Read In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I) Online
Authors: John J. Higgins
In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I) (13 page)
The scribes among the Virtues cataloged the discussion about the fate of the dinosaurs and recorded their notes in the Archives contained in the Library behind the Hall of the Virtues. After a few more hours of debate about the details of how to best destroy the dinosaurs, it was decided by the Virtues, that the Archangels along with a few legions of the Cherubim, would take the lead in destroying the dinosaurs. They would be assisted by the lesser Orders of Angels as needed.
They kept to the agreement that the smaller reptilian species were to be spared as their risk of harming the Simians was much less, but all the larger dangerous reptiles were to be destroyed and made extinct.
When the discussion turned to the details of destroying the dinosaurs, Sammuael could tell by the expression on Michael's face that the elimination of the dinosaurs was a task that Michael did not relish. Michael may not have liked the dinosaurs, but he did not like to be destructive either. But Sammuael also knew how Michael would behave; if it was the Almighty's will, then it was his duty to obey.
Sammuael also did not like the assignment, but for a completely different reason. These were the creatures made through Luciferael's powers and according to his desires. In fact, he was once honored by the Almighty for their creation. Sammuael was afraid that Luciferael would feel slighted by this destruction, and he did not want to be one of those who disappointed Luciferael.
Once the discussion turned to the details of the elimination of the creatures, Sammuael was surprised to feel a sense of exhilaration at the prospect of destroying these large cold-blooded beasts. It would be exciting to develop the methods and tools to effectively hunt down and wipe out all of these creatures. He hoped that Luciferael would feel the same when the time came.
It was Michael's suggestion that they arm all of the various Orders of Angels to destroy the dinosaurs and that they use the Cherubim as the lead soldiers. The Cherubim were particularly good at carrying out assignments, and their animalistic bodies were strong and powerful.
Nor did Sammuael object when Michael suggested Jarahmael as one of the leaders. It was a natural choice since he was good friends with Cerebriel, head of the Cherubim. In exchange, Michael would of course have to have Sammuael as his second in command, as he would have to appease Luciferael for the destruction of his creations.
But just to make sure that there would be no surprises for Luciferael about this, as soon as the recommendations were finalized, Sammuael returned to Luciferael's palace in the Seventh Heaven. Luciferael's palace was enormous, the largest structure in the Heavens, dwarfed only by the Throne Room. It was covered in a bright golden light that radiated from the cloud-like foundation. A series of a hundred towers, capped by softly edged parapets laid out the grand design. Twelve stories in height, there were rooms upon rooms upon rooms. The walls of the rooms were composed of solid forms from the wavelengths of the full spectrum of energy. Some rooms pulsated in various colors, while other rooms pulsated in ranges of light waves beyond those visible to Humans. There was abundant internally-generated light throughout Luciferael's private quarters. The upper floors were composed of pure white clouds. From any of the upper floors Luciferael could see all of the Seventh Heaven when he would look out. The palace was one of the first buildings that Luciferael had undertaken after being created, and was a special gift from the Almighty for being the First Born.
Sammuael flew to the central tower, Luciferael's inner sanctum in his palace. He was unchallenged by the many other Angels who were about and who occupied the palace to do Luciferael's bidding. Parapets seemed to have at least one Angel in residence, playing harps or other Heavenly instruments and singing sounds of praise to both the Almighty and Luciferael. Sammuael became warm and joyful as he reached the center of the palace, noting how the songs had such an effect on him.
When he landed into the inner sanctum, Luciferael welcomed him warmly, knowing that Sammuael adored him above all creatures, perhaps even the Almighty himself.
"Greetings Sammuael! What news do you bring this beautiful afternoon?" Luciferael smiled while he moved towards his guest, and stretched his wings widely behind him.
"Good afternoon, my lord Luciferael!" Sammuael responded, feeling Luciferael's warmth penetrate him. He, too, smiled in return. Thoughts of how Luciferael would react to the news of the impending destruction of the dinosaurs disappeared for a moment in the wave that came over him. Despite his trepidation he could see that Luciferael remained calm and was even cheery.
Sammuael's concern returned and he could feel it flash across his face. Luciferael must have seen it too as he asked, "What can be troubling you, my friend?"
"As you know, my lord, Michael and I were at the Hall of the Virtues in the Fifth Heaven earlier and there was discussion about disposing of the dinosaurs on the Earth." Sammuael's head was bowed in deference while his eyes peered upwards to watch Luciferael's demeanor as he told him the news.
Sammuael was surprised that Luciferael seemed unperturbed, maybe even brightened at the news. Luciferael responded, "That is terrible news," though his face still reflected joy and not concern.
