recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Old Solar

The **Old Solar language** (Hlab-Eribol-ef-Cordi) is the language of the Solar system.

The fragments of the language given were observed by philologist Elwin Ransom, who learned the language on Mars (Malacandra) in the early 20th century. Before learning of its relatively universal use, he referred to the language as Malacandrian or by the name used for it on Malacandra, hressa-hlab, which means "the language of the hrossa".

The language is based on consonantal roots. For example, the most frequently attested root contains the consonants *(h)ndr* and underlies:

* **h**a**ndr**a - land; ground; planet
* hara**ndr**a - highland; mountain
* Tai Hare**ndr**imar - Hill of Life (name of a mountain)
* **h**o**n**o**dr**askrud - groundweed

## Lexicon (incomplete)

* **Arbol** - The Sun.
* **Arbol hrū** - Gold. [Literally "sun's blood".]
* **crah** - The last part of a hrossian poem.
* **eldil** (pl. **eldila**) An immaterial being, corresponding to an angel in Christianity.
* **Glund** or **Glundandra** - Jupiter.
* **handra** Land; ground; planet.
* **handramit** - Lowland, valley, what we would call a Martian canal; where the hrossa live.
* **harandra** - Highland, mountain; where the séroni live.
* **hlab** - Language.
* **hluntheline** - To long for something (cf. wondelone)
* **hmān** (pl. **hmāna**) A human. (The hrossan rendition of the word 'man'.)
* **hnakra** (pl. **hnéraki**) A kind of dangerous aquatic animal native to Malacandra.
* **hnakrapunt** (pl. **hnakrapunti**) One who has slain a hrakna.
* **hnau** (pl. **hnau**) A material, thinking creature, such as a human or a hross.
* **honodraskrud** - Groundweed; an edible pinkish-white kind of weed, found all over the handramit.
* **hressa-hlab** - The name for Old Solar used on Malacandra. [Literally, the language of the hrossa, as the other people of Malacandra use their own languages.]
* **hross** (pl. **hrossa**, f.pl. **hressni**) A race of Malacandrian hnau, described as "something like a penguin, something like an otter, and something like a seal." They enjoy poetry and have a complicated art about it.
* **hrū** - Blood.
* **Malacandra** - Mars.
* **Maleldil** - A supreme immaterial being, corresponding to God or Jesus in Christianity.
* **Oyarsa** (pl. **Oyéresu**) The eldil ruler of a planet. The Oyéresu bear similarities to the Greco-Roman deities associated with each planet, with the exception of Earth, whose Oyarsa corresponds to Satan in Christianity.
* **Perelandra** or **Parelandra** - Venus.
* **pfifltrigg** (pl. **pfifltriggi**) A race of Malacandrian hnau. Rather frog-like in appearance.
* **sorn** (pl. **séroni**) A race of Malacandrian hnau.
* **Sulva** - Earth's moon.
* **thulc** - Silent.
* **Thulcandra** - Earth.
* **Viritrilbia** - Mercury.
* **wondelone** - To long for something.
Songs of Foreknowledge

This Song, invented by Othniel, comes in celestial, ethereal, and corporeal versions, usable only in their respective realms.

It lets the singer "just happen" to be prepared for otherwise unforeseeable developments, a number of times equal to the check digit, over a number of hours equal to the singer's Celestial Forces. Examples: You need to pick a lock, and "fortunately" happened to bring the tools with you. You need to know the name of Aleister Crowley's mistress and "happen" to have read that information yesterday. (Note that the Song starts taking effect before it is sung . . . .) In effect, it lets the player write minor additions to the otherwise-unspecified back-story.
Neural Override/"Vulcan Nerve Pinch"

This Precision-based skill requires a Medicine knowledge of at least 3 and a Precision skill of at least 6. It has no default. It can be used only on humans, including Soldiers, and will not work on celestials, undead, or Remnants. The check digit of a successful roll must be higher than the target's Corporeal Forces, and a target who is aware of the attack (i.e. is attacked from the front) may dodge. The target of a successful attack will be rendered unconscious for the check digit in minutes, with no aftereffects. Because this attack does not actually injure a human in any way, it does not cause disturbance.

This skill can only be learned from someone who has it at level 6, but it can be learned and used by anyone who has the prerequisites. It is of course popular among mercurians and cherubim, and servitors of Flowers, Protection, and Children. Demons like it for its lack of disturbance and for those occasions when they want to capture a human undamaged.
Xavier

Since prudence is concerned with discerning good from evil, Xavier is a Virtue of Yves.

## In Service to Faith and the Sword

While Khalid was forsaking Heaven, many of these Virtues wanted nothing to do with him. Now that he has taken a more equitable view, malakim from every corner of Heaven have been begun to coordinate with him.

