Queer stories about rising from darkness, striving for the light.

The Angels in the Chains of Blood Universe are actually extraplanar creatures that hail from the positive energy plane. This plane intersects the Earth plane and is accessible through portals created by combining the neutral energy of the Earth plane with the positive energy of the Heaven Plane. The name Angel was taken because of their natural appearance to early humans, who dubbed them Angels because of similarities to the Christian idea of Angels. Angels chose to call their plane Heaven as an easy way to interact with humans before they pulled back and chose to not be involved in human affairs. The names stuck, and though they have names for themselves and their plane in their own language, they generally refer to it by what the human tongue would call it.

Angels

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Elysium is the Earth home of the Angels. During the war between the Angels and Demons, the plane they call Heaven was infiltrated by lots of negative energy. This negative energy made the plane unstable, and they couldn't inhabit it without long-term effects. They chose to build a new home on Earth until their plane could heal, a process that may take many thousands of years in Earth time. To do so, they chose to go underground, believing it to be the safest place to stay secret from the prying eyes of humans. While they can attain human characteristics, they can't use their natural abilities because they must concentrate on making their eyes human.

Elysium is built somewhere beneath the Midwest United States, below the states of Missouri and Illinois. Their compound is vast, encompassing many miles. Their natural ability to teleport is the only thing that allows them to access all areas. They generally save their energy and only teleport when they must go between places. Some doors are warded with a particular angel's blood, but this is rare. Some powerful angels can prevent other angels from teleporting into their areas.

Elysium - Heaven on Earth

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The Bright Council is a group of angels that mete out the laws of Elysium. They are cloistered and never seen in public. They are the oldest of all the angels and serve as the final authority on law. No one questions them, and they are always present for meetings of the Pillars. The Bright Council is strict yet yielding. They have strong laws about dealing with humans, as well as how humans view the powers Angels use. These came about after humans had encountered angels in the first years they discovered Earth. The laws of the Bright Council are as follows:

There will be no revealing angelic heritage to humans unless one of the following takes place:
- Humans are in danger from demonic influences.
- Inaction of the angel will result in human death.
- Humans are brought into the angelic home as Acolytes due to this exposure.
Angelic powers are to be used for specific purposes and not simply as every day use.
- Angels use their powers to practice their skills for battle.
- Angels use their powers to defeat the demonic threats to angels and humans.
- Teleportation may be used at will.
- Disguising oneself may be used at will.
Angels are responsible for being aware of events in the human world.

Angels have no law or rule governing their relationship with each other and with Acolytes. They are free to engage in any relationship they wish so long as it does not interfere with the daily functioning of Elysium or violate one of the Bright Council's laws. While the Bright Council themselves do not take human form and instead only exist in their natural shape, all angels in Elysium adopt a human form.

The Bright Council:

Leaders of Angels

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The Pillars of Elysium are the hands of the Bright Council. Each of the Pillars of Elysium represents a virtue and is assigned a color. Each angel wears an arm badge with their Division symbol (the Pillar of Elysium symbol in their color). The Leaders, or Princeps Angelus of each division, each have a second-in-command called the Secundo Angelus. Other members of the division are considered equals, and only when a Princeps or Secundo is destroyed can another member move up in the ranks. The replacement of the Princeps is always the Secundo, and the Secundo is always chosen based upon the prowess of the members of the division.

Divisions

Primus Division – Virtue is Iustitia (Righteousness). Color is Green. This is the command division. It is made up of Viridis angels.
Secundus Division – Virtue is Inhibitio (Restraint). Color is Orange. This is the reconnaissance division.
Tertius Division – Virtue is Misericordia (Compassion). Color is Indigo. This is the medical division.
Quartus Division – Virtue is Pax (Peace). Color is Blue. This division comprises the soldier angels.
Quintus Division – Virtue is Spes (Hope). Color is Yellow. This is the planar relations division.
Sextus Division – Virtue is Amare (Love). Color is Red. This is the internal relations division.
Septimus Division – Virtue is Scientia (Knowledge). Color is Violet. This is the research and science division.

