But these are happier days, and Khalid again sits on the Council and works with her peers to repair the damage caused by Diabolic influence and shortsighted pettiness. Khalid has had her Faith renewed, and will Gift it back to the world. It all has seemed to work out for the best, which is just another proof that Allah's ways are mysterious, and must be trusted. That's really what Faith is, in the end: trust, well earned and unwavering.

Khalid is calling her Servitors back to herself. In the bad days, she cast out any and all that did not measure up to her increasingly inflexible standards, until at the end she had no more than a few completely fanatical supporters. Now that she understands the dangers of sectarianism better, Khalid has offered the hand of fellowship once again to those who had valued Faith in Allah above Faith in Her. It is surprising how many have accepted.

These Servitors, with their wide range of experiences and abilities gained during their 'exile', have rapidly transformed Khalid's organization from one of the narrowest groups in Heaven to one of the broadest. Khalid's angels can work in all three planes, move through all aspects of mortal society, and are experienced in any and all forms of combat, from the physical to those found in the human heart and soul. They're also a cheerful bunch, as there is considerable satisfaction to be found in finally being allowed to do one's job right. This fresh-faced optimism may eventually fade, but right now the Faithful brim over with joyful righteousness.

Once, Servitors of Faith acquired dissonance from either disobedience, or losing one's Faith in their Archangel or Allah (in that order). Since her spiritual rebirth, Khalid has changed her dissonance requirements, as she has seen that Faith is all too easily crushed by suspicion. Now, her Servitors suffer from dissonance whenever they kill or harm those who show a deep, abiding, unselfish Faith in something else beside themselves. Demons, luckily, are almost incapable of that sort of selflessness.

Servitors of Faith are also not permitted to show themselves openly to those unaware of the War. Khalid wants humanity to believe out of conviction, not fear. Known Soldiers, Undead and Sorcerers are already aware of the realities of the War, of course: not revealing themselves to them would be ridiculous, and thus is not dissonant.

Khalid provides her angels with a specific task (usually ones that reflect their abilities). She has remarkably few problems with her Servitors working with those with other Words. Politics shouldn't interfere with Allah's work: she's wasted all too much time already by not accepting that fact.

Humans in the presence of a Seraph of Faith must make a Will roll or else publicly admit the Truth about his Faith in anything when asked, whether he wants to or not - in fact, whether he consciously knows it or not. Seraphim of Faith take great joy in seeking out and exposing religious hypocrites - and strengthening those who are not.

Cherubim of Faith always receive a specific person to guard. While doing so, any human that encounters their charge will react to that person at +4: those of the same religious or political beliefs as the attuned will feel drawn to protect him or her. Trying to assassinate a Cherub of Faith's charge is often as futile as Hell…

Khalid has few Elohim: the Word and the Choir are a poor mix. Those that can handle the stress can spot the logical flaws in any debate against having or keeping Faith in something. Elohim of Faith tend to spend most of their time in Heaven, acting as the equivalent of counter-propagandists: Khalid would much rather assign an angel of another Choir with this Attunement to Earthly duty.

Virtues of Khalid know the Faithless on a Perception Roll (detecting Faithless celestials is at -3). This does not indicate whether the subject is honorable or dishonorable, though a Malakim can often identify Fallen angels in this way. See page 72 of Superiors 3: Hope and Prophecy for a full definition of Faithlessness: suffice it to say here that ordinary atheists or agnostics do not qualify, as long as they unselfishly believe in something besides themselves. Khalid likes to use them to purify corrupt organizations.

Khalid is beginning to acquire these in some numbers, though Gifters have always been a politically sensitive issue when it comes to her organization. She gives her Choir sisters the ability to Gift selected humans, once per day and with a successful resonance roll, a bonus to Will equal to that of the check digit of the roll. The bonus will last for a full day, but may not be maintained. Bright Lilim are experts in kindling or rekindling Faith.

