The Instruments
A celestial's place in the Symphony is largely defined by his Choir or Band-- the 'race' of celestial that he is-- and his Superior-- the Archangel or Demon Prince that he serves. These two things grant a number of abilities while, to some extent, limiting his behaviour. Two angels of the same Choir but serving separate Superiors will be quite different. Two demons serving the same Prince, but from different Bands, will likewise have disparate abilities and attitudes. After the basic question of whether the character is an angel or demon, these are the first two essentials that must be considered.
Angels are the divine messengers, soldiers and guardians, carrying out their duties as best they know how. However, angels aren't perfect. They sometimes have a hard time understanding other angels' perspectives or agreeing on what, exactly, the Role of the Heavenly Host should be in the War. Fortunately, angels not only avoid personal dissonance, but that which comes from pointless arguments with other angels. So, they frequently just agree to disagree and go about their duties, avoiding those with whom they disagree too strongly, thus maintaining the divine harmony they value so highly.
While some angels are pacifists, extremely honourable, or innately truthful and would be out of place in most areas of human society, others will take the Roles of bikers, gang members, or even prostitutes to get their duties accomplished. While some angels would seem fitted only for white, others wear black leather with great aplomb. Their Roles and their methods can be straightforward or completely unexpected.
Regardless of their methods or their disagreements, all angels are united in their passion for accomplishing the divine mission and winning the War for the hearts and souls of humankind.
An angel's Choir defines his basic resonance-- his part in the Symphony and his ability to perceive and manipulate it. It also defines what is dissonant for an angel, striking painful off-notes in his personal symphony and distancing him from the divine. A Choir is merely a category, not a social circle. While angels understand their own Choir more than the others, most seek to understand and socialise outside their own Choir. On Earth, angels find having members of other Choirs around is a great help-- offering multiple abilities and perspectives.
There are a few minor Choirs that serve only a specific Superior and Choirs unsuited in nature to service on Earth. The following are all the major Choirs to be found in Earthly service.
The Seraphim are the most divine of the Choirs and the most deeply attuned to the Symphony. Their resonance is for truth. Even the least perceptive Seraph can always tell if a speaker thinks he is lying or not. If a Seraph gets lucky, he can tell this, why the speaker chose to lie or tell the truth, what the speaker believes the truth to be, and what the truth really is. Most times, their perceptions will fall between these two extremes. Most forms of popular culture contain too many untruths for a Seraph to even bear watching or listening to.
It is dissonant to a Seraph to tell a lie. Most Seraphim learn to resort to conversational misdirection to avoid this when uncomfortable questions are asked. They can tell allegories and use sarcasm, but only if it is abundantly clear that this is what they are doing, so few choose to do so.
Seraphim are often socially awkward among humans, regularly blundering into situations where they point out some truth that was better left ignored. Angels of other Choirs soon learn when to step in and take control to avoid these incidents. Despite this, they are well-respected among other Choirs and act in such a way as to deserve continued respect.
Celestially, they appear as huge, many-eyed, winged serpents. On Earth, they prefer tall, thin and clean-cut vessels. Seraphic names are frequently taken from Hebrew and the -el suffix (of God) is especially common in angelic names of this Choir. Seraphim cannot use an alias in human society, though they may agree to shortening their name or translating its meaning into a name of the same meaning in the local language. Even so, an angel named Peniel wouldn't say her name was Penny, she'd say, "I go by Penny," or "People call me Penny."
On Earth, Seraphim often prefer high status Roles that avoid public interactions. They won't be politicians, for instance, but they might be advisors. Executives, military officers and lawyers and judges are also favoured Roles for this choir. Adventurous Seraphim may be found as print journalists and investigators (generally with a partner to handle the human interactions).
Their social ineptitude grates most often on the nerves of the human-loving Mercurians, while the Seraphim struggle to understand how Mercurians can blithely ignore all the lies they encounter on a daily basis.
The Cherubim are a step below the Seraphim in divinity. Cherubim are the guardian angels, protecting God's special chosen ones. A Cherub's resonance is for devotion. With a touch, he can attune himself to one individual or object, becoming devoted to that individual or object, bound to protect it until such a time as the attunement is broken. While he is attuned, he always knows its general location and condition. This can range from knowing the general direction the attuned person is from him to knowing the direction, condition and potential hazards, distance, movement and whether there is danger, even in someone's remote plans. Most of the time, the Cherub's attunement will fall somewhere between those two extremes.
For a Cherub, it is dissonant to betray his devotion. As long as he is attuned to someone or something, he is their protector and caretaker and will never do anything that would bring them harm. Likewise, he must never betray his Superior, his friends, his ideals or himself. To do so also leads to painful dissonance.
In their celestial form, Cherubim look like enormous winged animals-- lions, bears, etc.-- surrounded by golden haloes. They are not amused by the Western art style that started depicting them as pudgy winged babies some centuries ago and suspect Diabolical influence in the trend. On Earth, their vessels are often compact and powerful humans who move slowly and with great purpose, constantly watchful.
Cherubim, like Seraphim, prefer Hebrew-derived names, often ending in -el. On Earth, they use names appropriate to their duties, often those evoking guardianship. They prefer names that don't stand out in the local culture.
While Roles of a guardian nature-- bodyguards and the like-- are convenient for Cherubim, -there are many others that are also appropriate and not so obvious. Most of these are jobs that allow a Cherub to travel, loiter in odd places, or be unobtrusive. Some of these include: janitors (no one ever notices the janitor, after all, and Cherubim are not above mopping floors), private investigators, bounty hunters or photographers. Other jobs favoured by Cherubim, either protective or custodial, include school crossing guards, park rangers, police officers, EMTs, teachers, nurses, or wilderness guides.
Steadfast and simple of purpose, the Cherubim struggle to understand the perspective of the Kyriotates and their multiplicity. The struggle is mutual.
The Ofanim are the celestial embodiment of motion, the fastest creatures in all creation. They don't stop. Action is what counts to them and they can get a lot accomplished in a very short time, so long as it doesn't require planning first.
The Ofanite resonance for motion makes them agile, swift and gives them an innate sense of the patterns of locations in the Symphony, knowing the fastest way to get to any general location (the closest hospital, the nearest gas station that sells diesel). It is dissonant for an Ofanite to be inactive or to stumble. To remain idle when action is called for will generate dissonance in them.
Their celestial forms resemble giant, fiery wheels, constantly moving. On Earth, their vessels mirror their manic natures-- gaunt, disheveled, with wide, wild eyes, often radiating heat from their high metabolisms.
Ofanim prefer quick, easy to say names for both Earthly and true names. If their Role requires a last name, they tend to indulge their sense of humour-- Upp, Fast, Wheeler, etc.
Few Ofanim have very well-established Roles, since those would require they stay in one place for too long. They prefer roles that allow them to travel a great deal and not maintain a great deal of social ties-- private eye, bounty hunter, truck driver, wilderness guide. Pizza delivery driver and cabbie are also popular Roles.
Their free spirited humour most often clashes with the deadly serious Malakim, whom the Ofanim so love to prank.
Often appearing cold, detached and aloof, the Elohim are the heavenly logicians. While they feel emotions and can perceive the emotions of others, they strive to achieve a completely objective and rational perspective uncoloured by emotions. Their perspective is sought-after in many decisions. However, Elohim are willing to perform acts for the greater good that would make any other Choir blanch, such as calmly killing one innocent man to save twelve others.
Their celestial forms are androgynous humanoids with smooth idealised features, slender necks, hairless heads and large, perceptive eyes. On earth, their vessels will be whatever is most logically required for their Role.
The Elohim resonance is for emotion. Even the least perceptive Elohite can understand a person's current emotional state. At the other extreme, he will understand not only the current emotional state but also their two strongest emotions, that emotions' motivations, and how they would react to any two actions.
It is dissonant for an Elohite to give in to subjectivity, acting against the facts and observations he has gathered.
Elohim regard names as being merely a designator and have no particular favourite Earthly or celestial names. Their Earthly names tend to be simple, pleasant and without strong associations.
Elohim are not above getting their hands dirty and are as likely to be found in bars and brothels as churches. Any Role where they do not have to become emotionally involved may find an Elohite filling it. More common Roles, however, are those of doctors, counselors, psychologists and advisors of all kinds.
Though their perspective is difficult for the other Choirs to understand, they also work well paired with members of other Choirs, their resonance helping to uncover the mystery that is humanity.
This Choir embodies Heaven's honour and the swiftness of its wrath. Deadly serious, frequently arrogant, tyrannical, cruel and destructive, the Malakim can claim the right to behave in this manner because alone among the Choirs they have no Fallen counterparts. Malakim simply do not Fall.
The Malakim came into existence at the Diabolical revolt as those angels filled with wrath against the rebellion were forever changed. Since that time, more Malakim have been created to seek out and destroy the evil forces of Hell.
The Malakim resonance is for honour. By looking, a Malakite can tell at least what the most noble or ignoble thing a person has done that week, by his own moral standards and at most that person's highest or deepest spiritual aspiration and his full potential for malevolence or divinity in the Symphony. Most times, it will be something in between these two. Since there are humans who are as selfish or more selfish than demons, this resonance doesn't automatically detect Diabolicals, though Balseraphs, as the most selfish creatures in creation, always stand out to perceptive Malakim.
It is, of course, dissonant for a Malakite to act dishonourably, though each Malakite is likely to have his own personal code of honour. Malakim all take at least four vows, with two being constant. No Malakite will choose to suffer an evil to live, though he may delay that destruction in order to foil a greater evil still, and no Malakite will ever surrender in a fight or allow himself to be captured by Hell's armies. Because of this, Malakim suffer no Trauma at the death of a vessel. Most have experienced such a loss hundreds of times.
In their celestial forms, Malakim appear to be shadowy human figures with large black wings. Their human vessels aren't elaborate and clothing is generally utilitarian, though they have a preference for animal skin, particularly from those they have hunted and killed themselves.
Malakim prefer true names relating to virtues. If their true name doesn't fit local naming conventions, they will choose an earthly name from among the people they admire for embodying virtue.
After Kyriotates, Malakim are the most likely to have no Roles. Most often they are simply drifters, though some can be found in the Roles of MPs, military investigators and scouts, police officers, truck drivers, journalists, bartenders and even priests.
Few Malakim reveal much of a sense of humour, which makes them easy targets for the prankish Ofanim.
The most alien of the Choirs is the Kyriotates, collections of primal urges, briefly manifesting in flesh before passing on to other hosts.
In their celestial forms, Kyriotates appear as a pulsing cloud of random limbs, eyes, mouths and other body parts. They do not have vessels in the traditional sense. Rather, they possess corporeal hosts, though usually for no longer than a week. The host does not have to be willing, though if unwilling, he may try to resist the invasion.
The Kyriotate resonance is for multiplicity, able to control multiple hosts at once. The average Kyriotate can control one average adult human and two dogs, or an adult human and a child, or a couple of dogs and a couple of small birds and a large insect swarm, and so on. While possessed, a human or animal host is not aware of what his body is doing; his mind roams the Marches and once the Kyriotate leaves he will come to with no memory of the intervening time. Likewise, the Kyriotate has no access to its hosts' memories.
It is dissonant for a Kyriotate to leave its host in worse shape than when he possessed it. Since Kyriotates seems to invariably get into trouble, most cultivate the ability to heal their hosts.
Kyriotate celestial names often relate to their forms and Roles, with meanings like 'cloud of God,' 'multitude,' or 'possession.' They also frequently refer to themselves in the plural. On Earth, they may use their celestial name, use referents to non-human things such as animals, months or natural phenomena, or simply use no name at all, at least in the human tongue (especially common with Servitors of Jordi).
Few Kyriotates have Roles. When they do, they are often anonymous ones that can be performed via e-mail, letter, telephone, etc. More important than Roles to a Kyriotate is his tag-- a song, symbol, favorite expression, etc. that he uses in any of his forms to clue off his allies to his presence without tipping off the enemy.
