It was one of the most peaceful vacations in my life. I had no doubt that His Eminence is a Buddha, an accomplished and fully enlightened being. Not merely a humble Tibetan Buddhist monk. With a contagious smile and words, thoughts, and deeds, he invoked peace. He was a miracle to behold. Birds and animals would follow him or perch on his monk robes or sit by his podium as if they, too, were listening to his teachings. Though he had a translator, it sometimes felt like you did not need it. You would somehow phenomenally understand.
Anyways, in the massive shrine room, were paintings of all the elemental Buddhas in their Sambogakaya forms. Or light bodies. On one of these paintings, called Thangkas, there was a picture of Prakuta, the Paradise Realm of Buddha Amagosiddi and Arya Tara. They looked like royalty or saints in the murals.
Even now, as I see them before me, I can tell they’d look different to everyone. We always see things differently depending on our own mental obscurations. Some would see a humble pair of spiritual people. Possibly a long-haired monk or nun. However, those with the gift of sight would see them in their rainbow body forms as I do now. They each had hair so long it looked like it had never been cut. Both of them had their hair in multilayered buns that held five-pointed crowns with five colored gems set in gold. I knew this to symbolize the elements and corresponding ethics. Their hair from the sides of their heads was worn long and loose. They wore clothing that looked to be made of fine multicolored silks like Indian saris. They had belts of fabric tied to their waists. They were covered in long ropes of jewelry with faceted gemstones that draped over their fit bodies. Each adornment I knew too had a meaning. For example, the five points on their crowns represented the five moral tenets of Buddhist philosophy. To refrain from killing, stealing, dishonesty, sexual misconduct, and intoxicants that cloud the mind. Even the chains of six gems represented the Six Perfections, which were virtuous attributes of their philosophy. The six perfections were Generosity, Morality, Patience, Diligence, Wisdom, and Meditation. Tibetan Buddhism was filled with meaningful ways for everyone to increase the good qualities of their lives by cultivating their own innately positive nature through loving-kindness and compassion.
Amagosiddhi and Arya Tara’s figures were perfectly poised. Spines straight, no wrinkles, dirt, bright whites in their eyes, and profoundly vivid irises. Their faces were kind and looked permanent in their expressions of peace and bliss. They stood between the groomsmen and bridesmaids under the huge wisteria blooming silver enforced pergola. Their feet hovered a foot from the ground, and under them was the most giant multicolored lotus flowers in full open bloom I had ever seen. Their skin was flawless and had a luminescence to it. Where Arya Tara was white as snow, Amagosiddhi was bronzed tan like Donovan. Divinity had indeed shown up for this special day. A welcomed kind and for a celebration of their daughter’s special day.
It was hard to look away from such luminous beings, but now was the time for Azrael and Queen Esmarelda to walk the flower surrounded aisle. I glanced at Donovan. I sensed he was aware of these powerful beings being Buddhas. He may not have made the connection to Leilah’s ancestry yet, but none the less I nodded the direction of the aisle. This way, he wouldn’t miss the procession. He nodded back and returned to looking down the aisle. Now I do not feel so bad going overboard with my covering the Emerald City with endless flowers. For it was a fragrant and beautiful sight to behold. Flowers also represent generosity, happiness, and the ability to rise like a lotus from the mud or dirt and bloom stainlessly fragrant. Fireflies and willow wisps were swirling above the thousands assembled that were now standing and looking down the aisle.
