By CeIestiaI7@aol.com
I'm currently working on a series of NPC celestials (angels), each of whom holds a particular Sacrament as their Word. I'm not familiar with any such series to date, so I thought I'd give it a try. For those not familiar with the Seven Holy Sacraments, they are: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. I have a few ideas for each of them and will post each as I finish it. If you have any *must see* ideas, send them to my private email address. Otherwise, I'd rather just have public discussion on what I've already posted. So here's part five...
Corporeal Forces - 3 Strength 6 Agility 6 Ethereal Forces - 2 Intelligence 4 Precision 4 Celestial Forces - 4 Will 7 Perception 9
Vessels: Human/5 (Adult Male)
Emote/5, Knowledge/3 (Non-Christian Religions), Language/3 (Hebrew), Language/2 (Greek), Savoir-Faire/1, Singing/2
Projection (Corporeal/3), Harmony (Celestial/2)
Mercurian of Flowers, Seraphim of Flowers
Jediael danced with the congregation as the choir sang a "get up out 'chore chair" rendition of "How Great Thou Art." Over the last few months he'd been to over a dozen churches, watching the churchgoers and participating in their celebration of faith. He'd been amazed at the things he'd seen. Humans had a plethora of ways to speak to and with the Lord.
After the service, he slid out as quietly as he slid in. He strolled down the walk in front of the urban church. As he looked around, it struck him how He continued to make his home next to the liquor store, and within a block of at least one crack house.
"He comes because they call Him"
Jediael nearly left his vessel in fright right there. He turned to see who had startled him. As he spun around he met face to face with a teenage African-American girl, dressed in a floral-print dress and smiling from ear to ear. Jediael was never one for superlatives, but he had to admit to himself that this girl was the most joyously beautiful he had ever seen. Apparently, his shock was evident.
The girl took his arm, gave him a coy wink and pulled him along as she spoke, "You see, everyone has their own way of Communing with God. Laurence would have you believe you can only do it once a week in a bread line."
Jediael looked surprised and chuckled quietly in disbelief.
"Oh, come on," the girl said as she playfully tugged his arm, "There is no ONE way. Didn't you feel the Spirit in you while you sang and danced? Of course you did. And two weeks ago, over the High Holy Days. Didn't you feel His presence as you atoned?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Jediael said with a shrug.
The girl stepped back and whacked him with her Bible, "You guess so? The problem with you is that you're looking for the quaint little predictable formulae of which your former master was so proud. It's a good thing I rescued you, chump."
"Yeah, I guess so," Jediael managed to spit out before the book hit him square in the head.
Jediael has only had his Word for a few months. He was chosen by Novalis for his knowledge of diverse religious groups outside the Christian faith system. She thought it more appropriate to have a more ecclesiastical celestial to take the Word of Communion.
Experience is not one of Jediael's strong qualifiers, however. He has a deep love for humans and their beliefs, but most of his human contact was made over the internet as a minor servitor of Jean. Novalis is forcing him out into the real world to truly experience what the human condition of faith is, and how groups choose to speak with the Almighty. Jediael feels very ambivalent about the whole process. On the one hand, he has great affection for the Word for which he was chosen, but on the other hand he feels that other celestials resent his dumb luck in being chosen for such an important Word.
Of all the Superiors, David in particular is keeping a close eye on Jediael. The young angel is a loner, and holds a Word that is largely a community concept. David will not press the issue with Novalis too soon, but should the Mercurian misstep along the way, rest assured that she will hear about it.