by Rev. Pee Kitty (pkitty@cris.com)
"What is life but constant change? Let me show you how to keep up with the crowds, my friends, and you'll never be an outcast again..."
Few were surprised when this aggressive Shedite was issued a Word of his own. When Nybbas came into power, Zeiteng delighted in moving across the Corporeal realm, fixating one human mind after another on meaningless tripe as reality went ignored. The mortals were all too eager to believe and follow what their shows and commercials told them; keeping them enthralled was a fairly simple job. Every decade, just to make sure the sheep were keeping inline, the Prince of Media would slowly shift trends and watch the world keep in step. No drastic or sudden changes, of course--no one wants to risk alienating his audience -- just enough to keep the population at his beck and call.
That is, until Zeiteng got bored. The Baron proudly narrates of the sudden flash of sheer genius and brilliance that led to his inspired plan, though the general consensus of those present at the time is a lack of patience and self-control on Zeiteng's part. He began working on bold, compelling new fads and trends, capturing the attention of the nation...then quickly (within a year or two at times) altering or even reversing the focus of the trend, as if actually *daring* the populace to stay in synch. As the story goes, when he realized what his Servitor had done, Nybbas was about to roast Zieteng's non-corporeal ass on a spit...until the ratings came in. The world was hooked. They *wanted* to follow these exciting new trends. They *loved* competing to see who could keep up and who would fall out of grace with the cool crowd. Their petty rivalries were magnified all the more by making these fads even pettier. Nybbas did a full 180-degrees and promoted Zeiteng to Baron on the spot.
Zeiteng began orchestrating wilder and crazier (as well as shorter) fads over the years. His overall goal is to reduce the world's attention span and patience to nothing, with the added side benefit of promoting division between artificial classes (the "in crowd" and the "behind the times" crowd). From ripping holes in jeans to carrying around Tamagotchi virtual pets, Zeiteng has humanity racing from one trend to another breathlessly. He received his Word a few decades ago, and his arrogance has increased tenfold (though most demons must admit that it is justified).
It is dissonant for a Servitor of Zeiteng to oppose or decry any movement or trend that is just beginning to gain popularity. This only applies to meaningless trends; it would certainly not be dissonant to disrupt a church rally that was beginning to draw in new souls! Similarly, they acquire dissonance when supporting a trend that is beginning to fall out of fashion; Zeiteng's demons are expected to always be one step ahead of the latest fads.
Zeiteng does not have a great number of Servitors yet, having just acquired his Word. As such, his Servitors only have access to Nybass' Band Attunements. However, he has perfected one Servitor Attunement which is available and one Rite which all his followers get.
This lets the user cast the Song of Charm on any "trendy" object--that is, any object that is currently a major craze about (GM's call). Last year, a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers shirt would've qualified, while this year, a Tamagotchi would count. Any version of the song may be cast, though the Corporeal version halves the check digit (round up). Once the object is worn (or attached to the keychain, etc.), the Song of Charm affects that person automatically. The duration of the song is measured in *weeks* instead of minutes, but is only active when the item is being worn (or etc.). The victim is unlikely to notice this; mortals roll against Perception at -2 whenever the object is taken off, then put back on again, while any affected Celestials roll at no penalty. Damage to the item dissipates the spell immediately.
Get a group of people to put down or ridicule a person for participating in an obsolete trend or failing to follow the latest trend.
None; not until he becomes a full-fledged Prince. Nybbas, when invoked (and when in a good mood), can often arrange a meeting.