Heaven Calls

Background Info When the world was young, 'gods' roamed the surface: monsterous creatures whose only goal was satisfying an unending hunger. The gods were banished from their old home and sent to the surface to suffer, when volanos were still errupting and forming the first continents. Their spilled blood filled the oceans, and life bloomed from their carcasses. As centuries passed and the surface changed in a thriving, luscious world, there were only a few gods left (many dormant deep in the ground, hibernating after thousands of years of fighting) Their anguish, hunger, and desires pooled into a sludge that would eventually become Hades. Deities like Hades were rare, and were the offspring of gods who were able to aquire their own minds without the madness of hunger affecting them.

Hades, the first deity, watched over the dying gods and tended to them to end their anguish. Deep beneath the ground, the icy cold caverns of the ocean became the final resting ground for the gods. She would seperate their souls so that they would be free of their physical bodies, but that had an unintended consequence of magic no longer having a host. Without a being to keep focus, magic becomes restless and volatile. Unbeknowest to Hades, the blood of old gods would start to seep upwards and magic would begin affecting the surface once more. A seed burrowed near the surface became shaped by the magic and would grow to become a person, the Creator.
Ichor's comet is a god of burning desires and glass, who desperately wanted to go back home. They managed to carve wings of flame and molten rock that took them above the atmosphere but became too exhausted after the icy touch of space cooled their molten body. Unable to fight back against the pull of the celestial bodies, Ichor lets themselves be pulled across the stars and returns every 20 years. With every visit, the blood of old gods cry out to the last living god in the hopes of reuniting with 'their' body. As the gods were creatures of one mind, some have come to regret letting their bodies deteriate on at the hands of Hades and hunger to be free on the surface once more.

