Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gideon, after hearing her response, simply gave her a questioning glance. "Oh, you must be Evelyn!" he exclaimed in a moment of realization. "Right, Father said we'd have someone new show up today." Gideon then proceeded to walk in circles as he pondered how to explain things to her. He'd been here so long, he'd forgotten mortals and the recently deceased had not the ability to transport themselves to their destinations. "All you can do is walk, right," he murmured partly to himself.

"Come on, then." Gideon motioned for her to follow him. He then moved across the room and entered a hallway lined with artworks of all the Seraphs of Heaven. "These are our commanders, the Seraphs" he stated proudly as he glided down the hall. "They are the strongest of us, and work under Father's direct guidance to lead the rest of us." It may have come as a surprise to others, but not even Gideon worked directly with God. Once he arrived at the other end of the hall, he waited for Evelyn to catch up to him before moving on.

“Will you have your portrait hung up here?”

Gideon gave the woman a questioning stare. "Me? No, I'm just a soldier. Disposable, really," he clarified. Gideon then paused as he looked at the portraits lining the walls. The idea was rather grand, though... "The Seraphs are chosen by Father based on some unknown axiom. Soldiers rarely fit the bill." With that, Gideon turned towards the door. This woman was... odd. The recently deceased were usually filled with depressive emotions, but she was as lively as the sun. It was just... odd.

Gideon pushed open the door, revealing the stairs leading the the castle's battlements. "It's just up these stairs," he explained. He then unfurled his wings and began flying towards the top. "Oh, and later, we'll have to decide a punishment for your tardiness," he stated. "For now, just get prepared for a sparring match."

Landing beside his pillow, he took up his seat again and watched as the recruits fought valiantly against their comrades.

“Will you have your portrait hung up here?”

As Gideon sat, watching his disciples, one of the castle's servitors walked up to him to refill his tea. After thanking the lad, the servitor gave a nod and went on his way. The tea did taste delightful: honey with a hint of lemon and... cinnamon? It was nice when he got to sit back and relax instead of being a soldier all the time. Gideon's proud gaze looked over the arena, falling upon the newbie. She seemed to be battling a... Gideon stood to his feet, an irritated sigh escaping his lips. With his wings unfurled, he flew over to the girl, landed, and watched. He was utterly perplexed by this woman.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" he bellowed. "The enemies we face won't sit idly by while you dawdle! Dying as an angel is not the same as dying a mortal." He paused to emphasize his point. "If you die as you are, you will cease to exist..." Gideon exhaled in an attempt to calm himself. "Even more so, we can have the Demons getting their hands on angelic souls... Who knows how powerful they'd become then." Gideon then turned and watched the other recruits. It seemed everyone was already paired. "Right then... Come, Evelyn. I will be your sparring partner.... And don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

“I’m ready sir!”

Gideon watched as the woman enthusiastically took up her sword and got into a rather laughable stance. "You want to stay light on your feet, when the enemy attacks you must either block, or dodge," he explained as he unsheathed the blade strapped to his hip. "Keep your sword up, and keep an eye on your opponents hips. That way, you'll know where it is they plan to go." Gideon then got down and held up his sword: a short demonstration of what he was talking about. Then, without much of a warning, he charged at Evelyn. He had to see where she was at skill-wise so he could determine what it was she needed to know.

As he moved in close, he pushed off of his left foot and circled to the recruit's left. Then, he planted his feet and flipped up and over the woman. As he landed, he would swing his sword at her, but stop before hitting her if she couldn't block or dodge.

A proud smile slowly spread across Gideon's face as the woman's sword came up to block his attack. "Good reflexes," he complimented as he broke away from her, taking a few steps back. "It's important to always know your enemy's location. However, if you are unable to find them, keep your defenses up. Don't focus on your sight, but the nature around you. Feel the wind's ripples, hear their breaths, and keep your guard up." As he finished his lecture, his wings unfurled to their full length, arched back, then flapped downward, pushing Gideon somewhere unknown to all watching.

