Stone Identifications

By William J. Keith (wjk150@email.psu.edu)

**Flaming
Feather**

Basically, I thought of the word "malachite" and it kind of hit me that Choirs of Stone might identify with particular stones. Angels who were "in uniform" on Earth might carry a small sample of this stone, or prefer tools or relics using these stones when there was a choice, because its properties appealed to that Choir. (Naturally, individual angels might have different views than the general trend.) I pondered a bit and came up with this list.

Seraphim: Flawless diamonds and transparent crystal; the stones of seers, the stones which do not stand in the way of the light of Truth, but rather efface themselves to better refract it into beauty.

Cherubim: Geodes; the stones which protect special formations within their sheltering and supporting shells.

Ofanim: Tigerseye, star opal; the stones with inner fire that change as they move, yet retain their solid nature. (Another possibility: radioactive ores.)

Elohim: Ores of iron, copper, and other metals; less beautiful, or hard, than other stones, but of the most use and purpose. (They wouldn't carry such a stone for decoration, but perhaps as a subtle identifier if needed, or as a lesson to a human on, e.g., shaping and refinement for strength and purpose.)

Malakim: Obsidian, malachite; obsidian is the sharp-edged stone formed from the violence of the volcano capable of being worked into weaponry, not to mention reminiscent of their wings. Malachite, besides these days being the English pun, is also thus reminiscent of their green hues.

Kyriotates: Sedimentaries, agglomerates; stones which take many natures and bring them together in a diverse unit. (Also a stone of which it's easy to find a sample in almost any environment to carry when in a new human host.)

Mercurians: Graphite, chalk; as stones, they are weak, but their very softness is their strength as they are used to write, helping humans to teach and communicate.

Grigori: Salt. At first, it was for the zest and flavor of life's necessities; these days, if any Stone watchers remain (it was the angels of Stone who hunted them down in the first place), they may say that it is for the tears and bitterness of the testing which is an essential part of life -- but they still remember that salt flows in the blood of both their Vessels and their beloved humans.

You might be able to do the same for some of the other Words -- Choirs of the Sword might have preferred blade styles, for example.

**Flaming
Feather**

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