Universe: Reversal||Series: Ere Shadows Fall
Title: Call The Darkness
Characters: Lightlord Angel Cherubim (OC), Tethys the Divine Light (OC), Anisha (OC), Fallen Angel Lucifer (OC), Sophia (OC), Audhild (OC), Sanela (OC), Alexandrite Dragon (OC), Blue-Eyes White Dragon (OC)||Ships: N/A
Chapters: 5-?||Chapter Words: 4,594||Total Words: 22,764
Genre: Drama||Rated: PG
Notes: This is my reversal world. So, Juudai carries the power of the Destructive Darkness and the world consists of humans, monsters, and spirits. Every story in the Ere Shadows Fall line takes place pre-capture of Johan and Ryou. The latest will be the very beginning of Juudai's conquest. This particular story here won't tell everything and will feature Ocs and world building very heavily. Don't worry, Juudai will be along in due time. He might not be very talkative when he first shows up, though. But here begins the foundation of the Reversal World and all that will come after.
Special Note: The implied relationship between Lucifer and Anisha is not consensual. Lucifer isn't a nice person. But it has a plot related purpose – and I'm sure you can guess what that is. Also, the part with Lucifer takes place before the scene with Brron last chapter.
Summary: Before Haou's ruthless conquest, before the rebellion, before such a person as Juudai even existed, there was a time of peace and plenty – and that time ended before he was born. Because he could not be born until that time ended and the balance was no more.
Celestia bent one wing around and carefully examined the dye she'd ordered applied – streaks of midnight blue and deep orange, the colors of the sunset – the colors of morning. She brushed one hand through her feathers carefully and sighed. She'd never thought before that she'd have to wear these.
At least she'd never thought she would have to do so in honor of Bijou. Mourning could come for many people. Never had she thought she would mourn the falling of her foster sister.
Again the need to keen and cry burned in her throat and she kept it under control. She would not have to do so for much longer. The mourning ritual approached – at sunset tonight she would sand before the great altar and scream until she had not a breath left in her. Scream out all of the grief that boiled inside of her from the moment she'd heard of what happened to Bijou and Norbu.
"Well done," she praised her servant, offering a sweet smile that she didn't feel very much. "Thank you."
The young servant – human, but with a trace of spirit blood in them, bent their head forward. "Thank you, Majesty." Around one arm they bore a band of blue and orange as well, the colors blending together as they did in the evening sky. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Not right now." A soft sigh escaped her lips. "Has my sister arrived yet?"
"I'll go and see," the servant promised, hurrying out at once. Celestia stared at her own reflection in the silver mirror for a few moments, wishing that she knew what else she could do. She'd sent out a new spy to report on the state of Bijou. She gathered information from her council and the ambassadors, and the ones that she'd sent to other realms sent back information to her.
So far that hadn't accomplished much. The ambassador placed in Brron's realm told little, other than he seemed quite pleased at the fall of Norbu. That didn't surprise her in the slightest. But there didn't seem to be anything else going on there, and she doubted her ambassador could learn much. Brron wouldn't be likely to tell people what he didn't want them to know.
But perhaps someone else can find out something from there. She had more than an ambassador there. Perhaps she would get a message soon. She would have to wait.
"Celestia."
She turned at the sound to see her elder sister standing in the doorway, her own wings painted orange and blue, and the same evidence of grief written in her eyes that Celestia herself carried. Celestia rose up and took the two steps needed to get to her and the sisters fell into one another's arms.
"Tethys," she whispered, "you came."
Tethys rested one hand on Celestia's hair, supporting her. "Did you think that I wouldn't? I loved her too."
While Celestia had been the only one fostered with Bijou, Bijou came home with Celestia a few times to visit, and there were times Tethys came to visit her as well. The three of them did almost as much together as they would have if they'd been fostered together in the first place.
"I know Lucifer had something to do with this. If he wasn't at the vanguard of it." Celestia's lips pressed together. "He was right there at the border. He's hated her as long as I can remember. If something happened, he either did it or he wanted it done."
Tethys nodded her agreement. "I've checked with my own spies but so far there's no actual evidence we can use." Her eyes narrowed. "So far." Light gleamed in the back of her eyes – she didn't carry either Creation or Hope but she wielded light magic to the point she'd been called titles such as Goddess of Light or Divine Light. If she found enough evidence to pin this on Lucifer, then she would burn everything of his to the ground.
