Dangers of a Prayer

Kiersa knelt in a singular cell in the church in Crocus, a single shaft of light coming through the window in the direction she was kneeling. Her hands were clasped before her as she bowed her head. "Maker, please, hear my prayers." she began. "I thank You for the gift of Avalon... and for leading me to this place of wizards and friends..." said the nun softly.

"I ask only that You continue to guide me on the path to atonement and redemption in Your benevolent eyes... and help me to get stronger... strong enough to defeat Uru... to destroy the demon in Your Name..." Kiersa trailed off before she continued. "Please Maker... let no harm come to those whom You have led me to... lend me Your strength so that I may safeguard them from harm..." asked the nun before she bowed her head further.

She had come to Crocus' church to let the local Deacons and Bishops know of her removal of Avalon from the ruins of her convent, and inform them of the Arch-Bishop of the Holy Castles decision for her to use it. They had given their support of the action and that was that, although she knew there would be slight mutterings given her ranking in the Order and Avalon's status.

It at first came as a tingle in the back of her head and then slowly began to be a compelling force to arrive at a certain area. This was tbhe power of prayers, when one of pure heart made a request to the almighty god, which gets handed down to a minor god and so one until an angel was tasked to give an intercession. This time it was the voice of a young woman that the gods deemed worthy of an angelic visit. So it was why Katherine was flying accoss Fiore and into Capital Crocus, it was then that she flew through one of the chuches open window and landing in font Kiersa.

What stood before Kiersa was a 8 foot tall female figure with black lightning wings, cold winter breath, constant breeze of her clothes and water seeming to hover over an inch of her skin. This figure then landed with a grace of an inhuman being and landed on her feet, which caused the wings to fold back into her body and assumed a human appearance. It was that of a pink haired woman dressed in white that stood over the kneeling nun and talked to her in a melodic voice, "Hello Kiersa dear, I am Katherine Angel of Storms. And I have come to intercede on your prayer. How are you feeling today?" From the candlelight Kiersa could see Katherines shadow was not normal, as it had the image of her lightning wings on its back. Whether this is what Kiersa expected to see was to be seen.

The nun clung to her habit as a great wind rushed through the chamber, and yet the candles did not flicker out of existence. "What the..." she began to ask before she appeared. Kiersa watched with wide eyes as the really tall woman appeared before her, transforming from one state into another. When the being introduced herself, Kiersa blinked a few times as her mind and mouth tried to catch up to what her eyes and ears just saw and heard. "A-an... a-an an-angel..." she stammered for a moment, before she collapsed to the floor in a faint.

Katherine looked at the young woman on the ground, why do they always faint when we finally come to visit. Katherine chuckled slightly as she picked up the mortal and hoisted her over the angels shoulder. She was awfully light even among humans standard. Katherine walked by the shocked and panicked priests and visitors that could only watch as the angel committed kidnapping.

She carried her for a couple blocks until she found a quaint little cafe to sit in. Katherine told the waitress, "My friend is feeling faint. Mind if I sit here and have a cup of tea and your strawberry cheesecake?" She sat the sister on the chair and awaited upon her waking up. Katherine smiled, "You humans are a curios thing, you spend entire lifetimes praying for us to intercede, yet faint when we come to visit. Are we that intimidating that you fear us like demons?"

When Kiersa came around, she found herself blinking and quickly looking around her surroundings. "This isn't the church..." she said softly before looking across the table and seeing the angel again. She immediately cast her eyes to the floor lest she offended the divine being with her mortal eyes, or be rendered blind for looking upon a being of perfection for too long. "N-no y-your h-holiness..." stammered the nun, waving her hands in a placating manner. "I-it's j-just... y-you're..." she trailed off as she couldn't think of the words right now.

"...W-why m-me y-your h-holiness?" she asked slowly, not wishing to offend the angelic being sat across from her. "I... Th-there m-must b-be... h-hundreds o-others m-more d-deserving o-of y-your t-time... I... I-I'm n-not... w-worthy y-your h-holiness..." said Kiersa softly, the shame of her sin rising in her mind as she tried to figure out why this angel had come to her... Had she done something wrong in the Maker's Eyes? She had introduced herself as an Angel of Storms after all...

Katherine chuckled as she finally received the tea and cheesecake she ordered. Katherine then smiled gracefully at the waitress, "Could I get another one for my friend over here? Thank you." She then grabbed the cup of tean and had a sip, amused slightly at the nuns reaction. The angels really needed to visit more often if humans were beggining to cower at their presence. She set the tea down and said, "Your not going to be smited or blinded by me. I took a human form dear. Also they will get tended to in due time, maybe directly or indirectly. I just prefer to give out my miracles directly, it pleases me to see the recipients smile on their faces. You may also have moved up the list due to having coinciding goals with one of the gods. Usually it goes down from the Almighty (or maker as you like to call him) and trickles down the pantheon until an angel is tasked of handing out the miracle. Its least we could do since humanity feeds us."

