From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Tue Oct 27 04:13:38 1998 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com (majordom@lists.io.com [199.170.88.15]) by pyramid.sjgames.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id EAA30075 for ; Tue, 27 Oct 1998 04:13:38 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.0/8.9.0) id DAA15526 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Tue, 27 Oct 1998 03:41:27 -0600 Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 03:41:27 -0600 Message-Id: <199810270941.DAA15526@lists.io.com> X-Authentication-Warning: lists.io.com: majordom set sender to owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com using -f From: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com (in_nomine-digest) To: in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Subject: in_nomine-digest V1 #994 Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com Sender: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Errors-To: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk in_nomine-digest Tuesday, October 27 1998 Volume 01 : Number 994 In this digest: Re: IN> Re: Angelic Words Re: IN> Re: Angelic Words IN> If Michael Fell... IN> Re: IN- Re: Angelic Words IN> Re: IN- If Michael Fell... IN> Quickie Plot Seed: Immortality IN> Babelfish Re: IN> Skill Packages (was Adventure Concepts) Character progression (was: Re: IN> I Agree with Ms. Dresner.) Re: IN> Re: Angelic Words Re: IN> Constructive Criticism IN> Tethers in New Zealand? Re: IN> Lucifer vs. Michael Re: IN> Tethers in New Zealand? Re: IN> Lucifer vs. Michael IN> Bashir, Elohite of Faith Re: IN> Skill Packages (was Adventure Concepts) IN> [Fiction] Garden of Fire Re: IN> [Fiction] Garden of Fire RE: IN> [Fiction] Garden of Fire Re: IN> Re: Angelic Words ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 23:17:33 EST From: Akumsa@aol.com Subject: Re: IN> Re: Angelic Words In a message dated 10/25/98 11:37:14 AM Eastern Standard Time, peter.witney@kobal.demon.co.uk writes: << >I have several Angelic words for which I would like your opinion on what >superior they would fall under. >> >Angel of the Presence Presence suggests something Divine and Inspiring. Perhaps Yves or Eli. >Angel of Purpose Yves, to a grand purpose. >Angel of Divine Illumination Definatly Gabriel, since she represents almost all aspects of fire. >Angel of Silence AA of Children (Kids, shhhh!) Or Blandine, since you need quiet to sleep. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- John T Perkowski, Ofanite of Arcade Games MASTER of Attunements (Go ahead, Gimme a word and some details, and in 24 hours, you'll get yerself some attunements). "You sense danger all around you." "I Obfuscate!" "This is In Nomine you idiot!" ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 23:01:59 -0600 From: Uncle Wolf Subject: Re: IN> Re: Angelic Words Akumsa@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 10/25/98 11:37:14 AM Eastern Standard Time, > peter.witney@kobal.demon.co.uk writes: > > << >I have several Angelic words for which I would like your opinion on what > >superior they would fall under. > >> > >Angel of the Presence > > Presence suggests something Divine and Inspiring. Perhaps Yves or Eli. Actually, I thought this was a title given to certain angels who sorta' formed God's Cabinet, His chief advisers and highest of the Holy Servitors. Michael, Gabriel, and Uriel are the ones usually given this title, to the best of my knowledge, as well as pre-Fall Lucifer. > > > >Angel of Purpose > > Yves, to a grand purpose. > > >Angel of Divine Illumination > > Definatly Gabriel, since she represents almost all aspects of fire. > Destiny or Revelations, for my best bet, 'cause the illumination here is > Divine Knowledge, spiritual enlightenment, which are Yves' and/or Litheroy's > bailiwicks. Would definitely be Rafael's job, if he were still alive. > > > >Angel of Silence > > AA of Children (Kids, shhhh!) Or Blandine, since you need quiet to sleep. I can understand Blandine as a candidate, likewise David, as proposed in another response, but Yves' is definitely my most likely suspect where "wait and see" silence and non-disclosure is involved. tom timberlake, Cadre Cherub of Heaven ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 22:44:15 PST From: "David Streeter" Subject: IN> If Michael Fell... He might turn into the Demon Prince of Peace!! SurturZ Dissonant Elohite of Stone, Angel of the Illuminati ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 22:59:43 PST From: "Cove Nightsbane" Subject: IN> Re: IN- Re: Angelic Words My second comments on the matter... John T Perkowski added his comments: ><< >I have several Angelic words for which I would like your opinion on what > >superior