The world is built from all of us. Build it anew each day.
She is the newest Archangel, and from her point of
view, her apotheosis comes none too soon.
For too long Heaven has permitted human governments and politics to
develop and evolve without specific, Superior-level oversight. This is not a criticism of the Host, of
course: there is a War going on, and when one's back is to the wall one is well
advised to emphasize utility over elegance.
Still, the matter required rectifying, and Salem is the avatar of that
rectification. There will be changes
made, wrongs redressed - and not a few of the Enemy are about to suddenly
discover that their control of human society is perhaps not so secure as they
may have thought.
These are indeed interesting times.
Salem has a load of work ahead of her in combating
entrenched generations of suspicion, apathy and cynicism, and has no tolerance
for anyone making her job more difficult.
Accordingly, it is dissonant for her Servitors to cause a human to give
up trying to make things better in society.
It is also dissonant for them to violently attack any governmental or
societal institution not controlled by Hell: armed revolution should always be
the last resort, not the first.
Salem is, of course, still building hers: unlike
some of her peers, she is fortunate in having several groups to draw from. The first is her own companions from Stone:
like all good Servitors of David, the Archangel of Civics had developed an
extensive network of like-minded individuals when she was 'merely' the Angel of
Cities, and her former Superior gave them full leave to follow her path. David was also more... flexible is probably
the best word... when it came to allowing his regular Servitors to follow suit:
many mavericks (at least by Stone's standards) took the opportunity with mutual
relief all around. There was also the
usual discreet poaching of other organizations, which is not all that unusual
or unwelcome a thing to have happen when a new Archangel comes on the
scene. If it had ended there, Salem's
ascendancy would have been fairly unremarkable.
However, the third group was the unusual one,
and one that makes Salem's organization unique. The Archangel of Civics already has the largest contingent of
blessed souls in formal service of any Superior, not excluding Laurence. Indeed, it was largely the machinations of
certain blessed souls that made her ascension suddenly go from a intriguing
possibility to a fait accompli: it was as if the entire political
structure of the Seraphim Council had been gently, painlessly and irresistibly
yanked in one swift stroke, revealing a perfectly-shaped, Salem-sized hole in
it. This should have not been
surprising, as even politicians and kingmakers sometimes go to Heaven, but even
angels can underestimate humanity at times.
At any rate, there are now a lot of blessed souls
who consider the Archangel of Civics to be profoundly theirs in a way
seldom seen in angel-mortal relationships, and they express it with a fierce
loyalty and dedication to the concepts she embodies. This regard is fully reciprocated: Salem makes no distinction
between angel and blessed soul in her organization. Mortals hold positions of every rank, responsibility and honor in
Civics, up to and including her War Cabinet.
The only exception is, of course, among the Word-Bound - but even there
they do not have quite the same primacy of place as in other organizations.
The whole thing may look fairly bizarre to angelic
eyes, but it works.
Salem has developed standard Choir Attunements, but
with an additional refinement. Choir
Attunements marked with an * have a variant available to Blessed Souls and
Soldiers: these Attunements do not require an angelic Force to operate, but
cost 10 points to purchase (if the mortal does have a angelic Force, the
cost remains 5 points). The Archangel of Civics is very, very, very slightly
more likely to give a mortal an angelic Force, but it's barely statistically
noticeable. There is also a special
Human Attunement (listed below; cost is 5 points for a mortal and 10 points for
a celestial).
Seraphim (Restricted) (Judgement)
A Seraph of Civics in an urban setting has an
automatic Role/1 as either judges or police officers. They may add the level of that Role (or any similar Role) to
their resonance rolls, and substitute Ethereal Forces for Corporeal on any roll
to avoid disturbance via that Role.
Cherubim (Protection) (Restricted)
A Cherub of Civics may add the CD of a successful
Area Knowledge roll to their resonance rolls, and vice versa.
Ofanim* (Industry)
Ofanim of Civics, while on a city's business, do not
reduce their speed from mundane obstructions; everything simply gets out of the
way just long enough for the angel to pass.
This attunement may be substituted for the Malakite
Attunement at character creation, should the angel so choose.
Elohim (Governance)
Elohim serving Salem automatically know what laws
and regulations apply to any given situation in any given city; they can use
this knowledge to either tie a business or person up in red tape, or else cut
it completely.
Malakim* (Justice)
A Malakite of Civics in pursuit of a malefactor
becomes effectively invisible to any law enforcement officials, provided that
no innocents have been hurt in said pursuit.