Kyriotates of Faith need not roll to possess anyone who is sincerely praying (formally or informally) to any deity or supernatural party for aid or assistance (roll anyway for the check digit and Interventions). This ability includes pagans and even those Hellsworn who sincerely worship Evil: however, the normal Kyriotate dissonance restrictions still apply in all cases. Kyriotates of Faith tend to very short-term missions of relief, often working in tandem with Cherubim (Khalid is about as tolerant about cross-Choir conflicts as she is about human sacrifice).

A Mercurian of Faith can, with a Perception roll, determine the reasons why someone has Faith in something, and what type of occurrence would be most likely to question that Faith. Sometimes Khalid sends out these angels to protect someone's Faith; sometimes, their job is to challenge it, instead. Faith that comes from unthinking habit is the weakest Faith of all.

Angels with this Attunement always have the initiative when combating the Faithless, or any demon. They also gain a +1 to either their attack rolls or the check digit (chosen by the GM) against same.

The angel may, through acceptance of the mysterious ways of Allah, give up control of their movements and be led to places where they are needed. Sometimes the aid required is trivial; sometimes, it means the near-certain death of the angel. But it will always be important.

Through submission, these angels gain the protection of Allah. All hostile Songs, resonance use or attacks are at a penalty equal to the angel's Celestial Forces.

It's been worse, but things aren’t exactly 'good' yet.

The ostracism between Khalid and the rest of the Council will take a long time to completely fade. Granted, Laurence and Dominic have called off their personal feuds, but that doesn’t mean that the latter completely trusts Khalid. Dominic has issues with trusting anyone. Many other Archangels have acted not very creditably towards the Archangel of Faith, and the embarrassment that has arisen from that makes everyone uncomfortable. Nobody's openly hostile, mind, but there's a definite current of awkwardness present in any issues involving Faith these days.

However, this doesn't mean that Khalid has no allies: Laurence and Novalis have thrown their support behind her. Laurence feels profound shame for his treatment of a fellow former Servitor of Purity; Novalis never participated in snubbing Khalid in the first place. Michael's likewise openly helpful, though that's mostly for pragmatic reasons. David respects Khalid these days, which unfortunately only makes his original objections (two millennia ago) to her mere presence more aggravating. Khalid's doing her best to try to take things as they are, not as they were, but David is particularly trying.

Allied: Laurence, Novalis (these Superiors are Allied to Khalid as well)

Associated: Gabriel, Michael, Yves (Eli is Associated With Khalid, as well as these three)

Neutral: All others, except…

Hostile: Dominic (No one is Hostile to Khalid, although Jean can come close at times)

Blandine: "Faith can inspire Dreams. They also can crush them. I'm pleased that Khalid has worked through her problems, and I'm sure that she'll promote the former and not the latter in the future."

David: "Khalid has had her Faith Tested and won the day. A regrettable necessity, but it is too important a Word to be entrusted to those who cannot support it. Now that she has proven that she is worthy, my Servitors will aid hers."

Dominic: "Khalid has managed to put her own house in order, and has seemed to learn the proper lesson from her difficulties. Needless to say, I will have to keep a careful watch for quite some time: it would be a pity for things to deteriorate again from lack of vigilance."

Eli: "Truth to be told, these days I'm understanding better what she was going through. Most of us acted like idiots when it came to Khalid, and the worst bit is that nobody except Laurence wants to admit it. Good for him, and good for Khalid for staying true to her Word: needless to say, Novalis knows where to find me if Khalid needs anything."

Gabriel: "Faith fuels Fire, and some of her Servitors smite the Cruel with satisfying zeal. She knows what it is like to be the target of Cruelty, as well. We understand each other all too well."

Janus: "The universe is perpetually changing. If Khalid wasn't capable of dealing with that fact, we had to know. Granted, we went a little too far, but luckily no permanent harm was done. I'm not in favor of testing her further, though: once is necessity, twice is just sadism."

Jean: "Faith may be useful for humanity, but it can get in the way of my work. She was subject to incorrect prejudice, the situation has been rectified, so I see no reason why we should continue to dwell on the subject."

Jordi: "Animals do not need Faith. Khalid has never been a concern of mine, but I never understood why she was so opposed by the others. Animals do not need politics, either: would that my colleagues were so wise."

