Saint of Letzenbourg Part 3: Prologue

A Certain Dimension, A certain Domain of Existence

Beyond the constraints of time

The entity looked upon its assigned portion of the multiverse and rejoiced. Faith had begun to bloom once again, reversing the worrying trend that had afflicted so many of the flock of late. It could do nothing but praise the wisdom of the divine for delivering His prophet unto this world, it was nothing short of a stroke of genius.

But then again, what else could you expect?

The being was pleased to be involved in such an endeavour. Pride was a sin, and this creature was all but incapable of such an act, but it experienced intense delight when it thought of what they were in the process of accomplishing. The faith that had been imbued upon these people would undoubtedly lead them on their first tentative steps to something much greater.

The entity had played its part too, of course. Since time immemorial it had travelled to countless worlds so as to to deliver His will. It had spent innumerable human lifetimes carefully guiding the flock towards a goal that would one day benefit all creation. It had even been recorded and described by the children it had visited, so that they may share the divine message it had delivered.

Regrettably, the children were unable to comprehend its true form, they had not yet grown enough to gain the necessary understanding. However, when they had been created, the Lord had bestowed upon them a wonderous gift to help counter this deficiency.

Imagination.

This gift allowed them to create a more simplified version of the wonders of existence, one that they could understand despite their current limitations. With imagination they could turn ideas into words and pictures, they could explore entire worlds without ever lifting a foot from the ground and experience the lives of others while still living their own. It was truly a gift from the divine.

That gift had allowed the children to give the entity a name and a form that was pleasing to human sensibilities.

It was known as the Cherub.

The Cherub was most gratified with the appearance he had been bestowed by the children. He had been given the form of a human infant with pure white wings and golden hair. This was nothing like its true nature of course, but the Cherub considered the form it had been granted to be a great honour. What could be purer than a new-born babe that had yet to experience the world that lay before it?

It was a sure sign that the children trusted the words he had taught them. It had even inspired some of their scripture. A pleasing sentiment about truth from the mouths of babes if he was not mistaken. The Cherub wasn't entirely sure, his kind tended to let the faithful spread the word themselves when possible, so the exact wording often changed to fit the limited forms of their communication. A shepherd cannot lavish too much attention on an individual sheep, or the others may become lost. As long as the message remained the same, all would be well.

Still, humans were truly wondrous in their own way, it was understandable why He desired to guide them towards greater things. They held so much potential.

Now that the children in his flock were beginning to believe again, the Cherub felt the need to share the wondrous news with the others so that they all might rejoice and learn from the Lord's success. They should sing the praises of the Lord for his divine providence and guidance.

For once again, His word had become truth.

As the Cherub spread the good word to its fellows, joining his voice to the heavenly choir, it was shocked to find another of its kind whose song was discordant. The children had named this being the Archangel, for this being had the great honour of sitting at His side but something was most peculiar. Of all the entities that served the Lord, the Archangel's song should be the most beautiful and melodious. However, its music instead reflected his troubled state of mind as he looked upon its portion of existence with great concern.

What burdens you? The Cherub inquired without words or sound; no such things were needed here.

So many here still lack faith. Instead of embracing His word they seek to stamp it out! It is most disturbing.

This was most shocking news to the Cherub, that someone such as the Archangel could struggle to rekindle faith in the children was most vexing. Something terrible must have happened for such an unprecedent event to come to pass.

There would be no judgment or assigning of blame, however, it was not their place. They shared a united goal, and they were all there to support each other to achieve it, the Cherub had a duty to help as best it could.

The Cherub looked upon the Archangel's zone of responsibility and studied it so that he might help his forlorn colleague. What it saw was truly shocking, a mighty nation had risen from the ashes of a great conflict between the children. A nation in which they had overthrown an oppressive and uncaring King and caused unprecedented suffering amongst their own people. A nation very close to the flock that the Cherub had been tending.

Yet rather than praising the Lord, they had implemented compulsory atheism! They tore down symbols of devotion and persecuted those that remained true to their faith. They had even begun rounding up the faithful to turn them away from His light!

They were teaching with their limited understanding of science without the guiding principles of spirituality to help them grow. They were grounding themselves, preventing them from spreading their wings. If this continued, they would be trapped on earth forever rather than attaining the enlightenment that would see them prosper!

The Cherub had seen things like this before, but the scale was truly terrible to behold.

These wayward children clearly didn't understand what an awful thing they were doing to each other. Faith was not simply a way of giving praise to the divine creator; in fact, it was not its purpose at all. It was supposed to be the first step towards opening the mind so that they might become more than they were. It was supposed to be the key so that they could grow and eventually escape the cycle of rebirth.

The Cherub could understand the human desire to grow through science and knowledge. That thirst had been put into them from the beginning. For a time, science and faith had even managed to coexist in near harmony. However, as time passed the children's understanding had become flawed, and it began to distort the Lord's message.

They argued that the creator could not exist because they were created over millions of years of evolution rather than in the seven days described in the scriptures. They used the bones of the past as proof of this. It was most distressing how they had gotten it so wrong, what happened to their wonderous imagination? Could they not see that seven days and millions of years were the same thing? Time was not a reality that beings such as the Cherub and Archangel needed to consider and neither did the Creator so both versions could coexist without issue. The children had figured out the wondrous method of their creation but rather than marvel at its grandeur they used it as proof their Creator did not exist.