"Yes, my lord," responded Sammuael. "I have been detailed to accompany Michael as we destroy the creatures. All save the smallest ones."
"I see," pondered Luciferael. "So as we discussed earlier, most of the life forms I created for the Almighty are to be destroyed? Tell me the reasons Michael presented."
Sammuael shifted his body as he stood before Luciferael. "As you suspected, my lord, Michael said that the Almighty wants to clear the Earth so that his new creations, these Beings called Simians, can occupy the planet. He did provide me a bit more information about them. I know you have been interested in these creatures, as you asked me to look into the subject just yesterday."
"What do you know of these Simians, Sammuael? What did Michael tell you?"
"They are beings made of the Earth, similar to the dinosaurs that you created, my lord. They do need food to survive and in that way are fragile like your dinosaurs."
"Excellent," stated Luciferael as he looked approvingly upon Sammuael. "You have done well in getting the information from Michael and for coming to me with the new developments."
"But there is another problem that was briefly mentioned by Michael, one that I think will be of even greater concern to you, my lord Luciferael," Sammuael quickly added.
"The Garden of Eden?" asked Luciferael.
"Yes, my lord. How did you know?"
"You are not to tell the other Archangels about this yet, but the Almighty discussed this with me this morning before he sent Michael off to the Hall of the Virtues. The Almighty wants to have helpmates in the Creation and he is still experimenting. He explained to me that my dinosaurs had a major flaw in that they did not have the divine spark, and I was only able to animate the flesh created out of the Earth. I thought at the time that size may improve that; however, it just made them bigger without any real creativity. It was only later after I was able to find a way to increase intelligence and place it into the smaller reptiles such as Serpentalia that the Almighty really took notice."
Luciferael seemed even more delighted with himself as he continued. "The Almighty built upon those principles and created the Simians believing these new creatures would be able to build and compose beautiful things on the Earth just as we did for Him in the Heavens."
"But the Simians don't look capable of doing that, my lord."
"Exactly," responded Luciferael. "That's why He has put the divine spark into a pair of creatures in the Garden of Eden. He has created this Garden of Eden between the Earth and the First Heaven. It is an idyllic place, where no harm can come to any of the creatures there. The idea of having Beings that have more choices about what actions they can take is the crux of the experiment. Each of them will have what the Almighty has called a soul along with the body made of Earth. Their intelligence and soul will have the ability to grow. As the Universe is ever expanding from the Creation, the Almighty wants ideas and emotions to develop. The Almighty reassured me that they are no threat to us as we are His First Born and will remain the most beloved of all His creatures. For now I will continue to trust in what the Almighty tells me. So should you . . . for now."
Sammuael nodded that he understood, but for a moment thought he saw a shadow float across Luciferael's face.
Luciferael changed the subject back to a more comfortable one. "Now, about this destruction of the dinosaurs. I believe by destroying my creations, the dinosaurs, we can show our skills and creativity here in a way that will be an example of our superiority over the Almighty. For not only have we created life forms but we are also willing to destroy what we have created. The Almighty Himself has not been willing to do that directly. He expects us to have the strength to do what He is unwilling or unable to do. If you think about it, creativity often involves some form of destruction. Who best to show how this can be done than the glorious Archangels? We can develop various methods and means to carry out the decision of the Virtues. So in the end, this actually can be a wonderful thing."
"Michael is arranging for an army to destroy the dinosaurs," Sammuael continued. "I think we should assemble the Auxilium and a legion of Potentates to magnify our energy. That way we can develop more of our individual powers to destroy the creatures."
Luciferael nodded in agreement. "Yes, exactly what I was thinking. Perhaps you can get Mephistophael and Beelzebael to assist develop some tools or weapons to cause destruction."
Sammuael shook his head. "I don't think that developing weapons would be of much interest to either one of them, my lord. But Suriel has expressed an interest in developing new instruments for music and for building things. He probably would know what would work on destroying things as well."
Luciferael looked off in the distance as if he was envisioning the destruction before it happened. "That's an excellent idea, Sammuael. See if he can develop some weapons. Remind him that we will also need some weapons made out of the Earth too. I can see where they can come in handy. Of course, those weapons should not be made to the exclusion of our weapons of light and sound waves."
"Certainly my lord," Sammuael stated as he began to get ready to meet with his other closest Archangel brethren and spread the news.
Sammuael was surprised that Luciferael would give up his dinosaurs so easily. Perhaps this was just another way that Luciferael showed that his love for the Almighty was even stronger than before. Maybe despite growing in his own powers, Luciferael still wanted to remain obedient to his own creator, the Almighty. Besides this could all be an exciting adventure. To be able to destroy, for some reason gave Sammuael a sense of pleasure. And they would be doing this under the orders of the Almighty.
