Chapter 10-299: Of Angels and Mortals

The disguised planetar stepped forward, and took the proffered Sword up solemnly. Old, wise eyes flickered as they reviewed the mnecromonic tally of those who had fallen to this Warlock, including those whose souls were flickering there with his own.

His eyes flashed as he reached through the link to the women, and tallied their Sins. “Your prisoners have much to make up for, Heavenbound,” he stated calmly. “You are giving them this chance to repent, instead of the punishment they deserve?” he asked evenly.

IT IS HELL’S DUTY TO PUNISH, GREAT ELDER, NOT MINE, burned the letters above Master Fred’s shoulder, not speaking with the voices of the women who were probably quailing before what they could now sense of the Angel before them.

“They are aware it may not be enough to save them?” Haru’Ara continued.

THEY ARE. IF THEY CHOOSE TO FIGHT FOR SELFISHNESS OR FOR A HIGHER PURPOSE, THEY ARE STILL FIGHTING, AND I WILL ACCEPT THEIR AID.

“Generous of you. I cannot say that I would extend the same hand.” He respectfully returned Idiot to Master Fred, who accepted it and sheathed it behind them as they rose.

The angel’s eyes had a glimmer of powerful radiance to them as they turned on me, a Light most people simply could not see, and which would have made any of the various Soulborn trapped on this world turn to jelly to behold. “Lady Traveler, after your display today, I must convey the fact that I am incredibly impressed. I do not personally believe I have ever witnessed a mortal wielding so much power, with so little.”

“Truly, Commander?” I arched an eyebrow. “Well, the world I am originally from has others pursuing the same type of path, so be prepared to see more in the future.”

“Sworn to Heaven?” he asked archly.

“Unfortunately, no... or perhaps fortunately. A considerable amount of the power I showed comes from Heavenly affiliation, after all.” There were a LOT of Powered who wanted Power. There were considerably less who wanted the obligations that came with Pact, Divine, or Druidic Power.

Of course, once said people realized that Heaven was the best Quest Dispenser Evah, having obligations to do things for Heaven was a lot less onerous when you were going to do them anyways. Took a while for them to realize that, however.

“Unwilling to commit.” He shook his head grimly. Planetars were generals and warriors, not ambassadors or mediators. Those duties fell to other angels. “While I am glad you came to visit an old fisherman, Lady Traveler, why are you here? There are many of your Allegiance who could have communicated with me in your stead.”

I glanced at his Hat and smiled knowingly. “You cannot hide the fact you have an Aura at Twenty-One from the weave of magic itself, Commander.”

He pursed his lips as he looked at me, revising some of his estimations. There were things pure Caster Level could do that higher Valences could not, and vice versa. While he certainly had an Astral Ward up to defy scrying and enchantment spells, he couldn’t affect how magic itself reacted to him.

Planetars had the Casting power of a Seventeen Cleric, like a Theurgy... but with no ability to Channel or Divine Domains.

But this planetar had a Hat of Difference on, and all that Karma earned by enduring that torture and saving the lives of so many innocents, albeit in horrific fashion, had gone into it, and at my passed-on recommendation through the Angelos, he had taken Cleric Levels.

Naturally enough, real Class Levels stacked with pseudo-Levels. Yeah, he had to pay full price for them, including the Twenty Ceiling-breaker. That he had succeeded just confirmed how awesome of a thing he had done.

He had two Domains now, could take more, and could Channel. As long as he wore that Hat, he was a true Archpriest of the Heavens.

It was only four Levels, but those four Levels meant he could now access the Source Code of magic, bypassing Valences and going in directly to work on the spells.

In other words, he could use the same kind of magic that had been used to make the Shroud, although there was no possible way he could break it, of course.

The angelic general sent his gaze up at the stars, particularly the moon, which was pale and mottled and cratered like our own had been, just in different ways. “You are perceptive, Lady Traveler. I can See things, Sense things that I could not before; I understand more of the Will of the Divine and Creation itself.

“Unfortunately, much of that power has been suppressed under the Shroud. I sense that I could send information out to the Heavenly Host, but I also understand that it is useless. They will forget it even as they receive it. What I can accomplish with such power is, in the end, limited for now.”

“Can you emulate lesser spells, to a higher extent, Commander?” I inquired.

“To what extent, Lady Traveler?” he asked reasonably.

“Miracles, for Stat-raising, to double or triple effect.”

His eyebrows rose thoughtfully. “Interesting. You would have me duplicate the work of the Windgraf?”

“Empowering Good souls to help them fight, yes. Furthermore, I would like to get you back into the field. Have you taken any Artificing Feats?”

He smiled slightly, and held up three fingers. “Craft Magic Arms and Armor; Legendary Crafter; Craft Legendary Arms and Armor.”

I exhaled softly, while far in the distance, Briggs and Sama shouted for joy. “You are aware of the situation in China, Commander?”

“I have been closely advised by the Angelos as to the progress there,” he confirmed.

“Chinese culture is historically biased towards Law, not Good. I would like to really, really change that. You are also a Warlord, and you can raise Stats and thus help them Level, while returning to life the fallen, Buffing those who fight, and healing the wounded.

“You can also directly aid Sama and Briggs in equipping them with suitable Arms, and this would be the perfect way for you to increase the power of your own Weapon through idle Naming Karma. If you can establish a viable Lived-Line network, your ability to reinforce a position or relieve pressure against an attack would make you the perfect safeguard, while not mandating you fight constantly in a conflict that is admittedly below your concern.”

It wasn’t that fighting Cultivators wasn’t worth an angel’s time; it was that fighting weak Cultivators wasn’t worth a planetar’s time. Better to Buff up a lot of mortals and let them do the fighting, get stronger, find their resolve and will, and provide inspiration that would turn them towards Heaven.

