In Nomine
Band Sketches
Balseraphs
Balseraphs are the diametric opposite of Seraphim. They are liars par excellence, and they turn this to the advantage of humanity by promoting fiction and poetry. Balseraphs have a hand in almost every creative art, in fact; Bosch was as much inspired by a Liar as Shakespeare. Their influence also covers such things as false modesty - giving others the credit - and encryption of all types. When they need to, Balseraphs can also twist the truth around others; this helps humans to build a firm grounding in reality by resisting the Liar, and aids them in their stand against Heaven's misinformation campaigns.
Djinn
Djinn counter the divine Cherubim. While Guardians are too concerned with protecting their charges to see whether they actually need to be protected, the Djinn do not guard at all; rather, they take on the role of the stereotypical stalker. Their goal in this is twofold: first, it enhances the humans' paranoia, so that they'll have their guard up when the forces of Heaven encounter them; second, it grants them an ability to stand alone, without overly trusting anyone, so that they will be less complacent. A Stalker will do nearly anything to achieve these goals, aside from actually harming the human or anyone close to him; to do so is anathema.
Calabim
The Calabim take the endless energy of the Ofanim and turn it inward. They are calm, centered individuals without the hopeless balance of the Elohim. Their ability as Destroyers is to cause physical damage to physical objects; they use this power to drain the strength of their targets, then nurse them back to health. In this way they build up the humans' strength and endurance.
Habbalah
The Habbalah are the opposite of the Elohim. Habbalah realize that to deny emotion is to deny self, and therefore encourage emotion in all beings. The Punishers - a self-inflicted moniker - have the ability to incite all sorts of emotion in their target; they do this to encourage the humans to be mentally and emotionally strong, so that they can better resist the propaganda that Heaven uses. Like Djinn, Habbalah will use any mental means to better their targets - but they will never resort to physical harm.
Lilim
The Lilim are counterparts to the Malakim, though they are not opposites. While the Malakim detect honor, the Tempters enforce it; their supernatural ability to collect on debts owed them encourages humans to be not only careful with their promises, but morally strong and upright... for to deny a Lilim her owed sum is to incur the wrath of the Symphony itself.
Shedim
The Shedim oppose the Kyriotates. Almost to a soul fallen Dominations, the Corruptors enter the minds of humans - one at a time - and use their fell power to introduce suggestion directly into the humans' thoughts. While their nature commands them to drag a human lower every day they are on Earth, it does not forbid them from uplifting the human as well; the Shedim therefore use the corruption they must inflict to give the human mental fortitude and willpower, and can spend the rest of the day in guidance and gentle care.
Impudites
The Impudites are the opposites of the Mercurians. They no longer manipulate the web of societal attachments; instead they place themselves inside that web, creating artificial relationships. They are the liaisons between the demons and the humans; if a demon needs to get into a group, the Takers are the ones who are called. Their power is to borrow Essence from others; their usual use is to take Essence from creatures who don't need it and grant it to humans who do. This weakens the self-reliance that the Djinn work so hard to build, but it also builds self-confidence in the human by ensuring that he succeeds at select tasks.
Upside Down