-- Ryo Venalles, Captain of Tripartite Raiding Force POV --

Ryo Venalles was, for lack of a better word, immensely terrified beyond reasonable belief. It was completely reasonable, as a “fucking demon” was ripping apart his men. Captain Venalles calls it a demon, not because of its race, that being some form of High Tier Angelic Summon based on its appearance, but because of the brutality it showed as it tore his men in two (in more than one occurrence during its short attack).

“Men-At-Arms, Form Up! Come on, men! We must work together to defeat this adversary!” Bellowed Captain Venalles to the lightly equipped men that filled the blood-soaked field surrounding the temple grounds that now shared both their own and that of their victims' innards, with less than a handful even acknowledging their Captain even said anything before standing their ground, or in many other cases, attempting to flee the battlefield entirely. ‘Did I just call this a fucking battlefield? This is a godless slaughter!’ internalized the Captain, reevaluating his current situation.

‘Fucking divine summoners… how does this remote temple even have someone capable of this tier of magic? It must be at least a 7th-tier spell caster, as their summon seemed both intelligent and, for lack of a better word, powerful. Captain Venalles internally sighed despite himself, before immediately chastising himself for doing so in such a dangerous situation. This should have been an easy raid, taking out a temple to the Trinity would have been an easy way to ruin the morale of the Imperial forces and villages on the border, while also boosting those of the Tripartite’. Ryo, clad in the heavy ebony armor that all of his fellow knights wore besides the extra embroidery over his heart, dove behind the embered remains of a horse-drawn carriage, the horse of which managed to escape the flames, the carriage having been burned when they torched all of the surrounding supplies and buildings of the temple grounds.

Captain Venalles was no fool. Despite the overwhelming faith he had in his men, both in the knights and men-at-arms at his disposal, he knew that this was a lost cause. He was many things, but incompetent was very far down the list of attributes he possessed. At least, that was what he thought until right now.

The Captain, realizing that the screaming went silent, went to peer from behind his cover, only to find a shadow looming over him. In any other world, an Angelic being of purity, a halo glistening in the moonlight that revealed itself behind the thick clouds of the night, white wings extended, and a not-so-faint smile would bring a sense of achievement and contentment. For Ryo? Well… in layman's terms, he soiled his pants as he looked into the abject horror of a smile radiating from the Angel, his white smile being the only thing visible from the thick shadow his hood portrayed onto its face.

‘Fu-’ and darkness took over, the last thing he saw was a spinning world of flames and the dead as his head became disconnected from his neck.

-- Simon Rivers, Clergyman of the Trinity POV --

The last remaining priest of the Temple of the Trinity, a man of the faith that served for several lifetimes, one that both his body, mind, and soul appeared to reflect, had his (mental) jaw hanging to the ground as he stood in front of the surviving orphans and clergy-people of the temple. Before him, as if blessing them with its presence from stories of myth and legends, an Angel stood before the collective with nothing but a static smile radiating from its beautiful, angular, and angelic face. With their hood no longer hiding their head, the Angel’s Golden hair and eyes made a perfect match to its pure white skin. This specific Angel appeared to be some form of a warrior if they were to take the silver and gold armor into account.

The Angel began speaking in a beautiful song-like language, appearing to stop halfway through their speech when they noticed that their audience was not capable of understanding it. Then, without any warning, the Angel walked up to the clergyman, tapped him on the head, and began speaking again in coherent basic.

“Apologies for the sudden physical contact, Reverend. It appears I did not know the language that was needed to communicate with you. My name given to me is Gabriel, and I am an Archangel” announced the now-known Archangel titled Gabriel, a faint apologetic gaze appearing in their eyes before clearing as they peered into the very soul of Simon.

Simon, for his part, shook his head, both at the statement made by the Archangel, and the absurdity of it. “My name and title are Father Simon; I am a Clergyman of the Trinity, and there is no need to apologize for such a trivial matter. You saved every single life before you now. I just wish that there were more…” Simon suddenly shook from fear, before rushing to add “Not that we blame you, Archangel Gabriel! It's just… There is so much lost life in our home. I don't understand how some people could do this to noncombatants”. Simon sighed, before chastising himself again, ‘An angel would not concern themselves any more than they have. I should not have let my thoughts wander the way that I have’.

The Angel, despite the static smile still left on its pristine face, had a hint of curiosity to its appearance that only the most observant could notice; of which, none before them did. “Noncombatants? Then you must be at war with another, correct?”

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Simon, surprised by the interest, and better yet, the lack of knowledge the Angel before him had, gave his best of an honest answer. “The Body of the Church has no Stance in this war, however, the enemy of the Empire we currently reside in is in complete animosity to all those that worship deities, including that of the Trinity. We act as a neutral ground for all involved, which is why we do not allow armies to make use of our grounds without our permission. This time, it appears that our neutrality left us open for subjugation and pillaging… sorry, but the wound is still open. I don't trust myself to continue at the moment.” Simon finished with a downtrodden expression, one that immediately shot up as he saw a familiar face grace itself behind their savior.

