Lilith's secret revealed?

[Rocket Man]

A weird possibility came into my head today. It's not something that would necessarily work for every campaign, but it might make an interesting option for some evil GM out there.

What if there's no such person as Lilith?

By this, I don't mean that there never was a Lilith. Ancient IN history can still stand: that Adam and Lilith were created in Eden, that Lilith walked out rather than submit, and that Eve was created in her place. It may even be true that Lucifer approached her shortly afterward, with thoughts of persuading her to aid his rebellion.

But what if she refused? It's not inconceivable that Lilith would tell both Heaven and Hell to take a flying leap and then just go off on her own. In fact, given her independent spirit, it's bloody likely. In which case, she just lived her life on her terms and then died, her final Fate or Destiny unknown.

So if that's the case, where did all these Lilim come from? And who is this Lilith anyway?

Brace yourself.

I think it's Lucifer himself.

It makes sense. Think of every short story you've ever read that involved the Prince of Lies. The one consistent factor in all of them is "The Deal with the Devil," the contract whereby Lucifer gives you what you want in exchange for your soul. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

But Lucifer's a Balseraph, I hear you say. True -- but he was a very unique Seraph, the Archangel of Light. Light searches out dark places and finds hidden things. He may well have retained a warped version of his old abilities: to see the Truth of people's unspoken Needs. And armed with his ancient knowledge of the Symphony, he knows just how to use those Needs to create a binding deal.

It would explain much. No human has ever been able to hold a Word ... except Lilith. No Prince has ever been able to create a Lilim ... except Lilith. And somehow, Lilith always holds her place despite appearing to be the weakest Superior in Hell (and thus in a position to find out things that people would never tell the Boss.)

If true, then the Lilim are created directly from Lucifer's own Forces, pieces of his nature given life. And it explains why he would insist that Brights be hunted down with extreme prejudice ... each Redeemed Lilim represents the possibility that the Lightbringer himself might be brought back into the fold someday, a thought that the Prince of Darkness doesn't even dare contemplate.

But is it true? Really true?

How much do you Need to know?
====
NOTE: After discussing this idea with a friend, we began to talk about what might have happened to the "original" Lilith, the one intended to be Adam's wife. Did she reincarnate? Disband? Somehow go to one afterlife or the other unnoticed?

Anything's possible ... but there's a scarier possibility yet. What if Lilith continued to defy both Heaven and Hell at her death, anchoring her already-powerful spirit to the Marches?

Meet Lilith, the Queen of the Dreamshades.

What makes this possibility so unnerving is that it ties in with the classic Jewish folktales about Lilith as a kidnapper and murderer of children. She's just trying to "save" them from both sides of the War, of course -- by killing the kids in their sleep so she can tie their souls to the Marches and put them under her "protection."

Nine, ten, never sleep again ...

EDIT: And the best part about "Lilith of the Shades" is that even those few celestials who find out about her will tend to assume she's a dream-creation based on the Lilith stories. After all, everyone knows the "real Lilith" is a Princess in Hell.... <evil grin>

[ISNorden]

The Lilim resonance certainly does feel more consistent with slavery to Hell than with Freedom...so Lucifer's creating them himself makes good sense. (If the original human Lilith escaped his grasp, I could even see his creating a Princess in her warped image--just to keep the others from suspecting.)

The original Lilith as Shade Queen is indeed a terrifying idea, especially if she keeps her traditional method for recruiting followers. (Finally, an adventure hook for Angels of Children--and an explanation for Blandine wanting to keep even benign ethereals in their place. That friendly-looking character from your favorite book just might be bait in a trap set by you know who...)

[ladyarcana55]

Ooh!

That is AWESOME! I am already fending off questions popping into my head.

The main one being...

What would happen if Heaven realizes that these Lilim have a piece of Lucifer? Would that change what they do with the the Brights then?

[robkelk]

I think it would redouble Heaven's efforts to Redeem Lilim. If they really are made from Lucifer's Forces, maybe (just maybe) Redeeming enough of them might pull their "Mother" back to Heaven too...