The day had come for the destruction of the dinosaurs. The Archangels were accustomed to creating and maintaining life. Not destroying it.
At the morning ceremony the Almighty spoke about what was to happen to the dinosaurs.
"This day we will remove Luciferael's creations, the dinosaurs, from the Earth. These creatures were a noble effort by Luciferael, and caused major progress in the creation of life on that planet. His creativity has led us to where we are today." The Almighty paused a moment to allow Luciferael to take a bow as the assembled Angels applauded.
"The time has come to create new Beings, not limited by the flesh made of the earth and the minds contained by the dinosaurs. As you know, I have created and placed the Simians upon the Earth. But I have also created a place, called the Garden of Eden, where I have developed those creatures even further. These newest Beings are much like you and I hope will one day inhabit the planet. I will continue to have the Earth as a paradise. And these new Beings will have a direct part of me, just like you have, and in them it shall be known as a soul."
All of the Assembly of Angels all looked upon the Almighty with love when he said those words, except for Luciferael and his Auxilium, who shifted in their positions almost unnoticeably, not wanting to reveal their true feelings about new creatures.
"But these dinosaurs are incapable of such things, and must now pass into the ages. Luciferael, their creator, has volunteered to be in command of the mission and I have agreed to place him above Michael for this task."
Luciferael and Michael exchanged glances as Luciferael once again claimed dominance over all the Angels, depriving Michael of the lead role and keeping him subservient. To reinforce his position as First Born, Luciferael took a moment to look over the full assembly of Angels, silently acknowledging the honor.
The Almighty continued, "Only those creatures that were created as dinosaurs are to be destroyed. Smaller versions known as reptiles and the serpents are to be left alive and unharmed.
I leave you now with that purpose and I will return to you after the destruction has been accomplished." The Almighty then sent out a surge of energy to the assembled Angels of all of the Orders, and departed with his Seraphim and Thrones up through the skylight in the Throne Room of Heaven.
Luciferael stepped forward as soon as the Almighty had left and proceeded to divide all of the Angels who would assist in the effort into two groups. One group to follow Sammuael and the other group to follow Michael. With his hand he indicated where the two halves would be split.
"This half is to follow Sammuael," indicating his left side, "and this half is to follow Michael," he said, indicating his right side. "The Almighty had the Cherubim forge weapons for all of you, and they shall be distributed as you leave here this morning."
The Angels looked among themselves with trepidation and excitement. The split had separated some friends within the Orders of Angels and many of them waved to their brethren assigned to the other half.
Luciferael continued, "Each of the Orders of Angels shall be assigned specific weapons for their use -- the Pilum Luxlucis, the Mucro Luxlucis, Exitosus Harp, the Cornu Bellum, the Mucro Luxlucis, the Ruina Securis, and the Levitas Telum. You will all be given time to become familiar with the weapons, with the Cherubim Angels demonstrating the use and effectiveness of each of the weapons to the various Angel groups. I want to acknowledge the great work of the Cherubim under their leader Cerebriel for designing and making these weapons and armor for all of us on short notice."
As each group left the Throne Room and assembled on the surrounding grounds, they were given weapons and training by various Cherubim Angels. The Archangels were assigned the spears of light, the Pilum Luxlucis, and the swords of light, the Mucro Luxlucis. The Cherubim were assigned swords of light and axes of destruction, the Mucro Luxlucis and the Ruina Securis. The Virtues were assigned the harps of destruction, the Exitosus Harps, while the Dominions were assigned the horns of destruction, the Cornu Bellum. The Principals and the Angelus were assigned the spears of light, the Pilum Luxlucis. Lastly, the Potentates were not armed in this manner as they possessed within themselves the Incendia Exertus also known as the fireballs of destruction. By forenoon all had weapons assigned and all the Orders of Angels had been trained in their uses.
With this part accomplished, Sammuael and Michael came to Luciferael who had been spinning a globe of the Earth, a smaller version that accurately depicted the land masses of the planet, as he decided how the attack would proceed.
"We are ready, lord Luciferael!" they said in unison.
All three were now standing in battle garb. Shields slung over their necks, silver for Michael and Sammuael and gold for Luciferael. Swords hung off belts across their waists and the Pilum Luxlucis were slung over their backs, a seven foot spear made of condensed light with a large grip at the base of the handle that could be grasped by the Angel to thrust or throw.
