From Heaven To Earth (The Faith of the Fallen) (12 page)

Drean stood and gazed into the infinite skies of Heaven. He pulled the
sheets that covered him aside and sat on the edge of his bed
.
His eyes
filled with longing as they came to the base of The Sanctuary. Drean’s shoulder
length white hair, fair skin, and long-sleeved pale garments were golden in the
radiance of the sacred building. His wings protruded from his woven tunic and
pants as if the cloth did not exist.

Any day now my Lord’s radiant light will come and restore me to my
former position. Yes. Any day now.

The Sanctuary was not far and no walls or bars impeded the angel from
reaching it, but he knew his imprisonment had a purpose. He knew better than to
question the will of God. Drean had two pieces of furniture with him, a bed and
a chair: one for thinking, the other for passing large amounts of time.

Time did not exist in Heaven, but he found himself concerned with it.
Yet, it was impossible to grasp how much time had passed. Drean could not
recall the last time he had tended The Heavenly Sanctuary. His duty was but a
distant memory, lost over years, centuries, millennia.

He tried not to think too much on why God relieved him, but it was
impossible when he could see other angels fulfilling their duties. They
constantly reminded him of his isolation.

Powers, the soul-herders, had large feathery wings and flowing white
cloth garments. They stood near the gates of Heaven to escort new arrivals to
the archway of Soulhome, contained in a dome to the west of The Sanctuary.

A rising phoenix was engraved into the apex of the seventy foot
celestinite arch. Once souls passed through the archway, they were transported
to the spiritual realm known as Soulhome. There, they met the judgment of God.

If found worthy, the soul-botanists of Heaven, cherubs, would take the
souls to commence their reincarnation. Cherubs led the souls through the
soul-gardens, known as Eden to humans. The child-like angels transmuted human
souls into seeds, the source of the endless vegetation in Eden.

The gargantuan trees and flowering plants produced seeds that housed new
souls. Cherubs inspected those seeds for deformities, negative energies, and
other signs that made seeds unsuitable for the soul production process.

Seeds that failed their tests were cast into Hell, for they had no place
in Earth or Heaven.

Those that passed were taken to the cherub’s nurseries for soul
extraction.

Soul extraction required a long series of machines. No angel, save
Lucifer knew who engineered the celestinite factory capable of extracting and
refining souls.

However, some humans that showed undeniable faith and respect for the
Lord during their lifetimes were formed into angels. This process expanded on
the souls’ already devout allegiance to God, consumed its free will and made
them into a being driven by a desire to serve the Lord.

Drean found himself contemplating humans from time to time: their
acceptance into Heaven despite their sins, how new angels were created from
their souls, how God allowed their souls to cycle eternally, how they were
cared for in Eden by the cherubs, content and basking in God’s light, until
time’s end.

The more he thought about it the more he did not understand God’s logic,
and as he struggled to understand, he found himself questioning it. Why was he
cast aside when they were not?

Eventually anxiety and depression borne of his questions dug into his
mind as if with a spade; gradually penetrating him to his core. Some days he
slept it off, woke with a fresh outlook and optimism to match. Some days it
kept him in bed: torn, lonely, and jealous.

Virtues flew over him. Their orange-red flaming wings left trails of heat
in their wake as they patrolled Heaven. Others sat in gargoyle fashion on
upwardly curved ledges extended from the tops of the three domes. Their burning
wings stretched fully as a warning of no quarter. He sat on his bed. He felt
the familiar sadness tug at him, and as he watched his brethren it escalated
into anger.

There is no reason for me to be here. I did my duty and failed only
once. I deserve another chance.
Drean opened his mouth. He felt compelled
to shout at God and iterate his thoughts into loud protests.
No. I cannot.
Belligerence is what Lucifer was damned for. I will not make the same mistake.

“Lord, why am I thinking like this? This never happened while I was by
your side.”

Drean waited for a response. None came.

