Corporeal Forces: 3 Strength: 5 Agility: 7

Ethereal Forces: 4 Intelligence: 7 Precision: 9

Celestial Forces: 6 Will: 12 Perception: 12

Word-Forces: 11

Vessel: human male/3, Charisma +1, human female/2, Charisma +2

Skills: Dodge/3, Emote/3, Fighting/3, Knowledge (psychology/3), Lying/3, Savoir-Faire/2, Seduction/3, Small Weapon (Knife/3, Whip/3)

Songs: Charm (Corporeal/1, Celestial/3), Dreams (All/1), Entropy (Ethereal/3), Hysteria/3, Nightmares (Celestial/3), Sensation (Ethereal/1, Celestial/3), Shields (All/2)

Role: "Mark Durling" (idle rich/5, Status/5)

Attunements: Habbalite of Fate, Impudite of Fate, Bad Company, Fated Future, Knight of the Winged Chariot, Angel of the Willing Victim

Angel of the Willing Victim: Malkira will automatically recognize those individuals who want to be victimized, and to what degree. This means, among other things, that he can also recognize those who (due to their deep self-loathing) would willingly embrace their Fate. These latter individuals recognize Malkira, too: they might not realize that the 'angel' is a supernatural creature, but they will be drawn to him (an automatic success to reaction rolls, with a 6 for the check digit). Actually killing one of these latter unfortunates will not cause disturbance, provided that the victim is perfectly willing - and Truly understands the consequences of dying after meeting his or her Fate.

Extra Rites

: Bring someone to their Fate, with their full and knowing cooperation (+3 Essence).

Well, it seemed a good idea at the time. The previous owner of the Word of Willing Victims (an Impudite of Death) had just been ripped apart by a squad of Laurence's Order of the Eternal Sword, and nobody wanted Saminga to appoint a replacement. The Prince of Death was simply not getting the idea: this Word was supposed to be romanticized by its holder, but Saminga has neither the subtlety nor intelligence to bring that off. Kronos didn't even have to insist very hard.

Unfortunately, it seems that Kronos wasn't thinking very clearly, either. A Lilim or Shedim would have been perfect for this Word, but the Prince of Fate instead sponsored a Habbalite. To be fair, Malkira seemed perfect for the position: he took a sensual pleasure in breaking his victims before he forced them to damn themselves. Granted, most Habbalah are the same way, but Malkira did it with style. Holding the Word of Willing Victims would be easy for him.

That was true, actually. In fact, that was the trouble.

It's said that the only thing that a true sadist really hates is a true masochist. At first, Malkira delighted in the way that the talking monkeys would flock to him, eagerly panting to be destroyed. He didn't have to worry about finding them, analyzing their weaknesses and going through the tedium of wearing them down; they instead would serve themselves up on a silver platter, begging to prove their inferiority. They would provide instant feedback on what was working on them, and why: in fact, he discovered that revealing the 'truth' about his nature and task merely made his willing victims more eager to embrace their Fate. He was soon sending humans to Hell like clockwork.

However, somewhere along the line, Malkira got bored.

This was too easy. There was no fear, no terror to be had from his victims anymore - just petty frustration and a deeply disturbed need to abase themselves in front of this majestic agent of a maltheistic God. Granted, that's what most Habbalah think that they want out of life, but Malkira is finding that wanting something isn't the same as having it. Worse, this self-culling that his victims are doing is beginning to highlight the difference between them and the rest of humanity - he doesn't like to admit it, but Malkira is starting to realize that perhaps most mortals aren't prone to self-destruct. He can recognize those who actually are - and few of them are in any kind of position of authority and respect (and the ones that are usually have some sort of progressive imbalance in their brain chemistry).

It's getting a bit much, in other words. Malkira is even starting to wonder whether permitting a emotional response to things is wise - he's started experimenting with instilling Emptiness in his subjects, and at least now they don't want to whine as much. Frankly, he's starting to feel envy them for that - there are times when Malkira feels the urge to whine, himself. Not having to feel the need to do it would be a relief, actually.

Malkira really has no idea of what kind of trouble (or grace, depending on your point of view) he's in. He's jaded with his job, has unknowingly eroded the philosophical and emotional foundations of his view of the world, and is playing with fire by his steadily increasing use of Emptiness on his targets. Eventually, the last will backfire spectacularly upon him, and he'll experience the mindset of an Elohite for the first time. The perfect objectivity, perfect control that will result when that happens will be like a fiercely addictive drug to him: once he experiences it, the Redemption clock will start counting down. If Malkira had any friends, they'd be deeply disturbed by his current behavior: the more humans that come to him seeking self-destruction, the more disgusted he becomes from having to give it to them. As it is, he's barely going through the motions. If it weren't for the fact that his victims are throwing themselves on his sword, he'd probably already have attracted the Game's attention. Really, his days as a demon are numbered.

Which makes no sense, if you think about it. Kronos is, most emphatically, not stupid: he should have seen this scenario folding out about twenty moves ago. Apparently, he hasn't - or he has, and there's something else going on...