Bright Malakim
By James Walker
The Eternal, Wise Ones, Malakim Emeriti
Heaven's greatest secret, Bright Malakim are (currently) even rarer that
Bright Lilim. Their existence will not be revealed until Armageddon, when
Uriel will lead them into battle - and hopefully to victory.
Becoming a Bright Malakite
Whenever a Malakite fulfills an oath (eg. slay all dragons, and all dragons
have been slain) which he has held for more than a century, he must make a
'dissonance check' against the number of oaths he has completed, adding the
highest level Geas he possesses to the TN. 'Failure' causes his nature to
change - however, unlike the excruciating pain of Falling, 'Flying' into a
Bright Malakite is a delightful experience which, when they try to explain
it (which most seem to want to do, especially to normal Malakim) they
compare to a human 'coming of age' - they finally feel complete.
Uriel was the Second Bright Malakite, as well as the First Malakite. A
Bright Malakite belongs in the Higher Heavens; as such, they can make a Will
roll to return there if in any other Celestial Realm (just as an angel can
make a Will roll in Hell to get to Heaven), which Uriel did during his
Trial. The First Bright Malakite was Yves, who become a Malakite during the
Rebellion, and a Bright Malakite when the Rebels were kicked out of Heaven;
as he had belonged to his own unique choir beforehand, no one other than
Uriel realised what had happened. Yves makes a point of locating any Bright
Malakim who come into existence, and persuading them to join Uriel until
Armageddon. One of his more compelling arguments is the need to prevent
Kronos learning about the choir - no one want Balseraphs of Fate to possess
the Bright Malakite resonance.
"Flying" into a Bright changes the Malakite in many ways. Just as Redeeming
strips the new angel of any Celestial Discord, Flying removes all of the
Malakite's Ethereal Discord - including Geases. If the Malakite has a Word,
that Word *may* change or be stripped, if the Word is only primarily related
to the War - this is not painful; again, this is similar to the way the
Redeemed lose their Infernal Word, and tends to leave the Wise One will a
feeling of completion and contentment. The Malakite also gains a new
resonance, which reflects their connection to Eternity.
Resonance
A Bright Malakite's resonance is for eternity; they always have enough time
for what they do, and understand to use time to the best advantage. The Wise
ones are never short sighted - they are instinctively aware of the long term
consequences of what they do. Nor do they miss opportunities.
Dissonance
A Bright Malakite probably still has some of the oaths sworn as a Malakite;
violating them still causes dissonance, although if an oath becomes
irrelevant, it fades away, never to return.
Additionally, it is dissonant for a Bright Malakite to miss an once-off
opportunity: aware of the nature of time, they must treasure every moment.
Manner and Appearance
The Eternal blaze with pure light making them impossible to examine closely;
if the Eternal choses to damp this light he resembles an ordinary Malakite.
They are far more relaxed and at peace than other Malakim, and musically
think of themselves as conductors, helping their fellow angels to understand
the Symphony and play to their fullest abilities.
Game Mechanics
A Bright Malakite's resonance gives them more time. With a successful
Perception roll, the Emeritus may invoke his resonance to gain CD rounds of
extra time, which can be used to think, use the Meditate skill or Aim a
weapon. Repeated uses of the resonance are difficult - for CD minutes after
each use, the Eternal has a -1 penalty to reuse the resonance; this penalty
is cumulative.
Additionally, a PC Eternal can (once per session) ask for a 'time out' to
consider a situation, giving the player a number of minutes equal to the
character's Celestial Forces to think before making a decision. This ability
cannot be used if the character has any dissonance.
Finally, the Bright Malakite can still perform the Song of Virtue - if they
do so, they regain the Malakite resonance, but can only specify criteria
matching their remaining oaths.
Failing to exploit an opportunity is only dissonant if the opportunity will
not return. If a Wise One has reason to believe that there will be later
opportunities to exploit, and it turns out that there isn't, no dissonance
accrues (although this is unpleasant for the Emeritus). It is not clear
whether Bright Malakim can Fall - more likely, they acquire Discord.
Possibly, they revert to being ordinary Malakim - no Wise One is willing to
test this theory, of course.
Affiliation Bonus
Bright Malakim gain a bonus to performances of the Songs of Battle.
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