Location: Roanoke

 

Senshi: Gabriel Knight, Archangelus Senshi of Water;

 

Name:  Ian Jeremy Michaels

 

Meaning: Ian means ‘God is gracious’, Jeremy means ‘Appointed by God’, and Michaels is a variation on Michael which means ‘Who is like God?’  His name stems from several facts, including the traditional views of his mother, his grandfather and his father’s liking for biblical names.  A touch of rearranging brings a bit of a personal statement, ‘Appointed by God, He is gracious.  Who is like God?’  The meaning behind the ‘Who is like God?’ statement is that it is the battle cry of the angel Michael and his forces.

 

Age:  21

 

Birthdate: July 3rd

 

Astrological Sign: Cancer, ‘cause it’s a water type, and he’s also a little introverted, as well as calm, imaginative, conscientious, and traditional.

 

Blood Type: A regular

 

Family:  He has one!

 

Mother:  Gwendolyn Louisa Michaels, nee Gwendolyn Louisa Colm.  She’s 46 years old.  Her name means White brow, Famous in battle, Who is like God?  Her maiden name meant Dove.  Her father was the Reverend Jeremy Colm, a Baptist minister, for whom Ian’s middle name comes from.  She had a very traditional upbringing, and is a housewife, as was her mother and her mother before her.  She cares deeply for her husband and son, who is her only living child.  Her first baby, a little girl, was miscarried a few weeks before term.  At the time she was working as secretary for her father’s church, and she secretly blames the fact that she wasn’t taking it easier and focusing more on the child.  Since then she’s spent her time caring for her family with all of her heart.  She’s a little on the protective side, and sometimes tries to do too much, at the expense of her own wellbeing.  Like her parents is a strong Baptist and tries to share her faith with her family.

 

Father:  Stephan Nathanial Michaels, aged 51 years.  His name means ‘Crown’, ‘given by God’, ‘Who is like God?’  He grew up in Ohio, in the city of Cleveland.  Attended the church that Gwen’s father was minister of.  Always knew Gwen as a child, but never really paid much attention to her, until he went away to college for four years, and suddenly found that the little 13 year old girl had turned into a charming young woman of 18.  They dated for a few years, as he got a job in advertising in Cleveland.  Eventually they married and settled down in their own house.  Tries to be there the best that he can for his family, but his work keeps him at the office late most nights, so he was never around as much as he wanted to.  He moved to the east coast with his family when Ian was about five, so that he could get a better job with a different branch of his firm.  Has a love of horses because of summers spent on his grandparents’ farm.  He wants to move back to the country when he retires.  Also a Baptist, but feels that his wife can believe much easier than him, making him a little insecure.

 

School: Roanoke College, Junior, Double Major in English and French.

 

Likes:  Ian has always loved dogs, as there’s always been one or two in the house ever since he can remember.  Being an English major, he loves reading and telling a good story.  He also likes messing around with his motorcycle, and driving it around town.  It helps him to relax, helps him to think.  He’s played lacrosse ever since 8^th grade, and is actually a very good player.  Renaissance and ‘Classical’ art are also high on his list of things that he likes.  His favorite band is Five Iron Frenzy, a Christian Ska band.  (This band also happens to be the favorite of the person writing this.  Hmm…  I wonder why Ian likes them, too :p )

 

Dislikes: People who say Ee-yan, instead of Eye-an.  Roller coasters.  When he was nine he went on his first roller coaster ride, and it had a little accident.  He was left hanging perpendicularly in a cart for over three hours as rescue teams tried to get everyone out of the broken ride.  Because of this he also has a slight fear of heights.  He also dislikes hardcore music.  It hurts his ears, and he doesn’t like not being able to understand the lyrics, let alone sing them without yelling.  People who manipulate others.  He’s been used himself by other people in the past, and after he realized this, he hated himself for what he’d done.

 

Fav. Food:  Biscuits and gravy, pumpkin pie, Chicken Cordon Bleu.  Mmm…. So very good…

 

Hated Food:  Sushi.  A couple of the guys from his college team took him out to try it once.  He promptly threw up half an hour later.  They thought it was a fluke, so they took him out again to try it.  This time he lasted 45 minutes before he started puking.

 

Fav. Subject:  Let’s see, he’s an English major, so obviously his favorite subject is Physics!  Wait, that’s not right…  It’s English, but he does enjoy physics, though.  He also enjoys his history classes.  And you also can’t forget that he’s majoring in French too, so he also really enjoys those classes, too.

 

Hated Subject:  Philosophy.  He fell asleep during that class so often it wasn’t funny, his professor didn’t like him, and the feeling was mutual.  He passed with a D, and he wasn’t about to retake it.

 

Color: Gold and scarlet.

