by Pottle, Bill
Orifel, head of the Thrones and Michael, head of the Seraphim, hovered in the air near the two glowing stars. The stars were a pair orbiting close to each other. They had been sent directly by God Himself, to make a sign in the sky for the Promise that God the Father was making in Eden, nearly eighty light years away.
Time seemed to stand still as the two watched the events unfolding on Earth, but when the Promise was made, they knew the time had come. As things were now, the stars would be nothing more than luminous balls of plasma, bursting forth with nuclear fusion, no different than the trillions of others in the Universe.
Yet God had different plans for these two stars.
Michael turned to Orifel and nodded, a smile coming to his lips as starlight reflected in his eyes. Orifel returned the signal, and Michael could tell that his friend understood his meaning immediately.
Orifel turned into a huge wheel, nearly the size of the star itself, and spun toward its surface. He sliced through the star, his energy breaking the bonds of gravity that held it together. Flames burst out from all sides, as each part of the star flew away from the other.
Michael was waiting, bringing his hands up and to the sides, palms turned inwards towards each other. Michael increased in size too, taking one of the star halves and pushing it together, molding the half-sphere into a smaller sphere, to be its own small orange star. Such was the strength of Michael that he did not show the slightest exertion from the effort of molding a star. He then turned to the other half star, pushing it together as well, and letting it give off a crimson glow. There were now three stars orbiting close to each other.
Orifel then turned to the second, brighter star. He sliced through again, this time not dividing them evenly, but keeping one large star and one smaller one. Michael molded the first, taking away most of its energy and leaving a small, massive and dim star – a dense white dwarf. The bigger part, nearly four times as massive as Earth’s Sun yet four hundred times as bright, he let burn as a blue-white star. The two stars whirled around each other.
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Michael smiled, pleased with his work. If anyone had noticed, they would have seen four distinct stars that in themselves held a message for the future. The small orange star represented the fire of the Holy Spirit that would come down. The simmering red star foretold the blood that would flow. The largest and brightest blue-white star was a symbol of the living waters that would wash away sins, and finally, the small dense white dwarf star was the sign of a death without sin.
The four stars were made of two pairs of two stars each which danced with their partner as well as the other pair. Yet the stars were so far from Earth that when sages glanced up at the night sky with the naked eye they would see but a single bright point. The star was the brightest point by far in the constellation of The Lion. Over time it would be known by all cultures on earth by various names, Basiliscus, Qalb Al Asad, Alpha Leonis, the Yellow Emperor, Venant or simply Regulus – the King Star.
Michael checked the sizes and positions of the stars and went over his calculations again. They were perfectly positioned to be in the right place thousands of years in the future, where they would rise in the sky above Earth, over a stable.
Two figures strolled through the Garden, one a little in front of the other. Alizel had remained by the Portal as the humans journeyed, his heart aching in sympathy for them. Now, he watched these two figures curiously, wondering what they intended to do in the humans’ former abode.
They walked causally, with no particular destination. It was as if they had all the time in the world, which, in fact, they did. They examined each tree, and every blossom of every flower, as if to more fully understand what Adam and Eve had given up.
It could have been days or weeks, but eventually they reached their destination. A wall spread out around the Garden, encompassing it. But that was far from the necessary protection.
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“Jophiel, thank you for agreeing to this assignment.” One spoke to the other, his voice calm and without pretext.
The Cherub bowed low. “You know I exist solely to serve my Lord.”
The other nodded. “Your service is much appreciated.” He brought His hand up, clenched His fist, and drew a sword out of thin air. He spun the sword and handed it to Jophiel, who amazingly, was not shocked at the existence of such a weapon.
“I will Eden from the Realm of Matter, so that no humans will again enter. Our Adversary, however, can come here, so I have given you this weapon.”
Suddenly, it was plain to Alizel who the other figure was. He marveled at the form his Lord had chosen to take on. While all angels did things humans would find hard to believe, only One could create. Not rearrange atoms, or bring something out that was hidden, but really create, bring something forth out of nothing. God the Son was a manifestation of the Trinity in human form, yet he was not particularly tall or strong. He was God, yet he had subjected himself to the physical laws of the Universe in taking a body.
The youth-faced Cherub nodded and bowed again. “Thank you, Lord.” He did not question how he would defend against all of Lucifer's hordes. As a rule, Jophiel did not question anything, ever. He had learned that God answered all his questions in time.
