“Open!” Judas commanded.
The door did.
“How can the door understand me, is this magic?” Judas asked.
Gabriel shook his head. “There is no such thing as ‘magic’. Your race calls this ‘technology’. But the technology of angels is several millennia ahead of humanity’s technology, such that it appears as if our powers are ‘magic’ to you. In time, humanity will come to possess such a level of technology too.”
Judas entered. Inside, it was a simple room, with white metal walls, floor, and ceiling all without seam. A simple bed lay on the side, with a table and a stool. There was a small light on the end, it wasn’t candle, there was no sign of any flame or flickering, it was just a steady stream of light.
“Before I leave,” Gabriel began, “I need to instruct you on what you need to do next.”
Judas listened.
“I must warn you,” Gabriel said, “That you will have many challenges ahead of you. There will be many others who will oppose you and make your stay difficult here.”
Judas nodded. The Overlords of Chaos and their minions.
“The first task,” Gabriel continued, is to climb The Blue Rose tower.”
That sounded simple enough.
“When will I get to see The Master?” Judas asked.
“He is there,” Gabriel said. “waiting for you at the top.”
Judas nodded.
He had gone far. He couldn’t wait to see The Master.
With that, Gabriel left Judas alone on the room.
Judas sat on the bed, it was soft and comfortable. He took a deep breath, then he lay down on it and pondered. He was excited, but also tired. Tomorrow, he would climb The Blue Rose tower. Tomorrow, he would meet The Master.
Chapter 24 – Dream Shard
After several days of travelling, they had decided to rest in a nearby villa owned by Gnaeus and his family. Without any sign of their pursuers, it was a good idea to recover the strength of the group. Gnaeus, it turned out, had a very rich father who owned several estates throughout the land.
The warmth from the fireplace felt welcome on Arcana’s skin. In the spacious room, everything was either gilded with gold or silver, and the carpet made from the hides of tigers. Wondering where Judas was, Arcana brought out the amulet and focused his image in her mind. Impossible! She gasped. How had he gotten so far in just a day? Varak knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before opening it a crack and peering in.
“Is everything all right My Lady?” Varak asked.
“Yes, I am fine Varak, but thank you for checking in on me,” Arcana answered.
“Are you sure that Gnaeus isn’t up to doing anything foolish?” Varak asked as he scanned the room to make sure Gnaeus wasn’t there.
Arcana smiled, “No Varak, and where do you think Gnaeus would hide in this room?” Earlier, Varak had even pulled off the carpet to check for trap doors.
Varak shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know how or when, but I don’t trust that man from keeping his fingers off of you, especially since we’re in his family’s manor.”
“Thank you Varak,” Arcana said. “I will be fine.”
“I’ll keep watch on the door, just holler if you need anything,” Varak said before he went outside and closed the door.
Back to business. Arcana tried to sense what Judas was feeling right at this moment hoping to get a glimpse of what was happening to him, but instead found that Judas was asleep. Should she ask him what had happened to him? How was he able to travel at such speed? Unable to hold back her curiosity, Arcana cast a spell to connect her through his dreams. Once cast, the spell pulled Arcana slowly, gently into sleep.
Arcana was in.
Arcana found Judas in the middle of a small ruddy crowd. The men and women sat around him, watching as if mesmerized while Judas flourished his hands as the story he was telling unfolded. The crowd laughed. Judas’s expression was... Happy. Although the time they spent together was short, she had never seen that expression on his face. The smile on his face, in his eyes, it was genuine. Was this how Judas was before he became The Betrayer? Arcana moved closer to listen. The story sounded familiar, it was a parable meant to teach something important, though Arcana couldn’t quite place where she had heard it before.
Judas stopped.
“Arcana!” Judas called out to her. In less than the blink of an eye, Judas appeared right in front of her. So, he had some level of control in his dreams.
