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[aurum-inferno]

PAGE 2- THE WOLF’S DEN

Dazed, likely traumatized, and fallen, Avus woke. He found himself to be uncomfortably cold. It took him a moment, and it all came back to him. 

He let out a deep, and entirely exhausted and sad sigh, and closed his eyes. The cold of the mountain gripped him, had seeped through his pale skin, and into his blood. Tiny particles of ice were flowing through his blood, and of course, he could feel it, but could not die from it. That was the price that angels would pay if they fell. They couldn’t experience the ultimate relief of death. They were bound to the planet and to Hell, but could never ascend back to Heaven or simply disappear.

Attempting to clear himself of frost and ice, the fallen angel began to stir, gold flecked blood pumping more now, warming up. Bits of snow clung to his feathers and hair, and to, what felt like, every part of his being. To Avus’ dismay, his clothes too were covered in a sheet of ice, and were stiff to the touch. Momentarily, he contemplated removing them so that he could fix the issue, and decided exposing his genitalia to frigid temperatures would not be a good idea.

And so, Avus stood, and carefully softened his clothes, applying pressure so that the ice would snap, and it would be a little easier to wear. Though it didn’t help much, he found it to be better than nothing, and took comfort in this. He let out another sigh, this one, however, frustrated; he was at the top of the tallest mountain of the continent, which was apparently infested with behemoth drakes (likely other beasts, too), and seemed to be colder than the northernmost point of the planet. He became even more irritated when he slipped from the ledge he had apparently been unconscious on for who knows how long, and then, stronger than the irritation, terror consumed Avus as he began to slide downwards.

The soft, even snow parted as he continued to descend, and a ragged, scratchy yelp tore from his throat. He had already suffered one rapid falling today, he didn’t need another; and yet, here he was, slipping down Mount Lux, named such for its closeness to the sky. What had helped keep the name was the three white dragons that circled the top; they were believed to be something higher than angels but not quite gods.

And now, nearing the level where vegetation began to sprout from the raw earth, the blonde’s wings flew out. They caught in the wind, creating air resistance and slowing him down. Soon, rocks began protruding from the ground, scraping his skin and ripping some of his clothes. He wheezed in pain and tried to flap his wings; that only succeeded in making him fall a few inches onto, surprise, more rocks. The air remained frigid even as he reached frost covered grass, dirtying his golden robes further.

Skidding to a halt at the clearing on the mountain, he fell onto his back, wincing as more pebbles dug into him. Avus was tired. He wanted a safe place to sleep again. And so, he gathered his strength, and pushed himself up. The cold ground was not kind to his bare feet; he gritted and bore it, wandering for a long while. As he drudged down, Avus unconsciously began taking note of his surroundings; listening to the birds and to the drakes’ calls and songs, admiring the pure, untouched, crisp beauty of the woods. It was painful, to be able to admire it so close up.

At some point, after quite a bit of walking, he noticed that he was under a great storm cloud, almost like a halo circling the peak of the mountain. The sun had begun to set a while ago, and the skies had morphed into shades of yellow and pink, like berries and dandelions, casting long shadows from the trees. It was dark now, and if he didn’t find shelter soon he’d have to deal with whatever beasts roamed the mountain at night. One should never assume them to be soft toothed and dull clawed.

Exhausted, it began to dawn on Avus that he had better hurry up lest he be caught by some other large, scaled beast looking for a snack. And so, he began to look in earnest now for a cave, or some rock fallen over a hole that he could crawl under. To find one, the fallen angel first had to walk for a bit more, before spotting what he thought at first to be his imagination. He almost laughed at the sight of it.