Though it might seem that the Kyriotates, with their love of their own subjectivity, would have difficulty with the masters of objectivity, the Elohim, in fact the two Choirs tend to enjoy each other's company and the view of the Symphony from such a radically different perspective. In fact, the Choir that often has the most difficulty understanding them, and they it, is the Cherubim, who find the casual use of hosts objectionable. The Kyriotates, on the other hand, have difficulty with the Cherubim's single-minded devotion.
The least divine and most human of all the Choirs, the Mercurians are Heaven's socialites and diplomats. They love humanity in all their varied social dealings and are very appearance- and fashion-conscious, though always affable, friendly and good conversationalists.
The Mercurian resonance is for the intricate patterns of relationships and politics in the Symphony. A Mercurian can sense a person's estimation of himself in relation to those around him at the time and may be able to sense how those other people really do regard him, the name most people call him and his origins and interests, how many and what sorts of relationships he maintains, how important his relationships are to him, and to what degree his relationships control his life. If a Mercurian chooses, instead, to concentrate on a group of people rather than just an individual, he can see the degree of interrelationships between them.
Violence is the antithesis of politics, of working and talking things out, and is dissonant for a Mercurian to resort to, except with demons, who deserve such things. This doesn't mean they won't advocate violence after negotiation has failed, but that they won't indulge in it themselves.
Celestially, Mercurians appear as the traditional Western image of an angel-- a white-winged human with a ready smile. Their Earthly vessels are never unattractive, unless that is the desired aesthetic, generally the best-dressed and the most suave.
Mercurian celestial names are likely to be a current Earthly translation. Those few with the more traditional Hebrew names are generally very old and experienced. On Earth, their names will be normal, but with a certain stylish flair. It will never be a name that is too unusual, threatening or out of date.
Mercurian Roles are typically ones that put them in contact with lots of people, generally with access to information or influence. They are frequently found as bartenders, doctors, politicians, religious figures, and the like.
Of all the Choirs, the Seraphim have the most difficulty understanding the social chameleons that are Mercurians. Mercurians, for their part, have difficulty with the socially inept Seraphim. Both accept that it is in the other Choir's nature, but that doesn't make understanding any easier.
The Grigori were the eighth Choir and the most human, created by God to be Earthly shepherds for humanity, observing and lending a hand only when necessary. They were physically and spiritually gigantic.
It was their least divine of natures that slipped them up, however, and the members of this Choir began taking husbands and wives from among their charges and fell into debauchery, ignoring their Heavenly duties.
Most of their children were the monstrous Nephallim, which Heaven quickly destroyed. After this, the Grigori were outcast, damned to spend the rest of their long lives on Earth.
Angels are strictly prohibited from associating with the Grigori or their half-breed children, though it is believed that few, if any, Grigori still remain on Earth.
Not all the descendents of the Grigori were monstrous, though. Many of their children were essentially human, but with some ability to perceive the Symphony and even exert some control over it.
These direct descendents of the outcast Choir are uncountable and frequently labelled witches and warlocks, feared and shunned. They have occasionally organised themselves into secret organisations, believing themselves to be the remnants of some ancient race such as the Atlanteans.
These outcast children of the outcast Choir have altered the course of history more for good than for evil, causing some angels to see them as a sort of Heavenly ace in the hole.
While they naturally shun demons, they are no more comfortable with angels, most of whom refuse to even recognise their existence or who see them as tools to be manipulated.
Beings of immense power, embodying concepts and powers immeasurable by humans means, these are the intermediates between most angels and God himself. Despite their sometimes unfathomable natures, they are not completely inhuman. They can be proud and powerful, but can also be romantic, nurturing, curious, fearful, doubting or susceptible to guilt.
Each Archangel has a Word that all of his Servitors work to forward. These Words are broad and broadly interpreted. Just as an angel's Choir determines that certain actions will be dissonant to him, there are certain actions which would oppose the Word he represents and are, thus, also dissonant to him.
Each Archangel has his own Cathedral in Heaven. Though they are called Cathedrals, not all of them are buildings, indeed they are not material at all. Each, instead, is a cluster of harmonies that somehow embody the Word of the owning Superior. Each will be seen somewhat differently by the entities who enter them. Since angels serving on Earth or intended to serve on Earth tend to see things from an Earthly perspective, each of the Cathedrals will be described from that perspective below.
Archangels grant their own Servitors certain Rites which forward their own Words, which the Servitors can perform once a day to regain Essence. Upon occasion, an Archangel will give one of his Rites to the Servitor of another Archangel as a reward for some service performed for him, but this is rare.
Other gifts from Archangels are attunements-- specific abilities relating to their Words-- and Distinctions-- specific titles given for exemplary service which grant extra abilities. Since Distinctions will only be given out as character awards in play, they will not be described below. In general, there are three levels of titles-- Vassal, Friend and Master. A few Archangels vary from that format. Attunements come in two kinds: Servitor attunements which can be granted to any Servitor of that Archangel; and Choir attunements which combine the unique nature of each Choir with the Word of the Archangel and are granted to every member of that Choir who is a Servitor of that Superior. Given the large number of attunements, the official Steve Jackson Games In Nomine Choir and servitor attunements won't all be listed. The player may create one that seems a logical extension of his Superior's Word or combination of Choir and Word or ask the world admin, if he wants to know the official version.
Archangels are not perfect and not always in perfect harmony on what the best course of action for Heaven is. Heaven, like Earth, has its politics. Each Archangel may have other Archangels that he considers allies or associates and others that he is hostile to. These relations are not always mutual. Servitors on Earth are expected to maintain his Superiors relations by aiding Servitors of allies and granting reasonable assistance to Servitors of associates. Depending on their personalities, Servitors might quietly help, just ignore, or subtly sabotage, refuse to help or misdirect the Servitors of a disliked Superior, but would not actually (intentionally) forward the cause of evil or cause a political incident.
All Servitors of an Archangel have the ability to call upon their Superior in times of trouble. And most will want to report to him once in a while, even if they aren't in trouble. Some Superiors are easier to call upon, or 'invoke' as this is called, than others. The chances of success are raised if the Servitor has some object or performs some act associated with that Superior's Word-- the more associated and rarer the better-- or gives up some Essence to improve the odds. Most of the time, the Superior himself won't show up, but will contact the Servitor or provide the needed assistance from a distance. It is possible, but extremely difficult, to invoke a Superior other than your own. Few angels do. Specifics for invoking a particular Archangel will be discussed in the descriptions below.
Blandine is the Archangel of Dreams, including aspirations as well as sleeping dreams. Beleth, the Demon Princess of Nightmares, is her greatest enemy and adversary. She is a Cherub and usually a loner.
Most of her Servitors work at night, walking the dreamscapes of their charges. Some, however, do serve in the corporeal realm, working to see the human race achieve its goals and dreams. It is dissonant for one of her Servitors to take his celestial form or use celestial Songs on Earth. Additionally, if a Servitor has been assigned a specific human dreamer to guard and knows that human is in danger, he must warn him in the next dream or become dissonant until he either can adequately warn that person or the danger is resolved.
Blandine's attunements all have to do with dreams or dreaming. Her rites also all involve dreaming or the protection of dreamers.
Blandine makes her home in her Tower in the Marches. She rarely leaves the Marches, and never for mere political reasons, instead sending a trusted Servitor with her sigil to vote in council meetings, usually at the discretion of Yves. When she manifests on the corporeal world, it is generally as a beautiful woman in her early 20s with black hair and green eyes, wearing gray clothing with elaborate embroidery.
The Archangel of Dreams is much easier to invoke by going to her Tower in the Marches than by calling her to Earth, as she rarely manifests on the corporeal plane. If summoned, she usually appears in her celestial form, unless the disturbance to the Symphony would be dangerous. In most cases, she talks to her Servitors in their sleep or sends a lesser Servitor to carry a message. She is generally polite, but reserved, brooks no arguments, and seems a bit distracted.
Blandine is not terribly interested in Heavenly politics and believes most of the other Archangels spend too much time politicking and not enough time working. Yves, and sometimes Christopher, are her only associates, as their Words often compliment hers. As David, Jean, Marc and Michael often work against her Word, she is coldly neutral to them. Her Servitors, however, would never sabotage other divine servants save to protect the Word of Dream, and might heed a genuine call for help from any angel, if it did not interfere with their duties.
Christopher, a Cherub, is fairly new on the Heavenly scene, but has done much over the past few decades to improve the lives of children.
The Word of Children has a great deal more to it than just guarding babies. It involves guarding and promoting all the things that childhood means-- the hope for tomorrow, innocence, cheer, laughter, energy, zest for learning-- and inspiring parental feelings.
It is dissonant for an angel of Children to patronise a child. He must speak plainly to children and only lie when absolutely necessary, such as to preserve the child's sense of wonder. It is also dissonant for a Servitor of Children to harm a child, including through negligence or poor decision-making.
Christopher's attunements all have to do with children or childlike qualities. His rites involve spending time with children, acting childlike or protecting children.
Christopher's Cathedral is a large, brightly-coloured house located in a valley at one edge of Novalis' Glade. The souls of children and those who take joy in caring for them are all about. The house is full of interesting things-- books, toys, secret passages, little nooks, quiet rooms, and so on. Christopher himself has a large study where he attends his administrative duties, but the door to the office is never locked, and a couple of kids are always there. He spends a good deal of time around his house and is always glad to see visitors.
Christopher is a bit more difficult to invoke than your average Superior, but the objects or actions to improve the odds are a little easier to come by than with most Archangels. When he does appear on Earth, it is usually as a short, smiling young man, sometimes with a large bag of toys and candies. He, like his Servitors, is a natural joker.
As their Words are interrelated, the Archangel of Children counts Yves and Zadkiel as allies. He is also quite close to Novalis. Blandine, Gabriel, Jean, and Jordi are associates. He bears no hostility to any of his fellow Archangels. On the other side, Nybbas, Kobal and Fleurity are particular enemies.
David is one of the older Archangels, involved early on in teaching humanity how to build shelters, make pottery and work metal. Originally a Cherub, he hardened and changed into one of the first Malakim in response to the rebellion of his former friend, Lucifer.
As his nature changed, so did the nature of his Word. As well as the elemental qualities of his Word, it also came to embody the hardening and strengthening of humanity as a whole, rather than specific individuals. This includes the joining together of people for mutual protection and loyalty (including such groups as street gangs, militias, and skinheads) and the discovery of new and better ways to beat each other to a bloody pulp. Many angels see David's as being too brutal, but many of his wonder if they are being brutal enough or leaving humanity too soft.
As stone is immovable and incorruptible, so angels of Stone are supposed to be. It is dissonant for them to start a fight. It is also dissonant for them not to finish one started by the other side. They are also not to sully their hands with distance weapons-- close combat is the preferred method.
David's attunements give his Servitors abilities related to stone. His rites generally involve spending time in or around stone.
David's Cathedral is the labyrinthine caverns beneath the Groves-- the forest of gigantic trees that host the Cathedrals of David, Michael and Janus. The Archangel of Stone's Cathedral is one of the most private places in Heaven and outsiders will quickly become lost in its passages. David dislikes visitors and this serves to discourage them. Those that have reason to be there will be led where they need to go. Those who don't will be shown the way out.
The odds of being able to invoke David are about normal for an Archangel, increased by various stone-related objects. When appearing in human form, David is always male, usually naked as stone. He prefers, however, to be invoked somewhere where he can appear in mineral form, as a mound of earth or stone. David expects his Servitors to be self-sufficient and those invoking him should be certain his presence is really needed. In Heaven, his audiences are generally held in his Caverns beneath the Groves.
David considers Michael and Gabriel his allies. The other militant angels, Jordi and Laurence, as well as Jean, are associates. He is hostile to Marc and Zadkiel, whom he believes make humanity soft.
Dominic is a Seraph and the head of the Divine Inquisition. It is his duty to root out corruption in the Symphony, especially among angels and he does so with grave seriousness and a distant coolness. In his black robes with many eyes peering from inside his dark hood, he presents an imposing figure. He saw some of his most trusted friends and Servitors turn against him in the infernal rebellion. He knows how tempted he himself was at Lucifer's offer of power. Because of these and other things, he trusts no one, examines everyone, and tries to keep himself from becoming so involved with anyone that his judgment might be impaired. He is feared and disliked by many and is terribly alone.
