in_nomine-digest Friday, April 12 2002 Volume 01 : Number 2598 In this digest: Re: IN> Weird thoughts IN> There Is A Season Re: IN> Weird thoughts IN> Best line of the night RE: IN> Weird thoughts IN> Looking for Jade Re: IN> Weird thoughts RE: IN> Weird thoughts IN> Tatter Inspired Thoughts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 18:00:53 -0400 From: "Josh Moger" Subject: Re: IN> Weird thoughts > >> That's the default mindset, true. But all Habbalah believe that they are >> doing God's work, after all, and if some of them started to reach the >> conclusion that He loves humans best, and that in order to properly serve >> Him, they need to become more worthy of His love... > >I thought that a key pillar of the Habbalah mindset was losing your >objectivity to the point where you couldn't ever seriously entertain the >notion that you were *not* entirely worthy of God's love already, simply by >doing what you were doing. The Habbalah capacity for rationalization and >self-justification is legendary, after all. > >-- Hmm... Then this could be a way for Habbalah who have accidentally been hit with backlash of Emptiness to express their re-found objectivity. Josh ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 20:17:21 -0400 From: EDG Subject: IN> There Is A Season Again, I have no idea where this came from. I do know that I wanted another piece set in Heaven. - -EDG - -- They arrived at the same time, the two refugees from a distant land. They glanced at each other, then at their feet again. One wore the robes and sash of a monk, and his head was as bald as a stone; the other wore loose modern business clothing, all in white, with the cuffs and sleeves rolled up. Both pairs of feet were bare upon the loose sand and gravel. The businessman, whose hair was a flare of red, smiled. "Father." The monk nodded. "Son." They stood for a time, heads bowed, reciting prayers. In front of them, a human took his first trembling steps upon a blindingly white staircase. "How have you fared?" asked the businessman, finally. "I'm glad to see that the Host was able to bring you upstairs in one piece." The monk looked up, his crystal-blue eyes glinting in the sunlight. "I am well," he said finally. "I have not yet chosen an Archangel, but I am well nonetheless. It is difficult to make such a decision when one must remain objective." The businessman laughed. "I doubt that any Archangel would be unwilling to remove any dissonant notes you might assume by choosing them," he said, his green eyes twinkling. "Toward whom are you leaning?" "I owe great debts of gratitude to Laurence for giving me a place to stay here, and to Eli for making certain that I could ascend to Heaven in one piece. But frankly," he murmured, as another human approached the staircase, "I have a certain desire to put myself into the service of a certain Archangel who prefers female form. Jean may be Heaven's inventor, but she gets to see the devices that can only exist in the dreams of humans." The businessman laughed again, louder, and clapped the monk on the back. "Or you could just admit that Blandine's cute." "That would be subjective, my son." "So it would," the businessman said, grinning. "So it would. What reason do you have to not put yourself into Blandine's service?" "She might not accept me," said the monk, sobering, "and I might not be right for her organization -" "Father!" interrupted the businessman. "There is time for thought, and there is time for action. Now is a time for action. You might spend the rest of your life debating whose service to choose, but then what good would you be? You arose for the good of Heaven, did you not? Take a stand, make a choice, and stick with it. Regret is part of everybody's life, but at least if you choose something that you *want*, you'll be happy." He looked into the short monk's eyes. "Go talk to Blandine, Father. I'm sure she would be glad to have you in her service. And if the rumors I hear are correct, you'll be able to see a lot of Laurence anyway..." The monk almost snickered, but managed with a mighty exertion of will to maintain a poker face. "I don't know, Son. The Bright Lilim that Laurence allows to live in his Cathedral..." The businessman swatted the monk's shoulder. "Go!" He watched the monk scurry off, smiling, and then, on a whim, shouted, "And may the Force be with you!" It was rewarding to see the monk nearly trip in his mirth. From behind the businessman came a voice. "Have you found a name?" He turned, and found himself looking into the eyes of the oldest creature in existence. Yves always creeped the businessman out vaguely; it was disturbing to look at someone so infinitely older than you were. "Would you like my help?" The businessman smiled. "Now that my father has found his peace, I think I would, Archangel Yves." He fell into step behind the older man. "I understand you have the Book of Names..." As Yves and the businessman faded into the general glare of the Eternal City, a pair of Archangels stepped out of the shadow of Jacob's Ladder. They glanced at one another, and then one pulled a tiny jade matrix out of a pouch at his waist and handed it to the other, who smiled and slipped the matrix into a velvet-lined box. "We still have not seen the Mercurian's disposition," the first said, his voice deep and resonant. The second nodded. "This is true. But the Elohite is bound for Blandine's service - and I know she will accept him; she has far too few Elohim in her ranks. And though he will be a vast asset to our organization, for the moment, the Mercurian's assignment is of a somewhat secondary concern to us. Their security comes first. Do you think we ought to tell them about the honor guard?" The first shrugged. "I'm not Litheroy," he said, simply. "No, you're not." Laughing, the other nodded toward the Glade. "Come on, we've got time for a practice run before my staff meeting in an hour." "Like I'm not going to beat you into the ground." "Then I'll have an excuse for being late." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 20:10:46 -0500 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> Weird thoughts From: "Josh Moger" > > Then this could be a way for Habbalah who have accidentally been hit with > backlash of Emptiness to express their re-found objectivity. I am A: surprised that this hadn't occurred to me, and B: sick with jealousy that you beat me to the idea. ;) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 03:17:15 +0000 From: "Janet Anderson" Subject: IN> Best line of the night Best line of the night from my PBEM: "Leo. I need a little warning before talking cats." - -- Ryan, soon-to-be Soldier of Stone, to a Cherub of Stone, after a Malakite of Destiny walked away, returned in an alley-cat vessel, and the Malakite and Cherub calmly resumed their conversation as if nothing had happened Janet Anderson * * * * The fact that I'm neutral means I'm not on your side. Silverwing's Laws # 47 (attributed to Saleem ibn-Alefan) _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 07:03:28 -0500 From: "Bergeron, Robert F., DS1(SW)" Subject: RE: IN> Weird thoughts - -----Original Message----- From: Prodigal [mailto:prodigal@allamagoosa.org] From: "Josh Moger" > > > >The scary part is, I can see an overwhelming number of Haballah doing > >exactly this. > > I dunno. Habbalah hate humans. > That's the default mindset, true. But all Habbalah believe that they are > doing God's work, after all, and if some of them started to reach the > conclusion that He loves humans best, and that in order to properly serve > Him, they need to become more worthy of His love... I gotta disagree. Sure, Habbalah are demons that think they are still angels. But they are still demons. The inner core of selfishness would never let them want to be human. Humans are weak, they are easily manipulated and they can't even hear the symphony. A Habbalah might be cut off from the Higher Symphony, but he can still hear it when he moves among humans and does things in the Corporeal. They might wonder why God likes humans better. They may strive to prove they are more worthy of love than humans. Or they may push Humans around to prove God is wrong about them. But it would take a really wimpy Habbalah, or wimpy demon of any sort, to cover their heads in the sand and pretend to be human. I could see one maybe going the route you suggest as an interesting NPC problem for a game, but on the whole, I don't see it happening often. Doesn't everyone in Heaven and Hell pity the Remnants? Who would voluntarily become one? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 12:51:52 -0500 From: "Bergeron, Robert F., DS1(SW)" Subject: IN> Looking for Jade I am trying to get in contact with someone who's screen name on AOL was JadePsion. I've lost what she changed to after she dropped AOL. If someone knows her, please forward this request on to her so we can get in touch again. Xagnut Thanks ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 12:34:55 -0500 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> Weird thoughts From: "Bergeron, Robert F., DS1(SW)" > > Doesn't everyone in Heaven and Hell pity the Remnants? Who would > voluntarily become one? A Remnant is a different thing altogether, though - they are less than both celestials and humans. It just strikes me as logical that a being that thinks it is doing God's Will, will face at least some temptation to become even more worthy of His love than it already is. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 15:35:13 -0500 From: "Bergeron, Robert F., DS1(SW)" Subject: RE: IN> Weird thoughts - -----Original Message----- From: Prodigal [mailto:prodigal@allamagoosa.org] From: "Bergeron, Robert F., DS1(SW)" > > Doesn't everyone in Heaven and Hell pity the Remnants? Who would > voluntarily become one? > A Remnant is a different thing altogether, though - they are less than both > celestials and humans. > It just strikes me as logical that a being that thinks it is doing God's > Will, will face at least some temptation to become even more worthy of His > love than it already is. Less than Celestial, more than Human. They still may have songs and the like. Frankly I don't see much of a difference in what you suggest and a Remnant. The difference between having brain damage because of a catastrophic accident and performing a self lobotomy is unclear to me. More importantly to the topic at hand, voluntarily stripping off Forces for the purpose of becoming Human sounds painful and damaging to me. I don't see any demon, no matter how much they want God's "approval" being able to reduce themselves in power. Selflessness is required to humble yourself. What you are proposing requires the Habbalah trust that even in a reduced or weakened state that God will protect him. Your Habbalah would also be having