And Celestia would be right there next to her. No matter what.
"We'll find out something," Celestia promised. She rubbed at her throat. "How long until sunset?" She'd been here in her chambers for hours getting ready. She wasn't at all certain of what time it was anymore. Her stomach wasn't a reliable source of information, since tradition held that on the selected day of mourning, no one took in any food and only the lightest of drinks. She would not be able to eat until the end of the night's worth of vigil, at sunrise.
"It's almost time. Let's go." Tethys turned towards the door and together the two of them headed through the corridors, all hung with signs of mourning. There were few people in the castle who wouldn't attend the mourning ceremony. Even if people hadn't known Bijou, they respected their queen's grief.
Once they were outside, Tethys and Celestia took off, soaring over the castle until they reached the temple where a painting of Bijou rested. Celestia wondered what had become of the painting of her that she'd traded to her foster sister when they'd had to part ways.
Likely destroyed with the rest of Norbu. Again her heart spasmed at the thought. She wanted to see the castle of Norbu, or what was left of it. There wouldn't be much, she feared. Perhaps nothing at all.
She put that thought to the side for the moment as she settled down before the open air altar and knelt, her wings spread out respectfully. Tethys knelt beside her, mirroring the movement, and the Priestess of Light stood before them, gowned in robes of orange and blue, and raised her hands.
"We gather here today to mourn the passing of the good Queen Bijou, ruler of the realm of Norbu, mother to the triplets, Johan, Rune, and Yubel. Their passing will be mourned by all. They carried the blood of the Light of Creation, that which brought our world to life, and stood firm against Nihility and Destruction."
She intoned a little longer, praising the great works that Bijou did in her life. During all of this, Celestia remained where she was, waiting for that moment she'd yearned for. When the Priestess finally came to the end of her eulogy, she lowered her hands, and at that, as the sun slid down and the colors of blue and orange unfolded across the sky, Celestia threw her head back and screamed at the top of her lungs, letting every scrap of rage and grief and misery that built up in her over the last few days finally pour out of her.
Her cry was echoed a heartbeat later by Tethys, almost as loud and as heart-felt. Those who gathered behind, the ambassadors and the councilors, the servants and citizens of the city who'd come to the temple to honor Bijou, they cried out as well, the cry rolling all over the city, echoing faintly back from the walls. Celestia cried out again and again, spreading her wings and flapping them as hard as she could without taking off, sending little bits of feathers drifting through the air.
She didn't know how often she cried or for how long, only that she did so until she could do no more. Two acolytes of the Temple moved through the crowd, bringing the sacred waters of mourning with them, for everyone who needed a drink. Celestia only supped a little, enough to moisten her throat, then rose up and moved to stand beside the Priestess.
Now she let her tears fall. Now she showed her grief for all to see.
"Bijou and I grew up together. We were foster sisters and pledged oaths to one another to always be the best of friends. In all of our lives, we never failed this oath – and had I known anyone sought to bring her down, I would have stood by her side to fight them off. As I failed in this, I pledge myself and all that I have to this one cause – to discover who it was that killed Bijou and destroyed her realm and bring them to justice. Be this justice of the sword, of magic, or of courts I do not know. But whatever the proper and wisest course of action is, I will strive for that in all ways."
She swallowed for a moment, then continued. "I have suspicions on who committed this vile act. But I will not speak those suspicions in public. I will not spread rumors that I cannot support at this moment. What I say is this – when I know who did it, without a single doubt, then I will inform you all. Before I make a single move against those who committed this crime, you will know who did it. This, I swear."
She had seen realms whose rulers chose to keep all the knowledge of politics, the reasons and the whys and the hows, from their people, thinking them foolish and unlearned and incapable of understanding. Celestia believed everyone could understand the reasons that many acts of politics required, even if they did not always agree with those reasons. She didn't agree with them herself at times.
But there wasn't any reason she could think of that would require the utter destruction of a realm,, especially in a time of peace, without a single word of warning escaping to others. This hadn't been war. This had been an extermination, a strike against one of the Four Great Forces, and it could not go unavenged. She might not be one of the Four, but she would do whatever it was she could do to set mattes right.
Time to go home. Everything had been sorted out as best that it could be for the moment. All the troops who would stay with Desire had been chosen and Desire had started to sketch out what he wanted his new castle and city to look like. He still hadn't decided on what he waned to rename the country but Lucifer suspected he would get to that sooner or later.
