by Andrew Gille
For eons he had crafted the spells which helped create the cities of Heaven, but secretly when locked in his own palace he knew that there had to be a foil to these spells. A way in which to use the energies of Heaven to destroy, but his calculations never added up. When he attempted to use the heat of heaven’s yellow sun to sear his enemies into an ashes, he found that moon of Kalos, Urim blocked the necessary destructive energies and he merely got a light that could brighten a dark temple or room. When he realized that searing plasma could be channeled and poured out onto buildings and angels with the effect of liquifying anything it touched with its white hot flames, he saw that the waters on Aequiss slowed and cooled the transference of energies and made it impossible. When he attempted to use lightning as a weapon it was Ilya that stopped his weaponized magic, ice was prevented by the rings of Harborean. Magic just could not be weaponized due to the alignment of the solar system, surely something Os had done purposefully. There was one thing that might allow him to accomplish destruction on the scale he needed to win a war against Os however.
Now he poured through his vast collection of codices, scrolls, and parchment. Here it was, the astronomical calendar. Yes, for his plan for war to be effective, he must attack Paradisio during the Temerian Meteor Showers on Nivea, one of Paradisio’s moons. Every year during this time, the planet passed through a meteor field. Nivea, Paradisio’s moon protected it from large asteroid impacts and only small dust particles burned through the atmosphere causing both a spectacular meteoroid shower and impact flashes on Nivea creating a spectacular celestial show. The event was a festival on Paradisio that many attended. This year, however, Lucifer would be the guest of honor at the festival. He would march through the streets victorious with his armies and receive the praise and adoration of the masses. They would sing hymns commemorating the day he absolved them of their servitude to human beings and ended the oppression of the tyrant Os who subjugated them.
He would exploit several factions old and new that secretly fumed about Os’ leadership. Firstly, adherents to the Anatalian Letters, some had taken the letters so seriously that they had developed a pseudo-religion from these mysterious texts. Many now secretly worshipped the Colossals and there were rumors of the return of these long-dead Gods who had begotten Os, and whom Os, Shalos and Entera had destroyed in antiquity. Lucifer’s knowledge and reading pointed to several inaccuracies in the letters and with the existence of hard empirical evidence to the contrary. It was just a fact, these letters were false apocrypha. However, many angels believed in them, many very devoutly, many just wanted to believe in them to put off their other petty grievances about Os. The letters spread a very anti-Os message, enforced the angelic hierarchy and flatly claimed Lucifer as the true heir to the throne of heaven. To the adherents, Lucifer was Temerian’s firstborn son and the only angel worthy of the throne.
Secondly, many angels had strict ideas about order and chaos. They saw themselves as providing order in a chaotic universe. Many of them complained that Os acted increasingly chaotic and they saw his proclamation on human beings as being the ultimate dismissal of balance. Humans were unpredictable, and no one knew what they would bring to Earth and also Heaven when they arrived. Os had proclaimed that they would inherit the kingdom of heaven. Many angels saw this as very problematic. Lucifer could position himself as one that would bring order to the Heavens.
Angels were split on Os’ insistence that they now would become servants to the human beings. None found serving a powerful deity such as Os problematic, but many who had toured Os’ new world found the human beings to be inferior and vile. They had great objections to serving these creatures and were angered by Os’ proclamation that they devote themselves to the human beings. Lucifer would position himself as one that would demand servitude from the human beings.
Os withheld knowledge from the human beings to stunt their abilities. He wanted them to learn gradually. He would give them bits and pieces over time and observe how they used what he taught them and then give them more when they had constructively used what they had been given. Os knew the dangers of allowing the human beings free reign and giving them too much too quickly. His plan would allow them to gradually increase their abilities over time.
Lucifer felt this was overly cautious and cowardly. After seeing their capabilities, he could easily give them the knowledge and help they needed to make him much more powerful. Then, those who wanted nothing to do with human beings or subjugated them and prevented them from flourishing would be crushed under his human enhanced war machine. This would give him complete and total power, especially if he had to make deals to form this alliance that limited his influence in specific regions.
Os had made many enemies in the many years since he had created the angels and Lucifer sought to exploit them all to form a rebel angelic army that would take The City of God and push Os from the throne. He knew he could not destroy Os and his family, but Lucifer did not want that, he sought only to unseat them, imprison them and make them watch his success. He wanted them to see his superiority, to understand what they could have had if they had just given it to him. He might even allow them to rule a planet or a continent in the future, but not on Paradisio, this planet would be entirely his.
