Chapter 1: The Fall of Labyrinthian
“Grandpa, you promised to tell me about the Seraphs tonight!”
In the middle of the night, while everyone else slept, a duo of old and young sat on a rug, facing an old fireplace. The little one kept tugging at the old one, like a thug extorting money from a kid.
“Hmm, as a man, I should always respect my promises, you too, remember!”
(A: Reader, no matter if man or woman or whatever tumblr s.e.x you are now, a person is worth its word, never forget.)
*nod* *nod*
“Okay, keep quiet, we can’t afford to wake your parents, you should be dead asleep long ago… *ahem* let’s start:
There was once a great city, maybe the greatest ever to appear on this earth, its name was Labyrinthian, also called the golden city.”
A look of reminiscences appeared on the old man’s face as he narrated.
“The Golden city walls stood immense protecting everyone... 25 meters tall and with a width of 30, on sunny days their l.u.s.ter would even rival the sun, on the north side its entrance, a gate, sculpted by fine jade, engraved on its precious doors a depiction of humans joining hands with humans, a symbol of harmony and peace, just what the city represented.
And as impressive as the walls, the city buildings, everything made of gold or white marble, roads paved with the finest materials, almost as if they weren’t for stepping on but to admire, statues of heroes and angels at every corner and on every wall mosaics in turquoise and emerald.
Just after the gate you could walk right inside the unlimited market of Labyrinthian, the biggest market of the continent, peddlers from everywhere would describe it with only a few words, ‘if you can’t find it there, it doesn’t exist’.”
He now looked slightly excited as he recalled the greatness of the old city, his one man public kept his ear perked up like antennas afraid of missing even a single syllable.
“Everyday millions of people would walk around in Labyrinthian from random human citizens to lofty angels inhabiting the city, from the cursed half-demons to the blessed seraphims, even if on a perilous balance everything worked just fine.
Truly, a paradise in earth, but like any other good thing, it had to end…. “
Grandpa sighed deeply as his expression turned grim.
“At the time, circa 200 a.d.w (after the demon war), the whole of humanity, 230 million people, unified under the one and only king Raziel III, descendant of Raziel I, the first king and general that took Gaz’s head, the first Demon.
Under Raziel I and Raziel II the humanity had prospered in peace; However, Raziel III was not like his ancestors, ambition burned in his eyes, whenever he looked at a map and saw the free city of Labyrinthian, the only place in the continent outside his control, rage and indignation flashed in his eyes.
What he desired was well beyond normal human hands, the riches of the world had to be his, the people of the continent had to be his, the heavens had to be his and so did eternity, his only obstacle were the Guardians of Balance, the angels.
His ambition one day turned to action as he declared a annihilation war on angels and seraphs alike, his armies marched through the continent extirpating any resistance, and, in a day like any others they finally reaching the place of the last battle, Labyrinthian.
When the city refused to surrender the army attacked, the fierce battle lasted for days, however in the end it was not enough as the city was set on fire and its people executed.”
The last words came out a little hoa.r.s.er than before, the kid seeming unconvinced pressed on with his questions.
“Grandpa, you told me angels are lots’a strong, and humans weak, then how did they win??”
“Numbers, the angels couldn’t have children between each others and even if they could have children with humans, still no new angel would be born, also, during the demon war, lots of angels succ.u.mbed to demons and their numbers were sensibly reduced.
Even if every angel could kill by himself 1000 men, then his power would run-out and nothing good would await a powerless angel on the battlefield.
Against a 10 million man army, the fate of the city had been sealed, no matter how hard the defenders fought, they just weren’t enough.
———–
“We need 500 men to the west gate!”
“Send 2000 archers to the north wall!”
“They are attacking even the east side!”
The Defence’s headquarters were in a chaotic situation, after the arrival of the enemy every fight able person either got on the walls or fought on the street repelling the sea of enemies; the head quarters had the duty to send the right amount of men to the key point trying slow down the human advance.
While everyone from the white garmented guards to the red suited officials clearly knew that their defeat was inevitable they still held on, their only hope and source of strength resided in the ancient council, according to some rumors they had a secret weapon able to revert the situation.
Meanwhile, in the ancient council a.s.sembly room:
A thick atmosphere hovered above the heads of the council members’ heads giving off a dangerous vibe, somehow sensing it Elpis gulped down a mouthful of saliva and steeled his nerves, forcing his body to step forward.
Usually, this room would only be used on two different occasions. Either to discuss important matters regarding the city, or to pa.s.s down judgement on high-profile criminals. Right now Elpis felt that the room"s atmosphere was more befitting the latter one.
Breaking the stillness of the room the middle elder stood up, his red robes softly rustling with every step until he reached Elpis and kneeled down with a swift and sudden motion.
