The Azra-El Series Ch. 01

Synopsis: In a land far, far away, and in a different time and plane, a young man-child awakens inside a strange feathery shell.

Join the inquisitive, intelligent, mischievous, and slightly perverted "new-hatch" as he journeys through a whole new world of endless possibilities, discovering what it means to be an angel- the only "male" angel in a world full of females.

Driven by his insatiable thirst for knowledge, and empowered by abilities he isn't fully aware of, this young angel soon discovers that the world of angels and demons is not as utopian as he had imagined.

Explore the mystical world of Azra-El, filled with incredible sentients—angels, demons, pixies, and a host of other races—, mythical creatures, and untold intricacies that spark grand adventures as well as very real dangers, governed by subtly different laws of nature and a whole new approach to life itself, apropos to those who inhabit it.

Author's Note: *shameless boasting alert*. My Chapter 19, finale of the first arc of my series, has hit Rank 1 on both the Sci-Fi/Fantasy and the general categories. I know it won't last long as I only have 100 votes, and the downvote deluge will take it down. But, I finally feel like I belong to the "big boy/girl" leagues, now. Haha.

Anyway, I decided to post this new edit (April 9th, 2020), to reflect some of the improvement in writing. I believe my story-telling itself may have improved over the past couple of years, but I cannot change the plot of what has already been published. So, if you like the story now, it will only get better.

Chapters 2-10 are still somewhat raw, for now. That will change, slowly. Don't let it stop you from reading, though 😊.

Editors: Originally edited by DankMemez. Now, by Chris Anow and me. Proof-read by PinkuLady and her husband. The sexual part was only edited by me, so it may have some errors.

What this is going to be: A lighthearted, high fantasy, with elements of political intrigue, ethics, and sci-fi (later on). I don't intend it to be dark as some adult novels, but it will still deal with some philosophical issues, and the war towards the end of the series may get "real". However, until then, it will be a fun, mysterious, and fantastical adventure.

This may sound like a male fantasy, but I don't think I have written anything inimical to the other gender(s). The MC is male, but the rest of the characters are female. The MC may be a little immature at first, but he will grow out of it, in a very real fashion. Also, I try my best at making the other characters not mere tools to proceed the plot. They will be real people with real motivations, and some of them will be inspiring!

Also, I initially started this on a whim, only getting serious after around chapter 7. I may have made some arbitrary decisions back then, so please keep that in mind.

oOoOo

The Azra-El Series

Arc 1: The Heavenly Union

Book 1: Blazing Fury

Chapter 1

He woke up to the warmth of thin streams of light against his face. His eyes fluttered open, and he found himself curled up and completely naked, within the confines of a small and seemingly oval structure.

Straining his eyes against the dim light, he tried to make out where he was. The ceiling of his confinement, translucent under the pale glow of sunlight, cast an eerie luminescence on his form. The only thing he could hear was the babble of a nearby creek.

He forced himself upright, confused and panicked, and placed a hand against the ceiling. It was soft and feathery to the touch, and when he forced a finger through one of the gaps, the material parted just as easily as feathers. Ploughing his fingers through the gap, he hastily made it wider.

Sunlight flooded his feathery pod, blinding him momentarily, and making him reflexively hold up his hands to shield his eyes. Slowly, he started to blink and readjust, and his eyes quickly grew accustomed to the intensity.

The pod he was confined in was made of a bright, orange-red, feathery material.

Feeling a little claustrophobic, he began to furiously tear at the hole, until it was wide enough to pull his body through. Surprisingly, the structure held its shape as he squeezed himself out and flopped down on the soft, lush grass surrounding the pod.

A small rivulet, nearby, cut through the sprawling grassland, the blades of grass a shade lighter than he was used to. To the northeast were towering, snow-capped mountains that seemed to reach the skies, and to the south lay a forest of enormous trees. The sky was a cerulean blue, dotted with a few solitary cumulus clouds, puffy and big, almost foretelling what was to come.

As he climbed to his feet, he realized that his muscles felt weak and heavy, as if he had been floating in water for too long. Leaning against the feather pod for support, he began to notice that its structure seemed an awful lot like an egg.

