Angel
Angels were once human.
Despite their status as higher beings, angels can indeed die. Pretty much all the Celestials that first decided to follow Weaver are gone. Therefore, Weaver watches over the humans, and when she finds one that she deems worthy to join the ranks of the angels, their afterlife destiny is set.
As angels are dead, and because their resurrection works such a fundamental change on their structure, they are sterile and cannot breed, even with each other. There are no half-angels or angel-demon hybrids.
Most angels died their first death when they were very young. There are exceptions to this but the majority were just children. They age normally but slowly until they reach peak physical condition and sort of freeze there. Some angels do appear older though.. Upon "crossing over," as they call it, another, older angel (usually of Tier II or higher) will appear to take them to the angelic realm and be their mentor. The mentor teaches the student angel everything he or she needs to know, from fighting to magic to anything else. Once the student has made First Kill, slaying their first demon in combat, they are considered a full angel in their own right and become a first-level angel.
Naming Traditions
Family names
Angels inherit the name of their predecessor, which is their domain title in the Celestial language.
Other names
An angel who accomplishes something notable may be referred to with an epithet.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Celestial
Average technological level
Angels rely on magic, rather than technology.
Angels have four levels of power: novice, Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III. When an angel first crosses over, she is regarded as a novice. The student will have a mentor who takes her under her wing (no pun intended) and teaches her fighting, magic, and how to be an angel. At the end of this training period, when the teacher feels that the novice is ready, the novice will make her First Kill. This is a ritualized combat with a demon. The novice may have killed half-demons or full-bloods in the past, but for the first time she will be completely on her own. The mentor will not step in to help her, even if it means that she dies in the battle. The novice will find a suitable demon, track it, lure it to the battleground of her choosing, and kill it. All four of these stages are part of the test. After (or in some cases during) the trial, her staff/polearm will appear to her. Upon successful completion of the First Kill and receiving her staff, the novice is now considered a full-fledged (again no pun intended) angel at Tier I. The Tier I angel is now free to do as she wishes, although most will stay with their mentor for some or all of this period, as the mentor/student bond usually becomes a deep one. Most students stay close friends with their mentors and will often come to them for advice or assistance even after the mentor has taken on another novice, or after they have progressed to Tier II. Some of this advice generally includes tips on how to train their own novice. She can choose an occupation (Hunter, Scholar, etc.) or spend some time doing things as they come to decide what course she wants her life as an angel to take. The benchmark for a Tier I angel to move to Tier II is generally the ability to cast high-powered spells without the need for a focus stone. The Tier II angel is now completely on her own, if she wasn't before, and it is generally at this level of power that she will take on her own novice. Mentors are responsible for the care and training of their novices, and judging when they are ready for their First Kill. An error in this respect will either get the novice killed or produce a sullen and repressed novice, so care must be taken with this judgment. By this time they will have settled into their chosen path, whether it be hunting down demons, protecting and aiding mortals, or studying ancient texts to find more ways to combat the escalating powers of the demons. When an angel is ready to move onto Tier III, she receives a revelation. Weaver only intervenes twice in an angel's life; once to create her as an angel, the second to provide her revelation. She cannot interfere more directly than that, and even that much is dangerous, so the revelations are often as vague and confusing as they are powerful and life-changing. The revelation catalyzes the angel's powers through the semi-direct contact with the Goddess and they receive a "power-up", with a vastly expanded magic pool and higher spell capabilities. A Tier III angel is the most powerful being on the three realms, with the exception of some higher-level demons. Sadly, most angels today do not reach this level, dying at one of the lower tiers. Most of the Tier III angels currently existing are very very old, such as Chidara. Many of them no longer actively hunt, as this tends to bring a lot of demons down upon their head and they are trying to avoid repeating the events of the great war. There may, at one point in the past, have been a Tier IV. No formal reference to this remains, but a few have vague memories of vastly powerful angels during the great war. This may, however, refer to the last of the original Celestial angels, who could genuinely be said to be on an entirely different power level. If a Tier IV does in fact exist, there are none left alive, and no angel has reached it in a very long time.
