The Azra-El Series Ch. 11

Author's Notes: Finally have an editor/proofreader. DankMemez. If you find the quality of writing/sex scenes in the chapter to be greatly improved from the last, it's mostly due to his efforts and suggestions. He has been stupendously helpful.

Special Thanks to VibrantDragon, FlyPenguin & W00tdiew00p for supporting my work

Schedule: A couple of you asked me for a schedule. I am not a full-time author, so I can't promise you one. However, I am aiming towards releasing one chapter every three weeks (on an average). It may vary depending on the length of the chapter.

I love the fact that you guys are so eager to read my work, but I currently cannot go any faster. This chapter took a bit longer because Dank and I needed to get in sync with editing.

The earlier chapters were also less complex and easier to write.

Obligatory Warnings: 1. No real Pegasi were harmed in the making of this chapter. To those of you who are sensitive towards cruelty to animals, please read till the end of the scene.

2. There are two sex scenes and on Dank's suggestion, it ends with one :P.

Festivals of Azra El: The heavenly union has many holidays and festivals but here are a few of the more important ones.

Regnbage Carnival: Festival of costumes. Every town and city of Azra-El celebrates with a procession led by a large puppet dragon, followed by frolicking costumed angels. The festival arises from the myth of Alvira.

The story tells of an ancient tribe of angels who were invaded by a tribe of beast like beings. Alvira, a young intelligent angel devised a plan to ward off the beastlings.

The beastlings were known to worship dragons. Alvira, with the help of other young angels, created a serpent like dragon puppet made of cloth, angel feathers and wooden sticks.

For three nights after that they paraded the dragon puppet around the town, while the beastling scouts reported of a dragon serpent that prowled the angel town.

The invading chief was skeptical about a dragon protecting an angel tribe, but she couldn't cull the rumors that spread among her force. However, on the day when the beastlings attacked the tribal village, a huge multi colored dragon head with a tail of rainbow appeared at the entrance of the town, breathing down a column of raging fire. The beastlings fled without looking back.

The myth is unclear about how Alvira managed to create such a phenomenon at a time when the angels had not yet figured out the use of energy stones, but the incident had henceforth been celebrated as the Regnbage Carnival.

Sangkarn: New Year's Day of the Heavenly kingdom. It's a day when older angels bestow their young with gifts. It's also a day of ancestral worship. The origin of the festival is dated long before the Regnbage Carnival's appearance.

Omovo: Harvest festival of the heavenly union, marked by gift giving by the rich and a large potluck on the eve of the day.

Flight Song: (no, not the pop song. That's fight song) A music and dance festival held in the middle of First Seed (March).

The nine primary societies of The Heavenly Union

1. Ophanim -- Wisdom

2. Erelim -- Courage

3. Seraphim -- Justice

4. Chayot -- Enlightenment

5. Hashmallim -- Love (including kindness and grace)

6. Malakim -- Beauty (including mercy and healing)

7. Elohim -- Valor

The last two are informal and are comprised of civil servants and the common folk.

1. Cherubim -- Service (civil servants)

2. Ishim -- Follow (common angels

Response to Comments

First of all, wow! I've been immensely moved by some of the comments. The knowledge that my writing can so deeply immerse you guys in the story and evoke some intense feelings is very inspiring. Despite the inevitable fact that my improvement is going to level off at some point, I want to keep pushing my boundaries just to keep up with your expectations. Thank you all for taking the time to express your opinions. I'd like to respond to each of your comments but since I have 18 this time, that doesn't seem advisable. Please don't let it keep you from posting a comment. I need em! I will use the Q&A at the end of the chapter to address some of your Q's.

James7594: That was quite the amazing/accurate review. I wish I could post it where more people can see it.

Fight Scenes- Not every chapter will have them, but I will try my best to make them as good or better than the one in the last chapter.

Sex Scenes- I agree with you, but I am not sure how to improve. I have only read one erotica (a few years back) and with the novel occupying most of my free time, I don't have the freedom to read more for research. I could really use some elaborate advice, if you're willing to give it.

Story/Plot- This has always been my strongest aspect. Not my writing but my imagination. I am glad I've lived up to it.

