Because of their roles as creators, the Archangels felt superior to any of the earthen life forms. It was also clear to the Archangels that they were superior to any of the earthen life forms as they were composed of pure energy, and so were able to change forms at will. They could increase their strength from the unseen waves of energy contained in the light throughout the cosmos, while the earthen creatures needed to eat food and drink water in order to replenish their energy and grow their bodies.
The Almighty increasingly relied upon the Archangels for advice and assistance in continuing the Creation. Luciferael's success with the largest of the creatures, these dinosaurs, encouraged him to focus on like creatures, tall and powerful. Luciferael preferred cold blooded creatures, because of their dependence on outside heat and energy to function. Their large size caused Luciferael's creatures to have a predatory and dominant nature to them and they soon became the dominant life forms on the Earth, much to his delight. But being cold blooded they slowed down when sun set, and became sluggish at night or did not move at all. Luciferael was proud that he had found a way to create beautiful and powerful creatures as the Almighty wanted, while at the same time their inadequacies made them much lesser creatures than the Beings of Light. He was determined that nothing would replace the Angels as the most beloved of the Almighty!
As the First Born of the Almighty, Luciferael became more dominant as he had an extra store of the Almighty's love within him. Although his level of love was not quite equal to the Almighty's, it was greater than the levels possessed by the other Angels. And Luciferael learned he could transmit this extra level of love just like the Almighty could. This became apparent when Luciferael was assigned by the Almighty to take over and conduct the morning ceremony by himself on the days that the Almighty was off doing other things. Leaving Luciferael in charge was the natural thing to do, for he had been the first creature outside of the Almighty that each and every Angel had seen at their own creation. Because of Luciferael's role in creating each of the Angels, they had a special love for him just as they had for the Almighty Himself.
On the days that Luciferael conducted the morning ceremonies alone, he would enter as usual, heralding the break of dawn as he would slowly descend to the Throne itself, just as the Almighty did. But when it came time for Luciferael to bathe all of the Heavenly Angels in the force of love, he needed to use the Book of Creation, for it took the assistance of the Word of the Almighty to equal His amount of love that was reflected outward to all the gathered Angels. It was from the Word that the Angels had been created, and it was only through the use of the Book that Luciferael's powers could equal that of the Almighty. Over time though, Luciferael and the other Angels began to lose sight of the fact that he needed to use the Book. As they acclimated to Luciferael's use of the Book, many of the Angels did not see any difference between Luciferael and the Almighty. This distinction was completely lost for a small inner group of the Archangels who saw the Almighty and Luciferael as equals. Sammuael, Beelzebael, Mammonael, Mephistophael, Damiel and Suriel drew closer to him as they became more and more concerned about their own status among the Orders of Angels. They sought Luciferael's approval even more so than the Almighty's, as they saw him more often.
And their association with Luciferael made them feel more powerful than the other Angels, because they considered themselves specially chosen by him. They even created a name for themselves, Luciferael's Auxilium. Their work on the planet below was an example of what they were able to accomplish together. They were delighted that their creations, the dinosaurs, became dominant over the other earthen creatures. This gave them a vicarious joy in watching the dinosaurs fight for status among one another, something they dare not do for themselves in the Heavens.
On the other hand, Michael, Jarahmael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Ariel, and Raziel were put off by Luciferael's growing airs. They remained obedient to him, but their love and worship remained focused on the Almighty. They did not view Luciferael as the Almighty's equal, although they certainly considered him to be above themselves. Unlike the maneuvering for status and fighting that was common among the dinosaurs on Earth, they preferred the idea of creatures that could work together and take care of one another, and had not been bred to be destructive. This group of Archangels began to congregate more towards Michael, but would not even think of labeling themselves as part of a smaller group within the Order of the Archangels. This avoided any open fighting between Luciferael's Auxilium and Michael's group, but a division of loyalties was beginning to emerge, as well as an increasing tension.
Luciferael's airs grew worse as time progressed. Nothing made this more apparent than Luciferael's discovery one day of his own image on a placid lake. He had been over many bodies of water on the Earth and other planets in the early days after the Creation, but one particular day, he descended directly out of a cloud in the Earth's sky to check on one of his dinosaurs that was eating nearby.
Descending straight down, he could see his full image reflected back to him by the water, bold violet eyes, long blond hair, outstretched and magnificent wings, and a well-proportioned and muscular body. His own love was reflected back directly to him off his reflection in the water, his gaze locked on himself and he could not break away. It may have had something to do with the fact that Luciferael was created directly out of the Almighty's essence and not through the use of Words, and that he was either blessed or cursed with a direct portion of the Almighty's love. But it caused him to fall in love with himself above all things. Soon most of his thoughts became more focused about himself.
After he had found his reflection, Luciferael sought ways to view himself at any opportunity. Each day after the morning ceremony Luciferael would travel either down to the Earth or to other planets that had reflective pools of water or metals where he could gaze upon himself. His inner circle of Archangels would often follow him there, as that sometimes would be the only way that they could have conversations with him. On the rare occasions when they did not accompany him right after the morning ceremony, they would sometimes spend all day traveling from planet to planet trying to find him. They never thought of not trying to find him. Their own attraction for him and desire to be around him made it critical for them to be in his presence. As this worship of Luciferael became more important for them, they did not understand why the other Archangels did not feel the same way and join them in following him from place to place like they did.
