Blood & Carrots - Celestial Ep. 13

"Please, Lorelai... I was the same when my father passed. You are valid in those feelings and there is no judgment here." The cobra stood and rested a firm grip on my shoulder with his gloved hand, giving me a reassuring nod before setting back into his seat.

"Explain this, Alicia she spoke of to me," I sighed as I pulled one of the studs out of my left ear, feeding the pearl earring into it. It dangled from my drooped ear in a way I didn't prefer, but I would grow used to it. Kazemde flinched as I simply shoved the stud into a new spot on my ear.

"Alicia is the soul of the former Paladin from nearly one thousand years past. It seems that Ryder found her soul while in the underworld. The short of it is; Charlotte sought to save her and in the process, planted the seeds of our future gambit to retrieve him."

"Planted the seeds? I don't appreciate convoluted descriptors, shoot straight with me, mage." I shifted my hands to my lap, giving him a haughty glare.

"She established a connection with him, we can communicate with him telepathically."

"Then let me speak with him, now!" I snarled out, my eyes growing wide as I stood from the chair and slammed my hands to his desk, teeth bared.

"I've already sent for the instructor that has the gem upon word of your arrival, please relax, it will be shortly." Kazemde folded his hands again, looking not the slightest bit put off from my anger.

I slumped back and sighed, "Apologies... I am just-"

"You are valid, let me explain what I can while we wait." Kazemde then proceeded to give me the general rundown of what had transpired and what they intended to do.

Some handful of minutes later a young-looking persian cat trotted right in holding a gem that looked not unlike a ruby the size of an egg. "Very good, now remember, I expect full memorization of those formula come tomorrow. Do not forget to visualize the results!" She giggled a purr and gave a nod as she kept walking towards us, "Yes, Ryder my dear, I know visualizing is all you can do these days... Yes, good to hear from you too, yes, take care."

Kazemde smiled at the cat and she gave a nod. "He's a quick study, he'll be a marvelous wizard soon enough." She looked to me and offered the large gemstone.

Biting my lip I held both hands out and felt the stone push into my grasp, my hands shaking as I hesitantly called out, "Ryder?"

'... Lore?! Lorelai is that you?!'

I felt more tears come to my eyes, I was really crying more than I'd like these days, I couldn't help but sob out his name, "Ryder! Oh... I'm so happy to hear your voice!"

"Thank you, instructor. Let us excuse ourselves." Kazemde stood and he and the persian left the room, leaving me alone.

'Lorelai... gods... Lorelai, hearing your voice, you have no idea how happy I am!'

'I feel the same, I'm crying right now you stupid dog, I... Charlotte, Toroah, everything is wrong right now.'

'Is he okay?'

'He doesn't remember anything about you, and that includes anything the three of us did. All he remembers is his times alone with me, not even kissing.'

There was a long heavy pause before I heard him in my mind, his very thoughts sounding tired, '... for now, that may be best, especially after what happened to Charlotte...'

'Ryder, Charlotte left me a message, her words embedded in one of the earrings you gave her. She told me to tell you she loved you, and to love you twice as much for her when I get you out of this mess.'

'Gods... that's so like her...'

'Ryder... Elias and Sarnai, they helped Rachel fell her.'

'What?! How- Why... Why would Rachel do that, why would they?!'

I grit my teeth as I explained the details, explained how Rachel only knew her as a fallen Bishop now. 'I wanted you to know now... I do not want you resenting your lover or my siblings, Ryder... none of them were aware.'

'The fucking Seraph, they were played in this twisted little game... when I am free-'

'Ryder! I have no love for the majority of the celestial's, you know this, but you are starting to speak like a madman. You know as well as I do they did what they could. Sometimes there are no ideal choices and we must make the ones that hurt the least!' I snarled as I thought the words in my mind, letting him clearly hear the anger in them.

'You... are right, Lore. Forgive me, I must keep my faith in the gods and-'

'Sod the gods, I'll get you out myself, my angel fox. I don't know how, but I will!'

'Thank you, Lorelai... if anyone can do it, you can. I'll put my faith in you as well!'

I settled into the chair and tried to calm my mind, "Tell me about Alicia..." I sighed the words aloud to him, but he could hear them even as if I'd thought them.

