On the Different Kinds of Angels
Many souls have come to being in the immensity of Eden. And variate they are. First and foremost, though, what separates angels between each other is whether they pledge their allegiance to His Almighty or themselves. As He, in His endless kindness of spirit, let His most closest of form to make such a weighty decision. Those angels that willfully choose to defy God and his Code of Law, both for soulful mortals and soulful immortals, become Angelic Paragons, going out in the world to preach their own principles and laws above that of the Lord. Such angels often become gods of a new Parthenon, usually in groups, but as this trend did not fare well beyond antiquity, though exceptions exist, such as some closed communities of primitive tribes and other widespread religions like Taoism, Hindu and Wikka, they mostly decided to take cover and comfort, living their existence under a constant worldly guise, taking at times advantage of their divine powers.
All other angels, and the vast majority of them, serve God and uphold His law, and are known as Angelic Devotees. They have a rather rigid hierarchy, of whose ranks cannot be climbed. In order, from most influential to least, those are The Four Fiery, The Sphere of the Seraphim, The Tree Guards, the Sphere of the Cherubim, The Ravagers, The Sphere of the Thrones, The Sphere of Dominions, The Sphere of Virtues, The Archivists, The Sphere of Powers, The Principalities, The Archangels and the Messengers. Angels of higher ranks have, technically, the complete obedience of the lesser ranks, who must do as they are told, as long as it doesn't break God's Law, even if it supersedes their normal duties. Normally the lesser angels would address the higher ones with "Master" and "Mistress".
There are, however, angels that are not part of this hierarchy, as important as their role may be in the divine balance of the world. Those angels have no influence over the hierarchical ones, nor do hierarchical ones have any power over them. They are The Wanderers, who float around Eden with their heavy tomes, writing down the biographies of righteous souls they meet, The Council, a group of three randomly chosen angels who, whenever a new angel is produced by any means, must judge his fate and give him his position in the hierarchy, The Death Angels, who travel the Earth freeing trapped souls that can't go through, The Judges, who write down the sins of humanity, and finally, The Guardian Angels, who have the duty of warding any spiritual harm may come to their proteges away.
On the Guises of Angels
Angels have multiple guises, which work differently for different kinds of angels. There are also angels who lack a certain guise. But, generally these are the three guises which angels can turn to at will:
Angelic Guise: While in this guise, the angels are made of pure spiritual energy, and cannot be seen by living mortals. Notably, this is the only guise that all angels share. While in this guise, an angel cannot interact with the outside world, except if he is a Guardian Angel, a Power, a Principality or a Seraphim. Under this guise all angels look like a bright immaterial cloud to one another, and can communicate telepathically, but only with members of their kin.
Worldly Guise: The angels in this guides have been seen throughout history and recorded by religions and artists everywhere, for this is the limited way an angel can present itself so as to be comprehensible for a mortal. This is a guise that varies mostly from angel to angel, the only common trait being that it is a clear, visible physical form that interacts with the world. Seraphim appear as burning humans with six wings, Cherubim appear as 4-headed monstrosities with four arms, four wings and goat legs, with eyes on their legs and arms, Thrones appear as wheels within wheels covered in eyes, Dominions look like what people usually expect of angels, with a single pair of feathery wings and entirely human and beautiful features, Virtues do not have a Worldly Guise, Powers look like Sphynxes, Principalities do not have a Worldly Guise, Archangels are shape shifters that can take any form and the Messengers are floating young teen males, regardless of their Mortal Guise's age (or gender). As for the unranked, the Wanderers look like skeletal liches, the temporary members of the Council must be in their Worldly Guise at all times (due to this, angels that do not have a Worldly Guise are never part of the Council), the Death Angels look like anthropomorphic blue tigers with shining red eyes, the Judges look like humanoids made of clear and blue crystals, and the Guardian Angels look almost entirely human, except that the fingers of their left hand are one foot long and turn into dull, obsidian blades about halfway. If an angel is killed while in their Worldly Guise, their soul returns to Eden, for a long and painful period of regeneration. Exception are the Guardian Angels who can regenerate on the mortal plane just as well, and usually do so.