For now, he made his own preparations to return to his realm. The armies massed together – less than they'd been before, but due to Desire's new station as opposed to losses in battle. His siblings circled as well, proud of their success.
Anisha stood not far from him, her arms wrapped around herself, blazing hatred still burning in her eyes, gowned in the colors that marked her as one of his official concubines. He'd quite enjoyed teaching her those first lessons these last few nights. She hadn't, or so the light bruises on him decreed. But he knew she'd get used to it.
"I look forward to seeing what you make of this place, brother," Lucifer declared to Desire. "And to hearing you pledge oath to me once this place has been properly resettled."
Desire bent his head. "And I look forward to that as well."
The few survivors of Norbu muttered from where they'd been corralled. Lucifer paid little attention to them. He'd inspected each and every one to be certain they carried no trace of any of the great Four bloodlines and thus were useless to him. So far the only one he'd found who did carry anything was Anisha – it was something he'd noticed right away when he'd seen her, though he still wasn't certain of which of the Four she carried.
If it were useful knowledge, then he knew who would know it. Such was one of the reasons he would take her home with him.
With a raise of one hand to give the order, the army started forward on the path that would lead them back home. Lucifer scooped up Anisha into his arms, enjoying the way she tensed against him. He spread his wings and leaped into the sky, soaring ahead of the army, guiding them.
"You're very quiet," he said as they flew along in silence for perhaps an hour or so. The sun rose bright and high in the sky, unfolding warmth everywhere. It was a good day for flying.
"I have nothing to say to you," she snapped. "Why should I speak to a demon?"
He laughed. "Is that the worst you can call me? I know demons. Some are very pleasant. Would you like to meet them?" He glanced down at her, smirking. "I think some of them would very much enjoy meeting you."
She shook her head, tiny strands of her hair battering against him, her wings fluttering hard against his hands where he held her. Her wings didn't seem to be big enough for her to achieve flight – poor creature – but he thought he could adjust that for her once they got home. He had quite a few sorcerers and mages who would be able to improve her wings. He hadn't brought them along since they weren't suited for war. Their talents lay in other areas.
"Why don't you just kill me?" She snapped the question in such a fashion that made it plain to him she didn't' really want to die. He wasn't surprised. Her hate for him burned so strong that she would live just to have a chance to kill him.
That certainly made matters more entertaining for him. So many people hated him that he'd lost track but very few were close enough to him that they stood even the faintest chance of killing him. He doubted she could pull it off either.
Not that he wasn't looking forward to her attempts to try. It would please her to make the attempt and it would please him when she failed.
"Why would I do that?" He shrugged. "You're pleasing to the eye, and in many other ways, and I find you interesting. I have plans that include you. More than you can understand now, I'm sure."
Her jaw dropped. "I want nothing to do with you! I hate it when you touch me! I want you to die!"
"Of course you do," Lucifer laughed his answer out. "Why should that stop me?" He tightened his grip around her. Then he grinned. Here they crossed over a vast river, the sort of river that roared down from mountains, dashing itself over sharp-edged rocks, wide and deep enough that a person who stood on one end of one of the bridges that crossed it could not have seen a person standing on the other send of the bridge.
He said nothing to warn her. He carried her by having his arms wrapped around her waist and her wrists bound together with elegant golden handcuffs, locked around his own waist. He'd sealed her wings with magic; he'd reasonably figured out that she couldn't fly with them but he'd seen more than a few creatures who couldn't fly but could use their wings as weapons. He intended to take no chances.
To the viewing eye what he did would have seemed impossible. But he twisted and shifted and moved and in between one breath and the next, Anisha fell from his arms to the river, flailing her still-bound wrists, a shriek of terror ripping out of her. She tried to beat her wings, but nothing happened.
She screamed again, squirming and trying anything that she could to save herself. Lucifer darted downward, quick as a thought, and scooped her back into his arms. She trembled, clinging hard to him, before she started to bang on him with her clenched chained fists.
"What was that for?"
"You don't want to die," Lucifer pointed out calmly. "If you had, you wouldn't have been trying to save yourself. You want to live. You want to live very much."
Anisha glared harder at him. He suspected that she didn't believe him. What she said then solidified what he believed.
