Lilith, Lady of Freedom
"The world is what you make of it."
A Servitor of Lilith cannot unfairly
or arbitrarily deprive another being of its freedom. This includes soul-killing
anyone, but not Vessel-killing. It also does not include extracting a
Geas from someone, as this is considered an even trade.
All Lilith's Choir Attunements are
refinements of her angels' natural resonance, making them at least partially
restricted. It is unknown as to whether this is deliberate, or if she simply
could not create a different kind.
All of Lilith's Servitors have
access to the 'Lilim Grapevine' of celestial gossip and information. They may
roll 1d6 before any Intelligence roll related to celestial current events or
the identity of a specific celestial, and add that number to their target - but
initial contact with the Grapevine minimum must be roleplayed before the
Intelligence roll. (Lilim serving other Words are officially part of the
Grapevine, but are less skilled at manipulating it. They can't use this bonus.)
"Cognoscetis
veritatem et veritas liberabit vos." (You will know the truth, and the
truth will set you free.) - Anonymous
Lilith's Seraphim automatically
succeed on their resonance when seeking the Truth about a person's freedom.
Roll anyway for the check digit. These Seraphim are also very very believable
when speaking: anyone attempting to convince themselves or someone else that
the angel is lying, or at least inaccurate, is at a penalty equal to the
Seraph's Celestial Forces.
(Anyone can take the penalty to be
disbelieved, as long as whatever they're saying is true to the best of their
knowledge.)
Cherubim
(Restricted)
Cherubim of Freedom can sense when their attuned
is in danger of losing their freedom (as per the Malakite of War attunement for
sensing danger in canon.) Further, by making a Perception roll, the Cherub of
Freedom can tell whether the 'imprisonment' is warranted by something the
attuned has done - these Guardians often take Roles as defense lawyers, the
better to liberate those unjustly accused of crimes.
These Cherubim do not take
dissonance if their attuned is imprisoned, but feel a strong Need to free their
attuned for the duration of the imprisonment (or the attunement.)
Ofanim
(Restricted)
Ofanim of Freedom are able to use their
resonance to find the safest route to lead one or more people to freedom -
including a number of individuals who can assist in the escape equal to the
check digit. (If no route offers safety, or all are equally dangerous, then the
Ofanite detects the fastest route to freedom, instead.)
If the prisoner(s) that the Ofanite is
attempting to liberate are posing as such in order to lead the Ofanite into an
ambush, this will be detected on a check digit of 6.
Elohim
(Partially Restricted)
"Freedom
is not something that anybody can be given; freedom is something that people
take and people are as free as they want to be." - James Arthur Baldwin
Elohim of Freedom may use their resonance to
detect what attitudes and beliefs prevent another from seeking freedom (either
from physical imprisonment, or from mental domination such as that imposed in
an abusive relationship.) They add the check digit of their resonance rolls to
Psychology rolls used to help others throw off such mental shackles, and
typically take roles as deprogrammers.
On a resonance roll with a check digit of 5 or
6, Lilith's Powers may choose to know what one action on their part would best
aid the target in gaining their freedom, instead of one reaction to a given
action.
Note that this is available to other
Choirs - namely, Mercurians can take this Attunement, just as Elohim can take
the Mercurian of Freedom Attunement. Mercurians with this Attunement still
detect the attitudes via their resonance, still get the bonus to Psychology,
and may detect one action at 5 and 6.
Sworn
Malakim (Restricted)
When resonating, these Malakim also determine if
their targets were forced into any of the actions or situations detected, and
to what degree.
It should be noted that this mirrors the Dark
Malakite of the Deal Attunement, something that makes Asmodeus nervous
(especially as a large number of Lilith's Redeemed were once Marc's Servitors,
and vice-versa...)
Kyriotates
(Restricted)
If their host agrees beforehand and doesn't
resist, Kyriotates of Freedom do not have to roll to possess. They can also
automatically succeed at possessing felines, with no resistance roll possible.
(Why is unknown, but the number of cat-souls that wander around the Guildhall
may have something to do with it...)
Lilith dislikes the Kyriotate resonance, seeing
it as limiting the Freedom of their hosts; thus, most of her Dominations have a
Servant (often a Soldier) who acts as a regular host, or choose to limit
themselves to animal hosts and fellow angels' Vessels. Still, Lilith doesn't
have many Kyriotates.
