Lilith

## Servitors

Because of her nature, it is more or less a given that Lilith has sponsored a rogue malak at some point in her long career. She requires no oaths and offers no Band Attunement but gives the malakim the same choice as anyone else; her rites in exchange for her dissonance conditions.

### Wordbound

Lilith doesn’t like permanently binding servitors to her service, but she’s more than happy to sponsor demons for Words (at a price). She is also more than happy to offer long term, renewable contracts to those Wordbound demons who hold complementary Words.

## Distinctions

Lilith rarely gives out distinctions. Only two are known: Knight Errant and Captain of the Third Choice. A third, Baron of Freedom, is suspected but has never been known to have been granted. However, even Lilith will occasionally need a servitor with the authority to go toe-to-toe with the other princes’ titled nobility and she won't always want to do it herself.

The first thing to realize is that none of Lilith’s servitors are bound. They chose to serve, often because the consequences are too dire for consideration, but it’s a choice nonetheless. That means Lilith’s distinctions, especially the upper distinctions, need to reflect “the will of the governed.”

Unlike other princes who use their dukes to impose hierarchy, reward strong and loyal service, or bribe and co-opt potential rivals, Lilith uses her doge to offload her work so that she truly can be free when she wants to be. As such, a doge will likely be dismissed back to the general population as soon as Lilith steps in to do the job again herself.

### The Secretariat

Freedom has no official organization. However, one of the most prestigious positions available is placement in the Secretarial Pool. Secretaries may hold no official authority over the other sisters. However, appointment to the pool implies Lilith’s approval, and provides the sister with a great degree of influence over the communication between temps and contractors.

With this in mind, Secretaries could easily be viewed as Count equivalents and the Acting Guildmaster equal to a Duke.

### The Merchant Republic

During the Renaissance, the mortals of Venice provided the servitors of Freedom with an example of how an elective government could fit into a system of hierarchical peerage. As a result, the Doge is Lilith’s other answer to Dukes and Duchesses. When Lilith requires a Doge, she informs her servitors and they elect one. In theory this is a “free” election, but because of the impact of favors and Geasa it is really more of a referendum among the most powerful Geas-holders.

The elected demon is then required accept several major (6-point) restricted Geasa that will bind them to the will of the represented should the elected fail to serve in good faith. Once this is done, the Doge-Elect is presented to Lilith for confirmation. The Dark Mother does have the right of refusal, but she has yet to exercise it.

#### The Doge Secretary (aka the Guildmistress)

The Doge Secretary oversees the Guild of Free Lilim in Lilith’s absence. Candidates are selected from among the Secretarial Pool by the secretaries themselves then voted upon by the general membership of the Guild of Free Lilim.

The Doge Secretary has the heaviest administrative load and the most visible role within the Guild. Because of this, she also often has the most influence within the guild ~ but she is still technically a peer to the other Secretaries. She can suggest they do things for the smooth running of the guild but cannot actually order them about.

#### The Doge of Freedom

The Doge of Freedom attends to the actual Princedom of Freedom (small as it is). She is responsible for Lilith’s holdings in Shal-Mari and for defending, directing, and admonishing the servitors of Freedom as appropriate.

The Doge of Freedom is selected from among all the servitors of Freedom and cannot serve past the end of whatever contract binds her to Lilith. Votes are typically cast among Lilith’s knights, captains, and goði, especially those who have already proven themselves adept at going toe-to-toe with the Game.

Some turn to the Media or Factions in order to get their message out, but this is typically considered bad move. Inviting outside interference into the elections of Freedom is one of the few ways to guarantee Lilith’s personal attention (she’s yet to reject the outcome of an election, but she has convinced some candidates that it is not in their best interests to pursue a leadership position).

#### The Doge of Temptation

The Doge of Temptation is responsible for ensuring that various princes want lilim, but also that no lilim are abused unduly regardless of which Superior they serve. She is effectively Lilith’s ambassador to the other Superiors and has the least direct authority among the Doge. However, she has broad approval from Lilith to commission the guild for acts of retribution and/or to request that the guild withhold service from a Superior until such time as Lilith can rule on a matter.

