D AGDA , A NGEL

OF

B ALANCE

Grigori
Cassiel was an angel in the service of Dagda. He spent the Age of Dragons protecting the men who hid from
the might of the warring gods around them. It was his counsel that led Dagda to create and sign the
Compact, but Cassiel felt the Compact did not go far enough. He wanted the gods to retreat entirely, to let
the men form their own world. When the Compact allowed the gods to battle through men, Cassiel
abandoned Dagdas service and began his own crusade to lead men away from a war that has little to do with
them. This action gained him few allies among the gods or the humans who serve them. A few brave souls
were attracted to Cassiels creed, though he refused to offer any divine boons or even direct leadership to
them. His followers must adhere to his ideas and lead themselves. Throughout the ages the cities of the
Grigori offered safe haven for those who wanted to lead their own lives. The wars of the Age of Magic and
the scarcity of the Age of Ice took its toll on them like every other land, but the sought help not from the
heavens but from themselves.
In the Age of Rebirth, Cassiel still stands, offering others ideas and guidance but little more, and
some brave few are still drawn to his ideas. Among those who seek asylum in his lands are the Luonnotar,
who teach that none of the gods acting on Erebus is worthy of worship, but only one greater god who made
them. Cassiel certainly agrees with the first part of this, though he isnt forthcoming on the second.
Cassiel
My name is Elizabeth, and I was murdered on the first day of winter. My father was at the market. In the
instant I died, he was buying ribbons for my hair. Later, he would put them on my corpse.
My father knew the man who killed me, a neighbor that talked to him about trade and argued about
religion. As a follower of the Order, my father was quick to advocate it to anyone who would listen. The
neighbor looked at me the way some men look at teenage girls, but he had never spoken to me until that day.
Hello Elizabeth.
I was surprised he knew my name. I was removing the last of the vegetables from our small garden
before the nights frost killed them. I stood and subconsciously straightened the worn dress I was wearing. I
didnt answer him.
Do you know anything about cats? he said.
I had a cat, she disappeared a few weeks ago.
Was she white?
Yes, did you find her?
I was an only child, my mother died when I was born and my cat Abagail was the keeper of my
secrets and playmate for as long as I could remember. I searched for her and had almost given up hope.
More like she found me, shes moved into my cellar. Shes taken over a corner for herself and her
kittens.
Kittens?
He returned my smile. His hand had been resting on his knifemost men in the city carried them
but now he relaxed and took his hand off of it.
Would you like to see them? Maybe help me move them to your house. I want to make sure they
get somewhere warm before tonight.
I followed him to his house; we walked across my yard and through a small field that separated our
homes. At the time I was too excited to wonder why we didnt walk on the road. The field opened to the
back of his house, which is where the cellar entrance was. He unlocked the cellar and opened it for me. This
was the first time I had a suspicion that something was wrong. If I was by myself I wouldnt have gone
down there, but I had told him I would and I didnt want to seem like a scared girl so I went down the
wooden stairs. He followed and closed the doors behind him.

The cellar was a shrine to Agares, decorated in blood and jagged weapons. He attacked me as soon
as I saw it. In time he would sacrifice me on the cellars brown altar, but even worse was done to me before.
I wandered in the grey. I saw my father search for me, my body was found in the woods outside the
village a few days later, covered with cuts and ritual marks. My killer came to my house and offered his
condolences with the rest of the neighborhood, pretended to be shocked and upset. I watched my father
come and go, cry and then pretend to be okay when neighbors came over. Crushed by the thought that when
his daughter really needed him, he wasnt there.
In time I became aware of something else. Abagail came trotting through a wall, meowing in that
way she reserved for when I forgot to feed her. I rushed to her, picked her up and squeezed her as she
nuzzled my neck with her head.
When I set her down she started walking, then looked back to see if I was following, which I did.
We left the city, walked through forests, fields, mountains. I was never tired or hungry and only had a dim
view of the world, as if I was viewing it through a haze. Some dark places we avoided and I could
occasionally hear voices, usually angry or sad from those places.
We walked until we entered a city much larger than mine. We went through it to a grand palace at its
center, decorated in bronze and black. We walked through to the throne room and the haze was gone from
the center of this room. A man with ivory skin sat on a throne, listening to an argument between two
merchants. The man was tired and I somehow knew that he was once one of the greatest of angels, now
bearing the burden of mortality and time.
I had heard of an angel that had become human, the archangel Cassiel who had turned against the
gods, who claimed that religion was servitude and wouldnt follow them. But after what I saw, felt,
experienced I couldnt accept that. There was an enemy, a religion that should be battled. I approached his
throne, knowing he would see me even if no one else did.
Cassiel, the Veil killed me. You can do something about that, the Order is trying to fight them. You
could help.
He looked at me, I saw a great sadness in him. The same as in my father when he sat in my bedroom
and cried. The arguing merchants quieted, realizing Cassiels attention was somewhere else.
Open your eyes.
He said it to me, he was pleading with me and commanding me at the same time. I tried to follow it,
everything except Cassiel seemed distant. I could see Abagail at my feet, the rest was clouds of grey flowing
into each other. I looked at these clouds, there were shapes in them, figures, faces. And I began to see other
spirits in them. Men and women, orcs and elves, children and adults, all caught in their own grey worlds.
I talked to the spirit of a man who had been killed by an order Confessor for lying, a boy who had
starved because his family couldnt afford food and the teachings of Kilmorph dont emphasize charity, an
elf who had used wood from a sacred tree to rebuild his home and had been killed by the Fellowship for it.
And thousands who had died in wars they didnt believe in for gods they didnt trust and who didnt accept
them.
Later I went back to Cassiel, he was sitting alone on the roof of his palace.
Are we forever doomed to this in-between place? I understand now that the gods are flawed, but if
they hold the only way into heaven, what else can we do but follow them?
Cassiel smiled at me. The places they have made are not heaven, the true heaven is closed to
everyone, even them. One day the doors will open and we will be rejoined. Until then we wait and we try to
improve what we have been given.
After that I sat at the feet of his throne, played with Abagail and paid less and less attention to the
occurrences of the mortal world. Until I heard a familiar voice in the throne room, that of my father.
Lord Cassiel, I have come from the Bannor empire, I have turned my back on my people and my
god. The religion that once seemed so important to me, that I dedicated my life to, offered no comfort to me
when I needed it. Only hollow words about faith and my own weakness. Now I come to you. Three years
ago my daughter was killed, she was only a child and she was sacrificed in some unholy ceremony. Because
of the manner of her death the priests say they cannot bury her in the cemetery, they burned her so that an
evil spirit wouldnt inhabit her tiny corpse.

