Although Grora had said she never visited the location where items associated with her old organization were set up, the angelic lady nevertheless put some thought into the idea anyway for once. Visiting those things now would definitely bring up bad memories, but the fact they were in existence even to this day bothered her. Even so, Othros was right that keeping them around would serve as an anchor preventing her from going off the deep end again like she had in those old days. Ambling through the castle en route to the corridor where True Light's things were established as mere trinkets of the order's so called 'glory days' Grora sighed and brushed away locks of hair as she pondered whether they had any meaning to begin with. Yes, the old tradition of versing demons as angels back then was still a light, albeit dimmer than the current light they lived in now. In any case, that had changed with the coming of peace between them. However, Hastur had distorted the original purpose with his ideology and plans for the future in which he would've made attempts to defeat other deities and declare himself as the sole God of Existence in order to usher in a different form of harmony. He sought an existence in which all demons were all abolished and slain, killed simply because they were demons; the same fate would've befallen those who disagreed with him.
Looking back on the organization's affairs when it was still active and alive, Grora frowned since she realized it would never die because of all the members who actually were still alive, only she and Hastur remained. The two of them were the sole remnants of True Light—no, not that kind of light, for it was a very different light altogether. One that had been tainted by the darkness of he who sought to seize power for himself because he believed only he could maintain order and peace. Everyone else were mere tools to him, scapegoats Hastur could use and throw away while making the claim they were martyring themselves for a cause he himself fought for and advocated. He had tricked his comrades into believing him, and they paid the price for it with their lives. She would've too if she had eventually fallen along the way; perhaps she did in some respect, maybe in his eyes, though Grora had come to terms with that regard and knew she had found redemption by rising. It was a fall from True Light that enabled her to see beyond what Hastur showed her in the past.
With a small smile, she chuckled and shook her head, pondering on how foolish she'd been to think he was everyone's savior—her savior. Somehow it was kind of funny to her in a way since she had been humiliated by accepting everything he said as ultimate truths. "More like elaborated lies…" she whispered softly, recalling how she only achieved her salvation by confessing the grave sin she'd been committing. Thankfully she'd been forgiven for it because she discovered the cause she'd been fighting for was an old tradition that had to be put aside to move on and make peace in their world. Granted, it was still respected because it was still part of what this world was like back then during the war. Even so, people wanted to change which was why they left that tradition so a new era of harmony could be established. Because she had taken part in a radical order of zealous activists whose loyalty to Hastur was in fact fanaticism, Grora felt she couldn't be a part of a new world order consisting of peaceful harmony between angels and demons. While she had attempted to enter a voluntary exile to leave the Gray Garden forever, Lady Etihw, Kcalb, and Wodahs were insistent on her moving to another town in a different region of their world until things cooled off.
Stretching her arms behind her head, Grora thought about where her old boss was and how he was doing. She had hoped he was killed off by some demon, or slowly perished due to a wound Kcalb had dealt to his face: a diagonal gash from the lower temple to below Hastur's mouth. Even Wodahs had slashed his chest with a blade, leaving behind another gash. Hopefully Hastur wasn't alive anymore even though she still had her suspicions he somehow managed to survive in another world that took him in. Yet Grora was reassured by Lady Etihw that she sent letters to other deities requesting to not provide him any aid, and they responded back affirmatively. Then again, she knew better as she could read in between the lines, feeling that those deities could've lied because all they had to do was promise they wouldn't help him when he'd only have to help them. A simple trick of a silver tongue capable of being persuasive enough to lie to others who could likely believe lies regardless of how gullible they were. Elaboration made lies hard to disprove, thereby improved odds of success in that regard were often taken advantage of by people like Hastur seeking power.
Now that she thought about it, she remembered attending a little get-together with Froze's friends once for Chelan's sixteenth birthday a few months back just before this current year. While there, Grora listened to Macarona describe another Goddess by the name of Elux when the angelic woman inquired about what the young angel knew about Reficul's world when she went there just a couple months before around the time of the Doppelganger Murders. Apparently Elux was quite like Hastur in some ways from what Macarona told her, if a bit childish and stupid from what Lady Etihw had told her when she mentioned the other Goddess' name in passing during a conversation with her. From what she heard, it appeared Elux was also a liar like Hastur, except she tricked her whole heaven—aside from a few select individuals including Reficul and two other angels, one of whom served her anyway out of fear whereas the other one was prepared to stop her if need be.
