The Regalia of Babylon
Amidst pranks, laughter and legendary marathons of lesbian sex, Lilith and her priestess Semiramis crafted wonders together. Their time together was limited, and thus most of their ideas remain such. Occasionally, though, they would come up with something truly intriguing that claimed all their attention until it became a masterpiece.
Semiramis wanted to create a regalia; a collection of Supernal items to materialize her eternal devotion to her beloved Babylon. She who is called both “Queen of Heaven” and “Queen Harlot” cared not for what humankind made of her history. Even if her legacy was tainted by misconceptions and misinterpretations, her loyalties, her ambitions and motivations remained clear and strong in her Soul. She wanted tools not to show her true self to the world. She wanted tools for protecting her dream.
The result of the work of Lilith and her Priestess was a set of three Instrumental Weapons like no other. These are weapons that ‘do not normally exist’. Semiramis cannot just carry them around or summon them from ‘somewhere else’ like most Supernals do, because they really do not exist. All the components necessary for their existence are instead encoded in a Program: the ‘concept’ that made the basis for its creation, the ‘structure’ of the tool, the ‘material’ it was to be made, the intrinsic ‘skill’ necessary to craft it under normal circumstances, the ‘power’ necessary for the crafting and the ‘emotions’ refining that power. All these elements were carefully defined and optimized during encoding. The resulting Program, Exaltation – Legend of Semiramis, is truly beautiful in all its complexity. The Priestess of Lilith was very satisfied with the result.
Lilith, not so much.
The Empress of Darkness had planned beyond Semiramis’ original intentions. She had designed weapons that would be as useful to her as they would be to Semiramis. In other words, Supernals tools with different effects according to the identity of their current wielder. She had even written a separate Program to project her improved version of the Regalia: Babylon – Prayer for the New City.
But the projected Instrumental Weapons did not work for Lilith. They would not even be successfully projected and materialized, even if her Code was flawless.
Empress and Priestess examined their work exhaustively: the ‘concepts’ were clearly defined and a firm foundation; the ‘structure’ was stable and enduring as designed; the ‘materials’ were ordinary and Lilith has crafting ‘skill’ to give away.
The problem was in the ‘emotions’.
The taint integral to the existence that is ‘Lilith’ rendered her designs worthless.
Basically, Lilith’s inner darkness could not harmonize with Semiramis’ pure motivation of “I want to remake my beloved Babylon!” The Thread of Destiny could not process the two Supernals’ Active Waves simultaneously and establish the desired association between them. To SAMYA_JARA, the Code of Prayer for the New City could not be computed together with the emotional Active and Passive Waves Lilith constantly irradiates—the ‘taint’ Supernals often bring up with discussing Lilith.
Lilith was left with a completely useless Program. Semiramis suggested crafted Lilith’s superior Regalia as a separate set, but Lilith’s wounded pride discarded that thought. In conclusion, Semiramis ended up with a personal set of Instrumental Weapons, which would become her pride, her joy, and her secret weapon for the occasions she happened to bite more than she could chew.
Lilith almost spontaneously combusted when Gilgamesh, upon witnessing Semiramis’ weapons for the first time, tried conjuring them with his Reality Script, and it worked.
Fast-forward to the year 2033. The day is April 16.
Lilith has fought herself and won. She has fully accepted the darker side of her nature and the duality she represents. She has wept upon listening to Adonamon’s confession and apology. She has become one with the broken and corrupted Gabriel. The Aspect of Chaos has been reborn, her radiance even stronger and blinding in its beauty.
Before her stands the Embodiment of Supremacy, Rachel. This…woman, the crystallization of the ultimate power that rules over everything in Reality, now stands in opposition to her beloved.
Lilith has not suddenly become “a good person.” She will never be pure-hearted like Sophia, or lawful like Shekinah. But her love for Adam and for their world is immense, so immense her pitiful, child-like form could not possibly hope to contain it. Her mind and her heart are in unison.
“Adam, my love! I want to help you!”
Her titles of “Archdemon”, “Mother of Demons” and “Empress of Darkness” are just that: titles. She is the Aeon of Chaos, the one and only Empress of Heaven and Mistress of Atziluth.
She regretted losing the Agenda of Love to Sophia. Her love would never be defeated again!
