Z is for Zacharius

Zacharius watched Renial a moment more. The risk may yet be paying off. Only time would tell. “My thanks, child. You do well to watch over him. Your father has made a wise choice in this. I retire to speak with him now.”

          “Yes sir. Thank you sir,” Bella-Josephine answered.

          Zacharius turned away from her and began the journey back down the staircase to the ground level below. What were the dreams of a demon like? Zacharius laid his hand upon the banister rail. What were the dreams of this demon like? Zacharius shook his head clear. Such fear lay within that face, nerves appeared to frame each muscle as Renial tensed. Is that it? Is it you Lived? Are you attempting to recover him, one of your faithful servants? Zacharius drew a hard frown across his eyes. There is no clear way to tell. He raised his head level and released the excess tension laying weight across his eyes, cheeks and jaw. Zacharius lowered his head consideredly. However it is a possibility. Lived you are strong to reach within this house if it is you. He twisted at the waist and found the doorway of the demon again, murmuring, “You whisper to him.” Watching the door Zacharius breathed slowly. He steadily turned about setting forth down the staircase once more. “A number more sun-phases and he will not need Bella-Josephine’s shelter any longer. He will not hear you.” Zacharius reached the bottom stair and knocked lightly upon the door of the Praesa. His knock sank into the wood subtly but the sound caught on the silence like fingers stroking down an instrument. For a breath the silence sang then cast its quiet again just in time for Zacharius to be granted, “Enter.” Zacharius pushed upon the door and it swung inwards.

          “Sire, have you had the opportunity to interrogate Renial Legatz further?”

          “I have. He knows little of Lived’s ways.” Phoenix raised his head from his papers and looked at Zacharius. “I do not understand why you captured this beast, Zacharius. I had thought that it was to help our fight but…perhaps that was not the purpose,” he mused.

          Zacharius bowed his head and paused before answering. “I am unable to explain fully sire.” He stepped forwards toward a seat as Phoenix waved his hand in one’s direction. “The beast and I met whilst we were both walking in the city. I felt it necessary to bind our sutrens together.”

          “Fully understanding the risk this posed?” Phoenix asked genially.

          “Suna sire. Perhaps it would have been wiser to say that I felt a guiding presence.”

          “Perhaps.” Phoenix replied. Zacharius studied his face and caught the very slight smile shaping his Praesa’s mouth.

          “I would not endanger the population willingly. If there had been any doubt in my mind I would not have risked such a dangerous act.” He offered with a quiet force.

          “Thank you Zacharius. I would not have thought you would endanger the population. Please accept my apologies for any offence caused.”

          “You have not offended me sire.” Zacharius nodded his head once with respect, endeavoring to impart assurance.

          “Thank you Zacharius.” Phoenix gathered his brow and took a breath, probably one of thought. “Tell me, how are your studies progressing?”

          Looking at his hands Zacharius considered the turning of the conversation. It was not filled with obtrusiveness… “They are slow,” Zacharius slid his eyes to the window on his right, “I feel that Lived is attempting to block my way.”

          “Is there any assistance I can provide?”

          Zacharius returned his gaze to his Praesa. The answer came instantly. Though Zacharius took time for consideration all the same. “No sire, however thank you for your offer.”

          “”Then if you will excuse me Zacharius.” Phoenix got to his feet.

          “Of course sire. May I have the use of your library?”

          Phoenix smiled. “Certainly Zacharius, it is always open to you.”

          “Erisin.” Zacharius bowed his head as he left. He closed the door quietly behind him and walked slowly across the hallway.


Zacharius, nephili, found in Enfractu.
Renial, demon, found in Enfractu.
Lived, demon, found in Enfractu.Bell, angel, daughter of Phoenix the Praesa, found in Enfractu.
Praesa, aka Phoenix, lord, governor and protector of Frellick, found in Enfractu.

