“Let me help you figure this out, Rashnir. I’ll tell you about Yahweh,” Kevin said. “Yahweh is life. Sin separates us from that; sin is death. God loves above all else; Yahweh, God, is love. But He is also justice. When man broke God’s law and sinned against Him they were no longer perfect in God’s image: they ceased being perfectly good and lost their inclination to act virtuously. Man gravitated to the absence of good—to evil. The species became inherently evil, in fact, despite the retention of some occasional good traits; we are all inclined to sin and selfishness. It is our nature.
“God’s laws were broken and mankind became a creature of the dark with origins of the light. Because darkness is destroyed by light, God had to remove man from His presence for their own protection.”
Rashnir nodded his head, understanding. Internally, he soaked up the truths as he heard them. Ever since he was young, he’d heard Luciferian myths, but they always rang false to his ears; with no alternatives of belief, he’d grown up rejecting any faith.
“So we are doomed then? Is there nothing we can do to apologize to Yahweh? Is there no way to redeem ourselves?” Rashnir asked, voice tinged with worry.
“There is. God is justice but He is also love. When a child disobeys his parents, his parents do not send him into the wild to die, they provide a way for forgiveness, atonement—sometimes through punishment or consequences.
“Yahweh is love and love is life. Sin, death, is the absence of Yahweh and thus the absence of love and life. In Yahweh’s love, He made a way for us to go back to Him. His justice demanded that someone pay a penalty for breaking His law; that penalty is death. Death is a natural consequence of breaking God’s laws. Somebody had to pay a death sentence for each sin in order for redemption to be made.
“Jesus, the Son of Yahweh—who also is God—came down as a man and died once and for all to pay this penalty. Jesus died a painful and wrongful death; He had never sinned, being God himself, but He died for us anyway and took the sins of mankind upon Himself. He was nailed to a wooden cross and bled out His life for us. Jesus was all-powerful and without sin, so only He could defeat death forever. He was resurrected to life by His own power and was given dominion over death and sin.
“Only He provides the way back to a right relationship, back to life, back to God. Jesus the Christ lets us have life again, freedom from the lies, the selfishness, the sin and darkness. Only Jesus has the power to pay the penalty for your sins, absolve your debt against God’s justice.”
Kevin looked at Rashnir. “Jesus Christ makes people eternally alive. He can provide freedom from death and sin, and He loves you.”
Rashnir paused long and hard. “I just murdered somebody. I sent them to an eternal punishment; I sent Harmarty to a death apart from God. Still, Yahweh would love me?”
“Wouldn’t a father still love one child after harming another of his own? He would correct them, yes, but he would still love them. If the child were sincere, he would forgive his transgression.”
Rashnir looked around, trying to find an excuse to dodge the conviction that plagued his heart. “Why has this knowledge been hidden from us here? Why do the humans on Earth have access to some special, Godly grace?”
“God let humans make their own decisions; those decisions can impact generations. Men chose to live here and leave Yahweh from the beginning. When Jesus came and paid that penalty, He paid it for all of mankind. You have access to that same saving grace; this land has seldom heard it, though. Every time His message is proclaimed here, the messenger is killed or snatched up by the Luciferians. God gave us the power of choice and that is the most powerful thing of all.
“You have heard the Truth now, Rashnir. You have a choice before you. You must choose for the light or for the darkness; and making no choice at all is the same as picking darkness by default.
“Yahweh allowed Lucifer to create this place; that demonstrated to mankind the power of choice and demonstrated to even his angels that God was all powerful. They saw that even Lucifer, the angel to whom the most was given, could not compare in glory or ability. In allowing Lucifer to fail in this grand creation, He humiliated Lucifer by giving him exactly what he wanted and it proved to all of the fallen angels that their choice had been in error. This bred in them seeds of discord and bitterness; they were upset for their own decision—one that they could not take back.
