Julian - Scholar Angel

Oh, man! To tell the story of his arrival on Earth or of his first day of school? I know! *makes a poll*
The story of his arrival on Earth won!

STORYTIME!
Things were not as simple as Alexander had imagined.  The destructive Elementals were not just interfering with nature, but with humans as well - and they were gaining in number!  If he could only get another angel warrior sent down to help ... but he knew the rules: only one per planet unless the situation had reached critical condition, and they were not at that level, at least not yet.

"But here you are, nonetheless," said Ioan, as they wrapped up a sparring session. He and Alex had been in the same year in the academy, and even though their paths had diverged since, they remained friends. Alexander had been assigned to protect Earth, while Ioan was in charge of training the new generations of warriors-to-be.

"Worst I can get is a 'no,' right?" replied the blond as he picked up a towel, "Besides, if I can get even a trainee, I'll be happy."

"And I think I know just the one who would suit you. She's a fast learner; you'd like her." Ioan clapped his friend on the shoulder as they left the training area. "Lunch?"

"But not that juice place you like!"

*****

Six months had passed since the events we have just described when a young man rang at the door of the house Alexander had made his home on Earth.  Even though the visitor was in disguise, Alexander recognized him immediately as one of his kind and invited him in.

"You are Alexandros, sir?" inquired the young angel.

"I am; and you come here...?"

"My name is Julian, sir," he said with a type of small bow once he was inside, "at your service."

Having at first mistaken the boy for a messenger, Alexander now found himself a bit taken aback.  On the one hand, he was surprised to see another angel. On the other, he didn't quite know what to make of this fellow. Checking himself before his silent hesitation became more noticeable, he led Julian to a studyroom. This was furnished with a small, round table with chairs around it, a long desk with a computer on it, and on the wall, a whiteboard with something scribbled in script. Alex gestured for him to take a seat at the small table, while he remained standing, and set out to brief Julian on their situation.

"Are you familiar with what they here call an Elemental?"

"Yes, sir.  It's a creature that has gained control over an aspect of nature."

"Very well.  There are some on our side," began Alexander, as he paced the room, "you will soon meet them - and some against us. They have been busy forming alliances with other Elementals."

Julian sat in silence, his arms crossed over the table as he regarded Alexander in concentration.

"They're planning something," Alexander continued, "but we don't know what. They usually strike in pairs, but we know these attacks are organized as a group and are not independent actions. As far as we know, they control fire, earth, sound, poison-" and as he said this, he spun around and without as much as a warning shot an energy ray straight at Julian. In a reflex reaction, the latter ducked just in time to barely avoid being hit.

The young angel had no time to recover or even to think before another ray quickly followed the first. Julian, bewildered, threw himself across the room and behind the desk, more from instinct than practicality, as it offered no protection against an angel's attack rays.  Surprised and confused, and taken completely unprepared, his mind raced to try to understand his current situation. But he was being given no time to think. A third ray succeeded the second, but this one was met by a bright light that filled the entire room.

Then silence.  The flash cleared slowly, like a spray of delicate, glowing mist that dissolved and fluttered to the ground, weightless and silent.  Alexander stood on one side of the room, his expression unreadable.  On the other side, the desk remained intact.

"Well, at least you can throw up a shield," muttered Alexander.  "You're not one of Ioan's boys, are you?"

"N-n-no, sir," stammered Julian, still from his position behind the desk.

"You can come out, now.  Who's your captain, then?"

Julian slowly emerged from behind his wooden barricade, wide-eyed, paler than before, and exerting a supreme effort to not show how he was trembling inside.

"No one, sir," was all he could trust himself to say with a steady voice.

"You're not a warrior, then.  What is your class, Julian?"

"Scholar, sir."

*****

BONUS:

"I can place an illusion barrier around your house, sir."

"You're not a soldier; you don't need to address me that way. ... Why would I need an illusion barrier around my house?"

Across the street, a bewildered lady, who had been babysitting her grandchildren while their mother was at work, was on the phone with the local emergency report hotline. "Yes, RAINING LIGHT!!! and FLASHES!!! ... My medication?!?!? What??? NO!"

ABOUT THIS PAINTING
I came up with this character around 2007/2008 perhaps, but then I stopped drawing and didn't get to make a picture of him until now. This picture had a few "firsts" - first time drawing curly hair, first time drawing knit patterns.

His skin is less shaded than normal and that's on purpose: his skin is supposed to be so light, that it sometimes gives the impression of being slightly radiant. To match, I made the wings wispy and kind of icy-looking.

TECH STUFF

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Topic: Orig. Art: Elementals [link]