Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sanctuary was a beautiful place. 

Over the thousands of years she’d lived Auriel had seen many worlds come into existence and shortly be destroyed. All of them different in their own ways, some were barren but others were capable of bearing life, planets of giant trees or marble spires, of gold rivers and strange creatures, even the demonic born realms had beauty in them, a consequence of the constant loss or dominion of the World Stone. Malthael had once told her she could see beauty in anything, looking back she wasn’t sure if he’d meant it as a good thing, the memory stung when she recalled her fallen brother.

But no new worlds would come into existence with the World Stone destroyed, that made Sanctuary all the more precious, it was one of the few worlds that remained that had managed to sprout an ecosystem of its own and by far the most important one in the conflict. Here good and evil could coexist as sides of the same coin, Auriel reflected. Mortals could choose the light or the darkness and not be bound by the nature of their birth in the way angels and demons were, all mortals were capable of good and cruelty was taught. 

The cycle of the day and night made it so the light and darkness chased each other to give space to the other. Auriel observed the sun set casting beautiful shades of purple and orange, nothing like the eternal dawn that loomed over heaven. A lone moth came to circle around her, gently resting upon her finger, it was said the tiny bugs were attracted to the light, even in her veiled disguise the small creature could recognize the small shine that emanated from her armored fingers.

She could not walk this earth in her usual appearance so her disguise consisted of a long veil that covered her from head to chest only leaving a laced space were her “eyes” would be, long sleeves and skirts covered her armor and wings, she’d also draped Al’maiesh on her shoulders and tied it to her waist, leaving its ends to trail the grass, blooming tiny flowers in its wake. The small bells in her wrist and shoes made a melodic chime with every step she took.

Since heaven had shut its gates rarely did angelkind ever venture into sanctuary anymore but a high ranking archangel like her had ways around such restrictions, besides she had not just come to look at the scenery.

After a day of walking following the lingering sound of his essence led her to a house, modest in size but there was no mistaken who resided inside. A small crown had formed outside, some prayed while others murmured amongst each other, they parted the way as she approached looking at her with sadness in their eyes. She towered above most of them and Al’maiesh gave away her identity, they bowed their heads and she let a couple young children run their fingers through the cord of hope.

Inside the house she was greeted by a Horadrim, his solemn gaze led her deeper into the structure. Few words were exchanged between the two of them. As she passed the kitchen and the hall's servants stood anxiously with their eyes stuck to the ground, Auriel did not miss how some cried and held onto the shoulders of their peers.

The Horadrim finally led her into a cramped room reserved only for his family and the most faithful of followers. In its center lay a bed and the man who’d casted away everything to defend the innocent. Mortality was a heavy price and Auriel knew the years would do him no favours but she scarcely recognized the man who she’d once called brother.

“Tyrael” Auriel almost fell to her knees at the sight but managed to keep her composure, insead a mortal gave her his seat so she could better look at her brother. She’d always known this day would come, but it was too soon, fifty years was nothing to an angel's lifespan, she wondered if it had been the same for him, if he’d savoured every moment on this earth or if the years passed by like a spring gust.

“Auriel?” her brother opened his eyes, wrinkles covered his face and she went to grab his hand to wrap her fingers and Al’maiesh through his fingers and up his arm, the warmth was a welcomed feeling. She could hear the quiet song his spirit sang, it was oh so quiet but there nonetheless.

“I thought you’d forsaken me” his voice was weak but still contained the presence befitted of a former archangel.

“Never brother, I’m sorry it took me this long to visit, but I’ve watched all you’ve accomplished from afar” She caressed his hand onto her head. 

“Accomplished…little can be done in half a century, mortality is too short. I see evil in every town, kin turning against one another and the horadrim dwindle with every generation”

“Have no regrets brother, not for doing what is right, we do what we can. As long as there is opposition there will be hope, your deeds will live on”

He gave a small pained laugh “I’ve missed your optimism sister” 

“Here you are surrounded by friends and family, you lived more and some have in an eternity” Auriel continued.

“Can’t you help him?” a woman spoke to her, desperation in her eyes, she recognized her dark skin and curls, this woman was his daughter no doubt.

“There is no cure to death” Auriel answered, she was talking like Malthael now, in truth she did not know what would happen to her brother now, if his essence would return to the arch or it would stop existing like that of a mortal, the thought scared her.

“Sing for me sister” Tyrael requested.

And so she did, Auriel sang a solemn song, one that brought the inhabitants of the room to tears and lulled her brother to his eternal sleep. It was ancient in nature sung generations before her.  he hummed with her until the song came to an end and he sang no more.

A deep hollowness dug inside of her, it’s true she’d lost countless kin over the century but never like this. She gently laid his hands over his chest, in his face rested a hint of a smile over his lips.