“Lucifer lied to the people here; he is not greater than Yahweh,” Kevin indicated the Luciferian text in front of him. “He did it because he hates us and wants to destroy us. Not only did he nudge mankind into sinfulness, but he is always working to tear down the saints and corrupt that which is good.
“Lucifer created many distractions to keep peoples’ attention away from the Truth and gave them alternatives to Truth by inventing the Luciferian doctrines. He created the ekthro: other living, thinking beings with different natures specifically designed to teach man ungodly habits and attitudes. The bellicose warring of the dwarven culture, the vanity and selfishness of the elves, the power-lust of the centaurs and the despairing dread from raids by goblins, orcs, and more all draw us away from Yahweh.
“Even the natural environment, with the absence of Yahweh’s creativity, acts as an incubator to nurture man’s fallen human nature. Lucifer did not have to leave behind a large number of strong demons to tempt and to lead men astray.
“Lucifer created a place where one could escape from God’s natural revelation. When you look around, you get no sense of the glory of a creator—this creation is corrupted. The things of nature in this place should seem majestic and beautiful, but they instead feel tainted and flat.
“Wickedness vastly increased on Earth because of men who traveled between the realms. They carried an evil taint among God’s people and spread the evil things learned here when they returned to Earth. God had to seal the borders of the realms and destroy the wickedness of man; it had spread to everyone except for Noah and his family. God warned them, and they were saved from destruction. God had to prevent a repeat occurrence and so the floodwaters sealed the gates.
“But Noah’s family didn’t completely forget about everything here. Stories and myths persisted throughout the generations. We have tales on Earth of goblins and elves and the like. They have been around for more than four thousand years—ever since the way was sealed, and yet still the corporate memory exists.
“In this realm, sinful humanity runs rampant without prayers from the saints or God’s graceful intervention. Whenever somebody claims that Lucifer worship is false and destructive, those people are silenced by others who use the Luciferian doctrines for personal gain. Many have set themselves up as minor deities and serve the Demons to gain power and wealth; they worship only themselves.
“Still, the Truth was revealed here about two thousand years ago, but has been covered up by evil forces. Those who lust after power used their authority and influence to silence the message. The powerful fear losing their power so they use their resources to crush the followers of Truth whenever they arise.
“There is a very tiny group of followers even now; they need to know that the end of all things has begun. I am here to tell them that the time to rise up and preach their faith is at hand. Now is the time to reveal to fellow man that the return of Christ is imminent. The gospel must be preached here: Yahweh, God, Jesus Christ, loves all humans and wants them to enter eternal life with Him, not suffer the consequences of their own predisposition.”
Rashnir was moved by Kevin’s passionate words, “What will happen to those who do not believe in this Jesus, if they instead choose Lucifer or choose to rely upon themselves?” His voice carried a note of worry; self-reliance had always been Rashnir’s way.
“‘Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, wh
ich is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we can be saved,’” Kevin quoted from memory, “These are the words of Christ given through his apostle.
“There is one way to live; if you do not choose that way then you cannot be saved from death. When you are confronted with a split in the road, you must make a choice. One path leads down a trail that crowns you as the master of your life—darkness covers that path. The other path is lit by the light of love, by the light of God, as revealed to you by His Holy Spirit. Both of these paths have a definite and eternal destination. The dark path ends in total darkness and pain with loneliness. The lit path ends with the light of Heaven and God’s presence of love and fellowship.”
Rashnir’s eyes glossed with moisture. “But why would He do this for me? Why would a God endure suffering for the wicked?” his voice cracked slightly.
“Why did you charge through Harmarty’s guards? Why did you risk pain to rescue Kelsa from the flames? What drove you through unjust torture to save her?”
Rashnir broke. His eyes flooded and his lungs constricted. A tingle of goosebumps washed over his hair follicles and his heart fell into his diaphragm. “I loved her!” his red, wet eyes met Kevin’s soft compassionate portals. “I did it because she was knit to my soul. We were bound together in love!” he sobbed.
