Realm of the Dead

by Donovan Neal

  Seraphim warriors mustered their forces in response and rose like great flaming birds of prey into the skies. The lower atmosphere sizzled as their heat from their numbers began to raise the temperature throughout the land. And thus, two great forces were stalemated as one lone angel moved with the gift of omniscience moved throughout the angelic ranks to keep all in a state of calm. And it was in those moments as the kindling of war waited to be sparked that the gruff voice of a human boomed across the throng.

  "Enough!" Elijah cried.

  The atmosphere, dense with thousands of warriors almost stacked on top of one another, changed immediately when the grizzled prophet pointed to Enoch who held within his hands a glowing Trumpet of Judgment.

  * * *

  Camael stood dumbfounded, for he glowed from Sherkanim having blown the horn of Malakim. Camael and the horn, as well as the trumpet held by Enoch, all glowed as one...each scintillating off the vibrations emanating from the other...each aflame and matching the emblazoned sigil of Camael. The gathered crowd pointed to the colors that sparkled from the palace, and all heard the sounds of instruments that blasted from its midst.

  "Behold, the trumpet of judgment!" Enoch said. "See how the horn flames! Witness the Horn of Malakim. See the fires that surround it! And look about you and behold with thine own eyes – the answer for all. Who amongst your people hath made these?"

  Confusion washed through the people like a wave crashing over shores, but the flames were indisputably the color of Camael's sigil. Not Nephanos.

  "But only Camael hast made these instruments," one said.

  "Then...is Nephanos, Camael?" another said.

  "Nay. Nephanos is not Camael. That is not possible."

  "We have been deceived."

  "Deceiver! Deceiver!" surfaced throughout.

  Murmurs grew louder.

  "But where is King Nephanos?"

  "Where is our King?"

  "Did he kill our King?"

  And Camael was exposed, for all could see that he was the crafter of the horn of judgment.

  Camael surveyed the rowdy group and paraded in front of them with disdain, and head held high. He retraced his steps to Elijah and spoke loudly above the crowd.

  "And what wilt thou do with the vessel made to unleash El's wrath? Wilt thou blow into it thereof and release the fury of God on Heaven itself?"

  Elijah stood in front of Enoch who held tightly to the golden trumpet and replied. "Nay, collaborator of Satan. But verily saith the Lord, 'Thou hast been weighed in the balances and found wanting.'"

  "ARRGGHH!!!" Camael screamed in vehement rage, and immediately lost his humanoid form and all beheld the true form of Camael the Seraphim, for he became as living fire, and as a cloud ablaze. Camael scorched the platform. Then moved to destroy Enoch and Elijah. All that he touched was consumed in a conflagration of fire, as the would-be king turned on the humans to consume the men alive.

  Michael looked on, helpless, as Camael's fires roared hungrily to devour his friends. Shoots of flames advanced on Enoch and Elijah and Michael knew that from his position he could not intervene in time.

  Screaming, Gabriel, and Metatron watched from the incineration chamber, beating against their glass confines for Sherkanim to release them, but the guard's thoughts were elsewhere as he erupted in flames and raced to stop the king's madness.

  Enoch and Elijah stood their ground unmoved by Camael's fog of fire that jetted towards them. Enoch dropped the Trumpet of Judgment to the ground and quickly tossed his cloak toward the oncoming cloud of fire that was Camael. Elijah prayed as the shawl flew through the air and transformed before the eyes of all, bursting into a floating wall of rushing water. The rolling wave of living water moved as a thing alive and crashed into the oncoming Camael. Bursts of heated steam blasted the platform, knocking both Enoch and Elijah to the ground.

  Throngs above and below stared as Camael, as living fire, did battle against streams of living water. The two opposing elements twisted and turned around each other, coiling as entwined vines that wrestled for supremacy. Camael bloomed in searing heat...his body extending like a flare to snare the two humans that had fallen to the ground. But the living water prevailed against him, walling off Enoch and Elijah, and the more Camael steamed the water into vapor, the more water materialized from nothing. Camael reformed into his humanoid form, Camael bent over and wheezed from exertion.

