Andrealphus, Mercurian Archangel of Love
"The world is beautiful, meant to be cherished,
to be adored... to be loved. As are all its inhabitants."
It is dissonant for a Servitor of
Love to discourage or deny a love unless it is clear that the love in question
is pernicious or harmful to one or both parties. Then it is dissonant for a
Servitor of Love not to do all in their power to either end the pain in
the relationship, or terminate it entirely, for the sake of the injured party
or parties. (However, if doing so harms the injured party worse,
Servitors of Love are expected to do anything in their power to make amends.
It's not dissonant not to - unless you're a Kyriotate possessing the injured
party - but Andrealphus gets angry if you don't, and angry Mercurian
Archangels can be terrifying...)
(Andrealphans, Andrealphites,
Cupids, Lovebirds, Romantics)
(special)
Pain is often a hindrance to being
able to love. Andre's Most Holy specialize in finding and healing the True
cause of someone's pain, automatically identifying it upon eye contact with the
hurt person. This can be a simple background event, such as being dumped by a
high school crush, or something more esoteric ("Rosebud..."). Upon
identification, these Seraphim may then use their resonance to gather more detail
on the cause. Also, if the cause of the target's pain is a person or object,
the Seraph will instantly recognize that cause upon sight.
(Only Elohim, Sworn Malakim,
Mercurians, and Lilim may resonate to gather more detail, but any Choir can use
the identification part.)
Cherubim
(Restricted)
Andre's Cherubim may immediately and
automatically detect when their Attuned is in danger in a way relating to love.
(Oddly to some, this ranges from getting turned down by a childhood crush, to
being raped by an older family member, and beyond either.) This has an
effective CD of the Cherub's Celestial Forces; however, the angel may make
resonance rolls in an attempt to improve the check digit.
Ofanim
Masters of coincidence and love at
first sight, Andrealphus' Ofanim can, with a Will roll, cause a person to meet
up with a potential love. If successful, the person they use it on will 'just
happen' to run into someone they had been hoping to meet up with but couldn't
find the time (or similar reason), or someone who is surprisingly similar in
likes and dislikes. Unlike Star-Crossed Love, this does not find the target's
'soul mate', only someone they could have a fulfilling relationship with. The
target is responsible for making the relationship work.
Elohim
(Restricted)
These Elohim, in addition to their normal
resonance results, automatically get how much love (or the absence thereof) is
influencing the target, and the main reason for it.
There are, of course, inherent dangers in
attuning an Elohite to so subjective a Word as Love. Most of Andrealphus'
Powers are unusually 'controlled', even by their Choir's standards. Still, he's
more willing to strip dissonance from an Elohite of Love than from any other
Choir.
Sworn
Malakim
Andre's Malakim, Sworn to defend Love, increase
their Strength, Precision, or Will as appropriate by an amount equal to their
appropriate Forces (Strength + Corp when Corporeal, etc) when attacking a
betrayer of Love (this ranges from someone who broke a lover's heart to anyone
Fallen from Love) and/or defending a loved one, a lover, or someone with a true
love.
This does modify effective Hits in the
appropriate realm, for the duration of the effect. If one of these angels takes
enough Hits to lose a Force/pass out/etc by their standard number, that result
doesn't occur until (Celestial Forces) minutes after combat end, offering a
chance to prevent it. If one of these angels takes enough Hits to do so by augmented
standards, it happens immediately, but with no other apparent ill effect.
Kyriotates
(Partially Restricted)
The Kyriotates of Love can automatically sense
the degree of love or hate between their host and any other person within the
host's line of sight. With a Perception roll, they can detect the same for any
two people within the sight of a single body.
Other angels can only use the second half of this
Attunement.
Mercurians
Andre's Mercurians may sense the
strongest love or loves in a group of people, or one person's strongest love,
without a resonance roll. They also need spend no Essence to use the Song of
Ethereal Attraction, or any Song of Charm.
Grigori
The Watchers of Love can identify a person's deepest, burning
passion, with eye contact. This can be about a person, a hobby, anything. The
Grigori may then make a Perception roll to discover details (how passionate the
target is about it, why, etc.) Note that the effects of the Nephilim resonance,
most uses of the Habbalite resonance, and Djinn Obsessions always show
up, and this ability can often gives hints to celestial nature (if a person's
greatest passion is for Fire because he was created by its Prince, that's
usually a pretty good hint.)
This Attunement is extremely popular
among Andrealphans. Note that 'deepest passion' is not necessarily the same as
'strongest love' – passion can be hatred, need, anything that is felt strongly.
