Faith means more than you think, Khalid (In Nomine)

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Mary Reba “Miss Velvet” Pleasant, currently known as Lord Griffith

When Mary Reba Pleasant went to the Library shortly after her death, it took some cross-referencing among the many books there to figure out why her Destiny was a darkly sensual, percussion-heavy theme, richly resonant and ornately delicate.  There was only a single report that mentioned her, and the mercurian who wrote it interpeted this melody as a Destiny to be a successful high-class professional dominatrix.  The Black graduate student followed that thread of research into the lives of her clients and came to the conclusion that she had spread selfless concern for intersectional liberation among powerful business executives.  Until the tragic car crash that claimed her life in 2007, her career involved ordering the wealthy white men who patronized her (sometimes in both meanings of the word) to read the writings of Black feminist and socialist theorists.  At least three non-profits sprung from this work, founded by men who had seen her, amidst innumerable shifts in corporate policy and lobbying goals.

As a Bodhisattva, Mary Reba dallied long in the Halls of Creation and the Glade, and even made some surprisingly regular trips over to the Church of the Sword, whiling away the Paradisiacal days chatting philosophy amongst the throngs in its halls as well as in more individual assgnations amongst its many rooms.  Much like Laurence’s Church, the Catacombs received her often, and she acted much the same there, too.  Those blessed, community-minded souls who explore the practice of selfless gossip probably shouldn’t have been as shocked as they were when Mary Reba submitted a saintly petition to an Archangel named something other than Eli or David.

Khalid smiled when she asked him if she could do his work on Earth, according to the angels Habib and Artiya’il who were in attendance at the time.  “But though you are mubarak, neither are you Muslim nor are you even paricularly invested in any other Faith.”

“Wali malak, what you say is true.  My Faith has always been invested in people and in politics, but that is the very crux of why I did approach thee with my petition.  I do believe that I have come to a realization concerning the nature of your Word that by need must be shared with one you have also had.”

Khalid chuckled, Habib and Artiya’il say, and that was his sole response.

“Faith is not a thing limited in direction to the upward-pointed eyes.  Trust in another is a type of Faith.  Vulnerability is a type of Faith.  Willingness to be led is a type of Faith.”

“Knowing your history, do you presume to the hubristic blasphemy that you can be the object of this Faith?”

“I am ever naught but a vessel for whatever Divinity casts ths light within which we are meeting.  I have been led to believe that the Qu’ran describes humans as Allah’s successor on Earth.  Humbly, that is all the work I wish to do in the corporeal realm.”

Khalid granted Reba’s request, and now Lord Griffith travels throughout the world, teaching those who wish to submit how to do so in the face of their greatest fears and long practice holding to their Will white-knuckled as the only force steering them through the world.

Corporeal  2 // Strength  4 Agility  4 // Body  16
Ethereal  2 // Intelligence 3 Precision 5 // Mind 6
Celestial  3 // Will  6/12* Perception  6 // Soul 18

Vessel/2, Status/2, Charisma/1 (general good looks) + Charisma/1 (nurturing dominance)

Skills:  Area Knowledge (Atlanta/3), Detect Lies/3, Driving/1, Emote/3, Escape/1, Fighting/1, Knowledge (Pro Domme/3, Black Feminist Socialist Theory/1), Languages (Arabic/3, English/3N), Medicine/1, Seduction/1, Small Weapon (Cane/2), Swimming/1
Advantages:  Blessed
Songs:  Nightmares (Ethereal/2), Opening (Celestial/2)
Rites:  Inspire faith in something holy; Instill true faith in a faithless person

*  Mary Reba’s Will is doubled for purposes of resisting any resonance, attunement, or Song that can be resisted, as well as Fast-Talk and Seduction attempts. (This does not apply to powers resisted by characteristics other than Will, but it does apply to resisting orders if Mary Reba becomes a servant!)

Mary Reba Pleasant is created according to the rules for a starting player character Saint in the Corporeal Player’s Guide.  She is also inspired by Mistress Velvet and Reba Maybury, both dominatrices using their Dominance for social change.

