Elijah (/ɪ'ɔʤə/)

Archangel of Exchange and Culture

Elijah is one of the Archangels who has the easiest relating to humanity. This means, they still can't fully grasp the complexity of the species, but at least they can plan interactions with them. They are convinced that the reason for corruption and the growth of Thorns happen because good things aren't allowed to spread and dangerous ideas fester.

The Worth of a Single Mortal Life

To Elijah, everything has a value that can be measured. Trade requires those who provide, those who consume, and those who facilitate both. This means that, in their eyes, it might benefit the whole to let a few suffer due to exploitation. However, if this becomes widespread, such as through slavery, it excludes people from participating in the exchange. Work should be compensated at it, like anything else, has value. Elijah was key to the spread of salary as a concept.

Culture as Trade

Trading and exchanging goods, services, and currency are at the heart of Elijah's mission. Cultures are formed as individuals get together and share ideas and preferences. This collaboration of how to live in the highest spiritual exchange for a population. It must never stagnate, but rather be questioned from both within and without. The very act of exploring new aspects of one's culture is what creates that culture.
Elijah is often a patron of artists, merchants, and bankers. The first group might not be as well represented, but it is dearly cherished.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Elijah is mostly human in appearance, with dark skin and jet-black curly hair down their back. Their skin is covered in burns that have cracked open in places to reveal red blood and flesh underneath. Their eyes are made of burning white light with white smoke emanating from them. Three pairs of dark feathered wings extend from their back, but they are rarely seen flying. In most forms, the Archangel stands at least twice as tall as the one they're talking to.

Apparel & Accessories

The most common garb worn by Elijah is a toga with intricate embroideries, though they might sometimes indulge in finer clothes from any era — including the modern-day. The Archangel always has some form of tool for trade, e.g. a coin purse, a scale, or pieces of gold. Being given direct payment from Elijah means they greatly appreciate what you provided.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Originally, Elijah helped balance the energies of the universe. The right amount of matter needed to react with the right amount of antimatter, for instance. Their core tasks didn't kick in until species on Earth became aware of the idea of possession. They helped these creatures navigate this complex concept to the best of specie's ability. Then humans changed everything.
Humans were able to come up with abstract concepts. They could exchange ideas of beauty, possession of the rights to something, and the intent behind offers to their gods. Elijah sometimes has trouble understanding when humans either place no value on something or when they don't take possible exchanges into account, but they still adore the mortals. Not even The Original Fall has shaken their faith in humanity's ideas halting the growth of the Thicket.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Elijah helped establish several concepts that have made humans able to grow through trade. They aided in the spread of salaries, loans, and currency. Ever since its inception, Elijah has been a huge proponent of capitalism as a system. They insist that humans must understand the need to invest in the community, and they will do so in a free market. Evidence to the contrary has yet to convince them.

Failures & Embarrassments

There have been times throughout history where trade has collapsed and backfired on large numbers of people. Possibly, no example of this is greater than the bronze age collapse. Through a series of events in parts of the middle east, it suddenly became impossible to produce bronze items. As a result, the economies of the whole region collapsed, trade came to a near stand-still,

Intellectual Characteristics

To Elijah, all of reality is an infinitely complex pattern of assets and the exchange of them. Their grasp on this pattern and their knowledge of how it's formed extend beyond the comprehension of any other entity but is still fallible. Sometimes, exchanges happen that ascribe values far outside Elijah's expectations, such as when marriages began to take love into account. This results in constant recalculations.
In all cases, Elijah is fair in their dealings with others. Of course, the Archangel is the one who determines what fair means.

Other Names
Ealijaje

Servitors known as
Angels of the Exchange
Connectors
Bridgers

Current Location

First Heaven

Species

Angel

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Lord of the First Heaven
Archangel of Trade
Lord of the Fair Exchange

Currently Held Titles

• Archangel

Hair

Long, black, wavy, and always moving

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Dark skinned, covered with cracked burns.

Aligned Organization

The Host