Suddenly, Ayalet was thrust into what felt like another vision. She waited to see a reel of different events rush past her but instead only met silence. Her consciousness waited for something to happen but all around her was emptiness. It felt like minutes passed by and she wondered what happened when off in the distance she saw movement. Squinting her eyes, she attempted a better look when whatever it was came rushing at her. Emotions exploded in her body, this deep all encompassing love that almost made her want to cry as well as such painful soul wrenching pain that stopped her heart in its tracks. Confusion that left her thought process blank, anger that boiled the blood in her veins and set them on fire, longing that made her want to curl into a ball and disappear. So many powerful emotions she couldn’t control or even understand. The only time she felt anything this strong was when she lost her parents. How could anyone feel all this at once and not disintegrate?
All around Ayalet, images sped by too fast to make out. Lifetimes of events all within seconds. Decades upon centuries lost in that single moment of time. At the end she saw herself and she understood she was meant to relive these events, these memories. She knew it wouldn’t be like anything she had seen before and that it would be an emotional roller coaster. But all she could do was sit along for the ride.
And along with that thought, her consciousness faded as she felt her thoughts transform and meld together as if they were one and the same. She lost herself and faded into the being of another, Yelena. . .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Yelena opened her eyes to a bright ray of light shining into her face. So vibrant it left an impression on her vision afterward. She blinked a few times trying to let the effect fade. As her sight slowly returned to normal, in front of her, a golden field blew in the wind with a long mountain range trailing off into the distance. She then noticed the wind playfully running along her arms and tugging a bit on her hair. Her long silvery blonde hair that reached down to her toes, glossy and as straight as a page in a book. She loved how in certain light the color changed. In the sun it always looked silver but in the dark it looked simply blonde. A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she pulled her hair close. The feel of her hair could be comparable to satin, soft and silky. Tilting her head back, she opened her eyes again to see deep green leaves dispersed on the branches. A leaf here or there pulled off and danced in the wind around her.
As the leaves settled, images from her dream slipped into her mind. A young girl’s seal shattering away before then losing control of her powers as a couple disappeared with the power of souls. The very same power she possessed. She feared her power over souls, how could anyone want the power to decide the fate of anyone so entirely. With a thought she could wish away anything or anyone, she could send their souls on to the afterlife. She shivered at the thought.
Once in a blue moon, a child in her community would get their wings in too soon. The pain they would go through was immense but a healer would always help them transition outward. She had heard stories where no healer helped the wings transition in and instead the seal would re-establish itself for another decade. Never had she seen a Seraph so young when their powers manifested. Was the dream a vision of the future or was it simply a dream?
Yelena leaned forward and reached out her hands, beckoning the leaves closer. Instantly the wind responded and the leaves rushed over. Two collided and instantly started swirling in an ever increasing circle around each other. She then took a breath inward and softly shushed them. In response they slowed down to a gentle dance. The beauty and simplicity of the leaves brought her a sense of peace; so she rested her arms on her knees as she sat and watched them twirl away. She then moved her wings forward to let them stretch out. Once at full length her single set of wings sat at close to 6 feet long. She then pushed them outward to stretch a bit more, holding the feeling of enjoyment she relaxed. Letting her body slump against her knees, her muscles gained much needed blood flow back into them after holding all the stress in her back. Tilting her head to the side, she admired the beautiful silvery blue primaries protruding from the end of her wing. She brought forward her wing tip and inspected the soft primary feather. Her cheeks pulled upward as she felt a smile adjoin her face. She’d always loved her wings, since the day they arrived.
Every Seraph looked forward to getting their wings. No one knew what color the feathers would be or even how many they would have. Just as it was their worst nightmare that they may never get them. To be stuck walking on the ground, never getting to explore the skies above.
From out of nowhere, someone snickered, “Is something wrong with your wings?” In response, Yelena's head turned in the direction of the masculine voice. Her heartbeat picked up and an uncontrollable smile spread across her face as his name escaped her lips, “Joseph.”
Her eyes met with his soft blue eyes. The color of the ocean on a clear summer’s day that sucked her into its depths; claiming for what felt like an eternity before they wandered to the rest of him. His brown hair was pulled back with a light leather strap into a loose short ponytail gleaming like honey in the sun. He was wearing a reddish brown robe with one partial sleeve and the other open on the other arm; around his hips was draped a dark green sash. Behind his back protruded four light purple wings that looked to be twice the size of her own. The way he was leaning against the tree, she could see his clothes dipping past his collar bone, teasing. His hair hung over one shoulder, displaying his muscles and his chiseled arms as they criss-cross over his chest. Having trouble focusing she sighed, “No, just admiring them . . . and I see you got some new clothes?”
