NOTE TO NIFTY: when this is posted to the archive, please let me know into which category you placed it. Thank you.
Hello everybody. It's been a long time since I've posted an original story on Nifty. If you're familiar with my other works, then you will recognize the name in the title. This has nothing to do with the Adriel from my Abandoned Blood/Embrace of the Enemy series' (both in lesbian/beginnings). While heavily inspired by the Book of Enoch, as well as the music, writings, and artwork of Joseph Vargo (Nox Arcana and Monolith Graphics), this is an original story of forbidden love between a warrior angel and a mortal, and the power it has to change the course of destiny for even a celestial being.
This is a gothic sapphic love story held within a biblical context, but special attention was made to not demean anyone's faith and/or beliefs.
As always: questions, comments, critiques, and criticism are always welcome. I welcome you all to check out Nox Arcana's music and read up on Joseph Vargo's Tales From The Dark Tower series (an excellent gothic horror anthology).
For eons the battle waged. Those of the Virtuous swore to never raise a sword against their Fallen brethren for the bond between them was sacred, even as the High Lord demanded retribution and justice against those who would defy him. All were given the choice: raise arms against the Enemy and those who would corrupt his Word and Children, or be cast out of the Kingdom to join them, to never again feel the High Lord's glory. And so began the war.
Fierce creatures of the Enemy, twisted features had become of their once radiant and beautiful Angels. The forces of the Enemy had lain with the women of Humanity and thus created the Nephilim, hideous monstrosities of grotesque form who plague mankind and serve their unnatural fathers.
But there were those who stood against them to defend Humanity as their sacred oath of Duty. Ariel, last in the Order of the Watchers, and only woman Angel -- sent to earth to watch and guard humans from these grotesque creatures -- was bequeathed a weapon from Azazel, weaponsmith of the High Lord himself. A glorious sword of the rarest qualities. With this weapon, Ariel stood against the Enemy's Fallen and unnatural legions together with her brethren, fighting side by side.
Bodies of the Enemy's army lay atop those of High Lord's. Fields soaked with the blood of the celestial bodies to create the first horrors for Man. Humanity was not immune to the the Great War, for they too took up arms against his fellow Man; corrupt and petty were they that soon their own sons would thirst for blood in their own bid for power. They grew fearful of each other; hate and spite became twisted into their very nature. They were as fearful of the High Lord as they were of the Enemy and his Horde for they soon saw that there was little difference in their deeds that would save them from the War. The Morningstar, first-born, Lucifer -- the Enemy -- in all of his knowledge and wisdom had laid his seed well in the hearts of Man.
But the suffering of Man was not limited thus. The Kingdom of the Faerie was all but forgotten. The Makers and Shapers of all trees and animals, oceans and seasons, peaceful in their ways and sympathetic to the plight of Man. The Queen of the Faerie -- the Forest Queen -- took pity on Man, for the Great War had left their spirits bereft of faith and hope; she watched for countless years, helpless, as Man raised arms and armies against his brother. She begged for her husband the King to allow Man a final recourse from the tragic destiny that the Morningstar had lain before them.
The King became angry by Man, for he saw in their hearts not the light of hope but the darkness of of fear and doubt. The very nature of Man corrupted by the seeds planted by the Enemy. His once peaceful and sprawling Kingdom, the very Nature of the world, had become diminished, a scorched blackened ruin of its former green and lush glory -- depleted also by the greed of Man and their cancerous ways. In the guise of a messenger angel, beautiful and radiant with his own power, he appeared before a council of the Kings of Men.
"I am my lord's messenger. He has seen the ways of the Enemy's wickedness festering in your hearts. He cares only for your lives, and of that of your children's. To spare you all, and the lines of your families, he beckons you away from this place to where war is unknown."
Only a few take his words as truth. Most of the lot laughed and scoffed at his offer. Darien, current ruler of the largest nation, is the first to offer a rebuke. "And what place on this earth has not seen war? All of us, since the time of our ancestors have known no peace. The word itself is foreign to us."
"Indeed it is, Darien, son of Darius, though it is no fault of your own. It is a tragic plight, a plague upon your people for reasons never were, nor ever will be, revealed to you. But fear not, for my I speak the truth. The Forest King Therion and his Queen wish to see an end to your suffering."
