Leviathan was a poor tortured spirit, just another of Gabriel’s experimentations. His true core was the Divine creature Jörmungandr. He had been bound by the Norse Gods in preparation for the day that he and Thor would fight in Ragnarok. After the Gods had been defeated, he had been left chained until Gabriel had found him in the seas surrounding Midgard. She had broken the spells and taken him to the now abandoned Eden to conduct her experiments on him. She had felt that she needed a sea monster to compliment Ziz and Behemoth. While he had been in Eden, he had suffered many experiments. The glimpses Sariel saw in his memories horrified her. All manner of creatures and Demons, blood covering everything.
But even before Gabriel had found him and conducted her experiments he had hardly lived a pleasant life. Odin had taken him as a child and chained him in the seas that surrounded Midgard. He was to be contained there until the day he was to fight Thor, not that he didn’t try and fight him before the prophesized day. He had lived his lonely life chained in the seas, growing bigger and avoiding Thor. He had grown up with the knowledge that he would die by Thor’s hands.
He had been separated from his brother and sister, never to see them again. Hel had been thrown in the Underworld because the Gods were disgusted by her appearance. Fenrisúlfr had been chained like him, prophesied to die by a God’s hand when Ragnarok came.
It had meant nothing when the Angels had overthrown the Gods, they had never treated him or his siblings well. His ambivalent feelings towards the Angels changed very quickly to match his feelings for the Gods. The Gods had been scared of them and generally left them alone, Gabriel was not afraid. The only positive to his imprisonment in Eden was that he had seen Fenrisúlfr. He had also been experimented on. He had no idea where he had ended up.
Sariel sifted wider. Gabriel’s experiments on Jörmungandr echoed the experiments that had resulted in Behemoth, but she had not fused the spirits together. She had wanted a reliable thinking creature that she could bind to her will. Behemoth while the destructive force she had desired was not really controllable, nor could he be relied upon. Madness filtered out orders and compulsions. There was but one intentional spirit to Leviathan, but there was also an unintentional one.
Jörmungandr had been bathed in the blood of two other Divine creatures, the God Quetzalcoatl, who was still alive, chained up in Heaven and also the blood of Python, slain by Apollo. Naturally the two types of blood had reacted very differently. Quetzalcoatl’s blood had infused him with extra strength, power, and magical resistance. Because he was still alive there was no risk of his spirit attaching to Jörmungandr’s. However, Gabriel had also used the blood of Python, who had been a powerful earth serpent. She had been slain by Apollo because he had wanted Gaia’s oracle in Delphi. He had killed her, but he had not drained her, a small offering to the earth so that it would accept him.
Gabriel was unaware of this, she had only known that her blood had been strong in Chaos. Python’s blood had completed the experiment, increasing his speed and magical abilities. Though bound as he was he could not access it. Unbeknownst to Gabriel Python’s lingering spirit had attached itself through blood to Leviathan increasing his power and strength. Leviathan was among her greatest achievements, more powerful than she had intended and sane enough to be controlled.
He had been unleashed on hundreds of helpless ships and ports at her command. He was Wrath incarnate for the poor God-fearing people, yet how had she repaid him once Humanity was firmly under their control? She had thrown him into Hell along with so many of her other creations, he had fallen to the Wrath Level, his fury burning brighter than the rest.
Now it was time for her to set him free and Python as well, but her spirit was anchored to his, it wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience for either of them.
Leviathan crashed through the Level, his thrashing body laying waste to everything around him. His body threw up waves the size of buildings causing widespread destruction in every direction. The air was thick with the dust clouds thrown up from the collapsing buildings.
From the iron walls of Dis watched the eyes of dozens of Demons, once Fallen Angels and now the Guardians of Inner Hell. It was behind these walls that the greatest number of Demons lived in torment. Forced by their nature to torment others. It held a far more violent nature than Upper Hell and had procured a wider variety of denizens. Along with the Fallen Angels along the wall top, were also the Hell Cursed Furies as well as Medusa, the mortal Gorgon.
Atop the wall, they watched in confusion as Leviathan thrashed ever closer towards the wall, his many coils a whipping frenzy. Tons of rubble was sent flying, much of it smashing against the magical shields extending from the walls.
“What is wrong with him?” one of the Demons asked.
Medusa turned her burning eyes to his before extending one blood red arm, to point with her talons as the beams of light emitting from Leviathan’s mouth. “Something he ate,” she said in a harsh sibilant whisper. He backed away from her, using turning back to face Leviathan to cover his actions. Even the most twisted of the Fallen Angels feared her, Gabriel’s Curse had only expanded upon her ability to petrify others, literally and figuratively. It was more than just her strange appearance with snakes for hair, or the cold fury burning in her eyes or even her ability to transform others into stone. It was more than that, it was the ancient feel of her magic mixed with the cold fury within her spirit, it emanated out through her strange appearance.
She was one of the few Demons who did not resent being confined to Hell. It had brought her back to life and empowered her. It was in Hell that she had embraced her powers and nature, she was no longer ashamed or scared of what she was. She had learned to embrace the terror she created.