The senior lilim of each Superior and the Doge Secretary of the Guild of Free Lilim impanel a special council responsible for selecting possible candidates for the Doge of Temptation. Any lilim who is able may vote in this election regardless of Superior or standing before the Game. Even the brights have been known to take part in the council and election to select the Doge of Temptation. However, this is a rare occurrence. Most don’t like traveling to Hell. It puts their sisters in a tough spot with the Game and often strains relations with their own archangel as well.

#### Words and Titles

It should be noted that Doge Secretary, Doge of Freedom, and Doge of Temptation are all titles. They may or may not be Wordbound, but if they are that Word will have been earned entirely separately from their title.

### The Goðardship

Modeled on medieval Iceland, the goði are Mediators committed to Freedom and confirmed by Lilith. They are roughly equivalent to the Barons or Marquis of other princedoms and hold the right of proxy. Whenever the Princedom of Freedom holds a vote, the Goði may cast the vote of anyone choosing to follow them in addition to their own vote.

If you feel the need to give Goði a distinction ability, it should probably give them some measure of freedom from supernaturally imposed mental influence.

## Azrael and Lilith

Lilith has lived for thousands of years, well beyond the typical human span. This has led many to wonder whether or not Azrael somehow interfered with her natural death. The grigori archangel is, of course, silent on the matter ~ but the proclivities of his choir are well known.

If true, it would indicate that Lilith is deeply in Azrael’s debt ~ which would further explain why she goes to such great lengths to avoid death now.

## Family Resemblance

Every lightning strike produces a little burst of X-rays. Sometimes, this makes Jean wonder what an X-ray of Lilith's head would reveal. Or, for preference, her cleaned and dried skull on an examination table, of course . . .

Jean does not concern himself much with Lilith directly. Clearly, he must spend the plurality of his moral energy in countering Vapula, and most of the rest in equipping the Host, guiding human technological progress, and so on. But he spares some time to think about Lilith. "Lightning" is not a perfect translation of his Word, you see; it's more like "forces of nature" ~ force contrasted with matter, including electromagnetic force but not limited to it. And his Word centers on (or he *makes* it center on) the role of those forces in shaping the raw chaos of mass/energy. It's all about control, you see. And that's what Lilith flouts.

But about her skull:

Modern humans were not very numerous or widespread back in the days of the Eden Experiment. It didn't take long after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden for every human on the planet to carry some of their genes. (In fact, it took a remarkably short time, which Jean takes to indicate meddling by someone . . . or Someone.) And ever since then, all human faces have borne more or less resemblance to those two faces ~ faces handcrafted by God. It's nothing big, nothing mortal paleontologists could notice at their level of expertise. But Jean can see it; besides, he can just *remember* what pre-Adamite faces looked like; he doesn't have to reconstruct them. Not to mention Adam's face, and Eve's.

So every one of us has some resemblance to Father Adam or Mother Eve haunting our faces. But not Auntie Lilith. If you ever saw her face to face ~ and in her proper *body* not in a *vessel* ~ you could see it. Well, you could see it if you were Jean, or Jordi, or one of the other few and ancient celestials who take an interest in the fine points of anatomy. Otherwise, you'd just see that Lilith's face is exotically beautiful, which is just what you'd expect.

But her face, too, was handcrafted by God. And it's unique. She has no children of her body, only the "daughters" she sings up out of the Forces she cadges. She hates childbirth; she punishes it.

But, for some time now, there have been other ways Lilith's genes could enter the world. Surrogate motherhood. Human cloning. And more tricks on the horizon. (No, Jean *won't* tell you what those might be.) What would such a child be? It wouldn't be a Grigori-child or a nephil, because Lilith is human. A unique human, uniquely made by God, uniquely Worded by Lucifer. The child would be unprecedented. Or children. And it (or they) would certainly be part of an Infernal PlotTM.

Jean does not know of any likely plot. But he realizes the possibility. It doesn't occupy a lot of his time, but he does not forget about it either.

People stare at lightning in fear, or awe, or surprise, or delight.

Sometimes, the lightning is looking back. Studying their faces.