"Perhaps he might be with that other Goddess…" Grora murmured while thinking about it since it wasn't too difficult imagining Hastur working for Elux. It was just a thought, one she didn't care to entertain despite it being a possibility. Nevertheless she dismissed the topic from her mind. Pondering on Hastur's whereabouts left a bad taste in her mouth, figuratively speaking like eating an unpleasant hamburger inflicted with food poisoning. Maybe she'd think about what to have for dinner instead now that she was thinking of hamburgers thanks to that analogy. "Man, what a way I've got with taking my mind off things," she chuckled and crossed her arms, wondering if she had to bring up the past again by visiting the display case. She might forget about dinner, and that was more important now that she thought about it because it was a much happier topic than True Light.
Nevertheless she'd been approaching it now and figured she'd visit anyway. What was the harm in even looking at them aside from the bad memories? Besides, that wasn't who she was now since these were relics of the past—an unwelcome past of hers she wanted to forget about despite the fact it seemed to be biting her in the ass for whatever reason. Perhaps it was because time was approaching the anniversary of either its founding or downfall; Grora didn't care which. She could mock her former self, the personage of her when she served Hastur, by spitting on the glass which contained the items. Grora smirked at the thought and figured she'd do that before leaving the area after telling other employees nearby that she wanted her spit to stay there as a token moving on. It seemed like a fun idea, and who could've blamed her for wanting to dis herself. She didn't care at all whether she respected her involvement in True Light or not anymore; it was her sin, and she'd repented for it. Now all she wanted to do was cast it aside and move forward, even if it was around.
Yet it appeared Grora wasn't alone because others beat her to the place. She was unaware, not knowing who they were until she arrived and walked over for a closer look at who they were.
Coming up to the castle's historical museum, the angelic woman saw students on a field trip to visit the place. Led by Dahlia, a Pegasus with bright blonde hair in pigtails, it seemed to be an educational outing to teach lessons while examining historical artefacts. Dahlia kept her hands folded in front of her while speaking to them about an old mace from the war. Her red silk blouse had a flower pattern on it like the long lavender colored skirt she wore that also matched the color of her eyes: hazel, like Hastur. The reminder would've made her shudder in anger since she didn't want to think about him, though Grora knew Dahlia's parents since she met them once; they were not at all like that angel as they were pure Pegasi like their daughter. Thankfully she had managed to suppress it in front of the kids so they wouldn't see her get mad, and she was quite lucky to see Froze and her friends among the group as well in addition to little children from the daycare center under the guidance of Ater and Arbus—the cat demons themselves being under Dahlia's guidance so they wouldn't misbehave. The fact they were here meant Grora could hurt Ater—and Arbus too if need be—to relieve the stress of being here even if the kids around here got scared of the attack.
Figuring she might as well participate in the group's tour, Grora made sure to walk towards the back behind Froze and Yosafire, keeping quiet so as not to interrupt Dahlia's lecture. Looking around at the other students, the angelic woman smiled at the sight of several Nephilim kids among the crowd as well and smiled. "Things sure are different now than they were back then," she made sure to keep the thought to herself out of respect for everyone else. "Angels and demons together, living in the same world as friends and families…great strides have been made for our people." It definitely was a lot better, and thinking back on her involvement with True Light, Grora could see how being part of that group wasn't really worth much because she wouldn't be seeing this union. She would've been contributing to the demise of this harmony had they been successful, so Grora was definitely thankful to be here now so she could experience the benefits and joys of angels and demons sharing a lifestyle of peace. Hearing someone call her name, she snapped back to attention.
"Grora, I was wondering if you had decided to join us," Dahlia commented with a smile as she waved to the angel who returned the gesture. "You've been so silent and haven't answered me when I called on you. Would you like to join us for the last stop on our field trip and help out?"
The angelic woman smiled and nodded. "Sure, I'm game since I happen to know a bit about history. Count me in," she remarked, putting her arms around Yosafire and Froze. "What's left?"
"Just one last display case before we head back to school so the students can get their things to pack up," the Pegasus answered her question. "We'll be showing the students items from angels who still clung onto the traditional ideal of fighting demons as an example of the perspective some people had about the truce Lady Etihw and Lord Kcalb established to bring in peace and harmony."