However, the malakim of the greatest virtues also play a special role in the War if they are responsible for coordinating actions against the Princes of Sin. As such they are expected to liaise and coordinate with Laurence. Each of them holds one of the Sword’s command-level distinctions (even if Laurence does not get along with their Superior).
Possible crossovers

* World of Darkness
	+ Vampire ~ almost unchanged, tho do need to account for Samingan vampires/undead
	+ Werewolf ~ definitely large changes, but do-able, with the Wyld as the Ethereal, the Weaver as Heaven, and the Wyrm as Hell
	+ Mage ~ almost unrecognizable, but can provide inspiration for organizations and such
	+ Changeling ~ definitely big changes, but possible, with the Ethereal as the Dreaming, obvi
	+ Wraith ~ can do almost unchanged, if we imagine much of the afterlife depicted therein as stretching the length of the Celestial between Heaven and Hell
	+ Hunter ~ all of the changes would likely be invisible to the hunters themselves, I think, so fairly well usable; they're prolly soldiers
	+ Mummy ~ complicated, but doable, I think
* Chronicles of Darkness
	+ Vampire ~ probably almost unchanged
	+ Werewolf?
	+ Mage ~ Astral Realms are Ethereal
	+ Promethean
	+ Hunter
	+ Changeling
	+ Geist
	+ Mummy
	+ Beast
	+ Deviant
* GURPS
	+ Cabal
	+ Voodoo Shadow War
	+ Illuminati
	+ Creatures of the Night
	+ Alternate Earths 1 & 2
	+ Time Travel
	+ Camelot
	+ Greece
	+ Celtic Myth
	+ Illuminati University
* Unknown Armies
* Nobilis
* King Arthur Pendragon
* Scion
Othniel

### Wordbound or Unique Rites

Set a timepiece to the exact local time, within 0.1 seconds. Do someone a favor that saves them an hour or more of time. (2 Essence)

### Source

Wind Off the Hilltop

Othniel and its servitors can be used as celestial "Time Lords" to move modern PCs into historical or futuristic settings, or to play tricks on the PCs with temporal effects.

Long ago, Othniel was offered archangel status by the Seraphim Council but declined it. It is enormously old, having been created at the Beginning, shortly after Yves, Michael, Lucifer, and the other primal angels. It got its Word very early, too. It has always been a loyal servitor of Yves, and one reason it declined archangel status was to avoid Word-friction with its boss. Another, deeper, reason was that it knew being an archangel would throw it into much more contact with the Host in general and the Seraphim Council in particular ~ and serving its Word requires a lot of discretion, not to say secrecy.

As archangel of Destiny, Yves knows ALL the POSSIBLE futures. As angel of Time, Othniel knows SOME of the ACTUAL future, and is the patron of time-*travel*. Othniel has ~ Othniel invented ~ various Songs of Time-Travel. These he teaches to some of his servitors, mostly old and powerful ofanim.

Introduce time-travel and you immediately have decisions to make, chiefly about malleability of history and handling paradoxes. Othniel is designed for a system in which history is rigid and cannot be changed. (Does this mean Othniel is designed for a system without free will? An interesting philosophical question. Othniel would say no.)

If history is rigid, you get what *GURPS Time Travel* calls, I believe, "Observer Effect" and what Othniel calls "timelock." Timelock is the bad luck that happens to you if you try to do something that would change the past. Try to shoot your own infant self, and your gun will jam, or the Time Patrol will catch you, or you'll off the twin brother you never knew you had, or some such event.

It is part of Othniel's job to protect the Host from timelock. This, plus more conventional security reasons, is why he works secretly so much of the time. Anyone he moves back through time ~ either going on a mission into the past or returning from a mission into the future ~ works in treble secrecy, not only from the mortals and the infernals, as is usual, but from most of the rest of the Host as well. Othniel is the reverse of a public figure, and most of the Host do not know it exists.

Othniel has no single opposite number in the ranks of Kronos, but the demon prince makes occasional use of time-travel. He has developed his own versions of time-travel Songs and seems to project his agents through time himself, rather than teaching any of them these Songs.
Time Drums

This type of talisman dates from the Purification Crusade. (Honestly, given the sheer number of artifacts descended from one-of-a-kind ethereal constructions, an impartial observer might be forgiven for assuming that the Crusade was merely just a particularly demented R&D evaluation/purchasing trip.) Modern versions tend to be snare drums or bongos, although big ones certainly exist.

Time Drums act as a talisman for Dancing (increasing skill, not granting it), but only for those actually listening to one. The user may not actually dance, but a human continuously using the drum may go without sleep or food without ill effects for one half day per level of the relic. The ancient Maya used these talismans to aid their sacred rituals: modern servitors of Stone, Creation, Hardcore, and Drugs just enjoy the truly wild parties that you can throw with one. This would make sensitive celestials wince, assuming that you can find one that really and truly cares about whether a pagan religious item gets used frivolously.
Songs of Nurturing

These Songs are useful enough, yes, but it takes a certain type of mindset to want to have access to them. Especially the Corporeal Song ~ and, as Novalis and Christopher won't give out the Ethereal or Celestial Songs of Nurturing unless the petitioner already has and has used the corporeal version, well, they're probably going to stay "secret" for a while longer.

## Corporeal

This Song allows an angel to produce milk from her body. This milk will feed one baby per day per Essence spent, and also cure any and all diseases the baby might have on the spot. Also, for the next day all attempts to harm, resonate or attack the baby will be at a minus equal to the Song's check digit. "Baby" is defined as "human child under the age of three" for the purposes of this discussion.

Note that an angel with a male vessel may indeed use this Song (and that any servitors with female animal vessels may likewise use it to suckle young). After all, most human males have vestigial nipples . . . .