Mortal Guise: Most angels also have a form that is completely human in appearance, and usually lacks any supernatural abilities (except for the Seraphim, who can still use their powers normally in this guise). Angels who do not have a Mortal Guise, for various reasons, are the Thrones, the Virtues, the Wanderers, and the Judges. These forms are usually immune to physical aging and biological diseases (viral, bacterial, parasitic), but not to poisoning, heavy bleeding, severe physical shocks, extreme weather, shocks of electricity, genetic diseases, cancers, and auto-immune diseases. Usually, if an angel dies in his mortal guise, he must wait a century for it to renew. Again, exception are the Guardian Angels who have extremely resilient forms that, if killed by any means, heal back in less than a month.
Duty of a Guardian Angel
As any angel, Guardian Angels have a very specific duty given to their order by His Almighty. That is:
Thou shalt ward your protege's soul away from spiritual harm by any means and whatever the consequences.
Now, many a human and even an angel would misinterpret this by considering the Guardian Angels to be little more than simple bodyguards. That is very far away from the truth. As even though offering physical protection to their proteges is not uncommon, not even frowned upon and not forbidden by God's law, it is a miscellaneous duty. The real purpose of a Guardian Angel is to make sure the soul of his protege is never to fall into sin, by any means necessary. And by any means necessary, we mean that instead of being his protege's bodyguard, a Guardian Angel is his mentor, adviser...and executioner.
With shadowy whispers and any way he can, the Guardian Angel must make sure, night and day, that his protege does not leave a sinful life. And, at any point, if he considers he cannot stop him from falling, the Guardian Angel must save his protege's soul by taking his life.
A Guardian Angel lives a dutiful life, as when his current protege dies, by any means, he is given another. Those that know the true duty of a Guardian Angel fear them more than anything else, and take as many precautions as possible that they would be never given one.
The Guardian Angel Order - a short history
The Guardian Angel order has an age in the millenia, as it goes back as far as any angelic order goes.
At the very beginning , there were very few angels, as there were very few people to be taken care of. Yet, as God realized humans bred like rabbits and had a huge life span, 950-1000 years at the time, he decided some help to reset the balance and reinstate order would be required. He looked at each living soul on the planet, searching their thoughts and testing their faith so as to see who would be the most willing to serve Him as His Chosen. By doing this, he found Enoch, and liked the purity of his heart so much that he immediately ascended him to Eden. And so, not only was Enoch the first Guardian Angel is existence, he was also the first mortal to ever be made angel. To honor this faithful happening, God decided that, till the end of time, He Himself will be giving the Guardian Angels their assignments, blessing them with His divine voice.
At any time, the number of Guardian Angels populating the Earth is equal to the number of humans alive, divided by 1000. Only very important, or very pure individuals have Guardian Angels. A Guardian Angel is not given at birth, as some sources may falsely inform, they are given to people that already deserve their guidance, and so the average age at which one may receive his Guardian Angel is about 25.
Supernatural Powers of a Guardian Angel
Being probably the most earthly angels, Guardian Angels lack the supernatural abilities of the other orders, though not completely. Firstly, their resilience and regeneration are thoroughly unmatched, in ALL their guises, which allows them to follow their proteges endlessly and without pause. Secondly, in their Worldly Guise, their left arm's fingers extend into black, shiny and narrow blades. Curiously, these blades are blunt to simple objects and corpses, but cut perfectly through the flesh of the living. They also have the power to cleanse the soul of the executed, forgiving their most recent (within 5 minutes) sins. They are also stronger than humans, but not as much as the herculean Seraphims and Dominions, being able to stomp down a wooden door, but not even leave a dent on castle walls, or lift more than five times their weight.
A Guardian Angel also possesses all the common supernatural angelic features, such as a singular Ascension, with which he can propose a human to be made into an angel by the Council.