Gideon, now a few hundred feet in the air, swooped back and forth, circled above Evelyn, then dived downwards towards Evelyn from behind. If she'd been listening to him babble on before each of his attacks, she'd understand what it was she'd have to do here. Gideon held out his sword as he sped down towards her. If she dodged, he'd roll on the ground and recover on his feet. If she tried to block, her sword would most likely get knocked from her grasp, and if she couldn't find him; well, it'd be better she die here than by demons.

Gideon came crashing down right where Evelyn had been standing, and let himself roll a few times before standing to reduce his momentum. Gideon stood tall has he sheathed his blade. "Nicely done, recruit," he remarked. She was doing well for someone new to this realm: she caught on fast. That was a quality necessary for warfare, where situations could change at a moment's notice. Gideon then pointed to a random recruit in the room: he had red-brown hair and stood about a foot above Evelyn. "You," he spoke. "You will spar with her." The man looked nervous, maybe it was the fact that Gideon had just placed everyone's attention on him. Gideon then asked for the identity of the man's spar partner. "You will spar with me," he told someone in the crowd. "The rest of you, get back to your spar! Holy warriors are Guardians for those who can not defend themselves. To this end, you must train hard to fulfill your role. They are counting on you!" And with that, Gideon went off to spar with the recruit.

The man was quick with his dodging, but his attacks were weak. He had a good sense of space and surrounding, as well. After a few minutes, Gideon moved on to another recruit, and so on.

╰҉ - ＥＶＥＬＹＮ - ҉╮

Evelyn bowed her head at Gideon’s remark, and grinned happily. She then smiled up at the other recruit as he stepped forward. Once Gideon left them, the young woman asked the other recruit. “Um, what’s your name?”

At first he was taken aback by her question as he held up a great sword at the ready. Then he realized that young woman had missed roll call and would not have known any of the other recruits’ names. “Tomas,” He replied.

“Evelyn,” The rookie remarked with grin as she then slid into a readying stance. Then the two clashed their swords. Quickly Evelyn realized that while wings gave the recruit the ability to get off the ground, she could make the feathered extensions an annoyance for Tomas.

Evelyn began to hide behind the fluffy feathers if the were unfurled and tricking the recruit into thinking she was still behind his back. The wings also made Tomas a little slower in whirling around and Evelyn used the speed of her petite frame to find openings and dodge Tomas’s great sword.

Suddenly a low horn resounded in the air making all the recruits pause. Another angel had announced his presences as he descended from the sky to land softly before them. He had pale fair skin that contrasted his four pure wings. Long silky white hair framed a slim face that had high cheekbones giving the angel a slightly haughty look.

A simple golden circlet with a gleaming ruby stone at the center wrapped around his head while he wore a crimson silken robe, that was draped over him like a toga. It was paired with loose fitted harem pants that were of a warm shade of orange with swirling golden stitching around his barefooted ankles. Icy blue eyes surveyed the group of recruits, though seemed indifferent before they settled upon Gideon.

Everyone bowed before him, though Evelyn just continue to gawk. “Wooow…” He seemed to glow, as if his skin was somehow luminous as he shimmered in the sunlight.

He is one of the Seraph! Evelyn realized as she recognized him from his portrait earlier. Gabriel, the messenger of God. And hanging from a strap was a golden horn.

“Archangel Gideon,” Gabriel greeted in a deep rumbling voice, with a slight incline of his head. “You have been given a summons to duty. You are to bring a recruit with you to demonstrate your duties to one distressed soul name Jonah Ross. Father also added for you to, choose wisely.”

As Gabriel spoke his eyes left the Archangel to appraise the bowed heads of his ward, before falling onto a petite wingless woman. Gabriel arched his brow slightly at her ogling before focusing back onto Gideon. “I take my leave,” Gabriel remarked for taking a backwards step and falling off the battlements into the clouds below.

Evelyn turned her gaze upon Gideon, and gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster!

⊰≺ ＴＨＥ - ＲＯＯＫＩＥ - ＷＩＴＨ - Ａ - ＨＥＡＲＴ - ＯＦ - ＧＯＬＤ≻⊱