This arose out of a rather weird discussion of mine after a 'con concerning 42-sided dice and faults in the mechanics for such flaws as One Eye in various games. Then I decided that many of Angus Thermopyle's personality traits could be generalised for all Calabim. And then I waited a week to post because I'm lazy.

Consider Ofanim. They can sense the location of other places. They can move swiftly out of the way of danger, or into it. They are grace, and decision, and action and confidence. In the most fundamental sense, they know where they are. Imagine having that sense of sureness ripped away from you. Imagine that you can still sense the map, but you are no longer a part of it. It is something _other_, it is much larger than you are, and therefore it is threatening. The only way to safeguard yourself is to destroy it.

Try staying absolutely still. Imagine that what you see in front of you has no fundamental reality at all, that it is nothing other than a picture. Imagine that you can reach out your hand and rip part of the picture away, or grab hold of a piece of it, and twist it. Imagine that you also are no more substantial than that piece of paper. That is what it is to see the world as a Calabite does. The world is against you, and you are against it, but you have an edge in that you have direct control over the world, and you will never willingly give that edge up. Better to shred yourself or warp your soul to its core than to do so. Wounds can be healed. Discord is survivable, and can even be turned to an advantage as it causes others to underestimate you. But nothing can replace your resonance. Without it, the universe will crush you. With it, your control is demonstrated, and therefore your fear is eased.

Clearly, a Calabite should have no truck with such concepts as loyalty, duty, honour, friendship or love. They are tools to manipulate other people, and have no value except insofar as they prevent others from seeking to destroy you immediately, or get them to destroy others for your sake. This essential cowardice is not usually evident to others, because Calabim understand the need to put up a front. The characteristic grin is an act of defiance, of bravado, rather than of genuine complacency. In addition, Calabim prefer fight to flight. If you can destroy something, you should, because then it will not threaten you again. And if you can't escape, then you shouldn't try to. Better to do as much damage as possible to the bastard who's trying to kill you. Maybe you'll luck out. Just don't count on it, or on anything else for that matter.

Calabim are descended from Ofanim, and because of this they retain a sense of pattern. They can analyse anything for weaknesses that can help them take it apart. The converse of this is that they have a gift for construction, at least in theory. They make good planners, architects, designers and artists. But no Calabite will make anything which they can't take apart in case it's used against them later, and neither would most Calabim do anything so revealing of themselves as create art. Even whatever misdirections were placed in it would tell a discerning eye too much about them. Better to keep your head down, stay silent, and keep grinning. You're just another faceless Destroyer, who'll stay loyal as long as you get to break stuff.

Of course, not all of the characteristic act of Calabim is a facade. The sheer omnipresence of the universe distresses them on a fundamental level, and they can only partially get rid of their frustration by acts of petty destruction. They also possess the ability to look to the long term, and because of this many Calabim of the War, for example, will willingly go out to fight angels because not to do so is to let them free to attack you. Demons can be used in the short term. Angels can't, and therefore it is better to get rid of the angels before turning upon other demons. Therefore they deliver the results of loyalty without possessing any loyalty whatsoever, for as long as it offers their best chance of survival. Deep down though, all Calabim believe, to quote the Highlander slogan, that in the end there can be only one.

Opinions on other Bands:

Balseraphs:	"Head-wreckers. They're far too much like us for my 
		 comfort. At least we live in the real world, but that's
		 not much comfort when they drag you into theirs."

Djinn:		"They seem to lack any idea of the big picture, and to be
		 too lazy to be a threat, but don't underestimate the 
		 danger they represent. If you get in the way of their
		 fixation, they'll put you out of their way."

Calabim:	"We're each others' worst enemies, in the long run. In 
		 the short term, we can work together." 

Habbalah:	"You'd think they'd have worked out by this stage that
		 everything's weak. This only means that when they 
		 realise that you're weak, you're fried. Very dangerous."

Lilim:		"One great benefit of aggressive behaviour is that it 
		 tends to keep them the hell away from you. Hanging 
		 around with Shedim also works, but they're not much of 
		 an improvement. If they weren't so obsessed with their
		 own pleasure, the bitches would own everything."

Shedim:		"How they haven't been wiped out long ago is beyond me. 
		 They're clearly a danger to everything, and they draw
		 angels like flies. When with them, remember that they
		 always have enemies, and you have nothing to do with 
		 them. In fact, you never met it before in your life."

Impudites:	"It's bad enough that humans are everywhere in itself, 
		 but that they're so useful to Impudites makes it 
		 unconscionable. And they can mess with your head in such
		 a way you don't even notice them. Slimy bastards."

Opinions on Choirs.

Seraphim:	"Scary. They know the Truth and act on it. Best say as 
		 little as possible and hose them when you can. Against
		 them, the truth tells less than lies."

Cherubim:	"Worse than Djinn, because they'll try to hunt you 
		 whether you've hurt their toys or not. Hurt their toys
		 first. That way their head is messed up and they'll make
		 mistakes."

Ofanim:		"They're everywhere, speeding around the place as if they
		 had a right to. And they're very hard to hit. If you can
		 hold them in one place, you've won. Otherwise, prepare 
		 to die."

Elohim:		"Sneaky, but not so much in love with their own cleverness
		 that they'll refrain from offing you if it's their best
		 option. Assume they know your intentions at all times."

Malakim:	"They want to destroy all evil, and we want to destroy
		 everything. You'd think we could work up a truce, but
		 none of us are dumb enough for that. Shoot first, before
		 they see you. You probably won't manage it, but keep a 
		 sharp eye out."

Kyriotates:	"They're here, they're there, they're everywhere. Time
		 for indiscriminate violence when they're around. Shoot
		 everything that moves, and they'll have quite a dilemma,
		 and maybe dissonance."

Mercurians:	"Wouldn't you know it? They can't harm anyone, except us.
		 It just proves the universe is against us. Keep in mind
		 everything I said about Impudites, with interest. Unlike
		 their brethren, the haloes aren't addicts."

Kevin Walsh, Balseraph of Nitpicking, Demon of Off-Topic Trivia.

"Yet it cannot be called talent to slay fellow-citizens, to deceive friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; such methods may gain empire, but not glory."
Machiavelli, the Prince.