Hermann, Ofanite of Dreams

Moe Lane · 02-17-2008, 09:11 PM

http://moeticae.typepad.com/weblog_l...n-ofanite.html

Hermann
Ofanite of Dreams

Corporeal Forces: 2 Strength: 2 Agility: 6
Ethereal Forces: 4 Intelligence: 10 Precision: 6
Celestial Forces: 4 Will: 10 Perception: 6
Vessel/1

Skills: Area Knowledge (Marches/2), Dodge/3, Dream-Shaping/3, Emote/3, Fast-Talk/5, Fighting/2, Knowledge (Administration/3, Marxist Theory/2, Military History/1, the Mythology of Wishes/5, Research/3), Languages (English/3, French/3, German/3, Helltongue/4, Russian/3), Move Silently/4, Ranged Weapon (pistol/3, rifle/3)

Songs: Dreams (All/4), Charm (Celestial/4), Motion (Ethereal/3, Celestial/6), Shields (Corporeal/3, Ethereal/3), Tongues (Ethereal/4)

Attunements: Ofanite of Dreams, Dream Walking

Kronos was reportedly livid.

Hermann had one, very simple task to accomplish. The fall of East Germany was inevitable: a pity that Asmodeus was about to lose such a congenial vacation spot for his yearly seminars, but nothing lasts forever. But there are right ways and wrong ways for a regime to fall, and from Fate's point of view the best ways involve a good deal of heartache. All the conditions were right for just the right set of miscommunications and reflexive abrogation of duties to ensure that, when the mob reached the border, confusion, pettiness, and general nastiness would rule the day. There was even a not entirely unreasonable hope that someone could be persuaded to fire a machine gun into a crowd, which would certainly blight the memory of the day quite nicely. All that was left to be done was for one Calabite of Fate to make sure that one East German Minister of Propaganda was properly informed about the timeline for instituting the new border procedures. Everything else would follow - including, of course, the Minister meeting his Fate.

Suffice it to say that Hermann had other plans; which included being known as the last defector from East Germany. The complete collapse of an entire nation-state sounded precisely like the sort of distraction that a Renegade would need to make his escape (not to mention fun on its own merits) - and, hey, if it's not a violent collapse then everything's all right, right? It'd show that he'd like to have his Heart in the right place, and all that. So Hermann neglected to tell this Günter Schabowski guy that he was supposed to be telling people to go to the gates the next day with their proper papers; and maybe Schabowski wasn't really such an idiot as to not figure it out for himself, but was verdamnt well tired of the verdamnt German Democratic Republic, so he decided to just go ahead and run with "As far as I know effective immediately, right now;" and the next thing you know, every checkpoint on the Berlin Wall is being surrounded by polite East Berliners politely insisting that they were given permission to go take a stroll inside West Berlin.

Hermann still maintains that the sight of the border security apparatus of a repressive nation-state tumbling helplessly into impotence at the first hint of real resistance because the paperwork wasn't expedited in time was well worth the Truly massive dissonance headache he suffered from his activities. Then again, he was also treating said headache with several steins of Radeberger, so there's that.

As one might notice, Hermann has a certain amount of egotism to him. Which is why he went from being a 12 Force Calabite to a 10 Force Ofanite; his Heart indeed was in the right place, but his attitude needed a couple of kicks before it adjusted itself. It's also why he is working for Dreams, not Destiny - East Germany may be long gone, but Fate is still around, and they hate defectors. So Hermann gets to play with the dreamscapes, gradually let the other angels get used to him being around, and engaging in the occasional bit of consultation work with Trade and/or Stone (never both at the same time). A comfortable enough life, and one where he isn't being a twisted monstrosity dragging hapless humans to the Pit of Hell, so a net improvement all around.