## Ethereal

This Song allows the angel to provide another with comforting and protection. The target receives a bonus to resist either the balseraphic or habbalic resonance (chosen at time of performance) equal to the check digit of the Song. Duration is one hour for each Essence spent.

## Celestial

This Song is the prize for the War Faction: singers of it reduce drastically how long it takes for someone to come out of Trauma. Once performed, the target subtracts one half of the amount of Essence spent, rounded down, from his or her Corporeal Forces (to determine how often that they may roll) and adds the check digit of the Song to Will rolls to snap out of Trauma. This bonus lasts until the target finally recovers. If the target's Corporeal Forces are lowered to 0 or below (for the purposes of recovery from Trauma only), then the target may roll every 6 hours to recover.
Statuette

This relic resembles a certain well-known award given out for excellence in cinema. Close examination of a statuette will show up the differences: the color is slightly off, there's the faintest hint of horns on the figure's head, and at any rate the inscription is invariably "Ishtar: Best Picture". Statuettes are Talismans: Emote (adds to skill) and are unique in that the user doesn't need to carry the item.

Servitors of the Media often use this talisman as sort of . . . a pick-me-up . . . for their "clients". After all, the Life is a demanding one: there's all those parties, all those publicity stunts, all those drugs and debauchery ~ and not enough time to sleep. After a while, it can seriously drain a person. Thanks to this little baby, though, none of it matters. Just fondle it a little in the morning, just before starting filming, and you'll be on top of your form for the rest of the day. No fuss, no muss.

Of course, the specialized design features (Nybbas won't ever use the word "bugs") of the relic ensure that prolonged use will kill you, but what the Hell? Live large, die young, leave a good-looking corpse.

## Doing the math

**Talisman/6** (Emote) (Adds to skill) 12pt

**Activation**: 5 minute invocation -2pt

**Convenience**: Doesn't need to be carried (special) +5pt

**Harms User**: Body Hits -2pt

**Harms User**: Soul Hits (can remove a Force) -4pt

**Visibility**: Automatically Detectable -3pt

**Total**: 6pt
Tubal Cain

Herab Serapel is a desolate and towering forge located right at the border with Stygia. Its habbalah lord has little time for anyone or anything. Tubal Cain’s proclaimed duchy is more of a giant “fuck you” to anyone who might try to rule over him than an assertion of dominion over others. However, because he produces sharp and deadly weapons, Fire demons have been known to invent and fight for causes on his behalf.
Vine

Rittmeister General of the Black Cavalry

Vine’s cavalry is sometimes known as the Locusts of Hell. They are thieves, despoilers and profiteers; bringing famine in their wake and encouraging mortals to do the same. Vine herself is something of a prophet (though nowhere near as powerful as Gabriel). Under the right circumstances she can peer into either the future or the past, and she uses this knowledge to help her besiege the impoverished and overthrow their walls through hunger and need.

A demon must already have attained the distinction of Knight before Vine will accept them under her command.
Word

## Reverb

Reverb is a celestial . . . condition in which objects and events related to one's Word show up with unusual frequency. One would be tempted to call it a minor discord, but this would be socially inept (or dangerous), since all Superiors exhibit the condition, it is common in Wordbound, and is commoner in unWorded servitors the more highly distincted they are.

Reverb is most obvious on the ethereal plane, where self-image is arbitrary. It can be controlled with minor (no roll) acts of volition but keeps creeping back unless attended to.

On the other planes, reverb can be suppressed for Celestial Forces hours by a successful Will roll, which can be re-tried once a minute. Or, for Wordbound, the effect can be *enhanced* for the same amount of time. Many Wordbound revel in it, as Superiors sometimes do, though both find it wise to tidy up afterwards (or tell an underling to do so).

### Some examples

If you associate, knowingly or not, with an angel of Flowers, you'll notice things like lots of weeds growing through the cracks in nearby pavement, lots of people at the office getting bouquets delivered, lots of ads for florists, lots of people wearing floral prints and perfume, and so forth.

If you're around an angel of Trade or a demon of Greed, you'll be surprised at the number of pyramid schemes showing up in your e-mail, ads for sales and financial services will leap to your eye from every quarter, and speaking of quarter, you'll tend to find coins on the sidewalk (if the demon of Mammon doesn't find them first).

Fast-food joints and ads for them, smells of cooking, people talking about the difficulties of dieting, and random plates of cookies and brownies flourish in the environment when demons of Gluttony are around.

If you're around angels of Lightning, tech-talk and advances in science will show up in media and conversations around you, and people will be fiddling with the latest whizzy gadgets, which work effortlessly.

But if there are demons of Technology around, your computers will fill with spam and viruses without the demons raising a talon, and you will hear people talking about conspiracy theories of suppressed inventions, or about each other as if they were malfunctioning machines or medical cases that needed repair or treatment.

If angels of the Sword are active about, you will notice pictures of knights and cavaliers and musketeers cropping up, and media and conversations will bring up the subjects of honor and courage repeatedly.

Reverb symptoms for other Words are left as an exercise to the reader.
Raqib the Observer

### Oaths

Raqib has used the Song of Witness to vow that he will not attack anyone in the Marches. Breaking that vow will create a 130-point disturbance in the Symphony.