He tried to bring up his latest memory, but his mind was a hazy, chaotic mess. So, instead of trying to figure out what happened to him, he began to consider his next actions. He was naked, defenseless, and apparently in the middle of nowhere; his options looked non-existent.

As he stood thinking, he suddenly spotted a winged figure a thousand feet or so up in the sky, seemingly making its way towards him. It was large and humanoid in shape.

A little intimidated, he instinctively jumped back into his pod and hid, hoping he had not been spotted. He needed help, but a large flying creature did not seem to be the right choice.

He curled up inside the egg and hoped it would go away, but he sensed its shadow as it circled around his egg and swooped down, the noise and wind from its wings audible.

Accepting the inevitable, he peered through the hole. He gawked as she glided down to a gracious landing a few feet away from him, folding her spotless white wings behind her back; they shimmered for a moment before disappearing out of existence. However, what caught his attention the most was not the magical wings, but the creature's beauty. Her choice of attire was no less conspicuous.

She was tall and lean, almost like a figurine, with an hourglass figure, long limbs, and slender fingers. Her platinum-blonde hair flowed down her back, brushing the top of her thighs. She had large, round, blue eyes; slanted eyebrows; plump, pink lips that displayed a kind smile; and an oval elven face. Her fair skin was like white-jade; there wasn't a single blemish that he could see.

Her clothes, if they could be called that, comprised of a white collar out of which four streaks of feather-cloth flowed, curving around her plump breasts and pressing tight against them. Two streaks spiraled once to hide each of her nipples, while the other two curved around to the bottom of her breasts for support. Her panties consisted of a feathered strap that circled low on her waist and still managed to make a V-shape before a piece of white silk hugged her bottom lips.

Despite its scantiness, her dress seemed like something that would be comfortable and easy to wear while flying. Her hair was held back by a beautiful feathered band, made from thin bristle-feathers, with its tips finished with small glass beads. Her feet were protected by a pair of heel-less shoes that looked quite comfortable, but almost seemed lackluster in comparison with the rest of her attire.

Is she an angel or a devil in disguise? he wondered, peering at her through the hole.

"Hello, child! Did you just hatch? Why are you here all by yourself?" she asked, with a kind smile, her voice smooth like honey, and gentle.

Though he did not recognize anything about her, he felt a strange sort of closeness to this creature; a trust that could not be easily given. He did not understand why he felt that way, and the bewildered expression on the lady's face did not answer his question, either.

With a start, he realized that he could understand what she was saying, even though a part of him knew that it was a language he'd never heard before. Throaty, nasal, and deep at the same time, the words seemed to dance their way past the strange humanoid's lips, almost like she was singing. In fact, if it hadn't been for her posture, he would have assumed that she had broken into song.

He searched her face and eyes, trying to figure out what she meant. She seemed taller than him, by at least a foot. So, it was plausible that he looked like a child to her. But, how could she think he was a newborn?

"Um... What?" he muttered, surprising himself.

For whatever reason, he seemed to be able to communicate in this new tongue as well; the words flowed out of him intuitively, the sounds tickling parts of his throat he hadn't quite used before, and sounding oh-so-pleasant, even to his ears.

"How long has it been since you broke out of your egg?" she asked, pointing at his pod.

His eyes widened. It is an egg! What the eff is going on? Did I just hatch out of that thing? What about my memories? Did I die and reincarnate?

"Er... a few minutes before you appeared. Are you my m-mother?" he answered, after a moment.

"No. I felt... something, and I flew over. I am not entirely sure what is going on. No mother would leave her egg while it is due, and certainly not alone by itself," she said, thinking out loud. "Wait... come on out child, I want to look at you."

He almost stepped out but held himself back. "Er... I am naked," he said, softly.

"Oh."

She touched a ring on her left hand, and a pair of underwear and a white tunic appeared out of nowhere. He gasped. Is that a spatial ring of some sort?! I am definitely not on Earth. At least, nowhere near the same time as I remember.

She walked over and handed him the clothes, which he took by extending a hand, out of his hole. They were feminine clothes, but he did not have much choice at that moment.