Y is for Yesterday

          “May I request information?” Zacharius asked of the angels in front of him.
          “That is allowed. We will not reveal our knowledge of that which you seek until your questions have been asked. We have until sundown.”
          “Thank you angel.” So many questions, where to begin? “Your Labyrinth was said to be impenetrable. How is it that the demons broke through?”
          “They were led by a demon whose power rivaled that of our Praesa. It knew of things it should not. Our defences did not last.”
          “Do you know why the demon knew such knowledge?”
          “We do not. It was an abomination, a demon lived at its heart yet the creature was deformed. That may have been one of many reasons.”
          “The defences in place now. The wall I passed through to enter your Labyrinth, the guardians and the feathers. Were they placed after they broke through?”
          “Yes. The wall to halt their army, the guardians to protect the survivors. The feathers to hold tis place from them. Our Praesa’s sacrifice before she fell.”
          “The room before the final guardian, a similar power-cast was used there which was placed at the Labyrinth’s entrance?”
          “Yes. Many fell in the attempt to use it. It was the Sleep of Angels.”
          “And the guardian at the entrance to the high stone pass, was that so that angelkind could travel across without fear of pursuit?”
          “The guardian was placed before the Confining was cast. Angelkind flew across after destroying the platform. The guardian held for a time before it fell.”
          “The other defences  held them back?”
          “And protected the survivors.”
          “Could you clarify?”
          “The first wall defence held the army back. The guardians there after protected the survivors until those inside broke through them. The last Sleep of Angels was cast but after the abomination completed the symbols of the traveller’s door. The door was destroyed after and those remaining completed the power-cast. The abomination killed our Praesa after the guardian was set. In her death she released the library of feathers, once the guardian failed our feathers smote it down. The guardians are part of a power-cast sealed within the light, it rebuilds our power-casts over time.”
          Zacharius paused. ‘We', ‘our’. Not ‘me’, ‘mine’. What was the angel? “What are you?”
          “This body holds the knowledge of the library. Those that you see here have divided knowledge of our history.”
          “I understand. What happened to your Praesa’s body and the abomination?”
          “The Praesa was carried within the feather shield until the demons had died or been killed. Once gone volunteers took her to the Hall of Meeting. They lay her at the head of her seat and buried her there.
          The abomination was taken using the transport power-cast to the chasm, it was cast down into it and there it lay until only the bones were left.”
          “What was your Praisa’s name?”
          “Saisa.”
          “Saisa?” Something stirred in his memory. “There is a reading of Saisa, a scroll in our Elders’ library. Is Saisa the author of that scroll?”
          “It begins ‘My children of light shall never fall,’?”
          “Yes.”
          “She is the author.”
          Saisa, a Fire angel born from a long line of Fire angels and a relation of Phoenix.
          “Is it possible for you to record information?”
          “If it is deemed to be of importance.”
          “Saisa had children who must have left the Labyrinth and settled somewhere else, records have been located by our historians. My Praesa is a descendant of her line. Her children continue to live.”
          “We deem this worthy to be recorded.”
          “Thank you.”


Zacharius, nephili, found in Enfractu
Phoenix, lord, governor and protector of Frellick, found in Enfractu.
Saisa, lady, governor and protector of the Labyrinth, relation of Phoenix, found in Enfractu.
Praesa, title of the governor, protector, lord or lady of their city or area. Term found in Enfractu.

X is for Xenocide

          For a great deal of time the way yielded nothing but the pale stone walls and dust covered path until he reaches a snake-like curve.

          There lay two skeletons, one of them angel and the other demon. Zacharius tilted forward giving the skeleton’s closer scrutiny. The bones were thicker and looking at the jaw Zacharius managed to discern where the bone of the teeth would lengthen from the excess bone lying beside the eye sockets. Judging from the position of the elongation this demon was  older with its teeth positioned third from the middle where as younger demons usually had elongating teeth coming from the fourth. The bones on its spine appeared normal but the unusual bone growth on either side, yes it was what angelkind had begun to call Vrastez (oppressor), those demons born of the demon version of Visus.

          Zacharius crouched down studying the skeletons further as he thought about that, Vrastez in the Labyrinth. The demons sent out ahead of an army to bring down as many as possible before the main army arrived. Big, dominating and difficult to bring down. The demons had been ready to take this place then.

          The demon was over the angel and, if he looked closely, the angel’s neck and top of the spine was cracked. For another angel to have left its kin under the body of an enemy there must have been more to consider and the angel would have been dead already.


Zacharius, nephili, found in Enfractu.

W is for Will

On the table, presumably where he had chucked it last night, his phone slowly danced across the table. Nate watched it do the sideways shuffle but the grating sound of plastic vibrating on wood had his temples resume their pounding.

          “Hello?” He groaned into the phone.

          “You’re alive after last night. Good.”

          Nate regave his groan despite a smile curving his mouth. “You too.”

          “I’d be dead if I drank as much as you mate,” Will answered instantly, encouraging another smile from Nate. “Left stag did you?”

          His smile waned, accompanied by a strict grunt. Will laughed at him. “Had to happen sometime.”

          Nate placed the phone against his shoulder and worked a bit of bacon free from the rest. “Up to much today?”

          Will chuckled again, presumably at the swift change of subject. “No, still looking for somewhere to live.”

          “Man of your age shouldn’t be living with his mother,” he jovially replied, biting into more breakfast.

          “Ha ha. What are you doing then?”

          “Nothing much. Web work, tidying.”

          “Such an exciting life you lead mate.”

          Nate shrugged in response. Over the course of the conversation which followed Nate ate the plate clean amongst talk of friends, making plans to meet and an occasional joke passed between them. They had always been the same since school, meeting on the first day of secondary school and has stuck fast ever since.

          ------

          “You met no-one last night then?” Will asked, turning the conversation in a circle.

          Nate knitted his brows together. “One guy,” he returned hesitantly. “James.” Why the hell was it playing on his mind?”

          “Huh. If I didn’t know any better I might think you were interested in this one.” Will mocked.  

          Gathering his index finger and thumb together Nate lifted his shoulder, silent. Apparently in his silence Will summed up everything.

          “You really are, aren’t you. Whoa, ‘man’s man’ might be going long term.”


Nate, website builder, found in 'Tom' working title.
Will, friend of Nate's, found in 'Tom' working title.

