Novalis, Cherub Archangel of Flowers
Commandress of the Host
The world is a garden, to be cherished, loved... and
protected.
Most members of the Host would agree that, thanks to
the debacle that was the Purity Crusade, Novalis was the only realistic choice
for the suddenly vacant position of Commander of the Host. Michael took things too personally, David
was too conservative, Janus was too radical, Blandine too busy, Laurence and
Khalid too inexperienced, Gabriel too unstable... and none of the rest had
quite the same reserves of determination and resolution as the Archangel of
Flowers. God's decision was perfectly
understandable.
And somewhat personally inconvenient, to be sure.
The wording of Novalis' dissonance conditions is
unchanged from canon. To summarize: no
performing and/or allowing of violence unless it's absolutely necessary and no
killing of humans, period. This has not
changed, and is not likely to change any time soon.
However, while the wording is the same, the context
is much, much different. Novalis runs
the War - and, as such, she is one of the few Archangels that can actually see
both the forest and the trees.
Like it or not (she doesn't, much), the concept of 'necessary violence'
simply looks different when one is in the driver's seat. Different... and somewhat broader. Much of Novalis' time is spent in trying to
keep said concept as narrow as possible.
After all, if God didn't think that she had the right idea in the first
place, He wouldn't have put her in charge of the War.
Decentralized, fluid and very, very busy. Novalis' service is not one for the
unenergetic, weak-willed or conservative: she routinely places her Servitors in
supervisory and/or observatory roles throughout the three planes. As of this date, she does not have eyes and
ears everywhere - if nothing else, some of her 'subordinate' Archangels
are fairly good at keeping their own little pet projects nice and quiet - but
she comes blessed well close.
What this means is that Servitors of Flowers are
usually out in various wilds without real backup, trying to keep as many eyes
as possible on wildly varying groups of angels, Saints and Soldiers, each with
his or her own agenda and a definite opinion about the necessity for the
oversight of a Servitor of Flowers. If
they don't break under the strain, Servitors of Flowers soon learn how to
nurture their ideals among their compatriots: how to guide the ideal of Peace
to full bloom, rather than to try and force it.
They also soon learn when it's Truly appropriate to
instead just go for a little walk for a few minutes...
Seraph (restricted)
Seraphim of Flowers add their Ethereal Forces to any
resonance roll to detect the Truth about a statement about peace and/or
violence.
Unchanged from the canonical version.
Unchanged from the canonical version.
Elohim of Flowers automatically know how tempting a
violent solution to a problem would be to anyone that they have ever
successfully resonated.
A Malakite of Flowers may choose to subdue his or
her enemies in combat, rather than simply kill them. At the beginning of combat, the Virtue may declare that all
corporeal attacks will be stunning: multiply all appropriate hits done by 1.5,
but no permanent damage (or even pain) will result. If the target's Body Hits are exceeded, he or she will fall
unconscious for 1d6 hours. Switching to
regular attacks erases accumulated hits, and is dissonant to boot!
Also note that using this ability to indirectly kill
a target is most emphatically dissonant...
The Geas of Bright Lilim do not cause damage, if not
filled - but Gifters of Novalis never suffer dissonance from a successful
resistance, and the target must roll versus Will at a minus equal to twice
the level of the Geas.
Unchanged from the canonical version.
Intercessionists of Flowers may use their resonance
(at -2) to counter the Balseraph and Habbalite resonance. Add the CD of a successful resonance roll to
any Will rolls made to shake off the effects.
This can also be used on someone ridden by a Shedite (to resist
corruption, not expel the demon), but only once per day.
As per the canonical Flower Attunement.
As per the canonical Flower Attunement.
Anyone within ten feet of someone with this
Attunement receives a +3 to any roll to calm down, snap out of the Angry or
Berserk Discords, or generally relax.
By spending 4 Essence, the angel may require a person to do the same,
whether they want to or not, for ten minutes.
Demons get a Will Roll at -4 to resist.