Awi, raskokabajho of Destiny (Fantasy Friday #9)

(adapted from Superiors 3: Hope and Prophecy)


Awi
The Namer, The Gray Man, Our Shepherd
“The world has its own destiny. Accept it, embrace it, and help things along when possible.”
NG male yaim angel archangel of Destiny

CULT
Holy Symbol: A scroll from which the wings of a laughing dove spring
Temples: Libraries; booksellers; musea; places where events of great destiny occurred; anywhere that calls people to worship, contemplation, or inspiration
Devotees: Archivists, community leaders, debaters, fortune-tellers, researchers, scribes, town criers
Common Classes: Bard, expert, inquisitor, investigator, wizard
Servitor Words: Conception, Glossaries, Wisdom, Epiphanies, Inspiration, Forgiveness, Writers, Gossips, Holy Scriptures, Storytellers, Sages, Divine Mysteries, Divine Truths, Prophets, Secret Languages
Minions: balisse (NG; Bestiary 6), manasupatras of all sorts (LG; Bestiary 5), olethros (N; Bestiary 6), raelis (CG; Bestiary 6)
Obedience: Spend an hour engaged in deep philosophical conversation with at least one other person. Every 20 minutes or so, use some random element such as cards or dice to change the topic, line of argument, or style of reasoning to understand randomness and how it impacts destiny. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on Sense Motive checks to discern the greatest thing a person can achieve and the weaknesses that might seal their fate.

BOONS
1: Remembering the Forgotten (Sp): sow thought 3/day, anonymous interaction 2/day, or akashic communion 1/day
2: Divine Logic (Ex): The devotee can make practically anyone concede practically any argument ~ as long as they believe it themself. In two minutes (20 rounds), with a successful Intelligence roll (DC 10 + the target’s Will save), they will prove to their target by simple logic that a + b = c, therefore they are right and any other possibility must be absurd. Obviously, don’t try proving to a demon prince that good is better than evil. Somehow, it never works.
3: A Friend to All That is Written (Su): A devotee with this boon cannot be kept from recorded knowledge. Whether they want to walk into the private stacks of a scholar-noble’s library or to see an enforcer’s list of secrets, all mundane security measures effectively cease to exist for the devotee. Guards will cheerfully wave them toward the suddenly unlocked door, the door-servant will recognize whatever password they elect to try, and so on.

Awi, the very first soul created, spends most of his days in serene meditation in the Heavenly Library, wherein he gifts his kokabajhon with his knowledge of the universe from its most primal state and a miraculous ability to predict Creation’s future from that knowledge.

Awi is depicted as an elderly man, radiating calm good cheer and spiritual strength, with skin the color of fresh ink, gray hair, and deep blue eyes. In some descriptions, he’s a soft-spoken grandfather in monkish robes, and in others a regal and aging head of state, wearing the dashiki of a philosopher or oracle. Awi is the very definition of a gentleman scholar: his emotions are always in check and if he has nothing nice to say, he says nothing at all. Even when he has something to say, Awi is reserved and prefers to let others reach their own conclusions. To this end, he’ll subtly drop hints, even nudge the person in the right direction, but he’ll never force his opinions on others.

Awi and his angels are the givers of names, the guardians of knowledge. He is not omniscient, but he knows the names of all things, everything that has ever been written down, and ~ as raskokabajho of Destiny ~ all the best and brightest possibilities for the world. Awi teaches that without Destiny (or its hope) and Fate (and the fear of it) there can be no Creation. Without these two things, reality, the “Cosmic All,” even the Almighty would exist in lifeless stasis, frozen in potentiality for all of existence.

Destiny exists in everyone and everything. Each aspect of Creation has its part to play and it is Awi’s duty to ensure that this potential is actualized. Destiny is an all encompassing Word; it is not a thing like Stone, a place like the Spirit World, or an idea like Judgment, but all these and more. More concretely, Awi’s Word concerns itself with guiding Creation and ensuring that Light prevails over the Darkness. Unlike other raskokabajhon who preoccupy themselves with abstract concepts and often overlook the individual actions of mortals, Awi knows these actions are what define Destiny.

Destiny is a fragile and delicate thing that cannot be forced or manipulated. It is a culmination of individual choices, the important word being “choice”. Angels with the best of intentions have turned people from their destinies to their fates by interfering with their free will. Like a tender flower, Destiny needs to blossom on its own. It can be sheltered, eve protected, but it must grow by its own power. Everyone must decide what path to take. The choice is theirs and theirs alone.

However, destiny is more than just letting “what is meant to be” happen. Choices can’t be forced, but they can be educated. Without awareness of all the possibilities, there can be no Destiny. This is why Awi is the Giver of Names, and why his kokabajhon are chroniclers and scholars. It’s not enough to walk the less-traveled path; Awi’s followers must know where both paths lead and why. More important than knowledge and understanding, however, is faith. Without faith, one cannot have the confidence to let events unfold as they should.