Marc scowled at the denarae and almost missed a move that could have cost him the game. Oblivious to Marc’s irritation, Brican added, “I was an absolute wreck when we got back and Caeesha was already in labor, remember?”
“How could we forget?” Flasch asked. “We had to replace the front door on the inn after you knocked it off the hinges racing to get here.”
Danner chuckled at the memory, then nearly choked as a baby’s cry overrode all the other noise coming from the room. A foolish grin spread across his face as he turned back toward the door and practically danced in anticipation.
After what felt like an eternity, Janice walked out of Danner and Alicia’s room carrying a small bundle in her arms.
“Danner,” she said gently, “your son is ready to meet you.”
Danner stepped forward hesitantly and his hands were shaking as he took his son from her and peeled back the swaddling clothes to reveal a tiny human face within.
“Hello, Thomas,” he said. “I’m your daddy.”
Thomas de’Valderat looked up at him with eyes too big for his head and blinked sleepily at his father. He’d already managed to slip one hand free from the blankets enveloping him, against which he rested his head as though exhausted. He yawned and threw a tiny fist forward, nearly punching Danner in the nose as he writhed. Danner stood there, drinking in the beautiful sight of his son’s tiny features.
“He has his mother’s nose.”
Danner turned and saw a wide-eyed Marc peering over his shoulder at his nephew.
“Danner, can I…” Marc held out his hands suggestively, and the Blue paladin withheld a smile as he nodded. Flasch stood nearby, watching with a sly smile on his face.
Danner carefully handed his son over to Marc.
At the last second, when Danner thought Marc had control, the Orange paladin fumbled nervously and caught only the outermost cloth, and Danner’s entire world froze as he saw his son tumbling and falling to the ground. In slow motion, he saw Flasch dive toward the ground beneath Thomas, still too slow to catch him.
At the same time, he stared in shock as a tiny pair of glowing, azure wings asolved from his son’s back through layers of swaddled cloth, and Thomas de’Valderat drifted slowly to the ground, howling in protest at such rude treatment. Flasch caught Thomas and held him still a moment. The baby’s wings twitched irritably then disappeared as he continued to cry, and Danner quickly retrieved his son and held him close, too stunned to glare at Marc.
From the floor, Flasch said in quiet amazement, “Well, he’s got his mother’s nose, but it’s a damn good thing he’s got his father’s wings.”
Marc kicked him.
- 5 -
With a sigh, Vander Wayland seated himself at a large stone desk and stared at the blank pages in front of him. Books and scrolls of recorded accounts lay piled haphazardly about him, but he could lay his hands on any record he desired within seconds. An inkwell sat nearby, along with a quill pen that the angels had assured him would never need sharpening. It was the feather from an angel’s wing, and Vander almost felt sacrilegious as he thought about writing with such an instrument.
“Where do I begin?” he asked himself silently. “So much happened, at what point can I really say it all started?”
The war in the mortal world certainly had to be included, which would then necessitate the source of Shadow Company, which had played such a large role in the battles. That, in turn, would require some history of the major persona within the company, which would mean more research into family background and childhoods than Vander could hope to accomplish by himself. Yes, he had an eternity with which to compile these volumes, but the world would continue to turn and history would advance, and he wanted to be a part of recording that as well.
Should he just pick one of the Shadow Company members to follow? Explain how he had come to be in such a group and joined with the others? That felt right; but which one to choose? One of the most obvious choices would be Garnet, the Red paladin who had commanded the unit after Gerard’s death. Garnet’s father had been involved in important events during the war as well and had even sacrificed himself to destroy a demon lord.
When he thought about it, however, the choice was obvious. It would be the de’Valderat family on which he would concentrate his history. Certainly, no single mortal was more influential during the Barrier War than Birch de’Valderat, and his nephew had played a critical role as well. Yes, the choice was obvious.
But still, where to start? he wondered.
Vander’s own involvement with the pair had started shortly before the actual outbreak of the war, when they were first questing after The Three. What was that Dividha phrase again? Oh yes, Hunting The Three.
Perhaps that’s where he should start. What had led up to that ill-conceived quest?
Again, after a moment’s thought, he had his answer.
There was one event, one moment so indelibly etched in history, that there could be no other starting point for the story he had to compile. Where else would Vander start, except at the beginning? The event that had put the gears into motion and started turning the rest of the world onto the path of war and possible extermination.
A paladin had come back from Hell.
Vander dipped his quill into the inkwell and began writing.
The following account was compiled as part of an effort to explain the events before, during, and immediately following the Barrier War. Whatever limitations exist and whatever liberties have been taken with the story are solely the responsibility of the author of this historical account.
These volumes are written in the human tongue so that all those in Heaven might read and understand, not just the immortal angels. Translations into the dwarven and elven languages will soon be completed, but notations have been made so that a reader of any race will understand the meaning of these words.
Let the truth be told as a shield against a reoccurrence of the tragedies that made possible this tale. Let all remember the sacrifices made herein.
