HSDXDFF1:

Prologue:

A young boy around the age of nine walked aimlessly around the elegant hallways. His head swept back and forth as he looked around himself. His golden eyes scanned every inch of the hallway he walked through. He walked as quietly as possible hugging the dark red walls and trying his best avoid to the light from the intricate crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. His black shirt and pants helped him to mold into the shadows while he continued. The only features that stood out where his short blond hair the color of harvest wheat and the slight glow of his golden eyes.

The boy held his breath when he caught a slight movement ahead of him. He could just make out a figure under a table in a small alcove to his left. Continuing carefully he made his way over to the figure until he was only a few steps away. Stealing his nerves he leaped from the cover of the shadows and onto the figure, knocking over the table in the process. The two rolled around briefly before the boy had pinned down the other figure by their shoulders.

"I got you." The boy said happily. He was looking down into the blue-gray eyes of his adversary. Below him was a girl of about thirteen with long brown hair splayed about the floor, as their wrestling had caused her usual ponytail to come undone. She wore a long stylish dress in her favorite color, purple, and had a pair of magenta framed glasses on her cute face. She gave the boy a mock glare before pushing him off of her, doing her best to hide the blush that adorned her face.

The girl crossed her arms and pouted as she spoke "It's not fair. There are no good hiding places here."

"We could play another game." The boy suggested.

She had a contemplative look before giving him an evil smirk that sent an involuntary shiver down his spine. "Let's go scare Flauros. She is supposed to be watching us and she fell asleep instead." The boy simply nodded in response to her, and the two made their way down the hall, completely forgetting about the still upturned table.

A few minutes later the two mischievous children found themselves in an ornate sitting room with red velvet couches accented by the cream colored walls. The only other occupant in the room was a sixteen year old girl stretched out on one of the couches. She had long violet hair that, if she was standing, would have reached the top of her rear. They spent a few minutes watching the rise and fall of her voluptuous chest to confirm that she was indeed fast asleep, and then they made their move.

They both had crept within a few inches of the couch that Flauros was sleeping on and paused. The girl held up one of her hands and silently counted down with her fingers from three. When she hit one, both she and the boy jumped from their positions onto the sleeping beauty.

Flauros had been dreaming of flying over a large field covered with wild flowers. She beat her black feathered wings and enjoyed the feeling of the sun warming her body. Suddenly her green eyes snapped open when she felt the weight of two bodies landing on her. One on her chest and another on her lap. With a groan she looked down at the two laughing figures on top of her.

"Very funy." Flauros huffed. "Are you two done with your little date?" She asked, deciding to tease them a little in revenge. She watched with amusement as the younger girl in the room grow red and stutter out an answer.

"It was not a date!" She declared loudly. "David and I were playing hide and seek."

Not to be detoured Flauros pushed further "Still it was just the two of you… Alone together, sound a lot like a date." The girl on her lap got even redder and was about to respond when the boy sitting on Flauros's ample chest interrupted.

"She's just teasing you Katera." David told her. He knew that Flauros liked to tease Katera about going on dates with him, but he still did not know what that meant. He assumed it was something bad if Katera always denied it. He remembered when he asked his older brother Michael what a date was and all he had learned was that it was something that grownups do together. All he really knew was that if Katera did not like the idea of going on a date with him, than it was something that he would avoid at all costs. She was his best friend after all.

David and Katera both claimed off of Flauros causing her to groan again. Katera decided to use the opportunity to get even with her. "Why are you moaning? Did you like having David on your giant boobs?" Flauros's response was to through the pillow she had been using at Katera's face.

That was another word David did not understand. 'Boobs. What is that?' He thought to himself. He had heard it before, usually when he was around Flauros's uncle Azazel. However, the one time he asked about it Flauros's mom smacked Azazel upside the head and told David that he did not need to worry about it for many years. He shivered slightly at the memory. Penemue was really nice most of the time, but when she got angry she was super scary.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, David noticed that the two girls had finally stopped arguing and were both staring at him intensely. He had seen that look before. The last time they had forced him to wear a dress and do his makeup. He didn't even have to think, he just turned and ran from the room.

Six years later David sat in a comfortable black leather chair. Around the mahogany table were two other groups. He could feel the tension in the air. Raw energy manifested itself in a few colored tendrils floating lazily around them. Sitting a directly next to him on his right was Katera, she was nineteen now and was stunningly gorgeous. She was once again wearing her favorite purple dress that clung to her well-developed body in a way that could only be described as sinful. Across from him was Flauros and her best friend Raynare. They were both wearing matching black dresses that had deeply plunging necklines.

