by Andrew Gille
“I know I need to stop him, Gabriel, I just don’t know how, and you seem to not be grasping the enormity of this situation. If I lose, we’ll be held in one of those crystals, perhaps for eternity. At best we become minions of Lucifer, I’m not sure which fate I’d rather endure, to be honest. He may not fight with the ferocity of this Machariel, however, despite what we think of him, despite how we feel about him, many angels respect him, and he has incredible charisma. Every day he recruits more to his cause, and many more are losing their faith in Os, the conquest of Veritas only exacerbates this situation and gains him more support. Since the fall of Antares, many of his troops have marched into cities with cheering supporters lining the streets. Os’ response is testing my own faith, he has all but disappeared, his apathy, which is renowned and an issue of contention among angels already is only given fodder by the fact that he has done nothing to stop the invasion of one of his own planets, the desecration of his own temple. I don’t dare make mention that he won’t even speak to me, the leader of his forces. I get no advice nor do I find any guidance from him in stopping this threat to his hegemony.”
Michael lamented as he took a small sip of the wine, he could not appreciate it now, just knowing its origin made him think about the problems facing him all the more.
Michael was irritated by yet another laugh from his friend who refilled his chalice from a decanter on the massive marble table at which they sat. Sun streamed in behind Gabriel creating crepuscular rays from the openings in his walls. Birds flew into a dome above them and looked down observing their conversation. The beauty of this scene just made Michael more anxious about the task ahead of him.
Gabriel’s laughter subsided, and he began, “Michael, do you know Os to make mistakes? Would you say that putting you in charge of Heaven’s defense was not a good decision?”
“He trusted Lucifer and allowed him great latitude which now seems to be in error,” Michael stated.
“Perhaps, perhaps not, had he stopped Lucifer a year ago, would the angels not have questioned it then? Even if it would have been the right thing to do, even if it would have stopped the conquest of Veritas? Would we not wonder why he crushed the greatest angel in all of the heavens? Os is not one to explain his decisions and had he made this decision with no explanation, we would have all wondered why he treated the great and mighty Lucifer this way. In the same manner, I assume he puts this burden upon you because he expects you to rise to it. To find things about yourself that you would not otherwise know. Maybe that’s it, maybe it isn’t, long ago I learned not to question his actions or our perceived lack thereof. An explanation too early can lead to a lesson not being learned. Perhaps many angels have a thing or two to learn about Os. This may be the only way to teach it. It may bring about the destruction of heaven. Elysian Palace may burn before all of this is done, but I am looking forward to finding out how this will be resolved. However it turns out, it's going to be interesting my friend,” Gabriel said still wearing his brilliant smile.
“The palace will not burn if I can do anything about it brother. I don’t share your predestined view of the world. What troubles me so greatly is the unpredictability of all of this, my actions, my decisions determine whether Lucifer reaches The City of God or not. If I felt that I could leave my decisions up to fate and that Os would straighten everything out for us, I would be much less concerned. I need to stop this, and my decisions are what will determine that. That is a troubling place to be,” Michael again lamented.
“No, you do not leave fate up to Os, he expects that you have the capability to stop this, he expects you to make the right decisions. What I contend is that he has considered every option and that you were the best choice, our greatest chance to stop this threat. It is in your hands, but of all of us, you are the best one to do it. That is my contention, Os makes his decisions out of a place of great wisdom and the ability to see things we can’t fathom. His calculated decision is that you are the best leader for this task of all of us and I have faith that he took into consideration every possible scenario and you were the best answer,”
“Pity the second or third choice then, I can’t understand his decision, but I will do the best to stop this threat Gabriel, Hesperidian Red will flow freely in this palace with no limitations once again,” Michael said lifting his glass.
“Much better brother, you will stop this threat, and we’ll return here for a celebratory drink of Hesperidian Crimson,” Gabriel said speaking of the rarest and finest wine produced in limited quantities from Veritas’ vineyards.
Michael drank from his chalice, though he spoke the words, he was not sure he believed them, and many doubts churned through his mind.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Lucifer Arrives in Antares
He came, thundering through the mountains and valleys that separated Hesperides from Antares, a fiery trail behind him. Soon the gold-domed glory of the capital of Veritas came into view. First, he saw the peak of Halion Tower then he saw the high dome of Veritas Cathedral, and he knew where he would find his general.
He slammed into the white marble tile of Antares Square, a large plaza outside Veritas Cathedral. A line of soldiers stood at attention lined up to the door of the cathedral. Unlike many temples and palaces, Veritas Cathedral had no steps, and the entrance was level with the plaza.
As Lucifer walked past the soldiers in formation, their gleaming armor a product of his own ideas, they stood rigid, staring straight, at attention. This was protocol, they were not supposed to move or acknowledge anything unless directly addressed by a superior or in defense of a real threat. It was their rigid adherence to Machariel’s orders that irritated him. His soldiers had acted sloppily, they didn’t stand like this outside of The Temple of Lucifer, they were undisciplined and weak. Machariel had instilled discipline and order in his troops, and it infuriated Lucifer all the more.
