The Chronicles of the Four Heirs: WAR

Chapter 6

Over the course of the next few weeks, I would also be taught the history of the choirs of angels, what Spheres they belonged to and the history of existence. Silas would spend hours explaining angel combat tactics and why certain conflicts failed.

“What do you know about the Arch Angels?” Silas asked me as we went through the days combat drills. We were working on my use of knives in combat, the drill used metal pipes and the exercise was very repetitive. It was a nice crisp fall morning today, not a cloud in the sky. There was no one around our little clearing in the woods and the sound of the metal pipes would echo off the trees.

“Only what we were taught at the academy,” I replied as we began striking the metal rods, we held together creating an almost haunting melody from the individual pings from the pipes hitting each other. 

“Well let’s start here how many archangels are there,” he asked striking the side of my knee with one of his metal rods, “remember to leave no holes in your area of reach.” 

“Well, I always thought there 7,” I replied continuing our exercise.

“That is where you are incorrect, there are in fact 15 arch angels,” Silas replied as he tapped my shoulder, “again hole in your area of reach.”

“So, there are 8 that are arch angels that aren’t talked about then,” I replied again resuming the exercise. “Why don’t we know about them?”

“Human were never supposed to learn of the first 7, mainly because the angelic choirs were never supposed to know about them,” Silas replied picking up speed with the exercises and changing stances. 

“How did the Angels find out about them,” I asked as he struck the side of my hip. 

Silas stopped mid swing for a second and arched his brow and stared at me while deep in thought. He motioned for us to sit on a couple tree stumps near our clearing. As he sat down, he exhaled heavily, “when God began Creation, he originally created 7 beings with as much cosmic power individually that their power was almost equal to that of the Lord. They had the power to create as well as to destroy, they could breathe life into nothing, and they were the ones who helped create the universe you know.” 

I sat down on the stump next to Silas putting my pipes on the ground. “However, they were incomplete as all first creations are,” he continued, “they lacked emotion and would destroy just as quickly as they created and God had to do what all creators must eventually, he had to destroy them. The battle that waged between them lasted longer than the human mind can comprehend and resulted in what you on earth used to call the Big Bang. 8 celestial, all-powerful cosmic beings waging battle essentially created your world and countless others.” 

He paused for a moment and then resumed, “In the aftermath of the Big Bang only 4 were still alive but just barely. As the Lord stood over them, he stopped and Instead of destroying them, gave them a chance to redeem themselves by giving them a task that only the four of them could be capable of. However, by doing so also cursed them for all of eternity and at the end of time those 4 will remain, never dying and just existing in the vast emptiness that is to follow.”

He closed his eyes, “those four are what you know as the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. When they were given their titles, it was Then that god Sealed their minds away and for eons they did their respective duties as mindless beings. They knew nothing of compassion, restraint, or reason. They did only as they were programmed to do, and they were very good at it.” 

He turned his head toward me opening his eyes and continued, “when god created the Archangels only two had that knowledge and were sworn to secrecy by the Lord and That knowledge was locked away and buried for a very long time and It wasn’t until the Rise of the Morning star that we found out about it. 

Silas leaned in closer to me, “During the final battle Lucifer stood alone, broken and battered against the Lord and asked him if he was to be sealed away like his older brothers and sisters, if he was to be made a mindless being to traverse the cosmos for all eternity like his precious horsemen.” 

Silas shrugged his shoulders as he exhaled, “the Lord replied No, and Lucifer was locked away in hell. naturally the choirs and even the Arch Angels turned to the lord to ask the meaning and it was then that God revealed to us the origin of the horsemen and stated that one day Lucifer would be released, and it would be because the horsemen would regain their consciousness and join together to release their brother.”

“How would they regain their wills if God had them sealed away?” I asked.

Silas smiled and lowered his head, “Because a beings' will is not something that is so easily broken. It is true that you can break a mind, but the Will remains.” He replied calmly, “this is why when you see someone who has had their mind broken and just remains as just a shell of a person they continue to exist, it is their subconscious will that keeps them alive, that battle within them still wages and they will continue to fight to regain themselves.” 

“So why fight then,” I demanded almost angry, “why do any of this if the horsemen would regain their minds and wreak havoc on all creation?”

“have you never wondered why this battle we fight is happening at all?” He asked me, “It is because of what your species is capable of, the one that ultimately decides its own fate. Even god with all his wisdom and insight can’t determine what will happen when a planet is faced with judgment. Most worlds when they reach judgement will just accept their fate and allow themselves to be destroyed, but your world has stood and fought alongside the angels and in all my time this is the first time we’ve had an ally.” 

“So, this is not the first apocalypse you’ve fought in,” I asked.

“In the vastness of the universe there are countless worlds teeming with life, but each Judgment plays out differently, but all are the result of the Horsemen fighting to regain their conscience minds. Every time there is a new c***k in the seal another world dies. You humans have always perceived the end of days as an Angels Vs Demons war and here on this world that is true, but in the vast cosmic view it has always been us versus the horsemen.”

He stopped for a second and clicked his tongue as he stood up and let out a breath, “the horsemen will stop at nothing until their mission of laying ruin to what their father has created is completed,” he turned towards me raising each hand as he made balancing gestures.

“The whole thing is hard to track I know, but essentially even though we are fighting the demonic legions in this world ending they are not the true enemy. Ruthless, cold, evil, yes, but we have sought audience with lucifer regarding the horsemen and he has denied talking with anyone in heaven. He has sided with the horsemen for a long time and will most likely continue to do so long after the destruction of your world,” he said as he stood up. “but enough of that for now, let us continue the day with your imbuing.”

