Laurence

### Source(s)

Moe Lane in the In Nomine Collection 1, 2, & 3 + Rolland Therrien & Eric Burns in the In Nomine Collection + Liber Neglecta

### Rites

Slay an evil creature. Hunt your prey. Rest in an armory. Fair & honorable duel. Lead a victory over demons. Forge & consecrate a sword. Baptize a new Catholic.

## Relations

### Associated

Everyone else, except Eli and Novalis (David and Michael are associated with Laurence)

### Hostile

Eli, Novalis (Janus is hostile to Laurence)

## Subsidiary Words

Chastity, Christian Rock, Etiquette, Giving Thanks (under Etiquette), Makoto ("honesty"), Meiyo ("honor"), Rei ("respect"), Self-Control, the Single Shot, Temperance

## Choir Attunements

### Ohr

While in celestial form, these ohrot can do soul hits to a demon that is still inside a vessel.

### Aeon

Laurence's aeons are attuned to religious buildings, and when resonating a celestial or corporeal church, they will be able to sense how effectively the church's design can be used to inspire prayer and faith in the Almighty.

### Chezeq

Chezeqim of the Sword can triple their effective strength for moving weaponry.

## Servitor Attunements

### Seal of God

Those with this attunement will be able to tell whether a person has been initiated into a . . . well, the intent was "a divine religion". However, it seems that it works for Buddhists and even worshippers of some ethereal pantheons, too. Use the check digit to indicate how much information is revealed: for example, a 1 would reveal if someone was initiated as a monotheist, a 3 would indicate that he was a Christian and finding out that the person was a baptized Southern Baptist would require a 5 or 6.

By making a Perception roll at -3, the angel can also tell whether or not the subject has utterly rejected this initiation (simple indifference will not register; also, this attunement will not indicate how strongly the subject believes in the religion that he or she was initiated into). Those individuals that have been initiated into more than one religion will simply reveal the current faith that he or she follows, unless the new faith is not one that would normally be detected by this attunement: thus, it's usually useless for casually discovering Hellsworn.

Laurence and Khalid have jointly worked out this attunement, and are experimenting with it among their servitors. They weren't expecting the ability to detect certain non-divine religions, and aren't sure yet whether it's a bug or a feature. Neither would probably be too welcome to hear the suggestion that the attunement, possibly, doesn't have any bugs at all . . . .

## Relations

There is great tension between Laurence and the other archangels over the existence of the paramilitary group known as the Light of Heaven. He is, after all, basically telling them that he doesn’t trust them to keep Heaven clean of invaders.

## Servitors

### Majors

#### 14+?? Forces

* Curtis, malak angel of Etiquette, Grand Master

### Friends of the Lord's Armies

#### 12 Forces

* Leggiadrous, an eloah, the Graceful Emissary, serves under Etiquette

### Vassals of the Sword

#### 23 Forces

* Maodea, ofan angel of Giving Thanks, serves under Etiquette

### Undistincted

#### 14 Forces

* Hasmed, eloah archangel of the Single Shot

### Unknown Rank

* Damhnait, malak angel of Temperance
* Katsuhito, malak angel of Meiyo
* Maru, malak angel of Makoto
* Matthias, malak angel of Self-Control
* Muhito, malak angel of Rei
* Pahaliah, malak angel of Chastity

### Humans

#### Saints

* Saint Gordon Randall Phillip David Garrett

## Roles

Everyone wonders about Laurence's Roles.

To begin with, he maintains fewer than any other Superior: among other things, he simply doesn't have the time to stay away from the War very often. He never talks about them, either: while you can count on Michael chuckling over some demonic drill sergeant getting the surprise of his life, or perhaps Novalis showing off pictures of the baby she helped deliver last week, Laurence just sits there and smiles. His servitors have learned to recognize when their archangel is maintaining a particular Role, though, and while nobody means to blab, well, word gets out. When that happens, those interested keep an eye out for young idealism on any number of violent battlefields. Most believe that he emulates Michael and goes to be a soldier: some suspect, instead, that he becomes a police officer of some sort.

