Cruel Angel's Thesis

2

KRUTHEL

THE TERES KINGDOM

The sky overhead loomed black, fading to the deepest blue as it reached the horizon. The dark silhouette of mountains marked the end of one Kingdom and the beginning of another. All was enveloped in a blanket of silence. Within the endless expanse of the firmament, small points of light pierced the darkness. Scattered against the backdrop of nothingness, their light swelled in intensity until their multitudes covered the heavens. Their brilliant whiteness pulsed, sometimes in unison, sometimes individually. In the moments between pulses, hints of color played around their edges.

Gradually, some stars dimmed, revealing their distinct colors. Drifting closer to each other, they began to draw inward and spiral around a vortex, their speed increasing with proximity to the large, fiery star at their center. Quickly, they coalesced into one multicolored orb.

In reaction to this movement, the remaining points of light parted and momentarily hovered as if confused, making way for this new spectacle. They encircled the orb from a safe distance and were joined, one by one, with white stars from farther away. Slowly the stars arranged themselves in concentric circles around the rapidly spinning orb.

And still, all was silent.

The core of the orb flared red with fire, seeming to issue a challenge to the hovering circle of stars as it expanded to occupy more space.

The challenge was answered by a collective brightening of the white stars, driving back the darkness of the night and washing the sky with their intensity. Altogether, their brilliance was twice that of their dimmer counterparts.

Without warning, the orb burst, scattering millions of prismatic colors in all directions.

At the same instant, the Bright Stars converged upon the Dim Ones, moving to swallow the force of their expansion. At the moment of impact, the two groups became one. Time, itself, seemed to stretch out as if all of creation held its breath.

In a blinding flash, the explosion sent a bolt of light to the earth. Sparks were hurled in all directions—skipping across the ground, arcing through the air, burning through everything in their paths, and leaving charred wounds upon the soil and vegetation. Ages seemed to pass until the remnants of the Dim Ones faded entirely and only blotches of shadow endured—holes in the earth that appeared darker than the nothingness of the sky, now ashen by comparison.

But the deadly shadows were not defeated. They changed shape, attaching themselves to the trees and animals of the earth. Everywhere they touched, darkness spread like a poison. Every being they touched became withered and distorted, perverted from its original form by the hatred of the Dark Ones.

And the earth trembled.

The righteous wrath of the Bright Ones flared. Heat radiated from their blinding light as they descended to the earth.

The wicked fury of the Dark Ones seethed. Bitter cold emanated from their nothingness as they moved to intercept their descending enemies.

Dark Ones were incinerated in flashes of light, and Bright Ones were engulfed in shadow, never to return.

In the distance, almost unnoticeable at first, more Bright Ones descended. Separated from the battle, they came to the earth gently, taking the form of creatures that move through the land, sea, and sky. Everywhere they touched, the spreading flow of poison from the Dark Ones was stemmed. The earth began to heal as its form was altered. When their work was complete, the stars ascended into the sky while the battle raged on the horizon.

And the earth shuddered.

But not all ascended. Some stayed behind, wandering among creation, continuing their work. And as their light began to dim and spread throughout the earth, it enveloped creatures of the land, sea, and sky, swirling into disparate bands of color. From within the dance of vibrant hues came billowing clouds of darkness that grew into new beings, large and powerful. They emerged in somber colors that defied the light from which they were born. Their forms were twisted perversions of the creatures of the earth. They opened their mouths and began to feed upon the world as their very existence depended on laying waste to creation.

The people fled in terror, their cries rising to the sky as smoke. And, as the people perished, their blood spilled onto the land, flowing to the low places, seeping into the cracks and crevices.

And the earth shook.

And the shuddering increased until the foundations of the earth collapsed. Where blood had flowed, great cracks now opened, releasing the fountains of the deep. The land was suddenly lifted to the sky and the earth was rent in two. The waters of the abyss escaped from beneath the earth and covered the sky with darkness, raining down in torrents. On the horizon, the shadow of the abyss rose like mountains and swept across the land as an insatiable demon, devouring all created things.

Growing.

Moving closer.

Rising until nothing else could be seen.

Enoch sat upright and inhaled sharply. His heart beat loudly in his ears, a stark contrast to the surrounding silence.

“Are you alright?” came a weary whisper from his left.

Enoch simply exhaled, trying to calm himself.

“What’s wrong?” the voice repeated, clearer and louder this time, but cracking slightly at the edges. “Was it a vision?” asked the voice, after a long pause. This time, the words were steady.

Enoch turned to his wife, Zacol, and nodded, still not ready for words of his own.

A soft whimper came from the other side of the room and Zacol rose to check on their son. She carefully pulled a cover over the boy and waited to make sure he fell asleep again. When the small room was silent once more, she turned and walked quickly out the door.

Enoch hunched forward and put his face in his hands, gently massaging his eye sockets with his fingertips.

After all this time, her first reaction is still anger. I thought we had grown beyond this!

Enoch opened his eyes slowly and let his hands slide down his face. With a deep breath, he rose to his feet and followed Zacol outside.

She stood with her arms crossed, her back to him.

Enoch ducked under the edge of their thatched roof and stepped out into the night. Over Zacol’s shoulder, a broad expanse of grasslands extended as far as the eye could see. A short distance away, hundreds of tiny huts, just like their own, were huddled in the bright moonlight. Theirs was the only one separated from the rest of the tribe.

“Why won’t He leave you alone?” she said softly without turning.

Enoch walked forward a few steps and clasped his hands behind his back. “It’s a privilege that He speaks to me at all.”

Zacol’s head dropped. “It feels like a curse sometimes.”

Enoch gritted his teeth to keep from saying something that would only make the situation worse. Looking down at the blades of soft grass between his toes, he had to admit that his wife was only saying what he sometimes felt himself. By the time his clenched jaw finally relaxed, he was able to say the words that they both needed to hear.

“He speaks out of love for us, even if the message is not always pleasant. And we know that the consequences of ignoring what He reveals are borne by everyone.”

Zacol turned around slowly. Instead of a stern expression, she had tears in her eyes. “What did you see this time?”

Enoch took a breath, then reached up and gently wiped the tears from her check with the back of his fingers.

“Something bad?” she probed.

Enoch simply nodded.

“And what are you supposed to do?” she asked, trying as always to get to the point as quickly as possible.

Enoch glanced down at the grass again, suddenly unable to look into her eyes. He wished he didn’t have to say it. “I have to go away for a while.” A moment of silence passed before he looked up again.

Zacol’s eyes were closed and her head was lifted slightly. She pursed her lips, but remained silent. Without another word, she stepped past him and walked away.