The Angelic Wars I - Heaven

by Andrew Gille

  “Now, we march on Paradisio to reclaim my home, Excarian City. Our golden angelic knights will march into The City of God. We will unseat the tyrant Os from his throne and end the oppression and injustice inflicted upon us by this false father. We shall avenge the Colossals, and forever and ever, we will reign in an eternal paradise free of the yoke of servitude to an apathetic and unappreciative ruler who has murdered our true Gods!”

  The crowd again erupted in shouts and applause. Lucifer stood on the podium absorbing the energies of the assembled masses. The victory was theirs, total victory, now only one piece of Heaven remained unconquered, and still, Os stayed mute. There had been no answer to their successes, and Lucifer now believed that he genuinely had eclipsed his creator. He was confident that total domination was within his grasp, assured that he would sit upon the throne of Elysian Palace and doubtless that he would rule from its alabaster halls.

  ***

  The morning sun rose on Virgos as it began its first day under the rule of the rebel angels. Within The Citadel, Machenrauch had composed himself enough to start to speak, in a meeting hall of The Citadel, Machenrauch somberly discussed the events of the previous day with his allies Moloch and Belial.

  “I don’t understand what happened,” Moloch said seated on a long wooden bench as Machenrauch stood looking at a large fresco of the celestial bodies of heaven that had been painted on the front wall of the hall.

  The sun began to stream into openings near the ceiling of the hall and began to spread across the floor as Machenrauch contemplated his words.

  “The tide has turned, the energies of the universe have favored Lucifer, there is nothing we can do now. Our only choice is to be complicit in his victory and hope that we gain something, hope that he allows us something in his kingdom. He has promised me Veritas, I’m afraid that my only option is to become the principality of my home planet and subjugate myself to his rule,” Machenrauch said.

  “But the human beings, he’ll allow them to populate your beautiful world and destroy it, they are chaotic and will cause trouble,” Belial protested.

  “Yes, and our only hope is to shape the rules by which he governs them to ensure they are sufficiently cruel and strict, perhaps he’ll afford us a modicum of choice in their rule on our own worlds and we can make things sufficiently unpleasant that they flock to his world and abandon ours,” Machenrauch said somberly.

  “If Os is to be believed will that not make him more powerful than us and allow Lucifer to attack Veritas?” Moloch questioned.

  “When they come, we’ll evaluate their effect on Heaven. Should they prove advantageous to Lucifer and the other leaders, we’ll enslave and force enough humans to work on Vertias that we will equal the others. I have no doubt that Lucifer will allow them to be traded like Azurian Crystals or Oziel Diamonds, as long as he has his lot of worshippers, we’ll be allowed to have the slaves we need to equal him. None have arrived here yet, it is too early to say what effect they will have on Heaven. Indeed their arrival is a mere rumor, it could be eons before they are admitted here, their physical bodies must first be destroyed for them to enter the spiritual realm and thus far their physical bodies, just as our spiritual bodies appear to last indefinitely. Also, they may just lead to the downfall of those who seek to employ them. Certainly, none of us think that they are to be trusted, Lucifer thinks no differently,” Machenrauch still looked no one in the eye as he spoke.

  “What of your status as Enrauch, can we not parlay this into greater rewards in Lucifer’s coming kingdom?” Belial asked.

  “None of us here believe the Anatalian letters and Mulciber’s statement about my status were forced by Moloch and I. If there is an Enrauch, I could be him, but then I feel that the angel known as The Enrauch as well as the letters themselves are a product of Mulciber’s imagination. Perhaps Lucifer convinced him to write them. I do not know their origin, but both Lucifer and I have reasons why we wish to promote them as fact. Mulciber was forced to proclaim me as Enrauch, he could just as easily be forced to say that he erred and I am not, more likely, he would be happy to recant that. Or have his credibility as an expert on the letters put into doubt, or have them revealed as his own work of fiction. I feel that hinging our future on my status as the character of some apocrypha would be a grave error that could result in an even greater loss to my status.”

