Izarius was going to be relentless in his search. First he went to Westmarch to find her parents. They had to know that Anaurael had a Song. When he told them, they were both in complete shock.
"The next time she Sings, I want to know," Ilerael said.
"I will fetch you," Izarius nodded.
"What was it like when Imperius Sang with her?" Lilaurael asked.
"You will have to see for yourself," he chuckled. "Right now, he wants me to find the ones that upset her and kept her from Singing. He finds it a complete act of sacrilege."
"It would be considered that. We want to be there, too," Ilerael said.
"Tyrael also wishes to be present," Malthael said when he appeared. "Her Song is utter perfection. The half demons will regret speaking to her. This I vow."
"I'm sure that all of the High Heavens will want justice to be done," Izarius said.
"Who were the ones that insulted her?" Lilaurael asked.
"A group of village girls. They caught Anaurael Singing and were jealous that she outclassed them. So, they all ganged up on her. There were roughly, ah, four of them. It was later that I learned that there was a singing contest. I know that Anaurael would not have joined, but they wanted to wipe out the competition. These were also the same girls that she tried to befriend. I know what they look like. In fact, they were the ones demanding protection against Malthael's attacks. And, they egged on about the two of you that both of you were in league with him after you lead them to safety," he said.
"Oh. Yes. Them," Ilerael snorted.
"Hmm..." Malthael thought. "I wonder if Anu will allow me to appear. To help with judgment. Ah. Yes. I have been granted reprieve. Do find them. Quickly."
"And, you intend to be reborn as a mortal? Why not simply ask Anu to let you return in full?" Ilerael asked. "It makes no sense to me."
"It is temporary for me to appear," Malthael sighed. "and only in dire circumstances concerning Anaurael. I was able to appear to cull the demon that refused to let her leave. It would have destroyed her offspring and his champion. This act discovered is just as treacherous. She was denied the right to show her angelic bloodline. Although humans cannot see it, she was pushed to guilt when she attempted to show such happiness. It is treason."
"Let me contact Greed," Izarius said and pulled out the small mirror.
"Is that how you call him?" Lilaurael smiled.
"Yes. He gave me this mirror and told me to say his name," he chuckled. When Gurzick appeared, the situation was explained. Gurzick was hopping mad.
"I find! Yes!" he growled. "Girl good! Not bad!"
"We know," Ilerael nodded.
"How did she sound?" Greed asked from the crown.
"The next time she Sings, I will call you," Izarius promised. "Right now, we have four girls to find. The sooner the better. Anaurael didn't want me to be gone for long."
"I'll help Greed with descriptions. You go back to protect her," Ilerael nodded. "I know who the culprits are. Malthael? Is something wrong?"
"Heaven. All of us. Now," Malthael muttered. Lilaurael was quick to leave. "Imperius and Anaurael are giving an encore performance. It was demanded."
Within seconds, they were in Heaven. Even Tyrael was there to stand with them. He even had Lorath and Xavian with him. He wanted them to witness it.
"It was fine," Tyrael chuckled. "But, we need to head to the Crystal Arch."
"They are Singing there?" Ilerael asked.
"Itherael wanted them to try something. Talus'ar had revealed some information to him. He wants to see if it's true," Izual said when he approached. He nodded to the two Horadric men that accompanied Tyrael to show they were tolerable. They nodded back in kind.
"Then let's go!" Greed cackled.
"You need to hide," Izarius warned him. At that, Gurzick teleported away. Malthael only smirked and followed the others. When they got there, Imperius was standing behind Anaurael near the center of the pillars of crystalline Light with his hands on her shoulders. She didn't see her parents or anyone else, though. She was readying herself to Sing.
"Ready?" Imperius chuckled.
"What does Itherael hope to happen?" she asked and looked up at him.
"I am unsure. We will find out. Now...Sing with me?" he asked gently. She nodded and let the Song build with soft humming. Then it got louder and bolder. Imperius began to add in his sub-harmonics to underlay and compliment hers. Neither of them saw how the pillars began to glow brilliantly. Then an angel formed. The two of them were able to perform the Lightsong by themselves. Anaurael's Song truly did intertwine all five Aspects within it.
Those witnessing this were struck with another form of speechless awe. The two of them kept Singing, and even more angels appeared. They looked far more battle-ready, and just as powerful. Titharius was quick to walk up to them to greet them with the others and guide them to the Halls of Valor for training. Females and males appeared one after the other. In rapid succession. Such a thing had never happened before in all of the angelic history they had.
