Like all the other Archangels, Zadkiel has a few small 'organisations'
within her ranks, and the Aegis is one such body. Formed around five hundred
years ago by a cadre of Distincted Protectors (mostly Ofanim), the Aegis is
a group dedicated not so much to Protection itself, but rather to the
concept of Rescuing. The Aegis has a range of different choirs in it, but
most of them serve more in an administrative capacity, watching out for
signs of trouble and danger, and then alerting those who are doing the
rescuing, where the real excitement lies. These 'rescuers' are known as
the Black Knights (no doubt created by some Ofanim with a sense of humour
and irony).
When hearing of any danger on the planet (which, obviously, is almost
always, but usually they confine their actions to large scale operations,
for obvious reasons) the Black Knights are despatched. A unit of Black
Knights will enter the situation with all the usual Ofanim speed and proceed
to remove as many people from the situation as possible. Roles for members
of the Black Knights will usually be as firemen and other emergency
services.
While there are non-Ofanim in the ranks of the Black Knights, the Ofanim are
by far the most numerous and have given the Black Knights its reputation as
an elite rapid deployment unit whose success rate is incredibly high. Given
that they are often called into warzones to extract innocents and
non-combatants, despite having minimal combat training themselves, the Black
Knights are held in very high regard among members of the Host, especially
the Laurencians, and the two often get along well together (the Aegis is
not a bunch of pacifists - their purpose is to rescue the 'innocents', or
non-combatants, involved in a situation). Given that the Black Knights are
mostly Ofanim and have to enter some very dangerous, they have a
reputation of being very gutsy but also very skilled rescuers (think of them
like Top Gun fighter pilots in temperament, but ones who rescue people
instead).
The Black Knights are trained very intensely, and so all members of the BK
know exactly their capabilities and those of their team-mates. Sure they
have to push themselves every day, but making stupid moves gets people
killed. So, while they may all seem reckless at first observation, they know
themselves far better than almost anyone and can judge how they would fare
in a given situation almost instantly. Think of sky-divers; they may look
reckless, but simultaneously the ones who take the sport seriously are the
most safety-conscious people you could ever meet.
While the Black Knights spend most of their time on Earth, they are also
often called in to rescue angels from the depths of Hell itself.
Unfortunately, given the nature of their work, the Black Knights have a
very high burn-out ratio and the vast majority of celestials never get
accepted into the Knights. Playing with lives is not something to entrust
to just anyone.
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