they would fall under. > >> >>Angel of the Presence > >Presence suggests something Divine and Inspiring. Perhaps Yves or Eli. Presence seems mostly the fact that God is here in support... David or Laurence(all of the Christian examples of presence...), maybe Khalid for the inherent Faith of the idea. And I'd have it an Elohite for the sheer surealiy of it, or a Mercurian in order to connect better. >>Angel of Purpose > >Yves, to a grand purpose. Hm...interesting idea. I still prefer David, for the solid purpose that you never fail in. Again, maybe Khalid. What can you acheive in faith? Anything, if you put yourself to it an do not falter. An Ofanite might be good, because once you chose a purpose you should constantly strive towards it by any path possible. Perhaps a Cherub? seems to make sense somehow... >>Angel of Divine Illumination > >Definatly Gabriel, since she represents almost all aspects of fire. yes...still, illumination could mean inspiration, hence Yves or Jean. Elohite or Mercurian, see Angel of Presence for why. Maybe a Seraph, for the truth of God is Self-evident and pretty dern illuminating. >>Angel of Silence > >AA of Children (Kids, shhhh!) Or Blandine, since you need quiet to sleep. I can sleep in any amount of constant noise short of a hurricane. And total silence is damn frightening. I'd have it be the Angel of Quiet. ~`~`<@ The only thing sadder than a fallen rose, is a fallen angel. Cove Nightbane, Malakim of Eli in service to Blandine Guardian of the Dreamforest ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 23:02:24 PST From: "Cove Nightsbane" Subject: IN> Re: IN- If Michael Fell... If Michael falls, I need a new job. That or I've drifted into Beleth's realm.... ~`~`<@ The only thing sadder than a fallen rose, is a fallen angel. Cove Nightbane, Malakim of Eli in service to Blandine Guardian of the Dreamforest ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 23:07:47 PST From: "David Streeter" Subject: IN> Quickie Plot Seed: Immortality Vapula discovers a serum for making humans immortal, annoying pretty much everyone, especially Saminga, the Demon Prince of Death. SurturZ Dissonant Elohite of Stone, Angel of the Illuminati ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 23:18:48 PST From: "David Streeter" Subject: IN> Babelfish I've just discovered Babelfish, which translates web pages between various languages, including French to English. The URL is Why do I mention this? It means you can translate pages for the original In Nomine Satanis/Magna Veritas (which SJG's In Nomine is based on)!! Translation isn't great, but you can usually get the gist of what a page is about. I might suggest the tag [BABELFISH] be used if posting interesting non-English URLs to the list. SurturZ Habbalite of Factions, Angel of Constructive Criticism ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 09:40:03 -0000 From: "Hart, Joanna" Subject: Re: IN> Skill Packages (was Adventure Concepts) >The example I like to use is a Lawyer Role. This would >include the laws of the country the Role was from, the various >procedures of the legal system and details on how to charge >clients and how to 'work the system'. It does not include >Fast Talk, Lying, or Savoir-Faire as these are general skills >listed in the book. As a counterexample, what if the role was as a doctor or surgeon? You need the medical knowledge to be able to carry that role off without getting sued, sacked or struck off. If it was a low level role then maybe you could get away with being a distant figure in a white coat in a hospital who everyone assumes is in some other department, but because being a doctor is fairly high status there is a limit to how low a level you can take the role - -- this means that at some point you have to actually treat patients. It could be argued that if the doctor had high intelligence, he could work off the default for medicine and still be as competent as an equivalent mortal, and from his role he'd know where to look up any information he needed and how to wheedle nurses into doing the procedures for him -- but that's still fairly similar to having medical skill. Basically, the skills/ roles overlap is very badly defined. One of the other reasons I was suggesting sub-roles was to give mortals the chance at having more 'default' skills at higher levels. If you gave all mortals high level roles (and maybe subroles if appropriate) the effect would be that they'd tend to have a broader base of skills depending on their jobs and hobbies than an equivalent celestial. I think that's fine. The celestial has the option of buying a high level role, although he still has to find the time to maintain it at that high level which means spending much time with mortals. That's fine