5:30pm
Peach Springs, Arizona
It was in 'the middle of nowhere'. Ten miles away from the Hualapai Reservation, near the Grand Canyon, was an unusual artifact. A skeleton lay in the dirt. It was a man, yet it also had wing bones. At least, this is what mortal eyes could see. The sky suddenly darkened, lightning flashed in the clouds. The skeleton rose up on its feet..as it did so, it was covered with flesh. It now had the appearance of a young man, with long blond hair that hung past the shoulders, he wore a white trench coat over his clothes. No eyes in the sockets.
All around him, bodies writhed and moaned.
"Silence! Suffer in quiet pain, nephilim. Lest I increase thy torment!"
They whispered with screeching sounds, "Genocide..Lord Pyriel..Pyriel.."
Pyriel, the wrathful Angel of Genocide, spread his arms out. "Josiah! I summon thee. I call on your service!"
A small winged boy flew above, then descended to the ground, landing softly on his feet. He had no eyes as well. He blinked..and he immediately had blue eyes. Josiah looked like an adorable 11-year-old child, dressed in all-white: pants, shirt, boots, trench coat. 'Innocence'. "Yes, master?"
"I have a mission for you, cherub. A nephilim is near my plans for domination! He will someday interfere with our progress if he is not destroyed soon. He is almost as powerful as his father."
"Shall I slay him too? Who is the father?"
"Lucifer."
"First of the Fallen."
"Don't go after him, he is too much effort to handle alone. No..the hell-spawned nephilim is the main target. 'Diabolus'. He has arrived in Philadelphia, near a special school."
"What sort of school?"
"An academy. A private school.."
"Ah..yes. St. Anthony's Academy. I know it. I was stationed there a few centuries ago, when it was a courthouse. I have not been there since 1925."
"Good, you can become reacquainted with the surroundings."
"Will I be alone?"
"No. I persuaded a few mortal zealots to aid you. Zophael will be near, in case you fail, but he is merely spying for now. Find Diabolus. Kill him! Then bring his heart to me. And do not return until you have succeeded..lest you incur MY wrath!!"
"Yes, my lord. It will be done." He bowed, then rose to his feet. Spreading his wings, he soared back to the sky.
Pyriel laughed to himself, "Soon, my enemies will be crushed. Mass slaughter will be the fate of man, the talking monkeys will perish. And *I* shall be the next God!"
Lightning flashed..Pyriel was nowhere to be seen. Even the bodies were gone. All that remained was the angelic sketon which now rested in the ground.
5:41pm
St. Anthony's Church
Cole couldn't find the strange visitor anywhere. As he played with his toys again, he couldn't stop thinking about the strange visitor. Cadmiel, he called himself. Hmm, the name sounded Hebrew. Too bad..Cole didn't know much about that culture, just Latin. What was it he said? He sounded out the words to himself. "Scholasticus Phasmitis..quisnam ereditus inter..aether an abyssus. A scholar's ghost, a physician--a doctor? 'Inter' is 'between'. And 'abyssus'..I guess it has something to do with Hell or Hades." Then, he sensed a presence nearby. He turned around.
A priest sat in one of the pews. Father Martin, one of the friendly ghosts. He came here often to find peace. He was also the one who taught Cole about the Latin language. "Hello, young Cole. Playing with your soldiers today?"
Cole shook his head. "Not really. I was earlier, but I'm a little bothered about something."
"Oh? What is it?"
"What does 'aether' mean?"
"I suppose..Heaven, maybe Paradise."
"Okay. What's between Heaven and Hell? Purgatory?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing. A man came here, I *felt* him. But it wasn't a ghost. He referred to this place as 'my world'."
"As opposed to HIS world?"
"Yes. He seemed to know everything about me. He even knew my name, but I never told him! He called himself Cadmiel."
The priest looked surprised. "Huh? Did you just say..Cadmiel?"
"Yes. Do you know him?"
"No. I don't understand this, either. There's references to an angel by that name in several ancient texts. I used to study the Torah, Hebrew scrolls, and other old stuff in the Vatican. Cadmiel was the Angel of Destiny."
"Well, he said he knew everyone's destiny."
"Interesting. Tell me, did he have a scar?"
"Yes! On his neck. It looked like a symbol."
"Oh God. That *was* an angel who spoke to you."
"Why does he have a scar?"
"It's angelic script."
"Huh?"
"Legend has it that God marked all his angels with sigils, ancient symbols. Anyway, it's good that you saw a good angel and not one of the Fallen."
"Fallen?"
"Yes, the ones who followed Lucifer in the revolt, who were cast out by the other angels led by Michael and Gabriel."
"Lucifer. The, uh.."
"The Devil. The Great Deceiver, Morningstar, Belial, Satan.."
"Right."
"But it is still strange that an angel came to you."
"Why?"
"They never appear to us unless there's a special reason. Only if it's part of some big plan."
"Okay..so how do I find out these symbols, the scripts? That way, I'll be sure if I see another one."
"There might be a book in your library at the school. Look for something on old legends, under the Religion section. Hebrew cabalists, translations. That kind of stuff. Also, try to find something written by Thomas Dagget. He is somewhat of an authority on the subject of angels."
"Okay, I'll try it. Goodbye, Father Martin."
"Bye. I'm glad I could help."
Cole put his toy men back in the bag, then started walking to the large red doors.