Laurence: "We came perilously close to causing a scion of Purity's Fall, and much of it was because of pride. Not Khalid's: mine. Pride, and … and jealousy. Pride in my position, and jealousy towards someone who should have been my strong right arm. I feel profound relief that the foolishness of my actions did not result in disaster. Whatever is needed to make things right again will be done."

Marc: "Try to understand the situation. We had a Bright Lilim sitting on the Council, and whatever personal assurances we had that she wouldn't self-destruct or Fall again disappeared with Uriel - not that some of us trusted him, either, but he was the resident expert on Purity. The person most likely to have an informed opinion about her was Laurence, and he made it clear that he thought Khalid potentially dangerous. Does that excuse our behavior? No, but it does explain it a little. Mistakes were made, and we've got to just come out and admit it, make whatever restitution needs to be made, and move on."

Michael: "It was unsound of us to weaken our position, but hindsight is only useful when it teaches you not to do the same stupid things over and over again. Now that we've determined the correct course of action when dealing with Khalid, we should follow it. Her people are quite useful, when properly utilized. She's the same, only more so."

Novalis: "Shame on the rest of you. Khalid is a perfect example of what happens when you say one thing and mean another, and the least that my peers should be doing is to show that they were wrong in their suspicion and pride. Khalid's shown so much courage, on so many levels, and if we had let her slip away, we would have betrayed every ideal Heaven professes."

Yves: "Many roads lead to the same crisis - and just as many lead to the same Destiny. Khalid remains … Khalid."

Andrealphus: "So close: so very, very close. I know the Tempters, and if I could have just gotten a free hand, I would have had her Fallen, and loving every second of it, centuries ago. I still will, if I can just keep the others from meddling long enough."

Asmodeus: "Her position will not protect her. Traitors to Hell are mine, and it doesn't matter whether or not one holds high rank in the enemy's camp. I claim first right towards arranging her capture, and no one had better interfere with me as I go about doing it. I will see her in chains, and her execution will show all of her Band the folly of treason."

Baal: "She may think that she's gotten past her nature, but that's a delusion. Khalid will wake up one day and realize that she's never going to escape who she is, and that no one over there will ever really trust her. She'll be prime propaganda material when she finally comes back and admits that this is where she belongs."

Beleth: "Hide it however she likes, we have her measure now, and we know what she fears. We can crush her any time we choose."

Belial: "I have Faith in the ability of humans to always have stockpiled flammible chemicals somewhere close to hand whenever I get bored: does that count?

"It doesn't? Really? I wasn't joking, you know."

Haagenti: (Frankly, I couldn't come up with anything better than his quote for the original Khalid in Superiors 3, page 87)

Kobal: "What delicious irony it was at the time: a celestial descended from a human whose original sponsor was the Archangel of Purity. The joke's worn thin since then. Now, getting Khalid to Fall again and then setting her up as a Princess … ah, the look on Asmodeus' face alone would make it worth it."

Kronos: "Khalid thinks that she has fled her Fate. She should read the book of her adopted religion more carefully. She was predestined to end her days as a demon, no matter how much she deludes herself otherwise. I can wait."

Lilith: "How badly do you really need to know what I think about Khalid?"

Malphas: "A promising pupil, but one who I fear has become completely unsalvageable. A pity, but when one willfully refuses to understand, what can you do?"

Nybbas: "She's a big frog in a little pond, baby: don't mess with Khalid on her own turf, but she's practically helpless outside of it. That 'faith' crap works in the sticks, but any target audience with any kind of sophistication sees right through it. Of course, if she relocated, I wouldn't mind getting a copy of her resume…"

Saminga: "Dead people don't need to believe in anything. They've worked it all out by then. I really don't see why Khalid shouldn't emulate them fully."

Valefor: "Robbing Khalid of her Word would be highly satisfying, but I don't even want to think about the political fighting that would break out afterwards. It's probably better just to steal the Faith of her Servitors."

Vapula: "Faith is a worthy Word. A shame that it's held by a sentimentalist."

Previously, Khalid's activities on earth were limited to protecting those with faith, rather than encouraging it in others. The Seraphim Council's increasing reluctance to work with the Archangel of Faith only exacerbated the situation. By the time of the Final Trumpet, Khalid's few remaining Faithful were hard-pressed to protecting themselves, let alone anyone else.