Beside her the girl with the dark curls cried, she’d later come to know her name was Leah. She was unsure on how to feel to give his child a name so cursed.

Auriel stayed for the funeral, deep beneath the cathedral in the catacombs his body was laid to rest, she let his brother’s daughter lead the litter onto the crypt whilst Auriel trailed behind, dragging Al’maiesh behind her, her hands cradling a candle as did all his acolytes, she harmonized as they sang sad songs, different from the ones angels sang but beautiful nonetheless an ability they’d surely inherited from their angelic ancestors. They swayed his coffin from side to side rhythmically to the sound of their song.

The horadrim had prepared a grand mausoleum for their leader surrounded by all his brothers and sisters the ones Auriel had never met. It was odd being part of their funeral rites, dying for angels was as common as flying, they held no rites for their dead only for their rebirth.

The mortals here carried flowers and all kinds of offerings with them, food and gold and the like.

Some observed her with awe and approached her looking for blessings and words of comfort. Words she had plenty but she was unsure on how to bless mortals, so she simply said a few words of prayer and held their hands entangled with the cord of hope. That seemed to bring them great comfort and soon many came seeking her “blessing”.

They laid him to rest in the mausoleum and as those gates closed, so did Auriel close that part of her heart where she kept her friend.

His followers had all sorts of things to say, speeches of great admiration and those who knew him more personally shared details of jests they shared and moments of camaraderie. Auriel would’ve liked to know that Tyrael, the brother she’d known knew nothing more than the eternal conflict and thought they’d shared moments befitted of brothers it was with Imperius were he shared most of those moments, back when they were more similar than at odds.

It was Leah’s speech that moved her steeled heart, she’d never imagined her brother as a father but the image filled her with great commotion, even jealousy, she’d never admitted she craved the feeling of a child upon her breast. The way other creatures of the earth cared for their young, it was something that had vexed ever since she was a young angeling but it was not an experience reserved for them, angels were sound and light, they did not bear their own children the way other creatures and demons did. She remembered sorely how she'd once come so close to it, but that feeling had been too quickly stripped from her. She’d managed in other ways, she’d raised plenty of young war sisters but angels learned too quickly it was not the same, they were her sisters not her daughters.

The acolytes insisted she speak some words herself, Auriel was in no mood to talk but did so either way, she’d learned from a young age people expected things from her, being an archangel meant she had duties others didn’t. But she was now speaking as a sister not as an angel.

Their eyes bore into her expectantly.

“Tyrael was my brother in arms for over six thousand years, I won’t tell you what eternity does to someone, it has been an unfathomable amount of time, being immortal does not absolve us from the fatigue that comes with seeing your kin slaughtered every day, from seeing injustice play out in front of your eyes. I’ll admit the Tyrael I knew was not the man you all grew to know” She would omit the part were her brother had once had such a disdain for human kind he’d once called for their inhalation “But his sense of justice never wavered, humanity changed him for the better. It’s hard to put into words the scale of how much he sacrificed to be able to walk amongst you, he truly believed humanity was this world’s only hope and like he placed his faith on you I hope you can all live to uphold his teachings.” it was no grand speech but it served its purpose she would not impose herself upon these people.

Once the ceremony was over a few stayed for her guidance, but she was not to be their new leader, she’d been very clear on that, Auriel could not forsake her position on the council the way Tyrael did, specially not when were so weak, heaven was still rebuilding and since no angel had been borne to fill the void Tyrael and Malthael left, their ruling power consisted of a meek three individuals.

She cleansed the place and carved runes onto the stone pillars to protect the tomb from any raiders or demons. The magic was only temporary and Auriel would have to descend onto sanctuary every century or so to redo the seals. She would stay and vigil for ten days and ten nights. Leah accompanied her for the first nights till she had to resurface for sustenance, but she surprisingly welcomed the woman’s company. 

“What did you mean by Tyrael was not the man we knew?” Leah had asked.

Auriel smiled or as much as a veiled faceless figure could. “There is no point in dwelling in the past, millenia is enough time for anyone to change” She took a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. “I would like to hear about you, what was it like having him as a father?” she inquired.

Leah smiled at that “He had all sorts of stories about angels and about you, he said you were the best of all of us, that you’d always been fervently sided with humanity”

“Ah I cannot take that title not when your father exists” she grimaced at that last word, he did not exist now did he?

“He said you could tame any wild beast with just the sound of your voice and turn allies into ice, ice that would later shatter with the force of a dozen stars exploding” 

“Hmm he may have exaggerated on that last one” she jested “But we are not so different child, you have angelic blood flowing through your veins, you are capable of great many things”

The girl blushed at that, in truth she was not so much a girl but a woman grown, Auriel would’ve placed her at thirty years or so, enough for a human to live an entire life and have children of their own.

