IN> Guardian House

[Randy Finder, SAINT Corporation]

Guardian House
(Idea originally from Mercedes Lackey)

On the upper west side of Manhattan, about half way between Columbia
University and Julliard stands Guardian House. For most of the last
century, Guardian house has had the highest number of Soldiers of God
and other 6+ Force humans of any place in the world. 

The house soon after it was built was the site of a massive fight
between Ryzth a Duke of Kronos and two Angels: Gireda, a Seraph of
Creation and her lover, Rebiah, an Kyriotate of Stone. While Ryzth was
ultimately soul-killed, all of Gireda's Ethereal Forces were lost in the
fight. Due to a Divine intervention, Gireda was fused with the house
that fight occurred in and has remained so ever since. Gireda had been
one of Eli's most skilled talent scouts, and somehow she was able to
continue although transformed. While she can't intelligently communicate
directly any more, Rebiah can generally figure out fairly quickly what
she's trying to communicate

Any human with the potential for (or who has achieved) 6 or more forces
and who is not hellsworn will see a sign in the lobby indicating that
rooms are available, anyone else will simply see a dusty window as they
pass. The Guardians, four Soliders of God assigned to the house, work
with Rebiah and the house herself to defend it at all times. At the
current time, the Guardians are comprised of Soldiers of Protection,
Lightning, Stone and Destiny, and are helped by anyone else in the House
aware of the War. Servitors of every major and most minor Archangels
have contributed to its defense at one time or another. 


The House is able to control the reception of Essence by any Celestial
or Ethereal within the House. Any essence that would have been received
by Angel instead goes to the House. Angels generally simply climb to the
Roof in order to avoid the problem. Any demon attempting to receive
essence through an infernal rite (including the second essence for being
a Gamester, but not including Lilith's!) instead receive soul hits equal
to their current amount of essence that they have. In addition, the
house instantly knows who has done so and will alert Rebiah and the
Guardians. Whether an Ethereal gets essence is somewhat affected by
their alignment with Heaven, though some surprises have occurred. In
addition, in cases where residents would have received essence, but were
full, the essence goes to the House.