My Random Ideas Thread

[Glamourweaver]

I'm starting this thread to get help with my random setting additions ideas without having to start a new thread each time (as I have been doing because I didn't realize I'd keep having unrelated ideas that I'd want advise on).

So anyway, I'm reworking the history a few Superiors slightly, & I realized that I'm going to need to add a new Archangel to make this work. Sachluph was the Archangel of the Green (i.e. Plant Life) before the Fall. Novalis, the Angel of Flowers, what a Cherub of the Green in Service to Light when she grew forth the Garden of Eden. Anyway, Sachluph was destroyed in the Rebellion while fighting at Jordi's side against Baal. Baal was completely occupying Sachluph's attention, allowing the Rebel Elohite of Creation Makatiel (who had hated Sachluph ever since the creation of the Green altered Earth's atmosphere destroying countless of Makatiel's precious micro-organisms) an opening attack & infect the Archangel with a Dissonance based Song that tore his Forces appart.

Novalis would end up being uplifted to Archangel status in large part as an attempt to fill the void Sachluph's death left.

Now my two questions:

1. What do you think of this addition to IN history?

2. What Choir do imagine Sachluph of having been?

[EDG]

Originally Posted by Glamourweaver

Sachluph was the Archangel of the Green (i.e. Plant Life) before the Fall.

The question in my mind is: why "the Green"?

Laurence is the Archangel of the Sword. This doesn't mean that he's actually the Archangel of Swords; he represents military might, divine and temporal justice and retribution, and other concepts represented by the metaphor "the sword". Swords are incidental; if military might, divine and temporal justice and retribution, etc. were represented by a spear, then Laurence would be the Archangel of the Spear.

Similarly, Baal is the Demon Prince of not all war, but a very specific War: that between Heaven and Hell, or more generally between good and evil. Wherever a conflict with a recognizable protagonist and antagonist exists - and Baal recognizes that very often, both sides think of themselves as Good and the other side as Evil - there is the Demon Prince of the War. Whenever you hear the phrase "we're the good guys", Baal's power increases.

So what is "the Green"? It is a dramatic phrasing of the concept, to be sure, but is it a meaningful metaphor?

To answer your second question: I can see arguments for Cherub, Elohite, or Kyriotate. Personally, I favor the latter; I like the image of a powerful Kyriotate Archangel rooted in the soil of the Glades, sending runners out into Heaven or down to Earth when she needs to make an appearance.

[Glamourweaver]

I went with "the Green" mainly because I like the sound of it & it encompasses all (s)he represents in its entirety (ok, technically there are none green plants, fungi, etc. but they still are part of the Word's spiritual meaning & resonance). I want his/her Word & influence to be broader than Novalis' with reference to nature, but on the other hand lack the whole Peace & Love aspect of Novalis.

I agree with you on Sachluph being a Kyriotate. I also like the image of a being existing through the netword of plantlife, sending out roots & weaving together bodies out of plantlife whereever it wants to manifest. That was my first impulse, but I was resistant at first because Jordi's already a Kyriotate & I didn't want to be overly repetative with regards to the Archangels who rule over the 2 sides of Living Nature (ok ignoring micro-organisms for a moment, but my point still stands). It works to well though not to use.


Ok, now for my next random idea: I'm working on the different cities of Hell that grew together via the nightmare of urban sprawl to form Hades. Obviously there are Pandemonium & Dis (which I believe are the 2 mentioned in Heaven & Hell, but if I'm forgeting any others mentioned, please let me know). I've done some digging & the only other name I can find for a possible Infernal city is Orcus (from the Etrusco-Roman name for the Underworld). As I've worked it out now Pandemonium was originally Asmodeus' Principality, Dis was Beelzebub's (& now is the district of Hades housing Kronos' Archives), while Orcus was Dagon's Principality. Dagon is my own historic Balseraph Prince of Pride. After his demise, Lucifer turned Orcus over to Asmodeus who quickley let it be consumed into Hades.

Can anyone else think of any other could names/concepts for historical cities of Hell that have sense been consumed into the great ring of Hades?

[Glamourweaver]

Ok, I've been considering the Archangel of Death mentioned by Night Music (yes I know there are tons of versions online, & at this point I think I might actually have printed out all of them to draw upon when designing my own House-Version). The only thing I'm absolutely sure of is that his name is Azrael.

The main thing I'm pondering is his Choir. I've narrowed it down to 2 possibilities:

Elohite. 1) The role of utterly objective, passionless empath fits the Archangel of Death well I think. 2) Being an Elohite allows him to have existed before the Fall, unlike...

Grigori. 1) Being an Outcaste would explain his distant, obfuscated role despite the power of his Word. 2) Its just somehow cool in a way I can't explain.