  Machenrauch was very uneasy about his association with the Anatalian Letters, right now he still found it advantageous to attach his name to the character in the account, but even that was troublesome. Everyone called him Machenrauch and what if the letters were revealed to be a fraud, his very name would be associated with a joke. He feared it was too late to turn back now and he realized that despite what they said about lowly angels that his future was now tied to promoting the letters as the truth.

  Moloch now spoke, everyone at the table was talking in a low tone. However quiet he attempted to be, he made his next suggestion in a much louder voice than which Machnerauch and Belial were comfortable.

  “What if we lose, send him to his doom, he will look to your plan to lead us, he knows he cannot plan a battle on his own and that he needs you for this purpose. So once again redirect him to the least advantageous position on the battlefield. Let Os’ forces crush him. The rebellion fails, we disappear to a remote part of Aequiss, or even Trulian or an uninhabited moon, regroup and take Paradisio ourselves in the future?”

  Belial spoke now, “First, keep your voice down, we know his agents listen in on our plans, at least make it difficult for them to hear your treasonous statements. Secondly, we cannot sabotage this moment, you may think Os is feeble and faltering, but he is still a formidable opponent. Michael has proven to be a foe who learns from his mistakes. When we took Veritas he was shocked and bewildered, now he would not be caught off guard. The first battle in a new war, unlike The Battle of Cibolia in this one, would be a hard fought battle like the Battle of Virgos, we’d have to claw for every city, and each loyal angel would be twice as hard to kill. Right now we have the vast majority of angels supporting us. We lose when we have the entirety of Heaven in our grasp, and we’ll never get that support again. We must win the next battle, should we be beaten by Os, we will never get a second chance against him.”

  “Belial speaks the truth, and I have tried to work through this scenario in a way that would not end with our destruction. It can never work. Our battle plan will be true and give us the greatest advantages, I even intend on taking into account Lucifer’s weaknesses in planning a position for him that will allow us to maximize his effectiveness and win. We cannot lose on Paradisio. Our element of surprise and the support of the hosts of Heaven are key advantages we would never gain again,” Machenrauch lamented.

  “What are we to do then? How can we recover from Lucifer’s victory on Kalos, his coup of diplomacy on Aequiss and the laudations of nearly every angel who now supports our cause?” Moloch asked.

  “We don’t, we win, we find a way to receive even a modicum of credit for the victory to ensure I am justly rewarded with the rulership of Veritas and then we use it to launch a second rebellion. The first revolution started on Vertias, and the one that will bring down Lucifer and appoint those who see our position on the humans and the proper rule of Heaven will also start from my throne on Hesperides,” Machenrauch stated stoically.

  “Hesperides?” Belial questioned.

  “The new capital of Veritas when this war is over,” Machenrauch proclaimed.

  ***

  Machenrauch spoke freely now in the war room, planning the battle, there would be an assault of Excarian City, with 40 Legions entering the East, South and West side of the city and pushing Michael’s forces out into the North where another 40 Legions would be waiting to ambush them. He felt that a full 40% of Michael’s armies would be wiped out this way with the remaining 60% held back to defend The City of God. He knew that Michael himself would be stationed in The City of God, but at least one of Michael’s high command
ers would be trapped in Azurian Crystal by the end of the invasion, hopefully, that sardonic twit Gabriel but more likely the equally irritating, faithful and quiet Raphael.

  Moloch and Machenrauch put Lucifer in the flanking legions that would destroy the troops running from the city, they felt but did not say that it would be a sufficiently heroic place for him, an easy job that even he could not bungle and something he could understand. They did all of this so that he would not change the battle plan when he reiterated it as his own. They were acutely aware of a not-well-hidden presence in the shadows eavesdropping on their conversation and again performed for him. This time they were sure he was oblivious to the fact that they were aware of his presence. Machenrauch was proud of the plan, it would put Excarian City in their hands. He was eager to hear Lucifer reiterate it and he went over it twice with Moloch so that Lucifer’s spy got every detail right.