### Distinctions

Vassal of Dreams, Friend of Sleepers, Master of the Realm of Night, Dream Warden

## Resources

### Attunements

Seraph of Dreams, Ofan of Dreams, Malak of Dreams, Dreamwalking (Blandine)

### Songs

Banishing (Ethereal/4), Direction (Ethereal/3), Dreams (Corporeal/4, Celestial/3), Faith (Ethereal/4, Celestial/3), Nemesis (Celestial/6), Witness (Celestial/4)

### Skills

Dodge/4, Dreaming/4, Escape/3, Fighting/2, Move Silent/2

Raqib takes Blandine’s commandment of non-interference *very* seriously. Not only does he avoid meddling with mortals on the corporeal plane, but he will not interfere with them (or those who visit them) in the ethereal plane either. His job is to observe and report.

Since Raqib can render himself invisible while traveling the ethereal realm, most characters will only ever spot him when they have rolled an intervention inside a dreamscape and Raqib *wants* them to know that their activities have been observed.

That said, a surprise visit by an *injured* Raqib would be an excellent intro into an ethereal realm campaign in which gods, demons, or something equally terrible has been secretly reshaping the Marches.

Raqib is also nominally a part of Heaven’s Islamic faction. He observes the Four Pillars and will assist the needy so long as it does not conflict with his duties or his adherence to the truth.

Although Raqib will not give false report or testimony, he is an optimist, and will be more likely to recall the good someone has done than the ill.
The Temporal Displacement Device

Jean has built a temporal displacement device. Every servitor of Technology knows it. But, typical repressed eloah that he is, he has forbidden its use under any circumstances, for some top-secret reason with which the Seraphim Council has completely concurred. Unfortunately, something is also preventing its destruction; apparently, it's some kind of unique modification to a small tether to Lightning, and even an archangel can't do anything about that until it dies naturally. So, there's now a garrison of Lightning angels protecting the site, armed with the best weaponry Heaven has to offer, not to mention an array of deathtraps that make getting to the center of the installation, where the corporeal locus is located, a struggle for even the most determined teams of demons. The installation itself is a superb defense; it's easy to get lost in its winding, deliberately confusing passages.

Sometimes a demon will find himself separated from his comrades. He gets in a running firefight with a team of malakim, when suddenly a crossfire is set up from a nook above him in the hall, someone coming to his aid. The malakim retreat, and he finds himself alone with . . . himself. From the future, it appears. He confirms his identity with a few personal tidbits about the demon's past, and casually mentions that he only has a short while, especially when the other demons reappear, but he had an obvious interest in returning to help out his past self. Speaking of obvious . . .

Did we mention the Numinous Corpus: Wings? The white feathered ones?

## What's going on

Jean thinks it's an excellent use of an old, minor, dying tether that can't be efficiently supported. Since defenders have the advantage of ground and knowledge of the area, not to mention a Traumatic malak, Heaven makes out better than Hell on the body/Trauma count. And when a demon comes in that might be Redemption material ~ or it's someone who they've decided would be best placed on the Game's watch list ~ well . . .

There's already so much disturbance flying around at these things. Who's going to notice 8 or 9 Essence spent on a use of the seraphic, eloahic, malakic, or mercurian resonance? And if the demon comes to the conclusion that an angel in a vessel just like his (a permanent investment, since the servitor can keep it afterward), knowing about his past relationships, or secret motivations, just **has** to be himself from the future . . . there's a surprisingly low recidivism rate, once an ex-demon has experienced the wonder of his new state, and been convinced that he too would lie to get someone on the Right Side.
Soul

## Components of the soul

### Trinalism

There are four main approaches to the mind/body problem: physicalism, holism, panpsychism, and dualism (and then there are forms of idealism that deny the body and forms of physicalism that deny the mind). All have problems spanning the chasm between mind and body. There is a third thing, neither mind nor body, explicitly to plug the gap.

> Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.
>
> Albert Einstein

This thing is what medieval Scholastics called "animal spirit." This is all very abstract and metaphysical, but it serves a purpose, because this agency (variously also called *mana, prana, chi, qi, vis, numen, baraca, foyson*, and more names besides) glues the will to the world, and it is the agency of both incarnation and magic. Magic, indeed, is only a diluted form of incarnation.
Songs of the Slumbering City

Crossover with Don't Rest Your Head

Instead of being discovered in the normal manner, these Songs emerged from the ethereal strands that have woven together to make the Slumbering City. They draw heavily on the domain’s own nature. The Corporeal Song has a tendency to implant itself into anyone who visits the domain and the Ethereal Song is there just waiting to be discovered by any terror powerful enough to start dragging new residents into the City.

Because of her connection to Nightmares, Beleth also has also learned of these Songs. While she is not fool enough to trust the greedy urban domain ~ she might teach them to one or two of her servitors just to see what happens.

## Corporeal Song of the Slumbering City

This song creates a path that will take the singer physically into the ethereal domain of the Slumbering City. This path typically takes the form of a door or an alleyway where none normally exists and is visible to anyone traveling with the singer or who is Symphonically Aware. Some unlucky insomniacs may also be able to notice it. Once created this path lasts until dawn or until a number of Forces equal to the singer’s Corporeal Forces + check digit have passed through.

The Slumbering City typically keeps people from realizing that they know this Song or that they are singing it. However, should someone learn this Song without traveling to the ethereal domain of the Slumbering City (such as a servitor of Beleth), they will most likely be exempt from the City’s Influence.

