in_nomine-digest Tuesday, October 2 2001 Volume 01 : Number 2398 In this digest: IN> GSG report AF/AK/D/1969CE Re: IN> Another WordBound Re: IN> Angel of door to door sales Re: IN> GSG report AF/AK/D/1969CE IN> RE: in_nomine-digest V1 #2395 Re: IN> In WoD: Cainites Re: IN> Re:Skulker reproduction Re: IN> RE: in_nomine-digest V1 #2395 IN> Iron Rev 4, does anyone care? IN> In WoD: The Restless Dead Re: IN> Iron Rev 4, does anyone care? IN> Orders from the Lowerarchy....... IN> What, you thought Beleth _liked_ horror flicks? Pshaw. Pshaw. IN> A potential Servant IN> Horror Month - Vignette. Or possibly Science Fiction Month. Whatever. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 20:48 +0100 (BST) From: jgd@cix.co.uk (John Dallman) Subject: IN> GSG report AF/AK/D/1969CE From: Grand Strategy Group/Cosmology/Wild Ideas To: GSG/Cosmology/File Drake's Problem and the Symphony For some time, this issue has worried the cosmology group. The human astronomer Drake's calculations seem perfectly sound; barring intervention, the universe observable from Earth should contain many planets capable of bearing intelligent life, but while the Symphony clearly could contain such, it doesn't appear to. A wide range of word-bounds report that they are aware of human activity in Earth orbit and on Luna, but never notice anything indicating life from other star systems. The worst-case idea, as ever, is that they're out there but Lucifer is concealing them from us in some way. This doesn't seem very plausible. The middle case remains the concept that the creation of life was deliberately limited to Earth. Eli is not usually available for questioning, and our recommendations that any angel encountering him ask this question have not been acted on. A new best case has been under discussion in the Wild Ideas group for some time; it seems worth proffering it for wider consideration. Consider the idea that there is more than one Symphony. Words are a part of the Symphony, so if there were a separate Symphony for each world with intelligent life, word-bounds of Earth's symphony would not detect activity on other worlds. If we set aside heretical ideas on the relationship of the Jungian collective unconscious and the Symphony, there are still a number of precedents: * The worryingly prophetic ideas of the human writer Stapledon, c.1935CE. He left for the Higher Heavens before anyone could ask him detailed questions. _Star Maker_ and _Nebula Maker_ are the most relevant texts. * The concept of parallel worlds, widely speculated on by humans, and highly relevant to quantum theories. These are, naturally, encountered in the Ethereal plane, but there have been reported encounters with genuine celestials that were either from parallel worlds, or had been faked by a Superior. If there are multiple symphonies, one might expect than to be linked to the Higher Heavens, possibly at levels above that reached by Jacob's ladder. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, one might expect the basic nature of other symphonies to be similar to our own. Superiors from this symphony, since they can enter and leave the Higher Heavens, might be able to travel to other symphonies. They would presumably not hold Words there, and might generate word-conflict. Such speculations, however, beg some very large questions. * Did other Symphonies have Falls? * We presume that God encompasses all Symphonies; how about Lucifer? - --- John Dallman jgd@cix.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 14:23:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Another WordBound - --- james walker wrote: > Baraqel > Outcast Grigori of Judgement in the Patronage of Song > Angel of Silence I like his history, especially his actions during the trial. One quibble; > He will appear in his > monk's robes, either out of thin air (with CelMotion) or > by walking through > a wall (with CorpSubmission) I believe that you refer to the Corporeal Song of Faith, yes? ===== Michael Walton, #9805-068 The next time someones says "Talk is cheap," remind them of how much Oprah Winfrey makes. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Listen to your Yahoo! Mail messages from any phone. http://phone.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 14:29:28 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Angel of door to door sales Heh. Interesting. I would've put that Word with a Mercurian for sure. Nice twist. ===== Michael Walton, #9805-068 The next time someones says "Talk is cheap," remind them of how much Oprah Winfrey makes. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Listen to your Yahoo! Mail messages from any phone. http://phone.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 14:31:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> GSG report AF/AK/D/1969CE [twitch!] Quantum theology -- that's a new one on me. ===== Michael Walton, #9805-068 The next time someones says "Talk is cheap," remind them of how much Oprah Winfrey makes. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Listen to your Yahoo! Mail messages from any phone. http://phone.