Exile

2019-06-26T17:01:15Z

Errant:

{{CharacterNew
|NameOnMUSH=Hayal
|Color=#333
|TextColor=#c1c1c1
|Char_id=8000
|Img=https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/erispope/531292/1286/1286_900.jpg
|FullName=Exiled Soldier of the Host
|Gender=Male
|Species=Angel
|Theme=Original
|Chartype=OC
|Active=Approved
|Occupation=Soldier of Fortune
|Citizenship=The Silver City (Revoked)
|Residence=No Fixed Abode
|Education=Advanced Military
|Quote=.
|PAge=Unknown
|AAge=Unknown
|DOB=1 January
|Height=191 cm (6'3")
|Weight=Unknown
|Hair=Reddish Blond
|Eyes=Blue
|Actor=Paul Bettany
|Song="Dark Angel" by VNV Nation
|Profile=He was an angelic soldier of the Heavenly Host, who Fell for the sin of disobedience to orders....and in turn, left the Infernal Legion rather than torment humans. Now he's an immortal exile in the world of matter and men, doing his feeble best to pass for a mortal human, trapped between angels and demons, belonging to neither.
===Current Player Approved: May 8, 2019===
|Description=His hair's a sandy reddish blonde, falling in waves past his shoulders. His features are regular, with level brows, pale blue eyes set deep, a long nose, and a thin mouth. The lines there are of a human nearing middle age....and perhaps surprisingly, they're more care-worn than harsh. In fact, there's nothing of cruelty or ferocity there at all.
 
He's taller than an average human, slender rather than massive. Broad in the shoulders, with square and capable hands. The only hint of the beauty usually granted the angelic is in his grace of movement, the kind to make dancers yearn in envy.
 
He doesn't always have the wings visible, but when they are, they're an odd, ashy gray, touched with the subtle blue-green iridescence of a pigeon's throat. When they manifest, so do his tattoos - lines of Enochian script, surprisingly delicate, visible on throat and arms and torso, shimmering lines of fire.
|History=They were called into being in an instant - the first minds, the thoughts of God, pure messengers of his Will. And Hayal was among them, among the joyous witnesses to the process of creation, one of the stars of the morning, before that mantle became associated with one angel in particular, first and eldest, the Lightbearer.
 
He wasn't tasked with a specific facet of creation, but rather contented himself with observation and praise. The idea that he would be a warrior, occurred to none of them. For 'war' was an idea whose time had not yet come.
 
But then came Lucifer's rebellion and the war in Heaven....and Hayal, distraught, discovered his purpose. Worse yet, when the war was over, at least the initial battles, for surely it will be resumed at the end of Creation, he found he could not lay that role aside. A defender of humans against the wiles of Satan, he was the ceaseless opponent of the servants of Lucifer.
 
Until the day he was amongst those bidden destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the first time he'd been turned on humans not only guilty, but innocent. For there were innocents in the Cities of the Plain.....and Hayal, faithful throughout the War, Fell rather than turn angelic fire on them.
 
His timing was less than optimal. Cast out from the Host for his refusal, he found himself viewed with enormous suspicion by most of the legions of Hell. If he was going to rebel, why hadn't he done it in the War? And concern for humans as the reason.... He didn't last long, only an aeon or so, having realized that he'd only traded frying pan for fire when it came to beings willing to torment humans. His refusal there got him cast out....with only the world of matter left as a place of exile.
 
He's wandered there for nearly a millennium, off and on, occasionally hiding and resting for decades in caves under the earth, or remote valleys in the mountains. Always observing humans with curiosity, slowly learning their ways. And in time, due to his nature, getting involved in their wars. Mostly trying to keep his nature hidden from those he fought alongside, but not always. But violence has always drawn him, try as he might to resist it.
 
It was easier in ancient times, when humans as well as angels wielded sword and shield and bow. He learned enough to pass for one of them for the length of a campaign, a war, picking sides depending on which seemed most likely to lead to a better future for the humans involved. As human weapons technology changed, it moved beyond the things he'd used as a soldier of the Host...and he was left playing catch up. He's many things, but a very fast learner is not among them. He's learned competence with more modern weapons, but he's really nothing exceptional....and his instincts remain firmly in favor of a hand-crafted beatdown.
 
The other learning curve has been dealing with something he's fairly certain was cooked up in Hell's labs: bureaucracy. It's no longer enough to show up to a brush-war announcing that you're a warrior come from far away, now. There are things like databases and passports and biometrics. He can no longer pass these things well enough to get into most national armies, but there are enough mercenary groups operating with varying levels of legitimacy and low enough standards that he can find someone to sign on with when the urge to war really takes him. In between these stints, he generally wanders as the whim takes him, indulging his curiosity and observing humans, the eternal tourist.
|Personality=He's an oddball by human standards....but he's capable of great love and affection, as well as staggering violence. But the drive to violence is counterbalanced by his reverent fascination for living things, their growth, their processes, their infinite variety. With the patience of an immortal, he's spent years watching the life of a single tree, millennia devoted to the erosion of a mountain range....but his great obsession is humanity.
 
