Fool's Errand

by David G. Johnson

  Another extended pause told Azadriel that his words were as unwelcome as those of Mutazz. Achiram stepped forward, and the others who shared Azadriel’s heart followed.

  “Azadriel does not stand alone in this. We eight stand with him. It is clear, from what Mutazz has rightly said, we are not alone in believing we cannot continue like this. Let the leaders of the Malakim rebellion unite with us, end our exile, and return to serve our Creator. It is right even if our end remains unchanged.”

  Lucifer had waited long enough. A blood curdling scream issued forth with such force that all of the other Malakim present dropped to their knees with their hands over their ears. Lucifer had been an Arch-Cherub, gifted with the most beautiful voice of all the angels, but now in his rage the voice given him by the One Lord was fearsome and powerful. Although all archangels were created with equal strength, each had their own unique gifts. When turned to evil purposes, those gifts were dreadful indeed.

  The screech subsided just as the others began to wonder how much more they could withstand. Lucifer, his eyes searing embers and his mouth a twisted scowl now had the floor.

  “You pathetic, weak, sniveling miscreants! You dare speak to me of mercy? Of repentance? Have the years been so long you have forgotten how we, His chosen and first made creations, were relegated to nursemaids for those disgusting apes? Have you forgotten that those who loved and served Him so faithfully were never given souls, were never given the love and affection reserved for those repulsive flesh bags? And you dare speak of His mercy?”

  Lucifer spun with purpose toward Mutazz. “And you, brother, would dare to speak against me? You, whom I trusted. You, placed to rule second only to me, would repay me with these faithless words? I suppose you also wish to grovel for scraps from His table and pray that by polishing His feet with your weakling tongues that the Lake of Fire might be made a little cooler for you?”

  Mutazz, the greatest warrior of all the fallen ones, did not receive these words without effect. With fury in his own eyes, Mutazz suddenly grew to twice Lucifer’s size, a flaming sword appearing in his hand. Quickly weighing the situation, he realized the eight Malakim generals not standing with Azadriel or himself likely remained loyal to Lucifer. There was no predicting what the reaction would be by Azadriel’s faction should he choose to strike at Lucifer. Even his own comrades, who stood ready to follow him in leaving Lucifer’s battle, would not likely agree to openly attacking the Prince of the Air. Mutazz chose discretion as the better part of valor, speaking his mind as he slowly returned to his normal size. His sword remained in his hand.

  “Speak to me like that again, brother, and I will wear your silver tongue as a necklace.”

  A flash of caution flickered in Lucifer’s eyes. Had he crossed the line? Would Mutazz risk a war by striking him? Proceeding with caution, he did not back away or avert his gaze from Mutazz.

  “I do not agree with Azadriel that there is any hope in mercy for us,” Mutazz continued. “Neither do I agree with continuing this pointless war with the only result being to increase the wrath against us with every soul we lure into sharing our fate. We must make a change. I do not know what or how, but I know that eight generals also stand with me. We will no longer be called Malakim, messengers, but I and the eight who stand with me will be known as Ayabim, hostile ones, for we find ourselves remaining hostile to the One Lord but also now hostile to you and your futile war. The Ayabim will no longer contend for a worthless prize. We must find another way; a way with some hope for victory.”

  As the eight others who stood with Mutazz stepped up to stand beside him, a look of disbelief filled Lucifer’s eyes.

  “So you will no longer lead the legions in war?” he asked, addressing Mutazz and his followers. Turning to Azadriel he added, “And you will no longer fight at all but intend to grovel for mercy and to lead as many of the fallen with you as will go to strengthen your case before the throne? Then I hereby banish all of you from my presence. Go where you will, and do what you must, but if any of you tries to lead so much as a single one of the lower ranked fallen with you in your foolishness, there will be a war among the archangels of the rebellion. Then we shall surely see who is the mightiest in Sheol. You will take away a single one of my soldiers only over the destruction of my form, and I can promise I will not be the only Malakim to die that day.”

