Three Acts of Penance [01] Attrition: The First Act of Penance
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So We came again to Fyrstheim, and We did bequeath to every Animus a spirit form. And yea, the Animi did awaken then, and they knew Us as the Father and the Mother. Verily, We did know them also (as We had observed each of them in their state of slumber), and We did love them as Our children. And no more were they the sleeping Animi, but now they were called Spirits: life given consciousness.
Behold, some of them were like unto Me, the Father, in their intelligence; We the Divine knew them as Man. And Behold, the remainder of them were like unto the Mother in their intelligence; We the Divine knew them as Woman.
Thereafter, the Spirits did mingle and converse, and come to understand each other; and also did the Mother and I tell them of Our plan for them, and they agreed that it was good.
——
During the time of their mingling did the Mother and I look out upon them. And as We looked upon them, We knew that some of them were greater than the others in their intellect. Thus, the Mother and I did see the best of them, and there were six.
And We lifted these six above the rest, and they each chose a companion from among the other Spirits (for they could not be ascended further without a companion of the other sex).
And I saw that the other Spirits were similar unto these six, so We did divide the Spirits, that every Spirit might be presided over by one the six who We had chosen. And each of the six congregations of Spirits was unique after their own ways. The Mother and I knew them as the six races, and the six we chose were these:
One called Maedur, who was most intrepid, and many looked upon him as a great leader; and he cleaved unto a Spirit whose name was Daenyn. And the Spirits which were like him were called Human, the race of Humana — Humanity.
One called Bartholomew, who was most wise and inquisitive, and many looked upon him as a great seeker of knowledge; and he cleaved unto a Spirit whose name was Adela. And the Spirits which were like him were called Elf, the race of Elves.
One called Cyrus, who was valiant, and many looked upon him a great protector; and he cleaved unto a Spirit whose name was Lynn. And the Spirits which were like him were called Majiski, the race of Majiski.
One called Golzar, who was most skilled with what magic the Spirits could possess, and many looked upon him a great Galdurist; and he cleaved unto a Spirit whose name was Kaira. And the Spirits which were like him were called Arel, the race of Arelim.
One called Lunpa, who was a survivor, and many looked upon her a great huntress; and she cleaved unto a Spirit whose name was Skyull. And the spirits which were like her were called Goblin, the race of Goblins.
One called Starc, who was a wanderer, and many looked upon him a great nomad; and he cleaved unto a Spirit whose name was Mohdrid. And the Spirits which were like him were called Arkûl, the race of Arkûl.
And these six and their companions were called the Seraphim. They would be the first of the Mortal, that they might prepare the way for those Spirits they presided over.
——
Thereafter, the Mother and I went once more to the plane which We had left void, to fill it with Our spark of creation that the Mortal might dwell there. And We brought matter, and together the Mother and I wrought the Mortal Plane.
By means of galdury, the Mother wrought the innumerable stars of heaven. The greatest of the stars, and the last which she wrought, was bright and golden.
Talk’ra said unto me: “This shall be the sun which shall give the Mortal light, and by its light they shall have the warmth of day. Yea, I am most fond of this star, for it is most bright and pleasing to Mine eye. Thus shall I call it Gospodar, in honor of Mine Beloved Gospodar; and Gospodar shall be its name unto the Mortal.”
In this did the Mother Talk’ra honor Me, and I did love Her all the more for it.
After, I wrought a globe of matter that circled round Mine Beloved’s precious star; and I wrought it from iron, and from nickel, and from stone. And in that time, it was a barren world.
Lo, from the skin of that barren earth did I wrench forth an orb of stone and formed the pale moon to circle round the earth, that the Mortal might have soft light in the time of night. We called the moon Leira.