His Word is concerned with justice, not laws, the ability to distinguish right from wrong, not semantics arguments. His Servitors will support and help execute a just law, but will ignore an unjust one. As agents of judgment and the inquisition, most of Dominic's servants work in triads of one Cherub attuned to the subject of inquiry, one Seraph to determine the truth, and one member of another Choir to carry out the sentence. Only his most favoured Servitors on the most discreet mission work autonomously. His Word, however, also encompasses arbitration and meditation, so some of his older Word-bound Servitors are not inquisitors, but arbitrators and those who teach enlightenment through contemplation. The Archangel of Judgment himself is a supporter of Christianity, specifically Catholic Christianity, as a means to achieving greater justice on Earth.
It is dissonant for one of Judgment's Servitors to inflict a punishment greater than the crime, or to stand by while an innocent is unfairly punished. It is also dissonant for them to overlook what they feel is heresy in an angel.
Dominic's Servitors may be granted an attunement having to do with laws and justice. His Servitors may regain a small amount of Essence through promoting judgment and justice.
Dominic's Cathedral is the Celestial Tribunal within the Council Spires-- the administrative center of Heaven. This labyrinth of offices and courtrooms is where Dominic and his Servitors conduct hearings into the conduct of other Angels of the Host. In the basement are Dominic's Inquiry Rooms. At the center is Dominic's own courtroom, where cases too important to be left to his Servitors are tried. Really big events, such as the Trial of Michael, are held in the great chamber of the Seraphim Council.
Dominic cannot be invoked, but instead appears to his Servitors about once a week to check on their progress. When he does appear on Earth, he is about equally likely to take a male or female vessel. If a Servitor needs to get in contact with him other than during these visits, he must ascend to Heaven and try to contact him there.
Dominic, with his paranoia about betrayal, counts only Yves as an ally, and perhaps his only friend. While he looks somewhat askance at Gabriel, Janus, and Novalis, only to Eli is he truly hostile, feeling that the Archangel of Creation's abandonment of Heaven is an abandonment of his duty and a rebellion.
Eli is a Mercurian, and, therefore, already a member of the most human of Choirs. A few decades ago, he became even moreso, abandoning his celestial Cathedral, stripping himself of his memories and joining the corporeal masses. What he is doing and why are questions of much debate in Heaven (and Hell).
Eli and his Servitors embody the Symphony's primal creative forces. Art, craft and procreation all fall under the Word of Creation. Most of his Servitors, while still serving the Word of Creation, are in service to another Archangel. For instance, one might be a Mercurian of Eli in Service to Marc. These other Superiors rarely give their attunements, Distinctions or Rites to those in service to them; the Servitor of Eli retains the abilities granted by his primary Superior. A rare few Servitors still serve the Archangel of Creation directly, frequently being sent on esoteric errands whose purposes they cannot divine.
The servants of Eli have nothing unique that would make them dissonant to their Word. Even destruction makes way for new creations. Those in service to other Superiors do not acquire the dissonance limitations of the Archangel they serve.
Eli's Servitors commonly have attunements having to do with making something from nothing or changing something old into something new. Eli alone among the Archangels does not reward his Servitors with Distinctions for exemplary service. While a less-experienced Servitor may answer to a more-experienced one, there is no formal hierarchy among them. Servitors of Creation may regain a small amount of Essence through Rites involving creativity or fertility.
The Halls of Creation, a stunningly beautiful complex of buildings full of the greatest artwork ever made by human or celestial hands, hold Eli's Cathedral. He has not been there for some time, and the once busy smithies, potteries, kitchens and studios stand largely unused. The galleries still attract frequent visitors, and every once in a while, his Servitors all gather together to throw parties there much as Eli did in the old days (and the parties of the Servitors of Creation are the most famous debaucheries in Heaven).
Despite his abandonment of his Cathedral, Eli can still be summoned on Earth. The chances of an invocation being successful vary widely from day to day and week to week as the Archangel of Creation loses himself in the world. He most often appears as a human male, but has been known to appear as almost anything, from animals to statuary. He changes form often and is rarely recognisable unless he chooses to be. His statements tend to be very distracted and his mind seems to flit from subject to subject at random. And yet, there is often some kernel of very deep truth to his comments. A Servitor should not expect to keep his attention for long.
Eli still maintains good relations with several of the other Archangels, despite his abandonment of the celestial realms. He considers Jordi and Novalis allies, and Janus, Yves, Christopher, and Blandine are close associates. Despite the suspicions of some of the Archangels toward what he is doing, Eli does not return their hostilities.
Gabriel is one of the most ancient of the Ofanim. She (for in modern times she shows a preference for her female vessel) was present at the conception of two of the world's major religions-- Christianity, where Gabriel appeared and announced to Mary that she would bear the Christ child, and Islam, where she recited the Qu'ran to Mohammed, following Yves' instruction. Although she was only following orders in founding Islam, Dominic was incensed that she would found a religion opposed to Christianity. He charged her with heresy and treason, attempting to have her exiled from Heaven. While Michael and Yves defended her, Gabriel cracked under the pressure and stormed away angrily. That was a millennium ago, and she has yet to return to Heaven or to complete sanity. She walks the Earth, performing her ancient duties, and the other Archangels watch and wait for catastrophe. Despite her madness, she commands a fanatical devotion among her Servitors.
Gabriel's Word is fire, including the passion of the human heart, that which brings joy and inspiration, and the fire which destroys the dross of human cruelty to leave the pure gold of human love and compassion behind. Most of her Servitors seek out and punish the cruel, from those who profit from human suffering to those who have betrayed a loved one to those who inflict physical or psychological pain on others.
Servitors of Fire experience dissonance if they allow a cruel person to go unpunished. The punishment need not be death, but they must know God's wrath.
Gabriel grants attunements to her Servitors having to do with heat or fire. Her Rites involve spending time in fire or destroying the cruel.
Gabriel's Cathedral is the Citadel of Fire, a shining bronze fortress in the caldera of a volcano that lies between Heaven and the Marches. Gabriel rarely visits her Cathedral anymore and her chief lieutenant, Soldekai, a Malakite, maintains the Citadel in her absence. Despite her absence, it is kept in a state of military readiness-- the demons of Hell will not find it undefended.
Those trying to invoke Gabriel will find it of about average difficulty. Various things having to do with fire, passion, or punishment of the cruel increase the chances of getting her attention. Sometimes Gabriel answers her invocations, other times it will be Soldekai or one of her other lieutenants. If there is a fire nearby, she may speak from there rather than taking human form. Sometimes, even without a fire, Gabriel may appear as a body of living flame. Her more usual vessel is a female human. Her madness will likely be apparent as a distracted air, ramblings about fire, and a certain capriciousness toward her Servitors. She can be very unforgiving at times.
The Archangel of Fire is too unstable to count anyone as a true ally, but Yves and Janus are close associates. While Dominic has withdrawn his inquisition against her, Gabriel is still hostile to him. Though all the Princes of Hell commit cruelties she would see punished, her greatest enmity is against Belial, her former Servitor who is now Demon Prince of Fire. The existence of another with her Word has driven her deeper into her madness.
Janus is an Ofanite. He and his angels of the Wind the embodiment of change, shaking up the established order. They are also Divine thieves, confounding the plans of the wicked. Despite his Word, Janus himself has changed little over the millenia. He is gregarious with great mood swings, criticising people, then abjectly apologising, then praising them.
Janus's servants are charged with causing as much chaos as possible without actually upsetting the balance of the Symphony. Frequently, this involves 'creatively rearranging' possessions. His Servitors speed from town to town, hanging out their car windows, stuffing their jacket pockets with their acquisitions, blowing things up, and generally causing great mayhem.
It is dissonant for a Servitor of Janus to remain in one place for more than three days. Most cities count as 'one place' though a few of the larger ones sprawl out enough that a Servitor can flit from district to district and not gain dissonance.
The Archangel of Wind grants attunements having applications in theft and getting into locked places. His Rites involve spending time in wind or watching a sudden change (such as a building being demolished).
Janus's Cathedral is the Canopy of the Groves. His Servitors, when they congregate anywhere for very long, gather to flit about above the great trees. On the rare times Janus is present, he can be found there in the middle of a storm vortex. Those venturing into the Canopy are well-advised to leave their valuables behind.
Without using some Essence and/or adding to your chances by changing or stealing something, you simply cannot get Janus's attention. If a Servitor does get his attention, he's as likely to simply speak through the wind or manifest as a whirlwind. If he shows up in person, usually as a broad and brawny human male, he's likely to invite the Servitor along for a wild ride. Janus's mood swings wildly between playful and destructive and his Servitors should be careful when bearing bad news.
Janus considers David, Gabriel and Michael his allies. Yves and Christopher are close associates. Janus sees Laurence's tactics as head of Heaven's Army to be too predictable, too slow, and is hostile to him and his plans. Janus never goes near Litheroy.
Jean is the quintessential Elohite, objective and rational, but with his own personal quirks. He and his Servitors control the energies of the corporeal world. They are the angels of technology, science and invention. Jean is proud and pedantic and generally too involved in his own schemes to get much involved with the other Archangels.
Jean's Servitors are involved with technology and science and are charged with developing and experimenting with technologies that will help to reduce mankind's selfish desires. However, these secrets are to be doled out slowly and carefully, after consideration has been given to possible negative consequences. Because of this, it is dissonant for a Servitor of Lightning to let a technological secret or celestial device to fall into human hands before Jean decides it is time. It is also Jean's Servitors' duty to oppose Infernally-inspired technology and devices, and it is dissonant for them not to oppose them. Purely human invention is neither encouraged nor discouraged.
Servitors of Jean frequently have attunements allowing them to manipulate energy or machinery. His Rites involve his servitors spending time taking in electricity.
Jean's Cathedral is the Halls of Progress, a collection of buildings, domes, and spires full of the wonders of technology. There are buildings devoted to communication, computation, machinery, materials, medicine, power and transportation, as well as vacant spaces for future developments. Jean's personal offices and private lab are in the Hall of Electricity, though he's frequently busy elsewhere. When he has a free moment, he likes to stand under the central dome beneath the two Tesla coils, basking in the high-voltage electricity. In Heaven, Jean makes frequent use of computer models and virtual reality. For corporeal experiments, he has a couple of well-protected laboratory Tethers on Earth. All his labs are spotless and orderly, with plenty of safety precautions in place.
Invoking Jean is an undertaking of about average difficulty, compared to the other Archangels. Servitors can improve their chances through scientific trappings, settings and objects. The Grand Unification Theory would certainly get his attention. The Archangel of Lightning is a micromanager who likes to do it himself. He doesn't like his Servitors to take on too much. When he appears, he usually grumbles, "You did the right thing to call me." His usual vessel is a middle-aged blond man, just over six feet tall, with features that look like they were carved by a knife. However, Jean often doesn't appear in person, instead making use of cell phones, pagers, email and the like. On rare occasions, Jean appears in his more ancient form of a bolt of lightning. Such an appearance generally means Jean is displeased-- the only way he generally expresses emotion.
Jean has no close allies in Heaven, but does associate with Yves, Christopher and Eli. He is generally hostile to Michael, who bugs him for high tech weapons, lets humans get their hands on them, then brings them back broken; Jordi, who is anti-tech and prone to let the lab rats loose; Litheroy, who gives away too many secrets; and Novalis, who coddles humanity to the point where they stop thinking for themselves.
Jordi is a Kyriotate with a strong aversion to most of humanity's works. He believes Heaven has made a big mistake in allowing 'civilisation' to take over, and that humanity must regain its wild nature, or die. Angels that don't work for him consider Jordi to be completely insane, but crazy or not, he is canny and perceptive. While he disdains most of mankind, he will accept as allies those humans who share his love for animals.
Jordi's Servitors work on the behalf of the animal kingdom. They are wild and untamable, though not cruel, passionate, but not given to hatred. Each of them (except his Kyriotates) must have at least one animal vessel, in addition to any human vessel. Anything they do in animal form, except performing Songs and using Essence, does not cause a disturbance in the Symphony. Each angel is attuned to a specific type of animal, allowing him to deeply understand the language and culture of animals of that type and can communicate with those animals through sound and gesture.
