At first I was stunned at the revelation that the creature that we had struggled so hard to defeat could be a messenger from Heaven. However the more I thought about it the more sense it made. Since becoming a Guardian, and more specifically a member of the Ecclesiast, I had spent the majority of my time that was not devoted to improving the Citadel technologies on the platitudes of technological superiority. If we could hold technology in such high esteem, and hold out hope that even greater advances would solve some of our most pressing problems, why was it impossible that greater forces than we understood were out there somewhere?

Then my mind took a disturbing turn. If there were Angels, mythical beings from a long forgotten past or so I had thought, in corporeal form what other creatures could be lurking about the edges of our perceived reality? 

I had a sneaking suspicion that I had already met another supposedly mythical creature, and the thought sent a shiver down my spine. I needed time to process this revelation.

We hadn’t brought anything other than our own bodies and clothing into the clearing so cleaning out our makeshift campsite was a quick affair. I made a point of checking on Allegras wound before focussing on the fire, dissipating the heat into the chill morning air and ensuring the smouldering log was completely extinguished so as to not risk an unattended flare up so near the city. 

Allegra had been describing her recollection while I tended to her wound and the fire, her vivid descriptions of a huge arena filled with dozens of Guardian candidates had my mind spinning. They had been brought into the arena by other Guardians, she could not remember the exact details but believed that they are all high ranking occupants of the Citadel, and given an assortment of weapons. Each of the candidates that she described had exhibited abilities resembling those of current Guardians. Albeit significantly muted compared to the powers on display in the Citadel.

The Battle Royale that she described seemed so fantastical so as to boarder on the insane. The candidates had been promised that any that survived would be granted power and esteem beyond their wildest dreams. Fighting with the ferocity of cornered animals they tore at each other using their gifts and the weapons that had been placed throughout the arena, fire and lightning were manifested until every inch of the arena walls were charred and scarred. Finally there were only a handful remaining. That was when the Angel had been introduced to the fray.

It had been lowered from a cage held in the ceiling, the steel bars had been bent and torn as if the creature had been struggling to escape for some time, and set loose on the tired and broken candidates.

Allegra had been the sole survivor of the whole ordeal. She had used her ability to reach into the beast and had clotted the arteries leading to its heart, causing it to fall dead mid stride towards her.

As we began our journey back to the Citadel I mulled over her recollections, more questions had surfaced in my mind and I needed to know more. And I knew exactly who I needed to speak with, the one man in New Paris that seemed to know more about the goings on in the fringes of the city than the Citadel.

I needed to find and speak with Big Jon. Quickly.

Alexander Motus, Guardian # 51