… But Mind the Thorns
An angel with this Attunement may, at the cost of 2
Essence, make anyone (including himself) appear to be much more formidable or
powerful than they actually are. An
attacker must make a Perception Roll at -4 or reconsider the attack. Celestials roll at +4. The effect lasts for an hour: however, any
attack made by the person benefiting from this Attunement immediately removes the
protection, and it may not be re-established for at least an hour.
This is one Attunement usually given out to
Soldiers: celestials really don't need it.
Those with Photosynthesis may choose to go without food for up to a
month, provided that they get plenty of sunlight and spend at least a day
walking barefoot through fresh mud or earth.
Those with this Attunement may also choose to reverse their breathing
cycles, thus breathing carbon dioxide and exhaling oxygen. Continuous use of this Attunement will
result in a temporary greenish tint to the skin and blood after about a week.
As per canon, except for Friend of Tranquility,
which is effectively equivalent to the canonical Seraph of Flowers
Attunement. Novalis also has one
special 'half-step' Distinction:
Angels with this Distinction serve as Novalis'
liaisons to other Archangels: they are capable of acquiring Choir Attunements
from one other Archangelic Word (chosen at the time that this
Distinction was given) as if they were actual Servitors of that Word. This can be very useful. However, they are also subject to that
Word's dissonance conditions. This can
be awkward.
Complicated.
Angels are, by their nature, subordinate to the will of God - but some
of His decisions have been better received than others. Novalis' status as final arbiter of the War
emphatically falls into the 'other' category.
The War Faction did not appreciate having restraints put upon, no matter
how light; in fact, it still doesn't.
The collective grumbling and muttering has never quite reached
the level of active sedition, and indeed has died down some in the last few
centuries - but it's still quite a surly ghost at the feast. A lesser, yet real, 'problem' is her adamant
refusal to harass either Eli or Gabriel.
This does nothing to endear her to Dominic.
Of course, Novalis is not without allies - and no
one on the Council actually refuses to acknowledge her authority. She tends to rely heavily on Blandine, Marc
and Yves; the first two are more or less her ethereal and corporeal 'lieutenants'
and the Archangel of Destiny is her principal advisor. There is also an unspoken (and usually
strained) accommodation with Laurence and Michael. The Archangels of the Sword and War often find themselves in the
unenviable position of middlemen - but they have both actually found the
situation to be not without its advantages.
If nothing else, it is often useful to give the impression that Novalis
is about to let the War Faction slip its leash and go hunting...
Allied: Blandine, Marc, Yves
Associated: Gabriel, Jordi
Neutral: Eli, Jean, Laurence, Michael
Hostile: David, Dominic, Janus
Blandine: "We do not speak about what I must do
to uphold my burden. She has asked, but
I cannot tell her. I do not have that
kind of cruelty in me." "Blandine
has the loneliest task of us all; even lonelier than mine. I trust her. It is the best honor that I could hope to give her."
David: "I have no personal objections to her
ideals: yea, indeed, it would be a better world if all could live in
harmony or strife, and it is vital that a person actually practice the
virtues that he or she preaches.
However, we do not yet live in that world, and some virtues are more
important than others. Until Novalis
recognizes that, there will be friction between her and me." "We
have so much in common... but only on the surface, I'm afraid. I can't make him change, and I wouldn't if I
could. At least he has his own
strictures against simply blindly lashing out."
Dominic:
"I do not actually have a problem with her tendency to
forgive. But she forgets too
easily." "I understand him
a little better, now - but I still think that he can have too heavy a
hand. There are times, God help us all,
where it's necessary, but just because his way usually works doesn't
mean that it's the best way to do things, or even a good way to
do things."
Eli: "She's holding up well. From what I can tell, she's doing a pretty
good job down here. I wish she got more
opportunities to relax, though." "I want him back up here: no,
he's not in trouble and I'm not going to yell at him. I just want to ask him, in a perfectly reasonable and calm tone
of voice, just why in the Name of Almighty God he decided to go off and do
whatever he's doing without EVEN TELLING ME FIRST...
