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A Meeting with the Chamberlain.
The dark shape hovers above the molten lava, knowledge of every punishment dealt to the cruel flowing to him on the Symphony. He is one of the dark angels, a malakite, bound by his vows and will die before dishonor. He is Soldekai, Chamberlain of the Legions of Flame.
While Gabriel roams apparently without reason, he administers all the servitors of Fire. But, at this moment, there is only one such servitor on his mind: Fury.
She has been recently promoted to Vassal rank, without any servitors of her own yet, surely eager to take on her new responsibilities. But what task? What task for her? There are hundreds of millions of the cruel to be found and punished, but none too appropriate.
An angel appears on the horizen of the volcano, a Wheel approaching at top speed.
[Ofanite]
"Chamberlain!"
[Sol]
"Yes, Throne?"
"I have come to warn you of Judgement's prying eyes," says the angel.
"And you would be?"
"I am Hosah, Ofanite of the Wind, Lord Chamberlain."
"Thank you, Hosah. Tell me more of Judgement's eyes."
"I believe that in the Earthly city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, one of Fire's servitors may be soon be under Judgement's scrutiny."
"I see." Sol's expression became grim. "Which is the angel under investigation?"
"Shije, Lord Chamberlain."
"Thank you, Hosah," says Sol, "Your friendship to Fire has been noted, as well as the Honor of your soul. I hope that in the future I shall see more of you."
"Thank you, Chamberlain," says the Ofanite, wheeling away across the molten lava away from the volcano.
Soldekai's thoughts returned to Fury. She could benefit from such an assignment. He sighed, breathing forth a Celestial Song of Tongues.
To Furor: "Return to your heart soon. Soldekai is to reassign you."
Xery's helmet angles up as the voice appeared in her head. "Interesting," she mutters, nearly inaudible even within the helmet, "either this guy's just not important or Dominic's boys didn't like the disturbance in the Valley. Oh well," she muses, "at least I got some Essence out of it."
The motorcycle roars across the Nevada desert at roughly twice the speed limit of any nearby road, though strictly speaking her wheels are churning hard dirt and not pavement. She dodges a dry bush, using the turn around the scrub to slingshot her toward the nearest road. She won't use it, of course - roads are sticky in the midday heat and have speed limits. She intends to run parallel to it, though; there is a place in Boulder City where she can stow her bike until she needs it again.
This thought makes her grumble. /One of these days,/ she thinks, /I'm going to turn this thing into an artifact. Too damn useful to have to go back and get it every time I need it./
The dirt near the road bursts upward in a cloud of dust as she opens the throttle to full speed and launches herself across the desert.
(Time passes.)
The bike is stashed in a storage facility, the helmet along with it; Xery has no desire to look like an alien when she comes back down. Looking up, down, and around, she notes the direction of the sun and time of day, then slips into an alley.
[2 Essence and a Will+CF roll to go Celestial. I'll assume that you'll allow it for story purposes.]
[OOGM: It's an easy enough roll.]
[Fury, going Celestial, TN=8, 2 Essence spent,
1, 5, CD4]
Moments later, what any observer would swear is lens flare lifts into the sky, coalescing as such flares do and vanishing into the brightness of the sun.
Ten rings, looking like nothing so much as a flaming tire tower, lift from the floor of the Volcano around a certain angel's Heart, then twist and spiral until they form a pleasing shape. Fury peers around, then flits over to Soldekai's waiting form.
"I'm here, Chamberlain. My will is as yours - what would you have me do?"
[Sol, resonance roll, TN=12, 1, 6, CD3]
[OOGM: Ok, Chris, how about a Malakite's Resonance applied to Fury with a check of 3? That reminds me, would you tell me in an OOC post what Fury *has* been up in general since the bombing of the buiding and the subsequent granting of the title Vassal? :) ]
[OOC: The building was bombed a little over two weeks ago. Since then, Fury has been rooting out a den of thieves in Los Angeles, and two days ago finally brought the building down (with the blessing of the city council), but a thief escaped and headed for Las Vegas. She has since been tracking him, but veered toward Boulder City because it's a safer place to keep a bike. She's sung the Song of Attunement on him, so she doubts she'll lose him, but is anxious to get back and make sure he gets back on the One True Path to Virtue.]
OOGM: Ok, cool. Then the ceremony in which she received her new Title occured the night after the bombing. Gabriel herself visited her and granted her the title. It was a little strange, but emotionally powerful. Fury was left feeling that Gabriel is the greatest thing there is. :)
[ Malakite Resonance Results
3: Noble:
1. Destroyed a major Theft stronghold, including soul-killing the Captain
of Corsairs who led it.