Raynare was the only one at the table wearing jewelry, she had a gold chain around her neck with a lightning bolt pendant. Her father had given it to her a few months ago for her twenty fifth birthday, and it was already her most prized possession as it symbolized her father's mastery of holy lightning. David had known her for three years now, after having met her through Flauros. He knew she was insecure over not inheriting her father's ability, so this charm meant the world to her. It told her that he had accepted her as she was.

Once again David had to shake himself out of his thoughts returned his attention to the last group at the table. They were two beautiful women known as the Twin Angels. The two would have been completely identical had it not been for their hair color. Gabriel light blond hair while Uriel had dark black hair. Both wore matching white dresses that were very tame compared to the other three women, though they still highlighted the twin's natural beauty. Despite looking as if they were in their early twenties, they were actually nearly thirty five, making them the oldest ones there. It was the perks of being near immortal angels that allowed them to look so young, however that did not stop the other women from teasing them about their age. Of course David had learned a long time ago never to even hint that he thought they were old, even the air-headed Gabriel could be downright scary when pissed off.

A hard elbow to his ribs brought David's attention to his partner. "It's our turn." Katera hissed. He nodded to her and wordless stood from his seat. He took a deep breath before he began acting out scenes to a recent play. While he was silently acting Katera started guessing the name of what play he was acting, while the other girls giggled at him. They continued, changing plays whenever she guessed correctly, until they ran out of time.

After their David and Katera's turn they all tallied up their points. As it turned out the twins won. 'No surprise there they were unbeatable at this game.' He thought to himself and graciously accepted second place. They group of six spent the next few hours talking and laughing with each other not even caring about the major conference their relatives were in just a short ways down the hall.

Another six years had passed and now David was beginning to worry. Since before he had been born his parents and older brother had been attending regular meetings with the leaders of the Fallen Angels and Devils. Actually, it had started about sixteen years before he had been born when the Fallen Angels had managed to convince a large portion of the Church to secede. They had defected to Avignon, France and elected another pope named Clement VII to rival Rome's Urban VI.

At first God had been willing to negotiate this. He recognized that the Fallen Angels wanted legitimacy in the human world, but he detested their choice of representation. He considered Clement VII an evil man because he was responsible for the Cesena Bloodbath less than a year before he was elected. Also, he was not happy with the War of Eight Saints that had been caused by the Fallen's meddling and was still raging across the Italian Peninsula.

David did fell sorry for the humans caught in this mess, he was named after one of his father's favorite human champions after all, but he was glad for the conferences. It was because of the constant meetings that he was able to become friends with Katera and Flauros, and through Flauros Raynare. Plus he would never have gone to stay with Gabriel and Uriel when he was young. In a way he was grateful for the schism because of his amazing friends.

He especially liked Katera, he was too nervous to admit it, but he had a huge crush on her. It still seemed weird that she was the daughter of one of the Satins. He had met the children of the other Satins occasionally, and he immediately knew he hated them. Rizevim was particularly nasty. He, Shalba and Creuserey always acted superior. They were all old enough to participate in the conferences and used every opportunity they had to belittle Katera for being too young. Devils like them were the reason that their kind was mostly hated, but not Katera. She was sweet and cute. He adored her. He hoped that one day he would have the courage to tell her he loved her. Maybe they could be the first Angel and Devil to be married.

Now though, he was afraid that may never happen. The human war had escalated again. Almost all of Europe was involved now, and now the devils were getting involved as well. A few weeks ago they had convinced some powerful humans to hold the Council of Pisa and elect a third pope. This one with devil support. Now the tension among the factions was at an all-time high with all three backing a different pope. There had already been some minor fighting between the faction armies. Luckily there were no casualties or fatal injuries yet, but David was very worried that war may break out soon. It just needed a spark.

That spark happened less than a year later. Pope Alexander V of Pisa died suddenly. The devils believed that either the Angels or Fallen angels had killed him. John XXIII became the new pope for Pisa and quickly declared war on Benedict XIII, who was backed by the Grigori, and on Gregory XII who was backed by Heaven. All of the remaining neutral states of Europe became involved in what quickly became a bloody three way war. Tensions among the three factions rose exponentially. Minor battles quickly become skirmishes with casualties. Within a year the Three Great Factions were at war.

AN:

In history the war of eight saints ended in 1378 however in this story it continued on into 1450 with the Pisaian Pope joining in 1410 under John XXIII making it a 3 way war. Also the Western Schism was actually resolved in 1423, but in this it will be 1450. John XXIII, Benedict XIII, and Gregory XII will all be popes until then, rather than their historical papacy endings.

Flauros is the name of a fallen angel from the bible that takes the form of a leopard.

Uriel is also a Seraph along with Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. I made her a girl because there are not many female angels. This makes the seraphs even.

Finally, there are a lot of hints and clues about who some of these characters are related to. As the story progresses, so will the information about them.