As a disclaimer: I do not own, nor make any money off of anything I post on this website. This is a fun exercise and a creative outlet used for practicing my craft. There are also dark themes and trials that the characters within have to overcome or fail. So if you are sensitive to that kind of story, you've been warned to turn away here.
Prologue - Fire and Blood
The shadows were pushed back by a warm and hazy glow. Smoke ascended upon Innistrad tonight. Ashes floated upward like inverted flakes of winter's first snow, flicked away by the steady beat of my wings. And doubt gnawed in the deep recesses of my memories, it's fingers pulling at the base of my neck as if someone or something pinched the skin there. I shook my head, refocusing on the task at hand. So, I settled in with the buzzing sounds that accompanied my thoughts and my purpose. I was to protect Innistrad, even from those who would seek to destroy it from within its own "safe" havens.
The night sky, illuminated by the full hunter's moon, set the stage below for the great work I aimed to fulfill. My flight of angels had begun, and so I will finish it. There's no silence, no empty void of peace throughout the walled off hive. No haunting whispers of geists to interrupt my work. No howling of wolves, since they would be whimpering like the rabid pups they are before my righteous fury. Nor the moans of the unhallowed, who are but ashes in my presence.
The stagnant forest air was consumed by plumes of smoke and ash, I tasted hints of burnt copper and wood upon my lips. Thunder rumbled like orchestral drums beyond the walls towards the Ulvenwald, and musical cracks of fire-lit wood were drowned out by the harmonious melody of the monsters below. I defied the lattice of fog and shadows hiding within the distant clouds; black and gray like the Innistrad of old, sinister in its unnatural existence. I would purge that darkness by spreading my divine mandate. Mana surged within me, seeking purpose; to burn the impure.
In one night, I did more work to cleanse Innistrad than in all the centuries of simply maintaining the peace for humanity. House Falkenrath had easily fallen to my might, their vampiric bloodline scattering at the loss of their progenitor. My angels, ever vigilant, searched for the remnants of those deplorable bloodsuckers. My work was only beginning, and the path of fury unleashed by my hands laid many towns and fortresses to ruin. With this euphoria, I painted the walls of this insignificant village in the color of glorious flames. The light of radiance upon my hand sought to root out the foul impurities now corralled by my tender touch. The trees just outside the walls were washed clean by it, resulting in a grand pyre fit for one such as I.
I am Avacyn, and all will burn, all will bleed.
As the pinnacle of strength and faith here on Innistrad, none can stand in my way. I and my beloved flight of angels purge the world of demons; those little monsters scurry about in vaguely humanoid forms, like ants expunged from their hive. With faces like latticed eels and arms like tentacles always twisting about, I have no mercy for the rotten. They are the worst of the worst; scum who decay with the madness of their sins. Their prayers are forgotten and ignored, overwritten by the reverberations indoctrinating my mind. I have no forgiveness for them, no mercy for the mortals who would scatter at my arrival. The seeds of men are rotten to the core and must be eradicated. Around me, my flight of followers continue casting their holy spells, wrenching the monsters from their cages and onto the streets. The crowd of monsters gathered before me, reeking of fear and anger.
"I am Avacyn, Archangel of hope! Innistrad has been corrupted by the darkness, and I alone can save her!" I raised my spear above me as if to inspire them with hope once more, to give them a chance at repentance, but they didn't listen. They couldn't.
"You used to be better." I proclaimed to the growing number of monsters. They mocked me with deadened eyes, their crooked grins spoke of evils behind forked tongues and sharpened teeth.
"You used to live with honor and beauty." Underneath their foul skin, coils of blackened eels fester and slither within their animated corpses. Their masses melting together like an oozing blob of tainted muscles and ichor.
"Only the outliers; the evil creatures of night, prevented a perfect world for us all." I felt pity for the fools. Oh, how far they had fallen. I searched the evil beings for any signs of life and honor and faith, but the light was far overshadowed by their sins.
