Did you ever look up to watch the clouds?
That's a rhetorical question, of course: most people
have, especially when it comes to those really thick
cumulus clouds that drift against the sky, ponderously
yet majestically. You can't help looking, really.
Kids do it all the time, to look for faces or shapes:
more adults than one would think do it, too, when they
think nobody's watching. It's just that the clouds
look so blessed solid, even when you know that they're
just water vapor that's decided to be communal. You'd
think that you could stand on those clouds and get the
view of your life.
The racial memory of humans never ceases to impress
angels.
Rudders
These artifacts, despite the name, resemble nothing
more than a large ship's sailing wheel mounted upon a
long pole. When activated, they have the ability to
make cloud-stuff solid - more or less. Each level of
the artifact will allow a cloud to support up to half
a ton of ... well, the word doesn't translate well
into English. Suffice it to say that the material in
question is what makes vessels and artifacts special:
call it 'gossamer' and be done with it.
Being more made of rougher clay, humans cannot thus
normally avail themselves of this unique form of
transportation... but those with Symphonic Awareness
can see gossamer, and can even learn how to
incorporate it into their bodies. In game terms, the
ability to take advantage of Rudders (but not use them
directly) is an 'Attunement' worth 5 points.
Rudders not only stabilize cloud-stuff: they can
direct it, as well. This mostly allows the riders to
use the prevailing winds to best effect, but a skilled
user may tack and sail on the many cross breezes that
layer the atmosphere. Pilot (Cloud-ship) defaults to
Perception -4: a successful use allows for
three-dimensional changes equal to (CD) degrees.
Multiple Rudders may be used for finer control: add
all CDs together for the angle change, but the main
Piloting roll is at -1 for every two extra Rudders.
Cost: 12 per level. Any artifact may be given the
Feature: "can be mounted on cloud-stuff" for 5 points.
Essence Cost and Disturbance: none. Apparently, even
the Symphony can have its fancy struck.
Rudders can't be used anymore, alas; humans can now
journey above the clouds, which makes hiding the
artifacts ... problematical. But they had their day,
once. Before the Fall, Heaven used them to create
vast fleets of cloud ships, wandering the globe to
safely observe and rejoice in the infinite complexity
of the Creation below them. It is not for nothing
that humanity has traditionally placed angels as
dwelling on clouds.
After the First Incursion, well, the cloud ships were
no longer entirely safe for idle pleasures - but they
could be used for more martial tasks. The wars in the
skies were epic in their scope: entire weather fronts
would be one vast battleground as Heaven and Hell met
and did battle for the souls of humanity. It is also
not for nothing that humans shiver at thunder.
At its peak, the Meeting of Sea and Sky was one of the
busiest Guilds in Heaven. Run jointly by Servitors of
Wind and the Waters, the scene inside was invariably
one of barely controlled chaos, as hundreds of angels
busily coordinated armadas of research and war above
six continents. It was a point of pride for the
Meeting's sky captains to come periodically to talk of
the latest voyage, compare battles and drop off
mementos of their journeys on Earth (and, for the more
daring ones, the Marches).
Today, the physical Guildhall still exists, but much
reduced. The atmosphere there today is about as close
to somber as one can get in Heaven: while there is
still a small amount of travel in the Ethereal plane,
the glory days are behind the Meeting. Many of the
captains still visit, though, and will tell their
stories to any that would listen. Indeed, it seems
sometimes that they seem to be waiting for something.
Perhaps for a time when man will not be looking up at
the clouds - or at least not be surprised to see armed
angels sailing them...
Perhaps.
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