Unholy Empire: Chronicles of the Host, Vol 2: Chronicles of the Host, Book 2 (20 page)

The seven demons who made up Lucifer’s Supreme Council had convened in an abandoned temple complex outside Ur-Nammu, the place of Abram’s birth. Ur was a flourishing city-state and, along with Isin and Lasra in Sumeria, had become religious centers well exploited by some of Lucifer’s more capable agents. Of all the people in the region, however, the Amorites showed the greatest promise. They were in the midst of a great cultural and spiritual revival, and the Amorite nations of Mari and Assyria showed promise—as did an emerging city called Babylon.

Lucifer’s Supreme Council was made up of seven demons, each given authority over a different region of the world, and each with great numbers of fallen angels under their control to engage in the political and religious affairs of nations. Though the central battle remained as always in the region of Hebron in Canaan with Abram, Lucifer realized that he must think globally as well.

They had divided the world into regions, with the area that had formerly been Eden at its center. Lucifer had vowed to one day make his throne there—at the heart of the garden where the two trees once stood. After the dispersion at Babel, the world was sectioned by Lucifer into seven geographical regions. Within each region were large numbers of nation groups, with the principal devil being the regional prince, aided by a hierarchy of other demons who helped govern the affairs of men from the greatest to the least. Each of the seven rulers on the Supreme Council was given authority over one of the seven great regions that comprised the fallen earth.

“No nation on this cursed planet must be given an opportunity to discover the true Creator,” Lucifer had said when he established this advisory group. Lucifer had come to view these seven primary rulers as the cornerstone in his strategy to deal with the world at large. He had taken his cues from Heaven, and entitled these seven lieutenants “elders.”

With the help of the seven elders of the Supreme Council, he had devised great systems of philosophy and religious fervor that fed the minds and hearts of men the world over with empty nonsense. He spawned scores of religious expressions the world over, inspiring priests and shamans, prophets and oracles, sorcerers and charlatans, who oversaw ritualistic and often carnal acts of devotion—to everything from simple woodland gods of the forest villages, to the great gods of Memphis and Luxor in Egypt.

“Religion is our greatest weapon,” Lucifer had said. “It is the stuff of deception and war—of devotion to things invisible—and a leash on the feeble minds of men who desperately need to be loved by something greater than themselves. It is something that arouses passion among men so that in an effort to become one with the divine they will sink even to killing one another! Let men be religious—zealous even—so long as they remain blinded!”

“Reports,” said Lucifer gruffly.

The members of the Supreme Council began recounting the situations within their areas of global influence. Apart from the activity centered around Abram and his progress, where a tighter control and a more watchful presence were warranted, the world was largely quiet—and deceived. The council had divided the earth thus:

Kara—whose influence was centered around and in the great Nile region and the peoples of Egypt—proudly spoke of the great temples being erected to the pantheon of gods that the Egyptians found irresistible. He believed that Egypt would be a key to the war and was encouraged by the advances that its people seemed to be making. The great religious center at Luxor, also called Thebes, was where he ruled.

Pellecus was governor over a vast area that stretched from Assyria westward all the way to the great ocean and across to the coast of Tarshish, to the great northern seas where very few men had explored. He sensed however, in the Macedonian plains and the Greek islands, a people who were given to debate and the pursuit of knowledge. He believed that from his region he could launch many pet philosophies. There was something almost noble in these people’s desire for human truth. Mycenea was his seat of power until the city of Athens became the dominant site of culture and influence in the Greek world.

Rugio was given all of the lands of the Indo-Aryan peoples east of Jordan and into Cush. He also maintained a hold over sparsely populated Arabia. He was rallying the warlike attitudes of the many nomadic and mountainous people in his domain, and hoped to create in them a great world power built upon the might of arms and violent conflict. He chose Babylon as his seat of power.

Prian, former Angel of the Watch, was given authority over the great peoples of the east—vast stretches of land that encompassed the nations of the Orient. He too was very encouraged by the established families of Xia and Shang, who were driving the nation toward world empire. Prian and his many charges had introduced the worship of ancestors into the hearts and minds of the people, and his demons often appeared as recently departed relatives to give counsel and comfort to the living. He preferred the Henan Valley as his stronghold.

Lenaes, an Angel of Light, was given the vast tropical and subtropical regions, from the great nation of Ethiopia and all the nations that lived in the great jungles south of the great desert, to the west of Egypt. Lenaes created among the great peoples of Africa a network of forest gods and animistic spirits that he used to keep them under fearful and superstitious control. He preferred Ethiopia as his center of authority.

Rega, who had formerly served with Kara as one of the Twenty-four Elders, had been authorized to rule over the vast numbers of native peoples that populated the great northern and southern continents across the great ocean. He saw much promise and great intelligence among the peoples there. Envious of the great pyramids of Egypt, which by earth standards were already ancient, Rega dreamed of establishing cultic centers of worship dedicated to a sun god with great pyramids as well. He also intended to create bloody spectacles of human sacrifice to further demonstrate his complete control over the hearts of the people. He looked to build his seat of authority in due course.

Belron, an ambitious angel who had been promised a place of authority by Kara during the attempted rebellion in Heaven, was given domain over the peoples scattered among the great islands of the seas. Though not as prestigious as his brother demons, he enjoyed the simple, nature-worshiping peoples of these islands. They were easily deceived and quite fearful of the gods of the many volcanoes that dotted the ocean.