"Excuse me."
Gabriel: "When will the Rose show her
thorns? If she does, will we rejoice,
or weep?" "I do not blame
the mad for their madness. Neither will
any that I lead. We must do something
to heal her, and I am ready to hear suggestions. Any suggestions."
Janus: "So, she wants to keep an eye on what
I'm doing? Fine - if she can
keep up with me. If she can't, well,
that's not really my problem, is it?" "The sooner that he learns
that keeping out of earshot means that he can't yell for help when he needs it,
the happier I'll be. I hate having to
try and keep reining Janus in, but I'd hate more having to mourn him."
Jean: "She has had successes and failures. So would any Archangel with her
position. Absent a clear trend
indicating that she is incapable of effectively overseeing the War, replacement
of Novalis with another would almost certainly provide unacceptable risks for
Heaven in general. Please also note
that acts of insubordination can often result in a positive feedback loop, thus
heightening the possibility of the aforementioned trend occurring..." "It is a wrench to even think
of Jean's genius being diverted into military arenas: but, what can we do? Vapula has no similar scruples, and I cannot
let Technology run rampant through the world without some sort of
response. But, oh, for the days of
innocence."
Jordi: "Less irritating than the other two -
but she likes to meddle. It must be
something about the job." "Jordi
might be less aloof if he was given the general impression that the rest of us
actually cared about his concerns.
Of course, most of us still don't, but the day is young and I'm not
going anywhere anytime soon."
Laurence: (coldly) "The military is, and
always should be, ultimately subordinate to the civilian powers. I have no patience for insubordination. And, no, my personal feelings are not
germane to this topic of conversation."
"He honestly tries not to show his disapproval; I honestly try
not to make his life miserable. We both
succeed well enough to function. The
truly horrendous part is, Laurence is easily the least likely of his faction to
succumb to gratuitous violence anyway.
What the rest must be feeling..."
Marc: "Novalis tells me what she needs, then
lets me go about getting it without her second-guessing me. All she wants in return is that I be careful
about how I do it. I wish that some of
the others had as good a working relationship, but, really, Novalis is already
meeting them halfway. Well, maybe a
quarter-way... but she's trying, at least." "My expert when it comes to the
corporeal plane: I give him the attention that such a position deserves. He is invaluable at working out the billion
and one compromises that let us continue the War, too. Most importantly, he is my brother, and I
love him as a sister should."
Michael: "Novalis has been chosen by God to
lead the War. This makes certain things
harder - but it is not my job to whine about things that I cannot change. It is my job to work with the current situation,
taking advantage of its benefits when I can and enduring its complications when
I have no other choice. Things could be
worse: if nothing else, the situation keeps my Servitors nice and mentally
flexible." "Michael is
constantly pushing the edge between what I'll allow and what I'm duty-bound to
stop. He cares little for my
ideals. There are whole categories of
activities of his that he somehow 'forgets' to mention to me. He even freely admits to all of this with a
smile. Such candor is refreshing - and,
at seventh and last, he obeys the will of God.
The situation is... tolerable.
For now."
Yves: "She has shouldered her tasks and still
stayed Novalis. There were other paths
for her to take: be grateful that she spurned them. Be very grateful." "The wisest of councilors, the
best of friends and a calm spot in the storm.
What I'd do without him... well, I'd rather not even think about
it."
Well, convincing people to stop thinking of it as a
'War' would be a good start. Almost
infinitely unlikely, of course, but you can't win if you don't blessed try.
Novalis is not the first Superior to have to balance
ideology and reality, but few have ever had the problem be quite so acute. On the one hand, the Archangel of Flowers is
dedicated to ending violence. One thousand
years and more of unremitting hostility between Heaven and Hell have not even
begun to erode that dedication: indeed, it anything the situation has
strengthened it. Novalis knows
that there are better ways to solve a problem than hitting it with a sharp
object, and the fact that apparently God agrees with her is a powerful argument
in favor of her position. On the other
hand, it takes two to make a peace - and only one to ensure a war. Novalis has had that little lesson
reinforced over the last millennium, too.