There is one small problem, though. Roughly two years after his Redemption, Hermann was called in by Blandine in order to have a rather bemused Marc inform him that the Ofanite had a Geas on Lilith. Strictly self-imposed, of course; the Princess of Freedom was under no obligation to give it. But she had decided that Hermann's actions had strengthened her Word - it had certainly netted her a Tether - so it pleased her to voluntarily reward him with a favor, good for "a comparable service." Hermann has spent very little time on the corporeal plane since then, and a distinctly reduced amount of time in the Marches. He has, in fact, been placed in a job that will minimize his time in dreamscapes, just to be on the safe side. This is not a reflection on the angel... much; it is an admission that temptation is a strong force, and the vision of a surprisingly open-ended favor from the Princess of Freedom would be a very strong temptation to even the most tested, secure angel. A former demon would find the going even harder.

Hermann might object to that, except that he's spent the last decade researching the concept of the Wish in human culture - and the more he reads, the more he regrets having such a spectacular leave-taking of his former employers...

Methariel · 02-21-2008, 03:57 AM

Well, I was a child of eight years living in the western half of Germany when the "Mauer" fell and didn't realize the importance of the event at the moment it occured (I just realized that my parents were deeply moved and happy), although I do so by now.

To come to the point, though: To "know" that this event eventually culminated in the redemption of a powerful demon from the ranks of the most...evil...Demon Prince makes me smile.

To say it in short: Moe, I really like this one. (Including the inherent twist.)

M.

Moe Lane · 02-21-2008, 06:51 AM

Well, I'm glad that you liked it, and that there were no major howlers. If there were major howlers, by all means, let me know. :)

Archangel Beth · 02-21-2008, 10:06 AM

*snickers evilly*

It warms the little black heart of this GM to think that there's a game where "someone owes you a favor" is cause for alarm. *grin*