  ***

  In the throne room of Virgos’ Citadel Lucifer welcomed back his friend Beelzebub. Asmodeus, Mulciber, and Baal joined him. Still clad in his aqualene armor, Beelzebub recounted the tale of his negotiations with Aequiss but left out his defeat and very unheroic rescue. He was dragged back into The City of Kings from the bottom of the ocean, choking and screaming by the unimpressed angels of Leviathan’s Order of the Powers.

  “Leviathan is unflinchingly allied with us. I’m a little worried that I took him a bit too far toward Machenrauch’s camp, however. He may just detest the human beings so much that he may now want them all dead. I took him to Earth, and the humans were polluting their water and killing the sea life. Apparently, this is acceptable behavior to Os, I told him that brand of stewardship would be brought to Aequiss and he could look forward to The City of Kings and Urielia being destroyed by their carelessness and apathy. Then I made a connection to Os’ apathy and theirs, ‘he just doesn’t care what they do to his newest creation, what will he allow them to do here?’ I was confident he was with us at that point, but I put in a few more good words for you and negotiated most of Aequiss as a military outpost for our troops, we can freely use the planet to assemble our attack on Paradisio. Leviathan has pledged his full allegiance to you, Lord Lucifer.”

  Lucifer sat on the white marble throne with his elbows on the armrests, he had the tips of his fingers together and peered over his hands at Beelzebub with a pleased smile on his face.

  “Excellent, our plans have worked out more smoothly than I thought, Leviathan is just like our legendary hero The Enrauch before I enabled his powers. So enamored of the plot he tends upon heaven that he is driven to zealotry by anything that threatens it. Asking for nothing else shows that he made this decision with his emotions, not as a leader.”

  Beelzebub raised his eyebrows at the statement, Lucifer often made rash emotional decisions, the entire war was as a result of him feeling slighted by Os. Beelzebub knew that Lucifer didn’t believe in The Letters, nor did he have a particular distaste for human beings. He didn’t do this because he didn’t want other angels to serve the human beings, he did it because he expected Os to appoint him the ruler of all of the Heavens and he had not gotten what he wanted. Had Os handed over the throne of Heaven to him, he would be telling the angels right now to get to Earth and prostrate themselves before the humans. Lucifer was a master of seeing his own faults in others but being unable to relate those faults back to himself.

  “Yes, we have all the benefits on Aequiss that we would have we invaded it militarily, we can effectively look toward Paradisio as our next conquest.”

  “Machariel,” Asmodeus addressed Lucifer, he had been waiting to speak and interjected quite directly with the former name of his main concern, “You said you would be throttling his power once the war was over. What do you intend with him now? His reputation has severely diminished since the previous battle at Oziel City. I would consider his glory in that battle a fluke. He seems quite forgotten since your victory. Can you diminish his powers before our final victory, I feel that his expectations after The City of God will be problematic for us, I propose that he be given domain over Hesperides. Then we can appoint a powerful Dominion in Virgos to ensure he does not become a problem or seek to regain his powers.”

  Lucifer bristled at Asmodeus’ suggestion, he had no idea if he could remove the powers of the Mother Stone. Lucifer perhaps had an idea that it could be done but he certainly had not researched it, and this was not the time to bring up Asmodeus’ petty concerns about a lowly angel. Mulciber spoke before Lucifer.

  “Machariel as you so insultingly refer to him is The Enrauch prophesied in The Holy Anatalian Letters. He along with Lord Lucifer will deliver us from the oppression of Os,” Mulciber wasn’t sure if he believed what he had just said or if he just needed others to believe it to keep his credibility.