And the Mother Talk’ra wrought a sky of clouds and wind above the earth, and filled its face with the great salted oceans. Thereafter, I raised great lands out from beneath the oceans, and the lands were filled with many fields and hills, and with many mountains and valleys. And the oceans filled in the empty spaces, and thus came the rivers and the lakes. And I did furnish the earth, placing upon it an abundance of flora; and there were many forests of trees formed on the earth. Yea, and Talk’ra did fill the oceans with many fish, and the sky with many fowl, and the land with many beasts.
Verily, as I looked out upon this new world which We had together wrought, I said unto Mine Beloved: “This world is good, and it is beautiful beyond measure, like unto Thee. And so I shall call this world Talkrilia, in honor of Mine Beloved Talk’ra.”
In this did I honor the Mother Talk’ra, and She did love Me all the more for it.
And We called this newly filled plane Parheim, the Second House of our Children.
Our work being finished, We retired again to Iyasheim, where We knew each other once more. And from Our second union did we create twelve bodies of flesh and bone, one for each Seraph and one for each companion.
Thus was each race placed upon Talkrilia, and Mortality commenced.
——
But behold, We understood that each race was unique. Thus We divided them so that the Humans, Elves, and Majiski were separate from the Arelim, Goblins, and Arkûl. And each set of three was to live in harmony with each other, but separate from the other three. To each their own: We gave unto each race gifts, and restrictions as well, according to their limits. And so it was with the first three —
The Human were intrepid and were great leaders, and so it was their privilege and responsibility to lead their brothers of the Elves and the Majiski. But We the Divine knew that the Mortal are vulnerable to corruption, and so we limited the Humans, that they might be barren of all galdury, and that they could not know magic.
The Elves were wise and inquisitive, and so it was their privilege to advise their brothers in all things, and that they might be judges and scholars. Thus We gifted them with High-Magicks so that they might not be weaker than the others, and the High-Magicks were theirs alone. And the Elves were marked by the grey skin that held their magic, and by curious eyes that searched for truth, and by long life.
The Majiski were valiant, and so it was their privilege and responsibility to become great warriors, that they might protect their brothers from the dangers of the world. Thus We gifted them with the Magicks of war so that they might not be weaker than the others, and these Magicks were theirs alone. And We gifted them also with great strength of body, that they might better defend their brothers. But there were fewer Majiski Spirits in Fyrstheim, fewer than the other races. So they were also given long life, and their ability to procreate was controlled, so that they could not overwhelm their brothers. And We marked them by the markara on their arms which make magic, and also by their hawk eyes that watched for danger.
And so it was also with the other three — The Arelim were powerful, given power over all magic, and charged to preside over their brothers. The Goblins were strong in each other, and so they were wrought to be as packs of wild hounds. And the Arkûl were strong of body, and wandersome. But the Goblins and the Arkûl were less than the rest of their brothers, and so were not prepared to wield magic.
Once these differences had been established, the Seraphim and their companions were placed upon Talkrilia, and they were separate, and forbidden to mix their blood with each other.
The Human Maedur and his wife were placed amongst the sandy hills of the continent of Athair. North of them in Athair’s mountains were placed the Elf Bartholomew and his wife. West of them in Athair’s great forests were placed the Majiski Cyrus and his wife. Across the sea, the Arel Gol
zar and his wife were placed on the shores of the island of the continent Oltamn. And also on Oltamn were placed the Goblin Lunpa and her husband, and the Arkûl Starc and his wife.
And the Seraphim knew their companions and brought forth more bodies of flesh and blood, into which came the Spirits of Fyrstheim, to become Mortal children. So it was that the races began to multiply: in Athair, the Humans, Elves, and Majiski spread and came together; and in Oltamn, the Arelim did find the Goblins and Arkûl and presided over them. For a time, all was well.
***
NINETEEN
Perdition and the Ages Thence
It took Racath a moment to realize that Oron had stopped reading.