“Exactly!” Kevin burst out. “This is the same reason that Christ died for you. It is how he feels about you.”
Rashnir sobered a little as he weighed his choices.
Kevin went on, “If you were on a trail with two paths, one leading to suffering and loneliness, the other also being difficult—but ending in light and love, which would you pick?”
He understood. Rashnir’s heart decided at that very moment which path he would take. “I choose love,” he whispered. “I choose the path with light.”
Kevin guided him, “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ God has made a way for you to talk to Him and ask Him things through prayer; He hears you when you speak. If you decide to let Christ save you and lead your life, then He will. He doesn’t always communicate directly back to you verbally; God speaks the language of God and we speak the language of men, but you can sense His answers at times and sometimes see the results of your prayers. Sometimes He answers no, but He always answers yes when you ask Him to be your Lord, because He loves you.”
Rashnir nodded. Looking at nothing in particular, nothing at all even. He spoke to God. “I accept the truth. Save me from this corruption and from myself. Make me light; guide me.” Emotion welled up within him and he shuddered.
***
“This is why I am here, Rashnir,” Kevin digressed over supper, “God gave humans who follow him a heavy burden as emissaries to the unsaved world—I must preach His words. I must show others how they can find the Lord of Light; nothing else matters to me anymore. For those who do not know salvation, His words are life and death for eternity. I have a responsibility to present the Message to men. How are people supposed to find this knowledge if they have not been told, and how will they hear if the faithful will not preach?”
Rashnir looked at him and saw Kevin’s passion to guide people to the knowledge of Yahweh. It surpassed even Rashnir’s old hunger for vengeance against the wicked king.
“So then, you are here to find the followers that remain in this place. They are hiding from demonic oppression, or the Luciferians?”
“Yes,” Kyrius said, “Our mission is two-fold. We must find these humans and tell them that it is time to rise up and preach. We must tell them that God desires a missionary heart.
“The other aspect of this undertaking goes along with the first. We must also preach ourselves. This will accomplish Christ’s command, and it will call attention to us. These Christians will hopefully come looking for us when they hear others proclaiming their message.”
“Our immediate plan,” Jorge said, “Is to begin spreading the news and look for others who also oppose the Luciferian doctrines. Undoubtedly, some people will respond as you did. We will eventually find the Christians here as our numbers grow, and we will make a pilgrimage back to Earth before this place perishes in flames and Lucifer is cast into the abyss that has been prepared for him.
“Fire?” Rashnir asked.
“Yes,” the angel continued. “There was a contract struck between Yahweh and Lucifer. It defines the rules which neither God nor Lucifer can break them; Yahweh because of His justice, and Lucifer out of his pride.
“In this contract, when Lucifer bends his knee and proclaims that Jesus is the Lord, this place will ignite in the east and burn to the west. Only those humans who have accepted Christ may cross the flooded boundary and cross into Earth. All living things here will perish and enter whatever eternity that they have chosen.”
Kevin interjected, “Our time here is limited, Rashnir, and our objectives are clear. We must preach, grow, and make the journey back to Earth or we too will perish in the flames. Granted, the passage will be painful, though we will enter eternal life right away—but the angels will not.”
Jorge and Kyrius nodded their assent. “We certainly do not want this,” Kyrius said, “If we perish in this realm, our essence will be annihilated. In this place, Lucifer was allowed to create his own laws of physics. Here, we can die—and we have no eternal soul to transcend our corporal being.”
“You see,” Kevin agreed, “Humans are composed of three parts. We have the physical body; it is a vessel of flesh that houses the rest of us. It is a vehicle for transporting the spirit and soul.
