Cato,

Fenici da Mirasol was a great scholar of angels and magic, and one of the most profound thinkers of the last century. After his theories were repudiated by the church and his book banned, he fled here to Anthusa, where he dwelt under the protection of the Manzi family. His private academy taught the young scions of powerful families, including influential bishops and cardinals, such as the Manzi, Tor, Forna, Kolonn, Orczy, and de Resol. He was visiting the Holy City in the hopes of receiving forgiveness from the new Holy Son, as both the frontrunners had children educated in his academy. Unlike you, or the coteries of Fulminous and Magnanimous, he did not survive the slaughter.

His Mystic Conclusions remains the most significant book I have ever read. I copy here some passages which I memorized before my escape from the nunnery, which should form your understanding of angelology. For more practical advice and discussion of his unorthodox ideas, let us discuss in person once you have recovered.

Do not spread these notes around, and don’t publicize that you are reading them.

Yours, Agatha

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Since I understood my fallen nature, I have craved transcendence. The path to Heaven is steep and narrow, bounded on all sides by a vast chasm. Yet despite its difficulty, to cultivate is nothing less than to fulfill the will of the Divine. It is the reason for our existence, that within each of us lies the spark prepared for ascension and the will to carry it out.

The first of the angels to know the Plan was Satan, and these were the words which caused the greatest of angels to turn and fall: that man was made not to serve the angels. This world is a crucible in which we are tested, and to pursue the Plan is to transcend our mortal, sinful limits.

There being nine choirs of those beings whom we shall surpass, let us describe each in turn.

The first and lowest choir, furthest in orbit from the Divine Font, is the domain of the angels, whose name means ‘those who are sent’, for they are the messengers of the divine unto humanity. They are many in number but few are named, though they are much like us in size and form. To seek the name of a being of the lowest choir is like searching for a leaf blown on the wind with a telescope, being both many and small and quickly lost from sight. The nameless angels who brought the righteous out from destruction, wrestled with the antiarch, and rebuked the nations for idolatry are among their number. The voice from out the whirlwind is not among their number, for his name is known. Their prince is Gabriel, the Annunciator, and his lieutenant is Iris, who gave the rainbow unto mankind.

The second choir is composed of the warrior angels, whom the ignorant name ‘archangels’ because some texts said they were to the messenger angels as kings were to men, but this is a mistaken understanding. They take swords in hand to punish the wicked at the command of the Divine, but they are not slayers of men, and in form they are like giants. For the poets say that a sigh is an angel’s sword: it is also a blade of grass, a cutting word, the touch that kills evil and leaves good alone. They are given unto the wicked to turn them from their path, and if they are repentant their blades cut out the demons within. When the final trump rings, they shall descend from Heaven and bring divine fury to Hell. The angel astride the road was among their number, and so was the one who brought food to the hungry. The one who slew the firstborn is not among their number, for his name is known otherwise and for the reasons written before. Their prince is Michael, the Avenger, and his lieutenant is Camael, the Strong Arm.

The third choir, highest of the lower triad, is that of the principalities. These are the miracle workers, through whom the goodness of the Divine is known. They are many, but fewer and better known than the innumerable warriors and messengers, and in form they are like titans who overshadow houses. They are healers, dispatched by the successful intervention of saints to relieve disease and seal wounds, and when the time has come to allow one to die, they also relieve pain so that one may focus on heavenly things. We count Gadreel, who is called the Protector, and Domiduca, the Ward of Lost Children, among their number. Their prince is Raphael, the Merciful, and his lieutenant is Zadkiel, the Benevolent.

Beginning with the fourth choir, we arrive at the angels who are known not by their interventions but by their continuous labor, for they uphold the myriad workings of the cosmos. The fourth choir are the Powers, whom the ignorant once worshiped as gods of grain and soil. These are difficult to name in their own way, but they can each be experienced through their works. We know well the angel who produces the fragility of a lily flower, the one who emits the chilling howl of the wolf, and the one who revels in the warm sea breeze. For those with patience and dedication, the names of these angels can be discovered directly from their respective phenomena. Their prince is Barachiel, the Provider of Gifts, and in my discourses I have found him to be a most melancholy angel, for he governs all the wondrous things upon the earth, but is most pleased when mortals spurn his works and most dismayed when they are enjoyed, for the pleasures of the earth are but the antechamber to the pleasures of heaven, and those whom he enraptures are commended to Hell. Some say his lieutenant is Metekiel, the angel of cabbage, for Barachiel often carries roses and is contrasted with the angel who produces a prosaic yet essential thing. However, with no ill will towards Metekiel, who is most diligent and kind, this is nonsense. For though he is known as the Provider in his capacity as Prince of Powers, his name reveals his true and original responsibility, the ineffable brilliance of a lightning strike. This is a fine thing as well, for a study of language reveals that the word for lightning and prayer differ by a single letter, and while prayer rises invisibly and in great waves from earth to Heaven, lightning descends from the heavens to the earth with great flash and glory. Accordingly, his true lieutenant is the crashing thunder that follows the lightning strike, the Night Thunderer, whose name I have divined as Summanus.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