This attunement may be substituted for the Ofanite
Attunement at character creation, should the angel so choose.
Salem would very much like to get some Gifters
working for her.
Kyriotates (Diversity) (Restricted)
The angel automatically knows what prejudices his
host holds, why he or she holds them and what is most likely to cause him or
her to rethink those prejudices.
Mercurians* (Communications)
With a successful Perception roll the Mercurian may
cause two people in disagreement to reconsider their reactions to each
other. Each one rolls a standard
reaction, ignoring negative modifiers and including a positive modifier equal
to the angel's lowest Charisma modifier.
A good reaction will not overwrite free will, but it will negate
conflicts stemming from honest misunderstandings and just about everything
imposed by a Servitor of Factions.
Humans serving Salem have a literal nose for shady
dealings; they will always know whether an individual engaged in political
corruption is within five yards. Salem
has not yet come up with a variant that will allow them to infallibly
triangulate, but the millennium is young.
Those who hold this attunement will be able to tell
if a particular amount of cash or goods was gathered honestly. No details will be forthcoming, and this
Attunement has difficulty with things like money laundering, but it's an
excellent way to identify minor criminals.
The angel can climb anything normally climbable at
full speed (and without a roll), and can indeed climb anything that a certain
arachnid-themed superhero can with a successful Climbing roll. Salem had not intended to give out such a
boon, but just about everybody working for her asked for a version of
it.
Servants of Stone with this Attunement have an
instinctive notion on how to harmonize their essential responsibilities (as
noted above); with a successful Perception roll all disturbance generated while
engaged in such duties is half. For
example, a Mercurian could reduce the disturbance that she generated while
fostering Communication. No one knows
what Bright Lilim will be tasked with when Salem actually gets some, and humans
simply reduce all the disturbance that they generate.
Functionally equivalent to the Servitor of Stone
Attunement of the same name found on Page 8 of Superiors 1: War and Honor.
This grants an effective Area Knowledge/0 (everywhere)
skill - thus eliminating default penalties and permitting a roll against
straight Intelligence.
Named after Civics' first martyr, this Attunement
gives an angel a psychic signature identical to the surrounding urban locale. This gives a +2 to Move Silently rolls, and does
affect Cherubim/Djinn resonance rolls, (-1) if the angel so chooses.
There are two ways to acquire a Distinction in
Salem's service: as a reward for service... or by the consensus of your peers. One half of Civics' Distinctions are elected
positions (for a half century term).
Everyone's quite keen to see if this works out, really. The first half of the title indicates an
appointed position, while the second half indicates an elected one. Note that blessed souls are just as likely
to receive Distinctions as angels, and that elections are open to all but
Word-Bound.
The angel automatically knows the language (TN 11)
and major customs of the nearest urban area.
The angel adds her Total Forces to any Medicine
rolls made on her while in an urban area.
For one Essence, she may transfer this benefit to another patient
(duration one day).
There are precisely 10000 of these individuals, and
their one universal ability is strictly mundane; with a 2/3rds vote they may
override a decision of the House of Word-Bound. It is rumored that the original Constitution would have given
them power over decisions made by Salem herself, but that this was forbidden by
a closed session of the Seraphim Council.
The rumor is quite true, in both particulars.
Each Master/Senator also receives a specific +3
Essence rite.
This is a half-step Distinction; it indicates that
Salem trusts you sufficiently to answer her Invocation calls (see below).
When it comes right down to it, Salem hasn't had the
chance yet to gather opponents. The
circumstances of her ascension meant that she enjoys the open support of both
Stone and Trade (admittedly, to each other's bemusement), which means that
she's got pre-made decent connections with most of the other Archangels. This is not entirely beneficial, of course -
trying to keep on decent terms with, say, Dominic and Michael when
they're feuding with other is an interesting application with applied diplomacy
- but it's been noted in assorted lower ranks that the involvement of Civics is
turning out to be an unparalleled excuse for having to play nice with those
people. Politics is politics;
business is business.
As for Salem herself: she has better things to do
than antagonize her peers needlessly.
There's, like, a War, you understand?
Allied: David, Marc, Yves (These are allied with
her, as well)
Associated: Laurence (Laurence, Michael and Novalis
consider themselves associated with her)
Neutral: Everybody else (Ditto, although if anyone
will be hostile it'll be Jordi)
Hostile: Nobody
Blandine: "We will see if she Dreams better
than her sponsors. And what kind of
Dreams she encourages in others." "We
dream. When we do not work."