Azrael and Queen Esmerelda looked stunning. Though you could tell without question that she was a sovereign of this realm by her jewels, dress, and crown she wore. Her majesty simply wore a bit more elegant of a gown in shades of green than us bridesmaids, determined to not be dressed in finery more captivating than Leilah, the bride. Azrael was completely formal and looked every bit like a god-ascendant prince. He had a golden tunic with platinum piping. There was embroidery on his clothes that held accents of diamonds, citrines, and fire opals tastefully. He was smiling and looking like the happiest being in all the realms as he beheld the beautiful transformation of the palace’s gardens. The clear night sky showed every star and a swirl of color from galaxies. Cherry, jasmine, and scented pear flowers drifted lazily through the air all around him. The air was perfumed sweet and fragrant like gardenias and citrus blossoms. When Azrael and Queen Esmeralda reached the handfasting arbor, they embraced politely. They then separated to face Amagosiddhi and Arya Tara. To my surprise, both of them kneeled and bowed deeply to them. Recognizing them for who they indeed were, I imagine. Then Queen Esmerelda took her seat in the front row, and Azrael stood to the right of his groomsmen. Though he was clearly still in awe at the beautiful wedding transformation of the central gardens, Azrael didn’t let that or the several thousands of guests distract him from seeking his beloved. He was looking down the aisle waiting for Leilah, his bride, and King Emeris. The music’s change was subtle, and then a shower of soft rose petals started floating slowly down on the attendees. He did not have to wait long.
King Emeris came out in his finery that matched his wife’s. He too wore a crown, but it was a simple circlet. The one that stole the show was Leilah, though. She looked like a celestial princess. She was the most beautiful bride in every realm. She came out wearing a dress made of different long trailing layers of sheer golden fabric over a tight white bodice and matching flowing floor-length skirt. Every stitch was done in platinum with symbols in the edges representing the mantras of freedom and long life. She wore her hair half up and half down, the top part intricately braided beautifully with added golden strings. She wore a tiara of silver that sparkled with opals, sapphires, and diamonds. Leilah had citrine crystals woven throughout her hair. Her necklace of pearls holding a phoenix sparkled like a little flame bringing out the golden swirls of her eyes. Jetsunma conjured her elemental powers, and delicately controlled winds made the layers of Leilah’s stunning dress billow like waves in an ocean of golden silks. She looked radiant and happy, appearing as a princess being unveiled to the world under the fabric of the beautiful night sky-filled stars sparkling above her. Flowers softly falling with the breeze and motes of light everywhere the eye could see. It was, in every sense, a magickal and illustrious open-air wedding.
Leilah’s eyes widened slightly upon recognizing her parents, and nodded her head with a kind smile in their direction. Then her attention was glued to her groom Azrael, the love and adoration coming from her eyes as she drew near were clearly evident. Star-coursed lovers, once both shackled Angels, both now god-ascendants through the merit and virtues of their deeds. This was an event as magical as it was symbolic of the days to come. I knew then and there Leilah, Azrael, and everyone in attendance would never forget the splendor of this beautiful evening.
When Leilah and King Emeris reached the wedding arbor, they both kneeled then bowed their heads to Amagosiddhi and Arya Tara respectfully. Then they stood, and King Emeris went to join his wife standing in the front row with the sovereigns and leaders of the other realms in attendance. Leilah and Azrael then clasped hands, and all the guests took their seats, Both Leilah’s and Azrael’s aura’s shining otherworldly but subtle in beams of translucent golden waves of light. Amagosiddhi and Arya Tara emitted rainbows that cascaded over all the attendees with their prayers as they officiated the wedding and gave their blessings to the bride and groom.
Then in front of realms of sovereigns, nobility, gods, Shifters, Fae, Elves, Dragonkin, Dwarves, Angels, and the Emeraldiens, they sealed the ceremony with a kiss. A kiss that invoked the perfectly timed work of Swift’s magick. He sent out fireworks exploding in every color in the night sky. Dazzling the wedding guests and all of us. Everyone was up in a roar of applause after the vows were exchanged and the firework display. Then as the now Wife and Husband left, the procession to get changed for the reception. Doves flew
in every direction following their wake. The ‘perfect dream wedding’ came true, I thought as most of the guests went towards the huge pavilion in the city’s expansive merchant district for the reception.
Meanwhile, the visiting sovereigns from the other realms, Amagosiddhi, Arya Tara, and my friends, went inside the palace proper. There was still time in the interlude between the wedding and reception. Each moment was an opportunity these days, and before you knew it, we had assembled in the Chamber of Lands. Joined by Leilah and Azrael as well as they had changed quickly to equally stunning but more practical garments for the dancing that would occur at the wedding reception in an hour.
