Empire of Heaven

Chapters

The extent of forgiveness
1. (Prologue) He calls me home
2. (Prologue) Reminiscence and acceptance
3. (Prologue) The treasures of devotion
4. A new Eden
5. A mother's love
6. First encounter
7. The lord protects
9. Embrace of our loved ones
11. A city's plight
12. Starved of love
13. The blessed young
14. Confrontation
8. Faith through bread
10. Faith kindled

The extent of forgiveness

Soot covered stones as huge as carriages, carved out of mountain rock, stood as cornerstones holding up the smoldering monolith. Its foundations were near the breaking point, if only saved by the grace of fate, or perhaps a greater power. The tower itself was the tallest, and perhaps the greatest structure in the castle, only rivaled by the great hall. Although its grandeur had been diminished, as the pearly white that once coated it had turned a blasted gray.

Shooting up towards the sky, it stretched like a finger trying to reach the heavens. Down below, the great road that the city was based out of stood in its shadow. At the top, a single balcony lay outside the highest room, the railings adorned with intricate carvings and one of the few areas not coated with soot. It was like a realm standing outside of all that surrounded it.

Standing on top of this monumental structure, stood two individuals. One, a man, the other, a mare. The first of the two stood at a towering height, his hair coloured a snowy white that flowed down to his shoulder. With broad shoulders and a figure like that of mighty Hercules, he was a titan of a man. Covering his frame was a bulwark of interlocking plates, each having runes of white metal etched into them. The runes themselves depict imagery of great events, crucifixes, chi-rhos, merciful mothers and wrathful fathers, each gleaming like stars upon the soot covered plates. Half of these however could not be seen, for upon him lay a surcoat of what used to be a pure white surcoat, with a golden symbol of a crucifix stretching across it. Now however, it would be generous to even call it a rag, as soot and dried blood covered it, with holes, tears and burn marks further disfiguring it. His face too, was much the same, for although he looked to be in his thirties, he was bruised and beaten, sleep deprived and overworked. His beard was shaggy and unkempt, bags hung under his eyes and his most noteworthy feature, his emerald green eyes, had all life absent from them as he stared at the city below.

The latter, a mare, stood up to the man's chest with a horn stretching out of her forehead, its form swirling before coming to a blunted end. Her coat was an alabaster white, but much like the man, was covered with soot and dried blood, staining it a myriad of gray shades, with splotches of rusty red. Her mane seemed not to flow in the wind, but rather on its own accord, various greens and blues together with a shade of pink flowing like waves upon an ocean before dissipating without a trace. It looked rather out of place in comparison to the rest of her, as it was the only part not covered by filth. Huge wings rested upon her back, restrained with tight ropes whirling around her midsection to keep them still, though if they were to stretch to their fullest, it’s clear to see that her form would be as big, if not bigger than the man she stands next to. The feathers themselves were a mess, some out of place, some broken, but all covered in ash.

Atop her head sat a crown of gold, with a huge diamond shaped amethyst in the middle, likewise on her hooves, golden greves shone in the moonlight. The only clothing she had which was not out of gold, was a single ring sitting upon the base of her horn, being of gunmetal gray. The overall shape of the mare however, was not that of a horse, but rather there was some allot more sapient about her. The face especially showed this, as the muzzle did not stretch out like that of a terran equine, rather it was short, with lips much like that of a human, although lightly covered by fur. More noteworthy was her magenta pink eyes which, like a human's, were stereoscopic, and large in size. Her gaze was locked onto the man, staring at him with unabashed anger, resembling an almost primal hatred.

“I wonder if this is what the fall looked like…” The baritone voice of the man rang out, his voice rugged and deep.

“Don't patronize us, demon. We did what we hath to!” The mare snarled, her scowl deepening.

The man glanced over, his eyes looking into hers as he spoke.

“You mistake me, butcher, I do not speak of the fall you forced upon my folk."

He turned his eyes back to the cityscape.

"I speak of a far older one, one of such magnitude that even you could not compare." He paused as he exhaled through his mouth in an exasperated fashion. "That is unless you've truly gone mad, and wish to kill us all with his sun."

A nerve snapped in the mare as he uttered the final words, taking a step forward towards the man.

"Tis. Not. His! Thine god abandoned thou, left thou to rot! Even in this feeble victory he leaves thou with nought but empty promises! Thou speak often of that which he hath created, no? Then what of that which he hath destroyed? How many kingdoms hath thine so called 'god' burned?!” The mare shouted, becoming breathless as she shouted her final words. As she panted, recovering from her rant, her eyes were fixated upon the man in front of her.

A pause came between them both, the only sounds perceived being that of the screams and shouting down below. Finally however, the man closed his eyes and breathed a sad sigh.

“It is true, the lord gives, and the lord takes. I have lost many things over the years.” A small frown escaped as he looked over to Celestia for but a second. “People as well… But this?”

He stretched his arms out to the direction of the city below as he spoke in a loud voice. “This is not his work. No.” He turned his entire form back to Celestia, the mare taking a step back at the sudden change of tone. “Through pride, naivety, arrogance and stubbornness to your hatred, you caused this. Have you forgotten, butcher, The towns who had wrought your wrath?"

We couldn't escape it. The screams echoing in our ear, the smell of rust together with burning flesh, the feeling of our armor weighing down on our withers, death was everywhere and it culminated in the sight before us.

Our sun stood upon the horizon, everlasting ever... No, today there was no love, no great warmth that settled upon our little ponies. For the sky was a deep red, showing fierce hatred, a symbol for the blood which I had given, and taken.

Standing upon this snow covered hill, I look upon the remnants of what once was. Crying could be heard in between the houses, silenced as our guards ran to and fro, pillaging all that they could. Burned homes, along with the crushed bodies of ponies whom we used to call our own littered the area.

It was all so muffled now. Our sister spoke, uttering words almost too cold to be her own. Calculating, apathetic, cold-hearted, and yet, it was the only comfort we had.

Was that a tear upon our cheek? A stray snowflake? Or perhaps the ashen remains of somepony whose name we would never know?

"Victory is ours." We muttered in unison, as we rested our bodies upon one another.

"Have you forgotten, tyrant, the families you tore apart, the children you had sent to their death?"

…

Even in wartime, the work of a diarch was boring. Striding down the northwestern street to the plaza, we listened to the mayor as he dribbled on. The stallion himself was quite a shrewd old politician, but one inexperienced with delegating as his constant complaints of overwork entailed.

Keeping our gaze ahead, and slowly nodding every now and then, we looked around to see if we could catch anything to break the monotony of being an over-glorified bureaucrat. To each side, we were surrounded by two lines of buildings, all with a uniform stone foundation and wooden structure. Fitting, as each side was part of the upper estate, which had more amenities to them. Most noticeably among them, the cisterns that were dotted around, useful leftovers from the last war, now left to serve us.

Chatter was heard all around, although many quieted down as we grew near, bowing deeply as a sign of respect for their ruler. Although we doth imagine our escort of guards also had something to do in the matter.

Carrying on down the street, the mayor eventually quieted down as we rounded the corner and onto the plaza, where our carriage was waiting. It was abuzz with activity, as it was the hub of trade for the entire city, where both the rich and the poor peddled their goods to be sold, swindling the best they could. Its most noticeable feature was the enormous octagonal building which sat furthest from us, in between the upper and middle quarters of the town, as to supposedly show its "equal" administration. Giant white pillars of marble held up a great roof, which casted a shadow over nearly a third of the entire plaza in its imposing glory. Out from each pillar, reaching down diagonally, arched flying buttresses, each ending in small towers decorated with intricate carvings out of both marble, metal and glass. Its most noticeable feature however was the pinnacles upon the roof. Nine in number, each covered in gold, they stood out like gleaming lighthouses for the ponies to find their way here. The biggest sat in the middle, standing out from its brethren as it did not sit on an edge. It stretched up thrice as high, forming a tower whose shadow would have nearly reached the middle of the plaza, yet its gleaming surface gave far more light than darkness.

The first time we saw it, we were impressed, perhaps even envious. Yet now we doth feel no such emotion, all that remains is a deep pride for my little ponies having earned such a beautiful monument. The thought even brought a smile to our face as our carriage finally came into view.

Bidding the mayor a farewell, a gesture he returned as he strode into the town hall, I made my way to the carriage. That is… until a commotion caught our ear.

"He's only a child, please!" A female voice cried out in distress and a rough male voice came soon after.

"Stand down, sky rat! He's either coming with us, or you're both being sent to the Twilight sanctuary!" He snarled.

Turning to the right, another carriage stood, although much more spartan in condition. Being pulled by four earth ponies adorned with the colors of the lunar guard, it had a sturdy but worn out look about its wooden structure.

In front of the carriage however was the source of the voices in question. A high griffon mother, giant in stature, easily twice the size of any of the trio of guards who surrounded her. At her side, tucked under her wing stood another high griffon, this one however being much more near to the ponies height.

"No no no, please! He's all I have left! I'll do anything, take me instead, please!" The mother begged to the cold glare of the guards.

"I won't repeat myself another time, sky rat. Hoof him over." The lead guard responded, using his horn to flash a blade out of the sheth on his side.

"Mom, where are they taking me?" The fearful voice of the younger griffon asked, his voicing sounding more like that of a foal than his fearsome stature would otherwise suggest.

A small crowd had formed around the pair, seemingly poised to strike if they fled. Some ponies casually tossing stones up and down in their hooves, all the while throwing smirks at the griffons, as if taunting them.

Silence hung between them for a while as tears began to stream down the mother's face, matting her cheeks. Then, before anyone could react, she swung out with her wings as she clutched her child against herself. The sudden burst of air nearly knocked the guards off their hooves as they staggered back. As she began to take off however, she found her wings locked, stuck as my magic clutched them tight to their side. Motioning to our guards, they joined the fray to stop the hail of stones that soon rained down on the pair.

Giving off a mirthless sigh, we turned back to our carriage, all the while trying to block out the sounds we heard behind me. The wails of a mother begging for her only son, the crying of a child as he was beaten and taken to be sent off to some harmony forsakened war.

As the noise outside was muffled by the closing of the carriage door, we settled down on the velvet pillows and waited. Soon enough however, the crowd outside was silenced, and our guards returned. Sighing to ourselves, we closed our eyes as the paving stones gave us a bumpy ride before we could take off outside the city. Drifting off to sleep as I enclosed ourselves with our wings, we muttered to ourself, all the while keeping our eyes closed to the world outside.

"Tis all for the greater good."

"Have you forgotten, Judas, the carnage your betrayal brought to MY people?!"

…

The moon, glowing like silver, sat upon its bed of black. Stars shone down like diamonds in the sky before the sight in front of us. Stretching out towards the horizon was a forest, with trees numbering in the dozens. The trees however, lacked any form of branches, standing bare amongst the tattered landscape like spears jutting out of the ground.

Guttural screams filled the air as pegasi flew back and forth, tackling any stragglers that tried their best to flee what was to come. Beneath each and every tree lay bundles of flammable material, from wood to cloth. Giving off a light sigh, I watched as a stallion was hooked in the jaw. His tongue evidently was caught in the process, letting out a long streak of blood behind him as he was dragged away to the nearest tree. He didn't even scream, just gurgled, as his mouth was filled with blood. Though he was just one of many that were dragged off and strapped to the poles.

Out observations however were broken by the mare behind us.

"Your majesty, the ritual ready to commence, we await your command." The voice said, in perfect calmness.

Giving a sideways glance behind us, we looked at the visage of the perpetrator of the act before us. Standing at two thirds of my height, which is quite the feat for anypony, she looked straight into my eyes. Her mane was wrapped in a ponytail, being short at the front, with the back reaching down to her withers. The coloration of the mane was that of fire, with a mix of orange, yellow, red and small specks of blue forming what looked to be a flame upon both her head and rear. The coat itself was a pure white, like that of snow, akin to our own in both cleanliness and color. The wings resting on her back were adorned with wingblades, giving a metal sheen to their edges. Adorning her whole form was a pure white armor, being of enchanted steel. The only areas where her coat was visible was her head and joints, where the chain mail previously adorning those parts had been stripped after the battle.

Her most prominent feature however was neither coat, mane, armor nor wings. It was her eyes, looking straight into ours. They held a fire in them, quite literally, as her iris seemed to sway like a flame in the, glowing with its blood red coloration. Where before there had been what looked like unquenchable rage was now a deep admiration and love, pure and incorruptible.

"Your majesty?" She asked once more with a smile, bringing me out of my daydream.

Turning our sight back to the sight in front of us, we looked upon an army of fanatics, of whom all would gladly die for us. Yet, if our actions proved to be untrue to their belief, what would they do? We were prisoners to our own ponies, to their love, their obsession.

Giving off a sigh, we finally turned around and walked past the mare as she lifted an eyebrow at us, but still maintained that ever present smile.

"Thou may commence, high priestess." We muttered, our voice barely above a whisper but nonetheless she heard it and gave a nod to her retainers.

Glancing to our left as I walked back to my camp, we watched them raise a blood red banner, our sun adorning sitting in the central position and seams of gold upon its edges.

Inhaling the air for a final time before it was choked with ash, we looked to the sky as fire reigned down from above. Whimpers filled the air as all looked on, the silence almost making me stumble on my way into the tent. Laying down on our bed, we lifted a pillow with my magic, pushing it against our ears. Though no matter how much we tried, we could not drown out the sound of over a hundred dying folk, screaming for mercy as they were burnt alive.

We laid there, seemingly alone in the world, the light dimming around us as we cried. Throughout it all, as our mind was plunged into an unconscious muttering, all we heard in the backdrop of the screams was a single broken sentence.

"Tis not my fault."

He began walking towards her as he continued. “You took the gifts bestowed upon you to uphold peace and harmony to instead conjure up such chaos that not even discord could rival it! You allowed cultists within your ranks, watching as they raped and pillaged your very own, yet you did nothing. You allowed your sister, whom I treated as a daughter to fall so low as to kill foals without remorse. You took your gifts and made a country built upon the foundations of your own vanity.”

Giving off a humorless laugh, his shadow loomed over the mare, her eyes having gone from a deep hatred to fear. “Yet you stand before me preaching of God's failure to protect? No, you failed to protect them. Not from me, the griffons nor faith in god, but yourself. All you succeeded in was the banishment of your own sister, and the deaths of thousands.”

Lifting up his hand in a swift motion, he grabbed the mare by her mane as she let out a whimper before dragging her to the railing, her hooves desperately trying to find ground on the marble floor. They came to a stop right at the edge, with her eyes closed and waiting for the end, she shuddered and waited, a small trickle of tears rolling down her cheeks. Yet, as she waited, there was nothing, only the feeling of the hand upon the back of her head and the wind blowing against her face.

“So look, bearer of magic, laughter and kindness. Look at what you have accomplished and proclaim to me that you are innocent.” The man said with a finality to his voice.

The mare paused, still shaking with fear at the risk of losing her life at any moment before giving into his words and finally opening her eyes.

Thick plumes of smoke cover the skies, with occasional gaps through which the dimmed light of a blood red moon breaks through for but a moment. Within a second however, the threshold passes, and it's once more filled with the black smoke rising from the sea of fire below. Throughout it all, one can see occasional shapes break-through, the shapes of drakars, dragons, pegasi, griffons and wolves alike flying for all their worth, carrying the wingless and those too weak to fly.

Down below, as far as the eye can see, there is only an near endless ocean of bright flames and crimson embers. Despite the night and the thick smoke, everything is bright as day, illuminated by flames, dyeing even the dark smoke clouds covering the skies in an eerie scarlet hue.

The occasional screams and cries for help are faint and rare, as the flames snuff the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to still be here, in this hellish place. The stinging smell of smoke was tinged by the nauseating stench of burned flesh, bone and fur, as the fire consumed the charred bodies of foals, stallions, mares and folk alike, slowly turning them to ash. Here, there will be nothing left to bury. The entire city becoming a final resting place for tens of thousands, and the extant stone spire above it becoming a grand tombstone, a mournful monument to what once was a city of prosperity and abundance, now, only a memory.

The mare was stuck in a trance, her gaze fixed to the carnage that lay before her. She didn't ask if it was her fault, her mind seemingly skipping past such a possibility, only one question, what led to this? What madness caused this? What could've possibly justified this?

The question raged in her mind as she tried to look for an answer, any answer, but if there was one, she could not find it. That was, until her gaze turned to the sky, as the crimson light shone from the moon, it reflected back into her eyes the visage of her very own sister, trapped forevermore. Finally, she had her answer as she sniffed and tried to stop her tears from flowing.

"This… she caused this."

Silence was the man’s only answer.

"It wasn't- I wasn't- we didn't want this! We didn't want any of this! She did this! Thou hath to believe me, we art innocent!"

At the end of her spiel she was practically yelling as the hand behind her let go of her mane. Falling backwards with a thud, she muttered incoherently to herself as she covered her eyes with her hooves, whispering over and over her excuses. The man only met her with a sigh as he went from looking out at the city, then back to her. Kneeling down to the mare's level, with a look of pity upon his face, he spoke.

"If you can't see it now, I don't know if you ever will." He let out a sigh. "Perhaps it's our fault, your wings were forced upon you, you didn't have a choice to bear such responsibility and now it's all come crashing down."

He reached down with his hand, her hooves falling to her side with the slightest touch. Wiping the tears from the mare's matted cheeks as she let out soft sobs, he let out a faint smile.

"My daughter has taught me alot over the years, it's about time I taught them to you. I don't know if I can ever love you, Tia, but I do know I love your sister. It is for her I'll give you this chance."

Stroking her cheek, he paused, moving his hand up to her forehead as she shut her eyes.

"You're blind, Tia, but I will make you see."

From his hands rose strands of gold that only grew in number, arching across the balcony, extending and expanding till it formed a ball of pure golden light around the two of them. And so it was that out of the darkness of that once great city, from its tallest height upon that tower, rose one last beacon of hope, one that outshone even the sun in its radiance. One last chance, for the mare of the sun.

Author's Note

Sorry for long inactivity, school's been sapping the energy outta me like a sponge made of pure hellfire. This is the first chapter in a series of rewrites and serves an introductionary chapter.

1. (Prologue) He calls me home

The echoes of footsteps sounded through the snow blasted ruin. One of the few last standing bastions of human life in Europe, only occupied by a single individual. The great windows stood boarded and insulated against the thrashing winds. The benches were long gone, repurposed to fuel the hearth in the middle of the hall, it's shallow fires sputtering out weak embers amongst the frost coated floor. Where before thousands came to visit it's spectacle, now all that was left was a single house of God in a sea of desolation.

Cologne cathedral, before seen as one of the greatest works of the European man, now was seen as one the last. The fall struck the big cities the hardest, looting and rioting were widespread before the migration began. Pregnant mothers, children, the old and the healthy all set out south intent on finding refuge where warmer winds blow. Yet, like all such events, some were left behind.

The echoing suddenly came to a halt, and looking up from the altar you would only see a single frail young man. Elijah Lugn. Known by many other names such as "orphan bastard" or "thieving rat." Yet here he was not known as an orphan or a thief, here he was not hated by people or the world at large. Here he was loved, here he had someone who cared for him. Even amongst all this cold, he found something- no, someone, who would listen to his troubles and shield his soul.

Kneeling down before the altar, he lowered his hood. A scruffy beard adorning his face, striking out against his pale skin. Dirty blonde hair stood upon his head, coming down at shoulder length. His features were haggard and looking upon them, you'd clearly see the signs of starvation. Looking down you'd see what could only be called a collection of rags, sewn together to form a thick coat to shield his body from the cold. Looking further down though, you'd see it wasn't enough. An opening in his boots revealed not the pale skin adorning his face, but a dark mass, lost to the frost. Yet, amongst all that misery, his most defining look was his eyes. Gentle and warm, amongst all the cold lay a pair of green eyes and upon them reflected the visage of God's own son.

A single wooden cross, taken from an abandoned basement before the frost truly came in, adorned the high altar where the shrine of the three kings once stood. However, even in all its simplicity, it served its purpose well for frail young Elijah as he spoke in a raspy, hushed voice.

"Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven."

He paused for a moment as he coughed dryly, not having spoken for hours on end. After dying down, he continued.

"Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we have forgiven those trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen."

He maintained his stance, bowing before the cross with his eyes closed, trying to tune out the noise of the wind against the stained glass. His shaking hands tightly gripping his necklace, a crucifix hanging on the end.

Slowly opening his eyes as he stood up, he then limped his way to the side of the altar. There, resting against the wall was a small wooden chest with intricate shapes running across its surface which culminated in the centerpiece. There it displayed knight kneeling before his king, with the king resting his sword upon the knight's shoulder. Opening it, it revealed a purple silken interior with but two scant items inside. One was the broken remainder of a piece of bread, the other was a small vial of wine with only a few drops left inside. The sight brought a small sigh to the man, his eyes now full of regret, sorrow and resignation. Picking them up gently, and doing his best to not let them fall out of his hands, he returned to the altar.

Standing in front of it yet again, he took the bread and placed it in his mouth, then gently raising the vial, he finished his short communion. For him, it was with great shame that he turned around and looked across the empty halls.

"4 years," he thought. "4 years since I first reached this holy place. 4 years of doing the lord's work."

He let out a sad smile.

"And yet, here I stand. Dying and frail of body with only the armor of faith keeping me from falling apart… I wonder, father. Will you still recieve me, despite my failing?"

He looked up, expecting an answer. Seconds ticked by, then minutes, with the winds being his only company. Closing his eyes, he sighed. Yet as he opened them once more, he saw a faint light towards one of the openings in the windows. Moonshine flowing through, and cascading towards a single object. The cross, upon the altar.

Elijah's eyes widened and a smile not of sadness, but of joy came to his face.

"Yes! Finally!" He thought as he ran as best a limping man could towards the altar. "My prayers have been answered!"

Standing in front of it he picked it up and held it against his chest. He remembered once more why he had spent all those days looking through the holy texts. Why he had served communion for all those years with God being his only companion.

He turned around and slumped against the altar, his legs finally giving out on him. The light of his hearth standing in the middle of the church began to falter as only weak embers escaped it.

