Disclaimer: Oh goodie sweetness! Another disclaimer! Yay! (NOT!) Gainax owns NGE and yada, yada.
God owns the bible and pretty much every-fuckin'-thing else... even Gainax and NGE and
Hideaki-sama! AND YOU TOO!
Thanks to my prereaders and my as always faithful beta-reader: Worldmage!
And I also wish to thank all of those great people who have given me a lot of positive feedback
on this tender experiment. You truly make this worthwhile! ^_^
Domo arigato! Mange tak! ('Thank you very much!' in Japanese AND Danish. ^_~ )
Now for the fic:
The Swords of Evangelion: First Impressions pt. 3
Asuka shot a withering glare at everyone who sat at the little table that morning. She grabbed
some of the small breads that lay on the table, it seemed like some westerner had introduced
wheat to this region, opening up the possibility of the making and baking of bread... something
that was not too widespread in the east. Clever guy Asuka thought as she tore a piece of the
small bread, stuffed it into her mouth and poured some water for herself.
"Good morning Asuka-chan." Misato said in a sickeningly sweet tone of voice. "And how's my
sunshine?"
Asuka ground her teeth at Misato's teasing, but she did not reply.
Touji finished gobbling down his fourth helping of breakfeast and started to grab for his fifth
when he suddenly remembered something. "Hey, didn't you say that you'd tell us some
more about that thing that attacked us?"
That made Asuka react. She nearly choked on her food.
But a promise was a promise and like it or not, she had promised to tell something about her
cryptic comments of the figure yesterday. Seeing as she would need them alive to help her she
might as well tell them what she knew... but not all of the sacred myths was for the ears of
commoners to hear. Some of the secrets contained therein was extremely dangerous for non-elves.
She sighed and took a sip of water, acting very calm about it while she desperately tried to
figure out what to tell and what not to tell. She decided that it would be best if she shared as
much as possible-- they seemed to be on the same side for now.
"Listen closely to what I say and do NOT interrupt. The telling of these tales are sacred and
must not be halted in any way." She gave each person at the table a stern look. Then she began
telling her tale; she seemed as if she was entering a trance, she closed her eyes and muttered
under her breath in the western dialect of elvish. Then she began to talk in the common language,
her voice seemed different, yet still the same. As if she was in a trance.
"The Supreme One made all there is and all there is not. The Creator first created the angels
out of the fire at the heart of the universe. The One created the Seraphim first of all. They
were the most powerful angels The One had under his command, the first angels of the first
choir."
Asuka was oblivious to the strange glances the other people gave her, but she noticed anyway,
though her eyes were closed, and explained patiently: "The angels are divided into three choirs,
each of which have a sphere of influence. They all surround the throne of The One. The three most
powerful kinds of angels the Seraphim, the Cherubim and the Thrones or Gal-gal or Ofan...
the last ones have many names.
Of all the angels The One created, Lucifer was created as the first, the morning star. And he was
the one The Creator held dearest of all the angels, he was also dubbed 'The Firstborn'.
Asuka seemed to sadden a bit; her voice took on a strange tone. "He was the most glorious, most
perfect creature. He was the most kind and benevolent of all beings and did all The One's
biddings without question. He was the most faithful of all angels and, as The One had decreed
unto all off the angels, Lucifer bowed to none but the One.
But then The One became bolder in the endavor to create life in all its multitudes. Animals,
plants-- everything. Then one day, The One created Lillith. She was one step away from angelhood.
As beautiful as Lucifer and as proud. When The One then created Adam she refused to lie with him.
She loved Lucifer, for he was the only one, besides The One, she deemed worthy of her love.
Then The One made a decicion. He banished her forever from the garden of Eden. Then he held forth
his other creation, man, for his angels to admire.
The One told all of the angels to bow and revere his work-- then one angel stood forth. He said,
'My creator, most magnificient of all beings, thou said to us when we breathed our first and
looked into thine eyes that we were never to bow to anyone but thee. Yet here we are, supposed to
grant reverence to that which not The One. Thou asketh of us to idolize thy creation as something
it is not... and that is thee, my creator.'
Then Lucifer made a fatal mistake in his arrogance and added a detail that made The One's full
cup of anger overflow. 'And why should a son of the fire bow to a son of the dust?' The creator
was furious with Lucifer. Lucifer and all who followed him were banished. The One gave them
another chance to repent their words, but Lucifer said: 'I cannot, will not idolize that which is
inferior to thee as if it was a divine creature. Thou giveth me a choice, and I say unto thee:
'Nay, I shall not bow to man. I will obey and revere only thee. I have no choice but to break
that of thy commands that causes the least grief.'"