The Pillars of Elysium:

The Enforcers

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Angels do not require food and water as humans do. Their bodies, though physical, are sustained by positive energy. However, if this positive energy flow is cut off for some reason, they will need physical food and nutrition as humans do. Unlike humans, though, their bodies do not produce waste. All food and drink they consume is converted into pure positive energy and completely absorbed by their bodies.

It is important to note that in cases where an angel, or in Bellamy's case, a Nephilim, does not know of this ability, they can act as a human does as far as producing waste material. Bellamy does not know about his difference, and his mother used her own powers to help him mimic humans. Once he is aware of this capacity, he can avoid producing waste material like others of his race.

Angels are naturally imbued with various powers based on the type of angel they are. The only power that all angels share is the ability to manifest a weapon of pure energy. Young angels are taught this early on, and they can defend themselves.

The most distinguishing feature of angels that marks them as not being human is in their eyes. They have no sclera, iris, or pupil. Instead, their eyes are metallic-looking orbs. They often glow slightly when they use their power, and during extreme occasions, sparks may appear around their eyes.

Angel Physiology in Physical Form

Rubeus (Red) – Ability to incite calm with their mere presence. They can soothe anyone’s temper within moments, and this effect even works on demons. Humans call them “Cupid” based on the times they have been caught on Earth. Rubeus usually does not leave Elysium and chooses to help those within the compound. Occasionally, they will go with a party, but more often than not, they police within the grounds.
Aureus (Orange) – Incredible ability with hiding, sneaking, and information gathering. They are greatly persuasive, can be incredibly quiet when they want to be, and can cloak themselves in shadows. Aureus are always present on teams that go outside of Elysium.
Flavus (Yellow) – Incredible intuition and curiosity. These angels can uniquely disguise themselves and others in illusions that cannot be broken. These illusions are so strong that even demons are known not to be able to break them. A Flavus can always see through any illusions; therefore, every team, no matter the purpose, has one in it.
Viridis (Green) – Great charisma and ability to inspire. Can use an ability that causes all those around them to have increased abilities in battle. Viridis are natural leaders, and every group that sets out is led by one of them. They are calculating and amazing strategists, seeing four or five moves ahead.
Caeruleus (Blue) – Usually, the largest and most imposing of the angelic hosts. Caeruleus are made for battle, having a strong physique and incredible reflexes. They all have a special ability to vastly increase their fighting abilities; however, it lasts only a short time and leaves them utterly incapacitated afterward.
Indicus (Indigo) – Indicus are incredible healers, having the ability to identify and heal anything they come in contact with. They are completely immune to disease and can distinguish the difference between planar maladies at a glance. They can channel positive energy into a body and heal it of everything, even if the body is devoid of life. This ability, however, renders them incapacitated for days at a time afterward.
Violaceus (Violet) – Incredible intelligence and adaptability. Violaceus often investigates things and invents, and they love to experiment. They like to find out how things work, including magical abilities. They have a special connection with the elements and can bend them to their will with some effort.

The Angelic Types

Angels have no gender. They are creations of positive energy, though they can reproduce. In their natural state, this combines energies to produce a "child" that grows over a short period of time and is taught about the planes from the beginning. However, when they adopt a human body, things become slightly different. Human bodies had human reproductive capabilities, but they retained their ability to either Sire or Bear. Sires are those that impregnate, and Bearers are those that birth the child. In human bodies, reproduction relied on physical bodies and their capabilities rather than purely energy-based reproduction. All Sires, no matter their outward appearance, are capable of impregnating a Bearer. All Bearers are capable of birthing children, again, without regard for their outward appearance.

Internally, all Bearers have a system similar to a human woman's. As such, internally, all Sires have internal systems similar to human males. Outwardly, though, their bodies match their perceived gender. Considering that the angelic body does not need to process food, this makes the operations of male-bodied angels very similar to their female-bodied counterparts.

During birth, the body of an angel accommodates and changes according to needs. Therefore, a birth canal is formed in both, as it is not naturally occurring even in the female-bodied angels. This formation means that the birth of children in Elysium looks very similar to that of humans, even among angels with male bodies.

Angelic children age at the same rate as human children, and Angelic pregnancies average nine months. Angelic babies and toddlers develop much like humans, except for their powers, which can develop as they grow. More powerful children will develop powers earlier than less powerful ones, and it is easy to identify those that will be powerful in the future.