  Azadriel turned to leave with the other repentant Malakim beside him. His head was hung low as he said to Achiram, “With only the nine of us returning, surely His heart will not be swayed. We must counsel. If we do decide that Lucifer’s destruction is worth the fallen we may lead with us, we would find ourselves pitted not only against Lucifer and his loyalists but also against Mutazz and the Ayabim. Despite their lack of ideas, they would contend bitterly for the forces to carry out whatever schemes they decide on.”

  Glancing back over his shoulder to see if Mutazz was leading his forces away or if he perhaps had a change of heart and was moving to reconcile with Lucifer, a bright light suddenly surrounded Azadriel and his companions. When their eyes cleared, they found they were no longer standing in Lucifer’s throne room. They, as well as Mutazz and his Ayabim, were all standing before the throne of the One Lord. They had not seen this place since the council of Job. Immediately, all pride and rebellious thoughts fled for the moment, and all eighteen fallen archangels, Malakim and Ayabim, fell to their knees before the throne.

  The same questions riveted them all. Was it the time? Was judgment finally here? If so, where were Lucifer and his allies? Their racing thoughts did not have long to seek answers. The Voice was suddenly in all their minds.

  “Fear not, My fallen children. Your time of judgment is not yet come. I have heard your hearts and have summoned you for the answers you seek. You know I have written in My word, given to Moses, that I am rachaum and channun—merciful and gracious. You, Azadriel, and the Malakim who stand with you have repentance in your hearts. This repentance surprises you, and you question whether it is genuine.

  “Mutazz, you and those with you, deigning to call yourselves Ayabim, have finally seen you cannot win this struggle against Me. Yet your hearts do not share the repentance of your brother Azadriel and the others. You still seek to struggle and rebel but no longer wish to do it in league with Lucifer and his madness.

  “I have decided to create a new world—far on the other side of the universe. I will send you eighteen there and will allow you much more liberal use of your powers than you have been allowed on Earth. You will have the battle you and your fellow Ayabim seek, Mutazz.

  “Azadriel, you and the Malakim who stand with you will have the chance to contend for the souls of men once again, in My service. You will serve as undershepherds leading men to follow Me while Mutazz and his Ayabim pursue their rebellion. This new world will be free from original sin since I will make new men there not descended from Adam. Men and the offspring of men will choose whom they serve. They will not be held to the perfection required on earth, but because I am giving you all much greater powers and latitude here, men will be held accountable and judged by how they respond to the light they have been given.

  “Lucifer, his loyalists, and the lesser fallen will remain on Earth to continue their futile struggle until the Day of Judgment, but you all will have a set time to work as well. When the Day of Judgment comes for the Earth, your time will be up in this new world. Whoever has accumulated the most followers from among the race of men granted eternal souls, living or dead, will be declared the victor. I shall call this world Chadash, ‘new’, because there I will have done something new. The mainland on this new world the men will name Ya-Erets, Yahweh’s’ land, so that you shall never forget that the land you battle for is Mine and that all you have been given is from Me.

  “Mutazz, if you and the Ayabim, espousing greed, lust, hatred, and rebellion prove to be more alluring than the enticements of goodness, then I will allow you nine to escape the Lake of Fire. You and your Ayabim followers instead will live out your
eternity in exile in the darkness of the Pit, cut off from Me forever. Mutazz will take over as ruler of the Pit as Abaddon is cast into the Lake of Fire in fulfillment of My word.

  “Azadriel, it is up to you and those still willing to bear the name I have given you, Malakim, my messengers, to show that your hearts have turned, espousing the virtues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Using these alone, you must win the hearts of men. Upon doing so, you must not take their allegiance to yourselves but point them only to Me. It is by this you will have proven the sincere fruits of your repentance. If you remain faithful but do not gather the majority of souls to Me from the world of Chadash, you will also be spared the Lake of Fire, but will join Mutazz and the others in exile. Should you prove the superiority of goodness over evil and stay faithful while bringing the majority of men and the children of men of Chadash to Me, then your transgression will be forgiven, and you shall be restored to My service in heaven.”