Peach Springs, Arizona
It was in 'the middle of nowhere'. Ten miles away from the Hualapai Reservation, near the Grand Canyon, was an unusual artifact. A skeleton lay in the dirt. It was a man, yet it also had wing bones. At least, this is what mortal eyes could see. The sky suddenly darkened, lightning flashed in the clouds. The skeleton rose up on its feet..as it did so, it was covered with flesh. It now had the appearance of a young man, with long blond hair that hung past the shoulders, he wore a white trench coat over his clothes. No eyes in the sockets.
All around him, bodies writhed and moaned.
"Silence! Suffer in quiet pain, nephilim. Lest I increase thy torment!"
They whispered with screeching sounds, "Genocide..Lord Pyriel..Pyriel.."
Pyriel, the wrathful Angel of Genocide, spread his arms out. "Josiah! I summon thee. I call on your service!"
A small winged boy flew above, then descended to the ground, landing softly on his feet. He had no eyes as well. He blinked..and he immediately had blue eyes. Josiah looked like an adorable 11-year-old child, dressed in all-white: pants, shirt, boots, trench coat. 'Innocence'. "Yes, master?"
"I have a mission for you, cherub. A nephilim is near my plans for domination! He will someday interfere with our progress if he is not destroyed soon. He is almost as powerful as his father."
"Shall I slay him too? Who is the father?"
"Lucifer."
"First of the Fallen."
"Don't go after him, he is too much effort to handle alone. No..the hell-spawned nephilim is the main target. 'Diabolus'. He has arrived in Philadelphia, near a special school."
"What sort of school?"
"An academy. A private school.."
"Ah..yes. St. Anthony's Academy. I know it. I was stationed there a few centuries ago, when it was a courthouse. I have not been there since 1925."
"Good, you can become reacquainted with the surroundings."
"Will I be alone?"
"No. I persuaded a few mortal zealots to aid you. Zophael will be near, in case you fail, but he is merely spying for now. Find Diabolus. Kill him! Then bring his heart to me. And do not return until you have succeeded..lest you incur MY wrath!!"
"Yes, my lord. It will be done." He bowed, then rose to his feet. Spreading his wings, he soared back to the sky.
Pyriel laughed to himself, "Soon, my enemies will be crushed. Mass slaughter will be the fate of man, the talking monkeys will perish. And *I* shall be the next God!"
Lightning flashed..Pyriel was nowhere to be seen. Even the bodies were gone. All that remained was the angelic sketon which now rested in the ground.
5:41pm
St. Anthony's Church
Cole couldn't find the strange visitor anywhere. As he played with his toys again, he couldn't stop thinking about the strange visitor. Cadmiel, he called himself. Hmm, the name sounded Hebrew. Too bad..Cole didn't know much about that culture, just Latin. What was it he said? He sounded out the words to himself. "Scholasticus Phasmitis..quisnam ereditus inter..aether an abyssus. A scholar's ghost, a physician--a doctor? 'Inter' is 'between'. And 'abyssus'..I guess it has something to do with Hell or Hades." Then, he sensed a presence nearby. He turned around.
A priest sat in one of the pews. Father Martin, one of the friendly ghosts. He came here often to find peace. He was also the one who taught Cole about the Latin language. "Hello, young Cole. Playing with your soldiers today?"
Cole shook his head. "Not really. I was earlier, but I'm a little bothered about something."
"Oh? What is it?"
"What does 'aether' mean?"
"I suppose..Heaven, maybe Paradise."
"Okay. What's between Heaven and Hell? Purgatory?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing. A man came here, I *felt* him. But it wasn't a ghost. He referred to this place as 'my world'."
"As opposed to HIS world?"
"Yes. He seemed to know everything about me. He even knew my name, but I never told him! He called himself Cadmiel."
The priest looked surprised. "Huh? Did you just say..Cadmiel?"
"Yes. Do you know him?"
"No. I don't understand this, either. There's references to an angel by that name in several ancient texts. I used to study the Torah, Hebrew scrolls, and other old stuff in the Vatican. Cadmiel was the Angel of Destiny."
"Well, he said he knew everyone's destiny."
"Interesting. Tell me, did he have a scar?"
"Yes! On his neck. It looked like a symbol."
"Oh God. That *was* an angel who spoke to you."
"Why does he have a scar?"
"It's angelic script."
"Huh?"
"Legend has it that God marked all his angels with sigils, ancient symbols. Anyway, it's good that you saw a good angel and not one of the Fallen."
"Fallen?"
"Yes, the ones who followed Lucifer in the revolt, who were cast out by the other angels led by Michael and Gabriel."
"Lucifer. The, uh.."
"The Devil. The Great Deceiver, Morningstar, Belial, Satan.."
"Right."
"But it is still strange that an angel came to you."
"Why?"
"They never appear to us unless there's a special reason. Only if it's part of some big plan."
"Okay..so how do I find out these symbols, the scripts? That way, I'll be sure if I see another one."
"There might be a book in your library at the school. Look for something on old legends, under the Religion section. Hebrew cabalists, translations. That kind of stuff. Also, try to find something written by Thomas Dagget. He is somewhat of an authority on the subject of angels."
"Okay, I'll try it. Goodbye, Father Martin."
"Bye. I'm glad I could help."
Cole put his toy men back in the bag, then started walking to the large red doors.
