Chapter Two: A Word from God

Chapter Two: A Word from God

"Boss! Boss! Did you hear that? The people may soon be able to reach you once again! Boss! Are you hearing this?" cried out an overexcited cherub. Her hair bounced in curly blond locks around her perfectly round face.

"Yeah, I heard ya. Don't care though. They'll find a way to screw things up, dontcha worry, Dara" came a disembodied voice from an unknown location.

Dara quickly halted and looked shocked in the direction of the voice, "But, boss! Aren't you excited to finally be able to speak with your people once more?! Who could think of anything more wonderful?" she shouted excitedly, clasping her small cherub hands together against her chest.

"Bah, Dara, there you go again… Always annoying the boss as usual" another cherub scathed, grimacing in irritation.

"Well now, there's no need to be so mean, Merari. I was only trying to lighten up the mood since the boss has been so sad about not being able to talk to the people!"

"And what makes you think the boss even wants to talk to those awful ingrates?" Merari criticized bitterly, hands on his hips.

"Hey now, don't criticize my work and I won't criticize yours, fatty." The voice boomed.

Merari threw his arms up in shock "I am NOT a fatty" he screamed defensively.

"Sure you are. I made you that way. I thought it was amusing." The voice chuckled. Merari stormed off angrily, much to the amusement of the others. "Ok, seriously now, you can go relax or something, Dara. I need to speak with Tancreida now." Dara nodded politely and fluttered off to join the other cherubs, including one sulking Merari.

A cloud quickly clumped together in midair, emanating a brightly glowing light. The cloud parted beautifully, and out stepped a tall, graceful figure, beaming with all the glory of the heavens. "You summoned me?" said Tancreida as the cloud behind her shrank gracefully into nothing.

"Yes. I must speak with you about the nature of affairs in Thule. I saw a meeting take place, but as you know I cannot understand the people from here when they speak so. What did they say at their meeting?"

"I heard the humans talk about finding out about your last councils and learning about you as well as the 'enemy'."

"Understood. What is the likelihood of the humans communicating with me once more?"

"That I am not sure. I can gather that one human among them has an unusual aura. Your Gasan has an aura equivalent to a cherub. Highly unusual for an animal."

"I agree. I knew something was different about his fate when I watched his birth… I will deal with him eventually…in my earth form…"

"Oh… Yaweh… please don't tell me…" Tancreida rubbed her furrowed brows and shook her head.

"What? I found them wandering the desert aimlessly fighting for scraps of rotten meat and digging at the ground desperately for drops of water! The least they can offer me is some amusement!" The voice balked.

"If you so say…"

"And I do." The voice chuckled boastfully. "Besides, it would be a valuable way for me to measure his aura first-hand."

"I must warn you – he is the student who questions your existence. The people are becoming increasingly skeptical about your work."

"As if there is anything I can do directly! Ha. I have done so much for them and this is how they thank me! No matter. A job, when done at its best, blends in with everything else and becomes difficult to distinguish. I take no offense. They will still follow where I guide whether they are aware of it or not. However, my people being in such a delicate situation with the Aztecs, I must not directly meddle in their affairs. It would cause a massive crippling, as we have learned before, so I have a job to ask of you."

"What is it that I may do?"

"You remember the beginning of this war – when the Aztec troops infiltrated my walls and burned down my oldest University."

"With regret…of course."

"With that University went some of my brightest scholars and a few of the most important books about myself and about the councils. Being that they are gone now, this University council could not hope to find out how to form a new spiritual council to reach me… that is, without guidance."

"I understand that."

"You must lead them in the right direction. I trust you understand me."

"Absolutely."

"Excellent. You may use my cherubs for your needs if you so desire. You must act as quickly as possible as my armies are soon becoming exhausted and my celestial beast is close to death."

"Edgar is near death? But how?"

"Yes, the damn wolf beast wandered too far into enemy territory, so I cannot reach him… I would smack the shit out of him for pulling a stunt like this... You must find a way to retrieve him. It would be a great pain for me to create a new beast despite the highest dislike I have for this one."

"I must regret that I don't know how to find him if he is indeed so far away."

"That is no worry. I put a bell on him before he left so that it would be easier to find him the next time his hyperactive stupidity spiked. You should be able to hear it from 10 miles away if I remember correctly."

"Wouldn't that deafen the humans in the area?"

"Of course not. It is not made of earth metals. Please, return my Edgar and guide these people in the right direction."

"At once." Tancreida said as she bowed respectfully and made her exit toward the cherubs who were busy playing with each other.

The round-faced cherubs, all donning short, bouncy hair, buzzed around, above, and beneath each other, giggling and twirling. That is, all except for three sulking cherubs who sat away from the fun, glaring in resentment and annoyance. Tancreida made her entrance and immediately all sulking and playing stopped as all cherubs laid eyes on the magnificently beautiful Tancreida.

Her hair flowed gorgeously like strands of gold gleaming radiantly in a beam of divine light. Her eyes were two sapphires placed expertly in a beautifully slim almond-shaped face. Her toga swept the sky gracefully, filling the room with a sense of peace. The cherubs stared at her adoringly and waited patiently for her to speak. "Cherubs, I come to you asking for your help. I have been given orders from Yaweh to embark on a mission which I cannot do alone." The cherubs nodding quickly, wishing desperately to be asked to help her. "Seeing as you are all willing, I shall ask that a group be formed to search for Edgar. He is lost in enemy territory and near death. Though you do not have the power to bring him home, I hope that you could assist me in finding him." The cherubs nodded readily. "So be it. I ask that Daedalus, Basil, and Phobos form the search party for Edgar. Send me a message once you have found him and I will bring him home."

"I would be delighted to find Edgar's location for you!" Daedalus boasted proudly.

"As would I!" added Basil.

"Do we really have to wander into enemy territory? Isn't that dangerous?" Phobos cried.

"It could be potentially dangerous, and that is why I ask that you join the other two on this journey. I trust that you will keep the group from taking unnecessary risks, Phobos." Tancreida said warmly. Phobos blushed and grinned bashfully, locking his hands together cutely. "The next task at hand is nudging the members of the University council in the right direction. They must be urged to form a new spiritual council to reach Yaweh. I feel that Dara, Ahava, Ismene, and Merari would make an appropriate team for this effort. You will not be able to form a council with the humans, but once they get close enough, let me know and I will step in."

"I would be honored to help the humans find the way." Dara said adding a respectful bow.

"I agree" said Ismene smiling happily.

"Absolutely! I'll get right on it!" Ahava shouted full of bubbly excitement.

"I can't believe you're making me work with these three. As long as it helps, I guess I'll have to go along…" Merari sulked.

"Thank you, Merari." Tancreida laughed lightly. "As for the rest of you, I want you to go about taking the materials that Yaweh has created near the humans' work areas so they may repair our defenses. Please do so with haste."

The cherubs all cheered once to build up their spirits and zoomed down and away from their nest to go about their assigned jobs as Tancreida watched from above in delight.

She turned around quietly and sighed deeply, "I suppose now all that is left is to wait."

"Indeed. I shall be watching carefully."