His eyes focused on the cross held in his thin arms he felt his body growing colder as life began escaping him.

"I'm coming home, father."

He rasped out as his vision began to blur. He had finally given up, after all the years and struggles. He remembered the despair he felt as he woke up from his short lived coma in an alley in Helsingborg. Everyone he once knew was gone and he was but a part of the few civilised beings left. From facing down bears and raiders in the tundra of Denmark to walking through the ruins of Hamburg. He remembered the frozen remains of people he never knew yet felt great sadness for. From the young children out in the snow to the lovers grasping each other tightly for warmth.

He remembered the sight of the Elbe, frozen over with countless corpses strewn across below the surface among the bridge he discovered. Further still he remembered his discovery of a single survivor, a little girl, no older than 13. For 3 days and nights he toiled away trying to heal her, trying everything he had learnt from his time in the frost. Yet even then, it was not enough. The frostbite had taken her and no warmth could heal the black scourge that had taken her legs. He remembered how he cried as he held her little body, her little smile gone now replaced with the dull expression only the dead could make. He spent seven days trying to dig through the permafrost for a grave, yet his pick, shovel and hands laid broken against the bitter cold. Eventually giving into it, and burning her body instead, hoping that perhaps it would warm her frozen soul. Her urn now inside the church, where Jesus might recieve her and hold her in his ever loving grasp.

He remembered when he first laid his eyes upon the great cathedral. Before then, he was never a man of God. It was just stories he told himself, made up to scare children into obeying the law. However, when he looked upon the cathedral in all its splendour, in all its glory, a single thought crossed his mind. This, he thought, this cannot be the work of just man. That single thought sparked a curiosity which lit a blaze within him, giving him life and purpose.

He remembered when he first stepped into it, the white light of the outside shimmering against the painted glass. It looked as if all the stars had fallen from the sky in all their colours and danced with joy at his coming.

Yet, like all great men, the body gives out before the spirit. But as he lay there, frostbite covering left foot he let out a single act of defiance against his bitter foe, the cold.

"A-amazing grace… how sweet the sound…"

Echoed throughout the church.

"To s-save a wretch like me… I o-once w-was lost but now I-I'm found…"

His head finally fell towards his chest as light began cascading through all the windows at once, covered by plank or not as a multitude of voices sang with him.

"Was blind but now I see."

Author's Note

This story miiiiight unintentionally get some parts of Christian faith wrong btw. I'll try my best. (Although there will obviously be some fucking around since this is a fantasy adventure.)

2. (Prologue) Reminiscence and acceptance

…

Unending darkness greeted me upon the call of the choir. I couldn't move, couldn't speak and I couldn't see. However, I did not panic, instead I felt pure bliss upon what was lost. I felt no hunger, I felt no pain, I did not hear the thrashing winds blowing against my ears. All was peaceful and in the end, my only regret was leaving my half rotten corpse in such a holy place.

Staring into the abyss I felt time pass by, I tried counting the seconds as they passed into minutes but as they stretched into an hour I gave up. My own thoughts were my only company as I tried to move, speak, do anything. I didn't even know if I had retained my body upon my end, eventually I was left to just reminisce about my life.

…

I sprinted as hard as I could and rounded the corner as my path strayed into an alley. I paused and hid behind a dumpster as my pursuers ran past. Then holding my breath for a few seconds out of sheer nervousness as I clutched the bag I held in my arms.

Taking the zipper and opening it up I looked inside…. What. The. Fuck.

"All this… fucking work… for a BAD DRAGON!"

I yelled between gasps as I threw the bag against the wall. A pair of dildos, a cockcage, lube and a bunch of condoms falling out and being spread across the alleyway.

"Good thing I took this off of her! She was at max carrying capacity with all the chromosomes she's leaking out if this is the sorta shit she's carrying around in public!" Giving out a tired sigh I muttered "fucking cumbrains man…"

I began making my way home, and by home I meant an abandoned basement I had found a while back. Classy, I know, but it did its job well enough.

Walking through the maze of side streets and alleys whilst avoiding the more suspicious folk around I eventually made it to my humble abode. Ducking and slipping through the window I fell onto the couch I had positioned underneath after falling on my ass the first time.

"Home sweet home…"

From the couch you could basically see it all. In the far right corner was the staircase leading upstairs, the door long since being boarded up and left to be forgotten by the occasional resident who occupied the building. Which so far have been 3, all of whom have left after experiencing "supernatural events" which I may or may not have had some involvement in. Hey, a little bit of knocks and the odd stealing of pastries go a long way into driving people into paranoia.

On the left was my haul of clothes which I had accumulated through the months I've been here. Next to them lay a bag for the dirty ones which I went out to get cleaned occasionally with what little money I had to spare from my daily business of stealing and scams. Don't look at me like that, if you were in my position you'd do the same. Ever since the 2038 crash of the dollar, welfare programs across Europe fell to shit. In the chaos of it, thousands were left homeless and orphanages were amongst the ones hit. I had a choice, starve or make a life out of all the shit that's been handed to me.

I chose to live.

Sighing as I closed and locked the window behind me, I stood up and looked to the nightstand next to the couch. An old radio from the early 2000s rested upon it, with a drawer full of CDs underneath it. I loved music, it was one of the few forms of escapism I had in here, I even had some dubbed children's books in there.

Smiling, I picked up one of the ones I liked falling asleep to. Placing it inside, and clicking play, I went back to the couch and sank into it. Placing a sheet over myself, I let out a happy sigh and a tired smile as the music began to play.

…

Alright alright so hear me out, somewhere in my big brain two neurons connected and spoke to me of the most amazing plan. Turns out, stealing from the Bosnians was VERY FUCKING BAD IDEA.

I stood back to the wall amongst a bunch of apartment blocks. I figured the passageway would've been unlocked but apparently the landlord had actually gotten a proper lock master to fix it. In front of me stood 4 very pissed off bosnians decked out in Adidas and with the one in front holding a knife.

"So you're the little shit that's been running circles around the cops for the last year."

He said, then spitting on my shoe.

"Too bad you decided to fuck around with my nephew, you little brat. Hand over the phone and we'll let you off lightly."

I looked at him, his friends and finally at the knife. A look of resignation came over me as I handed over the phone and let out a whimper as my eyes started to water.

"Please d-dont hurt me."

He gave a calm smile that relieved me of my fears for just a bit.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you…"

My fears came back as the smile morphed into a sneer.

"... much!"

Before I could even react I was on the ground clutching my teeth, barely registering his ranting as he began kicking me in the stomach over and over.

"Think you can fuck with my family, yeah?! You're lucky I haven't cut your balls off and force fed them to you, you orphan rat!"

Over and over my body was beaten but the pain came to a sudden stop as I felt something hit my head and my vision went black.

…

Waking up a little over a day later was a bitch. Having to drag my bruised and beaten ass home was a bitch. Falling in and out of consciousness for the next two weeks was a bitch. Feeling like a bag of broken assholes and turning on the public radio only to find out the public had tossed itself across the Baltic and are currently rushing over the Mediterranean?

… did I mention how the last couple of weeks have been a bitch to deal with? Because if I wasn't still suffering from the bruises that Balkan cunt gave me. I'd think I was dreaming as someone was currently giving me a VERY THOROUGH PROSTATE EXAM BECAUSE CHRIST ALIVE, LIFE HAS BEEN A PAIN IN MY ASS!

"Welp"

I said to myself as I sat in the middle of a park, while munching on a wienerbröd. The whole silence was eerie as the noises of the train, cars, buses, people and songs were all gone. Next to me was a playground, normally occupied by youngsters now that it's a weekend.

"At least no one will mind if I steal."

Sitting up and walking over to one of the towers looking over Helsingborg. Behind me stood Kärnan, the medieval keep left standing since the 1300s. In front of me I could see the Victorian steps leading up to the twin towers who stood at the entrance of the park. Further still I could see the empty streets filled with trash. Flyers flying by in the wind on the empty parking lots with the waters further ahead occupied by no boat, just bobbing trash. All this the result of the protests leading up to the evacuation order.

"How in all hell did I sleep through this?"

I asked myself as I took another bite, a somber look in my eyes over the loneliness. Across the strait, where once you'd see the lights of Helsingör now loomed just a black backdrop from the sea, over which the sun set.

"I mean, a little bit of cold? What's the worst that can happen?"

How I would eat those words… pun intended.

…

After six months of sitting in my lonesome here in Helsingborg I've had a revelation. I. Fucking. Hate. The cold. It's now November, the month of annoying Christmas advertisements though I've been spared from that, one of the few blessings of being out here alone.

Since I woke up in this newfound shithole I've been slowly getting used to the solace of the current situation. I've also gotten well acquainted with the fact that if I stay up here, I'll freeze to death. Looting must've been severe during the riots because even though I was just six months in, food has been getting scarcer and scarcer. With that in mind I've made the decision to migrate southward, today is that day.

I had managed to nab a snowmobile from some rich guy's house further inland, but that was before the snow truly set in. I had to spend 3 hours digging out a ramp from the snow outside my garage because the snow was now at my chest height. I was currently doing one last checkup before setting off.

Opening up the bag on the snow sled I had pieced together to carry more weight I took a look at my notes of quintessential items.

"MREs? Check. Canned food? Check. Blankets? Check. Tent? Check. Sleeping kit? Check. Cooking kit? Check. My will to live? … yeah it's somewhere down there."

Zipping up the bag and tying it with rope to the sled, I meandered for a while before taking one last look at my hometown.

Covered in snow and disrepair I could barely recognize it from the normally uncovered city that lasted the year around since global warming intensified. The streets especially were covered as all the snow building up on the roofs occasionally coalesced to a point where it fell, leaving several meters of snow down on the ground. Out in the harbor, the normally shining water had been replaced by a mass of dull ice, freezing trash and other shit in its wake.

"Well, it's been a fun ride. Can't say it's been all too much of a pleasure though but I'll say this much, you'll always be my first real home."

Hopping onto the snowmobile I closed my eyes whilst revving it up. Opening them, I had a fresh determined look in my eyes as I let out a sigh before saying.

"Once more into the fray I suppose. Let's hope Malmö is better than the shitstack it was last time I saw it."

…

If I could laugh, I would've. I was a naive little shit wasn't I? The stuff I put up with before the fall paled in comparison to the horrors I'd face out in that frozen wasteland.

Malmö and Copenhagen had been taken over by raiders who slaughtered anyone who went close to the bridge. I had to survive out in the southernmost towns before the weather turned so cold that I was able to cross the Baltic on foot into Denmark. It reminded me of the story of the March on the Baltic.

My thoughts however, were suddenly broken as a single light was seen in the distance, almost like a star in the night sky. It moved, swaying from side to side as it slowly pulled closer. Suddenly it stopped… then it rushed towards me in blinding speed and suddenly as it was but a inch from my face the landscape changed.

Closing my eyes to shield them from the sudden onslaught of light, I felt relief upon being able to move again. Adjusting over a minute or two, I managed to finally open my eyes and was greeted by a sight I've always dreamt of seeing.

All around me was a sea of clouds, forming wondrous shapes that I barely could fathom with their sheer complexity. Strands of light hung in the air as well, travelling past and around me akin to curious birds greeting an unknown creature. Looking up at the sky however, there was no sun. Up above lay a sea of stars upon the bed of what looked like a nebula, the sight not being perturbed by the little emanating from the ground... the ground?

I blinked as I looked down, standing in a toga. I had my body back. All of it! I reached down and pressed my hand on my foot and toes let out a cry of joy at the sight.

"My foot! My glorious FOOT! Frostbite can get fucked cuz my foot is back and ready to kick some ass! HA!"

My jubilations were cut short however as a voice was heard from behind me.

"Hello my child, it is good to finally have you home."

Tuening around, I could scarcely believe my eyes upon the sight that lay in front of me. There standing in front of me, in all his light was Jesus Christ. His warm blue eyes looked into mine as all I could do was gawk. He had an ethereal glow about him, as well as a warmth. Not the kind of warmth you'd receive from a fire no, this was far more intimate. It felt like I was a child again being hugged by one of the orphanage caretakers. Further still I was stunned by whose hand he was holding.

There, with a smile on her little face was Emma. Her pale skin had been replaced by a warm beige, her legs were standing strong and her eyes. Dear lord her eyes were beautiful, there was no longer that dead look of sorrow but a genuine happiness. As I stood there stunned, I caught myself and quickly rushed over as she ran into my arms. Picking her up and wrapping her in my arms, I cried for the first time in years as the tears no longer froze on my face, but flowed freely.

"I'm so sorry!"

I let out as I remembered how I had failed to stop her death. She patted my head as I quietly sobbed.

"It's alright Elijah… I know you did everything you could. Do not trouble yourself with my death."

The tears kept pouring for a while as I held her, her warm humming I missed from her absence helping to calm me down. As I slowly released her from my grasp, she raised her hands and used her thumbs to clean away the tears from my eyes.

"There, all better now?" I nodded "Good! I wished I could stay to show you around. However, I believe the lord wants a word."

She gave me a little kiss on the cheek before skipping past Christ and disappearing into the white haze. I stood on my knees for a couple of seconds before finally standing to my full height as Jesus approached me with a smile.

"My child, you do not know the joy you bring to me to see you here. You had given your all and whilst Cologne cathedral might lay now barren, perhaps one day man will return her to splendour. She is, after all, one of my favourite houses."

He paused for a while before embracing me in his arms. I was still processing his words before returning the hug with glee.

"I didn't fail then? I can walk amongst you here in heaven?"

Christ gave out a sigh at this as he ended the hug and looked straight into my eyes.

"Well, that is up to you, my child. Through your devotion you have earned something truly special."

Before I could say anything in return, the glowing cloud in my periphery seemingly disappeared. Turning around my eyes widened at the sight of a planet, green and blue with clouds in the sky. This however, was not earth.

"I wish to give you a second chance to live a more fulfilling life. You after all, had spent your entire life surviving, not ever truly feeling the joys of life. Therefore I wish to make you my prophet to this world, my Elijah if you will."

My mouth wide at the prospect I just kept on staring at the planet in awe. Continents, islands, oceans, deserts, jungles and mountain ranges all were laid out in front of me. I saw a world nearly bereft of all cold, a world not on the brink of death but a fresh new start. The minutes ticked by as I finally turned around to see Jesus waiting patiently for me.

"I accept."

Author's Note

I'm still rather new to writing so if I make any grammar mistakes please be sure to point them out and I'll fix them as soon as I can. Oh and btw just so everywhere is aware, the MC will most probably arrive planetside in chapter 4. These first 3 chapter is to give background to his experience before arrival.

3. (Prologue) The treasures of devotion

It had been 40 long years since my death, I think at least. Time works differently here, in ways that only God understands. You may question such a long stay, however it was a precaution. Since Jesus was slain by the hands of men, I was ordained with God's many gifts. First among them was the gift of knowledge.

Being in heaven, you'll find no short amount of intellectuals in every field imaginable. Some of them, being great heroes of mine. Since my stay in Cologne I had often passed the time between scavenging and worship with reading. Books of course being plentiful in such a large city. Often I had read the historic texts of great heroes of old but never in my life or in this case, death, would I imagine seeing them first hand.

I went across various fields, learning both the practical and cultural arts. Though I had been restricted partially due to the world I'd be residing in being in a far less technologically advanced stage than mine. So to that end, I was relegated to the heroes of antiquity, medieval times and renaissance. I had learnt from Heraclius; the first crusader, from Bach; one of the best composers of all time. My favourite teachers though were the many angels who would come bearing the information about this grand new land I was to arrive in.

Although bereft of human life, it nonetheless has creatures on par with the intellect of humans. Many I had previously viewed as nothing more than myths and legends. In the relative centre of the planet's continents lay a huge continent dominated by a single people, the ponies. They are divided into three tribes. The pegasi, who bear the gift of flight and the ability to control the weather at their whim. The unicorns, who bear the gift of magic and the ability to cast various spells from their horns. Those ones I had my doubts about, however the angels have assured me that their powers are not evil in origin. Then comes the simplest and most numerous of the tribes, the earth ponies, who possess the gift of strength and the ability to harvest the earth with great ease.

Previously disunited, these tribes had come under a confederation of sorts after an incident with demons called Windigos. Apparently they had been feeding off the hate of the various tribes and using it to drive frost further down south, bringing starvation with it. However the leaders, realizing this, threw away their hate in order to combat their common enemy, and through great effort beat them back up north. If only things had been so simple in my world.

To the north lay smaller peoples with more isolationist tendencies. First there are the crystal ponies, relatives to the earth pony tribe who have bound themselves to their mineral rich homeland. A powerful artifact called the crystal heart over time has given them a crystal colouration along with an incredible will to defend their home.

Along with the crystal ponies come the yaks, a disunited people hailing from the mountains of the far north. They are nomadic in nature with a brash, bombastic and a lesser intellect than the average pony. However they are the only creature native to the continent who overpower even earth ponies on strength.

On the opposite end of the continent we see a far hotter yet just as inhospitable area as the north. However, just as the north has people there, here too we find a land rich in life despite the circumstances. In the lands surrounding the deserts and tropics of the south we find the Zebras, a people adept in alchemy. Yet they are far more disunited than their northern brethren since they have not had the displeasure of Windigoos.

Moving onto the eastern continent lays a land just as diverse as the central continent. Here we see a land far more mysterious and uninhabited than its western counterpart. Here lay disunited peoples locked in near constant dispute with one another. Some out of nature, some over happenstance.

First among them are the griffons, half lion half eagle, they are a proud race yet often vain, greedy and aggressive. Despite this, they have flourished and are one of the prime civilisations on the planet.

Smaller in number, yet just as fierce are the dragons of the south. Giants in their own right, they rule the skies and are the most brutal of the planet's species. They hail from badlands they had burnt out from a forest and from it they travel out across the world in search of riches to fill their massive hordes.

On the western continent lay a land with even more unknowns. Despite being connected by a land bridge to the central continent just as the western one is, due to the terrain there has been no major exploration. Here there lay no relatively advanced societies except for a small number of zebra colonies on the southernmost point. Over their entire continent lay vast swaths of wilderness interspersed by various chiefdoms and tribes of minor species.

The place I will be arriving in however, will be something entirely different. Between the central and eastern continents in the northern oceans lay a large island shrouded in fog. There lay three peoples' there who are trapped within a valley and unable to escape. There, unbeknownst to them, they are being held captive by the frost demons that had previously ravaged the ponies.

Because of this, they are at a state of near breaking point when it comes to relations with one another. Food is scarce and the frost is just increasing with each year, driving them more and more desperate as time passes. This closeness with one another has forced them to adopt various linguistic changes, as every species has a native language. All of them however also practice the common tongue, which closely relates to that of English in my world.

The first people are called the Drakars. They are a species of feathered dragons, who whilst almost thrice the size of a pony at their tallest are far smaller than their western counterparts. They are by far the most elegant of the three peoples, with amazing agility and a wide range of colourations. They reside on the high grounds in the valley, and their speech is closely related to the Russian of my old world. Their most defining feature however is their magical breath, being able to spit powerful arcane lightning. Together with this, they are also able to manipulate the weather much like the pegasi to the west.

The second people are called the Direwolves. Much like their name implies, they are large wolves, standing just slightly below the height of drakars, but with a large amount of extra features. First and foremost, like all three species, they bear large wings. Though not flying high amongst the cliffs like the drakars, they instead are at their best in the forests they call home, making use of their high agility to hunt their prey. Their speech is related to the German language of my old world, however with some dialectical differences between large groups. Their most defining features are the various runes that run across their pelts. Much like the unicorn's horn, these runes function as a conduit for them to channel their magic through. This gives their magic a wide range of usage and versatility.

The final people are called the high griffons. They are much akin to their western counterparts with their half eagle, half lion appearance. They do however have some pretty important differences. First among them is their size, for whilst your average griffon stands just above a pony, a high griffon will stand just as tall as any direwolf. Together with this, their beak also bears a pair of pointed edges on its upper part, almost akin to that of k-9s. Their speech resembles that of Latin and they can be found amongst the open fields of the valley, they actually don't just have ranches but also orchards and farms. Despite appearances the three species are actually omnivorous, being able to eat various fruits and starches as well as meat. The high griffon's most notable feature is their lack of any major magic besides telekinesis, instead they find their biggest skill in enchanting. Thing being a massive boon when it comes to trade and building, making it so that high griffon towns are larger than the average wolf or drakar settlements.

Besides the three species living on the island there are also many interesting things about the geography. It is in the temperate zone, though now colder than usual because of the demon infestation, it has a large amount of forests. In the centre of the island there are also numerous mountains with one especially jutting out towards the sea, with a waterfall running down from it. Among the eastern shore facing equestria there also lie various cliffs that make it nearly impossible to come near during stormy weather. Evidently it has lead to many deaths to equestrian sailors due to the fog surrounding the island, made so to keep the equestrian from driving the demons back north once more.

It's most distinctive feature though is in the magic that surrounds it. It is the home to the so-called winds of magic that spread out towards the west, giving the central continent and it's pegasi the ability to manipulate the weather. This being suppressed on the island itself by the demons. If harnessed however it'd be immensely powerful.

So ends the gift of knowledge, and leads me onto my second gift. The gift of choice. As an orphan I never knew my parents, so being in their image in another world felt wrong, as I wished to just be me, not a haggard orphan. As such God gave me a choice, the choice of how I was to look like.

I now stood at 3 meters tall, just above that of the average drakar to be able to fit into the local environment more easily as I did not have the body mass of a quadruped. I kept my green eyes and pale skin, though I changed my hair from the long dirty blonde hair from my world to a short clean white. My age as well changed to be more mature, growing a short beard across my face. My muscles as well became more visible as my training with the various masters at arms continued.

So ends the second gift, quite a mighty one some would say but in comparison to the third, all others would pale in comparison. For the third gift was something I yearned for ever since I saw the sights of the various families here. I wanted a family that didn't just include God's children, something I could truly call my own. The lord answered.

…

It's been 20 years since I died and it's truly been glorious. In the time that I've been here I've been growing immensely not just in wisdom but also as a person. The lessons of stoicism have particularly captivated me as I've often learnt to deal with hardships, though never really working through them.