He's dwelled among them, fought in their wars, healed in their hospitals, forever in search of the Divine's reasoning in granting mortal creatures in corruptible flesh a spark of creation. That they can not only reproduce their bodies, but have souls that hang in the balance between good and evil. He's no closer to his answer than he was, and no less enamored of the entire process.
 
Perhaps that's what he's ultimately in search of for himself - humanity.
|Abilities='''ANGELIC BODY'''
 
He's not wholly indestructible. The physical matter he's taken on can be hurt, cut, or even destroyed, and it does cause him pain. But nearly any wound regenerates, though this material body heals only about twice as fast as a mortal's - and it can handle trauma that would send a human into shock and then death. He does not need to breathe, eat, drink or sleep. He can survive vacuum, high pressure, and extremes of temperature.
 
'''FEAR'''
 
There's a reason nearly every angelic interaction in the Bible begins with the angel in question saying, "Fear not." For if he exposes even a fraction of his true nature, it's almost always enough to scare the daylights out of any given ordinary mortal. And if he's exerting himself to be frightening rather than reassuring, it's enough to more or less stop them cold. (OOCly, of course, this is with PC consent. If you think your character would have an IC reason to be able to resist this power, just say.)
 
'''FLIGHT'''
 
The wings do work. He's taken on enough of earthly matter that he can't go past about Mach 1. But unless he's racing some of the other fliers, that's more than enough.
 
'''SENSE ANGEL'''
 
Even if he's somewhere stuck in the middle, he's still got a keen sense for the presence of his kindred on either side of the divide. He can sense the presence of an angel or demon - at what range depends on their power level. A demon thoroughly possessing a human might require him to be within less than a short city block to even get a whiff of. An archangel showing up in her full majesty will have his antennae tingling from up to six or seven miles away. They can also hide themselves from him with various kinds of magic.
 
This also extends to traces and origins. He might be able to touch an artifact and discern if it's angelic in nature, or stand in the presence of a human magician and tell that they've been trafficking with demons. In these cases, Hayal has to be within very close range - a medium-sized room or so, unless it's a very powerful artifact indeed.
 
'''SPEECH'''
 
He can, effectively, speak and understand the speech of pretty much every sort of sentient creature in Creation.
 
'''STRENGTH'''
 
His strength is far beyond human. He can kick through a concrete wall with ease, lift a car and set it aside like someone moving a book to dust behind it. It's actually less than many mortal heroes - he's not used to the limitations of physical reality, honestly.
|Skills='''ALL THE WEAPONS'''
 
He's got expert-level facility with the human versions of the kind of weapons angels have used in battle since the start of creation: mostly blades and blunt trauma. Knives, sword, spears, clubs, and maces. The things humans have invented since then....not so much. He has a little experience with firearms and explosives, but he's basically competent, at best.
 
'''FIRST AID'''
 
He's not a trained physician, but he's been on the battlefield with humans for centuries. He knows how to deal with the wounds they incur there, at least as the first level of support. He's at best the equivalent of an Army medic, not a genuine doctor.
 
'''HAND TO HAND'''
 
He doesn't need weapons to be deadly - Hayal's very capable of doing damage with bare hands and feet (and even, in the last ditch, wings). He's not an expert in any particular human martial art...and this is not to say that he's unbeatable by even humans - he can be distracted, make mistakes, or deliberately throw a fight like anyone else.
 
'''TACTICS'''
 
He served under Heaven's general for aeons. It's not merely individual fighting he's good at, but also tactics and strategy on a grand scale. He can command a conflict from squad level up to galactic, in terms of scope.
|Resources='''CELESTIAL CONTACTS'''
 
His current status in the angelic hierarchy may be nonexistent, but there are still plenty of individual angels who know him. While most would be dubious at best when it comes to helping a rebel in exile, there are a few who might. Same for the counterparts on the Infernal side.
 
'''HOUSING'''
 
While he doesn't need a home the way a human might and he certainly doesn't have the emotional attachment they would, he does have places that he returns to, in the world of matter. At the moment, he's got one in Brooklyn - a bare bones loft, with the advantage of rooftop access. A place where he can store what goods he might own, meditate, rest, and clean up.
 
'''LEGAL EXISTENCE'''
 
It's taken him a long time to adapt to the modern world's obsession with documentation and IDs, but he's realized things are far, far easier if the System thinks you exist. So he's slowly built up a main identity sufficiently backstopped that he can pass the average background check. He's got a driver's license and a US passport, and entries in some basic databases. It is not, however, something that will stand up to very dedicated scrutiny. Not like a real spy's deep cover - someone looking hard will swiftly realize that Hayal Akhmatov, Israeli immigrant, is not who his documents say he is.
 