"There is no such King, and to speak of one is blasphemy." Darien's counterparts agreed, some even left the meeting without hearing further arguments.
"I warn you, Darien, not to be cross with my lord lest his sympathy becomes anger; he is peaceful as is his nature, but his wrath is something terrible to behold. It is his protection that he offers freely; his love of living things drives him. Do not scoff at such an offer. The urge to refuse this gift is borne of the Enemy's trickery; the Deceiver works his will through the shadows, planting the seeds of fear in doubt in hearts of those with freewill. It is your wish to use that freewill, as the High Lord has commanded, but heed my words. This gift of refuge shall not be offered again. And any who make a mockery of King Therion's generosity shall be punished as he sees fit."
Darien only smirked, laughing louder. "Your words fall on deaf ears, messenger. We shall not fall into your web of trickery and deceit. The legends of the Faerie's evil works are well known to us all. We will not be persuaded by your lies of heathen gods and kings. We will continue to fight as we always have. Be gone with you, and never speak your vile words again."
"So be it."
Only a few legions took King Therion's offer. They were taken far from the blighted land and trained in the arcane arts of the Forest: how to live in balance amongst the trees and animals -- how to shape it to fit their needs for survival; how to properly care for and respect all creatures of the Domain. They learned the ancient wisdom of King Therion himself, and he shaped them in his vision, nurtured their new forms, born from his own seed and that of his creatures. And so was born the races of the elves, dwarves, and the other forms of the Seryph. Each new race was gifted with a sacred duty to protect the Domain. And the Queen, happy with her new children, blessed them with warm seasons and rains.
They never laid eyes on Darien again.
Angered by those who deserted him, Darien waged war on any who would attempt to stop his search. He considered them abducted into wickedness, torn from the love of their High Lord. So powerful was his wrath that even the Watchers were petrified for a time to intervene in his flight across the land. Cities fell beneath his sword, his fellow kings knelt in fealty. The deeds of Darien did not go unnoticed by the Virtuous, or the Enemy. Therion's offer angered both factions, but Darien's refusal and campaign of terror and bloodshed pleased the Enemy. Lucifer, in his beautiful and sinister glory, appeared before him.
"King Darien, son of Darius, Lord of Ebonshire. You were wise to refuse Therion's ofer. You would no longer recognize those he lured astray."
King Darien sneered at Lucifer, for he know with whom he spoke. "Indeed, monster. None have seen them in all the years since that creature's visit."
"It is unwise to address an immortal thusly, lowly man. To do so will only bring Therion's wrath upon you sooner."
"Then I shall smite him as I have smote all of my enemies."
"You would so openly call Therion an enemy?"
"He abducted my fellow man to torment and ruin; my brothers and sisters are now slaves to his will and that of his wife. I shall defy any man or beast so arrogant. I fail to see of what concerns my dealings with him are to you, demon of the Fallen."
"When my Children and his disciples declare war, or openly defy an immortal, their dealings become my own."
"No man or woman under my rule is a child of yours, demon. We are free, born from our mothers' wombs. You and yours are unnatural creatures, and should you attempt to defile our women then the lot of you shall be put to death -- man, woman, or child."
Lucifer smiled a beautiful smile. "You speak yourself well, good king. Are you certain of your words as it is law?"
"My word is law, demon. Leave my court and never return. None of your kin are welcome here."
"So be it."
Dark wings sprang from Lucifer's back. He laughed a terrible laugh and took flight. His voice filled the air as he vanished from sight. "Do not forget, King Darien, of your decree that all here witnessed on this day."
The ground shook and the night sky shone bright as day. All in the kingdom, even the king himself, trembled in awe and fear. Beyond the trees and mountains, beyond the clouds and stars, the Enemy's forces advanced, led by Lucifer himself. And the battle was terrible.
All around her lay the dead and dying of friend and foe alike. Adriel raised her sword and shield only in defense of herself, or that of her brethren and Humanity. The Great War had reached the earth upon which the Watcher's domain rested. The Light of the Angels was fading as the Darkness of the Enemy advanced further into the earthly realm. Arrows blackened the sky, loosed between both sides. The cries of the wounded were silenced. Adriel watched from behind her shield as the Enemy turned towards the trees. Towards the Kingdom of the Faerie. Fewer in number, she led those still under her charge after them.