Maybe, with those feelings, that power which once eluded her is now within her grasp…?
Ishtar Gate – Stand Nobly, Babylon the Eternal
Type: Defensive
A massive tower shield, five feet tall and thick as a human thigh, which floats in front of its owner when activated, controlled by a simply psychokinetic effect. It glistens with a lacquered deep blue with two parallel, vertical bands of gold with a description of Semiramis’ actions as a queen in engraved in cuneiform.
Its effect varies should its wielder be Semiramis, Gilgamesh, or anybody else.
Semiramis: the Assyrian Queen gains a ten-point bonus to her Dexterity. Also, she is able to teleport the shield at will to block any attack she is aware of, regardless of where it is aimed to or whether she could herself reach it. This is a sustained effect that needs a constant supply of power to the shield in order to remain available. The shield can by itself block attacks of up to 800 units of power effortlessly.
Gilgamesh: the version used by the King of Uruk is not animated, and thus must be properly held by the King of Heroes. The shield can effortlessly block attacks of up to 1800 units of power by itself. By planting the shield on the ground, Gilgamesh can will it to grow to the size of the actual Babylonian structure, the Ishtar Gate, becoming a massive barrier against wide-area attacks. Furthermore, once per day, the intrinsic defensive capacity of the shield can be multiplied by eight, allowing it to effortlessly block attacks of up to 14400 units of power for up to forty seconds.
Anybody Else: the undesired wielder takes a curse draining ten points of Dexterity. If the victim willingly activated the shield for his personal use, Reality Reversal does not apply as a defense. The shield is not animated, but it can still work as a protection to block attacks of up to 800 units of power.
Lilith cannot use Ishtar Gate in any of her form previous to Lilith.TakaKo. In her final form, the shield projected by her power becomes something completely different…
Gates of Babylon – The Unbreakable Will That Withstands Eternity
Type: Defensive
Lilith’s variation of Ishtar Gate projected by Prayer for the New City. A collection of eight tower shields floating in a ring around the Empress of Heaven. The shields of gold and the seven colors of the rainbow, plus white share a single effect besides Lilith’s capacity to remotely control them.
Each shield can on its own block attacks of up to 1600 units of power effortlessly. However, every time the shields are conjured, Lilith gains a stock of seven Perfect Defenses she can use to completely nullify any one offensive effect that would prove harmful to her. Every time she spends one, one of the shields disappears. Note that the perfect defense works by negating the potentially harmful effect. This means that, in the case of area effects, everybody that could have been affected is spared as well. The perfect defense can block Merodach, but no other Forbidden Instrument. When the last perfect defense is spent, the defensive power of the remaining shield is halved.
Should any other person activate the Gates of Babylon for their personal use, they are automatically afflicted by a curse: the character’s Agility Parameter is decreased by the value of his own Reality Manipulation score, or five, whichever is greater. Should the value drop to zero, the character is rendered perfectly paralyzed, unable to move or act in any way. No defense applies against a curse the victims “willingly” accepted when activating the shields. The shields do not have any other effect when used by subjects other than Lilith.
Obelisk – For the Enemies of Babylon Shall Prostrate Before Its Bravery and Pride
Type: Support
A heavy bastard sword of the purest white. A single band of black travels along the length of the blade with words of gold engraved on its surface, exalting Semiramis’ conquests. Its effect varies should its wielder be Semiramis, Gilgamesh, Lilith, or anybody else.
Semiramis: While the sword is activated, each time an ally within (Reality Manipulation) yards of the character takes damage, Semiramis’ Offense Parameter increases by one. She can only gain (Offense) points per minute, and her score cannot be raised beyond 90 via this effect. The increase remains until the sword’s effect is deactivated, regardless of damage being healed. The damage must actually come from combat, and cannot be from health sacrificed to fuel supernatural effects. This effect uses the base values of Reality Manipulation and Offense, unmodified by whatever other effects Semiramis may have active on her person.
Gilgamesh: The King of Heroes does not need to bother with things such as engaging in combat. Even if he only slashes the air in front of him, the attack is applied to any target within sight he wishes. The targets may defend themselves normally if they become aware of the source of the attack. This effect does not allow Gilgamesh to strike dematerialized foes. Gilgamesh wields this huge sword one-handed, his Offense score sufficient for such a feat.
