Post by Michael on Aug 19, 2015 19:08:26 GMT
MICHAEL
Archangel of Humility
FULL NAME: Michael
NICKNAME(S): Please do not call him 'Mike'
AGE: Ageless
BIRTHPLACE: The Divine Realm
CURRENT RESIDENCE: A cabin in Oregon -- Though he rarely ever actually spends any time there he is a rather busy man. His actual current whereabouts remain unknown however.
RANK/OCCUPATION: Archangel, Virtue of Humility
AFFILIATION: Humans Angels
FACE CLAIM: Lucky Blue Smith
LIKES
DISLIKES
MAGIK: Mind manipulation, Wings and flight, his pearl colored wings are concealed in a 'shoulder wrap' tattoo of highly detailed feathers almost as if he decided to shift his wings into the shape of a shawl. The wings themselves are as articulate as most other limbs and he is able to use them to withstand the brunt of harsh physical contact. This and the ability to instill his virtue of Humility.
DIVINE WEAPON: His weapon exists most of the time as a piece of his left arm, the prosthetic beginning just below the shoulder with the blade hidden away inside the limb. The arm itself appears upon first glance to be any ordinary prosthetic arm, cloaked by the same spells that allow him to hide his wings. However it is just as beautiful as any other Divine weapon, blessed by the Goddess. A silver metalwork depicting the entwining horns of a stag carved into its surface. The blade itself is a strange one made to be gripped in the hand by a horizontal hilt halfway down the blade and built to fit along his arm once removed. It fully extends much like a pocket knife would a foot and a half from his hand. Despite being apart of his arm itself the blade can be separated from the arm, and even the arm from his own body by pressing hard on either side where it attaches to his body.
PHYSICAL AILMENTS: N/A
WEAKNESSES: Being left handed sometimes is bothersome, he has a history despite being the clean cut warrior type to have a heart clearly worn on his sleeve and although he does his best to guard against that weakness it sometimes still gets the better of him. He believes it is his obligation to stand firm in his convictions and his alignment with their Goddess would never be called into question. However he has begun to have the inklings of doubts with his kin over the right solution to their problems. Despite outwardly appearing to be a pillar for his kind and unyielding in his reason he has his fears just like any other creature on this plane.
STRENGTHS: Michael has a great proficiency in battle, both with blade and hand to hand combat. His tactical genius extends from the warfare of the ancient Greeks to those first seen in more modern wars, the American Revolution and the World Wars, even now to include minor guerrilla warfare tactics. As he is associated with the virtue of humility there is an overly sort of human compassion about him. His time with the humans has allowed him to pick up on several of their languages including: English, Hebrew, Greek, Italian, French and German as well as some Arabic. As someone who enjoys conversation it would be devastating for him not to be able to communicate with others.
PERSONALITY:
Workaholic
Stubborn
Militaristic
Cold
Arbitrary
SanguinaryArdent
Compassionate
Determined
Honorable
Humorous
Cordial
Michael outwardly is as everyone thinks him to be. The strong willed paragon of justice, defender of peace, protector of children. And he will admit these things are true. He would never want anyone thinking otherwise of him. His devotion to the cause and the Silver Cross could never be brought into question by anyone without backlash from the others he has surrounded himself with. He keeps them close to ensure his own safety. In battle he is to be as expected, the calculating tactician fighting in wars as far back as Gideon and the fall of Jericho. He sometimes admits that war, is an amusing pastime that he greatly enjoys. He lives a life of structure, a life of discipline and guided by his steadfast morals that have kept him moving forward through the ages.
Though inwardly he has only be capable to expose his weaknesses to one person, the pressure to be the pillar, the shining example all while fighting to keep his own pride in check. Position and power have placed him in a war with himself and what he believes. The chinks in his armor are visible, cracks in the seams like an old painting whose paint has begun to peel. And if he were to lose sight of himself who knows what sort of monster could be conjured in his place. But he has no reason to worry, his convictions to guide him and an absolute resolve will lead him down his own path. Justice will be done though the heavens may fall.
FATHER: None
MOTHER: The Goddess Mayaria
SIBLINGS: Angels & Demons
SPOUSE(S): Marie -- Whereabouts unknown.
OFFSPRING: LEO SAFFRON -- Son
OTHERS: He has a dog named Winnona.