God the Son continued. “This weapon is different from the others. While the other weapons could strike in only one direction and one place at a time, this sword contains My omnipresence. Therefore, no matter how many attack you, this sword can strike in all directions simultaneously.”
Jophiel took a step back in awe as he watched a burst of energy suddenly flare up the edge of the sword. For one who trusted God completely and was never surprised at his marvels, even this was almost too much. He bowed low again. “You honor me with this task.”
God the Son smiled. “You wish to know something more.” “Yes, my Lord. There are many things that I wish to know, but I
trust that You will reveal everything to me in Your time.”
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“You see the extreme power of this weapon, and wish to know why the war continued so long when one strike from such a weapon could have ended it.”
“My Lord, the war could have been ended by this weapon, a blow from Your Mighty Fist, or a single Word spoken from Your Lips. It matters little which. The war continued because it was not Your Will to stop it. There is no other explanation.”
“You are right, of course,” God the Son replied. “All things move according to Our Will, and it is Our Will to allow others to have free will as well. But you wonder why We allowed the war, why Heaven was rent until all angels wept.”
Alizel felt the tension. This was the one question no one had ever been able – or willing – to answer. He leaned forward on the railing, hoping at long last to understand.
Jophiel said nothing, so God the Son continued. “The service you give to Us is freely given, and deeply appreciated. Yet you were created to know, as you were created to serve. The humans have only a spark of Us inside of them. The faith We wish from them is of a different kind. We wish them to make a real choice between Good and Evil. In order to make that choice, there must be those who pull them away from Us. We look for their choice in the midst of doubt. You must know Darkness to love Light.”
Jophiel nodded again. “Even Lucifer fulfills Your Will, although he believes himself to make his own destiny. That is why you called him Satan when he was leaving Heaven.”
“Yes. Satan is not a name, but merely a title. He has now taken on the role of the Adversary of humans and angels. Heaven was lost to him as a natural result of his actions, as it must be for everyone. Yet, even his evil is no match for Our grace, if he could but ask for it. It is true that he fulfills Our Will, as all beings must. We must all serve…no matter the cost.”
With his last statement, God the Son saluted Jophiel and turned away into the center of the Garden.
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Z E L ’ S S O N G
He stared at the Tree rising up before him, its branches twisting outwards from the center. Crimson blossoms shot out along the length of not only the branches but also the trunk as well. The roots branched out deeply through the cool earthy soil, drawing nutrients from the rest of the Garden. This Tree was near the other Tree, and intertwined with it throughout human history.
A triumphant sadness hung in the air, as if the Tree had some vague memory of the future. God the Son slowly approached it, letting His hand come up and gently caress the wood. All times were one for the One who had created time. He could travel forward and backwards through time as others traveled through space. In contrast to His angels, He alone had access to all dimensions of the space-time continuum. He gave people and angels free will to make their choices and shape the future, while also knowing ahead of time what they would choose.
God the Son allowed Himself to travel forward in time in His mind, to when He would again meet with the Tree of Life. Pain suddenly exploded through His body and His mind reeled.
The only sign on the outside was a single tear that came down His face.
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EPILOGUE
So now you have heard the beginning of my story. Mankind had its first encounter with Lucifer, and emerged defeated. It was only after much thought on the matter that I realized the intricacy of the situation. Of course, God was stronger, much stronger, than Lucifer. Yet, Lucifer and his demons were much stronger than mankind, upon whom everything rested.
Realizing that, the path for us angels was clear. It was our job to oppose Lucifer, to fight him and his minions in the little daily battles. God had told us to stay on the sidelines for Lucifer’s first battle with the humans. It tore me up inside to watch Lucifer talking to Eve, powerless to do anything.
I saw Lucifer’s persuasion techniques. It wasn't too long ago that he was doing the same thing to all of us in Heaven. Perhaps that's the only reason I recognized them when he used them on the humans. I like to think that I was smarter than that, but he had fooled even us. People think that Lucifer lies all the time. Sure, he's deceitful, but he very rarely lies. Lies are too easy to detect.
No, as in the case of Eve, Lucifer tells the truth. He just doesn't tell all of it, and he adds just a little falsehood to it. He weaves a mixture of truth, flattery, and prodding into something very believable.
I doubt Eve realized all of this at the time, or even knew who Lucifer was. Through our efforts and Lucifer's, her descendants would come to know it all too well.
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God was still in the Universe, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn't like He wasn't there anymore, because He was always everywhere. But He wasn't in the Universe in the same way as He was when He was speaking with Adam. I know you probably don't understand what I mean by that, and it's hard to explain. You'll just have to take my word for it.