"I never thought...that our daughter...could do this..." Lilaurael whispered, as tears fell from how beautiful the Song was. Ilerael pulled her close to hug her.
"We'll find the ones that kept her from Singing. You know we will!" he growled out. Over a hundred angels were born from the powerful Song. It was more than any of them could have ever expected. This was how Heaven's ranks would rebuild.
When Gurzick listened for Greed, the demon lord was in silent wonder. He glared at his minions and shouted, "Find those humans! Find them!"
"My Greatness of Greats?" a minion asked.
"All this time, I could have been listening to such things! I want more! When she does this, I want one there to listen. Hmm. She needs shiny things to compliment this sound. I will look for things. But, find those humans that kept her from making this sound! Go!" Greed ordered and twirled his shovel menacingly to show he meant it. As always, the spell of greed didn't just amount to treasures. He loved knowledge and anything else that caught his fancy. This was now something he would always want. He wanted to hear Anaurael Sing more. He felt deprived that she had this talent and was too scared to use it. All this time, I could have had beautiful music fill my realm! He was not happy.
Another five minutes of Singing had passed before the Song finally dwindled down. When they were told of how many angels had emerged, Imperius was in complete shock.
"Are you serious?! Over a hundred?!" he asked.
"Yes," Itherael nodded. "They are all now training. And, they are all exceptionally powerful."
"I wonder what would happen, if she Sang with all of us," Auriel said.
"She needs her voice to recover first," Tyrael said. "And now, I wonder if this is how I can Sing with all of you, too. I'll need to test it."
"So many new angels..." Imperius was still amazed.
"I suppose...we will need to come here to Sing...a lot more..." Anaurael seemed to shiver. He pulled her up into his arms to hug her. "Do you need to train them?"
"I will need to train them..." he said. Then he paused when she started humming again. He had to Sing with her once more. Something was urging him to do it. This time, their tones were of an equal balance. And, the angel that emerged from the Arch next was massive, swift, and ready to defend anything that attacked the High Heavens. This was unexpected. It wasn't Anu's champion, but this angel would be the first to lead any counter attacks that would dare to strike against Heaven's forces with the massive, angelic, two-handed grandfather sword he bore with both large hands. He could easily hold it in one hand when it was not in use, and that was done so now.
He stood as tall as Imperius and was twice as massive. He even bore a floating, slender circlet of gold with small decorative notches over his silver hooded form to show how powerful he truly was. There was far more armor than cloth over his form, but he did have a tassel of gold and silver decoration coming out from his hips both front and back to waver regally, as he moved. He was clearly an Archangel. His silver and gold armor seemed to sparkle, as he moved with heavy steps away from the pillars of crystalline Light. Even as his white tendrils of wings moved, he already knew what he had to do. Anaurael and Imperius could only stare with shock when their Song finally came to a stop.
"Hello, my brothers and sisters," the Archangel said in a deep, regal tone. "I am Imperael. I shall be guarding the Diamond Gates. Any that attempt to get past me will be questioned. Heavily."
"Did we just...call him...?" Anaurael asked with a soft whisper.
"We are going to be doing a lot of Singing here," Imperius chuckled.
"His name is like a mix of ours!" she said with a touch of surprise.
"Very true. Maybe this will give us an idea of what to name Anu's champion. Our offspring. What do you think of the name Anarius?" Imperius whispered to her. That made her blush and nod. "Good. It will be done."
When Imperael turned to look at the ones that called him forth to the High Heaven's, he walked over to them and knelt with reverent respect. His massive sword was angled away from her to show honor and silent servitude. Anaurael was let down, and she hugged him.
"Sister, thank you for calling me here," he whispered. "If you need my aid, fetch for me."
"I will," she nodded. "There is to be a judgment here soon."
"Is there?" he asked and looked at her. She nodded and told him what happened in her youth. "I will be there! If it was not for your Song, I would not be here now!"
"Anaurael, let him touch your mark," Malthael said, when he walked up to her. "He will help protect you when you need his help. You can call to him this way. And, he'll be able to see me."
"Brother, I need your hand," she said to Imperael. He nodded and let her take his massive forefinger to place directly on her glowing mark. He seemed to droop a bit with a touch of relief. "I can now call you this way. You can also sense any distress from me. Also, if you fall in battle, I may be able to give you another chance of rebirth."