Lilim
(Restricted)
Lilim of Love can see a person's deepest Needs of love (whether
that is to repair their relationship with an estranged family member or to win
the heart of the girl next door), and what they would do to earn or win that love.
If they fulfil the Need, they have an effective +1 to the normal level of Geas.
Granted only to the most trusted of the
Servitors of Love, this Attunement enables this angel to spot a pernicious or
dangerous love (i.e. where one partner is being stalked or abused in some way),
and then to step in and set a firm and absolute conviction in the party (or
parties) being hurt that it is time to break off this relationship now.
This conviction lasts for a number of days equal to the number of the angel's
Celestial Forces times three and imparts a type of reckless courage that
enables the injured party to stand up to an abuser or an angry lover or family
member and do what must be done to escape the situation.
(Some of Andrealphus' Servitors wonder why he
has not used Disentanglement on Beleth or Kobal. Andrealphus refuses to answer
any questions about this, though his Archons hint that using it on Kobal, at
least, could result in even more damage than has already been done after the
effects wear off. Yet no Seraph has been able to discern how True this is...)
With this attunement, an angel can ignite the flames of physical and emotional passion within any two people within the angel's line of sight, as long as they have any sort of attraction to each other (even subconsciously). The affected people lose all sense of decorum and restraint and go at each other romantically as well as physically, often sparking orgies as much as it sparks genuine relationships! The effect lasts for a number of hours equal to the number of the angel's Ethereal Forces, or until physical danger threatens.
Andrealphus frowns on casual use of this
Attunement, and doesn't hand it out very often. It's widely believed that the
only reason he keeps it is as a memorial to his former Superior,
Gabriel...
As per canon Andrealphus' "First Lust"
Servitor Attunement (Superiors 2: Pleasures of the Flesh pg 7)
As per canon Novalis' "Crown of Joy"
Servitor Attunement (In Nomine: Core Rules pg 133) with the following
modifications:
1. Anyone who enters the cloud is filled with
limitless kindness and joy, and must make a Will roll to act violently for (5x
Essence spent) minutes - seconds if the person is a demon. They will also tend
to demonstrations of affection – which can reveal hidden crushes, secret loves,
and the like – and if a person is touched by someone who has been influenced by
a May Crown, they suffer the same effects for half the normal duration, as they
come into contact with the pollen.
2. If someone wears a May Crown, they cannot
act violently, and the duration is doubled and in minutes. The pollen
cloud surrounds the wearer, with the normal effects on others.
Servitors of Love with this Attunement may see one
person and automatically sense who that person's soulmate – their best match in
all matters romantic – is, and where that person can be found. The angel can
set vital information in the person's mind on where their soulmate is, as well
as a determination to find that person at whatever cost. In the presence of two
soulmates, this attunement can be used to draw the two people together.
Andrealphus' most caring Servitors, these angels
are the only Cupids to show up regularly among Baalites and Valeforians. They
can soothe away physical, emotional, or spiritual pain with a touch, gentling
emotions and Discord for a number of hours equal to the Andrealphan's total
Forces. This does not actually eliminate damage, but does speed up the healing –
anyone touched by a Vassal of Love heals lost Hits at twice the normal rate,
until they are back to full – pain from these lost Hits is eliminated entirely
until the target is fully healed.
h
Masters of the Heart may, once per day, select a person and 'ride shotgun' through their emotions. The Master senses every emotion the person feels, sees, hears, and feels through their bodies, and has access to their memories. The host is not even aware that they have a passenger along with them. The vessel of the angel simply returns to potential, appearing either right next to the host thus used for the experience or where the angel last stood (the Master's choice). This effect lasts for a number of hours equal to the number of the angel's Celestial Forces, and may be cancelled by the angel at any time.
Masters of the Heart may also use the Songs of Ethereal Charm, Celestial Charm, Celestial Harmony, and Ethereal Attraction without expending Essence.
In
a normal universe, Andrealphus would be a Malakite by now. His fury at the
betrayals performed by Blandine and Eli alone would have ensured that, to say
nothing of more personal rage at Gabriel and David's Falls. However, this is
not a normal universe.
Andrealphus
is officially a Neutral, with peaceful tendencies. He's not quite as much of a
swing vote as Nybbas or Lilith, but close, preferring to remain aloof from
heavenly politics. He strongly backs the Archangels hurt worst by the Fall
(Beleth, Kobal) and the more peaceful ones, and he was Lilith's first ally.
