"Every world is precious and free. We must work to keep them that way."
Syth was the first Kyriotates created by Yves after the first version of the Fall, in one of the oldest Symphonies. She (Syth favors female hosts)
was told about the Repertoire, and given her Word by God Himself, who swore
her to secrecy.
It is Syth's job to undo the damage to the Repertoire done by the
demons. Like some of John Cage's compositions, every Symphony was designed
to allow for Free Will, especially on the part of the humans, but demonic
resonances damage any Free Will other than their own. Syth must quietly
alter history in each Symphony so that, in the end, the actions of the
demons do not interfere with the actions of humans. She is aided in this
endeavor by Yves, who is interested in the Destiny of the Repertoire as a
whole.
Syth does not vote in the Seraphim Council (as most of her fellow
Archangels do not even know she exists), and her angels pretend to work for
other Archangels when encountered on Earth. They must be careful how they
work, lest they give themselves away. They are often given incomprehensible
and odd instructions (i.e. "make sure Hitler is not assassinated"), which
they obey willingly and without question, because they know that only Syth
and Yves understand the "big picture". A great weight is on their
shoulders, because if they fail to nudge a Symphony correctly, the damage
may be irreversible, and Syth will end up withdrawing her angels from that
Symphony entirely.
Because of the need for secrecy, Syth makes extensive use of humans,
including a cadre of Soldiers who are aware of what's going on. In fact,
Syth's Soldiers are some of the most loyal in the War, because Syth accepts
only those that have proven themselves as Soldiers for other Archangels.
Syth's servitors often refer to a particular Symphony by an idiosyncratic
nickname, perhaps with a number to distinguish between very similar
Symphonies. Reich-1 is the worst "the Nazis won" versions of the Symphony,
while Oops-10 is a Symphony where all the Demon Princes listed in the main
_In Nomine_ rulebook Redeemed at some point.
An important aspect of Syth's Word is the idea that everything, every
Symphony, serves a purpose in God's plan. There is a reason God created
every one, even if the reasons remain ineffable to even beings with an
awareness as broad as Syth or Yves. This also means certain Symphonies that
one can imagine were excluded for a reason. (There are no Symphonies
without angels, for example, though there are Symphonies were all of them
were killed or Fell.)
Dissonance
It is dissonant for one of Syth's angels to reveal the existence of the
Corpus to someone who does not already know the secret, through their words
or their actions.
Also, it is dissonent for them to encourage, through their words or
actions, the belief that the universe (or multiverse) is meaningless. (It's
okay, though not encouraged, to allow someone to have a negative opinion of
that meaning, just so long as they do not succumb to nihilism.)
While it is not dissonent for an Servitor of the Repertoire to disobey a
direct order, few of them do, no matter how incomprehensible that order is.
Choir Attunements
Seraphim (restricted): By making a resonance check, one of Syth's Seraphs can determine if an
individual is "native" to the Symphony they are currently in, i.e. whether
they traveled to this Symphony from another one. Angels of the Repertoire
and demons who serve Adad (regardless of where they were created, where
their Heart is, or who they used to serve) always show up as "non-native"
to this attunement.
Ofanim: Ofanim are attuned to the entropy caused by their Fallen counterparts, the
Calabim. When a demon does something that alters the history of a Symphony
(GM's call), it causes a +10 Disturbance that only someone with this
attunement can hear, +15 if the change was caused by a Calabim.
Elohim (restricted): Syth's Elohim are charged with making sure those around them do not lose
their perspective on the Corpus. On a successful resonance roll, in
addition to whatever information is gleaned, an Elohim of the Repertoire
knows if an action they are about to take will encourage nihilistic beliefs
in the person resonated on.
Malakim: Upon arriving in a particular Symphony, a Malakite of the Repertoire becomes
familiar with all the most common weapons and/or weapon systems in that
Symphony, gaining a skill in them at a level equal to the Malakite's
Ethereal Forces for as long as he is in that particular Symphony. (If the
angel has a skill in that weapon already, it takes precedence only if it is
higher. It does not combine with the "phantom" skill levels gained through
this attunement.)
A weapon is "common" if it is easily available and instantly recognizable
in most dominant cultures on the Earth in question. In our world (early
21st century Earth), for example, most pistols are common, while, say,
polearms and plasma weapons are not. The GM's decision is final as to what
is common and what is not.
