The "Angel Wings", the symbol of the Archangels
Summary[]
Twenty-four years before the formation of the Fists of Keo, the only oppositions to the slag on Earth that had amassed from the outbreak of 2107 was a handful of unregulated and disorganized militaries such as TCF and the odd group of armed civilian survivors. With Keo's leadership and guidance, it was these people that lit the spark of the Great Crusade. But it was the Archangels who turned that spark into a raging fire.
After several devastating losses and few hard-fought victories, even Keo's most faithful followers were begin to struggle with moral. Slag was the deadliest foe that mankind had ever faced, and it was terrifying to face on the battlefield. Furthermore, Keo could not be everywhere at once; he needed leaders who could emulate his spirit all over the continent. He studied his ranks of followers closely, keeping his eye out for natural leaders and courageous fighters. Once he found fighters who stood out above the rest, he offered them a position in an experimental elite fighting force.
One of the first Archangels
But there was a catch: the members of this force would be heavily augmented and bionically enhanced. They would have to replace their organic limbs with advanced prosthetics designed by Keo himself, and they would be implanted with computers that would enhance their reaction time and awareness. They would have to sacrifice a part of their humanity for the greater good. The chosen few were honored that Keo had noticed them, and the majority accepted this cost. The Archangels were born, 30 in total.
They soon became stuff of legend for their feats of heroism and bravery, as well as their effectiveness at defeating slag. After years and many battles, rumors spread that the Archangels were un-killable, that they were unable to be defeated (not wholly true, but Archangel deaths were exceedingly rare). They were the faces of the Crusade, second only to Keo himself. The Archangels were the living symbol of hope, determination and vengeance. They were what every soldier dreamed they could be, their feats were what every soldier dreamed they could achieve. They were unstoppable. With them, the possibility of purging Slag from Earth became more and more viable with each battle. It was no longer a matter of if, but when.
Appearance[]
The Archangel armor, or Aegis armor as it was also called, was the body protection donned by the legendary warriors. The name 'Aegis' was given to the armor in response and refrencing to how the Archangels almost seemed to strike fear and terror into their enemies. After the Angels were formed and battles were fought, Keo's engineers doubled down on their efforts in order to help the Archangels be as effective and deadly as possible, whilst still maintaining full range and motion of mobility and comfort. They poured resources into development, experimenting with a variety of designs, sometimes helped with input from some of the Angels themselves. Eventually, a sleek, dark armor was developed, with the Archangel symbol engraved into the armor. This armor is one of the most famous and recognizable parts of the Archangels, and it provided the blueprint for the armor of the Unum Vires going forward.
Concepts for the Archangel armor
The Divine Loss[]
In the year 2133, in an event many refer to as "The Divine Loss", The surviving 26 Archangels were sent to the country of Kador to aid soldiers in fighting off a devastating mass of slag. Keonic forces had been attempting a bold liberation of a major city, but the sheer mass of slag in the city and the field produced by the slagic force was completely overwhelming. The slag had taken the offensive, and a massive hoard of slagic creatures was now moving in the direction of several heavily populated settlements. In an attempt to stop the hoard from reaching the settlements, the Archangels were dropped off to reinforce the overwhelmed soldiers and hold the line.
“They essentially threw them in the middle of a slag ocean and wished them the best of luck.” - a local of Icoroa, a large city on Heptin, to Varis Carlyiel.
In the ensuing battle, the Archangels were slaughtered, with only nine surviving. Many people have said that the fact they lasted as long as they did just showed how incredible they were. Mass reinforcements arrived eventually, but the damage was done. The settlements had been saved, but at a heavy price.
Varis and Tamlin Carlyiel on Kenzilia
Disappearance and Discovery[]
What happened immediately after the massacre was hotly debated among historians for centuries. Some argued that the ship escorting the Angels from the battle crash landed in some unknown location, while others believed that the surviving Angels had actually succumbed to corrupted and were killed immediately. In any case, every single Archangel had disappeared. The years went by, the Unum Vires developed as a fighting force using a mass-produced version of the Archangel tech, and the Archangels became a thing of myth and legend. In 2810, however, there was a brief flurry of rumors that the Archangels had been discovered in cryostasis tanks under the ruins of a city on Earth. But none of the Archangels surfaced, and the rumors soon faded.
The truth came to light when, at the end of the year 3043, two ex-com scavengers discovered the wreckage of the CS Condor on Kenzilia, one of the three moons of Hados. The ship had crash-landed into a secluded cavern, but the reason for the crash is unknown. As the scavengers, two brothers named Varis and Tamlin Carlyiel, explored the wreck, they soon discovered the precious cargo onboard: seven living Archangels preserved in cryostasis tanks. After the brothers returned the Archangels to the Unum Vires (with some incentives), news of their "resurrection" spread like wildfire.
Concept art for contemporary Archangel armor
Of course, the Angels had a lot of history to catch up on. For the next few months, the soldiers were brought up to speed on the war, trained with the new Unum Vires protocols, and had their bionic limbs enhanced with modern technology. It would not be a good look if these "legends" were only slightly more advanced than the average U.V. grunt, so a concentrated effort was made by Keonic higher-ups and engineers to make the Archangels live up to their name. In the current year, they are all still located on Hados and will soon be implemented in battle.