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 19:01:44 -0400 From: "Anthony Damiani" Subject: IN> RE: in_nomine-digest V1 #2395 Moe said: "> Perhaps when there are sufficiently few outcast->grigori remaining (like, say, now), Lucifer will >review this policy and consider revoking it, and >letting the political turmoil in Heaven turn out as >it may... has as an assumption that the Grigori Archangels are unable to create new Servitors anywhere except in Heaven. A reasonable assumption, true, but if so, then Eli can't, either, and apparently there's a certain consensus that not letting Eli fire off Servitors whenever he feels like it isn't much fun." Ahh, but there IS a difference, in terms of spiritual economics. Near as I can tell, the only way for Superiors to gain new forces on any kind of a scale is by translating massive quantities of essence into forces-- and, separately, that the dominant sources of essence for superior level celestials are rites and tethers. Now, the Grigori Archangels don't have any servitors left, so they aren't getting a lot of essence from Rites. Simultaneously, they haven't been able to stabilize new tethers in over 10,000 years, so there aren't a lot of, say, Song tethers remaining-- and they're most likely cut off from the essence of those tethers that they do still control. Eli still has servitors who practice his rites, and he can pop up to Heaven, check his mail, water the plants, pick up the essence that's been pooling around the upper loci of his tethers, and pop back off to the California coast. So Eli still has access to superior level essence income, and hence has the disposable forces to create new servitors, but the Grigori don't. Incidentally: what happens to the hearts of those Angels who are outcast as the Grigori were (ie not through heart-shattering dissonance)? Come to think of it... who has Uriel's heart these days, anyhow? -ALD ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 19:48:53 -0400 From: "William J. Keith" Subject: Re: IN> In WoD: Cainites > This plays right in to what I think this month's subject >should be. Come on, it's October. Halloween, the Feast of >Samhain -- this month has "Saminga" written all over it! > >===== >Michael Walton, #9805-068 > The next time someones says "Talk is cheap," >remind them of how much Oprah Winfrey makes. I like that idea -- seconded. William ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 00:54:50 +0000 From: "Jo Hart" Subject: Re: IN> Re:Skulker reproduction >Fair call; however for a project of this value it would be worth arranging >for a Grigori to Fall; it's comparatively easy given that Grigori get >dissonance for not reporting diabolical activity; Bear in mind that the Grigori weren't created until after the Fall, and were never very numerous. It's quite possible that demon princes don't know very much about them at all. jo _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 22:05:38 -0400 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> RE: in_nomine-digest V1 #2395 > Come to think of it... who has Uriel's heart these days, anyhow? God. It's a paperweight on his desk. - -- Casca ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 22:10:46 -0400 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: IN> Iron Rev 4, does anyone care? Apparently not, as only 4 people voted. Fie upon the rest of you. Please pardon my lack of fanfare, I have a headache and I'm cranky. Ladies and gentlemen, the runners-up: Maze Island By Richard C. Hanton-Rutherford: 5.75 Radio Free Heaven By Anthony Damiani: 6.5 Temple on the Edge of Yesterday By EDG: 7.0, also gaining the coveted pi vote. Eponymous By Reverend Pee Kitty: 8.25 Leaving us with this month's winner and NEW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPEEN -- The Love Song of Djinn Asmodeus, Prince By Maurice Lane: 9.25 Goodnight. - -- Casca Bring me a buxom swedish masseusse, stat! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2001 22:32:42 -0400 From: "Charles Phipps" Subject: IN> In WoD: The Restless Dead *TOP SECRET* To: His Most Imperial Intellect Lord Asmodeus of the Game From: Benedict, the Demon of Double Agents Re: The Restless Dead Most noble Lord I am pleased that you have recieved with pleasure the information I have provided you on the (un?)enlightened humans called Magi. I am also pleased to inform you that after a lengthy interrogation session by Christine I have confessed and recanted my odious suggestion/allusion in said work that Lilith might have been resposible for the creation of Demonkind by teaching the Rebellious Angels trapped in Hell how to impose their will on the Symphony. In order to prove my continued loyalty to Hell and Evil I have chosen to continue my research into matters of the supernatural my Master and offer up unto you information most valuable to the furtherance of our undivine cause. This work has to deal with the most unfortunate business of Destiny and Fate which serves as the chief source of funding for our war. Specifically the matter of those who by hook or by crook manage to end up in neither Heaven or Hell but instead a most mysterious (until now) dimension. The Shadowlands or Purgatory as it is more commonly known in Heaven and Hellish