She walked with a saunter in her hips. Her hair was flaming red. Her smile was irresistible. Her blue eyes pierced all those who dared look into them for too long. People tended to remember a grudge they had on someone. They instantly would want to go and end the life of that person. It was almost unnerving.
She was War. We have already established this. Earth was little more than toddler now and she was helping cradle societies and tear them down from the little fistfights to the largest wars that saw to the end of all nations in the area.
She could sense and smell that something was about to go down. It would be the start of many things. She was correct in every regard. Joshua was in charge of the Israelite tribes now and they were going to be getting their promised land.
She watched as they crossed the Jordan River a seemingly impassable obstacle which is exactly why Jerico had such a hold on the region. But the invisible hand of God seemed to be moving the playing cards in their favor as the river became passable. Intriguing to say the least.
Music was often said to be one of peace but for once it would bring War. They would walk around the city for seven days with their horns and cymbals and voices until the impassible walls came tumbling down. It was a mystery to how this happened.
War though helping deliver water laced with special plants would help the builders to forget the crucial details of how certain sound particles and the concrete within the walls could be vibrated and over the course of extreme yelling and music-making could cause the wall to fail on its inhabitants.
No one was to be left alive. Except some were. This puzzled War. She decided to go investigate.
She saw one of the spies she had seen earlier before the War between Jerico and the tribes of Isreal had broken out. He was flirting with a young woman with dark hair that resembled tree roots flowing in the wind. She sauntered over to them with a carefully placed hand on the shoulders of the unexpected pair. She tried her best to put a caramel sweet tone on all her words. Lies dripping in honey if you will. Her pearly whites were out resembling the desert sand.
"Hello, my dears. I must say I am surprised to see so many Jerico citizens were kept alive. I was sure the city would have been dripping with blood by now in rivers."
The pair looked at War and then at each. They both blushed the shade of War's hair and chuckled as though there was some inside joke to get that War had not seen yet. War only saw conflict. She never saw efforts for peace.
"Oh well, you see it's a funny story really. I was actually part of a career that was suffocating and made me feel worthless. Then all of a sudden a met this man with hair not unlike yours and he had these weird snake eyes. Probably a curse of some kind. He saved me from my oppressor and hide some spies in my roof."
The Hebrew man laughed. "I just happened to be one of those spies. I must say a woman with brains and beauty incomparable to those I had seen nowhere else."
"Oh, Salmon. Stop it now."
"Oh, Rahab you know I can't. You know I can't get my mind off of you."
They both chuckled and teased flirty which greatly annoyed War as they had interrupted their story for whatever this was.
"Back to the story Rahab."
"Oh yes. Right. Salmon. Stop distracting me."
"Oh you know I can't. You are my guardian angel."
"Oh, Salmon."
War rolled her eyes and stilled her tongue before she said something too harshly to scare this disgusting young couple of sorts away. She wanted to puke with each passing gesture of affection that was being drawn out and keeping her away from her main goal.
"Anyways he gave me this." Rahab lifted a red scarf that was the exact shade of War's hair. The shade of blood. She was taken aback by the sight.
"Anyone in a household possessing this on their doorway was not to be attacked and to left alone until the battle subsided." Salmon finished for her.
War took the scarf and glared at it.
"Strange. The color is scarlet. Just like your hair." Rahab chuckled towards her.
War was meeting Pollution or Pestilence as they called her now. She would be more Pestilence than Pollution with all these bodies around. Rubble and debris everywhere. How the diseases would spread. Such an enclosed space. So many vulnerable old, sick and children. So perfect.
"There was not as much bloodshed as I had hoped for," War mumbled to Pollution with distaste in her mouth.
"Too bad. The more bodies the better for both of us. I hear they will be conquering Ai next. You may not have to wait long."
And so they did. War was there of course and was once again baffled to see the same red scarfs protecting the innocent of the cities. Mindless slaughter was always her thing. But this was insane. It was almost as though the scarfs were serving as a surrender symbol of some kind. She had kept the scarf Rahab had given to her. She would keep it until the trend was shed.
She played a hand in having kings conspire against the nation. She knew it won't work for God had marked them as the chosen people. They were the ones who were the more progressive as they would say in modern terms than the other civilizations who enjoyed their Wars, inflicting hunger through Famine, spilling Pollution to the poor sides of the town while making a mockery of Pestilence when the consequences of their actions came about. Men of power were blind to their own shortcomings. They were slaughtered when the sun stood still in the sky. It was almost amusing if it weren't for those damn scarlett scarfs of surrender.
Northern Palestine was next. They fell easily. The land was divided up among the tribes. Conflicts over this would last far into the next century.
When Pollution and War stood beside each other once more War had changed her name to Scarlett. The blood-colored scarfs mocked her. She would become them. She would name herself almost in self-depreciation and humility over the obvious outward symbol of human compassion and love the humans could show. If only she knew that the color of scarlett was a prophecy in and of itself. All the while Azreal outstretched her arms to the fallen while Death stood silently. Working but never judging. Never speaking. Only moving and laying his hands on those who perished in the battles.
Joshua, it turned out was just like his father figure and leader Moses. He gave a beautiful farewell speech as he knew Death would be upon him soon in his old age. Perhaps when he got to Heaven he told Moses all about all he had seen. He had only seen what their little tribes would become in a vision on the mountain because of his disobedience. But not in person. Only from afar as a silent observer. The details were sparse on his part indeed.
Yes. It was a nice thought. A nice thought indeed.