Anzedriel's Biography
Hurjak was a fearless Mongol general, both strong and intelligent, who pillaged many nations and conquered many battlefields without his men suffering a single casualty. He was terribly feared by his enemies, and loves by his troops ans fellow Mongols. And he had a passion: science. Everywhere he went, he would kidnap all philosophers and practical scientists, and ask them to write down for him all that they have discovered and researched. He had an incessant need for information, as he thought knowledge is the ultimate power, and that although one may give up his life for many things, knowledge was the singular thing that was worth to keep living for. Seeing his passion, his brilliance, and the care and fairness Hurjak behaved with when commanding his troops, God didn't want his soul to be sent to hell due to the bloodshed he caused in the slaughter of sedentary nations his warloving nation run through. As such, He sent the Guardian Angel Hetel to watch over him.
After mere weeks, a war started with an Eastern European nation, Moldavia. It was the middle of the 13th century and the Mongol Empire was expanding faster than ever. On the first couple of encounters, Hurjak himself didn't do any really condemnatory acts, a situation Hetel was grateful for. However, that all ended one day when he was skirmishing a mountainous village with a small platoon of swordsmen. Charging against a more prepared opponent, Hurjak was knocked off of his horse. Surprised and scared, he killed his opponent when he was not paying attention for a moment and then, in the heat of battle, fled the warzone, seeking refuge and hideout in one of the local huts.
It was nothing great, single story, poor furniture and the wind was whistling in through the cracks in the wooden walls, but it was safe. And, apparently, nobody was home. Well, that was his first impression, but then, he saw a fast moving shadow in the other room, and followed it. A women was hiding there, with her two small children. "Please, do us no harm, we will not cause you trouble" she begged, staring helplessly in his eyes. But Hurjak could not risk detection.
And then, Hetel knew it was his time to act. No doubt the slaughter of an innocent woman and her children would land his protege straight in Hell, and God wouldn't have been pleased by that. As such, as Hurjak was approaching the woman with his broad sword above his head, Hetel assumed his Worldy Guise behind him, stabbing him clean through the back and out the stomach with his obsidian fingers. "The road stops here, mate. Repentance is forced unto you!" However, as debilitated he was by the pain, Hurjack did not lose his dexterity. Making a swift step forward as to get the claws out of his back, he quickly grabbed the dagger at his belt with his left hand and stabbed Hetel's thigh with it. As he was stunned by the pain, Hurjack punched him in the chest while tripping his left leg, making the angel fall onto a wooden table, breaking it. He then leaned down on the angel, with his broad sword to his neck, and shouted: "Who are you and how did you get behind me?"
Hetel was now desperate. "Please, it is for your own good, let me finish this." Disbelieving, Hurjack pressed his sword even further. Blood started to squirt out the angel's throat. "Well, then there's really one thing left for me. Didn't think I'd use this on such a vile man, but to serve God is beyond my own selfish wishes. ASCEND!!!"
Everything turned white in front of Hurjak's eyes, and he felt like he was floating. Something material was closing in on him, through the homogeneous brightness, three silhouettes, all of them winged. He could see them now: the one in the middle had six wings, while the others had just a pair. When they got closer to him, the brightness started to fade, and he suddenly found himself in the middle of a rocky desert. The sky was painfully blue and cloudless, although there was no sun above.
"Why am I here? Who are you? Did I...did I die?" asked Hurjak, taking a step back while the winged individuals were approaching him.
Then, the one in the middle told the others to stop, and spoke to him, with such a beautiful and harmonious voice that he would never forget it for the rest of his life: "Greetings, Hurjak, renown general of the Mongol Army! Faithless as you are, it only makes sense that you would not recognize us. And that is most certainly NOT your fault." added the angel, glimpsing sarcastically at his followers, that were behind him. "Allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Meransiel, a Seraphim devotee, and those two are Cuirathiel and Afyel, Archangel devotees." "And together, the three of us will make up the Council to decide where do you stand as an angel." added Afyel.
