Fool's Errand (2 page)
Note about the Second Edition: The story remains substantively unchanged. The primary change is removing this book, and Mystic’s Mayhem, from under the umbrella of my original publisher and into the realm of my self-publishing entity, FaithXFiction Press. Regarding the content, what I hope to remedy are some typos and errors that snuck past the editors and into the first edition. Additionally, with two more years writing experience under my belt, I hope to smooth out some of the writing and point-of-view consistency issues and create a better quality second edition of Fool’s Errand. Some longer descriptions may be streamlined, and where appropriate a bit of extra information about the world or characters may appear. Owners of the first edition should not feel a need to go out and purchase this edition; however, as essentially the same story in the original Fool’s Errand is told in this edition.
Bringing all of the Chadash Chronicles books into my FaithXFiction portfolio will also allow the publication of an omnibus ebook edition containing the entire Chadash Chronicles trilogy as well as the prequel volume, Saga of the Everking. It is my hope by offering this packaged collection at a reasonable price, new readers will be encouraged to pick up and enjoy Chadash Chronicles as well.
We were made long before the time of man
for all of time we angels served the Lord
we were all part of His almighty plan
but then there came the time of our discord
No longer were we favored ones of God
there was another come to take our place
that He should forsake us we found it odd
for the pathetic, weakling, human race
We trusted Him and thus kept our hearts true
until the Morning Angel came to us
bold Lucifer he told us what he knew
and what to do about it we discussed
“Forsaken ones” oh, Lucifer he cried
“Because of apes we are forgotten now”
most beautiful of God he truly tried
to say we should react and tell us how
The faithful ones then left Lucifer’s side
and spoke to God of Lucifer’s dark words
but we who teemed with arrogance and pride
it was only Lucifer’s voice we heard
We forever had sung praise to the Lord
we were His chosen, how was it we fell
we were His warriors with holy swords
God came now to us damning us to Hell
“Rather than serve in heav’n, we’ll rule in Hell”
these were the words that Lucifer he spoke
it was those words we heeded all too well
the foolish heart in each of us awoke
and I, Azadriel, now know at last
the emptiness without God’s loving voice
and I know I can never change the past
I can but dwell upon my foolish choice
Mankind they are forgiven of their sin
with His forgiveness heaven they shall see
I played a game that I could never win
is there forgiveness for the likes of me
(Circa
AD
95 in earth reckoning)
The twenty-six generals of the rebellion sat in council awaiting the arrival of their leader, the Beautiful One. They waited in silence for what was sure to be a vehement reaction to John’s recording of the vision given to him on Patmos by the Risen One.
Azadriel vividly remembered the rage that pouring forth from the Beautiful One when Levi’s writing came to light. That missive recorded the Risen One’s words prophesying the end for the rebelling generals and their followers. This latest writing was more than a passing reference to their doom. It was a full-blown revelation of how their battle, already spanning many millennia, would ultimately end. If Levi’s brief remembrance of a passing comment had infuriated Lucifer, this vision given to John would fuel a raging inferno of malice in the heart of the Angel of the Morning that would threaten to incinerate those who merely heard him speak.
Azadriel and the eight Malakim closest to him were not eager to sit through this impending tirade. As they waited for Lucifer to arrive, Azadriel’s mind began to mull over the proposal that he planned to bring today before the council. It was a dangerous proposition to voice, especially at this time, but he took great comfort knowing the eight who stood with him.
For millennia, Malakim
generals who had sided with Lucifer, along with the millions of lower ranked Malakim who followed them, waged a futile war against the One Lord. Stirrings of regret began seeping into Azadriel’s heart long ago. At first, it was just emptiness deep inside him, little more than a feeling of discontentment. As time passed, he felt ever deeper the pangs of remorse. Centuries later, he realized what filled his heart was a genuine, driving desire to repent of their rebellion and to return to the throne of the One Lord; begging His forgiveness. Azadriel wasted much time in fearing to utter such thoughts to the others. He was certain they would tear him to pieces. He was mistaken.
Over time, he began to see in the eyes of other Malakim leaders
the same dark emptiness filling him. One day, Azadriel could keep silent no longer. He approached his closest brother, Achiram, and shared his heart. To his great joy, he discovered that Achiram’s feelings mirrored his own. Over time, they discovered that the rebellious archangels who had followed Lucifer were divided. In total, eight other Malakim generals shared Azadriel’s desire to lead the fallen back to the throne of the Almighty and throw themselves upon His mercy.
Another nine showed clear signs of growing weary of Lucifer’s war. No glimmer graced their proud eyes matching the repentant heart Azadriel and the others like him showed. These nine would never repent, but neither would they continue following Lucifer in vain futility until the Day of Judgment.
The remaining eight Malakim leaders continued in loyal lockstep with Lucifer, disregarding the revelations of the prophets as the ravings of madmen. So drunk with their own power and Lucifer’s lies, they would follow the Beautiful One even unto marching straight into the Lake of Fire. Nine, nine, and nine: the number of discontentment and of arrogance, how ironic.
Azadriel remembered his conversation with the eight who shared his heart before they answered Lucifer’s summons.
“My dearest ones, the time has come. We need no longer fear reprisal from Lucifer. We are each as strong as he, and nine others show signs of dissention. I do not believe Mutazz and his eight followers would follow Lucifer to battle against us. The equal division among the Malakim leaders gives us the opportunity we have long awaited. This is our chance to voice our plan and do our utmost to sway the hearts of the others. If Lucifer will not give up his madness even in light of the Apostle John’s revelation, then we who stand repentant must lead the legions back to the throne and trust to His mercy. Let us end our rebellion today.”