“In truth I could’ve done more to protect humanity that guilt is my burden to bear” Auriel finally admitted, but she never wished to impose herself over them, their beauty resided in being free of angels and demons choices and Auriel liked to keep it that way.

“Thank you for coming, I know he missed his family…His angelic kin mean, I know those last moments must’ve been very precious to him”  

Auriel felt bittersweet at her comment, it had not occurred to her Tyrael would’ve missed them, not when he seemed so sure on his decision.

Silence fell upon them, it was just them and the dead, not even the bells and chimes that accompanied her could be heard.

“It only saddens me that never got to meet his grandchild” That comment surprised her, 

“Are you with child?” Auriel asked and Leah nodded but only a hint of a smile graced her lips. Tyrael had more than his horadrim to carry on his legacy.

“Does that not please you?” What was better than the promise of a new life? 

“It does please me, I’m just so scared, we’ve lived our entire lives being pursued and pursuing evil, I’ve seen the worst not just in demons but in humanity, I don’t want my child to live in a world where we need to constant watch out backs for the slightest hint of ill intent, I don’t want them to grow up in fear. Back then I always had father to protect me but now that he is not here, who will protect us?” she pleaded with her.

“A sound fear, but if we fret ever going out of our caves we would never realize how beautiful the sky is. Evil does not lurk in every corner child, not like demons would like you to believe, I’ve seen the most good come from mortals and Leah, if you are ever in need, you need just call me and I’ll be there” Auriel unhooked one of her bells a gently placed it upon her hands.

As her vigil drew to a close Auriel exited the cathedral and stared up at the grey sky, she relished in the smell of rain coming. How she loved the sound of rain. She breathed it in, allowing herself a fleeting moment of solace, rain meant good harvest and cleansed the ground of blood. But there was something else that took her out of her stupor.

“This is a holy place” her deep voice resounded, nothing like the one she’d used to talk to her niece.

“Holy means little these days, the cathedral of light is holy” a giant wolf emerged from the thicket, its skull was exposed and a bloody seal dripped from its forehead, but no disguise would ever be enough to hide its true identity.

“Mephisto” her voice rang out in an almost mocking tone.

“Auriel” he mused, pacing just beyond the line where rain met earth. “here I was thinking you would never leave your shining tower ever again” It was a sore memory to be reduced to nothing more than a damsel in distress still she rose to the bait.

“Truly? Last I hear you’d been defeated, twice”

The wolf bared his teeth in something almost like a grin “Yet here I stand” 

“Why are you here?” she demanded, arms folding beneath the cascading silk of her veil.

Mephisto padded closer, slow and deliberate, his form shifting, the edges of his being warping like heat rising from stone “Paying my respects to the old angel of course” 

Auriel scoffed. “You were never one for mourning,” she said. Mephisto had barely paid her brother as much as a glance.

“No, but a new era is upon us nonetheless”  His voice dipped lower, and for just a breath, something in it felt real. Familiar.

A gust flew by sweeping her cord and chiming her bells, filling the silence between them.

“The rain will wash away your filth soon enough,” she finally said. Blood dripped from his skull down onto the earth.

Mephisto chuckled, the sound low and amused. “Oh, Auriel, you’ve always had such faith in the storm.”

Neither of them looked back as the rain finally began to fall.

⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───

No longer did angels sing in the streets, nor did the rhythmic clash of steel ring from the training grounds where young warriors once honed their skill. Instead, the air carried the steady hum of reconstruction—the endless labor of reforging broken spires, reinforcing walls, and mending what had been shattered. The Pearly Gates, once a symbol of unyielding strength, had taken decades to rebuild, and the new doors stood starkly different from the old.

For the first time in eternity, Heaven was at peace.

But peace was not always kind.

Like fish cast from water, many angels found themselves restless. The Eternal Conflict had slowed to a bitter stalemate, and in the absence of war, purpose was hard to find. But no angel felt the weight of it more than him .

Auriel moved through the grand halls, shedding her disguise as she entered. Her golden wings unfurled, their radiant glow casting long shadows against the pristine marble. Angels bowed as she passed, murmuring soft greetings, but she barely acknowledged them. Her mind was elsewhere.

A familiar presence joined her stride—a woman of smaller stature, wings tucked neatly at her back. Dina. Auriel’s most trusted handmaiden, and perhaps the only one aware of her frequent journeys to Sanctuary.

Her handmaiden came and strutted beside her “Did you find what you were looking for, mistress?” Dina inquired, her tone respectful yet curious.