The floor map in the Chamber of Lands had changed now. Not only did the map show the realm of the Emeraldiens but all the realms of Terra. What was occurring on the chamber floor made everyone’s eyes widen in shock, Well, almost everyone. Amagosiddi and Arya Tara remained in perfect mental equipoise.
Chapter 28
Abaddon
It appears Lilith has started to send out her retinue from Lunaria to all of the hidden realms simultaneously. The grey dots that represent her forces were now clearly evident in their approaches to well-known destinations of ours. They were en route to the realms of Madera, Draconius, Shangrila, Shunyata, and Iron Sky. They even looked to be sailing to the Isle of Mu, home to the Silver Leaf Fae. It appears that Lillith has given up on her plans to invade the Emeraldien Realm. No doubt from her crippling defeat in more ways than one. We were successful in removing the leashes of influence from Queen Esmerelda and King Emeris’s royal advisor, Enestia. The former spy of Lillith’s well hidden and integrated inside the Emeraldien court. Then we successfully defeated her army at Green Mount Lake. There’s little doubt that she is now accelerating her nefarious plans. The more beings she enslaves, the more powerful she will become. We must not allow her to grow in strength. At the rate, she’s able to extend her minions to other realms. She must have been amassing an army for an unfathomable amount of time. There has to be something we can do to prevent her from amassing more power. I simply haven’t a clue aside from acting defensively to protect the other realms from her malicious intentions.
We’ve already fortified and shielded all of the Isle of Mu where the Silver Leaf Fae reside, and this realm. There’s no way for her to get through the shielding we placed over those two entire realms with our combined powers. No, we had to have faith that these two allied realms were safe. This wasn’t a concern. From what I understood from our reconnaissance Shangrila was equally fortified. Though, I’d have to discover how Queen Padme and King Lux had done so. Regardless, I’d prefer we fortify their realm for ourselves to make sure. Her army must indeed be of a formidable size for her to afford to have her forces spread out while maintaining her grip in the Shadowlands. We must come up with a plan for Lillith certainly has one.
“Assembled sovereigns, nobility, allies, and friends, as you can see, Lilith is starting to make inroads towards your seats of power and realms. Her efforts to invade the Emerald realm were thwarted as we defeated her invading armies at Green Mount and destroyed her demonic portals, thus preventing her from invading these lands and tainting it. The Isle of Mu, just like this realm, has been shielded completely. We must plan together and shield the remaining free realms from her intentions. After we’ve done this, we will need to amass a unified force and take the fight to the Shadowlands and remove the usurper Lillith from her seat of power. Thereby restoring Lunaria for our Unicorn brethren and those that once called the formerly beautiful lands home. All of this must be done with minimal casualties,” I explained my hasty strategy to those assembled.
I met the gaze of all the sovereign present in their eyes to drive the seriousness of the situation, searching for any added knowledge they would impart. There was King Tryst and Queen Mauve of the Iron Sky Dwarves. King Lux and Queen Lumena from the lands of Shunyata, home of the Light-Elves. Queen Padme and King Tenzin, leaders of the Snowlion shifters. They were also fierce protectors of every inhabitant of their realm Shangrila. King Rowan and Queen Hazel of the Wood-Elves hailed from their home-realm of Madera. King Oro, Queen Rhea, Queen Esmarelda, and King Emeris, we already knew well and listened attentively. All the sovereigns of the seven realms nodded their heads in agreement but didn’t offer any additional advice.