to trust that the demons who he worked with won't rip him to shreds. Trust is not a big commodity in Hell. An angel might, if twisted enough, still retain the selfless nature required to give up part of their soul. One on the verge of Falling because of confusion. Or one who has gained so much Dissonance that they've become outcast and are now throwing themselves a huge pity party. I'm reminded of the "Won't everyone be sorry when I go blind from having this soap in my mouth" scene in "A Christmas Story". Like I said before, it sounds like a very interesting NPC thing to throw a wrench into a plotline. I can imagine how a typical group of PCs would handle the problem, and in a game of all Outcasts and Renegades, it might make a weird twist on a PC. But I have trouble agreeing that any significant number of Celestials of either side would consider it. But that is just my opinion. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 16:09:59 -0500 From: "Bergeron, Robert F., DS1(SW)" Subject: IN> Tatter Inspired Thoughts I've recently entered into the Tattered Symphony and was drawn to the idea that Ethereals hold a bit of a stronger position due to the success of the Luciferian Revolution. I worked out a new Archangel for it, but before I could "Tatter" her I needed to know what a "Canon" version would be. Having done so, I figured on sharing with ya'll. So this is the "Canon" version, if your Canon includes the idea that Dominic doesn't have the Forces of anyone who deals with Ethereals rent into teeny-tiny bits. Lorraine : Elohim of the Word of Myth Myths are the collective dreams of humanity, they are the pure creations of humanity and for all their powers Angels are helpless to create them or unmake them. They may be slain, but rise again, like a certain savior whom there is no actual proof of despite what Laurence and Dominic would like others to believe. No proof but belief makes it Faith to some, and Myth to others. Some concepts are too large to be destroyed, too great to be stopped and too universal to be searched out and uprooted. Every culture has myths; primitive man needed to know where the thunder came from, what made the lightning and why the sun went cold in the winter. New myths were born in every age. Sea monsters and dragons prevented men from travelling, even as cities of gold and rivers with magical powers drew them to endure incredible hardships as they were sought. Despite Uriel's earlier efforts, Loch Ness remains inhabited. Lorraine's goal in the War is to safeguard these universal concepts and prevent their perversion by the efforts of Hell. DISSONANCE Lorraine has two dissonance clauses. First, it is Dissonant for a servant of Myth to debunk anyone's belief. They cannot personally expose someone who believes in UFOs to proof that the light's they've seen is nothing more than an Ofanium in a hurry. Their personal symphony is harmed if they tell a child that Santa Claus isn't real. There is no problem if they are present when someone finds out "The Truth" but if their own actions are the cause, the angel will gain Dissonance. Secondly, it is Dissonant for a servant of Myth to harm an Ethereal who is not harming them or to "soul kill" an Ethereal for any reason. Note, it is again no problem for a servant of Myth to let one of Blandine's Malikim take down a ravening hobgoblin, they just can't do it themselves. Hell driven Ethereals who seek to abuse the Dissonance rules of Myth's servants soon find themselves targeted by the remaining Hunters of Purity and demons who try to play off this rule had best be careful, Lorraine's restraints are not applicable to demons at all. CHOIR ATTUNEMENTS Seraphim The Most Holy are severely under-represented in Lorraine's ranks. Her word is perilously close to Dissonance for them and so she treasures those she has greatly. To ease their dificulties, Lorraine grants all her Seraphs with Fast Talk at a level equal to their Celestial Forces. Seraphs in her service are given the tasks involving Archetypes; the Football Hero, the Absent Minded Professor, and similar projects that while mythological in nature are not full blown lies. They are also granted the Numinous Corpus of "Wings" at a level equal to their Ethereal Forces so that they may appear as "Archetypical" Angels when the need arises. Cherubim (Restricted) The Guardians of Myth perform two functions. Foremost, they are the protectors of those Ethereals who are benevolent and have been sanctioned by the Serephim Council. They work closely with Christopher as the few Ethereals who have been listed are mostly believed in by children. Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Smokey the Bear are all protected by a few of Myth's Cherubs. A score of Myth's Cherubs are on rotating duty at Loch Ness, charged with making sure no one ever actually catches Nessie. Their secondary tasking is to protect sites that have become to mean something more than what they are. Places like Lover's Lane and Wishing Wells are likely to have a Cherub of Myth watching over the Lovers and looking to grant unselfish wishes so as to reinforce the beliefs. Places that have the potential to become tethers for Ethereal powers that Dominic has declared as "Enemies of Heaven" are often warded by Cherubs so that they do not have to be destroyed. All of Myth's Cherubs appreciate Walt Disney and Doctor Seuss for bringing a sense of wonder back into vogue. They're split about fifty-fifty over Gary Gygax. Some see Dungeons and Dragons as a godsend of young myth builders, others aren't certain if Nybbas hasn't gotten too much of a hand in the whole RPG thing. To assist in their duties, Myth's Cherubs are granted to ability to know what "myths" a person they are attuned to still has a belief in. They score points for Lorraine in the Seraphim Council by finding lapsed Catholics and pointing out the beliefs still held that might bring the person back into the fold and then giving the information to Laurence's people. By fiat of the Seraphim Council, none of Lorraine's servants are allowed to interfere with the major religions of the world, but in practice, as long as they don't convince someone to switch their current religious beliefs for different ones, no one makes any fuss. On a successful perception roll, a Cherub of Myth can also tell what beliefs, if any, people have invested into a particular place. They can't tell you where King Arthur is buried, but they can tell where people think it's at. This is automatic if a Cherub is attuned to a particular spot, but once attuned, a Cherub cannot release the attunement until he has convinced at least one person per Corporeal Force of it's powers. Ofanim (Partially Restricted) The Wheels of Myth are tasked with chasing down Myths and recovering their fragments from the Ethereal Realm. To facilitate travel in the Ethereal, where distance is rather subjective, an Ofanim in Myth's service may enter the dream of a human and then, upon a successful resonance roll, move to the dreamscape of any human who is dreaming of a similar thing, and then exit out into the Marches, nearer their goal. This does not require the humans to know one another and it can cross from Blandine's side of the Marches into Beleth's. Their Attunement makes them perfect spies and couriers between Myth and the powerful Ethereals who are forced to deal with Beleth while the Ban of the Seraphim Council remains enforced. They may bring along one other Celestial being for each Ethereal Force they posses, at the expenditure of One Essence apiece. Note: the Ofanim has no control over exactly where he comes out. Example: Olaf the Ofanim is trying to find an Ethereal Valkrie in order to deliver a message from Lorraine to Freya. Olaf enters the dreamscape of a human who is dreaming of being a young man walking in the woods and then Olaf uses his resonance. He then steps through the bridge of dreaming and enters into a dreamscape that is much closer to the Valkrie he is looking for; a dreamscape of a young girl who is lost in a nightmare about the time when she was lost in the woods. Olaf then exits and is now much closer to his goal, but also deep within the Fearful side of the Marches. Olaf had better watch his step carefully or he's liable to get caught by a pack of Fear's demons. Luckily, all of Myth's Ofanim may add their Ethereal Forces to any roll made while trying to escape or run away while on either side of the Marches. This latter part of her Ofanim Attunement is often granted to those servants of Dream who "look the other way" for myth fragments that Lorraine is trying to encourage. Most of Lorraine's Ofanim have learned the Ethereal Songs of Dreams and quite a few have Blandine's Dream Waking Attunement. It should be noted, if an Ofanim rolls an Infernal Intervention on his Resonance check for his Attunement, he has accidentally drawn the dreamer across the Vale into Fear's side of the Marches. While this does not gain Dissonance, it is very likely to annoy both Lorraine and Blandine if the Ofanim doesn't do everything in its power to return the dreamscape to Blandine's realm. On the plus side, this only happens because he has drawn both dreamers so closely together that their dreams are merged, so a success means both humans are now on Blandine's side of the Marches. A side effect of this is those humans will temporarily (number of nights equal to the Ofainm's Ethereal Forces) have an affinity for one another. They will share dream images and random causality is increased in favor of them meeting. Elohim (Partially Restricted) Lorraine's Elohim are her envoys to the mythological courts. The Ofanim deliver messages, the Elohim are the messages. An Elohim may add it's Ethereal Forces to all Social checks involving Ethereals. They also add their Ethereal Forces to their natural Resonance checks used upon an Ethereal being. They are also some of her most active servants on Earth; their Resonance and Attunement affect any human who truly believes in a Myth. Some of Lorraine's Elohim bear gifts of Attunements from Ethereal powers to greater facilitate their tasks on earth where that power's servants are involved. These are mostly removed after the particular service is completed, but with the permission of the Seraphim Council, some have been retained. Lorraine has taken the more useful ones and invested them into Relics, which she can give to the next servant who is sent to the power that granted the gift. Because of the danger of falling, Lorraine rotates her Elohim between Ethereal and Corporeal duties, often after each mission is completed. While on Earth, Lorraine's Elohim are often assigned duties in researching which myths are popular and how they are affecting humans. Jungian philosophy is very big with her earthly servants. Malakim Lorraine has almost fewer Malakim