Azazel cut them off, engaging them in open rebellion of the the High Lord. Only a few stood beside their sister, the rest fled before his might and power. Azazel dispatched the other Watchers until only Adriel remained. She parried and blocked her general's attacks, but could not bring herself to raise her sword against him.
Adriel took flight upon her mighty ebony wings to spare the Forest further damage. Azazel gave chase. His blows against her sword and shield sent lightning across the sky; their anguished cries sent a gale over the land. "What is the meaning of this?" Adriel pleaded, still not daring to attack. Azazel does not answer. He charged again and again. For two days the battle waged between them. Their sweat and tears rained a horrible storm down on the earth.
At last, Azazel delivered a mighty strike against his sister. And she fell to the earth, landing atop the body of one of the Fallen. Azazel gave chase and struck a final blow. His superior sword shattered the weakened weapon of his own hand; the mountain beneath them fell. For the first time in the war, since the beginning of the Fallen's onslaught, true horror and pain filled Adriel's eyes. "You betrayed us! The High Knight, weaponier of the High Lord."
Azazel spoke, his voice filled with anger. "No, my one and only sister. We were all betrayed, tricked into becoming lesser servants. We were the first-born, gifted with the Morningstar's light and his eternal wisdom, and yet we are no better than servants of the High Lord, to be at the beck-and-call of his lesser creation. The Morningstar has free reign over his dominion. Now it is our time. As one of the first-born, you have a right to join me. To join us in this realm."
"Blasphemy! You claim sedition from our High Lord and it shall be your undoing."
"Do not speak to me of sedition, sister! I know of your heart's desires. I have watched you take flight to watch her in your own unholy longings. But the Morningstar is merciful for those who would take action towards easing the pain you needlessly suffer. She could be yours."
"Enough. I am forbidden to go to her, therefore I torture myself. I wish it not to happen to her."
"These laws to which you bow nerve stopped Lucifer and his disciples. They won't even stop our High Lord when he intends to conceive a child with a married mortal woman. Oh yes, I know well of His plan to birth Himself into this world through this virgin bride. And so does Lucifer and his Grigori. Say the word, my sister, and be free with us."
Azazel raised his sword. He waited for Adriel's answer. None but silence came to him. Azazel brought his sword down upon his only sister. And Adriel was prepared for her brother's blade, for it clashed against another great blade with a thundering impact that shook the earth. So mighty was the impact that the earth split apart to form a new valley where the mountain was felled. Azazel's sword cracked, but Adriel's held fast. Adriel summoned the last of her strength and pushed against the High Knight's might. Azazel's sword split in two; Adriel's sword cut into Azazel's earthly flesh, cleaving his celestial body from this earthly Domain. All of the Light and Power that was Azazel's purged forth unto the world. The mountain ranges became but a barren desert flatland.
Adriel stood in awe of Azazel's defeat.
Victory was hers, but there was no pride in heart heart. She killed a brother of the first-born. The hilt of Adriel's new sword slithered beneath her palm. Carved into the hilt and pommel was the sigil of the Enemy. Sorrow filled Adriel's heart even as the High Lord's light shone down upon her. She no longer had the courage to face her brethren. Two Archangels stood before her with raised sword and shield. Adriel lowered her sword, for she could not release it.
"You have sinned against your oath and the laws of the High Lord." The Archangel's words thundered with a lyrical beauty. "The traitor Azazel spoke the truth, but it is not your place to render such judgment. You shall be punished for your crimes."
"Crimes? I have not sinned, not have I violated my sacred oath, nor have I broken any of our High Lord's laws; it is not a crime to raise sword and shield in defense of my own life and the Virtue of the High Lord's Kingdom. If the traitor spoke the truth, then you well that I am not alone in my sins. I challenge you to punish Him for His sins, as you do me."
"Nay, my sister. We are not the harbringers of justice; we are messengers to deliver unto you the Will of our High Lord. He condemns you to be banished forthwith from His Kingdom; may you forever linger on the earthly realm to Watch over His mortal children. Never again shall you feel the warmth of His light, as the Darkness of sin has tainted your own. In honor of your great service to His call, however, our High Lord offers you sanctuary with the Forest King and Queen."