"Thank you," he whispered. She pressed a chaste kiss to his invisible mouth to show he was her brother. He hugged her to him again in a protective way, and now he looked over to see Malthael. There was something about him that didn't feel right. Darius sensed his new brother's concern, and he would be sure to fill him in. Once Anaurael was set aside gently, he moved to take his permanent place in front of the Diamond Gates unless called away. When she saw her parents walk over to her, her jaw dropped.
"Yes. We were brought here by Izarius. I am so proud of you, my daughter!" Ilerael said and hugged her tight. "We will find the ones that kept you from Singing. That deprived you of such joy. I know we will. What you have just done today is just...it's staggering! A normal amount of angels to be born would be, maybe, ten an hour. And that's with a lot of focus. You and Imperius have summoned over a hundred angels in less than ten minutes! I still don't know what to think."
"You will need to rest your voice, though," Lilaurael said. "Hot tea with lemon and honey will help you. And, as your father said, we will track down the ones that slandered you. These were the same girls that hurled insults at us when we were trying to save the town from Malthael's forces."
"What?!" she gaped.
"How many were there?" Imperius asked.
"Four in total. Greed is helping us find them," Ilerael said.
"We will find them," Tyrael said, when he approached with Lorath and Xavian.
"It is good to see you both again," Anaurael smiled.
"That song you did was just...wow..." Xavian said.
"It's a Song. A very intricate harmonic within the High Heaven's," Tyrael corrected lightly. "It is not just any song. I'm still amazed at how many angels appeared! And, with Imperael, I'm just...speechless really! I know the High Heaven's will be a true force to be reckoned with now."
"I want to know what those girls looked like," Lorath nodded. "To me, they slandered a Keeper of the Horadric Order. That, in itself, is a high offense to me."
"Very true," Tyrael agreed fully. Anaurael's necklace shimmered with full agreement.
"They kept her from Singing. It would be best to simply cull them!" Imperius growled. "I need to see to training the new forces. Anaurael, please go to your chambers. I would rather you be there for now. It would make me feel better."
"Yes, Imperius," she nodded. He picked her up to press a loving kiss to her mouth before setting her back down. Then he teleported away to his Halls. When she started to shiver a bit, Tyrael was quick to pull her into his arms to comfort her. She seemed to cling to him with a form of relief.
"Stay here," Lorath said wisely. "We'll find the culprits."
"Very well," Tyrael nodded. "Anaurael? Did you want to walk back?"
"We can do that," she nodded.
"We'll also join the search," Ilerael said. "Just stay in your room."
"Father!" she sighed and shook her head.
"I'm only repeating what Imperius said. That's all," he grinned. Lilaurael gave him a look, crossed her arms over her chest, and tapped her foot. "What?! It's true!"
"She is an adult now! Save your parenting for Loremy!" she scowled. "We left him in the children's section, as we were working. We need to get him. He needs to start training."
"He should have been here," Anaurael frowned.
"Next time, he will," Ilerael promised. "He is your brother now."
"That he is," she smiled. She hugged her parents again and watched them leave with Lorath and Xavian. The other angels had already dispersed, but they would be quick to appear when the Council formed again for judgment. When Tyrael was the only one alone with her, he escorted her back to her room. When he winced, she looked at him.
"My back has been bothering me," he sighed.
"Let's see what it is," she nodded. Izarius was waiting in her room. Since Greed wanted to handle searching for the offending females, he was free to help her once more. When Tyrael was freed of his armor, she felt along his back to where it was hurting him.
"There," he grimaced at where she massaged him.
"You may as well lie down," Izarius chuckled. "I'll get some food for you both."
"Thank you," she smiled. He nodded and vanished, as Tyrael took his advice.
"I definitely needed this," he muttered. At the feel of her thumbs moving along his spine, he grunted, but dealt with the mild pain of his muscles getting fixed.
"Are you sleeping in your armor?" she mused.
"I sort of have to. I never know when I'm called away," he sighed.
"Well, this is why your back is so sore. But, I can understand."
"The only time I can really relax is when I'm here. With you," he whispered. At the feel of her pressing against his back now with her whole body, he found himself turning to crush her to his chest. "I'm really glad that you're staying here in Heaven."
"Are you?" she asked and gently ran a hand up his chest. He nodded and adjusted the pillows to sit up with her to hold her.
"I am. I don't know what I would do, if anything tried to harm you. I wonder if I can backhand all four of those girls at once, if they stand close enough together," he mused. That got her giggling, and he kissed her softly. "You should remove your gown. I don't want you to overheat."