  “Machariel is no such thing, The Enrauch is a seraph! I have no idea why you blasphemously interpreted the most sacred of documents in all of Heaven this way and then used your influence as an authority on them to sway others into believing these falsehoods Mulciber!” Baal was near shouting as he angrily discounted Mulciber’s opinion on the documents, “I have had enough of the sanctimonious attitude you have and the pretentious way you sit on the council as if you wrote the letters. You clearly cannot even read them properly when you are pronouncing a lowly angel as one of the most important figures in our emancipation from this oppressive regime!”

  Lucifer felt he was losing control now, he had to maintain the illusion of his belief in the Anatalian Letters, and he also needed to ensure that Machenrauch was held in high esteem, he needed him as both a strategist and a warrior. When Asmodeus found out that Machenrauch had been promised the entirety of Veritas and that Lucifer had misled him about his ability to control Machenrauch, that was going to be another problem. Better to have Asmodeus angry than Machenrauch however, Machenrauch was a far, far more dangerous enemy. So many factions now vied for control of the rebellion and Lucifer needed to hold it together.

  Beelzebub now stood, “Machenrauch is indeed the rightful holder of the title Enrauch. He’s a powerful ally, I don’t understand how you can possibly give these documents you purport to believe in credence if you don’t believe that. A lowly angel leads our forces in battle, he has planned some of our greatest victories. If you believe that angelic hierarchy is sacred and that an angel’s rank determines his place of favor before Temerian, and you do not believe that Machenrauch is The Enrauch, then your theology is flawed. There is no other way to apply the words in the Anatalian Letters to our circumstances. Mulciber is the foremost expert on these documents, he is a faithful believer in them, he is unerring and devoted to these words. What have you, Baal? Why do you so adamantly contradict him?”

  “I just, I have always envisioned The Enrauch as a Seraph,” was Baal’s meek reply.

  “Your imagination deceives you, Baal. You allow your prejudices to cloud your perceptions of the truth. On matters of the Anatalian Letters, you will defer to Mulciber moving forward, understood?” Lucifer stood over Baal and intimidatingly pointed his finger at the arch-angel.

  Baal scowled but sat silent. Asmodeus rolled his eyes and growled to indicate his displeasure at the prompt ending of the debate.

  “I’m glad we all agree,” Lucifer said, cutting the silence. The elation of the battle in Virgos and entering The Citadel victoriously had now died, and he inwardly fumed that his closest allies could not stop arguing long enough to let him continue to enjoy his moment of glory.

  “Now, I wish to be briefed on Machenrauch’s plan,” Lucifer stated.

  “Yes, Lord Lucifer,” Asmodeus, still bristling said, swallowing as much of his anger as he could, “I know that you had wished to be in The City of God before the Temerian Meteor Showers on Nivea, however in anticipation of our invasion Michael has canceled all of the festivities.”

  “Hmm, disappointing,” Lucifer said dispassionately.

  Asmodeus was pleased that Lucifer seemed indifferent about the schedule of the war. He had been ve
ry insistent early on that the invasion of The City of God happen before the festivals associated with the Temerian Meteor shower. Everyone knew that they were going to be unable to attack The City of God before this deadline, but no one had put it into words. Asmodeus was the one elected to state this openly, and he had been anxious about it for days now. That the moment came and went without dramatics was a relief. No one was quite sure why Lucifer wanted to time this invasion with the showers, they assumed the number of angels who would likely be there to witness his defeat of Os, and now that the festivals were canceled it must have been less of a priority.

  Asmodeus had planted a lowly angel in the war room, and now he recounted Machenrauch’s plan to Lucifer and the rest of the angels present. Everyone was impressed by its brilliance. Asmodeus felt that he was perhaps wrong about Machenrauch, this plan definitely seemed to put Lucifer into the position of a hero. It was possible that Machenrauch knew something they weren’t seeing. There was virtually no risk, and the reward was great for the commander of the forces that would intercept the fleeing loyalist angels. Machenrauch would give Lucifer two victories in a row as they marched into The City of God. The plan was brilliant, selfless and nearly guaranteed success.