She wondered what the arrival of the Angel meant for her. If she could cause Leviathan such pain then what could she do to the rest of them? Leviathan was one of the most powerful Demons in all of Hell. Yet he lay thrashing about in the Swamps of Wrath because of an Angel.
She rested against the wall watching him. The others kept a clear distance from her, though the Furies came to stand behind her, their burning gazes fixed on Leviathan as well. They were not afraid of her.
Memories flooded her mind as she cocooned Jörmungandr with her powers, lancing the pain and suffering that had tainted his spirit to the core. She also cocooned the fragments of Python’s spirit, drawing upon the strength of Quetzalcoatl to put the shattered pieces back together. She drew out the remnants of his blood and hers, forging them together to give Python’s spirit flesh.
She felt Jörmungandr silently sigh in relief as the burden and strain of her spirit was drawn away from his own. She smoothed over the cracks in his mind, allowing him to finally know peace. She also felt Python’s mind suddenly become conscious, raging in terror and confusion. She had spent the last several millennia as little more than an apparition in his mind and body, the poor thing had no idea what was going on. Sariel had to soothe her mind and fill in the various blanks with Jörmungandr’s memories.
She felt both of them relax, so she let them go. Her Chaos dividing them from each other and finally giving them back their own bodies, minds, and consciousness.
Medusa watched fascinated as Leviathan’s tail smashed against the shields, light flaring from its tip. The whole wall was shaking despite the shields, it was fortunate that they were protected otherwise the wall would be little more than flattened iron.
The light in his mouth flared along his sides to his shining tail, from these direct lines flared curving circular symbols that gradually turned a strange brown colour. Soon all his flesh was lost beneath the lights.
The landscape of Hell was cast into stark relief as Leviathan blazed bright as the sun. The serpentine shape of Leviathan split into two, a small slither streaming off of him. Compared to the size of Leviathan it was small, which wasn’t hard, but it was easily the size of several small buildings.
The slither slowly darkened to reveal a forest-green serpent. Other th
an its monstrous size there was little to mark it different from an ordinary snake. That was until it opened its eyes, they shone bright green in the twilight. Power permeated its very essence to shine from its eyes, and that green spoke of ancient earth powers.
What had just been born?
Then the light of Leviathan shimmered and faded in surges to reveal his new form. He was no longer black but a grey-green reminiscent of wintery seas, his fins were white like wave crests. Every time he moved he shimmered aquamarine, ocean blue, stormy grey, wintery green and vivid icy blue. His eyes no longer burned Demonic red but they had not returned to his natural blood red either. Instead, they were now a deep blue.
The last light did not fade but continued to burn like sunlight. It alighted gently onto what had been Leviathan then he surged towards the battle-scarred beach that sat before the gates.
Chapter 30
“So why are you accompanying me on a plane? Couldn’t you just appear in Britain?” Victoria asked while gazing out of the plane’s window at the clouds streaming past. She looked like any other young woman, comfortable in jeans and a jumper, her feet were resting on the chair opposite. She had forsaken elegance, sophistication, and class for simple comfort while flying. Today she wanted to feel like a normal girl.
Margaret was being extradited back to Britain to be charged with attempted murder. Miraculously, video evidence had been provided categorically showing Margaret pushing her. She felt sure that was Brigid’s doing.
Since that fateful day, she had formed an interesting relationship with the Goddess. She came and went all the time, transporting all over the globe for her various reasons, but she kept returning. Despite their start, they seemed to have formed a strange friendship. Victoria had to admit she found her utterly fascinating and strangely amusing. Who would have known that the Gods had a sense of humour?
Brigid smiled, Victoria was a queen she would be happy to give the reigns of an empire to. She was forever asking and seeking, she would not leave the empire to be run by others.
“I could, but that would alert whichever Angels are watching Britain and there are bound to be many. My presence will also excite what remains of the Fair Folk for they will not have felt the touch of any Gods since the War finished. They have been hiding ever since the Angels started massacring them.”
“But you have made yourself known very blatantly in Australia, New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. And you have said yourself that you have been empowering many races. What makes the Fairies so different?”
“The other Daemon races have diluted their bloodlines over the centuries to hide from the Angels. Their powers are weak which is why I have been strengthening them. Yes I have made my presence known, but initially, that was not intended but what is done is done. Claiming land is always public, but my connection to the lands allow the Daemons a margin of safety from the Angels. With so many countries now claimed the Angels have to split their attention quite wide trying to outmanoeuvre me.
The Fairies, on the other hand, are semi-Divine. You could say Angels and Nymphs are sibling races, cut from very similar cloth. Fairies are their cousins, made from a slightly different design. All three races have been around for millennia, serving the Gods in various ways, often being their lovers and bearing offspring. Before the War, Angels, Nymphs, and Fairies were more Divine than mortal.
The other Daemon races are mainly deviations from the Human blueprint, but Nymphs and Fairies are special, they evolved from the spirits of the earth. Their connection to the land is incredibly powerful. When they die, they return to the earth or the Otherworld. There is no Heaven, Hell or Underworld for them.”
“What is the Otherworld?”