also. Then you just have to think about how to cost/ fit in those skills that a celestial knows which aren't role-related. jo ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 14:01:27 +0000 From: Sam Kington Subject: Character progression (was: Re: IN> I Agree with Ms. Dresner.) Michael Daisey wrote: [snip] > Adding this to the combat problems, the linear progression/cap on > character development I'm not sure what you mean here; I suspect the 18 Forces limit. FWIW, after almost a year of a fortnightly game, with players averaging 3 CP per session, most of them are Vassal level with 10 Forces. To get to the limits of the system would take *ages*. Now, granted, if you start off with more powerful PCs, or bump them up faster, you'll get there slightly sooner, but then, you've decided to mess with the game system already, so don't complain. I dunno; I have no problems with this. Anyone else? Sam - -- INWO Homebrew: http://www.illuminated.co.uk/inwo/ More of my stuff: http://www.illuminated.co.uk/ Not my employer's opinion, no snappy quote ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 10:35:32 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Re: Angelic Words I think I'd give all of these words to angels of Yves. Angel of the Presence: Appropriate to Yves since Yves is an avatar of God, according to canon. Angel of Purpose: Even more appropriate to Yves, since the most active part of his Word is guiding everything to its divine purpose (=Destiny). In fact, both these two Words could be re-phrasings of Yves's own Word. If they aren't, then they should belong to very old and powerful servitors. Angel of Divine Illumination: One of Yves's more startling attunements is "Divine Logic," which this resembles. Yes, it could go to Gabriel, or could have been under Raphael, deceased Archangel of Knowledge, but it fits under Yves just as well, if not better, given all the knowledge and understanding that attends his Word. Having it go under pre-Fall Lucifer also makes sense, but then you could have that angel migrate over to Yves's service after the Fall. Angel of Silence: David and Blandine both are apprpriate for this, but I think Yves is even more so, since silence is apparently so often necessary for him and his, as a security measure against inappropriate leaks of prophetic knowledge. Earl ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 14:39:09 +0000 From: Sam Kington Subject: Re: IN> Constructive Criticism Walter Milliken wrote: > Once SJGames started the Revelations Cycle, they were pretty much > committed to finishing it. [snip] > I know changes are being considered, but what will ultimately happen > is up to SJ, and to a fairly large extent, the IN audience *if* they > make their opinions known. It might help if people here expressed > opinions on what they *wanted* to see -- better yet, would *buy*, > since that's what drives these sorts of decisions. FWIW, I think the Revelations Cycle only got unsatisfactory at books IV and V. Night Music, and especially The Marches and Heaven & Hell were useful because they fleshed out the Corporeal, Ethereal and Celestial realms in a way the main books couldn't. The Superior write-ups were a nice bonus; the adventures were something that I wouldn't run, and could either think about a bit and recycle the good bits of, or just ignore. And while I'd eventually like all the Superior write-ups in one big book, when they're all done, it makes *sense* for Blandine to be in The Marches, for instance. The same goes for Laurence in Night Music, or to a slightly lesser degree Dominic and Yves in Heaven & Hell. When a Superior has a certain natural setting, it makes sense for there to be more information about them in a sourcebook that deals with the setting in question. The problem with FotM and TFT is two things: a) there are five books in the Revelations Cycle, and only three Realms, so the big settings have already been done, and b) there was this idea that the cycle was going to have an overarching story arc. Now, this is only a problem because the campaign wasn't that good - but see other threads for that. The Liber Reliquarum is a good tool for a GM, and a good source for inspiration, and incidentally has rules for working with artifacts properly; from what I've seen, the Songbook and the Tether book are equally good. But, again, I don't know how many of these SJ can churn out (or how many we *need*) - a Word book would be good, for instance, but I can't think of much more. Oh, and FWIW, I particularly enjoy vignettes, NPC writeups, and anything that gives me a different handle on a Superior's Word (the Tether book is particularly good in that respect). I mean, most In Nomine GMs or players can probably get a handle on the basic stereotypes