Servitors of Animals experience dissonance if they allow themselves to be swayed by the concerns of human society, its rules or its expectations of behaviour, or if they value human life above animal life. They also must kill cleanly and without pain, when they kill, as is Jordi's custom.
Jordi's Servitor's often have attunements allowing them to call or control animals. His Rites involve caring for and protecting animals.
Jordi's Cathedral is a Savannah where his servants roam when they are not on Earth. Most of it is grassland, but every environment on Earth is represented in patches. While the weather is variable, the season is always early Spring. The Savannah is inhabited by the spirits of every kind of animal that has ever lived, with those species still living being closer to the center of Heaven and those extinct in the more distant reaches. When in Heaven, Jordi typically meets his Servitors and visitors around the Council Fire-- a continually-burning campfire in the middle of his Savannah.
Invoking the Archangel of Animals is of variable difficulty. In the country, with no human buildings, roads or vehicles, he is somewhat easier to contact than average. In other locales, he is somewhat more difficult to invoke. The presence of animals, especially endangered ones, is generally the easiest way to improve the chances of getting his attention. Since he is a Kyriotate, his Servitors rarely have to wait long for him to appear. He generally deals with his Servitors in person, though he prefers meetings out in the country. On Earth, he always appears in an animal vessel, though what kind will be wildly variable. His Servitors have found they get a better reaction from him if they are also in animal form.
Jordi doesn't care much for celestial politics, but doesn't ignore it. Because of this, he has some amount of clout as a swing vote and various sides may try to influence his opinion. He gets along well with Novalis, who sometimes carries his proxy in a formal vote, and considers Christopher, Eli and Yves associates, but generally shuns the other Archangels rather than giving them a chance to shun him first. He is hostile to Jean and Marc, with their connections to human civilisation, and Michael, whose wars have caused wholesale destruction of habitats.
Laurence is a Malakite, honourable to a fault, and the supreme commander of God's armies on Earth. He is responsible for training Soldiers and assigning them to angels, coordinating official missions, planning Heaven's strategies, and keeping track of the Foe. Originally, Laurence was a Servitor of Uriel, Archangel of Purity and the leader of Heaven's armies after Michael stepped down, but when Uriel overstepped his Word by slaying all the mythical creatures, he was recalled to Higher Heaven, and Laurence was elevated to the status of Archangel and given command. Laurence is also the patron angel of Christianity, specifically Catholicism, which he sees as the ideal sole religion for humanity. As a strategist, he's still too idealistic, often forgetting that even his own angels aren't perfect and that the other side fights very dirty. He also has to walk a thin line in Heaven, keeping the peace among the Archangels, not threatening their power, but still standing firm when threatened.
Laurence's angels are fighters, honourable questers, and demon-hunters. While other angels may grudgingly drop what they are doing to aid Servitors of another Archangel, his own angels feel obliged to aid when asked (which they feel happens all too often), even if it means putting off their own problems until later. They are all honourable fighters with great prowess. Laurence's Word has as much to do with the honour of the sword and the knightly quest as with the fighting itself, and the various Choirs have attunements that reflect this.
Laurence's troops are strictly regimented and precise. It is dissonant for one of Laurence's angels to disobey either the word or spirit of his orders.
Servitors of the Sword often have attunements having to do with swordsmanship or seeking foes. Laurence's Rites involve hunting evil creatures or spending time around swords.
Laurence's Cathedral is the Church of the Sword, standing in the midst of the Eternal City, on the site analogous to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in earthly Jerusalem. It is quite obviously a Catholic church, with tall Gothic spires, stained glass windows, stone walls, the scent of incense wafting on the cool air, the sound of choral music echoing in its halls, and a giant cruciform sword behind the altar. Side chapels contain trophies of battles won and works of art from some of Heaven's most talented souls. The Church of the Sword is a sanctuary where anyone can enter and not be removed by force if they refuse to go. Only Laurence can expel someone from his Church, generally after he has given them a fair hearing. He is merciless to those who have abused the privilege of sanctuary for unworthy reasons. However, Laurence is rarely at his own Cathedral, as he is often busy attending meetings and strategy sessions, attending to his affairs on Earth, and overseeing his troops. When he does enter the church, it is not a place of rest for him-- he is almost immediately surrounded by a crowd of angels hoping to get a word with him.
The Archangel of the Sword is somewhat easier to invoke than most Archangels. Swords, honourable military actions or objects, and things associated with Christianity and the Catholic Church will aid in drawing his attention. When he appears on Earth, it is usually as a young man with long, black hair and a fencer's build-- small and lithe-- though he has been known to appear as a woman if such a sight would be more inspiring or fearsome. He generally appears in person, assuming his Servitors would not invoke him without good reason. Angels are expected to have a respectful bearing when speaking with him, preferably standing at attention. He does not tolerate insolence, disobedience or failure, and angels invoking him had better have a very good reason for doing so.
Laurence considers David, Dominic, Jean and Michael (who often gets called in to sway the battle back to Heaven's side when Laurence's plans go awry) to be allies. All the other Archangels are considered associates, except for Eli and Novalis. Eli, because he is, apparently, shirking his duties, and Novalis because she opposes his fighting an enemy that might be led back to the right path with a little kindness.
Litheroy and his servants reveal what is hidden, shedding light on dark secrets and allowing a person's (or thing or secret's) full potential to be reached. Litheroy is a contradiction, a Seraph who has made a real effort to understand the nature of humanity, out of a fascination with the concept of secrets. Litheroy's angels are noted for their curiosity; they see themselves as an army in a very *particular* war - the War against the Labyrinth, the tendency of humans to fold itself over and over in secrets until everyone is alone and paranoid. They respect privacy, in an abstract sort of way, but otherwise seek to shake humans free from the desire for secrets.
Litheroy's angels must keep everything aboveboard; it is dissonant for the Servitors of Revelation to hide from anything, or to keep anything or anyone hidden. Roles are forbidden; they are a lie and a secret. Also, if an angel of Litheroy discovers that something that is harmful to *anyone* is hidden or concealed, it is dissonant to do nothing about it. In fact, they unearth *every* secret they come across, but they gain no dissonance if they ignore a lesser revealed secret in favour of a more important one. They also get dissonance if they lie or pretend to be what they are not. They are very good at the types of talk-arounds that most Seraphim practice after being around humans for any length of time, as they cannot refuse to answer a direct question, no matter who is asking it, unless the asker is a known enemy (demon or Hellsworn). They can, on the other hand, say, "If you do not stop questioning me, I will have to leave." The only secret that they are allowed to keep, and are actually required to do so by the Will Above, is the their angelic nature.
Litheroy's Servitors often have attunements relating to uncovering secrets and recover essence by solving puzzles or exposing or causing others to expose secrets.
Litheroy's Cathedral is an Abbey of quiet fountains and lush gardens in the Eternal City, on the site analogous to Jerusalem's Pool of Siloam. Litheroy's Abbey resembles a 15th-century monastery, easily found and open to visitors. Litheroy's fascination with archeology is reflected in the decor of the Abbey; whenever his travels discover a forgotten piece of human history or culture, on the many chambers of the monastery is reshaped to commemorate it and encourage others to take interest. Litheroy is seldom present, spending most of his time on Earth.
Being a busy Archangel, Litheroy is somewhat harder to invoke than some of the others. When he does appear, it is usually as an aging man with rumpled clothing, a couple of days' growth of beard and piercing eyes-- like he's probably just gotten back from a dig and hasn't had time to clean up yet.
The Archangel of Revelation doesn't involve himself in Heavenly politics; politics involves hiding things. He is one of the few beings who is comfortable in the company of Dominic, considering him an associate. He also counts Yves, Michael and Laurence as associates. Jean and Litheroy are often in conflict, as Jean conceals knowledge from mankind. And Janus' thieving nature leaves both hostile to each other.
Marc is a Mercurian, well-suited for the complex human world that is commerce. He sees trade as a way to reduce the violence in the world-- wars and duels can be fought now with paper and numbers without spilling a single drop of blood. Snappily dressed and fashionably polite, he's one of the celestial in-crowd. While he's had the occasional stumble in times of turmoil when his Word was not given proper respect, for the most part nothing has ever stood in his way except the legions of Hell. He does his job well, occasionally reimbursing himself for his time (having invented the concept of a salary).
Marc and his servants are divine diplomats and negotiators. They promote the abstract concept of currency as well as manage Heaven's resources. Most of the servants of Marc are attuned in some way to the abstract structures of commerce and ownership which are created in the minds of humanity and extend into the Symphony.They lie only by omission and always for a good reason, and can be counted on, as long as one reads the fine print.
It is dissonant for angels serving Marc to break their word when it is given freely-- they know the cost of cheating on a deal.
Servitors of Trade have attunements having to do with contract negotiation and currency. They regain Essence through honourable trade.
Marc's Cathedral is the business district of Heaven, Commerce Park. The Park is adjacent to the Eternal City and is vast and crowded. Part of it is given to quiet places for angels to negotiate deals. Other parts are busy and manic. Each Servitor of Marc has a tent, stall, or office somewhere in Commerce Park where he can conduct his own business. The main avenue of the Park is called the Bazaar. Along the Bazaar are stalls dealing, strictly honestly, in all manner of items and information. For the most part, the wealth and purchases don't actually exist in Heaven-- they are merely celestial representations of the actual corporeal items on Earth. Sometimes, Essence is traded. On either side of the Bazaar are office buildings and banks. At the center of the Park, just off the Bazaar, is a tall, stately, marble skyscraper where Marc himself keeps his office. It is difficult to get in to see Marc in his office, as his schedule is often booked days in advance. However, once in a while, an angel gets lucky and there is an appointment open that very day.
Invoking the Archangel of Trade is an undertaking of about average difficulty, compared to other Archangels. The chances of getting his attention can be improved through the use of various items of trade or wealth. While Marc doesn't mind letting intermediaries answer his calls, he also doesn't hesitate to answer the important ones himself. On Earth, he usually wears a male vessel, always well-dressed and fashionable, but female vessels aren't uncommon. Meetings with Marc are typically done in a relaxed atmosphere, though there is a certain similarity to a performance evaluation with your boss.
Working with the abstract realm of the corporate corporeal realm has given Marc a unique perspective and position as go-between and diplomat between those who deal with the beauty of celestial abstraction-- such as Blandine, Gabriel and Dominic-- and those who deal with corporeal reality-- such as David, Laurence and Michael. Marc and his agents of Trade are often at work smoothing out matters between servants from these two camps. Being a diplomat, Marc is allied with and hostile to no one. He does consider Janus to be a close associate, however.
Michael is the first angel created by God, older than any celestial save Yves, and is the most powerful, physically and mentally. He is a Seraph and is blunt, proud, powerful, pig-headed, and individualistic. He is a realist who prefers the 'ignoble' battle axe to a sword. He personally bested Lucifer in hand-to-hand combat and kicked him out of Heaven. For this, God made him the Archangel of War and the commander of God's armies. Millennia ago, an inquest chaired by Dominic targeted Michael and his Servitors for vainglory and promoting heathenish practices such as collecting trophies, promoting warrior cults, and sporting blasphemous heraldry. God intervened and acquitted him, not because he was innocent, but because without pride and glory, and Michael, Heaven's greatest battles would be lost. His acquittal did not prevent him from stepping down as commander of the armies of Heaven, however. Uriel, Archangel of Purity, took that position, and then Laurence after him. While Laurence commands the armies of God, Michael commands those who fight alone, relying only on themselves and their own weapons.
Michael's servants fight vigorously so that one day the War will end. As proud as their Superior, they will never back down from a fight. But, they're also very understanding of the human condition, and try not to miss out on an opportunity to relieve a human of his pain, if nothing else than just by listening to his war stories.
It is dissonant for a Servitor of War to retreat from a conflict if not ordered to. An agent of Michael must otherwise be beaten into unconsciousness and dragged bodily from the field of battle.
Michael's attunements are all related to combat. His Rites involve weapons practice and doing combat with evil.