Azadriel’s confidence wavered briefly seeing uneasy looks from several of those he counted among his compatriots. A supportive smile and nod from Achiram bolstered the hesitant and let Achiram know whatever the outcome, the others would stand with him.
The prince of darkness finally arrived, quite late for his own meeting. No doubt, he had spent many hours fuming in private in order to prepare for what he was about to pour out upon his generals.
“Doubtless you all are aware of this ridiculous scribbling recorded by the beloved of the Lamb. What drivel! We may be forbidden to touch the flesh of this precious one, but I tell you, I will burn his home down around his ears and sink Patmos into the sea! If the Risen One wants to protect his beloved disciple, He can duplicate his trick with the three Hebrew children to save him from my fire and send him a fish to pull him from the sea.”
This level of fury was beyond anything Lucifer exhibited before. He spat every pronoun and reference to the One Lord and his words dripped with disdain for the Apostle John.
“I will see,” continued Lucifer, “that not one copy of this despicable book of lies will ever be seen, save by witches gifted in reading ashes. I will stir the heart of Caesar to such a hatred for the Christians that the smoke from their burning bodies will fill the whole earth. I will...it is...ahhhh!”
What followed was a series of hate-inspired guttural noises, screeches, and a cacophony of other sounds that defying description. The tirade pouring forth from the most gifted voice ever created by the One Lord seemed an unfitting use for the most beautiful of instruments. When some modicum of control and sanity resurfaced, Lucifer blasted his awestruck generals with an accusatory question.
“Are you going to say something or just sit and stare like the statues men have erected of you?”
Azadriel’s moment had arrived. Whatever ember of goodness or hope for redemption in Lucifer was now replaced by unquenchably blazing anger and hatred. Lucifer would never agree with Azadriel’s plan to repent and return, but for the sake of the others in whose eyes he had seen doubts, he had to try. As Azadriel was about to speak, he heard the voice of Mutazz, Lucifer’s second in command, preempt him.
“The battle is over, brother. Our end is prophesized, written, and cannot be changed. How many more millennia would you have us struggle in vain? We shake our fists at the One Lord, and we use all power at our disposal to draw the humans away from the light, but in the end, what have we accomplished? We have killed eleven of His twelve disciples and still His church grows. We murdered Paul and still men come to Him. We have inspired Nero to use the Christians as torches to light his gardens and still they rally to the cross. We have exiled John to Patmos, and yet he still leads and inspires the churches with his epistles. Victory is not our fate. The Lamb revealed to the Apostle John what is to be our future. We will burn forever alongside those we lure away from Him. We beat at the wind, but our end is the same. We cannot win.”
A hush fell over the Malakim generals as they awaited Lucifer’s response. A long moment passed. Apparently Lucifer was going to stew for quite some time before responding, likely deciding if he could slaughter Mutazz before others came to his aid. Taking advantage of the hiatus, Azadriel spoke.
“Malakim, this vision of John’s is not news to us. Long have we known our rebellion to be in vain. We have known since the Lamb spoke to Levi of what was to come, that our fate would be the same as the humans who reject the One Lord. Nevertheless, we also know the One Lord from His own words to be merciful for those who repent. Let us end this futile struggle, return to the throne, and throw ourselves on the mercy of the Merciful One. If we unite and lead, the legions will follow us. Let us return not in rebellion but in humility, not with hearts of pride but hearts of repentance. Our fate cannot be worse than it already is, and with His mercy, it may be considerably better.”
Another extended pause told Azadriel that his words were as unwelcome as those of Mutazz. Achiram stepped forward, and the others who shared Azadriel’s heart followed.
“Azadriel does not stand alone in this. We eight stand with him. It is clear, from what Mutazz has rightly said, we are not alone in believing we cannot continue like this. Let the leaders of the Malakim rebellion unite with us, end our exile, and return to serve our Creator. It is right even if our end remains unchanged.”
Lucifer had waited long enough. A blood curdling scream issued forth with such force that all of the other Malakim present dropped to their knees with their hands over their ears. Lucifer had been an Arch-Cherub, gifted with the most beautiful voice of all the angels, but now in his rage the voice given him by the One Lord was fearsome and powerful. Although all archangels were created with equal strength, each had their own unique gifts. When turned to evil purposes, those gifts were dreadful indeed.
The screech subsided just as the others began to wonder how much more they could withstand. Lucifer, his eyes searing embers and his mouth a twisted scowl now had the floor.
“You pathetic, weak, sniveling miscreants! You dare speak to me of mercy? Of repentance? Have the years been so long you have forgotten how we, His chosen and first made creations, were relegated to nursemaids for those disgusting apes? Have you forgotten that those who loved and served Him so faithfully were never given
souls
, were never given the love and affection reserved for those repulsive flesh bags? And you dare speak of His mercy?”
Lucifer spun with purpose toward Mutazz. “And you,
brother
, would dare to speak against me? You, whom I trusted. You, placed to rule second only to me, would repay me with these faithless words? I suppose you also wish to grovel for scraps from His table and pray that by polishing His feet with your weakling tongues that the Lake of Fire might be made a little cooler for you?”
Mutazz, the greatest warrior of all the fallen ones, did not receive these words without effect. With fury in his own eyes, Mutazz suddenly grew to twice Lucifer’s size, a flaming sword appearing in his hand. Quickly weighing the situation, he realized the eight Malakim
generals not standing with Azadriel or himself likely remained loyal to Lucifer. There was no predicting what the reaction would be by Azadriel’s faction should he choose to strike at Lucifer. Even his own comrades, who stood ready to follow him in leaving Lucifer’s battle, would not likely agree to openly attacking the Prince of the Air. Mutazz chose discretion as the better part of valor, speaking his mind as he slowly returned to his normal size. His sword remained in his hand.