circles is quite possibly the single largest Ethereal Realm and at present the size of the Corporeal Symphony, growing in accordance with as that decays. Lord Kronos having congradulated me on my excellent previous work has already been sent a copy of the work and his appreciation of the theory I gave that I know you approve of and informed me of in the creation of Demons by Lilith but we shall keep that a secret beyond my promotion. The usual information/disinformation has been spread amongst Saminga's enemies and allies about this matter Lord of all Stalkers. History For as long as destinys and fate have existed there have likely been the Restless Dead. Just as souls were found wandering lifelessly the realms of Hell by the time we arrived thus have there been mortals who have failed to complete their destinies and fates. While a great number merely reincarnate a goodly number recognize unconciously or not that they have been deprived wrongly of their natural reward/punishment and this driving will leads them to harken themselves against moving on and maintaining their existence to pursue whatever means they held in life to fufill this Dan. These dreamshades wandered more or less aimlessly across the Etherel Marches unless they could find themselves a "god" to adopt them for the luxuries of serving as an essence battery to them for the rest of eternity. Occasionally one might find the accidental unstabilized tethers in the Marches to Death or whatever world that would allow them to descend to the Real World and pester their fellow living mortals for worship, sacrafice, or fufillment of their fate/destinies/desires but this was rarer in this time than it was now. It was not until the Creation of the Grigori choir that events took a rather dramatic turn. As you know of the Watches the most powerful was probably Azarael the Archangel of Death (though cases may be made for Song) who despite extreme youth was elevated to watch over mortal death and eventually discovered our abuses towards the Damned. The Dreamshades however took his special attention however if less famous because of their potentiality to be saved over the Damned (whose dissapearence if possible would be noticible) . Azrael with the permission/aid of Blandine and the help of the Saint of Death "Eve" (The Namer of Yves Adam was not apparently interested) began work on expanding a massive realm for the Dead called the "Purgatory" by himself which he through extreme diplomacy and I suspect amazing amounts of bribery and intimidation convinced the various gods of the Dead throughout time to allow to Link to their realms. These "Far Shores" thus joined a place I speculate the Watcher believed would someday deprive all of the dreamshades of their position and place them in Heaven. Dreamshades were ministed to by the Grigori servitors of death once lead to Asarel's realm and aided by the ghosts and his soldiers in achieving "Transcendence" (a thinly disguised word for their destines that immediately transports them to Heaven). The banishment of the Grigori put the kabosh on this particular realm and Purgatory more or less was abandoned by Heaven as few Superiors could spare the resources to tend such an abyssmal realm. Also of course there was the presence of "Eve" as the Lady of Fate and the subtle taint of Azrael's choir's "taint" that the strange realm was somehow corrupt and unholy. Left to it's own devices the place would be another realm alone probably today inhabited by only minor servitors (or more likely some other superior would have recognized it's value) if not for then servitor Shedim Saminga's interest in the macabre. Fascinated by Azrael's work and a bit repulsed the Shedim spent a great deal of his time studying the aftereffects of Death and advancing his study of Thanotology for much of the time until his elevation to the Status of Prince by Lucifer . Gratitude is apparently not a trait that Saminga knows well because once in position of Prince he has apparently made it a side project of his ever since to utterly destroy Purgatory and it's inhabitants. A great number of Death servitors I have discovered called "Malpheans" (both restless dead dreamshades given attunements and great power and Demons) have done their best to promote dischord and massive cults of Hellsworn among the spiris of the Dead. These Spectres almost universally resemble Saminga in thier devotion to murdering everything in sight and are short lived as they either destroy themselves soul-killing everything in sight or achieve their fates (going directly to Saminga's realm) toot sweet. A recent development (3000 years and less) from Myceana I believe arranged by Charon changed the power balance from Saminga's armies menacing every soul which arrived in Purgatory however. Because of Azrael's missing presence I believe that he is involved in the recruitment of this exceptional (for a dreamshade for a human) being. In effect and traditional mythic fashion with the aid of Ferryman (whom I suspect to be Grigori of Death masquerading as humans as is their fashion) established a new government and an army of the fey to oppose Saminga's "Maelstrom" attacks in the