However, those were darker days. Khalid's Servitors have begun to move back into wider arenas: their Superior has noted the proliferation of cynical religious leaders among humanity with the same disapproval that mortals show towards an infestation of cockroaches. Her methods of dealing with the problem will be roughly similar, too, although admittedly on a larger scale.

When they're not chastising hypocritical clergymen, Servitors of Faith delight in improving humanity's lot on the local level. When an angel of Khalid's moves into a neighborhood, that neighborhood very quickly becomes safe. It usually also acquires a Soldier of Faith or two, although bending the rules to get them is frowned upon.

There is one other issue. The gradual ostracism of the Archangel of Faith from Heaven had unfortunate consequences on the Muslim nations: Khalid was left to fight Diabolical influences with little backup, less resources and no rest. She kept the core of her faith and charges clean… but Hell nibbled at her edges for a millenium. At its worse, Factions and the Media were nearly acting openly. Now that the situation has improved, this will change.

This will change soon.

: Slay a demon.

: Cause someone to regain his or her Faith (2 Essence)

: Write a hymn or sermon and have it sung or published

+2: A congregation of religious believers (pagans are acceptable. Satanists are not)

+3: A devout, honest clergyman engaged in private prayer

+4: A monastery or nunnery (not necessarily Christian)

+5: At the time and place of someone's incipient, voluntary martyrdom (an involuntary martyrdom is cause for direct action, not an energy boost)

+6: A demon sincerely seeking Redemption

Once upon a time …

Using that kind of introduction to telling the story of Khalid might seem facetious, but in the beginning her story seemed almost a fairy tale. Khalid began as just another Lilim, created by her Mother to serve the cause of Hell. She found herself in service to Malphas, and sent up to the corporeal plane to tempt humanity, to divide them, to damn their souls and steal them from a God she had never seen.

All very normal, really, except for one minor problem. She never wanted to do anything of the sort.

Khalid has no idea how no one ever seemed to notice that she wasn't evil. Hell goes to considerable trouble to winnow out possible traitors, but the system broke down completely when it came to her. The second Khalid made it through the Infernal Tether, she was off and running, loudly. There had to be at least one angel in the vicinity, and all she needed was a chance.

As luck would have it, she ran into one almost right away. Good luck and bad luck: the angel was the advance scout for a sortie (on the Tether she was running from) headed by an actual Archangel. The bad luck was that the Archangel was Uriel. Khalid might have been much better off if her patron had been anyone else.

At the time, however, it didn't seem too bad. There were a few tense moments, but Uriel was able to detect Khalid's desperate desire to be Cleansed of the few Diabolical influences staining her soul. Her first blow against Hell was struck even before her Redemption, as she unquestioningly participated in the assault on the Tether. Watching it burn… it made her feel clean. It made her feel Pure.

After her Redemption, Khalid rose in the ranks of Purity. She was the only Bright Lilim of Purity to ever survive for any significant amount of time: something in her thrived where others were oppressed. Uriel approved of her, in his chilly fashion: indeed, as time went on, their relationship grew from Superior and Servitor to Uncle and Niece… or even Father and Daughter. There was just something about her that justified, in Uriel's increasingly weary eyes, every single one of the harsh methods needed to bring Purity to the corrupt.

Khalid remembers that period as the Good Days. She served the Commander of the Host directly, speaking with his voice. In time, her tasks grew such that Uriel created Laurence, and that was Good, too. From the start, it was obvious that her 'brother' was going to be something special, and Khalid was there to train, guide and teach... and very soon, to learn. They fought together on hundreds of battlefields, each being the shield of the other. It was a glorious time to be a Servitor of Purity.

But that time ended. It started with Uriel's - and Laurence's adoption of Christianity as the True Faith for humanity. Khalid held back from following suit: it was a good Faith, a strong Faith, but it was somehow not her Faith. She spent some time looking for the Faith that would best satisfy her soul, and did not find it until she encountered a minor Arabic preacher. Minor in worldly stature, at the time, but his words and message burned with Heaven's power. She listened, and submitted to the will of Allah.

