The Gardens of Hope

[hopexaspect]

Hope is the first step to finding courage.

Hope is the next step through adversity.

Hope is the last step of salvation.

Do not be convinced that hope is naught but empty words - it is the foundation we are all grounded upon. No matter what happens, it will always be there to be rebuilt upon, as many times as needed.

Hold to hope, for it is always with you.

[hopexaspect]

Two quick updates for this blog:

1) I’m including Itherael here too just ‘cause

2) I’m not changing the username just ‘cause

[illusivexemissary]

@hopexaspect  liked for a starter!!!

——–

Gabriel’s sitting on a park bench–wearing a red facemask that reads, in gold letters, “Can’t Touch This” (it matches the ass of his boxers, thank you, might as well be a fashionably responsible citizen)–when his nose itches.

Not just a twinge, but the sensation of allergens collecting into a heinous nostril-lump.

Except that sensation subsides, and in its place, the primaries of his furled, invisible wings tingle.  The hollow of his wing-bones vibrates. 

He hates to admit it makes him like the proverbial old man who senses a storm coming in “these old bones,” but that’s what it is. Only the storm in question is a fellow celestial. 

So he rises, as inconspicuously as he can, and begins to stroll, gait carefree and jaunty, down the mostly-abandoned sidewalk.  Time ceases its currents with a gentle sigh–Gabriel’s doing, which requires a lot of “juice” (Grace, that is), and is not used lightly. 

But this person is either one of his higher-up siblings, which is never a good thing, or an angel from another dimension. Either eventuality requires delicate handling.

    “Hey-yo.  Come out, come ouuuuut,” he chirps, tugging down the mask, to display a warm and nonthreatening smile.  “I c’n feel ya, skippy. I’ll buy ya a drink, eh?”  

That feeling of which he speaks is buoyant.  It has the feel of April thaw, that first day of the calendar year when you break out your shorts and sandals and somehow breathing itself is easier.  It’s sort of like the smell of rain-soaked earth right as the sun comes out. 

    “Huh,” he mutters. “Wow.” 

[hopexaspect]

@illusivexemissary​

This one is not one of her siblings, but they are an angel.

Auriel doesn’t bother to hide her presence - she wants to meet this other angel. Though it doesn’t necessarily turn out to be as warm a welcome as she hoped for. Nothing she can’t handle, however. She does, after all, deal with Imperius on a daily basis.

What stands out more is how human the greeting is.

She fades into view before him, in her own true form. It may not be as grandiose as what Gabriel knows, but her divinity and power are no less real. The light tendrils of her wings shift and sway, though their overall form is open in what is a sign of peaceful greetings to her breed of angel. Now that she’s fully made herself known, that feeling that came with Auriel’s arrival spreads, the simultaneous relief of a warm day with a cool breeze.

“Well met,” she begins, her echoing voice a melodic lilt. “I am Auriel, Aspect of Hope, and archangel of the High Heavens. It is splendid to meet another of our kind, different though we may be. Our resonances are not the same, but your Light shines through to me.”

[femalepopculture]

Lupita Nyong'o l “Us” Press Conference

[baroquebronze]

Georges Hobeika Fall 2018

[llybian]

Auriel aesthetic

[crimson-nemesis]

conflict solving - auriel style

related to a few lines from auriel’s character description in ‘the book of cain’

[hopexaspect]

Through The Crack in The Garden

@illusivexemissary

Auriel is visiting the rift again, a part of her consciousness riding the currents of light that flow between realms.

One universe catches her attention. Hope and despair are not just skirmishes here and there, but a ferocious war. And somewhere, within that world’s being, she feels the resonance of Angels. They aren’t like her and her kin from the High Heavens, but something distinctly holy echoes within the world’s aura. She bids the current take her there.

This realm teems with life! Despite the bleakness within, she’s drawn in by the spectacle of the abundant life that calls this world home. There is so much to protect here. And so many humans! Mortals dominate the world by the billions. 

She must help them.

Staying invisible to human senses, Auriel begins drifting among them. Wherever she feels gloom, she goes, bringing resolution, peace - and of course, hope. The mortals don’t even notice that she helped them, and that’s how she’d rather keep it.

But as she moves, she feels that angelic echo once again - and she feels despair within it. She’d almost forgotten that that’s what drew her to this world in the first place. Auriel moves toward it, her presence a gentle hand reaching out in greeting. Every part of her essence rings out with positivity. Light. Serenity.

And Hope. Above all else.

[illusivexemissary]

Gabriel is feeding pigeons in the park even in the freezing cold of December,  because his wife is Mother Nature, and because benevolent unsung acts are the true currency of the Christmas season, as far as the Archangel responsible for the Annunciation is concerned. 

He’s seated before an entire flock, tossing them seed in a steady rhythm, mind snagged like a snare in a fine tapestry, a snare of a single thread that races upward into, corrupting, the beauty of the overall design.  Snagged on memories of unspeakable violation.  

Trauma sucks.  

He sighs, readying himself to stand and return home, when Angel Radio flares with an alien presence.  And that presence reaches across the chatter and tickles the back of his skull.