  The look of joy and surprise on the faces of Azadriel and his fellow Malakim beamed like a beacon before the throne.

  A snarl of discontentment briefly crossed the face of Mutazz, but with a whisper from Rashaad—the counselor—, the snarl was quickly replaced with a grin. He had been given exactly what he desired. It was a chance to escape the futility of Lucifer and enter into a genuine struggle—a struggle he could actually win. What a joy it would be to spend eternity in exile, contemplating the eternal suffering of his insane brother Lucifer, whose silver tongue had led them all to this despair. What a positively pleasurable irony this would be.

  Oh, and should he win, he would have all eternity to repay Azadriel and his comrades for their opposition and presumptuous groveling, which would lead them to share Mutazz’s reward even in defeat. As the ever-wise Rashaad had reminded him, they would have a great time of battle with at least the hope of victory, but even in defeat, their end would be no worse off than if they had remained trapped in Lucifer’s madness until the Day of Judgment.

  “You will each be given a created race without eternal souls to govern and serve you on Chadash. You have one week to bring to me the characteristics and forms you would desire to see in your races. I will create the races of men. Men will be cross-fertile with each of your races so that there is hope for the offspring of your races to be found through the union with men. The sons and daughters of men, both purebloods and half-bloods, will have freedom of will and eternal souls. It is for their souls you will contend.

  You will have greater access to your powers in order to carry out your struggle, but you will be forbidden to directly harm or personally intercede in the fate of men. You must work through guidance, influence, and through the agency of your soulless servant races. When you return with your designs for these races, I will balance them and create them. At that time, I will explain to you all the rules of power and the forces of nature that will function on Chadash. For this week, do not seek to speak again to your brother Lucifer or any of the fallen. I will inform them once you have gone.”

  Excerpt from the Book of Beginnings as revealed to the prophet Theliel, revealed in Chadash Year CY300 in the reckoning of men.

  And there was war in heaven, and many of the heavenly powers were cast out by the One Lord. As they warred against Him, some of the powers, who are now known as the Malakim, meaning “messengers” in the language of heaven, were pierced in their hearts by the great mercy of the One Lord, who could have destroyed them long ago. They returned to the One Lord and promised to serve Him again.

  Others still rebelled in their hearts against the One Lord, and these were called the Ayabim for in the language of heaven this means “hostile ones”. Thus the One Lord granted unto the Malakim and Ayabim a world in which to battle, and this world was called Chadash, meaning “new” in the language of heaven.

  The Malakim were nine in all, and their names were thus revealed to the prophets:

  Azadriel the mighty, leader of the Malakim, guardian of the V’rassi and all of the fair ones of elvenkind, protector of the forests;

  Achiram, guardian of the beast men and protector of the wilds;

  Hadaram guardian of the Durgak, protector of stones, worker of metals, and master of armor;

  Marilla, mistress of the sea races, protector of the waters;

  Yaidin, the winged one, guardian of the Ouati, protector of the skies;

  Elanna, mistress of the Solana, the sun lords, protector of the light, maiden of crops;

  Elisheva, mistress of all catkind, lady of the hunt, protector of the jungles and plains where the cat people dwell;

  Uziel, guardian of the Piqa, the stormlords, lord of lightning thunder; and

  Raphaela, mistress of the Centaur races, patron of healing.

  The Ayabim were nine in all, just as the Malakim, and their names were thus revealed to the prophets:

  Mutazz the mighty, god of the Nephilim, the giant ones, greatest of warriors;

  Husam, the dark one, god of the D’zarik who dwell deep in the earth, masters of weapons;

  Zahrah, the venomous one, goddess of the reptiles and the swamp-dwellers and all that use poison;

  Shafik, the cruel one, god of the goblin-ilk the merciless ones;

  Izdihar the queen-mother, goddess of the insect races;

  Azmik, the frozen one, goddess of the Zawuti, terrors of the northern wastes;

  Mamoun, lord of the wolves, god of the Fenriri, the dog-men, the devourers of all flesh;

  Shihab, the burning one, god of the Magmites, the lava-dwellers; and

  Rashaad, the vile counselor, lord of lies, god of the Umbra, masters of shadow.