 

Hobbies:  As stated, he enjoys lacrosse, and even plays on the college team as an attacker.  He also enjoys writing and reading (hence the English major).  If he had the room in the apartment where he lives, he’d garden, as he always took care of the one back at home.  Loves digging around in the dirt.  He’s also enjoys swimming (he is a senshi of water, after all :p ) though competing is far beyond him.  He also tries his hand at tutoring students with English help, as he’s thinking about getting his teaching certificate in a couple of years.  It helps him to be more open, to interact with people.  He also attends church regularly.  I don’t suppose that’s really a hobby, per se, but I wasn’t sure where else to put it.  ^^;;

 

Aspirations:  What every college student ever wants- less homework.  Seriously, he would someday like to write a successful book, something that he could be truly proud of.  He also tries to hold onto his faith and keep it strong, though sometimes college proves distracting.  He’d also like to get married, have a couple of kids, y’know, the average American dream sorta thing goin’ on.  I guess he really wants to love and be loved, even though he can’t actually say it sometimes.

 

Gemstone: Alexandrite.  It turns green and blue!  GREEN AND BLUE!  (Green’s his favorite color, and blue is the color of water, so…  You make the connections.  ;p)  (Also!  It changes colors like his eyes!  ^_^ )

 

History

 

Ian was born in a suburb of Cleveland, an only child.  Ian’s mother was extremely protective of him when he was a baby, to go so far as to try and never leave his side for the first two or three weeks after his birth.  After he was about two years old, she began to worry less about him, even though she was still protective of him.  All of this worrying caused him to be a little more shy than most other children around him, and it still persists to this day.

 

At the age of five, his father got another job in Baltimore, Maryland with a larger branch of his advertising firm.  It meant more money for the family, and a higher job position for him.  Unfortunately, it took away from some of his family time, because of the longer hours he had to work.  In grade school Ian always knew that his father loved him, he just wished that he could have been around a little more.

 

When he was nine his parents took him to Bush Gardens, as a special treat for his birthday.  To date, it’s been his least favorite birthday, though it could have turned out much worse.  He was tall enough to be allowed to ride the roller coasters, and wanted to try one out, because some of his friends at school had told him it was really fun.  It wasn’t.  The ride began stalling halfway through, and on an almost vertical drop halted.  He spent three hours in the back of the ride, his dad trying to keep him calm, and his mother going insane with worry down below.  After this, he never rode another coaster again, and had a small fear of heights. 

 

As earlier stated, there was always a dog in the house, and when Ian was twelve his dog Roger died.  It was the most pain that he had ever felt in his life.  He began to ask the big questions to himself – What is death?  Is there anything after it?  His parents never knew, but he started questioning his faith   He went though a few months of belief and disbelief, was everything true?  Was hope just a figment of his imagination?  It might have remained that way if it wasn’t for a woman by the name of Essie.  Essie was a little, tiny, withered old lady who lived in the neighborhood.  Ian thought that she must have been about a gillion years old.  It was closer to 86.  She was half blind, had to use a walker to get around, and had seen her husband and three of her children buried before she.  When she broke her hip in the summer before 8^th grade his parents volunteered him to go and help her around her house a bit.  While she did have a nurse who came in, she couldn’t stay for the whole day, so Ian took over for her for an hour a day.  He got her things, water her plants, got her a snack, that sort of thing.  What she was to Ian, though, was a shining example of faith.  Here was a woman, that had lost her husband and children, lived alone, could barely walk, could hardly see her own hand before her face, yet knew God, and was assured in her faith.  As she told him, it was the only thing she had left, but she was ready to die, or to put it another way, she wasn’t afraid of death.  Whatever terror death had for her had been cast away years ago.  His time spent with her was a blessing on both parts, Essie and Ian became good friends, helping each other along in life, both physically and spiritually.  She died two years later.  Ian felt even sadder than he had when his dog had died, but he didn’t feel the mental grief and heartache as he did last time.  There was a little voice in the back of his head, or maybe in the corner of his heart, telling him that she was safe, happy, and better.

