Chora, Habbalite Prince of Affliction

By Terry Jackson

**Flaming Feather**

Brazil

The day dripped off his skin. Each breath choked in his lungs as they fought off the moisture. Ragged gasps for the most part, each one more laboured than the last. Shattered memories collided with one another in his mind, drawing him closer and closer to the source of his pain. Unconsciously he had coughed deliberatly on the last person to ask him if he was alright. Somehow it felt like the right thing to do.

The secretary was taken aback when the wreck of a man walked in.

"Can I help you sir? You look terrible, here, have a seat. I'll get a doctor for you immediately. Can you fill this out please?"

He looked at her with weeping eyes and took her clipboard from her. His fingers slipped around the pen and he started at the top.... the field sneered back at him in a mocking tone. NAME:. If only he could remember.

The pretty young thing behind the desk with her suntouched olive skin rose again. His mind screamed at him that such beauty only belongs to the almighty, but it had been a long time since such thoughts meant anything to him.

"Can I take that sir? Oh, are you having trouble with your name? Here, I'll take care of that for you. Just fill out this section here."

Bitch. Unworthy. Godless Whore. He shook his head slowly so as not to aggrevate the sores on his neck. The sections she had indicated were.

KNOWN AFFLICTIONS:. "Indeed." His husky voice surprised him enough that he almost remembered his former glory. A kingdom of pestilence, an empire of plague. Gone. All gone. Slowly and with the inevitability of a coming shower he wrote.

I........AM........MAK.....MAKA.......

"Sir? Are you writing your name in that column? No that belongs up here." She indicated with a perfect finger.

"MAKATIEL! I AM MAKATIEL."

She took the clipboard from him and frowned a little before folding the clipboard under her arm. As she leant down towards him he could smell the waft of summer flowers.

"No, no. Not Makatiel anymore."

The ragged figure in the stained bomber jacket looked straight into her eyes. And in those eyes, he found his new beginning.



The world is afflicted and I am its Cancer.

Band Attunements

Balseraph: Can create a feeling of sickness within a human. The CD indicates the severity of the sickness with 1 being mild head fuzz and 6 being bedridden nausea. The feeling will not actually do any damage and will wear off after CD hours. This cannot be applied to the same person twice within a 24 hour period. The human will gain the Disadvantage at a level equal to the CD. This is a "lie" to the Seraph Resonance.

Djinn: Stalkers of Affliction become the affliction of their attuned. When attuned to a victim, they can never be rid of any affliction. They can't be cured of their gastroenteritis or unblock their nose. If the Djinn gets a permanent attunement to the subject he may choose to suppress/activate the afflication at any time he wishes.

Calabim: Calabim of Affliction can channel the afflictions of others into his own Discord and then amplify the affects of his natural Resonance. If anyone is within Corp Forces of the Calabite and has any Discord or Disadvantage he can ADD the level of their Discord to his Resonance roll.

The Calabite will however be affected by the Discord/Disadvantage for a number of hours equal to his Resonance CD +1 for every Discord/Disadvantage channelled. On a failed roll or a 111 the Calabite gains the Discord as his own. If this takes him over level/6 then choose another and add the remaining levels to that.

Habbalah: Habbalah of Affliction are all given the power of a Wordbound demon of Affliction. All of Chora's Wordbounds are Habbalah and are all bound to a kind of Affliction. For example. Joziel is granted this Attunement and is put into service of Zackariah the Demon of Younger Siblings. He gains the Demon of Younger Siblings attunement and can never have it removed expect my Chora himself. Normally Chora will assign a Habbalah, but in some cases he will grant a request to be placed in service to a specific kind of Affliction.

Lilim: Can read afflictions in a persons eyes. They get them all mental, physical, spiritual, sociological. If they can make a deal relating to their affliction the victim gets no resistance roll to counter a Lilim calling in the favour.

Shedim: Corrupters of Affliction are an affliction in themselves. They afflict the Symphony with their twisted outlook on reality. They cause no Disturbance when they use any Song or Attunement. However because of this they no longer regenerate Essence naturally and can only gain it from rites. The Symphony also seems "sick" around these beings. Anyone who detects a disturbance created by these beings will automatically know he is a Demon of Affliction.