The nun blinked at the angel's blatant referral to other deities. Then she blinked once more about her being "moved up the list" because of a "matching goal". "I..." she began to say when the tea and cake arrived for her. She politely nodded her head towards the waitress and took a small sip of the tea to calm her nerves. Kiersa still couldn't believe the situation she was in right now... sitting at a cafe, having tea and cake with an angel, who had come to her because one of the Pantheons members goals aligned with her own...

There was no way that Cirven or Aayla would even believe her if she were to tell them about this... they'd think she'd been out in the desert too long again... The nun took another sip before looking up at the pink-haired angel. "H-how c-can I h-help?" she asked.

Katherine took a bite of the cheesecake and enjoyed the food she was given. It was quite heavenly in taste and calmed her down. This was a lot for her to process in a short span of time. Divine beings rarely descended to help humans and thus this would scare humans. Katherine smiled amusedly in Kiersa's response, "Dear you prayed for it, my job is simply to give you the tool needed succeed in that task. However there are conditions to this..." She took a sip from her tea and set down the cup and proceeded to continue her litle talk.

"First this gift can never be used for sin. Can't be magic or weapons that contradict the gods. Meaning unholy magic is not allowed, but luckily it seems you want to hunt a demon. The gift can include many things like Angelic weapons, Exorcism magic, Holy magic or sparking your soul to become an angel. We are not demons, so your soul will not be required for this transaction. We might ask you for tasks later on, but those will be just as adequately rewarded. Do we have any questions or an agreement?"

The nun paid rapt attention when the angel spoke, her mind a whir with all these offers. The offer of angelic weapons... she looked down at Avalon resting on her finger, trying to imagine herself with another such relic.

Exorcism magic was offered, along with even more Holy magic besides her own Stigmata. She knew how much her team-mates worried about her Stigmata magic, and how dangerous it seemed to them, sacrificing your life to cast spells. So another form of magic seemed promising, if only to allay their fears and worries.

The last offer however caused Kiersa to blink and stare at the woman across from her as she tried to process exactly what she had heard. "S-sorry... d-did y-you s-say... t-turn m-me i-into... a-an..." she stuttered out before fainting once more in her chair. Thankfully she did not fall forward. That would have been embaressing to have cake smeared all over your face in front of a heavenly being, let alone the rest of the cafe's customers.

Katherine watched as Kiersa simply fainted again. This caused her to chuckle slightly at the cuteness of the scenario. Passed out nun that almost fell forward nto the cheesecake, but mercifully fell back into her chair. Katherine simply finished her cup of tea and ordered another cup along with a chocolate mousse cake. Katherine enjoyed her sweets and patiently waited on the nun to wake again. Katherine simply said, "Maybe the miracle should be used to fix your narcolepsy. Heehee. Do I really scare you or does the idea of sparking your soul do that?" She was enjoying the company of the girl, such innocence in such a young soul. The Angel however sensed something though, "Yet you act like you don't deserve this treatment. Would you like to talk about it?"

The nun came back around and blinked as Katherine was still there, smiling at her. She shook her head. "N-no... y-you d-don't s-scare m-me y-your holiness... J-just... o-offering to t-turn m-me into... an an-angel... I-it... it s-surprised m-me i-is a-all..." she explained before biting her lip as the angel asked her what was wrong.

She bowed her head in shame. "Th-the d-demon I s-seek... h-he d-destroyed m-my convent... the v-village n-nearby... one hundred and sixty three souls... A-and I-I'm th-the one th-that f-freed him f-from h-his prison b-below the c-convent..." she quietly confessed to the divine being sat across from her. "H-he d-deceived me... l-lies I sh-should h-have s-seen th-through... The o-only r-reason h-he l-let me l-live w-was because I h-had f-freed him..." said the nun, her hands clenching at her robes as she spoke her words.

Kiersa braced herself for the divine punishment she was almost certain would come from the Angel of Storms sat across from her. She only hoped that no innocent civilians were caught in the wake of her wrath.

Katherine raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ate the cake without stopping. She raised a sword and pointed it at Kiersa, "That's it? You are basing all your sin from a single action that you openly regret. Accidents and failures happen dear, some of them very costly." She finished her cake and sighed happily, it tasted good. Life was good, simple pleasures mortals have that angels lack. Trying to comfort her she continued, "You feel guilt dear and that is why your actions were to fix the blood that are on your hands. Is it a sin? No dear, you didn't tell the demon you killed them all." Katherine took another cup of tea and sipped it before looking at the sky. She loved Earthland, but missed the heavens sometimes...

"And to answer the many questions about sparking your soul. It will change your soul, but the human flesh will still contain your pretty self. The soul will however to infuse your flesh, reinforcing your body to be as close to physically perfect as possible. Lastly your connection to the Maker will slowly develop over time. However I have no idea what kind of angel you will become. Still choice is yours dear."

When the sword was levelled at her the nun gave a small squeak and clenched her eyes tight... before slowly opening them as the angel spoke. She blinked at the divine woman when she said what she had done was not a sin... her own words nearly matching those her team-mates had said to her back when they had recovered Avalon...