So far as those lands that God had now promised to Abram and his son, should he ever have a son, the council had determined that each one of them would have a hand in the areas in and around Canaan. This would be the center of the conflict until the end of the age, or until they had wrested the prophecy from Abram’s hands…

“And how does one wrest a prophecy, if I may ask, dear prince?” asked Belron. He had become bold of voice since being named to the council and was determined to cast as great a shadow as any of these rebel angels. Lucifer glared at him.

“You must forgive Belron, my lord,” said Kara. “He is new to positions of importance and is therefore given to foolishness.”

“I intended nothing foolish, my lord,” said Belron, feeling the iced looks of the other elders on the council. He looked across the cracked altar that once served as a sacred place for the people of Ur. “I am merely asking what our next move should be.”

“Well done, Belron,” said Kara with delight. “After all, one must learn to crawl before one learns to walk. At least on this council!”

“Enough!” said Lucifer. “His question is incisive.”

Lucifer stood at the head of a dais where once stood the priest of this fallen temple, recently destroyed by an earthquake. He indicated the carved reliefs on the walls, marvelously stylized bulls and lions and serpents. Many of them showed the cracks of the recent disturbance, and some of them had all but been destroyed.

“At one time in this temple, great words were spoken through some of our most creative demons. They were worshiped by men and depicted by them as the creatures you see around you on these walls. Men like to see what they are worshiping. That gives us an enormous advantage over the Most High. While those like Abram, who are in covenant with the Most High, strain to even hear his voice, we as gods of this world can appear readily before the eyes of men. Thus we are more believable.”

He picked up a broken piece of the altar that had fallen to the temple floor and threw it onto the top of the altar that was serving as their meeting place. Dust from the rock’s forceful landing flew into the air and created a haze above the altar. As it settled Lucifer spoke.

“But like this crumbling center, which once held great promise for us and now is abandoned and disgraced, so too does the prophecy spoken in Eden and again to Abram speak of a dismal future for all of us.”

He looked at the crew of elders, his eyes glowing a slightly reddish tinge through the cloud of dust and repeated the words, “All of us.”

Lucifer continued talking, taking his place once more at the head of the altar. The seven demons, fully aware that they were tied together in an uncomfortable but unalterable destiny, hung on every word he spoke.

“You asked about the prophecy delivered to Abram, dear Belron. There is much to be said about that particular word. Most of it is dreadful news for us, to be sure.”

“All the nations in the world are to be blessed by this man’s descendants,” said Pellecus. “All of them.”

“It isn’t all of the nations that concern me,” said Lucifer. “It is one descendant in particular—foretold in Eden. He is the one with whom we ultimately contend.”

“Arrgh! The Seed! The Seed,” growled Rugio. “Ten thousand blasphemies upon that accursed Seed! Are we to sit and plan and play gods in our temples while the day of this avenger draws near?”

Rugio’s eyes burned fiercely blue as his aura manifested itself in an intense burst of anger. Those seated next to him moved away during the demonstration. Lucifer gave him a quick look, and Rugio slowly calmed down.

“And what would you have us do, Rugio?” asked Kara snidely. “You showed us once how well your warriors could hold an archangel—do you really think you can prevent a prophecy?”

Rugio leaped across the altar and barreled into Kara, who shrieked in fear at the sight of the charging warrior. Kara didn’t even have time to draw his sword before Rugio had him pinned in his massive arms. Rugio picked Kara up and flew to the ceiling of the temple. Kara was screaming for Lucifer to force Rugio to stop the attack. Pellecus looked at the two and shook his head in disgust. Others were howling in laughter. Lucifer watched for a moment and then ordered the scuffle to stop.

“Is it any wonder that we have been ineffective until now?” Lucifer finally asked, as Kara seated himself once more at the altar, albeit a bit more humble than he left it. Rugio also sat down, and gave one of his warrior aides a nod of satisfaction. “If my leaders cannot maintain order, how can we expect the rest of the legions to stay intact? I forbid you to fight among yourselves anymore. If you must war, use the humans, fight each other on earth’s bloody fields—but NEVER again in my presence.”

Kara and Rugio both nodded in agreement as Lucifer continued.

“Now as I was saying, we have been ineffective up to this point. Oh, we have learned a great deal about warring with humans—how they succumb to temptation, sin, and disease; how to deceive them and lead them through dreams and visions. But in regards to our goal of winning this war, brothers, we are at a loss.

“We have tried outright conflict, and have been stopped by Michael’s angels. We have attempted discouragement but have been overcome by simple faith. We tried with Job to run a case against the true nature of men, and found that Job proved faithful. All of these and many more weapons we have found to be effective among humans in general.” He was almost growling in frustration as he went on. “But these…these covenant leeches have proven most resilient to our every tactic.”

“You paint a most encouraging picture, my lord,” said Belron gloomily. “Shall we surrender
now
or
later
?”

“But I believe in Hagar we have a new opportunity—and a deadly one,” Lucifer said, ignoring the comment of Belron. “As you all know, the woman Hagar, the servant of Sarai, has conceived Abram’s child. It will be a son undoubtedly. And I have assigned Berenius to the coming child to give it the proper guidance it will need.”