Qayin

Investiture of Hellish Glory (•••, ••••• or N/A) Type: Story Prerequisites: Characters must pact directly with a patron demon or Yozi, either directly or in their dreams. Minor Investiture requires at least a First Circle patron; Major requires at least a Second Circle patron; Defining requires a Third Circle patron. A Yozi can grant any level of Investiture on their own. Characters who have already bargained away their souls or pledged themselves to grand masters, like the Abyssal Exalted, cannot learn this Merit; neither can the Infernal Exalted, whose Exaltations are already saturated with Hell’s power. Investiture comes in tiers of Minor, Major, and Defining, like Intimacies, with Major being the most common. Defining Investiture is rarest, as the Yozis are loathe to invest so much of their power in any human without being certain they will get what they paid for. Minor Investiture grants two of the following benefits: • One free Eclipse Charm the patron demon or its direct progenitor possesses. • Six dots of mutations, demonic in nature and appearance. • Once per story, she may draw on her nature as an additional Means towards a sorcerous working. As the blessings of Hell are myriad, different benefits are possible, such as authority over demons, a discount to casting spells that derive from Hellish magic, slowed aging, and the like. Storytellers and players can work together to design other options. Major Investiture additionally grants the following benefits: • She treats her Essence rating as one step higher for the purpose of qualifying for a single Charm or Evocation. This can’t let her learn higher Circles of sorcery or necromancy. She gains this benefit again every time her Essence rating increases naturally. • She learns one Eclipse Charm for free from any demon descended from the Yozi her soul is a part of. She can purchase further Eclipse Charms for eight experience points each. • She becomes immune to Shaping (Soul) effects; her soul has already been claimed. Defining Investiture works as Major Investiture, but is additionally accompanied by a transformative miracle of hellish grandeur. She may receive tremendous wealth and an army to retake her throne (five- dot Resources and Command); spread green sun wasting (p. XX) with a touch, and become immune to mundane flame; or she may cease to age entirely and reform after a death not brought with spirit-killing magics. As a guideline, Second Circle Demon can grant miracles roughly equivalent to Celestial Circle sorcerous workings and Third Circle Demons miracles equivalent to Solar Circle workings. The miracles of the Yozis exceed these limits, but only within Malfeas, where a warlock might be made prince of a layer. Mortals who receive an Investiture also gain a pool of 10 motes and Exalted Healing (Exalted, p. 165). Drawback: Hell does not offer its powers for free. The warlock gains a corresponding Intimacy of equivalent intensity to her Investiture, which cannot be eroded or reduced by any means, mundane or magical. The relevant demon or Yozi declares what the nature of this Intimacy will be during the pacting process. This Intimacy may represent a specific agenda or shift in worldview, such as a Principle of “I will undermine the Immaculate Order wherever I encounter it”, or a change in worldview such as “Beauty is not true without suffering”. It may also represent a Tie the pact’s patron, such as love for Mara or filial devotion to Kimbery. This is treated as a Flaw for earning an Expression Bonus (Exalted, p. 167). Once per story or as is narratively appropriate, the warlock’s patron or its representatives may reach into her mind and convey social influence, eager to compel her to serve. The stronger a warlock’s Investiture, the more often she should be called upon to serve her masters. It is possible to break Minor or Major Investitures through powerful, dedicated magics such as Soul Projection Method (Exalted, p. 358), annulling the warlock’s oaths and revoking the Merit entirely. The player character loses both the power and obligations of the Merit, and is refunded its experience cost.