Embedding
The first rule of Embedding is,
you do not talk about Embedding.
The second rule of Embedding is,
you do not talk about Embedding. You don't talk about it to anybody who
doesn't already know about it. The ones
that do know about it... you don't talk to them
about it, either. There are squads of
demons who do nothing else but go around looking for people doing Embedding,
just so they can kill them filthy. There
are angels that are inclined to let them.
Even the ones that admit that the procedure is useful to Heaven find it
faintly nauseating - and it takes quite a lot to nauseate an angel.
Then again, that's why they keep loa
around, isn't it?
To perform a successful Embedding, you need the
following:
One human, in rude good health (2 Corporeal Forces,
minimum) - he or she is going to need to be - with an uncritical willingness to
go through about three hours of excruciating pain (6 Body Hits) and possibly
death;
A Voudonista priest with
either Sorcery or David's Geomancy Attunement, plus an uncritical willingness
to perform this procedure;
One Force Trap/6;
A set of extremely
good restraints;
A set of tattooing needles;
A gallon or so of specially-treated, mildly caustic
ink that's sensitive to celestial energies (Alchemy roll at -3, day to make, 2
Essence, lasts for CD days);
Roughly forty doses' worth of a rare potion
comprised of a tincture of rare herbs and rarer spider venom (Alchemy roll at
-4, week to prepare, 6 Essence), that, when applied in a very specific and
intricate way - say, when mixed with specially-treated, mildly caustic ink
that's sensitive to celestial energies and wielded by a priest with either
Sorcery or David's Geomancy Attunement - will cause 2d6 Soul Hits per dose to
any entity possessing a human, provided of course that the entity in question
cannot flee either physically or celestially from the attack;
And one Shedite;
preferably a small one. Never, ever, ever a Kyriotate or angel of any kind,
or any ethereal on good terms with the loa. Never at all.
As for why,
aside from sheer sadism (although that's not a bad reason, with some Shedim): well, assuming that everything works properly, by
the time the Shedite loses its last Celestial Force
its remaining other Forces will be
essentially bound into a vessel. This
would be the lucky human that's just spent the last three hours having caustic
ink and spider venom tattooed into his or her body. This gives the following advantages. First
off, the Forces themselves; the exact number and distribution is up to the GM, but the process tends to grant either 2 or 3 Forces. These Forces do not come with character points,
Skills or Songs, but will affect Body/Mind Hits and Essence capacity. Also, Kyriotates
cannot possess Forces Embedded into a person (it's a Remnant, after all); they
can possess the rest, but someone with an Embedded Ethereal Force will still
retain consciousness, if not control.
This can be useful. Finally, if
the Embedded was not Symphonically Aware then, he or she is now - and if he or
she had the capacity for an extra Force, it will usually manifest as a result
of the procedure. Note that none of this
is an Oathtaking, despite the granting of a demonic
Force; the Embedded is not entering a pact with Hell.
It is also rumored
that the Remnant can actually have further Corporeal and Ethereal Forces
grafted upon it, thus circumventing the normal limits on a human frame.
Disadvantages? Well, to start with, there's the Discord
(default level/3); the Celestial Discord that automatically results from the
Remnant process, any Discord that would result from the Shedite
losing all of its Corporeal and Ethereal Forces prior to becoming a Remnant and
of course any existing Discord dating from before the Embedding process. It can all add up (it can also all be removed
by a
And, of course, you have a Remnant Shedite in your head.
It is not a pleasant experience, particularly in the beginning and
doubly so if the Embedding process includes two or more Ethereal Forces. You remember
things, and you remember how it feels to do things. A few moments of contemplation should be
enough to give a whole list of sensations that you don't ever want to experience, but that any halfway competent Shedite would have idly sought out; now imagine being reminded of such activities while
you're going about your business. Sure,
you didn't do it -but you only sort of didn't do it, and that's the
problem. This is another reason why they
try to get small and/or dumb Shedim; less mental
distress in the long run.
Finally, if you're caught, there are Princes who
would stick a Celestial Force onto it, just to see what would happen. Although that is arguably a positive point,
as most demons don't want any Princes
to dabble in any research evocative of Legion, and will thus put a time limit
on the killing filthy...