“Lord, I need you!” he cried out, his voice trilled. He heard it echo
before he collapsed on the ground, exasperated.

“Angel.”

The voice of God resounded from all around him. Drean knelt and bowed his
head.

“My Lord, I apologize for my insolence.”

“Ascend to The Sanctuary and speak to me there,” God said.

“Yes, Lord.”

Elated, he unfurled his wings and broke the red ribbons that fettered
them. Without hesitation, Drean took flight for The Sanctuary.

* * *

Drean awoke in Riell’s arms soaked in sweat. He took his t-shirt and
shorts off. He shivered uncontrollably but felt feverish and hot.

That was the first time I’ve dreamed about anything other than the war
for over a thousand years
.

He held Riell close. Drean found some comfort and warmth next to her
half-naked body. He could not put the vivid dream aside though. It reminded him
of his imprisonment and God’s inaction. He felt anger burn within him.

I can’t be angry about that,
he decided.
God had a reason.

His worries faded, and he sank back into slumber.

* * *

“My loyal seraph, welcome home,” God said when Drean landed before His
throne.

“My Lord.” Drean sank to his knees. “It is good to finally be in your
presence again.”

Why did you keep me away for so long, Lord?
Drean thought to
himself.

“What are your wishes?” Drean asked.

“Are you not going to ask why you have been held in captivity so long?”
God asked.

“My Lord, I’m not one to question your plan for me,” the seraph
stammered.

“Yes. I realize that it must seem strange for me to ask such a question,”
God said. “But, can you honestly say that within the many millennia you were
held captive you did not question my design once?”

Fear rendered Drean speechless
. I cannot speak of questioning God’s
authority,
he thought
. But if I do not, I will inadvertently disobey
him. What do I do?

“Angel, speak!”

“My Lord, I did question you while I was in captivity,” Drean said.
“However, it was only because you kept me away from my duty for so long.”

“You see, seraph,” God said, “I created angels with a sense of duty and
purpose, to do my will, to see it through ceaselessly until the end of their
days without question and with a sense of harmony and unity. If they are apart
from their duties and Myself, they will undoubtedly begin to feel guilt,
sadness and eventually anger because they have been torn away. I kept you in
captivity so you would begin to feel these effects.”

God scrutinized Drean’s reaction.

But why would my Lord want me to develop a defiant spirit? Was that
not what eventually doomed Lucifer to damnation?
The seraph asked himself.

“I do not understand, Lord. But if you will it, it must be right,” Drean
said.

“Angel, does it bother you that humans have free will? That they are
bound to nothing unless they choose to be?” God asked.

“Lord, I do not consider such things,” Drean said. “I understand my
purpose and I live with it.”

“Good,” God said. “Then you will not question me when I say that I have
altered your purpose?”

Drean wanted to lift his eyes but stopped himself.

“I am losing my strength, angel,” God said. “I have something I wish to
show you. You will be the second being, aside from me to see this. I hope your
reaction differs from Lucifer’s. Come.”

God’s throne burst into a door of pure white light, and Drean stepped
through.

Empty space was all around him. Drean unfurled his wings but realized he
stood as if on solid ground.

“Where am I?” Drean said out loud.

“I suppose you could call it my viewing room,” God said.

“Lord, is that you?” Drean called with some uncertainty, the voice had
sounded like God’s but not nearly as ominous.

A humanoid figure encompassed in a white cloak stepped out of the
darkness.

“Yes, it is I,” God said.

Drean sank to his knees in genuflection. His Lord had revealed his true
nature to him.

“Angel rise. I called you here as an equal not as a servant,” God said.
“Rise and come forth.”

At first God’s robes covered His entire body, and Drean could not see His
form. His cloak rippled and sank into itself. A slender figure took shape. His
sleeves shrank into long arms, smooth hands with unnaturally lengthened fingers
took shape at their ends, and the hood of His cloak rounded into a featureless
face. He had no eyes, ears or nose. Seven halos of white flame linked together
and hovered above His head. Myriads of glowing colors circulated beneath God’s
skin like clouds of ink beneath water.