"Of course I want to live. I just don't want to live with you."
"That's not an option," Lucifer told her. He perched on the far side of the river. "We'll wait here for the rest of the troops." They were always slower than he was. His brothers could catch up later and they could have a late breakfast. At his preferred sleep he could have returned home in a day and a half. At this rate it would take perhaps twice that, maybe even a bit longer.
But he was not displeased. He could enjoy himself in many ways, not just with Anisha, but with Zerato, and he could keep an eye on the reports that his spies spread all over the world would send him. He still received reports from those spies in the villages, towns, and those few surviving cities in the rest of Norbu. All of those kept a sharp eye out for anyone who might be trying to organize a rebellion against him, as well as any sign of those triplets.
So far there hadn't been one. That worried him. The triplets shouldn't have been able to vanish so very quickly. More and more he wanted to extend his feelers into the realm of the dragons. He'd assigned one of the demonic dragons to try and keep things churned up there the way that he wanted them. He thought it was working; he hadn't heard anything from them since the crushing of Norbu. That had to work out in his favor.
For now, he settled himself beside the river. Anisha stood a short distance away, pointedly not looking at him and staring at the scenery that looked so very peaceful. Her stomach rumbled sharply and she started to wander a bit closer to the thick clusters of trees.
"We're in my realm now," Lucifer reminded her. "I wouldn't try to eat just anything around here." A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "You should wait until I offer you food. You'll know that's safe."
"I suppose you want me to beg for it too?" Anisha retorted. Lucifer smirked.
"I hadn't thought about that but if you really want to I certainly won't turn it down."
Lucifer was a trifle surprised when she kicked a spray of rocks towards him and stalked to sit on top of a pile of rocks by the river, staring into the cascading waters, shoulders set tense and hard. He watched her for a few moments before he strolled over and settled beside her, his wings enfolding her. She tensed even harder and shook her head.
Lucifer didn't acknowledge that. Instead, he reached into the river and yanked a fat fish out of it. He didn't recognize the type – in truth, fishing wasn't really one of his favored pastimes. But he examined it carefully before a whispered fire spell cooked it in his hand. Then he set it down on the rock between them. "There. You have something to eat."
Anisha looked for a few seconds as if she would just dash the fish back into the river. Then she slowly picked it up and started to gnaw on it. Lucifer caught a second one and fried that one too, then a third that he ate for himself.
"I don't understand," she said at last. "You confuse me."
"You don't need to understand," Lucifer assured her. "All you need to do is what I tell you. It's not that difficult." He rested one hand on her hair. "You'll understand more when we return home."
"Am I going to want to? Or even like it if I do?" She moved her head to avoid his touch. Lucifer could not help but chuckle at her questions.
"Not likely."
When Opal landed, all three of the former servants tumbled off, keeping their respective charges held close to them. Sanela breathed hard, trembling, before she slowly opened her eyes and looked around, trying to figure out where they were.
Cave walls rose up around them. Gems were studded into the walls, some glowing warmly with light, others simply glimmering with beauty. Sanela couldn't even name them all – amethysts and emeralds, sapphires and rubies, far far more than that, in every shade of gemstone that had ever existed, and more than she'd ever imagined.
But then she turned her head and saw what else was in that cave, and her heart skipped several beats.
Dragons. Many dragons, a few of which looked like Opal, others which resembled many different gemstones, and some who didn't resemble gems at all. But regardless of what they looked like, certain points remained in common – scales of multiple shades, sharp teeth and claws, and perhaps hundreds of bright, intelligent eyes looking at them all.
Audhild held Johan as close to her as she could manage. "Greetings, dragons, allies to Queen Bijou," she said, cranking the words out of her throat as if she were terrified they might become lodged in there and choked her. "We have the royal children, given to us by the queen's own hands."
One of the dragons leaned forward, drawing in a great breath of air. "So we see," the dragon murmured, voice shaking them all to their core with its deepness and richness. "You need no fear. So long as you are here, you will be under our protection, as we will never harm the Children of Creation."
Another of the dragons, this one with gleaming white scales and deep blue eyes, sniffed forward as well, then spoke in a voice that the three humans could only count as female. "What do you seek to do with the children? And what has happened that they are not with their mother?"
Opal answered that last. "The reason for not hearing from Bijou or our kindred in there is that the forces of the Fallen Angles have crushed Norbu beyond repair. Bijou has passed on."