Ah, so they were going to be listening to her speak about True Light. Although she smiled because she didn't want to make the students and little children uncomfortable, Grora felt bitter in the sense that it was going to be uncomfortable for her since Dahlia would be discussing the group, their ideology, and their methods. While she was a primary source of information considering the fact she was involved with them, the angelic lady believed it probably wasn't a good idea to speak about True Light in front of them. Still, she made her peace regarding her old sin which explained why she decided to just come out and face her inner demons about Hastur and True Light by going over them. After all, talking about one's problems was a good way of facing them head on. If they wanted to know about True Light, she'd tell them about the organization and share her role in it.
"Certainly, I'll be glad to help," Grora commented, prepared to relate what she knew.
"Excellent, come right this way, everyone!" Dahlia declared to the large group as they each followed her lead with the kitties at the Pegasus' sides and their own entourage of children walking behind them, just in front of the older students. While they walked, Grora stepped in between Froze and Yosafire to say hello to them and the other girls who were present. Only Rawberry was absent because she had gone to her part time job at The Auburn Tulip to help her older sister and Crona.
"Hey, girls, how are things going?" she asked them to make conversation as they sauntered to the final display case. "School's going alright? You're enjoying today's field trip, right, girls?"
"You bet, Miss Grora!" Yosafire piped up and wrapped an arm around the angel's shoulder.
"Indeed," Dialo agreed. "It is certainly quite informative by showing these things up close instead of looking at the pictures in textbooks about such subjects." Chelan hummed to concur.
"It's all so very impressive!" Macarona exclaimed quietly, closing her eyes and smiling to express how grateful and excited she was being here in a place she could relate to, seeing as how she worked in Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts as the night guard who helped solve that conspiracy. She really did deserve much of the credit for that, and so did Crona and Flavio. "I truly love history! It's interesting how so much can be learned from a past that helps shapes our world."
"I'm betting it's your favorite subject in school, Macarona," Grora said as the young angel nodded to answer the rhetorical inquiry before Froze posed two questions to the older angel.
"What brings you here, Miss Grora? Aren't you busy with work by patrolling the borders?"
"My shift ended, I'm on a break; I thought I'd take a stroll here," Grora answered her and smiled sweetly at the young angel. "And stop referring to me by a proper formality when the two of us are together, Froze; a first name basis is just fine, you know. I did help raise you, after all."
Froze smiled, accepting the older angel's embrace and wrapping an arm around her. "Sure, of course, Grora," she remarked, glad her foster mother had run into them here for a brief visit.
"Aw, you both look just so cute together!" Yosafire chuckled to make her best friend blush in embarrassment slightly while she lightly hit the demon's arm to make her stop. "Oh, sorry."
"It's fine, Yosafire, she just gets a little flustered in that regard," Grora briefly explained.
"Okay, gather round, everyone!" Dahlia raised her voice to call out so the students and the children could quiet down as Ater and Arbus both clapped their hands together and spoke up.
"Yes, yes, inside voices settle down!" they chirped, beaming happily while addressing the large crowd so the Pegasus could begin the final part of her lecture before the field trip was over.
"Thank you, girls," Dahlia remarked to the cat demons and pat them on their heads to show her appreciation and then addressed the kids. "Now, who can tell me the name of the group who've used these artefacts here? Those of you who are my students may feel free to partner up with some of the children to help them out since you did learn about this organization in yesterday's lesson." She grinned and shut her eyes, glad that her students were eagerly following that instruction.
"Oh, I know this one! It was that group from this region," Yosafire murmured quietly since she didn't want to spoil the answer for anyone else because she'd already given answers before as they were making their way here. That was why she decided to remain silent this time. "You recall learning about them yesterday, right Froze?" she asked her best friend to check if she did know it.
"Yes, Yosaf, we were the pair who focused specifically on that group," the angel mentioned in a deadpanned stare at the demon, not even bothering to facepalm because it wasn't needed. The fact their nonchalant attitude toward True Light made Grora chuckle somewhat because it felt good knowing the organization was a relic of the past like these relics in the display case in front of the whole crowd. To be fair, it wasn't entirely unpleasant because of friendships she shared with some of the other members who were also taken in by Hastur's lies like her, but he alone was the reason why she wanted to leave that horrible order behind for good and not look back. In fact, he was the only reason, the sole motive for her seeking to bury True Light beneath the ashes of an old decade.