Luciferael's growing focus on himself also created concern for Sammuael, Beelzebael, and Mephistophael. They were afraid that one day Luciferael would not return from gazing at himself and that without him they would be leaderless and their position among the Orders of the Angels would diminish. What would they do then?
Chapter 5
A MIRROR
The various Orders of the Angels moved on from building in the Heavens to building on the Earth. Jarahmael was fascinated by the creative process and soon learned to create smaller things, things that did not require the Book of Creation. Like Luciferael, he became fascinated by the ability of certain things to reflect and later to absorb light. Watching the Principalities working in stone the one day, he saw them strike a vein of a silvery substance that reflected light, similar to how water would reflect an image in a pool or pond. Flying over to the material he pulled out a large clump from the ground for himself.
From the heat he could generate in his hands he was able to stretch it out and form it into a small circle and see a small part of his own image. But it would not be large enough to see his entire form. He tried a variety of things to make it larger but he could not stretch it out large enough to satisfy himself.
Luciferael's obsession with looking at his own image was now widely known among all the Angels and the Archangels in particular. Jarahmael, too, wanted to be in Luciferael's favor; after all, Luciferael and the Almighty had created him. He thought that he may be able to use this material to make it easier for Luciferael to view his own image, pe
rhaps he could even develop a portable version. But try as he might, Jarahmael was unable to fashion it on his own. Then the idea of using the Book of Creation to assist him came to him, as there might be a phrase or spell within the Book of Creation that he could use to make a better one. He knew that Luciferael did not use the Book all the time and often left it in the Throne Room during the day while the Angels were about doing their tasks. Although he could most likely borrow the Book on his own, his sense of loyalty made him think he needed permission from the Almighty or Luciferael to take the Book and use it. One day as he was working on this problem, he found Luciferael flying through the First Heaven heading down towards the Earth. Catching up to him, Jarahmael asked if he could borrow the Book.
"What do you need the Book for, my dear Jarahmael?" Luciferael asked kindly.
"I have found a way to make these shiny reflectors," he responded as he pulled one out of his tunic.
Luciferael became fascinated with it. "A portable reflection pool?"
"Yes, of sorts," Jarahmael said as he handed it to Luciferael, watching Luciferael's eyes light up when he could see part of his reflection within it.
"Why is it so small?" Luciferael asked.
"I can't get it to form any bigger than what you see here," Jarahmael said, as he tried to heat and stretch it a bit further in his hands, showing Luciferael its limitations.
"Do you think you can make it bigger?" asked Luciferael.
"Yes. If I had access to the Book of Creation, I am sure of it!" said Jarahmael proudly.
"Well then, by all means borrow the Book!" said Luciferael. "On one condition though: you need to make the first two portable reflection pools for me. I want one for my palace and one to bring with me. Can you make it so its size can change from large to small and back again?"
"That I don't know," said Jarahmael as he gazed off thinking of the possibility. His eyes refocused on Luciferael and he said, "I am sure I can. If we can create Life through the Book, we should certainly be able to create inanimate objects."
"That is grand!" said Luciferael, excited that he would not have to continue to travel down to the Earth or other places in the Universe just to look at himself. With these devices, he would be able to see himself right here in Heaven or anywhere he would go, for that matter.
Now that he obtained permission, Jarahmael flew back into the upper Heavens, grabbed the Book from the Throne Room, and returned to the planet below. He had some of this metal on him and landed near one of the beaches where there were various small pools of water sitting in the sand. Taking out the Book of Creation he opened it, and the Words flew out to his mind. "Genero Speculum!" he called out, dropping the metal onto the sand, then with a sharp flash of light, Jarahmael found these small rectangles composed of the fused sand and metal. Holding it aloft, he found he could make the device stretch out to any size he wanted. Delighted about his invention, he became expert in making these objects, glass covered with the metal silver which he called mirrors. He quickly made two of them, both for Luciferael as promised.
Later that day, Jarahmael tracked Luciferael back to his palace where he was meeting with his inner circle of Archangels. Although Jarahmael was considered to be outside of this inner circle of Luciferael's Auxilium, he still felt a great deal of affection for all of them, without any barriers on his part. Jarahmael entered the room unannounced, but this day he felt it may have been a mistake, that he was interrupting something. He could sense Beelzebael, Sammuael, and Mephistophael watching him closely, their eyes questioning why he was there. Off to his left Mammonael, Damiel and Suriel were distracted talking among themselves and it took them a moment or two before they realized he had entered the room. Then, they too looked at him as if he did not belong. Luciferael, however, was delighted to see him, his eyes growing even brighter as Jarahmael announced he had succeeded in making these portable reflecting pools.
"Here they are lord Luciferael, as promised," Jarahmael announced as he pulled the two mirrors from inside his tunic. With a flick of his wrist each mirror became the full size of an Archangel.