"Consider your duty fulfilled. Go back to your treasonous High Lord and leave me in peace. If this condemnation is my reward for serving His call, then I accept this new duty, as is my nature; however, I renounce Him as my High Lord. I will serve my penance, but not His whim. I am bound to no master. In the eons to come, I shall never again answer His call to arms or any other purpose, for my fealty has been betrayed by Him. Leave this place, brothers, and never again reveal yourselves to my charges lest you become my enemy."
"Nay, Adriel. It is not I who shall become your enemy, tis that sword you now carry that has marked you thus. It is not your place to question the will of the High Lord."
"Nor is it your place to remind me of mine, for my place has now changed. I am no longer your sister. I will serve my penance where and how I may, none of you or your brothers shall interfere. I ask you one final time to leave me in peace, and I shall reciprocate. I mean you and yours no harm."
The Archangels took flight, weeping for the loss of their brother and sister. Adriel watched their Light fade to nothing. She had not the heart to weep for the decisions she made this day. Adriel took flight across the earth, keeping Watch for any of the Enemy's forces lying in wait. The sword gifted unto her by the Enemy himself could not be released from her grasp unless to sheath it at her side. Her shield will continue to serve to protect any she chose against the might of the Fallen Ones.
For years, from atop her new mountain abode, Adriel continued to watch Man wage war on Himself, her sacred duty forbidding her from interfering but to destroy any aid of the Enemy. The anger in her heart beat cold within her, warmed only by the beauty of one other. A mortal, Arianna, the only child of King Darien, son of Darius, King of Ebonshire.
Azazel's words never left Adriel's mind. In her own wisdom, Adriel foresaw that Arianna would grow to become a woman of otherworldly beauty, such that none of her forsaken brethren could compare. That time had come to pass, all the while Azazel's words repeating over and over in her mind, until at last Adriel found the courage to go to her.
In the guise of a Great Raven, Adriel flew down from her mountain perch to join her Arianna in an aspen grove. She sat perched within the shadows of the trees, watching her pick flowers for her sickly mother. Arianna gave Adriel a quick glance but nothing more; her great size should have been enough to justify a closer inspection, but not for one such as Arianna, for in her lifetime she had doubtless seen much that would have taken her innocence. Adriel had watched her for many of her twenty years -- and the horrors her father had wrought upon his people -- so she let that desire drive her wish to soften the anguish that had become her life.
For days Adriel watched Arianna appear in the aspen grove to pick her mother's floral gift. Again she summoned her courage to go to her in the Raven form. Adriel could stand it no more. On this day she would reveal herself. Arianna picked the last of her harvest. Adriel stepped forth. "Do not be frightened." Her voice startled the young woman. She dropped the bouquet. Arianna stood deathly still, enraptured by Adriel's ethereal beauty, fear not present in her mind. "I mean only to help you, young Arianna, and to offer my aid for your ailing mother." Adriel's black wings spread from her back. Arianna watched in rapt curiosity.
"Are you an angel?" Her voice was sweet in Adriel's ears. Indeed she was being cheated by her mortality, cheated by the bonds of Humanity. Adriel could not answer such a question lest her duty become folly. Nor did she have one to give. "Long have I prayed that the High Lord might send one of you to heal my mother."
"Then an answer you shall have." Adriel picked a fallen leaf from the ground and, before Arianna's mortal eyes, transmuted it into a white Winter Rose. She remained stoic as her heart's true love watched in awe. "Boil this with the lotus flower and make it into a paste. She must eat it meat, and she must consume it all, or my efforts will be for nothing."
"Tis a miracle."
"Nay, child. You and your people have long been suffering as my people only watched. You asked for an prayer to be answered, now it is yours to take for I offer it freely. This is no one's will but my own." Arianna approached her, trembling in her presence. She takes the flower even as she fights the urge to touch her hand. Adriel is too radiant, too majestic for her mortal hands. "Return here, Arianna, and I shall always come for you."
Arianna hurried out of the grove, turning back only when a sudden gale knocked her down. She smiled as the Great Raven flew up to the mountain top. She followed the angel's instructions, preparing her mother's meal herself. And her mother became well. Darien approached his daughter for the source of this miracle. "What sorcery did you concoct to baffle my physicians?"
"It was not sorcery or witchcraft that saved Mother. My prayer were answered by an angel in the aspen grove."