He walked into the expansive marble archway and down a 100 yard black and white marble nave, trimmed with gold. Machariel sat upon the throne of Akriel, the Arch Principality and King of Vertias. He had crudely carved the words “Mach-Enrauch” into the wall above the throne which was lit by the light coming in through the dome and by Azurian Crystals which surrounded the perimeter of the circular apse which contained the throne. Unapologetic, he did not rise when Lucifer entered the nave. Lucifer marched toward him for what seemed like an unusually long time during which he had the opportunity to become even more enraged at the audacity of this underling who he had created.
“Rise General, your king stands before you,” Lucifer demanded.
“Your Highness,” Machariel said standing and bowing before Lucifer.
“May I speak with you in Akriel’s quarters?” Lucifer asked.
The two entered a room to the side of the apse and closed the door.
“I do not wish to show dissension before our troops, but I must ask what are you doing in this city Machariel? I did not order this, this was not in the plan!” Lucifer fumed.
“Lucifer, the resistance in Hesperides was light. I attempted a telepathic link, and you did not respond. I had no idea how your forces were doing in Cibolia for all I knew you had been defeated. I felt that taking this city by surprise gave us the best chance of quick victory. Even now, the principalities of the rest of the cities on this planet beg us to sign accords which will hand over their cities and resources to the rebellion. We recruited as many as 250,000 troops in this city alone after they saw the quickness and totality of our victory. All of those who came against us fell, and as I am sure you are aware, are now stored in the entryway of your temple. I must say I am a bit taken aback by your anger, I thought you’d come to congratulate me on our incredible victory,” Machariel said.
“But the impudence of doing all of this without my knowing, that is what is infuriating Machariel. We have a schedule we must keep! We must march on Paradisio during the Temerian Meteor Showers, this sort of leaping ahead is unacceptable!”
“I understand
marching on Paradisio during the Temerian Meteor Showers will be very theatric and symbolic, however, why should we not wrap this war up beforehand? We can be carried through the streets during the celebration, make it our own. Lord Lucifer and The Enrauch, their victory predicted in the sacred texts of the Anatalian Letters.”
“Drawing a parallel to yourself and some character in a legend that both of us know is not true and defacing this place with that name. Mach-Enrauch,” Lucifer said the name out loud sounding out what he read carved into the wall.
Machariel and Lucifer were both aware of the symbology of this name change, the I-E-L suffix meant ‘Of Os,’ dropping it for the title of the legendary warrior of the Anatalian Letters was sure to resonate with both the adherents of the letters and those who debated what to do about the very common suffix to many of their names.
“You’re now Mach the Enrauch, is that it? No longer of Os, but of power and legend, I understand,” Lucifer grew increasingly angry as he spoke, “Machariel, you’ve defaced a sacred cathedral with blasphemous apocrypha!” Lucifer now shouted.
“You allow the Anatalian Letters to be quoted and recited when it suits your needs Lucifer. I too need the contents of the letters to further my cause and solidify our troops. They’ve taken to calling me Mach-Enrauch for specifically the reason you state, we are no longer of Os, we are our own Gods,” Machariel said, now growing angry at Lucifer.
“I am a God!” Lucifer shouted, “You are an abomination, a tool I need to conquer heaven, your rewards have already been great. You will from here on, do my bidding and you will not march unless it is under my orders? Is that understood?”
One thing was clear to Machariel after sitting on the council and listening to the bloviation of the high angels Lucifer had gathered for his coup. Lucifer needed him. He required Machariel’s power, the angels on the council had varying degrees of loyalty to him, and some actually hated him, Machariel knew this. Yet he understood why Lucifer had included them. Their importance, their name, their rank, gave him advantages and solidifies the cause. Machariel himself had been asked to join because his class was an advantage to Lucifer, he knew he had no legitimacy within the hierarchy of heaven. There was no one else who can have such power but pose no threat to Lucifer. Machariel knew that even if he had the ability to strike Lucifer down now, the whole of the rebellion would turn against him for he was still a lowly angel and bound by superstition and protocol, they would be obligated to neutralize him. It was only by Lucifer’s insistence that they followed him into battle in the first place. He knew this, he knew Lucifer was intelligent enough to realize this, so Machariel asked for the one thing he actually wanted out of this war aside from the downfall of human beings, “I know my place Lucifer. I ask only this. This is my home, I want this planet, I want that throne. All of Paradisio, Kalos, and Aequiss, they are yours, and I will fight to the end to ensure that they are delivered to you or whomever you wish to rule them. I will stay on Veritas all the days of my existence and rule in your name and for you should you grant me this one request. That is why I have carved my name into the wall of the apse, for this will be my home.”
