Chapter Forty

 

Redemption

 

From all around her they came, some creeping out of the shadows while others manifested themselves out of thin air. Still others came on wing, landing softly upon the damaged earth. Annaleah's fire had gained in strength, its golden light shining out several feet from her luminous body, dancing and flickering in a glorious light show. Though many of the Fallen were coming, they all stood at the edge of the light, seeming hesitant and unsure of how to proceed.

"Do not fear me, nor the love which will redeem you to your rightful places in the Heavens. Come to me, and know the Goddess once more." Annaleah's voice rang through the clearing, and calmed the troubled hearts of those who had forsaken themselves.

The first Fallen, her head down in both respect and shame, approached Annaleah. Her silver eyes glistened with tears as she moved toward the Otherling. One wing was folded against her back, while the other was held out at an angle, bleeding, clearly broken in the battle. Red clay and blood dirtied her otherwise beautiful robes. Her long brown hair clung to her face in places, held there with dried blood and tears.

"I stand before you, Otherling whose name is Annaleah, and before the Goddess Herself," the Fallen said. "I wish to confess my sin of siding with those who fought against the Goddess during the Original Fall. All these countless years I’ve held onto the fact that I never fought on the side of the Dark Ones in wars against the Light. My heart is full of suffering, but has never been open to the darkness of true evil. With all my being, I repent and ask for redemption." After she had spoken, the Fallen closed her eyes, waiting on the response of the Otherling.

Annaleah held out her hand to the Fallen before her, and said, "Vassaga, Fallen angel of the Heavens, your repentance has been accepted. Stand with me in the light and love of the Goddess and be redeemed." As the Fallen angel took Annaleah's hand, the fire that enveloped the Otherling leapt onto the Fallen, encasing her form with the brilliant fire. It consumed her and healed her, the broken wing stopped bleeding and straightened. Now, held out against the sky, the full span of both her wings glistened with the same powerful fire that shone from Annaleah.

As the light grew in both intensity and size, the ground under Annaleah's and Vassaga's feet began to change. The light touched the ground where it had been scarred and torn, and healed the terror it had undergone in battle. The great gouges inflicted in the soil sealed over, hiding the angelic and demonic blood that had spilled onto it once and for all. Emerald green grass sprouted forth from the dirt and beautiful flowers bloomed within the leafy blades in a myriad of vivid colors. The flowers, with their blossoms, hid the stench of war and death with a sweetly enticing perfume. The night was now alive with the transformation of the clearing back into the Holy site it had once been.

The light continued to radiate in beautiful, undulating waves from Annaleah, flowing over and encompassing the Fallen angel Vassaga. Annaleah, acting as a conduit for the Goddess' love, channeled the memory of Vassaga's creation to her, sending with the vision the emotions laden therein. Both Annaleah and Vassaga witnessed the moment the Goddess had formed love and light into the angel that became Vassaga. Together, they saw the look of raptured concentration as the Creator sculpted light into wings, hair, eyes, and a face. When the form pleased her, the Goddess blew a breath through the being's nose, and life burst forth from the angel. The newly born Vassaga, after taking her first breath, began to sing an impassioned hymn to the Goddess. As the vision of the birth took place, all sin was removed from the Fallen, and she was born again in the Light clean and whole, all wrongdoing forgiven.

Annaleah knew that Vassaga was finally ready for her reunion with the Goddess as Vassaga withdrew her blazing hand from Annaleah's. Vassaga, beating her wings against the deep cobalt of the sky, rose into the Heavens, spiraling upwards, singing in Enochian of her love for the Goddess, and how she awaited the euphoria of finally seeing Her face again.

Annaleah could feel the communal courage and hope that surged through the Fallen at seeing one of their own redeemed. It was a joyous thrumming that permeated the air and reverberated their sentiments in her heart.

They all tried to come towards her at once. Annaleah knew that in Her infinite wisdom, the Goddess had prepared for the onslaught of the Fallen all converging towards her. Each was met in their own private clearing in the woods, having their own sacred and private audience with the Goddess and Annaleah. Though many gathered around her at once, it seemed effortless to hear their claims and purge them of their long held sins. As each Fallen came close enough to be touched by the radiance of the Holy fire, Annaleah could feel the power of the Goddess helping her to guide each one out of the shadows that had lingered in their souls. She had always loved and trusted the creator, but she was left all but breathless by the beautiful way in which the Goddess came to meet each of her now redeemed children. That was the omnipresent glory and power of the Goddess, to be able to address each one privately and personally, all at once.

