Redemption and Rebirth

Transparent Wings

The rays of the first light had made its call, summoned to the heavens as the sun slowly ascended from the horizon. The hues painted the sky with shades of orange and gold, gradually tainting the indigo canvas. Alone, the young blond stood, the wind brought its touch to his body as it brought his black shirt to flutter. The lapels of his shirt danced loose along with the strands of his shoulder-length hair, beckoning him to go. His hands that lay within the pockets of his black trousers came to flex in its shelter as he closed his eyes and pondered. Doubting, he closed his eyes.

I have to leave this place. Ledah thought, the doubt came to stir his mind. Looking over his left shoulder, he gazed at the room behind him. The slumbering figure of a young maiden with long golden hair lay adrift in her dreams. Taking the features of her form, especially the serene countenance of her face as she slept, the doubt was made clear. But I can't leave Malice behind like this.

He made his approach to her, taking a black rose and a white feather that was hidden in his pocket. Moving over the bed, he laid these things to her side and gave a gentle kiss to her cheek. As all these things were done, he sauntered away from her as he came to the balcony. Looking at the horizon, the first light of the morn has slowly begun to take its entrance, the rays much more dominant than the heavenly body itself. Wordlessly, he took a step forward as he climbed up the edge. His crouched form was poised to go. Gazing at the view below him, the height of where he was from the ground was imaginably high. The sight of the city streets below him seemed to resemble canals and aqueducts, the buildings varied in their heights as some towered from the ground.

The youth closed his eyes, retaining his resolve as his heart began to echo in his ears. Whispering a silent prayer, he opened his eyes once more as the moment passed him. He stressed his tarsals, propelling his body to the air as he made his descent. The distance that his body has gone from the balcony has gained as his descent came to quicken. He spanned his arms on both sides, feeling the wind pass his body as it fluttered his clothes and brush his hair. Later in gradual pace, his body began to move forward as it made its fall no more. His body has begun to ride the wind, carried by transparent wings that carried him to soar. He headed for one destination, his home. Gazing at the view below him, the city that slowly comes to life as the morning gives its herald; he made his itinerary towards the mansion that stood near the cathedral in a few blocks. He made his way towards the rooftop, reaching the window that he knew so well. Gliding in his descent, he landed smoothly on the stone roof without a sound. Turning back to the direction where he came from once, he smiled as he turned back to the window and opened it.

Ledah continued to slumber. His body, in its passive state, laid in rest underneath a sequoia tree's shade. Covered with the mist surrounding the woods as the light of day peered through the branches, his serene form continued to drift in the dreams that fill him. The black wings curl upon his body, sheltering him in its protective state while the crimson Diviner remained within his grasp. As the sun showered his body gradually with the rays of light, mingling with the fog, he stirred as he opened his eyes. He quickly rose from the ground, calm yet aware of his surroundings. Noting the silence that overwhelmed the forest, he skimmed every point as his eyes ran to and fro. He walked in silence, treading softly on the bed of withered leaves. His wings spanned open in its release as they fold at ease on his back. The sound of the crackling leaves made at every step seemed to bring the silence to fade in faint premises.

He passed by the towering trees, trekking his way through a trail that he never was familiar with. The surroundings seemed to carry its distinct lightness in the air whilst the fog veiled some areas. At every step, he felt the air change in density. Something was nearby. What went unnoticed to Ledah was the warm sensation with the crimson spear, gleaming in resonance. It was slowly giving its vibrations, accompanied by an aura of warmth. Suspicions were made in thought when a voice resounded in the quiet woods.

"You've come so far to venture in these woods, Grim Angel. A domain in which belongs to me." the voice declared as it echoed through the forest.

Standing his ground, Ledah clasped his spear as he searched every direction where the voice came from.

"Who are you? Show yourself." he yelled as he readied himself for a battle.

"I doubt you haven't played hide and seek before." the voice replied. "But no matter, I'll give you a hint of where I am."