Asuka's voice was low now, as if reliving something painful. "And so, Lucifer and those who
shared his beliefs were banished into hell. That which is called the dark exile by my
people." Asuka looked up and around the table, looking firmly into the eyes of each person.
"There are also the myths of the Gregarious. They were the ones who taught humans the 'pleasures
of the flesh' as it is described so subtly. The Gregarious, or watchers as they were called, was
also banished for those actions. They cared little, they had fallen in love with mortal women
and had even sired their offspring. Sadly, though, The One decreed in a moment of blind wrath
that all of the children had to die and so he sent out the angel of death, Gabriel. The One told
her to slay all of the children. Having witnessed The One's wrath, she did as she was told and
took the life of all the children. After that she passed on the duty to the angel Azazel of the
Searphim. The Gregarious were furious that their beloved creator could cruelly demand that
innocent life should be taken in such a manner, and they joined the dark side."
The redheaded western elf seemed to snap out of her trance, but she continued the tale.
"Most religious people believe that Lucifer and Satanel are two sides of one gold piece. That is
wrong. The One created Lucifer, and if The One wished it, Lucifer's existence would be cut
short very suddenly and with much pain. The One became self-aware, and as The One became aware
of being, The One noticed something that was not right. The One is good. Flawed, but good
nonetheless. But The One's counterpart: Satanel, the opponent, is evil. Capable of good, but
evil nonetheless. They have struggled for dominance since they became aware of themselves.
Even such powerful beings like Lucifer or his brother, the archangel Michael, are pawns in a much
larger game. We are no more than they. But we were given a choice... we were given souls. When
an angel dies, be it by the hand of a demon or, as in the heavenly wars, the hands of a brother
or a sister, the life-force of the angel - the essence of the angel's being returns - to The One.
All things returns to The One in the end.
This essence is the most powerful substance in the world. It is the blood of angels and that from
which they arise. New angels are created from essence and as such, the wheel of creation keeps on
turning even if Lucifer or some other dark angel or archangel were to die."
Asuka flipped her fiery hair casually over one shoulder and took a sip of the water.
"I believe that the being that attacked us was a Gregarious, sent to either kill us or test our
strength. Most likely the latter, or we would all be roasting slowly over a sulphur lake by
now... or our souls would," Asuka said with a shiver.
Misato gave Asuka a strange look, but said nothing. She needed a drink.
Shinji paled a bit and took a deep gulp of some concoction there was in his mug... probably that
potion the easterners called tea, Asuka thought with a snort.
Touji seemed pretty indifferent and was trying to spoon-feed his catathonic little sister some
miso soup.
Asuka shrugged and began eating once more. They had a long journey ahead of them, and she would
rather die on a full stomach.
Gendo looked at the big pentagram on the floor of the summoning chamber of the temple.
He was waiting. And he was getting impatient. Suddenly a rift opened in the room. Gendo stood up.
"Do you have what I asked of you?" he said coldly.
"Now that is not a very pleasant way of asking for something..." came the playful response from
the other side of the rift. "But yes, I have what you asked for."
"Were there any problems?" Gendo asked, just a bit nervous.
The being on the other side chuckled. "Of course not." A tall man stepped through the portal.
He gestured simply and it closed. He was about thirty years of age. He had long brown hair and
several days' worth of stubble. He had a cocky grin almost permanently planted on his face.
"Ryoji-san. Would you please hand over the relics?" Gendo held out his hand in a request for the
items he had sought for such a long time.
Ryoji Kaji gave Gendo a strange look and the smile fadeed. He did not like being pushed
around. Especially by humans. But that was probably to be expected from one of those arrogant
priests. Kaji shrugged, and handed over the ornamentally carved wooden chest.
Gendo opened the chest... there it was. The fabled ribcage of Adam, one rib missing. Not broken
or cut off. Just... missing as if it was never supposed to be there.
"So this is what all this fuss was about?" Kaji sauntered over and peered into the little chest.
"Not much to look, at is it?" He grinned as Gendo carefully, almost reverently, closed the chest.
"That will be all, Ryoji-san. Fuyutski-sama will take care of your payment as per our
arrangement." Gendo waved a hand dismissively. "You are allowed to leave now."