 

8^th grade also presented itself with two of the other loves in Ian’s life – English and lacrosse.  Ian’s English teacher was a tiny bald man with a large mustache by the name of Mr. Schulenburg.  It was his enthusiasm and encouragement of Ian that helped to foster a love of composition in Ian, even if Ian still didn’t’ like grammar.  He was also introduced to some of the classics of writing in this class, The Odyssey, The Iliad, The Nibelungenlied, (his teacher was very big on epic tales), Robinson Crusoe, Shakespeare, etc…   Also at the Jr. High that he attended there was an 8^th grade lacrosse team.  Ian had never really tried out for a sports team before, but he had always enjoyed baseball and playing street-hockey with his friends, this had both balls and sticks.  Who knew, maybe he would enjoy it?  To his surprise and his parents, he was a natural.  The stick seemed to be an extension of his arm, he loved running around, trying out new positions on the team.  His best placement, though, was as an attacker.  He wasn’t quite fast enough to be a middler, but he was very good at ball handling, and very dexterous, the perfect thing for an attacker.  It helped him to make some friends, which he was never very good at, because of his shyness.  His mom was there for every single game, and his dad managed to make most of them.  Even little old Essie managed to make a game or two, before she got to sick to leave her house.  Of course, his mother was very worried that he’d hurt himself, but eventually she got used to the fact that her little boy was growing up, and was going to end up getting hurt every now and then.

 

In high school he continued to strengthen his faith, and continue with his lacrosse and his English.  Unfortunately one of these was the cause of him learning about being used.  His sophomore year one of the seniors on his team asked him if he could do him a little favor.  Nothing big, just to keep a gift that he bought for his girlfriend in his locker for a couple of days, until he could come and get it when he was going to give it to her.  Ian, always wanting to be helpful, said yes.  The next day Leonard brought over a pretty bag with a bow on top of it, and gave it to Ian to hide in his locker.  The next day in school there was a ‘random’ drug bust.  Ian was caught with a pretty bag with a bow on it with well over four hundred Winstons, steroids, in it.  He was fined several hundred dollars, and even though the drug tests proved that he hadn’t been using them, he was suspended from the team for the rest of the season.  The coach realized that it wasn’t really Ian who was using them, but as long as he wouldn’t tell, he’d have to keep him off of the team for the rest of the season.  He never told who they belonged to, though, his sense of loyalty to the team not letting him.  That, and the fact that if he did tell, he knew that Leonard would beat him up, he was using steroids after all, and was much larger than Ian.  More than anything else, he blamed himself for this, but he never wanted to be used again, or see anyone else be used.

 

He eventually made it back onto the team next year, even more determined to do well.  He improved his skills so much, that when he graduated the next year, he was offered a spot on the Roanoke College men’s team.  He gladly accepted and went to complete his education and receive a degree in English there.  The summer before his Junior year, he went on a study abroad program, visiting France, Spain, and Italy.  Not only did he get to tour Europe, but he also got credits in Art Appreciation, Foreign Languages (French, obviously in his case), and Western Civilization.  It was a trip that changed his life, but I’m not going into that right now, because I’m going to write about that in the Writing Sample section.  :p  That was when he met his guardian, Clare.  He’s also currently got a rottweiler dog named Bruce Campbell, who he loves to death.  No, the dog, not Bruce Campbell, though he laughed his butt off at Army of Darkness.  No, Ian was doing the laughing, not the dog. Clare doesn’t really like that movie.  ^_~

 

Personality

 

Ian is a very quiet sort of person.  He’s gentle and calm most of the time.  The type of person who doesn’t get a lot of recognition outside of his specialties.  You know those celebrities who go out when there’s an oil spill, and the news takes shots of them nursing a poor sick cormorant back to health.  You know those people in the background?  The ones cleaning rocks?  Yeah, that’s kinda like Ian.  He’s there alright, but he works in the background.  He’s also very polite, always watching out for the other person’s feelings, choosing his words carefully.

 

When he’s on the lacrosse field, that’s a whole other matter.  He becomes another person, almost.  He’s very open, outgoing, loud even.  He’s very aggressive, and becomes ‘one of the guys.’  He takes a pride in what he does, whether it be on the field or with his writing.  After the game’s over, though, he starts to retreat back into his shell again.  Some of his teammates have tried to get him to open up a bit more outside of the game, but they haven’t really managed to do so yet.  Still, he’s well liked by most of the guys, even if it’s only for the fact that he’s a dedicated player.  Very loyal to his friends and team, he’d do most anything for them.  It’s his way of expressing his love for them.

 

He’s sometimes stuck at odd moments by inspiration for something to write about, so he’s been seen jotting down notes on old letters, band concert programs, math textbooks (it’s not like the bookstore was going to pay him that much to buy the book back).  Sometimes when he’s at the top of a very tall building, he’s reminded of the roller coaster incident, and experiences a moment of vertigo. 

 

People sometimes go to him to talk to, because he listens.  He doesn’t just hear, he actually listens to people’s problems.  He’s the type of guy that girls call ‘Sweet.’  His friends on the team have set him up on a couple of dates, but they didn’t really go anywhere.  The girls would see him on the field, and expect an outgoing charming man, and while Ian was always the perfect gentleman, he was just too shy for most of the girls.  He trusts that some day he’ll find the one.  His teammates just want him to find a girl to bring him out of his shell a bit more.