Today I spent time with Belisarius and Justinian, learning about the campaigns and tribulation of the early Byzantine empire. Hearing about the horrors of what the Lombards did truly did terrify me if I was to meet something similar. In the end though, Belisarius assured me that if I just kept learning I'd be able to face down any challenge, no matter the odds. As an example he gave me some accounts of Heraclius' campaigns against the persians and how truly bleak the situation was at times. However even then, the light of christendom shone through and beat back the heathens.

I left with a spring in my step but slowed down once I walked past more and more people. I don't have any problem with them of course, most of them I even like. Since I arrived here I've even met up with some old acquaintances from before the fall. When my old caretaker saw me for the first time, she bawled her eyes out. Both over happiness that I had made it here, and that I had to suffer through poverty and eventually death. Nowadays though we often engage in conversation, talking about the past and often my future.

So what causes me such pain when I walk amongst these people? I truly don't know, I feel a deep yearning for something that I can't place.

I was broken from my thoughts when a blinding light came from my right as I was swept off my feet. Blinking, I tried to refocus my sight as everything was still blurry. As my sight finally returned I was met with a familiar sight. Jesus Christ, with a warm smile on his face.

"Hello my child, how've you been?" He asked.

I stood there in awe for a second before I caught myself and answered.

"I've been well my lord! Your love brings me unending happiness and your gifts have served me well." I said.

I watched as he stood there with what appeared like pity in his eyes. He walked forward and embraced me before pulling back once more and saying.

"Now that isn't wholly true, is it Elijah? Over your years here I have often sensed your yearning, a yearning that all too often grips those who reside here. That of family."

I just watched as he continued.

"I can help you, my child, but it comes at a cost. Your children would be a part of yourself, living just as long as you, for they shall be made from your very soul. I won't lie, it would be extremely painful, however it's your choice in the end."

I was lost in thought as he finished. Had it truly been the yearning for family that had gripped me all this time? Thinking back it must be true, I had always been alone and since I have arrived in heaven I've been taken care of to no end. Over time I've also wished to take care of someone, to teach, cherish and to love someone. Not in a romantic way, I wish to bond with someone like those many families do up here. Knowing this, and knowing this might be my only chance, no pain could bar my way.

"Please, please give me this my lord. I know I am not worthy of either your love or your gift but I beg of you, give me a child."

He smiled and nodded, as he lifted his hand and placed it on my chest, against my heart. With his other hand he gripped my other hand whilst asking me to close my eyes and breathe slowly. I did so, and on the other side of my eyelid I felt a great light slowly rise and descend toward my chest. As it made contact, I felt the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my entire life. From frostbite to death itself I had never felt greater pain. It was as if my entire body was tearing itself apart and my chest felt like it was on fire. The pain was so great that I couldn't even cry, couldn't scream, couldn't even open my eyes. I didn't know how long it lasted, but it felt like hours. In the end I laid heaving on the ground, my knees and arms barely keeping me up. My body twitch irregularly from the exertion placed upon my body as I laid there for 10 minutes before finally opening my eyes.

I saw Jesus standing there, a smile filled with pure joy as he held two bundles of white cloth in his arms. Ignoring the lingering pain in my legs, I stood up and limped over to see two babies resting within the bundles.

"Congratulations Elijah, you've been given twins! A boy and a girl."

Jesus said whilst I stood blinking at the two sleeping forms before me. Opening my mouth and closing it for a couple seconds, I finally said.

"Can I hold them?"

Nodding, he gingerly handed them over to me as I looked upon the two most beautiful creatures I had ever seen. As I held them, tears fell as I felt nothing but pure joy at the prospect of raising them.

…

And that was 20 years ago. Now fully grown they both stood at nearly exactly the same height, though still slightly smaller than me, much to my son's chagrin. They both bore massive white wings upon their backs, as they were produced through both me and christ.

My son, Mark, has golden yellow eyes that nearly shine when he is excited. He, much like his sister, has white hair, though his is a lot shorter. Much like his name's origin in Mars, he excels at anything militaristic or administrative. Though he does have a bit of a temper, he cares deeply for both me and his sister. When he was little he was actually quite adorable with how clingy he was. Since then though, he has grown strong and stoic. He's almost as well trained as me when it came to combat as he constantly spent his time with German men-at-arms to perfect his style. His body itself was also something to marvel at, it was as if one of the ancient Greek sculptures came to life and grew wings. He still had one very cute part of him left though, that he constantly strived to make me proud, much like my daughter.

Helena, as I'd named her out of respect for Constantine's mother, truly an angel in every respect, as well as a daddy's girl. Standing a little shorter than her brother with sleek white hair that ran down to her chest and sky blue yes, she was one of the most beautiful beings I'd ever seen. Instead of the marshal disciple and temper of her brother, she instead had a much more soft personality. Though skilled in administration and war, she far more excelled in the fields of art. From every kind of music imaginable, to painting and sculpting and woodwork. She often complemented her brother when it came to things like city planning and architecture as both of them tried to bring out both the beauty and productivity within their city plans.

"Mark! Helena! Get your butts down here before I go and ask Heraclius to come and tear them off!"

I yelled whilst I waited next to Christ as the kids made their final preparations.

"Coming dad!"

Came in unison and I heard the pounding of wings slowly coming down. Those things were a bitch to keep track of when they were kids as they'd near constantly fly off when I wasn't looking.

As the wing beats became louder and louder they finally landed with a slight thud. Hopping up to me, Helena almost tackled me with how powerful her hug was as her brother gave out a snicker at the scene.

"I can't wait! This is gonna be so much fun! Do you think they'll have otters, dad? Or maybe bunnies! Or maybe possums! Or maybe--"

She let out a squeak as covered her mouth with my hand.

"Calm down, sweetheart. They'll have those and plenty more I'm sure."

Giving out a whine, I let go of her mouth as she gave me the cutest little pout before hopping to my side and hugging my arm. Mark walked up and stood on my other side as Helena hollered.

"Well what're we waiting for?! Let's go!!"

Giving out a chuckle, Jesus approached me.

"Soon enough little one, first I wish to impart a little transport to your family to make your journey easier."

Lifting an eyebrow, I was about to ask what he meant until the sound of hooves and wood creaking broke the silence. Coming out from one of the clouds to my right, much to both me and Mark's surprise and Helena's glee came a giant white shape. There from out of the clouds came trotting what I recognize as an Irish elk, however it's fur was pure white and it's eyes an icy blue. Attached to the elk was a carriage of masterful design with intricate etchings covering it depicting my life and resurrection. It would've brought tears to my eyes were it not for having to hold back Helena from immediately trying to cuddle the elk.

"Th-thank you my lord! Oh co- for crying out loud Helena you're allowed to pet it not strangle it!"

Whilst Jesus was laughing up a fit and Mark was checking out the inside of the carriage, I finally managed to calm Helena down enough for her to just begin petting the-

"WHY ARE THE CUSHIONS PINK?!" I heard Mark screech

Sigh… Discussing final checks with Jesus we eventually formed up in front of the carriage.

"Well, the time has finally come, Elijah. Do you feel ready?" Jesus asked.

"With my two little angels by my side, I can face down all of hell's demons, I'm ready." I replied whilst Helena blushed and Mark lightly punched my arm as Jesus chuckled.

"Well that's as good an answer as any! Before you go though, remember that I'll always listen, I'll be there with you all the way. I'll always love you as my own child."

Nodding and sharing one last embrace with my saviour, I held both my kids close to me. Jesus then held a blinding light and I felt my consciousness fading as I felt like I was falling.

Author's Note

This is my first story, so expect it to be quite stinky at times. (If not all the time.)

Also be sure to point out grammar errors if ya spot em!

Here are some pics of how i imagine the three species with some noted changes. The griffons and drakars both have the widest range of colors amongst the three races. The wolves usually range from from white to black and occasionally shades of brown. It should be noted that the griffons don't have the red eyes as in the picture. They usually are found with either brown or soft orange eyes. Oh and the wolves don't have halos around their head as shown in the pic.

4. A new Eden

A familiar sight, this empty void. I had been stuck in this state for a while now, unable to move, feel or just about anything except think. Though I guess I'm in a similar situation to before only except dying I'm being thrown planetside via Christ's most holy throwing hand.

My thoughts were broken as a light was approaching. Finally, I've been stuck in here for what feels like hours. Don't get me wrong, after being stuck in a constant battle for survival for my first life, some monotony is a welcome sight, but this void? Forgive me but Christ alive was it dull!

The light eventually enveloped my entire sight and as soon as it hit the end of my peripheral vision, I got a neat little surprise.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT!" I yelled before I was slammed down upon my back. "fucking… arse"

So no shit, Christ slam dunked my ass onto the planet, quite literally. I'd laugh but I was too busy muttering expletives in every language I knew.

Eventually overcoming the pain I stood up to take a look around me. For the first time in four decades I came into contact with something oh so familiar. Snow. Yet, no matter how I looked at it, I didn't feel the revolution I'd thought I'd have.

I smelled the familiar scent of pine trees, the sound of snow crunching beneath my feet and the sight of snow gently trickling down from the night sky as the moon shone down on me. It truly was a whole other world, so familiar yet so different from my own.

I remembered when I was young and read stories about places such as these. Fairytales they called them. Yet here I was, and there it was. I let out some tears of happiness as I felt a huge sense of relief wash over me. It was as if I was a child again, innocent and free of worries. This would be my Narnia, my adventure into the unknown.

"This," I whispered to myself. "this will be our Eden…"

I continued walking, looking for my children. I'd wanna be with them as they first felt the fresh mountain air upon their face and the first snowfall on their skin. I could already see them both, starry eyed from wonder at the feeling. God, thank you for this gift. Truly there is no purer love than yours.

What sounded like a snort echoed through the treeline to my right. Following the sound, I came upon a familiar face within a large clearing.

"Hi, big guy!" I said to the white elk, still strapped to the carriage. "Don't suppose you've seen my brats anywhere, have you?"

I reached up and scratched behind his ear as he let out another smaller snort, warm air flying out his nostrils like a high powered chimney. Looking up at him, into his icy blue eyes, I suddenly remembered something.

"Hmmm… speaking of which, we've yet to give you a name yet, haven't we?" I contemplated for a while. "Alright, I think I've got it. Big, strong and faithful. The name of one of our mightiest kings, Adolphus."

He let out a happy snort at it and leaned into my palm as I continued to scratch him. The air was silent, broken only by our breathing and the branches waving lightly in the wind. That was until I heard something tearing and the air was suddenly filled with the girliest screams I've ever heard.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH OOF" I heard from behind me as something hit the ground. Turning around I found the amusing sight of Mark having face planted into the snow and Helena rubbing her butt whilst sitting on his back.

"Well…" I started after a chuckle. "Can't say my entrance was any better, nice tone pitch by the way, Mark. Oh and Helena? You might wanna get off of your brother, you're suffocating him under the weight of your bum."

"Oh! Sorry Mark!" She exclaimed as she jumped off him, then pulled him off of the ground. His entire face was red and I could only barely contain my laughter as he spat out a bit of water.

"Thanks sis." he deadpanned as he patted off the snow from his coat. Both of them finally stopped to look around, their eyes lit up like galaxies as they felt all the newfound sensations.

Mark crouched down and felt the snow in his hands, watching as it dissipated into water in his warmth. Then looking up at me.

"So," he began, "this is what haunted you for all those years, father?"

"Yes, and no. The weather here is far more calm than old Europe. If you were to stand out in the open back there, well." I let out a somber sigh. "If we see any victims of frostbite you'll know what I mean."

He nodded as he stood up and watched his sister touch the bark of a tree. The first living thing she's ever touched outside of heaven. She continued feeling it as if to hear a response, yet all she was met by was the wind blowing through the branches. However, for my sweet little daughter that was enough as she turned towards me with a wide smile and a single happy tear rolling down her cheek.

"Thank you, father." She said in a hushed tone as she rubbed the tear away. "Truly. I know you didn't need to bring us along but this is a dream come true."

Smiling back, I walked up to them and placing my arms around both their shoulders, I pointed towards an opening in the treeline.

There before us stood the valley, and up above lay a sea of stars, covered by neither cloud nor smog. It was beautiful. Below we could see the lights of various settlements congregating in three main groups. In amongst the forests, the mountainside and the rolling hills lay our garden.

"Welcome, my little angels, to Eden."

As we looked across the land, I felt the connection the lord spoke of when he mentioned the winds of magic in this land. So it was that when I opened my mouth, my children opened theirs as well and the wind passed our song throughout the valley. Drakars, wolves and griffons lifted their heads as a melody played, and they listened in wonder at who it was that could be singing.

...

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul. I’ll worship your holy name." The song began, its message stretching across the entire valley as all went silent to listen to it.

"The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning; It’s time to sing your song again. Whatever may pass and whatever lies before us. Let me be singing when the evening comes!" The first verse finished as the chorus came in, in all its glory.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, worship his holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul. I’ll worship your holy name." Looking up one would see the northern light begin to show as they danced to Elijah and his children's praises.

"You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger, your name is great and your heart is kind; For all your goodness I will keep on singing, ten thousand reasons for my heart to find." The song picked up and as the northern lights danced across the sky, the land itself began singing along. Birds, trees, rocks and mountains all sang in chorus to Elijah as he revived what once was lost from ages past.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, worship his holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul. I’ll worship your holy name." First the Drakars began, then the griffons and wolves followed as they all began to hum along to the tune of the melody as it was played. Not caring about past animosities and just enjoying the moment as the final verse began and Elijah sang alone.

"And on that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come; Still my soul sings your praise unending, ten thousand years and then forevermore." Picking up once more, the chorus began anew as the land and all its inhabitants sang along. Standing in Elijah's place it would seem as if heaven had arrived on this earth. Up above the stars danced across the night sky, blinking and almost swaying to the melody, singing his praises in their own way, seeming unending in number. The northern lights as well, lived up to their name as they shimmered in a wide range of colours upon the starry canvas of the night sky. Beside you would stand your children, all grown up yet on their face was painted nothing much childish wonder and joy as they began singing along once more, tears running from their eyes. Down below was the same happened a thousandfold across the valley. In the flickering lights of campfires, evening lamps and candlelit windows one would see the outlines of families in each other's embrace as they sang the chorus for a god they never knew, yet loved them nonetheless.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, worship his holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul. I’ll worship your holy name."

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, worship his holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul. I’ll worship your holy name." And so it was that for the first time since the cold set in, everyone felt a bit of warmth on the inside. For despite not knowing what the feeling was at the time, Elijah knew as he sang along to the end of the melody.

"Yes I will worship your holy name. Lord, I'll worship your holy name…"

The feeling was love.

5. A mother's love

Leona listened to the crackling of the fire and watched as the embers dissolved upon the snow as they flew out of the dancing flames. Reaching out to her bag, she took out a log and threw it into the fire. She watched as the flames rose up and began consuming the new fuel given to them, letting out a sigh as she looked up to the night sky. It was truly something to marvel at, she couldn't remember the last time the sky had been so free of clouds. It was as if holes had been poked in the dark sky, and through them shone a whole new world, probably better and warmer than this frigid land. Behind her shining through the treeline she could see the pale light coming from the moon, acting as a single lantern shining through the darkness.

She let out a sigh as she was lost in thought. Looking down she watched the sleeping forms of her children snuggled up against her. Lying there was a drakar, a griffon and wolf huddled together in a ball of pure adorableness. Over their bodies lay a simple wool blanket with their heads using Leona as a pillow.

Leona smiled as the little wolf pup appeared to be dreaming, smiling as he began to kick in short spurts. Though this eventually managed to kick the blanket off of the trio, revealing their whole bodies.

The drakar boy, Illarion, was the biggest of the three, though not the oldest. His body and wings were a pattern of black and purple with a pure white colour running along his spine and wingtips. While his horns had just managed to grow out, his floppy little ears were quite adorable as they twitched in discomfort. Despite this cute little action, he was quite the rambunctious sort when awake, always having playful spats with his big sister. He let out a little noise of discomfort as he snuggled up to her.

The oldest of the three and the second biggest, Lucia, was a rarity among the griffon race as she shared her mother's rare near golden color on her plumage. Her lion part however, different from her mother's light brown, was instead a rare pure white, near unheard of amongst griffons. Being the big sister of the trio, she unconsciously wiggled back into Illarion's embrace whilst bringing her little brother to rest between her forelegs as she hugged him close.

The smallest and youngest of the three was the precious little Fedde. Though supposedly the wolves were the most warlike of the three peoples, Fedde was the exception. Small, even for his age, he was a timid boy with a soft brown colour covering nearly his entire body as darker shades ran along his snout and paws. Being awake, his most defining feature would be his kind golden eyes, different from the playful eyes of his siblings, Lucia's being brown and Illarion's being a deep shade of purple. Smiling in his sleep despite the discomfort of the sudden rush of cold, he snuggled into his sister's tight embrace and let out a little coo.

Watching on, Leona smiled as she used her magic to gently place the blanket over the children once more without disturbing their sleep. As the trio settled into their little snuggle cocoon, she returned her gaze to the sputtering fire. Looking into the flames, she began to reminisce over how much life had changed over the past year.

…

The sound of snow crunching and heavy panting could be heard among the trees. In the distance, from beyond the treeline, screams could be heard from fathers, mothers and children alike. There was no clinking of blades, no war horns and no cries of battle. It was the sound of a massacre.

A plume of snow was thrown up as a griffon broke through the dense foliage of the fur trees. Her eyes wild with terror, she gasped for breath as she clutched her child with her blood soaked wings. Looking from left to right she looked for a hiding spot, finding an upturned tree with just enough room for her and her child. Limping over to the hiding spot, she shuffled her way inside and waited. As her breathing calmed she noticed to her horror as the screaming stopped, the air was filled with naught but deathly silence.

She looked back at her child and choked a sob at the sight. She was laying there on her back, clutching her mother for all her worth. Her eyes were closed and a steady trail of tears were escaping from them as she muttered to herself.

"Father… father please… don't go… father… please…"

The griffin mother slowly and gently pried her child off of her back and held her in the embrace of her forelegs. Her sobs were muffled as she sought refuge within her mother's chest plumage. The mother could do nothing but stroke her child and whisper to her lies of how everything would be right. For just as strong as she appeared, she was heartbroken, she had watched as those beasts tore her husband to shreds for them to make their escape. She had watched as the love of her life was taken from her, her home was taken from her, every one of her friends were now just screams left echoing upon the mountainside. All she had left was her child, her sweet innocent child.

Her lament was broken however as the gentle sound of snow crunching below something was heard outside of their shelter. To her horror she counted not the sound of two pairs of limbs, but four. The sound edged closer, growing louder in volume as the air around them seemingly began to cool even further. Then the breaking of branches began before it was finally within their sight.

Emerging from a line of pine trees like a ghost came an eight legged beast. Treading forward, it had the features of a giant spider, yet it was as if it was possessed by bloodlust. It's entire body was a sheet of ice, white and blue colours weeping throughout its surface akin to a drop of blood in water. It's eyes, eight in in number, had a pitch black colouration, displaying nought but soulless cruelty. It's legs, protruding from its body, ended in pointed ends with hooks running along the inside the leg. Two giant fangs hung from its face, dripping in blood as it edged closer to the griffons' hiding spot.

Beneath the tree, the mother clutched her child as she let out a shaky breath before holding it. She pushed herself towards the ground and tried her best to conceal herself as she heard the continued crunching of snow and clattering of the beast's fangs. As she listened, the crunching stopped just outside and for a moment she thought her heart stopped. Just then, fate intervened as a previously unseen hare sprang from out the tree into the clutches of the beast. It's squeals of pain echoing throughout the woods before falling silent, the air instead being filled by its blood dripping against the snow.

The mother opened her eyes and eased the grip on her daughter for a moment, pausing as the silence continued before being broken by the sound of the hare's body dropping onto the snow. Flinching but remaining silent, she continued hiding in silence as she heard the beast move off into the woods' once more.

Leona and Lucia were finally safe, as they cried in each other's embrace.

…

It had been two months since the destruction of their home by the frost spiders. Since then they had flown from village to village trying to find a home but with food at an all time low, their chances of finding somewhere permanent was slim to none.

The cold air flicked at Leona as she made her way down the disheveled path, it's maintenance having been ruined ever since the cold set in. Walking on them you'd occasionally see the odd abandoned campsite, and the odd frozen corpse laying strewn out next to them, lost to the elements. Continuing onwards however, she made it back to camp with the hares she caught earlier. Laying by the fire was faithful Lucia, keeping watch so their one source of heat doesn’t run out. Since the beginning of their flight, she had been a cornerstone of happiness for Leona, always trying to cheer each other up no matter the troubles they faced. Leona however knew her weaker side, knew how she cried herself to sleep and whimpered the names of those she lost.

“Dinner’s here,” Leona called “five hares and plenty of icy beverages!”

“Five? Good hunting mom! I see those wrinkles aren’t stopping you after all.” Lucia replied.

“Hey! I’ll have you know I'm very attractive for my age! Besides, I’m not taking advice from a griff who just a couple months back made necklaces out of twigs and bones.”

“Wha- that was one time!” Lucia pouted

“Hah, sure it was! Now get off of furry bottom and help me skin these”

Settling down, the two of them began the fragile work of removing the delicate skin from the hares, then drying them next to the fire. The meat, however little, would prove itself as the most valuable part as surviving in this cold is next to impossible without the proper sustenance, your body would just give out. Nonetheless, the hares were on spits and cooking, filling the air with the delicious smell of meat roasting by an open fire.

Huddled next to one another, the pair sat in silence as they nuzzled one another lovingly and affectionately. The clearing they had chosen was surrounded on all sides by thick pine forests with a fallen tree lying to their left. The forest protected them from the majority of the wind, only a light breeze brushed against them as they cuddled, blowing the smoke away from their faces.

Listening to the crackling of the fire, Lucia cooed as Leona nipped loose a feather that was on its way out. However, as she opened her eyes, she spotted movement by the dead tree. Looking at it, she noticed small openings across its surface. It must be hollow, she thought as she lifted her head up. Leona looked quizzically at her as she did.