The abrupt actions of the elder not only shocked Elpis but even the other four elders remained flabbergasted. One had to know, not only this man held the highest standing in the entire city, but also his pride reached the stars. Even when held hostage and tortured he never pleaded or asked for help, such a man had unexpectedly kneeled down before a simple guard.
“Please, save us.” the elder’s voice came out without caring a ounce of his usual authority and pride, instead an imploring voice carried out his selfish request.
Startled Elpis remained staring agape at the elder recovering only after a few seconds, a warm feeling spread inside him together with a sensation of foreboding, he squatted and helped the elder to his feet.
“No need for you to kneel before a lowly guard such as myself… Just tell me what can i do and i’ll obey, even if it means dying.” - the resolute look he had in his eyes convinced the elder that his words weren’t empty.
Suppressing a thankful expression, the elder stared straight into the guard’s eyes and sternly warned him:
“What you are going to do is far more difficult than dying, but you are the most qualified for this task, so i’m asking you, Elpis, son of Zadkiel, are you willing to live a life of solitude and sufferance for your people?”
The look of resolution in Elpis’ eyes didn’t waver for even a second and he immediately accepted the task, no matter what hardships would the future throw at him, he would overcome them to protect his kin.
Seemingly satisfied, the elder gestured to a figure hiding in the shadows to step forward. His brown robes indicated he was one of the few chosen to guard the vault containing the immensely powerful artefacts from the pre-war era.
In his hands he held an ordinary looking tablet inscribed with half-faded ancient looking monograms and runes. From the way the man held the tablet you could see how much he cared about the artefact.
After reaching the elder, the man kneeled and with utmost care extended the tablet towards Elpis, who looked at it with a dumb expression. Unsure what to do, he turned his gaze towards the elder.
“This here is Tzaphkiel tablet. After years of studying and translating we finally managed to access a part of its knowledge and found a way to save our people, a spell able to save hundreds of thousands people called Ark.” - the elder paused his words, giving Elpis the time to absorb the informations before resuming.
“However, the spell is only accessible after, from what we understood, a man offers his heart blood in sacrifice. Thus becoming the guardian of the Ark, a Nephilim; For one to become a guardian, they have to meet the many requirements listed in here, as well as pa.s.s our stringent personal criteria, and you, Elpis, meet those criteria”
Without any hesitation Elpis lifted the tablet and asked: “How do i perform the ritual?”
“Are you sure you fully understand what it means? For G.o.d only knows how much time, you will literally hold the fate of all the citizens of this city in your hands. And, if in the future, you were to have a change of heart, it would mean a complete annihilation of us all.” - the grim-looking elder couldn"t help but sternly warn the youth. A half-a.s.sed resolution taken in the heat of one’s youth wouldn’t last long under many setbacks.
“I understand, let’s not waste any more time, people are dying out there! Quick, how do i perform the rite?”
While not completely convinced, the elder had no other choice but to tell him. Had time not been so tight they could have prepared him better or found a better candidate. Unfortunately, they didn’t have this luxury at the moment.
“I hope you really are as sure as you say… The rite itself is actually pretty easy. Using a finger, pierce your chest and heart then drip blood in the middle of the tablet, here...”
His index finger pointed towards a vortex of runes. The more you stared, the more you had the impression of getting sucked in Unsure whether it was the effect of some magic, or an effect of the ancient-looking array, Elpis turned away his gaze.
Taking a deep breath, he placed his hand near the chest and, with a ruthless movement, stabbed himself in the heart Indescribable pain a.s.saulted his mind, discouraging him from keeping on, to defend himself, but he turned a deaf ear to them all and kept digging until he reached his heart.
The soft beating organ came in touch. feeling his own heartbeat, an incredible feeling of peace and harmony swept away his pain, just like when, as a small kid, he had seen a rare white stag drinking from a river. Stabbing his heart meant injuring a defenseless and innocent thing, just like the stag.
But he still did it. Mustering his courage, and ignoring the looming death, he pierced his heart and quickly commanded his hand to rush to the tablet, before his will and body could fail him.
His right hand, just a breath away from death, managed to reach the tablet. However, maybe the shock from the pain was too strong, or the tablet had moved a little, nevertheless, the fact that he missed remained real.
An Opera of death and struggle accompanied his last moments. A chorus of pained soldiers and their fierce war cries, along with metal clangs and violent explosions. A chaos melody worthy of a great composer.
Losing himself in the music everything became faint and distant, family, friends, ambitions. Nothing held that much meaning anymore, that’s, when he understood that death had come and no man or magic could save him at that point.
Of his extreme sacrifice only a few dripping drops of blood on an ordinary looking tablet remained.