“Judas,” Arcana said, “I didn’t mean to barge in here, but I just didn’t know if you were all right or how you seem to have gone so far in such a short time. Why, it’s like you’re on the other side of the world! Where are you, and what’s—”
Judas had grabbed her, gently, and pulled her close. Arcana tried to push herself away, in the real life she would have been able to do so, but the Judas in the dreamworld was strong. As Judas pulled her closer, Arcana felt a wave of heat on her face. What was he thinking about doing?
“You seem so... real,” Judas murmured. His fingers began to caress her skin. “It’s like you’re really here...”
Arcana caught herself and immediately cut off the spell, sending her consciousness spiraling back to reality. Back in the manor, Arcana still felt the heat on her cheeks. Then fury replaced the embarrassment she felt. Judas would regret even trying to do something like that. She prepare to jump back again into the dream and, this time, she was ready.
She found Judas standing in a different place. He was probably wondering where Arcana had gone. Judas did not notice her return. Arcana shot fire at Judas’s back, but just before it reached Judas, he noticed. Rather than dodge the flames, Judas walked right into them until he got to her. Judas’s confidence in the dream world surprised her, as for many people, even in their dreams, they would usually not have the level of control that he demonstrated. Arcana felt Judas’s hands on her waist. Arcana’s expression darkened. This time, Arcana erupted, and the explosion sent Judas tumbling away.
Arcana was panting. Despite being in the dreamworld, she was here fully, and ever spell she cast cost her power. Judas lay down on the ground, unmoving. Had she overdone it? Arcana rushed towards Judas, worried, because if a spell was powerful enough, it could actually hurt the person in a dream. But as she got to him, she felt relief wash over her when he opened his eyes. They were kind eyes.
“It’s just like you,” Judas smiled at Arcana, “so angry all the time. Though this is more like you, you always hide your anger in the real world. I wonder if my dream is trying to tell me something... I wonder how you’re really doing.”
So angry? When was she ever angry in the real world? No, Judas was stupid. She had always kept herself composed and cool headed. Then Arcana realized it—Judas was still thinking that the Arcana here in his dream was not real, that it was just his imagination at play. Arcana blushed again at remembering what Judas had tried to do to her. Was that how Judas really felt about her? She had not felt any inkling during all the moments that she was with him.
But before she revealed the truth, she was going to find out what Judas meant by her being so angry all the time. She would play along. Arcana took a deep breath, pushed away her fury and regained composure of herself.
“Am I always that angry?” Arcana said, this time sweetly. She went to Judas’s side and held on to his arm. She wore her sweetest smile to Judas.
Judas chuckled.
“If I answered you, it probably wouldn’t matter,” Judas said. “If we talked here, it would make no difference in the real world.” Then Judas sighed.
“Then it wouldn’t really matter if you did or didn’t answer, would it?” Arcana said teasingly. “Tell me.”
“Unless...” Judas looked as if he had just realized something. “If somehow, Arcana had a way to reach me through my dreams. The amulet?”
Judas was sharp.
“But then again, maybe not,” Judas said. “Why would Arcana be here and meet me in my dreams in the first
place?”
Then Judas turned to her and looked deeply into her eyes, a slightly sad expression on his face. “Though I wish you were really here,” Judas said.
Arcana shot down the surge of emotions rising within her. What did he mean by that? Judas would know she was really here, and oh, he would regret what he just did. Arcana unsheathed the blade of the Zohar, and cut a shallow wound on Judas’s cheek. Judas moved back, surprised.
“It stings, like it’s real,” Judas said. Then chuckled again, shaking his head. “Is this how much I already miss you?”
Arcana couldn’t take it any longer, she severed the connection. Having Gnaeus fawn on her was one thing, but now Judas, too? She wasn’t even beautiful. Sure, she was sweet, and she tried to be charming, but that was all part of her mission. She needed to gain the loyalty and allegiance of people. She needed, to be liked! She had no room for love in her life.
Arcana smiled an evil smile at the prospect of Judas waking up and finding the wound on his face. He would ponder about what he had done. He would be worried. He deserved to be.