"Something wrong, dear?" Leona began. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, mom. Just umm, stay here for a minute, nature's calling." She said as she stood up.

Cautiously approaching the log as Leona looked on in confusion, Lucia reached the end of it. At the end, she saw that her guess was right. A giant hole adorned the tree, making its way nearly all the way through it. Slowly lowering her head, she looked inside. As her eyes adjusted, her ears noticed the sound of gasps and scampering, she nearly did the same at the sight of what was inside.

There, huddling against the end of the log were two little children. The larger was a drakar, baring its teeth at her, yet its body was weak and malnourished, its eyes instead of the ferocity of a predator showed the fear of a terrified child. Between its legs however, lay an even more pitiful sight. A wolf pup, its eyes closed and its body stuck in the fetal position whilst huddling beneath its larger companion, shaking and crying as it did.

"M-mom?" Lucia began in a confused tone. "Come over here for a second, I got uhh… got a situation over here."

"What is it, dear? Did you catch anything within that trunk?" Leona asked as she made her way over.

"Yeah umm, I guess you could say that but uhh, these sure as frost ain't what I'd call edible."

Raising an eyebrow towards her daughter, Leona stopped and looked inside the log as Lucia was still just as dumbfounded on what to do. Leona however just let out a chirp at the sight and looked up at her daughter in childlike glee.

"Lucia! These are adorable! Just look at them!" Leona exclaimed, gesturing towards the log.

Giving a glance at the hole, she saw the children just as confused as she was.

"Yeah, mom but aren't they dangerous?" Lucia asked as her mom began walking off towards the fire.

"Oh pish posh, they're only children. Besides, the only thing out here that doesn't want us dead are those hares there. Speaking of!" Leona cheerfully said as she picked two skewered hares from their place near the fire before running back to the log.

"Now little ones, I'm gonna leave these here. Us two are gonna be resting by the fire. If you wanna join us, you're welcome to. It'll be a lot warmer than that log."

…

It took some coaxing in the end but Leona succeeded. They were shy in the beginning, forming their first connection to Lucia despite her more nervous nature. However, as Leona was out hunting, it was Lucia that calmed their nerves, assuring them of their continued safety. As such, Leona's continued coddling eventually succeeded. She remembered how she cried tears of joy the first time little Fedde called her mom, it was one of the best moments of their life.

As they opened up however they revealed their past. Which, surprisingly and sadly, had a similar tone to that of Lucia and Leona. The frost spiders where not show discrimination in their bloodlust as apparently along with the griffon settlement, both a wolf and a drakar settlement fell to their rampage. Alone without parents, they had wandered aimlessly with little to no hope for survival till they met each other. At which point they began surviving off of the rare squirrel and lemming. They were on their last legs when we had found them, sheltering from the elements inside that log as they couldn't find any firewood. It was truly a miracle they survived at all, one which Leona would be eternally grateful for.

Leona was broken from her thoughts however as she felt something rustling against her belly. Looking down she was met with the sight of her children waking up, chirping and yawning ensued, to Leona's mirth. They all sounded so adorable in their groggy awakening. Lifting her head up, Lucia looked at her mother with tired eyes.

"Wha-" Lucia paused for a yawn "What time is it?"

"Well it's bedtime for you… but in grown up time it's just about midnight." Leona said, pausing as she looked up into the sky to measure the moon's height.

This prompted the others to stick their heads up to look into the sky. Quickly, their eyes went from droopy and tired to wide and gawking. Reflecting within eyes you would see a galaxy's worth of stars filling their vision. For children who had always slept under storms and cloudy nights, it was truly a rarity, one that they would surely remember. Little Fedde stood up and sat in front of the others, looking up at the moon he was filled with a strong urge to say something, anything. Yet when he opened his mouth, all that came to him was the smallest howl the valley had ever heard, sounding like a whistle in a starlit theater. His siblings looked on in surprise at his behaviour, Leona however, having observed such a sight before during her hunting trips, merely smiled at the little pup discovering something new.

The smile was broken however, as when the howl came to an end, a melody echoed. Looking around, the quartet couldn't locate the source, which was strange for a forest. It was as if the air itself carried it through the land. The melody eventually opened the way for a voice, kind and gentle yet holding such weight upon it that you'd almost bow in reverence at just its sound. Soon, two others joined with it, both beautiful in their own way. Yet for the family in the clearing, the strangest was what they sang of. A holy lord? Souls? What god could there possibly be out here?

However, for all their doubt at the voices' words, when they looked up and saw the stars and the auroras seemingly dancing to the melody, they couldn't help but to at least hum along to the tune. Little Fedde looked most eager and joined in at the chorus, yet he was not the only voice. All around them, new voices started singing, small and high pitch, dark and hoarse, they all began singing. Soon even the trees started to seemingly sway in kind, the wood moving and groaning under its own weight, forming words and soon began to even sing along. Even the mountains surrounding them, their prison, began to hum as the wind struck their side.

So it was no wonder that when the chorus struck once more, that Lucia, Illarion and Leona began singing together with Fedde. They did not know what god would listen, but whoever had power to bend the world with their voice alone must be someone special. More so, when they sang it felt as if a warmth had filled an empty space within their hearts. Like something they didn't even know they had lost had come back to them, something so precious yet forgotten. Yet soon the song came to an end, with the lone voice saying the final words.

Falling asleep that night, wonder and hope filled the minds of the little ones. For Leona however, her sleep was filled with a strange dream. A biped, standing upon a rock holding a sword. Down below lay an orchard, seemingly being strangled by the shadow of the rock. Yet with just one strike with his sword, the creature managed to cut a rock over ten times his size in two. The shadows seemingly disappeared, replaced by a warm light, shining throughout the land. Staring up at where the creature once stood, she saw the outline of it, floating in the sky with a massive pair of wings adorning it's back, seeming to bask in the light of the horizon. The dream came to an end however, as bells sounded throughout the land.

Waking up, Leona still had her eyes closed as she focused in on a strange noise coming from the woods. The sound of someone humming and the creaking of wood against snow.

6. First encounter

Ah now this, this was pure bliss. Reminds me of the first summers in the waste, before even they were taken by the frost. A shame to know that the same thing was happening here, but if you forget about the death and struggle of it all, it was quite beautiful.

Snow rained down like autumn leaves and all around me I was surrounded by woods, pines and birches mostly. If only the sun shone through, then it'd truly be magical. I still can't stop the comparison to Narnia however, I mean, how much more fairytale-like could it be?

"The fuck…" a muffled gruff voice said "why is there a brick back here?"

Oh… right.

"Perhaps it's a disguised holy hand grenade?" Another voice replied with a snicker.

Oh for fuck sake!

"Kids! Up here, look!" I exclaimed as two 'uugh' sounds were heard in response. Brats.

The creaking of two doors sounded from behind me as I put the reins of Adolphus on my lap and started forming my projectiles.

Mark and Helena poked their heads out from the cabin doors. "Yes, father? what is i-" their voices were cut off as a duo of snowballs merc'd their faces.

"So how're you two enjoying the ride so far, hm?" I asked with a smug smile as they wiped the snow from their faces.

"Can't you ask us that without flinging snow at us?" Helena asked. "I thought we left those activities when you launched your "winter crusade" at camp."

"Yes. I could." I answered as I retook the reins and let Adolphus continue on his merry way. "However I heard a Monty Python reference and I couldn't help myself." I finished with a laugh.

Helena pouted as Mark answered. "Well I've certainly been enjoying myself, having trouble making sense of the inventory. I mean… a brick? And that's not even the strangest thing I've found!" He said as he returned into the cabin, rummaging around before returning and tossing something at me.

Catching it and looking at the label of the can in my hand I couldn't hold back a snicker. "Pfft… hahahaha!"

"What's so funny?" Mark and Helena asked as I turned around.

"Fuckin… pigeon food for the pigeons." I said pointing at their wings whilst chuckling.

"Father!" Helena exclaimed with a gasp but with a disguised smile as Mark bellowed out in laughter.

"I kid, I kid!" I began as I toned down my laughter with a kind smile. "They're beautiful, just like your eyes, just like your soul." Making Helena blush and smile, whilst also making Mark smile, chuckling as he threw a snowball at my head.

Ruffling the snow out of my hair, I tossed the can back to mark as I again focused on the path ahead. "Well, if Helena manages to make some bird friends, we'll have plenty of food for them."

Helena hmm'd in response. "I suppose that's true… but I've always wanted a bird of prey, perhaps a peregrine falcon."

"Well perhaps one day. However, the angels never dispensed the knowledge of their whereabouts to me. Though if their escapades on earth are anything to go by, I'd imagine we'd find them eventually."

Mark perked up suddenly. "Do you think they have Harpy eagles? I've always wanted to see one personally ever since you read those stories to me as a kid. Had to beat a dozen of those German swordmasters merely to get a video of one. Radlads."

God, thank you for giving me these two LITERAL angels. "Well, on that note. I probably should inform you about some… peculiar fauna on this island."

…

About an hour has passed and since both my son and daughter had taken it upon themselves to act as my cushioning. Both of them sitting beside me, with the big ol fluff appendages wrapped around me. To anyone else it would look quite absurd I suppose, an absolute beast of an alabaster elk dragging a masterwork of woodcraft across a snowy meadow. Upon said masterwork, there sat two giants, with angel wings upon their backs, resting their heads on the shoulders of a titan of man.

With them nodding off though, I had to find another way of entertaining myself. As such, thinking of a tune I'd like, I remembered a particular piece that would fit the mood. So it was that I began humming to myself "the road goes ever on."

The sun was higher in the sky now, lighting up the meadow in front of me. Adolphus was still hard at work up front, occasionally blowing out a bunch of hot air out of his nostrils like a steam engine. Closing my eyes for a second I listened to the wind whistling it's own tune to mine as I hummed along, with the only other sound being the soft crunching of snow beneath the wheels of the carriage and the hooves of Adolphus.

However as I opened my eyes I discovered a problem, prompting me to tug on the reins to stop Adolphus. The blessing of the birch trees seemed to have come to an end and I was met with a wall of pines covering three quarters of the meadow. The only seemingly open bit was the way we came back from. Though as Adolphus came to a stop an even bigger problem came to my attention. For when the crunching of snow on our end stopped, a previously unknown crunching beyond the treeline continued before stopping as well.

Narrowing my eyes I tried spotting something out of the ordinary. I knew for a fact I heard something out there. Putting my hands on my children's heads, I ruffled their hair a bit to rouse them from their light slumber. Waking up they looked up at me, putting a finger to my mouth before they had the chance to speak, I signaled to them in sign language of what had happened. In return, Mark signalled that he'd fly up to try to spot them. With my approval, he took off and flew above the treeline before settling down amongst the trees.

The silence was palpable as Helena squeezed my hand in worry over what might lurk out there. Though just as I was about to stand up I heard Mark yell out "BOO!" and a crescendo of screams was let out before a trio of creatures crashed through the treeline, throwing up a cloud of snow as they did. Silence filled the air for a while before the tree of them finally gathered the courage to look up at us, letting out a gasp and trying to scramble away. Though not before the snow stuck in the pine above them crashed down and buried them in snow.

I was still stuck trying to process what the fuck just happened, however as a two neurons connected in my head and let out a "ding" sound, I finally got it. Letting out a humorous chuckle, I jogged over to the moving pile of snow and gently lifted each of the little creatures out. Finally getting a look at them, I recognized them as children of the indigenous populace, each one a different folk, which was quite odd as the three peoples were usually on very bad terms with one another.

Holding up the last one, a tiny little wolf pup, I nearly let out a very uncanny sound at how cute the creature was. Unlike his companions however, he was shivering from the snow and I took pity on the poor little guy. Brushing off the snow from him, I placed him in the opening of my coat, letting his head look out as he looked up at me with fearful yet curious eyes.

Taking my gaze off of him, I looked over to the others. Mark had returned and was seemingly mesmerised by the little things and Helena was busy coddling the drakar via scratching him behind his big ears. The little giffon however was glaring at me as I knelt down to get onto their eye level.

"Hello little ones," I began, drawing their eyes to me for a second as Mark elbowed Helena to stop her little cuddle fest. "Don't worry, we don't mean any harm. We are but simple travellers, looking for the griffon settlement of…" I paused in trying to remember the name. "Agathe, I believe the name is. My name is Elijah, these two are my travelling companions. This is Mark, my son and Helena, my daughter." I said whilst pointing to them respectively as the three kids swivelled their heads between each of us.

There was a pause before the drakar looked down at the smaller griffon before it stepped forth. "Hey mister Elijah, umm… you're not gonna eat us are you?" It asked.

I looked at it with a raised eyebrow before letting out a tiny snort as both of my children let out a suppressed chuckle. "No little one, we're not gonna eat you, we might be omnivorous but such an act is sacrilege. Worst you'll get from us is a tickle and perhaps a snowball from Mark over there." I added on. "So might you introduce yourselves? We haven't gotten your names yet."

At this the little drakar lit up as the griff softened her glare and let out a breath she had been keeping in. "Oh! Sorry, hehe. Well I'm Illarion," pointing to himself, "that's Lucia," pointing to her, I winced at her name. It wasn't an ugly name, far from it but… remembering that poor saint… thank god that her wounds had been healed in heaven but her for her experiences on earth, no wonder god punished us for such barbarity. "And the little guy in your clothes is Fiddie. We're siblings!" Pointing to the little pup in my coat, feeling his tail wiggle around on my chest as his name was called.

"Well aren't you all just adorable!" Helena let out as she knelt down next to the drakar and hugged his side, wrapping her wings around him simultaneously. "And you, little Illarion! You're so fluffy!" She cooed out as she began scratching the boy, making him lean into her as she continued.

Mark just looked on in embarrassment at his sister's childishness and walked up to the little griff. "Hey umm, sorry about scaring the three of you before, but let's be friends yeah? No hard feelings?" He said as scratched behind his head and stretched out his other hand. Goodness gracious, he can be adorable sometimes.

The griffon looked up in reluctance at first. However as she looked at Illarion having the time of his life and Fiddie nipping at my fingers whilst buried in warmth, she eased up. "It's alright, we didn't mean to sneak up on you guys either, we were just curious. We don't often meet others out here and the ones we do come across are really mean, so mother forbids us from going out like this." She said as gripped his hand and shook it.

This got my attention however as I looked at Lucia with a raised eyebrow and asked. "Wait if you're here then, where is your mother?"

This got her attention as she looked at me with wide eyes and opened her mouth to reply but she was cut short as a scream filled the air around us, coming from within the pine forest.

"MOM!?" The three siblings exclaimed.

Author's Note

Be sure to leave a like and comment if you like the story or wanna ask a question!

7. The lord protects

Through the snow covered pines a wheezing breath was heard as snow crunched beneath rapidly approaching steps. Suddenly and without warning a plume of snow erupted from one of the trees as Leona scrambled into view, quickly plummeting into a snow mound. From behind the treeline skittering noise could be heard, accompanied by hissing as it drew ever closer.

With but moments to spare, Leona looked around, trying to spot an opening in the treeline for her to extend her wings and take flight. Frantically searching for just the slightest breath, she finally found one to her left. Pushing herself up on her legs, she began wadding the snow covered ground whilst gradually picking up speed. Whilst she did so, the sound of branches breaking could be picked up from behind her. She dared not look back as the form of a giant frost spider broke through the pine trees she just came from. The pine needles along with its branches froze upon contact with the beast, shattering at the mere touch of the weeping tissue that adorned the spider's exoskeleton. It's soulless eyes quickly picked up on the movement of the retreating griffon and with soulless abandon began charging after her, with a screech filled with demonic bloodlust.

Leona extended her huge wings, the wingspan being so large that she had to weave through the tees to be able to fully extend. Flapping as hard as she could, over and over whilst running on pure adrenaline, she managed to get herself off the ground. Bit by bit she gained altitude, rising high above the ground. Normally forests like these would be more appropriate for the wolves, with their near falcon like maneuverability. However Leona had the distinct advantage of eyesight, spotting every branch and every trunk that came in her way and swiftly moving out of their way. Coming halfway up the treeline she began feeling a bit more at ease as the sound of the frost spider grew a bit more fainter. Yet, in this small moment of ease, something snapped at her from above, making her scream in pain as her right wing was nearly broken.

With her right wing incapacitated she quickly began falling towards the ground, leaving a trail of feathers in her wake as she sped down. Crashing against branches and passing by trunks, she had her eyes closed, only allowing them to open slightly in the interim between the barrages of pain. However as she opened them once the third time, she was met with a trunk coming directly in her path. Forcing her body to face it, she braced herself and lunged against the tree with her talons and paws. Her fall still forced her downwards however, so as she gripped the tree for all her worth, she quickly slid down its length.

Bark flew and branches broke as the griffon made her way down, the sound of the ordeal echoing throughout the forest. Leaving a long trail of talon shaped marks running across the length of the tree, she eventually slowed down just in time for her to hit the ground without any damage as the snow cushioned her backside. An audible crunch of snow was let out and a near silence followed, the only sound in the forest for a couple seconds was Leona's haggard breath. The breathing paused for a moment however as the griffon regained her bearing and relaxed her grip of the tree trunk. After she calmed herself, she turned herself around and laid down with her back against the tree whilst clutching her injured wing, checking the damage done. As she did so, to her relief she saw that it was in fact not broken, however drops of blood dripped onto the snow, crimson stains adorning the glossy ground.

Leona finally let out a sigh, a tired one, a hurt one as she let her wing slowly rest and tuck in against her once more, being careful to not let it get between her back and the tree. Closing her eyes, she calmed her breathing as her adrenaline has finally ran dry, pain coursing through her once more. Yet, as she opened her eyes the calm breath turned into a sob, tears escaping her eyes as she saw what lay but a dozen meters in front of her. From the crown of a pine came a thread of pure ice, glistening in the sun as it extended further and further down. Adorning it's end however was no thing of beauty, but a beast of frost and hate, another frost spider. However, as tears started to fall from the lone griffon's face, it got even worse as the frost spider from the previous pursuit stepped forth from the pines, standing next to its demonic brethren as it landed with a crunch on the snowy ground.

Sobs began to morph into open weeping as they began their approach, the spiders seemingly reveling in the overwhelming fear of their chosen victim. Choking through her sobs, Leona spoke with a shuddering breath and closed eyes.

"Please, someone, please, help me…" Her voice broke as she heard the breaking of a branch under one of the beasts. Sniffing as teats fell she realized they were but a few meters away now, she yelled out as she opened her eyes. "I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

The beasts lunged forward upon her call of pure terror, their fangs and eyes as black as the darkest void amongst the roiling white and blue mass of ice. Yet, as if the heavens themselves heard her, the sun opened up above her, clouds clearing away as rays of sunlight bathed the area. Upon that sunlight, Leona saw a flight of white wings flying down as if riding the very rays of that life giving celestial body. Those wings, so pure of color, so perfect in form and large in mass soon came crashing down like a tide of feathers upon the snowy shore, flinging the frozen mass up in a plume of snow. Before it even had time to settle however, two hands shot out of the storm, grasping the pedipalps of the frontmost beast before a knee came crashing against the face of the newcomer's foe. A screech and the shattering of ice sounded forth as the pedipalps broke and the beast was thrown back against a pine, disoriented from the sudden attack.

The second beast however, continued on its trajectory, too lost in bloodlust to notice the fate of its brethren. Yet, because of this carelessness the beast did not hear the gallop, the heavy falls of hooves on snow as antlers cut through thick pine branches like a hot knife through butter. The muffled nature of the gallop and the breaking of branches was however removed as a titan of a creature burst forth from the treeline and thundered towards the demonic horror. With tremendous force and strength the titan slammed into the beast, mere inches away from Leona's face. A screech resounded from the beast as it was pierced by the antlers before being thrown off of them as the titan let out a snort of irritation, as if the beast was but a pest needing to be put down. Crashing into a tree, Leona finally got a look at the titan and saw that it was in fact not another mindless beast of bloodlust but instead something resembling a great elk, yet somehow even bigger! And there resting upon it's back sat the outline of someone, Leona blinked a couple times to remove the snow from her eyes and to adjust to the bright sunlight that now filled the area.

Looking up once more she saw one of the strangest creatures she had ever gazed upon. There, standing where the storm of wings and snow once reigned like a wrathful tempest was now a bipedal creature sporting a pair of golden eyes that seemed to pierce through Leona as he stared at her. She shrunk and let out a whimper as she slowly turned to her right and saw a likewise strange creature sitting upon the great elk, looking down upon her. This one though did not bear the piercing gaze of the other smaller one, but warm eyes that spoke of great kindness as it leapt from its steed before giving a sympathetic smile.

"Care for some help, lioness?" It spoke with a baritone voice as it pointed over its shoulder at the beasts struggling to get up from their injuries. All the while the other creature stood with hands on his hips and an unimpressed look adorning his face as he looked upon the humbled beasts.

Leona could only gawk at the smiling creature as she opened and closed her mouth several times before blinking repeatedly and finally spoke a hushed "yes" under her breath.

The creature leant down and gently rested its strange appendage upon her wither in a show of reassurance as it nodded. "Don't worry, this'll all be over in no time." It said before standing up and giving off a single clap. "Now!" It began as it turned around and walked off to where its companion and steed stood. "Let's see how many seconds these frost covered shelob look alikes last!"

Leona watched on with a mix of emotion as the three of them began to literally pulverise the beasts, tearing off their limbs, bashing them against the ground with might stomps before, much to the griffon's surprise, they summoned forth what looked like liquid fire and threw it upon the eviscerated remains of the beasts.

Finishing off their work the smaller of the two creatures gave off a chuckle as it patted off its wet appendage on its legs. "Well! That was certainly easier than expected." It said before turning to its larger companion. "By the way, nice moves father, doing well for an old man!"

That was his father?! Leona thought as she looked on, not expecting such a brash attitude from the child of what seemed like a gentlegriff in all regards. The father turned to his child with what seemed to be an annoyed expression, yet as silence reigned, his eye twitched and his grimace turned into a smile before breaking into laughter. "Oh yeah?! Who was the one who nearly got a makeshift prostate exam from one of those legs?" He said through his laughter as the son's face turned a bright red before falling back first into snow from his father tripping him whilst he was distracted. "Should get to work on that feetwork of yours, hm?"

