Hey! I know I haven't edited this in a while. I got frustrated with it, and I'm kinda revamping it. So, if you've read it before, I hope you like this version better. I'm looking for all critiques, comments, and comparisons.
Hope you enjoy. Please R & R.
Disclaimer: First off, I do not own the Bible, or anything else I may have referenced in my writing. I own my story; that is all. Secondly, I do not mean to offend anyone with my slightly unconventional take on religion. My story doesn't necessarily reflect my religious views, and it is certainly not meant to tell anyone how to think about faith.
Prologue
In the beginning – not of the universe, but of time as we know it – a solar eclipse begat six beings, three of light and three of darkness. These celestials laid down the balance of good and evil, the morals of the human race, and the laws that filter into all religious ideals. The four beings of light – the Guardians – attempted to step back, to allow evolution to unfold on its own. However, the creatures of darkness – the Umbriae, or Shadows – strove to throw the world into turmoil, and the two groups began an eternal battle, a war not able to end until the last moments of the Apocalypse. There was a prophecy that the Balance would forever preserve the war until the advent of beings who could lead the two forces to a final encounter and tip the Balance permanently to either good or evil.
The Archangels – Raphael, Michael, and Uriel – allowed the circulation of deific legends, hero stories that provided a front for their actions. The principle demons – Astaroth, Samael, and Berith – however, continued to sow greed and enmity into the souls of the most fallible race. As human civilization progressed, the immortal beings possessed members of each successive generation. Once their human forms faded away, the angels – and their demon counterparts – stepped back, watching until suitable vessels were born. The battles of these gods were chronicled in history; the Maccabees against Antiochus, the Carthaginians against the Romans in the Punic Wars, the English against the French in the Battle of Hastings, the Allied versus the Axis powers in World War II. Each historical era has witnessed the conflict, blissfully unaware of the true meaning of each bloody battle.
However, with the advent of technological advances and the heightening of tension between the two forces, the human race gradually became more cognizant of the ensuing war. The three Guardians and the three Umbriae battled on, but waywardly. None had enough will or strength to lead the groups. All victories were fruitless, leading only to more battles and the deaths of the mortal vessels. The divinities searched in vain for humans with the strength to permanently absorb their power. Pressure came to an unprecedented head when the six celestials destroyed each other in an epic battle. All of the wielders of divine power were bodiless for the first time since the Beginning. Power like never before was released into the world, seething and roiling in the ether – growing. The Balance skewed, ricocheting back and forth without these reigning forces, and lacking a guiding power to teach the successors, the eternal battle was suspended, waiting for six humans fit to wield powers of the angels and demons.
Unbeknownst to the original celestial beings, the turmoil of their power spawned two more beings – one of light and one of dark, both more powerful than any that had come before.