Athaleyah Hadara

Athaleyah Hadara

Gargoyle

N/A but perceived feminine

Asexual/None

The Catholic priest, Gedeon Blackwells, she left in New York whom sent her to Iowa.

Appearance: Middle Eastern woman of Iranian/Jewish descent
Hair: Black
Eyes: Unnaturally golden-green
Skin: midtone sandy
Height: 5'3“
Build: skinny, almost underweight in appearance
Distinct body characteristics: Lion like legs from just above the knee to large paws with retractable claws. lion tail ending in black fluff. Teeth are more pointed than those of a normal human. Large, leathery, semi-functional wings of a sandstone color (tans and beige with rusty streaks)
Dress: Her clothing which usually consists of floor length dresses similar to an Abaya and Khimar/Chador or Hijab. She prefers solid colors and earth tones for dress though floral or animal embroidery on her scarves is common.

+ Able to speak to and manipulate natural building materials; such as stone, wood, bamboo, etc.
+ Affinity for plants and animals; they are attracted to her and flourish in her presence even if the environment would normally be hostile to them.
+ Gliding; flight though severely limited and painful.
+ Adept at climbing and maneuvering
+ Claw damage from paws (raking/cutting damage)
+ More resilient to damage than mortals
+ Faster healing
+ Immune to pain when protecting those who are in her care or who have sought sanctuary.
+ Ability to incite fear to drive away those who would harm their building or charges.
+ The ability to sanctify locations and create holy water.
+ In depth knowledge of spiritual practices; especially in relation to Franciscan and nature based faith
+ Well versed in domestic tasks cooking, first aid, fire building, etc.
+ Effective builder though only uses traditional/ancient tools and methods while working
+ Turns to stone when sleeping though she rarely sleeps.
+ Fluent in Italian, English, and Latin.

Umbral Ally: In the future, Leyah will find that if she can make contact with the Umbral realm again, the occupants are predisposed to be helpful (or at least better than average) to her in particular.

Charged with rebuilding a derelict Catholic church in the area (Our Lady of Sorrows)

Likes helping others, gardening, building and creating, very social, diplomacy, diversity, animal husbandry.

Dislikes conflict, deceit, unnecessary killing or injury, those who do not keep their word, war, intolerance, hatred.

Athaleyah's background is mostly forgotten by her. Originally she was created in Italy to serve the Franciscan order. She spent 500+ years asleep and unneeded. The conflicts of World War II roused her and she has since immigrated to the United States in the early 50s. She came to serve a Catholic Church dedicated to Saint Francis in New York State where the priest was aware of the existence of her kind. He taught her many things including English. She was then sent to New York City to tend to the growing homeless population in the early 1990s. The priest she has served with in New York City learned of a church in Iowa which was falling to ruin. Knowing her kind's desire to rebuild, the priest sent her to care for the church and once it was rebuilt vowed to send one of his brothers to begin a new congregation of the Franciscan Order there.

Architecturally, a gargoyle is a grotesque, carved figure on a structure that often carries water from the roof as part of the gutter system. The long spout necks of the gargoyle kept water away from the stone and mortar work of the church walls. Mythologically, they are carvings used to ward off evil, detrimental, and ungodly spirits and people from a structure. French legend speaks of a creature subdued by a man of the church. This evil creature was to be burned at the stake, but due to its ability to breathe fire, the head would not burn. This head was then placed on the wall of the church in order to drive off evil spirits and protect those within. Others in history have viewed the gargoyle, particularly on Catholic churches, as images of what evil and tempter spirits look like when they come to destroy good Catholics. Some Catholic descriptions even go so far as saying that the gargoyle is a stand in for Satan/Devil and should be treated as such. One should not gaze too long upon a gargoyle.

The use of animal forms for gargoyles served a three fold purpose. The fearsome appearance was seen as capable of driving off even more evil and fearsome spirits. They were used to entice people to believe in the sanctuary aspects of the church. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the church gargoyle was the embodiment of the destructive, chaotic, and dangerous behavior of mythical beasts. This ideal was combined with sanctuary as a means to reach out to the illiterate masses of the age and convince them they needed the protection of the church.

The concept of the gargoyle does not have Catholic origins. The architectural gargoyle can be seen as far back as ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. In ancient architecture the gargoyle most often takes on the iconography of the lion, griffon, or eagle, and later Medusa and gorgons.

A gargoyle is a creature that is created via some power, be they God, magi, or the devil, from a stone/wood carving or cast metal. While those most often seen in civilization have humanoid characteristics they are not all the same. A gargoyle can range from completely animalistic in form and mind to a form and mind that would be hard to distinguish from a human or other supernatural.

As with form, their skills vary widely and most often align with their body forms. However, all gargoyles have an ability to talk to and manipulate natural building materials to some degree. The species, in general, has an affinity for plants and animals due to their bonds to stone, land, and the animal nature of their beings. Some are even granted the ability to heal, affect plant growth, and the weather. Though flesh and blood when they sleep, though rare, the gargoyle returns to that material from which they were made. Some gargoyles fall into deep sleeps that may last weeks, years, or even longer. Many have the ability to create sacred and sanctified spaces either by will or simply by inhabiting an area. Though, many traditionally associate the gargoyle with Catholic churches they can serve any building: sacred or secular. The importance for the gargoyle is that the place offer sanctuary and kindness to those in need. In this concept a church, an orphanage, a domestic violence shelter, or a Hindu temple could be equally acceptable as a building under their protection. Usually, a gargoyle will align with those sacred structures that align with the magic or powers which created them, however, this is also not a hard rule for their existence.

In temperament, the gargoyle prefers diplomacy or to scare off individuals who threaten their place or charges. Though, if pushed to physical confrontation they fight with animal-like fury often ignoring devastating wounds that would kill most other beings. While they heal more quickly than mortals, those wounds received in the act of protection miraculously heal once the threat is defeated or driven off, though it leaves the gargoyle weak and vulnerable for minutes, hours, or even days. Gargoyles can be caring, devoted, and loyal. Even the most animalistic of their kind can be befriended by those who have the patience and heart to gain their trust.

The Poor Clares (Poor Ladies) and Franciscans (Mendicant Friars or the Friars Minor) are companion orders attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. Both orders were founded early in the 1200s under the direction of St. Francis. St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals, merchants, nature, ecology, and environment. The holy day of St. Francis is October 4th.

Traditional Vows and Appearances of Franciscans:
Vow of poverty/simplicity
Barefoot
Travel to not just speak the Good Will of God but to show by example
Chastity
Obedience to service of God's will and goodness
Humility
Duty to careers and endeavors which aid the community as a whole.
Prayer and meditation
Solitude
Peace
Patience
Compassion
To see animals (and all living things) as our brothers and sisters under God, all deserving of love.

Symbolism in the order:
Stigmata: St Francis bore the stigmata and of all holy orders the Franciscan order reports a higher rate of stigmata than any other. In the modern era, Saint Padre Pio is a revered Franciscan (of the Capuchin Order) who bore the stigmata and had visions.
Animals: Franciscan Orders, in general, venerate animals (and to a lesser extent Nature itself) as a proof and image of the divine beauty of God. Nature is the mirror of God. Many stories suggest that St. Francis was able to speak to animals.

More on St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.


O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.