Looking on, Leona let out a small snicker at the ridiculousness of the situation as the son blew a cloud of snow up from his own laughter on the ground. "Jackass!" She heard a muffled call from the bipedal shaped hole in the ground. The father upon hearing her calmed his own laughter and turned to face her before wiping his own hands on his coat. "Now, let's get you back to your kids, yeah?" He said with a warm smile as Leona's heart nearly burst from her chest.

"You have th-?!" She shouted as she shot up, though it only resulted in her plummeting into the snow from her wounds. Looking down, she saw that her paws had been quite torn up from the trip down the tree as the bark thrashed her. Wincing, she tried standing up but was stopped as the father wrapped his arms around her. "Shhh," he spoke with a reassuring, calming tone, "they're safe, we found them just this morning. You're wounded, we need to get you back to camp to clean these out."

Leona hitched her breath as a few tears escaped her eyes. They're safe! They're safe. They're safe... fuck... it hurts so much. Her thoughts were nearly broken by one of the creatures appendages petting her down her back but as she calmed herself, she found that it actually felt nice. Letting out a shuddering breath, she looked up at the father with conviction in her eyes as she spoke. "Take me to them."

9. Embrace of our loved ones

Following the tracks left behind by Adolphus, our group were quick on their way back to the carriage. Leona, after having her lighter wounds cleaned and bandaged was hefted onto Adolphus, the mighty elk having no problem carrying the avian lioness. Walking alongside them, on each side was me and Mark, both of us scanning the treeline for possible foes. The air still held a deathly silence, the birds not having the courage to venture out after the death rattles of the demons had dissipated.

"You think there are more of them out there?" I asked as I stared off into the white blanketed forest, with only the crunching of the snow beneath us and the wind answering me before the griffon let out a whimper.

"I know there are…" She whispered, "they're beings of pure hate and malice, I've never seen them killed before. Usually we're just… prey. Not even the drakars are safe from them."

Well that's certainly a surprise, for a people such as the drakars to fall victim to them? One would think that their cliffside homes would protect… These frost spiders must be more versatile than what first meets the eye.

"So how'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Kill them, of course!" She suddenly raised her voice in exasperation, making us pause as we looked around for any signs of movement. Seeing none, we continued as I answered.

"We simply ripped and tore until it was done." Mark let out a snort at my words. "From what I had learnt from my teachings, as long as you don't allow fear to seep into your heart, you can rend any demon with the lord's light." I paused as I heard their approach before reaching into my coat.

"Besides, these parasites are little more than vermin needing to be squashed!" I yelled out as I sent three daggers flying out behind me, impaling the beast from thorax to brain, sending it sailing down with a crunch as ice met ground, splitting it apart.

"Fuckers don't know when to quit, do they?" Mark rhetorically stated as he lit the beast on fire with his newly acquired magic. Before turning right back around to resume his place next to the elk griffon combo.

Retrieving my knives from the liquid remains, I smiled at the memory of them. A gift from saint Demetrius to help me ward off any evils, be they heathens, demons or pests like these.

Turning back we began our march once more, though I kept getting glances from the griffon. I gotta say though, it looks so silly, a fierce griffon, huge in stature, being dwarfed by Adolphus as she was spread across his back.

However as time passed on, we eventually reached the clearing, finding our carriage on the other side, though calling it that is like calling a mansion an outhouse.

"Welp, here we are." Muttered Mark as the griffon glanced up from her perch on Adolphus, her eyes widening upon seeing our ride.

"What… the fuck?"

Certainly has a way with words hasn't she? Ah well, not everyone is destined for the past of a poet.

"... I uhh, yeah that's our carriage." I muttered as I tried to get her out of her stupor.

"Carriage?! That thing is a cabin on wheels!"

"... we had a large budget?" Mark offered as the griffon's left eye twitched in response.

"More importantly than the specification of our transport, your kids are inside." I finally said, which got the griffon's attention.

…

Entering the carriage, the creaking of the door made way to the most adorable sight I had laid my eyes on since my children's childhood. The table in the living room had been retracted and the couch's bed had been extended. On top of it lay the most diverse cuddle pile on God's good earth… or whatever this planet will be called. An angel laid strewn out across the bed and in the embrace of her wings, there slept a griffon, drakar and a wolf.

It took all of my manly pride not to squee at the sight, the sound of Mark helping the griffon into the carriage pulling me out of my cute induced stupor.

"Well, miss lioness, here they are. Safe and sound in my daughter's embrace," I sniffed the air as I caught the smell of her cooking. "and no doubt spoiled to no end."

She let out a sigh of relief upon seeing them, walking up next to me and lowering her head before speaking.

"I can't thank you enough… they mean everything to me, these little ones…" She paused as she reached out her talon as Lucia squirmed in her sleep, stopping as she wrapped herself around her mother's foreleg. "If there is anything I can do in return, name it."

Thinking about it for a little while, I reached down with my hand and rested it on her head, making her flinch. That is, before I started scratching, making her let out an adorable squeak in return.

"There is one thing I want, your name." I simply said, making the griffon look up at me with those beautiful eyes.

"Leona. My name is Leona."

"Hello Leona, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Elijah, and these are my children," I gestured towards my son who was currently poking his sister's cheek, making her slowly open her eyes and look up at us. "Mark and Helena."

"Wha-whuh… daddy is that you?" Helena mumbled out as I was suddenly picked up in her magic and pulled away into the cuddle pile.

"You're gonna get cold… join us…" God, what did I do to deserve to be blessed with such an adorable little creature?

And so I was buried beneath a mound of fluff and feathers as both Leona and Mark looked on with mirth at my expense.

"Mark! Help me! Helena has regressed to her preteens!-" I was interrupted by a fit of laughs as she blew a raspberry on my exposed neck. "Quickly! Get the Priscilla plushie!"

Whilst I was struggling against the snuggle barrage bestowed upon me by my daughter dearest, my shouting woke up the trio of fluff. Lifting their heads up they looked around with sleepy eyes at the disturbance, till they spotted Leona that is.

"Oh coc-"

"MOM!/MOTHER!/MAMMA!" and so she too was buried beneath a curtain of cuddles and fluff, although allot more tears and snot were shed upon her than me thankfully. Despite all the snot and tears however she grew a wide smile as she embraces her children, happy that they were safe and sound beside her once more.

Finally and much to my relief however, a plushie was tossed from the back of the living room onto Helena's face. She stopped her snuggling and gazed upon it before grabbing it and shuffled off into the corner of the sofa/bed. Finally being released I breathe a sigh of relief and sit up. Looking over to Helena, she's cringing at what she had done despite not having much control over it.

Rolling over to her, I wrap my arms around her and whisper to her. "It's alright, my little angel. There there, I know you can't help it…" I paused for a bit as I felt her relax within my grip before I grinned and pecked her cheek. "Besides, you're adorable." She let out a squeak and pushed her face deeper into the plushie before letting out a muffled groan.

Chuckling, I pat her shoulder before turning towards the pile of sentimental fluff beside the bed. The little ones having finally quieted down and resting against the plumage and wings of their mother.

"So Leona," I began "I get the distinct feeling that you aren't as inclined to throw yourself out in the cold again." As if God wanted to prove my point, a skittering was heard outside before being silenced with a mighty crash and thud. Silence reigned for a second before Adolphus let out a muffled snort outside.

The lioness looked between me and the door before nodding. "You're right, I never am. However I don't have a choice, we have nowhere else to go." She let out a sad sigh "Unlike you, we have to claw, fight and die for every bit of ground to live off of, we aren't warriors like you…"

I almost let out a snort in amusement, I am far from a warrior after all, although my son might claim otherwise. Leaning down towards the sagging Lioness, I placed my hand on her beak to make her look into my eyes. As they reflected my visage, I used my other hand to scratch her behind the ear.

"So, if that is the case, my gentle little griff, why don't you stay with us?"

I barely had time to brace myself before I was once again launched back into the couch/bed, yet unlike before I didn't fight. I closed my eyes and accepted my fate as a bodypillow as Leona's and the children's sobs filled the air. Wrapping my arms around her, I held her gently and whispered to her.

"It's alright, you're safe now, my child." Nuzzling her head, ignoring the feeling of her beak pushing against my chest, I comforted the first of many. Looking over to Helena, I saw her eyes lock onto me and I pointed to Liona's paw. Nodding in return, I went back to nuzzling my gentle little griff whilst the warmth of Helena's healing washed over us both. "You don't need to fight anymore."

Author's Note

Sorry this one was a little short but I wanted to get it out there. I'm not dead yet!

11. A city's plight

One week later

Whisked away by the winds, snowflakes fell slowly into the plains and into the grand city of the high griffons, Iria. With its high wooden palisades and innumerable number of fires within said walls, it stood as a bulwark against the cold.

Yet for all it's determined resistance, it was at a knife's edge. No carriage could be moved across the streets, for they were flooded with refugees. The marketplaces and plazas were rife with goods sold at extortionate prices, only meant for those with money.

For those who were lucky enough to have a roof over their head, it was nearly as bad. For within the massive amounts of villas that separated the administrative and commercial districts from the slums, conditions were poor. The council had decided that the poorer folk would be housed interchangeably within the villas, the effect being that instead of relieving, everyone suffered equally.

Lastly within the city's center lay the senate, a building where within its walls the council of the city would discuss and debate current issues and policy. It stood as a pillar of marble amongst the stone houses of the local patrician elite, the descendents of the first settlers of the plain. Each family living in relative comfort within their family houses, called a Domus.

Although if one were to enter the senate right now, the veil of nobility that had covered this district before would be crushed in front of their very eyes. For the nobility of status does not always equal the nobility of character.

…

"You can't be serious!" The patriarch of the Tullia cried out.

"Why ever not? The house of Romilia have always seen to the prosperity of Iria, and our continued service should not be expected without reward!" The patriarch of the Romilia countered.

"Rewards?! Each and every one of the Valeria have slaved away for this city and you ask for rewards in these times? Have you not seen the state of the public works? The squalor of the commercial and residential districts? Nevermind the frozen latrines right outside your own Domus!"

The patriarch of the Valeria paused to catch his breath before his scowl morphed into a smile.

"No no, these resources would be much better spent subsidising the builders guild, to see to new housing and the repairing of our infrastructure."

A new voice laughed, the echo of it being carried across the chamber as he let his protests be known.

"The builders guild?! Hah! The last time the builders guild built anything, half the lumber was sold to the Drakars! And the rest being smuggled off into your own Domus!"

A flurry of insults then erupted as the senate exploded in anger with houses squabbling amongst themselves.

"ORDER! ORDER!" The speaker yelled out but to no avail as his elderly voice was drowned out by the so called nobles of the city.

Yet as the squabbling nobles continued their tirade, a lone griffon sat in the corner, quiet and brooding. Giving the council a cold gaze he scoffed before jumping down from his seat and walking out whilst they were distracted.

"Useless fools." He muttered to himself.

"The city is on the brink of collapse with but half a year of food stowed away to last us through the cold yet they continue to squander what few things we have left."

He paused as he exited the building and got a grand look at the rest of the city from his vantage point. From every street, pillars of smoke rose like talons desperately reaching towards the sky. In every villa, the light of a hearth could be seen with griffons desperately crowding around them, awaiting a serving of stew.

"The last city of the high griffons..."

Sighing sadly he brought his eyes to the mountainside where he heard that song from days past. An omen? Hope? He doesn't know why, but that voice brought more warmth to him than any fire.

Looking back to the city, he set his eyes towards the slums on the outskirts, tightly hugging the walls. A look of pity filled him before he reached inside an enchanted bag he had hanging around his neck. Pulling out a cloak, he put it on quickly and raised the hood to hide his face.

In silence, he wandered off into the dark alleyways of Iria.

...

It has been a week since our meeting with Leona and the kids. Feels like a lifetime ago with how things have been progressing. I'll guess I'll start with the good news!

Leona has taken to reading like a fish to water, reading not only the bible but also other books we have in storage. Despite the wide variety however, she still insists on learning everything she can about the Christian faith first. It seems that I've been an influence on her, as sometimes I manage to overhear her quoting me to her children. It's quite flattering really.

The kids too have been busy, with Illarion and Lucia taking up training with me and Mark. Having a corporeal body needs an amount of fitness, a painful reminder since we've been having to train in the snow. Nonetheless they've been making steady progress, although they're still relying too much on natural instinct, thrashing about like wild animals when under strain.

Fiddie is a different case however, he has mostly relegated himself to reading along with his mother and Helena. Sharp little thing, he is, although despite that, he's still young. As such he's been having trouble grasping more advanced fields, no matter, all in due time.

One thing they all have in common as kids however, is that they're impressionable. As such, after settling in amongst us, hearing our daily prayers and reading the works of christendom, the spark of faith has lit a flame inside of them just as it has with Leona. I can't describe my joy at hearing them tell me of the love they feel. It's a good start, not just for them but for us as well. Knowing that all the races can be converted will be a boon in the future.

Finally, me, Mark and Helena have all continued trying to acclimate our souls and bodies to this world. The magic that flows through us has only increased, and to control it we've had to stop early to camp for the last couple of days to meditate. To sum it up, we've branched out to different fields of magic, although Mark has focused mostly on combat spells whilst Helena has focused on other practical areas. I myself have been in-between, as to not limit myself to any area.

Now the bad news, to pass the time between training, praying and other such activities, the kids, mine included, have grown a bit… playful.

...

"Kluk. Tik tik. Kluk."

thwak

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"..."

"Kluk."

thwak

"You'd be surprised."

Helena and Mark laughed together with the kids as Leona covered her snicker with a talon. Meanwhile I continued to sit with reins in my hands as I was pummeled by the grouse.

thwak

"Of all the fucking birds… Why'd you have to pick up this one?"

Helena calmed her laughter down to a snicker as she answered.

"Oh you know."

"To annoy me?"

thwak

"Mostly because it's funny but yes."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Peace. Love. Fai-

thwak

Alright that's it.

thud

"Lasted longer than I thought It would." Mark remarked.

"My patience is immense when dealing with brats."

"Hey!"

I tossed the lifeless corpse of the grouse, it landing on Helena's face as she let out a squeak before falling off the carriage and into the snow.

"You have no idea how good that felt." I said as I stopped the carriage and squinted at the sight in front of me. There was an opening in the treeline and… there wasn't any forest on the other side!

Setting the reins down next to me I stood up as Helena was getting up from her hole, with the others laughing at the sight. Pushing my fingers against my lips I let out a whistle and got their attention.

"We've arrived." I said as I pointed to the forest's edge.

...

It was the middle of the day by now and we had finally arrived outside the gates. Gotta say, this city? Not what I was expecting. Supposedly the high griffons were the most industrious and urbanised of the three folk, yet in front of us is a city of squalor. Ah well, if there's anything I know about the dark ages is that sanitation was abysmal. Even still though, you'd think they'd have more than just wooden palisades by this point.

We pulled up just along the gatehouse as the guards gave us weary looks. We had decided to keep the kids with Mark and Helena inside so as to not raise too much suspicion, although from the looks I'm getting, I'm guessing we already failed.

"Halt, by order of guard!" A griffon exclaimed as Leona and I stepped down from the carriage.

He eyes us wearily before continuing. "State your name griffon, what business do you and this creature have here?"

Leona looked up to me as I shrugged.

"The name is Leona, sir. We've come to seek shelter within your walls and to sell several goods, would you like to have a sample?"

I frowned but quickly suppressed it, realizing that bribery is the safest bet on getting inside. The smile that the guard produced seemed to confirm my suspicions as we led him to the carriage. Leona then quickly swooped in through the door before closing it, leaving me alone with the guard for a few seconds.

As I got a closer look at him, he looked quite famished as well. The city must be quite desperate if even the military can't be fed properly. My thoughts were broken however as Leona returned with a small bag within her talons.

"Here you go, sir!" She said as she handed it over to him.

Looking inside, his eyes widened a bit before closing it quickly and looking around. Then turning back to us, he gave us a smile.

"Well with such generous folk, there's no question about your credibility. Welcome to Iria, last city of the high griffons."

Last city?! I could've sworn there were three left! Either time passed much slower as we were transported or things were progressing much quicker than I'd like. There was no time for such thoughts however as we quickly hopped onto the carriage once more.

Being led into the city by our guard, we were gawked at by onlookers. I wouldn't blame them, none of them had ever seen a creature like me or Adolphus before. Luckily we were able to find ground onto which we could park, which was quite strange, as I saw no other carriages around.

For the first time since my arrival I opened my mouth to speak as I jumped down from the carriage.

"Excuse me, sir?" I asked to try to catch his attention.

He turned around and looked up at me before pointing his spear at me in what looked to be fear.

"Y-you can speak?"

Giving off a smile I lifted my arms up to seem as non threatening as possible.

"Of course I can, do you think a mere animal could steer an elk?" I asked rhetorically as Adolphus let out a snort.

"I-I umm." He cleared into his talons to regain his composure as he pulled his weapon back. "I suppose not. Yet I've never seen a creature like you before, what are you?"

"I'm a human, and it's natural for you not to be aware of us, my kind is incredibly rare in these parts." I said with a chuckle. "Although I do have a question for you as well, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead."

"I was wondering where all the carriages had gone? I can see tracks yet none are here."

The question was met with a sad sigh from the guard before answering.

"Tragically with the increasing attacks from ice beasts, the populace decided to use some of the carriages as fuel against the council's orders … although there are several in warehouses left."

Ah… well I suppose desperate people do desperate things, I, if anyone would know.

"Ah, well thank you for the information, sir."

"No problem, enjoy your stay in the city!"

He gave a firm roman salute before turning around and marching towards the gatehouse to return to his post.

Turning my sight back to the carriage, I walked up to the wall before knocking on it to the tune of staying alive. A few muffled voices could be heard from the inside before Helena and Mark came out along with the kids.

"Fuck me this place smells like ass" Mark muttered as he tried wafting the air in front of his face. Helena would've swatted his head but she too was holding a grimace as she smelt the city.

Looking at me and the kids, she groaned. "How can you handle this smell?!"

Shrugging, I just gestured behind me with a grim expression. "Because I know others have it worse than me."

Helena followed my hand and looked out amongst the spread out crowds of griffons, huddling amongst fires as they tried to warm themselves. Their faces were tired and their coats dirty and disheveled, only parts that were of relative cleanliness were their wings, which they kept preened.

Her face almost seemed to deflate at the sight, her grimace being removed and a sad look in her eyes as she looked at a pair of coughing griffin children.

"This is reality now." I said as I looked at them, Mark too, having been moved by what he saw. "There is no fairytale-like adventure for us to experience. Here in the dirt, we'll be these people's pillars, their hope for a better day."

Walking past them, I rummaged around the carriage a bit before finding what I needed. As I stepped outside once more, my kids looked at me as I held the firewood I had asked them to gather before we made our trip through the plain.

"And should the morning never comes, we'll be their hearth in the darkness."

Author's Note

Be sure to leave a like if you'd like to see more!

12. Starved of love

He sat there, broken. He sat in the snow and in the muck without love. Past him walked the old, the young, the rich and the poor. None caring, none loving, for they had no more love to give.

Blinking away the tears, he stood up. His legs trembling under his own weight, he hadn't eaten a real meal in days, making do with meager scraps and the occasional finch. It gurgled in yearning, for anything edible whatsoever. He was starving and he knew it, but what could he do?

Looking to his left, he walked into the alleyway shrouded in darkness. Being so small offered some advantages at least, especially as a street urchin. Passing by the ramshackled huts of the slums, he eventually weaved through them, arriving at the familiar sight of the stables. Perhaps he could find a rat or two amongst one of the few dry areas in this snow covered bog of a city.

"Alright now you just cut them like this."

"Careful with the cans, don't burst them with those talons."

"Helena, get me those canned tomatoes would you?"

Voices broke him free from his thoughts, looking out at what he thought was an empty stable, he found it occupied. He didn't recognise these creatures however, at least not three of them. Two griffons walked among them but the strange sight of a drakar, a wolf and three… things… had his eyes widening.

It seemed like he was not the only one who thought so though. Out of his periphery he saw several more griffons looking on with mixed expressions, from curiosity to worry. Yet as he watched them work, stocking their fire, making their food. The temptation grew too strong, and so he approached with a tint of nervousness.

…

Placing the lid on top of the massive pot I wrangled out of the kitchen, I leant back a little on the chair I had brought out. Now it would just be a waiting game, but before that.

"Hey Helena! How're the baked potatoes looking in there?" I yelled with my eyes closed, resting the back of my head on the palm of my hands.

A bit of clattering was heard from inside the wagon, but surely enough, Helena along with the kids came waddling out of the carriage with trays of baked potatoes in hand.

"Looking fine and dandy! You sure you don't want any?" She said as they placed the trays down on a foldable table and joined me by the fire.

Placing my arms around her and Illarion, I let out a sigh of contentment. "Not until these folks have had their fill, my food is to do the will of he who sent me and to finish his work."

There was a pause as the crackling of the fire was the only sound in the air, before I spoke once more.

"Has Leona had any luck?"

"Unfortunately no. We are strangers to them ,father, let them come to us."

Looking up at the cloudy sky I can't help but to pity these folk, starved, homeless and ruled by fear. Sure, fear is a useful tool at times but to let it rule your entire being? Useless.

And so we waited, until the light crunching of snow appeared on the periphery. Looking over my shoulder, the crunching stopped as I looked into the eyes of a griffon child. By god, he looked awful, yet so beautiful. Dirty, with a fearful look in his eyes, he trembled as he stood. His form was marked by starvation, his stomach looking as if it would almost meet his spine.

Looking up at me, he opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it again. This stretched into seconds as he continued, as if frozen. Remembering what I could from my teachings, I turned back to the pot. It is said when a being is met by fear or terror, they do one of three things. They either freeze, run or fight. I was not gonna let any of the latter two happen as I reached over to grab a wooden bowl.

