by Lucia Ashta
Elena released all resistance and allowed her earthly body to become something else—something indefinable, something celestial. Her being took on hues of golden yellow as she glowed like an apparition. She had accepted that she was an angel on earth, and now she looked like one, defending light on the planet.
Already a striking woman with amber eyes and mesmerizing features, Elena became resplendent. The purity of love radiated from her while her face emanated an enchanting beauty that held real power. Now without concern for the creatures that hovered precariously close, Elena turned to see her twin. He took her breath away.
Like her, he glowed with hues of perfection and magnificence that were not of this world. He looked like an angel walking the earth, capable of changing the world through a true understanding of the power of divine love. Strands of his long blonde hair fell loose, framing his face, and his eyes shone of wisdom and strength. His inner splendor transformed him in the same way Elena felt herself transformed. The love and respect Elena felt for Marco in that moment was indefinable.
Elena grabbed Marco’s hand. They stood as a united force against the circling darkness. The hovering spectral creatures no longer seemed like a threat. There were no threats; there was only Creator’s perfection. The twins of destiny simultaneously pulsed love out in waves. Light of the color and intensity of the sun radiated out from them and floated upward. That love of the purest light had no equal in its power, and when it connected with the dark creatures, they dissolved without resistance as if the creatures welcomed the light.
It could have been a long and arduous struggle to defeat the shadowy creatures, but it had been easy. Difficulty was an illusion often created by the human mind. Elena and Marco could overcome life and its supposed challenges with grace if they embraced this belief. In the space that Elena and Marco had been in—in the perfect flow of God and all creation—there was an inherent understanding of ease. All was perfect. All was effortless. All was provided for them. And so it had been.
49 Prophecy Fulfilled
No longer in imminent danger, Elena’s awareness settled on her teachers. She remembered the feeling that she’d had that Marian was going to leave her body soon. The thought sent Elena into action. Where were Marian and Victor? Elena looked around thoroughly for the first time since combat had begun, and she still did not see them. She turned her head back and forth searching for them. Certainly, they were fine; after all, they were their teachers. Surely, they could handle anything that came their way. Even as she thought it, the worry surged within Elena.
Marco was also looking for Marian and Victor when their search came to an abrupt conclusion. A blast of fire flared up near the creek. Lush trees and distance obscured the details of the explosion but the fire would guide them to where Marian and Victor were apparently fighting their own battle.
Elena and Marco made their way to the fire zone swiftly, running as fast as they could toward the flowing creek. Elena was stricken to see that they had not made it there quickly enough. When the twins arrived at the scene, it was too late to change the conflict’s outcome.
Instead, they arrived in time for their teachers to see Marian’s prophecy fulfilled. As the twins rushed toward their teachers’ fallen bodies, the outline of their angel wings trailed behind them. Elena and Marco’s glowing white, diaphanous wings were both beautiful and strong, and they brought tears of emotion to their teachers’ eyes.
Elena and Marco did not see their own wings as Marian and Victor took their final breaths and left this world, knowing that they had fulfilled their final purpose for this lifetime. Their pupils had stood against demons while feeling only love in their hearts, and the demons had melted away before the purity of light they emanated. Through a true understanding of love, the twins’ angel wings had sprouted forth.
Marian and Victor left the earth for another world, their last vision that of their pupils walking as angels on earth. They knew that neither Elena nor Marco saw their wings, but that they one day would. With that knowing, Marian and Victor let go of their hold on this world with peaceful acceptance. They breathed in for the last time and then released everything they had borrowed from the earth back to her with a final exhale. Then they soared up to the heavens where they would be simply souls once more.
One day, the time would once again arrive for Marian and Victor to take earthly bodies, but for now, their empty shells lay broken on the ground in awkward angles, soon to be reclaimed by the earth. In their final moments, they found the strength to reach out and touch each other as they left the earth plane together. It was then that Elena realized that Marian and Victor had been beloveds in their own way. Their love for each other, concealed while they were alive, was unveiled as they left this dimension.
Elena had assumed that she would at least be able to say farewell to her teachers for whom she cared so much. However, it was not Elena’s choice any more than it was her path. It was their time. Elena would find a way to accept that this was how things had to be.
The adversaries that Marian and Victor had fought were of a different caliber than those that had attacked Elena and Marco. The teachers had combated giant demons with red eyes that blazed with the fire of vicious intent. The demons were covered in bulging, grotesque muscles, and they emitted a putrid smell. Towering at twice the size of an average human, their bodies were a deep black that reminded Elena of crude oil. They were asexual, reproducing and feeding solely off the sinister emotions of human beings.
Marian and Victor had managed to slay some of the monstrous creatures, though the demons had ultimately broken them. They lay weaponless in death, but Elena knew their teachers had defended themselves and the light honorably.
In a perplexing move, the demons began to leave the creek area, disappearing into the surrounding forest in the deep of night. They scattered and went in different directions. The last of them lumbered and trampled off through the trees before Elena could understand their actions. At a loss, Elena ran to her teachers’ sides. There was nothing that she or Marco could do. Their teachers’ eyes were closed in serene acceptance of their fate.
