The Lost Book of Chaos: How to Divide the World (The Secret Wars of Angels 1)

by Thomas, J. D.

  “From working with them in the construction of the Tower of Babel,” Arcana continued, “humans came to possess the secret knowledge. My forefathers, the Blood of Enmerkar, were the overseers of that project, serving the angels of Earth. We worked directly with the divine beings and their other non-human servants to build that Tower.”

  “Non-human servants?” Judas asked.

  “Servants such as the jinn we encountered,” Arcana said, “who were not made from the Earth, but from another place in the stars. There's also the demons—the criminal angels. There's also half angels, half humans. Demi gods, if you will.”

  “I am a bit familiar with the story of the Tower of Babel,” Judas said. Judas had heard of the Tower of Babel before, but he was not aware of the role of angels in that particular story. “You mentioned angels of Earth, are there other angels I should know about?”

  “The angels of Heaven,” Arcana said, “who are also known as the elders and First Keepers. Then there are the angels of Earth, the younger generations. Then there are also the angels who are farther into the Universe, if you look up into the sky you will find them there.”

  Arcana raised her hand and pointed in the direction of the stars.

  “The stars?” Judas said.

  “Not just any star,” Arcana said, “the constellation you know as Orion's Belt.”

  Judas had no idea where that was.

  “It's the one with the three stars forming a straight line,” Arcana said. “In your Scriptures, was it not written that a third of the angels rebelled? That meant one third of the star system rebelled. All angels originally came from Orion's Belt. They came here on Earth in search of resources that could be used for their Technology, a technology that can traverse the stars. Is it not written in your Scriptures, that 'the gold is mine and the silver is mine?'?”

  Judas nodded, perplexed.

  “But we digress,” Arcana said. “The angels of Heaven did not approve of the Tower. See, the Tower was built by Marduk, an angel of Earth who wanted supremacy over all. But the angels of Heaven feared that once Marduk gained that power, he would rise and defy the angels of Heaven. That must not happen at all costs. The only thing missing from Marduk was the power to travel the stars.”

  “So they’re fighting amongst themselves like humans fight amongst ourselves?” Judas said. “Aren’t angels supposed to be a race higher than humans? Aren't they supposed to be mature, and beyond such problems as war?”

  Arcana grimaced sadly. “As above, so below. Man was made in the image of angels. Their problems are our problems, and our problems are their problems.” That sounded wrong, Judas knew that humans were made in the image of The Creator, not angels. But everyone was entitled to their own beliefs, so Judas didn’t argue.

  “Why is a tower such a big deal?” Judas said. “A tower can’t really do any harm can it?” Unless if you built it beside the enemy city, and somehow caused it to fall upon the enemy. Judas tried his best not to snicker at the thought. Arcana raised her eyebrows, sensing that Judas wasn't serious. Judas shrugged, so she continued.

  “Because it wasn’t just a tower made of stone, mud, and bricks,” Arcana said. “I know that in your version of the story, it was a mere tower. But in ours, the Tower was really a ship that could travel the skies, and even more than that, it was equipped with a weapon that Marduk could use to destroy enemy cities in one blow.”

  “The angels of heaven feared,” Arcana continued, “that once Marduk gained dominion over the Earth, he would not be content and would seek to expand his reign among the stars. In our version of the story, the Tower is made of metal and energy, the energy of lightning flows through silver and gold. No, the tower is not made of primitive mud, not bricks, not stone.”

  Judas had a bit of trouble imagining why anyone would build a ship made of metal. Metal was heavy. There was no way it would float in water, let alone fly. So much for using 'knowledge', when it didn't make any practical sense at all.

  “I know this is hard to take in all at once,” Arcana said.

  Indeed, Judas thought so too.

  “I’ll try to keep my mind open,” Judas said. He would listen, but he would not believe everything she said. Though he sensed that Arcana truly believed in what she was saying. For that, Judas pitied her. She probably lived her life believing in a lie, worse, getting persecuted by other people who believed in that same lie.

  “Marduk was eventually defeated,” Arcana said, “his Tower destroyed. Ibrum, your forefather whom you know as Abraham, led his cavalry in defense of the Angels of Heaven. The story written in the Book of Man's Genesis was true. Though it only revealed the story in partial details.” Then Arcana added, as if in side thought, “Perhaps if you read the Book of Enoch, or the Book of Jasher, or the Book of Endubsar The Scribe, or the Histories Of The Pre-Adamic Civilizations you will glean the bigger picture.”

  All the talk of history was making his head hurt. Though being of the tribe of Yahuda, Judas had heard of the Book of Enoch, and the Book of Jasher as they were part of the Scriptures of the Torah, but this was the first time he had heard of the book of Endubsar and the others.

  “But even with Heaven’s victory,” Arcana said, “the problem remained—angels of Earth possessed the knowledge to rebuild it once more. The Angels of Heaven had to seal that knowledge away, not only from the Angels of Earth, but also from the humans who had learned to build it themselves. The Angels of Heaven feared that if the humans—in addition to the Angels of Earth—built this weapon for their own use, the Earth would be destroyed as a consequence.”