wake of everything which seemingly gives him pleasure such as the creation of a tether or some massive death event like Hiroshima. This government called the Heirachy despite it's heroic founder resembled The Game's government in Hades more than the lofty ideas of Heaven thankfully as it practiced the worst aspects of all cultures. Even more Recently (50 years and less) Charon achieved his destiny and Saminga has ordered his servants full blast to aid in the formenting of chaos in the realm that has led to the downfall of the Heirachy and a rather large mass migration to the Earth to escape the chaos. Saminga's efforts are proving most "blatant" I think the best word is for. Physiology Wraiths as stated are merely the largest faction of the Dreamshades. Equipped with Songs of Corporeality and Ethereality they have reached such a large number that a great deal of wraiths used to form together into "guilds" in order to develop songs further and spread them among their members to the highest level of ability. "Wraith songs" called Arcanois mostly resemble our own but have a propensity for emanuating traditional powers of ghosts rather than actual powers such as ourselves. The power to Create Vessels is an amazingly rare ability among wraiths and information about "Dark pacts" to once again regain one's body but at a terrible cost (obviously Demons of Saminga hard at work creating their undead) have soured research into such ideals. There is precacious little contact with the rest of the Marches even with such a figure as Osiris the Ethereal God having returned to the fray and it is unlikely that it will become a common ability soon. Thus most ghosts spend their time in painful misery trying to affect the physical world as purely ethereal beings rather than pose a real threat or disturbance. We celestials and ethereals can percieve these spirits perfectly but it is usually not worth the effort to soul kill them all so pathetic they are....they can become annoying however when they realize "mediums" (any symphonically aware mortal or immortal) can see them. Ghosts who do not have the proper songs to enter the Material world may use "Haunts" to do so which are more or less tethers to the word(s) of Death and unstable Ethereal ones that emerge for brief periods to the Shadowlands thanks to massive traumatic creation of Dreamshades. Because they have no Archangels or gods to stabilize them they usually only remain for as long as the ghost lives but a few of these haunts become resovoirs of so dark energy that they become stabilized on their own. They like most tethers are reknowned by mortals for their "spookiness" and aided because they are practical cities of the spirit creatures. Ghosts in the first act that I think proves they are worthwhile Darwinian style are known to love their possesions so much that they use elaborate songs and processes to forge crimminals and Hellsworn among themselves (and now in the recent chaos-anyone they can get away with) into objects that they find useful. Some of these things are low powered artifacts but most mere ethereal substances that they might use such as weapons, coinage, and buildings.....quite the interesting waste of forces. Ghosts for the most part are normal humans but a precacious few are soldier level strength and quite a number have been alive for centuries. A curious note also that most if not all suffer a mild form of dischord for their depravation from their master that manifests as a personality disorder very much like schizophrenia, wraiths call this desire for reincarnation/souldeath the "Shadow". Heaven and Hell relations It would not be exaggeration to say that Saminga if he could somehow manage to overcome all the Spectre's prejudices and madness and move them into the physical world would probably have about ten to a hundred million ghostly hellsworn under his command. However they are so incredibly mad that such a doomsday act is probably beyond even his stupidity. In truth it is unlikely aside from sharing a devotion to his word most spectres are aware that they are serving the Prince of Death. My suspicions about Azrael and the Grigori and their continued involvement with the forces of the Ferrymen and certain groups of Wraiths is merely a suspicion and conjecture at this point though I do recommend capturing a few for interrogation/torture/brainwashing. The Lady of Fate as Eve unfortunately is extremely difficult to reach and aside from Heaven and ourselves her identity is sancrosent. Other superiors interest in the Shadowlands is reasonably mild with a number of Dominicians including formerly the Angels of Final Judgement involved in the Heirachy and Renegade movements in order to promote law and order among the ghosts. Laurence has supporters among the "Heretics" in order to promote a Catholic view for Purgatory/Shadowlands as does Khalid for Islam despite the lack of one for said religeon, Novalis and Yves also have minority presences though none is exceptionally strong. However this is a exceedingly small opinion and far too few to affect anything but the most minor of changes. Hellside aside from a triad of servitors of the Dukes of