She then went on to describe the process of becoming an angel. The thought of herself turning into an angel... it was almost too good to be true. To serve the Maker as one of His immortal heralds, to watch the world of Earthland below her and reach out to those in need... to watch everyone she knew now to grow old... to watch their families live and die... whilst she remained the same... The weight of all that made the nun bite her lips.

This is something she wanted though... She wanted to serve the Maker for as long as she could... and here was this offer to do just that... The Angel had even said her connection to Him would develop even further over time. Why would she say no to that? How could she say no to that?

For that very reason.

"I-I'm s-sorry..." said Kiersa softly, bowing her head towards Katherine. "I... I w-want t-to s-serve the Maker... I w-wish I c-could b-become a-an Angel..." she said, biting her lip and letting out a slow breath. "B-but I cannot." she said, looking up into the angel's eyes. "To b-become an Angel... and s-serve the M-Maker for all time... I can't do that right now... I h-have responsibilties h-here in Earthland... t-to the dead, and t-to the living... to my guild... to my team... to my friends..." she said, pushing out each word, fighting the urge to just give in and accept the offered ascension.

"B-besides... I w-would r-rather e-earn m-my place at His side, th-than h-have i-it g-given to me l-like this... I-I'm s-sorry if I've o-offended you your holiness." said the nun with another bow of her head.

Katherine simply chuckled, "Well that is a good answer, because I only told you the half truth dear. I could definitely spark the soul, but I never said it would blaze into an angel. See I like to say that's an option to measure a persons greed. So congratulations, you passed my little test.~ She was not insulted angered or annoyed, instead there was a simple smile as she paid for the bill and started to walk off, motioning Kiersa to follow. Down the busy streets of Crocus and enjoying the little shops that she was seeing.

"You see power is nice dear, but one can become corrupt even with inherently holy power. And the same with unholy power being inherently used for good, if you didn't notice my wings are black symbolizing I am one of the Dark Angels of the gods. Please do not mistake it for fallen angel, my graces with the gods is still strong. What I am trying to say that when you choose the gift, make it something that represents yourself and the virtue that you want to represent. Take your time if you need it, I can be a very patient person dear."

The nun blinked before collecting the strawberry cheesecake slice the angel had bought for her and went to catch up. Kiersa didn't know how to feel about passing the angel's test. On the one hand, she was proud for doing so... but on the other she now wondered what if she had accepted... what would have occured then? She listened as the woman explained the nature of power, and of her own status as an angel.

Kiersa let out a sigh of relief when she said she could take her time with the decision. "Th-thank you your holiness... I... I m-must admit... i-it f-felt a l-little... o-overwhelming... An an-angel a-appearing so su-suddenly, a-and o-offering t-to t-teach me..." she said with a light blush before taking a bite of the cake.

"It is no bother to me little one. I am currently taaking human form for another task, so I will be in Earthland for a human lifetime. I am sure by then you will think of something.~" She started to hum a little melody in her voice as she continued to search for the item in question. It was almost as if she danced a little in her movements when Katherine shopped around untila pretty necklace that matched the angels. She then bought it and held it gently in her hands, whispering a prayer in the angels language. Katherine then placed the necklace in the girls hand, "so that you have a way to pray for me to return to grant your miracle. Take your time to choose, you only get one miracle.~"

The nun followed the angel to a jeweller's shop, and waited outside whilst she finished the cake. Her mind was still abuzz with thoughts about what she could learn from the angel, so many choices and offers when the woman returned with a necklace and offered it to Kiersa.

The nun bowed her head as she tentatively accepted the blessed necklace, holding it gently as if it were the most fragile thing in the world. "I w-will y-your holiness... N-not t-too m-much t-time I m-mean! B-but n-not too qu-quickly e-either... I m-mean..." she stammered a little before finding the cobblestones of the pavement very interesting to look at.

Katherine just giggled and pinched the nun in the cheeks. Katherine giggled, "You are such a cute human, you know that? You should develop a little more courage though dear." She liked this human, although her sense of humor could use some work. She stepped outside of the store and turned around to look at Kiersa, "Well dear if you need anything, then dont hesitate to call me. I doubt your friends will believe about this visit anyways.~ "

The nun blushed even harder as the angel pinched her cheeks and called her cute. An angel, a divine being of the heavens, perfection incarnate, was calling her cute! She did wilt a little though when the compliment was balanced out by the comment about her courage needing work. When the angel began to leave Kiersa gave a low bow to her. "Th-that's a-alright y-your holiness... S-safe j-journey, a-and m-may the Maker s-smile on y-you." she said softly.

Katherine smiled back, "May the gods continue to smile in your favor as well and you strength stay true against the unrepentant sinners of Earthland.~" And with a smile she entered the crowded streets of Crocus; disapearing within the heavy population of Crocus. Little did they know that the gods that they prayed for had sent an angel to watch over them.