Michael's Cathedral is an encampment beneath the tall trees of the Grove. There his angels hone their skills endlessly, preparing for battle with the infernal forces. Michael himself is seldom at his encampment, preferring to spend time on the front lines on Earth. In his absence, the command falls to his chief lieutenant, Doxas, Angel of Glory. Strenuous and bloody games and duels are common.
The Archangel of War is one of the most difficult Archangels to invoke. Only Janus is harder. Various items and actions associate with battle will improve an angel's chances of getting his attention. When he appears, his vessels are always male, though he may appear as a youth or an old soldier or anything in between. He has been known to show up to fight alongside his Servitors. In conversation, Michael gets straight to the point and expects his Servitors to do the same. Unlike Laurence, he doesn't expect perfection from his angels, but doesn't tolerate incompetence or blatant stupidity. He understands that soldiers need to vent every now and again and will listen to complaints, if he has time. For the most part, he expects his Servitors to be independent and doesn't mollycoddle them, but he will always protect them from Dominic, whom he calls "The Hyena of Heaven."
Michael counts no one as a true ally, but does consider David, Jordi and Laurence to be close associates (even if he does have to come in and clean up Laurence's messes every couple of centuries). He is hostile to Dominic, for obvious reason; Yves, because he has grown distrustful of his motives; and the pacifistic Blandine and Novalis.
Novalis is a Cherub. Her kindness is unequaled and she avoids direct conflict as much as possible. She is a powerful female principle of growth, nurturing and peace.
Novalis and her Servitors are charged with calming the minds of humanity, without causing further destruction. They are sworn to the cause of peace-- to nurturing and growth. Her servants may be as precise as a new bonsai or as wild and flowing as a valley of kudzu, but none of them would have felt out of place at a Grateful Dead concert.
Angels who serve Novalis experience dissonance if the perform or allow any violence that is not absolutely necessary. Killing a human is not merely dissonant, but severely punishable by the slow-to-anger Novalis herself. Demons may be destroyed if necessary, but even with demons, Novalis will try kindness first.
Novalis' Servitors often have attunements relating to flowers and plant life. Her Rites involve spending time around flowers or in peaceful activity with others.
Novalis makes her Cathedral in the Glade, a pleasant tract of country between the Groves of the warrior Archangels and Jordi's Savannah. The terrain is a mixture of woods and meadows, with occasional small streams and ponds. Here and there are gardens, some natural and some formal, as well as climates for other types of plant life. Every type of plant that has ever lived, as well as some unique to Heaven and some that don't yet live, may be found somewhere within the Glade. At the center of the Glade is a green lawn where Novalis holds court, surrounded by her angels and a host of human souls in a neverending party. She is a perfect hostess and never too busy for her guests, so it isn't difficult to speak to her there, but she doesn't like to discuss business at the Party Lawn.
The Archangel of Flowers is somewhat easier to invoke than most of the other Archangels. Plants, peace symbols and peaceful gatherings up the chances of getting her attention. Novalis will often appear in person. Her most common vessel looks like a cross between a debutant and a flower child. She may also appear as a young girl with a basket of flowers or a spry old gardener. All of her human forms are female, light and quick in body and spirit, and always adorned with a flower motif. She occasionally takes a plant vessel, speaking, for instance, from one of the trees in the forest her Servitor is in. She is kind, relaxed, and gentle, but is not a pushover. Those who are rude or insolent will be dismissed from her presence.
While some of the more martial Archangels consider Novalis blasphemous, both because of her policy of reaching out to demons and because of her flamboyant dress, she generally just smiles and compliments the appearance of her critics. Dominic grumbles, but has taken no overt action. She is close to Eli, Jordi, Zadkiel and Christopher, and considers Yves an associate. She is only hostile to David and Michael.
Legend has it that Yves was the first soul created by God. After God named Yves, Yves then gave God a name, creating in that moment a distinction between good and evil. Though he serves as an Archangel, he belongs to no Choir. Current speculation is that he represents a higher order of being, sent to guide the angels just as the angels guide humans. While he is not omniscient, he knows the names of all things, everything that has been written down, and the best and brightest possibilities for the world. Yves is always quiet, rational, calm and cheerful. He is the most respected soul in Heaven.
With the knowledge of the universe in its most primal state, he and his Servitors have the ability to predict the future in a limited way. He and his Servitors are the givers of names and the guardians of knowledge. They are charged with helping people to achieve their destiny-- the greatest thing each person can be or do.
A Servitor of Yves experiences dissonance if he takes a direct action that moves a person toward his fate.
Yves's attunements give abilities related to Destiny and to logical argumentation.
Servitors of Destiny can regenerate a small amount of Essence through any of the following Rites: Spend two hours in deep philosophical discussion; Spend four hours teaching willing students; Spend six hours studying in a library or meditating.
Yves' Cathedral is the Library of Heaven, a structure located every place and no place. Its main entrance is in the Eternal City, but it connects to all libraries and all collections of knowledge everywhere, including those in the Marches and in Hell and film archives, video stores and so on. Only Yves and a few of his most select Servitors can pass through these connections, though occasionally a human of absolute innocence (usually a child) manages to stumble into the Library by accident. The Library is an apparently endless sprawl of shelves, passages, and reading rooms, containing all knowledge that has been recorded. The Library, however, is more than just an archive of knowledge. It is itself alive and aware of who and what are within its bounds and can change itself around each being within it. Interlopers will find themselves wandering uselessly for hours, never finding the information they seek, until they stumble out into a mundane library somewhere. Those innocents who end up there by accident are always led by the Library straight to Yves, who takes them home.
Yves is one of the most difficult Archangels to invoke. Only Janus is harder to contact. Items and actions associated with great knowledge increase the chances of getting Yves' attention. On every plane, the Archangel of Destiny manifests as an elderly man. He is always friendly and willing to talk, giving the impression that he has all the time in the world. He doesn't mind helping his Servitors, but is more likely to provide a book or some other key for the Servitor to find the answer himself.
Yves is allied with and hostile to no one, though he considers Blandine, Gabriel, Zadkiel and Jean close associates.
Zadkiel is a Cherub, but she loves humanity more than any Mercurian. She has a deep understanding of human frailty and a genuine compassion for humanity.
Zadkiel's angels are the true guardian angels, charged with caring for and protecting the faithful (those who have not chosen the dark path) among humanity. It is dissonant for them to not provide protection to a faithful human in need.
Zadkiel's attunements all relate to protection in some way. Her Rites involve succoring or protecting humans.
Zadkiel's Cathedral is a Castle that stands at the edge of Heaven, forming part of the defensive perimeter beyond Novalis' Glade. Outside, it is a grim fortress, with four concentric sets of adamant walls and studded with towers. Within the walls, the Castle of Protection is a gentle and serene place, warm, brightly-lit and with pleasant scents. As most of Zadkiel's Servitors are on Earth actively working to protect humanity, those within are mostly human souls and her angels whose Earthly vessels have been destroyed and not yet replaced. Zadkiel can often be found here and is always willing to hear petitions from visitors.
Invoking Zadkiel is of about average difficulty, compared to other Archangels. Various objects and acts of protection increase the chances of getting her attention. She usually appears as a maternal figure with soft features and bright, understanding eyes. Even when angry with a Servitor, she expresses it as disappointment and encourages that Servitor to learn from his mistakes and continue on. When facing an enemy, the Archangel of Protection turns harsh and frightening and is not above terrible violence in dealing with those outside God's path of light.
Zadkiel considers Novalis, Gabriel, Marc, Yves and Christopher as allies. She is associated with all other Archangels except for David, Jean, and Jordi, whose treatment of humanity inspires a distantly neutral reaction in her. She has too big a heart to truly be hostile to any being who is not evil, and hopes to one day work out her differences with the three.
When an angel acts against his nature, it generates dissonance, muting the sound of the Symphony. The angel starts having to fill in the missing notes, starting on the path to creating his own personal symphony. If the angel doesn't get rid of the dissonance, either through work, Superior intervention or converting it to Discord, the dissonance builds up, bringing the angel under more and more stress. The angel's associates begin to notice the change in his behaviour and often start avoiding him. Eventually, the dissonance becomes to great, and the angel is cut off from Heaven and dubbed an Outcast. If the angel persists in his contrary thinking and behaviour, he will eventually Fall. At first, there is a sensation of disorientation, as if the angel has fallen from a great height, as the music of the Symphony slowly fades around him. Then he is hit with a horrendous pain as the very core of the angel twists into its polar opposite, becoming a member of the Band which is the infernal counterpart of his former Choir. When the pain subsides, the newly-formed demon finds an entirely new outlook. He cannot descend to Hell, but must either follow another demon there or pledge himself to a Prince, who will shape them to be a Servitor under him.
When the rebellious angels Fell, they became demons, cutting themselves off from the true Symphony and surrounding themselves with their own selfish Symphonies. Each demon's Symphony is unique and personal to him. While he can no longer hear the true Symphony, in general, he can still take actions which upset it, creating a disturbance, and he can still detect when other celestials have done so.
Demons are united in two basic traits. The first is that demons are selfish. The demons are out to change the world. Currently, God is in control and things are unfolding according to His plan. The demons, from the lowliest demonling on up to Lucifer himself, are trying to prove God wrong or weak, through usurping God's order and gaining the power for themselves. Second, demons are self-deceptive. To continue with the War against the creator of the universe, demons must convince themselves of their own power and importance.
These two basic traits combine to make creatures who are usually self-important, aggressive, manipulative and competitive. Because of their natures, demons don't usually like each other very much, but ally themselves, at least while it's useful to do so, against the enemy of Heaven. Working relationships are built on fear, paranoia, and threat of destruction for betrayal.
Each Choir of angel became a specific Band of demon, their selfless natures twisted to selfish ends. Later, many demons were created in the image of the first Fallen, so that the Bands have continued. Like the Choirs, a demon's Band defines his basic resonance-- the part of his personal symphony that he must maintain to survive and his abilities to do so. It also defines what is dissonant for the demon, striking painful off-notes in his personal symphony and fracturing his carefully-laid vision of reality.
A Band is merely a category, not a social circle. While demons understand their own Band more than the others, that doesn't mean he likes or trusts them.
There are a few minor Band that serve only a specific Superior and Bands unsuited in nature to the War on Earth. The following are all the major Band to be found on Earth.
The Balseraphs are the Fallen Seraphim, their divine resonance for truth twisted to deception. Balseraphs are second only to Lucifer as the universe's greatest deceivers. The Balseraphs are powerful celestial being, the most malicious Band of demon. No other sort of being is so tightly wrapped in his own selfish perspective. A Balseraph cares for nothing save his own perspective, however warped and twisted it may be.
Balseraphs skew their observations to support their paranoia and, through a minor exertion of will, extend their personal symphonies into other people's hearts, making them see their twisted point of view. Whatever a Balseraph says, within reason, a victim will consider to be absolutely true. Other people may try to change the person's mind, but the victim will steadfastly remain convinced otherwise for a number of days. However, you can't convince someone of anything -- no one's going to believe the sun is really the moon. But anything which can't be proven by the hard fist of reality, either fact or opinion, is the playground of the Balseraphs. Even when a Balseraph is trying to convince a person of someone else's opinion ("He doesn't love you.") and that someone else is standing right there ("But I do! I do love you!"), the will of the Balseraph rules the day.
Fallen or not, a Balseraph is still a Seraph at heart and wouldn't lie -- from his perspective -- any more than his Heavenly counterpart would. When a Balseraph lies, he creates an entire reality within himself in which the untruths his mind creates are true -- must be true. But the structures of lies a Balseraph builds in his soul are delicate, and must be perfect. When a Balseraph contradicts himself to one of his victims this generates a note of dissonance, even if the victim no longer believes the demon.
In his celestial form, a Balseraph appears to be a darker version of a Seraph-- a many-eyed, winged serpent. The wings, however, are not feathered, but bat-like in appearance, making the distinction immediately obvious. On Earth, most Balseraphs are tall and slender, graceful and hypnotic, dressing smartly, giving the same attention to their appearance as they do to their lies. These creatures, the most malevolent of demons, shroud themselves in a palpable air of mystery and reservedness, directly opposed to the truthful open-heartedness of the Seraphim.