“I did, Dina tell Itherael to meet with once I’m done here, there is someone I need to see first” Dina was an angel short in stature but by far one of the most reliable ones she’d had over the century’s and probably the only one to know of her sanctuary escapades.

The girl gave her a quick nood and left, leaving for Auriel to scour the palace. The sound of steel clashing led her to one of the minor courtyard’s. She spotted Imperius, locked in combat with a group of angels—sparring, if one could call it that. He was dismantling them. A blur of golden armor, the leader of the Angiris Council wielded his spear with brutal efficiency, cutting through their defenses like parchment. It was not training. It was punishment.

Auriel moved without hesitation, approaching the fray with an almost casual gait. No one noticed her at first, only interfering once she realized one of the squires had had enough. She stopped Imperius' spear as it came down with one swift motion her hand caught the blade, A sharp clang rang out as metal met metal, and a jolt of force ran up her arm, wincing at how much strength it actually took her to keep the thing suspended.

“That’s enough”  she commanded, voice firm. She gestured toward the trainees, her tone leaving no room for argument "Leave us” Some hesitated, their eyes flicking toward Imperius for approval.

He let out a low, annoyed grunt but gave a curt nod. That was enough. The trainees wasted no time in scattering, some rubbing sore limbs as they retreated.

“This better be worth my time” Imperius muttered, resting the butt of his spear against the ground. The years had done little to soften him—if anything, he had grown more bitter.

Auriel did not waste words.

“Tyrael is dead” silence fell for a moment in the courtyard as they both went stiff.

“He was a mortal, what else was going to happen to him?” Not a flicker of sadness. Not a hint of mourning. But Auriel knew better.

She reached out, placing a firm hand on his shoulder, guiding him toward a marble bench. He did not resist.

Imperius had never shown remorse for what had happened to Tyrael, for the choices that had led him to forsake his wings, for the heavy burden of mortality that had doomed him to this fate.

But how could the loss not sting?

Auriel did not press him for grief he would not show. She simply sat beside him, their silence saying far more than words ever could.

For a long time, neither of them spoke.

Auriel listened to the wind as it carried the distant echoes of Heaven’s restless inhabitants. Even in their peace, there was an unease that could never truly be silenced.

“Tyrael was a fool.”

Auriel sighed, her fingers trailing lightly over the hem of her sleeves. “A good intended one”

“His duty. His immortality. His power. All of it, gone. And for what?” he scoffed 

“He did not see it that way.” Auriel retaliated.

“No,” Imperius said bitterly. “Because he never could see clearly.”

The words should have stung. But Auriel knew them for what they were—a wall, hastily erected to keep something deeper at bay. Imperius was never one to admit weakness, even when it was pain that stirred beneath his fury.

She reached out, pressing a hand over his own, stopping him from crushing the shaft of his own weapon. The rage in his grip softened, just slightly.

“A replacement should have been born by now, Malthael’s been gone for long enough” Imperius changed the subject.

“Tyreal did say he was more attuned with wisdom after that whole ordeal” Auriel jested, but her brother did not seem to find the humor in her tone.

“I refuse to believe that, you spoke with him?” he crossed his arms.

“Yes”

“Did he regret it?”

She thought of Tyrael’s weathered face, the peace in his eyes, the quiet acceptance in his final moments. The way he had hummed along to her song, his voice fading, but never wavering.

“No,” she said softly. “Not for a single moment.”

Chapter Text

“Did you know he had a daughter?” Auriel sat gazing at the world outside, the Crystal Arch shined less brightly, leaving heaven in a constant state of twilight. Corruption seeped from some places spreading its tendrils across heaven, cracking it’s marble pathways and birththing angels with deformities. But at least it had stopped spreading.

The Library of Fate stood as one of the grandest structures in Heaven, its towering shelves stretching hundreds of stories high, lined with books and scroll racks filled with the knowledge of the cosmos. Angels worked tirelessly to maintain order, yet within the private office of the Archangel of Fate, order had no place.

Itherael claimed that if things were moved, he would no longer know where to find them. His workspace was a battlefield of scattered parchment and ink-stained fingers, a testament to his tireless duty.

Ithereal was always seen writing, there was not a moment in time where he did not have parchment and ink at his side, even when he was fighting, as soon as the battle was over he’d dash to his desk to deal with logistics.

For the first time, if only for a fleeting moment, the quill stilled.

“Yes” Then, as if the interruption had never happened, the quill resumed its scratching.

“You never told me”

“It was not for me to tell”

Auriel exhaled sharply, shaking her head. “There really isn’t a place where your little birds won't go, what else haven’t you told me?”

Itherael finished another stack of documents, shifting them aside before picking up another. His tone was as impassive as ever when he spoke next.