A small way off, a cavern sat, with some light coming out of it, almost invitingly. Of course, Avus mused, it could be a Blazing Wyrm, preparing a meal or incubating eggs. He hoped dearly not. And at that, he sprinted towards it, skidding on the soft moss at the entrance. Grabbing onto the rock, he looked inside, mouth open in wonder. The first chamber was small, with naught but a small bonfire in the center, with a few chopped logs around it, probably serving as seats. Tiptoeing across and into the grotto between the first and second chamber, a little limbless drake slithered through, brushing against his feet. Still amazed, he walked, even more cautiously now, into the second chamber.

It gaped like the mouth of some grand, behemoth creature, with shelves carved into the wall and a rug strewn across a part of the floor, under a hole; presumably a basking spot. On the other side, a fireplace and bonfire, and above it, a pot, bubbling and smelling like a savory meal. Something he noticed particularly was that the stone beneath his feet was unnaturally smooth, and covered in a thin layer of rock dust in some spots. Bizarre.

Seating himself in front of the fire, he shed his robes and set them near it, to try to warm and smooth them. I can only pray that the inhabitants wouldn’t mind me, he thought, tracing shapes into the soot. Avus’ heart froze, however, when he heard footsteps approaching from the other hallway leading into the room. Looking up, he was met with three eyes, where the white was yellow and the pupil was red. There was a yelp, and the shock of it all made him faint, again. It was a while before he woke up.

Waking up, Avus found himself in a different room than he was when he blacked out. Oh no, he thought with a fright. Quickly feeling his chest and nether regions, he affirmed the fear. He still had no clothes on, and he was cold. Inspecting further, he also found that he was on a big, presumably bear or moose skin rug, which was only mildly comforting. Peering up, Avus saw a boulder, and atop the boulder, a large wolf, wagging its tail now, sulfur-colored eyes focused on him. Morning light shone through a skylight, and onto the wolf.

“Um.... Hi,” he croaked, covering his genitals with his wings, face flushed.

“Morning, stranger. How the Hell did you get into our dining room? And why did you scare Invi?”

“Wh-what? Who’s Invi?”

“My p-,” the wolf stopped, correcting itself, “The demon that walked in on you by our fire, and that yelped before you supposedly just fainted.”

“Oh. Well, I needed a place to sleep, and I saw your home. I had figured whoever lived there would be okay with me after hearing my circumstance.”

“And what’s your circumstance?” It asked skeptically.

“I fell from heaven yesterday, almost got eaten by a big red drake, and needed shelter before whatever animals live on the mountain wanted an angelic meal.” Avus held his face in his hands. There was a long silence from the wolf’s end.

“Do you… need water? Or food?” It asked, examining its own claws. Avus nodded and sat still as it pushed itself up from the boulder and walked off.

“Oh God, what would my siblings think? Me, taking refuge in the home of a wolf and a demon,” he sighed, laughing sadly. And then, of course, Invi walked into the room, sitting in front of him.

[aurum-inferno]

PAGE 1 - THE MOUNTAIN

He shuddered when he heard the words spew from God’s mouth;

“Avus, you have fallen from my grace.”

‘This can’t be happening. It can’t,’ Avus thought, stunned. He- he hadn’t done anything wrong! He was a perfect angel, he tended to his master like no other, he was at His beck and call, ready to work at a moment’s notice. He, of all angels, didn’t deserve to fall! Fear gripped him and coiled in his stomach, much like a snake, that seemed to laugh at the winged creature. 

“I damn and condemn you to a life on the world below us, and to a life in the pits of Hell, and to serve under Lucifer’s diabolical, infernal rule.”

At this, Avus felt his insides twist and turn, and they began to feel almost poisoned, and pain shot through every piece of his being. He screamed in agony, clutching at his robes, tearing his drawstring off, it all felt like it was constricting him. Looking up at God, he saw a face of scorn, of disdain, of utter abhorrence. This instilled more fear and suffering into Avus than he knew existed.

Finally, he inhaled, shallowly, and felt his heart jump into his throat; the clouds beneath him trembled and rippled, drooping for a moment, and then disappearing.

Avus’ final thought in Heaven was ‘I deserve to be sitting on God’s throne. I deserve it all.’ This, more than everything else, ensured his fall.

