“Hazelmereee!” Mizette screamed in joy as soon as she saw her, smashing right into her and hugging Hazelmere as tightly as she could, “Are you ok? Did they hurt you?”
“I am fine.”
“What have they done to you?”
“Nothing, the spymaster just wanted some answers. I guess he wanted to hear my side of the story.”
“The spymaster?” Mizette broke her hug to look at Hazelmere, tilting her head slightly as her ears twitched questionably.
“It doesn’t matter. More importantly, what is going on? What is with the camp? Why is it so small now? Where did everyone go?”
“Oh, well, all the nobles have left, taking their armies with them. Then, most of the mages ran away. They argued that, since the portal is summoned, the mages aren’t necessary anymore. There are only a few of us left here, most of the archmages, along with the peasant legion.”
“The peasant legion?” Hazelmere’s face twisted in disgust.
“It turns out, that is how the Heartwell’s legion is known. And it is not the name the others gave them out of spite. They chose that name themselves.”
Hazelmere facepalmed herself: “Oh, great! How are we supposed to defend against the demons and the monsters now? Does his majesty know of this? He has to know!”
“That’s the thing, the nobles argued that their armies aren’t necessary here, since nothing came out of the portal. They said their armies are more useful elsewhere. And The Emperor agreed.”
“So, everything is ok? You aren’t fighting anything?”
“Nope.”
“What about that white goo on the ground? Is it trying to cross into our world?”
“There is no sign of it whatsoever.”
“So, everything is exactly how it was before I was taken away? If we disregard everyone running away, of course.”
“Umm, about that … not exactly …” Mizette started fidgeting.
“What is going on?”
“We do have an unexpected guest.”
“A guest?” Hazelmere raised a brow.
“A special guest. We allowed him to stay in your personal tent.”
“You better have a good reason for it.”
---
The first thing Hazelmere saw when she walked into her tent was that some big, blinding-white thing was inside of it. It was so bright, her eyes needed some time to adjust. And it was so big, it took most of the tent.
She quickly realized it was a huge set of white wings. They were moving, stretching actually. A short time later, those wings returned to their natural position, revealing a person’s outline. Between the wings stood a long, golden, gleaming hair.
“Umm … excuse me …” Hazelmere said, with much uncertainty.
The person turned around, revealing a set of beautiful, sky-blue eyes. Even at first glance, Hazelmere saw those eyes reflecting the warm compassion.
Looking at the person’s face, Hazelmere had no idea if it was a male or a female, but one thing was for sure: whatever it was, it was the prettiest creature she ever saw. Lowering her gaze a bit, she noticed that the guest was dressed bizarrely: it wasn’t really a set of clothing as much as it was a single, big piece of silk, wrapped tightly around him … her?
Looking at the chest, Hazelmere realized there were no breasts there.
“Considering that tight clothing, I guess it’s a male,” she thought.
“Ah, you must be the royal archmage!” The stranger’s voice was mellow and soothing, “Nice to finally meet you,” he placed his left hand on his right chest, lowering his head.
“Umm, yes, that’s me,” Hazelmere awkwardly tried to return the gesture.
“First of all, I want to congratulate you!”
That took Hazelmere by surprise: “On what?”
“You are the first person, in the entire history, that has managed to summon a portal to the void itself!”
That soured Hazelmere’s mood significantly: “Uhh … that’s what I was afraid of …”
“We never thought it was possible! We thought that our world would be ruined the moment it connects with the void. And yet, we still exist!”
“So, it isn’t hell?”
The guest supported his chin with his hand: “It could be. There may be different kinds of hells. Before the first portal to hell opened, we had no idea it existed. It is entirely possible there are different kinds of hell, and we were just ignorant of their existence. However, in this instance, there is no demonic corruption on the other side. But, then again, it could be that we are just incapable of detecting it, just how we were ignorant of it when the original demons came. But we are still debating all of that.”
“Who are we?”
“Well, the heavens, of course! What, you couldn’t you tell by my impressive wingspan?”
Saying that, the angel stretched out his wings once again, smiling playfully.
“I came here to assess the situation, and it looks like it is not as desperate as everyone thought.”
“You think the portal is harmless?”
“I didn’t say that. There is life on the other side, even if we can’t sense it. As I flew around the portal, I saw the trees there. And the trees always indicate life. It is just that we don’t have to rush our response since nothing is trying to invade at the moment. But we must stay vigilant.”
“There is some white goo on those trees.”
“Ah yes, that is a form of ice.”
“Ice?”
“There is a lesser form of ice, called snow. It is halfway between the solid ice and water. You mortals don’t know of it because it is not as useful as ice, so you have never bothered trying to create it with magic. Although a failing ice spell can create snow instead.”
“One of our fire mages did say we were under a massive frost attack.”