"Do not speak to me of prayers and angels, girl. Their works are not but trickery and deceit, a price to be paid by Man for their malevolence. Your dealings with this angel have doomed this house!"
"Nothing is doomed, father. She appeared to me at first as a Raven, then as a woman. I watched her turn a fallen leaf into the blossom that saved mother's life. She offered it freely. There was a power to her, an aura of sorrow and kindness the likes of which no mortal could possess."
"Enough, Arianna! There are no women angels. You were tricked! She was a beautiful creature I'm sure, but that is their ruse to hide the darkness of their true nature, to lure us mortals into their thrall. Mankind has a will of our own, we shall not serve theirs!"
Darien never spoke to his daughter again. So embarrassed and humiliated was he that he ordered the townsfolk to not believe any of her lies about angels and their sorcery. Day after day, Arianna fell deeper into despair; she withdrew into herself to not even dare approach the aspen grove, for even she began to think it some form of trickery. Surely, no celestial being would freely offer a simple, random act of kindness for the sake of one lonely mortal; surely this had to be some false hope, the lure towards darkness as her father said.
Every night as she lay asleep, Arianna would dream of a giant Raven coming to greet her, take her into its embrace far way from here, only to return to destroy the town in a baptism of fire. Dead animals lay scattered throughout the Forest, the Queen weeping for her slaughtered children. All would blame her for the devastation.
Every morning she would awaken with a start. Throughout the day she would be welcomed with a deafening silence to feed her fears. And she was fed well. Sometimes she would swear to hearing the Great Raven returning to and leaving the aspen grove beyond the city gates, but she had not the courage to satisfy her curiosity. For months this cycle continued until she could bear it no longer. Surely, the warmth she felt in the angel's presence could be no mere trick. Even the most beguiling of Faeries could not manage such a trick. No, she thought, this was no trick, but something more real than any living mortal could comprehend. But she could comprehend it; she needed to end this eternal silence. She longed for her warmth, for someone with whom she could speak, for someone to love her as no one else in her life had loved her. So with courage in her heart she went back to the aspen grove. And there she waited until the tears of despair streamed down her cheeks.
"Do not weep, Arianna. It saddens my own heart to see yours so troubled." Adriel stood just beyond the trees. Arianna ran to her. "I am here for you."
"Only you are, my angel." Arianna allowed Adriel to hold her in a tight embrace, the warmth of her bosom soothing the chill of her father's fears. "My father has condemned me to live a life of silence as penance for healing my mother."
"I am pleased you do not share in your father's affinity for my kind. You put your faith in me that I would not lead you astray, and in my word that I would not harm you."
"My father has said that your kind are not to be trusted."
"And yet you have trusted me, though I would expect nothing less from a man like Darien. He is a warlord, a conqueror of men; he is a man expects obedience from his subjects and puts his faith in his sword alone. Pride and fear have long blinded men like your father, and just like those before him, it is that pride and fear that tumbles the very empires they sold their lives to build."
"Have you had dealings with my father before?"
"No, but others have. Long ago, before you were even born, the Forest King Therion offered all Men protection from our mutual Enemy. Your father was one of the many who declined. Your father felt so betrayed by Therion that he laid waste to the known world in search of the ones who Therion took; your father thought they were abducted and led astray into wickedness as he never found them. He was then visited by that Enemy, but he once again refused to hear anything He had to say. Your father's fears have become madness, and through this madness he and his subjects suffer in his obsession with blood and loyalty." Adriel wrapped her great black wings around the both of them. "A long time have I watched this land, from the time of the first trees, to the rise and fall of many empires."
"Who are you?"
"I am called Adriel, the last of the first-born and the only girl-child of the High Lord. I have waited eons for you, Arianna. Never before in all of Time has any creature bewitched my heart as you have."
"What do you want of me?" Neither of them could deny the fear within her words. And neither of them cared to acknowledge it for the questions must be asked and answered.
"To take you away from this place. I wish to free you from the pain of Humanity. You are a being worthy of saving from the hardships of mortality, the curse placed upon you by the violation of another who is a stranger to you." Their lips touched in the first lover's kiss. "Let me show you what awaits you, my dear Arianna."
