Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters that appear in PoT. Perhaps, this story is from inspirations, from everywhere and anywhere, above and beyond.
It was another day. Another same old day, Seiichi sat in his usual seat near to the light globes. They were a little more excited today, some were wiggling and bouncing slightly; the time for them to be born draws nearer and nearer.
Seiichi drew up his black quill as he continued to document some of his work. As the Seraphim of Death, he sometimes sighs at the thought of documenting all the deaths and lives but nevertheless, he still dedicatedly did his job. The Angels of Births continued to work busily around him, stopping to bow when they went past him as a sigh of respect to one of the greatest of angels, Azrael, as they call him. They were used to his presence as Seiichi loves to sit by and watch the birthing of angels. Not that it was common, the births of angels. It happens every few thousands of years but Seiichi was there every day. He finds that it is a joy and comfort to watch the globes. It gives him a sense of peace and serenity wherever he is here; the births of the angels are a bonus and an honor.
Angels are dressed in white robes. Different angels with different occupation have different colored belts and on the belt, there will be a different seal, according to their roles as angels, hung by a thick rope. Sometimes the rope may have intricate knots and designs but it is up to the head of their department to design the ropes although the color and the seal remains the same. Upon the seals there hangs certain charmlets that tells which rank of angel they are. Most heads don't bother changing the ropes and they tend to be passed down from the different generations of angels. A certain angel, or a Seraph to be more precise, has a certain reputation for changing his immediate department's ropes often. It is none other than Kushyr, Seraph of Prayers, otherwise known to his close friends as Keigo. Angels of the Arc of Births have a white sash as a belt and a white rope that hangs their seal which looks exactly like their name, a little arch protruding from the seal with the shape of an egg underneath it.
The ranks of the angels can be confusing yet it is simple. To put it simply, there are the ones who govern on top and the rest which follow after their lead. Seraphs are the highest of angels and currently there are 5 of them. The number varies time to time, but mostly they are the rarest of angels. Each of the Seraphs possesses an element gifted to them. Seiichi is gifted with Space. It is nothingness and sometimes (mistakenly) known as darkness. After the Seraphs come the Dominions which are the head of the different ministries. However, each of the Seraphs led their own team. They cannot be said to be higher than the Dominions for they are a different category altogether. These teams do not meddle with the issues of rest of the angels and only answer to and work for the Seraphs. In the departments of the Dominions there lead their own Company of angels like Thrones, Powers, Virtues, Principalities and Archangels. Under the Archangels who deal with humanity, leads the rest of the Angels. The seals tell which Dominion the angel comes under and for each of the different angel there are different charms to tell of their rank.
Seiichi was dressed in his signature black robes, for each of the Seraph have their own color. Of course, they are free to wear different colors if they so do wish for, but for official businesses, they would have to wear their own color. And Seiichi happened to return from a meeting with the Dominions so black is the color to go! He doesn't have much adornment, just a black stud on his left ear and a silver rope that acts as his belt sash.
As he puts a final full stop to his papers, he stood up to stretch his wings that have been tucked neatly behind his back, his black wings with dark, almost black, silver outline and wonderful swirling designs that keep changing time to time. Sometimes they change when he reached a new evolution, finished a war (that was around 31 000 years ago) or maybe just a significant event. Most angels' wings do not have designs; only designated Seraphs have beautiful swirls that mesmerize even angels themselves.
Suddenly, a shout was heard. Seiichi spun around towards the shout and headed for it; nothing must happen this close to the Hatching, or… One of the globes was unlit and there was a hole in it; the child in it was gone. The angel who was in charge of that section was weeping while her friends comforted her. The angels parted for Seiichi who saw that the Archangel of the Arc was asking questions.
"When did this happen?"
"I know not Sir, for I turned my back for a moment to get warm towels for the globes. We were this close to the Hatching, I wanted the best…" The angel wept even harder. It was one globe amongst thousands but each and every one of them was precious.
"Calm down Tezel, how long ago was that?"
"A minute or so?"
"Then he wouldn't have gone far," Said Seiichi. He went up and laid a hand on the weeping angel and turned to inspect the globe. Though it was dark and empty, but interestingly it had gold tracings around and about. A single silver feather lay in the globe.
"Search for the baby! And keep a closer look on the globes! Make no more mistakes." There was an echo after his last word. As if there was still an 'or else…' lingering in the air. Seiichi swept away, in search of the child. He wouldn't forgive himself if anything happened to the child that had been born, way earlier than his peers.