by Donovan Neal
"In El's name! How has such a thing come to be? Wormwood was sealed within a tomb of ice hidden within dark matter, he could not be found."
Argoth continued working and did not look up to face Michael. He simply opened more books and viewed the layout of the universe that showed how Lucifer's forces sought to free some of their trapped brethren.
Michael also looked at the position of the galaxies and systems that were displayed before them, and every where he looked, the armies of Heaven were in battle with Lucifer's forces. And the ebb and flow of the conflict saw many of the host lost and some of Lucifer's forces bolstered.
"Michael saw that Argoth had positioned a legion but left their flank exposed while Lucifer's forces moved to combat them.
"Argoth you need to send reinforcements to the western edge of Lynax star system.
Argoth continued to work, pouring over maps and books and darting his eyes back and forth between the images above him and the topography of the universe displayed on the table.
"Argoth!" Michael reached to grab his arm, and Argoth pulled from Michael's grasp, misted, then turned to speak.
"How dare you lay hands on me. Who do you think you are? It was not I who asked to lead the armies of Heaven. Nor I who battles conflict. I do what I must because thou art absent from the body, and leave Heaven handicapped. All because of your selfish musings. Do you think that El hast a plan B for you? Nay. El never has a plan B. He only has one plan. And it is for you to lead. Instead of observing the actions of all things, I now must function in two roles. I am humbled in my role, and content to abide therein. Yet, you run from the destiny that El has for you. So leave me Kortai. For you are a stumbling block to me. You seek to advise me? Let advice be mine to thee.
"Either lead thy people, follow the path thou hast chosen, or remove thyself from my way! Which is it? For unless you are here to give command as Chief Prince, I have charge of the armies, and you will obey the order of the Lord, and leave the War chamber now! Or have you too fallen in league with thy brother that I must fight my peer in my own land?"
Michael was struck by the words of Argoth and was about to give retort, and Argoth lifted his hand to stop him. "No Michael, do not speak to me. When you are no longer of double mind and stable in who you serve then come and give council, but until then find me a soul who has faith and works. For faith without works is dead being alone, and your faith is small. Now go, and leave me to do the work of Heaven that you have willingly abandoned." Argoth then turned away from Michael and returned to studying the maps laid before him.
Michael stood rebuked, turned quietly and walked to exit the War Chamber, and closed the door behind him.
Argoth watched him leave and spoke. "He needed a push. He must ascend to whom El hast destined he become."
Jerahmeel materialized to Argoth's side, and replied, "I know...he knows what is needed to defeat our brother. We need him to become who he was meant to be. Give him time."
Argoth nodded "Time is not a luxury that Enoch and his people have." He looked at the maps splayed before him. "Nevertheless, we need to bolster the western flank of the Lynax star system."
*********************
El sat on his throne and watched as the plague of sin rage as a weed through the garden of his creation. Man had become increasingly evil, and though he had destroyed all but eight from the face of the Earth, man was a creature given to the influence of Lucifer and the Fallen. And El had set before him bowls that were filled with the sins of Adam. And the Lord could not look upon his image for it was marred and disfigured behind the plague that Lucifer and Adam had unleashed in the land.
The eyes of the Lord then ran to and fro throughout the earth to find a man of faith that might believe the God of Heaven, that God might make influence in the Earth. And the Lord found such a man in the person of Terah, and the Lord compelled him to move from the heathen land of Ur of the Chaldees to a land rich in milk and honey that men had named Canaan.
Yet Terah only went halfway, and settled his tent in Haran and died there, and it was during this time that El set his eye on Terah's son Abram, and spoke to him. "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot his nephew went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
And El communed with the man Abram and confirmed his word that the land wherein he dwelled would one day by his, and his descendant's would one day be as the dust of the earth.
And Abram said, "Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
And Abram said, "Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, "This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, "Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
And he said unto him, "I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it."
Abram replied, "Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
The Lord then said unto him, "Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
And Abram took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.
God then said to Abram, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full."
And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
And in the passage of time, the cry of Sodom appeared before the throne of God. And he commanded the Books be opened. And the record of the city was rife with wickedness that El would see if he would destroy it, and see his servant Abraham, and he spoke to Jerahmeel, Metatron and Azaziel, "Let us go down and see to the man. You three shall escort me. For the cry of Sodom has come up to mine ears and I would go down and see my servant and know his mind in this thing."
And the Lord appeared unto Abraham in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, "My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I
pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant."
And they said, "So do, as thou hast said."
And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, "Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth." And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf, which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
And they said unto him, "Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, "Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son." And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my Lord being old also?
And the Lord said unto Abraham, "Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." Then Sarah denied, saying, "I laughed not"; for she was afraid. And he said, "Nay; but thou didst laugh."
And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the Lord said, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know."
And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
And Abraham drew near, and said, "Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
And the Lord said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes."
And Abraham answered and said, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five?"
And he said, "If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it." And he spoke unto him yet again, and said, "Peradventure there shall be forty found there."
And he said, "I will not do it for forty's sake."
And he said unto him, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there."
And he said, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there".
And he said, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there."
And he said, "I will not destroy it for twenty's sake."
And he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there."