like the Malakite of Fire, Seraph of Dominic or Balseraph of Nybbas, but I often need help for those tricky Archangels I can't get my head round. (Marc, for instance, I have problems with, although I know other people on this list don't.) Sam - -- INWO Homebrew: http://www.illuminated.co.uk/inwo/ More of my stuff: http://www.illuminated.co.uk/ Not my employer's opinion, no snappy quote ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 10:19:38 -0500 (EST) From: "Diane J. Donaldson" Subject: IN> Tethers in New Zealand? I'm considering setting my campaign in New Zealand. Anybody got any good ideas for tethers? My best guesses so far: - - the Te Papa Museum in Wellington, which just opened in February. It's their new national musueum, and they had over 125,000 visitors the first day. Gotta be a tether to Yves. - - Might be some tethers to Jordi on some of the offshore islands, which are wildlife preserves (no people allowed) - - Auckland has a war museum. Part of it talks about the Maori/British wars, told from both sides. This could be Michael or Laurence. I don't suppose the forthcoming Book of Tethers has any suggestions, maybe? djd ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 10:52:27 -0500 From: John J Maurer Subject: Re: IN> Lucifer vs. Michael At 10:27 AM 10/23/98 -0500, Perestroika wrote: > >I'll refute this by citing Norse mythology. Ragnarok, there, is the >battle at the end of the world, and in said battle, pretty much everyone >dies. In fact, if I remember correctly, there are two humans out of all >the people in the world who survive - Lif and Lifthrasil, who've hidden >out in Yggdrasil, the World Tree. Actually, what you are reciting is a "winning" scenario. Both Norse and Greek Mythology have a cyclical view of time. A lot of eastern religions do as well. The old dies and gives way to the new. Kronos kills Saturn and becomes ruler of the Titans. Zeus kills Kronos and becomes ruler of the Olympians. I believe the new band of Greek Gods will be run by Apollo, Athena and Artemis (And perhaps other gods whose names begin with the letter A). In Norse mythology the Vanir are supposed to replace the Aesir after Ragnarok. Freud loves this stuff and you get the Oedipus complex. Monotheistic religions tend to have a linear view of time. God was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Jesus and Mohammed don't overthrow God, they become His prophet or part of God. See! I can be scholarly sometimes. Speaks Question: Why don't cannibals eat clowns? Answer: They taste funny. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 16:19:02 -0500 (EST) From: EEEAMEEH Subject: Re: IN> Tethers in New Zealand? There's bound to be several Tethers to Gabriel down there. There's been many sightings of Gabriel in New Zealand ... Or at least someone who looks like her Starsurfer who's not being a Seraph at the moment :) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 12:19:52 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Lucifer vs. Michael John J Maurer wrote: > I believe the new band of Greek Gods will be run by Apollo, > Athena and Artemis (And perhaps other gods whose names begin > with the letter A). This is very interesting. I have never heard of this variation on Greek mythology. It was generally implied or stated that Zeus would reign everlastingly. Can you supply any pointers to sources? > In Norse mythology the Vanir are supposed to replace the Aesir > after Ragnarok. Along with Balder, the sons of Thor, and, I think, Odin's brothers, Vili and Ve, who were mentioned in the creation account and then never heard from again, so far as I know. Earl ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 13:39:05 -0600 From: Eeyore Subject: IN> Bashir, Elohite of Faith Note: I didn't catch the fact that the Elohite of Faith and Master of Inner Strength were identical until I did this write-up. One of the two of them is being sent back to the drawing board. Bashir, Elohite of Faith Angel of Ikhwan Corporeal Forces: 6 Str:12 Agl:12 Ethereal Forces: 5 Int: 9 Pre: 11 Celestial Forces: 6 Wil: 12 Per: 12 Vessel: 3, Charisma: +2 Role: 4, Status: 4 Ibrahim al-Bakr, Scholar/Preacher in Cairo Vessel: 6, Charisma +2 Role: 1, Status: 1 Street Rabble Rouser, Underground Guerrilla Songs: Attraction (Corporeal-3, Celestial-3), Form (Corporeal-4), Healing (Corporeal-4, Celestial-2), Light (Corporeal-2, Celestial-3), NC (Wings-4, Claws-3), Shields (Corporeal-3, Celestial-1), Thunder-5 Skills: Chemistry-2, Climbing-3, Detect Lies-3, Electronics-2, Engineering-1, Fighting-6, Large Weapon (Scimitar-4), Ranged Weapon (Pistol-3, Rifle-4, Light Mortar-3), Emote-4, Running-4, Savoir-Faire-2, Survival (Desert-4), Tactics-4, Knowledge (Sharia-5), Area Knowledge (Egypt-5, Pakistan-3), Language (Arabic-5, Urdu-4, English-2) Attunements: Elohite of Faith, Ofanite of Faith, Malakite of Faith, Master of Inner Strength, Wrath of Allah, Faith Can Move Mountains Discord: Angry-2 Artifacts: Holy AK-47-4, 6 Holy Bullets, Body Bag-6 Bashir was one of the first angels Khalid created after he became an Archangel. He tested the faith of the early Muslims by presenting them with challenges that could only be solved by working together. One could question his success, given the political fragmentation that overtook it in the second century after the death of the prophet, but that was a task that was beyond the capability of any celestial. This task also made him one of the most devotedly Islamic of all of Khalid’s followers. Once he became convinced that it was objectively true, his Elohite nature brooked no challenges to its authority. His goal was always unity and the military strength that it would provide. The seminal events in his existence were the Crusades; the fragmentary and ineffective responses to the Christian conquest of Jerusalem forever convinced him that the ability to fight off invaders was the paramount concern. He approved of the Turkic invaders from the East and aided Salah al-Din in his successful campaigns to retake Jerusalem. He was made the Angel of Ikhwan (Brotherhood) for his efforts at uniting Islam. Over the succeeding centuries, Bashir not only pressed forward the Ottoman advance into Europe, but he helped to convert many of the Mongol tribesmen that swept out of Central Asia in the 13th Century. He also approved of the reactionary intellectual trends that came to dominate the Islamic world. A stable doctrine insulated from appraisal by decentralized authorities would prevent factionalization. Continuity was more important than underlying correctness; he was not have been amused by anyone pointing out the similarity between this attitude and the one he condemned in Laurence’s followers. One of those who pointed this out was ir-Rahman. Bashir has opposed her from the moment she gained prominence. He sees the dominance that the Christian West gained over Islamic peoples in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as being a direct result of those who weakened central authority. At the same time, these events forced him to become a reformer in his own way. He was most influenced by the Wahabbis in the Arabian peninsula. Since, he has promoted their very strict interpretation of Islamic traditions. He was present at the founding of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in the middle of the 19th century. He was not responsible for the choice of his Word as part of the group’s name, but he takes great pride in it nonetheless. In recent years, Bashir has been at the forefront of the movement to rid Islamic lands of western influence. This extends to hostility to the secular regimes that rule much of this territory. In his role as Ibrahim al-Bakr, he is connected to the scholars at the Al-Azra mosque in Cairo and is part of the most hardline faction there. He also has connections to numerous underground Islamist organizations, some violent and others not. It should be noted that a large portion of his time is spent aiding the charity organizations that form another, perhaps more important, arm of the Islamist movement. He looks on in approval at the growing strength of movements as wide ranging as the FIS in Algeria, the Welfare Party in Turkey and the increasing Islamization of Pakistan. His attitude can be judged by his feeling that the Taliban in Afghanistan go too far, but that they are far preferable to any of the alternatives. His relationship to his Superior is complicated. It was Khalid’s faith that infused him with the determination that he shows and still believes in Khalid as the promoter of Islam. But it seems that the Archangel has come under the sway of those who weaken the Faith from within and is too eager to compromise with those on the outside. Bashir himself is rarely at Khalid’s camp, but important followers who agree with him are always present and trying to win Khalid over to their views. If the player characters spend time there, Bashir will undoubtedly hear of it. If it seems that they are somehow important, he will arrive on some pretext to assess them for himself. He is not above taking violent action to thwart them if he considers their presence a danger to Khalid or if they openly oppose his views. If Khalid Falls: Bashir will follow shortly thereafter. He will take this as the final sign that Heaven has been conquered by perfidy. At the same time, his ambivalence towards Khalid will turn into disgust at his weakness. He will _not_ become a Servitor of a Fallen Khalid. In fact, he is a candidate to take over the position of Demon of Fanaticism as presented in _The Final Trumpet_. While he probably wouldn’t be made a Prince immediately, he is powerful enough and determined enough to make it to that level before long. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 15:08:12 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Skill Packages (was Adventure Concepts) At 11:55 PM -0400 10/24/98, MarkDEddy@aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 10/24/98 2:26:26 PM, milliken@BBN.COM wrote: > >>I'm pretty sure the Role mechanics say that Roles automatically include >>the necessary skills for the Role. There aren't really any details, but >>Mark's "house rule" is, I think, fairly close to canon. > >Actually, it's not. "Also, a Role includes the skill of Knowledge [How to be a >(whatever)], at a level equal to his resource level." (pg. 44, last paragraph) [...] >"All Roles demand a skill or two, at levels no lower than that of the role, to >successfully play that part." (pg. 71, last paragraph) If I were translating this to GURPS-speak (my other poison of choice, yes), I'd say, "Having a Role grants you Professional Skill (x) at the level of the Role. If you have a Role as a Secretary, you can touch-type, know how to take a letter, can handle basic 'turn the computer on' tasks, and make a good cup of coffee. However, you will still need to take Computer Operations for more than the most basic work -- and may have trouble getting hired as a secretary if you don't have it." Or, with a policeperson -- the Role gives you Police Procedure (the Miranda, how to deal with a crime-scene, a little Law, etc.) but you have to buy Ranged Weapons, Fighting and Driving separately. So having a Role gives you all the fiddly nitpicky bits, but there are a few major skills that you need, to be a competant member of that Role, which you buy separately. > Mark (see, Beth I *do* know how to snip...) - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 22:02:53 +0200 From: Yossi Gurvitz Subject: IN> [Fiction] Garden of Fire The one armed man was digging furiously. The small patch of earth was quiet, shadowed by the derelict building that once served as an orphanage. Dozens of small holes were already dug, and still the man showed no sign of stopping, or of fatigue. An air of quiet menace hang about him. His face was nondescript, but the eyes spoke of weariness few mortals could fathom. At his feet lay a small heap of saplings. A woman quietly entered the garden. She was young, she was pretty, and she was smiling. Serenely, she walked over to the man, who did not seem to notice her. "Iochanan", she spoke softly, and he started. Turning around, his eyes widening, he jumped to attention and murmured "My Lady." Inwardly, Novalis sighed. "Your Cherubic friend, Iohannes, left me a message," her voice was quiet, composed. "You wanted to speak with me about Mariel." "Yes, yes," Iochanan stammered. He was obviously ill at ease, and he was still standing ramrod still. He tried to speak, but no voice came out of his mouth. Novalis waited - she was nothing if not a good listener. "I didn't want to lose her!" the words tore out of his mouth, quickly. "I couldn't react - it went so fast...we were in Prague", he continued, composing himself, "on the heels of the kidnappers of Richard - Germanicus and the rest of that bunch. I guess you received the report?" Novalis nodded, not wishing to disturb the obviously disturbed Malakite further. "We were desperately looking for leads, and we went and met some Hassidic rabbi, who, I figured, would have connections in the book dealing world - he was a book collector and so was Germanicus, and both dealt in Kabbalistic books. That was mistake number one." Iochanan sighed; Novalis was silent. "We went into his house - Mariel was hovering there celestially - and spoke with him. He recognized us as angels, I think; in any case, he said we were the sign from God to which he was waiting. That was mistake number two." "The old man was obviously deranged - Lilith hounded him mercilessly with erotic dreams, and he came to see every female as a servitor of Lilith. He took us down to the cellar and showed us the Golem he created. This golem, he said, will cleanse Prague of all servitors of Lilith. By this time John and me were ill at ease, and I asked him how, precisely, did he intend to identify her servitors? He said that any female who dressed immodestly was a Lilim, obviously. All this time he was busy writing "emeth" on the thing's forehead. That was mistake number three - I should have struck him where he stood, and not stand there and chat with him!" "I spread my wings and drew my fiery sword, and told him that as a servitor of Gabriel, I forbid him to use the golem - he looked at me with