  Judas took a deep breath. “So there is a war between the angels, and now humans too have become a threat.” The story sounded reasonable. But, of course, that’s all it was. A story.

  Arcana nodded, and then continued. “So to prevent us humans from using that knowledge,” Arcana said, “the angels scattered us all over the world. They isolated those who possessed the knowledge. But they did not stop there. They took the newborn children away from their parents. The angels raised the human children, taught each group a different language. You are familiar with this, in the Book of Genesis we are told of the Confounding of Languages, and it was in this way that the next generation of humans no longer possessed such knowledge. But even the Confounding of Languages is just the beginning. There is also the Confounding of Beliefs, the Confounding of Names, and so on. In order to save the world, we have to be divided, we have to be confounded. It is too early for humanity as a race to possess weapons of mass destruction. As a result of the Confounding, today, there are so many beliefs, so many languages, so many mythologies.”

  “Still with me so far?” Arcana said.

  Judas nodded, pretending to be interested. But it was all an out of this world story. He could see why people believed it though, because it was tempting. It was a story that took the facts taken from the scriptures, but twisted those facts so it would become a more interesting story.

  Fortunately, Judas would not fall for something like that.

  “But our human ancestors were persistent,” Arcana said, “and they found a way to pass on that knowledge even after what the Angels of Heaven did. Our human ancestors believed it was important that they possess that knowledge despite its dangers. Because someday, that power could be used for the good of humanity. However, our human ancestors were also careful that it would not fall into the wrong hands.”

  Arcana seemed to stand straighter and taller. “Blood of my forefathers, King Enmerkar, half-human, half-angel, son of the angel Utu, spread ten pieces of that knowledge to different groups of humans all over the world, tasking them with the protection of the knowledge.”

  “These ten fragments,” Arcana said, “were known as the Ten Fragments of the Sephiroth, or the Ten Sapphire Stones. These fragments were passed down and protected by ten groups of Human Watchers. You may know them as The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.”

  Arcana seemed to wait for Judas’s reaction.

  “The
Ten Lost Tribes of Israel?” Judas responded, shaking his head. It was getting sillier and sillier. Judas didn't even know where to begin with pointing out that her story was completely flawed.

  More like flawed, twisted, and turned upside down.

  Arcana nodded.

  “Each group had no idea who the other groups were and where to find them,” Arcana continued. “They only knew that they had to protect the secret, until the time when humanity will be in grave danger.”

  “I possess the key for uniting them all,” Arcana said, seeming to stand straighter, prouder, if that was possible as she already stood very proud to begin with. Judas tried not to stare at her bosom as she did. It wasn’t proper. Her dress wasn’t proper either. True, she was covered adequately, but the dress clung too close to her skin.

  “And that’s why people are chasing you,” Judas said flatly.

  “My forefathers thought humanity wasn’t ready for such power yet,” Arcana said. “But they also realized that it would not always be the case. If the time came that we needed such power to save the world, it would be good to have it.” Then Arcana handed Judas her blade.

  Judas accepted it, it was heavier than it looked. Judas studied the symbols engraved on it. There were ten of them, as if matching the Ten Fragments of the Sephiroth, and as if matching the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.

  “This,” Judas said, “is the key?”

  Arcana nodded.

  “And if I run away with this what will happen to your key?” Judas said teasingly. Not that he actually planned to do so. He didn't have a death wish of a jinn trailing him for the rest of his life.

  “It will be useless to you without the knowledge that I possess,” Arcana said. “And I can only pass the knowledge if you swear by Blood Oath. It is an unbreakable bond. If you even as much try to break it, you will die.”

  “That’s how the secret was protected from the angels,” Judas said, playing along. “And now you are the only one that remains. So if you die, then the secret will be lost forever.”

  Arcana nodded sadly.

  “That is why you must pass on the knowledge to someone else,” Judas said. “And for some reason, you think I’m a good choice. But why me?”

  “I have been watching you in the last few weeks, and when I helped you it was not by mere coincidence,” Arcana admitted. “You were convicted of being a criminal, but even though you had a lot of opportunities you could have used against your pursuers, you still chose not to take advantage of them. For some reason, you were kind, even to your enemies.”

  That troubled Judas. How long had Arcana been watching him? Judas had not noticed anyone was following him at all. Was it Varak? Was it more sorcery?

  “It was either you were a stupid criminal, or you weren’t a criminal at all,” Arcana said. “But they couldn’t catch you. And that’s when I knew that I could use you on my team. And if, only if, you agreed, you would be a good candidate to receive the Blood Oath.”

  “But what made you so sure I would help you?” Judas said.

  “I wasn’t. If you didn’t help me, I would just have to find someone else,” Arcana said. “But with something as important as my mission, I had to do something and take risks. Doing nothing poses the greatest danger of them all. Movement is the key to life, idleness leads to death”

  “And what about Varak?” Judas said.

  “He is already in a contract with me,” Arcana said. “If I die, the knowledge will pass on to him. But knowing Varak, he will lay down his life first before allowing me to die. Besides, he is already known to the enemy, they will know to look for him.”