 

When he’s Gabriel Knight, he slips into lacrosse mode, personality wise.  He’s much more outgoing, and forceful, doing the best that he can with what he’s got.  Still, sometimes he just wonders if there isn’t a better way to deal with things, other than fighting.  He does retain his sense of shyness in some ways when he’s Gabriel Knight, though.  If a girl would start coming on to him, most likely his eyes would get larger, and he’d start blinking a lot, then start getting all nervous, and then he’d stammer the next thing that he said.

 

Appearance

 

Ian’s got light brown hair, that’s sort of swept back from his forehead, and is slightly spiked.  He uses just enough hair gel for it to stay in place.  It gets a bit longer as it goes back, and it makes him seem about an inch taller than he really is.  He’s also got a tiny little bit of a goatee going on, more of a soul patch than anything else. 

 

His eyes aren’t ‘normal.’  He’s got one hazel, and one blue eye.   While in Gabriel Knight mode, the differenced become even more distinct, the colors heightening greatly.  It’s been known to make people do double takes before.  It’s also a nice way to weird people out, as they switch sides, sometimes while the person is looking. It’s murder on his driver’s license.  (I’ve seen this happen in real life before.  Girl in my school would start the day out with a left blue eye, and a right brown eye.  Two hours later her left eye would be brown and the right would be blue, or they’d both be brown, or something.  It was weird.  It was cool.  I liked it so much, I gave it to Ian.)  It only takes a minute for them to switch around  (I’m speeding up the process.  :p )

 

 

He’s 5’ 10”, 5’ 11” with hair.  ^_~  The years of playing lacrosse have lent him a body which is lean, and sinewy, quite agile, lithe, even.  He’s tried hitting the weight room with the guys before, but while he got stronger, he never got any bigger.  It’s a mystery to him, and most of the guys on the team.  He’s got good upper-body strength, but he only looks a little bit more muscular than average.  This can come into his advantage, as his opponents aren’t expecting him to be able to hit as hard as he can.  He’s also got a scar running down his left thigh, from lacrosse.

 

Ian can usually be seen smiling, though sometimes it seems to be a sad smile. His nose is a shade on the crooked side from an accident with a lacrosse ball, and his eyebrows gently arch over his eyes. His face is just slightly ovular, and his ears tend to stick close to the side of his head. He's also in possession of a set of teeth straightened by braces. He still wears his retainer at nights. Since the eye thing tends to weird people out, and make them stare at him, he tends to wear his shades when he goes outside. It's a little known fact that he named his dog for Bruce Campbel not only for the fact that he liked Army of Darkness, but for the fact that he's kinda got a Bruce Campbel-eque chin himself. His skin is lightly tanned and YES he has actual body hair. It's shocking. Most anime guys are completely devoid of the stuff. Ian isn't an anime guy. :p He's no Burt Reynolds, but he does have a fair amount of the pale brown stuff on his arms, legs and chest.

 

Ian prefers to wear silk, or rayon shirts. The sort with no collar button on the top (it reveals the fact that he's got chest hair!). He likes the nice soft feeling they you get from wearing them. He also likes them in the Hawaain variety, as well as the sort of shirt that just has colors and shapes. Prefers shorts over pants, just because it's cooler that way. Leaves his shirts untucked, most often. Still, when he has to dress up, he can. Looks rather good in a suit and tie, with his hair back.

 

Fuku

 

His outfit has two layers to it.  The first layer is of dark scarlet cloth.  It serves as an undershirt, and shorts.  They're a little tight fitting, but they certainly aren't skin tight.  The edges of the short sleeves and the edge of the shorts are trimmed with golden threads weaving about, spelling words in a language that Ian has never seen before.  He hopes to someday be able to read them.  The shorts cannot normally be seen from under the 'toga section', but the writing on them is identical to the that of the red shirt.

 

The next layer is of a golden cloth that is a bit like a toga, a bit like a vest.  The upper section has no sleeves and is a bit looser than the under layer, and the lower half of it resembles a toga in function.  It’s not a skirt.  He’ll bap you for saying that.  It reaches to his kneecaps, and he finds it rather annoying.  An embroidered belt done in white and gold circles his waist, and keeps the everything in place.  A silver scabbard hangs off of the belt, and it holds his blade.  His sword has a golden handle, and a blade made of some bright metal.  The blade is etched with lilies, as those are the symbol of Gabriel.  Set in the handle is an alexandrite at it's very far end, opposite the point.