wonder, but wrote the Aleph, the last missing letter. The golem woke to life, and I jumped to the doorway, to bar its exit. John and Chuck were reaching for their weapons, when Mariel attacked the thing celestially." The Malakite was shaking. Speaking was obviously difficult for him. Novalis hadn't said a word. Iochanan continued. "I don't know what happened... I heard the most piteous scream, and then Mariel was gone. Gone, her forces scattering... As God is my witness, there was nothing I could do... And then the golem *smiled", for God's sake, smiled at us - and was gone..." His voice cracked; tears appeared in his eyes, and steamed away immediately. "And you called for me, asking for my forgiveness." Novalis's voice was soft, compassionate. "I forgive you - Mariel was not your charge; you did not fail me, nor her, nor your Lady. We know now that the golem was possessed by one of Kobal's demons. You had no way of knowing that. You omit the fact that you, personally, destroyed the golem - with the help of that deranged rabbi. You were very brave. You have nothing to blame yourself for, and I do not hold you accountable for the loss of my servitor. You are forgiven - but you must learn to forgive yourself." Iochanan's voice was hoarse. "Yes, I destroyed the golem, but it was out of desperation, not out of bravery. I must tell you this was the first time I cursed my existence, since Virtues cannot Fall. And I wanted so much to Fall, to allow myself to wallow my agony in blood. The hardest thing I ever did was refraining from killing that rabbi and his followers." "How could God let this happen?", he shouted suddenly. His eyes flamed. "Before we finished that thing off, over 30 teenage girls were dead, Mariel was dead, and the demons were mocking us. Mocking us! Think of that rabbi spending 20 years building that instrument of Satan, all in love of God - he was virtuous, you know? I checked! Twice! He was virtuous, and he killed Mariel and those 30 girls. Where is the love of God? All I see is destruction, death, and fires! Where is the love of God, I ask you?" Novalis looked into Iochanan's steaming eyes. "You loved her, didn't you?" Iochanan looked away. "You loved her. You cared about her. You create this garden. Why?" "Because I promised her I would do so, when we were in Alamut. I set fire to the Assassin's garden, and promised her that when this was over, we'll plant a garden. A garden for a garden." Novalis smiled. She came closer, and suddenly she hugged Iochanan. "Embrace God once more. Remember what it is to love. Let go of your guilt," she whispered. Iochanan's chest heaved; Novalis held him silently as he wept. After a long while, Novalis and Iochanan planted the first flower of the new garden. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 21:30:12 +0000 From: Jo Hart Subject: Re: IN> [Fiction] Garden of Fire That was lovely ;) jo ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 20:19:09 -0500 From: "Matthew Stein" Subject: RE: IN> [Fiction] Garden of Fire Very, very touching and cool. I especially like the part where the Malakite talks of Falling.... - ---===--- "What do people mean when they say the computer went down on me?" - -- Marilyn Pittman ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 09:35:45 +0000 From: Kevin Walsh Subject: Re: IN> Re: Angelic Words On Mon, Oct 26, 1998 at 10:35:32AM -0500, Earl Wajenberg wrote: > Angel of Purpose: > Even more appropriate to Yves, since the most active part of > his Word is guiding everything to its divine purpose (=Destiny). > > In fact, both these two Words could be re-phrasings of Yves's own > Word. If they aren't, then they should belong to very old and > powerful servitors. > Purpose looks like it could belong to Dream. Certainly, aspirations and ambitions fall under that Word. > Angel of Silence: > David and Blandine both are apprpriate for this, but I think > Yves is even more so, since silence is apparently so often > necessary for him and his, as a security measure against > inappropriate leaks of prophetic knowledge. > By that logic, it could also belong to Jean, Michael, or Marc, who all have good reasons to keep certain things secret. Kevin Walsh, Balseraph of Nitpicking, Demon of Off-Topic Trivia. - -- "From your first day in camp everyone will try to deceive and plunder you ... in camp no one ever does anything for nothing, no one does anything out of the generosity of his heart. You have to pay for everything. If someone proposes something that is unselfish, disinterested, you can be sure it's a dirty trick, a provocation." Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Gulag Archipelago. ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #994 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.