Rufina

They say that angels have to prove themselves before they earn their wings. But the interesting thing is that, if wounded in battle, they also have to earn their replacement set! In the battle between good and evil, the forces that personify the realm of creation and morality are not as impervious as the romanticized tales would have one believe. They can suffer wounds at the clawed hands and cruel blades of their demonic foes, and Rufina is one such casualty.

In the Third Battle for the Valley of Whispers, Rufina stood valiantly with her squad to defend the last line between the unholy army and the Keep of Divination, an important strategical installation for the angelic host. The very landmark that they had been tasked to defend foretold of their demise, as the demons and their undead minions vastly outnumbered Rufina and her fellow Guardians of the Light.

In most cases the events that appeared in the crystalline pool atop the obsidian fortress were proven true within the week, but after the initial push, the demons were repelled momentarily, forced to fall back and regroup while reinforcements were called from nearby battalions. They thought their own defeat could be avoided through careful planning, but the strands of Fate are not so easily rewoven. Rufina died that day, cleaved nearly in twain while buying her squad time to fall back to the Keep for its last defense.

From the battlefield, the young angel plummeted, her lifeless body just another anonymous ball of flame hurtling its way through the atmosphere. She landed with enough force to destroy a deli in a small trading outpost, creating a crater as large as a house with a wounded, bleeding angel in the center. From across the town, villagers gathered to view the source of the commotion, and working together they managed to pull the girl from what should have been her grave. The doctor sought to heal her wounds, the priest aimed to mend her soul, and the mechanic busied himself with crafting the limbs she had lost in the battle above out of brass. All three crafts came together, and when Rufina's red eyes opened a week later, she lifted a hand of metal clockwork to block out the glare.

The reforged angel served for a very long time as the guardian of the village, working to repay her debt to the people that saved her from an eternity of non-existence. She fended off bandit attacks and wild animals alike, protected the populace from plagues and famines, and even acted as a adjudicator in disputes between villagers or in trials or other cases where interpretation of the law was required. But as the decades went by, and the generations grew old and died, only to be replaced by a new one, Rufina became restless. The people failed to appreciate the source of her authority, forgot the humble nature of her service. Treated as a despot rather than a defender, Rufina left the village with a saddened heart.

She now searches for... something. Her purpose has been stripped from her, both her celestial and terrestrial ones, and she needs to find where she belongs.