02-17-2008, 09:11 PM	#1
Moe Lane Join Date: Apr 2005	Hermann, Ofanite of Dreams http://moeticae.typepad.com/weblog_l...n-ofanite.html Hermann Ofanite of Dreams Corporeal Forces: 2 Strength: 2 Agility: 6 Ethereal Forces: 4 Intelligence: 10 Precision: 6 Celestial Forces: 4 Will: 10 Perception: 6 Vessel/1 Skills: Area Knowledge (Marches/2), Dodge/3, Dream-Shaping/3, Emote/3, Fast-Talk/5, Fighting/2, Knowledge (Administration/3, Marxist Theory/2, Military History/1, the Mythology of Wishes/5, Research/3), Languages (English/3, French/3, German/3, Helltongue/4, Russian/3), Move Silently/4, Ranged Weapon (pistol/3, rifle/3) Songs: Dreams (All/4), Charm (Celestial/4), Motion (Ethereal/3, Celestial/6), Shields (Corporeal/3, Ethereal/3), Tongues (Ethereal/4) Attunements: Ofanite of Dreams, Dream Walking Kronos was reportedly livid. Hermann had one, very simple task to accomplish. The fall of East Germany was inevitable: a pity that Asmodeus was about to lose such a congenial vacation spot for his yearly seminars, but nothing lasts forever. But there are right ways and wrong ways for a regime to fall, and from Fate's point of view the best ways involve a good deal of heartache. All the conditions were right for just the right set of miscommunications and reflexive abrogation of duties to ensure that, when the mob reached the border, confusion, pettiness, and general nastiness would rule the day. There was even a not entirely unreasonable hope that someone could be persuaded to fire a machine gun into a crowd, which would certainly blight the memory of the day quite nicely. All that was left to be done was for one Calabite of Fate to make sure that one East German Minister of Propaganda was properly informed about the timeline for instituting the new border procedures. Everything else would follow - including, of course, the Minister meeting his Fate. Suffice it to say that Hermann had other plans; which included being known as the last defector from East Germany. The complete collapse of an entire nation-state sounded precisely like the sort of distraction that a Renegade would need to make his escape (not to mention fun on its own merits) - and, hey, if it's not a violent collapse then everything's all right, right? It'd show that he'd like to have his Heart in the right place, and all that. So Hermann neglected to tell this Günter Schabowski guy that he was supposed to be telling people to go to the gates the next day with their proper papers; and maybe Schabowski wasn't really such an idiot as to not figure it out for himself, but was verdamnt well tired of the verdamnt German Democratic Republic, so he decided to just go ahead and run with "As far as I know effective immediately, right now;" and the next thing you know, every checkpoint on the Berlin Wall is being surrounded by polite East Berliners politely insisting that they were given permission to go take a stroll inside West Berlin. Hermann still maintains that the sight of the border security apparatus of a repressive nation-state tumbling helplessly into impotence at the first hint of real resistance because the paperwork wasn't expedited in time was well worth the Truly massive dissonance headache he suffered from his activities. Then again, he was also treating said headache with several steins of Radeberger, so there's that. As one might notice, Hermann has a certain amount of egotism to him. Which is why he went from being a 12 Force Calabite to a 10 Force Ofanite; his Heart indeed was in the right place, but his attitude needed a couple of kicks before it adjusted itself. It's also why he is working for Dreams, not Destiny - East Germany may be long gone, but Fate is still around, and they hate defectors. So Hermann gets to play with the dreamscapes, gradually let the other angels get used to him being around, and engaging in the occasional bit of consultation work with Trade and/or Stone (never both at the same time). A comfortable enough life, and one where he isn't being a twisted monstrosity dragging hapless humans to the Pit of Hell, so a net improvement all around. There is one small problem, though. Roughly two years after his Redemption, Hermann was called in by Blandine in order to have a rather bemused Marc inform him that the Ofanite had a Geas on Lilith. Strictly self-imposed, of course; the Princess of Freedom was under no obligation to give it. But she had decided that Hermann's actions had strengthened her Word - it had certainly netted her a Tether - so it pleased her to voluntarily reward him with a favor, good for "a comparable service." Hermann has spent very little time on the corporeal plane since then, and a distinctly reduced amount of time in the Marches. He has, in fact, been placed in a job that will minimize his time in dreamscapes, just to be on the safe side. This is not a reflection on the angel... much; it is an admission that temptation is a strong force, and the vision of a surprisingly open-ended favor from the Princess of Freedom would be a very strong temptation to even the most tested, secure angel. A former demon would find the going even harder. Hermann might object to that, except that he's spent the last decade researching the concept of the Wish in human culture - and the more he reads, the more he regrets having such a spectacular leave-taking of his former employers... __________________ Moe Lane Moe Lane.com Last edited by Moe Lane; 02-17-2008 at 10:20 PM.

02-21-2008, 03:57 AM	#2
Methariel Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Freiburg i. Brsg., Germany	Re: Hermann, Ofanite of Dreams Well, I was a child of eight years living in the western half of Germany when the "Mauer" fell and didn't realize the importance of the event at the moment it occured (I just realized that my parents were deeply moved and happy), although I do so by now. To come to the point, though: To "know" that this event eventually culminated in the redemption of a powerful demon from the ranks of the most...evil...Demon Prince makes me smile. To say it in short: Moe, I really like this one. (Including the inherent twist.) M. __________________ "In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing." (Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest" , act 3)

02-21-2008, 06:51 AM	#3
Moe Lane Join Date: Apr 2005	Re: Hermann, Ofanite of Dreams Well, I'm glad that you liked it, and that there were no major howlers. If there were major howlers, by all means, let me know. :) __________________ Moe Lane Moe Lane.com

02-21-2008, 10:06 AM	#4
Archangel Beth In Nomine Line Editor Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Frozen Wastelands of NH	Re: Hermann, Ofanite of Dreams snickers evilly It warms the little black heart of this GM to think that there's a game where "someone owes you* a favor" is cause for alarm. grin* __________________ --Beth Shamelessly adding Superiors: Lilith, GURPS Sparrials, and her fiction page to her .sig (the latter is not precisely gaming related)