then she has Seraphim. The Purity Crusade made it difficult for most Myths to interact with the Virtues in any fashion except for total fear, or overwhelming hostility. Those Malakim who are in her service are sworn to guard humans from hostile Myths and are the only ones sanctioned to cause Soul Death to an Ethereal. Despite her past, Lorraine implicitly trusts her Malakim and does not question their judgment; if the Ethereal was a threat to humans and utter destruction was the only option, she does not need her servants being worried about someone second-guessing their actions. A Malakim of Myth may always engage in Ethereal Combat, though most have Songs that are effective anyways. While engaged in combat within the Marches against either an Ethereal or a Demon, Malakim of Myth add their Ethereal Forces to either their attack difficulty or the check digit, declared before the roll is made. A Malakim of Myth takes no Ethereal Discord if their Mind Hits are reduced to Zero. None of Lorraine's Malakim have carte blanche "hunting orders" to seek out Ethereals to destroy. When a threat worth their ire is discovered, most often by one of Myth's Elohim, the Malakim are dispatched to end it. Most of the time, Lorraine's Malakim work with Blandine's to safeguard the Marches, or go to the Groves and give training lectures on Ethereal combat. ** **SIDEBAR ** ** Ripper Jack and the Malakim Some Ethereal concepts won't die even thought they are killed every night. London's East Side is home to one of the worst. Jack the Ripper may have been a deluded madman, a member of British Royalty or a plot by the Masons to discredit the Jews. Humanity will never know and few Celestials really care. But nearly every night enough people believe in him that Redjac returns to stalk the cobblestones. Every night he is hunted down and slain by one of Myths Virtues. In her capacity as protector of humans from the Ethereal, Lorraine has a permanent assignment for her Malakim and they all have done a rotation on "Jack Duty" at least once. ** **END SIDEBAR ** ** Kyriotates (Restricted) Lorraine appreciates the Kyriotate ability to remain in the Corporeal Realm and manifest within the Ethereal as well. She uses them as managers and any large project will have at least one Kyrio assigned to keep things coordinated and running smoothly. It could be said they are the perfect secretaries, tracking the bosses various projects and ensuring that nothing drops through the cracks. The subjective time differential between Corporeal and Ethereal makes this an essential service much of the time. A Kyriotate of Myth may "place hold" requiring only half the normal amount of Forces, rounded down, to maintain a Corporeal host for the purpose of maintaining a stronger presence within the Marches. They still require the correct number of Forces available to make the initial investiture. They are further incapable of possessing another Corporeal host before they have fully reinvested the original host. They can abandon their Corporeal host, but in order to dominate another they either must recall more of themselves from the Ethereal or find a host with few enough Forces to gain possession of with what they have available. Many of Lorraine's Kyrio's seek Blandine's Choir Attunement to further increase their capabilities as coordinators. Mercurian As Lorraine uses Elohim for most of her diplomatic needs, you might think her Mercurians felt slighted, but you'd be wrong. Mercurians actually make up the largest Choir in her service. The Friends of Man are more adept at understanding Mankind. Since Myths are born of Man's ability to invoke the Ethereal, Lorraine requires their understanding almost more than anything if she is to ever find a way to turn this most unique of human abilities to the purpose of Heaven. Mercurians may add their Ethereal Forces to any attempt to reinforce a belief that humans, singly or in a group, already possess. They may add their Celestial Forces to any attempt to cast doubts on a particular belief. A slight easing of Lorraine's normal restrictions, this is so that Mercurians of Myth can ease harmful superstitions out of the human psyche. In pre-Fall times, Mercurians of Myth used this ability with much greater frequency, but now they try to influence human subconscious less vehemently. Lilim (Restricted) Lorraine currently has no Gifters in her service. She had two during the late Renaissance, but one got into trouble with a Geas in the hands of an Ethereal. The Lilim turned to her only Choirmate for help and things ended in disaster. The Geasbound Lilim fell and the other was Soul Destroyed. The Serephim Council has not allowed any more Gifters to work directly for Myth since that time. When she had Gifters in her ranks, Lorraine gave them the ability to know if the Needs they saw in humans would support or bring harm to a Myth or Ethereal. Her Gifters were assigned to specific humans who had already been identified by Servants of Yves as having Destinies that would build on the Myths of humankind. Servitor Attunements & Distinctions Lorraine has few distinctions. Dominic limits her organization and her assignments too varied to limit her people. Instead of a set of Attunements or Distinctions, Lorraine crafts one for servants who prove resourceful or especially helpful. For example, the Angel of the Myth of the Incorruptible Politician, for his work in countering