War's End

The flaming sword swung through the air in a wide arc, its light trailing behind the blade as mighty Justice wrought its vengeance. Arben grunted with the effort of wielding the Almighty Wrath, a lock of golden hair slipping into his angry eyes and arm muscles rippling with the sword’s weight. He scarcely gave thought to the importance of his final execution left from the Great War, merely completing the task as had been delegated to him by the messenger, Gabriel. Beside him knelt the Morning Star- Lucifer, leader of the mighty insurgence against the Lord’s throne- and the last to die. He marked the finality of a war that had lasted for eons.

“Before I die,” Lucifer whispered through bleeding, cracked lips. For weeks since the Angelic Insurgent had been captured, the Lord Himself had cracked the whip against Lucifer’s back, allowing his vengeful bloodlust to be fulfilled in the form of the broken, bruised prisoner. Lucifer’s wings, long admired as some of the most beautiful in Heaven with their golden and silver flecks, had been brutally hacked from his back in a grotesque display of the punishments to be had by anyone thinking to challenge God.

Arben paused his swing, curving it away at the last moment to avoid cleaving the Morning Star’s head in two. Thus far, Lucifer had remained silent, his pride never faltering though the pain of the torture had been magnified with the loss of his wings. “What is it that you wish to say, traitor?”

Lucifer raised his eyes and focused them onto Arben’s, the darkness in them, and the lack of the Divine Presence betraying the other form of torture Lucifer had gone through. An Angel out of God’s light endured the greatest pain possible- the pain of emptiness, of longing. Angels had been created to serve and an Angel out of the service was an Angel in great agony. Arben flinched imperceptibly and allowed the Flaming Sword to fall to his side.

“What makes you believe I am a traitor?” Lucifer asked softly, rising to his feet. “Is it because I rose against the Lord? Or because I questioned him?”

Arben nearly laughed. “I thought you had something important to say before you died, Satan.”

Lucifer blinked away the insult. He had heard the term ‘traitor’ spoken to him before, given to him as his new name before he died. “I am no traitor. I merely questioned the Great Lord and He was afraid of that.”

Arben grabbed reflexively at the sword, ready to act should need call for it. “The Lord is infallible, Lucifer. Existence would be unmade if that were not so.”

Lucifer sighed. “Contrary to popular belief, Arben, I wasn’t out for the Lord’s throne- simply Knowledge. We sing, we follow obediently…and we never question. One day, I just found that being in the dark even while in the light of the Lord was not worth it. To be in the light is to remain in the dark, for we generate none of that light for ourselves. And I wanted some for my own.”

“What is the need to question? Why must you know what God’s will is? Is what happened worth it? Did you need to start such a war?” Arben was intrigued. Few Angels knew anything about the war- merely that God had been challenged and it was their duty to fight for the Lord. Lucifer brought new knowledge and new ideas to what had simply been a War for the Throne.

Lucifer looked off into the distance and reached absently as if to play with the feathers of his wings. The Angel withdrew his hand and heaved a melancholy sigh. “I miss my wings. They were beautiful. I had hoped God would adore such beauty.”

“You started a war against Him! You’re lucky he didn’t torture you more than he did!”

“There is no torture greater than an Angel losing his wings. No greater pain. It takes from them what is theirs and theirs alone. We all have beautiful voices; we are all perfection in appearance. Only the design on our wings marks us as different. My wings were always odd, weren’t they?”

“Yes…I suppose they were.”

“Didn’t you ever wonder why there is such little differentiation between the Choirs? Though we have different colors…we are all beautiful. Our only distinction, the only thing that truly marks who we are is our wings. My crime was wondering at that. Wondering at the…sameness…the lack of anything truly unique. I wanted beauty. God created all of this…” Lucifer’s hand swept across the scenery. “And He is on His sixth day of creating that earth of His. How beautiful that place is. God loves beauty…and yet He is unwilling to see beauty in difference within Heaven’s gates. That is why I stand next to you about to die. Because I asked one simple question.”

“What question was that?” Arben knew the answer even as he asked the question. Lucifer had asked why God did what God did. And God, in His insatiable need to be worshipped, had struck out at Lucifer. When Lucifer’s idea of freedom had spread among other Angels, God had declared war upon the Questioners. God had told the remaining Angels Lucifer wished to take the throne of Heaven when Lucifer had only wanted Truth.

“Welcome into the Legion of God’s enemies, Arben Death-Bringer. You are now among the foe of the Lord.”

Arben stared over at Lucifer, wondering what the Fallen one meant. “Why?”

“Because you just asked the very question that got me into this at the beginning.” Lucifer turned around and walked to a viewing pool, looking down at the almost complete planet beneath them. “I hope to leave Heaven and go there. God wants to create humans- I want to create questioning within them. You, you who are the enemy of God would do well to join me.”

Arben watched Lucifer carefully and, still shocked, dropped his sword and followed.