I acted slowly in my actions so as to not raise any alarm, lifting the lid off the pot, I dipped the bowl in the soup. Bits of sausage, vegetables and peas floated inside, a good start, but not enough. Lifting the cloth from the baked potatoes, I grabbed one enduring its almost burning warmth. Placing all the items on a tray with a wooden spoon, I let out a sigh of relief as the little griffon still stood in place, its gray feathers and brown coat looked disheveled as he shivered in the snow.

Thankfully during this time, Helena had led Illarion off to the other side of the fire, so as to not frighten the griffon off. Placing the tray next to me by the fire, I was careful to not let it get burned or covered in snow. I then scooted off to the side, looking into the flames.

I waited, and waited. And finally movement came as the griffon approached, looking between me and the tray. Keeping my voice low, soothing and as calm as possible, I looked at him.

"Go ahead, little one." I said just above a whisper. "Do not be frightened, for there are none who may harm you here. Do not go hungry, for I will feed you until you can give your bread to another. Do not go cold, for the embers of our hearth shall give you warmth."

He looked at me with doubt but curiosity, the fear slowly pouring out of him before he turned to his food. Grabbing the spoon, he dipped in the soup.

"I'd be careful with that." Helena said from across the fire as Illarion rested his head on his lap. A gentle smile adorned her face as the griffon looked at her through the flames. "It's best to blow first, don't wanna burn yourself, no?"

Pausing but eventually nodding, he did as told before tasting it. It was as if he had an epiphany, his eyes almost seemed to dilute as he did the cutest little prance in place, cooing in delight like a dove.

"Did you like it?" I asked with a smile.

Nodding furiously, he began to dig into it as if possessed. My, what gusto! Reminds me of Mark in his teenage years.

Chuckling a little at the sight, I turned back to the fire, waiting until he was done. Didn't need to wait long however, as the little lad swallowed the last bit of the potato and gave off a satisfied sigh.

Plomping himself down next to the fire, he looked so warm and happy. I suppose eating really does burn calories, the little guy looks like he's run a marathon. Not wanting to ruin it, I let him rest for a while.

…

It had been another ten minutes before I finally saw Mark come back with Lucia and Fiddie. Flying low and weighed down by firewood, they landed before us. I would've used Adolphus, but he was tired after a week's march through the snow.

"Welcome back, everything went alright?" I asked

"Not a frost spider in sight, must've scared em off. Anyway, we got your firewood." He said as he set down the two bags he was carrying with a heavy thud. Lucia and Fiddie then ran forward after adding their bags to the pile.

"Elijah, Elijah! Look what we found!" They exclaimed in unison as Lucia held out her talon for me to see.

Looking within her grasp I saw a peculiar sight. A single little dove, uncommonly tiny for its age. Extending my hand next to her talon, the little dive jumped across and settled into my warmth.

"My… hello there little fellow." I said in a hushed tone as I gave what I assumed to be a he, a pet. "Must've gotten stuck in the valley from the outside. Poor little thing, no wonder he's so tiny, barely any food around."

Lucia and Fiddie gave a sad frown at that as they looked at one another, this gave me an idea however.

"Tell you what though," I started as their gaze turned back to me. "If you wish to keep him, I'd be more than happy to let him live in the carriage."

"Really?!" They asked in unison, eyes lighting up at the prospect.

"Really." I said placing the little dove down onto Lucia's talons. "Just run along and get Helena to help you out, she'll teach you how to take care of the little guy."

Nodding in response, they scampered off to Helena. Sighing at the sight but with a smile on my face, I looked back to Mark.

"They really are something, aren't they?"

"That they are."

Standing up, I went over to unpack the firewood, Mark helping as we added it to the pile a little ways away from the fire. As we chatted however, I looked back to the half awake griffon child and got an idea.

"Hey Mark?"

"Yes, father?"

"Do you remember John 14:18?"

…

15 minutes later

Out of the normal gloom of the streets of the slums of Iria, a merry figure strode through the streets. Standing on two legs and with a large coat over him, Mark sang with a smile as he wandered past the gawking populous.

"-One day he took a brick in his hand and he dandered up the falls! He was mutterin' up the Rangers and hummin' Derry's walls! He broke the big shop window to annoy the pope of Rome!"

Taking a large stride over a sheet of ice in the middle of the street he continued.

"He took a record player out and then he started home! He took a record player out and… then he… started home…"

His singing slowed and then stopped altogether as he finally found what he had been looking for. His face morphing from a smile into a neutral expression as he looked on with pity at the sight of three griffon children sitting in an alleyway, completely alone. They were clearly underfed. Were it not for their plumage, Mark was sure he'd see the ribs. Cold and shivering, they laid in the dark, trying to warm one another through body warmth.

Approaching them slowly, he entered the alleyway. They paid him no mind however, too focused on trying to keep warm than anything else. Crouching down, he got at their level and thought of an idea.

Reaching out with his hand, wisps of light appeared around it, which soon concentrated into a ball. Focusing on it, Mark morphed it into a trio of beautiful blue butterflies. An ethereal glow surrounded them as they fluttered in the light breeze. Faint bits of light falling down from every wingbeat, akin to glitter, yet they disappeared as soon as they got too far from the butterfly.

Fluttering along, they landed on top of the beaks of the little griffons. Not reacting immediately because of their closed eyes, the butterflies spread their wings over the beaks. Feeling something tickling their nostrils and a light behind their eyelids, they eventually opened their eyes and blinked multiple times at the sight in front of them.

Taking off from their beaks, the butterflies flew in circles around the trio. The sight made them giggle, especially when they landed on one of the griffs, covering her mouth and both her eyes in a blue haze. Yet eventually, their playful act ended and they took off to the end of the alley where the griffons froze up at the sight of Mark, sitting against the wall of the alleyway. Looking back at them, Mark gave off a warm smile as his voice reverberated through the narrow space.

"Hello there."

The trio blinked and looked towards one another before one of them took a step forward and gave a cough.

"H-hi" She managed to stammer out, her voice having a lot less bite than she thought it would. "What do you want?"

Mark looked up in thought for a second, resting his chin on his hand as the butterflies landed on his head.

"Now that is a good question, what do I want… but a better question is…"

He turned his head back to them, and opened his coat, revealing row after row of smoked sausages dangling down from it. Giving off a wide smirk he spoke.

"Kielbasa or Kabanoss?"

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, had allot of schoolwork.

Anyway I used this for the inspiration for the soup.
https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Hearty--Meaty-Black-Eye-Pea-Soup-for-a-Crowd-2416080?utm_medium=yummly_amp_site&utm_source=yummly_amp_site#directions

And I got the tiny dove idea from this video.
https://youtu.be/BsO5k9_Ed0c

Such an adorable feathery bean.

13. The blessed young

Author's Note

Wow! This was a big one! Thought it wrong to decide to split it into parts since I wanted I bit of action for ya. Happy new years!

Disclaimer, for any future chapters with colored text.

Yellow = Latin/Griffon

Cyan = Russian/Drakar

Purple = German/Wolven

13. The blessed young

"How old are you, little one?"

The little griff seemed caught off guard at the question, pausing for a bit before answering.

"Ten." He then looked to the ground as he grumbled. "And my name is Cirrus…"

Why must they all be so adorable for vicious predators of the sky?

"Ten, hm? Tell me, Cirrus, who do you think I am?"

Cirrus looked back up at me, squinting his eyes a little before letting out a huff.

"I don't know what you are…" he glanced at Leona who was resting her head in my lap as I stroked her from head to neck.

"Well take a guess, why don't you?"

Pausing a bit, he mumbled something under his breath.

"Say again?"

"... I said you're probably the pet of that noble" He said with a slight annoyance as he pointed one of his talons towards Leona.

Blinking twice, it took a second for me to register what he just said. Cringing, he looked away but just as he did, I broke out in laughter. A hushed laughter mind you, didn't wanna disturb Leona too much. Cirrus however, just looked perplexed at me, I suppose he was expecting me to be angry.

"You uhh- hehe, you think I'm Leona's pet? Pffft-" I lifted my hand to cover my laughter, calming it down to a mild chuckle.

"Ahh… thank you. Been a while since I had a laugh like that but no, I am not her pet and neither is she a noble."

"B-but the carriage? The food? Firewood? The giant fuckoff elk?!"

Furrowing my brow a little, I gave him a stern look. "If you are to be by my hearth, you'll utter no curses."

That made him look at me in annoyance and just as he was to retort, the fire crackled and he remembered why he is staying where he is. Anything beats the cold. I would know.

Easing my gaze, I instead gave him a warm smile and ruffled his head, making him let out a little squawk.

"I know you've got a heart of gold in that little body of yours, don't let too much poison in via those curses. There are better ways of voicing your displeasure."

"Like what?" He said with a scoff.

"Hmm… Well take the story of one of the most prized saints of christendom." Summoning up my illusion magic, it appeared as golden light within the palm of my hand. I reached outwards and it drifted into the air in between us like thick strands as I began my tale.

"Our story starts in 1412 when a single peasant girl by the name of Jeanne d'Arc was born into the world." The light shifted into a baby within a crib, being rocked from side to side with a mother and father standing over her.

"Yet this world she was born into, was not as fair as one would think." The golden light shifted into black, red, hellfire. The image shifted into a manageress of terror. Villages burning, families running for their lives, swords and shield clanging on contact whilst horses charged into battle as arrows of pure fire rained down upon them.

"It was the hundred years war. The main combatants, the royal houses of the English and French, were in a brutal deadlock over who would be the master of the west. Millions died of both War and pestilence, an apocalyptic conflict."

Cirrus shuddered as he listened to the awful sounds of the illusion, he quietly and with his tail wrapped around his leg huddled next to my form. I laid my arm around him as I continued.

The image then shifted as from the middle of the pit of hell, arose a city of light. Its towers were shining brightly, yet it's walls were assaulted by the darkness. It nipped and bit, slowly tearing wisps of light away to be consumed by the darkness.

"In the middle of this war, in the heart of France, laid a bastion of faith. Orleans, founded over a millenia earlier, stood as a cliff guarding its citizens against the tides of war. Yet for however strong its walls were, without men to fight for them, the city was doomed."

The scene shifted again, this time to a dull grey. In front of them now lay a grey hall, lavished in ornaments but dull in color. Upon a throne, sat a figure, a king, cupping his face in his hands as he fell into despair.

"The king had almost lost hope. He had not the morale. Not the will to carry forth. Yet in that hour of darkness, a light shone through."

The king was suddenly lit up by light, as from the other end of the hall, the doors bursted open. Striding through them came a girl, young and beautiful, yet clearly low status and poor attire. She shone like the sun, yet without burning one's eyes as she stopped in front of the king and kneeled. The king looked upon her, with his mouth open and his eyes turned from a dull grey into a torrent of gleaming gold.

"Jeanne D'Arc had come, from the invitation of the archangel Michael, the angel of war. She had been commanded to save Orleans in its greatest hour of need, and save France from a century of fire. It was the King's decision on what to do with this peasant's girl who had wandered into his court."

In front of them now stood the girl, grasping a longsword with both hands as she knelt, the blade pointing down. She was in full armor, steel shining like a river of silver. In front of her stood the king, who with a smile on his face lowered a helm upon her head. Covering her fair dark hair but with her face still to be shown, she stood up and unsheathed her blade before marching out the door.

"The king accepted her proposal as God's will. With righteous fury in her heart, men at her back and God on her side, she rode forth."

The scene changed back to the city of light, assaulted by darkness. The bulwark of the previous image had disappeared however and now just a sliver of golden walls protected the crying families inside as the knelt in prayer.

"Orleans was at death's door, soon to be sacked and pillaged for all it's worth. Against this stood a single girl. Yet this girl of sixteen, a peasant with nothing to her name, who instead of cursing against a spiteful world, rode out and did something to change it, would be the one to save the city."

Suddenly from a hill overlooking the scene, a light shone faintly, akin to a single torch in a moonless night. Yet as seconds passed, the torch lit a blaze, a golden blaze, as from the crest of the hill, Jeanne appeared upon a horse and at her back rode an army of five hundred. Lifting up a cross, the hellfire and darkness that surrounded the city thrashed in pain before Jeanne rode with her brave men down the hill and into the darkness. With great fervor and fury, the people within the city opened the gates and charged. Assaulted from all sides, the darkness fled and Jeanne rode into the city with jubilation.

"The city, against all odds prevailed and the people were saved. Yet Jeanne, Jeanne was never done. For she strode forth once more to push the English back, but for all her might, she was captured."

The image changed to a grey city, surrounded by fog. Not a sound was heard, not even the crackle of the fire that burnt like a single candle within the city. Ash blew from it and in the clouds above, angels wept upon what they saw. Within the fire was Jeanne, crying, with her clothes ripped from her form. She let out a single tear, before the light was snuffed out, and darkness enveloped the city.

"She fought and saved thousands. Yet for this crime of fighting for the opposite side, this peasant's girl of nineteen was branded a witch and by the guise of the corrupt courts the war had fostered, she was burnt at the stake."

A bitter tear left Cirrus' eye as he listened, though I wiped it away with my thumb before I started petting him like Leona. I have found that the folk, the young ones especially, are easily calmed with pets and scratches, though if that was just special to me and my children or just a general rule is still unknown.

"Upon her death however, she found what she had sought for so long."

The final image displayed Jeanne crying in the embrace of a man, Jesus Christ. She was on her knees as Christ sat with her amongst a sea of clouds. Weeping in joy into his chest at her pain finally being relieved and weeping in sorrow for the souls corrupted by sending her unjustly to her death. Christ held her throughout it all, a warm smile upon his face as he held her with endless love. Yet as he opened his mouth to speak, the illusion burst into a million orbs of light, before dissipating, swept away by the wind.

"There is life after death, little Cirrus." Leona suddenly said, startling the little griff, although she didn't make any effort to stop my petting, the cheeky griff.

"We are judged for what we do in this world before we move onto the next. Jeanne knew that, and so do we. Instead of harboring your unhappiness and filtering it out through curses, let it instead be used as a sword to protect those you love." She smiled warmly as she talked, before giving you a slight nuzzle at the end upon mention of loved ones. We had become quite close to one another throughout our travels, not in a romantic sense mind you but more just, acting as one another pillars to lean on, as we both were single parents.

Cirrus looked down at this, a few more tears escaping as he sniffed before he pressed his face against my leg and let out a muffled sob. Leona finally relented her position as I lifted the little guy up in my lap and rested his head against my chest.

"Wh-what if I don't have anyone who loves me?" He got out between sobs.

Patting him as he continued crying I told him the truth.

"We will always love you, no matter what. God will always love you, no matter what. You are loved and you'll always have a family with us."

And from the noise I was hearing up the street, we'll be having some more members soon enough.

…

"Croo"

The three little children stood huddled around Helena as she sat on the couch with the dove in her lap, their eyes fixated on the curious little creature. It was half covered by a blanket, with Helena gently petting its little head as it cooed in relaxation.

"He's so small…" Illarion said.

"And cute!" Fiddie added with a smile on his face as his tail seemingly went wild.

"Hehe, kinda like you." Lucia said, casting a sidelong glance to her now pouting brother as she giggled.

"It's alright Fiddie," Helena comforted, "you'll grow up to be a strong and respectful wolf."

She then turned her head towards the rest of them.

"Speaking of growing up," she said, "do any of you know one of the most important tenets of an adult?"

"Kindness?" Fiddie answered in an unsure tone.

"Wisdom." Illarion said with conviction after giving a thought.

"Strength!" Lucia exclaimed with boisterous energy.

Humming in thought for a second, Helena nodded with a smile. "All good aspects of people in general, correct." Helena began, getting a row of smiles and wagging tails from the youngsters. "However, when considering what differs a child from an adult, the ability to take responsibility is one of the most important aspects."

Helena then looked down once more at the little dove, lying half asleep within the warmth of the blanket. "That being the case, I shall give all of you the responsibility of taking care of this little guy."

"Really?!" They exclaimed in hushed voices as to not disturb or frighten the little creature.

"Really." Replied with a suppressed giggle at the sight of the little ones happiness. "Starting with giving him a name, any ideas?"

"How do you know it's a boy?" Asked Lucia curiously.

"Good question! Well judging from its coloration," Helena began, pointing to a bit of blue that lined the dove's otherwise snow-white stomach, "you can tell it's a male because it's colors are more striking to attract potential mates. Although this is not the case in all species, and I'm a little unfamiliar with the birds here so his gender is mostly an educated guess." Helena said, saying the final part with slight embarrassment at her lack of knowledge.

The trio hummed in thought as they tried thinking of names, muttering guesses quietly before all of them quieted down and looked once more to Helena.

"So? What will it be? Lucia's idea first, then Illation and finally Fiddie." Asked Helena

Lucia perked up at being first whilst the others looked at her. "Oh umm, well since it's nearly perfectly white, has wings and is a guy umm…" She giggled a little bit with a slightly flustered face. "I thought we could call him Mark Jr."

There was a pause whilst Lucia stood still in embarrassment at her admittedly not too great of a name. Illarion and Fiddie simply raised an eyebrow, yet the silence was broken by a chortle. Helena sat with a barely covered smile as her cheeks puffed out trying to contain her laughter. Yet as the dove let out another coo, the dam burst open and as she laughed.

"Mark Jr? That's brilliant! Oh gosh… I'm gonna burst a lung haha!" She said between laughter as Lucia blush increased, her brothers also letting out a little giggle at the spectacle. Calming herself down a little though, Helena breathed a sigh and looked down at Lucia.

"Thank you Lucia, I really needed that. Alright then, that one down, and a good one at that. Illarion, have in mind?"

Illarion without the hesitation or embarrassment of his sister gave a smile of confidence as he answered. "Pax, as in peace in the griffon tongue, one of the few words I learnt from Leona."

Helena cringed a little at having the Latin language seemingly copy pasted by the griffons, but she hid it well.

"Since the dove is a sign of peace, I figured the name fits well" Illarion finished.

His siblings gave an 'Oooo' at him as they seemed in agreement over the name's quality.

"Well," Helena said, as she gave off a single light clap, "that's certainly a good name, easy to remember and pronounce too. Good job Illarion."

Illarion smiled with pride at the praise as his tail swung in happiness behind him. Helena then turned her head to Fiddie.

"So Fiddie, whatcha got for us?"

Fiddie, seemingly replicating a bit of the embarrassment of Lucia, paused a bit before answering. "Well going off the shade of blue on his color, I thought we could call him Azure…"

The other two nodded, seemingly pleased with the name as Helena looked on with a smile.

"Yes, that is certainly a good name… but that brings up the problem of which of the three we should choose." Helena then hummed a little before snapping her finger, a sparkle of gold being made as they snapped. "Oh! How about a vote?" She asked the youngsters.

"Okay!" They replied in unison before turning towards one another.

"I vote for Mark Jr."

"I vote for Azure."

"I vote for Pax."

The trio stood like a triangle, pointing to one another with their forelegs as Helena giggled at their predicament.

"Wait!" Fiddie suddenly said as Lucia stopped arguing with Illarion over the name. "What if we let the little guy decide for himself?"

"And how exactly would we do that?" Lucia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Simple, we bow our heads and see which one he'll perch on."

Lucia and Illarion gave a glance to one another, before shrugging. "Fair enough."

Forming a semi circle around Helena, the trio lowered their head for the birdie as Helena removed the blanked and roused the little bird from it's snooze. Hopping up the the edge of her knee, the dove seemed to stare curiously at what was in front of it, eyeing each head multiple times.

Silence filled the air, the breath of the inhabitants of the cart and the muffled noises outside being the only signs of life. But then, a gentle fluttering of wings was heard as the dove made its choice.

"Well," Helena began, "welcome to the family, Pax"

"Croo"

The little drakar went cross-eyed as he stared up at the dove who sat seated upon his snout. Moving a little though, Pax's tail feathers brushed against the nose. Breathing in a little, Illarion let out a sneeze and Pax immediately flew off to his previous perch upon Helena as the two other siblings laughed.

"So now that we got that sorted out, I should mention a few things about raising a bird before we really get into the meat of it. The fir-"

Thud thud

"Helena? Can you come out here please? We got company!" The muffled voice of Elijah rang out.

…

As we started making preparations, the sound of singing grew louder. Leona putting out more bowls, Helena steering the soup and me getting more bread out from the pantry, the three of us moved in a flurry to make ready as the singing rounded the corner. What our sight was truly heartwarming to see.

A whole crowd of about 15 griffon children and youngsters followed a merry Mark with a griffon child sitting on his shoulders. He took long comical strides to the tune of what he and his companions sang.

"So let's pull down the watchtowers, you're going home at last! Say farewell to Bellaghy, Carrickmore and West Belfast!" They sang uncoordinated but still with smiles on their faces as they moved towards us

"With a kit bag on your shoulder and a tear all in your eye. Well pardon me for smiling whilst you're waving me goodbye! Pardon me for smiling while you're waving me goodbye!" He finished off his song with a skip and an over exaggerated bow towards us as he finally arrived.

Both us and the kids behind him clapped and cheered for the merriment he brought to all.

"Thank you, thank you, I aim to please." He said with a fake english upper-class accent before twirling around on his feet, facing the crowd of youngsters and giving off a clap. "Now! Listen up little ones, my old man Elijah over here has got fire, food and just about the warmest hugs you can find in the world." He exclaimed whilst pointing at me. "That being so, I want you all to treat him with respect he deserves. Be mindful of my sister as well, she gets cranky when someone pulls her feathers." He gave off a laugh, as Helena pouted. "Now go and get yourselves warm and fed."

As the crowd simultaneously cranked their heads in my direction, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous as I kissed my pendant. "Lord have mercy on my soul."

…

It had taken half an hour, but everyone now had a meal and a fire at their side. Feeling exhausted I plonked myself down on my tree stub by Mark and Helena's side, looking on as Leona made the rounds on the little ones. I gave off a sigh of relief upon being able to rest for a while, the vapor of my breath fogging the air in front of me before scattering.

"Tired already old man?" Mark asked with a smirk on his face.

"That's father to you, brat!" I replied with a laugh, giving his arm a lighthearted punch. "So I take it there weren't any complications?"

