Angel Culture/Culture

General

History

**Culture**

Abilities

Original

## Social Hierarchy

The term Angels is a broad term for these magical beings. There is actually about nine subcategories of Angels, also known as choirs, separated into three tiers (Inky Extra's Ch 107). The higher an Angel is up the tier system, the more magical power they have access to. So, for example, an archangel will have more more magical power than a common Angel (Ch 284).

Angels are unique in this tier system for the basic fact that they have direct messengers and interactions with higher or cosmic beings. Though the exact order of the higher tiers are less known than the organization of the third tier is to your average toon. Angels have long since allied themselves to Order and Mercy in particular, standing in opposition to Chaos and other beings that invite destruction. That being said, it is rare for an Angel to get directly involved unless a magical catastrophe is occurring. Angels are mostly reclusive and believe that their interferences should only be necessary as a last means of defense.

### First Tier Angels

The first tier is involved with celestial or cosmic bodies. They face reality benders, universes, and even gods. Due to their focus on such large scale issues things such as people, wars or culture tends to fly right over their heads. They can be seen in the Upper but it is a rare event and they tend to remain around the Sanctuary or the area that is designated for Angels only to preform their work. First tier Angels visit instead of stay in the Upper, none of them appear like anything familiar to this world. It is generally unknown how old cosmic Angels are, even to other Angels, as time becomes a lot more malleable once one starts dealing in matters outside of the known universe (Inky Extra's Ch 75) Angelo notes that the higher tier an Angel is the less humanity they have and that it is unclear whether the First Tier Angels even have emotions at all (Inky Extra's Ch 107) The three choirs in the First Tier are the Seraphims, the Cherubims and the Thrones.

### Cherubims

Cherubims are most notable for their odd physical appearance, which usually consists of a combination of multiple different animal parts. Cherubims can also have multiple heads, eyes, wings, etc For example, Isaac notes that one Cherubim Alice had a run in with while she was younger had a goat, lion and hawk head (Inky Extra's Ch 75) Cherubims are usually used as guards.

### Thrones

While not yet mentioned in the published IM or Inky Extra's works we have gotten some information about Thrones from the author Tap on the discord server. Much like other First Tier Angels the Thrones are otherworldly in appearance, appearing as interlocking rings covered with eyes. Thrones act as First Tier judges and are almost omniscient. The exact limits of their 'all knowing' nature is currently unknown.

### Second Tier Angels

Second tier angels are involved in works of nature. The cycles of the world and planets. Seasons, day and night cycles, even the water cycle. They also are messengers between the first and third tier Angels, a go between. They lack in familiar appearance, most leaning toward the strangeness of their first tier fellows. Most remain glamoured and rarely if ever directly interact with Surface people. The three choirs in the Second Tier are the Powers, the Virtues and the Dominions (Inky Extra's Ch 107)

### Powers

The Powers are the Angels charged with organizing the Virtues, similar to the Archangels relationship with the Common Angels. They monitor not only the work of the Virtues but also the balance between light and dark in the solar system. Powers are also supposedly warrior Angels (Inky Extra's Ch 107)

### Virtues

The Virtues are in charge of the movement of the solar system. These Angel's mostly focus on seasons and making sure all of the right natural cycles are maintained. According to Angelo the Virtues will often come to Third Tier Angels when a cycle is thrown off balance, for example a late winter, since they usually believe the Surface people are to blame for these disruptions (Inky Extra's Ch 107)

### Dominions

Dominions mainly act as messengers between the tiers. While they usually only run messages between the Second and Third tiers they are also the ones responsible for delivering the rare messages sent down by the First Tier Angels (Inky Extra's Ch 107) Since they need to deliver messages from the First Tier these Angels have the ability to "travel beyond this world" (Ch 250) According to Angelo these Angel's are generally very egotistical due to their position in the tier system (Inky Extra's Ch 107) Alice also mentions that these Angels are notorious gossips. Dominions halo's are usually a crossed X instead of the circular halo's of common Angels (Ch 250)

### Third Tier Angels

The third tier Angels are the most commonly seen and identifiable type of Angel. They work on matters of people, nations, and magic. The common Angel is the most often seen. The Archangel and Principalities are less commonly seen, but just as involved. The three choirs in the Third Tier are Principalities, Archangels and Common Angels (Inky Extra's Ch 107)

### Principalities

Principalities monitor governing bodies and nations. They work with transitions of powers and changes on a global or country level. Angelo describes them as fairly laid-back unless a war breaks out somewhere (Inky Extra's Ch 107)

### The Council of Seven

The Upper itself is governed by the Council of Seven. This Council is made up of seven archangels that have been specially picked for their Talents and trained to be Council members. In fact, Council members and those in training to be council members actually inherit a special Talent that helps in their personal calling as Archangels. These Talents are known as The Ancient Gifts (Ch 54) The Council mostly deals with the people of the Upper, the Surface and the management of dark creatures/Demons (Inky Extra's Ch 75) The current council consists of Jacob (Jake), Michael, Isaac, Jethro, Samuel, Hannah and Elizabeth. Each of these seven are responsible for their corresponding Angel sect.