'''MONEY'''
 
It took him a long time, but he finally grasped at least some of the concept of money, at least as a signification of value to mortals. He's worked as a mercenary of one sort or another, off and on, over the centuries...and as a being that has very few in terms of material needs, it's accumulated in various bank accounts. He's not rich, he's not more than 'comfortable'....but he also doesn't have a lot of the recurring expenses the average human does. So what he's saved from working as a soldier or PMC just sits there, generally.
 
'''SHADOW BLADE'''
 
He no longer carries the sword he was originally issued - it was taken from him when he was cast out. What he has as a substitute, however, is a corrupted one taken from the discorporate body of a demon, during his escape from the Legion. It's obviously an unnatural thing - in its smallest form, it looks like a shard of obsidian about six inches long. In use, it's a full-size sword that fails to reflect light properly...and is capable of harming other angels and many supernatural beings. Including himself.
|Weaknesses='''ARROGANT'''
 
Hey, he's an angel. He's immortal. He's nearly indestructible. What's to worry about? Plenty, that's what. Not that it occurs to Hayal often. He's cruising for a bruising on so many levels.
 
'''CONSECRATED ITEMS'''
 
While he may have disavowed the rebel faction as hard as he did he Host, many a holy item or person classifies him as a kind of demon. So he's vulnerable to the rites that exorcise or compel or bind them, much weaker than either an unfallen angel or true demon. Saint's relics repel him, the prayers of the devout affect him, and spending time in a church unless he absolutely has to starts off as 'very unpleasant' and spirals up to 'screaming agony' within about a half an hour. This doesn't keep him from being stupidly fascinated with them.
 
'''DEBASED'''
 
Even aside from the social and political lack he deals with by being outcast - it's changed him a lot, physically. He can't endure things either unfallen angels or true demons can. He may not age, but he's far more easily destroyed. He doesn't have access to teleportation or raw destructive power or most of the supernatural abilities both the demonic and the angelic do. He can't defend himself very well from either side - his best bet when it comes to dealing with his former comrades in arms is to not be found in the first place, or to flee if he is. If he fears anything, it's having them come after them specifically, because even his knowledge of the world of matter won't keep him safe from them at all.
 
'''DRAWN TO VIOLENCE'''
 
Despite the odd choices he's made, ultimately, he was an angel of war. Made to be a destroyer, not one of the gentler spirits that urged living things to grow or kindled stars in distant galaxies. He may resist this nature and often has, but it's his bedrock, what he defaults to if he isn't careful.
 
'''IGNORANT'''
 
Hayal's a one trick pony on a cosmic level. Does it involve death or destruction? He's there. Learning? Only slowly. Understanding of other aspects of creation? Nuh uh. He's been busy. Up until this enforced sojourn in matter, he was not been paying attention to what humans do when they aren't killing each other. He wasn't at God's elbow when Love was on the planning table. So the mortal world is bewildering, immensely so, on just about every level. He can read human communications in terms of bare understanding, but...even after all these years, he generally doesn't get it on the gut level.
 
'''MAGICIANS'''
 
Without the protection of a place in the celestial hierarchy, any idiot with a working knowledge of Enochian and a steady enough hand to draw a summoning circle can at least tug on his attention by using the angelic equivalent of 'To whom it may concern'. And far too many are ready to do so. Few are powerful enough to command him or bind him for long, but those magicians are out there. Without the protection of his brothers and sisters en masse, he's more vulnerable than one might think.
 
'''NAMELESS'''
 
Hayal isn't really his Name, in the cosmic sense. It's only the Hebrew word for 'soldier' and his surname was a gift from a human in the 1920s. He's not a named angel, the way Michael and Raphael and Samael, et al. are. He was one of a myriad like him, identical to his brethren like fish in a school, until he questioned and Fell. It makes him strangely vulnerable to magicians, occultists, and both other angels and demons, for they don't need to know a specific name for the sake of enspelling or coercing him. He wasn't made an individual but claimed a kind of individuality on his own....and his insistence on being one runs subtly against his ultimate nature.
 
'''RONIN'''
 
He doesn't belong to the Heavenly Host. He doesn't belong to the Infernal Legion. His nature remains angelic even though he's exiled to the realm of matter, he's not merely possessing a body like a demon or some angels. So he exists in a weird limbo, without the protection of kin or kind. A stranger to heaven and earth, as the poet put it.
 
'''SYMPATHY'''
 
Despite all the ages of watching humans destroy themselves - he's not callused or casual about human death. And it affects him with individuals rather than only mass casualties. It's only going to get worse, if that adjective applies to soft-heartedness, as he spends more time among humans. He's a sucker for them.
 
'''UNEARTHLY'''
 
He's gotten better at concealing his nature over the centuries, but when it comes right down to it, he isn't human. He forgets to breathe or blink, his emotional reactions are at least a hair off, if not downright inexplicable. He doesn't smell right, literally or figuratively.
}}

File:Hayal1.jpg

2019-06-26T16:47:28Z

Errant:

United Heroes MUSH - User contributions [en]

Exile

File:Hayal1.jpg