"Benevolent Entities from a Higher Realm" (quoted from the Everlasting, Book of the Spirits, page 244, © 1997-98 by Steven C. Brown)
"Divine Agents from a Higher Realm of Existence" (quoted from the Everlasting, Book of the Light, page 97, © 1997-98 by Steven C. Brown)
The oldest and most noble race of beings in the universe. The first of all the Eldritch races.
The following quote is being re-printed from pages 98 & 99 of The Everlasting, Book of the Light, and describes what these wonderous creatures from the heavenly realms are here for:
Within a higher realm there exist races of beings that were created before time to serve as Divine Agents in maintaining the Great Works. They go about their countless activities unseen by most in the fleshy world. Yet, since the dawn of human history, there have been recorded tales of these celestial creatures, these Angels. They have been among humanity since the time of Adam and Eve. They cast us from the Garden of Eden, but remain our watchers and protectors.
Long ago, the earth was without form; there was no space, or time, or matter, or energy, then God caused the act of Creation, the Big Bang. With the Creation came all the things known to us through science, but many other things came into existence as well, including the release of both positive and negative energy forces. From out of this positive force came the angels. Angels and demons were once one race of beings, but some of them were corrupted by the negative force and became demons.
At the dawn of time, all the demons were angels who served the divine. Things changed with the Fall from Grace. Some claim there were angels who were insulted and angered by God's command that they serve as caretakers of humanity, which they deemed as an inferior race. The Battle in Heaven raged and one-third of the angels were cast into the Pit, the great abyss ruled by the first of the fallen, the Morningstar himself, Lucifer.
They exist in religions throughout the world and have many names- angels, the watchers, the chariots of the gods, the morningstar. Every human culture in history has believed in the existence of life after death. Angels, too, are a common belief throughout history and among many different cultures which had little or no contact with one another. Angels appear in Aryan, Mithraic, Manichaean, and Zoroastrian myth and run down through the ages in Persian, Judaic, Christian, and Islamic beliefs. Even before religions existed there were universal ideas concerning higher forces among even Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon, and Australopithecus. Steles found in the city of Ur in the Euphrates Valley, about 140 miles from ancient Babylon and settled around 4,000 B.C., featured winged angelic figures from one of the Sumerian seven heavens. An ancient Egyptian tomb painting features a winged Isis enfolding worshipers under her wings in the sleep of death. Around 300 A.D. paintings of angels began appearing in the Roman catacombs, flourishing during the reign of Constantine the Great (306-337 A.D.). Still, the angels are not tied directly to any one religion as a whole, for, like all things in Nature, they exist beyond the boundaries of particular religions and are no more Christian, Muslim, or Hindu than are the rocks, sky, trees, or animals.
The dragons were simply the earthly tools of the Creation, not true powers unto themselves. The manitou now fill the role of the dragons, who fell through their own hubris. The angels, while deeply involved on an unseen level, played a tremendous role in the creation of Nature. Now the angels serve primarily as the protectors of humanity, acting as unseen teachers, guides, and defenders. It is their duty to guide souls toward wisdom, love, compassion, and understanding.
These beings possess great powers and live mostly within a higher spiritual realm beyond living human understanding. The angels exist without form, space, and dimension on one level, being simply the thoughts and words of God. Yet these beings are capable of earthly manifestation for extended periods of time and are somewhat indestructible. They use their supernatural powers primarily in their efforts against demons and their dark servants.
Down through the ages the heavenly host (all angels collectively) have done as they have been instructed, operating under the innate urges and intuition which serve as their commands from the Divine. Angels know, in some unknown internal way, the roles they must play in the Cosmos, unlike most humans. Yet, like most humans, angels possess freewill and are filled with their own desires and inclinations, which sometimes conflict with their heavenly urges. This internal conflict has lead to the fall of a few angels since the Battle in Heaven. Still, freewill allows the angels to serve their Lord out of love, and they can do so with creativity, determination, and enthusiasm. Most angels enjoy serving God through their missions, but not all are so happy in doing so.
Above all else, angels are individuals- some cruel, some kind, some giving, some selfish, some deceitful, some truthful, some worldly, some naive, some introverted, some gregarious, and so on. Though most lean towards good qualities more so than bad ones, most do have personality quirks and faults.