From all around the clearing, thousands upon thousands of multi colored lights rose into the sky and ascended until their brilliance could be seen no more.

Michael turned to Marchosias, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you join them, Marchosias? I know the Goddess will be overjoyed to see you in the Heavens again. She has spoken of you with a great fondness and aching in her spirit."

Marchosias nodded. "Yes," she said, smiling. "I think it is time to go home. See you there." She brought two fingertips to her forehead, and gave her friends a parting salute before walking towards the convergence of the Fallen. It wasn’t long before she too, rose into the sky in a swirling of protean, shimmering light.

Annaleah smiled at her friends, feeling their eyes upon her as she moved through the throng of Fallen that had finally grown thinner. The ascending lights of the redeemed were fewer and fewer in the sky. When the last lingering lights could no longer be seen, Gabriel, Seraphael and Michael made their way across the clearing to her.

Smiling serenely, Annaleah felt a glow in her soul that was full of a gentle, yet beautifully powerful love and peace. The luminescence and adoration of the Goddess blazed within her, making her feel all the more beautiful.

"The Illuminare are coming," she said simply, a peaceful smile on her lips. As soon as she spoke this, several forms made their way into the clearing. They were darker than the night that surrounded them and appeared to be made of condensed shadows so deep and dark that no light from outside would shine through their solid forms. Within this impenetrable darkness, sparked bolts of light like powerful lightning and sporadic flashing arcs of illumination, as though fireflies were alive within them. They held the shape of angels, but did not move like them. Instead, they flowed with ethereal, ghost like grace, seeming to have no feet. One glided around Annaleah, circling around her and then ascending into the sky before descending again and making its way to her once more. They seemed to be dancing almost, a strange ballet of mysterious spiritual importance.

Annaleah, still inflamed with the spirit of the Goddess, opened her arms in welcome to the enigmatic Illuminare. In return, their dance slowed, and several glided over the ground and hovered before her. The nearest reached its hand inside its chest, not stopping until most of the arm had disappeared inside its inky depths. A few seconds later it withdrew its arm, and within its hand it held an earthen pot the size of a large human fist. This it handed to Annaleah. Annaleah took it with great reverence. Many more Illuminare followed suit, placing their sacred vessels at her feet before withdrawing a few meters away.

"I speak to the sparks of life within these pots," Annaleah said, her voice soft with gentility and full of the power of creation. "I speak to the last breaths of life captured by the sacred Illuminare. To the angels who fought for the Light and gave the ultimate sacrifice, I speak to you. All is not lost, for nothing ever truly dies. For all you have done, I thank you. For the pain, for the battle you so bravely fought, I thank you. For waiting endlessly within these earthen pots for the time that you might once again have a form and ascend to your home in the Heavens, I thank you. With the supreme blessing of the Mother of All That Is, the holy and pure Goddess of creation, I summon you forth, back into the forms which you knew when you were angels."

At once, the lids over the sacred pots lifted up as if on their own, a deep indigo light radiating from inside each vessel. Throwing back her head and closing her eyes, Annaleah opened her arms wide. From the center of her body a mighty pulse of illumination burst forth, a powerful luminescent surge that pulsed a full 360 degrees around her in a circle of pure, radiant light. As the pulse mixed with the indigo light within each vessel, the light within the pots transformed into the forms of the angels that had breathed their last breath of life into the waiting hands of the Illuminare. As they stretched their wings against the horizon, a melodic chanting filled the air. Before taking off to the Heavens, thousands of angels filled the first breath of their lungs with a song of loving gratitude. Many a wing opened and closed to mark cadence with the holy hymn they sang, white feathers floating across the sky and dancing on the wind.

It was a hymn of love and the utmost devotion, in the native Enochian tongue of the angels. Annaleah found herself joining in, somehow knowing intuitively the words they sang. She was moved to tears by the outpouring of love all around her. The air seemed to vibrate with poignancy, as though it too, was trying to chant this holy hymn of devotion.

As the newly reborn angels of Light stood together in the open field chanting, Annaleah turned to her friends. "Will you please accompany them back to their places in Heaven? The Goddess is very pleased with you and has requested an audience with each of you."

Smiling and nodding their consent, Annaleah watched as the three angels prepared to take flight. She caught Seraphael's arm before he could leave her. "Not you," she said breathily, her lids lowered. "I have other plans for you."

As Michael and Gabriel arose into the sky, Seraphael took Annaleah in his arms, relishing the feel of her soft skin against his own.

Other plans indeed, he thought smiling broadly.