A powerful wave of crescent came rushing towards Ledah in its enormous form. Cutting through the trees cleanly as it sliced one of them; it came to where Ledah was standing. The Grim Angel flapped his wings and propelled his body from the area, avoiding both the falcate shot and the falling tree. He wasted no time as he closed his eyes, readying his casting. Feeling a presence from the woods, despite it being unseen, he focused his thoughts on that target as he opened his eyes. A sphere of flames ignited before the Grim Angel, rushing in its winding movement as it searched for the target. The fireball exploded, immolating the tree and sending the adversary to the ground. As it made its freefall to the ground, the stranger brought his form to gyrate in a somersault before landing. But as he reached the ground, the earth below him circled to the wind's spiraling motion. The stranger's body hovered from the earth as it rode the wind.

Ledah beheld the levitating form of the immediate adversary. A young man was there before him, his face in its defined features. Judging by the age, he seemed to be in the number of years as Ledah was. The strands of his chestnut mane came to dance with the wind as it circled his body. The verdant shades of his robe danced along with his trousers, the sash of purple wrapped on his waist to bind the garments together fluttered with the breeze. On both arms, bare from the short sleeves of his clothing, were two straight swords. The slender blades gleamed with its purple shade, glowing with certain resonance to the carmine spear that Ledah possessed. It gave him a hint of the stranger's nature and identity.

"Orichalcon…You hold a Diviner in your hands." Ledah stated to him in a cold and collected tone. "What are you?"

"A Diviner it is, Grim Angel." the youth answered, "But a Grim Angel, I am not."

"Then what are you, if you're not a Grim Angel?" Ledah asked.

"A spirit," the youth replied nonchalantly. "A Deva, if you must."

Ledah glared at the being, noting the expression on his face was seemingly enlightened within the aura that it displayed. Human in appearance, like the Sprites that his old friend had joined with, but infused with a power near divine like the Angels; how did such beings exist in Midgard? Has this realm become the purgatory of rebirth where other souls gather? This question circled Ledah's mind, reminded of the image that haunted his past. An image of his bleeding form, facing his friend in battle but slain by someone treasured; an image of betrayal has remained in giving him a nightmare with its addicting sweetness in recalling despite its bitterness.

"I don't have to ask you why you are here, Grim Angel." the Deva said to him. "But to see you worthy, I have to gauge your power. Despite it may seem to be an act of defiance."

Ledah knew it would come to this. Spanning his wings to align on his back, he readied himself to charge at the Deva. The youth gripped his blades, setting them to glow in accordance to his will. Leaning his form forward, a sonic shock came to gather behind him as he charged forth in high velocity. Ledah propelled himself forward, his wings quivering as he used his angelic speed to match the quickening of his adversary. Both figures rushed to an imminent clash, the two beings brandish their weapons at each other. The impact of their collision sent a powerful shockwave, shaking the woods with the sound and the wind that gathered while the cinders sparked between them. The blows deflected, sending the two bodies to bounce in a different direction. Bouncing in recoil, the two resumed in charging at each other, the impact setting them off to recoil elsewhere once more. Again and again, this was repeated while their bodies moved beyond the comprehension of sight. Until it came to one last collision, the two fighters stopped in their tackles and began to exchange blows. The Deva sent a barrage of strikes and swings with his swords, clashing at Ledah's spear. Parrying each blow with mere angling of the weapon with just one hand, Ledah fended off the barrage as he was being pushed back. But in one swing, he brought both blades away as it gave an opening for the Deva. Ledah began to strike with multiple thrusts, making his push as the other parried and blocked as well. The furious exchange seemed to be flickers of light and sudden gusts to the eyes of any spectator if one would behold.