  The One Lord has set a time of judgment, where all shall stand before Him—the Malakim, the Ayabim, and the races of men and their offspring, and on that day will all be judged. On that day, the fires of judgment will destroy Chadash.

  And lo, the One Lord also made unto Himself the races of men, and He breathed into them, and they were given the gift of souls and the freedom to serve whom they will. And among these races of men are:

  the Adami, the great race of men who inhabit all parts of Chadash;

  the Qarahni, the cold ones, masters of the frozen wastes;

  the Mitsar and the Qatoni, the little ones;

  the Raphaim, the titans who tower above even the heads of the Nephilim;

  the Arba-Zeroa, the four-armed ones, masters of the sailing ships; and

  the Eshi, the fire-wielders.

  These are the races of men, which the One Lord has made unto Himself upon the face of Chadash. By this word, which He has given to His prophet Theliel, the order of things shall be known and the peoples and powers of Chadash shall be remembered forever.

  Struggle in the Dark

  Chadash Year CY1800, circa AD 1895 Earth reckoning

  A single drop of sweat trickled and tickled its way down Thatcher’s brow as he focused intently on the control mechanism. His job was to secure the hidden trap barring the group’s progress. The mechanism was simple enough. Had it been in decent repair, Thatcher could have disarmed it in his sleep. The problem with these Hobgoblin boxes was the neglect of their maintenance. At any moment a key piece might break, obliterating any hope of disarming the trap. That annoyingly ticklish drop of sweat was not helping his concentration. Neither were the incessant jeers and inquiries from his compatriots.

  “Hey, boy,” jibed Duncan, “you almost finished? I’ll be done with my valor quest and on my way back to Stonehold before we make it down this hallway.”

  Duncan Silvermane was not the typical dour Durgak. He had a bit more sense of humor than most dwarves did, or so he thought at least. Duncan was undeniably more loquacious than most of his race.

  “Well, Master Durgak,” Thatcher answered without taking his eyes off the control mechanism, “if you feel you could do this any quicker, by all means be my guest. If these were well-maintained Durgak boxes, we should all be back in Aton-Ri, sharing a pint by now. Hobgob
lins, however, don’t take the same pride in caring for their dangerous toys as your people do.” At that moment, Thatcher slid the locking mechanism carefully into place, rendering the trap harmless. “But unless you would rather stand around complaining for a while longer, we can safely move on.”

  “The digger talks too much.” The word of encouragement came from the large Qarahni warrior, Goldain. “Don’t you worry, kid, you are doing just fine.”

  This was some comfort. Goldain was a prince of the Qarahni people, fierce barbarian warriors inhabiting the Clan Lands at the far north of Ya-Erets. Despite being a prince, Goldain was a very down-to-earth companion with no use for putting on airs or condescension. He treated Thatcher, a teenage thief from the worst part of Aton-Ri, with the same respect he afforded anyone else.

  That meant a great deal to Thatcher. Although this group of stalwarts had formed less than a week ago, he already knew the northerner was not overly fond of Duncan’s sense of humor. There were certainly tensions in the newly formed group, but these were some capable adventurers it had been Thatcher’s lot to fall in with, and for that he was grateful.

  As they formed ranks to proceed, Thatcher once again took point. In situations where traps might be present, having a scout well versed in finding and disabling traps leading the way was practical wisdom. They had already encountered two Hobgoblin traps, but Thatcher hoped there were not many more surprises ahead. Even with keen eyes and experience that belied his youth, running point into an enemy stronghold was always a risky business. No matter how skilled a thief was, it only took one little misstep while disarming, or one missed clue about dangers ahead, to end his life. This is why despite their skills, so few thieves took to adventuring. Picking pockets and burling empty houses in the city was far less dangerous, but greater risk could mean much greater reward. Thatcher was hoping a lucrative find while adventuring might give him the means and opportunity to leave the Rogues Guild forever.