so many of Hell's agents on a wide venue, gains a point of Essence when ever he sits through a showing of "Mister Smith Goes to Washington" and he can grant that Rite to any angel working for him. HISTORY (Or Mythology) No one doubts that Beleth and Blandine were the first two beings to experience love for one another. No one doubts that they were the first two beings to, through investing of themselves into one another, created a child. There is, however, some doubt if their son, Gebbleth of the Word of Mystery, and his lover, Shamballa of the word of Story Telling, actually made the world's first parents also the world's first grandparents. Such a tale is quite suitable to Lorraine, the Angel of Myths. She is also, without doubt, the only Senior Word bound Angel to have Fallen and been subsequently Redeemed without losing her word. In the earliest days, when primitive man sought the reasons why things happened, his desires and expectations created the Ethereals. At this time, before the Fall, there was no reason for Dominic to hate them, even though they did disturb the Seraph on some level. As the number of Ethereals increased, the Seraphim Council began to grow concerned that these creations might turn on their creators and cause harm to the Corporeal Realm. It seemed only fitting to turn to Lorraine for the position. An investigator of the Ethereal, Lorraine was already working for her father, who had asked her to research into the secret of how Ethereals were "birthed" by humanity. This crossed into her mother's Word, which suited the family quite well and that her investigations were pursued within the Marches, looked over by both her grandmothers, was only considered icing on the cake. Lorraine took on the Word of Myth and began to actively pursue its use to aid humanity. When manifest, Lorraine appears as a young woman in Classical Grecian dress; long, flowing tunic of silken nature with little makeup and simple jewelry. On those few occasions where a male personification became desirable, "Lore" will take on the form of a young man in archtypical "magician's apprentice" robes with ink stained fingers and an unkempt appearance. When meeting with Ethereals, she chose manifestations that would allow her to continue her work with the least trouble. She became a liaison with those powers out in the Ethereal. Her calm and capable manners, reinforced by an Eliohim's ability to see all sides of an issue without being drawn into it, were a great asset in dealing with beings who thought they were older than the Angelic Host. She even assisted Yves in the early stages of creating the myths of Judaism, which would become the foundation of his later experiments in Christianity and Islam. Then came the Fall and it tore her blissful family apart. Her father and one grandmother became Fallen while her mother and other grandmother stayed within the ranks of the Host. War struck few angels as personally as it did Lorraine and while she never let her grief effect her judgment or her capacity for reason, it is said none have shed more tears over the Rebellion than she. Of course, an Elohim's tears are mythological things so that's probably not true. After the Fall, Dominic saw the Ethereals as interference and Uriel saw them as enemies. In what is probably their only combined effort, Dominic and Uriel declared Lorraine a traitor and only Blandine's interference and Yves intercession prevented Lorraine from having her word stripped away. At the time, Lorraine was grateful. The Purity Crusade changed that. When Uriel drove his sword into the Heart of the Spirit of Gaia, Lorraine's Heart shattered into splinters. She fled across the Marches where her other grandmother, Beleth, welcomed her with open arms. To say that the smiles on the Queen of Fear and the newly Fallen Habbalh were frightening is like saying dynamite is noisy. The collective subconscious of humanity turned out to be quite a powerful weapon. No matter how many dragons were slain by Uriel and his Shining Guard, humans still believed in them, and so more saurian monsters were born out in the Marches' farthest depths. Try as he might, Uriel could not prevent mankind from investing the earth they trod on with the aspects of a mother. Who cares if it was nothing more than an attempt to explain the aspect of Novalis, humanity searched for an answer and if none was available, they created it out of the fabric of their desires. Uriel continued his crusade, and in many ways his pogrom against the Ethereals grew even more violent. The Council recalled him, but many know that he disdained them as weak and he listened not to the words of their messengers, claiming if it was important enough to recall him than it was important enough for the Council to send one of it's members to say so themselves. Blandine arrived in his camp and threw the shattered remains of her granddaughter's heart at Uriel's feet. He returned to the Council Spires before the sun rose. ** **SIDEBAR ** ** The Story of the Splinters Lorraine's history is rife with myths, which is suiting to her nature. Uriel returned to the council with the shards of Lorraine's heart carried in a silk bag; that much is fact. Myth has it that as God took him up, he commanded Abjul, his greatest remaining Ofainum Servant, to gather all the rest of the splinters and send them on so that he could repair what his actions had caused to become