Opening her eye and looking down at one of the little Nephilim children in front of the two girls, Grora realized this girl didn't have a partner of her own. With a small smile, she stepped past Froze and Yosafire to kneel down beside her. "Hey there, little one, need some help?" she inquired, accidently startling the child because this girl seemed to be shy. However, the Nephilim girl made sure to nod honestly even if it wasn't without timidity. Still smiling to set her at ease, Grora placed both hands on the girl and leaned her head forward to whisper in her ear. "True Light's the answer."
Swallowing heavily and nodding again as a gesture of thanks, the girl turned around so she could nervously raise her hand. Although it wasn't high enough to really be seen, Grora made sure to provide more help by holding the Nephilim's arm up a little higher so Dahlia could point at the child who spoke up in a stuttered tone of voice. "U-um…T-True L-Light, ma'am. I-is it…r-right?"
Dahlia smiled reassuringly and nodded to confirm the child's answer as correct. "Yes it is, and please be sure to thank Miss Grora for being such a helpful partner. She knows this quite well."
"She already did," the angelic woman spoke up, gently ruffling the Nephilim's hair before standing up straight to walk forward and lean against the wall by the Pegasus teacher. Arms crossed in front of her chest, Grora smiled as she looked around at the crowd to address them all. "Besides, you've certainly done a great job teaching these students of yours good teamwork with others. I'm impressed with how cooperative they all are," she said to compliment the teacher and her students.
"Thanks, I'm sure they appreciate your high regards as well, Miss Grora. Since you appear to be familiar with this topic, why don't you answer some questions they might have about it."
While Grora wasn't exactly comfortable with this, she couldn't just say no since it felt good to relate her story with everyone here. Although some of the younger children might fear her since she was even willing to name herself as one of the conspirators in True Light, the angel would not simply exclude her name from the affair. They had to know and would eventually learn about it at some point, even if some of the high school students here knew of her involvement already. "Sure."
"Good, thank you for the aid, Miss Grora," Dahlia remarked and turned to the group. "Now then, does anybody have any questions for Miss Grora? Feel free to ask her anything regarding the organization known as True Light." Despite having instructed them to pose any questions, Dahlia turned back to Grora and stepped closer to her for a quiet word in private. "If they ask about your membership in True Light, I'd like to ask that you keep that private for the children because it may scare them with the thought that you were once involved with those murders back then, okay?"
"Sorry, Dahlia, but I can't just do that when they want to also know about True Light's fall from grace," the angelic lady explained briefly. "I want them to know the truth so they won't feel scared of me when I say that I was the one who turned them all in. They'll find out at some point later on in their lives and could mistrust me for not telling them now, hence why I have to say it."
Despite the fact Dahlia was still uncomfortable with that decision for the sake of these kids, she nevertheless consented to the choice and stood by as questions came up, allowing her to speak.
"What were they like?" one inquisitive student asked.
"They were all a bunch of traditionalist angels who believed in the old ways of fighting our enemies, the demons from the war. True Light's objective was to defeat demons and Fallen Angels, angels who were considered to have fallen from heaven," Grora explained to him. "We don't have a heaven or an underworld anymore, but True Light still clung to that notion and believed they had to open everyone's eyes to the truth of that matter by exposing the demons as liars seeking power."
"How did they go about making their objective happen?" a small child with good language skills inquired, impressing Grora with her usage of the vocabulary she used for the question.
"They basically used guerilla tactics against civilians and had spies all over the place. They were in and around Gray Village and Blancblack Castle, using a small force of over twenty angels to successfully hide among the larger majority. The fact they had been a minority was an advantage for them, and they utilized it while trying to trick the authorities and other possible groups to fight amongst each other so they could fulfill their goals with everyone else unaware of their presence."
"What happened to them?" a third member of the crowd asked.
"They were betrayed by someone from within their organization, the second-in-command," Grora answered. "Afterwards, some of them refused to surrender and fought the authorities before being defeated in battle since they would only accept honorable defeats. Others realized there was no choice but to surrender and make peace, though they were all defeated by Hastur, their leader."