Characters- As you've said, instead of giving a big concrete character description, I have tried to imagine a personality and see how it reacts to situations. This seems to have worked so far.

Rating: Best Sci/Fi stories you've read -- Let me try make that a reality (I've unseen the 'One of' part).

Wankr65: Don't know about foot jobs but I could work with tasteful femdom. I was thinking of writing it with Fiora but I didn't know how to keep Blaze in character. It's easily done with the demons (I may already have a scene) but that's some ways off. Let's see. Maybe I will get a bright idea.

RanceSama: Your excitement is so freaking contagious and the way you think is hilarious. I enjoyed reading your whole spiel and that COD reference.

You've also given me the idea of a costumed scene ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉. Also, snow is rare in Aranya (the country) but I am sure Blaze will go somewhere he can personally use that quote.

Drastic Explorer: I've always implied that the angel society is not as utopian as it seems. As for Uriel, I've given a few hints in chapter 5 about why she might be that way. She is a Malakim is the obvious hint.

Finbar: Uriel being fired also has something to do with Fiora waiting for a chance to do so, as her conversation with Alice hints. I will consider your other suggestions and improvements.

ReaderFic: I dream about it too :P. He uses a two-handed weapon in a scene that was moved to the next chapter.

Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 11

Middas (Monday) was a quiet day until lunch, before Blaze spotted Aahna rushing towards him. She had been talking to a few first years from one of the other classes.

Blaze immediately got ready for a slew of questions while Rachel, who was sitting beside him and poking at her food, looked up at Aahna with little interest. It wasn't uncommon for the latter to be excited about something or the other.

"Big Bro! Is it true that you displayed Righteous Fury while defending a pixie? Also, did you really defeat a fourth year Houri in a one on one combat? I heard there was no handicap and that the Houri has been hospitalized," Aahna babbled excitedly, her hands in sync with her emotion.

"Mmhmm," Blaze nodded curtly. There was no point in hiding it.

"IT'S TRUE!" Aahna shouted across to the students expectantly waiting for her reply. Her answer animated the students, who went into a frenzied discussion as more of them joined the group.

"I am sorry Big Bro. I have gravely misjudged your character," Aahna suddenly apologized, but she seemed happy rather than sorry.

"What?" Blaze looked at her confused.

"I knew you were strong, but I didn't think you were the righteous type who would stand up for justice, regardless of the situation," she piped back.

"I don't know if I am all that righteous, but shouldn't all angels strive to be so?" he pondered, putting a sliced peach in his mouth. He patted on the seat beside him to make the sprightly angel stop bouncing.

Aahna pulled the chair and sat down, "True, but not many will dare to go up against a Houri of the Malakim, even if they are stronger than the Houri." She grabbed a strawberry from Blaze's fruit salad and popped it into her mouth.

"Oi, get your own" he admonished, pulling the plate away from her. He had always been a little defensive with food on his plate.

"Can you please tell me what is going on?" Rachel interjected, her interest suddenly piqued. Like Blaze, she spent a lot of her free time by herself and wasn't up to date with the latest gossip.

"Class 4A's combat teacher and a Houri were apparently mistreating a pixie. Big Bro, the caring soul that he is, stepped in to save the day. Long story short: the Houri is in the hospital, bro displayed righteous fury, and the teacher has been fired. But I'd like to hear her account," Aahna explained, pointing at Blaze. Her words were a little exaggerated and playful.

Blaze sighed and shook his head, "That is all there is to it." There was a finality in his tone that Aahna immediately caught onto.

Blaze wasn't the one to shy away from a bit of fame but for some reason he didn't want to use this incident to increase his credibility. It felt like a betrayal to righteous fury.

Aahna patted his back encouragingly and bounced away to share her information with others. Blaze sighed in resignation. Maybe her enthusiasm was for the best. It may make his class more likely to accept Siofra.

Rachel sat beside him in silent contemplation, her face a cloud of mixed emotions.

After their combat training class that evening, Blaze brought Siofra to his dorm. He felt the timing couldn't be better. His class was high on the fact that they had a classmate who could display righteous fury.

"Everyone! Can I have your attention?" Blaze addressed his classmates.