Swell. A visitor.

He turns, steeling himself for conflict.  A blade descends into his right hand, at the ready.

       “Sorry, miss, if you’re with the Salvation Army, I got some qualms with their business practices. Might needa direct me to another holly jolly charity.” 

[hopexaspect]

Auriel pauses, almost recoiling at the reaction. Though the words confuse her, the sentiment, the emotion, she understands well enough. 

She draws closer once more, slowly, cautiously. Her presence remains full of positive energy as before. Once close enough, she speaks. Gabriel would be able to see her but a few steps away; however, she remains cloaked to human senses. 

And she certainly doesn’t look quite like any Angel he’d be familiar with. Her wings shimmer, not as solid pieces, but tendrils of magnificent light that shift and sway. The strips that hang from her hood and coil around her arms seem to centre much of her energy, clearly more than just decorative ribbons.

“Hail to you,” she greets. Her voice, though lovely and melodic, is also steadfast. “I mean you no harm, for we are as kin, though I come from another realm - another High Heaven. I am Auriel - Archangel, and Aspect of Hope.”

“I come as a visitor. Though, while my power in your realm is limited, I am willing to help where I can.”

Now, as Gabriel is both host and hostile, she leaves the rest to him. 

[ohnonecromancy]

Auriel, Archangel of Hope

[bunniesmemes-deactivated2020063]

Reblog if your muse is (✿ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

But is also (ง'̀-‘́)ง 

[jazminesullivan]

Lupita Nyong’o 71st Annual Cannes Film Festival

[wandering-songstress]

LUPITA NYONG'O in Tom Ford at the 2018 Governors Awards

[hopexaspect]

Through The Crack in The Garden

@illusivexemissary

Auriel is visiting the rift again, a part of her consciousness riding the currents of light that flow between realms.

One universe catches her attention. Hope and despair are not just skirmishes here and there, but a ferocious war. And somewhere, within that world’s being, she feels the resonance of Angels. They aren’t like her and her kin from the High Heavens, but something distinctly holy echoes within the world’s aura. She bids the current take her there.

This realm teems with life! Despite the bleakness within, she’s drawn in by the spectacle of the abundant life that calls this world home. There is so much to protect here. And so many humans! Mortals dominate the world by the billions. 

She must help them.

Staying invisible to human senses, Auriel begins drifting among them. Wherever she feels gloom, she goes, bringing resolution, peace - and of course, hope. The mortals don’t even notice that she helped them, and that’s how she’d rather keep it.

But as she moves, she feels that angelic echo once again - and she feels despair within it. She’d almost forgotten that that’s what drew her to this world in the first place. Auriel moves toward it, her presence a gentle hand reaching out in greeting. Every part of her essence rings out with positivity. Light. Serenity.

And Hope. Above all else.

[hopexaspect]

Heaven’s Harbour - How Auriel is visiting other worlds

Auriel isn’t quite sure what caused it, but one day, after Diablo is struck down, she finds a rift in the Gardens of Hope. It is small, only noticeable because of how intertwined her being is with the Gardens. But it is there. She feels the nature of the rift, ensure the legions of the Hells aren’t trying to break through. No demons, or demonic essence. As far as she can tell, the rift is an intersection of light between realms.

Curiosity is not typically found among Angels. And yet, Auriel feels herself getting awfully close to it.

She can’t leave the High Heavens - not without Angels and mortals alike succumbing to despair. Instead, she peers into it with some of her essence, consciousness attached. Light flows within, a river current moving across existence and space, in all directions all at once. A mortal could not comprehend it all, but an Angel can.

Auriel joins the flow.

The current takes her into its embrace. The Archangel goes with it, feeling realms pass by like islands. She feels hope and despair in conflict in their auras. Never before had she seen or felt anything like it, or even dared to guess it existed. How remarkable - how wondrous!

And yet, she reigns herself in, withdrawing back to her body. She doesn’t have time to explore it, not yet. The Heavens still need her full attention. Nor does she want to go to deep in case there are dangers lurking within. But she will be back again. 

[levicoptart]

There is always Hope

[neopryde-deactivated20181203]

Auriel, Archangel of Hope

It is through the archangel Auriel that the power of hope flows into the fabric of creation. Her eternal light illuminates even the darkest souls. With Malthael’s departure, it falls to Auriel to hold the Angiris Council together. Should her light ever fade, all Heaven would fall to despair.

Auriel is the only female member of the Angiris Council. She is described as being dressed in soft blue robes, and due to her sympathetic nature, contrasts sharply in domain and character with the fierce and arrogant Imperius. Auriel presides over the Gardens of Hope, a place of healing and spiritual reflection in the High Heavens. In combat, she wields Al'maiesh, the Cord of Hope, which whips through foes and burns them with righteous fire. Al'maiesh can also be used to grant clarity of thought and emotion. When Sanctuary was discovered by the High Heavens, she was first and the most passionate of the Angels who defended the existence of the hidden world. She sought to uphold the inhabitants’ right to life and wanted to see them grow and mature. She is observed to be closest to Itherael, possibly because Hope is the only comfort to an uncertain Fate.