I was met by a pause. A pause? A pause. Oh no.

"Yeah… about that…"

…

Moving down the street, the merry band of 16 griffons and a human sang a cheerful tune. Although a few were too busy munching on some well earned sausage. Mark himself had found a particularly young and adorable little griffon to accompany him.

"You okay up there, Paul?" Mark asked as they moved down the cobbled street.

"Mhm! I can't wait to meet your dad, you think he'll like me?" The little griffon asked.

"I'm sure he will, just as long as ya don't curse ya should be fine. I can barely get away with it half the time and I'm his son." Mark answered with a laugh.

Turning his head back to the street in front of him however, he noticed something very odd. The streets where crowds usually meandered, sharing fires and food, were all gone. Derelict building covered each side and everything suddenly got allot more quiet.

Motioning with his arm for everyone to stop, he and the crowd stood still as they listened. The wind howled a little as it blew through the alleyways before the beating of wings was heard from above.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a trio of griffons swooped down and landed in front of them, each one being of a similar brown coloration with the only notable feature being the massive scar upon the leading one's face.

'Ahh… this is gonna be dumb and dumber situation isn't it? With perhaps a guest star of absolute fuckwit.'

"Afternoon lads," Mark greets them, "just passing through, we don't want any trouble."

The griffons looked at him with bored expressions, the lead one seemingly calm as he spoke.

"Yeah, I bet you are…" He glanced at Paul, sitting atop Mark, causing the angel to tense up as Paul glided down to huddle in with the others. "That being said, there's a toll for going through here, see? And yet you just waltzed on through without a care in the world."

The griffon then turned his sights towards his belt. "So I'm gonna need that sword of yours, good steel can't be wasted for outsiders such as yourself."

Before Mark even had a chance to respond, one of the other griffons whispered to the lead griff with a smirk on his face. The lead griff gave off a disturbing smile as he pointed to one of the younger girls, making her squeak in fright.

"I'm also going to be needing that one, she's a runaway from one of my most esteemed clients, you see. Hand it over quickly and there won't be any, as you put it 'trouble.'"

The silence was palpable, laying thick in the air as Mark simply stared at the trio. Taking a deep breath however, he finally spoke with his eyes closed.

"Good thing I've read up on my Latin." He muttered before opening his eyes and unsheathing his sword within the blink of an eye. Holy scripture danced across the blade as it shone, even on a dimly lit day.

"Ya know, I think I'd rather just pay in blood." Mark said with grim determination.

The griffon simply smiled with sadistic glee as he held up his long sharp talons, each of them being covered in a layer of sharp steel. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"Oh really? Well then... show me your motivation!" Mark exclaimed as he charged, using his massive wings to propel him forward before they had time to react. The blast of which made the snow in his wake form into a miniaturised blizzard.

An overhead swipe towards the griffon to his left swung forth, bringing a tide of blood with it as it connected with the creature's neck. The blade had swung true and cut clean through the neck, with only a thin strip of flesh connecting the head to the rest of the body. The face of the griffon was frozen in perpetual terror as if still processing what had happened, but as his eyes swung down, the loss of blood and nerves finally registered. The body fell in a heap as Mark retracted his blade from it.

Having no time to waste, Mark quickly turned around just in time to parry a strike from the scarred griffon. With his eyes bulging from his head in rage, seemingly mad, the griffon yelled.

"I WILL PISS ON YOUR CORPSE!"

Just as he did, the scarred griffon struck once more, this time managing to catch Mark's sword between his talons. Before Mark even had time to react, the griffon extended his wings and subsequently hit Mark with them in a great swoop, throwing the angel back 3 meters.

"Not so tough without your sword, huh, boy?" The griffon mocked with a grin on his face as he took a few swings with it.

Mark merely stood up and smiled as he held his hands behind his back, a crooked smile adorning his face.

"D'ya know, you really have a way with words don't you?" Mark mockingly complimented the griffon, making him glare at the angel. "So much so I got in the mood for poetry, so to quote Callus."

He paused as he reached his hands out and extended his wings in a wide arch, an ethereal glow enveloping them as more than a dozen balls of fire flickered to life around him. "I will sodomize and face-fuck you."

The griffon only had time to shield himself with his wings as Mark's fully extended wings gave a single great flap, and a hail of fire was let loose.

"AGHHHH!! GUH, FUC- AHH"

His screams echoed as he burnt, the flames enveloping like a snake would, coiling and suffocating. Feathers flew like embers leaving a great hearth as the griffon rolled around in the snow, to no avail. His sobs and cries were finally silenced however as the pain overtook him, and he fell limp upon the snow covered street. Along with the thud of his head however, came the clattering of steel. Out from under the griffon Mark's sword hit the ground, though no damage to its form came from the fire. The scriptures on the blade still shone true and the rubbish adorning the pummel glowed with resplendent red, flickering like the beating of a heart.

Walking over to it, he paid no mind to the corpse as he picked up his blade. He stretched his arm out towards where the sun would be in the sky and gave a smile as the beating stopped.

"I'm sorry dear," he spoke in a hushed tone, "should've never let him get ahold of you."

Giving the ruby a kiss, he turned around to the noise of frantic struggling.

"NOT ANOTHER STEP!" Yelled the final griffon, his back against the wall of one of the buildings opposite Mark. In his grip was the girl from earlier, desperately trying to get free but stopped as he reached up with one of his talons and pushed it against her neck. "Careful now little one," he said with a truly disturbing grin as he licked her cheek, making her shiver and sob in fright, "don't wanna get blood all over those pretty golden wings."

Mark merely looked on in concealed fury, a deadpan stare adorning his features.

Turning his gaze back to Mark, the griffon spoke once more. "So here's what's gonna happen, white wings. I'm gonna take this little hen back to my employer and you're gonna forget this ever happened. Let me go, and we might just not kill you for what you've done so far." His gaze flickering to the corpses of his comrades.

Mark stood as still as a statue, not uttering a word as the crowd of children looked on from a nearby alleyway. Silence filled the air before Mark took a deep breath, and spoke slowly, methodically, ensuring his every word rang out in shivering sanguine.

"You will die, as your weakling leader died. Burning. Honorless. Weeping." He paused as he reached up with one of his hands, an ethereal light encompassing it as it clenched into a fist. "Ashamed."

A cry of pain rang out across the streets as bones crunched, splintered and cracked, flesh was torn and stretched, tears shed. The cobblestones underneath the griffon had risen in golden light and had swiftly dislocated his forelegs, freeing the girl. Soon she too was encompassed in light and pushed away towards the others as Mark strode forth to the melody of carnage being displayed.

As soon as the girl made it to the others, a wall of cobblestones rose up around them, covering the sight of what was going on beyond them. However, it did not stop the sounds.

Screaming continued as Mark's footsteps continued before coming stopping, then the screams were muffled and the crunching and churning of flesh and bones stopped.

"May God have mercy on your soul."

The noise of a blade cutting through air was heard, before hitting something with a squelch, a thud was heard soon after and then… nothing. Dead silence.

That was until the noise of crackling was heard, and the stones of the wall slowly flew away to the original placements. What was revealed was the foul smell of burning corpses, three pires of flesh and flame stood in the street. In front of the children however, stood Mark, kneeling down, with his sword sheathed.

A series of yelps was heard as most of the griffon children backed away from him, despite the gentle smile on his face.

"No, no, I'm sorry…" He said in a hushed, regretful tone. "I didn't mean to scare you… it's alright now, they're gone. It's safe."

There was a pause, and Mark's heart was filled with trepidation at being rejected. That was until two griffons jumped forth and wrapped their forearms around him, weeping into his coat as he embraced them. Little Paul and the griffon girl wept, muttering thanks and begging for safety.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! Please… please don't leave us!"

"Shhh, shh, shh, it's okay. It's okay." Mark comforted them, trying his best to replicate the maternal actions of Helena, and despite his inexperience, it worked.

More and more griffons joined in, some crying, weeping and sobbing, some simply enjoying the warmth, some simply seeking affection. They'd be safe, with the sword saint.

14. Confrontation

Darkness cascaded down from the evening sky above, shrouding the world in a veil of cold murk. For my congregation, however, we had the gift of fire to keep us warm. Three fires stood abuzz with flame, dancing to every gust of wind like a ballad with an exceptional high tempo. Surrounding them, we sat in huddled silence, tired from the day.

"You do know what this means, don't you?" I asked my son rhetorically, for I knew he already had the answer I was searching for.

"Yes, father." He replied, his eyes fixated on his blade as he cleaned it, it was as if both his eyes and the blade itself were in flames from the reflection of the blaze. "They'll be back, and in number."

I looked over to Leona and Helena, both were walking about the camp, listening to the children and helping them if need be. Helena was adamant about providing for these children a future, as was I, as this was the purpose of this journey.

I suddenly felt something tugging on my coat, looking over I saw the little griff my son had so heroically rescued from a life of servitude. Her eyes looked frightened as she quivered a bit.

"They're coming back?" She asked, "Those bad griffons?"

Smiling assuredly, I grabbed her by the forearms and picked her up, letting her rest on my lap as I gently hugged her form.

"Yes, they will come." I said bluntly, feeling her tighten up a bit in my embrace. "But no matter what little one, we'll be here to protect you." I paused as I put my finger under her beak and let her gaze rest onto me. "For there is no force on this earth that could break our will. For we, little Marina, are immortal."

She looked up at me in wonder as I comforted her, her eyes searching mine for any kind of lie. She found none, but in her eyes, I still saw the fear.

"I'm still afraid." She whispered against my chest as she sniffed.

"I know, my child, but would you allow me to teach you something?"

"Teach me what?"

"How not to be a slave to fear, how instead, to be a servant of love." I said whilst stroking her head.

"...I'm not sure I want that, the bad griffs said they wished to make me a servant too…" She answered, her voice muffled against my coat.

I would weep at how one so little could have such a corrupted outlook on what love looks like, but not now, now is the time for change.

"No, my child. Not that kind of servant, and definitely not that kind of love." I said in a hushed tone.

I propped up my leg a little so she was a little closer to my height as she sat, her face finally coming out of my coat as she controlled her sniffling. "Perhaps it's best that I show you."

Lifting my arm out towards the flame, I let my magic flow throw my hand and with less effort than before, a green glow enveloped it. Expanding and contracting to my whim, I made it stretch out and soon it reached out and touched the flame. Upon making contact, it crackled like a pinecone had been thrown into it and changed color from its natural mixture of red and yellow to a pure green. This caught the attention of the rest of the children, some of them watching with fear, but most in wonder.

Twirling my hand, two threads of green flame arched from out of the fire like a rainbow, before arriving in the other two fires laid out in the camp. The same happened once more, with the fires being turned into a beautiful green colouration as my magic took hold.

Looking down once more to little Marina, I reached far inside my heart to find words to both bring comfort to her and to explain to her God's infinite love.

"O blessed child; be not afraid. The lord shall keep you still." Inside the fire, I willed it to display within its heart Jesus Christ. He sat on his knees upon a bed of grass with a smile on his face as he held a white lamb in a gentle embrace. The lamb however still seemed quite distressed.

"And shall pluck you from the cursed dark, by love, your heart will heal." Upon uttering these words, I willed the image to change once more. The lamb progressively got more and more docile, its head eventually resting upon Christ's chest and sheding a single tear upon it.

"O blessed child; with thy sun eclipsed, does not the darkness reign?" I asked as the image changed from the peaceful picture of God to the lamb, disheveled and beaten in a cage. It was no longer the pure white of before, but dirty and bruised. It was laying down upon its side, with its head resting against the bars.

"But vengeance falls on blackened souls'' The image panned out to view abominations. Demons of hell, sitting around a fire, laughing and eating upon another lamb whose time had passed too soon. Looking further one would see a hill behind them, and the sky was a starless night.

"The light will shine again." Changing an age even slightly can bring a profound effect, and the arching of light over the hill certainly brought that as the outline of a lone man stood on top of it. The sight of him made the demons bear their teeth, thrashing and screeching in what looked like anger and fear upon the visage.

"In a breadth of innocence; we shall walk the seas." Lifting within his grasp a shepherd's stick, the sun rose and the demons disappeared in a smoldering billow of black smoke, so too did the cage. The lamb itself upon being touched by the light was healed from its wounds, yet still dirty from the muck.

"Rest your heart on providence and know," The fire displayed the figure removing his hood and light encompassing his entire being as he kneeled and held his arms out in an awaiting embrace. The lamb, cantered over to him, hopping over fire and the dirt as if flying. Upon reaching him, the light dissipated as the lamb was held in his embrace.

"Thy captor's kingdom shall be burned for all to see," The hooded man was Christ, who now stood upon the hill together with the lamb in his embrace as they looked out to the rolling hills. Across them, yet more demons disappeared into smoke as the light touched them, seemingly harmless as the light so easily willed them away. Christ then let the lamb out of his embrace and they looked to the side.

"and thy flesh shall not be owned." The lamb scampered off as Christ looked on with a smile on his face. For it did not venture off back into darkness, but instead joined the flock of pure white sheep who instead of shunning the dirty sheep, accepted it with open hooves as they played.

"O blessed child for the Lord hath said whoever shall harm thee," The final picture displayed the flock being led through a valley of green with the sun shining down upon them and Christ at the front.

"Tis better to be tied to stone, and drowned in darkened sea." Outside the valley however, was but pure misery. Clouds covered the scorched lands with bones pulled high, forming hills in some places. The demons who seemed so happy to go after the weak, now looked almost as weak and frail as the lamb they had previously consumed.

As I lifted my arm down, the magic lessened and the image disappeared within the changing colours of ember. And as the fire returned to its natural orange, I held Marina close to me as she smiled.

"Tis better to be tied to stone, and drowned in darkened sea…"

Nuzzling close to me, Marina cooed. All around the fires, the children stuck close to one another with smiles on their faces as the mood was uplifted from the uncertain feeling from before. Next to me, Mark sat with his legs spread apart, with Paulina and Fiddie on each of his knees, leaning on one another with their eyes closed. In the back I saw similar situations with Helena and Leona, both of them surrounded by fluffy groups of griffon children.

It was a precious scene, truly. It is said that duty is heavier than a mountain, and that death is lighter than a mountain. But for moments like these? For people like these Any? Any weight was worth carrying.

Tink. Tink. Tink. Tink.

The moment was broken however, as I followed the sound of a talon repeatedly hitting metal. Looking up past the children, my gaze fell upon the silhouette of a griffon standing atop the roof of the house opposite to us. He stood there, wings unfolded, looking down on us. I couldn't make out his features through the dark but the flame did mark out his eyes, which stared right into mine. Additionally, the flames danced across the surface of one of his talons oddly enough, as none of the others did.

"Well done, bard. Very well done indeed." He said in a mocking tone. "Such a high sense of honor as well, looking out for these little ones." His eyes wandered across the children as he spoke, frightening many of them as they began to scurry off behind me and Mark.

Together, me, my children and Leona stood up and met his gaze without fear. Mark spoke up first.

"Well I'd welcome ya to join us, sir. But I can't help but wonder about your name." He spoke in an equally mocking manner, ending his greeting with an overly dramatic bow.

Silence filled the air for a couple of seconds, I would glare at Mark but if I broke the griffon’s gaze, he’d view it as a moment of weakness.

Tink.

Suddenly, with the clinking of metal from the griffon above, muffled steps fell upon snow from both my right and left. In my periphery I saw multiple griffons moving across the snow, at least twelve in number.

“What an oversight on my part, I do apologize.” He began before with a single flap of his wings glided down before us, with his compatriots forming up next to him. He stood tall, with his presence noticeably larger than those around him. Scars covered him from head to talons, some more of note than others, with white streaks clipping through his dark gray plumage. His eyes were a bright yellow with a depth to them, a depth reminiscent of a predator eyeing its prey. His left ear had a gruesome look to it, as if torn off with a badly healed wound left behind, its pink flesh smelled of rot. His most noticeable feature however was a single one of his talons, totally engulfed in metal, whether replaced or gilded, I did not know, however it looked permanent.

“The name is Theodocius, although my business rivals call me-” he paused as he wheezed a chuckle. “The butcher.”

I looked down at him, feeling the threads of his soul roiling beneath the surface. Instead of the light that shone through the children and Leona alike however, this one was matted in black, covered in it like soot from a chimney. It would be hard to wash it out.

“A name earned, no doubt.” I finally said, my tone no more harsher than if I was speaking to one of the children. “Yet i wonder, which one will we come to know you by?” I asked as I offered a quick glance to one of his companions slowly dragging a knife down one of his talons through his telekinetic grip.

“Quite the inquisitive sort aren't you, Elijah?” Theodocius said with a light chuckle, no doubt knowing my name through his watching of the camp. “Well you see, your gallant little lad over there gave me quite a fright.” He looked over to Mark. “Three of my workers disappeared recently, like a puff of smoke” He added with a chuckle before looking back at me. “Despite that… setback in relations, however, I am a generous griff. Ain’t that right boys?” He asked with some glee, getting a chorus of positive responses from his so called workers. I noted that several of them were eyeing up the children behind us, they’ll come to regret that.

“So I've come up with a resolution.” He said, his tone shifting dramatically from his previously thin mask of jovialness to a murderous glare. “Either you join us, and give up what you’ve taken or I’ll dismember you and make you watch as we kill each and every one of these fucking brats!” His voice growed in volume as he spoke, nearly shouting the last bit, making the children behind me let out a yelp in fright at him.

I paused for a second as no party moved, making sure the silence hung heavy above us before I spoke. “And what exactly have I taken that is yours?”

Theodocious growled before snarling “Dont play dumb with me shit-for-brains!” He looked past me into the crowd. “We want the girl.”

Lord have mercy on this one’s soul

“No.”

His pupils almost seemed to contract as he focused into my eyes, his eyebrow twitched.

“No?”

“God gave them wings to fly, not be shackled. He gave them the freedom of mind to act out against the oppressor, not to be a pawn at another’s whim.” I paused as I breathed out, making a motion with my left hand to alert Helena and Mark.

“And he gave me a sword, so I may render onto their captors his will!” And with that Helena and Mark extended their wings, each one of them bursting with magic as I heard the rocking of the carriage behind us.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, covid hit my family and the fever coupled with schoolwork has been keeping me busy.

8. Faith through bread

It has once been said that if one were to get a taste of the sky, feel its wind against your skin and experience true bliss, you would forevermore look up, yearning for another taste. Looking up from a particular part of the forest however, one would be met with an umbral embrace as a shadow danced across the skies.

Heavy beating of wings battled against thrashing winds as only the most hardy of fliers could fly amongst the rolling hills of clouds that seemed to loom infinitely across the horizon. Lowering its altitude, the shadow revealed it's true nature as first a pair of massive talons loomed into view, quickly followed by pure white plumage and an ebony beak. It was a predator on the hunt, and looking through its emerald eyes, it gazed upon a meadow as it spotted yet another of the folks' houses. This one however was strange, as it was in the middle of nowhere, with wheels adorning it's corners. If it were not for the thrashing winds though, one could hear the muffled laughter of a joyous angel.

Yet, it's gaze turned elsewhere, as a fully grown woolly rhinoceros escaped the forest's edge and began wandering into open plains. Prey.

…

"Come now children!" Helena called as she led the tiny trio into the giant wagon. "I'll get some hot chocolate started up for you," she said as she closed the door before pointing over to the couch "so you just sit tight on the couch over there."

The trio turned to one another with confusion marking their faces as they didn't move from their spot. Eventually Lucia stepped up towards Helena as she was looking through the cupboards.

"Umm… Helena, was it?" Lucia asked with the angel perking up at the question.

"Yes, little one?" She said as she turned around to face the little griff.

"Not to be rude or anything but… what's hot 'chocolate?'"

"You what?! You don't know wh-" Helena exclaimed before catching herself upon realizing her mistake. "Oh. Right. Apologies if I frightened you little one, it's just just commonality where I'm from. Don't worry though! I'm sure you'll like it, my father made it for us all the time when I was younger, even though we didn't need it."

The little griff surprisingly enough did not budge from the sudden outburst, though a certain wolf pup flinched a little at the sudden change of tone.

"But do take a seat, adventuring out in the cold all morning long must've gotten you a little tired. We still got some babka that I had packed, I can make some French toast for you! Are you hungry?" Helena continued with a 'squee' at the end upon the mentioning of French toast, it being one of her favourite childhood treats.

The trio turned to ask each other but before they could, Illarion's stomach suddenly made a gurgling sound, much to the embarrassment of the young drake's floppy ears twitched and lit up in a purple color.

"Well," Helena began as she leaned over the kitchen counter with a smug smile lining her lips "I guess that answers that question, haha! Now sit yourselves down and let me do my magic!" She said as her fingers lit up in a golden glow as various items across the kitchen began floating down to the counter, before being prepared in various ways.

The trio watched on for a little bit at the skill of which she could manage so many items at once, then began making their way towards the front of the wagon. Sitting down on a rectangle shaped couch with sides extending outwards, in front of which a retractable table stood, they held quiet for a moment before the silence was broken by Fiddie.

"... You think they'll be alright? Mommy and those… men?" He asked, his voice just above that of a whisper as he looked at his sister with water in his eyes.

The little lioness looked down at her brother before he was pulled into the fluff of his big brother's tuft. "They'll be alright, little guy," Illarion said "mother's the toughest griffon I know, besides, did you see the size of those two guys? And that's not even mentioning that beast of an elk that just careered straight through those trees!" He exclaimed as he ruffled the little pup's, making him whine but grin a little as he looked up at his brother. "So don't worry about it, alright?" Illarion finished as he looked down with a gentle smile.

Leona looked on, noting the tiny glint of fear that still coursed through both of them at the memory of the scream. No matter how many hunts Leona went on, the three of them never stopped worrying over their mother. No, they had lost too many beforehand to not worry.

Silence held on for a little while before the three of them settled into more normal conversation, mostly just making observations about the abode of their hosts.

The frontmost part ended in a sort of half circle as the absolute front was flat for the seat of the driver on the outer side of the carriage. Yet, the flat surface did not cover the entirety of the frontmost wall, as two thirds of it was instead curved in such a way that it extended the width of the front till it met up with the side walls. Sitting inside one could gaze outside through the windows lining the front's curved walls, with metal frames forming a diamond pattern across them.

