Angels of Heaven

The Angels


*Image owned by nosaj7541.*
Common artistic depiction in most religions of what a warrior angel looks like.

The angels are a very popular and yet enigmatic part of mythology. Though hardly the focus, they are regarded as the arms and messengers of the lords of Heaven, sent to either guide, protect, or fight as the gods require. The angels have two sides to them, in truth, what the people see of them, and what they are in actuality. Both are similar, but in many ways different.

Mythology
(This is information that most people know and what they believe.)

The angels are powerful entities seen as the heralds and guardians of the afterlife and the souls of the believers. All of them are seen as capable warriors and fighters, all of them powerful beyond most human measure, and all of them seen as having had a hand in the world as we know it, and the world as it was. The most powerful of these angels are the ones devoted to Vires himself, being regarded as his protector in his slumber, and the balancers of the world.

In summary, it is believed that there are only two types of angels. Those that follow the gods, and those that follow Vires. Furthermore, they are all believed to be fighters and warriors, capable of skilled swordsmanship and magic. Furthermore, they are believed to intervene plenty enough, and can do so by walking out of Heaven at their masters' behest.

The Truth
(This is information that most people do NOT know and wouldn't normally believe.)

Anatomy & Possession
What most people do not know is that angels are spiritual beings, souls that neither have nor need a corporeal form in the slightest. Due to that, there is no such thing as an anatomy to them, but their souls are considerably more powerful than a mortal's most of the time. As such, they are still capable of high-level magic without the use of a rune or the need to truly specialize (though many often do anyway.) Aside from this, to intervene or enter the Living Realm, angels require a host to possess. Sometimes this will be willingly, other times, not so much. They cannot truly interact with the Living Realm by any other means.

When a mortal is possessed, their original personality is often times suppressed or maybe even destroyed should the angel be hostile enough. Angels that are powerful enough, while needing more durable and compatible hosts, can transform their own body to suit their current needs, such as the ever-famous wings that they are often depicted to have. Truly powerful angels require proportionally powerful hosts to possess without danger of disintegration of both parties involved. In this way, it is more common to see weaker angels than it is powerful ones.

There are several signs of possession, many of them capable of being repressed by the possessor. Their voice may vibrate or seem as if two or more people are speaking at once, their eyes may glow faintly or even brightly. Their eyes may even go completely white. Often times, their physical strength is greater than it was before, as is their endurance and tolerance to pain. In incompatible hosts, the body may steadily appear to degrade over time and turn to ashes, as the possessed body and soul are consumed by the more powerful angel's soul.

Structure & Types
The command structure of the angels is very much united between the gods, with the exception of those that serve Vires. The four gods share a common command structure, but hold no sway over the angels that serve Vires, those angels being regarded as separate and outside the normal structure. There are several types of angels besides the myth of there only being two types. Each angel has one god they are devoted to the most, and thus share the same patterns and powers as their god. Hence, angels of Light, Angels of Life, Angels of Serenity, Angels of Protection, and so on. Most are only aware of the warrior caste as those are typically the only ones to visit the Living Realm in a corporeal form.

The command structure of the angels is tiered, and determined by power and devotion. With Vires at the top, the four gods one level below, and then the most powerful angels acting as the commanders, all the remaining ones are placed in tiers going gradually downward. In total, there are roughly seven tiers, excluding the ones occupied by the gods. Again, Vires's angels are separate of this command structure.