“But three months, Your Highness?”
“Relax, you will have plenty of help. There are not only yourself and Victoria’s other staff members, but there is also her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, Brigid, myself, the Seelie Court and the Atlanteans. Rosalie, we have magic. What you perceive to be your triumphant creation can be easily done.” Sariel placed a hand on her shoulder.
Sorcha and Victoria watched Sariel with amusement. She didn’t realise it, but she had a knack for soothing people and settling disputes with the greatest of ease.
“Magic?”
“Yes, Rosalie, magic. Anything you can imagine I can make real. And think of the Fae. Plants trained into any design you want. Rose and jasmine topiaries. Ice sculptures that won’t melt, crystal decorations. As many flowers as you want, butterflies or doves. Crystal frosting, perfect weather, wedding cakes of as many tiers as you’d like.”
Rosalie could see it all. It would be her ultimate triumph in wedding planning. It would be the wedding of the century, the wedding the whole world would notice. And it would be her that designed it all. “Right, so three months on the solstice. Have we decided on a venue?”
“Westminster Abbey, though Brigid and the Fae will need to finish their alterations to it.”
“Believe me, it shall be finished this week.” Sorcha left no doubt that it would be.
“Right then I will have my team investigate and measure it up. Now wedding dress?”
“Green, the Fae are married in green.”
Victoria looked at Sorcha, she had never been one to get hung up on white wedding dresses. They were not as vogue as they had once been.
“Different but workable. Any specific green?” she looked at the Queen who shook her hair.
“As long as it is found in nature, I will leave the choice to Victoria. Style should reflect both Human and Fae. I will have some Fairies drop by with dresses for you to work with. They will also bring a selection of traditional flowers and leaves.” She pressed a finger to her lips “I shall also send an advisor to assist you. We must make this wedding a symbol of unity for the whole empire.”
“The world will be watching, and so will the Angels.”
It was an ominous reminder.
Chapter 6
Gabriel looked around the Council as she addressed them, magical charts flared as she spoke “So far we have Angels in Constantinople, the Vatican, The European Parliament, the Kremlin and within the United Christian States of America. The other Ascended have been given free reign across the globe to seize control of their regions. The Heavenly Legions are assisting them where they can, and our own Guards have been divided up.
My Seraphim are split between Constantinople and Moscow. Andrew is leading the Angels in Russia and Constantine is taking control of Turkey.
Peter has control of the Cherubim, basing himself at the Vatican, he is also leading the European Saints. George has control of the Malikhim, and they are split far and wide all across Europe sweeping it for dissenters and reinstating faith. He is also overseeing the establishment of strongholds in the Middle East.
The Twelve Apostles have been given free reign with their own Legions as have the Marys. They are accountable to each of our Captains who in turn will report to each of us.
The Patron Saints are to claim their nations with the assistance of as many Lesser as needed. Patrick is to oversee the attempted conversion of Ireland and will govern the Irish and British refugees.”
“Patrick is not a warrior.”
She glanced at Azrael “No, he is not, many of the saints are not. However, they are essential in returning worshippers to our fold. Military control can be shifted to the more competent when the time comes.”
“We must remember that we are far more vulnerable that we first appreciated. The backlash stole precious time from us, we awoke to find a dramatically changed world. There are three established empires and a multitude of incursions in our territories. Long has atheism corroded our strength but now we have a real threat. We cannot be choosy, we have to rebuild up our strength from the ground level.” Michael shook his head mournfully.
“On that matter, we need to select a new Arch Angel to remake the Seven.” As Raphael said it, the other Arch Angels nodded in agreement. All around the Council heads were nodding in agreement. How could Heaven be strong without the Seven? They needed a full cohort of Arch Angels.
“Agreed Raphael. The six of us will retire to consult after this Council. If any Elder wishes to be considered for the position they can nominate themselves to Gabriel.” Uriel schooled his face to calm. Gabriel terrified more than half the Angel population. This was a little bit of their fun. They would make their own choices based on who was the most powerful and who would cohesively work with them.
“Any that are selected will be summoned before us” Gabriel's voice was colder than a glacier. She was well aware how threatening she was, and how scared most of the Angels were of her. In order to work with them, they would have to have a backbone strong enough to hold a conversation with her. The thought made her smile.
“Are you ready for this?”
Lucifer turned from looking out over London. The new tower was part of the multitude of Atlantean constructions popping up all over London. Their growth had accelerated in the few days as Sariel had lent her powers to the Atlanteans. One sight of her in Buckingham Palace and the Atlanteans had been all over her with requests for her power. She, of course, had been delighted and lent them how powers. She had accelerated construction by weeks and months. The other Divine were far too busy to lend their powers, and the Fae and Daemon powers could only speed construction up so much. She was their favourite person.
She appeared to be a great many people’s favourite person. Victoria was delighted by her company, Sorcha was incredibly warm, even Aisling was not so cold to her. Any of the Atlantean Guardians she had seen had also been all smiles and gratitude to her. Brigid, when she made her rare appearances, had given her some training, chatted to her, hugged her then returned to her ever numerous commitments. Hecate and Samael always sought her out before continuing on with their imperial duties. Lilith had fleetingly passed by to tell her that she had two new cousins.