Kaji sneered at Gendo and made a little bow before spitting out a spell-word that re-opened the
gateway he had created. That Ikari person was becoming very annoying, Kaji thought. He would have
to find out what was behind all this interest over some western church relics.
Akagi Ritsuko was calling upon her goddess to ensure the succes of her summoning. "Lillith,
first daughter of The Creator, I call thee. Grant upon thy servant a favor, which she humbly
begs. Dark mother of all magic, come to me, enlighten me. Fill my vessel with your infinite
knowledge." She began speaking the words that came to her; the spell had been granted and she now
had but to make the neccesary gestures and words. "Armakath, huthra vaih nagash!" Ritsuko hissed
as she began drawing a pentagram in the air. Her assistant, Ibuki Maya, was nervously watching
her mistress as she began the summoning of a beast from the lower planes. Some day Maya would
wear those robes of Lillith herself; she would be able to wield magic with the same skill as her
sensei... but for now she was content with clutching her apprentices' spell-book to her chest and
watching and learning.
For the uninitiated ^_~ :
Ok, first of all: The Cherubim is NOT those little puppy-fat children who flaps around with
all kind of odd things in their hands, from violas to bows with heart-arrows. The Cherubim is the
guardians of Eden, armed with swords of flame it was they who chased off Adam and Eve (or Eva...
whatever.)
And when I mention that the angels are divided into choirs, I don't mean that they are singing.
It is the ranking and their sphere of influence that are their choir. (Although the Seraphim is
said to circle the throne of God non-stop, chanting the prayer of creation to his eternal honor.)
And the Gregarious is just some obscure Catholic myth I picked up in a book on angel-lore I read
once, so don't worry if you don't know them.
And I know that I've mixed up the myths of Lucifer's fall a bit, but it's all for the good of the
story. There are seven different myths that I know of, might be that there are more...
And by the way; all the angel lore and holy mythology stuff is not something I made up. Except
the dialogue of course. But other than that all about the angels and Lucifer is something I've
read, not made up. Although the 'dark aspect of The One' part is mostly my creation and belongs
to my religion as such.
Author's note: Ok, so we find out one helluva lot of things about angels and myths... remember
them if you plan to read on; it will have some importance later on.
As always, keep the reviews comin', people. ^_^
God owns the bible and pretty much every-fuckin'-thing else... even Gainax and NGE and
Hideaki-sama! AND YOU TOO!
Thanks to my prereaders and my as always faithful beta-reader: Worldmage!
And I also wish to thank all of those great people who have given me a lot of positive feedback
on this tender experiment. You truly make this worthwhile! ^_^
Domo arigato! Mange tak! ('Thank you very much!' in Japanese AND Danish. ^_~ )
Now for the fic:
The Swords of Evangelion: First Impressions pt. 3
Asuka shot a withering glare at everyone who sat at the little table that morning. She grabbed
some of the small breads that lay on the table, it seemed like some westerner had introduced
wheat to this region, opening up the possibility of the making and baking of bread... something
that was not too widespread in the east. Clever guy Asuka thought as she tore a piece of the
small bread, stuffed it into her mouth and poured some water for herself.
"Good morning Asuka-chan." Misato said in a sickeningly sweet tone of voice. "And how's my
sunshine?"
Asuka ground her teeth at Misato's teasing, but she did not reply.
Touji finished gobbling down his fourth helping of breakfeast and started to grab for his fifth
when he suddenly remembered something. "Hey, didn't you say that you'd tell us some
more about that thing that attacked us?"
That made Asuka react. She nearly choked on her food.
But a promise was a promise and like it or not, she had promised to tell something about her
cryptic comments of the figure yesterday. Seeing as she would need them alive to help her she
might as well tell them what she knew... but not all of the sacred myths was for the ears of
commoners to hear. Some of the secrets contained therein was extremely dangerous for non-elves.
She sighed and took a sip of water, acting very calm about it while she desperately tried to
figure out what to tell and what not to tell. She decided that it would be best if she shared as
much as possible-- they seemed to be on the same side for now.
"Listen closely to what I say and do NOT interrupt. The telling of these tales are sacred and
must not be halted in any way." She gave each person at the table a stern look. Then she began
telling her tale; she seemed as if she was entering a trance, she closed her eyes and muttered
under her breath in the western dialect of elvish. Then she began to talk in the common language,
her voice seemed different, yet still the same. As if she was in a trance.