Impudites: Contagion. They spread physical afflictions from one person to another. Instead of Charming/Stealing they can if they choose take a part of a known affliction into themselves and pass it onto another person. With a Resonance roll they "Steal" a little bit of that persons problem, the person is unaware of the transfer and otherwise unnaffected. The next person the Taker touches is then afflicted at the original level divided by 2. This only affects humans and is permanent until healed.

Servitor Attunements

Walking Wounded: The Demon feels no pain from wounds inflicted upon him. He also cannot be stunned from the effects of damage. The wounds bleed openly and he will never be affected by the loss of blood. Natural healing or medicine have no effect on this demon, he must heal using a Song.

Storm of Convulsion: The Demon summons up a whirlwind of coughing, wretching violence and hurls it at a target. When affected by this the target can do nothing by cough and gag. They can still Dodge but at a -2 penalty. A Will roll negates. It lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Essence spent (minimum 1).

Affliction Magnet: By spending 7 Essence and touching the target the Demon passes on an attraction to every disease, malady and inconvienience that they target could encounter. For the rest of that persons life they will catch every cold, pick up the HepB from the toilet seat and be the target of every telemarketing campaign. This is resisted at the beginning of every week with a STR roll. The CD must beat or equal the Demons Celestial Forces in order for it to wear off. Anything affecting that person will remain until it is cured or has run its course. This will affect Celestials, there are Songs that turn them into carriers after all. Besides, Malakim of Judgement just love getting calls from AT&T.

Distinctions

Knight of Affliction: The Demon can manifest the symptoms of any Affliction he wants and apply it to his vessel.

Captain of Creeping Malignance: Captains can see Afflictions in the Forces around them. They automatically detect within Celestial Forces yards any Discord or Disadvantage and its level. They can also sense any affliction that doesn't have an associated Disadvantage or Discord... such as Diarrhea.

The Afflicted: Within (Celestial Forces) yards this Demon is a conduit of suffering. Where he walks people become cold, weak and more suseptable to disease and damage. For every full minute spent in this radius everyone must make a STR roll. If passed then no ill effect is noticed except for a slight chill. If failed the CD reduces the STR of the victim. When the STR reaches 0 the Demon can choose an effect, Nausea, fever, cold sweats, sneezing and apply it to that victim for Celestial Forces hours. Also, halve the target's actual STR for purposes of calculating Body hits.

Basic Rites



Extended Rites



Chance of Invocation: 1

Invocation Modifiers

+1 Someone sneezing
+2 A cough in a jar
+3 The writings of the insane
+4 The body of someone who died from the common cold
+5 The germs that killed him
+6 Proof that Virii are invading aliens


Archangels

Blandine: A nightmare in itself. (She is Afflicted with Love. I'll drag her down with it.)

Christopher: Another danger to my charges, I'll step up immunisation programs. (Who?)

David: He has lost his dedication to destruction, but his new insidiousness bothers me. Deal with him the old fashioned way. (Gah! Stay away, stay away!)

Dominic: Note to self, contact Asmodeus as soon as possible. (I should know that name. Why am I feeling cold?)

Janus: My winds will purge the clouds of plague from the Earth. I am the itch you can't scratch, not him. (Oh my Lord protect me from this fool. You can't stop me from spreading like leukemia in a lymph system.)

Jean: The risks of him being allowed to walk the Earth again are too high. I wonder if Lucifer actually has considered them? (His technology will hinder me, but my servants will turn it into my greatest tools.)

Jordi: As Disease he was insane. He has lost his memories of the past but not his zeal. His position in the food chain has not yet been defined. (Animals feel pain, they carry the poisons to the humans and they also have souls that can be corrupted. Why not focus on this untapped resource of Essence?)

Khalid: I have faith that he will be dealt with quickly. (As zealous as Laurence and as determined to wipe me out. Try to keep your distance.)