After the Habbalah, Balseraphs are the least likely Band to change their names after they've Fallen. Seraphic names are equally common among Seraphim and Balseraphs. Unlike their Bright counterparts, Balseraphs have no problems using aliases, even going so far as to create a new name at each introduction. For aliases, they prefer pretentious, aristocratic names and will often add "Esquire," "the Third" and so on to the end.
Balseraphs are excellent at maintaining Roles, frequently more than one at a time. They prefer those that provide lots of influence and many victims. High status Roles in the limelight suit them perfectly. Law and politics are the two most popular careers.
The Djinn are the Fallen Cherubs. Their devoted and caring angelic natures were twisted to sarcasm and disdain with the Fall. Djinn wear an air on nonchalance and don't get excited about anything. To do so would be to admit they cared about something other than themselves. Djinn slouch through life and don't give a damn for anyone or anything.
Like a Cherub, a Djinn's resonance is for the set of patterns he's attuned himself to through physical contact. These patterns can be anything -- a person, an object, a place, anything. With a touch, he can attune himself to a number of individuals or objects, generally two to four, for one to six days. After that, he must make physical contact again to renew the attunement. While he is attuned, he always knows its general location and condition. This can range from knowing the general direction the attuned person is from him to knowing the direction, condition and potential hazards, distance, movement and whether there is danger, even in someone's remote plans. Most of the time, the Djinn's attunement will fall somewhere between those two extremes. At any time, he can, through an act of will, remove an attunement.
Djinn are in a constant struggle between their refusal to care about anything and their need to to feel cared about. Unlike a Cherub, a Djinn doesn't care if the object of his attunement is harmed, but he can't himself bring it to harm, experiencing dissonance if he does. The exception is when the attuned person asks the Djinn to do something. Unfortunately, since Djinn give their celestial attentions without the care and caution of the Cherubim, they have a tendency to get fixated on the strangest things. Sometimes, when a Djinn tries to get rid of an attunement, he finds he can't get rid of it, losing himself in obsession. If this happens, the Djinn's resonance will act like a Cherub's, causing dissonance in the Djinn if the object of devotion is betrayed, denied or destroyed until the obsession fades and he returns to his state of apathy.
In their celestial form, Djinn look like a horrible mish-mash of dark animals, escapees from a surrealist's lucid dream. Only the Shedim look more hideous, a fact the Djinn never let the Shedim forget. The Djinn's corporeal vessels tend towards the stocky side, dense and strong. Most put no care into their outward appearances, considering vanity a weakness and the opinions of others unimportant. A few are compulsively neat and organised.
Djinn would never admit that they cared about such a minor thing as a name, but they usually changed their names after Falling. Some adopt warped versions of their angelic name. Others string random syllables together. The names they use on Earth are usually simple and frequently picked at random from the phone book. However, they dislike androgynous names and usually go with ones that are extremely masculine or feminine.
Djinn are frequently assigned by their Prince to keep track of important people or objects. To help with this, they frequently choose Roles that allow them to travel a great deal-- freelance journalists or private investigators, for instance. If their Prince needs someone protected, the Djinn will be a bodyguard. Roles that give power that can easily be abused-- policeman or IRS field agents-- are also popular. If they are going to be staying in one place, dead-end jobs that require little thought-- janitor, mailroom clerk, busboy-- are common, though Djinn rarely keep a job long. The most popular Role, however, is as unemployed couch potato.
The Shedim and the Djinn are notorious for their distrust of one another. Shedim, unlike other demons, move freely and frequently from vessel to vessel and can't be as reliably tracked with the resonance of the Djinn. The Shedim resent the fact that the Djinn would even try to keep track of them -- and compound the Djinn's feelings of impotence by making them the butt of nasty tricks.
Calabim are Fallen Ofanim, the angelic gift of motion externalised as a destructive field of entropy. There are no demons more cautiously avoided by angels and demons than the Calabim. They have no goal except wanton destruction and inevitably freak out and start destroying everything around them. The Calabim always have some significant Discord, through which they focus their destruction.
A Calabite is surrounded by an invisible field of entropy that can break down the integrity of any ordered structure within his reach. At will, the Calabim may impose their energies upon their physical surroundings or, when in celestial form, any other celestial within range. Living things sometimes resist such attacks.
When a Calabite's target resists his attack, the demon either suffers dissonance or lashes out in frustration at something else within range, until he finally succeeds at damaging something. They usually lash out, which is why it's dangerous to hang around the Calabim at work.
The Calabim, one and all, are pretty freaky. Many have some Discord about them which is obvious to any who see them. In their celestial vessels, Calabim are nasty, grubby and leering demons, red-faced and bat-winged. On Earth, the Calabim prefer rough-and-tumble vessels. Clothes they put on quickly get dirty and wrinkled as a side-effect of their ever-present aura of entropy. Calabim let their long hair get mussy, smiling hugely from beneath shaggy manes.
Fallen Ofanim rarely keep their angelic names. Calabim like harsh, diabolical-sounding names. Babylonian names are popular with the older ones. They often use their diabolical name on Earth, not caring about the reaction it receives. If a less noticeable alias is needed, they may shorten their diabolical name, choose descriptive names, or simply laugh when asked their name.
Princes only send Calabim where there is a need for violence, or at least the threat of violence. Most can't sit around for long, so they are kept in Hell until needed, or given a Role that allows them to work off their aggression between missions.
The Habbalah came from the ranks of Fallen Elohim, their perspectives so fractured by their personal feelings that they've loosed the floodgates of emotion, allowing their feelings to influence their actions. The Habbalah are obsessed with punishing those they consider weak. In the face of massive evidence to the contrary, these demons believe with all their darkened hearts that they work directly for God, punishing the weak. They see themselves as the only true Choir of angel, serving God from where His hand is needed most-- the depths of Hell.
A Habbalite's resonance is for emotion, with a dark twist. Similar to an Elohite, he can tell what emotion a person is feeling at the time. He can also tell what emotion would cause someone the most harm, accent that feeling in his personal symphony and then let loose, doing incredible psychic damage to his victim.
Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that way. If the demon, for whatever reason, is unable to vent the power of his symphony upon his victim, the resulting whirlwind of feeling will engulf its maker. A Habbalite may choose to act on these emotions. If, instead, he chooses to swallow these feelings, it causes him dissonance.
Celestially, the Habbalah's true natures are very clear-- mangled and mutilated, elaborately tattooed and ritually scarred. In the corporeal realm, the Habbalah are very beautiful, sensual, sexual beings, rebelling against the androgyny of the Elohim and dressing their vessels to increase their emotional impact.
The Habbalah celestial names often end in the syllable -iah, meaning "of God." Convinced that they are still angels, they bear such angelic names proudly. On Earth, they enjoy using exotic names or, ironically, ones with connotations of homeliness or the ordinary. Their Earthly names are often ones charged with emotional or erotic connotations-- Summer, Constance, Candy, Rod, Yvette.
The Habbalah are more often found in Roles dealing with emotions or psychology-- counselor, funeral director, stripper, psychologist. Occasionally in order to get closer to a specific victim, they will take the Roles of maids, secretaries and the like.
The Habbalah have an ill-concealed disdain for the other Bands of demons-- and resent being referred to as such. "I'm an angel," a Habbalite will tell you, "an angel, got that?" The Balseraphs love them dearly, viewing them as Hell's greatest self-deceivers.
The Lilim are the daughters of Lilith, created in her image. As their mother has the Word of Freedom, each Lilim desires more than anything to be completely free. Most, however, bind themselves in service to a Prince, just as other demons do, taking their Word, Rites, attunements, and so on. A few opt to simply start by owing Lilith 9 favours, the price of their creation, and are known as Free Lilim, since they aren't bound to a Prince. Each of these favours would require about a week to fulfill. Lilith frequently trades these favours away, so the Lilim may find herself performing the favour for almost any Prince, or possibly even an Archangel! Free Lilim will have no special Rites or attunements unless the have traded favours to a Prince or Archangel to get them. Thus, many Free Lilim will have many favours they owe and are as bound as their sisters who have taken service with a specific Prince.
The Lilim resonance is to be able to extract a favour in exchange for services rendered. She can look into a person's eyes and see a need or weakness-- something she could possibly do for him or give him to win his promise. The greater the favour, the greater the favour she is owed. This favour owed takes the form of a Geas-- a supernaturally forced oath. When she calls in this favour, the person may try once to resist her supernatural wiles, using willpower alone-- though if she performed a significant favour, the person will find this resistance more difficult. If he does not resist her wiles, he must perform it or begin to slowly waste away until he does.
A Lilim experiences dissonance if someone who owes her a favour resists her attempt to call in that favour. She may also impose a Geas upon herself to assure the other party that she will make good on her promises. Until she fulfills that promise, she also experiences dissonance. This makes a Lilim the most paradoxical of demons-- one whose word can be trusted.
In celestial form, Lilim look like their corporeal vessels but with green skin and tiny horns. Most Lilim prefer female vessels, warm and sensuous. A rare few prefer male vessels, or one of each if they can afford the favours they will owe to acquire them.
Lilith's choice of names for her Daughters is eclectic-- Biblical, exotic, or wholly mundane. The only constant is that Lilim true names never have religious connotations and Biblical names will never have 'el,' '-iel,' or 'iah,' in them, which are references to God. Lilim Earthly names are similarly mixed, as needed. Some Lilim will choose religious names for their corporeal Roles, for various reasons.
Lilim are very versatile and so are their Roles, though they will generally not be found as fighters of any sort. They prefer Roles where they can help people, since this leads to more possibilities of collecting promises.
Lilim work well with most other demons, often acting as the peacemaker and keeping their fellow demons on track. The only Band they really detest are the Shedim, who give demons a bad name.
The human race holds as great a potential for malevolence as it does for divinity, and no Band of demon contributes more to the day-to-day corruption of humanity than the perverted, bodiless Shedim. Like their heavenly counterparts, the Kyriotates, a Shedite cannot generate his own vessel on Earth and must survive by possessing the body of a living human. But unlike the Kyriotates, Shedim don't have -- or cannot bear -- the selflessness that comes of controlling multiple vessels at the same time. The Shedim resonance is much more insidious than that.
A Shedite takes possession of a human through an act of will, which the human may unconsciously resist through his own willpower. While possessed, the host consciousness floats in a serene, dreamlike state, fully aware of what its body is doing and believing that it's still in complete control of itself -- and, to a certain degree, it is. A Shedite desensitizes his hosts to obscenity by bending human minds to his celestial will, convincing them that such perversion was their idea. These body-hoppers can't let a day go by without being despicable to somebody. At least once a day, the Shedite must make his victim do something sinister, something that undeniably causes someone harm in some way, whether or not the person is aware of it. Each time a host crosses a moral line, a new standard is set, and the Shedite must either leave, gain dissonance, or convince the host into even worse corruption. As time goes on, the victim runs more and more of a chance of realising he in no longer in control and will attempt to resist the Shedim's urgings.
A Shedite experiences dissonance every day he does not force his host to do something against his nature. It doesn't have to be something big, but must be an act of selfishness that indisputably causes harm: stealing or destroying property, infringing the rights of others either purposefully or through carelessness and so on. If a Shedite's victim is killed while the demon is still inside, he also feels dissonance.
In their celestial forms, Shedim appear as shimmering black clouds of limbs, wings, eyes and other mostly (thankfully) unidentifiable organs, pulsing to a mad, infernal beat. For hosts, Shedim generally pick the quiet ones-- normal-looking folk full of inhibitions and hang-ups. A Shedite will start out with minor sins, like blowing his nose on a restaurant napkin, and spiral down into blackness from there till his host is sniping from a tower. At this point, the Shedite abandons his host to deal with the aftermath alone. Many hosts who are driven this far will kill themselves before the authorities can, furthering the cause of evil by robbing humans of justice. A Shedim may stay as long as he likes, but his victim grows more and more difficult to handle as the days pass. The demon can leave his host at any time, manifesting in his celestial form, but has to quickly find another vessel.