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Main Story It begins with the birth of the first magic user. Creator, a sprouted seed, had the ability to learn various kinds of magic. He was adventurous, loved to work in teams, and was known to be a sweet boy growing up. He had a fondness for mortals, using his magic to convience them and himself whenever possible. Although it was strange and new, his family brought him up as best as they could. All was well until Ichor's Comet, the comet soared above and his magic flared and became volatile, uncontrollable. Friends tried to help comfort him and ease the pain, the feeling of blood boiling, but the magic lashed out at them. In shame and grieving, the Creator exiled himself lest he lose control again. Although no one had died, he couldn't face those he hurt. However, he also couldn't bear to be away from home so he lived above his home town in the clouds. Time passed, and he grew lonely, so he started to create husks based on objects that brought him joy (kite flying, gumball machines, etc). These shells looked like people, but they had no souls and were inorganic. Against his better judgement, he snuck back down to the Earth to take a handful og people and transfer their souls into the husks. These became the first angels, and the dissappearance of people into the skys was deemed the rapture (one of many more to come) The angels, knowing their creator, were heavily religious. They had a clear, evident creator they could look up to, ask questions and recieve advice from.
The Creator was unhappy, because he only wanted company and friends but the angels glorified him instead. Being put on a pedestal put a pressure on them to always lead the way, so he returned to the surface in secret. When the creator disappeared without a word, many angels became scared. Some believed their creator was angry with them, others felt abandoned and lost, and few were happy with the chaos now rampant in skies. To try and take advantage of the discord, a small group of angels led by Justice began forming their own system. Angels were ranked based on 'worthiness and aptitude' but in reality it was based on biases. Many grew frustrated with the system and felt unheard, but they were shut down by threats of the creator being displeased with them. This was untrue, as no angels had contact with the creator, but the fear of angering the creator further kept many angels in line.
Prince had been the first angel created with a soul, and had been close with the creator. Over time, she became the first to learn how to create from scratch and how to morph another's shape to their liking. Turning fruits ripe, rearranging limbs, freezing water into snow, anything that they could touch could be changed to their preference. When the creator vanished, she threatened to take charge until the creators return. Fearful of Prince's abilities and prowess, Justice played an underhanded trick and lobotomized her. With the closest angel to the creator subdued, keeping power in the rankings became much easier without Prince threatening to topple it.
Now, the creator was still alive and well on the surface. While the angels fought for control above, the creator had become a mentor to those eager to learn magic. Unlike the angels who treated them high and mighty, all they ever wanted was to be treated with love and admiration. Mortals flocked to his workshops to learn spells, and these would become the first devils. As magic users who got to experience life and all its rewards and hardships, their magic was grounded in being useful. Unlike the angels who had magic related to beauty and creation, devils' magic was forged in the shifting of mountains and calming of storms. Their magic was fueled by their passion, and even those with odd magic could find a niche to excel in. It became popular among devils to leave behind their old name and recieve a devilname from the creator or close companions, using their new names to create a 'calling card' (a spell where those who call their name thrice will be granted by their prescence) This allowed for the more altruistic devils to instantly lend their services and magic far and wide, across long distances.
Magic on a mortal who wasn't born with it reacts differently to their body. Magic is altering, taking up space and affecting anything it touches and this includes ones' body. If a devil's magic is related to plants, they may start to grow flowers and vines from their body. If a devil's magic is related to fire, their body may be filled with smoke and become immune to dangerously high temperatures but weakened in water. Because of this, devil's can be easily recognizable unless they actively hide these features. Angels on the other hand, are not changed by their magic. Their bodies were made of inorganic parts, and scultped to let magic flow through with ease. Even their souls have designated locations, and vary on the angel (unlike mortals, who's souls are in their chest)
However, the tumultuous nature of magic can overwhelm devils who do not have the dilligence or focus to control it. The devils will become cursed and fall victim to beasthood, becoming disorientated and fearful monsters. Most of these monsters end up being hunted by devils to have their magic taken out (bodies cannot 'die' by magic, instead the magic will fester and reanimate the corpse, similar to how magic brought the angels to life) However, unlike angels who have souls implanted in them, mortals lose their soul upon death and leave a zombie-like corpse in their place. Cults, like the one run by Bishop, hunt down the undead and monsterous to study and farm their magic. The first devil to fly up higher then they should found the angels one day and was greeted by horrified angels. This was the first time seeing a person up close that clearly was not a mortal (as they had studied those) but clearly wasn't an angel either. It was like a dog seeing a wolf for the first time. Unsure of what to do, the higher angels kept the flying devil to interrogate ("What are you?" "How did you find us?" "What is your intent?") but lower angels in charge of watching the devil inbetween questioning were much more curious, "Can I see your feathers?" "What's it like below?" "Can you help us go down with you if we let you escape?" Eventually, a few lower angels and the devil escaped before the higher ranked could continue their quest for answers. These angels would eventually find the creator on the surface, but would chose their own paths (One chose to become a 'devil' in their own way, the other was drawn to a family who had their oldest child taken in a rapture who ended up being the original body of their soul) Most mortals don't realize the raptures were caused by the creator, and most angels don't know their souls are 'stolen' to begin with.
Up in the skies, things have become unbearably strict. Those who step out of line or commit 'heresy' are punished accordingly, and those who snitch on others are rewarded with higher rankings. Justice wanted to attain more then just power over her fellow angels, and sent Cherubium to learn magic from Prince the braindead. Prince, post-lobotomy, was emotional and struggled to self-regulate. She had frequent outbursts, acted stubborn and unyielding towards requests, and defensive. Prince struggles to even remember her name at times from the heavy brainfog, but Cheriubium does her best to take care of the other. Although Cheribium was assigned with studying Prince's magic, her own priority was healing the prince. Behind the high ranking angel's back, she would bring Prince down to the surface to enjoy the various fruits and landscapes. Being away from the clouds gave both of them peace, and Prince would slowly be able to recover more and more of her identity and self with Cheribium's care.
The angels were struggling in such a volatile environment, even high ranking angels could feel the restlessness building up. Justice herself was feeling fatigued and frustrated from the constant management, and was rudely surprised when she was randomly summoned by a cult on the surface. The cultists had misspelled a devil's calling card and instead called upon Justice (since angels were also named by the creator as devils were, angels can also be called, an unintended side-affect) Although upset at first, Justice let things play out as she impersonated whoever the cult meant to summon, performing a few healing spells before being pulled aside to discuss payment. In private, Bishop directly questioned who they were, as they didn't appear as a devil and they had noticed the summoning was spelled incorrectly afterwards. Introducing herself as the head angel, Justice and Bishop discussed and eventually settled on forming a partnership. In exchange for Justice's spells and talents, Bishop would provide them with whatever they asked (in reason) Bishop's cult grew in infamy because of Justice's powerful healing, curing the incurable. In exchange, Bishop brought them devils to study and experiemnt on. Justice was searching for ways to master new kinds of magic, especially something like Prince's, no matter how or what it cost. They craved to be reborn, to remake themselves in their own image and discard all traces of their creator. Justice wants to escape the confines of their own husk and become something better, higher, powerful. As her research progresses, harvesting valuable resources from the bodies of devils and low-tier angels, Justice starts to put together her plan. To create a concoction that will let her surpass even the creator, using each bit of magic she could scrape off of the deceased devils and angels. During one of Justice's outings on the surface, they come across the creator, and tail them.