"What are seraphims and archangels? And what is the meaning of this Council? How did I get here?". "All in due time, dear sir, all in good time. You will have eternity to sort out your questions and answers, now we must fare with more immediate problems. Like what role in our angelic hierarchy you are best suited for." said Meransiel, and a flame started growing in his right hand, slowly turning from plasma to paper, generating three books. "Here, you will find those useful one day. One is the Bible, the mortal holy text God send to earthlings, one is Divina, the angel's code of conduct, and one is the book of your soul, which will be like a perpetual self-writing history of your life as an angel."
"Wait a minute there!" said Cuirathiel, making a step towards Meransiel, looking threateningly in his eyes. "We don't even now if he deserves the divine honor to join our ranks, after everything he's done, and you're already providing him with the sacrest of an angel's symbols?"
Meransiel laughed, and commented succinctly, moving his sight away from Cuirathiel. "Hetel gave his Ascension for him. You realize what a terrible loss this is? Three thousand years, he swore never to use it but on an individual who had complete purity of heart and clarity of mind. All that time, lost on a single stupid protege, for the sake of bearing God's command. We might as well not let it go to waste, do you not agree? At least, he'd be as dedicated to Him as he was to the empire that he served for thirty years". "Making this God's fault again, are you not? And now you're advocating for the gratification of a self-righteous bigot who thought slaughter was the right thing, if done in the name of his people. I knew that heretic Satan was a really bad influence on you."
Hearing this, Meransiel's calm broke, as he swiftly turned to Cuirathiel and punched him in the face, sending him whirling down to the ground. "You shall not insult Master Ha'shatan again! He is well above you in all respects and so am I. Who do you think you are to call him, whose conscience is so pure he never broke his Paragonship since the beginning of time, a heretic? You, who are so PROUD about hiding yourself behind the words of His Almighty?" Still shaken, Cuirathiel struggled to keep his composure, and spoke in a soft tone. "Forgive me, Master Meransiel...I was way out of line." "I will deal with you later. He is right in one respect, Hurjak. You are a self-righteous bigot, and please view the assignment I'm giving to you now as punishment for your way of life, with which, believe me, I don't agree with at all. You are to become a Guardian Angel, your name will be changed to Anzedriel, and you shall serve God until the end of time. Now go."
The three of them disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Hurjak found himself back in the small wooden house, with the woman and her children still pitted in a corner, and no sign of Hetel. "I probably imagined it all" he thought, but then saw the two books in his hands.
And so began Anzedriel's long quest for redempting others in the name of his own redemption, that he received. With the centuries, as all souls, he softened, and found beauty in the peaceful nature of life. Be started to cherish the small things, like friends, happiness and love, and became emotionally attached to his proteges: big mistake.
It was the 18th century, and he was the guardian of a poor man living in London. One day, the man was walking in a dark alley, when a group of ten thugs approached him, considering him an easy prey. Their daggers were shining under the night sky, and the poor man knew his life was doomed. Losing all hope, he collapsed to the ground, rolled into a ball, and closed his eyes, while the thugs were steadily advancing to his position. Anzedriel wouldn't have that. He assumed his worldly guide right in the middle o the group of thugs, slashing two of them to death with his mere appearance. Out of the other eight, three ran away, while the other five attacked him bravely, though clumsily and without skill. He did quick work of them, cutting one's head off and taking his dagger, throwing it towards another's throat while he eviscerated the other three with a circular motion of his claws. Then, when nothing was left but seven bloodied corpses, he assumed his Angelic Guise again, becoming invisible. After a while, noticing that nobody was coming to harm him, the poor man rose on his feet, and looked in terror at the bloodbath behind him. Then, he did something Anzedriel would never had expected: remembering of his low material wealth, the poor man went to scavenge the clocks, shoes, guns and rings of the corpses, committing both greed, robbery and desecration of a corpse. The pain Anzedriel felt at that moment was immense, and he understood why not getting emotionally attached to his proteges was a good idea. He killed the poor man on the spot, and swore never to let that happen to him again.
And so, life was again a grim place for him, similar to what he experienced five hundred years ago, as a human. And until today, Anzedriel is still praised as the most ruthless, merciless and devout of the Guardian Angels, few of his proteges managing to survive more than five years in his care.