Vander Wayland
Vander Wayland
Heavenly Historian
This concludes the Barrier War trilogy, but the Pandemonium War wages on. Experience more in the forthcoming trilogy, The Demonic Jihad.
Appendix D
Immortal Hierarchy
I. Introduction
II. Shaishisii
III. Heaven
IV. Hell
I. Introduction
While the immortals of Heaven and Hell have similar origins and underlying natures, their social structures are completely different, as are the self-imposed physical limitations each endures. As beings of pure will, or āyus, immortals were not originally created with corporeal shape, therefore any physical characteristics they possess are the result of their own intentions (and divinely imposed inclinations) when they began to assume solid forms.
Perhaps the most significant difference between the two societies is that while there exists a wide variety of demonic species, all Heavenly immortals are considered to be the same species. Angels are instead ranked into Choirs according to their relative strength and social position that may change over time, thus an Erelim or Parasim (the lowest of orders) may attain enough power to ascend to a higher Choir, and perhaps even become a Seraph in time. Demons, on the other hand, are limited by their base stock and cannot become anything other than what they are. The only form of social ascension in Hell is through brute force or being placed in charge of lesser demons by a superior. A few demons have amassed enough power to assume the title of demon lord and are considered on par with the original demon princes (by far the most powerful demons at the moment of the first awakening), but few demons achieve such distinction, as power is jealously guarded by the few reigning lords and princes.
A curious disparity has been observed when comparing mortals to immortals. Every mortal, regardless of race, begins to develop an individual personality and identity from the moment they are born – some hav
e even suggested the process begins while they are still gestating. As they grow, they are given a name by their fellow mortals and may even change their name at will. Immortals, by contrast, have no true identity or individual will beyond the most basic, shared impulses until they achieve sufficient strength. Many angels of the lowest Choirs may exist for thousands of years and perish without ever achieving such individualistic distinction, and the same goes for the members of most demonic species. As the immortal’s power grows, so does his awareness of his existence, until the moment of his Awakening when he becomes truly sentient and self-aware. No one truly knows whether an Awakened immortal chooses his own name or if he was always named (perhaps by the divine) and merely becomes aware of it. Since the first Awakening (generally referred to as “The Awakening”), few angels have been created with sufficient strength to Awaken in their first moments.
All immortals reproduce asexually via a process known as genesing, in which they split off a portion of their āyus and will it to become a separate entity. The more power willed into the newly created immortal, the stronger it will be at its genesis, though this comes at higher cost to the originating immortal. A Dominion angel may, for example, bequeath sufficient power to a newly genesed angel that it may immediately take its place among the Cherubim, but the Dominion could lose sufficient āyus that it could be compelled to itself descend to a lower rank. There is no known instance of such descent being forced upon any angel, though social stigma and pressure have been known to achieve the same result.
A demon that geneses another immortal will inherently create another of its own species. A hellhound cannot genese a daemelan, nor a gremlin a bloodhawk. The only external limitations on the process of genesing seem to be having sufficient strength to perform the genesing process and splitting off enough āyus that the newly formed immortal can survive the process. The other primary factor limiting the process is the aversion most immortals of any significant strength have of lessening their own power. For a demon, genesing another can be a perilous prospect, for not only will other demons seek to exploit any lessening of power among their brethren, but even the newly created demon may turn against its progenitor.
Among the angels, a lessening of power is not so hazardous, but it might result in a significant lessening of one’s social status. Angels set great store by the relative strength of their brethren, and angels of lesser power yield to those with greater almost instinctively. Losing power via genesing another immortal could place an angel below those he normally overrides and force him to yield where he once dominated. (Demons follow similar such dictates of strength, but rely first and foremost on each other’s species to define their interactions.)
For immortals who are too close in power to immediately determine who is the greater, the ritual of shaishisii may be used to resolve the question.
II. Shaishisii
There are no records of what immortals first engaged in the ritual of shaishisii, nor even whether they were angels or demons. What is known is that from the earliest days, the ritual has been used to establish superiority between two immortals. This is its more mundane and benign aspect. A more sinister application of shaishisii can establish dominance and even complete control over another immortal.
The more harmless application of shaishisii is rarely necessary between two immortals of obviously disparate power. As noted above, the relative strength between two immortals is known instinctively when one is much more powerful than the other, and the lesser will virtually always yield to the greater. When the two are much closer in power, however, the difference may not be so easy to ascertain, and only shaishisii can determine the greater with any degree of certainty. Once the respective strengths are known, the usual social dominance would typically take hold and the two would act accordingly.
There are some special cases where a ritual (or contest) of shaishisii might not determine the outcome of the power relationship between two immortals. Though rare, two immortals may be of such equal strength that there can be no clear outcome. In such a case, the immortals must rely on other means to establish dominance, should it be necessary. Other social norms may alter the outcome of shaishisii, such as the respective Choirs of two angels. Should a Dominion or Power somehow gain the strength to overpower a Seraph in shaishisii (and yet has not chosen to ascend to the higher Choir), the mere fact of belonging to the Choir of Seraphim would assure the lesser-Choir angel would defer to the Seraph. In other, less direct forms of conflict, an angel of a lesser Choir might outrank one from a higher Choir should he have battle command entrusted by a superior. This was most common during the Great Schism, when command was granted based more on merit and ability than on mere strength.