"Who was Hastur?"
"Basically an angel who sought power for himself and used others to achieve his goal. His plan was to become a God and defeat other deities as they hardly wiped out demons in their worlds. Hastur planned on changing that the hard way because he wanted to exterminate demons and make a pure existence without evil. However, he despised those who were weak and cowardly, claiming they deserved death as punishment since they wouldn't join his cause. He made every use of fear tactics to ensure any who followed him were bound by an unwilling slavery to him, but those most committed to the cause were considered pure in his eyes. He had great respect only for those who believed in him and considered such individuals as better than others despite still using them. It is ironic how the man who spoke so highly of his closest allies actually thought little of them in fact."
The fact she was being very open about this did not surprise Grora in the slightest, but her tone of voice when relaying this information to the crowd was slightly melancholic. Although she didn't like that organization anymore and despised it with every fiber of her being, the angelic lady realized that bringing up old memories—regardless of the fact she didn't want to hide them—was making her nostalgic. Reminiscing about old times, the fun she had with the other members as the group had been her friends once, always turned into an inward beating unto herself. Grora was not perfect—nobody was—but the fact remained that she had committed an awful sin by having been a member of True Light, the dreadful organization that terrorized this region. As difficult as it was to deal with it, she had made peace with her actions and was forgiven for them as time went on.
"Who was the second-in-command?"
"What was that angel like?"
"Why did the second-in-command betray them?"
Grora smiled and chuckled, closing her eye because she found it funny this anti-hero's new perspective and change of ideals was appealing to the students and little children alike. Well, to be fair, she was sort of an anti-heroine in that regard because of her gender, hence the technicality on that matter. Nonetheless, Grora had fallen in order to rise, the reason why being because she needed to fall in order to pick herself up. Once she successfully accomplished that, she became better than some members of True Light who refused to give up their traditions while maintaining equality to fallen members murdered by Hastur's hands following her betrayal of him and the organization.
"The second-in-command was someone who'd accepted his lies and believed them at first until one assignment began to open her eyes to the truth. Once she saw everything and realized the crimes she was committing with the organization were nothing more than atrocities, this lady knew what she had to do. And so, she turned herself in after being betrayed by the leader she respected. She gave up information to the authorities on each and every single other member, leading to their defeat and the fall of True Light. That answers the third question; to answer the second, she was a real hotheaded individual who got along with everybody and admired Hastur until she left them."
"But who was she?"
Grora couldn't help but keep smiling as she wondered how to phrase her response. Wording it in a simplified statement was easy, especially since she was willing to reveal herself as Hastur's second-in-command. However, she wanted to tone down the shock value of her answer so she did not scare them because she didn't want to. These were little children and students who might think of her as a monster, and rightfully so considering her participation in the organization's activities. That was why she figured three simple words alone would convey the point to them. Although the three words would surprise them, hopefully they wouldn't be as shocked by the big reveal. Taking a deep breath and shutting her eye momentarily, Grora then opened it and spoke. "I was her." That was certainly a big reveal however small it was, and the words garnered a surprised reaction from everyone else except for Dahlia and Froze because the two of them already knew about her past.
Letting the revelation sink in for a bit as she watched how they handled the news, the angel noticed how there were two different categories of reactions from the crowd—three if Dahlia and Froze could be counted as a third due to their calm, collected natures in regards to the matter. She watched the high school students' eyes widen in surprise as they gasped, though it seemed they've taken it rather well due to their schooling and acceptance of others because of this's world values. Unfortunately, as she had expected despite hoping it wouldn't happen, her statement scared all the little children into hiding behind the students for protection with Ater and Arbus silently sauntering over to help defend them. However, the cat demons were just as surprised as everyone else was.
"W-wait, you were the second-in-command of True Light?!" Macarona asked, voicing the one question that apparently was on everybody's mind when Grora gently broke the news to them.
Grora nodded. "Yep, the former second-in-command who gave up her life in that order for something that truly mattered more than our old culture and the man who fought to return it to us."
"So let me get this straight, Miss Grora," Dialo spoke up to try and better understand what the angelic woman was saying. "You served in an organization that murdered innocent people, the angels and demons in our world, over wanting to reestablish the hatred between our people?"