Everywhere Lucifer turned there were bright smiles for her.
There was just something about her that brought out the best in people. She walked into the room arm in arm with Hecate. He had never seen Hecate so carefree and smiling. It transformed her whole face.
“Yes, I think so.”
She smiled at him and gripped his shoulder “You’ll be fine, Lucifer.”
“You need this. Your powers have changed so much. None of us can help you but they can.” He was surprised by the open concern in Hecate’s face.
“Yes, I realise this. My powers are almost completely beyond my control, and I know how dangerous that is.”
She nodded without saying anything. Sometimes it was better to agree without words. She held out her hand for him. He looked into her amethyst eyes before taking hold. Sariel grasped her other hand. The world shifted in a swirl of shadows.
It realigned in a dark passageway with the entrance of Hades looming before them. The great granite and iron door slowly opened, the dim twilight still reflected the precious metals glittering on the doors. Behind stood the swirling darkness that had once terrified Sariel. Now she was not afraid, she knew what stood on the other side, she was also a braver person than back then.
Hecate strode forward unperturbed into the swirling darkness. Sariel and Lucifer followed after her. He had been through here before, he knew what lay past the darkness.
They walked out into the brightly lit hills that were the entrance to Hades. Hecate stopped to take their hands and teleport them to the castle.
The great hall materialised around them, and Lucifer suddenly felt very vulnerable as he became aware of the many eyes now watching him. Ancient, powerful eyes. He turned around and came face to face with complete darkness. It was in the
shape of a man, but there was no change in his colouring, all his facial features were darkness. It made it most difficult to distinguish his eyes and mouth.
“So the Prince of Darkness has finally come” his voice was the strangest thing he had ever heard, and he had served and met a great many Divine. It was as vast as the universe and seemingly as empty. There was no warmth or cold to his voice.
“And who might you be?” for once he was at a loss as to who he was meeting.
“Erebus, the Primordial Darkness”
If he had been mortal, the blood would have drained from his face. This was who Sariel and Hecate thought he should seek tutoring from? He wanted to run for the hills, there was something just so unsettling about him. He was ancient, really ancient with the feel of great regret.
“A pleasure to meet you” he couldn’t really tell, but he thought Erebus smiled. Erebus reached out to him with hands of pure darkness, Lucifer made to step back, there was something ominous in the darkness. He just knew though he didn’t know why. Erebus, however, was faster, his hands clasped either side of Lucifer’s face. Lucifer made to yell as darkness encased him, but no sounds were heard as he was swallowed up.
“What did he do?” Sariel exclaimed as Lucifer and Erebus disappeared in a flurry of swirling darkness. Whirling, angry eddies of darkness lashed out from where they had stood. Even Nyx looked surprised by the reaction.
Tartarus, on the other hand, was completely unperturbed. Even as his body lost its darkness, Sariel saw him for the first time without darkness masking all his features. He still looked nothing like the living. He was composed of magma, sheathed in a thin casing of minerals. “Erebus will put the young prince through his paces. I would not be worried, Sariel.”
She, however, noted Nyx’s concern before she schooled her face. “There is nothing you can do, Sariel, until Erebus releases him from darkness.” She looked far more living now, her hair was still floating around her head, but it was no longer shadows. She had also lost her shadowy vein tracings. Indeed, it seemed the entire hall had been stripped of any form of darkness. Every Divine glowed far more brightly. Every black seemed to somehow shine, her wings were exhibiting a brilliant iridescence she had never seen in them before.
Nyx looked at her skin as it started to glow with a silvery-white luminescence. She smiled “Come, Sariel, darkness has fled, but there is more to the night than just darkness. I believe it is time you learned about the night’s lights.”
“But I already know about the stars and moon.”
She raised one sparkling eyebrow “They hold many secrets, my dear, if you ever wish to survive visiting the Moon then you will need to learn all about it, and believe me it is well worth the visit.”
“I know, I’ve already been.”
She felt eyes turn to face her, she registered Hecate’s surprise, even as she continued her conversation with Tartarus. She apparently had no concerns about touching a being composed of magma. Nyx’s face though didn’t even attempt to hide her surprise, which was just as strange on her face as all the light. “You have been to the Moon?”
“Yes” why was this such a surprise? However, the whispered conversations that had sparked told her there was more to it than she thought.
“By yourself?”
“No, Tiamat took me there for training.”
Nyx’s face would have swirled with shadows if they weren’t currently beyond her. “What kind of training?” though she already had a terrible suspicion.
“Why Chaos of course.”
Sariel glanced around at the gasps and dropped goblets. Divine stared at her in horror. Even Tartarus had shock written clearly all over his face. Hypnos stared at her with widely lucid eyes, his brother had crushed his goblet in his hands. Persephone had snapped her spear in half. Why did she have a spear?
“Tiamat took you to the moon to train you in Chaos?” Nyx spaced it out as slowly and evenly as she could.
“Yes”
“What in the name of Chaos was she thinking? You could have been killed! You could have destroyed the Moon!”