Beleth, Kobal, Lilith (Kobal,
Lilith, Lucifer are Allied to Andrealphus)
Lucifer, Mariel, Nybbas (Mariel is Associated
with Andrealphus)
Gebbeleth, Kronos, Meserach,
Valefor, Vapula (Baal, Beleth, Gebbeleth, Kronos, Nybbas are Neutral to
Andrealphus)
Asmodeus, Baal (Asmodeus, Meserach,
Valefor, Vapula are Hostile to Andrealphus)
Andrealphus started out as a Mercurian
of Fire, whose specialty was inspiration and healing relationships, spending a
lot of time with angels of Creation and Stone. When Beleth and Blandine found
themselves experiencing a new emotion, Andrealphus defined it as 'Love', and
was made Archangel of Love in that instant.
When Metatron rebelled, Andrealphus
stayed out of the conflict, working with his angels instead to heal the
'loyalist' fighters. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to fight
against God. After Lucifer defeated Michael, at the Judging, he saw Blandine
abandoning Beleth...he saw Kobal break down as Israfel and Eli - Eli, his
beloved mentor, his friend - turned their backs on Heaven...he saw
David, who he had worked so closely with to unite humanity and angels alike,
walk out...and he saw his creator, his former Archangel, Gabriel, Fall.
And he was dissonant, the first
angel ever to experience this. With an effort, he changed the three notes of
dissonance into a single level of Discord.
[Sidebar]
"Odi et amo,
excrucior." (I hate and I love; it hurts.) - ?
It's
widely known that Andrealphus has had three notes of dissonance ever,
which have converted to a single level of Discord. However, precisely what that
Discord is - and exactly why he got dissonant - is largely unknown.
Here's
the real reason, however. The first is because he is unable to end the pain in
Beleth and Blandine's relationship. The second is because he is unable to end
the pain in Kobal and Eli's. And the third ... the third is because of his
natural Divine Love warring with mad rage, ever since the Fall. The target of
that hatred/love? Every demon in Hell. But especially Eli and Gabriel, his
former mentor and friend, and his former Archangel.
Andrealphus' single
level of Discord has remained since after the Fall. Asmodeus regards him
uneasily for this, but Andrealphus refuses to remove it. The nature of that
Discord is unknown to any save Andrealphus himself. Popular rumor has him as
Lustful, or with some kind of Need.
[/Sidebar]
After the Fall, Andrealphus turned
his focus primarily to humanity. But about a third of his organization was
exclusively Infernally-oriented, specializing in Redeeming demons... or
eliminating them. Some of those were devoted to Infernal Fire, especially
Prophetic (all angels of Love insist on the adjectives, as forcefully as
necessary), but the largest group focused on the Cancer. Of the rest of his
Servitors, some were devoted to helping Kobal and Beleth, the two Archangels
whose welfare he was most interested in.
When Lilith became an Archangel, he offered to
share his territory with her. She refused, but accepted the offer of space to
build on, and the two became allies.
[Sidebar]
The reason for Andre's
third note of dissonance has resulted in Andrealphus being the safest, best
choice for a demon seeking Redemption. He is fully willing to take as long as
necessary to ensure a safe Redemption. He is one of the two Archangels with the
most Redeemed Servitors (the other is Lilith).
However, some Hellborn
demons Andre has tried to Redeem have soul-died rather ... messily ... in the
process. Surviving Redeemed Servitors of Love believe that the sheer force of
Andrealphus' Love, combined with the Divine Love present in any Redemption,
being felt for the first time, was the reason. Andre says nothing, but every
time a demon dies as Andrealphus tries to Redeem him, Andre gets a little
sadder, and a little more withdrawn... and Asmodeus gets a little more nervous.
[/Sidebar]
In Heavenly politics, Andrealphus is
Neutral with Peaceful tendencies. If it doesn't actively involve his Word, one
of his allies, Gabriel, or Eli, he could really care less. He has a tendency to
draft one of his Servitors to carry his vote in Council meetings.
· Bring together two soul
mates.
· Contemplate the nature
of love for an hour.
· Save a failing
(non-harmful) relationship.
· Have consensual sex
(including foreplay and afterplay) for an hour.
· Perform or participate in
a wedding (or similar means of romantic union.)
· Persuade a demon to
Redeem. (+2, +3 if the demon serves Gabriel or Eli.)
Andrealphus
loves his Servitors. If they need him, he'll come – but he does dislike being
pulled away for trivialities. Someone else may need him more, after all...
Modifiers
+1:
A symbol of love (a wedding ring, a two-part heart 'friendship' necklace, a
handmade birthday gift or Valentine's Day
card, etc)
+2:
Two lovers brought together in a lasting relationship.
+3:
A marriage (or equivalent ritual).
+4:
The birth of a child to a happy couple.
+5:
Restoring a non-harmful relationship to bliss.
+6:
Inspiring romantic feelings in a crowd of 100+.