They all turned to him and immediately started staring at Siofra. At his behest, she had been keeping her ears out and they were prominent enough to make out who she was.

She felt a little uncomfortable at all the attention, but she took it in a stride. It wasn't her first time to be ogled at.

"This is my friend, Siofra," he introduced, letting his words sink in. "She is in the fourth year but is only nine years older than us. This also her first year at Tir. She has a good heart and is also quite strong.

"I implore you all to give her a chance. Not because I think it is our duty as angels but because I truly believe that she is no different from us," Blaze passionately urged, looking at all of them like an orator. The certainty and firmness in his voice piercing through any reservations his classmates had.

The young angels stood in silence. Most did not display any aversion to his words or the pixie, but none seemed eager to take the initiative to step up. Blaze turned to Aahna with hope but even she seemed to be hesitant. Though she admired Blaze for his actions, it was a bit too sudden for her to be put in the spotlight.

Siofra's ears visibly went down and Blaze started to consider that it had been a mistake.

However, to everyone's surprise, Bi, the usually reserved angel, suddenly stepped forward. She took Aahna's hand and pulled her towards Blaze and Siofra. Aahna stumbled the first couple of steps, but by the time they arrived, her gregariousness seemed to have returned.

"Hi. I am Aahna and this is Bi. Welcome to class 1A," she said with a brilliant welcoming smile. Her words familiar and uplifting.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you. I hope we can become friends," Siofra replied timidly, brushing back her orange hair.

It's all an act! Blaze internally screamed as some of his other classmates started approaching them. It was hard not to fall for her feigned innocence.

Soon, Siofra was chatting merrily with a bunch of his classmates. Blaze mouthed a thank you to Bi who glanced at Rachel in return.

Rachel was sulking on her sofa and seemed to be half minded about what to do next. Blaze looked at Siofra and deciding that she was fine for now, he walked up to the reticent girl.

He flopped down beside her and pushed her with his shoulder to make room for himself.

"I already know what you're going to say," she stated defensively, folding her arms under her chest.

Blaze chose to remain silent.

"What do you want?" she barked after a few moments.

"Rach, do you consider me a good angel?" he asked her quietly.

"Obviously."

"I don't claim to know more about the world than your mother, but don't you think we are old enough to make our own judgements? Even if Siofra's ancestors were the cause of the war, why do we have to judge her by their actions?

"She's spent her whole life being disliked by almost everyone around her. Don't you think she deserves a chance?" he beseeched her as he lay back on the couch.

Rachel remained quiet for a moment before getting up with an exasperated sigh.

"Fine!" she grunted and started walking towards Siofra and the rest. Maybe all she needed was a little push.

She suddenly spun around, "I still knew what you were going to say," pointing her finger at his smirking face.

Blaze smiled at her as she marched away.

Leaning back on his couch, he looked around the living room. Most of his class seemed to have accepted the situation to some degree. However, he soon spotted a group of seven angels huddled near the fire place. The displeasure in their eyes conspicuous.

He had noticed the group earlier. They did not interact much with the rest of the class and he did not recall speaking to them, apart from the first day when he had introduced himself.

Blaze considered going to them but quickly decided otherwise. Opinions needed time to change and he could make the matters worse by rushing it. Aahna seemed to know everyone, so taking her advice before approaching the group, seemed wise. Rachel was different as he knew her quite well.

***

"So, should we address you as Big Sis?" Aahna joked with a little bobble of her head toward Siofra. Rachel quietly joined them, looking a bit out of place.

"Why would you do that? I am not that much older," Siofra answered with a puzzled look.

"Blaze makes us call her Big Bro, which apparently means elder sister. You're her friend so I thought it would be appropriate."

Siofra rolled her eyes and snickered, "Big Bro has a bit of a deva complex, doesn't he?"

Everyone, including Rachel, burst out laughing.

Blaze looked at them with a smile, unaware of the reason behind their mirth.

As he got ready for bed that night, Blaze thought on how introducing Siofra to his classmates had gone better than he had expected. After their initial introductions, she had decided to finish her homework in their company. A few even decided to approach her for help. It turned out that she was a better tutor than him, who was prone to going off in tangents that were hard to follow.

