I swear to God: some day I’m going to make this character canonical.
Bronwen
Malakite Inquisitor Master of Law
Corporeal Forces: 6 Strength: 12 Agility: 12
Ethereal Forces: 6 Intelligence: 12 Precision: 12
Celestial Forces: 6 Will: 12 Perception: 12
Vessels: On those very rare occasions when Bronwen visits the corporeal plane, she usually borrows the toughest vessel available. Very few Servitors of Judgement would be insane enough to tell her no.
Skills: Detect Lies/6, Dodge/3, Emote/3, Fighting/3, Knowledge (Dominic/6, Judgement/6), Large Weapon/3 (Fiery Sword), Move Silently/3
Songs: Binding/1, Direction (Corporeal/2), Empathy (Celestial/1), Forbidding (Ethereal/1), Form (Celestial/1), Harmony (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1), Healing (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Light (Celestial/3), Memory (All/1), Nemesis (All/1) Retribution (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1, Celestial/1), Shields (All/3), Tongues (Ethereal/2), Truth (All/1), Virtue/2
Attunements: Malakite of Judgement, Ofanite of Judgement, Elohite of Judgement, Incarnate Law, Heavenly Judgement, Divine Meditation, Advocate, Master of Law, Inquisitor
Artifacts: Reliquary/6 (blindfold); Fiery Sword/3; a Scale (see page 62 of Superiors 1: War and Honor for details. Bronwen has been ‘temporarily’ assigned one for about eight thousand years now).
Oaths:
- Suffer not an evil to live, if it is my choice.
- Never surrender or be captured by the forces of Lucifer.
- Always be especially vigilant toward those tasked with supporting Judgement.
- Never allow considerations of personal safety to interfere with my duty or my oaths.
Who watches the watchers?
More specifically, who watches the one who watches the watchers?
Servitors of Judgement are always checking themselves, of course: corruption in their ranks could be disastrous for the Host. Each angel watches his peers and subordinates, and is likewise watched in his turn. These levels of multiple oversight goes up and up the ladder until one reaches Dominic, who himself checks up on every single one of his Servitors every week. It would appear, on first glance, that such a system makes it nigh impossible for treason to gain a foothold in Judgement.
There is, however, a problem with the above system: it’s based on the assumption that Dominic himself is immune to heretical or treasonous thinking. The Archangel of Judgement knows that this is, alas, not the case. He was tempted during the First Rebellion, and the same sense of shame that drives him to eliminate treason, root and branch, also provides him with a constant reminder that he is not immune to the siren call of power. What worries him – frightens him would be more accurate, really – is that he could be seduced over years or decades or centuries, and never know at just what point he stepped over the line and became the very thing he fought.
That’s why he has Bronwen. She’s been with him for twelve thousand years: officially, she’s one of Dominic’s aides-de-camp, empowered to speak with his voice on certain occasions and tasked with keeping an eye on Judgement’s highest ranking Servitors. Unofficially, she’s Dominic’s watchdog. Bronwen doesn’t harangue, lecture, or get involved in political infighting. She doesn’t even presume to involve herself with Dominic’s ethical positions.
Her sole purpose is to stand there and silently watch Dominic go about his days, and every so often tap him on the shoulder whenever he seems to be about to pass Judgement on someone without thinking. That’s all … and it requires the utmost in willpower and determination (and so much of both that she doesn’t have much left over for an exterior life). Some call her “Judgement’s Shadow”: a few, more irrelevant angels have been known to refer to her as “Dominic’s Malacricket”, although never to her face.
Bronwen is a character that will be severely altered, depending on how your campaign perceives the Archangel of Judgement. The default version assumes that Dominic is authoritarian but essentially fair: he may glare at her quite a bit, but will at least pause to make sure that his actions are Just. Woe to anyone who tries to use her to get out of his or her crimes, however: Bronwen is incorruptible, as only a Malakite can be, and has no tolerance for those who would subvert justice.
In lighter campaigns, Bronwen’s a bit more … physical … when it comes to getting Dominic’s attention. Just as he’s about to get into a really good rant, there’ll be a urgent throat-clearing (or smack upside the head, depending on the silliness level), and the Archangel of Judgement will scowl and get back on track. Bronwen actually has a bit of a life in this version, and is the person you want to talk to first when you’ve screwed up, or need something from Judgement. Dominic actually yells at her a lot more when she interferes, in a manner he no doubt believes convincing. God help anybody who bothers her in his presence, of course.
There is a place for Bronwen in dark campaigns, however. This version is window dressing, set up by the Archangel of Judgement to show how devoted he is to fairness. It’s false, of course: Bronwen never speaks up, never does anything to cross her master, and converts the dissonance into higher and higher levels of Discord (this version has a couple of high level Addictions and at least Fear/3 (Dominic). She also has only 3 Celestial Forces, and a Will of 4. She is one of the most miserable entities in Heaven.