They couldn't be more wrong.

Somewhere in the world, there's a monastery. The actual one changes every seventy years or so, but there's always one that seems especially peaceful. The monks are particularly known for their holiness and charity, the surroundings (whether in the countryside or in a busy city) are amazingly serene, and the music that comes from it . . . . Well, there's no other word for it than 'glorious'.

And, somewhere in the middle of it all, is a monk, humble, pious and happy.

Laurence never seeks to be abbot: he never even seeks to be more than a simple monk. He starts as a postulant of no particular rank or station, and goes about his days and prayers with a fervor that is no less real for having been done dozens of times before. He grows 'old' in his Role (with one or two of his most trusted servitors to hold his place when he must put his full effort into the War), and in the process, quietly and joyfully reaffirms the faith of those around him. His fellow-monks soon learn that Brother Laurence seems to have a special understanding of the world, God, and man's relationship to both - and that he is the person to speak to when one is struggling with one's vocation. By the time that he finally dies of 'old age', he has forged links among his brethren that last even after he's gone. Not that Laurence is ever really gone: there'll always be servitors of the Sword that will be in the area. The archangel of the Sword may not be able to protect every Catholic institution, but by God he'll protect these.

It may seem odd for such a ferocious warrior to devote himself so wholeheartedly to a Role dedicated to peace, but Laurence has his reasons. Doing this means that he has a constant reminder about why there's a War in the first place. You can't effectively defend something that you don't love. Being among humans, ministering to the sick, feeding the hungry, comforting the dying and bereaved, deliberately seeking a subordinate position in obedience to God's will - all of this reminds Laurence about why he loves humanity. It also allows him to serve this maddening, contradictory, wonderful species directly. Laurence misses that. There are many joys in service. The peace that he finds here stays with him when he must do war upon the Enemy.

And, admittedly, it does give him a place where he can sit and think without too much distraction.