He quickly donned them under the cover of the egg, before stepping out. Her eyes scanned his body, while he compared his height with hers. His head did not even reach her shoulders. His head did not even reach her shoulders, but he wasn't short, at least based on his perspective of the ground; she was just tall- close to seven feet.

"Hmm. You are a bit large for a new-hatch," she pondered. "If my suspicions are correct, you are an anomalous hatch. Sometimes, eggs manifest from abnormal concentrations of world energy. It is quite rare, but it is not unheard of. Maybe that is what I felt before."

For some reason, he felt that calling his hatching "rare" was an understatement.

That still doesn't explain my memories. "Why can I understand and speak your language?" he asked. Talking to a stranger about memories from a previous life did not seem like a bright idea.

"All angels hatch with ancestral memories, child. You have a basic understanding of the world ingrained into your brain. Yours, however, may be a little muddled because of your... anomalous hatching," she said, with a thoughtful look. He wasn't sure if she was making up half of the things she said.

Angels?! Ancestral memories? The concepts baffled him, but they were no stranger than being reincarnated in an egg, in a seemingly foreign world. "Hmm. Does this mean that I do not have a mother?" he asked.

He voiced the question more as a confirmation, but the angel took it differently. She looked at him with eyes full of pity, and after a moment of reflection, seemed to come to a decision.

"Child, do you want to come with Aunty Jie Er? I can guide you and provide you a home until you can do so yourself," she asked.

The actual word she used was "fau", but the closest his mind could translate to was "aunty". Fau was a suffix, used by younger angels to refer to older angels, especially someone who they were close with. It was similar to the usage of the word "aunt" by some cultures.

He was stunned. Did a complete stranger just adopt him? However, even if he was a newborn in this world, he had the memories of an adult, and he wasn't too inclined to be parented by a stranger.

That said, he had no idea of what it took to survive in this new world. It also seemed like he did, in fact, look like a child. Though it seemed ridiculous, accepting her proposal seemed to be his best option for the moment. It didn't hurt that she was the most beautiful being he had ever laid his eyes on.

"Okay," he accepted, unpretentiously.

"Good!" Jie Er clapped her hands. "Now, let us see if we can think of a good name for you. How about... 'Ariel' or 'Brianna'?" she asked, excitedly.

He looked at her flabbergasted.

"You do not like them? How about 'Arwen' or 'Eleanor'?"

"I am a male!"

He may have hatched with shoulder-length hair, but there was no way he looked anything like a girl.

"A what?"

"A male."

"What is a male?"

When he heard her speak the word "male", he immediately realized that he had spoken it in English.

"Er... What do you call an angel of your opposite sex?" he asked.

"What are you speaking about, child? Maybe your hatching was even more faulty than I imagined," she said, concern painting her voice.

She walked up to him, placed her hands around his head, and started prodding and feeling, while his eyes stared into the deep ravine of her cleavage.

Is there another word for male? Why can't I translate? Shouldn't it be obvious to the angel? Wait...

"How are angels born, normally? What's the exact process?" he suddenly asked.

Jie Er considered her words, before she answered. "They hatch just like you did. However, there is usually a mother around."

"How do you make an egg?" he persisted.

"When the time is right, an angel feels an irresistible urge to create a child. She then uses the world's energy to grow a stiff wing on her lower back."

Well, at least you don't shit out an egg like a chicken. Oh, god! That'd be horrible... the size of the egg!

"It takes about eight to twelve years for the wing to reach full size, and when they mature, they detach and turn into an egg. The egg incubates for another year or so, before the child comes out. The process is quite strenuous, and the mother has to regularly guide world energy into it."

"So, only one angel is required to hatch a child?"

"Yes... unless you consider the help received from your friends and family."

He suddenly reached down into his underwear and felt around, letting out a sigh of relief when he found what he was looking for. If this world was full of angels like Jie Er, it would've been a terrible injustice. Am I the only male in the world? Am I even an angel?

"What about 'Ellisandra'?" Jie Er asked, going back to the task of naming him.