Many Shedim enjoy truly demonic names-- Maledictor, Ishaporath, Alastor, Confutator-- but others enjoy the irony of simple mundane names like Bob, Ted, Sue or Alice. While possessing a host, the Shedim uses that host's name.
Shedim do not have Roles, as they must take on the lifestyle of their hosts. However, many like places and organisations that are considered evil-- strip clubs, drug parties, orgies, pornography studios (the more taboo, the better) and so on, and can often be found here. Many also like quiet virtuous communities where they can find long-lasting hosts whose high moral standards can be degraded very, very slowly.
The twisted Shedim kick-start the engine of evil which idles in every human's mind. As such, they're the Band of demon most generally despised by the angels, and some of the demons don't take too kindly to them either. Shedim don't really get along with the Djinn -- the Stalkers are sore about how hard it is to keep track of the Fleshless -- and they're absolutely despised by the servants of Lilith.
The Fallen Mercurians are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. They truly love the throngs of humanity and are so damned charming that they'll not only steal the warmth of a person's heart, but the energies of his soul as well. Impudites deal with people one-on-one more than other demons do, as they are people demons. They don't want to live in Hell, but prefer to be among the wonderful humans they love so dearly.
Impudites know a great deal about how humans stumble through reality and how their corporeal, ethereal and celestial parts fit together, allowing them to easily charm those around them. This also gives them the ability to suck away a person's Essence for their own purposes, though they can only do this if they have used some Essence that they have yet to regenerate through Rites or the simple passage of time.
Impudites love humans and can't bear to see them destroyed. Personally killing a human-- through action or inaction-- causes an Impudite to experience dissonance.
An Impudite's celestial form looks like his most recent vessel, with leathery wings, horns and a dark halo. Impudites choose vessels that are pleasant, radiating good will and harmlessness. They tend to dress comfortably and are very gregarious.
Impudites are as image-conscious as their divine counterparts. While they won't, generally, keep their Mercurian name after Falling, they also will not pick a demonic-sounding name. They like names that flow easily and pleasantly off the tongue. Unlike Mercurians, they don't typically use their true name on Earth, even if it's aesthetic. Instead, they carefully select a name based on the culture they supposedly came from and the image they're trying to project. Baby name and character naming books often provide them with insight into picking just the right one.
Impudites loke Roles that allow them to interact with a lot of people. They're especially fond of the caregiving professions-- doctors, teachers, clergy-- but anything that allows interaction works. Some even become family men and housewives, marrying someone with children or adopting or acquiring them through other means, which then provide a ready supply of Essence from which to feed.
Impudites are charming and tend to get along well with most other demons. However, to avoid dissonance, they generally avoid associating with violent demons.
Many of the Demon Princes were at one time Archangels, who joined forces with Lucifer in his rebellion against Heaven. Others climbed Hell's power ladder to get to where they are. Now, they rule Hell from their various Principalities and lead the leagues of demonkind in challenging Heaven.
Each Demon Prince has a diabolical Word that all of his Servitors work to forward. In those Demon Princes who were once Archangels, Lucifer granted them Words that are often a twisted parody of their divine Word. Thus Andrealphus, Archangel of Love, became the Demon Prince of Lust. All the Demon Princes' Words are broad and broadly defined. Just as a demon's Band determines that certain actions will be dissonant to him, there are certain actions which would oppose the Word he represents and are, thus, also dissonant to him.
As with the Archangels, each Demon Prince grants certain attunements, Rites, and Distinctions. In general, there are three levels of Distinctions-- Knight, Captain, and Baron. A few Demon Princes vary from that format. These titled demons are powerful enemies to the angels who encounter them. Attunements and Rites are all related in some way to the Demon Prince's Word.
Demon Princes are not always united in their rebellion. While Hell's politics can be deadly, Lucifer allows such backstabbing to go on in order to strengthen Hell and ensure his own overall control. Each Demon Prince may have others that he considers allies or associates, though few Demon Princes fully trust even these, and others to whom he is hostile or even a declared enemy. These relations are not always mutual. Servitors on Earth are expected to maintain his Superiors relations by aiding Servitors of allies and granting reasonable assistance to Servitors of associates. So long as he doesn't actually aid the cause of Heaven, sabotaging the plots of hostile or enemy servitors is within reason. Violence isn't entirely unheard of.
Secrecy makes a little thing precious, and a precious thing worth killing for. Alaemon and his servants know more, have more and are more than they ever let on. They always have aces up their sleeves. Alaemon was a Mercurian, and one of Litheroy's most valued angels, who tripped and Fell in the Middle Ages. He spent 5 centuries clawing his way up out of
the Pit and to the position of Prince.
Alaemon's servants, true to his Word, stay out of sight, hidden in the cracks of Diabolical society both on Earth and in Hell. They gather and collect secrets, waiting for when they turn from collected secret to weapon. Lucifer has given Alaemon and his servants the task of increasing human paranoia, self-loathing and insecurity. Also, they are to increase the human need for secrets.
Alaemon is too paranoid to ally with any other Prince for long; his politics are limited to hiding behind anyone he can, using the other Prince's motifs in his projects in case any of them are ever discovered. Alaemon is petty and insecure, but none of the other Princes ride him too much; no-one can blackmail like Alaemon. Asmodeus, Beleth, Malphas, Valefor, and Vapula are most likely to be associates in his schemes. He is hostile to Belial, Saminga, whose schemes are so simple and obvious. He is too secretive to have actual allies or enemies.
Andrealphus and his demonic Servitors are the most hot-handed and cold-hearted creatures ever to crawl out of Hell. The Prince of Lust, Andre to his friends, is a perfect Impudite. He enjoys worldly missions of glamour and politics. When subtlety is required, Andrealphus has many eager servants. He and his Servitors are well-liked by all the Princes with a taste for pleasure. Andre frowns upon any demon whose general appearance is even the least bit monstrous, preferring to deal with "pretty people." His servants, and even other Princes, often have trouble contacting him-- he's always got a rendezvous to attend to.
In recent decades, Andrealphus has been working with Nybbas, the Prince of the Media, to create a new paradigm for religion, based around the kind of selfish freedom with demons best appreciate. Between Nybbas deliciously deceitful media and Andre's diabolical charm, they expect to found a new religion of entertainment in the cracks of the corporate state before the end of the century. In the meantime, Andrealphus has committed his Servitors to teaching humans that sometimes it's just good to lose yourself in the pleasures of the flesh.
The Prince of Lust has only one close ally in Hell, and that's Nybbas, the Prince of the Media. He's associated with Valefor, and openly hostile towards Baal and Haagenti. Andrealphus and Saminga are bitter enemies.
Asmodeus is the chief of Hell's secret police, responsible for hunting down the renegade demons and other traitors to the infernal armies. The Djinn Prince of the Game is one of the most powerful members of Hell's royalty, second only to Kronos. Most of his peers fear and hate Asmodeus, since he and his Servitors are charged with the slaying of renegades' corporeal vessels. To Asmodeus and his servants, a demon is renegade (and within their jurisdiction) is he has acted against the wishes, either expressed or implied, of his Prince, if he possesses any Discord, or if his actions call his loyalty to Hell into question.
More than anything else, Asmodeus is the counterweight to Malphas and his stirring of dissent. He weeds out the demons who might defect to the angels or threaten Lucifer's own plans. Any Prince at all can call upon the Asmodeus' Inquisitors-- but most would prefer to deal with problems themselves, rather than risk the careful scrutiny of the Prince of the Game.
Asmodeus usually appears as a tall man with burning eyes. His only ally is Kronos. He is associated with Baal, and very neutral towards Beleth and Malphas. All the other Princes are hostile, except for Valefor, who is Asmodeus' only enemy.
With Baal in command of Hell's armies, their chances look better every century. Baal is a Balseraph and a warrior-- a hard-core liar with a strange sort of honour. Not a brute, he is instead a cultured killer, with more class than the wild Belial and more brains than Saminga.
Baal's demons are sent to Earth to help encourage the destruction of humanity and to help the other demons defend against the menace of Heaven. He holds his disciples in an iron grip, frequently checking in on them to be sure that they are serving him perfectly. He is the best example of the contradiction of the Diabolicals-- at the beginning of the War, Baal championed the right of the demons to rebel. However, he has also personally slain many of his finest servants for threatening to rebel against him.
The Prince of War has no allies in Hell. He is associated with Asmodeus, Belial, Saminga, and Vapula; and hostile towards Andrealphus, Beleth, Kronos, Mammon, Nybbas, and Valefor. Malphas, the Prince of Factions, has earned the enmity of Baal.
Beleth was one of the first celestials created, and was the angel of Fear, working with her lover, the Archangel Blandine. Lucifer inspired her paranoia and hatred of humanity and when the revolution came, she sided with him against Heaven and her former lover, becoming a Djinn and the Demon Princess directly opposed to Blandine's Word. She rarely leaves her Tower in the Marches, where she spends her time brooding over humanity's dreamscapes and her ex-lover's Tower on the opposite end of the Marches and spying on the dreamscapes of her fellow demons to gain information of use to Lucifer.
Beleth and her demons promote not only the literal sense of nightmares, but also living nightmares-- lives of fear and mistrust-- among humanity.
Beleth considers the other Princes, who merely kill their human prey, to be too soft. No one is her ally. Only Asmodeus, Kronos and Malphas associate with her. She is hostile, though not an open enemy to, all the other Demon Princes.
Belial was a servant of Gabriel before the Fall. Lucifer promised him the Word of Fire when they overthrew God and has kept that promise as best he could. The Calabite Prince of Fire is a fighter and takes himself very seriously. His vessels are always strong and well-built, well-dressed, and with an air of sophistication, though he goes nowhere without a weapon. A three-piece suit with flamethrower on his back would be perfectly in character.
Belial represents only the literal, destructive power of fire, not the conceptual power as Gabriel does. Belial's Servitors are almost all demons of mayhem and destruction and encourage it among humanity.
Belial has no allies, but considers Baal and Vapula to be associates. He is hostile to Andrealphus, Haagenti, Kobal and Valefor. He has no one he considers an enemy.
Fleurity is the most recent in a long line of demons holding the Word of drugs. He's not one of the nicer ones, either. He's a Habbalite party demon who believes the more people who get hurt, the better the party. He obtained the Word in the 1800s when working with the British in China, but crack cocaine was the drug that marked him as a Prince to be reckoned with. He sees his word as the ultimate freedom to alter yourself and your reality. On Earth, he appears as a robust young Arabic man, with a shaved head, a trimmed goatee and a twinkle in his eye.
The Word of drugs means more than illegal drugs. Prozac and Valium and other prescription drugs that are frequently misused to escape reality also fall under his aegis. Drugs not only cause their users to become degraded and selfish, but tempt opponents to overreact, bringing its own evils. The War of Drugs is Fleurity's creation as well.
Once a servitor of Haagenti, and still on good terms with him, Fleurity now aligns himself with Saminga, whom he uses to protect him from the other Princes. This alliance has raised the ire of Andrealphus, who detests both Haagenti and Saminga. Among the Host, Eli and Novalis are the most dangerous to him, though Christopher rails against him with great passion.
Haagenti is a Calabite who climbed his way to his Princedom after spending some 600 years toiling under the various Demon Princes as a familiar. After Kobal adopted him as his brother on a whim, Haagenti grew in power and attacked several Demon Princes that had made his life particularly miserable and, literally, had them for lunch. He usually appears as a hairy, screaming demon about three feet tall with a huge maw ringed with sharp teeth. He moves through hopping and skipping and eats everything he can get his hands on.
Haagenti and his Servitors encourage humans to consume, not just food, but whatever else occupies the secret hunger in their hearts. In the age of consumerism, Haagenti's job is not difficult.
Kobal is his adopted brother and the two are close allies, with Haagenti doing the crude sight gags to Kobal's more refined humour. Saminga, Mammon, and Nybbas are also associates. He is hostile to Belial, Malphas and Valefor and counts Asmodeus as an enemy.