“Indeed, you were. The world on the other side is completely frozen. Which begs the question, how can anything live there? But, then again, we wondered the same thing about the original, flaming hell. So, you may have succeeded in summoning a portal to some kind of frozen hell. However, the lack of energy makes us think that is the void although, once I tell my kin about the trees on the other side, we will probably have to reexamine our findings.”
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“To be perfectly honest, I don’t really care what is on the other side. I just wish we had some way of closing the portal,” there was a bit of hope in Hazelmere’s voice.
“In that case, rejoice! I was sent here to investigate what we are dealing with and, considering what I have discovered, closing the portal is possible!”
Hazelmere’s eyes went wide: “You think so?”
The angel smiled: “You mortals have barely scratched the surface when it comes to magic. The heavens have much more knowledge at their disposal. The immortals aren’t bound by your limitations. In a few days, the rest of us will come here to close the portal.”
Hazelmere almost jumped up, ecstatic with joy, but Mizette’s words dragged her back to reality.
“That is great, but how many of you will come? Most of our camp is gone. I don’t know if we can accommodate you all.”
“Oh, you need not worry. They won’t be coming in their physical forms.”
“Umm, excuse me?”
“They won’t need their bodies to close the portal. I had to come here in person, to see it with my own eyes and talk with the people here. But the others will come in their astral forms.”
“Astral in like, their souls will leave their bodies?” Hazelmere asked.
“Most immortals don’t have a body at all. Some very important beings will be coming here, and you won’t perceive most of them. So, you don’t have to worry about making any arrangements.”
“Is there anything we should do? Is there any way we can help?” Hazelmere asked.
“Unfortunately, no. But, there is one thing you should take care of. You see, it won’t be just the good immortals coming here. The evil ones will probably try to stop us. We may have a fierce astral battle on our hands, so you should make sure you have some proper shelter before it happens. Who knows what kinds of immortals will come uninvited.”
“Are we in any danger though? Will they be coming in their astral forms, as you will?”
“Certainly, but that doesn’t mean you will be safe. Huge, important events in the astral plain affect the mortal realm and vice versa. That is why it is not so uncommon to have some mortal decide the fate of the world. All the planes are connected. That is why you should be cautious. It never hurts to be prepared for the worst possible scenario.”
“We need shelter, shelter from what?” Mizette asked.
“Anything you can imagine, really. Many immortals will be coming here, and they all have different powers. Also, we have no idea who will be coming uninvited. You have a lot of idle soldiers here, use them. But, keep in mind that you won’t have the time to make some proper fortifications. You only have a few days to prepare. Oh, and one more thing: I will be sleeping with you in this tent. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Eh?”
“The soldiers were kind enough to bring in the second bed because I thought you wouldn’t appreciate me sleeping in yours. It is right over there! Oh, and, by the way, my name is Galizur. Nice to meet you, Hazelmere,” he said with the sweetest smile on his face.
“N-n-nice to meet y-you too.”
---
Hazelmere spent most of the day bothering the angel about the most trivial things. What do the angels eat, do they even have to sleep, what they like to do in their free time, if they have it at all, that sort of things.
At one point, an archpriestess who was left by the transcendent priest to help Hazelmere came to introduce herself, but Hazelmere paid no attention to her. She was dismissed in a moment.
It was already dusk when Hazelmere realized she should look around the camp and see who and what she has to work with. Most of the soldiers and regular mages were gone, but luckily, many archmages stayed in the camp. As much as the situation was dangerous, it was also exciting to be at the forefront of the new discoveries, and that’s something the archmages live for. Therefore, most of them stayed.
From them, Hazelmere learned that Galizur came three days after she was taken away. Apparently, he came to access the situation for the heavens, which immediately inspired Peratha to ask all kinds of unpleasant questions like: can’t the heavens see everything from above? That surprised Galizur, but he quickly proved to be much better at debate than Peratha.
The most important thing Galizur did was to ensure the archmages there was no immediate danger. He encouraged them to stay in the camp, pointing out that many groundbreaking discoveries can be made once the portal closes. “It’s a unique chance to have your name forever remembered in the hall of the paragons!” He said.
By the time the archmages got Hazelmere up to speed with the developments, the chilly night has already fallen.
“So, has the angel moved somewhere else?” Peratha asked in a playful voice.
“Why would he do that? We need him!” Hazelmere pointed out. Some archmages started chuckling.
“From your tent, I mean?”
Hazelmere’s fluffy tail started dancing vigorously: “No … he said he will stay in it.”
“Will you be moving someplace else?” Peratha raised an eyebrow, clearly teasing her.
“No, why would I? He may be an angel, but it is my tent! He is the guest, not me!”
“So … you will be sleeping with him, in the same tent …”
Hazelmere opened her mouth, but words didn’t come out.