the Game Slavery, Injustice, and Punishment there is precacious little influence there either even if they are highly placed. Malphas and Beleth have recently taken other interests in promoting the chaos as well but once again the Corporeal symphony makes the Shadowlands relatively ignored pickings compared to the Lord of Death's interest. At least one free lilim once the service of Saminga is now leader of a large group of Renegades as well. In Conclusion The Heirachy I believe most august personage Asmodeus should be re-established and while you may question the value of a world of dead dreamshades recieving much of your attention I believe that the Game would benifit highly from an enforced structure that would damn many more loose spirits from Hell and specificially to our beloved Hades. Saminga might be suitably distracted by his pet universe but his pet universe represents an unnecessary complication should Purgatory ever truely link up with the rest of the Marches or worse get confirmation that Heaven and Hell exist beyond their domain To that end a new messiah is needed under your care. Personally if Azarael is in the realm also the salvation of his "precacious mortal souls" might prove a sufficent inducement also to the falling of him or his Grigori servants as Heaven likely is no perfect place for them now....while Hell is not big enough for two princes of Death Darwin was fairly wise in knowing that competition to the death is always healthier for the speciesin the long run. Soul Killing Eve at present would merely be demoralizing to Heaven but probably far worse in creating a martyr that Heaven can use for propaganda purposes for....provided the Lady of Fate STILL IS the Second maid of Eden. All in all a useful supply of souls but a country unworth the great effort at present unless developed. If the Heirachy is twisted to Hellish duty this land could however serve as a powerful ally with countless new tempters and replacers.....provided their fates once met don't immediately take them out of action but that is merely transfer and human death always makes new ones. - -Charlemagne _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2001 21:41:27 -0500 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> Iron Rev 4, does anyone care? Eric Bertish wrote: > > Apparently not, as only 4 people voted. Fie upon the rest of you. I believe someone noted, back when Iron Rev 2 was announced, that this probably shouldn't be made a frequent event, or it will lose its luster and become no more than just another venue to post your latest adventure seeds. Iron Rev 1 was a great success; when they started happening every other month or so, people lost interest. Reading and voting for adventures starts to seem less like a contest and more like a chore when there's always one going on. Obviously I have no power to affect what anyone decides to do, and anyone who wants to can declare that they're starting the next "Iron Rev" contest. But if you really want to make it a noteworthy event (at least within the tiny scope of this list), and get people enthused about it, perhaps it should be confined to an annual occurrence? - -David ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 12:45:51 +1100 From: "james walker" Subject: IN> Orders from the Lowerarchy....... > what I think this month's subject > should be. Come on, it's October. Halloween, the Feast of > Samhain -- this month has "Saminga" written all over it! Oh, Okay....... ======================================================= The Impudite snarled at his visitor: "What sort of stupid half-wit would think that zombifying plants is a good idea? It's completely pointless! They can't do anything, they can't even fulfill their Need..." 'Prince Saminga thinks it's a good idea.' "Oh. I see...well, it would certainly annoy Novalis; increase our theoretical understanding of Necromancy; And, umm, well..." 'Open the possibility of new hosts for our Shedim and allow our Takers to quite literally farm the planet for essence...' his visitor, a well dressed Balseraph, supplied. 'Our dread Prince thought that Venus Fly-traps would be an excellent choice, since they could feed themselves...' The Impudite sneered. On days like this, he sometimes wished he hadn't used an assault rifle on that brat pack. Not something a Mercurian of Flowers could expect to get away with. But after what they'd done to the girl - he still enjoyed a special thrill when killing Andrealphans. He started to dismantle the Liars' delusions. "A zombi Needs to feed 3 times a day, yes? A carnivorous plant gets by feeding about once a month. Further, they do this by attracting their prey with a selection of scents & odours, which a zombified version won't produce. Granted, on our experimental subjects we can spray - carefully - a replacement perfume onto the jaws. Given that the Death Lord wants fly-traps used, we'll have to include some in the tests; there are more useful ones around though. The ideal for our purposes is the flowers that attract flies by smelling of rotten meat - we can set a couple of zombis the task of smearing gore from their open wounds on the flowers." 