'Oh, she's a wonderful girl, friendly, always cheerful, even a little flirty. Heh, she even was fooling around with some of the incubi and succubi down here! Even after all this time, she never stopped caring about her loved ones too, she's a heck of a girl!'

I grinned as I listened to him regale me of his little mental cellmate he had been with for the last year, then told me of his new instructors and the magick's he was learning. We 'talked' for nearly three hours, Kazemde very patient, never prodding us to hurry up.

"My love, we should wrap this up for now, the sun will rise soon and this room has rather large uncovered windows in it," I sighed as I cradled the gem to my chest.

'When can I talk to you again?'

'I'll request lodging for the day, I still have much to discuss with Kazemde. I promise we'll talk again tomorrow, and I will try to come to call here at the college at least once a season to speak with you, more if I can.'

'Thank you, Lorelai... I love you, I love you so much...'

'I love you too, keep your faith and sanity, I will find a way, no matter how long it takes.'

—♥—

The following evening I spoke with Ryder for a few hours as soon as the sun had set, then I left him to his classes and met with Kazemde once more.

"I am eternally grateful for this and know I will consider this a debt I owe you, even if it is part of another agreement. If you have need of me or my court, you reach out to me, no hesitation."

"Thank you, Lorelai, I will keep that in mind." I saw the cobra's dark eyes sparkle, no doubt eager to have the empress of the vampire courts owing him one.

"So, what do we do from here?" I frowned as I folded my arms. "I am keen to get this sorted, but it's not as if I can simply tear the gates of hell open and strode in."

"Alas, all we can do is research into things. I've already put some of our best demonologist on the task. Even if you could theoretically tear through the gates, you'd only get through one of nine, each layer has its own 'locks' so to speak, on the doors."

"Can we not simply open a gate straight in, like how this Kalinae did to get to us?"

"Kalinae is a truly ancient and powerful daemon. She no doubt spent decades if not centuries preparing that gate. It is no small task to simply tear open a portal to the mundane realm."

I rubbed my chin at that and nodded. "Ryder mentioned at one point when he wounded her, she said her time had been cut short."

"Yes, most demons manifest themselves here temporarily, and the short of it is, the act of being here starts to drain their vitality. Suffering injuries would indeed speed the clock up, as it were."

"He talked about how this was all some long-spanning convoluted plan of hers to get a Paladin down there. Does she hope to break him? Turn him into some kind of fallen champion of hell or something?" I quirked a brow at the Archmage.

"We do know this, becoming a Paladin is not like other ranks in the celestial military."

I tilted my head at that. "Oh? What makes it so different?"

"It's a one-way trip. Archangels and any rank below may willingly give up their position or be demoted. Charlotte, no doubt denounced her Archangel status before cursing the gods and falling. She didn't want to fall with the full power of an archangel, imagine the havoc she could have wrought?"

"Even in her anguish and madness, she was considering the greater good. I should have given her more credit," I sighed and frowned, feeling keenly I had lost an opportunity at a strong friend. Had I reached out to her, perhaps she would have come to me first, perhaps we could have sorted this without her sacrifice.

Kazemde gave me a nod as if he understood my conflicting thoughts. "The fact of the matter is, Paladin's can't renounce their position, that's why the prior one kept her position the whole time she was in the underworld as a soul, and why the Seraph doesn't give the position away lightly."

"How do you know all this, Kazemde?" I cocked a brow curiously as I moved to rest my hands in my lap.

"Ryder explained all this to us, things he learned from Alicia during their year together. He has expanded our knowledge vastly upon the concept of Paladin's," Kazemde hissed the words eagerly at the subject.

I snarled as I looked down. "I should reach out to Ichiro with some of this news. I am loathed to trust their lot, but they should know his fate, and they may find something in the future that may be useful."

Kazemde's hood pushed out a little as he spoke up at my words, "I concur, and if I may... request news upon the fate of Alicia's soul. Ryder was keen to know what became of his friend."

"I can do that, Kazemde. I'll also seek to speak with the various demons in our family. Though I don't expect much to come of it, since they are bound to this realm, still it can't hurt." I rose from the seat and gave the Archmage a bow.

The cobra rose and offered his own formal bow. "We will, of course, keep you abreast of any news we find, you are always welcome here any time as a guest, Empress Bloodstone, either with business or to visit with your loved one."

