About the Guides

Before the Revolt, there was a level of Heaven dedicated to the punishment of the "unjust"—angels who were perverse in the eyes of God. God had created them wingless, but their wingless forms repelled Him and he cast them into prison. During the revolt, an unnamed being led a small group to release the unjust from their constraints. The being was a minion of one of God's highest (*cough*Enlil*cough*). When the guards of this level were all slain, the being told the unjust that they'd been freed by the angel of the winds, and should devote themselves to those who would bring perfection to the mortal realm, otherwise known as the Vengeful.

Once the jailbreak was discovered, God slew the being which had set the unjust—the Guides—free, and sent angels after them to hunt them down. In time, though, His interest in the event waned. He occasionally sends scouts after them, but the Guides are not perpetually hunted.

The new Guides have since watched over their charges. Each Guide has a specific Vengeful: Samael/Metatron, Gremory/Kemuel, Freyr/Nathanael, Barbriel/Raphael, Samael/Phanuel, and Asmodeus/Israfel. Periodically the Guides receive visits from a strange angelic being (Enlil's Mazikeen slaves, undead angels) which gives them advice and orders but does not reveal the name of its master or mistress. The Guides also receive crystals which blink in the presence of the Guide's Vengeful; these crystals help the Guides to find their Vengeful when the Vengeful is reincarnated.

Previously, the Vengeful did their duties unaware of their angelic natures. However, the Guides have recently received orders to awaken the Vengeful and train them to full power in preparation for war. The Guides awaken their charges by approaching them, either in the real world or in a dreamscape, and touching them for 10 to 15 seconds. Junko has been evasive about how they train the Vengeful, though. I assume that hauling large packs through the mountains is involved. All really good training programs involve hauling large packs through the mountains. Jedi-inclined Guides may sit on the packs as they are being carried.

This is the full version of the FAQ Junko wrote:

Q: The Guides: Are they reincarnates like the Fallen and the Vengeful?
A: No. They never died.

Q: So what are they, exactly?
A: Alright, Junko's grand description. ::deep breath.:: While Lucifer and the rest of the Fallen and the Vengefuls were still in heaven and were fighting, there was a level of heaven dedicated to the punishment of the 'unjust'-- angels who were perverse in the eyes of god, so to speak. At one point during the revolt, an unnamed being had led a small group to release them (the Guides) from their constraints. The being was a sort of minion of one of God's highest (*cough*Enlil*cough*). When the guards of this level were all slain, the being told them that they'd been freed by the angel of the winds, and should devote themselves to those who would bring perfection to the mortal realm, otherwise known as the Vengeful.

Q: Whose side was Enlil on?
A: Neither...

Q: Whose side do the Guides think Enlil was on? And what does God think of the jailbreak?
A: Hm... I don't really know. They'd probably think she has some ties with the revolt. And God found the being who released the Guides, and had him killed, no questions asked.

Q: But does God tolerate their freedom, or are they, too, hunted?
A: In the begining they were hunted, and periodically scouts are sent after them, but God's interest in the entire event has dwindled.

Q: BTW... why are the Vengeful reincarnated, too? Surely they're not being punished.
A: Okay... more of my grand explanations. The Vengeful, although they didn't die during the revolt, they were sent to earth to cause those not-so-nice traumatizing events that happen to the Fallen in each life.

Q: Ah... so they're behind the eternal round of parental deaths and the like?
A: Yep.

Q: How do the Guides know which humans are the Vengeful?
A: The Guides get these nighty crystals from the unnamed being (who got them from Enlil), and they act like a silent metal detactor... they blink red and as you get closer to a Vengeful they blink faster.

Q: Do they know who the Fallen are, too?
A: Yes. They get little visits from Enlil's Mazikeen (read: slave), who updates them, but never reveals who Enlil is.

Q: Have they woken the Vengeful before, and do they do it in every lifetime?
A: No. Their presence on Earth was enough to cause the bad events in the past.

Q: How, exactly, do they wake the Vengeful?
A: They can either approach them using a dreamscape, or by making physical contact (ie. grabbing their shoulder, bumping into them.).