It saddened him that they used the trials they experienced in their lives as reason to lose faith rather than allow it to help them grow and cultivate it. It was all due to the limited understanding that science provided when faith was absent. Just as they could not comprehend the Cherub's true form, they could not comprehend the true majesty that had been laid out for them.

It was most distressing to see the children regress like this. One could only hope it was simply a rebellious phase.

This could not be allowed to continue. Each soul that passed and entered the cycle of rebirth without growing with faith was another step backwards for the children. They might even be forced to remove them from the cycle entirely! However, such an act, on such a scale; the entire divine plan could be at risk!

Additionally, since these humans had implemented this on such a wide scale it could afflict several generations. They would lose so much progress! It would be a catastrophe for all those children that had come so far to be pushed back now. There must be something they could do.

Perhaps the Prophet that He sent could be of use here?The Cherub suggested. After all, the Prophet had already done wonders at propagating faith so far.

It was, of course, regrettable that a conflict had erupted on this world, and that many children's lives were tragically cut short. But it had been the motivations of the children that had caused it, not intervention from beyond.

However, everyone had begun to benefit from the strife that had erupted across this portion of existence and the presence of the Prophet. Even those who had fallen would be placed back on the right path. In their last moments, their faith had begun to blossom again, and they took that faith with them to their next life. Whether they survived this war or not, they would resume the journey that the Lord had planned for them.

An excellent idea! But how to achieve it?Asked the Archangel, clearly thankful for the help provided by his colleague. We cannot simply place the Prophet here, we are forbidden from intervening so directly.

Indeed, that could be difficult. Although a short distance for beings such as them it was a long way for the Prophet to travel without good reason, especially with so many faithless around. The Prophet could not go alone, they would need to be supported in this great endeavour.

Perhaps another conflict?The Cherub suggested, after all, that was what had made the flames of faith burn brightly again. Surely the same thing would work here, and the Prophet would be escorted by others who had already reclaimed their faith.

The Archangel considered this for a while but seemed hesitant.

If we incite a conflict, would it be considered a punishment? That is not our place. Aside from the Lord, there is only one that is permitted to bring down punishment on souls in this manner.

The Archangel was right, they had never incited the children into conflict with one another. Holy war had often been declared by the children, but it was always their own doing and often had more to do with their own politics than faith. The only times that direct intervention had been granted was when a particularly harsh lesson was thought to be needed. Then they called on another.

Another presence began to appear before them, sensing its presence was required. The children had many names for this entity and almost as many descriptions and stories surrounding it. It was rather fitting that it had arrived so promptly, the humans had a saying that he would appear if you spoke its name. The truth was it was always nearby.

The Cherub always felt uneasy in the presence of this entity, although he was ashamed that this was so. Perhaps it was due to the role that he played in the grand plan, this being was here to punish the children and set them back on the correct path. However, punishment implied that the Lord's plan was fallible, something that was an anathema to the Cherub, and it made him feel very uncomfortable.

Still, this entity had been created by the Lord too, so perhaps punishment was part of the plan after all.

You believe these Children may require correction? The Entity enquired without greeting or introduction, his discordant tones causing the Cherub more discomfort as the heavenly song grew more distorted by its voice.

The Archangel felt no unease around the other entity's presence, however, and seemed not to notice the effect on the music surrounding them. If anything, it seemed to experience relief having him around. The Cherub supposed it was understandable given the severity of the situation. They needed all the help they could get to restore the children's faith.

Look for yourself. The Archangel replied beckoning the entity to look upon their burden.

It was silent for a few moments as it considered the fate of this portion of existence. Privately the Cherub hoped that nothing drastic was required, it would be dreadful if too many were removed from the cycle of rebirth and doomed to nonexistence. Hopefully, only the worst offenders would need to be punished in order to set an example for the others to follow. If all went well, all would get the chance of redemption.

I will not need to interfere here. The entity communicated eventually. Send these Children the news that a Prophet will visit them from the west. Send them visions until they believe it, then everything else will fall into place.

The Archangel accepted this without question and began busying itself with this new task, but the Cherub was still troubled. It did not understand how this would achieve their goal, how would giving the faithless these dreams summon the Prophet to them? Additionally, these children did not believe that there was a prophet at all, why would they pay heed to these visions?

Fear is a powerful motivator. The other entity answered, reading the Cherub's concern. However, the Cherub still did not understand.

But what of punishment? The Cherub asked, concerned for the fate of the flock.

It is not required. The other stated without hesitation, Humans are more than capable of punishing themselves.

Authors notes

Hi all and thank you for reading,

Sorry this is a short one, the rest will hopefully be coming within the next few days but I didn't feel like this part fit well with the rest of the chapter so I've added it separately. However, I am aware I'm late uploading so I wanted to post something.

This part is my version of part of the LN that in my opinion wasn't quite right. I've never liked the directly showing of Being X and his various colleagues as simply an old man or an angel ect and much prefer the possession idea that the LN goes for. However, I did want to add a few bits of my own including the 3rd entity and the idea that Humans are more than capable of punishing themselves is something I added. (However, I doubt I made that up, it sounds far too familiar).

Xanen