“The second part is the spirit. Your spirit, your mental capabilities, is your thoughts and emotions. What you feel and how you feel as well as what you are thinking and your reasoning functions. Your brain physically stores this material, but your mind is the device that accesses the data and uses it, reasons with it. Chemicals within your blood transmit signals that relay emotions and feelings, but your mind interprets these things and controls them. With your mind, you can turn off these feelings. You can choose to love or to hate, you can choose to be indifferent and you can choose for your thoughts to dwell on things that change the way you feel. By this I mean that you might have hateful thoughts toward another, but by choosing to not think about it, it won’t linger and the emotion will pass so that you can use reason to deal with the problems there.
“Your soul is the third and most important because it is eternal and cannot be destroyed. Your soul is the essence of who you are. It is immaterial but it is a reflection of the rest of you—it is the core of your very being. Your soul will transcend this present, physical life. It is who you are.
“Think of it like this: a carriage pulling a king is like a person. The carriage is the physical body; the king and his commands and directions are like his mind; his royal legacy, how his subjects see and remember him, is like his soul.”
“Angels,” Jorge said, “do not have a soul. While we are eternal, Lucifer’s twisted rules lock our essence into this plane. We are very vulnerable here because our essence cannot transcend this dimension of existence like a soul can. On Earth we can transmute, we can be physical or not be physical…here we are locked in physical form. We are similar in basic physical makeup to any of the ekthro and must physically pass through the Western Gate in order to leave.”
“Why come, then,” Rashnir asked, “why not leave this job up to humans?”
“We are needed on this mission,” Kyrius said.
“Because,” Jorge added, “the desired outcome is worth the risks—even though we risk everything.”
They heard the thundering claps of many hoofs racing across the hardened earth outside of the tavern. Several horseback riders rode quickly through the worn roads that crisscrossed through Grinden as if on an urgent mission.
Silence washed over the group; they each deduced the same reason fo
r a heavy dispatch of riders. It was highly likely that Rashnir’s actions had caused it.
Rashnir, curiosity piqued, rose and went to the door. He peeked out and saw the group of four heavy soldiers gallop towards the local garrison.
The garrison in Grinden was not an effective way of keeping peace. It was really just a collection of selected mercenaries from the Guild; the guildhouse selected people to staff it and the mercenaries’ contingent received a kickback from the local city taxes. They acted as peacekeepers and handled local disputes and investigations, but if you wanted any real force, you had to hire a direct contingent from the Mercenaries Guild; it was truly a bait-and-switch form of law enforcement.
Garrison duty was often used as a training exercise for new guild members. Even if it was an impotent method of law enforcement, it was the best place to start gathering information or spread news through Grinden.
Jaker, the current head of Rogis’ Rangers, stepped out of the garrison. The riders conversed with him for a few moments and then Jaker rubbed his stubble-fleeced chin in contemplation. Jaker stared off in thought and inadvertently locked eyes with Rashnir, who leaned suspiciously out of the entry to the Green Serpent Inn. Jaker read the discomfort in Rashnir’s eyes.
Rashnir broke eye contact and stepped back inside the tavern. He returned to his chair and sat with his new allies.
“Well?” Kyrius asked.
“I think trouble is coming.”
Chapter Seven
Jaker stepped through the door of the Green Serpent Inn and quickly spotted his mark. He wasn’t hard to find; only six people occupied the place, including the bartender. At the far table he saw two men who could pass for anakim. A third man at their table dripped of foreign mannerisms and body language. Their fourth member tried too hard to act inconspicuous.
Jaker assessed every detail of the room as he entered. His sharp eyes darted this way and that. Although Jaker was not a muscular powerhouse like many mercenaries, or as skilled with a blade and highly trained as Rashnir was, Jaker had many assets that made him the most talented member on the current roster of Rogis’ Rangers. Foremost on the list of Jaker’s talents was his cunning wit and fast intellect; he had an uncanny knack for reading situations. A close second was his love for fancy weapons and gadgets such as his alchemical crossbow and a collection of other rare and powerful items and weapons which only few knew the limit of.
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