Syth

Syth was the first kuriotes created by Yves after the first version of the Fall, in one of the oldest Symphonies. She (Syth favors female hosts) was told about the Repertoire and given her Word by God Himself, who swore her to secrecy.
It is Syth's job to undo the damage to the Repertoire done by the demons. Like some of John Cage's compositions, every Symphony was designed to allow for free will, especially on the part of the humans, but demonic resonances damage any free will other than their own. Syth must quietly alter history in each Symphony so that, in the end, the actions of the demons do not interfere with the actions of humans. She is aided in this endeavor by Yves, who is interested in the Destiny of the Repertoire as a whole.
Syth does not vote in the Seraphim Council (as most of her fellow archangels do not even know she exists), and her angels pretend to work for other archangels when encountered on Earth. They must be careful how they work, lest they give themselves away. They are often given incomprehensible and odd instructions (i.e. "make sure Hitler is not assassinated"), which they obey willingly and without question, because they know that only Syth and Yves understand the "big picture". A great weight is on their shoulders, because if they fail to nudge a Symphony correctly, the damage may be irreversible, and Syth will end up withdrawing her angels from that Symphony entirely.
Because of the need for secrecy, Syth makes extensive use of humans, including a cadre of Soldiers who are aware of what's going on. In fact, Syth's Soldiers are some of the most loyal in the War, because Syth accepts only those that have proven themselves as Soldiers for other archangels.
An important aspect of Syth's Word is the idea that everything, every Symphony, serves a purpose in God's plan. There is a reason God created every one, even if the reasons remain ineffable to even beings with an awareness as broad as Syth or Yves. This also means certain Symphonies that one can imagine were excluded for a reason. (There are no Symphonies without angels, for example, though there are Symphonies were all of them were killed or Fell.)
== Dissonance ==
It is dissonant for one of Syth's angels to reveal the existence of the Corpus to someone who does not already know the secret, through their words or their actions.
Also, it is dissonent for them to encourage, through their words or actions, the belief that the universe (or multiverse) is meaningless. (It's okay, though not encouraged, to allow someone to have a negative opinion of that meaning, just so long as they do not succumb to nihilism.)
While it is not dissonent for a servitor of the Repertoire to disobey a direct order, few of them do, no matter how incomprehensible that order is.
== Choir Attunements ==
=== Seraph (restricted) ===
By making a resonance check, one of Syth's seraphim can determine if an individual is "native" to the Symphony they are currently in, i.e. whether they traveled to this Symphony from another one. Angels of the Repertoire and demons who serve Adad (regardless of where they were created, where their Heart is, or who they used to serve) always show up as "non-native" to this attunement.
=== Ofan ===
Ofanim are attuned to the entropy caused by their Fallen counterparts, the calabim. When a demon does something that alters the history of a Symphony (GM's call), it causes a +10 disturbance that only someone with this attunement can hear, +15 if the change was caused by a calabim.
=== Eloah (restricted) ===
Syth's elohim are charged with making sure those around them do not lose their perspective on the Corpus. On a successful resonance roll, in addition to whatever information is gleaned, an eloah of the Repertoire knows if an action they are about to take will encourage nihilistic beliefs in the person resonated on.
=== Malak ===
Upon arriving in a particular Symphony, a malak of the Repertoire becomes familiar with all the most common weapons and/or weapon systems in that Symphony, gaining a skill in them at a level equal to the malak's Ethereal Forces for as long as he is in that particular Symphony. (If the angel has a skill in that weapon already, it takes precedence only if it is higher. It does not combine with the "phantom" skill levels gained through this attunement.)
A weapon is "common" if it is easily available and instantly recognizable in most dominant cultures on the Earth in question. In our world (early 21st century Earth), for example, most pistols are common, while, say, polearms and plasma weapons are not. The GM's decision is final as to what is common and what is not.
=== Kuriotes (restricted) ===
A kuriotes of the Repertoire can possess hosts in different Symphonies, unlike most kuriotates. Also, they gain no dissonance for not taking care of a host that believes the universe is meaningless. (Generally only humans count for this. Animals don't have time for philosophy, unless the GM decides there are uplifted or otherwise sapient animals in some Symphonies.)
=== Mercurian ===
While Yves believes everyone is important, Syth understands that certain individuals are often pivotal in a particular Symphony's history. A mercurian of the Repertoire can look at a person and know, in an instant, if they have the potential to be such a person, are currently engaged in a historic endeavor, or have already engendered a major change. The angel doesn't know why this person is pivotal or even the details ~ he just knows if a person is "important" or not, in terms of seriously affecting their local Symphony within their lifetime.