A little ways away from them lay the kitchen, currently occupied by an angel, gracefully working away at an admittedly deliciously smelling dish. Two tabletops for chopping poking towards the front and the trios left, where the door lay, forming a section of space in the wagon for the kitchen. Inside of which, a strange stove lay, producing fire without the need of firewood and also what seemed to the trio as some sort of big strange white cabinet. There also lay a sink with a metal basin underneath, with a hole in the middle for water to drain away to. Cupboards and drawers lined the spaces both above and below the tabletops, making sure no space was left unused, though the space above the stove was occupied by what Elijah and the angels would recognise as a fan.

Further down the carriage, a wall covered most of its space with a hallway lining the trios right hand wall leading down to a set of two doors. Yet before they could muse more over the design of the mobile home, a set of clamps were heard from the kitchen as Helena spoke up.

"Alright, kids!" She began before lifting up a trio of plates and mugs in her telekinesis whilst strolling over to the three in question. "Prepare to be amazed, as you're gonna witness God's answer to the discomfort of frost!" She exclaimed as she lifted down the plates in front of them whilst striking an overly dramatic pose. "I give you hot chocolate with a French toast babka! Haha!"

The three gawked at what had been placed in front of them, the French toast a beautiful mix of gold and brown as it glistened from the butter placed onto top of it. To the side lay a small pool of maple syrup and next to the plates were mugs of steamy hot chocolate with tiny little marshmallows floating on its surface.

The dish looked stunning with an absolutely decadent smell that made the trio drool, but before they could dig into it, Helena suddenly popped up in the middle of the couch, placing herself right between Lucia and her brothers.

"Now, let us pray." She said with a smile as she held her hands out towards Fiddie and his sister.

"Pray? You mean like… prey on the toast?" Fiddie asked in confusion as he tilted his head with an adorable flick of his ear.

"Hehe, no little one. Praying is the act of communicating through our words and thoughts to the Lord." Helena said as she pointed to a corner, in between an uppermost cupboard and the right hand wall. There, nestled up at Helena's head head height lay a shelf with a picture of Christ holding two small angels within his grasp, the two of them looking no more than two years old. The three of them stood amongst a sea of clouds, with a warm light down, highlighting the smiles upon their faces and the kindness and innocence in their eyes. Beside the picture however was a bit more morbid sight, as a cross, bearing Jesus upon it with nails driven through the palm of his hands. Looking at the picture as well, one would still see the scars he bears, as a reminder of his burden.

"He is the alpha and the omega," she said as their attention was wrapped upon it's visage "the creator of all, and he who loves us more than anyone else, even my own father."

"Creator of all? But… he's but one man?" Lucia replied in confusion upon the notion.

"But a man? No, little one." She said with a smile as she leaned towards and placed her right arm around her. "He is more than a man, he is the one who created man. He himself chose that form for a single purpose, to redeem us, his children. For unto him, every sin was laid as he died upon a cross, just like the one laying there. And although he had died, tortured by his own children before stabbed through the stomach, he arose after death, and promised us eternal life within his kingdom, if only we allow him into our hearts, and follow his teachings." She finished up before gesturing towards the meal. "This prayer, being one of those teachings. Now, get your cute little talons, claws and paws together and i'll lead you in, all you have to do is close your eyes and repeat the final word that I utter, 'amen'"

The trio thought for themselves, not truly understanding or really believing that someone that significant could exist, that there was someone who loved them unconditionally for who they were. Lucia especially, being the oldest, was sceptical, after all the horror she had endured, how can someone love her whilst also allowing such things to happen? Yet all three of them were once again interrupted by a gurgling coming from one another, their faces lighting up in embarrassment as Helena snickered.

Slowly and gently they reached up, grabbing one another's appendages at the prospect of a free meal. Then Helena began her prayer as they all closed their eyes.

"Lord," she began "Thank you for family and friends. Thank you for times like these, where we can gather together, share in food, drink and love. Please bless this meal, and all that it means. May the food nourish us, and this fellowship enrich our lives. We pray also for those who could not make it to our table, who as we speak go hungry. May they too find nourishment in your bread, and everlasting love. But most importantly, may we always invite you into our homes, and into our hearts. Amen."

"Amen."

"Now, you can dig in!" Helena said, gesturing out towards the food.

The effect was immediate as all three of the children scrambled to get a first bite, forgetting to even blow it. As they all got a mouthful of the treat though, their faces lit up and a collective moan of pure bliss filled the room as Helena smiled at the childishness. Fiddie, surprisingly enough, was the first one to finish as he eyed the hot chocolate.

"Go on, little one." Fiddie looked up at the angel. "Just remember to blow on it so you don't burn your tongue." She said with a smile.

Nodding, Fiddie carefully lifted up the cup in his telekinesis, making his runes glow a white color as they worked their magic. Blowing on the steaming liquid, he took a small sip and squee'd in joy over how good it tasted.

The twenty minutes was a period of pure bliss for the youngsters with Helena reveling in the enjoyment of watching others achieving happiness over her work. As the final bite was taken and final sip of hot chocolate was drunk, they all settled down and stretched across the couch, with Fiddie laying on top of Illarion and both elder brother and sister resting their heads on the lap of Helena.

"I'm guessing you all wanna take a little nap, hm?" Helena said in a hushed tone, with a trio of murmurs in reply. "Hehe, I'll take that as a yes."

Lighting up a finger, she opened a hidden cabinet beneath the couch and lifted up an utmost peculiar object onto the table. A second finger then lit up and a black disk floated up from the same cabinet and was placed on top of the box. For a small moment, a button was pressed as a sound, then an odd yet calming tune came whirling out of the metal horn sticking out on top. Finally, laying her wings down on top of the trio, they all drifted into deep slumber as they listened to the gentle voice of the singer.

Author's Note

God, I love the adorableness of these three. I mean could you imagine the absolute comfy energy radiating in that room? Wings on top of headpats, on top of snuggling and lap pillows. Not to even mention comfy music!

(Carriage is more of a medieval caravan but ay, when ya got Adolphus at the front, why not make an extension?)

10. Faith kindled

"So you're the ones that sang last night?"

"Yes and no, my gentle little griff."

"What's that supposed to mean? You can't exactly mumble a song that reaches that far, also what's with the nickname?"

"Well it wasn't just us that were singing, the land itself was singing with us. Regarding the nickname however… I just think it suits you. Inside of you I see a gentle soul, one who loves her children deeply, and would do anything to protect them."

Lifting a hand to stroke her from the top of her head, down her neck, I look into her eyes.

"And that is why you're my gentle little griff."

Didn't think it was possible for a creature to blush through one's feathers, guess I was wrong. Letting out a forced cough, she regained her composure.

"Still, that doesn't make me yours…" that tail tells me otherwise, little one. "Anyway, how can the land sing? And what's a soul?"

"Heh, well my. gentle. little. griff." Punctuating each word with a boop to her beak just to tease her. "In regards to the land itself, it was made by my lord, every rock, every tree, every life, all were blessed by my lord. The only exception being those blighted by the devil's hands, so-called demons, little better vermin who prey on all that is good in this world. However, as I was saying, I am the first to bring my lord's word here," Using my telekinesis, I floated over a leather-bound bible from a bookshelf. "and as it says in the Holy Bible. 'If my followers were to be silenced, then the very stones themselves would break forth with praises.'"

I paused as I looked through the window at the early night sky as my smile grew wider. "Although evidently, the land must've been bereft of faith for so long that not even the stars could contain their joy."

Turning my sight back to Leona however, she was more astounded over the book if anything as she stared at it.

"Do you like it?" I asked, getting a silent nod in return.

"I made it myself, although it's just a copy of the original work made millennia ago. I take it that books are rare here?"

"Rarer than rare, they're practically unheard of outside the halls of the councils."

Thinking it over, I made a quick decision as to what to do to remedy this.

"Well, would you like to have mine?"

The reaction was immediate as she tensed up and gawked at me, her mouth opening and closing several times. This continued till I booped her beak again, finally getting some words out of her.

"Wha-what?! But this is priceless, even if it is a copy! Why would you just give it away to someone that you barely even know? That you practically just met?"

Giving off a chuckle and getting a glare in return, I continued to pet her.

"Heh, well my gentle little griff, first off, I already know you, or rather, I know enough." I said before switching off the lights, getting a little yelp from Leona as we were surrounded by darkness, with the only light coming from the windows.

"Wha-what's going on?!"

"Shhh, my gentle little griff. Let me show you."

Reaching out my hand, I cupped her cheek within it as I closed my eyes and focused. Gradually, I felt a warmth within my heart, ever increasing, ever soothing. I knew I was done by the time I heard a quiet gasp from Leona. Opening my eyes, I saw her face lit up as if by pale moonlight, yet the moon was covered by clouds, and the light came nought from the sky. Looking down I saw my incorporeal mass moving around inside me, twisting and turning in a dance.

"You asked about souls before, this is mine, without it, I am but flesh. Each and every one of us has one, every animal, every plant. Yet to us, God's children, he has given us the gift of an immortal soul, one not blighted by death."

Looking back at Leona, I saw how in awe she was at everything. I could not blame her, it wasn't until I died when I learned how to reveal myself, my true self. It was to lay yourself bare before another person, to show everything to them, and be judged.

"...it's beautiful…"

"Thank you, my gentle little griff." I said, holding down my urge to hug her at the compliment. I let go of her cheek, and gradually let my soul return to its normal state before turning the light back on.

"You too, are beautiful. Inside of you lies a light, akin to a candle, yet it does not run out and does not burn. I'd see that candle light a fire, everlasting and everloving."

I paused as I floated over the bible, still glowing within my telekinetic grasp, and placed it upon her plumage.

"That is why I give you this book, after all, she who asks, receives."

…

With his legs kicked up on the railings and reins within his hands, Mark looked out at a starless night. It was everything yet nothing like he was expecting the corporeal world to be like. He had been told tales by his father, sure, but this? This was something else entirely. New sights, sure, but he had seen them already through art and pictures and the like, though they didn't hold a candle to the real thing. No, no, that wasn't it. The truly thing was the sensations. The smell of pines, the tingling feeling of snowflakes upon his skin, the automatic squinting of his eyes as snow fell near them. This was all new, and yet, instead of feeling discomfort or fear, he felt a great curiosity within him. What more could be out there? He wondered.

Sighing at the endless darkness, he looked down and gazed at the sight before him as Adolpus let out a snort. Forest all around him, sometimes broken by small streams that ran down from higher ground, or the occasional fallen tree they'd have to go around.

"Welp, at least the white is familiar." He muttered to himself as patted off the snow that had built up on his legs.

Closing his eyes, he hummed to himself as one of his vices made itself known. Restlessness. He had to find something to relieve his boredom, although he was busy with holding the reins so how could he possibl-

"Oh… right." He suddenly said as he facepalmed. "Fuckin idiot."

Looking to his right, he found his backpack still where he left it, only difference being the layer of snow built up on top of it. Lifting his fingers up, it helped him concentrate his telekinesis to shake it off of it's snowy exterior.

With the backpack relatively bereft of show, he lifted it over to rest right beside him. He then opened it and picked up an enormous sparkling diamond out of it's small compartment.

With it within his golden glow, he looked over to his left and brushed off his bulge in the white sheet of snow covering the seat. Beneath it, the golden glow lit up a sheathed longsword that slowly floated over to rest on his lap.

Unsheathing it, a true masterpiece laid in front of him. It was one of many gifts upon his departure, supposedly being made by the same swordsmith that had crafted the famous Joyeuse. Inscriptions of prayers covered nearly its entire blade with the exception of the edges. Using faith as it's source of power, it was an artifact of untold martial power. Only weakness was that it's cut was so strong that only diamond could work to sharpen it.

Picking it up within his right hand, he kissed the hilt and reached out his hand to look upon its entire length in reverence.

"Let us hope that you'll never be used my dear, but if blood is to be spilled, protect me as I shall protect you."

A gust of wind blew across the area for just a second, enough for one to miss a smaller whisper that was swept away with the snow.

"Yes, my master."

…

Sitting on a small veranda sticking out on the back of the carriage, an angel rested her wings upon the backs of three little balls of feather and fur. Having rested before, they all were wide awake as they watched the wheels of the carriage leave an ever expanding trail through the blanket of white that covered the ground.

"And since then, we've been travelling from city to city, together as family." Lucia finished up as she recounted the story of her and her siblings' journey with Leona.

Silence reigned for a couple seconds as Helena reigned in her pity. She didn't want to pity them, they're too strong for such a thing.

Holding little Fiddie in her arms, she gave him a tiny little kiss on his forehead, making him giggle and pushed his paws against in a vain effort to make her stop. Smiling down at him she finally broke the silence.

"I know how dark it might seem at times. Yet through all that despair, that darkness, the Lord has given you a light."

Little Lucia let out a small scoff at such a notion, what light? There was misery day in and day out for all her lifetime since her home had been lost. Every day she had to watch as her mother desperately fended off both the cold and starvation for survival. Every day she had to shiver beneath her blanket as howling winds tore through the air, only the forests offered some respite, but they were infested by monsters.

"Yeah sure, Helena. Starvation, freezing and possible death on a daily basis is such a delight."

Shaking her head, Helena calmly replied.

"It is not the misery of daily living I speak of, it's family. Throughout it all, if you did not have family, would you have survived?"

Lucia opened her mouth to speak but closed it again as she thought it over. Helena however, still felt her doubt.

"The uncertainty makes you uncomfortable?" She said as she looked down at the griffon with a serious expression upon her face. "Then let me remove it for you."

The three kids only looked on in confusion as she said this.

"Close your eyes little ones."

Although still confused, the three of them followed along as they didn't wanna question her with how her mood switched upon Lucia's accusations.

And so as their eyelids closed and darkness enveloped their eyes, a small light appeared in their vision. Distant and cold however, they thought of it as nothing more than a blur left from the snow. The notion was quickly dispelled from then however as suddenly the light expanded, and suddenly their entire world lit up in colour as they found themselves standing up.

Looking around they found Helena standing in front of them with her back turned towards them. Looking further still they took note of their surroundings. They were in an absolutely massive building, bigger than any they've seen before. More surprising however was that this enormous architectural wonder had mainly only one room, a giant hall that stretched on for over a hundred meters. On the sides of said hall lay enormous pillars holding up the place, with windows plastered over with giant boards.

Yet for all this grandiose design, the place felt… abandoned? Not a single being besides them was in sight and feeling of the place felt… wrong. Their reasoning came true as their ears came into focus and they heard the familiar sounds of howling winds outside.

"Follow me little ones"

They heard from Helena as she started to walk forward. Not wanting to be left behind, they followed. Doing so, they felt the ground, it was covered in light frost and ice cold. Pushing through however they grew weary as they spotted the remains of a fire, only ashes remaining and end fuel being used up. A familiar sight upon the paths of the forests, yet one which spoke of a horrid sight that might be nearby.

Suddenly Helena stopped and the three little ones, so scared now that they had begun hiding behind her, immediately bumped into her. Picking themselves up however, they looked at what she had stopped for… and their hearts dropped at the sight.

There before them on what looked like to them as a giant table made out of iron and ebony, laid a frozen corpse. Not one of drakar origin however, neither griffon nor wolf either, but a man. What looked like a disheveled boy to the three of them, yet to Helena, it was someone entirely different.

Walking up to it, Helena then kneeled down and cupped his cheek as stray tears fell from her cheek. She stroked his hair and gave him a single kiss on his forehead before trying to calm herself. Turning around she faced the trio in front of her.

"This, little ones, is what happens to those without family."

"Who-who is he?" Illarion managed to get out as her voice echoed throughout the building.

"This is an orphan." She began as both Fiddie and Illarion looked at the corpse with a new light.

"This is a child of 19." She continued as she began covering herself with her wings, a trait she has earned when sad or nervous in her younger years.

"He went through all you've gone through and more. The cold? Took his leg. The hunger? Killed him. The monsters? Tried to flay him!"

She was practically weeping now as she looked down at the mean and with a hitched breath she finished.

"This is my father…"

The trio only looked on in silence, with matted streaks of tears running down their cheeks from Helena's grief. She knelt down beside the man, knowing he's still alive in the new world, yet still grieving over the sheer amount of pain that went through his soul in his old life.

Lucia took the first step forward, and the others followed. Slowly making their way towards the angel they climbed under the wall of feathers and hugged her, trying to soothe her despite the confusion over Elijah.

What felt like ten minutes had passed before they managed to calm her down. Her face no longer holding the serious or grieving expression of before, now just a solemn acceptance.

"Thank you…" She whispered as she embraced them in arms before lifting up her feathers, revealing a white plain that invaded their eyes.

They all woke up with gasps as they collected themselves from what they had just experienced. They were all in the same place as they had been before the vision, with Helena looking out into a night sky bereft of stars.

"Wha-what was that place?" Fiddie asked after the sound of the crunching of snow beneath the carriage becoming too unnerving.

"Cologne cathedral. It is a church, a house of God."

"What happened to it?"

"It was abandoned, like half the continent was. The cold became too unbearable, to the point where no hearth could warm neither one's soul nor heart…"

Silence remained amongst the trio as she continued retelling the story of what had happened to Europe and rest of the world.

"Back to the cathedral however, it is also my father's grave."

"But how?" Illarion asked. "I saw your father just a couple hours ago and that boy looks nothing like him, ignoring the fact that he's alive and the boy is dead.

"He rose again, just like Jesus, however he would find no solace living in the frozen hellscape where no amount of repair could be done to heal what had been done. So God sent him on a mission, to spread the faith of the good lord on this world, to be a shepherd to its many folk. That being so, he sent him many gifts to help him along his way. One of them being his corporeal form, being changed from a starving little orphan boy, to a man with a family to watch over."

She finished up with a smile on her face as she remembered her childhood, remembered that despite all the misery, for Elijah, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The trio looked on and was about to say something before a knock was heard on the veranda door.

"Helena? Kids?" The muffled voice of Elijah was heard before the door creaked open to reveal him standing before them, with Leona just behind him.

"Hi dad!/Hello Elijah!" The group answered as Elijah looked at their faces with a scrutinising expression.

"Mmm… Helena you didn't tell them any scary stories did you?

"Eheh… not exactly? It had a happy ending at least?" Helena replied as she sat down Fiddie to rest between Illarion's forelegs before scratching herself behind the head.

Elijah raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak but as he caught on he just let out an 'oh.'

"Silly little Helena," he began as he walked towards them, "you need to stop worrying over the past, I was but a boy back then, i could barely handle myself." He paused as he reached out a hand and ruffled her hair. "Besides I got such a wonderful daughter to take care of me now, haha!"

This got a snicker from the little ones as Helena pouted and fixed her hair. Leona, having stayed behind until now, stepped forward to look out at the landscape of the forest. Elijah too glanced at the sight before reaching out his hand to Helena, getting a confused expression in return before she took the hand and rose whilst tucking her wings in.

"Do you know what always cheered me up when I was out amongst the abandoned buildings, in those dark times?" He asked as he led her out to the railing before letting both of them lean on it, looking out at the forest.

"Umm… faith in God?" She asked with a pause.

"Mmm… yes, that was one of the things. However when fear took my heart, and I was left in the dark there was one more thing I'd do than pray. I'd sing."

This got a smile out of Helena as she too always loved to sing.

"Say Helena, do you remember that song I taught you when I spoke of the adventures we'd have in this world?"

Nodding in return with a grin on her face, they both joined their hands as an ethereal intertwined them. When they did, the sound of a variety of instruments broke forth through thin air. Helena and Elijah then reached out with their free hands and out of them formed a blue glow, almost liquid in nature that stretched out like vines to cover the area around the veranda.

"There will come a warrior with a mighty sword, he will build your city up, oh lei oh lai o lord" Helena began as the blue strands of liquid light morphed into a man bearing a sword.

"Oh lei oh lai oh lei oh lord, he will build your city up, oh lei oh lai o lord." Elijah joined in, and whilst they sang in unison, the warrior pointed his sword to the sky. As is if on command, the outline of a castle then appeared from a nearby strand before the warrior bursted into a cloud of thousands of luminescent blue snowflakes.

"There will come a poet, whose weapon is her word, she will save you with her tongue, oh lei oh lai o lord." Helena sang alone once again as another couple of strands took the form of a woman with a book within her grasp.

"Oh lei oh lai oh lei oh lord, she will save you with her tongue, oh lei oh lai o lord." They both sang in unison as the woman of light held her book forward and from the highest tower in the castle rose a cross. From the cross, more strands of light poured out, before the woman too exploded in a hail of light.

"There will come a ruler whose brow is laid in thorn, smeared with oil like David's boy, oh lei oh lai o lord." Helena sang as the light from the cross morphed into a man with a crown upon his head who stood at the foot of the castle. The small snowflakes of light then coalesced at his sides, with the woman and warrior standing at each.

"Oh lei oh lai oh lei oh lord, smeared with oil like David's boy, oh lei oh lai o lord." The duo sang once more as the king lifted a cross within his hand before the pair continued, singing in unison.

"Oh lei oh lai oh lei o lord, they will lead the people forth, oh lei oh lai o" As they sang this, the remaining strands curled in on themselves before flying over to the castle and forming a massive crowd, who kneeled in front of the trio. Yet as they finished the verse, the castle, the cross, the trio and the people all burst forth in brilliant light, before reshaping once more into strands which arched in incredible patterns before the veranda.

Elijah and Helena continued to sing, repeating the words 'oh lei oh lai' as the patterns morphed into various actions. From the warrior facing down a stag, to the poet reading in front of a crowd of uncountable creatures of different sorts, to finally the ruler embracing them both upon an Isle of light, with crosses at every height.

As they sang, the children joined in, then Leona too joined in and as the the final part came, the distant voice of Mark could be heard from behind them.

And so it was that amongst a sea of darkness, a single candlelight was lit.

Author's Note

Wanted to make Chapter 10 a little special so here you go. Next chapter will have a little time skip to get plot rolling btw.