Crux: Revelation

Nadir dreamt. He dreamt as never before, witnessing the past while the Mother of Crux spoke to him, narrating the events as they came. It made the seraphim… angry, if one like itself could feel that way. Nadir was designed pure, as hundreds of children whose innocence had been enhanced and focused into a single will. Flawed. A higher angel indeed, yet still capable of mistake and even sin. Turned out, as the seraphim realized, free will was a giant bitch. Nadir dreamt, aware of his or her sins.

Can you see it, young one? The first creation? The light that sparked in darkness and the sands of the void being revealed to me? I was there from the beginning. Or, if time is a value to you, very close to it…

In the blackness of space, a sun exploded into birth, yellow, warm, gigantic. Soon, light sped through towards the outskirts of darkness, where even the smallest specs of space dust came into view. And every grain of sand in those clouds of grey became connected by illumination. It was, for all the angels knew, the first notion of Good, the first metaphor. Light versus darkness, the conquering of the unknown, order in a chaotic existence. All intelligent life forms would follow after, living cycle after cycle those eras of darkness and light. Renaissance made universal.

Galaxies appeared and swirled at a slow pace, as Creation itself mixed the purest of magic with the laws of being. It played with dimensions and probabilities like a child does with marbles, and colours beyond imagination were revealed into stars and worlds made of gases and fluids and innumerable other types of matter. And among it all, the giant life-breathing sun.

As the view rotated slowly around it, with billions of astral bodies in the background, Nadir saw the cherub. The first of her kind and almost as perfect as the Creator Himself. She admired life in awe, looking at the immensity and complexity of it all, comprehending everything at the same time. An aura of bliss shone around her, enveloping her pulsating body into brilliance, and Nadir knew, felt, that her joy sprung from the concept of time, which was created along with life. Evolution.

You understand. How can you not? For being part of the High means being a creator, a parent, whose purpose is watching over their children, and being nothing without it. Give birth and watch it grow and develop into a wonder and rejoice! For without the bliss of this entire experience you are nothing but gloom…

The cherub took that lesson to heart. She spread her arms and wings as wide as she could, embracing that primal sun. Then said her goodbyes.

Others appeared and embraced her, feeling her need to depart. While they were made to stand by and guard, she, as a cherub, was designed for more than just sing the glory of Life. It was, of course, a matter of choice, and hers was to wander the Universe and discover its’ awesomeness. In those moments, Nadir felt like an insect in comparison to the entities aligned there. It felt like he wouldn’t belong among such a confederacy of god-like beings.

The seraphim followed the cherub, watching from her shoulder at the wonders she encountered right from the beginning. Even in its’ gigantic existence, it never saw such amazing things, it never fully witnessed what the Creator was capable of. That however did not fill it with humility, as one would think, but frustration… and jealousy. It tried to shout at the cherub, to make her stop this vision, but when it tried to speak, its’ mouth would not release one sound.

Such a paradox, seraphim. Such contradictory feelings wash over you… Purity tainted. And taint purified… We are not so different, you and I. Observe!

The seraphim looked indeed, relaxing its’ mind as it saw the cherub stop in the middle of nothing. Granted, stars would shine and planets would appear somewhere far, but it saw nothing truly special about that particular spot. And then it realized that, while watching her for seconds, she actually spent centuries just learning about the mystic rivers of unseen power that flew in from all over the Universe. With the patience that only such a being could posses, she studied and built layer upon layer of matter, until a sphere the size of a basketball was created. It made Nadir laugh and want to snort arrogantly, but it could still not speak.

She absorbed the object into her golden spiritual body and a field of pure magic exploded around her, growing until it became the size of a large planet. At first it was made just of electrical energy waves (or what seemed like it), but then Nadir noticed masses of mist growing and fountains of translucent liquids erupt. It saw solid earth continents shifting, while the cherubs’ light, in the center of all, became less and less visible. Yellow lightning crackled around the surface, connecting living and moving objects, static and noise and phenomena of infinite complexity until it all fell into silence. For long moments, the seraphim thought she had failed, for impressive as it was, it didn’t seem like such an achievement. But a light beam shot forth from the darkness beyond, travelling from unreachable distances, and hit the world the cherub had created. And then Nadir saw it…

Stars and worlds and realms from other dimensions were brought here to greet my creation, the cherub said with a bell-like voice, as all around Crux incredible celestial bodies appeared and the sky around it filled with stars and planets. Nadir knew that they were there all along, hidden into a dimension a mere seraphim could not see, but along with this new worlds’ birth, the hidden web of time and space painted the unseen objects in an incredible colour spectrum just for her. Oceans of space energy broke into rivers, all flowing towards the center of the planet, and she emerged above it, once again embracing the light beam until its’ intensity diminished and became just another distant sun.

The cherub shrunk to a man’s size and hovered down to the surface, to a place Nadir had never seen before. It realized that Crux was not as it knew it now, but had evolved in time as well. She was greeted by entities Nadir recognized, such as Yarin the wise, and many others who came to that place of heavenly beauty and tranquillity. As the creatures congregating there created a circle around the cherub, she spoke again:

I made them into existence, young one. It was then I truly felt a creature of the Creator, a part of Him. Just like they, perfect in the form I had chosen for them, were a part of me. I would see them exist and grow and witness their impact on my world, for I was not only an architect, but a mother. They were superb in their unique way, some resembling other beings I had met before in my voyage… Others were made into shapes I had never seen before, and which I had thought to be original. Perhaps they were.

