Archive 2: The water is deeper than you think

"The Human Realm?!" Magnus couldn't help but exclaim. 

Even though he had an inkling that this was what his Master was going to ask of him, he still could not help but be surprised because it was something he didn't expect to actually happen. 

Something to note about angels is that only ten percent of them actually went down to earth to communicate with mortals.

These were mostly angels that worked as messengers or that needed to deliver things from Being X to a particular human. The other ninety percent stayed in the Heavenly Realm attending to their duties.

This meant, that a lot of angels had never come into contact with a human and this fact especially true for Magnus. So he couldn't help but feel a little nervous knowing that he'd be sent in a place he wasn't familiar with, interacting with people he didn't understand.

Now if you are wondering if Magnus was afraid of not being understood, that is where you are wrong. All angels could speak all the language known to man with ease. The problem lied with his extreme discomfort with humans. 

Being X had been observing his angel for quite some time and alright knew about his doubts and worries.

However, he knew that Magnus did no have a choice in the matter and this was something that needed to be done for the sake of humanity.

So as much as this pained him to do, Being X ignored his unwillingness and proceeded to let him know what he needed to do for this mission. 

"You will be going to the Human Realm Magnus, but you won't be going alone. I want you to pick fifty of your best soldiers and have them stationed in different factions. Your job will be to assess the situation and monitor the humans. Make sure the situation does not worsen."

Being X paused for a second, giving Magnus some time to process this information. 

"This mission will take place in ten days time. Do you have any questions?" After his Master had finished speaking, although he had many things he wanted to say, all he could so was accept the mission. It didn't dare question his Master and vowed he would do his job and do it well.

How bad could it be?

Magnus quickly kneel on one knee to show his Master that he accepted the mission wholeheartedly. "I will do my best to complete this task to the best of my abilities." 

Being X smiled once again and touched his pupils forehead imbuing with with some of his power in order to strengthen his spirit. 

"Raziel will be sending you a complete debriefing of the mission, read it carefully and make sure to prepare for your departure." 

"Yes Master." He said and got to his feet

again. 

"That will be all, you are dismissed." 

And with that, Magnus left the High Court. 

Upon arriving at the Mesial Court, since training had been completed hours ago, Magnus decided to go back to his quarters in order to get some rest, and also wrap his head around what had just transpired.

Since he spend a large amount of his time in the Mesial Court, he thought it would be much more convenient for him to live here than have to go to the High Court and come back here for training.

Making his way town the long corridor, he made his way to Dormitory Omega, where all the high ranked soldier stayed.

Each dormitory had a total of a thousand rooms each being personalized by every angel.

The room looked similar on the outside, with glass door that glimmered whenever any kind of light hit its reflection.

The doors didn't have any numbers but each angel knew which room belong to them due to its ability to recognize its owner by holy power. Just like the tubs, in order to unlock one's room, you needed to insert your golden bracelet into the comportment.

Every golden bracelet had a small amount of their spiritual energy inside which allowed them to enter any building or establishment they wanted. Of course each bracelet differed based on their rank.

Lower ranked angels had bracelets, mid level angels had thicker chains, while high level angels had bangles. Magnus made it to his room and inserted his bracelet which then unlocked the door. 

[Welcome back Magnus] 

"Yes I am back Eibhlhin." He sighed loudly and slumped on his cream sofa, feeling the fatigue hit him like a ton of bricks.

He said unmoving for awhile before sighing again. 

"Eibhlhin, please search for all the books you can find on understanding humans." 

[Yes, Magnus, do you have specifics in mind such as the psychology being human beings or the philosophy of human interaction?]

Eibhlhin asked back, with a soft voice. 

"Anything is fine, actually no something that is quick and to the point would be best."

[I will find the best selection right away. Would like to read them now or later?]

Eibhlhin asked again. 

Magnus thought about it for a minute, before replying. "I'll read them after freshening up." 

[Alright.] 

After that, Magnus made his way to his cleaning quarters.

Taking a look at his reflection, he could clearly see the look of distress of his face.

Something he had never seen before.

Looking at the being reflected in front of him, he couldn't help but look in admiration.

Magnus didn't want to toot his own horn, but he believed aside from his Master, he was the most beautiful being in Being X's creations.

He had the distinct feature all angels were blessed with, that is ethereal physiognomies. However, each angel had their own unique traits that set them apart from each other.

In Magnus' case, he had long wavy hair that cascaded down his back, in a colour that could not be described.