His first act would be to order the forges to produce the necessary implements of war. Many angels had swords, but they were mere sporting goods for them. Lucifer needed his warriors equipped with sturdy metal for war. Their armor would need to deflect real blows, not be the decorative armor used mainly for parades during holidays associated with Os or the regulation weapons used in martial games.
Angels already understood swordplay and battle, as well as unarmed combat, all three were competitive sporting events that angels engaged in. The sword and armor were not unknown to them even though they lived in a warless society. The tales of Os’ battles with the Colossals and their armies as well as Entera’s unarmed Qol Isikali duels meant that they understood the concept of fighting and war. These battles and the sword fighting were often done as competitions during festivals commemorating Os’ and Shalos’ victories against the Colossal and their armies of giants and dragons.
Qol Isikali was a martial art that many angels practiced. Qol Isikali meant “Hand Weapon” in the ancient language of the Colossals and it was a combination of striking techniques and wrestling. Competitions were held in many cities and the angels enjoyed watching the practice of both artistic representations of the art involving prescribed movements that were judged and one to one and one on many competitions. The championships for the entirety of Heaven were held in an underwater stadium in submerged The City of Kings on the planet of Aequiss. Lucifer again, showed his superiority to all others as the Heavenly champion of Qol Isikali until he stopped competing. Raphael was the current champion and had bested Azazel in the latest competition.
Duels was a sporting event that pitted two combatants against each other with sword, spear and sometimes switching off between them between rounds. Lucifer was an outstanding duel fighter, good with both sword and spear. Angels fought until one had drained the other’s life force. Decapitations, bleeding out and loss of limbs were common in this sport. However, angels recovered in a day or two from even the most grievous injuries. Lucifer had won the Grand Championships held in Arcadia for many years before he stepped down from competition to allow others to have a chance to win. His close confidant Beelzebub had won now for several years as well.
Battle Games was Duels on a much larger scale, teams of hundreds or even thousands of combatants fought each other with spear and swords, to capture the fortress of the opposing team. Battle Games fields were large, some miles long, to contain the massive battles that occurred on them. The largest was in Antares on Veritas where the Battle Games Field measured five miles across.
Through these games the angels had rehearsed for war their entire existence, now Lucifer would introduce the heavens to real combat.
Angels were immortal which was the reason t
hey could engage in sword fighting, even after previous wounds with the swords and spears they would merely fall unconscious. Only Os had the power to destroy an angel. However, Lucifer’s research had led him to find a method to keep an unconscious angel permanently trapped in that state. He just needed more time to perfect this technique, and it would eliminate a stalemate where angels continually recovered and continued fighting each other perpetually. He was on the verge of being able to remove beaten enemy angels from the battlefield never to return.
Angels in the Choir of Powers on Paradisio wore silver armor trimmed with blue, his warriors would be decked in black and gold, like the seraphim. This was to both differentiate them from their enemies, and because like gold was a superior metal to silver, this would be symbolic of his kingdom being superior to Os’. Already the forges burned extra coals, turning out suit after suit for what they knew not. Lucifer mused that they must have thought that he was holding a massive parade.
Now though he turned his attention to other things, “Paradisio before the Temerian Meteor Showers, this was imperative,” he thought as he opened a tome on astronomy.
CHAPTER FIVE
The Anatalian Letters
I.
My brother, I must apprise you of so much. Within the vault of Metatron, I did find many a wondrous thing, my eyes were opened to knowledge that changed the way I perceived our Lord Os, The Heavens, all angels and even myself as I stand upon the solid ground of my homeworld of Aequiss. If you wish not to have your eyes opened and want to continue to while away your time in servitude when the truth will change your perception, read no further, and disregard my future correspondence. You may continue to live your existence oblivious to reality, unaware of the facts, the actual history which has been hidden. I will expose things to you that will infuriate you, but for which there is no recourse, for though we live a false existence, there is nothing we angels can do to correct this great wrong. You may ask for what purpose I write to you if it is only to inform you of news for which there can be only conjecture and no real action. As the assistant of Metatron, I put myself in great danger by disseminating this information. I cannot be the one who brings the truth to the angels, but you can do this, you can deliver this information to those in power and someday we may be free of the tyranny which currently besets our kind. Do with it as you may, but let your conscience be free regardless of the decision you make, it is not my intent to place upon you the burden of this task, and I wish only that you are aware of the truth. My letters will arrive folded, marked with the symbol of Metatron and left in the hollow knot of this tree to which you have been directed by my previous correspondence. They will be brief as I can only sneak out a single piece of parchment each week undetected. I cannot pray that you take action, but, it is my hope that my writings are not in vain and that you heed the information that will come to you. - V.
II.
