- For other uses, see angel.
"What a surprise! Wherever the Angels fly, violence and hatred follow."
—Sandor to Elisabeth when she warns him of the angels' plot to manipulate the humans to pit them against the faceless. [src]
The Angels are one of the six elder races created by Asha during the Mythic Age. Baptized in the blood of Elrath, the angels would bring light to Ashan and hate the darkness, especially since the faceless stopped them from exterminating the demons for the sake of maintaining the world's balance between order and chaos.
The angels have a strong affinity for Light Magic and lived in hard-to-reach cities in the sky before their sky cities were destroyed during war and they took control of another of the elder races, the humans, which caused a schism as part of the humans refused to betray the original god of humankind Ylath to worship the god of the angels Elrath instead, and the human empire fell into holy fanaticism whereas the more reasonable humans built the Seven Cities and other Free Cities to reject the authority of the angels who basically enslaved humankind to their whims through holy fanaticism.
History[]
During the Ancient Age, all of the elder races lived in the Shantiri Empire, ruled by a caste of priests.
During The Wars of Creation, the elder races worked together to fight against the Demons, successfully defeating them, and their creator Urgash was banished to the prison world Sheogh. After defeating the Demons, the Angels sought to charge into Sheogh and kill Urgash, but the Faceless, concerned disrupting the balance of Order and Chaos by killing Urgash could destroy the world, attacked the Angels to prevent them from doing so.
Furious at what they saw as a betrayal, the Angels fought a genocidal war against the faceless, beginning the Elder Wars. The Shantiri Empire was destroyed as "collateral damage", with most of its inhabitants fleeing and their cities destroyed. The survivors of the Shantiri Empire separated and formed their own kingdoms, and the Shantiri Empire itself was slowly forgotten.
The Twilight Covenant[]
When the human scholar and first wizard, Sar-Elam, became enlightened and ascended to Dragon-hood, he returned to Ashan to force the Angels and Faceless into a peace treaty, known as the Twilight Covenant. As the more warlike and bloodthirsty members of their races had been slain or imprisoned, most of the survivors gladly accepted the pact.
The Holy Falcon Empire[]
Separating themselves from the other races, the angels built cities in the clouds. When the demons invaded Ashan during the Wars of Fire, many of the Angels' cities were brought down, and most of the angels perished.
When the war was over, the angels traveled to the recently formed Falcon Empire, hoping to ally with the Humans and convert them into worshipping Elrath instead of Ylath. The Falcon Empire was seen as they were the ideal candidates for conversion, as the Falcon Empire had had a religious upheaval since the battle with the Demons. They approached the young Brian Falcon, great-grandson of the nation's founder Ronan Falcon, and helped him convert his fragile Empire into a strong nation dedicated to Elrath. In 48 YSD, Brian was crowned Emperor, giving absolute power to the Church of Elrath. The human kingdom was then renamed the "Holy Falcon Empire" and the Angels were granted asylum within the empire. The Angels' floating cities can be found within the empire, but are mostly inaccessible to non-Angels.
While most of the Angels can still be found in their floating cities, they became unofficial but highly respected teachers and advisers in the empire, teaching priests and inquisitors the abilities of Light Magic and guiding them through the laws of Elrath. Now they can be mostly found in the holy city of Flammschrein in the Holy Falcon Empire.
For over 4 centuries, the citizens and lords of the empire had trusted the angels and maintained the role as advisors. However, that trust was broken in 564 YSD due to the deception of the Archangel Uriel. Uriel had who hoped to use the Empire to exact revenge against the Faceless. After his treachery was revealed to the empire, a sense of wariness for the angels was sown, which would continue to last centuries later and the church's authority within the empire was reduced significantly.
Despite their loss of status within the empire, they are can still be found in the empire and continue to guide and teach new generations of priests and inquisitors. The new seraphs and celestials serve as champions and military leaders within the empire.
Description[]
Angels are generally between six and eight feet tall. Physically imposing, they have perfect proportions, and project an aura of power and confidence. They have one of more pairs of large, feathered wings on their back, and their skin always radiates a soft, golden halo. They normally have bright gold, crystal blue or white eyes and possess a blinding eyesight, able to illuminate the darkness itself. Staring directly into an angel's eyes is like starting at two small Suns.
Angels have a natural affinity for Light Magic, and a unique aura that alters their faces slightly, allowing them to look more like the people observing them. An example, an Orc would see slightly orcish-looking angels, and an elf would see elvish traits. Regardless, they are always beautiful and look eternally young.
By extension, the Seraphs and celestials share the same traits and powers, though since they are the fusion of human and angel souls, they retain some of their human traits. However, with time and training, this balance shifts. While angels are immortal and cannot die of old age (though they can still be killed), seraphs and celestials live for approximately 500 years.