Ledah made an overhead stroke, striking vertical in its drop. The Deva crossed his two swords, blocking the polearm's approach. Sparks and flashes of light began to flicker at the tension that both had made in their deadlock. Ledah made no change in his countenance, expressionless as it is. The Deva felt the intensity of their struggle, a smirk lining with intrigue as he noted the blank expression found on the Grim Angel's visage. The power couldn't be contained on that matter, pushing both sides to separate directions as it set the gap between them. Ledah flapped his wings as he propelled himself into ascension, rushing to the sky. The Deva followed in his ascent, darting upwards as he rode the air.

They trailed to follow the wooden towers that held the verdant canopy above them. The Deva whisked his blades in its crossing form, sending two crescent waves in his path. Ledah careened his form as he brought his form to turn and descend in a circle, avoiding the crescent of energy. He moved behind the Deva and stretched his hand, sending a barrage of flame spheres to his assailant. Aware of this attack, he whirled and rushed behind one of the trees as it made its blasts on the unfortunate wood. The two beings wound in a helix path in their ascent, exchanging shots at each other as they broke through the canopy of leaves and branches, reaching the open air. Suspended in the air, Ledah readied himself as he clasped Lorelei, waiting for his opponent to close in to him. The calm air was easy to discern, but the vast open was much similar to the eternity Heaven's Gate could carry.

"Where is he?" Ledah whispered, closing his eyes as he used his senses to track him again. Amidst the sea of fog and green that grew below him and the sunlight and the clouds above, he could neither make sense of the aura that his adversary carried nor pinpoint the direction of which he would come. He waited as his mind drifted again, hearing a voice once more.

"Transparent wings, my son. To soar with transparent wings is likened to fly without having wings at all." a voice with its calm and patriarchal authority came to resound. Dressed in a black cassock, he lectured his son in the arts. Yet within that certain moment, a lesson of life was being taught.

The young Ledah, a young boy during that moment, listened to his father as he was seated on the eternal meadow in Asgard. The blanched shade of the flowers made its dancing form along the wind as it passed him and his father by. The azure sky seemed to be painted in its serene form, the clouds melding with the hues of the heavens in its delightful moment. Curious in his father's words, he turned to look at the calm and collected man that beheld the horizon.

"Dad, how do you see the transparent wings then? How do you know that they're there?" the child asked, his voice was lined with enthusiasm.

"My son, though we cannot see it, we can feel its presence. We might even touch it even if it's hidden. But even if we cannot see it, feel it, smell it, hear it, or taste it, we can sense it with our heart. That is what we call faith."

The words came forth with wisdom as the father brought an open palm to the wind. Grasping a petal that is carried by the breeze, he smiled at his son. "It's like finding the wind. We can't see it, but we can hear it whisper and feel it touch us."

Ledah opened his eyes, freeing his sight from the dark. Waiting for it to come after him, he needed not to close his eyes as he recalled his father's lesson. With its sonic speed, the Deva came rushing to him from behind. He knew that his adversary would come for him this way. The Grim Angel turned his spear to where he was, sending a sphere of flames to his opponent. The Deva came too close for him to stop. He changed his direction to avoid the sphere. The fireball followed him, matching the pace of the target as it was hot on the trail. The Deva stopped and waited for the fireball. Reaching him in a small gap, he sent a crescent shot at the projectile to stop it at its tracks. The sphere clustered in reaction, sending numerous flame spheres at him and triggered numerous explosions. Shaken by the impact of the attack, his body began its freefall towards the clearing in the forest. The crimson Grim Angel took this moment, rushing towards his foe as he followed the descending adversary.

The Deva felt his mind has gone blank on the numerous flashes of light. He could feel his body glide in its freefall, the violent wind splashing upon his face and his body as he plummeted to the ground. He was defeated on that moment, the foolishness of his act reflected by that last blow. His thoughts began to rush in its order, revealing memories that had gone of late. The image of the desolate desert came to mind, along with a number of corpses sprawled on the ground. The horrid image of war was seen, revealed among the bodies are friend and foe alike. It seemed to be a distant memory to him.