"We were all united against that darkness, forged through fire and the shedding of precious blood by each generation against these evils. And yet, now you have disobeyed. You have become that which you have feared in the past." The monsters scuttled about, ready to strike. Some of them brandished their spears and pitchforks while others fled. The harmonious melody I worked so hard to create became discordant and messy.
"And by your own sins I now see you for what you are; impure!" And with my spear in hand, their lives shattered with the splash of blood and the torrent of musical screams. It created a brief but wonderful choir to resume the musical flow of purpose. I reveled in the strength of my power. Mana surged through me, seeking more. More. MORE! For these creatures, I had no time. I have bigger prey to hunt tonight, one who had fled from the crowd.
I rounded another street, seeking the source of the evil magic in this town, and hovered in front of a building that hadn't quite received my fury yet. "Come out, heathen child of demons! I know you're in there!" I did not need to shout, for my words echoed off the walls with little effort. I directed my spear towards the monstrous nest and invigorated the flames to make a masterful piece of art. Songs erupted from within, and the fire-wreathed demon burst through the splintering door. Her song was a wonderful tune, bound in a wordless crescendo of music. She cradled a small bundle of worms in her arms like a loaf of bread, falling to her knees before me. She was wretched despite my beautiful flames, bent over in abject fear and terror. I landed on the ground to hear her pleas of forgiveness.
Yet something else emerged from within that evil. She sang a song and quenched the flames on the burnt cocoon. Flies erupted from within its shell, circling the beast as they fled from my rage. I recoiled at the sudden act of defiance. In anger at her audacity, I raised the point of my spear towards her. But her song caught me off guard, it was erratic yet solemn, the tones sang a song not of her own suffering but for something else. I hesitated, content to listen to the beauty of that tune. The fire haloed around her was beautiful, like candles circling her crown, until the firelight faded with a flick of her wrist and a command of dark magic. The witch cursed my name, pulling by the tail a slithering snake from behind her back and lunged for me.
"You wretch!" I said, easily lighting her and everything behind her in glorious fire before she could even touch me. I curved my lips upwards as humans often did before their fall, the flames danced around her, circling her in a vortex of light, heat, and ashes. She pushed back with magic, trying to escape my judgement. "Why do you resist my fire? You will be better in the end!"
She snarled at me like the demon she was, no longer content to play a part in my songs. She was far more resilient than I expected, and I needed to eradicate this force of evil plaguing my home. The iridescent light cascaded through her before the whole figure vanished, leaving a faint afterimage of ashes which dissipated in the gentle breeze. Her final song brought about shivers of glee down my spine. I surveyed the burning buildings, smelling death. The musical torment of my former petitioners, whose blood blessed my wings and armor, drew forth a sensation of satisfaction and accomplishment.
A nearby beat of wings drew my attention upwards. "Avacyn! Lady Avacyn!" An angel called, gracefully landing beside me with a final flutter of her bloodied wings, her silk dress similarly blessed at the hem, her sword wreathed in the holy fire of her faith in me. She was a minor angel, yet esteemed, because she knew the truth that I had proclaimed. She told of other places left alone on Innistrad, deep in the woodlands of Ulvenwald, set apart from my wonderful fire and darkened by the impure. I nodded, eager to continue my work. "Thank you, Isobel." I said as we lifted ourselves to further brighten the world with the beautiful color of orange flames and red blood.
The rest of my followers ascended to hear their next mandate. I gazed upon each of them with pride as they gathered above the reach of the monster's claws below. "All will burn." I called out. And as I flew towards the lattice of fog and shadows, my flight of angels chorused their verse in perfect unison. "All will bleed." Smoke ascends upon Innistrad tonight, and what a glorious time for fire and blood.
Author's note
This is the beginning of something I've been thinking about for some time now. Avacyn's death in the Shadows over Innistrad storyline angered me, because she was my favorite character in all of Magic the Gathering. Going forward I aim to tell a story worthy (in my opinion) of Avacyn's legacy. However, I understand that in reality, her character is dead. This is an attempt to keep her alive, while still maintaining the continuity already in place. It will take place on a different plane that I enjoyed that didn't get a great story (also in my opinion). If I've made any mistakes in the lore already in place, let me know in reviews and the like.