"The Supreme One made all there is and all there is not. The Creator first created the angels
out of the fire at the heart of the universe. The One created the Seraphim first of all. They
were the most powerful angels The One had under his command, the first angels of the first
choir."
Asuka was oblivious to the strange glances the other people gave her, but she noticed anyway,
though her eyes were closed, and explained patiently: "The angels are divided into three choirs,
each of which have a sphere of influence. They all surround the throne of The One. The three most
powerful kinds of angels the Seraphim, the Cherubim and the Thrones or Gal-gal or Ofan...
the last ones have many names.
Of all the angels The One created, Lucifer was created as the first, the morning star. And he was
the one The Creator held dearest of all the angels, he was also dubbed 'The Firstborn'.
Asuka seemed to sadden a bit; her voice took on a strange tone. "He was the most glorious, most
perfect creature. He was the most kind and benevolent of all beings and did all The One's
biddings without question. He was the most faithful of all angels and, as The One had decreed
unto all off the angels, Lucifer bowed to none but the One.
But then The One became bolder in the endavor to create life in all its multitudes. Animals,
plants-- everything. Then one day, The One created Lillith. She was one step away from angelhood.
As beautiful as Lucifer and as proud. When The One then created Adam she refused to lie with him.
She loved Lucifer, for he was the only one, besides The One, she deemed worthy of her love.
Then The One made a decicion. He banished her forever from the garden of Eden. Then he held forth
his other creation, man, for his angels to admire.
The One told all of the angels to bow and revere his work-- then one angel stood forth. He said,
'My creator, most magnificient of all beings, thou said to us when we breathed our first and
looked into thine eyes that we were never to bow to anyone but thee. Yet here we are, supposed to
grant reverence to that which not The One. Thou asketh of us to idolize thy creation as something
it is not... and that is thee, my creator.'
Then Lucifer made a fatal mistake in his arrogance and added a detail that made The One's full
cup of anger overflow. 'And why should a son of the fire bow to a son of the dust?' The creator
was furious with Lucifer. Lucifer and all who followed him were banished. The One gave them
another chance to repent their words, but Lucifer said: 'I cannot, will not idolize that which is
inferior to thee as if it was a divine creature. Thou giveth me a choice, and I say unto thee:
'Nay, I shall not bow to man. I will obey and revere only thee. I have no choice but to break
that of thy commands that causes the least grief.'"
Asuka's voice was low now, as if reliving something painful. "And so, Lucifer and those who
shared his beliefs were banished into hell. That which is called the dark exile by my
people." Asuka looked up and around the table, looking firmly into the eyes of each person.
"There are also the myths of the Gregarious. They were the ones who taught humans the 'pleasures
of the flesh' as it is described so subtly. The Gregarious, or watchers as they were called, was
also banished for those actions. They cared little, they had fallen in love with mortal women
and had even sired their offspring. Sadly, though, The One decreed in a moment of blind wrath
that all of the children had to die and so he sent out the angel of death, Gabriel. The One told
her to slay all of the children. Having witnessed The One's wrath, she did as she was told and
took the life of all the children. After that she passed on the duty to the angel Azazel of the
Searphim. The Gregarious were furious that their beloved creator could cruelly demand that
innocent life should be taken in such a manner, and they joined the dark side."
The redheaded western elf seemed to snap out of her trance, but she continued the tale.
"Most religious people believe that Lucifer and Satanel are two sides of one gold piece. That is
wrong. The One created Lucifer, and if The One wished it, Lucifer's existence would be cut
short very suddenly and with much pain. The One became self-aware, and as The One became aware
of being, The One noticed something that was not right. The One is good. Flawed, but good
nonetheless. But The One's counterpart: Satanel, the opponent, is evil. Capable of good, but
evil nonetheless. They have struggled for dominance since they became aware of themselves.
Even such powerful beings like Lucifer or his brother, the archangel Michael, are pawns in a much
larger game. We are no more than they. But we were given a choice... we were given souls. When
an angel dies, be it by the hand of a demon or, as in the heavenly wars, the hands of a brother
or a sister, the life-force of the angel - the essence of the angel's being returns - to The One.
All things returns to The One in the end.
This essence is the most powerful substance in the world. It is the blood of angels and that from
which they arise. New angels are created from essence and as such, the wheel of creation keeps on
turning even if Lucifer or some other dark angel or archangel were to die."
Asuka flipped her fiery hair casually over one shoulder and took a sip of the water.
