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I know, I know, who doesn't have one? I came up with this for the writing contest awhile back, but chickened out and never actually entered. Mostly I'm posting it now so I've got it saved somewhere in written form, seeing as my computer decided to die and I lost the original entry.
<center>Yodresh (Resh for short), based on the Archangel Uriel
[Yod and Resh are two of the Hebrew letters that make up the name Uriel.]</center>
Appearance:
Resh is relatively tall, standing about 5'10" at his full height, and very well-muscled, though not to the point of looking like some 'musclebound brute.' His hair is red-orange and wavy, falling to his shoulders with an almost metallic sheen. His skin is a deep, dark brown, very nearly black. Resh's eyes are a bright amethyst flecked with gold, with great wisdom within. Being an angel, he does of course have wings. These are quite large, as often seen in pictures of angels, the feathers crimson, orange and gold, as they are in the stained glass window of St John's Church in Warminster (picture). Overall, his appearance is one of power and beauty.
At a certain point in his life, he will acquire a scar, probably either between his wings or on the small of his back, and it will be the Hebrew for 'Cain' (picture). He does not and will never have, however, a halo, be it of the floating-ring or funky head-aura variety. xP
The reason for the scar that he will eventually bear, and also for the color of his skin and hair (dark skin and red hair have both been associated with the Mark of Cain), relates back to the Cain and Abel story. Uriel posesses these features for his slaying of another favored of God, a unicorn. His red-orange hair color does, however, also serve the aesthetic purpose of reflecting his past name's meaning, "Flame/Light of God."
Under his left eye, in gold, are the Hebrew letters aleph, lamed, and daled (picture). Together, these form one of the 72 names of God, and according the the Kabbalah are a sort of mystical protection. Near the outside corner of his right eye is the letter zayin, 'sword' (picture), also in gold.
As for what he might wear, hmm. I haven't thought about that much. No flowy angel robes, at any rate. Bare-chested, I think, with some sort of simple, calf-length 'manskirt' deal, cut so it would give him good freedom of movement. Maybe bracers on his wrists/forearms, or bands on his upper arms. Colors and such keeping with the color scheme he has going on.
Note: All instances of Hebrew script are a particular form of Hebrew-Samaritan script, which I found here.
Personality:
At his core, Resh is good-hearted and truly kind, even though it might not always be obvious. He almost always means the best by what he does and says, and is very helpful by nature, even to the point of being annoying. He has a tendency to be insecure in his friends, always worrying that he'll do something to drive them away, or that they'll find some reason to abandon him.
As a child particularly, he's one of those hated tattle-tales. If someone's done something wrong, chances are he'll run and tell on them (if they're about to do something wrong, he'll first try to convince them not to do it; but if that doesn't work, off he'll go to inform the nearest authority). However, if the wrongdoer happens to be one of his friends, he'll be somewhat torn between his loyalty to them and the obligation he feels to keep them 'in the right.' The latter will likely win out, as in his mind, what he's doing is for their own good.
Rousing his anger is very easy, but once roused, it's left to seethe just beneath surface. He tries very hard to keep a rein on it and control himself, so when he's angry, he's quite likely to storm off and brood in private. When his temper does get the better of him, his first course of action is generally to yell--very, very loudly. Arguments where Resh is involved are rarely quiet, and as such don't often stay private, since he makes it so easy for anyone nearby to hear. Once he gets started, he won't back down of his own volition, even if things do escalate to the point of violence.
The angel has a very high opinion of himself, and he can often come off as downright arrogant. He's also incredibly self-righteous, hates to be wrong more than almost anything else, and can have a very narrow-minded view. Once he forms an opinion, getting him to change it is nearly impossible.
He also has something of an overactive conscience, and constantly frets over the things he's said and done. If he hurts someone who didn't deserve it, it'll be a long time before he's able to forgive himself for it, even if they've long since forgiven him themselves. His behaviour around those he's hurt can border on pathetic, as he scrapes and apologizes and generally makes himself out to be unworthy.
But as said, he really is good at heart. He'd do anything for those he loves, and possibly even consider it for those he doesn't. He's fiercely loyal to and protective of his friends, though at the same time can be apt to judge them a little too harshly.
Abilities, etc.:
Yodresh is practically a born warrior, hearkening back to his former life as an archangel. He's a skilled wrestler, though also quite capable with a sword (he prefers a short sword, accompanied by a small, round shield). At a certain point, he will regain the flaming sword he posessed in the past, as well as a golden shield.
His eyesight is incredibly sharp, be it night or day or anything in between. He can also see things at a greater distance than most, very much an 'eagle eye.' This may branch off into some form of farsight, seeing what's going on somewhere else entirely.
--working on this--
History:
In his former life, Yodresh was the archangel Uriel. Prior to the Creation of Man, Uriel would have been among the two-thirds of the angel host that remained faithful to God, helping to throw Lucifer and his fellow traitors down from Heaven. Following this, he was set for a time to guard the gate of Hell, ensuring that it's inhabitants stayed where they'd been put.