"I had no hope then. Falling away from the purpose of my existence that I fought and slaughtered my foes to survive, it felt primal. I relied on the instinct of survival without the will of it."

The images continued to fade, his mind focusing on the quiet sequoia woods where he was about to fall into. He was still far from the canopy of branches. His thoughts began to drift again.

"This serene place...is my dream. To be within its presence and be engulfed in peaceful creation, I long to find that end…but……"

An image of the lake came to fill his thoughts. A familiar voice came to his mind as a silhouette of a certain person came to mind. He was unable to recognize the face that was obscured by the shadows and the light. Reaching out with a slender hand, gentle in its form, the figure came to take into grasp the Deva's hand.

"You have a reason to live, Arjun." the voice beckoned to him with its shrill yet gentle voice. "So don't give up."

The Deva snapped out of his reverie, the state of his descent was growing in its speed. It dawned to him that when he reaches the ground, it might spell his demise. He curled his form, focusing his energy to his body. The wind began to circle his form once more as it nearly reached the ground. There, it made its soft stop as a gust of wind rushed to the gentle earth, bringing the withered leaves to fly. His fall was cushioned by the wind; his body was at a close distance to the ground. He set his form upright, slowly letting his foot touch the ground. As soon as he was able to stand, Ledah was standing before him at a distance with Lorelei aimed at him. He smiled at the Grim Angel, amused at the situation on that given moment.

"So my defeat it is." he mused as he closed his eyes, the light gathering at the two swords as they vanished along with a purple flash. Opening his eyes again, he spoke again. "What is your name, Grim Angel?"

"Ledah," he replied as he lowered his spear, dispelling it to the light as it gave its crimson afterglow. "And you?"

"Arjun," the Deva answered as he ambled towards Ledah, his black shoes of oriental origin came to crush the withered leaves below him. "And this is the Forest of Rau, north of the city of Vera. That is where you came from I presume."

Ledah remembered the ruined city where he came to see, a vision of despair and destruction that has plagued his memories of late. The cathedral where he met Malice and where they fought before the other train of visions permeated his thoughts. All these things were taken on that city. He looked at Arjun, wondering how he had guessed.

"You don't need to ask how I knew this, Ledah." Arjun said. "I was able to watch you from the sky. Everything that transpired between you and that other Grim Angel, I witnessed. And on the time that you left her to find the answers to those questions that fill your mind, you fell here in this forest out of weariness. I simply watched you."

Ledah was quiet once more, his hands resting on his side as he listened to Arjun's explanation. He suddenly remembered his doubts. Why was he here in this realm of Midgard? What was he after? What happened to Riviera? These questions were to name a few of his doubts. He gazed at Arjun's form as he was going to raise a query.

"What am I doing here? What am I here for?" Ledah asked with his tone still unchanging.

"The same questions that I asked myself when I ended up here in Midgard, the same as you." Arjun remarked as he passed Ledah by and went towards a stump seated in the middle of the numerous trees that surrounded them. "And along with the questions are the memories that have been distorted, coming together in its full detail. It might take a few days to find its complete state, understanding them."

Arjun looked over his shoulder, gazing at Ledah. He made a gesture with his head as he raised an invitation. "Are you joining me, Ledah?"

"In what…?" Ledah asked him, slightly bewildered.

"A journey in searching what we are searching. We might find the answers that we need."

Ledah made no answer as he walked, following Arjun in their trail within the woods. Arjun walked forward, acting as a guide to the Angel as they found a dirt road that lead their path. It could mean one thing.

"Let's start our search in that village over there. We'll have to follow this trail to get there." Arjun said to Ledah as they walked, heading for a journey that might converge with another path.

(End of Chapter)

Another chapter in another journey, two paths will soon find their winding directions as they find purpose, soon to converge at each other. What will happen soon after?

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review. Your suggestions, comments and anything that you want to say are always welcome. Well, 'til the next chapter.

Sydney Grise