She tried to push away the thought of what Judas’s actions in the dream all meant. It showed a different side of him, but it didn’t matter. No feelings. Feelings would only get in the way and cloud her judgment. The blade of the Zohar was far too important for any of that.
Judas woke up and wiped his hand on the sudden stinging on his face and was surprised to find blood there. Could it be? Was Arcana really there? A wave of emotions flowed through him, though he immediately recognized that they weren’t his. He took out the amulet from his pocket and found the symbols all lit up. His heart skipped a beat. For a brief moment, he began to feel worried. Was it the real Arcana after all? Had he done something he shouldn’t have?
He put the amulet close to his mouth and spoke to it.
“Arcana,” Judas said. Maybe it could take a message for him.
But there was no response, though the amulet was still lit up. His worry grew. He sensed feelings of satisfaction from the amulet in response to Judas’s feelings of worry. It really was her. Judas caught himself and pushed the worry away, and in its place, anger began to fill him. He didn’t do anything wrong. He had every right to do whatever he wanted to in his dream. It was his dream. He was at least entitled to that. And what was she doing invading his privacy?
Every right?
Judas jumped at the voice in his head. It was Arcana’s voice. Judas tried to hold back the rising embarrassment that he felt as he realized Arcana could probably feel them too. Having the serpent voice in his head was one thing, but now, Arcana too?
“Arcana,” Judas spoke to the amulet. Then when there was no response, he tried to will his thoughts into the amulet. Still nothing.
“Fine, don’t answer me,” Judas said. Women! They always tended to punish you by ignoring you. Arcana was no different. But he was not going to apologize. He did nothing wrong. On the other hand, she did something wrong. Why, she looked into his dream! Looking into a person’s dream was like seeing a person naked. He should be the one offended, not her.
Chapter 25 - Training
To prepare him for the task ahead, Gabriel decided to spend some time orienting Judas in getting up The Blue Rose. It turned out climbing The Blue Rose wasn’t as easy as it looked, because it involved many challenges along the way. He was going to have to defeat many other humans, who were all heavily trained in Sky Jerusalem and already knew how things worked. They too were aiming to climb The Blue Rose tower, to be worthy enough to become part of the Command Center.
They were in one of the structures within Gabriel’s sector of the city. Inside was this room, which had a spherical object floating on top. The large spherical object several times his height in diameter, showed him many moving images that corresponded to whatever Gabriel was explaining.
“You seem distracted,” Gabriel commented. Judas pushed away the thought of Arcana and brought his mind to the present. He had left Arcana’s amulet in his room and did not want anything to do with it.
Judas had to admit, the real heaven wasn’t the place he’d first imagined it to be. Heaven, it turned out, was filled of rooms with metallic walls, ceilings, and floor. But it turned out this wasn’t really THE heaven. It was another heaven—because the first one was destroyed in a Great War.
“I’m ready for more lessons,” Judas said.
Gabriel explained to him the history of angels, though a better word would probably be showed him. Images floated on the air within the spherical object, showing the angels and their wars. It showed several factions of angels, but the biggest factions were the First Keepers and the Earthborn angels. These two were the ones caught up in the Great Wars of Heaven and Earth.
Gabriel showed him how humans had misinterpreted many of the angels as Gods, Creators, immortal beings. On the other hand, in some lands, angels were considered as demons, vampires, fairies, elves, and djinns.
“The word ‘El’ or ‘Al’, do you know what it really means?” Gabriel said.
Judas recalled what he had just learned about the Hebrew alphabet. “It is written as A or the symbol for aleph, the symbol for an ox, and it means THE FIRST. It is followed by L or lamed, the symbol for the shepherd’s staff. So it literally means the First Shepherd. It can also mean the First Guardian, or the First Keeper.”
“Good,” Gabriel said. “The word ‘El’ refers to the angels who came on Earth first. Collectively, we are known as ‘Elohim’, or malakai el elyon, which means...” Gabriel paused, waiting for Judas to answer.
