Os-Gabella: Misunderstood? or pure evil?

[Darksaber1]

Ya, I don't imagine Flaroues (spelling) and Alexis would get along well with their adoptive mother now, since eventhough they are undying, their "feed stock" is very much mortal, and if vampires (vampyres?) don't feed, then they suffer a fate worse then death, so they don't whant to do anything to happen to they "livestock". Of course, if they were starved, then they might want this to happen. I don't know if a vampire can be restored after becoming it, for lack of a beter word, wraith form.

 

[sylvanllewelyn]

Being the "helpmate" or being "subordinate" to Nemed doesn't do justice. Think of it this way: being forced to do whatever this one man tells her to do, for many thousands of years; no rest, no respite, no choice; no mortal nor Angel will help her or even talk to her. Who doesn't want it all to just end?

She's very evil, not just by her goal of destroying creation, but her means too. But seriously, the Angels practically created the perfect conditions for creating a very evil creature, for which creature would NOT turn evil under such circumstances? If it's a failed experiment, then change it or end it for Heaven's sake! I would say it's the Angel's fault, not hers. My real question is what the heck did Nemed do to her?!

 

[evanb]

Wait a minute, do we actually have details of what Gabella was supposed to do as "subordinate to man"? Did Nemed treat her bad or something?

 

[smjjames]

Maybe it's something along the lines of Adam and Eve in Genesis in the Bible?

Although it's not like Adam beats Eve up with a stick or anything in Genesis.

 

[Darksaber1]

Actually, Os-Gabella is based on Lilith, Adam's first wife.

 

[thomas.berubeg]

is lilith in the bible? or is she just part of Judaic traditions?

 

[smjjames]

I don't think she is actually mentioned in the bible, but if people want to interpret eve as bieng lillith, fine, I'm not a religious person and so I don't have any issues with that.

 

[Kael]

is lilith in the bible? or is she just part of Judaic traditions?

The name comes up once in the King James version translation, but other versions translate it differently and its not in reference to Adam or any of this stuff.

The legend of lilith preceeds judism and goes all the way back to sumerian myths. From then on the legend was changed an adopted by hundreds of different cultures, even having some precedence nowdays (where some see her as a powerful figure for female empowerment).

Early jews would have been well aware of the legend, and it even influenced some of their practices (placing a protective amulet on boys, not cutting their hair for so many years). But it isn't canon judism or christianity by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[Darksaber1]

Aye, just found that their was just one Biblical refrence to Lilith, althought I'm pretty sure their was some refernce to her (translated as Lamia) as having a brood of monsters by Adam.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

The only Biblical reference to Lilith is Isaiah 34:14. Jerome translated her name as Lamia to give a similar demonic impression as portrayed in folklore, but most English translations say "night creature" or "owl." The name Lilith literally means "screech owl," and an ordinary animal makes more sense in the context, imho. It is talking about how how Edom will be laid to ruin, and its cities become home only to various wild animals.

The concept of Lilith was derived from the mythologies of surrounding nations. It was never really considered Christian or Jewish canon, but did influence superstition and folklore.




I was just thinking that the (rather heretical) view that Eve being made from Adam's "rib" to make Eve was actually a reference to spliting one hermaphroditic being into two creatures of separate genders might be good to adopt as part of the story of Nemed and Gabella. ("Rib" probably isn't the best translation for "tselah," which can also mean "side," "flank," "half," "curve," or "image." I personally prefer to think of it as a reference to taking half of the man's DNA, meaning that Eve was actually a clone of Adam, lacking the Y chromosome.)

I was just thinking that if "Nemed" and Gabella were two halves of the former god Nemed, then we finally have an explanation of how she has the Divine Spark, and immortality. It has been stated that the Divine Spark is necessary in order to channel magic, and that we only have the divine spark because of our descent from a god. She uses magic so she clearly must have the divine spark, but I don't think she is her husbands daughter.

I guess we all have to admit that Nemed's second wife was probably just a human-shaped animal, lacking a soul/divine spark, and maybe even free will. She would have been unable to use magic, and when she died there was nothing left but a rotting corpse. All her children will live on forever in spirit, but she is no more.

 

[Darksaber1]

If Os-Gabella in half of Nemed, that could further explan why Nemed seems to be just an immortal man, an nother else. You'de think if he just stoped being an Angel, he'd still be something more, and possibly able to escape Os-Gabella. But if if Nemed's last bit of Angelic power was split to form Os-Gabella, then that would explain why he is still just a man. After all, even the angels that have left there respective heavens/angels have more power then Nemed. Of course, Nemed could have done something difrent when he left. Also, the refernce to Lilith/Lamia bearing monsters by Adam isn't in the bible, but is from the time of early christianity.

 

[avalonnn]

I imagine her as someone whose motives you could understand, even if you fought to the death to defeat her. Here's a story from the point of view of one of her -- male -- soldiers:

When you've held a barracks with Pyre Zombies, shared a mess with a troop of Chaos Marauders, and run your cattle details around a tar demon, not much can surprise you. But I know that when I returned to the headquarters with those strange marks on my neck, my fellow axe wielders would notice.

I would have to tell them the story, even though I did not know myself exactly what happened. It's not easy being male and working for Os-Gabella. You try to avoid being noticed. But when we overcame that enemy hero, we were due for several promotions. He hadn't looked like much, just any other elf, but we knew he was a hero because of the bodies of our fellows stretched around him. We'd heard of his name, Yvain the Wood-Elf, but that did not tell us much about how to kill him. All we did was surround him and start chopping. He got half of us.

And that, even though we'd stopped going into the Ancient Forests.

We caught him at a cottage, next to a wheat field, outside the protective walls of a city. Stupid place to be, in my opinion.

So, an audience.

I remember walking through hallways, but I did not notice them. I remeber meeting her in a room with a big table, but I could not tell you who else was there.

The eyes, they say, are the windows of the soul, and I'd been told not to look into hers, to be deferential, speak only when spoken to, keep my head down. But I didn't.

I heard her growl, "there are chains in my mind."

I knew more than I should have been able to know. I knew that she had been built not to love men, but to serve them. The angels put chains of fear in her mind. Maybe there's something you're afraid of. Something that makes you sweat in your dreams. For her, it's every man. And she saw I knew it and pitied her. I know she grabbed my neck and snapped it. That much I remember. I also remember waking up. The care of witches is a strange thing. They explained to me that there are marks on my neck, the result of "emergency regeneration." I don't know what happened. There was a high priest who wanted me for a flesh golem, but they did not hand me over. I've lived outdoors. I've got dirt under my fingernails. I've broken bones in battle. But the skin on my neck is smooth and soft. And it still carries the marks her fingers made when she killed me.

Still, after you've seen a pyre zombie, I cannot be all that scary, can I? Even if I am immortal, now.​