2. Helped a thrice-convicted thief to rehabilitate himself.
3. Helped to thwart a jailbreak.
3: Ignoble:
1. Allowed a known thief to go unpunished for two weeks in order to thwart a jailbreak.
2. Carelessly allowed a human (janitor) to be killed in the destruction of the Theft stronghold.
3. Allowed a fugitive to live in her Earthly apartment for a week while she was on assignment. (Took him directly to the nearest maximum-security prison afterwards.)
2&1:
Noble: Destroyed a minor den of thieves (one in which no servitor of Theft had any noticeable hand).
Ignoble: Abandoned a hunt for a minor thief in order to respond to
Soldekai's summons.
]
From the black form, two eyes momentarily flash with a golden light, then dim again to disappear back again. "The unpunished theif is unfortunate but it seems to have been necessary to achieve a greater good. However, you *must* be more careful about allowing uninvolved mortals to be carelessly slain. God only knows where his soul is now . . . "
Fury nods. She knows, but doesn't wish to dwell on it; there is no way to bring the human back, and other jobs to do.
"I felt it in the Symphony that you had been granted a new title. Welcome to the higher ranks of Fire."
Fury nods again. "Thank you. It is a pleasure to be able to serve Fire so."
"In light of your new title, I felt it befitting to reassign you to a task appropriate to your new rank. It is not a typical task for our kind, however in light of current politics," he says the word politics as though it were an item of disgust, "certain measures must be taken."
"Judgment, then?" She pauses. "I tender apologies; I did not mean to presume."
Soldekai continues as though you have said nothing, though your words appear to have been heard.
"One of Fire's newest servitors is under investigation by Judgement. I feel that it would be best to have a representative of Fire present to ensure that the investigation does not lead to anything which might disgrace Fire."
"He is a Kyriotate of Fire recently transferred from Lightning. As such, he possesses the ability to possess the inanimate as well as the animate. His name is Shiphi Harod Ir Jareb Eri, know locally as Shije. I do not believe that any of his actions could be considered to be heretical to is Word, however I have recently received word that Judgement has its eyes upon him."
"It is of the upmost importance that you do not reveal that you, or Shije, is a servitor of Fire. Do not lie to the Servitors of Judgement, naturally as they would easily see through such a thing. Clever misdirection will be necessary. You may describe yourself as an interested third party to the investigation, that should be sufficient. Display of your Ofanite abilities should be enough. If you are forced to reveal your true nature and word, then by all means unveil your rank and title to them, to give yourself as much political clout as possible."
"The chief goal of this mission is to protect the integrity of Fire in the eyes of Judgement. Should it appear that Shije needs to be corrected, I would much prefer that it be done by someone of Fire." He falls silent, awaiting a reply.
"I hear and obey, Lord Soldekai. Where will I find this... Shije? And - will there be any special tools necessary for the job?" She thinks of her motorcycle, sitting in the warehouse in Boulder City. Things _always_ happen to prevent her from making it an artifact...
"No," replies Soldekai, "I believe no special tools will be necessary, none that you do not already possess. I realize that due to you Roles already in place on Earth it would best to perhaps return you to your proper place in society so that you may make your way to Vancouver Corporeally. You will find an extra amount of cash at your disposal when you return to earth, to speed your journey. Do not spend it on dishonorable trinkets."
"Of course, Lord Soldekai. Thank you. I will see this mission through to the best of my ability." Fury looks up at him. "Is there any other news you wished to impart?"
[Soldekai]
"No news. However, know that the investigation is being headed by an angel of Judgement known as Michnelion, his Role is that of Mike Neelon, police detective with the Vancouver Police Department. It is he and those who are conducting the investigation that you need to surround yourself with. Aid them and help Judgement to see past any quick assumptions, aid them to persue the *circumstances* surrounding Shije's behavior."
"And remember, if in the end Shije is to be punished, help them to understand that Fire has its own punishments to deliver upon those who fail to do their duty."
Sol's words begin to fade as he seems to move away, not so much as in physical location, but in distance. "I am needed elsewhere, Fury. God go with you."
Fury watches Soldekai wander off, takes a moment to cuddle her Heart, and then tunnels Down through reality, slipping back into the corporeal realm in a deserted park in Boulder City. She gets her bearings, then goes and gets her bike from the storage unit.
Soon, she's off on the road again (or off, as the case may be), totally bypassing Las Vegas and screaming across the wilderness toward Vancouver.
As the Ofanite tears down the concrete path towards the frozen north, the scene around her blurs and fades into indistinguishable non-importance, not unlike how we all wish the scenery in Manos: the Hand of Fate(c) had been.
The scene will pick up again in wonderful, drizzling Vancouver. Home to the X-Files and grunge bands that couldn't make it in Seattle, this wonderful city is also home to an assortment of celestials of both sides of the fence . . . and currently Fury finds herself driving straight into the hands of Gabriel's feared "friendly-fire" foe: Dominic, the Hynea of Heaven.
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