The Judas tried to think about it. The key was in the meaning of each letter, rather than taking the word as a whole. “The First Angel Keepers of the Highest?” Judas said. “Or even, the First Angel Keepers of Heaven?”
“A good interpretation,” Gabriel said, nodding.
“Most of the time, using the term ‘First Keepers’ will do,” Gabriel said. “The Earthborns, as opposed to the First Keepers, refer to all the other angels who were not born in heaven. They are the other malakai.”
Malakai was the word for angels.
“We angels have been working alongside humans,” Gabriel explained. “Though most of the time we keep ourselves invisible, influencing your race as indirectly as we can. We have been here all throughout human history, helping your race as anonymously as we can. It is only in the direst moments when we directly interfere with the human race.”
“Sky Jerusalem is the place for Earth Management,” Gabriel continued. “We handle many problems, especially problems of the magnitude that humans alone would be unable to solve. You can imagine, it comes with many challenges. We are angels who have advanced technology and knowledge, however we are not gods. We cannot solve all problems, considering the limitations of our resources.”
“There’s too many humans on Earth,” Judas said, “and too few angels of Sky Jerusalem.”
Gabriel nodded.
“First of all, there are not enough angels on Earth to watch over each human being in the world,” Gabriel said. “Second, humans tend to be self-centered, thinking themselves the center of their universe. While we do protect the humans, we are not here solely for them.”
“It’s actually the other way around and humans were originally made for us angels, not angels for them,” Gabriel said. “Humans were originally there to be our servants, to make our work easier, to till our lands and watch over livestock. To mine the Earth of precious metals such as gold and silver, which we would in turn use for our technology. Your original mission was to go forth, and multiply, because the more of you there were, the more there would be to serve us angels.”
“So you taught us agriculture and keeping livestock?” Judas asked. “And we were essentially your manpower?”
“You learned in the process of serving us,” Gabriel said. “Technically speaking we did not ‘teach you’ for the sake of teaching you.” Gabriel said. “The clan of Abel, the clan of Cain, even the clan of Adam all served us in such a way
. They were our servants.”
“You said ‘clan’,” Judas said, noticing, “so you mean there were more people aside from Abel and Cain, and there were many others aside from Adam during his time?” Judas said.
Judas tried to push away the memories that came up in his mind, the memories of Cain. Back then, Cain was called Al-Kain.
“Of course,” Gabriel said, “what use do we have of one or two people only? We needed hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of humans to serve us. Adam was the leader of the clan, and so were his blood.”
“But I don’t understand, why is this not known to us?” Judas said, concerned. “Shouldn’t it be written somewhere? If this is the case, shouldn’t you angels clear the misunderstanding, misconceptions, and the lack of knowledge in us humans?”
“Much of this knowledge was written and passed down to humans,” Gabriel explained. “However, they were lost over time in your wars, many were burned in the wars against Marduk the angel tyrant, in the wars of Babel, Sodom, and Gomorrah. What survived was burned when Caesar conquered Egypt, in turn burning the Library of Alexandria, Egypt. The burning of that knowledge was necessary, because some of you humans came to possess of knowledge so dangerous that the world would be destroyed if you possessed it. That the other tomes of knowledge were destroyed and lost from you was an unintended consequence.”
“Do you mean the knowledge of the Forbidden Weapon?” Judas asked.
Gabriel nodded.
“A lot of what now remains to humanity is but a small fragment of the True History,” Gabriel said. “And that is what I am here to reveal, the history that has been lost to your kind.”
“But why don’t you just reveal this history to the rest of humanity?” Judas said. “Why just me?”
“What use have we if we revealed the True History to your kind?” Gabriel challenged. “You will just lose it again, then we would have to tell you again. You live such short lives, and much is lost as one generation fades away and gives rise to next.”
The Lost Book of Chaos: How to Divide the World (The Secret Wars of Angels 1) Page 19