“She is expecting”

Auriel scoffed “I knew that already”

“Did you truly come all this way merely to relay tidings of idle chatter? Aren’t you supposed to be the lady between the two of us?”

“Thats my prerogative”

Silence stretched between them again, broken only by the rhythmic scratch of ink against parchment. Auriel didn’t press further, not yet. Instead, she let the quiet settle, watching as her brother lost himself once more in his endless sea of writing.

Then, after a long pause, he spoke again.

“Inarius is back, along with his little queen”

The words snapped Auriel from her thoughts. Her head turned sharply, golden light flaring at the edges of her form.

“Together?”

“Not that I know of”

Auriel was known for her composure but even she could not hide how her armored fingers clawed at the armchair “And how long were you planning on keeping this information from us?”

“The matters of Sanctuary should concern us no more, our place is here”

Auriel held his gaze for a long moment, but she saw it, that carefully guarded distance, the way he wove himself into his work to keep from truly feeling the weight of things. She would get no more from him tonight.

Slowly, she stood, stepping toward him “We cannot lock ourselves in a cage and expect the world to stop moving”

She turned on her heel, the fabric of her robes brushing against the marble floor.

Then, with a sharp snap, the door shut behind her.

The Gardens of Hope were a sight to behold. For millennia, Auriel had cultivated them to reflect her vision of serenity, a sanctuary of life amid the gleaming sterility of Heaven. Angels from the outskirting cities would travel great distances just to witness their beauty.

Plants, both native and foreign, flourished here, each requiring a different kind of care. Some thrived effortlessly, while others demanded ceaseless attention. A patch of green and blue in a realm of sterile gold, the garden had always stood apart.

These days the garden was overgrown but not unkempt for. Vines had grown wild, the once carefully arranged flower beds now sprawled unchecked. Angels in her coir would say it was an effect of their lady’s spiritual state, Auriel quickly shut such hearsay, merely saying that she was going through a period of reappraisal.

She knelt now before the Armored Orchid, an ancient marvel that bloomed only once every hundred and fifty years. When it did, its petals unfurled like the gilded armor of a warrior, revealing a breathtaking core of deep violet and shimmering silver. But keeping it alive was a laborious task, it hailed from a world of mist and rain, a place long since lost.

This was the last of its kind.

She would not let it die.

Now sealed shut the outer petals needed trimming. 

Auriel reached inside one of the outer buds, her slender fingers disappearing into the thick, curling petals. The flower was large enough to swallow her entire arm, and she was used to this delicate work, extracting the small larvae that sometimes burrowed into its stem. But instead of feeling the tiny, wriggling creatures against her gloves, her hand met something warm and slick.

Auriel pushed her arm inside on of the outer flower buds, it was big enough to swallow it whole, she needed to drag out the stem eating larvae that it harbored inside but what she felt was not the tiny creatures climbing onto her gloves but sticky type of substance

When she drew her arm out her arm was coated in red.

Sap? She told herself, no that could not be right 

She smelled it and it was the tick of scent of iron that hit her.

Blood

A slow, steady trickle began to seep from the orchid’s petals, sliding down the curves of the unopened buds in dark crimson rivulets. The vibrant green leaves curled inward, darkening as though something unseen was poisoning them from within.

She stared, transfixed, as the rot spread.

“Is something the matter my lady?”

Snapping out of her trance, Auriel saw one of her gardeners looking at her with great concern. She merely rubbed her uncoated arm against her hand.

“I’m quite alright Mithrael” The angel hesitated before nodding and returning to his work, tending to the luminous pools that dotted the garden.

The visions had started after hell’s siege on heaven, creeping into her mind like ivy through cracked stone but they seemed more vivid as of late. At first, they had been fleeting, a flicker of shadow where there should be light, a whisper where there was silence. they didn’t scare her as they once did but she did fear the day where she would no longer recognize a true atrocity for what it was.

She rubbed her head with frustration, she feared telling her brethren, they might think she’d gone mad, or worse, see it as a sign of corruption.

Auriel couldn’t get what Ithereal had told her, she’d had her own hand in Inarius imprisonment she wouldn’t blame the man for seeking vengeance against them. The notion clawed at her like thorns, she’d willingly condemned one of their own for some petty grievance of hers, than use her position in the council to defend one of Sanctuary's creators, she’d sided with the creation of humanity but had turned Inarius away to save her own skin. 

She remembered the day they’d made the deal with Mephisto and those types of pacts were permanent if Inarius had escaped, which meant that he was either being hunted down or he was being let go. She tried not to think of him- bitter, broken, and possibly corrupted, roaming sanctuary doing his captor's bidding. Auriel had no love for the fallen angel, always so arrogant and resentful of his position as something less than an archangel. She’d been glad to be rid of him once he’d disappeared with the demoness.