### Archangels

Archangels are more powerful then your common Angel. This is in part due to their increased magical abilities, which is evidenced by their ability to obtain more than one pair of wings. Archangels generally lead the seven divisions of common angels. Archangels are usually given the title Master before their name when referred to by other Angels.

#### Seers

Seers are usually only Archangels and there is at most two seers at a time, generally only when one is about to replace the last. Despite this the Seer division is technically counted as one of the common Angel divisions. Seer is an in born gift that permits further insight to the future for the third tier Angels. The natural progression between Seers is that the current Seer's ability to see the future will weaken and fade over time as the successors sight strengthens (Ch 199). The visions the Seer see's are what the future will be if events continue on their current path. This means that the Seer can give the Angel's the advance warning they need to take preventative measures before the disaster occurs. These preventative measures can be on a scale small enough for the Archangel Council to handle or could be as extreme as the First Tier shifting a planet into a more favorable position. It is also important to note that, while the Seer will have a vision of the large scale catastrophe they often don't see the small events leading up to /triggering that disaster. These doomsday visions are far more common then one might think, with Mary claiming she see's the world end about once or twice a month in her visions (Ch 265).

The insignia of the Seers is an image of an eye with wings and a halo (Ch 199) The current Seer is Elizabeth, though Mary Angel is set to succeed her as the next Seer and receives the majority of the same visions she does.

### Common Angels

As is probably obvious from their title, Common Angels are the Angels most commonly seen by those outside of The Upper. Unlike their fellow third tier Angels, the Archangels, Common Angels are not able to obtain more than one pair of wings. Common Angels are usually divided up into seven working sects, all of which have a Archangel in charge of it. These sects are Warriors, Guardians, Healers, Recorders, Messengers, Judges, and Seers. Each of these sects also have a insignia which is worn by members, generally on their shoulders, to distinguish which Angels belong to each sect. Although it should be noted that, while the Seer sect is counted among these seven, it is usually an Archangel who fulfills this role. Common Angels are able to choose which of these sects they would like to become a part of, regardless of what their abilities might pre-dispose them to be. For example, Angelo was a Common Angel with a gift for healing but instead of joining the Healers he choose to work with the Judges in the courts (Inky Extra's Ch 107) While most common Angels seem to be human in appearance there are animal toon common Angels, such as Ramos (Ch 210)

#### Warriors

Warrior Angels actively hunt down dark creatures and Demons, sometimes even going all the way to Hell to achieve their goal. They act as the offensive part of the Angels military. The weapons used by these Angels have Angel Runes engraved into their steel and are forged in runed fire for purification, imbuing them with light magic (Inky Extra's Ch 75) The current head of the Warriors is Michael P. Thronius.

#### Guardians

Guardian Angels mainly work as the defense against dark forces on the Surface. Guardian angels may be assigned to protect a single person or even a group if deemed necessary. They also guide people in times of need. These Angels also use Runed weaponry like the Warriors do. The current head of the Guardians is Isaac Angel (Inky Extra's Ch 75)

#### Healers

Healers are in charge of providing medical aid to other Angels and allies. The current head of the Healers is Jethro Nimbus.

#### Recorders

Recorders manage the recording and sharing of information/history in the Upper. The symbol of the Recorders is an open scroll with a halo and a ray of sunshine shining down onto it (Ch 267). The current head of the Recorders is Samuel.

#### Messengers

Messengers carry information between various Angels and allies. Messenger Angels also have horns that allow them to use a messengers greatest weapon, the war cry. The war cry in a single deep reverberating note that can shake the surrounding area and even bring down city walls if enough messengers do it at once (Ch 214) The current head of the Messengers is Jacob (Jake) Koil.