“So,” the older Majiski sighed, shutting taj Libris Io and leaning back in his chair. “That’s the dawn of time, the beginning of the First Age. The Humans, Elves, and Majiski were placed upon Athair — a massive continent in the north, across the sea. The other races were placed in the land of Oltamn in the distant west, a place beyond the Olhar Ocean. Each set of three began to reproduce and spread out. That continued for about five hundred years without a hitch.”
“I don’t see the connection,” Racath interjected. “To the Demons, I mean. Where do they come into this. “
“Patience,” Oron advised. “I’m getting to that. Now, the next three books in taj Libris Io are the accounts of the first three Seraphim — Human, Elf, and Majiski — during their mortal lives. Then came a record concerning the meeting of the three races, written by the first augur Damian after he transcribed the Neophany.”
Oron’s expression soured, turned stormy. “And then came the 576th year of the First Age. The Perdition, which is documented in the record taj Libris o’taj Foleko. The Book of the Fallen.”
“The Perdition,” Racath repeated. “What was that?”
On the sofa, Nelle stretched her body out like a cat, yawning. “I know this part. I’m gonna run and get dressed, if you’ll excuse me.” She extracted herself from the couch, stretched again, and left the living room. Racath watched her go.
“The Perdition,” Oron continued, pulling Racath’s attention back to the story. “Was the fall of the Arelim. The birth of the Demons.”
Racath’s eyebrows furrowed. “Birth?”
“The history of the continent of Oltamn — and of the other three races — is hazy,” Oron said. “God never intended for us to interact with them, you see. But from what we do know of Oltamn at that time, the Arelim presided over the Goblins and the Arkûl in peace. The Arel Seraph, Golzar, was still alive at that time, and his wife Kaira gave birth to another son. It’s said that that child was perfect in every way, and Golzar adored him above all others. And for a long time, Golzar was happy.”
“What changed?”
Oron smiled sadly. “The child died. No real warning or reason. He just fell suddenly ill and…” he snapped his fingers sharply. “Gone.”
“Ahh….” Racath toyed with the last bit of egg on his plate. “I bet Golzar didn’t take that too well.”
“Quite so,” Oron affirmed. “In anguish, he pled with God, demanding why this had happened to him. Was he being punished? Was he unworthy? But God did not answer. And so, in a fit of rage, Golzar killed himself, forcing his spirit from his body and into Iyasheim where he confronted Gospodar.”
Racath grimaced. “How’d that go over?”
“Not well, as you might imagine,” Oron replied. He reopened taj Libris Io, flipping to the appropriate section. “The full account of the Perdition in the Fallen is rather lengthy and cerebral, but the gist of it went something like this.”
Once more, he began to read from the scriptures.
***
And after he had slain himself, Golzar the Arel came into Iyasheim and entered the great hall of Father Gospodar and the Mother Talk’ra. Once he had entered into the presence of the Father, he again demanded:
“Why, O Father?! Why did You afflict me so? I have done naught but what You have asked of me for these many long years! What offense have I committed that You should curse me with such an anguish?!”
And the Father answered, saying, “Son of Mine, you have committed no offence against Me. Your pain is not of punishment, but of enlightenment.”
“What learning might I possibly gain from such torment?!” said the Arel.
And the Father replied, “In order for joy to be sweet, there must also be bitterness. Yea, it has always been so, and pain has always been a necessity for the ascension of the Mortal. You knew that there would be pain amidst Mortality. It was always part of Our plan, that Our children might gain wisdom and become as the Divine. You yourself agreed to this, Golzar, or have you forgotten? You agreed to pain, for the sake of ascension.”
“Then I was a fool!” cursed the Arel. “The world You wrought for man is vile and cruel. Though obedient I have been, sin has corrupted the hearts of many of my children. And also sickness, and affliction, and pain, and grief. And the same has befallen many of the Goblins and the Arkûl, who You commanded me to preside over. But no torment is as great as my own; no living man should have to bear such anguish! No man deserves this! No man can bear it!”
“How little your eyes can see,” the Father lamented. “I give no man a trial which he cannot bear. Can you not see this? I have only ever tested man according to his strength.”