'This sounds promising...' "It does, does it? And how are we supposed to up their feeding rate sufficiently for them to survive? We have to multiply that rate by a factor of one hundred, remember. Sure, we can plant them in bins full of dead insects, but they'll only be able to eat one every few days. And if they don't destroy the insect, that ability will dry up. We'll need vast supplies of insects - assuming that the plant Needs insects - AND ensure that those insects get eaten. That'll be tricky given that the jaws of the plant will close for a few hours while it digest the insect - assuming that they still CAN digest the insect." 'Digestion should not be a problem - remember that humans cease to produce gastric juices when zombified yet can continue feeding their Needs. As for supplying insects, surely beehives and such can be bought?' "Yes, although - actually that might be an advantage. If we seal a beehive for a few days, when it's opened they'll be more desperately searching for food. Yes, that might work - at least in a greenhouse. Of course, that still leaves the biggest problem of all." 'Which is?' "Forces. Trees usually have a Corporeal Force or three, but carnivorous plants are usually very small. I don't recall ever hearing of one with a single Force." The Balseraph considered this. 'Do any of them have rudimentary Perception?' "Yes, they need it to know be able to respond to the insects when they arrive. But it's very basic; Not much greater than your ability to feel the sun on your skin. And all plants can do that." 'It is occasionally possible to create an extra Force in a zombi; generally when the subject was part way towards both additional Corporeal and Celestial Forces. We frequently use the technique when zombifying children. It rarely works on adults, as exceeding their potential Forces usually causes the zombi to unravel.' "It has occurred to you that a small plant has NO potential Forces, I trust?" 'Yes. I am hoping that the complete absence will mean that no maximum exists.' The Impudite shook his head in disbelief. Only a Liar...and yet, it would be nice to tend a garden again. Ridiculous, impractical, probably impossible, but..where had he left his gardening tools? He would need those. "Let's get to work." ============================================================================ James. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 22:09:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> What, you thought Beleth _liked_ horror flicks? Pshaw. Pshaw. Not precisely Samingacized, but I tend to treat monthly themes as loose suggestions anyway. :) Moe Omparkash Balseraph Baron of Screams Renegade Demon of Fear of Darkness Corporeal Forces: 4 Strength: 6 Agility: 10 Ethereal Forces: 6 Intelligence:12 Precision: 12 Celestial Forces: 6 Will: 12 Perception: 12 Word-Forces: 14 Vessel: Male/2 Skills: Dodge/5, Emote/3, Fighting/6, Knowledge (Psychology/6, the Marches/6, Dream Logic/6), Tactics/2 Songs: Darkness (All/6, Virtuoso), Dreams (All/4), Light (Ethereal/4, Celestial/6), Location/6, Motion (All/6, Virtuoso), Nightmares (All/4), Shields (All/5), Succor (Ethereal/3) Attunements:* Balseraph of Nightmares, Calabite of Nightmares, Dream Joining, Dream Walking, Terror, Dream Drain, Baron of Screams, Demon of Fear of Darkness Demon of Fear of Darkness: Omparkash automatically enters any dreamscape where the dreamer is actively afraid of the dark, and gets a +2 to shift the theme of any dreamscape on Beleth's side of the Vale to one where fear of the Dark is the primary motif. Rites: Cause someone to be afraid of the Dark (usable three times a day) Discord: Selfless/4 (keep reading) Omparkash is best described by the effect that he has on others. Here's an example (wait until midnight, of course): get up. Draw the shades, turn off the CD player, the television, go through the house turning off lights. Don't forget to yank the power cord from the refrigerator and the microwave and the VCR: we wouldn't want any blinking lights, do we? No, of course not. When you pass the front door, be sure to unlock it, needless to say. You should end up back in front of your computer, which should by now be the only source of light available to you. Reach for the monitor's off switch .... WAIT! Think about all of this first. Think about the unlocked door. Think very hard about the locked door, and about how little you really know what's going on out there. Anyone could be quietly watching the crack between the bottom of the door and the floor, waiting for the last glimmer of light to flicker and die. Anyone ... or anything. /Now/ turn off the monitor. *That's* what Omparkash is like. He's the taste of absolute silence and darkness, the sudden involuntary intake of breath, the vain straining of eyes for photons. He can reach into a human's head and tickle that reptilian brainstem that's been faithfully keeping humanity alert for the last three million years. The mere presence of him in a room can cause people's hearts to unaccountably accelerate and their skins become moist with sweat. He is incredibly good at his job. And when Beleth catches up with him, she'll have his hide. You see, the Baron has