Open Into The Deep

[Stitches]

One is for the hands of God,
Two is for the ones who attend,
Three is for the swords and the shields,
Four is for the voices that blend,
Five is for the Hounds of Heaven,
Six is for the ones who mend,
And Seven is for the Working Horses
– All will greet you in the end.

Once, longer ago than most remember, there was a rebellion.

It did not end well.

Angels of all kind fell from the sky, cast into Hell, where they would remain until the end of time. None was more mourned than Lucifer, the Brightest angel in all Heaven. His brothers and sisters mourned his loss, but things moved on, as they always do. No more angels were made. Those that were left had to work twice as hard to keep up with their duties. Heaven was always busy, busy enough that few could be spared, if any, to do anything other than their God given tasks.

That doesn’t always stop the higher ups from trying.

Sometimes, there’s a mission so important, that some must be spared. Sometimes, the Heavenly Host must do a job other than their own. Sometimes, there’s no other choice.

Michael insists this is one of those times.

A council was held by the Seraphim and the Archangels, and it was decided that a select group of other Heavenly Host would go on a mission so dangerous that there was no guarantee they’d make it back alive. Michael’s Sword, the sword that once protected the Garden of Eden, the flaming sword of the Heavens, was lost. It is believed stolen, and finally, it is believed found.

In the hands of none other than Lucifer.

The mission? Retrieve the sword.

It was meant to just be a simple diplomatic mission, a group of Heavenly Host sent to request the polite return of the Sword. But nothing ever goes the way it’s supposed to with these things, does it?


The Heavenly Host Tiers.

Seraphim- God's hands, few among the many. They are his personal avengers, messengers, and are frequently referred to as the "illuminated ones" by the other ranks. (Nonplayable)

Angels- the closest to human in the Hierarchy, and the most plentiful of all the celestial ranks. They tend to humans and all of the daily tasks that keep them safe from Hell. They have the ability to communicate in every language known to man, and several not. Their true forms are often disturbing to look upon.

Archangels- The warriors, the avengers, and the messengers of man. They oversee the Angels, and ensure that God's will is carried out on earth. (Nonplayable)

Cherubim- Protectors and songbirds, the true "heavenly Choir" They sing songs of healing, protection, and wellbeing. They have no combat abilities, but they are regarded widely as heavenly healers. They have the traditional, many winged, and sometimes many eyed, figures of angels in human art.

Harbingers- The class that engages the most often in combat with the demonic choirs, sometimes demeaningly referred to as "Heaven's Hounds" by Hell. They often possess physical prowess unmatched by anything other than some demons. Their forms are designed for combat, and are often terrifying due to this.

Eudaemon- The rank tasked with overseeing the movement of the world, keeping seasons, elements, nature, and everything else running as it should. Their music and weavings are their tools, and their tools never fail. They often have forms similar to human depictions of satyrs, nymphs, and other forest spirits.

Penates- The proverbial Working Horse. Where Angels attend to humans and the Eudaemon attend to the world, Penates attend to basically everything else. Growth, life and death, the calling of Azazel, and serving as messengers between the hierarchy. Their natural forms are often ethereal and wispy, as if they could be blown away by a single breath.



Special Gifts: Every Host has a special gift, a special talent or skill given to you by God in addition to the gifts of your Tier. It may be something bold and bright– it may be something soft and subtle. Whatever it is, you were bestowed with it for a reason. Maybe this is that reason?


Character Sheet:

Name and Title:
Tier:
Special Gift:
A Bit About You:
Description/Images:​

 

[Stitches]

Aniela
"Glass"

Name and Title: Aniela, “Glass”


Tier: Penates


Special Gift: Ani has the distinct skill of being able to find her way no matter where she is. She always knows the way to go, as if there’s a homing beacon that she can follow.

A Bit About You: One of the last angels born, Ani has always been treated as the youngest sister among the Heavenly Host. Naturally faster than many of the other Penates, she has oft served as a messenger for others. Her sweet and withdrawn personality has made her a favorite messenger by many, but she has found herself in the position of being liked by all, but loved by none. Perpetually lonely, Ani volunteered for the diplomatic party, with the full intent of trying to use it as a way to make more friends among her many brothers and sisters.

Unlike many of her sisters and brothers in the Pranates caste, she has never really gotten the hang of how things “work”, so to speak. Life and Death and Growth don’t make sense to her, no matter how hard she tries. Being a messenger is the only thing she’s ever been good at. A memory sharper than glass and more speed than anyone else have left her the go to, constantly in motion.

 

[Oliver]

Name: Oliver, "Reliable"
Tier: Angel
Special Gift: Fidelity. Oliver has a characteristic common to many Angels - his exacting degree of faithfulness and loyalty. He is proud to be a 'model angel,' devout and unfaltering in his service, not out of dogmatic adherence to the divine, but out of goodness. In terms of a special gift, it doesn't sound like much - but even among angels, Oliver has a degree of drive and precision in carrying out his duties which lets him quickly sniff out right from wrong. It isn't so much that he cannot be deceived as that he cannot be diverted; he does things by the book and does not stray from his path, as even other angels might.

About: The name Oliver, as derived from olive tree, is rich in symbol - after the great flood, for instance, the dove who bore the olive branch symbolized hope and the promise of a new beginning. So too does reliable Oliver go about his business, nudging events here and there to generate a kind of serendipity among Man. Of late, he has been occupied chiefly with the dangers posed by nuclear weapons after the Second Great War; atomics and their use poses a great danger to Man, and he has taken up a position as a sort of invisible caretaker and guide - just to make sure things don't get too out of hand.

