Nobody actually tries to stop me as I leave the castle though the servants and guards do seem alarmed at my immediate departure. Nobody questions me either though and given my unreasonable height I have the extremely useful ability to simply power walk and ensure nobody can keep up with me without at minimum jogging.
Thus I stride back across the bridge and into the town, past the wide eyes of various merchants or whomever they are who turn out to stare at me, across the cobblestones and to the marble of the copper roofed temple. It strikes me very much as a cross between a stereotypical Greek or Roman affair and a medieval church, Corinthian pillars combined with a vaulted roof and marble. The main doors are also green patina copper whilst being both huge and open, I step inside to find the leaded glass windows ensure good illumination.
The intricately tiled floor is decorated in abstract patterns but most striking to me are the statues lining the nave, winged figures cast in polished bronze, male and female, staring beatifically down and in every case not wearing clothing though some do wear stylised armour. I look back down again as I feel heat rising to my cheeks, a shake of my head then flick of my own wings as they flare a little to each side. At the far end is a vast brazier with a low flame and this appears to be the 'altar', several white robed men and women staring in shock at me.
I step forward. “I wish to speak with the head priest. In private.” Everyone looks to an older woman who wears a number of jewelled golden rings and has heavier embroidery upon her robes, I think depicting very abstract flames? Grey haired, blue eyed, she immediately bows to me whilst the others drop to their knees. “Leave us.” This she says to the other three who then hurry back to their feet and file to a side door without ever facing away from me.
The woman, the high priestess? Drops rather stiffly to one knee and I feel something subtly pressing at me, magic? It is almost impossible to discern but I find myself flaring my wings. The woman does not raise her head but keeps it down, waiting until the others have close the door before she speaks. “Burning One. How can I serve you?”
I swallow, hesitate, then make a vague upward motion with my right hand. I hope it looks like an upward motion, my right wing flicking out as I do so and adding vast feathery emphasis. “Please, stand. Also I have a great many questions. First, what is your name? Second, please address me as Alessandra.”
The woman looks slightly confused there but does push, rather awkwardly, back to her feet, I get the impression she does not have very good knees. “Bur- Alessandra. That name does not seem right? I have many questions of my own but please direct me how I can best serve your needs. I do not wish to waste a second of your time.” She seems to be in a rush, even frightened? But mostly urgent.
I shake my head. “I was summoned here through foul means rather than being present under my own power or with a particular mission. More importantly I do not know anything about this world or my significance to it.” I do have no intention of letting her know that I am, or was, a human though. I have no idea what the response to that might be. Still... “First of all tell me what I am, as understood by the people of this world. I know you used magic, perhaps to check these were not illusions?” I wriggle my outstretched wing as I pull my hand back to my side.
She stares in shock and tenses ever so slightly, I definitely sense... Something intangible, what is she doing? I just cannot tell but it does not seem to be directed at me this time. “You are a Virtue of Fire, a warrior angel of the fifth order. For you to be here? To physically manifest would allow the Dreq, Lies and Corruption, to touch the world in equal measure. Also your power is an order of magnitude greater than the archangels who, we hope, appear in hours of darkest need. Hence my urgency. Every heartbeat you exist here brings terrible evil into the world. But you were summoned?”
That is a lot to take in. “I was summoned. Some manner of sorcerer carried out blood sacrifices and attempted to bind me into service. I killed him and his... cultists? Along with a group of guards better equipped than any knight I have seen so far. This was perhaps thirty or forty miles to the north in the grounds of a castle though I am unsure, it was night.”
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The priestess looks horrified at this, then smiles. “You smote the castle then? This is excellent news B- Alessandra! The forces of darkness brought you into the world themselves, there may be no counterbalancing wicked influence. Now you can help us bring love and righteousness without constraint!”
Smote. A castle. I do not get the impression that this is an exact analogue for Christianity but I have read the Bible and I am familiar with the idea of individual angels burning entire cities to the ground. I burnt a half dozen or so people and felt drained from the exercise, I doubt I will be recovered for at minimum a week. This woman seems to have no doubt that I am some manner of extremely powerful angel so I am obviously missing something.
“Normally.” I venture. “An angel would only appear in this world with a particular mission, planning to be in a physical body. I was ripped hear unwillingly. I did not smite the castle, I do not think I could smite a castle, cutting down a small group of armoured soldiers left me exhausted, am I... Missing power, or did I do something wrong?”
I feel more subtle something, again I suspect she is using magic and directing it at me but I have no idea exactly what is happening, though it does not feel dangerous. A frown, the woman moves a careful step to the side as she examines me. “You do feel drained but you are a terrifyingly potent well of power. You probably hold hundreds of times as much of the divine light as I would be able to direct. What did you do exactly? Could you demonstrate, using the nave and trying not to damage the temple?”
She seems helpful and I desperately do need to know what is happening here. “Please be careful of your vision.” I note to her before extending my hand. Then? I push with my mind, or relax, it is more as if I stop holding something back though I do my best to limit this release. My halo burns, a flash of light that overwhelms the illumination through the wide windows and a bright summer day. Brighter still is the lance of white hot fire that stabs out from my hand for a fraction of a second to then burn a trench in the flagstones over a foot deep. A short trench, I keep this as controlled as weak as I can manage though I feel a noticeable drain on something intangible within me.
The old woman is staring in horror. The horror does not seem to be directed at the state of the floor. “You. I could not hope to channel such power in an entire day but it was almost all wasted!” I do some mental calculations. Markos mentioned years of study to become a mage, complex mathematics and mental conditioning. I... No, it gets worse as I prevaricate and the priestess looks to me in shock.
“You are over six thousand years old! The archbishop spoke of seeing an angel weave magic, sublime skill and subtly, a minor incantation leaving a blessing that held for years.” As she half accuses me I try to come up with a mental comparison.
Building a tower? One can fairly simply design a tower that extends to an arbitrary height by simply proposing a solid vertical block of metal. So the Eiffel tower. I think just over three hundred metres tall? Made out of wrought iron and just over seven thousand tons of structural weight. That is presumably what she expects of a 'spell' cast by an angel. Instead I present a three hundred metre tall, hundred odd metre on a side, box of solid iron. It reaches the same height and is structurally sound! But would need I think about thirty five million tons of iron?
That seems a valid theory but what do I tell this woman about why I am using magic so very, very badly. Of course, vague and mysterious and without my offering full explainations. I ahem. Also I flare out my wings, an abrupt motion that immediately takes up a great deal of space.
“As I said, I was not at all prepared for this world and know nothing at all of it. When I use my power? I simply express it instinctively. The world I was pulled from had no magic whatsoever.” This does not seem to stop her from looking concerned and she is pacing now, also she makes a dismissive gesture as the side door behind the altar opens and a young priest peers out. The door is slammed shut, I guess they were concerned about my melting a hole in the floor?
A shake of her head then. “We need to hide this, if you use magic in front of any awakened mage they will be able to see how crude it is. Can you even do anything apart from blast things?” She shakes her head. “Nobody can stop you from blasting things but far too many unscrupulous and powerful individuals would want to tap you to channel their own spells.”
She seems to reach a decision and turns to me, eyes bright, excited. “We need to get you trained! In the Holy City! With you permanently manifest in the world? Once you have learned to properly wield your power we can ensure that the true faith is forever triumphant. We can banish wickedness and falsehood entirely!”