Kyriotates (restricted): A Kyriotate of the Repertoire can possess hosts in different Symphonies,
unlike most Kyriotates. Also, they gain no dissonance for not taking care
of a host that believes the universe is meaningless. (Generally only humans
count for this. Animals don't have time for philosophy, unless the GM
decides there are uplifted or otherwise sapient animals in some
Symphonies.)
Mercurians: While Yves believes everyone is important, Syth understands that certain
individuals are often pivotal in a particular Symphony's history. A
Mercurian of the Repertoire can look at a person and know, in an instant,
if they have the potential to be such a person, are currently engaged in a
historic endeavor, or have already engendered a major change. The angel
doesn't know why this person is pivotal or even the details -- he just
knows if a person is "important" or not, in terms of seriously affecting
their local Symphony within their lifetime.
For some reason, Celestials never show up as "important" when using this
attunement.
Grigori (restricted): It is up to the GM if there are Symphonies where the Grigori were never
Outcast. If any such Symphonies exist, Syth has Grigori Servitors. The
Perception of a Grigori of the Repertoire is doubled for the purpose of
detecting disturbances by demons not native to the Symphony the Grigori is
currently in (all demons of Adad count).
Servitor Attunements
Celestial Chameleon: This powerful attunement allows the angel to duplicate any angelic Servitor
Attunement (not Choir Attunements, Songs, or anything demonic) that the
angel has seen in operation. (It is safe to assume most Servitors of Syth
have seen most of, if not all of, the Servitor Attunements in the main _In
Nomine_ rulebook.) It is used to aid Syth's angels when posing as another
Archangel's servitors.
Using this attunement costs 5 Essence, or 2 more Essence than the use of
the Servitor Attunement being duplicated would cost, whichever is greater.
Servitors of Syth that have been "around" have access to some
very... unusual... attunements through this power. Ask some of them about
the Archangel of Steam, or the Malakim version of Novalis.
World-Walker: This allows the servitor to shift to any Symphony that exists, assuming the
servitor had been there before or the world has been described to them, in
detail, for at least an hour, and the Symphony so described actually
exists.
This attunement costs 6 Essence to use, and will place the angel in
about the same spot on Earth in the new Symphony, as close as
possible without having the servitor appear in solid matter. Sometimes
(GM's whim), metaphysical/thematic geography is more important than
physical geography -- if one uses this attunement while atop the Empire
State Building, and the Empire State Building was moved to London in the
Symphony being moved into, the servitor may end up in London.
If the servitor doesn't have 6 Essence, or is in a rush, he can spend all
the Essence he has (at least one -- those empty of Essence can't use this
attunement) and he will shift over to a "nearby" (similiar history and
physics, different details) Symphony of the GM's choice. Though by no means
a hard and fast rule, servitors who use this "escape route" a lot find that
the less Essence they have to spend, the worse the world they end up in
generally is. This use of the attunement is generally frowned on.
Not all those who serve Syth have this attunement. Some are assigned to a
particular Symphony, and some have technological devices or Artifacts
capable of Symphony-shifting assigned to them (though, in game terms, these
should cost an comparable amount (or more) in character points).
Distinctions
Vassal of the Corpus: The angel gains the skill Knowledge (World History)/6 for each Symphony he
has been to, and for each Symphony he enters subsequently. This Knowledge
skill covers the broadest points of the Celestial and Corporeal history of
the Symphony in question, like one might expect from a Celestial-aware
textbook.
Friend of Meaning: By spending 1 Essence per hour the effect is to last, anyone within
Ethereal Forces yards of the angel gains a bonus to their Will roll to
resist demonic resonances equal to the angel's Celestial Forces.
Master of Infinity: Angels who have this Distinction have always been granted the World-Walker
attunement first. They can now use that attunement at no Essence cost. They
still cause a huge Disturbance, however, including additional Disturbance
as if they'd spent the Essence.
Relations
Since most Archangels don't know Syth exists, they're pretty neutral about
her. Those that do know about the Corpus and Syth are usually considered
"associated", at least within the Symphony that Archangel is native
to. There may be a knowledgeable version of Michael around that resents
Syth like he does Yves.
Syth generally stays out of politics that pertain to a particular Symphony,
as she's seen certain gambits (like Dominic's persecution of Eli) work or
not work, depending on (often times) how weak, low-level angels handle
things.
Allied: Yves
Associated: Different versions of different Archangels, here and there
Hostile: None
Basic Rites
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