarnation (Mantra #1)--Lukasz was "killed" by what would soon be his own sword.

"Gwendor's Claw"

The complete background of the sword is unknown, but what we do know paints a colorful history. Archimage gave the sword and armor as a gift to one of his wives (who would later go on to become Boneyard's wife), but during the conflict between Archimage and his wives and Boneyard, the sword (and indeed, the wives) fell into Boneyard's possession. The vampire Rune also claimed ownership of the item at one point.

However, the most compelling case for prior ownership of the sword was made by Topaz, the warrior-queen of Gwendor. Topaz claimed that the armor and sword (which she refers to as "Gwendor's Claw") are considered sacred artifacts to her people, and by tradition are hers to wield. The items were apparently used centuries ago by a woman the Gwendorians refer to as "the deliverer." Although it is possible that this "deliverer" was merely a prior owner of the items (such as Archimage's wife), it is interesting to note that the statue of the woman bears a striking resemblance to Mantra herself.