Lore of the Celestials


* Lamp of Faith
This evocation allows a Devil to detect the presence of mortals or other demons in her vicinity by causing their store of Faith to flare like a beacon that only she can see. Individuals glow with a pale blue light, varying in intensity depending on the strength of their Faith, while non-living objects lose colour, fading into dark silhouettes. With enough skill, the Devil can even see through doors and walls, though this is obviously more difficult. Lasts a few seconds.
Torment: Monstrous Devils receive the opposite effect of this evocation; their eyes see only those individuals whose souls have become so hollowed out by their evil acts that they are literal voids of spiritual energy. These soulless individuals appear to the demon as patches of blackness against the dark background of the physical world.

** Send Vision
In their former role as the Creator's divine Heralds, the Namaru were often called upon to convey God's messages across the length and breadth of the cosmos, delivering Heaven's commands as potent visions that filled a Celestial's mind with images of majesty and wonder. After the Fall, the Devils still made extensive use of this lore, communicating detailed orders to their subordinates in the rebel host or smiting their foes with frightening visions of infernal wrath. The vision fills the recipient's mind like an illusion or a waking dream, playing out whatever scene the sender wishes to convey in the blink of an eye. Sending more of a message is more difficult. The evocation works upon demons and mortals alike.
Torment: Monstrous demons use this evocation to shock or frighten their foes in battle. The sender can affect a number of targets, as long as they're all within line of sight. The terrifying visions of infernal wrath actually inflict damage upon their opponents, which cannot be soaked, and may lead to derangements in the target.

*** Pillar of Faith
Throughout the birth of the cosmos and the early days of Paradise, the Heralds were at the forefront of every major effort mandated by Heaven, bolstering the energies of other celestials wherever necessary. As long as the Devil knows a demon's Celestial or True Name and can draw line of sight to him, he may bolster the demon's evoking powers with his own Faith, making the evoking much easier to accomplish. It cannot be stacked by evoking multiple times on a single target, and only works for the single next evocation by the target.
Torment: Monstrous demons may use this evocation only to block or negate the efforts of another. Again, the Devil must know the target's Celestial or True Name to perform this evocation.

**** The Fire of Heaven
This evocation allows the Devil to channel her Faith as a withering blast of pure white fire, smiting her target with the wrath of a fallen angel. Effective up to a range of several feet, this devastating attack deals out aggravated damage.
Torment: Monstrous demons are unable to focus the fiery power of their Faith in a concentrated bolt. It erupts from them in all directions as a storm of raging energy instead. When a high-Torment demon uses this evocation, the infernal fire strikes everything within a few yards of the demon with aggravated damage.

***** Hand of Faith
The mandate of the first Celestial House was to act as the voice of the Creator and to ensure that His Grand Design was fulfilled within the bounds of angelic free will. If one of the Celestials deviated too far from the Creator's design in the process of Creation, the Heralds were able to manipulate the evocation as it happened, modifying the outcome to within acceptable limits. Although this mandate was rarely enforced, this evocation more than any other spawned the tendency of the other Houses to jealously guard their prerogatives and regard the Heralds with no small amount of resentment. An extremely difficult evocation to use (and more so in combat), and rightfully powerful, it requires the evoker to know either the target's Celestial or True Name. If successful, the Devil can alter the evocation's target and effects as if she were the one using the power.
Torment: Monstrous Devils are not able to manipulate other demons' evocations, but they can cause evocations targeted at them to rebound and affect their initiators. Again, the Devil must know the initiator's Celestial or True Name to perform this evocation.

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