A broad smile lifted the sides of his lips, “I finally got my healer robes. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be getting my robes so early. I can’t believe that I’m only 74 and have finished my training.” Standing up he walked around the tree and offered his hand to help her up. “Did you have a nice nap?”
Taking his hand, he pulled her to a standing position. Looking down at herself she saw grass stains and dirt on her own clothes. She attempted to wipe as much of the dirt and grass off her clothes as she was able to before she looked up into his eyes. She’d always felt so small next to him but at the same time, so safe and blissfully happy. His mere presence made her heart flutter. How long had he had this power over her? Overwhelmed by her own feelings, she turned her head to observe the scenery. “Yeah, it could have been longer but still well needed. I’ve been so exhausted lately, what with all the lessons as of late. I’m envious of you. The elders expect so much of me when I’m only 71 and have so many other things to learn.”
Thinking back to her lessons, her body drooped as a sigh escaped her, “Though I suppose I should be getting back now. . . The elders said they wanted to tell me something after I got back from a short break.” Not wanting to be staring after Joseph the entire way home, Yelena took a step forward in preparation for flight.
Muscles contracted in her back as she took off into the sky with ease. Yelena had always loved flying, everything was like a giant painting. So many small details that made up a puzzle, things you could never see on the ground. It was an amazing feeling, just like running but better. The horizon was so much larger from up here than on the ground, the wind was colder but not an unwelcome cold. The people were so small they left practically no impression on the scenery below. Trees of many colors made it look like splotches of color on a canvas. While the mountains seemed less large as they reached for the clouds. All around her, she could feel the purity in the air, untouched by time.
She looked down to see the town below poking out of the side of the mountains. The sundrenched buff colored buildings built into the ground sat at odd angles. Yelena had always thought it looked as though the houses were just going to slide off the side of the mountain; they never failed to hang like moss on a rock. Each jutting home was a part of the landscape, their foundation carved out of the mountains themselves and painstakingly built with precious resources by knowing hands. Residents took care to maintain their homes creating a patchwork of similar hues of the cemented clay; making each home uniquely colored like a fish’s scales. She always loved the way they looked at sunset, splashed with the warm colors of the setting sun mingling with the brunt beiges, tans and oranges of the homes. The mountains looked baren from up high with patches of gold here and there. The Seraphs had a mutual relationship with the town, Ladakh below where they traded goods for services.
The earthly town at one point had been riddled with sickness, on the verge of death with no cure in sight. So one of the healers went down and healed their sick, in exchange they gave him food and resources as a thank you. Ever since, our healers traded our services for resources. Haven did not have as much available land to farm on, so resources had always been more scarce.
After a short while, nearby towns heard about their recovery and the vast amounts of available resources. So bandits tried stealing from the town below. In response, some of the Seraph warriors went down to protect the humans. Again, they thanked the Seraphs with resources such as food and clothing materials.
Slowly, their fields grew in size to better accommodate the two towns. To help, some of the Seraphs would frequently head down to assist with the farming efforts. It had been a few decades since the agreement had been made.
As they grew ever closer to the clouds, she looked up to see hundreds, maybe even thousands of people, all with wings of different colors and numbers. A cascade of colors, like countless rainbows crisscrossed all around her as they flew about.
The ages ranged anywhere from newborn babies crying in their mothers arms to elders shakily flying about. Seraphs could live longer depending on how powerful their magic was; but you wouldn’t be able to tell just by looking at them. The common lifespan of a Seraph was about 800-1000 years with 1100 being the oldest known lifespan. Each person had a different power or ability. Some could see souls and ghosts, exchange memories, were psychics, empaths, and could do various other things depending on each individual’s strength.
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They slowed to a stop as her and Joseph neared an opening in the clouds. Their wings beat against the air as they hovered, waiting for the gatekeepers to allow them entry into their beloved city. Three crows then descended out of the clouds and flew up to them. The crows were the gatekeepers, and the only way to get through was by flying through a beam of light into the clouds.