recently had a bit of an epiphany. Omparkash likes to scare people. He _loves_ to scare people. He is a virtuoso at it, in fact. However, he honestly could care less about hurting them. The difference is s u b tle yet important. Have you ever watched someone voluntarily be frightened? It's more common today, but the condition has existed throughout history. The fear is real, mind you: it'd be pointless otherwise. The physiological and psychological reactions are the same, while the fear is going on ... but the aftermath is different. Look in their eyes, and you'll see what I mean. They /enjoyed/ being scared. They were ready to do it again ... and the experience didn't hurt them. Properly prepared, a human can use artificially-induced fear as a catharsis for what's *really* worrying them, and actually end up being better for the experience. This infuriates most Servitors of Nightmares: it used to infuriate Omparkash, too. How /dare/ they bear up under what he deigned to inflict upon them. They should be gratified that such a majestic being would see fit to offer such a potent link to their primitive origins, in fact ... but then he noticed that, in fact, some of them did. He also noticed that using his powers on those who enjoyed being scared would not send them closer to Beleth's side of the Vale. Indeed, one of Omparkash's best performance pieces could send the right dreamscape skyrocketing to the Other Side. After a while, he started finding that to be kind of neat ... and not a little addictive. Going Renegade was the next obvious step. Omparkash is a good example of someone who has gone through cruelty and come out the other side. He sincerely believes that scaring people is good for them, and is pleased to be of service: not being a Habbalite, he can actually provide said service without breaking the recipient of his 'gift'. By now, the Balseraph cannot really understand why Beleth herself does not do the same: why rape when there are so many eager humans yearning for release? It's senseless to rip apart such an appreciative audience, simply because one is nursing old grudges. Naturally, actually explaining this to his former colleagues has proven to be pointless, and Omparkash is understandably leery of formerly seeking Redemption. He suspects that the price would include never being ever permitted again to help his nightly partners to embrace terror, until terror is gone. He will eventually, if those of Nightmares don't catch and kill him first: better life than death, and there is a rumor that Blandine has a Word-bound that might understand what he so desperately wants to explain to others. But not tonight: there's always one more person who urgently needs to reaffirm his or her humanity by embracing the most primal of fears, and Omparkash does not shirk his duties. Incidentally, the Princess of Nightmares is reasonably certain that she's kept Omparkash's Renegade status from the Game. It would never do for Asmodeus to find out that one of Beleth's best Word-bound has apparently decided to defect out of sheer elemental revulsion for the ideals of Nightmares. The political fallout alone would go beyond 'unfortunate' and well into 'disastrous'. Unfortunately, her errant Baron is practically flaunting his apostasy. The only bright spot in the entire mess is that Omparkash spends most of his time in the Marches, albeit in places where Nightmares has difficulty projecting power. It's not much of a bright spot. Asmodeus is not known for having agents in the ethereal plane, which almost certainly means that he has more there than anyone would reasonably be expected to believe... *Omparkash still uses all of these Attunements, albeit in ways that have earned Beleth's permanent ire. It's all in the execution. ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 09/28/01(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Listen to your Yahoo! Mail messages from any phone. http://phone.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 15:05:41 +1100 From: "james walker" Subject: IN> A potential Servant > it's October. Halloween, the Feast of > Samhain -- this month has "Saminga" written all over it! Merryn Davis Zombi Actress CORPOREAL FORCES: 3 Strength: 2 Agility: 10 ETHEREAL FORCES : 2 Intelligence: 3 Precision: 5 Vessel: Human Female/3,Charisma +3; Status/3 (Entertainer) Skills: Artistry(Acting)/2, Dancing/1, Emote/6, Lying/2, Singing/2. Discord: Need(Eyes)/3, Obsession(Fame)/1. Merryn was a young passionate entertainer who had started to make it in show business. She has done the vocals for a couple of minor bands, and was hoping for a part in a movie when she was killed in a car crash. The driver of the other vehicle was a Necromancer and decided that she'd make an excellent Servant. He reckoned without the call of the stardom - she headed back to her career. Her 'miraculous escape' hasn't hurt her career. Unfortunately, her singing voice and acting ability have both gone downhill. Unusually for a zombi, she still expresses her emotions with skill, and can pour that into a song. Her natural voice is pretty awful, though. On the upside, her increased physical abilities have turned her into a natural dancer. Her agent has been able to work with this - he got her a part in a horror film playing a ghost. She is impressing everyone there with her skills - and is regularly asked who does her make-up. Merryn hopes to adapt to her new state while making horror films and then return to mainstream entertainment. Obsessed with being famous, she feels that she must always be in the public eye - or failing that, be the last thing that people see. As such her supernatural Need is for human eyes. Her victims don't have to die, and a disturbing number of people report having been mugged by an incredibly fast girl who licked out their eyes. Merryn could either be a minor encounter, or a Servant for a Servitor of Saminga. James. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 16:08:27 +1100 From: "james walker" Subject: IN> Horror Month - Vignette. Or possibly Science Fiction Month. Whatever. Absolom, AKA The Grey Eyed Lord of Noon, looked out over the space age city. It had been so much easier before Armageddon, he thought. When evil lurked in the hearts of men, and so many of his races openly served it. Then he had been young. Now...he lacked even the strength to move. The hover-couch was an improvement over a wheelchair, but to a Sorcerer who had possessed demonically improved strength for thousands of years it was just as humiliating. Where were his servants? Gone, all gone. Destroyed by the Host. Every demon; every imp and gremlin. The ranks of Ethereals had been culled, and those who remained were under angelic protection. The ghosts had been banished, the undead destroyed. Heaven had been right to do this, he knew. He approved. He had often risked his life to harm Hell. And now Hell was gone. His mighty sorceries, and many rituals, were useless. He could no longer summon up a demon and set it a task which would hurt Hell; neither Hell nor demon existed. All gone. He remembered Armageddon; or, more accurately, he remembered his fortified bunker shaking as Celestials trashed the planet in their thirst to destroy each other. When the rage had passed, and the planet was quiet, he had left his bunker and started to rebuild. He had been a hero for the surviving humans; he summoned the handful of remaining demons and put them to work saving human lives. When the angels had finally arrived they had complimented him, taken over the task, and taken his controlled demons away, to Redeem or destroy. Humanity had grown strong since then. He missed the powerful Sorceries, but there were other sources of power. And humans were still evil. As society grew strong, they sought to stop that. An amusing folly, he had thought. The psychologists and sociologists studied and learnt. The humans who were merely maladjusted or insane they swiftly healed. All the time, the truly evil continued to operate, undetected, too shrewd and cruel to be stopped by naive idealists. Humanity still needed him, then. He had taken steps, culling the herd, destroying the truly evil. Not wasting them, oh no...all too many of his abilities had required a sacrifice, or blood, or...He had hunted. He had not counted on society improving. They came to understand evil; to know it; to recognise it - and to hate it. And then they destroyed it. Humans could not be evil any more - to make that choice was fatal now; Homo Sapiens Sapiens have been genetically re-engineered in Homo Sapiens Sanctus - to choose in your heart to be evil was to die, as your body suicided. Some old humans remained. Absolom was here. But so few....and the evil ones were all gone, destroyed by his Need. It was behind him, he knew. He knew every curve and dent in it; every shadow and stain. Created by Hell many thousands of years ago, it was his most priced possession. And it was useless. When he had first acquired the Bathtub of Youth, it's need for human sacrifice had not disturbed him. He knew all too well how evil his fellow humans could be, and the thought of slowly bleeding to death a child molester or mass murderer had not upset him. The cost seemed no cost at all - there would always be more villains. And he was old. He had scoured Known Space for one last truly evil person. He had invoked his powerful rituals in the hope that a demon had survived, and was free - trapped in Limbo perhaps, and only just released? He had wandered the ethereal realms. But they were gone, all gone. Evil had proven a passing thing, had lasted only a score of millennia. And he was going to die. ~Well, someone is going to die.~ He knew the voice - his own. You couldn't allow a Shedite to be a resident in your head for centuries without some side effects. Alone of the people on this world - in this plane - in all of creation - he still had evil lurking in his heart. ~So who will die? Will you? Or one of these oh-so-happy self-righteous youngsters?~ He whimpered a little as he listened to his own thoughts. He couldn't kill an innocent. But if he didn't, he would die. Someone was going to die. ~But does it have to be you?~ ========================================================================== ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2398 ********************************