And behold, these words angered Golzar the Arel, and he said unto the Father: “You lie! This test of mine is beyond my strength to bear! I demand a perfect world for the Mortal, that all might be safe from the pain that I have suffered. I demand a world where no man may harm another, nor may any man harm himself. I demand a perfect world.”
To this the Father said: “Then you fail to understand the purpose of Mortality. Behold, I shaped Mortality so that man might be tried, and by his trials he might learn to be a greater self, that you might waken from your sleeping state as an Animus and become something greater. And while I am the God Omnipotent, even I cannot shackle the free will of another entity. The choices of the Mortal, to harm or aid another, are theirs to make and theirs alone. Were I to intercede, then man could never learn to be Divine.”
“I reject you,” Golzar said in bitterness. “The oblivion I knew before was far greater than the Mortal’s strife.”
Thereafter, Golzar left and came again to Fyrstheim as a Spirit, where he spoke to those Arel spirits who had yet to be born into Mortality. And Golzar stirred them up in anger against the Father, and also many of the unborn Goblins and Arkûl.
By his power, he reached across the planes to Parheim and conversed with his living mortal wife, Kaira. And Kaira also was stirred to anger by Golzar’s words against the Father. So it happened that she — being queen over the mortal the Arelim — spread this anger to her subjects. And they too were stirred up in anger against the Father Gospodar. In their anger, they did neglect their duty to preside over the Goblins and the Arkûl, who began to grow restless and barbarous.
In this awful crisis, Gospodar called the mortal Seraphim and their companions back to Iyasheim, leaving the fate of their kin on Talkrilia in the hands of their posterity. And it came to pass that a council was held in Iyasheim. In attendance were the Father, Gospodar and the Mother, Talk’ra; the Human Seraph, Maedur; and also the Elven Seraph, Bartholomew; and also the Majiski Seraph, Cyrus. (Verily, the Arkûl Seraph, Starc, and the Goblin Seraph, Lunpa were concerned with the dwindling state of their races at that time).
The council of the three Seraphim and the Divine did discuss what was to be done with the mutinous Arelim. And each Seraph did propose a plan of action.
It was the plan of Maedur the Human that the Arelim should be brought to bondage beneath the other races. And it was the plan of Cyrus the Majiski that the Arelim should be brought to utter destruction. But it was the plan of the Elf, Bartholomew the Wise, that did come to pass — that the Arelim should be cast away, cut off from the presence of the Father.
And so it was. Golzar and those unborn Arelim spirits
that had believed his teachings were banished from the clouds of Fyrstheim, condemned to exile in one of the lesser, nameless planes formed during the ordering of the cosmos. And they were bound there, never to return. (Those unborn Arelim spirits in Fyrstheim that had remained faithful to the Father were divided up amongst the other races, to be born into the people who most suited them).
Behold, on Talkrilia, those Arelim that were in rebellion — and Kaira also — were smitten with an awful affliction. Their flesh, yea their precious gift from God, was twisted and malformed and cursed, that their mortal bodies might not be sufficient to ascend to a state of divinity.
They were made barren — while they could still join and mate with one another, they could bear no new offspring (as there were no longer any Arel spirits awaiting in Fyrstheim to fill new bodies).
And they were made ageless, that they would remain bound in Parheim, unable to pass from mortal life by natural age. Thus, they would spend millennia in life, abandoned by the hands of time, until one day they might perish by the sword. And if one were to fall by the sword, his spirit would not return to Iyasheim, but join Golzar in the others in their nameless prison.
And behold, they could never return — for while the Father is most merciful, the sin of perdition is one which can never be forgiven. They had become damned souls; yea, they had chosen their own path, a path of perdition, and so had fallen from the grace of the Father and the Mother.
No more were they the Arelim, but fallen and unholy Demons. And at that time, there were a few thousand of them on Talkrilia.