V is for Vistu

"Vistu I doubt my way. I feel...forsaken by my task in this realm and by you. I am lost." He hesitated as moisture coated his eyes and slipped through. Zacharius stopped until he felt his speech wouldn't be impeded and then continued determinedly. "The greatest thing of all that I doubt, Vistu, is that I did not do the right thing when I met Renial. I do not doubt that he needed to be turned to our side and help us in our fight, instead I doubt the way it was done. I doubt the way his return had to be conducted as well. I researched the old ways, the form of turning that the Elders attempted in the past and thought that I was doing the right thing as was guided by you. Now I wish I had done things differently Vistu. There was so much pain and torture in the turning, no care was there until the more angelic life asserted itself. I...do not know how to move passed this doubt and continue on my way. The relationship between Renial and myself is irrevocable and he trusts very few beyond Nyree Leteph and Bell, the Praesa's daughter." Zacharius felt a tightening in his features as more came to him to say and he spoke them softly, whispering as he had started. "I do not ask for his trust or his friendship. It is for him to give to who he deems worthy. I only ask that there be an opportunity between us to simply improve what is already there."
 Zacharius continued voicing his doubts long into the night attempting to expel the guilt and doubt which had weighed him down for a longer time than he wished to acknowledge. As he slowed down and drew himself to a stop he opened his eyes not feeling lighter but assuringly less alone. He wiped at his eyes and cheeks as he stood on his feet and bowed over. "Ersin, Vistu," he thanked, bowing lower as he turned and took himself from the small chapel.




Vistu, divine being of Frellick, found in Enfractu.
Zacharius, nephili, found in Enfractu.
Renial, demon, found in Enfractu.
Nyree, nephili, found in Enfractu.
Bell, angel, daughter of Phoenix the Praesa, found in Enfractu.
Praesa, aka Phoenix, lord, governor and protector of Frellick, found in Enfractu.

U is for Unknown Characters

Many characters I meet have not given their names yet hence 'unknown' the most recent person I have met who has yet to give their name is the from the excerpt below.


He started up the hallway concentrating down on the floor at his feet. The lights were turned down low, he noticed, up until the corner he headed toward. Similarly the lights behind appeared to light themselves gradually after he had passed. ____ tried to recall why he had begun on this path but nothing came to mind that made sense. Lights reflected off of some surface upahead and ____ brought himself to a stop examining the way the light reflected. It seemed to bounce in his direction and refract, becoming brighter. _____ concentrated upon it twisting his head sideways. Not a mirror...definitely not a mirror. Excellent. ____ carried on soon coming to the corner. Behind him the lighting of the way quickened. He turned on his feet and watched the light coming for him and realised too late what lay upon the walls. Moments after cracking sounded and he noted a snaking line spreading throughout the glass until it reached the centre and splintered. ____ looked at himself, his broken reflection parting and breaking his face. He caught something in his vision. ____ found an eye looking back at him, slightly slanted by the crack it sat on.




______. Found in Mirrors.

T is for Tom

Tom shook his head and chose to smile as Gil’ seemed so worried. “It’s nothing,” he lifted his drink to his lips adding as casually as he could manage, “A guy came onto me last night.”

          Gil’ laughed. Tom frowned glaringingly at him. Thanks a lot.

          “So…that led you into assessing your life did it, huh? You’re a weird one Tom. You go back with him?” Gil asked, raising his eyebrows.

          Choosing to shake his head emphatically Tom answered him, “No way. First of all he was drunk, second of all he wanted a one night stand.”

          “You’ve never been one for that,” Gil’ mused, referencing some of their nights out together and the occasional guy who came Tom’s way. Tom somehow bypassed the memories and lifted his shoulders again, sighing in the movement.

          “Now I find myself thinking about the guy.”

          Gil’ looked as though he were watching something far off in the distance. Whatever it was seemed to be fascinating in the least. Though perhaps he had been thinking as Gil’ then queried, “What was he like, nice looking?”

          Thinking back on it, yeah he was alright. Big. “Yeah, worth a look or two.” Tom agreed. Being good-looking didn’t mean…did it matter? Tom sighed inwardly and smiled. No not really. Nothing wrong with liking someone.

          “Where were you? What pub?” Gil’ helpfully added.

          “The local.”

          “I’ll bet you,” Gil’ paused, moving his lips soundlessly and bobbing his head as he likely worked something out. “A night in your local that the next time you’re both in there you won’t introduce yourself.”

          Tom blew air through his lips. Yeah right. If anything that was probably the last thing he would do. Gil’ laughed at him. “What? You don’t have the guts?”

          There was a twinkle in his eye. Clearly joking. However…Tom groaned.

          “Alright. You’re on.”

          “Great. I’ll give you a month from now.” He smiled cheekily. “Otherwise I win by default.”

          Tom found himself shaking his head even though a grin was spreading itself across his face. “Hope you can stump up the cash. I’ll have fun spending your money, Gil’.”

          Gil’ put his head back when he laughed. He didn’t say anything though and just kept walking.

Tom, found in 'Tom' working title.

Gil', long term friend of Tom, found in 'Tom' working title.