It was the dead of night, no wind carried the broken diamonds raining from above. Gabriel stared down at the gulch below the cliff clutching at his crucifix. He waited, and waited till the sky above him lightened, till the snow built on his shoulders, until his lips and fingers dyed a pale white, till his eyes grew heavy and he couldn't keep them open anymore.
He couldn't understand what was happening anymore. Witches, magic, murder, it was a basic topic in his daily life and yet he still doesn’t understand it, he didn’t need to because the adults were the ones that solve it all. Gabriel always admired adults because they can survive things one would deem impossible and become stronger; gaining morale by telling the tale over and over.
Gabriel couldn't stand idle anymore, he needed to move. He grabbed the heavy shield, now resembling a tower, and attempted to drag it over the edge but couldn’t. The weight proved to be too much for the small child frustrating him to just let go.
He wondered what he could face below if he stepped off the cliff, what sort of witches or even unholy creatures could he face. It was inevitable, he needed to jump. Gabriel crossed himself before taking a deep breath and dashed up the cliff and jumped.
Gabriel instantly regretted, he fell down the black gulch and screamed trying to hold on to anything he could to stop the fall.
He prepared for the inevitable and braced himself for the collision. However, the fall eventually paced down till he just stopped. Gabriel’s feet did not stand on a surface but he was pinned in the air. The child opened his eyes observing the endless void. Gabriel could see faint dots in the great distance, black tones softened to red fumes, blue mists swirled into purple haze and green moss blend with yellow glass.
Gabriel turned, seeing a massive form of blues and greens. It was spinning ever so slowly, almost missable if one just glanced at it. Right behind that massive marble was another shrouded in light almost blinding Gabriel, forcing him to look away.
The smaller Amesthyn noticed how he was just standing over nothing. He panicked by taking several steps into thin air feeling the strange sensation of falling. “Where am I…?” It was beyond anything he understood, the loneliness and the lack of sound scared him.
The boy wanted to go home, to wake up in his bed. The child shut his eyes tight as he could and if he concentrated hard he would wake up. He always woke up when the dream was out of control. He needed to wake up. He needed the warmth of his mother and father.
Gabriel never realized he was crying. He fell to the ground covering his eyes. “I want to go home…” he said over and over like a mantra. “Father thou in heaven…” he started a prayer, maybe if he prayed God would come. “Please, forgive me for I have sinned. I am a bad child. I result from the original sin… Please, take me back home…” he sobbed uncontrollably.
“Hello!” Gabriel almost jumped when he saw the... thing.
The creature was his same height, had a black tail with midnight reflective scales and spikes sprouting down its spine. It also had wings instead of arms and the face and head was covered with a pair of wings. “Why are you crying?” she spoke softly.
“I need to get back… How do I get back home?” Gabriel asked.
“Follow me.” The creature flew off gently into vacuum, Gabriel looked down again, almost scared to step into the void underneath him.
“Where are we?” Gabriel asked.
“Many of us call it home, someone calls it a Universe,” The creature responded.
Now realizing where he was located Gabriel almost stopped in his tracks. Venturing through the star road, remarkably, Gabriel didn't imagine that the universe was this vast or beautiful. Shooting stars, meteors, unfamiliar planets, things astronomers ever dreamed to see this close.
They reached a strange place. The floor was duo-tone chess tiles and glossy see-through glass; the galaxy serving as a pattern layer for the black sections and broken glass mirrors with matte translucent designs as if they were diamonds cut into a flat shape for the opposite tiles. There were also black feathers scattered around, along with pages and books laying on the ground in an organized mess. If this was heaven, then the bible missed a few details, or it was translated incorrectly.
Another thought occurred. “Yeah, heaven, where I get my orders from… But it is not the same as what the holy scriptures depict...”
“This is not at all Heaven…” Gabriel said out loud.
Gabriel bent down and picked up one book. The title was hard to read; the letters were in a golden print, the book cover was some hard material and metallic. Inspecting the inside he noticed how the whole book is held in place, three metal rings were tying the pages together. The pages filled from top to bottom with notes, drawings, symbols and other things he wasn't sure about. He took another book and flipped through it, this language was a bit more familiar to him, “
‘ ... in the green province, a demon lived by himself where none would venture, segregated from the supreme species. He lived in his own little world surrounded by little creatures that could fly.
He learned the secret of what keeps them alive, what animated them, the soul. The soul was an essence of a god, a fragment if you will...
He wondered, if everything was a fragment of a god, that would mean that a human could mimic deities in some form or another.”
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He went on a search to find more evidence of this theory and so he found a human, a marquis wearing a hood made of a wise owl's head draped over his body and held a sword made of glass metal. He was bright, cunning, smart, similar to the demon when he thought of it.
‘What are you?’ he couldn’t help but ask,
‘I am Andras,’ he answered, “I am a skilled hunter and marquis of my domain.” The demon was surprised at how calm the response was.
‘Are you not afraid of me?’ the demon asked.
‘I have no reason to fear a human.’
Suddenly, the book was taken from his hands. “Ah! I can see you like literature! But I don't think you will understand this dead language anytime soon,” Startled, Gabriel looked up and saw it; A very tall man covered in feathers and hollowed dark eyes.