"Oh? And what will happen after it's removed? Do I dare ask?"
"You just asked, and you won't know until it's done," he grinned with a light chuckle escaping him. She sat up a bit on him, and he helped remove the gown to carefully set it aside.
"I do have to admit something," she whispered.
"What would that be?" he asked and ran a hand over her.
"At first...I didn't really...want this. At all."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I felt like I was betraying Imperius. In a way...it still hurts..."
"Did you...want to stop?" he asked carefully.
"It is fine now," she said softly. "I'm just saying that, at first I didn't. I know that there is a part of me that will always hurt. I truly do belong to him. But, I do care for you so."
"Are you doing this, because you feel that you have to? Or because you want to?"
"At first...it was because I had to. As for now..." she whispered and pressed herself into him to kiss him deeply in such a caring way that he knew it was real. After the shared kiss, he rocked her against him with a form of relief. This is my wife. "I do wonder if you can Sing, though."
"I wouldn't know how to start," he swallowed.
"I know that all angels have their own Songs. Maybe you just need to coax yours out. Try humming it. No matter what it sounds like. Try it," she said with a smile. He cleared his throat and nodded. "And don't force it. Let it come forth naturally."
"I'll try," he smiled. She nodded lightly and sat back a touch on him. "Although, how you are right now is quite distracting. I don't think I've seen you like this before."
"Focus," she smirked.
"Hard to do," he growled and clamped his hands on her chest. "I can almost believe that any other mortal man wouldn't even be able to have these fit so well in their hands like I do."
"Well, I'll never find that out," she said with a small, stern tone in her voice.
"Good. I wouldn't want you to," he nodded. When she pushed his hands away to have her long locks of molten gold hair cover over her, he just cringed. "That definitely does not help!"
"Focus!" she said with a small grin. "Try and Sing first."
"It won't work unless I remove the distraction," he muttered thickly and pulled her close to kiss heavily. At the look she gave him next, he sighed. She really did want me to try and Sing. "Okay. Let me try. I hope I Sing well enough for you."
"As long as you try," she nodded. He closed his eyes and cleared his throat once more. Then he started to hum out what he could recall. As she listened, she noticed that he was going off of memories. "Tyrael. You are Wisdom now. Sing like Wisdom."
"Like...what?" he blinked his eyes open.
"You are trying to be Justice. You are not Justice any longer. You are Wisdom now. Hmm. Ah! I think you just need guidance," she smiled. Malthael appeared when he was called. When she told him the situation, he actually found himself thinking.
"You may be right. His Song is based on Justice. Hmm. I shall attempt to Sing. Listen carefully, Tyrael. You may learn something," Malthael nodded. Tyrael nodded and focused on the long, low notes that started to come forth. He was trying to make sense of them.
"You are listening in a different mindset. Meditate and come back as your angelic self," she said. That had him blink with her reasoning. He closed his eyes again to do just that. When he stood tall in the room as his angelic persona, he was able to understand the Song easier.
"I see. I need to Sing in a way that my mortal mind can comprehend," he said. Malthael was still Singing, but he was also paying attention. When she started to hum in tune with him, a harmonic balance began to form. Tyrael actually found himself getting a mix of his old Song with a new Song. Once he had the pattern down, his form faded, as his body woke up. At this, Malthael faded his Song out.
"You have something?" Malthael asked.
"I think so," Tyrael nodded. He closed his eyes and began to hum. Then his true Song began to form with his deep voice in a rather rich form of depth. Anaurael smiled and began to gently Sing to compliment him to get it stronger. When Izarius appeared, Malthael rose up his hand to show silence was needed. Izarius paused and realized what was happening. He nodded and started to set down what he brought. Azarius was able to help him with this. Mithus and Darius were quite relieved that Anaurael was able to get Tyrael to Sing again.
After the Song was over, Tyrael opened his eyes and felt a form of elation that he hadn't felt since he became a mortal. She was able to help me Sing. At the desperate kiss he gave her now, Malthael only chuckled and vanished to give them a form of privacy. Izarius even laughed softly and busied himself around the room with his brothers. The lace curtains were pulled closed. Then he turned with surprise when he heard them starting to Sing together. This time the tune was flawless. She was able to coordinate her voice to embolden his tune.
She would never be able to be on an equal wavelength like Imperius, but she was able to imitate the Song just enough to empower it. Only after they began to rest did the Song end. He held her, as she slept, and he closed his eyes. He would make sure to Sing a lot more. But, only with her.