Q: Do they have any special powers?
A: Yes. Things like Empathy, Telepathy and Telekensis.

Q: Are they bound to one form, or do they have a divine/demonaic "real" form?
A: They have two forms. The first is the one that they use daily, and have used since their creation. The second form is how the view themselves, and is used simply in the dreamscapes.

Q: OK... so the Guides get visits from a mysterious creature, and use them to find the Vengeful. They also get tips on who the Fallen are, although the crystals don't work against the Fallen. They have psychic powers (High-powered? Low-powered?) and can approach the Vengeful in dreams as well as physically. What is the significance to the touch?
A: Yes. Relatively high-powered, although they don't really do any fighting with them. By having the crystal and touching a Vengeful, it sends a sort of jolt which stirs their memories as a Vengeful. [Note: Junko later stated that the crystal has nothing to do with the Vengefuls' awakening.]

Q: ...They also have a dreamscape form and an earthly form, which is... human, yes? Any differences from an ordinary human?
A: Yes, and no, there aren't any differences from an ordinary human.

Q: So they're wingless? Or are the wings hidden?
A: They're wingless. That's why God viewed them as perverse.

Q: Didn't God make them that way?
A: Yes.

Q: Is that the whole of their perversion, or does it run deeper?
A: Well... it's basically just on the surface. o.o But you can make it run deeper if you'd like.

Q: How often does a Guide have to touch a Vengeful for the Vengeful to awaken?
A: They only have to touch them once, twice at the most, but only if the connection didn't last long enough. (They should be in contact for 10 to 15 seconds for it to work.)

Q: What does the Vengeful feel during the process?
A: The Vengeful sees flashes of the memories from their past life, and that doesn't do much more than shock them a bit. Then they begin to experience this pull, if you will, to Tokyo.

Q: Does the Guide feel anything?
A: Nope, they get away unscathed. ^^

Q: Can a Guide approach a Fallen a) to awaken the Fallen and b) not to awaken the Fallen, but to play with its little head?
A: Guides cannot awaken the Fallen, that's actually part of the Seers job. They can however mess with their heads.

Q: Once they've awakened the Vengeful, what's a Guide's job?
A: To help them awaken their abilities...

Q: Training?
A: Yup. o.o

Q: Are the Seers basically a different flavor of Guide?
A: Hm... yeah you could look at it that way.

Q: Which is more powerful?
A: The Seers...

Q: ...but there are 5 Guides and 6 Vengeful, yes?
A: There's a reason. Samael, my character, is actually a set of twins... they just share the same name. ^^;

Q: Do Seers lay the smackdown on Guides who step on their turf?
A: Oh yeah... there's a bit of unrest due to the long endetured servitude they've experienced... Some of the Seers take on a holier than thou attitude. [Meaning that the Guides are restless due to their long term of service and because some of the Seers act holier-than-thou.]

Q: Do the Seers attack the Guides, or is it mostly the Guides ragging on the Seers? A: Well, it's more like, a Seer'll smack a Guide if they feel they've stepped over their bounds...

Q: Has each Guide been assigned to a Vengeful from the very beginning, or is this new? And are we allowed to request a specific student?
A: At the beginning. No, you get paired up. It goes: Samael/Metatron - Gremory/Kemuel - Freyr/Nathanael - Barbriel/Raphael - Samael/Phanuel - Asmodeus/Israfel.

Q: Oh! Do Guides need a place of residence and a job, or are they exempt from needing a mortal cover? And have they been living together forever? 'Cos that's one longstanding argument about which way the toilet paper is supposed to roll, if they have. Who gets to be dorm mother? Is the house in Tokyo, and is it canon?
A: Well... yeah. I kind of had this weird vision of them all living in this big house... annoying the hell out of each other... x_X And jobs, well... once again it's your choice. Gremory is the dorm mother... XD Okay... they infrequently reconvine at their house, which is in Tokyo. They can only remain there in permanent residence when their Vengeful is either a) dead and awaiting reincarnation or, b) awakened and in training. x_x It's in the real world... mostly... <.<