Mercurians
(Partially Restricted)
"There is
one fundamental right, the right to do whatever you please. It is coupled with
the one fundamental responsibility, to accept the consequences." -
Anonymous
These Mercurians, when resonating,
also determine how the results affect the freedom of the target. (For example,
discovering a high estimation of the self may mean the target doesn't have any
limits on his freedom, while discovering an overbearing boss may mean the
target is often forced to do things she doesn't like in the workplace.) They
may instantly recognize someone who is limiting or injuring the freedom of
someone they have resonated on in the last (check digit of the resonance * 2)
days.
Many of these angels take Roles as
psychiatrists/psychologists, guidance counselors, and lawyers - anything that
lets them undo harm to another's freedom and therefore self-image, and stop the
attackers from harming more.
Note that this and the Elohim of
Freedom Attunements are the only ones available to other Choirs -
namely, Elohim can take this Attunement and Mercurians can take the other one.
An Elohite with this Attunement detects how the results of his natural
resonance for emotion affect the target's freedom, and how the results
of Lilith's Elohite Attunement affect the freedom, as well as gaining
the 'instant ID' ability.
Grigori
(Restricted)
Lilith's Watchers are greatly envied
by their Choir-mates. They have complete control over their fertility - no
Grigori of Freedom will ever sire or bear a half-human child unwillingly. With
a Will roll and physical contact, these Grigori can extend that control to
another being (of whatever plane) for the check digit in hours.
It should be noted that it is
dissonant for a male-Vesseled Watcher of Freedom to sire a child without the
female partner's consent (and preferably awareness of her partner's and future
child's natures, but this is not essential.) However, the same does not apply
to female-Vesseled Watchers and their male partners, unless the Watcher abuses
the parental link to force the father to do things. These Watchers generally
prefer to limit intercourse with humans to Soldiers, Saints, and Sorcerers, all
of whom would be aware of their partner's nature.
It should also be noted that Lilith is extremely
willing to grant 'vacation' periods to Watchers with families, and a certain
amount of lenience to those who wish to spend time watching their descendants.
She is one of the only Archangels to be actively supportive of this, so long as
the humans involved aren't being hurt in any way.
Lilim
(Restricted)
[...]
"For Ophelia'd
know your every woe / And every pain you'd ever had / She'd sympathize and dry
your eyes / And help you to forget..."
- Natalie
Merchant, Ophelia
All Lilim start out as Servitors of
Freedom - be they Free, actual Servitors, or eventually choosing to serve
another Word - and thus start out with this Attunement - though those who serve
other Archangels often lose it. This gives them the ability to perceive true
Needs with their resonance. (For example, a man standing in the rain may
want-Need an umbrella. He may Truly Need to be forgiven by his wife - the
reason he's standing out in the rain. True Needs are typically things that
would lead the target to their Destiny or away from their Fate - thus, Kronos'
Lilim Attunement is this with a bonus.)
Lilim of other Words can buy this for 5
character points at creation, unless their Superior is Allied/Associated with
Lilith, in which case it costs 3. Lilim of Necessity and Freedom have it for
free.)
"I have to
remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just
too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to
lock them up DOES rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab
and empty that they're gone." - Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding, The Shawshank
Redemption
By spending 1 essence, the holder can escape
from any one form of imprisonment. If the holder of this attunement is
handcuffed, tied up, and locked in a cell, for example, it would require three
uses. For this reason, Uriel has issued standing orders that any servitors of
Freedom who are too valuable to be killed outright are to be placed in as many
layers of imprisonment as can be managed.
[Sidebar]
A refinement of Nor
Prisons Hold, only offered to those who already possess that Attunement. With a
successful Will roll, these angels may extend the effects of Nor Prisons Hold
to another person (plus one other for every Essence spent by the angel) for a
number of hours equal to the check digit.
[/Sidebar]
[Sidebar]
These two Attunements
are commonly associated with one another, given their similar effects.
Any attempt to use a
Song, Attunement, sorcery, or similar ability to influence the will of one
holding this attunement suffers a penalty equal to the holder's Ethereal
forces. This includes attempts at possessing the holder, as well as the
Balseraph, Habbalite, Impudite, and Nephil Resonances, but does not include
resisting Geases that the holder agreed to with full knowledge of their
consequences.