As for Lilith…

She avoided dwelling on the girl as much as she could, lest guilt consume her.

With a decisive motion, she set down her massive shears., Auriel decided she’d had enough.

She changed from her gardening attire, slipped into something more fitting and walked back to the library of fate through one of the secret passages.

Inside, Itherael was exactly where she had left him, hunched over his desk, quill scratching against parchment. If time had passed for him, it hardly showed.

She strode through his cluttered office, absentmindedly picking up a few things along the way, gold and such other trinkets she could trade along the way.

“Cover for me while I’m gone” it wasn’t a question and she’d known Ithereal for long enough to know that he couldn’t deny her.

He turned from his chair sharply 

“Inarius cannot be allowed to resurface” he warned her

“I’m aware”

“Let me speak plainly, if you break our deal I will tell Imperius of your outings”

Auriel looked back at Ithereal as if he’d said something foolish. Before going back to her search.

She fidgeted with some of his books before finding the scroll she was looking for, allowing the opening of a portal and in a few steps she was gone.

In truth she had not come for Inarius; that was just the lie she told herself.

Her heels dug into the snow as she walked, she could teleport to save herself the journey but Auriel liked the scenery and seeing both little and small beasts crawl out of their burrows. The dangers were a given but nothing an archangel could not handle, not once did she have to resort to unveiling her disguise or use the cord of hope, instead she’d opted for an unassuming spear that served well enough.

Sanctuary seemed… bare. Rare was it to encounter travellers and many were the towns that had been left completely desolate, it pained her to know such actions had been caused by one of their own. Malthael had once stood as a beacon of what angel kind meant; orderly, calculated. Out of everyone she’d lost she resented him most of all, she did not care what he’d seen in that chalice, nothing justified this genocide.

She’d at first tried tracking down Tyreal’s successor in the snow, but once she stumbled upon his shed, the man was nowhere to be found, tracking would become difficult in this snow so she opted to head further north to look for other Horadrim. Instead what she stumbled upon was a stone statue, crafted centuries ago, the stone was withered but it still bore the resemblance of its original barer.

From what she’d gathered Lilith was mostly forgotten in the minds of most mortals yet she still had vestiges of an age forlorn. 

The sound twigs snapping hurled her out of her thoughts, the cackling of fallen ones was a familiar one, they’d cower in fear in her usual form but the guise she’s assumed was much more reserved. She’d sometimes feel bad for the beasts, they were too stupid in nature to distinguish between right or wrong. Auriel sometimes wondered if it was in demon’s nature to be evil that gave them a degree of innocence.

She lightly twirled her spear as the demons surrounded her like starving wolves, but before she could draw blood a blade pierced the demon from behind, soon a man with spiked armor was spinning his spear left and right making a grisly scene of blood and guts.

Auriel merely watched, not even doing as much as lifting her spear. Once he finished only a pool of corpses, leaving the man panting.

“Thank you, good knight” she said, her voice smooth, untroubled. A gesture of gratitude, though she had never needed saving.

 “You must be a foolish woman to be walking out here on your own. Demons, vampires, horned women—this land is crawling with filth.” His voice was edged with contempt

Auriel cocked her head with a hint of amusement.

“My journey is long and the days too short” She put her spear back in its place on her back. She did not like the knight’s tone but Auriel was not short on patience, she gathered her position as a high ranking angel made it so she rarely had moments of insolence.

“You don’t look from around here, Khajistan perhaps?” Auriel guesses she wasn’t dressed for the coldests of weather and her veil did give her a hint of a Khajistani look.

“Further,” she deflected. She wanted this conversation over with. But he was useful, and for now, she could afford some measure of patience. “Might we share a fire?”

She could have carried on through the night without rest, but mortals needed warmth and respite, and she had walked among them long enough to know that refusing such hospitality could be perceived as strange.

Auriel let the man gather the wood and with a flicker of her fingers she lit it afire.

So she sat across from him, the fire crackling between them, painting his spiked armor in shifting hues of orange and gold.

“If the father wills it we will make it out of this night in one piece”

Auriel let the words settle before speaking. “You are a believer of the Cathedral?” She knew the answer already, but she would tread through unsteady ground.

The knight scoffed, eyes narrowing as if she had insulted him. “ Believer ?” he repeated, voice thick with indignation. “I have seen the truth! Inarius does not need blind faith, his divinity proves itself. He will purge Sanctuary of its filth and take the worthy to heaven, leaving the wretched to drown in their own sin. Only fools and heretics would question it.”

Auriel was silent for a beat, observing him. There was something almost tragic about such blind devotion. Amusing, in a way. Pitiable, in another.