Glances spun between the dragons as quick as lightning. A small dragon inched forward. "Through no cause of our own, the pact between Norbu and our realm has been broken." This one gleamed like dark, dried blood. Sanela wasn't certain if she should trust him, until he continued to speak. "It is our right to invade what is left of Norbu and avenge that in blood."
"Wait." Another dragon – none of the three could really keep track of them all, no matter how different they looked. "While this is true, it is not wise to charge in without thinking or without care. Bijou was our ally. We ask therefore, that the question be answered – what did she wish of you to do with her children?"
"She didn't say, other than to keep them safe," Sophia answered, her arms firm around Rune. "And I – I don't think there's anything left there to save. Or to avenge. It's all gone. It has to be."
"We will discover this," the smaller dragon reassured her. "But I still believe this is our right to settle it."
"A greater right the triplets will have to it," the biggest of the dragons, that white one with blue eyes, declared. "And given that they are of the blood of Creation, I feel this will be a matter between the Four, not between mortals."
Sanela shifted. "The Four?" She'd heard stories all of her life of the Four Forces of Existence, two of Light, two of Darkness, Creation, Hope, Destruction, and Non-Existence, or Nihility. A thousand dstories could be told about them all, and usually were. She'd never figured out which tales were true and which were just stories. The fact that the Four incarnated at various points in time she didn't doubt; she couldn't have worked for Queen Bijou and not known the truth of it. But a matter between the Four…
"Lucifer of the Fallen Angels is the closest to an incarnation of the Destructive Darkness and likely works to bring it about once more," the blue-eyed dragon spoke. "While he does not have the full power, he can and I suspect does work on its behalf. Therefore, the best course of action for the moment, for the greatest good of the world, may be to let matters lie for the moment – until these children are old enough to deal with it for themselves."
Audhild tightened her arms around Johan. "What do you mean?"
"They are Creation's Light. The antithesis of Darkness's Destruction. So long as they exist, the balance between the four is tenuous, but there." The dragon considered for a few moments. "The balance was almost destroyed by the slaughter of the line of Destruction. It was advised against – but given Kuragari's actions at the time, there were not many other actions that could be taken. While one line being so close to being destroyed risked much, if two such were exterminated, the world would tip towards destruction in all the worst ways."
Sanela shuddered. "What would that mean?" She thought she didn't want to know. She knew that she needed to know. She would probably have to tell Yubel about it one day and Yubel would definitely need to know.
"It would mean death. And not the death that leads to rest and rebirth in the proper course of time, but ending. Whether the death is fast or slow I cannot say. It could come in the span of a mortal lifetime or in a thousand – a million – years from now. Or even longer. But we do not want this to happen, no matter what."
There would be no arguments on that. Audhild glanced around, then back to the dragons. "Can you help us get as far away from here as we can? We can't stay here – your mountains are lovely and I'm sure that you'd protect the children as much as you can, but those Fallen Angels – I don't want them to find the children at all before they can protect themselves."
Again looks flew between the dragons, along with soft grumblings in a tongue that none of the three could understand. Finally the white dragon answered them.
"We can arrange that. Opal – you have no tasks keeping you in this realm, do you?"
"Just guarding my territory, but one of my siblings van do that if you need me to do something else," Opal said, slinking closer.
"This is your decision and your decision only. But someone needs to take these humans to the farthest point of the farthest realm away from here, and guard them as they grow. Speak to them of the realm of dragons and the realm of Norbu and how they were allied, and of what happened – and perhaps of the vengeance that we brought down on those who dared slaughter our friends."
The blue-eyed dragon raised her head and looked towards the others. "Such a trip will take many days, even with someone as swift as Opal to guide and guard you. You will need more food and more supplies. We will see to it that you have it." She tilted her head in thought, then nodded. "Speak to no one who isn't here at this council about the children being alive. Let the Fallen Angels believe for now that they have passed on. Let everyone all over the world believe this. It will help to keep them safe."
There was more spoken of how to keep them safe and where they would go, but the three humans listened only a little. They were more interested in resting for now, tending to their charges, and relaxing in the knowledge that they would be safe from their enemies, as safe as dragons could make them.
To Be Continued
Notes: And so the world that Juudai will eventually enter starts to take shape. Just the edges of it. I'll fill in the details as we go on.