The fifth choir are called the Virtues, who are so named because they give things their essential qualities. Unlike the Powers, whose domain is the whole sublunary world, the Virtues are superior and ephemeral. We count among their number Kokabiel the Star-scribe, who is a minor chief in charge of the constellations, but their best-known representatives are many of the angels who, in a better time, dwelt among men and modeled proper modes for them. We thus know Mars, the angel of Victorious Conquest, Mercury the Roving Trickster, and Luna of the Changing Face, who also guards the border between linear and cyclic time. These angels teach and inspire modes in mortals, providing both virtues to reward and vices to challenge. Their prince is Uriel of the Flaming Sword and his lieutenant is Jupiter the Imperial.

The sixth choir, highest of the middle triad, is composed of the Dominions, who uphold the fundamental laws of reality. So we count among them Vulcan the Shaper, who provides the forms to which the Virtue Venus Genetrix gives substance, as well as Neptune the Counter, who measures out the vast distances of space, and Tabris, who celebrates mortal freedom. Their chief is Samael, the Venom of the Lord, the angel of Death, who cuts away the soul from the body, and to whom we attribute the deaths of the firstborn. His lieutenant is Jegudiel, the Slave-driver, the angel of Toil, who came out of the garden beside his master and whose scourge wracks the body with pain as it works, preparing the mortal to encounter Death.

The seventh choir, first of the upper triad, is composed of the Thrones, who dwell upon the threshold of the comprehensible. They embody the highest things which man can strive to know rather than merely experience, and are great patrons of scholars. They are powerful and well-known, but few. This author has a special appreciation for Tanith, angel of Welcome Knowledge. Their prince is Zaphkiel, the angel of Truth, and his lieutenant is Minerva, the angel of wisdom.

The eight choir, known as the Cherubim, contemplate the divine mysteries and embody concepts which humans cannot understand by reason alone. To speak with them is most difficult, and even when conversing with other angels of the lower choirs, they veil themselves in order to hide their magnificence. Their prince is Raziel, the angel of Mystery, whom I have been utterly unsuccessful in calling down, though for what reason I cannot fathom. I have, however, conversed with Apollo, the Bright One, who claims to be regent over the eighth choir while Raziel is away on some important task, and his lieutenant Jophiel, the angel of Beauty.

The ninth and final choir, the Seraphim, dwell at the shore of the Divine Font and sing praises. They never answer my summons. To converse with one is to be virtually in the Presence itself, and accordingly the Prince of Seraphim is Metatron, who is called the Voice, the one who spoke from out the whirlwind, who stands at the right hand of the Divine and declares His commands, while to the left stands the lieutenant Sandalphon.

These are the ranks and the names of the first servants of the Divine, but the greatest servants in Heaven are those who rose.

St. Zeno is among their number, for he defended the unity of the Divine and elucidated the art of measurement, by which we are taught the majesty and scale of Creation.

St. Agatha is among their number, for she rejected all worldly existence and kept the Divine forever in her mind, even as she was commended unto Death.

St. Trajan is among their number, for he defended the faith with sword in hand, and has inspired untold warriors to protect the Divine.

St. Philomena is among their number, for she was steadfast before the might of the infidels and demonstrated the care of the Divine for the faithful.

And we know that each of these are among their number because they have returned to the mortal world from heavenly bliss in order to give blessings and miracles. These saints, who were once mortals shaped from clay and dust, rose to stand among or above the angels, to intercede in the world according to the Divine Will. Thus, though angels are servants in charge of maintaining what is, it is the saints who serve to shape what could be. In this way they are greater, the true fulfillment of the Divine Plan.

Thus, refusing to accept second place in the universe, let us vie with angels.