  Sherkanim retrieved the Trumpet of Judgment that had fallen to the ground and assisted Enoch and Elijah.

  Elijah stood and was wroth and spoke to the king so that Aseir might hear.

  "Did I not tell thee that Yeshua, the Lord God, hath commanded that I go with Enoch? And who art thou to frustrate the grace of God? Ye, who troubleth Heaven and refuseth to forgive? For thus saith the Lord, 'Did not I have compassion on thee and forgave thee, and let thee steward as king for thy brother's sake? For as I liveth,' saith the Lord, 'because thou hast done this thing, I will not release thee from the bitterness of unforgiveness that assails thee, and now you shall be delivered into torment."

  Camael coughed as he panted to regain his strength. The waters of Enoch's cloak still stood as a standard against him. And when Elijah had spoken, Camael scoffed. "Thou...wouldst judge ME? Who art thou, to dare pass judgment over me!"

  But Elijah stood silent and merely pointed behind him in the distance. A dark, cauliflower-like cloud appeared in the sky, and it grew and was at first akin to the size of a man's hand. Then a flash of lightning streaked across the sky and thunder rumbled overhead.

  The people then turned their head and saw the sky slowly darken. Enoch watched also for he too saw clouds forming into larger and darker columns into the sky and he said to Elijah, "But what of the people?"

  Elijah then eyed the crowd and spoke to them all. "Thy pride would have thee mimic us in appearance. For many days, thou hast thought thyself above others as to not show thy true form. But know this--huddle as one people, in the form given thee by birth, and be seen in the nakedness of who thou art. Or be stiff-necked, and see the waters that come erase thee from this side of Heaven. For on this day, through either thine obedience or disobedience to my word, The Schism between heaven's people will end."

  Elijah then turned to Sherkanim and said, "Hurry, take us to the Heavenly City that the rain stop thee not."

  Sherkanim recalled the Seraphim warriors and commanded them to cluster with their people to endure the waters that were to come. Guards released Gabriel and Metatron, and the two flew to Enoch's and Elijah's side.

  Thunder roared over the skies, and a streaming blanket of water appeared in the distance racing across the land. Sherkanim called for his chariot, and the Aithon flew to him in fire. Gabriel, Metatron, and the two humans hustled aboard.

  "Here," Sherkanim said, handing the horn of Malakim to Gabriel. "I believe this belongs to you."

  Gabriel smiled. "Thank you, my friend."

  "To the Temple, Eladrin...quickly!" Michael cried out to Eladrin,

  Eladrin glowed and shot into the air. Michael followed. Sherkanim snapped the cords to the Aithon and they too bucked and flew, trailing fire behind them. Eladrin rotated in creaking gyration and opened a portal above them all. Gabriel blew his horn and the whole of house Malakim followed their prince through it.

  Legions of the House Malakim followed as the rain descended on all. Lightning blanketed the sky in staggering sheets and sharp crackles that zigzagged their way to Earth, but the door to the portal stood calm, serene and inviting. The lit skies of the Heavenly city beckoned and the dark, ashen skies of Aseir lay in thick cumulus clouds that pelted the land with torrential rains.

  As they disappeared from view, the living clouds of Heaven assembled themselves together. Flocks of flaming birds and Aithons fled before the storm and all the citizens cast a wary eye as the clouds blanketed the land in darkness. Voices moaned from the living clouds of Heaven, and each spoke aloud to one another and their words were heard on this wise:

  Woe! Wo
e! Woe!

  Judgment, O son of bitterness

  For mercy hath now escaped thee!

  Thy bill El now recoups

  O'non-forgiver of other's debts.

  Thine own payments hath now come due!

  Alas, recompense befalls thee

  Waters to wash away

  Acrimony and hurt of past misdeeds

  'Remove this king,' He says

  As the rain slammed to the ground and lightning lit the Heavens, and the voices of the living clouds crashed across the skies, the fires of Aseir went out, as did all the flaming spires. Panic gripped the people as all were made of living fire, and rain sizzled upon them like acid. The warrior Seraphim retreated to the ground to assemble with their people that they might remain alight in the midst of the pouring rain.