"Y-your name wasn't even mentioned in our textbooks, right Froze?!" Yosafire exclaimed and turned to her best friend for a confirmation of that which the young angel blandly provided.
"As a matter of fact, they did not reference her," Froze conceded the argument, though continued to speak on behalf of Grora to defend her. "Had I not known that about that, I would've been surprised like everyone else here. She told me about it herself a few times, so I can understand where she's coming from based on how she related the information to me and why she chose to."
"Yeah, I've had a pretty bad past and all," Grora shrugged, closing her eye while admitting it further with a small smile. "I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of, committed crimes against our people all for the sake of a tradition our people have made the effort to move away from. I just didn't see it until after I've spilled my fair share of blood. That was decades ago, and now I merely want to live my life in this peaceful world without regrets. I could care less if others knew my past seeing as how I've put it all behind me and never want to look back. Sure, our world advocates for holding onto bad memories as an anchor so that we'll know the horrors our people have committed in the past, but I'd rather not think about it in my case regarding True Light. It's just bad memories, stuff I want to forget about by throwing away the trash and discarding it all for good forever."
"But you don't hate demons anymore, right?" Macarona asked and stood protectively since she didn't want the older angel to hurt the demonic children and the cat demons hiding behind her.
"Nope, not anymore—except for Ater; yes, I'm looking at you, you little mongrel." While Grora made sure to tell the truth honestly to try and set everyone at ease, she couldn't help but see Ater cowering amongst the crowd. She cast a cold, hard glare at the cat demon and her twin sister, not even bothering to conceal the insult which could've also been considered a threat in her speech. "After what I've been through, all the horrible things I did, I realize now that it was foolish of me. I was a fool for trying to reinsert old ways back into our society when it already moved on from a culture it no longer wanted or needed, and for also believing in a fallen hero who fought for it."
Dahlia sighed, averting her attention to the angelic woman with a frown. "I was hoping the revelation of yours wouldn't come at least until they were older because of this. Was it worth this?"
"To be perfectly honest, Dahlia, it wasn't; no argument there," Grora agreed with her about that point. "Even so, it's better they hear about it now rather than later like I said. I put in so much effort just to try and regain everybody's trust by lying to them about my involvement in True Light, and I don't want the same thing to happen again. I'd rather come clean and confess it to anyone to get this off my chest instead of purposely concealing it until it's revealed at a point when I may be considered untrustworthy by future generations." She sighed, stretching her arms behind her head and crossing them there. "I don't know why your students' textbooks don't allude to me as the one who betrayed my old group, but I'll put in a word at the publishing department to include it in the next editions. It doesn't matter to me anymore seeing as how it's all in the past—a past all students are required to learn about in order to teach them about preferring peace as opposed to fighting."
"I cannot deny the truth of what you say," the Pegasus consented to the debate. "However, do know a lot of the kids here you just addressed with that knowledge are still in daycare. They'll fear you now to some degree because of it, if not by an entire extent. They're still young, Grora."
"I know, but I'm taking the risk by being honest with them upfront. Whether they chose to fear and distrust me is up to them to decide. I don't want to force them to determine if I'm worthy of their trust or not. If they choose not to, I'm fine with that and can understand why; if they are in fact willing to place their faith in me, I'm glad to have been honest with them. After all, honesty's a strongly positive trait in the Gray Garden, one everybody—including my present self—favors."
"True, but if you're that sure of your decision—" Dahlia went on before Grora interjected.
"I already am," the angel replied with a warm smile and looked at the children. Some were still hiding behind the high school students, though others had begun to trickle through back toward the front since they were feeling brave enough to put faith in her. "Sorry if what I said scared you all. The truth's unpleasant, I know, but necessary in my opinion. All we have to is consider it when analyzing the past and making progress by moving forward in our lives to live harmoniously. The days when angels and demons fought each other are over, and we never want them to come back."
"Though I still slightly disapprove of her revelation to you all," Dahlia added to speak with them too, "there is definitely plenty of truth to Miss Grora's words. Yes, angels and demons were opponents in the past because that was how things were. This knowledge may come as a shock to those of you who are still too young to learn about the history of both our world and our people, a dark truth everybody wants to leave behind in favor of peace and harmony. The union between the demons and angels in this world is unique in that we have made attempts to strengthen it and have succeeded, thereby achieving a significant milestone for both peoples alike. Not all worlds are like ours because many are still in constant strife in which angels and demons war against each other."