 

His feet are covered by a lovely pair of leather sandals, which make him seem an inch taller (6 feet with hair!  :p).  He’s got those armlet thingies on his wrists (Bracers?  Is that what they are?  I’m not sure), which are gold in color, if not in weight.  They’re about the size of the ones that Sailor Iron Mouse, and Lead Crow, and Aluminum Siren and the rest of the bad guys from Sailor Stars had, except that they can’t suck out people’s SHTAR-SHEEDOS!  (Yes, I'm  admitting that I've seen Sailor Stars.)  He’s also got a sort of a golden headband going around his forehead with an alexandrite gleaming in its center. 

 

Please see these pictures for costume references.  This will make most sense if you read the story example.  ;)  http://gallery.euroweb.hu/art/g/greco_el/1575/04annunc.jpg  http://classic.archives.nd.edu/maritain/images/ce/Annuncia.gif  http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/weyden/annunc.jpg 

 

Transformation

 

He transforms.  The end.

 

You wanted more?  Darn.

 

Yes, Ian does use a transformation item, it’s a crucifix that he always wears around his neck.  It’s shaped a bit like a sword (hint hint) and is made of silver.  He says “Gabriel Archangelus Power, Suit Up!”  (Poor guys that have to say make up.  ::looks at Tami::)  The cross glows bright white and floats in front of Ian.  The sword lengthens, and becomes Gabriel’s sword, and the chain that it was on becomes the embroidered belt.  The belt fastens itself to Ian’s waist, and gold and scarlet light streams out as it does, and Ian disappears in the brightness.  When the light fades, he’s wearing the red and gold clothing part of his outfit.  The words re-embroider themselves onto his sleeves each time he transforms.  The armlets snap onto his wrists, and the circlet appears on his head.  He unsheathes the sword, and places it into the ground before him, and he ends up in the classical ‘Knight praying with his sword stuck into the ground’ pose, his head turned towards the heavens.

 

Powers  (Yes, he has four.  No one ever takes advantage of all available slots, so I figured why not go ahead and use what he’s got?  Listed in order of ‘availability’)

 

Torrent of Lilies – Blade! 

 

Gabriel takes out his sword, and he holds it out in front of him horizontally.  He says “Torrent of Lilies”, and the blade begins to glow blue.  He then either thrusts the sword, or sweeps it out, and says “Blade!”  If the blade was thrust towards one person, a jet of fresh water lances out and strikes the person.  This can last for up to three seconds.  If he sweeps it across in a semi circle it turns into a wave of water which can hit several people, and knock them over, or possibly block an attack.  The crests and foam of this attack appear as lilies.  This is his most useable attack, and can be used up to seven times per battle.

 

 

Baptism of Tears

Gabriel wipes a tear from the corner of his eye, and casts it at a person near him. The receiver of this feels intense feelings of remorse and guilt, so intense that it physically hurts.  It also makes it very hard for the person to hit Gabriel, because they feel so guilty about what they're about to do.  This is usable three times per battle, and is best used at fairly close range, about 15 feet is the maximum distance.

 

Trumpet of Vengeance

Gabriel Knight holds his hands out before him and says, "Herald Trumpet of Vengeance." A long silver trumpet appears in his hands. He then says, "The Wrath of God upon yea (name of offender)." Gabriel then blows the trumpet and it lets out a long clear note that lasts for three minutes, and if the person who he is intending this attack for does not get out of listening range of the sound, every sweep that Gabriel Knight makes with his sword will fill the person's lungs with water. The only escape is to run away, and vomit the water out. This is centered at about 50 yards from the horn blowing point. It is in this act that Gabriel embodies Vengeance. As long as the note plays in the air, Gabriel's strength remains constant, but it's a very draining attack. Afterwards Gabriel feels as if he's been holding the note himself for the three minutes, and feels winded and tired. It can only be done once a week. There is a way to get out of this, the trumpet must be blown for ten seconds. If he's interrupted, the note will not hold in the air for the three minutes. The attack cannot be attempted for another day, in this case. It may be possible to make it impossible for Gabriel to use his sword during this attack, and therefore one may save oneself from the onslaught of having water in one's lungs.

 

Divine Annunciation

Uncontrollable.  Gabriel never knows when this will happen.  It’s brought about by ‘need’ or intense stress.  First his eyes loose their colors, and become like pools of clouded mercury.  His hair becomes platinum blonde.  A breeze moves about him, and he lifts off of the ground a few inches.  He starts glowing, only it isn't light that he's glowing with. The only way to describe it is 'Glory radiates from him.'  If any are present with evil intentions towards him (other teams), they are blinded by this light, and are unable to come any closer to him than 10 feet away.  He then reveals some sort of truth. Hence the Annunciation. It can be of what was, or what is, but the realm of what is yet to be is not within his scope.  It always starts out with the phrase, “The Lord speaks; I am his mouthpiece.”  It could be something like, “I like bacon!” or “Pie si good!” or “The Dark Univeralis Senshi have taken control of John Adams High School, and are draining the energy of it’s students by making them do aerobics or write letters to late-night love help shows, or having skiing contests.”  It really depends.  Most times it’s something actually useful, though.  :p  He then falls to the ground, eyes and hair back to normal, and he passes out.  All of those blinded peoples, though, they're now effected by 'Baptism of Tears', and it's strength has been increased ten-fold, and lasts as long as they're near his unconscious form.  It isn’t used very often, just because he can’t control when it will happen.

