To Tom
-
IamLEAM1983
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3710
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:54 am
- Location: Quebec, Canada
To Tom
Where do Solomon's 72 demons fit in the Pit?
-
IamLEAM1983
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3710
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:54 am
- Location: Quebec, Canada
As Tom
"Solomon, in his wisdom, elected to Name lesser demons from both sides of Hell. He gave the right of sapience to creatures who could show gratitude and foresight if properly coaxed, creating a court of demons that is equally present in Pandemonium as well as the Pit. Considering their origins, they do embody the worst and best of the Infernal Plane's inhabitants, but are always maintained in subservience to whomsoever could grasp the full extent of the Lesser Key of Solomon. That makes a peculiar lot out of them, for many Infernalists - demons ready and eager to work with practitioners of various stripes and persuasions, but who have very stringent admission criteria.
Wisdom is key when approaching the Legemeton's pages. A critical distance is needed - independent thought as well as lateral thinking - as well as the understanding that all power is ultimately fleeting. No members of the Court will ever bestow their gifts upon a worthy mage on a permanent basis, considering. They are theirs to give and theirs to take away. Duke Agares, for instance, is often petitioned to see misfortune rain on a rival's name or reputation. Once he stops being entertained by the various fiascos he can muster, he stands within his right to restore the target's good fortune. Vassago, on the other hand, is one of Melmoth's partners in crime, in terms of his relationship with the mortal plane. He tends to work out of the City, however, being more of a historian than a banker. He knows the mortal plane's past, present and future potential histories, and can refer to them the way a librarian may with his reference books. The marquis Samigina - Captain Sam, to his friends - is Hell's frustrated would-be pirate and seafarer. There isn't much call for an old sea dog with no real nautical experience on the lake of fire, and no real catches to consider grabbing. There are some accounts of him making it out during the golden age of piracy and spending a few centuries picking up the recently drowned as the captain of the Flying Dutchman...
Really, the only aspect of the Key which is likely to befuddle most mages is the fact that most, if not all of the Court's members are said to teach liberal arts if summoned... How is this of any use to anyone today, I've heard some hedge mages ask online, when you can simply keep your soul, steer away from damnation or from the risk of being spied on by something less reputable than Solomon's Court - and get yourself a college tuition to the same effect?
Of course, it might've been useful in the days of rampant illiteracy, but I think I speak for everyone in the Pit when I say none of us miss the days of illiterate magelings hogging our attention for months on end while they learned how to properly read, write and maybe discourse of a few basic works of literature. It's never happened to me, mind you - but Melmoth could tell you stories about being forced to brush up some hopeful's terrible grasp on Latin, turning from the Broker of Souls to someone's private tutor for months, if not years...
Not that it's all bad - Vassago's never lost that teacher's spark, for instance, and he delights in slipping his summon's specifics in-between the pages of old elementary-school dictionaries. He knows shifts in linguistics or grammar ahead of their emergence in the mortal plane, so I can safely say he's watched the dismayed cries of teachers at the sight of chat logs with some degree of amusement."
Wisdom is key when approaching the Legemeton's pages. A critical distance is needed - independent thought as well as lateral thinking - as well as the understanding that all power is ultimately fleeting. No members of the Court will ever bestow their gifts upon a worthy mage on a permanent basis, considering. They are theirs to give and theirs to take away. Duke Agares, for instance, is often petitioned to see misfortune rain on a rival's name or reputation. Once he stops being entertained by the various fiascos he can muster, he stands within his right to restore the target's good fortune. Vassago, on the other hand, is one of Melmoth's partners in crime, in terms of his relationship with the mortal plane. He tends to work out of the City, however, being more of a historian than a banker. He knows the mortal plane's past, present and future potential histories, and can refer to them the way a librarian may with his reference books. The marquis Samigina - Captain Sam, to his friends - is Hell's frustrated would-be pirate and seafarer. There isn't much call for an old sea dog with no real nautical experience on the lake of fire, and no real catches to consider grabbing. There are some accounts of him making it out during the golden age of piracy and spending a few centuries picking up the recently drowned as the captain of the Flying Dutchman...
Really, the only aspect of the Key which is likely to befuddle most mages is the fact that most, if not all of the Court's members are said to teach liberal arts if summoned... How is this of any use to anyone today, I've heard some hedge mages ask online, when you can simply keep your soul, steer away from damnation or from the risk of being spied on by something less reputable than Solomon's Court - and get yourself a college tuition to the same effect?
Of course, it might've been useful in the days of rampant illiteracy, but I think I speak for everyone in the Pit when I say none of us miss the days of illiterate magelings hogging our attention for months on end while they learned how to properly read, write and maybe discourse of a few basic works of literature. It's never happened to me, mind you - but Melmoth could tell you stories about being forced to brush up some hopeful's terrible grasp on Latin, turning from the Broker of Souls to someone's private tutor for months, if not years...
Not that it's all bad - Vassago's never lost that teacher's spark, for instance, and he delights in slipping his summon's specifics in-between the pages of old elementary-school dictionaries. He knows shifts in linguistics or grammar ahead of their emergence in the mortal plane, so I can safely say he's watched the dismayed cries of teachers at the sight of chat logs with some degree of amusement."