"Indeed, and although we commercially trade with other worlds, our world has agreed to not enter military conflicts because we still desire peace," Grora added to the explanation. "We'll remain neutral to them except for trade, but we do allow visitors from other worlds to arrive if the foreign tourists happen to be friendly. Ivlis' invasion last year wasn't, but he'll never come back."
"Considering how Miss Grora was a primary source who has explained what we must know about True Light from personal experience, I would say this concludes this lecture about this final exhibit," Dahlia went on to end the tour and turned to bow her head towards the angelic woman as thanks for the explanation. "You have my thanks and the gratitude of our entourage, Miss Grora."
"Thank you very much, Miss Grora!" everyone else repeated their own thanks in tune with that statement, even if the wording some of them used was different from the general sentence. As some of them began to step forward and take a closer look at the artefacts from True Light, Grora spoke up again to show she appreciated giving everybody a chance to learn about the order directly from her. As she did so, a couple of attendants from the daycare center, having completed an errand they had to run on an upper floor, returned to collect the children and speak with the cat demons.
"You're all very welcome, it means a lot to me getting this matter off my chest." With that said, she watched Dahlia collect her own students and gather them all up in another group to head out and go back to school. Smiling softly, she approached Froze and her friends to chat with them for a bit before they left. "So what did you girls think of the tour? Was my shocking reveal stunning to you?" she asked, thinking about joining them for a bit longer since she had time. Then again, it would've been a shame to her for having come all this way just to leave these relics behind without giving them a piece of her mind. That was why she opted to follow them once she concluded that.
"I'll say," Yosafire commented, still surprised at how tainted Grora's past had been. "I had never thought you would've worked with radical traditionalists who fought for the older values."
"Well, what can I say aside from confessing my participation in their activities?" the angel inquired rhetorically, closing her eye briefly and shrugging her shoulders. "Hastur really had all of us fooled into believing it was possible to reintegrate the conflict back into our world. Although a number of his followers, myself included, believed in him because we didn't trust the demons and other angels who believed in them, it's ironic how the one demon who tricked us all manned True Light to advocate his cause for himself. We were nothing more than scapegoats he could discard."
"That sounds awful," Macarona remarked to show her sympathy. "It must've been difficult dealing with his sudden betrayal of you all for his own sake. Thankfully you realized it before his plans could've come to fruition. Had that happened, we might not even be here as good friends."
"True, though I'd say I was still a little too late; lots of innocent people died, some of them by my own hands," the older angel went on to admit despite having already alluded to that part.
"Thankfully that's all in the past now, Miss Grora," Dialo displayed a small smile as Chelan hummed in agreement with her, also showing support to Grora. "You shouldn't think of it now."
"You're right, I shouldn't, but I can't change what happened back then. All I can do is look to the future and move on to get away from it. It's pretty much the only solution to solve the issue."
"You have a point, Grora," Froze spoke up to briefly continue the conversation before they left. "In any case, they're gone and you're all that remains of True Light. I certainly hope nothing else from your past pops up to bring you down again." Hearing their teacher call them over, Froze turned back to Grora and waved goodbye to her with her friends before leaving. "See you later."
Grora smiled back at her and waved too. "Yep, see you soon." It certainly would be sooner than later since she would head over to the school and pick the girls up for a stroll if they were up for it. Then again, they might've had extracurricular clubs to go to; though the angelic lady would play it by ear and go to the school anyway to inquire if any of the girls were available. Nevertheless, she certainly did hope Hastur was dead somewhere and she didn't care to see him again. With him gone for good, Grora could finally be at peace definitively knowing he was vanquished. As it was, the only things left—which she didn't mind because they were simply relics—were old relics True Light used back in the days it used to be a functioning organization with few members involved.
Ambling back over to those, she peered through the glass at all the badges, weapons, armor, notes, and documents utilized by the group. Sighing while reminiscing about the past, Grora stood in front of them and frowned somberly. She didn't miss the old days, but she couldn't shake a dark feeling that they were coming back to haunt her in some way. Crossing her arms as a chill traveled down her spine—more out of anger and disgust at herself and True Light—the angel hadn't noticed she wasn't alone until she caught Ater and Arbus gazing at the artefacts with her. "You girls must think I'm some kind of murderous monster, do you?" she asked, annoyed they were even there.