“This is what I truly am. Providing attention to every plane of existence
simultaneously is not something I am capable of any longer. Soon my ability to
maintain constant supervision over the Earth and the other worlds I have
created will cease to exist.” Sorrow was in God’s voice. “My power to sway
actions on any physical plane has always been limited, but when I cannot shift
planes my ability drops to nil.”

God waved his hand in front of him. Blips of light, like fireflies,
blinked into existence and filled the darkness around Drean and him.

“Now, this is the universe I have created, the totality of the physical
plane,” God told the angel. “What you are looking at now are clusters of
galaxies.”

“Galaxies, Lord?” Drean asked, puzzled.

“They are highly condensed groups of stars and worlds,” God said.

Drean stared in awe with his mouth open.

“I can see you are overwhelmed but you will understand it all soon
enough.”

God waved his hand once more, and a small portal of light appeared in
front of Him.

“Follow me,” he said and stepped through the portal.

Drean followed and was propelled forward. Galaxies flashed past the now
horrified seraph. Soon only one galaxy could be seen, and he was on a collision
course with it.

Drean closed his eyes and prepared to meet his end.

“Angel, open your eyes,” God said.

When Drean opened his eyes he was not the angel speaking to God, he was
an observer, above both the unnamed seraph and God.

“Father!” Drean called out. God made no sign that he could hear him.

His past self almost fell over in shock at the sight before him. A blue
planet partially blanketed by white encompassed his entire front view.

Earth.

God moved his hand over the surface of the planet, and streams of color
came into view. Drean could see every color of God in them. A small number of
streams reached upward until they connected themselves with God, and the rest
slithered across the planet.

“This is Faithstream.” God pointed at the streams, and the seraph nodded
in recognition. “The Faithstream is essentially the totality of a creation’s
faith. My creations, the humans seem to be... misguided.”

“What do you mean, Lord?” the angel asked.

“As you can see, a large amount of Faithstream remains on the planet as
if the humans have no need for me anymore,” God said. “My powers as a creator
are waning, and eventually they will slip away from me forever.”

God turned to the angel. “Are you ready to receive your name?”

 
“My... name, Lord?” he
stuttered.

“Drean. Yes that will be your new name from now on,” God said. “With this
name you will have a new mission, and that mission requires that you have the
proper equipment.”

“Lord, what do you will me to do?” Drean asked.

“I require you to think for yourself to make your own decisions in a
world of beings who know nothing but believe they know everything,” God said.

Drean wanted to know more, but before he could speak God placed one of
His hands on the angel’s forehead. Drean’s clothes melted from his body and
were sucked into the palm of God’s hand, leaving him naked.

God’s hand and arm rippled as it received the liquid cloth. The white
coloration could be seen inside his body before it dissolved within him.

One by one the feathers of Drean’s wings illuminated. Their glow was
faint at first, but intensified by the second.

“You will have free will,” God told him.

Drean cried at the sight of his Father bestowing the gift of free will on
his past self.

The newly named Drean groaned as his wings exploded.

Feathers whirled around him. Three pairs of feathers, one for each pair
of his wings, branded his back between his shoulder blades before they fell to
the ground. Their markings formed a circle.

“My head...” He fell to his knees.

“My child, it is almost over,” God said.

A tongue of flame appeared over Drean’s head and descended through God’s
hand into his forehead. God released the angel and stepped back.

“My thoughts, they’ve changed! I feel alive.” He smiled to himself.

“Good, Drean.” Drean could hear a faint glimmer of elation in God’s voice
now. “In return for this new gift I have given you, I want you to go to Earth
and find what is diverting the Faithstream,” God said. “Be wary of your
actions, and be as swift and thorough as possible in your investigation.”

“Father, what of my nakedness?” Drean asked.

God smiled at his question, extended His arm and opened His palm inches
from the angel’s head. “You are right, my child, you must be properly clothed.”