With the release of the demons in recent history, some angels have kept very busy working against them, trying to save humanity. Most angels continue performing their normal duties, letting the eldritch worry about the demons, but there are some angels that seem chosen to fight the darkness.
The demons were once like the angels, but their own hubris brought about their downfall. Still they serve a great purpose in that they provide balance and entropy to the universe. While some demons claim they seek the destruction of everything and other just wish for all to suffer as they do, most claim they merely seek an end to it all, a great Unmaking. Only the efforts of the angels can direct the eldritch to the true secret of these dark beings.
While angels that manifest themselves upon the earth look and feel like humans, they are dramatically different. They do not breath, eat, sleep, drink, nor have a need for other bodily functions that humans do (although many pretend to do so to hide their true nature). They view their bodies (or Corpus as they call it) as simply a tool. They hold little value for their bodies and are willing to destroy them in the process of carrying out their missions (as a new one can be created later). They are truly immortal, they can not be killed, however if they take damage that would kill any other eldritch, their Corpus is destroyed and the angels celestial form returns to the Seven Heavens. The body will turn to ashes in a relatively short time after it is destroyed. Even though angels true form is indestructible, they can still feel pain, as well as any other sensations.
Angels can be divided into nine types, or Exalted Orders as they are sometimes called. Each has its own traits and spheres of influence (or "provinces"):
Seraphim- First Exalted order "The Burning Ones" are the closest to the Divine in terms of understanding the purpose behind everything. They are the embodiment of light, love, and fire. Their roll in the battle with the demons is relatively small as are their activities on earth. They are the protectors and supporters of such ideals as beauty, creativity, truth, and love. Their primary duty is the support and maintenance of the Seven Heavens and the Divine Light.
Cherubim- Second Exalted order "Fullness of Gods Knowledge, Guardians of the Garden, and Watchers" They are the record keepers and watchers of the world. Their duty is to keep track of what is going on and to see that all is following the Divine Plan. Their provinces include knowledge (both worldly and divine), record keeping, and information gathering. They are also the guardians of the Garden of Eden.
Merkabah- Third Exalted order "Chariots of the Gods, Wheel of God, Thrones, and Ophaniel" The Merkabah are the reasoning, understanding, and curiosity of God incarnate. They are one of the more active of the angelic orders when it comes to visiting the Earthly realms.
Kyriotetes- Fourth Exalted order "Dominions, Dominations" Their duties include keeping watch over and directing the lesser spirits in the service of the Divine. They are the incarnation of authority and majesty of the Divine Plan, being the magistrates or bureaucrats of all that is. Their provinces are widely varying from the budding of the leaves in the trees in the spring to the regularity of the weather. They see to and protect the order of things on the earth, as well as on other worlds.
Dynameis- Fifth Exalted order "Virtues, Mights, The Shining Ones" They are very active in the Earthly realms, being the heroes and miracle workers of the Divine. They not only work to rescue people who are in danger, but also inspire humans to do the same. They also help guide people through tough times and traumatic experiences. While they are miracle workers, they generally try to encourage people to help themselves rather than performing miracles on their behalf.
Exusiai- Sixth Exalted order "Powers, Revelations" They are the dark angels of wrath and death. They are the darkness within the Seven Heavens that helps to define the Light of the Divine. When in the Earthly realms they concentrate almost exclusively to battling the Demons (or other forces of evil). They are not what one normally thinks of as an angel, however they do serve an important purpose in the Divine Plan.
Archai- Seventh Exalted order "Principalities, Princes, Original Forces, and Ethnarchs" The "Grand Protectors" of the faithful as well as important public figures. They are the incarnation of Divine Protection. They are very active in the Earthly realms do to their duties there.
Archangels- Eighth Exalted order "Emissaries" They tend to be leaders within the angelic orders due to their world spanning provinces and broad scope of their missions. They also serve as the messengers of the Divine, acting as emissaries to humanity from the Divine. They are also very active in the war against the demons as well as other forces of evil. They also tend to be the most well-known of the angels within human society due to their important roll in the Divine Plan (including such figures as Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel).