“Forgive me for interrupting your majesties, honored guests and friends. However, I may have a solution. We at present have nearly a thousand of Lillith’s army imprisoned and blocked from Lillith’s influence with our wards. Spirit, Pahaliah, and I have healed them as well, for we are honoring Donovan’s mission to not be cruel in our machinations. Most, but not all, are indeed victims of Lillith’s blood magick tethering spell. We’ve been busy and have not been able to interrogate them for information about her plans. We’ve only been able to assess their character. In a circumstance as dire as we’ve been experiencing, would it not do us a great service of liberating them all from her shackles? If her tethered ones are indeed giving her additional power. The logical step would be to cut those cords that feed her powers to weaken her. I’m under no illusion that every being in the dungeon we captured is inherently good. However, the majority are. They’re simply under her control should the wards blocking her influence be removed. With the numerous ones, we’ve captured the chances of some of them knowing of her plans or pertinent information about her forces are high. At a minimum, we should cut them off completely from her influence. Not simply house them in cells that block it. Then we can gather intelligence or even allies from them like we did with Enestia,” Jeremiah offered sagely to my surprise. It was a good plan, and there was logic found in it. It looked like Pahaliah had come at the right time for him. As he was more confident in his importance to our group. He found his purpose, and gone were the lost eyes of a Kindred with their memory erased.
“That is indeed a good plan and a resource readily available for us at present. It’s also in alignment with our goals to free everyone from Lillith’s enslavement. We may not be able to release those with heinous intentions or even learn anything from them as we will not torture other beings. However, those that were victims of her malice and their wills were not their own would most likely be remorseful. Being unbound too would encourage them to possibly use their freedoms towards helping our cause,” Donovan said in agreement. It was indeed a starting point.
“We did learn a lot from Enestia, and she has redeemed herself truly. We still need to work on shielding the other realms, but Lillith’s retinue still has a few days before they can truly invade any realm. They seem to scout first for remote locations in the realm they wish to conquer. Then they build several demonic-scribed monoliths that take two dark mages to activate the violet gateways for her army to teleport in fast numbers. It seems we will never have a full day of peace until we defeat Lillith and restore Lunaria,” I stated factually. As it seemed every day, though, this one was joyful in its start would have its challenges. Our enemies indeed never rested.
“It appears to me we have a plan thus far. To liberate and interrogate the prisoners to gather intelligence that is critical strategically to our cause. While applying the impenetrable Shielding of Virtue to the remaining free realms,” Queen Esmerelda acknowledged. It was a starting point. I’d love to get this started now, but we have a reception to get to.
“Well, we're already cutting it close and are expected in the market square for the wedding reception. There’s no way we’re going to cancel or be no shows on Leilah and Azrael’s special evening. Plus, nearly all the guests are indeed our allies and have fought and defended this realm with us. Keeping their morale high is just as important. Plus, we shouldn’t let all that food go to waste. Full stomachs equal happy people,” of course my beloved Donovan added, thinking equally with his wit, heart, and stomach.
“It’s true, we must continue the festivities for at minimum, a respectable amount of time. It’s well deserved and in need of for our peoples,” agreed King Emeris. I agreed. Moral
e is as important when it comes to defeating enemies, as is intelligence.
“Let us reconvene hereafter the reception. Our realm of Draconious is fully alert, been preparing, and are ready for battle since you returned my beloved Queen Rhea to me. Dragonkin cannot be tethered while awake. We most certainly are aligned with the intentions of the light wielder. I feel confident from this magick-laced map that we have some time yet before they dare enter our lands. As our borders have been sealed and are in constant patrol,” King Oro admitted for which I was grateful. That would be three realms ready to join us.
“My beloved is no doubt wise and also clearly thinking about his insatiable appetite for food. However, it’s true. There is great wisdom in his words. The presence of all us allied sovereigns at reception would be well met,” Queen Rhea added.
“You never answered my question the other day. What do you eat, Queen Rhea?” Donovan asked politely. Through the bond, I also felt he was genuinely curious.
Queen Rhea laughed, and King Oro joined her in amusement. “We are currently shifted into our practical humanoid forms. We eat whatever is offered or prepared for us to eat. We simply eat immense quantities of food in comparison to other species,” answered Rhea with a wink at Donovan, full of mirth and accompanied by a genuine smile.
“Donovan could probably eat more than both of your majesties combined,” Queen Esmerelda confessed respectfully with a smile. To which her husband and most of us laughed in earnest as it was indeed an inside joke. The memory of him eating with abandon the evening after the battle was still fresh in their minds. My beloved has stamina, which he puts to excellent and pleasurable use. I’m guessing food is one of many reasons for it.
Sacred Moon: Book 2 Page 29