Old beyond measure, but with a jovial cheeriness and happy professionalism, Oliver tends to strike up polite conversations with those he visits, concealing his natural, unknowable form behind a smiling, nondescript man in a suit (per the latest modern fashions). He has always appeared as a familiar, good-natured man, and prefers subtlety to grand displays. Loyal to the end, as an angel ought to be, he is a stabilizing, guiding force.

Excerpt from Memorandum 52 to [Redacted] concerning PROJ. MIRACLE

…a little over 400 people were present on the weekend of the Trinity test which occurred on July 16, 1945. The Trinity bomb released the explosive energy of 25 kilotons of TNT (100 TJ) ± 2 kilotons of TNT (8.4 TJ), and a large cloud of radiation. The light from the test was visible in Amarillo, 280 miles away.

As discussed above, VIPs viewed the test from Compania Hill, approximately 20 miles northwest of the bomb tower. Critically, Professor Bainbridge asked Groves to keep his VIP list down to ten. He chose himself, Oppenheimer, Richard Tolman, Vannevar Bush, James Conant, Brigadier General Thomas F. Farrell, Charles Lauritsen, Isidor Isaac Rabi, Sir Geoffrey Taylor, and Sir James Chadwick.

This brings us to the subject of our memorandum and the significant findings. Each man has, at various points, privately testified to the presence of another unnamed individual present at the Compania Hill viewing site, despite not recollecting him consciously and there being no record of or clearance for said individual. The hypnotic recall techniques promulgated by the Project, as used on the above in separate sessions, reveal a suppressed memory of an altered state of mind immediately prior to the detonation, along with a flood of cortisol (stress hormone).

Each man testified while hypnotized that they saw our entity – the unremarkable black-suited eleventh man – and spoke with him individually, both prior to the detonation and in dreams thereafter. The initial rush of cortisol (measured also in our controlled settings upon induced recall) was then accompanied by a rush of oxytocin and a feeling of peacefulness. Furthermore, each subject experienced “loss of time” consistent with abduction reports; the time windows coincided with the observations of [XXXXXXXXX] in airspace around Trinity and other sites (see: limelights).

Most confusingly: reports of the entity’s areas of interest, as described by hypnotized subject, are cryptically mundane. Every man separately reported being asked whether they were “hanging in there.” Other topics of discussion included meteorological phenomena, the quality of family relationships, level of exercise, level of diet, amount of sleep, thoughts on who would win the World Series, and other pedestrian domestic matters. Every subject reported a feeling of great relief from speaking to our purported entity, but added that it seemed dismayed and gravely serious about the ongoing testing. They report that it reiterated instructions to them that they cannot consciously remember. They all described the same exact man. When under, they all react to their sightings with the air of those who have had a religious experience.

All but one of our dream encounters concluded with our subjects awakening, fully ambulatory, in or around where they fell asleep (maximum reported distance – 100 feet from their home). No distinguishing markings were found on the bodies of our abductees. They all report a positive impression of the entity – a general “warmth.” Any and all personnel found to have been in communication with it should be quarantined immediately.

The national security threat, as discussed below, is obvious, and Section III is dedicated to potential mitigation. Debunking the lightshow should remain our secondary to top priority, behind actually identifying this thing.

We should recall that we are utterly incapable of knowing its true intent. We may be no more to it than random bacteria mean to us. No matter how good this entity makes us feel, our long-held distinctions of “good” and “evil” should not be assumed to meaning anything to it. That it has relayed instructions – “suggestions” or otherwise – to top personnel should be of the gravest concern.

 

[UmbraSight]

Name and Title:
Laila
“Nadir”

Tier:
Harbinger

Special Gift:
Music, of the mortal variety. It is not a thing of war, though it is only something they could do because of their form. Flexible arms, long nimble fingers that allow them to pluck the strings or a violin or fiddle with ease. No, it is not a gift that provides them an edge against the damned, but what greater gift is there than music? It exists only for the moment that the bow works across the string, and then the sound is only for God for where else would music go when the final vibration stills. They cannot heal for in music that is a Cherubim’s gift, but to their fellows God saw it fit to allow Laila the ability to provide a moment’s respite.

A Bit About You:
They are of an ancient flesh, among the first gifted motion when the Divine deemed it necessary for them to move. Old enough to be wistful, enough that it no longer matters how long they have been so long as they are able to do the work that Heaven wills. They are not one to recount old glories, for it might be grace that guides their hand but it is only in its absence that Laila is required to act. Music perhaps is where they allow their memories to dwell, an indulgence they allow themselves.

They are quiet, but never still. They don’t like it, motionlessness, waiting on the next thing they are needed for, for what they are needed for is rarely ever a goodly task, just something that must be done for goodness to flourish. Motion they like, the feeling of it, the action of it. Perhaps that too is why they enjoy a moment given to music, though it is doubtful they would admit to such.

Description:
In its shifting way Laila’s body maintains an almost human shape, simply too slender, too smooth, like a marble statue that had slid free from the stillness of stone. Their skin is a dark purplish black, like the final notes of sunlight as the day draws to its finality, and dusted with a constellation of silver and golden sparkles. Their limbs can slide apart into many slender and ever sharper tools of their craft.