## Ethereal Song of the Slumbering City

There are two variations of this Song. Regardless of the variation being used, only people capable of visiting the Slumbering City (insomniacs and the Symphonically Aware) can hear it.

The first variation can be sung anywhere. It creates a compulsion that will draw the listeners towards the ethereal domain of the Slumbering City. Much as with the Song of Calling, this feels like a gentle “tug” directing the listener towards where they are wanted. However, once someone attempts to resist or ignore the call, they must succeed on a Will roll or they will find themselves following it anyway.

The second variation can only be sung from within the ethereal domain of the Slumbering City. Once again it behaves like a Song of Calling with an added compulsion. The target can be in any realm at any distance so long as the singer and the target have some connection or the singer knows the target’s true name. This version of the spell draws the target directly to the singer, rather than to the Slumbering City in general.

## Celestial Song of the Slumbering City

The ethereal domain of the Slumbering City is itself a powerful spirit of Insomnia. This song channels some of that sleeplessness. The target of this song will be restless and unable to sleep for a number of hours equal to the Song’s level multiplied by the check digit. During this time the target will only be able to focus on a task if they obsess about it.
Salamanders

Salamanders are a minor band native to Sheol ~ Belial loves them, but other princes will only very rarely allow the destructive creatures into their principalities. Salamanders develop naturally from gremlins who love making things burn. If not for their highly specialized focus on destruction, they might otherwise have become calabim. Their talent for setting things on fire makes them powerful and dangerous, but their single-minded obsession makes them loose cannons, even by Belial's standards . . . no one can keep a salamander's mind off of burning for long. They may occasionally be sent to the corporeal plane, when Belial wants something torched fast, but if he's not on hand personally to yank them back to Hell when they're finished, they'll run amok until their vessels are killed.

True to mythology, Salamanders are glowing, lizard-like creatures in celestial form. Belial rarely gives them human vessels; they're more likely to manifest corporeally as bright red reptiles that resemble their celestial form. As instruments, they are howling klaxons, cheering on the blazes they ignite.

## Resonance

Salamanders start fires and can do so with a Will roll. There is no resistance roll. On the celestial plane, this will do soul hits equal to the check digit. Celestial fires don't continue to burn unless the salamander ignites something that's flammable . . . and what's flammable depends on the "rules" the local prince has established. (In Sheol, humans are usually flammable . . .) On the ethereal plane, salamanders can choose to inflict mind or soul hits with their fires (usually they choose soul). On Earth, the initial conflagration will inflict body hits equal to the check digit (Protection applies normally, but a salamander's resonance can't be dodged), and will ignite flammable materials. If the GM deems that a person's clothes have been set on fire, he'll take another 1d6 damage per round until he's extinguished.

## Dissonance

Salamanders suffer dissonance every *hour* they don't set something on fire! In Sheol, this isn't a problem, but their pyromania makes them dysfunctional anywhere else.
Peor

### Wordbound or Unique Rites

Engage in anal sex for at least an hour. Give a sizable material reward ($100+) for an uncharitable act.

### Source

Liber Neglecta

There aren’t many infernal seneschals who can honestly claim to have survived a direct attack on their tether by the forces of Heaven. Even fewer have managed to survive the destruction of their tether. Of those, only Peor has actually grown stronger as a result of the attack. It should be noted that Peor embodies all the sins of Sodom. He is egotistical, uncharitable, exploitative, unconcerned with consent, and contemptuous towards angels. He likes to use his lovers and his worshipers (who are not always one and the same). He also believes that the world would revolve a great deal faster if everyone minded their own business, though of course his business extends to everyone who crosses his path or catches his eye. Peor also happens to like anal sex and is more than happy to use his infernal abilities to make others take part as well.

## Ex-Lovers

Peor is rumored to have been the one-time consort of Ba'al, Prince of the War. It is also said that he seduced one of the angels who destroyed his city, using the very forces of heaven who thought they were his undoing to spread and strengthen his word.
Scroll of Zoroaster / Book of Crowley

Despite the name, this relic isn't unique ~ or even a scroll, sometimes. It usually appears as a scroll, but more technologically inclined Superiors will provide this relic in book or even laptop form.

The relic is essentially a talisman that can grant the Knowledge (Angels or Demons) skill. Soldiers of God get demon lore: Hellsworn get information on the habits of angels. Both sides prefer that their mortal servants not be exposed to too much information about the Other Side: providing these talismans can prevent that, while still allowing humans to act effectively.

The Knowledge skill will normally provide basic choir/band information, the more powerful Words, helpful advice about various types of dissonance and how to recognize either Angelic or Helltongue ~ in short, the sort of thing that a celestial on either side would reasonably be expected to know. It's generally useless for fully-fledged angels or demons, for that reason, but relievers, imps, and gremlins sometimes have a version of this talisman. Generally, Scrolls of Zoroaster are trustworthier, which is why most Hellsworn will do anything to get their hands on one (knowing your enemy is good. Knowing your master is better). Soldiers of God usually flip through captured Books of Crowley for laughs.