A great many parchments were in the vault of Metatron to which I did gain access, quite by accident. In searching for a volume to aid in the master scribe’s latest transcript, I happened upon a box which I had seen many a time before. However, in all of the previous times, I had laid eyes upon this box, it had been fastened with a securely locked strap. An easily defeatable lock, but sufficient, as something locked in this fashion, would generally not be of great import. I assumed it was the private writings of Metatron and that assumption was correct. However, I would have no clue the profundity of the scripts of my master until I happened upon the box a few weeks ago. This time, however, something was amiss, the strap appeared to have dried and snapped during some previous time in which someone had opened it. I could not resist but to look inside as it had clearly been recently opened. I found in it, a journal and in that journal the carefully scribed notes written in the handwriting of Metatron. Metatron, the chronicler of Os, the angel with more access to he who calls himself the almighty creator than even Lucifer, the highest of us all. Yes, he had carefully detailed his conversations with the current ruler of heaven and transcribed them to the journal then locked them away to be discovered at some future date. I now wish I had not looked upon those words, wish I could somehow unsee that to which my eyes have borne witness, but now I have accurate knowledge of the origins of our kind, and though we in our humble state can do nothing, I feel that somehow the truth must be known. - V.
III.
Page one of the journal of Metatron contained a revelation that shook the foundations of my beliefs and everything we’ve all been told as fact for our existence. This was that Temerian the Colossal created the angels. I read it several times to ensure that my eyes did not deceive me. I was indeed correct and written in what I can confirm is the handwriting of the faithful servant of Os, who would never betray him, Metatron. The entry in the journal read: The one they call Lucifer was brought forth into the world first by his father, Temerian. Then Sandos, the father of Os, saw Lucifer and he heard how the others declared that Lucifer was great, and would be more powerful than the Colossals. He was jealous and feared that Lucifer’s power would usurp his own. In secret, he brought forth an attempt to equal the greatness of Temerian’s son, and Os sprang from his chest. During this time Temerian created the realms and the angels. Os and Sandos crept into the land that was called Falas in the Colossals’ time and stole away with Lucifer. When Temerian remarked that his firstborn son was missing, Os and Sandos slayed him. They then used awful magic to ensnare and trap the angels so that they would not be able to help the Colossals, then they sneaked upon the others and killed them all except Devros who had hidden. Devros brought forth Entera as a last resort to stop the wicked Sandos and his son, she hunted him in a forest on the planet now called Paradisio. Then he used evil magic to turn her against her father, and they killed Devros. Os raped Entera, and she bore a son named Shalos and went back to kill Lucifer and dominate the realm that the Colossals had created. When they arrived, they found that Lucifer had killed Sandos and now stalked them. Working together they found and overwhelmed him, but they could not slay him. Instead, they wiped the memories of all of the angels and made them into their slaves to do their bidding. In Lucifer’s weakened state he was susceptible to the suggestions, and because they could not kill him, he was told that he was the highest of the angels. They lavished him with praise to placate him and prevent him from realizing his real power. Then they lied about Os creating the realms and the angels and all things and proceeded to rule the Heavens, dominating the beautiful creations of the Colossals to ensure they never found the truth. -V
IV.
O the forgotten who have discovered this ruse. The few who have come to the realization of the truth through accident or purposeful studies have been struck down and have gone missing without a trace. What Os and his family have done to these ill-fated angels is a mystery. You will find no mention of them in any library or list, you will only hear those who seem to remember them or are familiar with the name but cannot recall from where. The annals of Metatron listed these heroes who died wrongful deaths, but no other information about them. I have stolen the actual page so you can see this written in his handwriting and you can know the names of these angels who met an untimely end. Refer to the page entitled, “The Knowers of the Forbidden Knowledge,” you will see it written in Metatron’s hand, and you will see that the angels listed are missing from the entries in any census of Heaven. -V
V.
The Knowers of the Forbidden Knowledge
Raymiel
Temelum
Kabishiel
Chameul
Lavina
Omniel
Asariel
Tabbris
Sahquiel
-V
VI.
I have stolen yet another document from the vault of Metatron, he knows not of my clandestine research with his broken box. I spend the entirety of the day in the vault. Metatron believes that I research only an obscure book of hymns during my day. He has granted me access to the vault and even given me a ke
y so I might come and go as I please. I have also repaired the box so that the strap no longer appears broken but still allows me access to the documents inside. I felt that to bring legitimacy to these tales I tell, that I had to take this page in Metatron’s own handwriting to allow you to view for your own eyes his transcription. Here in its entirety is the parchment from which I was only able to give abridged details in my third letter. Read it and then meditate on its meaning as the truth.
-V
VII.