The air rushed past him at an alarming rate, whipping across him and through his off-white feathers, hurting his inhuman, bizarre ears. His third eye shot open, and glowed a bright, golden light. The falling angel turned to view what waited below him; and was mortified to see that even the tallest mountain, that he himself had helped bring up from the barren ground, was still far, far beneath him. A single, shining tear slid from his third eye, and it blinked, before opening widely.

He took a moment to try to use his wings; and found, as he tried to do this, feathers were torn out by what felt like invisible faeries. Avus yelped and tried to tuck them in, but found that the wind from his fall was too strong, and let his wings get pushed around behind him. At this point, it would probably help to just embrace the death that likely awaited him. 

‘I’m going to die alone. And right before it, I’ll see the bodies of everyone I loved,’ Avus thought, watery tears now slipping from his other eyes, another golden tear from his third. Curling into a ball, he wept for a short spell, before unfurling and checking how close he was to landing. Wiping his eyes, he focused on what lay ahead of him; and was shocked to see snapping jaws and scales moving towards him at a frightening speed. It was none other than a drake, likely one that hailed from the Serpent Isles.

The beast was at least 15 meters long, and covered in shimmering, ruby red scales, and had two striking blue eyes that seemed to contain a clear summer sky. It had strong, bat like wings with 4 ‘fingers’, and a clawed ‘thumb’. The dragon’s neck wasn’t too long, nor too short, and had spines evenly placed down it, leading down the back and tail. It had a yellow underbelly, which went between two muscular front legs and two back legs, and a tail tipped with a black spade.

It stopped for a moment and growled as something rammed into it, something much larger, and much lighter. A blur of white feathers pushed it far from Avus as he neared the mountain. Within seconds, he struck the mountain top, cushioned by snow and shed feathers, the pure shock of it knocking him out.

[aurum-inferno]

PROLOGUE - FLIES

I watched, one by one, as they fell. My brothers, my sisters, my cousins, friends and lovers. It was comparable to the flies below us, dropping dead with seemingly no provocation. But yet, in the case of my kin, there is. They all sinned, they all broke the rules Master set for us. Not me, no, I’ve been a good boy. I’ve obeyed the rules. It terrifies me, how fast they fell through the clouds that seemed ever so sturdy... I know it’s not a dream though. It can’t be. I’d have woken up by now.

So why are haven’t I? Shouldn’t I have fallen by now? Libus has, Glorus has, Ignavus has, Irus has, Invus has, Gulus has, why haven’t I? Why haven’t I, Avus, the Seventh Sibling, fallen? Why? Why? Why, wHy W H Y? Why am I being isolated, even Father fell.... He was the first to fall..... I miss him.. His loving embrace....... His soft hands, his always gentle smile. Why is Master doing this? Why does he possess such malice, allow so little room for error? We are not human, but we are all his creations. Should he not treat us with love? One of the very virtues he wanted us so badly to exhibit that he would send Libus to the world to make his children feel it? 

I worry sometimes that these thoughts will cause the soft, ever present floor to collapse from under me, sending me tumbling down to wherever my siblings have gone. To wherever Father went. It’s unfair! I deserve to be with them. I deserve better. I should be treated better. I deserve all the love Master gives to his children. I deserve it all. 

For a moment, their step faltered. Their heart, made of bright gold light shuddered, palpating. Their wings ached, and more feathers fell. This worried the angel. They took another step and tripped; the clouds felt thinner. Colder. And when they collided with them, for a moment, the masses of energy and water were clear. A horrible vision absorbed their eyesight; their fall, their golden robes becoming torn and Master looking scornfully, hatefully down at them as the clouds closed back up, like a wound healing at inhuman speeds. Avus remained on the floor for a long while as they processed the vision. It was too realistic and vivid to just be their imagination. Too definite. Too fatalistic.

Too much like a fly.