And he said, "I will not destroy it for ten's sake." And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Then Jerahmeel, Metatron and Azaziel looked as commanded by the Lord for ten within the city that it might be spared. Through hamlet and hovel they searched, and from palace to the burbs they combed and when there was none that the city might be saved they turned to rescue Abraham's nephew Lot, but were accosted by the men of the city that they might lay with them. And the three angels escaped after making the band that sought to take them by force blind, and warned Lot and his family not to look back. "For it is not the will of God that thou stare upon the suffering of others."
The three angels then rushed them from the city for they knew that God would rain fire from Heaven.
And Enoch was aghast at the destruction that the angels had caused, and he was wroth and stormed into the throne room that he might be as candle to the people of the plain. "Lord what is this that I have seen. How can my God destroy the whole of cities by fire?"
The Lord looked upon Enoch and spoke, "There is no other path to which cleansing from sin can be accomplished. Alas, did I not look for reason to spare, as my servant Abraham had pleaded for the city? Yet despite its great sin, by such a multitude for the sake of but ten would have the city been spared. Alas for the city wast not destroyed for what lied within, but for what was not present. For if but one would plead for the sinner, all would be saved. Yet none stood as intercessor to the city save one who was outside its gates. Was I not just in looking for ten in accordance to the word of my servant?"
Enoch then held his peace. For the angels had searched for ten and had found none, and in accordance with the command of the Lord set themselves to its destruction. For Enoch beheld what could only be seen from the vantage of God. For the city was rife with violence, murder, and uncleanliness, and its people cruel, and the daemons of Lucifer had moved to obliterate the image of God in the people.
Argoth watched as the Lord rained fire and brimstone from the sky and that several of the fallen had watched the destruction of Sodom from afar, and stood aloft to take note.
"El lays waste again to our works said. Assyrix. Once more we are undone. How shall Lucifer seed our people if El rains fire and brimstone from the skies?"
Assyrix noted that smoke rose into the sky and turned to see that three angels from Heaven escorted four humans to escape the city. And they flew after them to see who El held in such importance that he would save them from wrath. For the command to all watchers were to report on any of heaven's activity that might shed light on the plan of the enemy. And Assyrix and the scouts noted that Lot and his daughters were spared from destruction. Immediately, the trio left their post to head to the headquarters of Lucifer and they arrived and bowed as was custom when brought into the presence of their Lord.
"Master, heaven hast obliterated the cities of the plain. Lo Sodom and Gomorrah lie in ruins as El hast burned the region roundabout with fire."
Lucifer frowned, "There are multitudes of the humans that will serve as host for our kind. I do not care that El lays waste to a city when I raise kingdoms in the regions of Egypt and Sino.” Lucifer turned to return to his work and the study of maps and spoke, "Ashtaroth remove them and see I am not disturbed again."
Immediately, Assyrix spoke aloud. "Yea Lord the cities of the plains of Sodom are but dust. But El hast sent three from heaven to rescue a man and his daughters from the destruction and hast hidden them within a cave."
Lucifer was sitting in a chair and his foot swung gently then suddenly went still. He turned, his attention to the three Grigori. "El hast lodged humans? And you say that there are females amongst them?" Lucifer's scratched at his chest and stopped to listen intently for the reply.
"Aye Lord," came the response.
Lucifer stood to his feet, and all within the room bowed. "Assyrix you will follow these humans and report on their coming and goings. Zeus, and Ashtaroth you will find me the house this man belongs. I would know his blood."
Zeus and Assyrix bowed and Ashtaroth spoke, "And what is your command when we find the man's line?"
"Lucifer grinned, we will have found Shiloh, and then we will kill El's host before he can manifest in
the earth."
*********************
"Report of thy stewardship," commanded Lucifer.
Assyrix knelt before his master and relayed the intelligence he had been sent to gather.
El hast established a family within the earth. And hast with a man by name of Abraham made covenant!"
Lucifer frowned. "El hast bound himself to a human...covenant you say? Surely the report is false."
Assyrix bowed his face to the floor and spoke so that his Lord could hear. "It is true my king. For we have learned that El hast said that this man will be a father to many nations, and that through him shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
"How many children hast his line sired?" asked Lucifer.
"There are twelve sons my Lord. All strong, and with wives. There is lo a ruler among them even now who advices the man Pharaoh that we have set up in Egyptia."
Lucifer frowned for the thing was done under his nose. For Egypt was a power in the heart of the earth and feared among her neighbors. Through her Lucifer made plan to bring all nations in the region to heel.
Abraxis, a representative of the council of Archons, opened his mouth to speak, "How is such a thing possible? How can a tribe of men devoted to El escaped thy gaze? Hath not El said that 'he shall crush thy head?' Yet you are not even able to identify the very line from which Shiloh would come. For a nation within a nation now takes refuge within the very people you have raised to destroy the plan of El! You have been tricked Lucifer, and El hast shown himself genius against thy schemes!
"Twice your stratagems have brought us to ruin! Two times now thy words have diminished us! We were foolish to follow you. To defy the Master. For what purpose are you our ruler if we cannot rule?"
Abraxis raised himself to defy Lucifer, and the First of Angels watched him, and allowed him to speak unabated.