Post by Michael on Feb 15, 2011 20:45:08 GMT -7
Angels:
Angels are beings created directly by God to serve him and spread his goodness and glory. They call Him their father and view each other as brother and sister. His angels only rarely see Him - usually his orders are passed down through Michael. Each of them has a single name whose meaning describes them and usually refers to God. When seen in their true form, angels appear to be human-like beings, but are as attractive on average as the best-looking humans. They also have large wings, each at least as long as they are tall, and they radiate a certain feeling of power that even ordinary humans can sense.
When they want to they can hide this true form an appear instead as an ordinary human (they refer to this as 'hiding their glory') that other humans can't tell from real humans. Creatures with better senses can often tell that something is different about a disguised angel, but not what. But angels are usually able to spot each other, especially if they're both older, just by recognizing personal traits no matter how different they look as a human. It's more difficult for them to pick out a very weak angel, however, as their glory doesn't give them away so easily - an archangel, by contrast, sticks out like a sore thumb. Angels on the side of good always choose the same human form when they hide their glory except when there's a specific reason not to, as trying too hard to hide in that way is considered being deceptive.
Angels have a number of other special powers, including:
Archangels are a special class of angel who are so unfailingly righteous that their power and goodness exceed that of any other. Only one archangel has ever fallen, and he was, at the time, the most powerful and glorious of them all. But after Lucifer was banished from heaven, Michael took his place as the strongest and most respected angel in heaven.
The role of angels sent to Earth is to look after mankind and to try and encourage them to do good. They're not allowed to directly influence events, however, instead they provide opportunities for humans to do better and hope that the humans take the offered chance.
Fallen Angels:
In most respects they're exactly like their good brethren, except for the key detail that instead of being strengthened by good they are strengthened by evil. Lucifer was the first angel to discover how to tap into this, as before that angels only knew of good. But strength driven by evil has proven to not be quite as effective; once Lucifer was stronger than Michael, but after falling it's Michael who has the upper hand.
Fallen angels are also not bound by the rules of heaven, though while the good angels are prohibited from interfering with mankind they have no such need for restraint in preventing fallen angels from doing as they please. Generally speaking, there's a narrow margin of what a fallen angel can get away with before the good angels will interfere and they abuse that as much as possible. Fallen angels are by and large very angry with God and heaven in general, so their goal is generally to do whatever they can to ruin whatever the good angels happen to be doing.
Relations Between the Two:
Obviously the two don't generally get along, but at the same time it's rare for angels to actually physically fight. This is for several reasons, but the first is because angels can directly sense their differing levels of strength and know who would win the fight before it happens. The second is that if things becomes strained enough that there's a possibility of a fight, other angels will sense that they're needed and turn up. At that point the fallen angels generally have to back down because they're outnumbered and outmatched.
Therefore, it's usually the fallen angel that encourages the encounter to ease into, at worst, a verbal fight because it's actually possible for them to win those. Angels of either kind are also generally not out to kill the weaker members of the other side anyways; weak angels are those that are closer to being neutral, which means that they might be persuaded to switch sides. Also, fights between such powerful beings are rather destructive to their surroundings and neither side wants that - persuading people to be evil is more damaging to the cause of good than simply killing people so even fallen angels aren't out to destroy the planet.
Angels are beings created directly by God to serve him and spread his goodness and glory. They call Him their father and view each other as brother and sister. His angels only rarely see Him - usually his orders are passed down through Michael. Each of them has a single name whose meaning describes them and usually refers to God. When seen in their true form, angels appear to be human-like beings, but are as attractive on average as the best-looking humans. They also have large wings, each at least as long as they are tall, and they radiate a certain feeling of power that even ordinary humans can sense.
When they want to they can hide this true form an appear instead as an ordinary human (they refer to this as 'hiding their glory') that other humans can't tell from real humans. Creatures with better senses can often tell that something is different about a disguised angel, but not what. But angels are usually able to spot each other, especially if they're both older, just by recognizing personal traits no matter how different they look as a human. It's more difficult for them to pick out a very weak angel, however, as their glory doesn't give them away so easily - an archangel, by contrast, sticks out like a sore thumb. Angels on the side of good always choose the same human form when they hide their glory except when there's a specific reason not to, as trying too hard to hide in that way is considered being deceptive.
Angels have a number of other special powers, including:
- Strength - The most powerful of angels have enough physical strength that their limits to moving heavy objects seem to be based more upon the difficulty of moving such a large object rather than the weight.
- Durability - Literally nothing made on Earth can harm an angel, though if needed they bring their own weapons that can - usually in the form of a sword. They also heal quickly, do not age, and usually don't get sick - a bout of illness can be a first sign that the angel is struggling with their convictions.
- Movement - Obviously they can fly, but even faster is the fact that they can teleport instantly at will. Even when they don't teleport they can literally move faster than the human eye can see.
- Perception - angels have finely tuned senses and little escapes their attention, and they also have a certain sixth sense when it comes to knowing where they're most needed at any given moment, no matter where they happen to be or how distracted they are at the time. They can also sense the comparative strength of another angel based on the strength of their glory.
- Knowledge - Most angels who visit the Earth have been around for a very, very long time - since before the Earth was created, in fact. During all that time they managed to acquire a great deal of knowledge and wisdom, and their memories are good enough that the happenings of centuries ago might as well of happened last year. This goes for physical skills as well. The youngest of angels who appear personally on the Earth are at least a few centuries old and are usually partnered with an experienced angel.
Archangels are a special class of angel who are so unfailingly righteous that their power and goodness exceed that of any other. Only one archangel has ever fallen, and he was, at the time, the most powerful and glorious of them all. But after Lucifer was banished from heaven, Michael took his place as the strongest and most respected angel in heaven.
The role of angels sent to Earth is to look after mankind and to try and encourage them to do good. They're not allowed to directly influence events, however, instead they provide opportunities for humans to do better and hope that the humans take the offered chance.
Fallen Angels:
In most respects they're exactly like their good brethren, except for the key detail that instead of being strengthened by good they are strengthened by evil. Lucifer was the first angel to discover how to tap into this, as before that angels only knew of good. But strength driven by evil has proven to not be quite as effective; once Lucifer was stronger than Michael, but after falling it's Michael who has the upper hand.
Fallen angels are also not bound by the rules of heaven, though while the good angels are prohibited from interfering with mankind they have no such need for restraint in preventing fallen angels from doing as they please. Generally speaking, there's a narrow margin of what a fallen angel can get away with before the good angels will interfere and they abuse that as much as possible. Fallen angels are by and large very angry with God and heaven in general, so their goal is generally to do whatever they can to ruin whatever the good angels happen to be doing.
Relations Between the Two:
Obviously the two don't generally get along, but at the same time it's rare for angels to actually physically fight. This is for several reasons, but the first is because angels can directly sense their differing levels of strength and know who would win the fight before it happens. The second is that if things becomes strained enough that there's a possibility of a fight, other angels will sense that they're needed and turn up. At that point the fallen angels generally have to back down because they're outnumbered and outmatched.
Therefore, it's usually the fallen angel that encourages the encounter to ease into, at worst, a verbal fight because it's actually possible for them to win those. Angels of either kind are also generally not out to kill the weaker members of the other side anyways; weak angels are those that are closer to being neutral, which means that they might be persuaded to switch sides. Also, fights between such powerful beings are rather destructive to their surroundings and neither side wants that - persuading people to be evil is more damaging to the cause of good than simply killing people so even fallen angels aren't out to destroy the planet.