More Malakite Oaths

by Rob Wolff / Bodhi
[rob @ v-wave.com]

I still get the impression that Malakim do generate a sort of dissonance whenever they go against their true nature (i.e. act in an `anti-resonance' rashion). Thus, Malakim would undertake even more stringent personal codes of conduct in an attempt to prove their absolute dedication to the War. I tend to use them as role-playing cues, and methods by which to bring about more dimension to a character that may be in danger of becoming "just another Fighter." Think of Samurai, who spent their spare time drilling, learning new skills, arranging flowers, writing poetry, etc. as part of their personal code: this was their way of proving their devotion to their vocation. The following are some additional Malakite oaths/codes/promises.

1. Battle a Diabolical at least once per year/month/week to prove one's honourable devotion to the cause.
2. Learn and improve one's combat skills at least once per year/month/week (thus, it is an honourable promise to devote at least a certain amount of Character points to one's combat abilities, even if one is aleady nearly unstoppable!)... promise to learn and perfect your craft.
3. Swear not to ever aid anybody who serves an archangel whom your Master is hostile to. This means you can't help them even if it is for the good of everybody. You just won't do it. (re: pg. 109)
4. Thou shalt not suffer a (blank) to live. Promise to destroy, on sight or upon proof of guilt, anybody who is diametrically opposed to your archangel's word, or anybody (including Celestials) who impede you in the service of your archangel. eg. Michael's malakites might swear to destroy, personally, any Celestial who serves Dominic and has proven themselves over-zealous in the persecution of Michael. Thus, you might get in trouble for doing it later, but honour demands that you prove your devotion to the cause by killing such a detriment to the War. (re: pg. 109)

Archangel-specific Oaths:

Since a Malakite's code of conduct is based upon "his personal principles of right and wrong" (pg. 100), then I figured a malakite's code of conduct would also somehow reflect the word they have chosen to associate with. The following, therefore, are suggested codes/oaths for malakites in service to specific archangels. (NOTE: Some of these over-lap. Feel free to mix and match. The suggestions are made specifically to reflect the interests of a particular arch-angel, but that doesn't mean you can't share an oath with a malakite of a different Master...)

Blandine.

1. Spend at least 1 night per year/month/week "patrolling" the Marches, searching for a chance to battle evil in these realms, and protecting the dreams of honourable mortals from Diabolical incursion.

David

1. Use no weapon other than a hammer, or bare hands.
2. Swear to train X number of humans in self-defense every year/month/week
3. Spend a number of hours every year/month/week training a group to work together for mutual self-protection (security force, street-gang, etc.)

Dominic

1. Destroy, immediately upon detection, any Celestials with more than 3 points of Dissonance. (judge/jury/executioner all rolled in one...)
2. Seek out and report any Celestials with more than 1 point of Dissonance at least once per year/month/week. Thus, they must use their attunement as watchdogs/bloodhounds, and actively SEEK such Celestials instead of just reporting them when they find them.

Eli

1. Spend a number of hours per year/month/week creating and perfecting a new style of martial arts, armed combat, or ranged combat.
2. Create/Write/publish poetry (or war-songs, or paintings) at least once a year/month/week. Similar to a Samurai attempting to understand his martial nature through the creative act of writing.

Gabriel

1. Punish at least one cruel person every year/month/week. One must ACT upon one's convictions, or one is not living an honourable existence!

Janus

1. Utterly destroy any evil place/building they come across. These malakites will not rest until the stain of evil has been wiped clean by some form of cleansing. Thus, merely destroying the Diabolicals who lived in a building isn't enough: one should also destroy the building, so that true Change can occur through re-building!

Jean

1. Increase one's skill at Chemistry/Electronics/Engineering at least once every year/month/week.

Jordi

1. Perform at least one act of eco-terrorism per year/month/week.
2. Spend a number of hours every year/month/week working for an ecological protection service.
3. Spend a number of hours every year/month/week on patrol in a specific endangered land.
4. Shall not suffer an animal abuser to go unpunished (although not necessarily unkilled...)

Laurence

1. Spend a number of hours every year/month/week training and drilling a combat team (Military, Security, street-gang, ...football team?)
2. Involve themselves in a righteous battle/war at least once a year/month/week. They will seek out and join in a mortal conflict to prove that they are _DOING_ something with their time. They will donate any profits they make from such an activity to a charity, such as war orphans.

Marc

1. Make a certain amount of money every year/month/week off arms sales, etc. You must be actively promoting your word, or you aren't doing anything worthwhile. Since these guys value money as the ultimate judge of how successful you are, then the more money you make off war, the better you are working!

Michael

1. Involve themselves in single combat at least once a year/week/month.
2. Refuse any assistance in single combat, even if they are losing. One shouldn't win if one can't win honourably, and through the force of one's OWN convictions!
3. Refuse any help, ever, in any combat. You fight alone. Always.

Novalis

1. Spend a certain number of hours per year/month/week gardening
2. Improve one's gardening/horticulture/flower-arranging skill every year/month/week. Certain Samurai were the most amazing flower-arrangers...

Yves

1. Create/Write/publish poetry at least once a year/month/week. Similar to a Samurai attempting to understand his martial nature through the creative act of writing.
2. Read/write/collect/salvage books or articles on weapons, warfare, etc. Ideally, then, this Malakite spends his "spare time" learning about war, honour, personal combat, and so on. These guys have practially memorized "The Art of War" and "The Sword".
3. Give lectures on war, honour, personal combat, history of warfare, etc. Thus, these malakites become Civil War Buffs (hey... how exactly does one become a `buff'....), university lectureres, etc. You must therefore be spending a certain number of character points on perfecting your knowledge areas. Could get quite expensive, but that's the price of honour.

Well, that's it. I think that Malakim can be extremely interesting, but only if you actively work at making them so. Otherwise, there is the danger that they all become generic, bland, fighter-clones.

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Elizabeth McCoy <arcangel@prismnet.com>
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