PETRUS SECUNDUS , the Pontifex Maximus
Physical Description
Sex: Male
Age: 12
Size: Small
Clothes: Modest horsehair robes in private and public
Skin: Caucasian
Hair, etc: Short blond
Bearing: Sincerely warm on the surface, sad beneath that, and inscrutable otherwise
Actor:
Physical Aspect: Immortal
Mental Description
Loves: Michael; Everyone who’s name ends in –iel, -aal, and –oth; defiance.
Hates: Metatron; Helel Emim; slavery and submission.
Fears: That Humanity isn’t worth it and they turn to The Will; Michael changing sides.
Tolerates: Utterly inhuman pragmatism, as long as it is committed by Man.
Amused by: Doubt and despair, utter hopelessness (as long as it’s not his), and failure.
Prejudice: Angels. They are not as reasonable, as easily deceived, or as capable as Man.
Quirk: Is so ideologically opposed to control that he cannot effectively run the Church that is supposed to be saving humanity. Also, is heavily affected by doubt and hope, swinging wildly between extremes as though it was a palpable force.
Politics: Utterly detached from day-to-day affairs. He is both a rubber stamp and a shadow government; anything the Abs or supplicants bring to him is usually approved with the barest of pretense, but he also just randomly orders massive and inscrutable expenditures of shit for seemingly no reason.
Level of Secret Knowledge: Supernatural – Ultimate; Political – Very High but indifferent; Others – Low and indifferent.
Goal: He has directed the Abs to ‘Save Mankind’. The Pontifex himself focuses on finding a way to directly assault the Pax Dei, Beriyah, and ultimately Metatron himself.
Mental Aspect: Your Will is Free
Spiritual Description
Emanations: Petrus Secundus emanates all lights of the Ein Sof, shining forth with all the Sephira equally and simultaneously. He is aware of that light in others. He seems to be able to act out-of-synch with any or all of the Sephiroth as he chooses, or perhaps it’s some strange interaction of all of them.
Miracles: He is eternally young. He is not known to need food or water, has never grown ill, and there are no records of any physical harm being done to him. He is inhumanly intelligent, able to at very least remember everything that has ever happened to him. He has blessed Cathetel with the ability to assume human form, though it bears the signs of illusion rather than transmutation.
Forms: None seen or felt. He seems to possess just one body, which unlike Raphael or Michael’s does not change between planes.
Immunities: He seems to be immune to many Potestates: he cannot be healed or harmed by the Raphaelitin; the Ramielitin abilities of prophecy and lie-detection do not function on him; Logos does not work and Michaelitin experience Soul Bubble interference; he is not scared by the flames of Gabriel and they cannot ignore his words by turning them into fire; the Urielitin combat powers that harm Man or Beast do not affect him.
Free Will: Yes, though he has a very strict ideology.
Associations: Allies with Azrael, Michael, Raphael, Raguel, Sandalphon and Samael; Enemy of Metatron, Phanuel, Helel Emim, and so many, many more.
Power Level: Unknown, but the higher plane forces seen so far are loath to mess with him. Interestingly, he is admittedly diminished from his upper limits, whatever they may be.
Spiritual Aspect: Limited only by Self
Mysterious Advice for the PCs
Baal: Outside the Cathedral is another world; a place of beauty and peace. Did you see any Men living there? Any Angels? The place is empty for a reason – beware the Guardian.
Beoloth: There will come a time when you may be able to help an enemy. The most righteous thing you can do for man is give him a second chance. Always turn the other cheek, at least once.
Cathetel: The love of humanity is not the Love of God. When men say they love you, you can actually understand it. This makes you strong, and bright. Go and love.
Iridiel: You can become an Angel very easily; no, I’m not going to say that “the power is inside you”, because it’s not. Find something Metatron wants and give it to him. It is natural that you want power, or love, or freedom from doubt. You saw what became of those who ate the Fruit – they too were free of doubt, and loved, and made powerful.
Layliel: If you finish healing Michael I will lay myself at your feet. Nothing in this lowest realm will help us, so seek a higher thing. You have more power than you think you do – use the words he gave you, steal them from the Dreamseed plague that scars this world.
Maroth: You are all that is good in Mankind. What advice can I give to you? None. Rather, let me look on you and know that what I do is right. Thank you. Thank you. The Nephilim has cursed you, so make your peace while you can.
Schaliel: That which fell from the sky did so for a reason. Do. Not. Return it. She belongs here; she is yours, forever and ever, amen. You cannot hear her yet, but someday soon you will. Beware, for her voice calls out to Heaven itself. Oh, and she has a ‘brother’, so to speak.
Zabbaiel: I never thought that someone who had opened up to the Sephiroth could still be a welcome sight. You may just find a way to please God yet anger his Will. I will stand by your side and laugh when it happens. You walk a dangerous path, but I will leave you with one thing that gives me hope: Man is one of two things in Creation that retain all of themselves – their form, their soul, their power – in all the realms. The other is God.
Opinions on an NPC
The Peacock Engel: You will still come for me if I ignore you. You will not help me if I call out. All you do is in opposition. Yours is not the Light they need; it is the Old Way. How could we have not learned this... or is this what happens in this prism-realm, Gehenna? I may not be right, and I may fail, but I speak two vows: humanity will live through it's own glory, and you will not have Michael.