Among the demons, the lesser application of shaishisii is often ignored (at great peril) when one demon is attempting to usurp the power of another and steal it for his own use. This sort of brutal predation is common among lesser demons and even those of middling power. By the time demons near the strength to declare themselves demon lords, the pool of demons more powerful than they has thinned sufficiently that only the most bold or cunning would dare such a confrontation.
The more powerful (and destructive) application of shaishisii is far more common among demons than it is among their immortal opposites, and it is the reason no angel and demon have ever entered into shaishisii with each other. In its full use, shaishisii can allow one immortal to completely dominate the will of another (and therefore their entire being), effectively rendering them mindless slaves devoted to the will of their captor. This state is known as dishnara among immortals, a word that most closely translates to “enslaved” in the human tongue, though this term pales in comparison to the reality. A dishnara is utterly dominated by their master so long as he desires, and in the most extreme uses the dishnara is incapable of even moving without the express desire of their master. The demon king Mephistopheles is known to use this method extensively to decorate his throne room with living statues of demons and damned souls who have displeased him, and their bodies retain full awareness as they are permanently immobilized by the twisting of their own minds.
One of the more sinister aspects of shaishisii is its subtlety. An immortal dominated by another may not consciously be aware of the control, though it may become apparent to others who observe attitudinal differences in the afflicted immortal. (This is obviously more of a concern among angels than demons, who rarely form the social bonds needed to notice such a difference.) Such dominance is outlawed and considered a grave sin by the angels for just this reason, but the lesser use of shaishisii is so prevalent that there exists considerable gray area around its stronger applications. For instance, were a Seraph to order a Parasim out of his way, few would question whether the obedience was the result of social norms or a subtle dominance of āyus of one angel over another. Indeed, there may be little difference.
It is worth noting that the dominance inherent in shaishisii has application in interactions between mortals and immortals as well. Mortals are not immune to the control exerted by the will of an immortal in their presence, though no suggestion has ever been made that a mortal might somehow engage in true shaishisii and potentially overpower an immortal. Lacking an immortal āyus of their own, mortals (and their souls that reside in Heaven and Hell) are largely at the whim of any immortal powerful enough to desire compel their obedience.
III. Heaven
As has been noted previously, the angelic social hierarchy is primarily based on the strength of the individual’s āyus, with the more powerful angels ascending to higher Choirs than their weaker brethren. Many angels who attain enough power will choose not to ascend and prefer instead to remain in their current Choir for a time. Should the power disparity continue to grow, however, the angel will generally opt to ascend eventually.
There are seven Choirs of angels, each sharing several traits, skills, or other characteristics that tend to distinguish its members from other Choirs. The three lowest Choirs (Erelim, Parasim,
and Sarim) rarely contain angels who have sufficient āyus to have Awakened to an individual identity and named themselves. They are also the most populous of Choirs – the higher an angel ascends in Heaven, the fewer peers he has among his new Choir. Lower Choirs genese regularly (at least during wartime when numbers must be replenished), which helps account for the relative scarcity of individuality among their ranks.
Seraph/Seraphim – Seraphim are the elite Choir of angels and hold the highest positions of power and authority in Heaven. They are tasked with the oversight of the immortal plane as well as the safety of its inhabitants, angelic and blessed dead alike. Seraphim were most often in direct contact with God during the early days of existence when the deity was regularly amongst them, and most were given specific tasks and duties to perform by God Himself. Without exception, Seraphim appear as six-winged humanoids and are considered the most beautiful of all angels, even by the superior standards of the immortals. Beyond that shared trait, there is little if any consistency in their choice of garb, coloration, armament, or temperament.
Dominions – Second in strength only to the Seraphim, Dominions occupy most of the command positions in the Heavenly Hosts not filled by their higher brethren. There is little consistency in their garb and armament, as any angel to have achieved this Choir has long since thrown off the vestiges of conformity that so mark the lower ranks. The only exception is the preference for and near universality of an extra pair of wings – only a handful of Dominions since the beginning of time have foregone the four-wing appearance of their brethren.
Powers – Powers are usually tasked with mid-level command positions in the Heavenly Hosts, and they are typically responsible for keeping the peace amongst the blessed dead. Even in Heaven, conflicts and difficulties arise amidst recalcitrant mortals that have to be dealt with to ensure peace and harmony in the immortal plane. Powers are notorious for their general lack of humor, which some scholars have blamed on having to deal so frequently with eons of squabbles between the blessed dead. Angels of this Choir often prefer to appear as a gaseous haze, like smoke given humanoid form. Their wings are usually asolved, but many forego the use of wings, especially those who eschew humanoid form altogether and instead resemble an amorphous cloud. Those who prefer humanoid form (whether solid or gaseous) often arm themselves with weapons and armor of all sorts (sometimes influenced by the combat styles of the mortal souls they interact with), while those who remain insubstantial usually just use weapons created from their own āyus during combat.
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