broken. Abjul is said to have scoured the three realms for five centuries, finding each and every splinter and sending them up to the heavens by placing them within the care of saints as they were about to ascend Jacob's Ladder. On the day the last splinter was sent up, Lorraine is said to have spontaneously redeemed. As Lorraine entered the gates of Heaven, her redemption was obvious, her Habbalite scars still in the process of fading into naught and she found her own way back, without the benefit of traversing a Tether. Still, Dominic, Laurence and others were more than slightly suspicious and a special Council was immediately called. Lorraine's loyalty was questioned but before Dominic could call for a formal charges to be leveled, Abjul stepped forward and drawing his sword he spontaneously fledged into Malikim and his first Oath was that if Lorraine were impure than he would Fall. He hasn't Fallen yet, but his very presence tends to make some angels very nervous. If the Council could find a way to send him to the higher heavens, they would. ** **END SIDEBAR ** ** During her tenure as Habbalah of Myth, Lorraine stayed mostly within the tower of Beleth. Her entire organization was subordinate to Nightmares and she spent a lot of her time propping up Grandma's self esteem. Her duties as liaison to Ethereals was largely under utilized as Hell expects the Ethereals to serve them, and rarely bothers to ask when they can order. The enduring myth that humans can get out of selling their souls by asking for forgiveness on their deathbed was created during this time. While Heaven's mercy is not mythological, it does require more than fear of punishment to be granted. Only true repentance is worthy of such. Lorraine also sparked the idea that a sufficiently tricky human could get the better of a deal with the devil, and so many a foolish human failed to realize how greatly overmatched they were when dealing with Hellish agents. Lorraine's only significant failure of the centuries in Hell was her inability to teach demons how to craft their own Ethereals. As an agent of heaven, she had never attempted to usurp the ability of humans to give birth to things greater than dream fragments. In Hell, even with Vapula's assistance, she never managed to dissect the human psyche and figure out how it was done. After her Redemption, the decision of the Seraphim Council was that Lorraine could retain her Word and go back to her duties. She doesn't really discuss her time in Hell with anyone and her servants do not look kindly on those who press the issue. Laurence, strangely enough, is one of her more vocal supporters, standing firmly by the judgement of the last known Malakim to spontaneously fledge. In the eyes of the Sword, God's will was clearly made known. Since her return, Lorraine has tried to be as circumspect as possible. She avoids bringing the attention of Dominic down while assisting those Ethereals as she is allowed and petitioning for better relations with the ones that would prefer to be clear of Hellish politics. Her position is still considered subordinate to Blandine's and when Gramma wants to remind the Council of her favor, she lets Lorraine carry her marker in the Council. RELATIONS Lorraine obviously doesn't get along well with Dominic or David. She does not actively oppose either of the elder Archangels, but her servants can be counted on to be as uncooperative as possible. She just as obviously supports Blandine in many ways, but can come to cross-purposes when Ethereals are concerned. She supports Janus by her continual efforts to upset the current status of Ethereals, but other than that they do not often agree. Janus being a firm member of the War Faction and Lorraine allied with the Peaceniks prevents them from coming too close. For much the same reason she is not very close to Michael, though their common cause as Dominic's targets gives them much reason to work together. Allied : Blandine, Novalis, Eli Associated : Yves, Janus, Michael Hostile : Dominic, David BASIC RITES Spend two hours at a museum exhibit dedicated to myth or mythology. Spend four hours telling stories about legendary beings Spend an hour talking to an Ethereal without violence (2 Essence) CHANCE of INVOCATION 0 Dominic frowns on Lorraine coming to the Corporeal Plane and in the interests of keeping peace, she manifests rarely. +1 -A copy of "Just So Stories" or "Aseop's Fables" Or books of a similar nature; Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, but not "The Wizard of Oz" or fairy tales. +2 -A human who is reading "Just So Stories" or "Aseop's Fables" for the very first time. Or books of a similar nature; Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, but not "The Wizard of Oz" or fairy tales. +3 -A copy of "The Illiad" or "The Odyssey" used by a student in a class on Mythology with notes and highlights. +4 -A copy of the Final Exam from a College class on Mythology, with the correct answers. +5 -An Artifact created by an Ethereal Spirit. +6 -Stonehenge Superior Opinions First is listed the Superior in question, followed by Lorraine's thoughts. Blandine - My granddaughter's Word is supportive of my own. Would that I could have turned Uriel aside before so much was lost. (Dreams are where my word gestates, but they grow beyond to have a life of their own. Nurture the cr裨e of mythology.) David - She is dangerous and her Word is