> Greetings.
>
>
> I speak to you now, not as the Commander of the Armies of our Lord God, but as a humble malak who can no longer stand the idea of slander being made upon the memory of his Lord Uriel, nor on the Purity Crusade. I have heard many a people condemn the Crusade as an act of insane cruelty to the ethereals, and as a deed which damaged the human cultural consciousness, traumatizing many . . . . The record must now be made straight and clear concerning this matter.
>
>
> The Purity Crusade was a just and righteous act, inspired upon my Lord Uriel by God Himself. Many of you don't remember how the ethereals used to act when on the corporeal realms, while others simply ignore that the humans used to fear the creations of their own dreams just as, if not more often, they worshipped them.
>
>
> Of the ethereals predating the Crusade, the pantheons were perhaps the worst. They were Parasites feeding on human dreams at best, and monsters who tortured humans and extorted Essence out of them at Worst. Look upon the stories of Greek Myth; of Athena, in a Jealous fit, turning a girl into a spider, of Zeus using trickery to sleep with mortal women and neglecting his wife, and of Herakles killing his own family when drunk.
>  Read those tales, and then look me in the eyes and tell me we were wrong to seek to slay these monsters. Was not one of the Greek Gods Pan, lord of the unreasoning fear called "Panic"?
>
>
> Or perhaps you'll speak to me of the Asgardians and claim that Odin and his Aesir Warriors would've made fine aids come Armageddon. I hope you'll forgive me if I scoff once I hear your words, though. Odin was a god of Chaos and Unreason, one who schemed endlessly to try and get an advantage at Ragnarok, in an attempt to avoid his Fate. He would've sold Heaven out for a slim chance at Surviving Armageddon, I assure you. His son Thor, though probably the most Honorable warrior in all of Asgard, was too devoted to serving his insane father to agree to obey Heaven's laws. Thus we had to Purify Asgard as well, lest they interfere with Heaven's works come Armageddon.
>
>
> Maybe you'll speak to me of the Faeries, and of how the Seelie court may be our allies against Hell and their own Unseelie cousins. How thick is the line that separates Seelie from Unseelie, I ask? There is a reason why the Humans spoke of Faeries as "The Good Folks", "The Little People" and "The Gentry". They sought to appease them, by not attracting their attention. This smacks to me of Nightmares, not Dreams. The Faeries kidnapped humans, dragging them into their realms in the Marches, and having their way with them. They took pleasure in acting as self-proclaimed judges of Right and Wrong, thinking themselves above Our Lord God's laws. Between the works of Disney and Tolkien, too many people nowadays forget that their ancestors feared the Faeries of Old.
>
>
> The Mythological Beasts of Old weren't much better, as I recall. Most of them made themselves plagues upon Humanity, preying on innocent people rather than natural animals. The Manticores stalked humans and ate them whole, clothes and all. Griffons played both sides of the Celestial War, seeking to serve Heaven AND Hell, but without commiting to either side. And the Sphinxes . . . I assume many of you are familiar with the twisted ethereals created by the works of the late H.P. Lovecraft? Allow me to inform you that the Sphinxes would've made fine additions to his Mythos. That is all I will say upon this.
>
>
> And then there be the Dragons. That anyone would seek to resurrect these foul beasts makes me believe that all of the Host has gone insane! Have you forgotten what kind of monsters those Dragons where? I have not. They were foul Fire-Breathing beasts who hoarded treasures stolen from men, and who attacked villages to steal cattle to eat . . . with sometimes an innocent maiden or two to add variety to their meals. Many of my compatriots died during the battles against the Dragons. And now you speak of bringing back those horrid beasts? May God forgive you for insulting the memory of my soul-dead friends . . . . For I cannot.
>
>
> Some of my fellow celestials criticize my views, and hope to recruit the ethereals to Heaven's side, proclaiming that anything made from human imagination cannot be wholly evil. I would remind them that when the Purity Crusade came, the ethereals did not run to Blandine's tower to seek redemption. They ran straight to Beleth's tower to make a deal. There is a reason people speak of Faeries paying a Teind to Hell.
>
>
> We would do well to focus our attentions upon God's true Children, the Humans. For not only are they Hell's prey, but they are the prey of their own dreams gone wild.
>
>
>
> May God be with you.
>
> Laurence, archangel of the Sword, Commander of Heaven's Armies, Servant of God, submitted to the ''Daily Revelation'', Heaven's own Newsletter, recently created by the angels of Revelation.

## The Mistake

Laurence made a mistake.

At the time, allowing the Catholic Church to clean up its lists of saints seemed like a good idea: there was a lot of folklore, legendry and really unbelievable stuff floating around there, and what was worse, people were noticing. It's not about to destroy anybody's Faith, per se, but it *will* lead to a certain amount of mockery. Best to take the medicine and move on.

A great thought, but there's one minor problem. Divine faiths don't produce ethereals, right? That's right, they don't. So, when the Church introduced St. Brigit, they managed to put a stake through the heart of the ethereal goddess of the same name. Unfortunately, what they *didn't* consider was what would happen when those old saints were officially thrown out of the calendar. The archangel of the Sword assumed that, once gone, the ethereal gods couldn't come back.

And we all know what happens when you assume, right?

Now, Laurence needs to get these saints back *into* the calendar before all those deities get revved up again. Thanks to the Church's new position, they can even grab Essence expended on behalf for the saint (you say that non-official saints aren't going to generate ethereal Essence? Tell it to the loa and the orisha): objectively speaking, the irony is delicious.

The archangel is somewhat hampered in this by the fact that the saints in question never actually existed, but that's what servitors are for. Not to mention excellent forgers. Just manufacture the evidence, all right?

And no, *don't* try to enlist Litheroy's aid. Laurence doesn't care how good of an archeologist he (or his servitors) is: this sort of thing will only disturb him and make him say extremely rude things in Council . . . .