He motioned for me to sit in the middle of the clearing, as moved to sat in the clearing Silas

 took a seat on the ground in front of me, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath remembering what he had taught me so far.

“remember imbuing yourself is to impart your will and desires into an object so when it manifests it will be an extension of you and in order to do so you must be calm in mind as well as spirit, it is just as much of taking in all the world around you as it is putting yourself into something else,” He said quietly.

As I began traveling through my own spirit and mind, I found that it was easier than normal and quickly found myself in a state of complete bliss. Even though my eyes were closed I could feel and see everything around me.

“Good,” I heard Silas say, “now reach out with your mind beyond yourself, beyond me, reach out to the furthest reaches of your surroundings what do you see.” 

“I can see life around us,” I replied quietly, “I can feel them, the trees, the animals.”

“That is good,” Silas said softly, “now focus on a plant or tree around us and grant it new life.”

I focused on a tree that sat at the edge of the clearing that had long been dead, I could feel its shell but there was no life in it. I reached out and pushed with my soul hoping that the tree would regain life. 

As I did, I could feel the warmth where cold was, and I knew the tree was being given a second chance. “Good,” Silas said proudly,” now try this, try seeing the world around you,” 

“I am,” I said taking note of the living things around me.

“You are still focused on the small,” he replied, “look beyond that, look into your planet what do you see.” 

I began to shift my focus as Silas instructed and instead of looking downwards into the little life around me, I shifted my gaze upward and found myself seeing the planet from afar. It was then that I had a rush of voices enter my thoughts. I could not only hear them, I could feel them, their hopes, dreams, fears, and more unsettling their pain. Everything that could be felt was and I began to break concentration because of how overwhelming it was.

“Good,” Silas said calmly, “don’t be frightened, remain calm.” 

“What is this,” I asked Silas regaining my calm and quieting my mind once again. 

“What you are experiencing is what we call omnipresence, not all angels can see what you see now, this is what we use to monitor the happenings on any given planet. With your omnipresence you can connect to any mind and share thoughts and desires. This is a great tool for combat but it also not something we look forward to doing,” He stated. 

I allowed myself to travel the planet through the minds of all there was, seeing the battles that were waging on the other side of the world, but also taking the time to appreciate the birth of a child and the death of the elderly. This was more than what I could even fathom and while it was breathtaking at the abundance of life on a war-torn planet a dark shadow was clouding my view from the battles. There were minds that I could not connect too and minds that took no effort. However, there was something strange, I couldn’t quite feel or sense a being, however I knew he was there. sensing his presence gave me a chill down my spine and as I pressed forward into it, the presence pushed just as hard against me. I let it be and continued exploring my home.

Closing my mind and returning to myself, I opened my eyes, noticing the sky was now dark and I looked at Silas, “are there minds that you cannot connect to.” I asked.

“Yes and no, there are what we call Hollows, they are people who have no souls, either they were killed but their body lives, or they sold their souls, however you can force your way into a hollows mind which makes them the perfect host for possessions,” he said bluntly

“Possessions,” I said, “angels possess people just like demons?”

Chuckling he replied, “no not anymore, we used to only possess hollows but since the second coming we have been able to substantiate our physical forms on earth so we’ve no need for possessions anymore. Most angels would not do it to begin with, they found the process unsettling and sometimes when a body latches onto an angelic spirit it’s hard to leave. There have been many times when an angel took control of a hollows body for a long period so that is who they became, and that has been their form ever since.”

“So, is it hard to break into a hollows mind?” I asked almost to inquisitively.

“John, I want you to listen very carefully,” he said getting a very serious look on his face and a stern tone in his voice. “Possessions are not to be taken lightly and under no circumstance are you to perform it alone, even the most skilled sometimes need to be yanked back to their bodies but sometimes if the hollow is strong willed enough or aware of themselves enough you will be trapped and there is nothing anyone can do. At that point the only way to escape is to flood the hollow with grace and kill them.” 

“So, there are multiple way to possess someone one,” I said almost triumphant that I was able catch the way Silas had explained it.

Caught off guard he replied, “yes which I guess at this point in your training it wouldn’t hurt to tell you, there are three different ways to possess a hollow for an angel, there is what we call Linking, which is simply entering a mind to see and hear what the hollow does, if done properly your presence is never noticed. This is how most angels do it because there is little exposure and very rarely any side effects. The second is Control where one links with the mind and imbues their will into the hollow and for a period of time has limited control over them, however it can be dangerous because if the angel performing the Control lacks certain knowledge the people around the hollow will become suspicious and often times the hollow will fight back to the point that the angel is trapped until he is forced to kill the hollow. The last way to possess is as you know it. Where an angel takes assumes complete control of the hollows body and resides within the body of the hollow. However, if this is performed you have to have the consent of the person and your power will be latched to their body forever giving that hollow enhanced abilities, but when you vacate the vessel your mind is still linked, they will feel your presence but begin to ignore it, but you will be able to see through their eyes until they no longer exist. The downside to a full possession is that the pain they feel you will feel.”

I sat there in amazement as I pondered these abilities wondering if this was how the angelic choirs and Demonic Legions were able to know just about anything. Before I could ask another question, Silas looked at me, “that’s it for tonight get some rest.” 

He got up and walked into the shadows away from the light of the campfire. As I laid there looking at the stars, I kept thinking about the dark shadow that I could not feel or see. I knew it was there, I could feel him through the people around him, was it Lucifer and if so, could I use my Omnipresent Sense to locate him and maybe put a stop to all this. Then I though, no, Lucifer is safe within Hell away from the battles and mundane day to day.