If one attempted to describe his hair colour, it would be the colour of fire. His skin was smoother than jade and it glowed perpetually. His appearance was entrancing, it almost hurt to look at him sometimes.

He had resplendent and well proportioned features that made him look surreal. His eyes that were a deep shade of gold which although was not exclusive to him given how all angels had golden coloured eyes, but his eyes were rather unique with light specks of vermillion.

He was a statuesque being, about seven feet tall with a limber yet muscular body and had four sets of white wings that were attached to his body.

While most of the time he had them hidden, but whenever he did use them, it was a glorious sight to behold.

Magnus was usually dressed in his training or battle armour, but on most occasions such as when he was in his room, he opted for the traditional robes, that were soft to the touch and light on the body.

They were weightless and gave to illusion of not having anything on so they were the most comfortable clothes he could be wearing at the moment. 

He quickly got out of the cleaning quarters and made his way to the common area.

Feeling that he did not have any time to waste, he made haste and asked Eibhlhin to relay its information.

One thing that was most important in terms of battle strategies was reconnaissance, also known as recon.

This was a means used to find out info about an enemy and plan strategies based on the information found. One should never go into a battle without knowing who they were dealing.

It would be the same as going into battle blind, which was detrimental. Being strong and being able to handle various weaponry was good but it meant nothing if you don't have battle awareness.

Magnus was not a fool and always prepared for anything. If he didn't know something, or had limited knowledge the first he would do was do some research. His confidence did not come from nothing. 

[Here is some information I managed to find… unlike angels, human do not possess divine bodies that are incapable of damage, do not age nor want for any basic necessities such as food and water. They have unique bodies that are made up of nerves and cells that have important functions that keeps the body running. They contain multitudes of— ] 

"Hey Eibhlhin, please skip through this unnecessary information. I don't need a crash course on human anatomy, besides this is all information that isn't new to any of us. I would be surprised if there was even a single angel out there who did not know this. I need something more complex and abstract." 

[Apologies, allow me to few seconds to condense the data.] 

As she said, Eibhlhin took a couple of seconds to reduce the volume of information she had found into something more clear and concise while also taking note of Magnus' requests.

Meanwhile, Magnus made his way to his decompression chamber in order to restore his body.

It only took a matter of seconds for his body to go through recomposition and he could feel a significant weight off his shoulders.

His body was brimming with divine energy and it looked like he was glowing from within. This was a process all angels regardless of rank went through every month in order to increase their performance and prolong their celestial bodies.

He was important because there were angels who would come from the Human Realm everyday and bring back some negative energy from Earth which could lead to the contamination of the Heavenly Realm.

So every month they needed to be cleansed. As soon as Magnus stepped out of the chambers, he heard a ding signalling that Eibhlhin had the information ready. 

He didn't wait for her to say anything and immediately told her to go ahead. 

[According to my findings, humans can be defined in many ways. For instance, genetic causes like sex, DNA, and race as well as their shared learning through languages, religions, subsistence practices and much more. They say that through their adaptability through environmental change and social change, humans began to evolve overtime, making them stronger and increasing their knowledge of the world. This knowledge has been passed down through generations which led to the humans we know today. From a philosophical standpoint, what makes a human is their physical bodies, they are able to pump blood thanks to their hearts and are capable of experiencing physical pain. Being a human means having relations with other people, to society, to a purpose and to life. Humans have the ability to reason, have a consciousness, take part in social relations like communities, kinship and other forms of social interaction. But most importantly, they are capable of feeling, and can act on their feelings. They can feel happiness, sadness, grief, greed, love and much more. Lastly, humans have brains that have self awareness and that is also able to be aware of others, they can also think for themselves and express their thoughts. They are aware of their own existence. According to philosopher Renee Descartes, if he has the ability to think, then he should be aware of his existence. This led to his infamous saying: "I think therefore I am."] 

"Good job Eibhlhin, is there anything else I should know?" 

[There is something else I found. These are the seven traits of humanity. Would like to hear this?] 

Magnus who had still been standing at this point made his way to his sofa and pondered for a couple seconds .

The more he knew the better he thought to himself. 

"Go ahead." 

[… The first trait is that humans are created in the image and likeness of Being X, the second, human are called to happiness and holiness, third, humans are rational and free—] 

"Wait a second Eibhlhin, when you mean free do you mean they aren't captives or do you mean that they are free to live their lives as they see fit?" 

[Free in the sense of having free will Magnus. May I continue?]

"Right go ahead."

[Fourth, humans are mortal beings, fifth, humans have passion and feelings, sixth, humans have a conscience, and seventh, humans are capable of sin.]