At last, she spoke “Faith can be a precious thing” she replied instead, angels didn’t have a living god per say but they did have their creator to revere.

“We are nothing without it”

The fire popped, embers curling into the air.

“Allow me to escort you to Kyovashad. Perhaps a glimpse of our holy city will sway your heart.” he seemed to have calmed down, more inclined to 

In truth she wanted to avoid Inarius, at least for now. She could not hear the angel, not even a slight bit, sanctuary resounded in complete silence, it did make her curious to know what type of man the Cathedral of Light had built its faith upon. She just hoped their so-called father wasn’t in his city waiting for her.

Instead of answering his offer, she rested her chin on her palm and asked,“Tell me of this horned woman.” Auriel had met a lot of horned women in her years but there was only one who she was interested in hearing about.

“She slithers through the shadows, from Yelesna to Braestaig. The villagers whisper of her, the Daughter of Hatred, just as the prophecy foretold. But fret not, Inarius will soon drive his spear through her blackened heart, casting her back into the depths of Hell where she belongs.” His gaze flicked toward her, sharp with suspicion. “Surely, you know of the Daughter of Hatred… woman of the night ?”

“I know of the mother of sanctuary”  Auriel’s voice remained smooth, referring to Lilith by her actual title. Untouched by the insult laced within his word. It wasn’t the first time she’d been alluded to as a harlot, their words never cut her.

“Folk amongst these part do not always welcome us, but where there is darkness we will purge it”

Auriel only hummed in response. She would like to hear more of this prophecy, but not from his mouth.

At dawn they continued their traverse, Auriel decided there was no harm in questioning some of these devout folk before seeking out Inarius.

Urivar she would later come to know the knight’s name, and had offered her his horse; there was at least some redeeming quality about this man. Auriel decided she like this kind of chivalrous gestures even if she she had no need them,

Over the jagged cliffs and the mountainous terrain, they reached Kyovashad the next day, the city was more of a walled fortress than a proper city, tall stone walls encircled the city along with a deep moat, not to mention the city was well armed, with penitent knights stationed in every corner. 

They passed through a statue of Inarius on the outside, she eyed it warely, he looked normal, like an angel would, but erecting yourself as a god amongst mortals did not bode well for Auriel.

Urivar halted before the entrance.

“To enter the city you must perform the cleaning ritual” he told her. Auriel frowned at first. If they required her to remove her veil or perform some absurd rite, she would refuse. “Lest you be labeled a heretic” he towered over her defiantly, Auriel found it almost amusing, to be undermined by such small men.

“Stop scaring the lady Urivar, this is the second one this week” one of the city guards came forward to interrupt, the penitent knight only huffed and sauntered past the gates.

 “Sorry mam’ the ritual is pretty simple”

But when he explained the ritual, a simple gesture, she saw no reason to deny it.

She inclined her head in thanks, then stepped forward, approaching the shrine where countless wooden tablets hung. Holy cedarwood, they called it. Auriel found nothing particularly sacred about it, but she understood how even the most mundane objects could be elevated to divinity in the eyes of the faithful.

A single wooden tablet was not enough to encase all her sins.

She hesitated for only a moment before writing a single word:

Love.

As the tablet burned, the brazier flared hot.

She could understand why some mortals found comfort in it, but it personally brought her none, if anything she felt it weighing her more than usual.

Auriel must’ve been staring at the fire for quite some time, for a city guard approached, snapping her from her reverie.

“Many are our troubles, but in Kyovashad we leave them behind. Did you feel your sins cleansed?” the city guard spoke 

“Fire is a tool of destruction, a cleanser, and a source of warmth.”

The guard nodded in approval, mistaking her meaning.

Auriel stepped past her and entered the city.

She could tell many had flocked to this fortress for work and protection, there was not much else to say about the city. The houses were made of wood barely enough to ward of the cold, merchants looking to sale their wares, knights in training practicing 

In the heart of the city sat a statue, bigger than the one in the entrance were people had gathered to pray, 

Behind it was the Catheral, it wasn’t anything particular of note

Auriel entered through the tall halls, even amidst the contrast of the day and the candles of the inside, no shadow followed her, angels casted none.

She moved quietly through the nave, slipping into a pew near the back. Hands folded in her lap, she listened. As a being of sound and light, she had no need to strain; every hushed whisper, every fervent prayer, reached her as clearly as if spoken beside her.

The murmurs of the faithful wove together like threads in a tapestry. Talks of grain shortages, pleas for protection, the promotion of knights, the ever-looming threat of demonic incursions. Mundane concerns, mortal struggles. But one voice, one discussion, drew her attention.

