In Nomine
Choir Sketches
Seraphim
Seraphim are the truth-tellers, and although this makes them most holy (and gives rise to their choir nickname) it also makes them completely insufferable. Their resonance is used to detect lies - and none will stop using it. In Heaven, they are safe; one cannot lie in Celestial. On Earth, however, Seraphim insist on perfection in every syllable. The Most Holy are not averse to smiting humans (or other angels) who speak falsely, even in a colloquial or mistaken sense, and more than one Seraph has clawed its way screaming back to Heaven because it could not stand the lies with which it had been bombarded. To a Seraph, fiction is anathema.
Cherubim
Cherubim are the ultimate yes-men. While the Guardians' resonance allows them to attune to someone and know where and how they are at all times, their nature calls for them to protect those to whom they are attuned - even from the vagaries of everyday life. Their modus operandi is typically to attune to someone, let them do whatever they want to do, and make sure that everything comes out all right anyway. Cherubim are rarely attuned to more than one person - be it angel or human - at once; if they are, the situation often causes severe dissonance as the Cherub tries to protect both people at once. To many, a Cherub is the opposite of
consequences, and more than one angel has learned to trick a Cherub into attuning to him so that he might accomplish his goals without interference.
Ofanim
Ofanim are flighty, unable to stay on a topic or in a location for very long at all. Their *job* is to be the angels of motion; their actual function is to never be around when you need them. The Wheels are intent on seeing the world; any other goal is subsumed in their wanderlust. Although Ofanim are the fastest beings in existence, it's generally quicker to use Cherubim as couriers - at least you know they won't lose whatever it is they're carrying.
Elohim
Elohim are the most balanced creatures in all of creation. Afraid of making the wrong choice, they have removed all emotion from their beings, leaving the only source of error as incorrect information - which must have come from an exterior source. The Powers' resonance is used to detect emotion in others; this information, in turn, is used to unbalance those others further. After all, the more unbalanced everyone else is, the more stable the Elohim will look... right?
Malakim
Malakim are Heaven's shadowy bringers of destruction. The appearance of even one of these angels is enough to send many into hiding - even other angels. When two or more congregate, they invariably bring death with them. Even in their corporeal vessels these creatures are menacing, and most humans seem to exhibit an instinctual avoidance of the Malakim. Their resonance is to detect honor and dishonor - hence their nickname, Virtues - and if another person is judged to be more dishonorable, his next of kin had best be preparing the (empty) casket. Their redeeming value is that they police even themselves: it is rumored that when Malakim encounter another of their kind with even the slightest dishonor, the Symphony itself forgets that the tainted Malakite ever existed after the others are through with him.
Kyriotates
Kyriotates are arguably Heaven's most sinister agents. The Dominations do just that - take over the minds of living creatures in order to soften them for Heaven's grand Overmind. As befitting angels with their goals, they can possess more than one person at a time; their theory is that there will eventually be enough Kyriotates to possess every person on Earth, at which point there will no longer be a need for the poor decisions and wastes of Essence that the humans constantly make.
Mercurians
Mercurians are manipulators of the worst sort. Theirs is the ability to see and spindle the threads of social interaction, and the self-styled Friends of Man use it - some say in collusion with the Kyriotates - to weaken the humans' sense of individuality, making them more and more dependent upon their relationships with others. Most Friends look forward to the day when Marc, the reigning Mercurian Archangel, can pull the final thread and send humanity toppling into the waiting arms of the Kyriotate Overmind.
Upside Down