#### Judges

Judges manage the execution of the law, it's unsure of what exactly before the war but after Upper Judges have taken a large part in the laws and management of magical beings and sanctuaries around the world. This includes dealing with problematic groups on both the magic and non-magic side of trading goods. Judges are the Angels responsible for screening the Demon's so they may legally access the Surface. The current head of the Judges is Hannah Angel. The insignia of the Judges is scales with a halo shining down onto them (Ch 221)

As shown during the War when war criminals were being put on trial there were various levels of of judges/courts that they could be tried in depending on the severity and nature of their crime. For instance, there were separate judges representing the principalities, powers, archangels, etc. Meanwhile, the different levels of courts dealt with different kinds of crimes. For example the lower court dealt with matter of people or nations while higher courts dealt with crimes against the nature of the world itself. If crimes affected multiple sectors, such as nations and nature, then multiple judges could preside over a single case. Judges of higher courts could also invoke the right to trial the accused in a higher court if they were being trialed on a lower level but the crimes still met the criteria of the higher court. Different courts also come to judgements in different ways. While the lower courts simply judge others through evidence and their words higher courts also judge others by their hearts. In the higher courts the hearts of all those participating, from the accused to the witnesses, show whether they are being truthful or not. Their "hearts" seem to represented by shadowy silhouettes, which will move and change color of their own accord. It is important to note that these shadows do not always resemble the persons physical appearance and can look quite horrific at times. It is currently unknown what the various forms, movements and colors of these shadows represent. The various courts also take place in physically different courtrooms, which can be seamlessly transitioned between even after a case has begun (Ch 221)

### Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels are those Angels who betray the laws of the Upper and it's people. Fallen Angels are punished for their sins by being banished from the Upper to live on the Surface. While a Angel usually falls for selfish or greedy reasons there have been rare instances where a Angel simply became more loyal to a different group/cause to the point they were willing to betray the Upper. When an Angel does fall, they are marked in a way the reflects the sins that caused them to fall. For instance, Alice notes that a Fallen Angel marked with fangs or a forked tongue usually means that the sin is connected to words in some way such as telling lies or secrets (Ch 134) Falling is a rare event and is considered incredibly tragic whenever it does occur.

Once an Angel has Fallen it's not uncommon for them to get involved with criminal activity or start using their magic in ways they aren't supposed to. Even if they use this magic to help others it's still illegal and other Angels could be sent to arrest them if the Upper catches wind of what they are doing (Ch 134). This isn't the only reason Fallen Angels can be awkward around regular Angels. Fallen Angels aren't supposed to have communication with the Upper so if they do have any it usually means trouble for the Fallen Angel in question since it means they were specifically sought out. Despite this, there are many Fallen Angels who secretly hope one day the Upper will call them back home one day. The life of a Fallen Angel is a stressful one, in no small part thanks to the constant threat of magical poaching hanging over their head since there are many who would love to get their hands on Angelic magic for their own purposes. Willen mentions that Fallen Angels quickly learn to look out for themselves and are prone to keeping to themselves and moving around a lot (Ch 129).

Angelo does mention that Fallen Angels do have the possibility to try for a Redemption but it is unclear what this would entail (Inky Extra's Ch 107) It is also mentioned that Fallen Angels generally only have half of the magical power a regular Angel would have (Ch 129)

## Cultural Events

### Act of Charity

At age 18 all Third Tier Angels go down from The Upper to the Surface in order to complete their Act of Charity and obtain their wings. The Angel goes to the Surface in order to complete good deeds and help those in need with their Angelic powers. Through these acts of kindness the Angel must learn a valuable insight that they can then bring back to The Upper to teach to their fellow Angels (Ch 31) While some of these insights may be society shaking the majority of them are more personal lessons for the Angel in question. Acts of Charity can take days to decades to complete depending on the Angel. If an Angel does not complete their Act of Charity then they will not gain their wings, but it is rare that the Act is not completed. For the rare Angel that doesn't complete their Act they are still welcomed into the Upper, all though their job opportunities are more limited due to the lack of wings (Inky Extra's Ch 75)

In order to complete their Act of Charity young Angels are given seven Miracles in addition to their natural abilities. Miracles are strong, condensed Angel magic that can achieve incredible feats that would be other wise impossible for a single Angel to achieve. Due to this power many Angels will hide their Miracles while completing their Act of Charity or just keep them on their person at all times.

## Relationships/Courtship

Within Angel society it is commonplace for their to be arranged marriages. The Angels themselves don't seem to have any issue with this as, even if you aren't in love with the person when you get married, you can learn to love them. There are plenty of Angels in happy arranged marriages such as Alice's own parents Hannah and Gadiel (Ch 86)

Inky Extra's Chapter 113 also gives us a quick glance into the world of Angel relationships. Alice mentions in the chapter that both Jake and Michael had to request permission to court Alice from her parents. While Alice herself still had a say in whether she accepted these requests or not the fact that they were made to her parents first instead of her implies that there is some kind of structured system or set of steps involved in courting amongst Angels. It is also mentioned in this same chapter that the act of wrapping their wings around another Angel is seen as a very intimate gesture.