Any attempt to use a
Song, Attunement, sorcery, or similar ability to physically imprison the holder
of this attunement suffers a penalty equal to the holder's Corporeal forces.
This includes Asmodeus' Warder Distinction!
[/Sidebar]
As per canonical Asmodeus' "Humanity"
Servitor Attunement. (In Nomine: Core Rules pg 161)
Lilith
doesn't give out Distinctions often, preferring to reward Servitors with Attunements
and the like instead. Most of her Distincted Servitors are Lilim and Sworn
Malakim, unusually enough.
If the angel did not have Free Your Mind, The
Rest Will Follow, or Locksmith before, she receives any two with this Distinction.
With a successful Will roll, she can extend the effects of any of these
Attunements to another person for (check digit + Friend's Celestial Forces) in
hours. (Locksmith already permits this for Nor Prison's Hold, but the duration
is altered.)
These angels can, with an effort, Free themselves (or others) from dissonance restrictions. (Note that this is not effective on Geases.) This is usable once per person per day. With a successful Will roll by the Friend, the effects can last for up to the check digit in hours, but the Freed person must spend Essence every other hour he wishes to remain Free. (One hour is free, two or three costs one Essence, four or five costs two, six costs three.)
Note that Friends of Liberty may not Free themselves or others from Lilith's own dissonance conditions without her express permission; she will not let her Servitors abuse her gifts that way. Angels of Freedom can be released from their Choir-dissonance, but others can only be Freed from Word-dissonance; it's harder to Free someone from their own nature than it is to Free them from a superior. Word-bound cannot be Freed from their personal Word-dissonance by Friends, as the Word has become part of their nature, though it's rumored Lilith can do so – and can even Free an Archangel or Demon Prince, if she so wishes...
Lilith's Masters are experts at the
concept of 'walking a mile in someone else's shoes.' This works as per canon
Yves' Master of Divine Knowledge Distinction (In Nomine: Core Rules
pg?), with the following notes...
1. The Lilim resonance is available, though
rare; rarer still is the Sworn Malakite resonance, but there are Masters
with it! Lilith's rare Masters with the Sworn Resonance tend to be hunted by
Purity and the Sword; Laurence and Uriel don't like the idea that anyone
could copy their creations.
3. Occasionally, these Masters
(mostly the older ones) develop traits of their 'secondary Choir' - an Elohite
Master (Mercurian) with fluffy white wings, a Malakite Master (Seraph) with six
black wings, etc.
Lilith
is generally a member of the Peace faction, though she has been known in the
past to cast her vote with the more warlike Archangels – she does what she
believes is best for humanity. However, she has her ally Andrealphus' dislike
of Asmodeus, seeing his Rules as too restrictive of Freedom.
Except
for her Allies and the Book, she expects her Servitors to use their personal
judgment in situations involving other angels. If one of her angels dislikes
Servitors of one of Lilith's Associates, the angel is under no obligation to
help them. Likewise, if one of her Servitors likes angels under a Superior
Lilith is Neutral to, those angels take priority over Servitors of other Words.
Lilith expects her angels to offer aid to Love and Laughter and to be careful
how much they tell the Book; other than that, it's their prerogative.
Andrealphus, Kobal (Andrealphus, Valefor
are Allied to Lilith)
Lucifer, Nybbas, Valefor (Kobal, Lucifer, Nybbas
are Associated with Lilith)
Everyone else, except... (Everyone else is
Neutral to Lilith, except...)
Asmodeus (Nobody is Hostile to
Lilith)
Lilith is humanity's special patron.
She is the First and greatest Sorceress, and all white sorcerers learn from
her. She oversees all Soldiers and Saints, the placement of new blessed souls,
and watches over the newly Redeemed as well. She tends to favor women over men,
but she does her best not to act on her personal biases. But it's known that
she pays special attention to female humans, especially pregnant women and
children, and any of her Servitors who fail to aid them will have a lot to
answer for. Lilith is also the special patron of the United States of America;
she was the one who incited the colonists to rebellion, she urged the slaves to
seek freedom, she began the civil rights and women's suffrage movements, and
more. (The Statue of Liberty, one of her strongest Tethers, actually bears a faint
resemblance to her.) Though it should be noted that she patronizes American ideals
rather than what Americans really do; in recent years, she's become more and
more disappointed with her 'adopted children'.
