Gendu, Demon Prince of the Stars

By Manny Nepomuceno

The world is humanity's lot. Space is mine.

The tale as it is told in Hell: he arrived on Earth one day, an unaligned Djinn, heavily Discordant, yet his eyes burned with the fire of a billion stars. Without a vessel, immobile and insane, he was no match for Asmodeus and the Game. But Lucifer looked on him and believed in his rantings, and raised the Djinn to Prince, granting him an infernal coronet and a place at his table.

He sits there still. Insane in ways no Habbalite could ever fathom, obsessively focused as only a Djinn can be, Gendu is the Prince of the Stars, and he uses every resource at his disposal to keep humanity paranoid and in fear of the very vastness and depth of space. On Heaven's side, only Gabriel and Leilani, his divine counterpart, are aware of his nature and history, although Dominic and Yves have claimed to know of the strange Prince. Behind his back, his Servitors call him the Mad Prince, although they obey his every wish, lest he destroy them out of hand. Even his fellow Princes fear him, for he is an unknown variable in the cold equation of Hell.

Servitors of the Stars understand that space is mankind's destiny, but they also understand that it can be his fate as well. They work to sabotage mankind's effort to reach out into space, and to ensure that mankind is ill prepared for the rigors of being a starfaring race. For them, as for Gendu, space is the ultimate prize, and only those deemed fittest will achieve it. If that means destroying every colony ship that mankind sends out into space, then that is exactly what they will do. Some of them work in space, charting and exploring, while others yet stay on Earth, keeping organizations like NASA from gaining popular and financial support.

When he deigns to appear on Earth, Gendu appears as a crazed old man. He has been known to appear in multiple incarnations at one time, spewing incoherent, often contradictory orders and expecting nothing less than perfection. He will rarely stay to fight along with his Servitors, but expects them to die for him if he so orders it.

Dissonance

Servitors of the Stars are charged with exploring space and keeping it clean of scum (i.e. "talking monkeys"). As such, they are forbidden to allow any spacefaring races to explore space unchallenged or untested. The extent of this testing is left to the Servitor, but even the least of them will go to Habbalitic lengths to determine a species' spaceworthiness.

Band Attunements

Unlike Leilani, Archangel of the Heavens, Gendu has always been focused on space. As such, he has no archaic attunements, and there are many, many more demons of the Stars than there are angels of the Heavens.

Balseraph (restricted): When in space, Balseraphs are not noticed unless they want to be. However, any action on their part directed at someone in their vicinity (communication, use of a Song, an attack) will allow them to be perceived.

Djinn (restricted): Gendu's Stalkers may, on attuning to a moving object, choose to be pulled along in its wake. In addition, they may choose to be drawn to any relatively stationary object (GM's discretion) they have previously attuned to at a rate of (Celestial Forces x hundreds) kilometers per hour.

It is assumed that this was the means by which Gendu returned to Earth, although no Djinn outside of his Binders has ever been able to duplicate the feat.

Calabim (restricted): Because the field of entropy surrounding his Destroyers often wreaks havoc on environmental or space suits, Gendu grants his Calabim vessels which can withstand the vacuum and cold of space.

Habbalah (restricted): Habbalah may add their Ethereal Forces to their resonance rolls against humans (or other emotional life forms) who are not in direct physical contact with their native planet.

Lilim: Gendu has little use for Lilim, although a number of Daughters have distinguished themselves in his service. Those who do seek his service are granted the ability to identify any star whose name they already know on sight, and determine its approximate distance from their position.

Shedim (restricted): Fleshless of the Stars need not seek out a corporeal host while in space, but must do so within 1 hour of entering a planet's atmosphere. They earn dissonance for every month that goes by without possessing a host, however -- their nature as Corruptors needs that much affirmation.

Impudites: Gendu's Impudites can transform Essence into any kind of fuel -- high-grade rocket fuel, dilithium crystals, and the like. The Prince of the Stars frowns on those who use this attunement irresponsibly, however...making mere automobile fuel can result in a visit from the Game or, worse, from the Prince himself.

Servitor Attunements

Warp Factor 666: Those favored by Gendu with this attunement may ride the interstellar winds, crossing vast reaches of space rapidly. For each point of Essence spent, they may travel up to their total Forces in light-years. Take note that unlike Leilani's Mysterious Ways attunement, this is not instantaneous space travel! It is left to the GM to determine how much time passes for the demon on his journey.

A Thousand Points of Light: For 3 Essence, a Servitor of the Stars with this attunement may confuse an opponent, causing him to forget his exact location or position in space. This may also be used against nonhuman entities such as astro- or navigational computer systems.

: On a successful Perception roll, the holder of this attunement may intuit the nature of a vessel's communication systems, and determine what it would take to jam or destroy those systems. Higher CDs reveal progressively more information, and may even reveal more information about the vessel, such as its means of propulsion or defensive systems. It cannot, however, teach a demon to pilot or otherwise use the vessel.

Distinctions

Knight of the Limitless Darkness: While in space, a Knight of the Limitless Darkness always knows where other demons of the Stars are, relative to his position, within a ten light-year radius.

Captain of the Darkest Night: A Captain of the Darkest Night is a living cloaking device, able to extend an equivalent of the Balseraph of the Stars attunement to any vessel he is currently traveling in, for an appropriate Essence cost (GM's call, minimum of 1 Essence in any situation). If more than one Captain of the Stars is present on the ship, they may share the Essence costs for creating and maintaining the field.

Baron of the Depths of Space: Responsible for a number of lesser Servitors, a Baron of the Depths of Space may transport himself to his charge's side instantaneously via that demon's Heart for a cost of (half total Forces, round down) Essence. He will arrive in celestial form, causing the appropriate amount of disturbance.

Rites

• Cause the destruction of a spacegoing vessel.
• Kill everyone on board a spaceship.

• Cause a war between two starfaring races (+3 Essence).
• Provoke a confrontation between two spacegoing vessels.
• Prevent or block funding for a space-exploration agency.