Kobal, an Impudite, is Hell's court jester. Lucifer allows the Kobal to say, with wicked wit, what no other Prince would dare think. The former Archangel of Laughter used to spend a great deal of time on Earth, but now he spends less. He is jaded and often angry, bored, caustic or depressed. He never wears to same guise twice, though his Servitors always recognise him. He specialises in word games and intelligent humour, leaving the more crude visual gags to his "brother" Haagenti.
Humour is one of God's greatest gifts. It is Kobal's talent to pervert that art into mockery, hatred and despair. His art if the art of the practical joke, the blasphemy, the callous laughter at misfortune and the mockery that hurts till its victim must choose to either laugh or cry.
Haagenti is his only ally, but he is associated with Malphas and Saminga. He is hostile to Baal, Kronos and Valefor. Asmodeus is considered an enemy.
Kronos, a Balseraph, is the most powerful of Hell's Princes. He alone among the Princes still has a connection to the Symphony and can hear its workings. He rarely speaks, but when he does, it is with a calm authority that the other Princes often find annoying. He most often appears as an older man of small stature.
Kronos and his Servitors embody the Word of Fate-- the lowest, darkest thing a human could become. Kronos doesn't care about most people in the world. It is only those who have a great and bright destiny that he seeks to crush by the dark hand of Fate.
Kronos considers no one an ally, but is associated with Asmodeus, Baal, Beleth, and Nybbas. He is hostile to Andrealphus and Haagenti and counts Kobal and Valefor as enemies.
Lilith is an enigma. She is not a demon. She is just Lilith. Created as the first wife of Adam for the Eden experiment which would prove man's value, she chose to exercise her free will to walk away. Before the Fall, she wandered the Earth, beautiful and immortal. When Lucifer offered her power, Essence, and the Word of Freedom, she accepted, but insisted that her independence was more important than power. She has no Principality and commands no Servitors. When she wants something, she trades favours for it. While she is allied with Hell, Lilith has no compunctions about dealing with Heaven's side, if they will deal with her. She is valued highly because she holds the secret of creating the Lilim.
She will occasionally trade favours to get a temporary Servitor, who will get access to her Rites while in her service, but also accepts her Dissonance conditions to never accept restraints or orders except as part of a negotiated deal. She and these temporary Servitors promote the word of freedom, both its positive aspects, such as freedom from tyrrany, and its negative aspects, such as anarchy and rejection of authority. Since her servitors are usually demons, the negative and selfish aspects tend to get emphasised.
Lilith is allied to Andrealphus and Valefor. She is associated to all other Demon Princes, being willing to deal with anyone.
Malphas is a Shedite who likes to appear as an older man of mean disposition. Malphas plays his games not only among humanity but with his fellow Princes, which suits Lucifer fine; so long as the Princes are bickering, they can't unite against Lucifer.
Malphas and his Servitors work to increase division, which can be either simple paranoid distrust or outright violence, or anything in between. They themselves do not resort to violence, which is a sure sign of a failure. Because of the Word they serve, Malphas' Servitors do not particularly trust each other, or anyone else, and are always happy to denounce a fellow Servitor for any sign of disloyalty. Malphas encourages such behaviour by making each Servitor feel he has a special "in" with Malphas and paranoid of losing it.
Malphas secretly believes that most of his fellow Princes are clumsy dolts. He is, however, allied with Beleth and Nybbas and associated with Andrealphus and Kobal. He is hostile to Baal and Haagenti and considers Saminga an enemy.
Mammon is a Balseraph who loves Creation. He wants to own it all. He does the best he can by instilling greed in humans, who can then be manipulated by his Servitors, who, in turn, answer to him-- the ultimate conglomerate. Mammon's appearance varies-- he likes to play the fat medieval merchant, but he also likes to be the svelte, modern aesthete, immaculate in his appreciation for the finer things. On occasion, he even likes to be Santa Claus... one of his best creations.
Mammon's demons are charged with finding powerful, ambitious people who need a break to get started or move forward. Some of Mammon's fellow Princes think he should expend his efforts on corrupting the selfless, but he refuses. To Mammon's way of thinking, it serves Hell's interests better to have a small clutch of humans who own everything, because it only makes everyone else that much more miserable.
Mammon is allied to Andrealphus and Nybbas and associated with Haagenti and Valefor. He adores Baal, since War is good for the greedy, but Baal detests him as nothing more than a draft-dodger. Mammon is hostile to Kronos.
Nybbas is an Impudite and the newest major Prince in Hell. Nybbas, a low-ranking servitor of Vapula, with the aid of several human allies, invented the television and was immediately crowned by Lucifer, quite to the consternation of both Heaven and Hell. His device to mold the thoughts and dreams of mankind is working all too well. His grinning countenance is more sickening and terrifying than the worst game-show host. But, beneath his friendly exterior, his is disdainful and manipulative. His eyes are always hidden behind mirror shades or some other obstruction. No one has ever seen them.
While his crowing achievement was the television, Nybbas' word also encompasses other media-- magazines, newspapers, radio, and the World Wide Web. Through their manipulation of the media, they make dehumanise and desensitise humanity, making selfishness and cruelty appear cool, and generosity and gentleness uncool.
Many of the Demon Princes worry about Nybbas, thinking his barely-concealed disdain reveals his intentions to get revenge on those who slighted him when he was a mere underling. They may be right. Nybbas is allied to Andrealphus and associated with Kobal, Kronos, Mammon and Vapula. He is hostile to Baal and Saminga, but has no one he considers a true enemy.
Saminga is a Shedim, who prefers to wear a decaying corpse on Earth. He started out as an ordinary demon, but through the ages learned the secret of mummification from the Egyptians and eventually used it to create an army of undead sorcerors. While his occult power soon exceeded some of the other Princes, Saminga posed no threat to Lucifer, as he didn't want to take over Hell. He considers death to be the ultimate evil and, as he is Death, is arrogant and patronising. Since he is also not particularly bright, this makes him pathetically easy to manipulate.
Saminga and his Servitors promote the Word of death. Destruction of property and animal deaths aren't important. Only the death of intelligent beings, preferably in fear and agony, is interesting. His Servitors also have the ability to create undead.
Saminga is allied with Baal and Kobal. He is associated with Belial and Haagenti. Andrealphus is his sworn enemy. Due to his paranoia, he is hostile to all the other Demon Princes.
Valefor is a Calabite, thin and suave, with an unusual sense of style and flair for his Band. He is famous for having stolen a number of valuable things, including the true prophecies of Michel de Nostradame from Yves' library. These flashy personal thefts won him his Word and position with Lucifer.
Valefor and his Servitors not only commit a great deal of thefts themselves, both from Heaven and on Earth, but also promote thieving among humans. Recently, he and Nybbas teamed up to promote stylish thieves such as Robin Hood as media heroes.
Many of the Demon Princes regard Valefor with some suspicion, noting the similarity of Janus' and his gifts to respective servitors and that the rivalry between them seems "too pat." He counts Asmodeus and Kronos as enemies and is hostile to Baal and Haagenti. Nonetheless, his Word does have much in common with several of the other Princes, so he is allied to Andrealphus and associated with Kobal, Malphas, Nybbas, and Vapula.
Vapula is a Hellborn Habbalite who usually appears as an elderly, unkempt man in a lab coat-- a typical "mad scientist." He loves gadgets and has no compunctions about their side effects. His forges in Hell are the source of most infernal artifacts, though few are permitted to reach Earth.
Vapula and his Servitors are responsible for creating and encouraging technology which humanity will use for destruction and selfishness. They also are devoted to developing technologies for Hell's use in the War.
Vapula has no allies and no enemies. He is, however, associated with Baal, Nybbas and Kronos, and hostile to Saminga.
Demons are not incapable of caring, of feeling those softer emotions, but such emotions are dangerous to show in Hell, liable to get you a knife in the back. So, most demons hide those feelings and deny that true kindness could ever exist. But, the lonely parts, the parts that yearn to love and be loved, are still buried beneath the demon's tough exterior as a selfish revolutionary. And it is those parts that occasionally lead a demon to do something truly selfless, creating dissonance that jangles his personal symphony and allow an occasional note of the true Symphony in.
If a demon continues these selfless acts, the dissonance builds up, eroding his demonic identity, till he can no longer stand to continue in the selfish service of Hell. The demon goes renegade. Such a state is dangerous, as both Heaven and Hell are likely to hunt you.
A few angels, however, will see the opportunity to convert one of the opposition to Heaven's side. If the demon can be proven to be looking to higher things, he may be brought before an Archangel who seems appropriate to the demon's dissonant behaviour. At this point, the demon can swear fealty to that Archangel. But the oath is not enough. The Archangel must then remake the demon as he should have been and place him into his proper role in the Symphony, making him over, placing him under the Archangel's Word, and changing his form and abilities from that of his Band to the analogous Choir. The demon must be willing to give up his very identity, his very being. If the demon cannot submit, the metamorphosis will rip his being apart and he will not survive. For those who do, it is an experience spoken about with reverence. For the Hellborn, it is the first time they will hear the full power of the Symphony. For those once Fallen, it is a return home.
A newly-redeemed demon won't be trusted at once, of course. He will have to prove himself and learn how to behave properly, undoing a celestial lifetime of bad habits. He will also be expected to share every scrap of information he had on the activities of Hell and will not be granted his Superior's full Rites and Attunements at first. Frequently, there will be an angel or two to show the newly-redeemed angel the ropes, but the ex-demon will still experience some distrust for some time, until his Archangel indicates his trust through granting the full range of abilities of his Servitors.
The Overture, wherein the world is introduced.
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3.1.1.8.1 Children of the Grigori
3.1.2 Archangels
3.1.2.1 Blandine, Archangel of Dreams
3.1.2.2 Christopher, Archangel of Children
3.1.2.3 David, Archangel of Stone
3.1.2.4 Dominic, Archangel of Judgment
3.1.2.5 Eli, Archangel of Creation
3.1.2.6 Gabriel, Archangel of Fire
3.1.2.7 Janus, Archangel of Wind
3.1.2.8 Jean, Archangel of Lightning
3.1.2.9 Jordi, Archangel of Animals
3.1.2.10 Laurence, Archangel of the Sword
3.1.2.11 Litheroy, Archangel of Revelation
3.1.2.12 Marc, Archangel of Trade
3.1.2.13 Michael, Archangel of War
3.1.2.14 Novalis, Archangel of Flowers
3.1.2.15 Yves, Archangel of Destiny
3.1.2.16 Zadkiel, Archangel of Protection
3.1.3 Falling
3.2 Demons
3.2.1 Bands of Demons
3.2.1.1 Balseraphs: The Liars
3.2.1.2 Djinn: The Stalkers
3.2.1.3 Calabim: The Destroyers
3.2.1.4 Habbalah: The Punishers
3.2.1.5 Lilim: The Tempters
3.2.1.6 Shedim: The Corruptors
3.2.1.7 Impudites: The Takers
3.2.2 Demon Princes
3.2.2.1 Alaemon, Prince of Secrets
3.2.2.2 Andrealphus, Prince of Lust
3.2.2.3 Asmodeus, Prince of the Game
3.2.2.4 Baal, Prince of the War
3.2.2.5 Beleth, Princess of Nightmares
3.2.2.6 Belial, Prince of Fire
3.2.2.7 Fleurity, Prince of Drugs
3.2.2.8 Haagenti, Prince of Gluttony
3.2.2.9 Kobal, Prince of Dark Humor
3.2.2.10 Kronos, Prince of Fate
3.2.2.11 Lilith, Princess of Freedom
3.2.2.12 Malphas, Prince of Factions
3.2.2.13 Mammon, Prince of Greed
3.2.2.14 Nybbas, Prince of the Media
3.2.2.15 Saminga, Prince of Death
3.2.2.16 Valefor, Prince of Theft
3.2.2.17 Vapula, Prince of Technology
3.2.3 Redemption
The Composition, wherein is explained the basics of the world.
The Symphony, wherein is explained how the World Weavers game works.
The Score, for a basic layout of these guidelines.
Ensembles, for links to individual World Weavers In Nomine units.
The Archives,
for links to individual World Weavers In Nomine units'
post archives.
Segues, wherein assorted links of interest reside.