There came a time, however, when Uriel was needed to take up the duty of guard elsewhere, and so he relinquished that post to accept another. After the expulsion of Adam and Eve, the fourth archangel became the guardian of Paradise. Eden had since been vacated not only by the first man and woman, but also by all the animals who had been their companions. Only the plants of the garden remained; unable, as it were, to uproot themselves and follow. The Garden remained a place of peace and beauty, but a quiet one, an empty one. Empty, that is, except for Uriel.
Uriel kept his post for countless years, happy to do as his Lord had bidden him, but with time he became lonely. He missed the Heaven in which he had dwelled with his friends and brothers, and their songs and friendly contests and feats of arms. He missed the light, too, that always shone there. Though the light of the sun shone on the earth, it was dim in comparison to the light in Heaven, and was daily replaced by the even fainter light of the moon.
His growing discontent did not go unnoticed by the Lord, who sought to relieve Uriel of his loneliness, at least for a little while. He would send His angel to complete other important tasks for Him, provided that a being could be found who would take Uriel's place as the protector of Eden while he was away. The sole volunteer for this was a unicorn, among the oldest of her kind, who was posessed not only of a want to help the poor angel, but also to walk in Paradise again.
As for Uriel, he was now free to carry for God a message to Noah. He was reunited for a time with his friend and fellow archangel Raphael, as both had business with the man who would be the future of his race. It was Uriel's task to warn Noah of the impending flood; Raphael's to instruct him in the building of the Ark. Noah duly warned of and prepared for the Great Flood that would sweep the land, Uriel's brief sojourn away from Eden came to an end. He returned, glad for his time away and in the company of one of his brothers-in-arms, but with a heavy heart, for he would be lonely once more.
But this time, at least, his loneliness would not be entire. For the unicorn, in accepting her chance to return to the Garden, had in turn given up her place on Noah's Ark. Uriel was no longer fated to wander Eden alone. The unicorn became his beloved friend, and they cherished each other all the more, for they were each the other's sole companion.
Also, very soon after Uriel's return to the Garden, he was forced for the first time to defend it from true danger, instead of from the petty mortals who every now and then came in search of it, and finding it, sought entrance. No provision had been made for Eden to protect from the Flood that was to devour the earth. As much for his dear unicorn as for the Garden itself, he protected Paradise from the terrible waters at great cost to himself.
He sacrificed not only his flaming sword, weapon of the archangels, but also exhausted all the power that there was to him. It was a sacrifice that, perhaps, touched even on his sanity.
Regardless, Eden was saved, and Uriel and the unicorn could live in content once more. Even the Paradise-seekers who had once troubled them were now gone, all those with knowledge of the Garden's location swept away in the Flood. But still, despite the companionship of the unicorn, Uriel began to long again for what he had lost, and also was curious as to what the world was like after the disaster that had threatened even Eden.
Again, God knew this, and every now and then would send Uriel on one errand or another, leaving the unicorn as sentinel until his return. It was on such divine missions that he answered the questions of the prophet Ezra, and wrestled Jacob on Peniel. And for awhile after he returned from these tasks, he was happy again, but always the loneliness returned, despite every effort on the unicorn's part.
At last, after many thousands of years spent in Paradise, an unshakable despair took hold of Uriel. Lonely beyond all imagining, feeling as though he'd been forgotten by his Lord and abandoned by his brethren, he resolved to put an end to his torments at last.
On a cloudy night, when the moon was new and the light of the world at its faintest, he came upon the unicorn as she slept in a darkened glade. Seeing no cure for his despair, he flung himself down onto the unicorn's wickedly sharp, spiraling horn. The white ivory pierced his heart, ending his loneliness and his life.
The unicorn woke, posessed by a fury the moment the the angel's blood began to run down her horn, pouring over her face and into her eyes. Blinded by blood and by unnatural rage, she flung Uriel's body from her horn and trampled it.
Not until morning came, and the rays of then sun fell on the unrecognizable, once-perfect face of Uriel did the rage lift enough for her to realize what had happened, and what she'd done. In the moment of that horrified realization, the unicorn laid down beside her beloved Uriel and died, unable to live with the taint his sin of suicide had left upon her.
And so, Uriel left his immortal life with three grave sins upon his soul: the first, to abandon the duty given him by God; the second, his suicide; the third, his tainting of a unicorn, the beast first named by Adam and most loved by the Lord.
Perhaps it can be said that there was a fourth sin.. For in all the world, only Uriel and the unicorn knew the secret of Eden. With their deaths, Paradise was lost, never again to be found.
Sources:
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=49&letter=U&search=uriel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uriel
http://www.paranormality.com/archangel.shtml
http://www.sarahsarchangels.com/archangels/uriel.html
 Meepfur · Thu Apr 21, 2005 @ 04:39am · 0 Comments |
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