“Maybe you should tell him you are feeling chilly. After all, you did suffer in the dungeon not so long ago. I bet those large wings feel like a nice blanket when they are wrapped around you. After all, the angels are famous for their selflessness.”
“It’s an angel, you … harlot!” Hazelmere yelled, her face deep red, “Don’t you have any shame!”
“She is just toying with you,” Mizette started patting Hazelmere’s head, “you know how she is.”
“How come everyone is like that only towards me?” Hazelmere threw her hands in the air.
Peratha shook her head left and right, a deep smile on her face: “Tsk, tsk, you youngsters … you have a unique opportunity, and you are just going to waste it …”
“Is something wrong with you?” Hazelmere shook her hand next to her face, “How can you speak of an angel like that? What are you, some kind of a … wait … you are always disrespectful towards the clergy! And now you’re disrespecting an angel!”
“The fire is a chaotic, demonic element, you know. You can’t master it unless you are rebellious and unorthodox. My blood commands me to question everything. Like, for example, are angels attracted to mortal females? Stuff like that.”
Hazelmere dismissed her with a wave of the hand: “I’m going before your lunacy starts making sense!”
As she exited the tent, Hazelmere heard loud chuckles behind her.
---
Upon returning to her tent, Hazelmere saw that Galizur was already in his bed. She had no idea if he was asleep or not because he didn’t cover himself with anything. Instead, he got himself into a fetal position, covering his entire body with his huge wings while snuggling his head deep into them. He didn’t even change his clothes.
Speaking of clothes, Hazelmere felt uncertain about changing into her nightgown inside the tent, worried that Galizur may see something. She quickly reprimanded herself thinking: “There’s no way an angel would be interested in any of it!”
Hurried up by the nightly chill, she changed her clothes quickly, extinguished the hanging lantern, and jumped into her bed, burrowing herself deep into the sheets.
But no sleep came to her.
For a long time.
“Are you still awake?” Galizur’s voice startled her, making her squeak, “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to scare you.”
“It’s ok. It’s just that … I am lately on edge.”
“Your people need you at your best, which means you should always get a good night’s sleep. I am not an expert, but I have heard there are a few things the mortals can do to reduce their stress and fall asleep quickly.”
“Oh, like what?”
“Masturbation, for example.”
It was a good thing they were surrounded by darkness because Hazelmere’s face turned red like a ripe, sweet apple.
Galizur continued talking to break the awkward silence: “It is also ok if you want to masturbate while thinking about me, I don’t mind. I will take it as a compliment. We angels aren’t burdened by lust, but we understand the mortals have certain needs. And lust also has a few benefits if enjoyed in a healthy, reasonable manner. After all, the gods didn’t gift it to you to make you suffer.”
Hazelmere remained silent, so he continued after a short pause.
“Likewise, the gods didn’t make all the angels beautiful just to tease the mortals. Gods always know what they are doing. They know that seeing a pretty face is comforting to mortals. They were the ones who have created you, after all. And yet, from what I have heard, many mortals think that having lustful thoughts about the angels is a sin. That would imply that gods made the angels beautiful to make the mortals sin more, which would completely defeat the angels’ purpose.”
“The church says that the gods are testing our faith in such ways,” Hazelmere finally responded, “to see what is more important to us, our lust or our faith. To see if we can keep our emotions under control or if we will submit to them. Falling prey to your emotions is how the demons get you.”
“There is some truth in that, but it is still wrong. Your priests are far away from the heavens, so I don’t blame them for misinterpreting a few things. But, what would be the purpose of giving you something nice and then forbidding you to enjoy it? That sounds like something the evil gods would do, put an unnecessary burden on their creation and then blame it for its flaws. The flaws they themselves have created. Good gods don’t act like that.”
“There is a time and place for such things. And there are some things you are never supposed to lust for.”
“I agree with that. For example, children are definitely out of the question. They are innocent and pure.”
“Aren’t the angels pure too?”
“What, you think we are like the children?”
“No, not in that way! I mean, you said it yourself … you aren’t burdened by lust.”
“Yes, that is true. We don’t have sexual needs, and we don’t feel sexual attraction. Although we can get attracted to people in some other ways. And while we are pure, we aren’t innocent. Unlike children, we are mature enough not to be manipulated into doing something we don’t want. And, most importantly, we can’t be harmed by being subjected to lust. Even during the fall, the angels have never succumbed to it. Some did succumb to some other things but never to lust. This is why there is no harm in mortals fantasizing about us. I would never even think about having sex with a mortal female, but that doesn’t mean I find it disgusting to be a part of her fantasies. In fact, I am honored to be a part of it! So, don’t ever feel bad if you feel like fantasizing about me, ok?”
After that conversation, Hazelmere found it even harder to fall asleep.