Aeons- Ninth Exalted order "Guardian Angels, Hafaza, Malaika, Attendant Spirits" They are the guardians of both civilization and nature. They are the caretakers and protectors of the Earthly realms. They are very active on earth and work closely with the other angelic orders. While their provinces tend to be more specific and smaller in scope, they are an important element in the Divine Plan and act as the incarnation of Divine love and humility.
There are also a few rare individuals who are partially of Angelic decent and partially of human decent. They are the result of a union between an angel in human form and an actual human. These "half-angels" are referred to as Luminaré. While they are not true angels they have many angelic abilities, and also actively work to protect humanity from the threat of demons, especially the half-demons, or "Cambions" as the vile creatures are sometimes called. The true angels often look at the Luminaré as mistakes (an example of the exceedingly rare imperfection that some angels fall into), and do not view them as being worthy. However some angels do see them in a different light. Often the angelic parent is torn by the presence, while seeing the constant reminder of their weakness, they also sometimes feel the love and caring that parents feel for their offspring.
Due to the more worldly nature of the Luminaré they make excellent agents of the Divine in the battle against the Demons. They can blend in with normal humans more easily as they have a strong connection with them, despite also having a connection to the Divine. Most Luminaré don't work directly with the angels, due in part to the feelings that exist between the two groups, however they still see the importance of the war with the demons and work to do what they can against evil in general. Many of them have come together to form a secret order of their own which is called the Keepers which strives to fight off the demon threat and to watch for signs of (and delay if possible) the Apocalypse or End Time.
Abominations: 1-3 These vile creatures from some alien dimension are trying to destroy all that is natural on Earth and in the Reverie. They are dangerous and must be stopped, however they are not as high of a priority as the Demons, as they are but one of many tools of the Demons.
Angels: 9 We must all work together to defeat the demon threat and protect the realms of the Creator!
Daevas: 4-8 Most are useful allies, however there are some among them who can not be trusted and who are nearly as evil as the Demons.
Dead Souls: 3 They are restless spirits that are being punished for their crimes in life.
Demons: 1 Arch enemies! They must be stopped, as they are the greatest threat to the Earthly realms that there is. They are pure evil!
Djinn: 2-4* These creatures are as vain as any race of Eldritch that exists. While some are good at heart, their means of doing good are not ethical, the remainder are untrustworthy at best and should be destroyed.
Dragons: 3-6 Once an important ally, they have been warped through their greed and pride and are now dangerous and can not be fully trusted.
Elves: 6-8 They are a good and generally wholesome people. Their ancient lineage is more closely linked to ours than even the Humans. They make useful allies and can usually be trusted to do what it right.
Faerie: 5-7 Their goals and purpose is a mystery, however the Creator has put them here for a purpose, let them be.
Gargoyles: 5-6 They are pitiful spirits who have a good purpose, but with dire consequences. They can not be completely trusted, but they are helping our cause in an indirect way, so let them be.
Ghuls: 4-7 Their lot was brought on by their own lust for immortality. While they are vile, they should also be pitied.
Manitou: 3-8 These spirited creatures are on the right track, however their beliefs are off based as they do not understand the significance of the Humans place in the Divine Plan. They can be useful allies, but must be watched closely, as they can turn on us at times. They focus their efforts on the Abominations, which is good, however they don't see the bigger picture, in which the Abominations are but a tool of the Demons. Help them when they need it, but otherwise let them deal with the Abominations.
Osirians: 4-6 Their lot is similar to ours, however they can not be fully trusted, as they have plans of their own.
Possessed: 2-3, 7-8 The two types sit on opposite ends of the spectrum. The Benedera are strong and useful allies, while the Yugtuhul are vile creatures that strive to corrupt and undermine humans minds.
Questers: 8-9 The vast majority of them are our greatest allies, however they are not perfect (being of human origin) like us, so care must be taken with them. We need to guide them down the right road.
Reanimates: 3-5 These foul creatures are even more pitiful than the Ghuls.
Revenants: 2-3 These monsters need to be destroyed, as their murderous ways are not a part of the Divine Plan.
Vampires: 2-3 These vile creatures have damned themselves, however they should be destroyed as they are nearly as bad as the Demons.
Wer: 3-5 These diseased creatures should be put out of their misery, as they are a blight on Human civilization.