Angels have four levels of power: novice, Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III. When an angel first crosses over, she is regarded as a novice. The student will have a mentor who takes her under her wing (no pun intended) and teaches her fighting, magic, and how to be an angel. At the end of this training period, when the teacher feels that the novice is ready, the novice will make her First Kill. This is a ritualized combat with a demon. The novice may have killed half-demons or full-bloods in the past, but for the first time she will be completely on her own. The mentor will not step in to help her, even if it means that she dies in the battle. The novice will find a suitable demon, track it, lure it to the battleground of her choosing, and kill it. All four of these stages are part of the test. After (or in some cases during) the trial, her staff/polearm will appear to her. Upon successful completion of the First Kill and receiving her staff, the novice is now considered a full-fledged (again no pun intended) angel at Tier I. The Tier I angel is now free to do as she wishes, although most will stay with their mentor for some or all of this period, as the mentor/student bond usually becomes a deep one. Most students stay close friends with their mentors and will often come to them for advice or assistance even after the mentor has taken on another novice, or after they have progressed to Tier II. Some of this advice generally includes tips on how to train their own novice. She can choose an occupation (Hunter, Scholar, etc.) or spend some time doing things as they come to decide what course she wants her life as an angel to take. The benchmark for a Tier I angel to move to Tier II is generally the ability to cast high-powered spells without the need for a focus stone. The Tier II angel is now completely on her own, if she wasn't before, and it is generally at this level of power that she will take on her own novice. Mentors are responsible for the care and training of their novices, and judging when they are ready for their First Kill. An error in this respect will either get the novice killed or produce a sullen and repressed novice, so care must be taken with this judgment. By this time they will have settled into their chosen path, whether it be hunting down demons, protecting and aiding mortals, or studying ancient texts to find more ways to combat the escalating powers of the demons. When an angel is ready to move onto Tier III, she receives a revelation. Weaver only intervenes twice in an angel's life; once to create her as an angel, the second to provide her revelation. She cannot interfere more directly than that, and even that much is dangerous, so the revelations are often as vague and confusing as they are powerful and life-changing. The revelation catalyzes the angel's powers through the semi-direct contact with the Goddess and they receive a "power-up", with a vastly expanded magic pool and higher spell capabilities. A Tier III angel is the most powerful being on the three realms, with the exception of some higher-level demons. Sadly, most angels today do not reach this level, dying at one of the lower tiers. Most of the Tier III angels currently existing are very very old, such as Chidara. Many of them no longer actively hunt, as this tends to bring a lot of demons down upon their head and they are trying to avoid repeating the events of the great war. There may, at one point in the past, have been a Tier IV. No formal reference to this remains, but a few have vague memories of vastly powerful angels during the great war. This may, however, refer to the last of the original Celestial angels, who could genuinely be said to be on an entirely different power level. If a Tier IV does in fact exist, there are none left alive, and no angel has reached it in a very long time.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Training for novices includes staff fighting, with both a plain staff and a polearm (as well as as many other weapons as the novice desires/the mentor can teach them), and is often tailored to what their polearm will be (unless it is unknown.) The fighting style is often refined to the individual angel's preferences after the staff is received. Choice of preferred weapon is generally left to the novice's tastes, although the mentor may make suggestions or require additional weapons training based upon the novice's capabilities & strengths. Most mentors take a rounded approach, requiring at least basic training in a blunt staff, a bladed polearm, a one-handed weapon, a two-handed weapon, a flexible weapon such as a whip or a chain, and a pair of weapons, so that the novice is well-prepared for any situation with anything they might pick up. Some also study bare-handed fighting, although with a demon's superior strength and the angelic reliance on dexterity and speed, this is usually only undertaken with the novice's interest or a particular mentor's insistence on being completely prepared. Most mentors show how weapons techniques can transfer to empty hands, teach a few basics, and leave it at that. Angels do not typically undergo firearms training.
Coming of Age Rites
Upon "crossing over," as they call it, another, older angel (usually of Tier II or higher) will appear to take the new angel to the angelic realm and be their mentor. The mentor teaches the student angel everything she needs to know, from fighting to magic to anything else. Once the student has made First Kill, slaying her first demon in combat, she is considered a full angel in her own right and becomes a first-level angel.
To reach Tier II, an angel must create her own high-powered focus stone as a reservoir of magical energy.
When an angel reaches her third level of power, she is granted a revelation.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Records are kept of each angel's crossing over and death. An angel's mentor will record her crossing over, and her human name, in the records. When an angel dies, her mentor will record her death. If her mentor is no longer alive, another angel close to the deceased such as a friend or one of her novices will perform that service for her. In this way, if she wanted to, an angel could track the history of her domain all the way back to the beginning of the records. Many angels keep writings or memoirs, and so it is possible to look them up in the library with this information.
Historical figures
Weaver
Valek
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