Malkuth
Overview
Quote: "It's interesting that you think that - and I'm not in any place to dispute your claim, but I honestly think you'll find that if you refer to the original translation, the text reads much differently."
Gordon Terrelle's biggest obstacle to overcome after Awakening in stark contrast to Libra's, is that wants to believe in Divine providence. The more he learns about the Atlantean history of what he has become a part of, the harder it is to reconcile the way things are with the things he's been taught his whole life. With a background in the Baptist church, Gordon looks for God in everything. He does not, however, make irrational leaps to support that idea - he's entirely too smart for that.
He went to college to become a minister, and has never fully given up his search for God's plan. For Gordon, though, faith was something he felt was necessary to temper with knowledge. He would accept nothing without reason, and some of the "truths" espoused by his teachers were leaps he was not willing to take without further inquiry. It was during a crisis of faith that he Awakened. He prayed for answers for hours on end, reaching out to a God he was beginning to believe only existed as metaphor, and was answered with visions of a great Golden Key. What it unlocked was a higher realm of consciousness, and led to countless questions he's only now begun to feel there may be answers to.
Not long after Awakening, he was initiated into the Mysterium, and felt like he had found a place where the answers might actually one day be uncovered. He has always felt that God doesn't leave loose ends, but the truth may be so elusive that it must require a certain amount of faith/ He has seen and done miraculous things since then, but still yearns for some direct evidence that these happenings are the will of a higher being. It simply does not make sense to Gordon that the world just exists, and that humans consciousness alone is responsible for providing meaning.
Joining Libra seemed like the last thing he'd do, for, in meetings of their order, they'd encountered nothing from one another but heated debate. She would insist that adding God into the equation was overcomplicating things unnecessarily, while he would remind her that, without some originating cause, reality seemed to teeter on an illogical assumption. Instead, they developed a healthy respect for one another, and when Libra was looking for mages to accompany her to Chicago and make sense of the violence that had occurred there, Gordon was perfectly willing to become a Mercurial.
As Malkuth, Gordon represents a grounding influence for the other members of his cabal. He constantly searches for the secrets that can be revealed by every challenge they face, and though Libra might not see this as evidence of a God or gods, she is frequently surprised by what he unearths.
Malkuth knows several languages, and provides translations for most of the ancient texts his cabal finds. When he can keep his personal beliefs from clouding his judgment, he is capable of drawing astounding conclusions from very little evidence. Since arriving in Chicago, he's uncovered a variety of dead ends while searching for the Celestial Flange. After a decade and a half of research, however, he's compiled quite a collection of journals, texts and statements, and has pieced together evidence that has him convinced the artifact actually has some sort of Biblical significance. Many accounts say that the Flange is some kind of circlet, and recent rumors that a group of errant mages believes they've found the crown of thorns worn by Christ himself have piqued his interest.
Description
Malkuth is a 57-year-old black man who's kept himself in peak physical condition. He shaves his head smooth and wears simple but distinguished clothing. Standing almost 6'4" and weighing in at nearly 200 pounds, he can be an imposing figure, but his facial expression is rarely one of menace. Reather, he is a compassionate man, feeling that all God's creatures have a chance of redemption.
Stats
Dedicated Magical Tool: Bible
Real Name: Gordon Terrelle
Path: Obrimos
Order: Mysterium
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 4
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 2
Mental Skills: Academics (Theology) 4, *Investigation (Deductive Reasoning) 3, *Occult (Ritual) 4
Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, *Survival 1
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Expression (Oratory) 3, Persuasion 3
Merits: High Speech, Inspiring, Languages (Hebrew, Latin) 1, Sanctum: Size (Shared) 4
Willpower: 6
Wisdom: 8
Virtue: Faith
Vice: Greed
Initiative: 5
Defense: 2
Speed: 9
Health: 8
Gnosis: 4
Arcana: Prime 4, Forces 3, Fate 2
Rotes: Prime - Supernal Vision, Magic Shield, Channel Mana, Supernal Dispellation; Forces - Nightsight, Invisible Object, Personal Invisibility; Fate - Reading the Outmost Eddies, Shifting the Odds
Manna/per turn: 13/4
Armor: 4 ("Magic Shield," Prime **)
References
- CofD: World of Darkness: Chicago, p. 360-361