Luciferael was excited at the prospect of destroying these earthen creatures, even though he had been their creator. He was in charge of the attack. All of the Angels would answer to him, a position he always enjoyed. He had some concern when Sammuael told him that Michael would be in charge, despite Michael's lack of enthusiasm to destroy any part of the Creation. He knew that the Almighty would allow him to be in charge, all he had to do was to ask. Michael appeared relieved when he had returned his glance as the Almighty announced that he, Luciferael, would be in charge. Many of the Angels whose loyalties were with Luciferael were much more comfortable knowing that Luciferael was in charge.
Luciferael then looked up from the globe of the Earth that rotated slowly before him and he gave the assignments. "Michael, I want you take your Angels and split them. One half to attack from the North Pole, the other half from the South Pole. You will push the creatures towards the equator."
Luciferael then turned to Sammuael and said, "You are to keep your Angels together and will attack in the center areas once Michael has pushed the dinosaurs towards the middle. This way we are sure to get them all while leaving the majority of the carnage in the center of the planet. It's a bit warmer there and the decomposition of the dinosaurs back into the earth will be accelerated."
Michael and Sammuael nodded in agreement to the plan. Michael still appeared to be uncomfortable, even though according to Luciferael's plan, the majority of the destruction would be done by Sammuael and his legions. His trusted Auxilium would obey him without question, and he was sure that the dinosaurs would be destroyed and none would escape. Michael could very easily miss some, as his heart was not in the task.
For a brief second, Luciferael thought about how magnificent his creatures, the dinosaurs, were and how they were able to quickly dominate the planet. But if the Almighty wanted the creatures destroyed, he trusted that the Almighty had a better plan for the overall Creation and development of life on the planet. As long as he and the other Beings of Light were the most beloved of the Almighty, all was well in the Universe. He would have no remorse.
Sammuael appeared excited about his role in destroying these creatures too. Luciferael was a bit concerned that this excitement could be detected by Michael. But his thoughts were broken when he saw Michael adjust his battle gear as he spoke.
"My lord Luciferael, what should we do about the dinosaurs that do not move towards the equator?"
"They leave you no choice then, lord Michael. You are to destroy them on the spot, those that do not move. The Almighty is clear that all of them are to be destroyed without exception."
"As you wish, my lord," Michael said, taking a slight bow before Luciferael. "I will take my leave, my lord Luciferael, and will do as you command. I will split my legions up to battle from the north and from the south. We shall push the creatures towards the center of the planet where Sammuael will be in position to attack and destroy them. And we shall destroy any that do not move. Where will you be, my lord, in case there are problems?"
"I will be in the middle of it with Sammuael, of course," Luciferael responded, perhaps a bit too quickly and gleefully.
"Understood, my lord," Michael answered as he took off in flight and headed towards his assigned legions, leaving Luciferael and Sammuael standing there outside the Throne Room.
Luciferael and Sammuael looked at one another and grinned broadly.
"This day shall be a good day, lord Luciferael," Sammuael said in a congratulatory tone.
"Yes, it will be. Despite the destruction of these creatures I made, this will expand my influence in the Universe!" Luciferael responded. "Learn as much as you can with the use of the weapons and the methods of attack. We may need those skills again one day. Do not rely much on those legions who are not under your direct control," warned Luciferael. "We do not want the other Angels as proficient in attack methods as we are."
"Is that why you assigned Michael and his legions to the fringes of the battle?" Sammuael asked.
"In part, yes. But also to be kind to Michael. As you can see, his heart is not into such things. No point in forcing him to gain much experience in either the use of weapons or the major strategies to overcome and conquer if his heart is not in it."
"Do you think he will be able to carry out his part?" asked Sammuael.
"Yes. But only because it's very limited. Michael is like his six other colleagues. They move slower and more cautiously towards anything they do. Their allegiance and loyalty is strictly focused on the Almighty and His wishes. I am unsure that Michael would follow me if it was not for the Almighty's commands."
Sammuael nodded in agreement.
Luciferael paused a moment as he caught a glimpse of himself in one of his mirrors carried by one of his lesser Angels. He was even more magnificent all dressed in his battle gear, and he smiled lovingly at himself.
Luciferael drew his focus back to Sammuael and continued, "It's time to go gather your legions. Let us make sure they are all assembled and ready!"
"As you wish, my lord. They are awaiting your command."
"Good. Just one other thing," Luciferael said as he adjusted a strap on Sammuael's battle dress where a fold of tunic had shifted over his shoulder. "That's better. Now you look like the second in command of Luciferael's legions."
"Thank you, my lord. Let us go find and lead your troops," Sammuael said as the two of them took off in flight.