Physical Description
Sex: Male
Age: 12
Size: Small
Clothes: Modest horsehair robes in private and public
Skin: Caucasian
Hair, etc: Short blond
Bearing: Sincerely warm on the surface, sad beneath that, and inscrutable otherwise
Actor:
Physical Aspect: Immortal
Mental Description
Loves: Michael; Everyone who’s name ends in –iel, -aal, and –oth; defiance.
Hates: Metatron; Helel Emim; slavery and submission.
Fears: That Humanity isn’t worth it and they turn to The Will; Michael changing sides.
Tolerates: Utterly inhuman pragmatism, as long as it is committed by Man.
Amused by: Doubt and despair, utter hopelessness (as long as it’s not his), and failure.
Prejudice: Angels. They are not as reasonable, as easily deceived, or as capable as Man.
Quirk: Is so ideologically opposed to control that he cannot effectively run the Church that is supposed to be saving humanity. Also, is heavily affected by doubt and hope, swinging wildly between extremes as though it was a palpable force.
Politics: Utterly detached from day-to-day affairs. He is both a rubber stamp and a shadow government; anything the Abs or supplicants bring to him is usually approved with the barest of pretense, but he also just randomly orders massive and inscrutable expenditures of shit for seemingly no reason.
Level of Secret Knowledge: Supernatural – Ultimate; Political – Very High but indifferent; Others – Low and indifferent.
Goal: He has directed the Abs to ‘Save Mankind’. The Pontifex himself focuses on finding a way to directly assault the Pax Dei, Beriyah, and ultimately Metatron himself.
Mental Aspect: Your Will is Free
Spiritual Description
Emanations: Petrus Secundus emanates all lights of the Ein Sof, shining forth with all the Sephira equally and simultaneously. He is aware of that light in others. He seems to be able to act out-of-synch with any or all of the Sephiroth as he chooses, or perhaps it’s some strange interaction of all of them.
Miracles: He is eternally young. He is not known to need food or water, has never grown ill, and there are no records of any physical harm being done to him. He is inhumanly intelligent, able to at very least remember everything that has ever happened to him. He has blessed Cathetel with the ability to assume human form, though it bears the signs of illusion rather than transmutation.
Forms: None seen or felt. He seems to possess just one body, which unlike Raphael or Michael’s does not change between planes.
Immunities: He seems to be immune to many Potestates: he cannot be healed or harmed by the Raphaelitin; the Ramielitin abilities of prophecy and lie-detection do not function on him; Logos does not work and Michaelitin experience Soul Bubble interference; he is not scared by the flames of Gabriel and they cannot ignore his words by turning them into fire; the Urielitin combat powers that harm Man or Beast do not affect him.
Free Will: Yes, though he has a very strict ideology.
Associations: Allies with Azrael, Michael, Raphael, Raguel, Sandalphon and Samael; Enemy of Metatron, Phanuel, Helel Emim, and so many, many more.
Power Level: Unknown, but the higher plane forces seen so far are loath to mess with him. Interestingly, he is admittedly diminished from his upper limits, whatever they may be.
Spiritual Aspect: Limited only by Self
Mysterious Advice for the PCs
Baal: Outside the Cathedral is another world; a place of beauty and peace. Did you see any Men living there? Any Angels? The place is empty for a reason – beware the Guardian.
Beoloth: There will come a time when you may be able to help an enemy. The most righteous thing you can do for man is give him a second chance. Always turn the other cheek, at least once.
Cathetel: The love of humanity is not the Love of God. When men say they love you, you can actually understand it. This makes you strong, and bright. Go and love.
Iridiel: You can become an Angel very easily; no, I’m not going to say that “the power is inside you”, because it’s not. Find something Metatron wants and give it to him. It is natural that you want power, or love, or freedom from doubt. You saw what became of those who ate the Fruit – they too were free of doubt, and loved, and made powerful.
Layliel: If you finish healing Michael I will lay myself at your feet. Nothing in this lowest realm will help us, so seek a higher thing. You have more power than you think you do – use the words he gave you, steal them from the Dreamseed plague that scars this world.
Maroth: You are all that is good in Mankind. What advice can I give to you? None. Rather, let me look on you and know that what I do is right. Thank you. Thank you. The Nephilim has cursed you, so make your peace while you can.
Schaliel: That which fell from the sky did so for a reason. Do. Not. Return it. She belongs here; she is yours, forever and ever, amen. You cannot hear her yet, but someday soon you will. Beware, for her voice calls out to Heaven itself. Oh, and she has a ‘brother’, so to speak.
Zabbaiel: I never thought that someone who had opened up to the Sephiroth could still be a welcome sight. You may just find a way to please God yet anger his Will. I will stand by your side and laugh when it happens. You walk a dangerous path, but I will leave you with one thing that gives me hope: Man is one of two things in Creation that retain all of themselves – their form, their soul, their power – in all the realms. The other is God.
Opinions on an NPC
The Peacock Engel: You will still come for me if I ignore you. You will not help me if I call out. All you do is in opposition. Yours is not the Light they need; it is the Old Way. How could we have not learned this... or is this what happens in this prism-realm, Gehenna? I may not be right, and I may fail, but I speak two vows: humanity will live through it's own glory, and you will not have Michael.