Ertrael, Balseraph of Drugs

By Moe Lane

**Flaming
Feather**

Corporeal Forces: 1
Strength: 2
Agility: 2
Ethereal Forces: 3
Intelligence: 6
Precision: 6
Celestial Forces: 3
Will: 6
Perception: 6

Vessel: skinny male child/1, +1 Charisma

Skills: Chemistry/3, Detect Lies/1, Dodge/3, Emote/1, Fighting/1, Ranged Weapon/1 (pistol), Running/1, Savoir-Faire/2, Seduction/1, Small Weapon/2 (knife), Survival/1 (Urban)

Songs: Attraction (Ethereal/1), Entropy (Corporeal/1), Healing (Corporeal/1), Shields (Corporeal/2)

Role: "Joe" (hanger-on to drug dealers/2, Status/1)

Attunements: Balseraph of Drugs

Ertrael isn't an idiot. He may be at the bottom of the organization of a minor Prince of a revolving door Word, but he's not an idiot. Ertrael knows that he's Fated for bigger and worse things - provided that he keeps his mouth shut and his eyes open for opportunities. A smart demon that keeps his mouth shut and his eyes open can always work through things.

The first, most obvious thing is, don't sample the merchandise. That's so obvious that it shouldn't have to be said - but most of Fleurity's people won't or can't figure that simple fact out. That's fine with the Balseraph, actually: the fewer effective competitors that he has, the better. It's a good idea to act stoned or drunk or wasted when advisable, of course - but some of the stuff that Drugs peddles is seriously bad news. Better by far to save it for the humans. That's what they're there for.

The second thing is not to be a damned fool about who you sell to. Screw this crap about 'getting them while they're young': that might have been true for stuff like weed or booze, but crack cocaine doesn't care how old you are when you start smoking it. More importantly, selling to kids makes it much more likely that you'll eventually run into a Servitor of Christopher's - and what they'll do to you once they catch you would gag a Shedite. Luckily, there's no Archangel of Adults, which really should be enough of a hint to anybody whose brain isn't quite extra-crispy yet.

However, the most important thing to remember is that when you work for a minor Prince, you're screwed right from the start. So, you set things up so that you don't work for a minor Prince anymore. You have to network, figure out who's going to be going up the greasy pole and make sure that they think that you're useful. It's OK for them to think of you as a useful idiot: the adjective's more important than the noun. Don't try to get a taste of whatever clever scam's going on, though: that just means that you get to share the blame when it blows up. Nobody except you is going to care much about maintaining the cleanliness of your nose, so act accordingly.

Needless to say, you also keep your back to a wall at all times, never trust anyone as far as you can throw them and keep at least three eyes peeled for a legitimate chance to get off the leaky ship that is Fleurity's organization - but that goes without saying. It also goes without saying that you'll probably have to carefully backstab everybody who gave you a leg up out of their own self-interest - well, it's not as if they wouldn't do the same to you if said self-interest dictated it. Just make sure that the betrayals are dictated by your own timetable, or at least won't set it back. In other words, it's OK to be a flunky, as long as that status isn't common knowledge: plenty of time to eliminate the evidence later.

As the above suggests, Ertrael has plans. He's ambitious enough to fuel a ferocious power drive and clever enough not to show it. Right now, the Balseraph is too busy trying to navigate through the minefield that is corporeal duty to worry much about empire-building - but once he's achieved a reasonably safe equilibrium, watch out. Even now, he's got his eyes on the prize. They tell stories about Haagenti's rise to power: someday, they'll tell the same sort of stories about Ertrael, if he plays it smart and gets lucky.

Hah. Winners make their own luck.

(Ertrael is a balanced starting character.)

**Flaming
Feather**

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