Arianna fell completely into Adriel's arms. Together they ascended into the night sky, flying over the mountains and clouds. The heat from their embrace melted Arianna's heart into one with Adriel's own, keeping her warm as they rose far above the earth and into the heavens. Arianna never once looked back to the earth. She could see the stars just within reach; there was a freedom here to see beyond the confines of mortal eyes.
"Yes, Arianna, this can all be yours. Never again will you be forced to suffer the coldness of Men, but forever feel the warmth of my touch."
"Yes. I wish that." Arianna pressed her mouth against Adriel's once again. Adriel pulled away from her love's to bite into her neck, filling her mouth with the girl's blood and essence. Adriel bit open her own wrist so that she could bequeath her immortal gift to her love. Adriel's light shone brighter, illuminating the vast valley beneath Ebonshire. Night became as day in their glory.
That made love on that day, surrendering all of each other for each to have and to hold. They sealed their bond to each other with the passion never felt by any mortal. The heavens shook in awe at their love.
Far beneath them in the Forest beyond the boundaries of Ebonshire, the Forest Queen wept for in her eternal wisdom she saw the flaws in the girl; where Adriel was blinded by love, she has seen the dark seed planted within her by the ancient Enemy. And thus began the Season of the Great Storms, power and fierce.
Adriel returned Arianna to Ebonshire, and she to her mountaintop abode. And there she was greeted by the Forest Queen in her true form. "You have damned an innocent soul."
"No, my queen. I have rescued her from the bonds of mortality. She is a child of the High Lord's realm, and by virtue of no concern to you."
"What you have done to her pulls at her soul between the High Lord's realm and that of Lucifer's. You know nothing of what you wrought upon this world. She is now a child lost in the darkness; no mortal has the strength or will to deny the powers that you have given her. I will not sit idly by and watch my children suffer for your recklessness."
"Your children cannot suffer me. They are under your protection and that of your husband's. No harm may come to them borne of Lucifer's will. Lucifer was felled in the Great Battle of Ebonshire, when I killed Azazel and became a Fallen One myself. I carry his sword still so that I may smite his disciples."
"You are wrong, Adriel. The protection of the Forest guards against Lucifer's will and that of Mankind, but what you have created in her womb is neither of those. Your children will lay waste to mine, and when that day comes to pass, my retribution will be swift and harsh."
"Arianna is with child? How can this be?"
"I do not know, but it shall be the doom of Man."
Adriel's heart beat heavy at the Queen's warning, for soon she saw with her own eyes the devastation wrought by her child. Carcasses of deer, rabbits, and wolves lay as husks of their former selves all throughout the Forest -- all life drained from them as if by one of the Enemy's creatures. A dark, sinister aura abound within Ebonshire. Every day she would go to the aspen grove to wait for her beloved, but she never came. The season became Winter for the Queen's grief and sorrow was grave. The snow fell hard; not even Adriel could easily tell the difference between night and day.
The Great Raven flew to King Darien's keep, and there she saw at long last her love Arianna, heavy with child. There, within the confines of Queen's chamber did all joy die along with Arianna's mother -- slain by her daughter's own hand. A wicked smile spread across her crimson lips.
"At last you have come to me, my love." Arianna walked towards Adriel's window perch, her hands roaming over the curves of her body as if exploring them for the first time. She rubbed her swollen belly with a dark pride rivaled only by the Dark Mother Lilith. "What was your delay? Were you to never see our son born?" Arianna stroked her love's head feathers.
Adriel spoke to her only as only she could hear her. "What has become of you, Arianna? I have seen the horrors you have done in the Forest, and now you have murdered your own mother. The very one whom my own magic saved."
"No, my love. It was not I who has done these things. Our son's will is strong; he works through me; my body is the vessel for the life he needs. Just like any other mother."
"Arianna, you must control him. The people under your father's rule have noticed the unnatural deaths in the Forest as well. It was your strength and virtue which called me to you. You can control him. Must control him."
"You think I want that? My child -- our son -- will not be controlled by mortal whims. Your gift has allowed me to bear this child, and sustain him. I will give birth to a king of men that will never be dethroned."