 

Guardian

 

Ian has a guardian which he met in Italy, she’s a weasel named Clare.  Yes, a weasel.  One of those nice little one’s whose fur turns white in the winter.  During the summertime, though, her fur turns a shade of brown usually reserved for deer, though her belly remains white throughout.  She always wants to see what’s going on, and is rather inquisitive.  Her large eyes seem to catch everything in around her, and are very ‘sparkly.’  She enjoys riding around on Ian’s shoulder, and going where he does, if she can manage it.  Ian says that she’s his pet ferret if anyone asks, saying you have a pet weasel gets you odd looks.  Clare is afraid of most dogs, she’s afraid that they’ll attack her.  Bruce has no problem with her though; he’s a big softy anywho, so they get along fine.  Always the optimist, she tries to believe the best in any situation (dogs are her exception to the rule).  She has the odd ability to see whatever Ian sees in Gabriel Knight form.  She’s also quite silver-tongued and charming, as she can talk her way out of most situations, and is rather likeable.  Clare firmly believes in Ian, and believes that he can accomplish the task set before him.  She’s also very caring, always trying to look out for Ian and take care of him as best as a weasel can.

 

Explanation

 

What is your angel? Why did you pick it?

 

The angel whom I choose was Gabriel.  Why did I pick him?  Well, I’ve always loved pictures from the renaissance of the Annunciation, and I also liked the messenger aspect of Gabriel.  He seemed to be an angel full of modesty and hope, which I thought fit the character of Ian well.  All of Gabriel’s associations are: life, truth, communication, vengeance, hope, dreams and water.  This seemed to fit in very well with what I thought Ian should be, so it was a natural choice.

 

Who is your guardian? Where does his/her name come from? How does it relate to your senshi?

 

Ian’s guardian is Clare, the weasel.  Her name comes from Saint Clare of Assisi, the patron saint of lots of things, including eyes, telegraphs, telephones, and television.  The last three are all forms of communication, which is one of the associations of Gabriel.  Eyes are the windows of the soul, and weasels have such big and bright eyes, that it seemed fitting.  The whole fact that she’s a weasel also stems from Christian iconography; the weasel meant Spiritual Warriors, Disciples, & Christ the Purifier.  To me, Clare showed the virtues of being a spiritual warrior very much.  “When she learned of the Franciscan martyrs in Morocco in 1221, she tried to go there to give her own life for God, but was restrained. Once when her convent was about to be attacked, she displayed the Sacrament in a monstrance at the convent gates, and prayed before it; the attackers left.”  As for discipleship, she was a student of Saint Francis of Assisi, who was her mentor and close personal friend.  As for the purification aspect, I thought that with Gabriel, his attributes of life and truth helped to cover that.  Also she’s imbued with other characteristics from Christian Iconography:  parental love, vigilance, and watchfulness.  She’s always looking out for Ian, being there for him, fitting well with the weasel attributes. 

 

Her special ability also stems from the story of Clare.  It turns out that in her old age, Clare became too sick to go to mass, so mass went to her.  The mass played itself out on one of the walls of her room, hence her connections to television and communications.  I thought that this was a neat ability, and with Gabriel and with all of the different sorts of communications he was associated with, it fit.

 

You may also wish to explain the relevance of your powers.

 

If you say so.

 

Gabriel’s powers stem from life, truth, communication, vengeance, hope, dreams and water.  I tried to include several of these into his abilities.  I also tried to include one of the major symbols of Gabriel, the lily.

 

 

Torrent of lilies, Baptism of Tears, and Trumpet of Vengeance all involve water.  Torrent also uses the lily as a part of its attack.  His sword is once again etched with the lily, his symbol.  The traditional weapon for Gabriel is the spear, but I felt that a sword was more fitting for the transformation, and still fits with his character with the engravings.  Vengeance obviously taps into the whole vengeance part of Gabriel, and the trumpet is the fourth symbol of Gabriel.  Divine Annunciation makes reference to the Annunciation, and to his communication aspects, as well as truth.