“Havana! Thank the Trinity that you're safe. I feared… the worst. Don't worry, we were able to keep the children with us safe, but…”. Simon stopped, before continuing. “I'm sorry, but Sister Savana is no longer with us. The Tripartite soldiers got to her before I could hide her. I - I wouldn't look for her. I'm so sorry, young one.”

Havana, already tired and broken, could only drop to her knees, protected only by the increasingly dirty white robes of her sacred belief. She contained no tears to spar to spend, as she simply stared puffy eyes past Simon, as though another column of her life collapsed. ‘Of which it likely did. I wish I had been quicker to round up those who were not immediately slaughtered by the Raiders. There is no point dwelling on it, that much I realize, but for her sake…’ Simon looked at the Priestess in Training with pity, her spirit crushed, before looking at the Angel once again with a mix of anguish and gratification radiating from his person.

“Thank you, Archangel Gabriel. I'm sorry to say that we cannot provide you tribute or-”

The Archangel suddenly raised a hand, denying any sort of payment.

“There is no need for compensation, Reverend Simon. I simply answered the call and protected the flock. I only wish I could have appeared sooner.” Gabriel admitted that the Angels’ words shocked all in attendance, along with the collapsed Havana.

"I'm- what?" Simon gasped. A few things stood out. The first two were the Angel using terms like "answering the call" and "protecting the flock," which all but confirmed that the being before them was allied to their subscribed belief. What stood out the most, however, was its earnest wish to appear sooner.

“What do you mean you wish you appeared sooner? Were you not watching the entire time? I thought that…” he trailed off, glancing at the face of the Angel that had a slightly puzzled expression adorning its face.

“Angels are neither omniscient nor omnipotent, though we often appear that way due to our nature of accepting information in the form of prayers. I only realized there was trouble when I witnessed the pillaging myself.” Corrected the Angel, as if the information was asked by an ill-informed child.

The father's brain exploded in mental exertion as he tried to recall scripture that either supported or contradicted the claims of the angel before him, but he couldn't remember anything. 'I see,' Father Simon managed to cough out, before noticing an inconsistency in the angel's story. “You said that you can come across information in the form of prayer, but then said that it was happenstance. Why is that? I certainly know that I prayed from the very start of the raid when I knew that the threat posed to the church could bring an end to all of us. What did you mean by what you said?” asked the Father before turning pale. He just personally questioned not only their savior but one of the very communicators and workers of their lord. He was about to stammer out an apology when the Angel answered his question with a gesture to the grounded woman.

“I, uh, what?” Havana said, her brain still numb from all of the information that had gone through her in the past fifteen minutes since the Angel had appeared.

“The Priestess Havana stood out like a Beacon in the blackest of nights and then proceeded to speak in the language of Celestials when I appeared before her. She is the sole reason as to why I appeared. As for the reason that I cannot hear your prayers, the answer is simply because you pray to another deity. Though strangely… No, never mind. I must not interfere between the realms of divinity while in the material plane.” Gabriel said, though the latter part the Angel muttered to itself, only to be caught by the aging Father, though he did not show any notice to it, instead backlogging that piece into the depths of his mind, promising himself to find the answer that the Angel refused to part with.

“Me?! But… I couldn't even save myself! How could I have… ‘summoned’ you, ah, Archangel Gabriel” Havana inquired, a mixture of doubt and confusion oozing out of her words.

“You are more powerful than you yet realize, ‘Redeemer’. If you cultivate yourself, I could envision a spiritual and political revolution in your world. However, that is entirely up to you. Your path is yours alone, and I cannot, nor would I, force you down a path to follow. In this regard, I am simply a guide.” The Angel said with the ever passive smile.

- Gabriel POV -

‘AHHHH WHAT ARE YOU DOING, STOP MAKING SHIT UP’. Despite the calm exterior, an inferno of emotions rang out from the otherworldly Angel. Sure, it was obvious that the girl had something to do with his appearance. ‘I mean, come on. An Angel appearing before a Priestess in her time of need? That must mean something. And the communication between the two of them. Whether she accidentally triggered some sort of universal translator or managed to speak in coherent and comprehensible Celestial of her own accord, it was certainly interesting.’

‘Ahh, I was so starved of roleplay that I just made up random tidbits of information, both from my imagination and from the world of AdvenTravelers. I hope my tirade won't have any serious ramifications.’ Thought Gabriel with a sigh, looking up as he slowly began walking away with his hands clasping each other behind his back.

Little did he know, that that moment of weakness would be the catalyst that would cement his place in the hearts of the continent and beyond for centuries to come.