James, Saint of War

By Cameron McCurry

**Flaming
Feather**

The Calabite snarled as the Malakite tackled him in the horrid smelling alley. The two Celestials rolled on the ground and tried to end the battle quickly. A blast of pure hatred from the Destroyer sent the Malakite off of the demon. The Virtue rolled back up ready to continue the battle.

But as the demon advanced, another man joined the fray. The sword in his hand cut through the Calabite quickly and the demon fell to the ground. The Virtue walked up and nodded to the man.

"Thank you for your help."

The man locked eyes with the Malakite as he wiped the blood off of his sword. "Save it. I was doing my job just like you. But you damn well better pay for that store window you and your friend here just shattered."

The Malakite sputtered in anger. "What? How dare you-"

"I dare pretty damn easily," the man answered. "Mr. Collins, the store owner there, saved for a year to get that window. I don't care that you and the demon destroyed it; you're going to pay for it."

The Virtue had heard quite enough. He advanced on the man menacingly. "Listen, Soldier. In this War, there is a thing called collateral damage. If you have a problem with that-"

The remainder of what the Malakite was going to say was lost as the man twisted the Virtue's arm and slammed him against the alleyway. "Yes I do. You better learn that sometimes the collateral damage that you cause hurts the people you fight for. And if you're next move after I let you go is anything other than going up to Mr. Collins and paying for that window, I'm going to send you back to your Heart."

The man released the angel and stepped aside. There was no expression on the man's face at all. He stared at the Virtue as the angel sent his Resonance against the man who had fought him.

And within a second, he knew what this man was. He bowed to him in what the Malakite hoped would be taken correctly.

"Forgive me, Saint of War. You were right in what you said. I will pay for the damage that was done." Without another word, the Virtue walked towards the store as the owner was surveying the damage.

James nodded in satisfaction as the Malakite walked away. Looks like this one had a brain in his head. There was some hope.


James is one of Michael's oldest living Saints. Very little was known about his life on Earth other than he was a warrior out in Scotland that rode out against the Roman Empire. He became a Soldier of War and served honorably throughout his life. Upon arriving at the Groves, he asked to return to Earth as a Saint and his request was quickly granted. He's been on Earth ever since, in the same vessel that he was given.

A Saint's purpose in the War is to look out for humanity and guide them along the path of righteousness. James took to this with the same passion he lived life. He stayed out of the War as best he could, only becoming a combatant when it was unavoidable. But after a few centuries he noticed a disturbing trend amongst some of the Host. Some angels began to see humans as little more than living chess pieces and expendable ones at that. He made his way to the closest Tether of War and through the aid of the Seneschal, brought the matter up to Michael himself.

The Saint and the Archangel of War talked for several hours. James could be heard arguing passionately and Michael did his best to explain things to his Saint. Once the conversation had ended, James went back to Earth. Several angels that had worked with him noticed that he was somewhat...different, but let the matter slide. And James returned to work with a slightly different focus.

Not only would he help humans, he would make sure that the war harmed as few innocents as possible. With demons, it's usually a matter of destroying their vessel if he encounters them or spying on them long enough to give a good file on them to the Host. With angels, he makes sure that they make reparations to humans that they hurt and that they always remember who they are fighting for. He prefers non-violent methods of getting his point across, but will draw a sword or pummel an angel that tries to argue with him.

To date, he has been somewhat successful. The angels that have been in town longer do their best to help the Saint in his mission. He even helps younger angels as they try to adapt to their missions on Earth. Since he is able to change the appearance and age of his Vessel, it is hard to spot him in a crowd, which makes most of the demons cautious when they know the Saint is in the area.

But James still stays away from the fighting as best he can. Let the Celestials fight each other; he's content to protect humanity.

**Flaming
Feather**

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