HISTORY:
IN THE BEGINNING
They all knew the tale, they were there after all. That in the beginning, yada yada yada. Which was all well and good truth be told. Michael was always a soldier, not in the sense of a warrior but he was always honor bound. He was always loyal, obedient, and ready without hesitation. But more importantly he was the first, the first of his kind, a hard act to follow and all the eyes of your kin. Not to mention, his physical 'deformity'. Compared to the other angels, his arm was a strange thing to behold. The silver cuff attaching the artificial components was not something many of his kin had, if any of them at all. But even more so it planted the first seeds of pride inside him. He was special, specifically marked by Mayaria with this gift.He had always been rambunctious in his youth, and when time moved on he did so willingly. The transfer from a guardian, a sort of Sheppard to the others of his kind to that of a warrior felt strangely easy for him, He had no trouble picking up the sword when it was asked of him. And eventually it was. Their mother's first creations, the Demi-Gods sought to undo them. And in his silence he watched their world begin to fall apart in their hands, that those who listened to the words of the Demi-Gods, and those who did not would become separate. Brother's and sisters whom he had seen grow and change into something else entirely.
Their whispers even reached him. Near the end of their time together one particular Demi-God would reach out to him. The two spending most of their time in silence, partly because Michael wanted nothing to do with such a creature responsible for this mess. However there was one thing that could easily appeal to Michael and that was his own nativity. But the effort would pay off in the end.As a people they had to be better than their leaders, and although he had rejected the idea of being so. Perhaps that had been what attracted the attention of the Demi-God to him. The naivety of the young angel who agreed to the accord between himself and the Demi-God. And together they spent many years in silence, the Archangel and the virtue of Humility near enough two sides of the same coin.
Maybe it was some sort of a joke that he was given the virtue of Humility. Someone so surrounded by pride. Who wouldn't be prideful, being what he was? And be it a blessing or a sheer act of defiance he never let that get the better of him.
The deal that he had struck with this being, out of necessity for one and pity for the other was sealed in a rather shocking event. It was as if all the air had been sucked out of his lungs, the pressure against his skin like that of something scoring its nails against his bones, squirming and wedging itself into Michael's body with such a ferocity that it soon became unbearable. There was no gratitude given to the young angel and in the end both departed from their home in the Divine realms for something much worse.
Waking up on Earth was not an easy thing for Michael, so far from the realm he had known with his brother's and sisters soon to join these humans. He was fully aware like a child hiding a secret from their mother, and felt a great deal of anxiety over the fact leaving the heavier parts of civilization for seclusion. He would run away, in some attempt to reconnect with what he had now realized he'd lost.
However there would be no going back now, and what was left was all he saw before him. The sunrise, the sunsets and the mountains, this earth under his feet and the wind under his wings. This was the world he had unknowingly chosen.A GREATER CHANGE
Eventually after some time, Michael would return to the company of his kin, feeling out the world alone had shaped his opinion of their plight far more than of his brother's and sister's. And all the while he remembered what their mother had said. That they had been sent to be calmed. They had been sent here for another chance at life. And for a time the failure weighed heavily on his mind, though it seemed there would be little time to dwell in the past. While he had wandered the world he ran into one who felt as he did. The human Cain who had killed his brother. And Michael offered his protection for a time against his enemies. He was still a shepherd after all. Always looking after strays and lost causes. For a time the two spoke to one another, and Michael watched as Cain changed. And in the process Michael changed with him. The two came to the agreement that perhaps if there was to be power in the world it didn't matter where the power came from, but rather how it was used.
Michael understood now, and it was time to head back, back to be with his kin and set forth on a path to their future. However a small interruption would soon be headed their way.
Michael would find himself with a son. The most dangerous trial Michael had ever faced, was not the first battles of men or against Demons but to have a son. It instilled a sort of fear inside him, making him question. He hadn't a clue how to be a father and honestly the birth of a son hadn't been in any of his plans. But a son was born, Leo was eventually made to be his name. Michael for a time would take the maiden name of the boy's mother and sought to raise him with the best of his ability. Though he had no idea how to raise a child. He was a soldier, that came naturally but parenting couldn't possibly have been worse.
It wasn't that he hadn't tried, but during a time when their factions during the Holy War. It certainly was no time to raise a child so instead he raised a soldier. That if he was to have a son it would be instilled with the same values he himself had, and that perhaps that was all he needed to do to be a good parent. And well in some cases he wasn't wrong, Leo rose to surpass the expectations of his teachers, which was to be expected. But perhaps the pressure Michael himself had felt in the beginning of time had transferred to his son, and the one thing Michael had tried to teach Leo most of all, the same lesson he taught all of his students was that to be a good man, if one followed their convictions and did what they felt was right he would have never judged them.
