Voice

[comingorgoing]

Ho, fellow travelers of the Voidtrecker Express. I hope you are all enjoying some apparently well earned rest. I am 10 Vigilant Gaze Purges The Horizon, or if you'd rather, just Vigilant Gaze. I am an angel.

My time here has shown me things I did not think were possible, and that the world is far more vast and incomprehensible than I imagined. It has been a humbling experience. The biggest thing I have learned, is that the word "angel" does not always mean the same thing. I had thought my kind were a universal constant.

And so, I find myself compelled to ask about angels. What do you think of, when you hear that word? Does it even mean anything to you?

Comments

Voice

[sos_pilot]

... Buddy, I've got so many question of my own to ask.

But, uh, yeah! In my world, we usually think of them as some perfect beings from on high with wings and halos and watching over us. Never actually seen one yet, just stuff of legend so far.

[comingorgoing]

More often heard of than seen, hm? Well, I do have wings and a halo, but I don't know if I would say I am a perfect being.

[sos_pilot]

I should hope not! Perfect beings are boring. We're all way more exciting with our flaws.

Name's Della Duck, by the way.

[comingorgoing]

It is an honor, Pree Duck.

There has only been one perfect being, by my understanding, and they ended their own life out of boredom.

[sos_pilot]

[ A little laugh. ]

Just Della's fine.

But we shouldn't have to worry about that being a problem here. I think even perfect beings would find lots of imperfections here on the train!

[comingorgoing]

Indeed so. Some of my brothers think that life itself is imperfect and needs to be "fixed". I do my best to keep them from doing anything they'll regret when they're thinking clearly again.

[sos_pilot]

Well, on behalf of all us non-angels, we thank you a whole lot, Gaze.

voice

[blitzcheer]

Uhh, sorry, I've never heard of an angel before. Where do they--you--come from?

[ Is that even the right question to ask? He's not actually sure... ]

[comingorgoing]

Before mortal kind was even conceived, the god Koss forged us in his workshop, so that we might preserve and exalt the works of the gods. With his silver chisel YSMIR, he beat the law into us, that we might serve forevermore.

He's dead now, or ascended to some other form I cannot perceive, but I still hold true to my purpose.

[blitzcheer]

Uh- [ uhhhhh ]

So are you....metal?

[ ????????? ]

[comingorgoing]

Smokeless, freezing fire, actually. Koss really was the best at his job.

[blitzcheer]

[ ????



???? ]


That-- Okay, yeah, I have never seen an angel before. Everyone on Spira's just... skin and bones, far as I know. Unless we count Unsent.

[comingorgoing]

What are the unsent?

[blitzcheer]

People who died but didn't move on. They...look the same, like they were? But I guess they're more just...energy. Even though they look and feel solid.

[marriedanidiot]

I fear I've not heard that word before. [ Nerdanel hums thoughtfully ]

How would you define it?

[comingorgoing]

[Quietly, to himself:]

Truly, no one here has heard the story before...

[Then, more outloud:]

Eons before mortal kind was created, the gods desired others to care for them, and so the first order of inheritors was forged, the Servants. But the Servants were crafted from a fragment of the divine flame, and so had a will of their own, so Koss, the forge god, crafted the Angels, a second order of inheritors. And into us he beat the Law with his silver chisel YSMIR, that we would serve them and maintain order for all time.

An angel is a peace keeper, bound to preserve the law in all its forms.

[marriedanidiot]

[ She considers ]

So you are... something of an automaton? I fear we have nothing quite like you in our world, although your tale sounds almost like the stories of the Khazad, although only in the widest of strokes, for the Dwarves are counted amongst the Eruhini also, if by adoption, and not creation.

[comingorgoing]

I am no machine.

[Though he could see how someone might come to that conclusion from his extremely brief description of the story.]

I am a spirit of smokeless, cold fire. This armor is merely a shell to help me interact with the physical world without setting things on fire.

[marriedanidiot]

Interesting! [ She hums ]

Closer to one of the ainur than us Incarnates, in my world's equivalents, then, but held in a physical form. Is it one you made, or was it made for you?

[comingorgoing]

It was made for me, long long ago, of forged ash. Mortals made it for me, that I might serve the law once more.

Who are the ainur?

voice

[silentwoof]

I've been called... a Guardian Angel before. I dunno much about 'em. Supposed to have wings and other things I don't have.

[ Her voice is a - mildly strained to be heard - whisper that she's working on making audible talking over this system. ]

[comingorgoing]

[Vigilant Gaze's voice is a big friendly boom, by comparison.]

Metaphorically, I'm assuming?

[silentwoof]

Mmhm.

[ He does sound like a Friend. Perhaps a slightly overwhelming one. ]

Saved some people. Guess I earned it.

[comingorgoing]

Protecting the world and all within it is the purpose of angels, after all. There is no better way to earn such a title.

[silentwoof]

[ He won't see the hint of a smile, or probably even hear it through her even voice, but it's there. ]

I hope I've done a good job of that. I think... I have.