At least, I'm sure that's how Novalis would see it.

The other Superiors... would be willing to try, even if only because they get more Brights in their service.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

Ooh!

That is AWESOME! I am already fending off questions popping into my head.

The main one being...

What would happen if Heaven realizes that these Lilim have a piece of Lucifer? Would that change what they do with the the Brights then?

A good question as always, my Lady. I'm not sure yet, but here's a few thoughts off the top of my head:

1) If this knowledge reaches Paradise, I suspect that Heaven gets a *lot* more careful about Lilim in general, and especially those who seem to be on the verge of Redeeming. Lucifer's skill as a liar is well-known, and it will occur to someone that he might be trying to plant agents among the Host. Brights who have Redeemed -- already the most carefully checked angels in Heaven -- will probably get one more round of Seraphic screening, just to be sure their Redemptions are True.

2) The Peace faction, such as Blandine and Novalis, will see this as a sign of hope that even a Prince can be redeemed. After all, the darkest soul in Hell is slowly being brought back to Heaven, one tiny piece at a time.

3) Some members of the War faction (especially Michael) will see this as a potential intelligence bonanza. If the Lilim really are flesh of Lucifer's flesh and bone of his bone, how many of his plans might they be privvy to?

4) Others among the militants (especially the Malakim) will move Hell's Lilim higher up on the priority chart to "kill or redeem" for the same reason. If you're committed to fighting evil, it's hard to have a target more important than one that's born directly of the Lightbringer.

5) Dominic will be keeping an extra close watch on any Brights, just in case there's some hidden Luciferian trick that even his resonance can't pick up.

6) The sneakiest Archangels (and the long-term planners like Laurence) will also be debating how to use this knowledge. Should Hell be tipped off to the fact that Lilith is a false front, in order to create division in the enemy ranks? Or should Heaven keep the knowledge to itself as an ace in the hole, and maybe set the infernals up for a really big smackdown further down the line?

7) The most suspicious Archangels (esp. Dominic) may grow reluctant to put Brights on an ultra-sensitive mission, unless it's absolutely necessary. (Even if they are really Redeemed, they reason, what if Lucifer has some way of knowing what his "children" know, making them unwitting spies?) At the same time, they still don't want to push the Brights into Falling again. In fact, it's now more important than ever that these angels not get back into Lucifer's self-proclaimed realm ...

8) Given the debate implied in point 6, the hottest question in Heaven may become "How do we keep Litheroy from finding this out?" ;)

EDIT: Rob, I love your "action-reaction" proposal. Hmmmm. Would Jean consider that a valid test of the Laws of Celestial Thermodynamics?

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

What would happen if Heaven realizes that these Lilim have a piece of Lucifer? Would that change what they do with the the Brights then?

Yahweh would know from the start.

So why keep the secret?

Crack this up a notch and Lucifer is a fragment of Yahweh itself.

I'm working on a story that's somewhat inspired by IN, but it's a far tangent.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Yahweh would know from the start.

So why keep the secret?

It's ineffable. :)

Seriously, though, in established IN canon, there's quite a few things that "God only knows." Having made souls that are capable of independent thought, it's quite possible He wants them to figure it out for themselves, and grow through learning. That seems to be the classic position of Yves, anyway, who faces a similar (though not necessarily identical) problem.

[ladyarcana55]

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

Given the debate implied in point 6, the hottest question in Heaven may become "How do we keep Litheroy from finding this out?" ;)

Why would Heaven want to keep Litheroy from discovering this? Or did you mean Hell?

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

Why would Heaven want to keep Litheroy from discovering this? Or did you mean Hell?

I meant Heaven. The main reason they might want to keep Litheroy from knowing is that it's against his nature to *keep* a secret -- once he knows, everyone will know. If Laurence wants to be able to use that knowledge more covertly, having it centered in the blazing light of Revelation takes that option away.

[ISNorden]

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

Why would Heaven want to keep Litheroy from discovering this? Or did you mean Hell?

If Litheroy found out, he'd be itching to tell everyone the secret--increasing the chances that Hell might overhear it at the worst possible moment.