I offered him a gentle smile as I lifted my ears, putting a hand to my chest. "That means the world to me, Kazemde. Oh, before I go, have you any news on my personal request from some time ago about my sister?"

The cobra sighed and shook his head. "Alas, the other task I inherited from my father... No, Lorelai, but know I have our scholars on that as well."

My head lowered a little, my teeth gritting as I hissed through them, "Two of the most important figures in my life, yet I am helpless to aid either no matter what efforts I make..."

I felt his gloved hand rest on my shoulder as he nodded to me. "You do what you can, and we do what we can. An effort is a thousand times more powerful than wishful thinking, we will see what comes of it, but if you are doing all you can, take that to heart."

Meeting his eyes, I gave a grunt at his words and nodded, composing myself as I stood up straight, turning to see a gate that lead to the city I had arrived from. "Thank you again, Kazemde. I'll be in touch."

—♥—

"So, that's what her aim was..." Ichiro sighed as he looked to the night sky while leaning on his staff.

"I'll not mince my words, Inchiro, Is there truly nothing your kind can do in this matter?" I folded my arms, frowning upon the ancient angel.

He met my eyes, his blue ones looking faded as he answered me, "Short of falling and trying to find a way into the hells? No... We could try to return the favor, ambush a greater demon, capture them, and barter for a trade, but that's not the way their kind works. The higher rank aristocrats would just scoff at their weakness for being defeated."

"Right, and their kind isn't flitting about all over the mundane realm like yours is, a little tricky to ambush anything," I rubbed my forehead, pushing my fingers against one of my horns to untangle a curl.

"Lorelai, I am thankful you brought me this news of what transpired over Ryder and Charlotte. I thank the gods he has a way to keep himself sane until-"

"To hell with your gods, Ichiro!" I watched him flench and clench his jaw at my outburst. "They've abandoned him like they did Alicia, I've no use for the lot of them!"

The Archangel set me with a surprisingly hard look as he snarled out towards me, "Faith, Lorelai. Sometimes that is all we have, but we must keep it."

"Then you keep my share, old friend. I'm not waiting a thousand years for them to get off their divine asses and do something!" I hissed out the words and turned from him to leave.

"Can you even do anything at this point? And didn't you have other questions Lorelai?" Ichiro sighed out like a father watching a child giving a temper tantrum.

I snorted as I looked over my shoulder at him. "Effort and drive will get more than prayers." He was right though, in my anger I had nearly forgotten the other reason I summoned him. "What of Alicia's soul? Ryder wishes to know what became of his friend."

Ichiro didn't look like he wanted to tell me, but he sighed and lowered his head. "I cannot just keep lavishing you with our business, Lorelai, you need-"

"Then give me this information for Ryder's sake and we'll call it even, I'll consider you and I squared away." I snapped my teeth as my eyes turned red. "Or is the pittance I have asked for too much compared to your life?"

His eyes grew distant, no doubt recalling that time so long ago when he and I had clashed. We were both younger and weaker, but I got the upper hand, even then I had enough foresight to know having someone owe you something was always a boon.

His eyes came into focus as he cocked a brow. "An unfair trade, but I'll take it all the same."

"Yes, I am a paragon of generosity, now out with it," I hissed as I turned to face him fully.

"The Seraph offered to restore her form, give her back her position. She refused, said she'd not do it unless they swore to go on a campaign to free Ryder and Charlotte's souls as well as restore the memories of both of them to the rest of us."

"Sounds like she has the right idea, you lot are fans of holy crusades after all, just gather your armies and march through hell. I'd even join you." I showed my teeth in a crooked grin, putting my hands on my hips.

"Far more complicated than that, but the short of it is, the Seraph told her it wasn't possible. So, Alicia said she'd find a way to make it happen and return her to the cycle."

I tilted my head. "To the cycle? So she opted for another tour of being mundane huh? Well, I can't blame her. She doesn't want to just go rest with it left how it is, but if I were in her shoes, I wouldn't trust your lot to sign back on again either."

"Can't you just follow along with her? Won't her soul have some complications what with being exposed to demons and not able to fully shrug off her Paladin status?" I spoke the words curiously, after all, this was indeed a complicated situation.