Current policy reflects both of the above. Novalis is not, in point of fact, a fool: if
she was, she would ban all nonviolence, period - and watch as Hell swept over
the Earth. It is still thus possible to
solve problems with violent methods.
However, it cannot be reflexive violence, save at the direst
need. Other methods must be tried first
- and while the risk to human life may be considered when determining a
response, the risk to angelic life may not.
Needless to say, the War Faction has proven to be
quite adept at rationalizing their activities - when they aren't simply keeping
said activities out of public sight.
Thus, Novalis as a point of policy makes sure that her Servitors are
everywhere. It's not an easy job:
they've been called everything from 'snitches' to 'political officers', often
with some justification. Earth duty for
a Servitor of Flowers is not for the weak-willed or unassertive: the job
description explicitly includes 'blocking a descending sword blow with your
body if the situation calls for it' and 'slapping frothing angels out of
berserker-gang'.
However, it's hard to argue with success - even
Michael is willing enough to admit that Novalis has at least broken the Host's habit
of charging in blind on a regular basis.
Her organization also acts as a communication network that completely
ignores inter-Word politics: Dominic may scowl at Michael and vice versa, but
their Servitors are able to coordinate more effectively (if only because angels
of both are united in their exasperation towards their local Servitor of
Flowers). This increased cooperation
seems to be making up for any theoretical loss of efficiency that might
otherwise result from having a restrained Archangel in charge.
At least, that's the conventional wisdom among those
among the Host that think about such things.
Most angels have long since by now accepted the situation as normal:
exasperating at times, but essentially normal...
Rites:
: Sleep in a bed of flowers for eight hours
: Successfully resolve a situation without violence
: Prevent a person from falsely espousing
nonviolence in order to further his or her own agenda
+1 A bouquet of flowers (Novalis likes daffodils)
+2 Two people peacefully resolving their differences
+3 A peaceful demonstration of at least one hundred
people
+4 A sincerely repentant demon
+5 Any tree that is over a century old
+6 The moment that a person publicly espouses peace,
at the legitimate risk of his or her own life
The history of the War since Novalis was made
Commandress will vary from GM to GM.
The default assumption is that, well, things turned out pretty much the
way they would have if (say) Laurence had been tapped for the job - at least in
the broad details. There'll probably be
more Redeemed, and fewer Outcasts, but other than that it's hard for
even Superiors to reliably push the corporeal plane in a particular
direction. Those wishing to bring up
the Demon Prince of the Media at this point should remember that: A), it's
often hard to tell whether Nybbas actually has any long-term goal other
than staying dead center in the spotlight, no matter how; and, B), that if he
is actually being shaped by his Word, rather than shaping it, he'd be the last
one to ever, ever admit it...
Digressions aside, this can easily be changed. If the GM wishes to run a campaign where
Novalis' promotion has had profound effects on the history of the War, things
can be suitably modified. A Bright
campaign will see her methodology be wildly successful; in a Dark campaign, it
probably won't - or it will, but at the cost of any sort of dissent. Either way, Servitors of War Faction Archangels
will find themselves more or less stymied at every turn, to the point where new
Attunements may be necessary to better reflect the Novaline Order. These have been left as an exercise for the
interested student.
As for personality?
Well, the default option assumes that Novalis is still inherently
peaceful - but at the same time pragmatic.
Some compromise is necessary - it's much easier to espouse a pure
ideological position when one doesn't have ultimate responsibility, as the
Archangel of Flowers has long since discovered - but the Commandress has had
over a thousand years to find her balance.
She'll love everybody, try to save everybody, and will consider violence
to be just too easy a solution to be really trustworthy, but there are
times when you simply have to cause a lesser pain to fend off a greater. Not a job for the weak - but then, Novalis
was never weak in the first place.
Again, this can be changed: 'Pollyanna' and 'Severe
burnout case' seem the most likely possible alternatives. The first can work in a Bright campaign, and
both work just fine in a Dark one...