  “But if you receive the Blood Oath,” Arcana explained, “they will not know to look for you. We can go in different directions, and if they catch me I will kill myself, and they will have no idea that you already learned the secret.”

  Judas felt sad just thinking of the prospect of Arcana's death.

  How gullible... Judas jumped, the inhuman voice was there in his head again.

  Arcana dropped low, in a fighting stance, and scanned the surroundings.

  “What is it?” Arcana said, “I sense no danger nearby.”

  “Nothing,” Judas lied, “I just remembered something, but it's of no importance.”

  Arcana relaxed visibly.

  “Go on,” Judas said.

  “Again,” Arcana said, “You are the best candidate for the secret. And consider that it wouldn’t be of such a burden to you, since you already have to hide anyway beca— ...”

  “...because I’m a criminal,” Judas finished for her.

  “I didn't say you were a criminal,” Arcana said.

  Judas understood.

  It was all beginning to make sense. Why she chose him, why she helped him in the first place. Arcana had thought about it all. Judas shook his head. She went so far just for this mythology that she believed in. But despite her foolish notions, she was honorable. She did not put other people at risk. She picked Judas because Judas was already at risk.

  At the least, Judas liked and respected her in that way.

  “But would you have helped me, even if you knew I wouldn’t help you anyway?” Judas wondered.

  Arcana sighed. “Yes. I can’t stand by and watch as an innocent man is punished.” Judas waited for more, but that was all the explanation she gave. Judas didn’t push.

  “I sense that you do not believe me fully,” Arcana said, “and I understand. But there is more to the story of angels, much, much more.” Arcana said as if frustrated at her inability to pass on the entire story to Judas.

  Judas nodded to signify he was listening.

  “When the angels of Heaven found out what our ancestors had done,” Arcana said, “it was too late to identify who possessed the knowledge and who didn’t. The angels could not figure out how the knowledge was passed despite all that they had done to prevent it.”

  “The angels repeated the same steps,” Arcana said, “separated the newborn from the parents, started anew with the next generation. But this time, they implemented a continuous introduction of new languages with each new generation, this lasted for several generations. They took things a step further by confounding knowledge itself! Each angel was introduced with a new name depending on their location. For example, in Sumeria the angel Enki was named Enki or Ea, in Egypt he was named Ptah, in the Golden Lands Of Ophir he was named Lumawig, in Greece he was named Gaia, where they made him 'Mother' instead of 'Father'. In your Scriptures, he is known as the Archangel Michael. Can you imagine the confusion this can cause? It would virtually be impossible to accumulate any knowledge gained from the angels.”

  Judas scratched his head.

  “Can you imagine what this has done?” Arcana said. “The confusion made it difficult for those seeking the path of Wisdom to piece the clues together. This,” Arcana pointed out, “was made as a mandate to all the angels, to add to the Confounding of Man. After all, if people did not understand each other, then even if the pieces of knowledge survived, the people would not know how to put it all together. Even if clues were found, it would make no sense.”

  “The more blocks they put,” Judas said, understanding the rationale behind it, “the more effective it would be.” Whoever came up with this story had put a lot of thought into it.

  “I've never thought about the Confounding of Languages this way before,” Judas said. “It's an interesting take, at the least.” Her version of the story was strange, but it did make sense. Despite being a lie, it made for a good story, and Judas made a mental note of it, but only as a collector of stories.

  Arcana wore a serious expression on her face. “I am the High Priestess, blood of the Builders of Bab-El, charged with protecting and passing on the knowledge of the Zohar. I possess the key to finding the Ten Fragments of knowledge and putting them together. That is why powerful people, both human and angels are hunting us down.”

  “Even the Angels of Heaven want to capture us to silence us forever,” Arcana said.
“However unlike the others who hunt for us, the code of the Angels of Heaven forbid them from killing us.”

  “So they’re the good guys, the Angels of Heaven,” Judas said.

  “But know that there are worse things they can do than kill us,” Arcana answered.

  Judas had no answer to that.

  “But Angels of Earth and human leaders want this power,” Arcana said. “They are willing to torture us for a piece of information. That was how I have lost many of my brothers and sisters.”

  Arcana's eyes looked distant, teary, but she continued. Judas wanted to comfort her, but held back.

  “But whether it’s Angels of Heaven,” Arcana said, “or Angels of Earth, or humans, it’s all the same to us. The information must not fall in their hands. We must not fall into their hands.”

  Judas let out a deep sigh.

  “I’m not sure if I’m ready to take any of what you’re saying as truth,” Judas admitted.

  “And that is fine,” Arcana answered.

  “But let’s say for a moment that if there is truth to what you say,” Judas said, “then how long will you be holding this knowledge to yourself? When would you reveal it to the rest of humanity? You say that the power is there to save man from danger, to save the world, but what if the danger is already here? What if the world already needs to be saved?”

  “What do you mean?” Arcana said.

  “Look at the world around us,” Judas said. “In my travels around the world, I have seen the suffering of the people. The deaths from poverty. The hunger. The destruction that wars leave behind. All the indifference, all the apathy, all the hatred. All the pointing of fingers, blaming the other kingdoms, all the maliciousness, it all leads to more conflict.”