My father fought to keep his composure. He took a deep breath before continuing.
Now I come to you. He repeated. To offer my help, Im only a simple merchant but if you would
have me I wish to join the Grigori.
Cassiel looked at him, requests like this werent uncommon. They usually wouldnt even get to
Cassiel himself unless the person was someone politically important.
You will stay in the palace tonight. Tomorrow you will awake a new man, put your old life behind
you and start a new one here. Your name will be Goodreau. In the morning you will go into the city, find a
job and earn your place among my people. But for tonight you are still Tamur the Merchant. My sergeant
will show you a room and provide you with food and drink. Eat and sleep well.
My father thanked him and followed the sergeant out of the throne room. I followed them and sat in
the small bedroom they gave him. Traveling had been hard on him and he ate ravenously and fell asleep. I
sat in the corner of the room just as I had in my bedroom when he cried after my death.
Elizabeth?
My father was awake, awake and staring at me.
Yes, daddy.
He jumped out of the bed, terrified, but only terrified that he was somehow imaging this and I would
disappear before he could grab me. But his arms passed right through me and he fell on the floor sobbing. I
knelt down beside him, he stared at me, trying to memorize every detail of my face.
Oh sweetie, Im so sorry please Im sorry Im sorry
Daddy, Im okay.
We talked and I told him about the fake heavens and my life at the palace. How, if it had been three
years, it seemed like only a few days to me. That I really didnt remember dying that well, but I remembered
playing games with him and the walks we used to take. I lied and told him I didnt know who killed me, I
didnt want him going back.
We talked until dawn. As I began to fade from his sight he pleaded with me to stay, asked what he
could do to stay with me. I repeated Cassiels words.
One day the doors will open and we will be rejoined. Until then we wait and we try to improve
what we have been given.
He said he loved me, that he would see me again and when I was completely gone from his view he
left the palace and started his new life among the Grigori.
Group together people deliberately chosen for strong religious feelings, and you have a practical guarantee
of dark morbidities expressed in crime, perversion, and insanity.
on Fanaticism
Dragon Slayer
Cassiels creed of self-reliance and mortal empowerment yields more than philosophical discussions. His
warriors often come to battle fearless, and as dedicated to their nation as most crusaders are to their god. And
should any lazy dragons count upon their reputation to keep them safe, these dragon slayers will be more
than happy to carry the treasure back home.
Grigori Medic
The Empire of the Grigori began to thrive, as men from all corners of Erebus, tired of being used as pawns
by the Gods, sought a way to determine their own destiny. Whether carried by this wave of immigration, or
inflicted upon them by the Gods as divine retribution, the Grigori began to suffer from diseases for which
they knew no cure. Cassiel had the power to cure these ailments, and could even confer that power to others,
however, he was also shrewd enough to realize that this would put him in the position of acting as a God
himself, and all that he had been fighting for would be lost. Instead, Cassiel summoned the best herbalists
and natural healers in the Kingdom, and formed the Ordine Medicos. Members of the Ordine Medicos travel

throughout Erebus, seeking natural remedies to the ailments that inflict the Grigori, and are widely known
for their ability to cure disease without divine intervention. Although quite often found traveling with
Grigori military units, the Ordine Medicos take a vow of non-aggression, and will only fight to defend
themselves, and those in their care.
Luonnotar
The Luonnotar believe that the gods are nothing but petulant children. Instead, they claim that the true
creator god will one day return and separate the good from evil, and punish those worshiping false gods.
S e e Al s o
Altar of the Luonnotar