Adriel bit Arianna's petting hand, taking back the gift that she thought would bind them together forever. And Arianna knew the gift had left her the moment the wound closed. Adriel flew away even as her love called out for her to return. King Darien entered the chamber and saw with his own eyes the monster his daughter had become. At her feet lay the corpse of his wife, and Arianna howling and reaching out the window as though madness had taken her. The people across his empire, in his capital city, and within his own home told him of Arianna's unnatural behaviors, but in deference to his Silencing of her he ignored the rumors. And now his wife was dead. And he was now bound by the law of his own decree to do what he must to purge the demon that had taken his daughter.
Adriel could only watch from atop her mountain as King Darien's men lashed Arianna to the post jutting up from the pyre. Her face was wet with tears, her voice was hoarse; she could not even beg for mercy and Adriel could not beg on her behalf. King Therion, stood beside Adriel, his hand clamped upon her shoulder. "And now, Angel, both you and Man will witness the prize of your recklessness; the scorn of my wrath that you've earned in your unholy marriage to this mortal child. Do not think of me as wicked, as I am sworn to never harm either of you, but what you have done cannot go unpunished."
Adriel offered no reply. She had none to give, save for the tears that streaked her unearthly face.
Arianna cried out for her unborn child; she weeped knowing that her love had abandoned her for what she had done -- for what their child forced her to do. King Darien stood before his daughter, the torch held high. "By my own decree before those of my court, in front of the messenger Angel of long ago, you are hereby sentenced to burn with the abomination in your womb until you both are nothing but ash. We must cleanse you of this wicked child and spirit with fire, and save whatever is left of your soul."
King Darien himself lit the pyre. A tear fell from his eye as he watched the flames dance around his daughter's feet. His line had ended; his wife was murdered by his only child. He would live to see the final days of his House, and watch from his deathbed that which he spent his life building fall to ruin and eventually be forgotten. Darien turned and walked away as the flames began to rend the flesh from his daughter.
For only second time in her everlasting life, Adriel wept.
Arianna's remains, and those of her damned child, were sanctified and buried beneath the ruins of a once great monastery along a forgotten Forest Path, unmarked save for a solitary standing arch of stone. Adriel appeared before the Forest King and Queen, bowing on one knee. "I come to beg for an audience with my love's spirit. I offer myself to you and your Kingdom in service, and unto thee in fealty for this favor."
King Therion approached her. "Others have come to us for this very favor, but none have ever offered fealty to us. Do you so betray your Ruler and His laws?"
"I betray nothing. Long ago I renounced the High Lord as mine when he betrayed my oath of service."
"Would you renounce us as well, Fallen One?"
"Yes, should you also betray my oath of service."
The Queen rose from her throne and stepped forth. "Your words speak truth, Angel. We accept your offer. You are now in our Kingdom's thrall, and as such you are hereby sworn to protect it and those within it against all enemies, even those of your love's children. In return I shall grant you one night with your love every Winter, but be warned: you will need the Enemy's sword to guard her as she is not the only risen spirit."
"I do not understand."
"My Queen sings the woodlands to sleep every winter. The guardians rest and the dead spirits risen the cold as the warmth of her embrace fades with them. It is then that you shall see your love again, and the heat of your glory will not be enough to stave the others who so crave it."
"What enemies are borne from my child? You made me watch him die."
"In body, to be sure, but his spirit endured. The rotten, drained husks you discovered in his wake were not the only creatures he corrupted. In his own dark wisdom he spread his essence into many others. Monsters they have become, foul creatures of the night feeding off the blood of animals and humans alike, mindlessly killing to prolong their grotesque existence. Our guardians cannot forever protect us from such creatures. That task is hereby appointed to you Adriel, Knight of Winter. You will protect the Forest Kingdom from the children borne of your own dark child."
And so it was. By the strength and will of Adriel's might, the dark creatures of her own lineage scattered to the four corners of the earth, forced to hide in the caves and shadows to escape her wrath. Their armies and hordes were no match for her sun-born glory and dark-forged sword. And so Therion kept his word to her. When the moon was highest in the longest night of the Winter, Arianna would come to her. Together they would rise above the earth, to a place where the restless spirits fear to tread. At the coming dawn, when the light would warm her ethereal skin, Arianna would take her leave to rest, until she was able to see her love next Winter's Eve.
Adriel, the Fallen One who rose to become the Knight of Winter, endured, continuing her Watch over Humanity as the High Lord had commanded. For in His infinite wisdom, He knew peace could only be found beneath the ebon shroud of Winter's Knight.