Flying through the gateway, they arrived. It was instinctive, how her wings stopped flapping before gliding to a stop. You would think that it would be nothing but clouds above just as below; however, it looked just like any other town at wintertime. The ground was white, which gave it the look of snow while the buildings and houses were made of Chalcedony with quartz growing sporadically. In the sunlight the houses shone a soft blue almost like the sky in the middle of the day reflecting off the clouds. On the roofs she could see patches of gardens growing. The gardens had always helped keep their homes warm in the winter months and cooler in the warmer months. At the same time, they got to utilize the extra space for food resources.
In the center of their town, a mountain peak towered over their buildings. On the mountain, there were more buildings built into the side; these buildings were community structures used for mass healings and meetings. Where you couldn’t see buildings there were patches of gold as well as various small gardens of produce.
Smiling, she turned her head to look at Joseph and found he had already started walking away.
At that moment, he turned back to look at her. As their eyes met, she saw deep feelings hidden in the depths of his eyes. “Are you coming?” he called over his shoulder, waving his hand behind him to call her forward. In response, she smiled as she jogged to catch up to him. He came to a stop as he waited for her. For a moment they stood there in silence, looking at each other.
Chuckling, he broke the moment as he reached for her head and ran his hands through her hair, “Honored Yelena, your head is always up in the clouds; sometimes you make me wonder.”
Crossing her arms over her chest she looked down to the side and retorted, “Not true, if it were then I’d probably be dead already.”
His head tilted downward, his fingers gently lifting her chin, “Thankfully that is not the case. I could not handle losing you as well.” His hand cupped her face and momentarily paused before bending down to place a kiss on her forehead. Closing her eyes, her heart picked up in response; how she wanted him to kiss her lips. “Come, we should be getting back to the Sangha.”
Off in the distance Yelena heard a child screaming out in pain. Wondering what was wrong, her and Joseph stopped in their tracks, expecting a battle to break out. Instead a man zigzagged between the houses with a child looking to be no more than 9 years old in his arms. Blood was trailing behind them as they ran. Before she lost sight of them, she noticed some new wings protruding from the child's back.
Feeling sad for the little boy, Yelena said, “That poor child, I wonder what caused his wings to come in so early?” Again, the images from her dream came forward.
To the side she heard Joseph softly say, “I wish we knew. The elders have been trying to find out why for so long and there’s never any connection. Instead all we can do is watch quietly and try to help alleviate the pain until it’s over.” They continued to walk in silence as they heard the child cry out from inside the healers house.
As they neared the Sangha, everyone stopped flying to greet her; all showing her great respect. Why they were trying so hard around her she didn’t know. She was the only individual in the city with only two wings, the Seriphiel. She didn’t really understand why that was so important. Every answer she got from the elders was cryptic. She didn’t know what her purpose was for the community, all she ever did was train and attend classes. She wanted to be of use like the warriors and healers or even the Guardians. She never DID anything! She was antsy being cooped up all the time.
As they walked, her head dropped. A sigh escaped her lips and Joseph's hand brushed against her own. She looked up at him as she felt his fingers intertwine with her own. He whispered into her ear, “I’m here.” He then gave her fingers a light squeeze before letting go again as they walked through the entryway. Today the elders told her they were going to make a prophetic announcement about the Seriphiel.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Yelena’s eyes adjusted to the lighting as she walked into the building. Before she took two steps, one of the elders walked up to her with a pile of clothes in his arms. “Great Seriphiel, here are your new robes. If you would change into them before the ceremony.”
She took the pile of clothes from him, a silver silk swath of material poking through the deep reddish brown robes. Curious, she walked into the other room to change. After taking off her simple reddish brown tunic, she picked up a loose light shirt with slits in the long sleeves and a set of simple loose pants. After wrapping the shirt around her chest she saw the silver strip of material sitting on the chair. Why was the sash silver? Picking it up, it seemed to hold the weight of her people. She then wrapped it around her hips and tied it into a loop. Looking into the mirror, she admired her new Seriphiel robes. It took awhile for the community to make the silver sash. It felt so real, having to acknowledge her status, she could pretend she didn’t have such an important role until now. Finally getting her robes, it was like a punch to the gut. What did this all really mean for her?
She then walked through the doorway and back into the main room where a large crowd was gathered. She rejoined Joseph and was welcomed with a smile, “You look great Yelena.” Blushing, she thanked him. Averting her eyes back to the front, she saw a man walk up, the Prophet.