counterproductive. Humans don't need more choices, and they don't need Ethereals fooling around on Earth. She should be forbidden the Corporeal. (Stone is harsh and unyielding, but the physical cannot stop the ethereal. Move around him when he bars your path but leave him be, for his substance is the stuff from which mankind creates memories of myth.) Dominic - She has Fallen once. If she does so again, I have the means to destroy her before she reaches Hell. Watch every move her people make. (His judgment of us is as harsh as it is incorrect. He likes the myth of Blind Justice, but I will find the evidence that can open his eyes and prove that Myth can support Heaven) Eli - Hey, she's really cool. Her Word is something that Humans created without any prompting from us. Something we can't do ourselves. If that doesn't prove it's worth promoting then I don't know what is. (The inspiration for Myth; if Dreams are the womb than Creation is the seed which gives my word life. Help his angels whenever you can.) Gabriel - I can understand how Dominic's judgment can burn. I can feel how a Word can pull one until all options seem equally destructive. I can see the fires of Heaven in her. (She is the midwife of modern Religion, which is really nothing more than the myths we Celestials tried to create. Her servants and mine do not often find common cause, but when evil must be stopped, her people will help mine without trying to bring my people down as well.) Janus - Talk about your underdog! She's got a tough road to go and some of her important contacts are on the wrong side of the tracks, if you know what I mean. Still, you go girl! Everyone likes it when the little guy has a big win, and besides, it's all in the striving. (Robin Hood. Jesse James. Indiana Jones. Do I really need to say more? He inspires so much in humans that his passage alone promotes my works.) Jean - I really have little reason to interact with her. In the old days, we had some convergence, but I've passed the "special effects" stage of being. Mankind knows where the thunder comes from now and her Word is changing from those things that steal from Heaven to concepts that can help us. Leave her alone. (I miss the old Jean, jumping from cloud to mountaintop and enthralling man with his power. Have you ever seen Zeus up close? He's got Jean's eyes. But we have long ago parted ways.) Jordi - Deep in the Ethereal there are places where the dolphin dreams, where the whales commune with their eternal memories. Where the wolves hunt under endless nights and where the birds fly under cloudless skies. Lorraine knows these places and she knows that words are not needed to create myths. She needs to remember it more often. (Magowli & Tarzan are only the modern versions of the myth of man returning to nature. And there are the half men, Yeti, Sasquatch, and a double dozen others which could, if promoted correctly, reforge the links between man and the wild.) Laurence - God's Will was made clear. I do not ask Him to explain. (I have his support because he has faith. I must gain his trust because he has belief in my deeds and me. This is the first step to gaining full acceptance of my work) Khalid - A woman and a corrupter of man. The Sword must be getting dull in its old age. Or softened by beauty. She does well to keep away from me and mine. (The cradle of civilization and the birthplace of so many myths are in lands controlled by his people. One needs only look at how they treat humankind to realize how misguided he is.) Marc - I will admit that in the past, the distant past, I considered the Ethereals in my plans. Hermes was especially useful. But those times are passed and gone and there is no profit in dwelling on what can't be brought back. I'll have to side on Dominic with this, she needs to redefine her duties as protector and let the Ethereal's waste away. (Just because you cannot measure it's weight against grains of gold does not make something useless. You may dress like George Clooney, but you're still a Scrooge.) Michael - The War on earth isn't going all that well, and the last time we brought war to the Ethereal, it nearly destroyed her and Blandine. If she can make a weapon of our enemies into something that will turn in their hands, then I'm for it. Besides, if Dominic doesn't like her then she must have something going for her. (Don't think Rambo, for Heaven's sake. He's Hercules slaying the Nemean Lion, he's Samson plowing through the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. Wyatt Erp, Davey Crocket, Superman. Michael is the Myth that One Man can make a difference.) Novalis - If I offer mercy to the Fallen, how can I do less to those who are not trapped in Hell's chains? If we hadn't driven the Ethereals to the other side centuries ago, who knows what the world would be today? With so much power denied them in the medieval ages, perhaps Hell might already have returned to the light. (Peace is the word I bring to the Ethereals, and it is her word. Our causes are often the same.) Yves - The final word on the Ethereals has not been spoken. How long do we dare drive something born of Mankind's dreams to the hands of Fate? (He trusted in me long before any other did. He pointed the way for my Word. I failed him for a time but eventually I will prove his trust in me was sound.) ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2598 ********************************