Luciferael smiled broadly as he was amazed at what Jarahmael had created, while Jarahmael's display drew Mammonael, Damiel and Suriel's attention and they gasped in delight. "These are wonderful, my dear Jarahmael," Luciferael said as he jumped down from his chair. "How did you do it?"
"As you know I was experimenting with that metal I had found on Earth and tried to stretch it out."
"Ah yes," Luciferael said as he moved closer to the mirrors and arranged them so he could see himself from two angles.
"And with your permission I borrowed the Book of Creation and flew back down to the Earth . . ."
Luciferael interrupted Jarahmael as he was speaking, more enthralled with looking at his own reflection. "Yes! Yes! Jarahmael that is right. I remember now. No need to go further into the details, these are wonderful. And they make me look so handsome. Don't they?" He asked looking around at the Archangels of his Auxilium.
"Yes, they do," Sammuael said immediately and the rest of the Angels agreed.
Jarahmael watched Sammuael turn to glance back at him with a smile that appeared harsh and menacing rather than loving, and clearly outside of Luciferael's view. As Sammuael's face turned back into Luciferael's field of view, the smile switched and was now purely warm and relaxed, making it appear that Sammuael also was happy with Jarahmael's invention.
It happened so quickly that Jarahmael did not pay much attention to Sammuael's expression at first: he had never had any sense of menace aimed at him before. He had a momentary feeling of uneasiness pass through him, but he let it go. I must have misunderstood, he thought.
"Can you make more of these, Jarahmael?" Luciferael asked, bringing Jarahmael's attention back to him.
"Yes, and I want to do some further work on them," he added.
"That would be wonderful," Luciferael said, distracted now that his attention was absorbed by his own reflection. "I am sure that the other Archangels would like to have one of these too." Luciferael looked around again at his inner circle.
"Yes, yes!" said many of them. All of them were looking at Jarahmael's mirrors, some seeing their own reflection along with Luciferael's, while the others who could not see themselves wished that they could.
The quick glance from Sammuael was beginning to play in Jarahmael's mind, and he did not like the feeling he had from it. "Certainly lord Luciferael," Jarahmael responded. "I will start working on them straight away. I will take my leave of you all," he said as he briefly bowed before Luciferael and turned around to leave.
Luciferael said, "Great job again Jarahmael, and thank you for bringing these to me."
Jarahmael smiled as he walked a few more steps and then flew out of the palace, leaving them all behind as well as his uneasiness about Sammuael's glance.
Chapter 6
STARS AND PLANETS
The Creation expanded and the Almighty was absent for longer periods of time, manifesting new Universes. Luciferael continued to officiate at the morning ceremonies, entering the Throne Room at dawn alone, without the Almighty and his Seraphim and Throne Angels. Beelzebael and Sammuael offered to lead the procession before him and make it more of a pageant and formal, just as it was when the Almighty would arrive. But Michael had overheard the conversation and objected, arguing that only the Almighty should be given that level of glory.
Luciferael backed off and decided it was not worth discussing. Besides, he loved being the sole creature entering the Throne Room from above, with all eyes on him. Luciferael relished being the center of attention, addressing all the assembled Orders of Angels and giving assignments as the Almighty had instructed him beforehand. As leader of the Archangels, he was given the extra authority of assigning his own tasks to the Archangels, as he saw fit, unless there was a special mission that the Almighty needed for one or more of them to fulfill. With all this attention by the Almighty and Orders of the Angels, Luciferael felt more and more that he was part
ners with the Almighty in the Creation and he wanted to make sure that it went well.
But after he created the dinosaurs and various life forms on Earth, Luciferael became bored with being in charge of only the Heavens and the one planet. He wanted to explore more of the Universe, and expand his influence. He offered to assist the Almighty create more of the Universe and convinced the Almighty that the lesser Orders of Angels could continue working on the Earth's projects while the Archangels could progress to creating stars and planets. It delighted the Almighty that His First Born had the ambition and desire to expand his own creativity, and He readily gave His blessing to Luciferael's offer.
The day of the announcement, Luciferael was again in charge of the Heavens as the Almighty was absent. Luciferael beamed during the ceremony, especially proud of himself, and after it concluded he arose from the Throne and addressed his fellow Archangels.
"The Almighty has granted me the honor to lead the Order of the Archangels in creating additional stars and planets today!" he said, looking around at each one of them.
"He is delighted with the life forms we have created on the Earth, and has agreed that we are all ready to move onto larger creations. As you are aware, this relies upon mathematical models and we shall therefore continue to use the model of the atom which I show you here."
Luciferael then used his light energy to draw a diagram in midair.
"There are smaller round masses of energy which rotate around a larger central mass, and held together with opposing electrical charges. The stars and planets are constructed in similar fashion, but on a much larger scale. The stars and planets will operate on the same principles, that of substances rotating around one another and the resulting weight of the congealed atoms will rotate upon themselves and around the stars themselves. The force that holds the massive stars and planets in place is based on a similar scheme but rather than electrical opposites the force here is known as gravity."
In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I) Page 4