 

Writing Sample

 

Ian was spending the summer in Europe, with a program from his college.  He had never been outside of the country, and everything was so new to him.  The curriculum was threefold, he would be immersed for two weeks in France, where he would be expected to be able to get by on his own without speaking English.  This took place of one of his French classes.  Also, since they would be taking many trips to art museums, he would be allowed a class credit for either art history or art appreciation.  Lastly they would be taken to many of the famous sites in Western History, and would be given credit for a European History class.  All in all, Ian considered it to be a very good deal.  It certainly wasn’t cheap, but the classes and the learning experiences, not to mention just the sightseeing would be a wonderful experience.

 

The first two weeks were spent in Spain.  Ian and his classmates were shuttled by bus almost everywhere imaginable in Madrid that might be of relevance to them, as well as several excursions to the countryside.  Ian couldn’t speak more than a few words of Spanish, but thanks to the lovely cognates between French and Spanish, he was able to make out a few words here and there.  It was in a museum in Madrid where he was first stopped by a painting on this journey of his.  It wouldn’t be the last.

 

Ian had always enjoyed art from the classical school.  The meanings within meanings, everything having it’s place.  The position of the bodies, the facial expressions, the colors used, it was his favorite period for art.  The college students were taken on a tour of the museum, and then let loose for an hour to look at what they all wanted to see.  Ian began to follow some people that he knew to a room full of mosaics, but a picture caught his eye.  It was a picture of the Angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary.  He was struck by some unknown quality in it.  The look on Mary’s face, the colors used for the angelic robes.  It seemed to speak to him.  It was as if the picture was singing, just for him, and no-one else could hear it.  Transfigured, he stood there, taking in the picture.  The next thing that he knew, his reverie had been broken by someone shaking him on the arm.

 

“Yo, Ian!  Wake up, dude!” said one of the guys from his group.  “You coming back, or not?  Everybody’s wondering what’s keeping you up!”

 

He looked at Ben, and then looked at his watch.  An hour and ten minutes had gone by.  “Oh, sorry.  I guess that I wasn’t paying much attention to the time.  Sorry about that.”  Ian was extremely embarrassed.  He was always on time.  What would the other’s think?

 

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize to me.  It’s not like I really want to go back in that crummy bus.”

 

"Thanks,” he replied.  Ian and Ben went back to the meeting place, and within a few minutes the rest of the group was back.  Some of them were a little angry at Ian for making them go out and search for him, but half of the students were there just to party and get credit hours for it anyway.  It’s not like getting to the next art gallery on time was high on their list of priorities.  The next day, all of the students had to write a paper on one of the art pieces that they saw the other day; Ian wrote Musings on The Annunciation:  a Study in Grace by El Greco.  The words seemed to just flow from the pen.  “Divine inspiration,” he said to himself, joking.

 

Three more weeks of riding in busses, and looking at art and famous places passed.  By this time, they had reached their two-week stay in France.  After touring the Loire River Valley, they came to rest in Paris for several days.  Perhaps rest isn’t the best word for it…  Running around like chickens with their heads cut off suits their actions much better.  The poor students who spent their nights partying were forced to take their sleep wherever they could find it, most notably the bus, and in little corners of exhibitions.  Ian remained awake, though, and took in the sights as best as he could.  One day they were given the run of the Louvre – the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and a thousand other pieces of art.  Ian tried to soak up as much as he possibly could, until his eye was caught by another picture.  “It’s the Annunciation again,” he whispered to himself.  Only this time it had been done by a Flemish painter by the name of Weyden.  Instead of the colors, it was the details that caught his eye this time.  Mary was clearly dressed as a medieval noblewoman, but the intricate details that the painter had lent to his creation.  “If only I knew the symbolism behind it,” said Ian to himself.  “The book, the candle holder, even the string above her head could tell the story.”  A belt that Gabriel had hanging down his shoulder caught Ian’s eye, it was so beautiful, so intricate.  This time Ian spent two hours taking in every detail of the picture, before he looked at his watch, and realized that he had five minutes to get halfway across the palace before they were scheduled to meet back up.

 

“What is it with me and these pictures?” he asked himself as he ran up the stairs to the hall where they were to regroup.  “I just can’t help looking.  I don’t understand…”

 

A week and a half passed, and he soon had the paintings out of his mind.  On their way down the Italian coast they were scheduled to visit a monastery.  Not only was it a fine example of renaissance building construction, but it was also gifted with great art.  The Italian master Fra Angelo had visited the monastery, and painted frescoes on walls of the building.  The students were expected to be on their best behavior for this, they were getting a tour by the head of the monks’ order himself, Brother Vermelochi.  He led them around the chapel, the garden, the hallways, all the while explaining the building to the students.  Finally he took them to the library, where he showed them a large fresco on the back wall.  It was The Annunciation again, this time by Angelo.