  And a great mist rose throughout the land, from the boundaries of the city's burbs to the flaming plains where Aithon roamed. The mist reached up and the skies reached down until none could tell the difference between the living clouds and the rolling fog that now crept atop the land.

  And when the clouds had finished speaking, the portal that took the legions and Enoch and Elijah away closed behind them, and when it did, the twelve angels of God's judgment, the Shanun-tea'll, appeared in the sky. Mavet, chief of their number, hovered on wings of black and settled to the ground. He walked forward to apprehend Camael, who like all his people, huddled together to keep themselves alight against the pouring rain.

  But Camael would not be taken, and he lifted his hand to fend for his freedom. Camael issued sound waves that projected in a focused burst from his hand...a sound that sliced through flesh and ruptured eardrums, but Mavet absorbed it into his person, never slowing in his step, continuing his undeterred march forward toward the would-be king.

  Camael then shot bursts of flame from his hands, and Mavet stood enkindled, awash in a conflagration of fire and brimstone, yet covered from the falling rains, but again the Angel of Judgment passed through the rain, fire, and steam, and trod steadily forward, unflinching in the king's attempts to halt him.

  When Camael perceived that inescapable judgment was now upon him, he attempted to run, and all that stood near moved from his path. When he sought to turn to the left, a Shaun-tea'll barred his way, and when he tried to flee to his right, a Shanu-tea'll barred his way, and when he turned to his rearward, Mavet was there and overshadowed him and passed through him like a ghost. And when he did so, the spirit of the king visibly separated from his body, and it became as smoke and floated that all could see. His body instantly crumpled to the ground as a puppet whose strings had been cut...a celestial corpse no longer animated by the breath of life.

  The dense fog that hovered above the ground extinguished all eddies of fires across Aseir until nothing but the fog saturated the land, and voices and movement of creatures could be heard within it. Voices that pleaded to be fed. And in that moment, all knew that God had allowed the Mists to enter the land. The shroud of fog crawled over the physical body of Camael and wrapped itself around him. The spirit of Camael screamed, and the two merged with the Mist. Echoes of his voice could be heard within the Mist pleading to God for mercy, but none was given. The king was given over to the tormentors, and the figure of Camael could be seen within the Mist struggling against hands that dragged him into the shroud until he could be seen no more in the gloom.

  And a great wind then came from the south and blew against the fog, and when it had dissipated, nothing but ignitable fumes and a hissing sound remained. Fumes seeped from the ground. A thunderbolt then fell from the sky, and ignited the gas, and a great whooshing sound then blasted into the ears of all. An explosive burst of fire rushed and the fires of the Aesir burned once again, and the cities of fire could once more be seen again in the sky.

  And all the people breathed in relief that they had survived the judgment. The people lifted themselves to worship El. Thanking God, and waiting for Sherkanim to return from the other side of the mountain with word from El.

  * * *

  The four Seraphim which stood before the temple of God bellowed in powerful blasts: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY! A never ceasing clarion call to all that approached the doorway of God's house.

  The chief of the four, King Nephanos, thought upon days of yore. He often reminisced of his failure, wondering what would have happened if he had not led them to traffic in pride against Lucifer.

  Having fallen for the schemes of the angel, the king kept to the terms of their bargain, wondering in his self-imposed exile from Aseir how his brother Camael fared as royal regent to his people. Nephanos waited for the day when he and all the peoples of Heaven would unite. Perhaps someday, his brother would use the space given him to serve their kind and repent from what he had done.

  Would Camael accept the lessons of serving another in humility? He wondered to himself.

  It would soon be his time to roar the prime attribute of God again. Nephanos girded up his loins in preparation to carry out the consequences of his wager, prepared to fulfill a promise given in foolishness to Lucifer. A promise that El had also honored: a promise to give Camael space to repentance.