He was far from dumb, and in the end, simply nodded. “I can do that.”

“Make sure Sama gives you a Mark. Given you are a Divine Caster, I recommend Wisdom.” He agreed with that point as well. He could not receive a Blessing, but a Mark was a modified Magical Tattoo. “Would you like an advancement schema?” I asked of him.

His dark eyes flared with Light for a moment. “I do not think I need it, but it cannot hurt to read one,” he conceded. I flipped a paper out of nowhere and wafted it over to him, ignoring the cold breeze. He grabbed the folded sheet and tucked it inside his long downy coat.

Dawnstopping some of the highest Valence Divine Spells should be almost ruinously abusive. Duskstopping another one would be ludicrous.

He had also broken the Legendary Cap, and was technically now more powerful than a new Solar, a World-Angel. That made him an Immortal, given he was Powered, and basically he was eligible to be our World-Angel, and thus a demigod. He could even start gathering the Faith of the people and start forming a church, if he was of a mind to.

He did not, of course, and would not unless the gods he was obedient to gave him permission to do so. Since they couldn’t hear him, that wasn’t forthcoming anytime soon.

Buuuuuut... it meant a certain someone could make Eternal-Class Arms and Armor. Sure, it cost a cool million gold equiv, two thousand goldweight, but he could open that path, and once he did, Naming Karma, however slow, could eventually do the rest.

Even with Legendary Crafter, that would take him a hundred days to pull off. The Chinese needed Weapons, so I wasn’t going to occupy that much of his time right now... but I definitely wanted to do so in time to have Clavus at that level before I left. I would have a very long time to advance Clavus along, but I still needed the roadblock opened first.

“I will be returning to China tomorrow,” not getting involved in Solstice celebrations, that was me, “and I can take you with me at that time, Commander.”

“I shall prepare myself to go,” he agreed, returning to his seat. “Is there anything else?”

I closed my eyes and exhaled. “The Angelos said to hear the tale from you. What happened at Shroudfall?”

“Ahhh...” he trailed off, as one of his lines began to twitch, and his expression both softened and hardened. “Great Ooy’lfphar’s sacrifice...”

The Name in Celestial chimed sadly in the air, and the air actually lit up for a moment in soft acknowledgement.

That was definitely a Solar’s Name, and the Angel had fallen...

“There is truly not much to tell. We saw the great deadly Arch of the undead appear, the black mist pouring out across the world, and knew we had to act. Ooy’lfphar demanded a Miracle of me, that he be able to Burn himself to power the spell that would follow, and as he dove at the Arch, he poured forth all his power into Miracles of his own.

“He struck the great Arch and shattered it completely, interrupting the full power of the incoming Shroud. I saw the full invading force of undead materialize, and then the feedback from the Shroud blasted me from the skies. The last I saw was golden light filtering through the Shroud, and knew that his final Curse on the foul magic had taken effect.

“When I woke, I was already bound to that vile Altar, and knew not where I was, only that Mealvicti and his toadies had somehow found me and Bound me.

“Their insipid use of me to fuel that Ward, while tricking worthy souls into swearing Hellpacts to contribute to the efforts, started later.” His face was pained as he glanced at Master Fred with dire condemnation. I could feel the extra additions to Master Fred’s Aura fluctuate wildly at the pure heavenly wrath in those eyes.

No, he wouldn’t forgive those women at all...

“The World-Angel’s sacrifice and quick action saved this entire world,” I said softly. “I am going to put his tale to video, so that the whole world will know what he did. I do not know if he can be brought back, but every Good soul that pays heed to Heaven will know that Name and what he sacrificed for this world, even if there are those who will care not at all.”

The planetar sighed again, glancing at me. “I, too, do not know if he is among those trapped in the Shroud, or destroyed by his deed. That is a worthy way to remember him, and when you bring the Shroud down, Heaven itself will be able to learn of the valor of his passing.”

I would have to directly inquire if he was in the Shroud. Even if he was, he might be dispersed and unable to gather himself, as the Shroud was not the Heavens he would automatically reform in.

The angel Commander began to play with his line, slowly working the fish and drawing it in with deft skill. I noted his bucket already had a couple lake trout in it, and smiled despite myself. He didn’t need to eat mortal fish, but fine cooking was also an art form he indulged in.

“I will return some time after the dawn to bring you to China, Commander.” I bowed to him, and he inclined his head to me. Our meeting was done.

-------

As we drove away on Sleipner, who was waiting nearby, I leaned forward and said, “We need a different name for you when you are all speaking together.”

They glanced over at me, and somehow I was not surprised to see them blush. “We do not mind being called by Master Fred,” the fourteen voices replied softly.

“But that is his name, not all your names.” I pulled them back into me. “When I speak to Master Fred, I speak to him. When I speak to all of you... mmm, how about Legion?”

Their face was impassive for a moment, then they slowly nodded. “That is... appropriate,” they agreed. “We stand or fall together with him...”

I could sense all sorts of subtle undertones there, that hadn’t been there before. They had been thoroughly shaken by the wrath of the planetar, and they didn’t have a Pact that made them immune to fear.

Mercy was not a requirement of Heaven. Master Fred being merciful to them was not only generous, it was also extremely unlikely. They should just be Burning for the things they had helped perpetuate, and now they realized it even more.

Free Will was not Free Forgiveness!

But, like him, they were all Idiots, and they were all going Down. He might have killed them all, but he could have done much, much worse by simply leaving their souls to their fates. Instead, he had extended a hand, and given them the same chance the Angelos had given him.

Mmm. I just embraced them, leaning my head on their shoulder, and let Sleipner drive.

The unicorn was very astute, and didn’t take the fastest way back, either...