Laini, Neb, Nicator, and Mihr sat across from this blonde haired woman, Luke and another fair-faced man who looked very similar to Mihr. Laini narrowed her eyes towards the woman: her name is Celeste.

She found her nearly a century ago and she was the first Laini had awakened in several hundred years. She and other leaders of their kind had created a pact with a vampire some time ago and one of the promises they made was to not bring more of themselves into the world. Themselves, a group of people who had been named ‘Descendants’ long ago. Laini broke this treaty, however, when a great number of otherworldly demons infiltrated their world. She felt they needed the help.

To bolster her ranks for what she perceived to be a great threat and...what a threat it turned out to be.

Celeste was the first of her fledglings for this era but she was not the last.

The man sitting next to her, the one that looked like Mihr, was named Atriel. He was a guardian angel plucked from a higher rank among angelkind and placed in this world for a task that only one of his vast power could complete.

A task that thrust her fledgling into the center of a conflict waged between the creators themselves.

Nobody envied the fate that was wrought upon this young one or her angel.

And it was for this reason that is why Mihr believed that Celeste would benefit most from Laini’s stories. She needed to be encouraged to push whatever boundary was necessary to properly fight not just this battle but every battle. Laini, despite not saying much, agreed.

But, Celeste was a poor student and was more inclined to run into trouble rather than stick her nose in books. Sitting still was something she and Laini despised doing. As a result, Laini spent some time explaining how their kind deal with death...or not.

“You’re sayin’ we can just...choose to leave if we don’t wanna be here no more?” Celeste asked. This young woman had kept her distance from the others for quite a while and Laini wasn't able to properly educate her in some of their ways. She couldn't help but roll her eyes: this knowledge should be basic.

"It is true that Descendants are immortals, much like your vampire cousins. You even have some of the same abilities: quick healing, heightened senses if you practice; but the laws that govern the Descendants are rewritten by heaven itself. You are not trapped in the web of undeath," Mihr explained. "As such, this opens you up to much bigger and grander miracles that, as you all call it, is considered magic. You know this much..."

He smiled softly before continuing. 

"One benefit to being a Descendant is that, if you choose to do so, can escape Death’s cold touch and will yourselves a gate straight into Sanctuary. Many have left this way over time, feeling they had nothing left to gain or give...You are a soldier being discharged from our ranks."

Laini nodded.

Celeste furrowed her brow and glanced at Neb. He was very upset.

“And you’ve decided to do this?” Atriel asked.

“Not yet,” Laini replied as she shifted in her seat. “We still have a great foe we must destroy before I am comfortable leaving you all…”

“Ha! Hell of a foe...” Celeste slapped the top of the table. “Just when ya think yer free an’ clear, somethin’s always gotta rear it’s ugly head, I tell ya what.”

Her American drawl was thick and crass. Truly a child of the old west. Nicator rolled his eyes but couldn't help but laugh under his breath. Even Neb, despite his frustration, managed a chuckle. Laini leaned forward onto her elbows and folded her hands, staring into Celeste’s face.

“You were brought into this life in the worst possible way and I wasn't entirely honest with you...and I should have known better, considering how I came into being. But that is how you and I can come to sympathize with one another. We understand very well the feeling of loss and despair, rage and frustration. We understand just how close this fight can be,” she said in a low voice. 

Neb sighed and leaned in next to her.

“The spiritual conflict was different back then. The way we saw the world around us shaped how we saw the greater war around us. Nowadays, people will dismiss what they see, they are able to somehow brush aside dealings with demons and monsters but back then? It wasn't so simple. Entire cities could be ravaged by a single foe; one demon could easily decimate a whole village and it was difficult to dismiss,” he said, Laini shaking her head in agreement.

“Back when there were still angels walking among us in some parts. There were gods that were worshipped by people far and wide, there were creatures we have names for now but back then, they had just been born,” Laini’s eyes narrowed. She was certainly remembering something that irritated her. "But it was the angels we had the most trouble with. Angels who fell...angered by the imaginary slight that mortals were somehow favored by father."

“We ain’t favored...I mean...what does that mean, anyhow?” Celeste asked.

“Mortals are special in the sense that you can resolve the internal struggle between law and chaos within and amongst yourselves. Angels and Marid cannot do this as easily,” Mihr interjected. “Your freedom and ability to experience life, however limited, is a source of jealousy that has made some of our kin very violent in the past. One of our fallen, for example...if you do not follow the law as he interprets, he will kill you. In our minds, there must be order..."

“Is that what happened with Lucifer?” She asked.

“Lucifer became enraged with mortals because of the way your ancestors chose to use your freedom. Some mortals evolved much faster in different spheres across the entire breadth of creation. These mortals learned how to manipulate the world around them via magic, just as we do in our battles. In their pursuit of knowledge, however, they destroyed many seraphim that were working to solidify the boundaries of creation,” Mihr explained. “Many seraphim govern much of the physical world around you and they were the ones who built these places. They are the ones who hold the walls up.”

Celeste was suddenly transported in her mind to her own experience with a seraph: the one that Gabriel referred to as a Cardinal Direction. 

She stopped breathing.

“You remember the guard of the west, don’t you?” Mihr asked. Celeste nodded and even placed a hand over her chest, the anxiety and pain of that time ripping through her body. “If the marid was successful in destroying him, anything that traveled west would fall away into the empty space, never to return. The entire planet would have been eventually destroyed by that creeping void. It just...would have vanished.”

“So Lucifer was angry because mortals were essentially killin’ angels? And...they didn’t realize they were doin’ it?” She asked.

“It didn’t matter if they did or not,” Laini sighed. “And he has learned over time. But, the lasting effects of Lucifer’s vengeance against mortals was poisonous and that message was corrupted. It has been used as the flag of rebellion ever since. It is not true that angels are naturally inclined to good. They can be quite evil and very destructive when they don’t get what they want.”

“That is apart of how we came to be,” Neb replied.

“An angel scheming to use our world as a staging ground for war...but that is not the beginning...the beginning was an act of vengeance..."