The main problem with him being an Elohite is that it still leaves the question of why is his status so distant & absent. The only other theory that jumps to mind is that his form of Word-friction from Saminga manifests in reclusive behavior. This virtual paranoia is so severe that he is EXTREMELY pickey about his Servitors & requires it from the few of them aswell. (Under this theory, Saminga's Word friction from Azrael manifests as the distraction & dampening of his abilities of rational deduction & recolletion. In other words his "Stupidity" is really just Word-friction manifesting.)

So what do you think: Elohite or Grigori?

[Methariel]

Well, if I may add my humble opinion: I think that the Archangel of Death should be an Elohite. Death is nothing to fear or rejoice in, it is just a transistory state that leads to another, eternal existence (or rebirth or dissolution). So this "not very spectacular event" should be overseen by someone with his emotions in check.
I think also that a Grigori would be too compassionate if he (or she) had to bring Death to a human whose soul will dissolve after death.
So I think it is the burden of an Elohite to do so...

Methariel

[Glamourweaver]

The more I think about it, the more I agree with you. It would need to be an Elohite to execute this job (no pun intended). Also its good that he'd have been around since before the Fall, setting wise.

Ok, here's a new thought: Zimmimar was mentioned in the Infernal Player's Guide as being the Calabite Demon of Blizzards. What Prince do you think he'd serve. Belial is the only Prince I can think of having the faintest interest in natural forces of destruction, & he's not remotely concerned with the cold. This apparent Word-vaccume is making me consider more & more doing a write-up & adding Leviathan, Balseraph Princess of Storms to my house-setting. She'd be an extremely reclusive Demon Princess ruling over Vephar's old Principality of Erebus within a hurricane that sits over the endless ocean eternally unending. Her Servitors are actually rarely sent to Earth, when they are its mainly to help exhaserbate & worsen the damage of natural disasters. She's bidding her time, planning for something big.

This is unless someone can come up with which of the existing Princes would have the Demon of Blizzards (or of things like Earthquakes, Floods, etc.) as their Servitor. Thoughts on who the canon character of Zimmimar might serve?

[cappadocius]

Originally Posted by Glamourweaver

Ok, here's a new thought: Zimmimar was mentioned in the Infernal Player's Guide as being the Calabite Demon of Blizzards.

Going solely on the literal interpretation of the Word, I'd say he's a Servitor of Vephar, who got transferred over to Saminga when Vephar bit it.

If you've ever seen "The Ice Storm", one could see a case for Secrets or Factions.

[Methariel]

Originally Posted by cappadocius

Going solely on the literal interpretation of the Word, I'd say he's a Servitor of Vephar, who got transferred over to Saminga when Vephar bit it.

I'd go with that, too. The simple natural phenomenon of blizzards is something inherent to the Symphony (like the Wind, for example), so that I don't think that this Word could be covered solely by a demon. (I imagine the Angel of Blizzards being an Ofanite or Elohite of the Wind.) The demonic aspect of the Word must therefore be tied to something people don't like with blizzards - like being frozen to death if caught in one. (But I must say that the Demon of Blizzards seems to be much more successful in promoting his Word than the Angel - if there is an Angel of Blizzards and the Seraphim Council did not leave the field of Blizzards to the demons...)
And isn't that what comes to ones mind if he (or she) thinks about blizzards? Death and cold? So I'd say that Saminga is a good pick.
(I wonder how blizzards were if it was a demon of Kobal who held the Word...)

Greetings,

Methariel

[Archangel Beth]

(And then there's someone's very good submission, that I have in my files, of the AA of Death as a Mercurian. And another one as a Kyriotate.)

(Do not go alone into the darkness...)

[Glamourweaver]

I'm not planning to use this alternate cosmology as a setting, but rather show it in a vision of alternate histories & symphonies granted by Yves. I thought I'd share here anyway...

Imagine if Beleth, due to her connection to Primordial Fear & Awe, understood the proper order of things in nature better than anyone, and as such remained loyal to her Creator when the Rebellion began. Blandine, ever the fantasizing visionary, sided with the Lightbringer. History plays out the same way except Heaven keeps its Cherub Archangel of Fear & Hell gets a Djinn Princess of Illusion.

The really interesting thing here is how the Marches are split. Beleth's Tower holds the border between the Veil & Heaven, Blandine's between the Veil & Hell; the difference though is that the Marches aren't divided between Bliss & Terror, but rather between Truth & Fantasy. Beleth rules over those dreams, be they pleasent or painful that reveals truth or causes the dreamer to face some aspect of themselves. Generally speaking though these dreams are rather distrurbing for the dreamer & the closer one gets to Beleth's Tower/Heaven/Divine Truth the more terrifying and awe-inspiring the revelations become. Blandine's side of the Marches encourage self-deception & escapism. Groundless paranoias fall here, but much more promoted are things like the fantasy life of dreamer too depressed to get out of bed, or the romantic fantacies that child-molestors use to justify there deeds to themselves. Hell-sent and personally generated False Prophesies both lie on this side of the Marches aswell. As a possible mythic allusion I was considering have Beleth's Tower be made of Horn & Blandine's Tower made out of Ivory.

What do you think?