The war in Heaven was really only the beginning. The battle lines were drawn, the pieces all on the board. In my mind I wondered who among us would be able to stand up to Lucifer — in my heart I knew it would always have to be Michael.
Raphael and Azazel fought the first of many battles they would have in the millennia to come. I must say that I, indeed everyone, was shocked that Azazel turned. But I guess all the defectors had their own reasons. For him I think it was more about the weapons than anything, and the power that they gave him. He loved the power even more than he loved God. Although…sometimes I wondered if strength wasn’t really a weakness. It seemed like the strongest, most warlike angels were especially vulnerable to failure.
After Azazel was cast out, Verchiel took over as head of the Powers, and became the angel responsible for keeping us safe from external assault. Verchiel created an internal police to monitor things inside of Heaven, and set an angel named Quenten up to be in charge of this important division.
Perhaps the saddest part of the story concerns the angel Oliver. He had been forced to use hate, yet once he had used it he had been unable to turn away from his new way of thinking completely. We found out later that he left Heaven, but for some reason did not join up with Lucifer in HEL. If anything, somehow he was trapped in the middle. Although I mourned his loss, I had faith that somehow, some day he would be able to find his way back.
Truly, our Father was amazing. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.
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SCENE FROM ANGEL WARS SAGA
BOOK TWO:
The fire on the inside of the tent shone forth as its tongues writhed and danced with the beat of the music coming from within. The lone stranger listened outside for a brief moment before stepping inside. He was clean shaven, with black hair parted over the middle and piercing blue eyes the color of deep sky. He was of average height and average build, and wore a loose cloak that hung evenly from his body. He was no one you would happen to remember.
At least, that’s the image he projected into the minds of all the humans who were nearby.
The man reached a gloved hand up and parted the entrance flap to the tent, stepping inside. He surveyed the scene to the left and to the right. The men and women in the tent were enjoying themselves, drinking a beer made from fermented barley through reed straws. Several of the revelers were barely clothed, and their minds were clouded by the effects of the drink. They were singing and laughing, most of them oblivious to the one who had entered. For this moment, at least, they were freed from the cares and toils of the world.
All of them, that is, except for one. A lone hooded figure sat in the corner, his drink unshared and untouched. His features were dark and his face was troubled. The stranger smiled.
“Excuse me,” he said, stopping a man who was engaged with a giggling girl. The man paid little attention. “What’s with that one over there?”
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His question caused the man and the girl to stop and really look at him for the first time. “Friend, if you have any concern for yourself, leave that man alone.”
“Is he dangerous, then?”
“You have no idea. Dangerous, and in a bad mood tonight. Believe me, friend. You’re much better off to find a pretty girl and a drink and leave that man be.”
The stranger nodded his head and concluded the conversation. “I thank you for your kind advice,” he said, ignoring the man and walking directly towards the hooded figure.
The stranger sat down next to the man who was staring sullenly into the fire. He had sunken, haunted eyes. His beard was uneven with pink splotches and scabs where he had plucked parts of it.
“It’s quite the party, isn’t it?” The stranger started. The man pretended not to hear and the stranger couldn’t help but smile. He had, after all, not spoken out loud, but manipulated the very electrical impulses in the man’s cochlear nerve.
“I said, it’s quite the party!” This time when he spoke, he pushed the man around the shoulder, giving him no excuse to further ignore him.
The hooded man brushed the stranger’s hand away, his eyes suddenly turning menacing. “Don’t you know who I am?”
“Yes I do, Cain.”
“Then you should know not to touch me.”
Was it a warning, or remorse that made him feel unworthy of human contact?
“I want to know something, of you, Cain. Did you feel power when you did it? Did you enjoy the feeling that no one can force anything from you?”
For the first time, Cain seemed to be actually listening. A darkness began building behind his eyes as the love of the power crept into his face. For as much as he hated himself for it, and as much as he would never admit it to anyone who didn’t already understand— he had enjoyed the feeling it gave him.
“What do you want from me?”
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“It’s simple, really. I want to teach you how to do it ri
ght. Not with crude stones, but with weapons— real weapons. Things that can make it so easy that even a child can do it.”
The stranger looked into Cain’s astonished yet hungry face. “My name is Azazel, and we have much work to do.”
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CHARACTER LIST
SERAPHIM
Seraphim, or “Flaming Ones” are the highest ranking order of angels. Secretive and powerful, they rule over the other orders of angels. They wear a platinum sash with a crimson S.