David: "If there were any legitimate doubts
about Salem, this conversation would not be taking place." "He
poured the foundation; it is now for us to build the Temple."
Dominic: "Her extensive use of blessed souls is
interesting; after all, they cannot Fall.
I look forward to seeing the results." "Implacable and intolerant of evil; but I mislike looks
of fear in Heaven. Particularly when
they are on the face of one of mine."
Eli: "Salem?
Cool." "I am glad that he is pleased. Now, how about he comes back up here and
tell me in person? Not to mention that
he actually go back to his real job?"
Gabriel: (No response) "I think... I think
that she sees something else besides my face when she looks upon me. What it is, I do not know - and I don't know
if I should really want to.
Assuming that she hasn't just completely fallen into irrevocable
madness, of course."
Janus: "I foresee a lot of anthills getting
kicked over from this." "Well.
He's... ah, very enthusiastic about things."
Jean: "A useful expansion of our oversight and
an fascinating sociological experiment.
Salem has agreed to let my researchers have access to data as it comes
in, which is commendable. I await the
results with some interest." "Actually,
a good amount of commonality of interest, there; he disapproves of random
property damage as much as I do. Take
him seriously, and he'll reciprocate."
Jordi: "She has not yet done anything to
personally insult us. Yet." "There's
an enmity there just waiting to happen.
Not my choice, but there'll come a day when Jordi will have the choice
between either instigating a feud with me or admitting that it was wrong about
something. And Jordi has never
admitted to ever being wrong."
Laurence: "I dislike conflicts between my
subordinates. Salem is a dutiful
subordinate herself who is helping to defuse one of the most annoying
subordinate conflicts standing. Of course
I am making sure that her transition goes smoothly." "God is God:
I am the loyal servant of God; Laurence was chosen by God to lead us in
war. Should I even have a
personal opinion?"
Marc: "Nice not to end up staring
incomprehensibly at David anymore when we needed something from each
other. In fact, now that Salem's in
place we don't directly interact nearly as much with each other as before. I think that he's probably as fine with that
as I am." "Marc is a good ally - and now that we are equals, he is
turning into a good friend as well.
Which makes his nonsensical little feud with David all the more
annoying, but we'll worry about that later."
Michael: "You know, every time we get a new
Archangel Hell comes sniffing around looking to get some cheap shots in - and
every time I'm right there to hit them.
Hard. You'd think that they'd
learn better. Great that they don't,
though." "I get the
feeling that Michael's good reaction to me is mostly due to the increased
opportunities for applied mayhem. Not
to my particular taste, but as long as he's having fun."
Novalis: "Oh, good; we were having a bit of
trouble with covering the cities properly." "If I didn't know
better, I would swear that Novalis had been, well, sarcastic towards David and
Marc in her speech of welcome. But no
doubt I'm reading too much into her comments."
Yves: "Salem builds - and we will need a
builder in the future. Especially one
used to making bricks without straw."
"I was hoping to understand him better now, but I find that I
have simply upgraded my incomprehension.
Too bad, but he's still very sweet."
Right now, it's payback. The Angel of Cities had been given a lot of grief over the
last few decades, and a surprising number of the demons responsible for that
were insufficiently quick to realize that Things Were Different Now. The ones that survived are lying low; some
are even adequately hidden. Excising
them is proving to be excellent practice for Salem's servants.
Pleasant chores like this aside, the Archangel of
Civics will be busy for a while. She is
effectively in charge of ensuring that human civilizations and institutions
develop properly, which is a big job.
It's so big, in fact, that right now Salem's in the middle of a manpower
shortage; as long as the core responsibilities of Tether maintenance and the
elimination of the worst of the Uncivil are being covered, her Servitors are
encouraged to make the most of their target-rich environment. She's also not shy about giving certain of
her peers the ability to (non-abusive) engage in a bit of plausible deniability.
Interesting days ahead. Very interesting days.
: Attend a civic festival that attracts more than
10,000 people.
: Spend an hour teaching someone about civics or
government.
: Organize a demonstration or parade of more than 100
people.
: Stop a crime in progress.
: Travel mass transit or the subway of a city for at
least two hours.