Lilith is the only source of Lilim
in existence. (If a Lilim or more than one Lilim wish to create a child angel,
the child will inevitably be a reliever (if nine-Force at creation, it fledges
upon receipt of its tenth) or a member of the other parent's Choir, unless the
parents come to Lilith, who is usually willing to make the child a Lilim.) At
creation, she offers her Daughters three choices - "be a Servitor of
Freedom, though you may ask to switch service later; choose to serve another
Archangel within the week; remain Free to serve as you please." Most Lilim
choose the first or last options, though there are a few (mostly created
especially for another Archangel, with his/her active participation, in the
hopes of creating a Lilim with a unique affinity for his/her Word) who choose
the second. Those who choose the third are effectively Free Lilim, but bear
three Geas/3 owed to Lilith, which may be traded to others at her whim. They
also get a Heart created by Lilith (requiring them to take her dissonance
conditions), but are permitted to do what they please with them.
Angels of other Choirs are not
offered this choice. However, Lilith will almost always grant requests to
'temp' for or switch service to another Archangel with minimal questioning. Lilith's
Redeemed are given a 'grace period', averaging at about a week, in which to
learn about other Superiors. At the end of the week, they're expected to tell
her who they wish to serve.
[Sidebar]
"Ense
petit placidam sub libertate quietem." (By the sword we seek peace, but
peace only under liberty.) - Official Motto of the State of Massachusetts.
For non-Lilim, Lilith is
fully capable of making her own, and does so. However, non-Lilim creations of
Lilith are vastly outnumbered by Redeemed and 'transfers'. Lilith is one of the
two Superiors with the most Redeemed in their ranks; the other is Andrealphus.
She also has the most Sworn Malakim of any Archangel save Baal and Meserach
(enough to equal any other Choir of any other Word), and was the first to
Redeem one - Timeus, Sworn Malakite Master of Choice and Angel of Honor,
formerly a Baron of Purity. It is widely believed that this is because of
either her near-complete willingness to let them do as they please, or the ... fascination
all Malakim have with Lilim, and by extension Lilith herself.
Given this fact, many
wonder what the two Malakite Princes think of Lilith. Uriel is obvious; with
his obsession with control, he simply wants her and her Daughters under his
power. Laurence, on the other hand ... when asked, he says nothing. Nothing at
all, save to end the conversation - and possibly the hapless questioner. Yet,
if one looked closely at his face when Lilith is brought up, one might be able
to see hints of envy...
[/Sidebar]
Lilith and Andrealphus are the two
Archangels with the highest Redemption tallies, though Lilith's Redeemed often
choose to switch service eventually. The Lady of Freedom, however, has the
smallest amount of permanent Servitors of any Word, Divine or Infernal.
Her Free Daughters and Sworn Malakim nearly make up for this, but since the
average Free is usually in service to another Archangel at any given time,
Lilith has far fewer angelic resources available than other Superiors.
What many people forget is that
Lilith doesn't need celestial resources. She is the source of
white sorcerers (other than the occasional renegade from Marc's ranks), she
employs more Soldiers and Saints than any other Superior, and her status as the
only Archangel to actively encourage Grigori-human pairings means she knows
where most Children of the Grigori are. Beyond that, she has many Corporeal interests,
letting her call on mundane humans through various companies, and the
effectiveness of Lilim Geas-webs is multiplied tenfold when Lilith is the one
starting the chain. And speaking of Geases, well, she has collected
hooks on some (if not most, or even all) Superiors...
[Sidebar]
"He who
does not prefer exile to slavery is not free by any measure of freedom, truth,
or duty." - Kahlil Gibran
"Thrice-blessed
Adam, husband of thine Eve! / She brought thee for her dowry death and shame; /
She taught thee one may worship and deceive; / But yet thy dream and she were
still the same; / Nor ever in the desert turned thine eyes / Towards Lilith by
the brooks of Paradise."
- Agnes Mary F.
Robinson, Adam and Eve
Rumors abound as to just
why Lilith left the Garden. After all, wasn't it Paradise? Wasn't it perfect,
peaceful, just her and Adam and every plant and animal in existence? Didn't she
love Adam? (For she will admit freely that she loved him.)