Sariel could understand where she was coming from, her encounter with Chaos had terrified her. However, she was a grown woman now comfortably in control of her powers.
“She was training me in the way she saw fit. She was after all the only person I could turn to for training about Chaos.”
“She is not the only one-“
“She was at the time. Gaia still slumbers, and I was not talking to you lot for your blatant use and lies. Do you think that I was going to go running to Hecate so soon after I had been deceived into unleashing Hell on the world?” She snapped her wings wide, ignoring the hurt in Hecate’s eyes, and in the other eyes she glanced at. “Tiamat was my one option, she is also family so she did what she thought was best to get me to open myself up to Chaos. So yes, she took me to the Moon and yes, I encountered Chaos. But you know what? I survived, I learned how to use my powers, how to summon Chaos.” Chaotic brown magic, with its multitude of coloured sparks and flares, erupted along her wings, her black opal necklace started to sing as Chaos shot through it. “Do not dare question the training someone else has given me just because it does not match your plans for me.” With that, she erupted in yet more Chaos then promptly disappeared.
Nyx was left staring at the pulsating Chaos left behind for a long time before it eventually dissipated. The other Divine left her to her own devices. Sariel had scared them, they had forgotten that beneath that kind, innocent exterior resided powers beyond knowing. Powers that could destroy the world.
It would also seem for all her warmth Sariel was still very bitter about being used to break the Hell Curse.
There was nothing but darkness.
He couldn’t see any form of light. There was no twinkle of stars, not even the slightest hint of shadows. He was in complete and utter darkness.
He knew it was futile, but he tried to summon some light. The powers wouldn’t even form within him. He was in absolute darkness. But where?
He couldn’t be in Chaos, Erebus did not have such powers. Did he? But Chaos was not complete darkness. Chaos was filled with lights. The night sky had the stars and the moon. He had also watched Sariel when she was experimenting with her Chaos powers. It wasn’t dark as he had expected but predominantly brown. It was a kaleidoscopic spectrum of light and darkness.
He knew he wasn’t in some cave or dungeon. He was floating, at least he thought he was. But he couldn’t feel any resistance in any direction he reached. His feet were not on solid ground, nor had his fingers or wings brushed against anything in their travels.
Which meant he had to be in some sort of specific realm, a realm that wasn’t real per se but more likely within the mind or more likely entirely within a certain power. It seemed obvious that he was in the realm of darkness. But where was its connection to the real world? He was trying to think back through all the things he had read in his younger days, before the Curse, but it was difficult. His memories were still chaotic and unsorted. He knew that every realm had a connection, but he couldn’t remember anything more.
It frustrated him.
She took several deep breaths to try and calm herself. She hadn’t realised that she was still so raw about the topic. She had thought she had progressed beyond it. But apparently not. She let go of the Chaos magic she had summoned, letting it dissipate throughout herself and into the corridors around her. They were well used to exposure to Chaos. It wasn’t likely to corrode them anyway, they were not Divine infused.
It was not wise to hold onto great amounts of Chaos here, even the Light Side of the Moon was a dangerous place. She had no desire to relive her past encounter with Chaos on the Moon. However, she had teleported here somehow. How and why she didn’t actually know. Her powers had seen fit to take her here. Perhaps because it was extremely unlikely anyone would follow her here.
She sat down on one of the ancient couches and started crying. She wasn’t even sure why she was, b
ut the tears came anyway.
Why were emotions so complicated? Why was life so complicated?
Chapter 7
Brigid materialised in the swirling snowstorm with all of her shields raised and herself armed to the teeth. Just because she had once trusted him didn’t mean she could now. The world had moved on and so had alliances. She was well aware that this could be a trap.
If it was, she would make him rue the day he ever met her.
Patrick, on the other hand, wasn’t even aware that she had appeared. He stood on the Artic sea ice about a metre away from where Greenland’s spells kicked in. She hadn’t given much thought to the fact that while Greenland was an island, it was also more often than not part of an ice shelf. Thankfully the spells had not reacted any differently. Greenland had been Purged once it had signed the Imperial Covenant. It was now experiencing a revival in its extinct fauna. The long extinct Polar Bear was now roaming across the ice shelf in numbers not seen since before the Cold War. Seals and cetaceans now roamed the seas which were now starting to yield fish again. Her powers had swept the island and overflowed into the seas surrounding it. Add to that the overflow of Hera’s magic from the upper east coast of America and Hecate’s overflowing from Canada and drenching Newfoundland being brought up by the Gulf Stream then it was no wonder that Greenland and the Artic Sea was drinking up the magic readily.
It would take time for Greenland to approach anything near the Royal Provinces abundance of life or Avalon’s explosion of life but it would come. It would also compound to the world the extreme difference in the lands ruled by Mother Goddesses and the Angels. One only had to look on either side of the English Channel to see it so clearly. France was wallowing in environmental ruin, its once numerous vineyards dead and useless, its once green hills and plains, brown and barren. Large animals were extinct on the Continent, and its rivers were so clogged with toxins that it was possible for small children to walk across some of them.
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