Great Angel

“Death as a punishment... or death as a mercy?”

—The Great Angel's Judgment

The Great Angel is the god of death and fire, and one of the five children of the All-Mother. It resides at the Gates and escorts all creatures from life to the underworld.

## Biography

“The Great Angel fell deeply in love with a human, and came down to the earth to walk among men and be with her. It told her a great many strange things that she did not understand. ”

—Seti's account of the Great Angel

The Great Angel is, presumably, the second youngest of the five gods, older only than Vega. At some point early in the history of the world, a woman only known as the Oracle caught its attention, and it fell in love with her. However, the Oracle eventually became pregnant for unclear reasons. Thinking she had betrayed it, the Angel grew so furious that its hellfire consumed the earth, killing half of the human population and blackening out a third of the stars. However, even in its anger, the Angel could not bring itself to kill the Oracle. Instead, it banished her to places unknown, and separated her from her children.

Once the Angel's wrath had faded into a lingering hatred of humanity, the other four gods decided to take action, lest it decide to wipe out the rest of humanity. Setine and Vega, both of whom loved humanity, sang a strange song to the Angel that put it into a deep sleep. They then taught this song to the Oracle's son, Telys, who would pass it down along the line of his church, the Order of the Great Angel. The song came to be known as the Angel's Lullaby.

Throughout the following centuries, one member of the Arcadian Temple has always sung that song at the altar in order to keep the Great Angel asleep. Rosaline de Clare was the last to have this duty before the rebirth of the world.

## Appearance

“The disk slopes gently towards the middle, where the most remarkable figure in the room rests. It sits cross-legged, and four wings – two white sprouting from high on its shoulders, and two black wings from its back – are fully extended to an awesome length behind it. Poised. Unruffled. ”

“The being has two faces. Both have long red hair, but one appears feminine, and the other masculine. The masculine’s eyes are closed. The other one watches me closely. It wears robes and black and white and gold. I am not very familiar with the application of such concepts, but I find this creature simultaneously the most terrible and most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

—Genosis's description of the Angel

## Personality

The Great Angel rarely speaks, and seems content to observe until it is pushed into action. Despite its calm outward demeanor, Arethusa described it as having a volatile nature. It appears to be rather resentful and hold grudges, such as its hatred of humanity. However, it is not completely incapable of kindness, as seen in its behavior towards Rosa, Genosis, and its two vessels Jezebel and Judah.

## Relationships

### The Oracle

Not much is known of the Oracle or her relationship with the Great Angel, except that the Angel loved her with a deep, possessive love. How the Oracle felt about the Angel is up for debate. However, if Rosa's attitude towards the Angel is considered a projection of the Oracle's, she reciprocated its feelings.

The Angel cared deeply enough about the Oracle to spare her life even in its uncontrolled wrath.

### Rosaline de Clare

“Come another inch near her and it will be the last thing you ever do, brother of mine.”

—The Great Angel, to Alseid

The relationship between the Great Angel and Rosa is confused by the relationship between the Angel and the Oracle, Rosa and Julius, and Rosa and Jezebel. The Angel does recognize Rosa as a separate entity than the Oracle, as it acknowledges how she sang it back to sleep after it awakened following her kidnapping from the temple. Despite realizing that she is not fully the Oracle, it still protects her fiercely against Alseid and Arethusa, and even agrees to help restore humanity at her request.

Rosa has mixed feelings towards the Angel. As a child, she was terrified of it, and often cried as she sang. As she grew older, the Oracle began having a stronger influence on her, and she began to both fear and love the Angel.

### Setine

The Angel and Setine appear to be on good terms, especially considering that the Angel allowed Setine to reside at the Gates following the world's rebirth. Setine treats the Angel with familiarity instead of avoiding it like the other gods. However, she still treads carefully around it. As for the Angel, it seems indifferent with her presence.

### Vega

“I know we haven’t gotten along very well in the past, Brother. We haven’t gotten along very well… at all. But we’re on the same side.”

—Vega, to the Angel

## Abilities

“The Great Angel, the two-faced god of death, put our souls to rest at the ends of our lives. ”

—Seti's description of the Angel

Not much is explicitly stated of the Great Angel's powers. However, it's powerful enough to all but wipe out the entire world. It's arguably the most powerful god, since even Alseid treads carefully around it. Vega and Setine both admit that they wouldn't be able to beat the Angel in a fight, possibly even if they were teaming up.

It is the only god who's able to exist in the space between life and death, where it ferries the living into the world of the dead.