But as Kobal and Beleth
can attest, love is not necessarily the perfect thing people think. And it's
known that Metatron corrupted the Experiment when Eve was there, so it's not
impossible that he got involved before Eve. And the humans who wrote the
stories seem to think Adam forced her to submit, to be his slave...
Lilith says nothing.
"So how explain
/ This chronic failure of eyes, of hands, to meet? / Those who come after will
say it was / He who hulked between us like a wall / Of rock dividing countries,
estranging / Sea from land. Will say that I abandoned / You to a life I would
not stand. Or, I / Supplanted you in the garden with the man."
- Constance
Merritt, Self-Portrait: Lilith, Eve
But despite whatever
drove her from the Garden, Lilith loves the descendants of Adam and Eve. She liked
Eve; or at least, what she knew of Eve. Lilith pitied her a bit for staying
with Adam, but felt it was her Choice.
Incidentally, while
Lilith is fairly sure Adam, Eve, and possibly their oldest children are all
dead, she doesn't know where each of them finally wound up. Anyone who knows
and tells her will earn a Favor in the future.
[/Sidebar]
[Sidebar]
"Made --
for what end? -- by God's great hand, / Frail enigmatic shapes, they dwell / In
some phantastic borderland, / But on the hitherside of hell! / Children of
Lilith, each a sprite, / Yet wrought
like us of Adam's clay, / And when they haunt us in the night / What, brother Villon, shall we say?"
- George
Sylvester Viereck, Children of Lilith
Everybody knows about
the Lilim. How they are Lilith's Daughters (and Sons), how they are angels but
have a strong dash of humanity in their Forces, how none has Fallen yet and
none believe they will, how her first Daughter, Malaya, left Heaven and may
have melted into human society, and how the rest of her Children serve whom
they please, as they please.
But Lilith is human, and
has a strong sense of family and stronger maternal streak. And as she is
eternally whatever age she wants to be, which is usually early thirties, she is
certainly capable of reproducing...
Rumor has it that Lilith
has had human children. Depending on the storyteller, one might hear of
her playing 'surrogate' for an infertile wife, taking the Role of a human man's
mate until he dies and then watching over the family, having had children by
Adam or one of his sons (most commonly Cain or Seth)... or having a half-human
child with another Archangel.
[Sidebar]
· Release someone from
bonds they were not willingly placed in. (i.e., freeing a Renegade from
Bound-inducing handcuffs placed on him by Judgement would earn Essence; freeing
a master escape artist / magician from his straitjacket in the middle of his
show would not.)
· Meditate for two hours
at a site associated with Freedom, such as the Berlin Wall or Liberty Bell, or
Statue of Liberty. (This doesn't have to be a Tether.) Alternatively, walk the
Freedom Trail in Boston, Massachusetts.
· Help someone escape an
abusive relationship. (+2 if the abused party is a wife or daughter.)
· H
Lilith
is the only Archangel who will let literally anyone Summon her. Humans
are at a base chance of 0, other angels halve the standard 'not my Superior'
penalty, and demons have a penalty of -10 to the base chance – and any demon
trying to summon Lilith who isn't seeking Redemption or going Renegade
had better talk fast. Lilith strongly backs Freedom, but she has more sense
than to let demons summon her to get them out of trouble.
Asmodeus
would be livid about this fact, if not for two things. First, it's nearly
impossible for a demon to summon Lilith without promising a fairly high-level
Geas, which is always useful. Secondly...well, Dominic turns the most interesting
colors when he hears about Lilith sneaking Renegades out from under his nose,
so there are perks.
Modifiers
+3
if summoner is a Lilim or human
+Geas
level if you promise one while summoning (Lilith only claims the hook if the
summons is successful)
+1:
A set of broken handcuffs or other corporeal restraint.
+2:
A set of broken Will Shackles, Bound Discord Bracelets, or other
celestial/ethereal restraint.
+3:
A caged creature set free.
+4:
A pregnant woman (regardless of if it's obvious or not. +5 if the woman is
giving birth.)
+5:
A Renegade, repentant, or newly Redeemed (within the last 24 hours) demon (+6
if the demon is a Malakite.) The
Summoner can be the demon in question.
+6:
Overthrowing a corrupt government.