Khalid didn't really expect that her brother and father would mind: indeed, Uriel seemed mildly disappointed, but there was no real animosity. Laurence, though: the Angel of the Sword couldn't accept that Khalid might have found an alternative road to the Truth. First there were discussions. Then there were arguments. Then there were shouting matches. Finally, somehow, through a set of perfectly logical and seemingly minor steps, the two found themselves fighting on the opposite sides of a battlefield, howling public defiance and privately weeping.

Perhaps if the Purity Crusade had lasted longer, they might have found a way to reconcile themselves to each other, but short decades later Uriel was recalled to the Higher Heavens. Laurence and Khalid found themselves promoted to Archangels… and the Archangel of the Sword was the new Supreme Commander of the Host. By now the two had at least publicly reconciled, but the bitterness was still there. It poisoned any hope of an immediate understanding.

Very soon, Khalid noticed something… odd. She began encountering resistance to her ideas. Resources that her people desperately needed were subject to delays and holdups. Her peers seemed reluctant to work with her. It was almost as if the Host didn't quite trust her, but that was absurd. Was she not a scion of Purity? Was she not one of Uriel's most trusted Servitors? Was she not…

… A Redeemed demon. A Redeemed Lilim. A Redeemed Lilim who had served under an unpopular Archangel. A Redeemed Lilim and Servitor of a disliked Archangel who was in a perfect position to betray the Host, if she so chose. She was all these things, and Laurence's continuing, obvious disapproval of her Faith and choices simply fueled the fire. The worst thing was no one ever actually said anything: at best, they were wary (with one exception), and at worst they simply assumed that Khalid's Fall could come at anytime. Ironically, this mistrust nearly became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Khalid began to withdraw from the company of her peers, trying to fight Hell without assistance or support. She became insular, inflexible, isolated. By the time of the False Trumpet, she was teetering on the edge of Falling.

And then Malphas came to her. He had possessed the body of one of her few remaining mortal servants, the better to tempt her with a position with those who would really appreciate her abilities and nature. Malphas was reasonable, logical and even doing an excellent imitation of concern. Perhaps it was actually true, after all: Khalid was a demon, always would be a demon, and should stop deluding herself that she could be anything else. The Bright Lilim could feel her hold slipping on her Word. She rose, looked into Malphas' stolen eyes, and prepared to speak…

… and closed her mouth. For one brief moment, her servant had regained enough control to look back at her. Of course, the mortal had heard it all, seen it all, and knew (as well as he could) what kind of pressures she was under: still, the look was not of despair. It was the look a man gives to someone he trusts. Someone he knows to be a fellow servant of Allah, even if no one else was willing to but aside his or her irrational prejudices in order to see that obvious truth.

Someone he has Faith in.

Khalid bowed her head in shame for the Choice that she nearly made. Then she had the inexpressible pleasure of decapitating the Prince of Factions in one completely unexpected strike. She knew that her servant likewise rejoiced. She had her Faith again that Allah would comfort the courageous soul. After the Prince retreated (Malphas did still have a War to instigate, and besides, unexpected dissonance is the worst kind), the Archangel looked up. Time to go back to Heaven, it was. There was a brother there who needed some serious straightening out… and help in confronting his own crisis of Faith.

One shouting match, a thousand years' worth of silent recriminations finally taken out and given a good airing, and the unexpectedly vigorous intervention of a certain Archangel later, mission accomplished. Both of them.

If this were a fairy story, that would be the end of it. The good guys reconcile, the bad guys gnash their collective teeth, all the rest of the cliches. This isn't a fairy story, though. Khalid is still a Redeemed Lilim trying to find a place in a Symphony that didn't originally plan for her. Her brother has repented of his own mistakes, but not all of her peers are ready to do that yet. There's a whole mess down on Earth that hasn't been resolved yet, and fixing that will be a back-breaker. And Hell still waits, certain that Khalid will eventually be either thrown or Jump back into the Darkness that lurks in everyone's soul. There's no certainty that there will be ever a happy ending.

But then, that's why you need Faith to begin with.