“That is my decision Machariel, I will take it into consideration. However, I need to know that you are with me, I need you to act under my orders. This sort of brazen impertinence will not gain you favors within our council. Indeed many of them are here because they find chaos and disharmony within Os’ actions. You must follow the protocol. You must adhere to the rules and act under my orders. I need you to do this for the good of our cause,” Lucifer’s tone changed now from angry to calm almost pleading. When he wasn’t acting selfish or impudent, Lucifer was quite charismatic, and this was the side of Lucifer that Machariel now saw. He wanted to believe him, he tried to trust that he was the best leader for heaven and that his plan would get them what they so badly wanted. There was one more thing Machariel wanted, it would give him status and remind the others that he was no longer a lowly angel.
“I will Lord Lucifer, under the condition that I now am known as Machenrauch. I rather like the name, give me their reverence from this false legend and let them believe it,” Machariel asked.
“It is yours,” Lucifer stated as he embraced the lowly angel.
Machenrauch and Lucifer walked out of Akriel’s quarters, 250,000 soldiers had been recruited since the fall of Veritas. The invasion of Kalos was about to begin.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The Theological Debate
Halion Fortress had been known as Halion Tower three weeks ago. A conical tower built in Antares’ Halion district it was the first thing visible on the horizon as angels warped in to join the rebel forces assembling for the attack on Kalos.
A dot of light, shining brightly, Kalos arced across the blackness of Veritas’ night sky, moving through the constellations, its single moon Urim barely visible as it orbited its mother planet. Invisible to the naked eye were Kalos’ most striking feature, its rings which were visible on the planet’s surface and a source of pride for the residents who enjoy showing visitors the planet’s unique feature. Some came specifically to see the awe-inspiring rings.
Within Halion Fortress, Mulciber sat as Lucifer, Azazel and Asmodeus stood pacing around him. Conspicuously absent was Beelzebub, generally at the coattails of Lucifer, the angel had not been seen since prior to the battle of Veritas and rumors ran rampant as to his whereabouts. Lucifer seemed unconcerned about his missing friend, and many whispered that he may have had Beelzebub trapped in an Azurian Crystal to avoid any potential conflicts for power.
“It is clear to me that he is it, you must join us in giving your blessing to this title,” Lucifer demanded as he looked down on Mulciber.
“This is wrong, this is blasphemous to a scripture that I regard as sacred. This one cannot be The Enrauch. The passages clearly refer to a cherub, everyone who has familiarity with these passages agrees that it is a cherub. They say he is “of the second highest,” the second highest rank is a cherub, and we should look to the cherubs for him,” Mulciber insisted.
Lucifer held a copy of the Anatalian Letters and read the passage to which Mulciber referred, “Clearly? These passages clearly refer to him as a cherub? There is nothing in this entire document that is clear. If the author was attempting to generate confusion, he could not have written this more cryptically. It says he is ‘of the second highest,’ I’d say that refers to his powers. Do you doubt that I am the most powerful angel, the highest?”
“No my Lord, in every way you are the highest among us, the Arch-Seraph, of the Order of the Seraph which is the highest rank. You are without a doubt the King of the Angels, the letters refer to you as such,” Mucliber explained.
“Well, your king is telling you that Machariel is the second most powerful angel in the heavens. You attended the meeting in which he put Asteroth in his place. Asteroth, a seraph, could a cherub have done that? What does this say about lowly angels who crush seraphim like insects? Point me to that passage,” Lucifer mocked.
“I beg of you Lord, do not speak of the holy words in this manner, I follow you because of the legitimacy of these words and they do say that we should not follow a lowly angel and that a lowly angel should not make himself above us. In Metatron’s own handwriting in chapter VII he states, ‘Your ancestors the Colossals are worshiped by the proper execution of prescribed duties in my system There is no other way to satisfy my covenant,’” Mulciber quoted.
“And what exactly does that mean?” Asmodeus stated, “That says nothing like what you are saying it means Mulciber. The truth is in the original documents which are locked up in Metatron’s vault. These Letters are no more sacred than the writings of someone who jotted notes at Os’ last appearance. These writings are the author’s interpretation of what he was able to read while hiding in the vault avoiding Metatron’s detection. How accurate can they be? You are right to believe certain aspects of them, but their sanctity and accuracy are completely suspect. I can agree with the overar
ching concepts here. I am the King, the Colossals created the angels, Os treats us poorly and should be overthrown, yes, all true! When this author attempts to interpret the minutiae, that’s when this document becomes suspect. He should not have strayed from the facts into his own opinions, that is where this becomes murky.”
Lucifer nodded his head fervently, yes, this was what he needed, a challenge to this document without a complete reversal of its truth. To challenge this author was a brilliant tactic by Asmodeus.
“The author’s conjecture certainly does bring the passages in which he opines upon the greater themes, into question,” Azazel added giving the authority of a cherub to the argument.
“Yes, so it is with complete confidence that I tell you that Machariel is the angel referred to as The Enrauch in your passages. We need you to understand this, as an expert on these documents and taking into consideration everything we’ve just told you, we need you to state this as fact to the council,” Lucifer said to the seated angel.