"I believe that the being that attacked us was a Gregarious, sent to either kill us or test our
strength. Most likely the latter, or we would all be roasting slowly over a sulphur lake by
now... or our souls would," Asuka said with a shiver.
Misato gave Asuka a strange look, but said nothing. She needed a drink.
Shinji paled a bit and took a deep gulp of some concoction there was in his mug... probably that
potion the easterners called tea, Asuka thought with a snort.
Touji seemed pretty indifferent and was trying to spoon-feed his catathonic little sister some
miso soup.
Asuka shrugged and began eating once more. They had a long journey ahead of them, and she would
rather die on a full stomach.
Gendo looked at the big pentagram on the floor of the summoning chamber of the temple.
He was waiting. And he was getting impatient. Suddenly a rift opened in the room. Gendo stood up.
"Do you have what I asked of you?" he said coldly.
"Now that is not a very pleasant way of asking for something..." came the playful response from
the other side of the rift. "But yes, I have what you asked for."
"Were there any problems?" Gendo asked, just a bit nervous.
The being on the other side chuckled. "Of course not." A tall man stepped through the portal.
He gestured simply and it closed. He was about thirty years of age. He had long brown hair and
several days' worth of stubble. He had a cocky grin almost permanently planted on his face.
"Ryoji-san. Would you please hand over the relics?" Gendo held out his hand in a request for the
items he had sought for such a long time.
Ryoji Kaji gave Gendo a strange look and the smile fadeed. He did not like being pushed
around. Especially by humans. But that was probably to be expected from one of those arrogant
priests. Kaji shrugged, and handed over the ornamentally carved wooden chest.
Gendo opened the chest... there it was. The fabled ribcage of Adam, one rib missing. Not broken
or cut off. Just... missing as if it was never supposed to be there.
"So this is what all this fuss was about?" Kaji sauntered over and peered into the little chest.
"Not much to look, at is it?" He grinned as Gendo carefully, almost reverently, closed the chest.
"That will be all, Ryoji-san. Fuyutski-sama will take care of your payment as per our
arrangement." Gendo waved a hand dismissively. "You are allowed to leave now."
Kaji sneered at Gendo and made a little bow before spitting out a spell-word that re-opened the
gateway he had created. That Ikari person was becoming very annoying, Kaji thought. He would have
to find out what was behind all this interest over some western church relics.
Akagi Ritsuko was calling upon her goddess to ensure the succes of her summoning. "Lillith,
first daughter of The Creator, I call thee. Grant upon thy servant a favor, which she humbly
begs. Dark mother of all magic, come to me, enlighten me. Fill my vessel with your infinite
knowledge." She began speaking the words that came to her; the spell had been granted and she now
had but to make the neccesary gestures and words. "Armakath, huthra vaih nagash!" Ritsuko hissed
as she began drawing a pentagram in the air. Her assistant, Ibuki Maya, was nervously watching
her mistress as she began the summoning of a beast from the lower planes. Some day Maya would
wear those robes of Lillith herself; she would be able to wield magic with the same skill as her
sensei... but for now she was content with clutching her apprentices' spell-book to her chest and
watching and learning.
For the uninitiated ^_~ :
Ok, first of all: The Cherubim is NOT those little puppy-fat children who flaps around with
all kind of odd things in their hands, from violas to bows with heart-arrows. The Cherubim is the
guardians of Eden, armed with swords of flame it was they who chased off Adam and Eve (or Eva...
whatever.)
And when I mention that the angels are divided into choirs, I don't mean that they are singing.
It is the ranking and their sphere of influence that are their choir. (Although the Seraphim is
said to circle the throne of God non-stop, chanting the prayer of creation to his eternal honor.)
And the Gregarious is just some obscure Catholic myth I picked up in a book on angel-lore I read
once, so don't worry if you don't know them.
And I know that I've mixed up the myths of Lucifer's fall a bit, but it's all for the good of the
story. There are seven different myths that I know of, might be that there are more...
And by the way; all the angel lore and holy mythology stuff is not something I made up. Except
the dialogue of course. But other than that all about the angels and Lucifer is something I've
read, not made up. Although the 'dark aspect of The One' part is mostly my creation and belongs
to my religion as such.
Author's note: Ok, so we find out one helluva lot of things about angels and myths... remember
them if you plan to read on; it will have some importance later on.
As always, keep the reviews comin', people. ^_^