## Sample Scroll/Book

* **Talisman/3** (Knowledge: Angels or Demons), grants skill 6pt
* **Convenience**: Can be used in a completely hidden way 3pt
* **Vulnerable**: Ethereal Artifact destroyed when corporeal form destroyed -2pt
* **Fragility**: Easy to destroy -2pt
* **Total Cost**: 5pt
Zhsmael

### Attunements

Demon of Back-Alley Abortions, Lilu of Death, Balseraph of Death, Lilu of Nightmares, Zombi

### Songs

Affinity (Celestial/2), Blood (Corporeal/4, Celestial/4), Draining (Corporeal/4), Harmony (Corporeal/3, Ethereal/6), Nemesis (Celestial/3), Numinous Corpus (Claws/3, Fangs/3), Pestilence (Corporeal/3), Plagues (Ethereal/2, Celestial/2), Poison (Corporeal/2), Shields (Corporeal/2, Celestial/4)

### Skills

Economics/3, Fast Talk/6, Lying/2, Medicine/2, Savoir-Faire/4, Singing/4

### Servants

6-Force Mummy/3 x2 [Attunement]

Zhsmael likes to work from the shadows. The demoness maintains an “old-girls network” ~ one that knows where you can go if you have a certain problem to take care of and cannot afford the time, publicity, or invasiveness of a state-sanctioned solution. She also helps her “providers” go to ground when they manage to spectacularly botch a job.

Zhsmael does not typically meet with her end clients. Not only would that be poor operational security, but it would also be an unwise investment (many won’t survive long enough to *repay* her favors). Instead Zhsmael collects from friends, family, and providers ~ each for a different reason.

In spite of the dirty and sometimes lethal way Zhsmael goes about it, she still sees herself as providing pregnant women a choice denied to them by state and culture (and will gain Essence accordingly). That the children will die and the mothers might is just an added perk. Lilith may frown on the practice of killing people now, but Zhsmael knows that wasn’t always the case. Other lilim may change their shade over time, but Zhsmael stays true to her heritage.

The demoness is responsible for enough deaths that she could maintain a small army of zombies. However, she considers them to be poor tools ~ useful when you need a lot of muscle quickly, but not worth keeping around long term. Instead of wasting time on the shambling dead, Zhsmael has used Saminga’s favor to ensure the services of a couple mummies who will help keep her network going when she is absent.

Over the past few years Zhsmael has been making a move for greater control. She has called in several of her political Geasa to ensure that abortions regulations *pass* their respective legislations. Regardless of what this does to abortions as a whole, she *knows* it will increase her own clientele.

## Her Name

Zhsmael is a pseudonym chosen to impugn God. Lilith will not ever give any of her daughters a name ending in -el (or presumably -iah).

One would need to come to an arrangement with Lilith or Saminga to learn Zhsmael’s true name, and neither of them are talking.
The Order of Saint Lazarus

This Catholic holy order is, on the surface, just one of many minor orders: the brothers are all doctors, nurses and other medical personnel. With the modern era, some of them are even paramedics. Many major Catholic hospitals in Europe and the Americas have at least a brother attached: the largest have a small chapter house in the area (while the Order is monastic, they are not cloistered).

Their avowed mission is to minister to the sick and dying, helping those who can be helped and helping those who cannot accept their mortality. Their secret mission is actually much the same: the Order of St. Lazarus is the Church's undead specialists.

Every member of the Order is either a full Soldier of God or a human that knows about the War. Considering their affiliations, it might be surprising to know that they are not directly overseen by Laurence: while he uses the Order as needed, and approves of it, the archangel of the Sword has found that Zadkiel has a knack for working with this group. That's what subordinates are *for*.

The Order spends most of its time doing perfectly mundane things associated with any healing Catholic Order: however, when the archangel of Protection discovers an infestation of undead, she'll make the call for the nearest group of Lazarines to investigate. Their human status allows them to remove particularly obnoxious examples of the breed without automatic disturbance, and their priestly status is useful when dealing with the more superstitious kinds of undead.

The major chapterhouse of the Order (in Vancouver, Canada) is a combination of communications nexus and research facility. The library alone contains some of the most comprehensive collections of necromantic lore in the world. New Lazarines also get "hands-on" experience, as it were: there's always a zombi or two to study, and sometimes someone will bring in a vampire ~ or even a mummy.

The Order is somewhat callous when it comes to using up their captives for instructional purposes: they do not torture, but neither do they show any mercy. The training procedures are designed to promote a healthy fear in the trainees, but a useful fear. Lazarines usually leave their training with a solid understanding of the undead ~ and a deep loathing of them.

PCs wishing to be Lazarines should take at least Medicine/3 and Knowledge (the Undead/3): a variety of Ranged Weapons and the Corporeal Songs of Fire, Healing, Light, and Might wouldn't be a bad idea, either.
Scala Paradisi

The creation of a venerated Catholic saint, this exquisite and ornate tome describes the means by which divine perfection may be attained. It does so by aphorisms, parables, sermons, and other occasionally obfuscatory means, detailing the "thirty steps" towards true piety. The book is a difficult read, taking approximately (30 - Intelligence) hours to complete.

Demons reading the book will realize its danger quickly enough; those foolish enough to read a full chapter or more will take 1d6 soul hits and a point of dissonance. Mortals will be unaffected unless they have manifested a sixth Force and are not Symphonically Aware ~ in that case, make a d666 roll against the mortal's Perception when they complete the book; on a success, they become Symphonically Aware.