Elena could not even feel disappointment because she knew that Marian and Victor had been in the perfect flow of life. This was how it was supposed to happen for them. Their teachers would incarnate again to serve another purpose of great importance. Any sadness Elena felt was at the loss of the incredible guidance and support that these teachers offered them. She had loved them both.
Reaching out for the hand of her eternal beloved once more, Elena pulled Marco close. She found comfort in knowing she had discovered home in him. Together, they found the peace they had longed for. And together they would fulfill their destinies. With the love and light they could hold in their hearts, and with the love they felt for each other, they would complete their missions on earth and change the world. The planet and its people needed that change.
* * *
Every day it seemed that Ashta and Anak learned something new. Just that day, Ashta sat enjoying the sun at the edge of the campsite when she discovered that she could see with her eyes closed. Behind her eyelids, she could sense everything around her. She could see beings of the other worlds, including the fairies and tree spirits; she could see the energy bodies of the forest creatures that scampered about; and she could see the energetic bodies of her companions, varying in brightness according to the concentration of light they held.
Ashta could see more with her eyes closed than with them open. She opened her eyes to take in the physical bodies of her spirit family. They were as different from one another as they were beautiful to Ashta. She wondered what else they would accomplish in this lifetime.
Ashta had mentally steeled herself for an epic battle that could last years, but now, sitting there without disturbance in an idyllic forest setting, she realized she might have been mistaken in thinking that etheric battles would drag on as they did in the affairs of men. The forces of darkness bred battles between men. Power and gre
ed were behind techniques that confused soldiers with calls to duty, loyalty, and the protection of the innocent. Leaders offered abstract principles that inflamed soldiers and won their allegiance, but the true motives for war were sinister. Men traded their light for darkness and sought to rule men. And so the battles of men waged long and without reprieve. Without great bursts of light, there could be no real defeat of darkness.
Light could dispose of the darkness; it could wipe it out. Just as the light warriors had experienced the dark beings blown away in ashes, so, too, war between humans could finish in the sweeping instant of a breeze. But Ashta knew darkness would not disappear from the world entirely. There was still a need for it and the contrast it could provide to the light. Humans would be offered choices stemming from darkness and from light. The decisions they made would determine how much they were able to advance their souls in their current lifetime.
There would be dark just as there would be light; there would be night as there would be day; there would be cold as there would be heat. There would be down and up, out and in—a world of opposites. And, at certain times in human history, it would be necessary for the forces of light to push back the covetous and cloying fingers of darkness.
The darkness was insatiable, always wanting more control. The dark forces believed it was possible for them to overtake the world, casting a permanent shadow over the light. But it was not possible. All enlightened beings knew that. The judgment of the dark forces was impaired, as the dark did not see the true nature of the world in its drive for a stronghold.
The dark forces did not find peace in the present moment. There was no rest for the dark because there was no understanding of the completion of the one immediate moment in time. In the perfect present moment, humanity could meet all of its needs through its connection to Creator.
The dark forces would instigate war so there would be a need for light warriors. There would always be a need for humans of their kind to embody light on earth, so that other human beings might recognize the call to the light and feel the memory of their heavenly walks with Creator.
50 Parting
The last several days had stretched into what felt like years, compressing an enormity of experience into a short amount of time. Now, as Ashta contemplated the return to her beloved Arnaka, she understood that the roles she and Anak had played as light keepers would shift. It was inevitable once they came to know more of their capabilities. Understanding herself better had transformed Ashta forever.
Ashta had answered Archangel Michael’s call without knowing what to expect, and she had emerged from the initiation a warrior. The light warriors that had gathered would go home and loosen their grips on their weapons—at least for a little while. But they would train. They would be ready. They would continue to learn and grow. They would be prepared to answer a call to duty at any moment, taking up ethereal arms for the wellbeing of the human race and the planet.
Ashta willed her mind to be free of thoughts, and serenity soon replaced them. Her mind was like a reflective pool whose ripples had faded out at the edges, dissipating into nothingness. With her reasoning mind out of the way, Ashta was open to receiving true guidance. Had the time of battle come to a close for them?
The response was immediate. Archangel Michael was suddenly next to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and kissed the crown of her head. Ashta heard him speak as clearly as if he were standing there in the flesh. I love you, my sister. You have finished your work here. Go in peace. Grow strong. I will call on you again for a greater battle.
Every member of the group had reached his own knowing that his duty there had ended. They would all leave. Ashta and Anak would return to their pyramids, Area and Arien would return to their crystal palace, and the cousins would return to their family home. Thom would go, still shrouded in mystery, to wherever he chose to call home next. Carn and Baldub’s paths had become inextricably intertwined; they would continue on the path of life together as companions.
Although they had only known one another for a brief amount of linear time, Ashta was surprised at the sense of loss she felt in having to take leave of her new spirit family. She had grown comfortable with the sense of closeness and camaraderie they shared. They understood each other. Ashta would miss hearing their voices and laughter, even if most of the sounds of her friends had only coursed through her mind.