 

Everything else faded into the background for Ian.  Since he was rather quiet, no-one noticed that one student never left the library to go and view the ancient kitchens.  Ian stood amidst the ancient texts on theology, looking into the picture, taken in by a picture for the third time.  He reached up and touched the hem of Gabriel’s cloth, and noticed that it was edged in golden script, in a language that he hadn’t seen before.  ‘Perhaps it’s Latin,’ he thought to himself.   Then he noticed the wings, they were gold and red, green and white.  This was certainly no ordinary angel.  Ian didn’t know how long he stood there absorbing the painting, until a voice broke his daydream. 

 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” asked a female voice.

 

Ian spun around, expecting to be face to face with a nun of some sort, but he saw no-one.  “Y-yes, it is.  It’s very lovely.”

 

“Tell me, is it like looking into a mirror?”

 

“What do you mean?” he asked.  “It’s just a painting.  I was only looking at it.  I must be late, the tour must be looking for me.”

 

“No, dear, they aren’t.  The monks have seen to that.”

 

“W-what do you mean?”  he asked, getting visibly more nervous by the moment.  “Where are you?  Who are you?”

 

“Second bookshelf to your right, dear, third shelf.  Next to the copy of the Divine Comedy,” came the mysterious woman’s reply.

 

Ian looked over at the bookshelf, and jumped.  Looking right at him with large shining eyes was a brown and white weasel.  “How did a weasel get into the library?” he asked.

 

“The monks let me in,” came the woman’s voice from the weasel's mouth.

 

Ian could hardly believe what was happening to him.  A weasel was talking to him.  About a painting.  “W-w-who are you?”

 

“I am a messenger, sent from God.  My name is Clare of Assisi, and I am your guardian.”

 

“Assisi, like Saint Francis of Assisi?”

 

“Yes dear, yes.  I knew the man myself.  Blessed in every respect of life.  He was my mentor.”

 

“How old are you?” asked Ian, becoming more and more raveled up in this mystery.

 

“Oh, I died quite some time ago.  I’m Saint Clare.  The Holy Spirit lent me this form so that I could instruct you on your duties.  You have a very important job to do, you know.”

 

“What do you mean?  I’m not special…”

 

“When you looked at those paintings, was it like you were gazing into a mirror, or perhaps looking at an old photograph of something from your childhood years ago?  You are special.  God has touched you with the spirit of Gabriel, the Archangel.  There are forces working in this world towards it’s destruction, and it is your duty to protect it from them.”

 

“Gabriel?  But, that’s impossible…  That can’t happen…  I’m not…  I mean, there must be thousands of people better suited for this job.  God can’t want me, can he?”

 

“I imagine Mary must have reacted in much the same way, two thousand years ago.  Only this time, I play the part of messenger.  Come, let me give you proof of this,” said Clare.  She scurried down the bookcase, and up Ian’s leg.  He couldn’t help but twitch a bit as she clawed her way up his pants, but when she reached his shoulder, and placed her ermine like tail around his neck, he couldn’t help but feel comfortable. 

 

From somewhere under the fur on her neck she took a silver crucifix on a golden chain out and gave it to Ian.  He looked it over in his hands, it almost looked like a tiny dagger of some sort, the end of it having a sharp tip.  “It’s very nice,” he said.  “What do I do with it?” he asked as his eyes swept from blue to hazel.

 

“With eyes like those, how could you not tell that you had  the blood of an angel running through your veins?” smiled the weasel.  “Place it on your neck, and then say ‘Gabriel Archangelus Power, Suit up!’  Don’t worry about anything bad happening to you, my dear boy,” she whispered into his ear, sliding off of his arm and onto a table.  “Don’t worry about the monks, either, they know that I’ve been here for the past month, and have been sworn to secrecy.  They’ll leave us alone.”

 

More than a little nervous, Ian placed the cross around his neck.  Looking at Clare, she nodded at him, and he said a little prayer, and then said, “Gabriel Archangelus Power, Suit up!”  The cross glowed and flew off of his neck, and he was bathed in light.  He’d never felt such energy running though him as there was at that one moment.  He could hardly breathe, let alone see with all of the light surrounding him.  The next thing that he knew he found himself kneeling on the ground, a sword placed into his hands, his face turned to the Heavens.  He looked down at himself, and his eyes almost fell out of his head.  For there making up his costume were bits and pieces of the three paintings he’d seen in the past few weeks.  The coloring was from the El Greco, the belt which held his scabbard was from the Weyden painting, and there was lettering around his sleeves, the same sort of lettering as was on the painting just a few feet behind him.  “I…  I don’t know what to say...”

 

“Praise the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Gabriel Knight,” she said.

 

As Ian, or Gabriel Knight as he was now, began to pray, he couldn’t help wondering,  ‘Was I inspired by the paintings, or were the paintings inspired by me…’