I’m back today with more options about angels for your Invisible Sun campaign. Last time I detailed a strange order of zealots determined to safeguard the Legacy. Today I have an adversarial bunch of traitors, but delving into the story shows some complicated mysteries that will unravel for you and your players.
The difference between fallen angels and demons might seem nebulous in the minds of mortals but to angels there is a big difference. Demons are soulless hedonists with voracious appetites but this is the only existence they’ve known. Fallen angels were once part of the holy legions following the Legacy but they chose to turn against it over a misguided belief that it was failing. Now they work against the Spell of Creation and destroy the works of their fellow angels at the behest of their egomaniacal leader Samayaza. The full story has many different twists and turns, however, and also deep mysteries.
The Story of the Curatoria
The first to rebel was an angel named Samyaza, now called the Angel of Pride for their hubris, and they launched their nihilism in the City on the Hill at the foot of the Temple-Tower of Al Ru Stam itself. When he started his foremost ally was Kokabiel, an angel of the Stars, who understood how to read the patterns of the future in the stars. Kokabiel warned, and Samyaza loudly proclaimed, that Creation itself was in danger and that the legions of angels needed to act immediately. There was a rot in the Spell of Creation and angels needed to tear it down to save it. Dozens and then hundreds came to hear them speak day after day as the authorities in the Temple-Tower said nothing. Two early and regular listeners were the angels Azazel, Angel of Sacrifices, and Sathariel, Angel of Weaving (now called the Angel of Deception). These two were counselors to Queen Frageliva herself and quickly became close associates of Samyaza themselves, the first members of what would be the Curatoria.
Whether it was these high-profile counselors allying themselves with Samyaza’s movement or the time was just right to act, Queen Frageliva made a pronouncement that the angel and their small and growing group should stop their preaching, leave public life until the Queen said otherwise, and punish themselves for disturbing and threatening the sanctity of the Creator. The Curatoria ignored the words and returned the very next day as the Silver Sun rose to announce their warning. Frageliva had made her pronouncement publicly but it was carried out the next day by the angels Phanuel and Israfel, powerful members of the Iarets who came upon the gathered crowd. “These angels come to you offering knowledge,” the Iarets said with a tone of sadness, “but they bring only destruction.”
There was a terrible battle that destroyed whole sections of the City on the Hill (obviously quickly rebuilt) and when the silver dust settled Samyaza and their followers were exiles on the run. They continued to call out their warnings and the rebellion gained more followers. Rahab, Angel of the Deep, came from the silent depths of the vast oceans under the Pale Sun and Ananiel, Angel of Storms and the Singer of the Dark Songs, drew the ire of many angels when they joined Samyaza in exile. Gadreel, an Agnel of War, came from the blasted plains of the Red Sun and Armaros, Angel of Undoing, from the dusty catacombs of the Gold Sun.
These were the defections that angels and mortals alike spoke of with curses and fury, but there were others who came to the Curatoria in secret. Baraqiel, an Angel of Lightning, fought in Queen Frageliva’s legions but secretly passed propaganda books to other angels and turned them. Chazaqiel, an Angel of Mists, was another soldier and passed similarly booklets above angelic soldiers. Both threw their duty and honor away, poisoned by Samyaza’s words against the Creator. Zaqiel, Angel of Purity and called the Cleansing Fire, was a high priest of the angelic orders but still spread the lies and blasphemy with a cold and vicious heart. Bezaliel, Angel of Shadows, crept amongst the other informant-angels of the legions and fed them falsehoods that still swayed many. All were found out in turn and cast down for their betrayal. Some angels were killed but these chief betrayers escaped, though Bezaliel’s form was blurred and Chazaqiel’s beautiful wings were broken and rendered useless.
As the agents of the loyalists, led by the inquisitors of the Iarets, hunted down all who came to believe Samyaza’s lies the strength of the Spell of Creation was underscored and reinforced. And yet the spread of the deceptions also became apparent and divisions were drawn. Turiel, Angel of the Mountain, in their remote peak under the Indigo Sun and Af, Angel of Anger, in the streets of Satyrine itself announced their defection and the failing of the angelic legions. Suphlatus, Angel of Columns, the great architect of the city of Ethorintas in Silver, broke their great greatest creations and earned their new name as the Angel of Dust. Other angels claimed to remain in the middle like Sariel, Angel of the Waning Moon, but were condemned nonetheless. Sariel turned to Samyaza’s betrayers in desperation before being brought before the Iarets.
Penemue, Angel of the Written Word, shocked the Columned Archive by stealing records that they claimed proved Samzaya was right and Asbeel, Angel of Ruin, abandoned their post in the Gold Sun and allowed demons of the Dark through the unguarded gate. Tamiel, so-called Angel of the Unseen, was thankfully caught before they completed a vast and underground ritual in the tunnels on the Nightside of Indigo while Samshiel, Angel of the Eclipse, burned a wide region of the Green Sun in a conflagration leaving shuddering shadows behind with no body to cast them.
Each betrayal brought condemnation and a greater commitment from the scores of faithful angels determined to let no more of their fellow angels fall to their spreading lies. The Spell of Creation remains vulnerable, however, and this rebellion of fallen angels grows more desperate as the Moment of Creation draws closer. Mortal cults devoted to them and secret traitors among the legions of angels could destroy all of Actuality unless the Iarets and the other angelic orders succeed in their battle to protect all.
Another Perspective
There is another story as well, one that warns about trusting to much in what is written. In this version of things, Samyaza and their allies are correct and their mission is not only valid but also existential. The Creator’s mission has been usurped by a powerful being, something strong enough that it has prevented any communication of its nature and understanding the changes it has wrought on the Actuality. The Curatoria maintain that they don’t war against the other angels since most of them are unaware of this supposed conspiracy. It seems beyond belief that something could be that powerful and deceive so many angelic hosts, let alone staggeringly mighty figures such as Queen Frageliva. Are they truly fooled by some cosmic spell or do they simply turn a blind eye to the lies around them? Or perhaps they are working with the conspirators and all of Actuality has been compromised.
All of these questions and more remain unanswered, either because there are no good answers or because of some enchanted moratorium on speaking the answers. It’s literally impossible to say for sure either way, a useful excuse or a fundamental challenge depending on who you ask. One thing that the Curatoria are very clear on, however, is their opposition to the Iarets who they say are firmly under the thumb of an unknown enemy. They’re mission to preserve Creation, according to Samyaza, is actually a perverse mission to rewrite it and change the original Creator’s spell into something twisted and false. It’s a difficult argument to swallow and the Curatoria’s few members attest to the challenge of convincing even those steeped in these topics. Convincing the wider mortal population, apart from a few conspiracy theorists, is truly a monumental task.
Conclusion
The Curatoria and Iarets are two sides of the same subject: what is the state of the Legacy and who can control it? In creating these two groups I left a number of questions unanswered. What are the Curatoria actually doing? Where are they operating from and who is working with them? Are they in the wrong or are they onto something? Who knows what the Legacy is all about and what are they doing about it? All of these questions are important and open for your campaign to answer on its own. GMs will know that there are some answers lurking in the background and big implications for what they mean.
Are you looking for ways to make angels more complicated in Invisible Sun? Do the Iarets and Curatoria meet those needs? Let me know below!
Mephit James Blog 