She paused and seemed to look straight at the Nadir, an aura of impatience around her, while the background shifted as someone had pressed the fast forward button on the evolution cam. When she spoke again, she rested on a white marble bench, in the place now known as Enoch.

I watched over my creation for aeons, while He made others like me, some brighter, some more knowledgeable, some single-purposed. And all of you were sent to watch over worlds just like my own, and battle darkness wherever you found it. I knew of it all, for we were all made brothers and sisters, even though not all of my siblings possessed my insight of the Bond. Residing here, all existence converged into me and, just like Him, I was knew everything of the present. I knew you and your brothers walked many realms and some turned to material form to experience life just like the smallest of His children. And I was happy… No longer was I the only one to be a parent, to witness that miracle… Yes, Nadir. I felt fantastic joy knowing this.

The seraphim wanted to speak but she would still not allow it. As he peered into her essence, he felt stunned, if only for a split second.

Your children… Such biological wonders! They made me crave for that experience, even if it was a lesser creation process. The simplicity of it all puzzled and delighted me… Yet not for long, not by my standards. Soon enough He became angered with the chaos you had sown on his worlds. The Nephalem rose to become a force of destruction just by walking and breathing. The balance was broken but I could not stand them being annihilated simply for existing. Thus I took them all and made my world their home. But you know all this… You know it well.

Nadir scowled under his silvery hood. He felt the urge to scream and lash out, disgusted and appalled by the thought. She knew it, she felt his loathing of the Fallen, but she knew better his need to destroy their seed. Their children.

I do understand, you know… You can’t help it because you are made that way. You would rather see the Universe burn to ashes around you than allow your children to fraternize with theirs. As I gave them ALL a home, you and others like you, even Fallen ones, felt betrayed. Felt dirty. But what you failed to understand was that this was not your decision to make. While all of you were indeed parents, you were not single creators. Not like Him and not like me. The Nephalem had mothers and fathers that were not eternal, some not even touched by the magic. Not holy, not High nor Fallen. Yet simple beings, blessed with free will, who loved their offspring and would have educated them one way or the other.

The seraphim shook with fury. It wanted to bite and claw at the concept. It felt like those poor material shells had no such right. They were just… pods. Simple containers for beings that defied the laws set by the Creator. And that, in its’ essence, was worthy to be called a miracle.

Such anger in you! …I mourn for your lack of capacity to forgive and accept. I created Enoch for all, Nadir. I gave them a chance to become what they wished instead of being slaves to their nature. In whatever world they were born, by the rules of space, they were obligated to become the embodiment of good or evil. But here… Here they could grow into something more. Can you not understand that?

With all his might, the seraphim broke her spell. Or she had finally released it to speak.

“And mix their essence with one another!” it thundered. “I would rather be torn apart, cell by cell, than see the High Children tainted with the filth of demons! Banishing you from this dimension was a price I would gladly pay over and over again!”

…That saddens me deeply. While I understand you repelling the Fallen as your nature demands, I cannot comprehend your pact. Allying yourself with that which you hate most, stealing the choice your children could have had and fighting your own sister… That I can’t forgive.

Its’ hundreds of children voices laughed at the same time, while the seraphim’s whole body shook and sparkled with silver energy.

“Forgive? I never asked for it! Not from you or any other being in existence. I was made pure, thus I cannot be wrong. You however ARE flawed. Your judgements are clouded and subjective! I have allied myself with demons, yes. But that was necessity. While you, however, decided all by yourself to mix Light and Darkness on your pitiful little planet. Why do you think He hadn’t intervened, …sister?”

She remained silent and, even though Nadir could not see her face beyond that golden light, it felt like she was looking at the it with sadness and pity in her eyes. She finally spoke gently:

But He had, young one. I still exist. Trapped by your rituals and bound by certain laws you and the demons agreed upon. You may think it was a precaution not to destroy me in case they might go back on their word, but I think of it as… divine intervention.

“Call it what you will, cherub. You are locked away from the Nephalem and you will never walk free again, free to taint our spawn with… theirs. I will see to that.”

Never is a word not even I would dare use, my brother. For whatever reasons you believe you have succeeded in your task, I assure you it’s just a false impression. Soon you will learn that nothing but Him is eternal… Not even your well-thought rituals.

“You put your faith in that Fallen scum! That is truly amazing! …He will be dealt with soon enough. As all will witness the might of the Celestials! Your view on existence is quite pathetic…” Nadir replied with disgust.

You forget one thing, seraphim: although you broke the wills of all Nephalem and made them into your image, the one you call scum still fights, as he did for aeons. You see, Nadir… It is not a matter of action” she concluded peacefully.. “If Maar succeeds or not, it does not matter.

“And what does matter then?” the seraphim shouted in frustration.

The example of freedom. The word made real, for in the beginning… it was just the word. Now be gone!

Nadir awoke in the gardens of Enoch. Or more accurately, it finally managed to open its’ eyes. The old High was still kneeling at its’ feet, awaiting in silence the instructions. It spoke in those pure voices:

“Our entire existence is in jeopardy, Athos. You must destroy that Fallen now lest we will become infected by evil.”

“I already had Arwen hunt for him, lord. It shouldn’t be long now. He and the Nilithar will soon be extinguished.” The white haired man replied, still not daring to look up at the seraphim.

“Send an army, Athos! Send everyone if you must! My vision was not just a threat made by… an old enemy. But an omen!” Nadir boomed, but soon realized he must switch tactics as the High Nephalem shook and opened his eyes at the seraphim’s reaction. It lowered his tone and added “Trust in me. I love you, my son.”