For what Gabriel could tell it, whatever it was, it was a male humanoid. It's voice, wherever it was coming from, was deep like a man. Black feathers covered its long legs layer after layer. It had a long tail, too, but the feathers are curved and longer.
It had wings on his head and they were shorter than the other creature. A trail of Gold symbols went down his torso along with black gems impregnating in his skin. This tall creature was indeed a sight to see.
Suddenly the tall bird resembling a creature bending forward invading Gabriel's personal space, it spoke, “I see another human youngling stumbled into our plane. How curious!”
His expression changed, worried and confused. “You seem frightened,” he said and placed his long wrinkly and pearly looking fingers on Gabriel’s shoulders. “Are you perhaps lost?”
“I… I’m looking for someone,” Gabriel finally spoke. “My father, Johan Amesthyn.”
The creature froze and his feathers ruffled at the mention of his name. Gabriel continues to explain his situation. “We are being attacked by witches. He left to fight them and I followed him but I lost track of him. I fear the worst…”
The tall monster stared at Gabriel blankly and quietly before he smiled brightly. “Well he had not ventured here! That I know of!” It backed away and went back to the shelves with an arm full of books to put his collection away. “So many souls come and go I honestly lost track of it all!”
“Who are you?” Gabriel asked.
“Oh! W-well… That's… that's a superb question…” Crow scratched the back of his head as if digging for an answer.
“His name is Crow,” the smaller creature said as it nestled in a nest made of multiple feathers.
“RIGHT,” Crow suddenly shouted. “My name is indeed Crow! What is your name?”
“My name is Gabriel.”
Crow stopped in thought for a moment. “...That’s a choir name, do you happen to be Catholic?”
“I… I assume so…”
“Curious!” Crow sung, it was such a beautiful voice Gabriel almost faltered. “I only had several of the choir visit my little space. But you don’t feel anything similar to the choir. If anything, you feel very familiar! Scary… but! You are very, very, very familiar!”
“T-then… Can you please help me?” Gabriel asked. “I… I can do things that can help me but I can’t seem to control it.”
Crow turned around to pick up more books and feathers to tidy up the place. “Things? Such as?”
“I was told it was Ice manipulation. I just… I can’t understand why I can do that, it really doesn’t matter why anymore because my parents are in need of help and I refuse to stand and do nothing.”
“Ice manipulation? What a peculiar skill for a child to have.” Crow grabbed several trinkets around the library and set up an altar. “Well, I see much more potential in your soul.” Crow’s lips curled into a fond smile. “Jesus of Nazareth was born to save humankind with his sacrifice… I am sure you share his fate. I understand you need to learn quickly but I must advise you that there are certain consequences that can alter your perception.”
“This lifestyle is dangerous, I can bathe you in mud if you ever so wish to be blind once again. Will you accept this life of learning and finding the truth?” Crow asked.
“What... what are the consequences…?”
“You will see life for what it is, it is a duality of beauty and ugly that you must learn to tolerate. Be humble with your gift of sight, or it will eat you alive.” Crow lifted his arms and hummed softly.
Gabriel thought it made sense, somewhat. The little one stood tall on his small feet holding his left hand over his heart. “I have no place to worry about myself when my father and mother are in danger, If this can help me cleanse my birthplace from the witches it's plagued by I will not stand down."
Suddenly, Crow stared at Gabriel quietly, “...Oh…” its claw like hands shook as he drew several breaths trying to chant in song. “How long has it been… since I last felt this blind courage…”
Gabriel was at a loss, the creature laughed as it grabbed a purple quartz from the altar. It extended its hand toward Gabriel and spoke, “Child, allow me a catalyst.”
“A catalyst…?”
“It is a tool to cast spells, summon weapons, or even communicate with the great beyond.”
“I do not…” Gabriel patted his body thinking, frustrated, he clutched his crucifix. “...have any of that with me.”
“But you do, my dear child.” Crow smiled brightly and reached his long arms to touch the cross. “I have come across this catalyst before with Yeshua.” The very tall man held the crucifix with the purple gem and tightened the grip. With great force the gem embedded into the crucifix becomes one item.
Gabriel stared in awe as a purple aura glowed around the now catalyst. A purple robe draped over Gabriel’s shoulders. The robe was fluffy and luxurious, and way too big for him. ‘... A human can do anything they want, only because they were told to at some point in their mind.” Gabriel looked behind him to see Crow smiling down at him. “Humans are social beings that learn from others and mostly through fear. They set boundaries and morals to keep the species from dying out, and go as far as to create a powerful deity to keep them in line, through love, discipline and most of all, fear. They go as far as lying for the survival of the species.”
Crow knelt to Gabriel and placed his clawed hand on the little one’s face, “If you ever feel lost, sing to me;
My world, devoid of stars and dreams,
My mind plagued with doubts and nightmares,
I sing of hope and pray to thee
the Hermit of knowing and God of Creation,
Open your doors to your home beyond the stars, a sanctuary,
Protect my soul, heal my wounds, and silence the voices from the distant.
I am your child, a companion, a familiar,
Merxill Umnai…”