In the end it was Michael himself who bowed out of a seat on their council, instead placing his weight behind that of Leo. And he was sure the decision was for the best. It was this decision that pushed for Leo to finally become the first seat of the Silver Cross. The accomplishment of which made Michael immensely proud of his son.THE WARS OF MENThere would always be the stigma of sorts that surrounded him, the humans even going as far to write prayers for battle in his name. He would in some way return their sons to the sides of their mother's husband and wife reunited, families never broken by tragedy. He was there, for most if not all tragedy caused by the outpouring of war. It was a distraction from the other force which was brewing within him. The pressure of raising a child and, the first strong act of humility he had committed was what broke the agreeable silence between himself and the Demi-God.He would slip through history, to the battle of Troy and the Inquisition against the Turks, Alexander the Great and the conquests of the Spartans. There was no humility to be found here, instead he would be drowning out the soft voice of the Demi-God whose work had only just begun in the world. Though Michael's manipulation however Humility would come to pass to the 'darker' aspects of the virtue. That to feel shame in such events as war. However Michael was successfully distracted, a blade in his hands was better than any other hobby that could have done so. It was here in these battles, that he earned the moniker as the protector of the defenders of men, wherever they were. It wasn't until the Civil War in America that things really got heated. The slow and steady introduction of heavy artillery into warfare, was something that excited him. Not that he would have admitted that to anyone.However it was during these times, the battles of Gettysburg, Bull run and of the Spotsylvania Court House that made his stomach twist into a knot. It was a sin so thick that he could no longer tell these things apart. As always knowing when to remove himself from the front lines was a soldiers greatest strength and he again began to question the reality of their situation here with the humans. However he did not fully remove himself until the eventual surrender of the South, which he was present for if only for the sole purpose to instill his virtue, humility so that perhaps this broken nation might be able to pick up the pieces and move on.It was after this that he shifted his attention back, and once again requesting that he not be disturbed. Another sabbatical, this time heading into the far west again to the mountains where he could find his peace. He was quite known now for simply just taking off, there one minuet and gone the next. He would often be found in places of peace, the Vatican once, Northern Nepal the next. He wished to find silence, solitude. Some thought that perhaps the Archangel had lost his nerve, but in reality it was a voice, the smallest voice he had heard deep within himself. It was something he had nearly forgotten about, the Demi-God. But he had seen their face, the sweeping visage of a shapeless form and something far more dangerous than any instinct or creed he commanded.
It wasn't until the announcement of The Accords that started this whole mess wasn't it? The broken idea that only a demon was capable of destroying the world. That at the very least shouldn't all of them feel more uncomfortable with this? They were only sweeping half of the problem under the rug. It wasn't doubt that gripped him, but it was common sense. While many had been heavily in favor of the Accords, Michael was quite unsure. If the seven Demon Lords were to volatile, then why were they, the Archangels any different?
And how in Mayaria's name had it been so easy to convince them otherwise? Well other than the few problems with the Lord of 'Wrath'...they all seemed to agree that perhaps blowing up the place wasn't by far the best idea. But Michael still held onto the idea that perhaps this was some sort of penance, and by locking away only the Demon Lords they would fail.
But the suggestion to lock himself away, was met with an outcry that almost startled him. He had in truth forgotten the amount of power that he still held over their decisions. They had outright told him he would be doing no such thing, and his words hung in the air like a bad taste in their mouth.
But Michael was right about one thing, and it was really quite unfortunate the proceedings that would happen.
Because the Demon Lords did not stay in their hibernation for long.
CURSE YOUR SUDDEN BUT INEVITABLE BETRAYALIt had been a foolish decision for him to play into the clutches of Asmodeus. But the cost on both sides was a rather steep one. It had been a request made to him by the Silver Cross, that Michael had been the one closest to the area and he of course would go to check something out without so much as a hesitation even in these days. He had gone on another 'sabbatical', heading to the sea was really all he said where he had been going. Perhaps things would have gone better for him if he had actually said where he was going not that it would have changed anything.
He had been staying in a motel, nothing special really just keeping to himself. He had plans to go kayaking earlier in the morning but those plans never came to fruition. They had arrived late in the evening, the sort of Hollywood styled job. A car pulling up, a distraction of a phone call coming into Michael's phone. And then the knock on the door that he didn't open. He could tell what they were, the feeling in his bones as he flexed his hand attempting to release the blade.
Nothing.
He could feel the mechanism jam like a torn muscle, causing him to resort to more unconventional weaponry as the air in the room began to creep out of it. Shallow breaths were his only compatriot now, and they wouldn't do him much good in the end.
Without that blade he was nothing.
By the time anyone found out where he had gone, it was the local police on the scene...not the angels.
A cracked oar, and blood, really that was all anyone found. The Angels searched, his usual haunts of course were the first to be crossed of the leash but that didn't matter to anyone.
He was gone.
ALIAS: Haverdashum
YEARS ROLEPLAYED: ~10 years
WHERE DID YOU FIND US: Google
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