The book is best given to angels, however. An angel with a single point of dissonance who reads and understands the material in the Scala will find his piety renewed, and his dissonance lost. This may only be done once per angel, unfortunately ~ once read, the book should really be passed on to someone else who needs it. Also, it will have no effect on angels with more than one point of dissonance! Such a condition makes it too difficult to fully comprehend the lessons taught therein. Still, though limited, this relic finds much use amongst the Host. It is currently in the care of archangel Laurence.
Songs of Processional

This Song, invented by Othniel, comes in celestial, ethereal, and corporeal versions, usable only in their respective realms.

Being immortal, most angels can move into the future by the simple process of waiting, and even for Othniel this is the preferred mode. But when it won't do, the Songs of Processional move the singer, plus as much cargo as they can personally carry, to a specified point in the future. If the specification is vague, the singer is moved a minimum distance or to wherever the GM finds amusing.

Because this Song is so "loud" in terms of disturbance, Othniel and its servitors prefer to use it in Heaven, then descend to the corporeal realm, rather than make noise on Earth. The Marches are the second choice.
Songs of Incarnation

## Ethereal

This secret Song is a distant cousin to the infamous Song of Exchange, though its indirect nature places its users lower on Heaven's "Most Wanted" list. It is only known to the few remaining high-powered ethereal gods, such as the Hindu pantheon; others can learn it, but most consider the cost too high for its arguably limited effect. For one thing, in addition to the Essence cost, the singer of this Song automatically loses a Force of his choice, permanently!

When performed, one child being conceived on Earth within the next 24 hours will be born as an avatar of the ethereal. The ethereal has no choice of the child ~ the Symphony chooses randomly, though it always seems to choose a child slated to be raised within the ethereal's sphere of influence. (E.g., if Vishnu performed this Song, the child affected would be Hindu or would grow up amongst Hindus.) The ethereal has no control over the avatar, nor is he granted any special communion with it, but the avatar will act to further the ethereal's presence on Earth instinctively.

Avatars are born with six Forces; they will have at least three Forces of the type "donated" by the ethereal. A Corporeal Force thus tends to create a holy warrior, an Ethereal Force a wise planner, and a Celestial Force an inspiring leader. When an avatar dies, his dreamshade ends up in the Far Marches with his creator; there is much speculation over whether this Song precludes the avatar's potential destiny or fate . . . . Servitors of Yves and Kronos who have resonated avatars always turn up the same result (destiny to fulfill the ethereal's cause, fate to fail).

## Celestial & Corporeal

There are constant rumors of a celestial version of this song (Laurence and Dominic would like to know the truth behind this one, especially), along with occasional rumors of a corporeal version, though no one can quite agree on what it **does**.
The Terrible Trivium

### Songs

Charm (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Dreams (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Form (Celestial/6), Light (Ethereal/2), Possession (Celestial/2), Tongues (Corporeal/2)

### Skills

Dodge/2, Fast Talk/4, Fighting/2, Running/2, Survival/2, Tracking/2

The Terrible Trivium operates by burdening his victims with menial and repetitive tasks as a way to distract them from being productive. Escaping his influence is rather like leaving the Doldrums: you just have to think.

He’s highly manipulative and not much interested in “the deal,” and is also interested in keeping people from their appointed tasks and thus their Destiny.
Saint Philip Kindred Dick

Madness is a slippery concept. A shame that no one realized that he was a prophet until he came to Heaven: it would have made things much easier all around. St. Philip is certainly happier now that people aren't looking at him oddly whenever he comes up with an insight at ninety degrees to established reality. The Cadre finds this insight useful: he's been in many multiple-member missions (although he rarely, if ever, goes solo on Earth duty), and his musings have invariably been crucial to the mission's success. He also apparently has Gabriel's private phone number, which is a potent weapon, indeed. However, it's only reliable when the alternative is to have St. Phillip end up dead, alas . . . .
Talkative

This discord is sometimes called "St. Benjamin's Folly" (after a minor Saint who had real difficulties in knowing when to keep his mouth shut) by demons. Essentially, a celestial with this discord has lost whatever censor circuit exists between the brain and the mouth: they must make a Will roll, minus twice the level of the discord, to avoid blurting out whatever they're thinking of at the time. Don't tell anyone with this discord a secret.

Alaemon routinely obliterates anybody suffering from this discord that he encounters. Demons will generally react at -2 per level: angels will react at -1, except for servitors of Revelation and seraphim.
ReZ

the Promoted Songbook (Vol. III)

### Songs

Numinous Corpus (Spines/1, Tail/1, Tentacle/1, Tongue/1, Wings/1), Revulsion (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Seals (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Sensation (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Shadows (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Shattering (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Shields (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Sight (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Silence (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Sleep (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Solace (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Succor (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Thunder/1, Tongues (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Transfiguration (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Truth (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1)

### Skills

Computer Use/2, Fighting/1, Singing/1

ReZ has only just earned hir horns. Ze does hir best to hide this fact under hir hat. It would never do to let other demons know how new ze is to all of this. As an imp, ReZ was little more than a sentient Song manual, and ze would hate to be treated the same way now that ze has fledged.