He was short, barely coming up to Yelena’s shoulders and she wasn’t that tall. His feathery white hair, disheveled and wispy gave him an Ethriel halo around his head. His eyes were a cloudy blue and didn’t focus on anything in particular. His skin and face reminded Yelena of how the date fruit they left out in the sun to dry looked. His reddish brown robes barely moved as he slowly shuffled towards her. His six faded honey colored wings gave her the impression that they’d seen the last of their flying days well over a decade ago. He was truly an Ancient.
Next to the prophet, one of the eight elders stopped him as they picked up a conversation. All around small groups of people were talking together. One of the Guardians, Astrauf, walked up to her with his eight wings trailing behind, “Why Yelena, your new robes look brilliant.”
She bowed her head in gratitude, “Thank you Astrauf. Any trouble lately with the town shields?”
“Not at all. How have your studies been going? I hear you’ve been training to maintain a shield as well.”
Not fully wanting to admit her struggle, Yelena shyly responded, “To be honest, I’m having a bit of trouble maintaining it for longer periods of time. Any recommendations?”
Astrauf’s body changed to a thoughtful position, his hand coming to his chin, “Pick a spot to focus on, let your mind relax and envision a dome or something to represent the shield in your mind. It helps to stabilize the actual shield if you can relate it to something more familiar at first.”
“I see, I’ll have to give that a try.” Just as Yelena was about to ask another question, the wind rushed past her, rustling her hair as claws descended onto her shoulders.
Turning her head Yelena welcomed the crow representative, “Welcome Kraai” then saying it again mentally, allowing their telepathic communication to open for him to speak freely. For most Seraphs, when the crows spoke it appeared in images within their heads. While a smaller few had the ability to understand what they meant through thoughts, such as Yelena. She was able to speak with them as if they were any other abstract thinking creature.
Bowing his head, the crow telepathically said, “Hello Seriphiel, did I interrupt your conversation?”
“Oh, no, we were basically done at this point.”
“Would you mind conveying my welcome to Astrauf?” He said to her as he cawed in the direction of the guardian.
Astrauf then bowed his head as Yelena conveyed the crows message as he walked away to chat with someone else.
“Where is your translator if you don’t mind me asking?” Yelena asked Kraai.
Kraai emitted this almost caw-like laugh as he said to her, “Ahh, she is a young one indeed, my new translator. She is very shy and is lingering off in the corner at the moment. She was getting a bit overwhelmed speaking to all the elders for me.”
“I see, well don’t be too hard on her. I know you enjoy teasing new recruits under you. You go through translators like water through a cloth.” Yelena teased him with a twinkle in her eye as she ruffled his chest feathers a bit.
Kraai then stretched his wings out and fluffed his feathers, relaxing, “I always enjoy your company Yelena, you are not afraid of confronting me for my playfulness despite my ranking.”
“Someone has to Kraai, otherwise you’d act worse than you already do and you’re supposed to be the crow representative.”
“Well, even though you think I misbehave, I’m one of the more well behaved of our murder.”
“And that scares me a bit.” She chuckled.
It’s then that one of the elders quieted the group; the crow bid her goodbye then flew back to his translator.
In front of them stood the local Prophet, standing on upraised ground at one end of the room. His eyes shone white as he spoke, “In the nearby future, a difficult decision will be thrust upon the young Seriphiels’ shoulders. Pain, suffering and death has been fated to descend upon the Seraphs. An end to the Seraphs' reign over the skies shall come to pass; causing the balance to be thrown off in the world. What she chooses to do will not only affect her and the people, but also future reincarnations. Time and again, the reincarnations will face the same trials, each plagued by what has come before. The seventh cycle will mark an end.”
Yelena stood frozen to the ground in shock and fear over what the prophet had predicted. Death? Her stomach felt like it had hit the stone beneath her feet. Does she kill someone? Who? When will this happen? Why does it have to be her? This wasn’t what she wanted!
All around her, people were chattering and discussing what it could mean. A few people rushed over to Yelena, trying to talk to her to see if she knew what it meant. Joseph blocked them from getting to her, thankfully. Her mind struggled with the news.
After Joseph managed to separate her away from the crowd and ushered her out of the room, he pulled her into an embrace. Her tears flowed down her cheeks. With her tears, the sounds and lights around her start to fade.
Ayalet slowly felt her own consciousness returning, Yelena's slipping away. The feel of Joseph's body enveloping her in warmth disappeared with Yelena. The memory faded away from in front of her, a light shut off and she was left alone in darkness.