  Nephanos looked at his companions, each willingly swore to bear this burden of knowledge in silence. He beamed at the strong fiery sentinels who represented their people this side of Heaven. Proud to serve by their side. For these many years, none had spoken to the other. None had uttered a word save HOLY, HOLY, HOLY. A faithful announcement the quartet had kept for thousands of earth years.

  Never did any complain or shirk from their duty. Nephanos wondered if he should have left his people in Camael's charge. Wondered of his decision to leave Aseir and stand as ambassador in the city of God. Wondered of his duty to utter naught but holiness to El until God called all three races together as one people.

  Yet if the time never came to reunite Heaven as one, Nephanos and his men would serve as examples of steadfastness to all of Heaven. Thus from almost the third day of creation, Nephanos had bellowed but one word, the word HOLY.

  Mate-eral had stood next to him for several millennia, and had now blasted the fiery roar of HOLY through the air, the echoes of which traveled across the sky.

  Nephanos's turn was upon him. The King of the Seraphim stirred the inferno that roared within him and opened his mouth to release the vocalization, of El's eminence. Ready to do again what he had already done over a million times.

  "HOLY!" the great King of Fire thundered. The air around him detonated in explosive heat. His annunciation completed the trinity of praise that sounded from the steps of God's house.

  And again the cycle began once more.

  Thus, Nephanos and three members of his kind stood as sentries to the temple of God. Each one, carillons, ready to chime the dawn of a new hour, eternally repeating their refrain without fail.

  Through angelic civil wars Nephanos had kept this covenant, and when rebel Elohim came to assault the temple of God, he reminded his kin of El's holiness. When the Godstones fell from the skies, and when Lucifer himself breached the Seraphim lines, Nephanos watched the travesty in helplessness and cried in vain to remind the Usurper and all who still had ears to hear, that above all things...El was HOLY.

  From the first day of his oath, never did he depart from his honorable vow, nor did his companions of flame surrender to be moved...but today was a new day.

  Nephanos looked above as a vast ladder pulled back the golden hued skies of Heaven. Voltage arched overhead, and the familiar colors and whooshing sound of the prismatic funnel plunged downward from the skies and touched on the ground before him. Reds, blues, and greens skipped before him playfully before they waved goodbye and retreated back into the skies from whence they came, and lo, Eladrin floated before him with his four faces in gyration.

  Above and behind the King of Ophanim, a chariot of fire plummeted from the sky. Within the descending carriage were two humans alongside Gabriel and Metatron. Michael the Chief Prince flew by its side and his halo was aglow as he
swooped down. And commanding the steads of Aithon that pulled the flaming chariot was a Seraphim. Yet the spectacle to Nephanos's eyes did not cease, for from the portal, Malakim warriors on gryphon-back fell from the skies as hailstones, and the airspace above Jerusalem quickly filled as their numbers caused the sky darkened.

  The King of the Seraphim pondered this new thing, for since his post to stand at the temple doors, he had witnessed the Elohim assemble on many occasions. From moments of worship to God, to annunciations by the Lord. But never on this wise had he beheld the descending mixed army that followed the Aithon flaming chariot that now headed toward him.

  The temple doors suddenly opened and light escaped to illuminate all things, flooding the city with blinding luminance. El stepped through the doors standing on the back of Ophanim, as the gyrating wheels within wheels covered the soles of His feet, and hovered above the ground. His face looked upwards and His eyes watched the open sky while three of His created races poured through the Orphanic portal.

  Nephanos and his men immediately snapped to attention, for the King of Creation stood in their presence, and the four burning ones bellowed out in militaristic cadence HOLY, HOLY, HOLY!

  Pounding reverberations traveled in concentric circles in all directions and a mighty echo hitchhiked atop the backside of light that released from El's presence.

  The Aithon landed before the king and neighed as Sherkanim pulled on the reins of the steeds. Enoch, Elijah, Metatron, and Gabriel disembarked, while Michael flashed as a ladder to their side. He took his place aside Eladrin, whose four faces were suspended in the air, their gyration stopped and their faces pointed down to the ground. Legions of Malakim on gryphon-back hovered in the air, as locust swarms awaiting command.