Thankfully ze learned some tricks to transpose hir knowledge for more powerful singers to use. Its the sort of thing ReZ should be able to leverage ~ once ze manages to work hir way back to “L.”
The Four Humors

Before Saminga realized how closely medicine was related to his own Word, Kobal slipped in with one of his longer lasting jokes: the Four Humors.

Though they are much diminished (with the exception of Rubido, demon of Blood), Kobal has continued to use these demons as liaisons with other Superiors. They are not Kobal’s only marquises, but they are some of the better-known ones.

There may have been some changes along the way, but the current humors are:

* Rubido, balseraph of Blood (liaison to Andrealphus, Ba'al, & Nybbas)
* Citrine, djinni of Bile (liaison to Haagenti, Magog, & Malphas)
* Albedo, calab of Phlegm (liaison to Asmodeus, Kronos, & Saminga)
* Negrida, habbalah of Scabs (liaison to Beleth, Fleurity, & Mammon)

Though it is now mostly defunct, the long-lasting association between these demons and medicine has left each of them with a reasonable knowledge of the skill and more than just a couple related Songs.
Wee Dragons

**Wee Dragons** is a 2018 animated film by WowNow Entertainment.

## Plot

The peaceful Kingdom of the Wee Dragons is plunged into turmoil, when villainous Blister teams with fearsome dragon Durwyn, to overthrow King Bedwyr and force his daughter, Princess Cai, to marry the evil goblin, King Foul. Noble dragon Boil, along with his sidekick Big Gurt, journeys through time and space, meeting magical friends and foes alike, in a desperate effort to free the king, restore the land, and win the heart of the princess.

## Why Its NOT A Wee

1. To start off, the animation is just atrocious. Everything looks and feels like something out of a SFM (Source Filmmaker) video from YouTube, despite that software being good. Even the character models are ugly.
2. It's a ripoff of How to Train Your Dragon.
3. The character names are terrible and uncreative.
4. It has tons and tons of filler, and most of the entire time, there's a boring character conversation that goes on 10 minutes long, again that issue is also present in other films created by the same studio.
P'o-lu

**Domain:** Indochina and Oceania

**Director:** the Headless Emperor

**Goal:** world domination through control of the Pacific Rim nations

**Occultism:** alliance with giant abyssal polyps

This is one of the oldest Circles, dating back to Arthurian times, when it had a long-distance occult show-down with Logres and was worsted.
The Necrosis Foundation

Dr. Marla Green was an emergency room intern when the paramedics brought her a zombi. It was newly zombified, but had no Ethereal Forces left; all it could do was blink and drool. Dr. Green spent a week trying to halt its spreading necrosis, but failed to save its life, not realizing that her patient died before she ever laid eyes on him. The demon of Dark Humor who laughed himself silly over the young doctor trying to resuscitate a zombi didn't know the good doctor had an unusual aptitude for medical experimentation.

Twenty years later, Dr. Green has learned a lot about undead. She's learned so much that she can actually restore some semblance of life to mummies, vampires, and zombis. She's become more than a little unhinged, being frequently exposed to the undead, but they keep coming to her clinic, informed through the underground that a mortal knows how to improve their condition.

The Necrosis Foundation is dedicated to learning more about the bizarre condition that causes flesh decay, a stunning drop in body temperature, and a near-cessation of involuntary functions. Dr. Green hopes to someday find a cure, but is hampered by the fact that no one in the medical establishment believes her case studies.
True Love

True Love is the melody that binds two souls into one. Among mortals it is considered a beautiful thing, but it is not always healthy for celestials. Being rejected by a true love will penalize *all* rolls by the level of this discord until the next day begins (as determined by Essence regeneration).

In addition, True Love creates a new dissonance condition. Any celestial who allows harm to befall their True Love will accumulate a note of dissonance.

If a true love is “lost,” both the above effects are triggered, and the True Love discord will be converted into one of the other emotional discords at an equivalent rank until the true love is recovered.

*Elohim, djinn, and servitors of Andrealphus must include their level of this discord when making dissonance rolls.*
Torviel

### Songs

Charm (Corporeal/4), Claws/4, Fangs/6, Light (Celestial/4), Shields (all/2), Wings/3

### Skills

Acrobatics/3, Fighting/5, Ranged Weapon (Pistol/2), Move Silently/3, Running/4, Tracking/4

Torviel ("Tor" as Angus and Roberta call him in his canine form) is a grim and taciturn Virtue. He speaks little and is quite comfortable letting the mercurian do the talking and the seraph give the orders. He's a combat monster who gives the impression of being bored and inattentive when there's no one to bite ~ but this would be a false impression. As a German shepherd, he lolls about in Roberta's car and plays the role of a big, lazy dog . . . until the time comes to fight, and then he's a snarling engine of destruction who sinks his teeth gleefully into diabolical and Hellsworn flesh.

Dominic assigned Torviel to the Dallas triad because he wanted them to have enough "bite" to scare demons and earn the respect of the militant angels in the Metroplex. Torviel watches angels keenly and will spring into action (and demand his partners do the same) if he thinks any angel is acting inappropriately. He avoids making friends so that he'll never risk feeling compromised.

He mostly remains in his canine vessel, but will occasionally assume the form of a young, dark-haired male when the triad must go places where dogs are not allowed.