AZARIAH/RICHARD WADE

The Archangel Raphael remained loyal during the war and did not fall like so many angels, remaining instead at God's side. However, as an angel of mercy, he was sickened by the suffering that mankind seemed forced to endure now that they had been expelled from Paradise. This led to many long discussions both with Michael and with the Almighty himself, pleading for lenience for humanity. God would not be moved, however, and it was following one such passionate debate that Raphael found himself cast out of Heaven and trapped in the Abyss, surrounded by his former enemies.

Richard Wade was a low-life, a guy out to make a fast buck who thought dealing in drugs might be the way to do it. He fell in with a guy named Ryan Hemmings and when a drug shipment was lost, Wade was shot and killed in the resulting reprisals only to be ressurected when Raphael possessed his body.

Adopting the name Azariah to hide his true identity, Raphael began to establish centres of healing around the United States and, more recently, around the globe. He remains convinced that God had a plan in sending him into the world, though what his new purpose is remains to be seen...