Laurence: Another risen from the ashes? Kill him! (I don't do one to one combat. I prefer the sidelines.)

Litheroy: His greatest secret everyone else keeps from him. When we meet I'll break the ice by revealing his former glory. That alone should cause him to crack, then we'll remove him once again. (My mind is a fortress and he will never pluck my secrets from me.)

Marc: I'd hate to say it, but with him around the flow of medicine will definately increase to impoverished areas. I'll make sure that it gets to the right places. (Useless in the grand scheme of things. It is a small matter to plug up his supply lines.)

Michael: Pathetic creature with no memory. It's a shame I wasn't invited to kill Makatiel the first time, this time I'll make sure my name is at the top of the list. (Not someone I want to be in the same room with.)

Novalis: The creation of Chora from Makatiel's shattered Remnant is a horrible thing to befall the planet Earth. I can heal what he brings, but not forever. (Following me around cleaning up the messes... I'll start leaving a rearguard.)

(Yves's opinion and Chora's opinion of Yves are missing from the original writeup. -- Ed.)

Zadkiel: The Protection against diseases is part of my Word. I'll stand with whoever wants to destroy him. (Poking a hole in a condom one day, poisoning the Pill the next... My work is never done.)

Demon Princes

Andrealphus: There is something to be said for an STD now and again. Just as long as my toys don't grow ugly from it, I couldn't care less. (How I love him. Teach a minion of his a nice Song and get them to carry my beautiful plagues across the carnal universe.)

Asmodeus: Damn him and his rebirth. Lucifer has his reasons. If he steps across the line again though.... (Again that feeling of cold. Shut the door or I might catch something.)

Baal: Germ Warfare is a legitimate practice and I will capitalise on his ascention. (He approached me about field testing, how can I refuse?)

Beleth: His Fears are all too well known to me. If he dares to interfere in my war with Blandine I will crush him in his own memories. (*sigh* The ties that bind her to Blandine may be invisible but I can still see that she still cares. That is an Affliction of Denial. I have her.)

Belial: Burn the infected on huge pyres! I like it! (And why not? Someone will breathe in the ashes and contract emphysema.)

Fleurity: I like my business to flow, sometimes it is good to have a nice disease spread like wildfire through a community from a needle. Help to divert attention from the crackerheads! (Another one who understands God's true plan. Use him and his peons well.)

Furfur: Soft, I ain't got no love for him, but Baal says that he has his uses. I ain't found them yet. (Oh please. Give me a break.)

Haagenti: *Scoff* You what? *munch* Does he taste good? *chew* (Not even worth comment.)

Kobal: He is priceless. Doesn't know that he is Makatiel, and doesn't know what happened to him. This is a punchline I don't want some uptight Djinn ruining. (He afflicts humanity with scorn and sarcasm. That is good enough for me... his evil is a viriulent strain.)

Kronos: He met his Fate once. Now he can meet it again, with the proper preparations I can even see him taking a good portion of the Host with him. (Baldness perhaps? There is something about him I don't like.)

Lilith: He is now free to complete what he once started. Yes I know if he will or not... shall we discuss payment? (She is an excellent source of information. I needn't worry with repayment, once God has cleansed the evil from the world she will be no more.)

Malphas: Well I like the guy, he does promote disparity in diseased communities. (What I start, he nurtures until he has created a pestulant sore ripe for culturing.)

Mammon: I can so reap the benefits of Aid. There is always some way to skim off the top. (As pathetic as Marc is really. Just a toy.)

Nybbas: Anthrax devestates US! Ebola resurges in Africa! Cholera takes hold in Egypt! He IS news baby! (An excellent fan to my flames.)

Saminga: If I was capable of love I think I would love him. All his afflicted come to me in the end. (A perfect partner. He can be a touch too keen to kill them off though.)

Valefor: Hey, wanna see what I got from Makatiel's pockets? (Where the hell did my diary go?)

Vapula: I can create such marvels in my labs and he can distribute them for testing. His focus is tuned to research just as much as mine. If he wasn't so dangerously insane that is... (Tools tools tools. My work continues.)

**Flaming Feather**

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