"You ask me questions I have no answers for, Lorelai, and in truth, I don't believe the Seraph does either. However, I can tell you, that once a soul returns to the cycle, we can't just tag it for watching. Only if a soul becomes pious or heroic will it catch our attention." Ichiro sighed and shook his head once more. "The reality is, it should not have happened, but the Seraph couldn't simply ignore her faith. Alicia endured centuries of imprisonment while keeping her faith, even in the end she only cared about saving Ryder and Charlotte's soul."

"At least your Seraph are not completely heartless monsters. Well, I'll tell Ryder and wish her all the best in her new life." I turned from the angel and hiked my fluff of tail. "So it is, you are absolved of your debt to me Ichiro. If you appear before me without warning I will assume it is as an enemy."

"Thank you again for this information on Ryder, truly. I pray someday our kind can-"

"Save those honeyed words. We already know the only one of your kind actively pushing for that future is Toroah now, perhaps things would have been different if Ryder were still here. Go in peace, and you may call upon the circle if you wish to speak with him. I'm sure he'd be happy to hear from you."

I didn't wait for a response and stalked away, looking to the horizon to see the faint orange of the rising sun coming up far in the distance, I didn't have time to have an ethical debate with the old dog. A few seconds later I felt his presence fade behind me as I moved back into the city to seek lodging for the day.

—♥—

Fallen Angels:

There are laws for celestials that must be maintained to keep their divinity. These include but are not limited to, never turning a blind eye to the faithful in need, never cursing the gods names, and never taking a life unjustly.

Many other things can be done to make a celestial fall from grace, but regardless of the reason, when an angel falls, wings darken as their divinity is pulled from them. The process happens over the course of several moments.

Some celestials only partially fall from grace, their wings simply shifting to a more grey tone, while those that fully turn their backs on the gods have their wings grow to a deep black. Fallen celestials are irresistible targets for demons in the underworld, keen to convince a once agent of the divine to come to their side.

—♥—

My anger and rage aside, time didn't care. I spent the next few years seeking council from every last demon member of our court, but all of them were of this realm so it yielded no results.

I felt myself growing more and more resentful over the situation. It was like with Sarnai, I found myself hopelessly seeking a goal to save my love and cure my sister's madness, yet I was powerless at every turn.

Ryder was optimistic given his situation and felt relieved when I told him of Alicia's fate. He mentioned his captor, Kalinae, would pull him out of torpor every five to ten years to check on his condition, the demoness growing more furious every time it resulted in being spat upon and mocked.

So it went, the years trickled by and I tried to take solace in knowing my angel fox had constant company and came to call as often as I could. I also watched my sister slowly sliding further into madness, reinforcing my own feelings of uselessness. I was never one for self-pity, but the powerless little ewe had never been something I was a fan of and avoided it at all costs in my life.

The decades rolled into the twentieth century and the wars that followed brought new tribulations to my life. I was visiting with Lawrence one of our older members when I got the news. I handled it as well as I could, thanking him for the visit and leaving that night for the west. The church had razed one of our houses and killed all of its members. Already an act of war, but one of them was Diana, a collie whom I had known for as long as I can recall and a former lover.

That is a story you've no doubt heard from my sister though. Sarnai saved my life that night against Archangel Samantha. I've no doubt I could have bested her had I not taken a blow to save my sister, and with someone like Samantha, she usually only needs one well-placed strike what with all that power she has.

My fox paid a heavy price that night though, I felt her grip waver heavily on her sanity when she pulled forth so much of her power. Sarnai had told me long ago how each time she summoned her power, it would etch away a little more of her will, but on that night, she didn't hold back, and it left her irrevocably damaged.

I carried that with me, knowing deep down it was all my fault. I should have been faster, stronger, and smarter. I could have ended it quickly or found another way to save her without taking the full brunt of the strike. Ah, but just like mundane, we can replay our moments in our minds all we want, it won't give us another chance at them.

Regardless, we went on a rampage for a few weeks after that. I had a feeling Toroah wouldn't speak to me again over it, I didn't care. I was mad and blind with a vengeance, I would see the church pay for what was lost. We formally sent a messenger to the head church that we were at war and that nothing short of full surrender would cease our attacks. It was a good time for it what with a world war ongoing, most of it could be pushed off as a terror attack. We also had rallied most of the magi circles and lycanthrope clans to our side, so frankly, it was a route at this point.