That word made him reach a decision. There was no way he was going to let himself be named "Ariel" or "Ellisandra". He decided he could let this kind angel know a little about him, enough to let him name himself.

For some reason, he couldn't recall his original name. There were a bunch of names floating around in his head, but he did not feel a true connection with any of them. They were like words that suddenly seemed foreign, even when you may have used them your entire life.

It was strange, as he could remember a lot of information about life on Earth, including details of his own life, but he couldn't pinpoint his own name among them. Regardless, he felt that a fantasy world deserved an equally fantastical name.

"Um... Jie Er," he said, trying his best to sound like an adult, "I may have hatched into this world only a few minutes ago, but I have memories from another world. I think I must have lived there close to twenty years. In fact, I remember seeing a cake with the number '19' on it. Anyway, I'd prefer it if you called me 'Blaze'," he said. This name, he knew exactly what it was; it was a gaming name.

Blaze realized how insane he sounded, but there was a possibility that his words weren't as ridiculous to the angel. Maybe there are other Earthers or planet hoppers?

Jie Er stepped back and gave him a strange look, before nodding, contemplatively. Blaze had an inkling that she did not believe a word he had uttered, and that she most likely thought that his mind had been addled due to his strange hatching situation.

"Okay, Blaze. I do not mind calling you that, but you will call me 'Aunt Jie Er', or simply 'aunty'," she said, softly, but firmly, as if she was talking to a five-year-old.

"I really am an adult..." he sighed, realizing that he had already lost the battle. Jie Er's eyes shone with that crazy glint that women had whenever they saw something they needed to baby.

"No, you are not! Even if you really were a twenty-year-old, angels are not adults until they cross one hundred. I will be 166 this year! Child, you shall call me 'aunt' until you are old enough to fend for yourself," she said, flatly.

Blaze was baffled at that revelation. If she was really 166 years old, he was fine with calling her a granny- "mau" in their language. He also didn't see a point in arguing about his maturity before he understood more about the world. It was entirely possible that the angels were a higher echelon of beings, and human intellect was puerile in their perspective. So, he let out another sigh, and conceded.

"Okay, aunty!" he said, trying not to roll his eyes. He had always been quick at adapting to new and strange situations.

Jie Er smiled happily and pulled him into a hug, and his face plunged into the space between her cleavage. He felt his member rise as his arms intuitively wrapped around her waist. He felt the skin on the small of her back with his fingers. It was smooth, soft, and taut. He hugged her tight and wondered if angels could fuck.

He also felt a wonderful heat emanating from her; warm, comfortable, and personal. His heart loved the feeling almost as much as the one-eyed trouser snake in his panties.

"You like hugs, do you not, child? Aunty likes them too," she laughed heartily, when he didn't pull away after a few moments.

He stepped back and smiled at her sheepishly.

"Well, let us get going. We are a few yonders away from my home, and I wish to get there before dinner," Jie Er explained, once again manifesting her beautiful white wings.

They were a wonder to see; long and graceful, with a wingspan of 24 feet, and feathers that were sleek and perfectly groomed— he couldn't see a single stray bristle.

"Aunty, I can't fly," Blaze said, reaching out to her wing and feeling her feathers. They were plush, soft, and beautifully white. She seemed to have no qualms with him touching her feathers. In fact, she gave him an encouraging nod when he reached out.

"I know, Blaze. You just hatched. It will take a while before you can fly," she said, walking up to the remains of his egg.

He had not paid it much attention earlier, but the egg was pretty, too. It was entirely covered in bright, orange-red bird-like hair, spattered with a few red and white feathers at the top and the bottom.

Jie Er looked at it contemplatively for a moment, before sweeping it into her space ring. The way the entire object disappeared was marvelous; magical, yet somehow natural.

Then, she turned around and opened her arms to him. "Hop on. I will carry you home."

Blaze stared at her incredulously. "Can I not hold on to your back, instead?"

"How will I move my wings, then? Do not feel shy. What is the difference between hanging on to my back or my front? Come now," she said, with palpable excitement. She seemed to be really getting into this parenting business.

Blaze hesitantly raised his arms and Jie Er swooped in to pick him up, like he was nothing but a mere child.