For some reason, celestials never show up as "important" when using this attunement.
=== Grigori (restricted) ===
It is up to the GM if there are Symphonies where the grigori were never outcast. If any such Symphonies exist, Syth has grigori servitors. The Perception of a grigori of the Repertoire is doubled for the purpose of detecting disturbances by demons not native to the Symphony the grigori is currently in (all demons of Adad count).
== Servitor Attunements ==
=== Celestial Chameleon ===
This powerful attunement allows the angel to duplicate any angelic servitor attunement (not choir attunements, Songs, or anything demonic) that the angel has seen in operation. (It is safe to assume most servitors of Syth have seen most of, if not all of, the servitor attunements in the main In Nomine rulebook.) It is used to aid Syth's angels when posing as another archangel's servitors.
Using this attunement costs 5 Essence, or 2 more Essence than the use of the servitor attunement being duplicated would cost, whichever is greater.
Servitors of Syth that have been "around" have access to some very . . . unusual . . . attunements through this power. Ask some of them about the archangel of Steam, or the malak version of Novalis.
=== World-Walker ===
This allows the servitor to shift to any Symphony that exists, assuming the servitor had been there before or the world has been described to them, in detail, for at least an hour, and the Symphony so described actually exists.
This attunement costs 6 Essence to use and will place the angel in about the same spot on Earth in the new Symphony, as close as possible without having the servitor appear in solid matter. Sometimes (GM's whim), metaphysical/thematic geography is more important than physical geography ~ if one uses this attunement while atop the Empire State Building, and the Empire State Building was moved to London in the Symphony being moved into, the servitor may end up in London.
If the servitor doesn't have 6 Essence, or is in a rush, he can spend all the Essence he has (at least one ~ those empty of Essence can't use this attunement) and he will shift over to a "nearby" (similiar history and physics, different details) Symphony of the GM's choice. Though by no means a hard and fast rule, servitors who use this "escape route" a lot find that the less Essence they have to spend, the worse the world they end up in generally is. This use of the attunement is generally frowned on.
Not all those who serve Syth have this attunement. Some are assigned to a particular Symphony, and some have technological devices or artifacts capable of Symphony-shifting assigned to them (though, in game terms, these should cost a comparable amount (or more) in character points).
== Distinctions ==
=== Vassal of the Corpus ===
The angel gains the skill Knowledge (World History)/6 for each Symphony he has been to, and for each Symphony he enters subsequently. This Knowledge skill covers the broadest points of the celestial and corporeal history of the Symphony in question, like one might expect from a celestial-aware textbook.
=== Friend of Meaning ===
By spending 1 Essence per hour the effect is to last, anyone within Ethereal Forces yards of the angel gains a bonus to their Will roll to resist demonic resonances equal to the angel's Celestial Forces.
=== Master of Infinity ===
Angels who have this Distinction have always been granted the World-Walker attunement first. They can now use that attunement at no Essence cost. They still cause a huge Disturbance, however, including additional disturbance as if they'd spent the Essence.
== Relations ==
Since most Archangels don't know Syth exists, they're pretty neutral about her. Those that do know about the Corpus and Syth are usually considered "associated", at least within the Symphony that archangel is native to. There may be a knowledgeable version of Michael around that resents Syth like he does Yves.
Syth generally stays out of politics that pertain to a particular Symphony, as she's seen certain gambits (like Dominic's persecution of Eli) work or not work, depending on (often times) how weak, low-level angels handle things.
Allied: Yves, Duma
Associated: Different versions of different Archangels, here and there
Hostile: None
== Basic Rites ==
* Convince a nihilist that the universe is not meaningless without using anything other than conversation, and without revealing the existence of the Corpus. (+3 Essence)
* Slay the vessel of a demon who is not native to a particular Symphony (all demons of Adad count).
* Undo an act done by a demon, no matter how trivial. (Give that lollypop back to that child.)
== Invocation ==
Chance of Invocation: 0
Syth is very busy; she has a lot of worlds to keep track of.
=== Invocation Modifiers ===
+1 Detailed world map of the Earth the servitor is currently on
+2 An encylopedia or other extensive reference work dedicated to the world the servitor is currently on
+3 Destroy evidence of a Symphony other than the one the servitor is currently in
+4 The dead body of a servitor of Adad
+5 Proof that the history of the local Symphony was greatly changed by the intervention of demons (like a demon princess causing an Ice Age)
+6 A new device or artifact capable of moving someone between Symphonies
Category:Archangels
Category:Kuriotates
Category:The Repertoire (Word)
Category:The Corpus