The resurgent light in her eyes as she left that night was hard to miss.

Tring Tring. Blaze heard a melodic ring from his space ring as he lay down for the night.

It was weird how similar the noise was to an old telephone from earth.

Fishing the jade voice projector from his ring, he put it up to his mouth. "Yo Ely! Wassup?"

"You've been there for less than two weeks and you've already managed to cause an incident!" a mellifluous voice from the jade stone, chided at him.

"What did I do?" he asked innocently.

"Stop being clever. You think my mothers wouldn't have heard about a freaking righteous fury occurring right under their noses? I also heard that you beat up a Houri so badly that she had to be hospitalized!"

"Well... maybe it was a little excessive, but she and the teacher had it coming," he defended himself.

Elyssa sighed from the other end. "I am sure they did, but I wasn't talking about them. Weren't you supposed to be keeping low?"

"Oh, yeah!" Blaze smacked his hand on the bed, suddenly remembering the whole discussion they had at Cali; "I totally forgot! But I doubt I would've done anything different. Bullies like Priscilla will just keep pushing boundaries."

For some reason, he pictured Elyssa rolling her eyes at him on the other end.

"Whatever. I will be there soon enough and hopefully, keep you out of trouble. Listen. Mum advises you to not antagonize the Malakim anymore. It's fine for you to go against individuals but don't provoke the organization itself. Keep an eye out for letters of invitation to join them, if you haven't already. She says to not outright reject them. Tell them that you don't plan on making any societal commitments until you graduate. That will keep their hopes up and may prevent them from taking revenge for their Houri. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it," he rolled his eyes at the VP.

"Good. Mum also anticipates that the Malakim and other organizations will request her to arrange a meeting with you. She thinks it's best to oblige them and arrange it on our terms. There is a meeting of delegates at Saket in a couple of weeks. Mum wants to show you off at the after party.

"I will obviously be there with you, so you don't have to worry about being out of place. Talk to Aunty Jie Er about it this weekend. By the way, Mom wants to speak with you."

Blaze recalled that 'Mum' was Anastasia Marigold and 'Mom' was General Lynn Sturm. He had been mistakenly thinking that it was general Sturm who wanted to arrange the meeting at Saket.

Saket was the capital of Aranya. It was a little north of Shapur (Tir's town) and along the river Glende.

"Hello, young one. I've been wanting to meet you face to face, but I guess this will have to do for now. How are you doing?" a grand feminine voice resounded from the stone, each syllable spoken with crystalline clarity.

He considered the form of addressal before choosing the easiest. "I am well, aunty Lynn. It's a pleasure to hear your voice," he said in a sweet childlike manner.

"Don't fall for it," he heard Elyssa's whisper, but the general simply laughed. It was hearty and full.

"I haven't heard anyone call me that besides the princess, little Blaze. I think I already like you. I wanted to speak to you, so I could say this. Be yourself. You're a wielder of the Righteous Fury. Anastasia can be a little tactful at times and will advise you to tread carefully. But a strong angel needs to have a little backbone, I believe. Especially, someone like you. As long as you're in the right, you will always have my protection," the general declared.

"Mom! Don't feed her already reckless nature," Elyssa protested. There was a hustle of hands and Blaze surmised that Elyssa tried to snatch the VP from her mother.

"Keep my words in mind, Blaze. I will leave you two kids to talk in peace. I hope to meet you soon," Lynn laughed before handing the VP to Elyssa.

"Thank you, aunty. Bye!" Blaze replied cheerfully. The general was definitely his type of person.

The two friends continued their conversation for a little while before they headed to bed.

It was early the next morning, when Blaze jumped off his window and took off towards the stables. When he reached his destination, the sun had just risen over the horizon and it cast a beautiful, warm, orange glow over the building.

The woods rustled under the cold morning breeze and sang with voices of birds, chirping squirrels and early rising animals. The squirrels of Azra-El were smaller and had sweeter barks, and no, they weren't chipmunks. The morning dew and dampness gave rise to an earthy and leafy smell.

He caught a fleeting glimpse of white, followed by the sound of hooves, Gyrill.