“It is hard to explain. For mortals, their spirits or souls usually go onto the Afterlife or are reincarnated, depending on their beliefs. Most spirits are too strong simply to fade back into the Lifestream, the Afterlife, which usually occurs in the Underworld is where they live out the rest of their strength before fading into the Lifestream.
For the truly Divine we are absorbed back into the Lifestream as soon as our tenuous connection to our flesh is destroyed. We are but pure magic contained within a magically constructed shell of flesh. Sever that connection and we are swept up into the Lifestream.
The realms of the Living and the Dead rarely cross over. Sure you have ghosts, Angels descending from Heaven and Spectres ascending from the Underworld but generally they are separate and distinct. The Otherworld is a realm of the dead inhabited by both the dead and living. The Veils are particularly thin allowing both the dead and living to easily traverse between the realms. It is also why Britain has so many unexplained phenomena.
The Fair Folk, the Fae, the Wee Folk, the People of Peace, the Old People, whatever you call them are an extraordinary collection of species, living and dead, all united by their differences not divided. They have a huge range of remarkable powers available to them that easily transcend mortal limitations. One is Fairy if they live by the creed of the Seelie Court and accept the queen’s authority, which is the limiting factor. In the past their numbers swelled as other Daemon races interbred with them, they have never been stringent about pure bloodlines or other such nonsense.
They always regularly interbred with the Nymphs and Satyrs as fellow nature spirits. Through the centuries, they have bred with both genders of the Lilin, Werewolves, Vampires, Naga, Merfolk, Sirens, Jinn, Demigods, Gods, Humans whether magical or not. Any species you can think of they have interbred with, even the Angels.”
“Wait they’ve interbred with the Angels? But don’t they hunt them down? And how did they breed with Vampires? Aren’t they undead?
She smiled at her intelligence “Yes Vampires are undead but the oldest of their kind, their nobles, and royals, do have the capacity to breed. It is, however, an exceptionally rare event, and common Vampires do not have the gift. As for the Angels well that is an interesting tale. Not all the Fallen Angels fell straight into Hell, those that were not in Heaven to be cast out but were on the Surface sought out refuge. Those who sought the Fairies help were welcomed with opened arms, and legs you could say.
There were, of course, those sent to hunt them down who let them free for a price” She raised her eyebrows at that.
“But that’s forced sex, it's rape.”
“Yes Humans would look at it like that, the Angels and Fairies, however, did not. The Fairies saw it as trading one commodity for their life, something they were more than willing to do. If they got pregnant, more so the better for it introduced new bloodlines.
Because of this mixing of their blood, they are incredibly powerful with access to nearly all types of magic. They have the power and capacity to render the whole country a wasteland. If they were ever to use their powers beyond defence, they would truly be a force to be reckoned with.”
“But weren’t they hunted down by the Angels?”
“Yes which is why I am unsure of their numbers or strength. But their response to my presence on British soil will be immediate and very noticeable, which is why I’m trying to sneak in under the Angels’ radar.”
“Are you not expecting a warm welcome? Will they not be glad to see you?”
“Considering I was among the very first to be imprisoned they will be very understanding.” She raised her hands to cut of Victoria. “Your cynicism is noted Victoria, it is so prevalent in one so young. But you will see once we have landed. In less than ten minutes you will see your first Fairies.”
Despite her cynicism, she was curious and excited. She had thought she had outgrown all the childish notions of magic. But when faced with it, she was as excited as any child. It seemed fitting that the first Daemon race she would meet would be Fairies.
She looked out of the window as the plane came hurtling down on the runway. The weather suddenly changed from a fairly nice spring afternoon to something out of a horror movie. Think fog banks were rolling in from every direction, it was just as well they had just
landed otherwise they would have been stuck in the air for hours. Heathrow would not be able to land any more planes until the fog cleared. It was going to wreak havoc on air travel. It was still a point of pride that Heathrow was still the busiest airport in the world.
“Luckily we landed when we did, fog is rolling in deep.”
Brigid had faraway look “The Fae are coming to greet us.”
Brigid was up and waiting by the door as soon as the plane had stopped. The staff had all been frozen where they were. Victoria passed her frozen staff and security “What did you do to them?”
“This is the Fairies, it is their trademark. This way they don’t have to talk to those they don’t wish to.”
She was surprised “They want to talk to me?” She was quite chuffed.
“No, I stopped them from freezing you. You need to attend this.” She cast a thoughtful look over Victoria and herself “but not dressed like this, we’ll fail to make an impression.” Victoria watched wide eyed as her clothing transformed into a floor length emerald green dress. It was beautifully elegant but simple with an unusual design. It came to mid-thigh at the front, before falling further to the sides and ending up floor length at the rear. It was practical, allowing her to easily move her legs. It was held up by thin golden straps that wrapped around her neck in Celtic designs. Brigid wore exactly the same dress.
Brigid snapped her fingers, and the door opened without a sound. She then descended down a staircase made of shining light. Victoria hurried after her, watching in wonder as Brigid stepped onto solid ground. Light flared underneath her before spiralling outwards in fluorescent symbols of plants and animals. They spread like wildfire, their glows visible beyond the thick veil of fog.
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