That is, of course, to summon Salem herself. If lesser help would be fine, well:
Master/Senator: 3
Friend/Representative: 4
Vassal/Delegate: 5
Regular Servitor: 6
All Servitors Invoked will be only available for at
most a minute or two, and there's no guarantee that they'll have the skill set
you're looking for (the only thing that they have in common is that they all possess
the Fireman Distinction). Still, at the
least you can be reasonably be sure that the next guy will know what killed
you.
+1 A civic event with at least 1,000 people
attending
+2 A world-famous civic monument
+3 The working notes for a country's constitution
+4 A peaceful parade or demonstration with at least
20,000 people
+5 The height of rush hour commuter's traffic at
NYC's Penn Station
+6 The original copy of a country's constitution
Salem is both Mercurian and Stone, and she at least
sees no contradiction between the two.
Strength and Love are two sides of the same coin: it is the bond of
person to person that makes them able to do what two unconnected people could
not, and the effects become more synergistic as more people are added. A people who are united in love for each
other, from the abstract to the concrete... such folk can do anything. This is why Heaven will win, in the end; an
angel can turn his back on another angel without it being greeted with a
dagger. In Hell, there's always just
the faintest hesitation, because even enlightened self-interest is a damned
poor substitute for Love.
Salem's belief that strength is a facet of love is
the primary reason why she unhesitatingly chose to include human beings as full
partners in her organization - a move that still has half of the Seraphim
Council blinking. In Salem's opinion,
it is not enough to say that the War is about humanity; actions must be
backed with words. Lucifer rebelled
because, in his pride, he could not accept God's decree that a mortal man could
be his equal. If Lucifer is wrong - and
if he wasn't wrong, why is there a War? - then mortals both can and must
shoulder the burden of putting him and the rest of Hell down.
In other words, Salem has decided to take the
radical step of taking Heavenly beliefs to their logical conclusion. Obviously, when it comes to certain tasks
celestials do better than humans would - but it does not follow that
celestials are better than humans.
No human can betray his or her nature as an angel can: no angel is quite
as at home with ambiguities as humans are; and it is for certain that the
belief of humanity is a veritable font of power in the corporeal world. They deserve an equal place, and they
deserve not to be treated as children.
Salem's Capitol is built into a convenient hill
overlooking the Heavenly City: its construction is classical Roman, with just a
hint of Art Deco and a certain echo of Mogul.
Lots of white marble, edifying statuary and allegorical dioramas;
tastefully done, of course, but big.
The spire at the top of the dome is topped with statues of a man, woman
and angel helping to hold a torch to the sky; beneath them a demon writhes
impotently, their feet on his broken back (Belial has sworn to see Salem burn
for her choice of features on that demon's anguished face).
Inside is the Tricameron. There are three major divisions to Salem's organization, and all
three operate in an interesting dance to each other. The Assembly represents her regular Servitors, up to the rank of
Friend/Delegate: they are organized by earthly responsibility, geographic
oversight and major task. The broad
decisions from the Senate and the House of Word-Bound are fleshed out here;
policy is expected to reflect both the letter and the spirit of the decrees
made by the two other Houses, and this is Heaven... so the expectation is
actually reasonable. Insoluble problems
are simply sent back for clarification.
The Assembly also proposes the budget, which is approved by the Senate.
The second branch is the House of Word-bound. This is the smallest group, but it steadily
grows; they are expected to determine what policy Salem chooses not to handle
herself, subject of course to her guidelines and with the understanding that
she is always available for questions, no matter how simple. The House also currently acts as a judiciary
for Salem's organization, which at this stage of development mostly means not
giving the Inquisition any extra work. No
Word-Bound may simultaneously serve in the Assembly, although they often have
Distinctions; Word-Bound may become Senators.
The final branch is the Senate; as noted above, they
have a veto over House decrees and ultimate control of the purse strings. They also are the only branch with political
parties, which tends to dilute at least the first half of their power. It is looking at the Senate that one truly
begins to realize that Salem and her servants are hardcore political science
enthusiasts: it's in this branch where all the theoretical debates on the
nature of the Good Society are thrashed out, and consensus here is quickly
mirrored in the Assembly and defended by the House to sometimes nervous
outsiders.
Needless to say, Salem is still the absolute monarch
of this interesting little government - although 'philosopher-queen' would be a
better term, and never mind what the Seraphim Council says. Her office is at the top of the dome, and is
easily the largest and nicest one (her servants would consider it an offense to
their dignity if it wasn't). Her War
Cabinet - the twelve smartest and sneakiest entities available to her, whether
human or angel - is readily available, day or night. Quite a few of them don't see why they should ever, ever leave...