They dismantled the campsite very quickly, returning everything to its original state. Even the trampled grasses where the cabins had rested were springy and refreshed again, and the fire pit was as if it had never been. Thom had used wizardry to heal the land. He was a whisperer, able to speak the language of the woodland spirits and animals. There was a gentleness in him that all plants and creatures of the forest recognized. Ashta loved this about Thom.
The light warriors said their farewells and held each other in long, meaningful embraces. They had shared a time of knowledge and light. They had supported each other through growth and empowerment. They knew they would meet on another occasion; they had all received guidance that the time would come again for them to battle against the forces of darkness. They were destined to reunite as light warriors once more.
The unicorns also parted ways. They left for pristine lakeshores in the mountains, away from the eyes of man, where flowers dotted vibrant green pastures. The light warriors would also meet the unicorns again, when it was time. Ashta lingered in taking leave of her unicorn friend. There was so much beauty in the creature’s soul, in those deep, dark eyes. Ashta kissed her gently on the nose and leaned her forehead against the unicorn’s broad one.
Ashta breathed in sync with the unicorn’s deep, rhythmic breath. She felt the unicorn’s essence and let it remain within her, finding a resting place for it within her heart. May I name you? Ashta asked without any premeditation. Before Ashta could wonder if it was appropriate to ask such a majestic creature that question, the unicorn answered. Yes, my sister. You would honor me in doing so.
Right away, Ashta knew the unicorn’s name. It was Sambaha. It meant pure power. Sambaha bowed her head before Ashta to receive the blessing of her new name. Gahla, Sambaha. Gahla. Ashta spoke to her. Goodbye, Sambaha. Goodbye. Then, Ashta watched Sambaha trot off into the sun's glow after her companions.
The other light warriors had already begun walking when Ashta and Anak strapped their satchels to their backs for the journey. Their swords already fastened at their waists, they took one last look at the campsite. Everything looked as it had before they arrived less than one week earlier. Area and Arien dissolved the protective bubble so the land would once again blend seamlessly with its surroundings. They had completed all necessary tasks, and there was no more reason for the twins to be gone from their home.
For the first time since Archangel Michael had appeared to Ashta on the night before their wedding, she allowed herself to think of what it would be like to return home. She grabbed Anak’s hand and looked at him excitedly. They were going home! They were returning to the sweet waters of their river and to their pyramids.
Ashta knew also that upon returning to Arnaka, she and Anak could marry. But after the intensity of what they had experienced and the perspective it had given her, Ashta did not know if she wanted to be married. In the end, it did not matter. Creator saw the love in their hearts and knew that she and Anak were already joined.
In the same moment that Ashta’s first footstep marking the journey home landed, a shrill cry broke the calm of nature, confusing the echoing birdcalls. The scream was pitched to curdle blood. Ashta and Anak set off at a run toward the other light warriors that were well ahead of them. Ashta could not tell who was screaming so horribly and insistently, but she was running as fast as she could. Ashta and Anak untied their bags and let them fall to the ground as they ran. Seconds and speed mattered.
Soon Ashta was able to make out all three of the cousins on the ground, writhing in pain. They were quiet, no longer able to scream. Carn and Baldub had been closest to the c
ousins and bolted as soon as they heard the cry. They reached the cousins first, followed closely by Thom. Area and Arien arrived just after Ashta and Anak skidded to a stop by their friends. But even though they had all reacted immediately and raced to aid the cousins, they were too late.
The light warriors had arrived in time to witness the gruesome spectacle, but not in time to prevent it. They had been caught off guard, complacent in their belief that their need to fight was over. Mana was on hands and knees, shriveling before their eyes. She had been the one to let out that first, terrifying scream. Her brother, Dahn, lay flat on the ground, almost lifeless. His energy body was spent, and his body was limp, the life force all but gone. Marn lay next to Mana, trying to reach out and help her but unable to get past the pain that was overpowering his will and his body.
The attack had come without warning and was invisible to the ordinary human eye. Ashta looked at the scene, feeling powerless without understanding what was happening. With fierce intention, she willed whatever was attacking to reveal itself. I command, in the name of Creator, that you show yourselves now! Ashta’s words rang out in the ethers, and the attackers became visible.
They were creatures unlike any they had ever seen before. It was clear they were not human, but they were not the combatants of the dark forces they had seen in the city either. The beings were pallid gray with sunken eyes and proportions dissimilar to those of humans. Their bodies were long and gaunt, with no apparent musculature; their bodies seemed too thin to house organs. Nothing distinguished them as male or female. They did not need food, water, or air to survive; they functioned through different adaptations of energy.
Their faces were long and the color of a person with the stench of death already buzzing around them. The creatures had no pupils; their eyes were an inert black. Their mouths were toothless and opened wide, poised above the cousins’ bodies. The light warriors gaped at the vile fiends. A whole cluster of them hovered above the cousins, spiking surges of pain through the cousins’ physical bodies.