Milhamah: Fighting Words

INKTOBER DAY 8 (WATCH): If you’re out for a night on the town, watch out for the ‘Irin Urban Watchers!

The Watchers, known as ‘Irin in Hebrew/Aramaic or Grigori in Greek, are angels who watch over humans. And this particular urban kind is fallen. In the extrabiblical book of Enoch (and some people’s interpretations of Genesis), the Watchers taught forbidden knowledge, mated with human women and fathered the Nefilim that became larger-than-life warriors.

In the “Milhamah” world of Avgad, the ‘Irin Urban Watchers are lustful pickup artists who congregate in cities, stay up all night and watch out for women’s bare skin. They even take notes on what they see.

Needless to say, the Urban Watchers are irredeemably evil creeps. But beware when fighting them: They have supernatural levels of energy and agility, and rumor has it that anyone who makes direct eye contact with them becomes blind! Their only known weakness is being easily incited or led by their emotions and desires.

The Urban Watchers are based on the עור shoresh root and related family, which has to do with the Watcher angels, cities, wakefulness, skin, blindness, arousal, note taking and more.

INKTOBER DAY 7 (FAN): The Air Force Fan is an aerial drone version of a war fan that can cut through the atmosphere at supersonic speeds and can cleave enemies with dangerous air currents. It is guided by two smaller side fans that act as wings, as well as two rotating cooling fans that help is accelerate. Because this weapon is large and cumbersome, it is rarely used by people, but it’s a favorite weapon of the Ruḥot wind spirits. The fan’s shoresh roots are אור and its variant אורר, which governs air, fans and airplanes.    

INKTOBER DAY 6 (SPIRIT): A Ruaḥ (pl. Ruḥot) is a Kind (species) of wind spirit in the world of Avgad. When these spirits wish to take shape, they can materialize a wider human-sized form with pale, spongy skin; large cloudy eyes; and linen wrappings. Because the species name “Ruaḥ” is grammatically both masculine and feminine, these spirits may take on a mix of those characteristics depending on time or conditions. Ruḥot float in the air and command wind speed or direction, often by using large fans to erode targets. They can distort their density and the space around them, which lets them teleport or diffuse into moire patterns. Among their other quirks, Ruḥot have a keen sense of smell and communicate through odors. They are often intelligent, courageous spirits with high morale. They run the gamut between good and evil. Good ones smell like basil and bring relief and profit to people wherever they go. Evil ones take on a greenish tint, stink like rotting wood, and spread an ill wind of decay. Ruḥot societies like to settle on high mountaintops to be closer to the skies. Over there, they form cities of obelisk-style buildings and run profitable businesses selling stone. Other societies often envy and accuse Ruḥot of being too successful by using air and space powers to their unfair advantage. The species comes from the רוח shoresh root and its broader family, which deals with wind, spirits, paleness, linens, smells space, profit and more.  

Imagine a parody that ties together fictional magicians and peace-preaching rock stars, and you’ll have something close to the Socialist Sorcery Scholars.

In the “Milhamah” world, this scholar and his like-minded comrades have joined a secret society to author books on how the forbidden art of knot magic can supposedly unite the world. They use rope, strings, scarves — and sometimes even serpents — to bind their enemies and loosen “The People’s” power. Together, they obsessively practice for hours till they get bruises, welts and scarring.

Much of the public is fascinated by these gnarled gurus, with their lectures on friendship, equality and community. But the sorcerers have allied with the Bavel Macrostructure in destroying the land of ‘Aravot, since the latter’s breakaway independence threatens the dream of global oneness.

The character idea comes from the חבר shoresh root, which governs friendship, society, socialism, knot magic, connections, scholars, treatise writing and more.