"No, not at all," Ater murmured and made eye contact with her while she and Arbus smiled.
"Not at all, no," Arbus parroted in their mannerism as an angel from this department arrived to check on the items, catching sight of Grora with the cat demons and getting ready to intervene.
"So, despite everything I've related about my past in addition to those beatings I give both of you—especially you, Ater—neither of you think any less of me? You understand my problem?"
"Yep!" the kitties beamed happily, placing their trust in Grora because they did understand where she was coming from, even if their faith may have seemed a bit misguided to in her opinion. That was why Grora seized Ater's head and dashed it into the glass, shattering it and harming Ater because the blow caused pain via the strike breaking the glass into shards that cut her face as well.
"Good, so understand that I will always hate you both—mostly you, Ater," Grora scoffed, turning to the display case with Ater's head still in it and spitting on both her and the artefacts. As the other angel came over to help the cat demons, she whirled around and stormed away. "If you're going to be so blind as to trust me in spite of the necessary punishment, you might as well display yourselves as additional artefacts I can hate. You girls would be better off stuffed as trophies."
"This is coming out of your paycheck, Grora," the angel called after her once he had healed Ater's wounds and gently pat her on the head to give her some comfort. Yet Grora scoffed again.
"Whatever, prosecute or fire me. Like hell I'd care about them."
…
It just wouldn't be in her character without harming Ater to some extent, though this chapter does help shape Grora's character a bit more. I've looked to logic from Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins movie when going over how her fall from True Light helped her rise. The line about Bruce's father and Alfred asking Bruce why people fall was one of my favorite lines from that movie, and I feel it definitely fits in with who Grora was and currently is.
As for Hastur, we see what I've alluded to already being reiterated. This time it's for the purpose of educating the students and children on who he was and what True Light was like. Although I haven't gone over what they are like, I kind of see Hastur and True Light as similar to the Forsworn and Stormcloaks from the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Both groups did fight for a cause they believed in, hence why I'm basing True Light on them because they've been dedicated to their respective causes: Forsworn are Bretons seeking to reclaim the Reach and Markarth because the region was their old home until the Nords drove them out; while the Stormcloaks are Nords who rebelled against the Empire because the Empire forbid them from worshipping Talos as a deified Divine among other reasons. I can respect these groups for believing in their cause; however, I believe Hastur is similar to Ulfric Stormcloak because the two of them really do feel very alike in my personal opinion. Bear in mind I've nothing against the Stormcloaks themselves since my only issue with their side in Skyrim's Civil War is Ulfric Stormcloak himself. I don't believe Ulfric is really telling his followers the full truth as to why he is fighting against the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion governed by Thalmor.
Regarding the Nephilim, whom I've alluded to in the first chapter, but haven't talked about in the author's notes then, they are included to demonstrate how far the Gray Garden came with its peaceful movement. While they are found in a number of other universes, plus stemming from biblical origins as well, the Nephilim I thought about when incorporating the beings into this story (and future stories as well whenever I can mention them) were from an interesting dark fantasy universe called Diablo. I played Diablo II for a bit and I've also read several of the novels and a couple other books about the series, so I know a bit about it. One interesting tidbit about the spelling of Nephilim in this series is that it's spelled Nephalem.
In Diablo, Nephilim are born from a union between angels and demons; however, the lore emphasizes an angel named Inarius, Tyrael's brother, and Lilith, daughter of Mephisto and sister of Lucion as influential in that regard. The two of them got married and together with their respective followers who joined them by abandoning their respective sides in the conflict between angels and demons, they produced a world known as Sanctuary for their children. However, Inarius and Lilith fought among themselves which led to Lilith's exile from Sanctuary and Inarius' choice to weaken the Nephilim so other angels and demons wouldn't notice their existence. Yet he too had fallen since the Angiris Council of the angels worked with Mephisto to capture him so Mephisto could torture him.
You can find more information about this stuff on Wikipedia and Wikias for Diablo and Elder Scrolls (which also has the UESP, abbreviated for Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages).
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman Begins; it is owned by Christopher Nolan. I do not own Elder Scrolls; it's owned by Bethesda. I don't own Diablo; it's owned by Blizzard North.