Lilith: When Lilith grasps the handle of Obelisk, the sword becomes impossibly whiter and glows with a pure radiance even the sun would envy. In her hands, the sword becomes Belit-iti – The Forgotten Missing Power. As long as Lilith holds it in her small hands, her Reality Manipulation score becomes her Offense score as well (namely, 100).
Should any other Supernal try to use the blade (“I’m looking at you two weapon-philiacs!”), the effect changes: the wielders’ Offense score is decreased by their own Reality Manipulation score, to a minimum of 1. The curse allows no defense, as it is an intrinsic effect of the weapon willingly accepted by the wielders, and not considered an attack.
Aibur-shabu – The Enemy Shall Never Withstand the Might of Babylon
Type: Defensive/Support
A beautiful suit of full plate armor impossible for the age it supposedly comes from, yet most suitable for the warrior queen of the eternal city of mankind. It is the materialization of the legendary Road of Babylon that no enemy army ever set foot on in direct battle, and of the dreams of legend and conquest of the great city of the ancient world. It gleams with blue and gold matching the Ishtar Gate and leaves no inch of skin uncovered—yes, it does include a helmet. A pair of metal wings on the back grants Semiramis a flight effect with perfect maneuverability and a maximum speed of Mach 0.8.
The suit of armor can effortlessly soak up to 800 units of power from any attack. While the armor is worn and fueled with Supernal power, Semiramis is aware of everything within (Reality Manipulation) yards of her, and she can never be taken by surprise. She gains the ability to perfectly divine the current status of her allies within range. She also gains a bonus of ten points to her Agility score. Finally, any Defensive and Support effects that aid Semiramis can also aid any of her allies within her all-around perception range. Instantaneous effects cannot be shared, and all effects use the Parameter values of each affected individual during resolution, if applicable. All costs for activating shared effects are incurred only by Semiramis, but energy expenses to maintain sustained effects may be paid either by Semiramis or by her allies.
Ésagila – The Temple That Raises Its Head
Type: Defensive/Support
While Gilgamesh can recreate Aibur-shabu with his Reality Script if he actively aims for it. The first time he tried reproducing the Road of Babylon, the result was instead this unique armor. It is an armor that suggests strange possibilities, for it is one that works best when its wearer stands at the head of an army. The meaning, the ‘concept’ behind this Instrumental Weapon bothers the King of Heroes who always fought with the company of only one, so he prefers wearing his Humbaba.
The full plate armor looks identical to Aibur-shabu, except even bulkier and wingless. The suit of armor can effortlessly soak up to 1000 units of power from any attack. While the armor is worn and fueled with Supernal power, Gilgamesh is aware of everything within (Reality Manipulation) yards of him, and he can never be taken by surprise. He also gains the ability to perfectly divine the current status of his allies within range. Furthermore, Gilgamesh can replace any of his allies’ Offense scores with his own when they are about to attack, if it is higher. Only Gilgamesh’ base Offense score is used, not counting augmentations by supernatural effects he may have active on his person.
Etemenanki – The House of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth
Type: Defensive/Support
The ziggurat of Marduk in ancient Babylon reconceptualized as the radiant armor of the reborn Empress of Heaven. Unlike Aibur-shabu and Ésagila, Lilith’s armor does not protect her legs, which are instead covered by a long white skirt with seven layers of ornate embroidery. The metal parts are also of the purest white with bands of silver lining the sternum, the underside of the ribs, the sides and rim of the neck guard, the borders of the shoulder plates and the full length of the metal wings.
The suit of armor can effortlessly soak up to 1240 units of power from any attack on its own. While the armor is worn and fueled with Supernal power, Lilith is aware of everything within (Reality Manipulation) yards of her, and she can never be taken by surprise. She also gains a single rank bonus to her Agility and Stamina Parameters. Finally, the armor defines a bounded field with a radius of seven kilometers in which Anti-World and Anti-Universe Instrumental Weapons cannot be used by any other individual but Lilith.
The armor’s effect is different when worn by any other individual but Lilith: the subject’s Stamina is decreased by a value equal to his Reality Manipulation score. If this drops the subject’s Stamina to 0, he dies. Reality Reversal cannot be used to defend against an effect willingly accepted by the act of activating the armor.
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