The man, his voice laced heavily with frustration, spoke out “We cannot let Lilith slaughter us like dogs, she is gathering her strength, how long must we wait for Inarius to strike back?

“Do not doubt the actions of the Father, Salo, you must trust in him, trust your faith” Prava; the priestess spoke with complete sterness.

Salo let out a short, bitter laugh. “You think Lilith does not act because we follow Inarius?”

“She acts because she is hatred incarnate. There is no reasoning with her.”

“She has spared some,” Iosef countered, voice quieter now. “Villages untouched, people left alive. But not those devoted to the Father.”

Prava’s gaze darkened. “Then we die martyrs.”

Salo’s hands curled into fists. “Martyrs,” he repeated, his voice almost a whisper. “And you would have us welcome death?” Tears ran down his cheeks.

“If that is the price of righteousness, yes.” She was not as calm, her eyes layered with a hidden rage within “You will stand with the Father,” Prava corrected. “Or you will fall with the heretics.”

Another silence.

Salo turned his gaze downward. Whether in thought or in quiet submission, Auriel could not tell.

The conversation was over. But the battle between faith and doubt was hardly settled.

Auriel had left her place in the pews to look at the ornamentation around the walls, it wasn’t anything grand, especially not to someone like her, who had seen a great part of the universe in its entirety, Sanctuary now, not so much, but she knew the Sanctuary of old. 

Her gaze finally settled on a painting done, Inarius was depicted in resplendent glory, his radiance softening at the edges, standing over a woman bedridden. It told a story of eternal gratitude. .

Yet, it was familiar. Not in its artistry, but in its devotion.

“I heard you walk in” Prava’s voice was measured, but there was an unmistakable curiosity beneath it “the sound of your bells…is quite beautiful, never heard anything like it” Prava spoke behind her. 

“Are you the leader of this covenant? Aside from your prophet that is” Assuring herself she was speaking to the link between Inarius and humanity and there were no others.

Prava stepped closer, standing just beside her. “That would be I” She looked back at the painting on the wall, she admitted it was a wonderful rendition.

“I was a sickly child once” she murmured, as if speaking to the painting rather than Auriel “but in my deathbed, Inarius holy light healed me, he made me see things a never thought possible” An angel’s revelation to a mortal was a special thing, divinity was a thing not very understood to someone who was not born with it. 

But Inarius, a healer? If she’s been a lesser woman she would’ve scoffed

“What did you see?” Auriel asked, watching her carefully.

Prava inhaled deeply, her expression unreadable. “The truth.”

"I saw my corpse, and from my mouth crawled Hatred” Prava recited, as if she’d said these words a thousand times “A father burned his childrenon a pyre, and a mother molded a new age from the ashes, I saw the weak made strong, a pack of lambs feasting on wolves, tears of blood rained on a desert jewel, and the way to Hell was torn asunder, then came a spear of light, piercing Hatred's heart” She paused to her eyes onto her full of fervor “And he who was bound in chains was set free." Those last words almost brought her to tears as she spread her arms and closed her eyes, her head craned to the ceiling.

“Whose prophecy is that?” Auriel questioned, she did not put it above Inarius to create a prophecy and place himself as a hero, if that's what he believed would repent him.

“The first necromancer, Rathma” his son. As the first of the nephelem she was more inclined to believe his visions, still she would take this to Itherael first, if there was something the archangel of fate delved in; it was prophecies.

Prava leaned onto the stone with her bare shoulders “You look capable, why not seek Inarius yourself"

“I intend to”

Auriel was glad to leave the city behind and onto the frigid ice. She’d had enough of Inarius and his fanatics. The city walls had felt suffocating, she did not think their faith was misplaced, Inarius was a being made of divine light after all, he’d created this world in which she walked upon, he was worthy enough of calling himself a god, as much as it irritated her to admit. But about that prophecy… she’d spent enough time with Itherael to know the were hard to interpret, they were visions and were not meant to be put into words. Auriel tried to not let her own personal distaste of the man cloud her judgement, but she really didn’t think he was the hero to save them all. 

She decided she would have to see him first and then make an assessment.

The wind whipped and carried tiny snowflakes, drifting down like volcanic ash, silent and weightless. She watched them swirl around her fingers, tracing fleeting patterns in the air before they melted into nothing. In that small, quiet moment, she felt a brief sense of peace, Sanctuary brought her peace , an illusion, perhaps, but one she had longed for. She closed her eyes, letting the wind tug at her cloak, her veil moving to the sound of the sweet breeze.

But the serenity didn’t last long.

A shift in the air. The sound of crunching snow underfoot—slow, deliberate, like the movements of a predator. Her senses sharpened instantly. She didn’t need to look, but she did. A shadow lingered just beyond the edges of her vision, something familiar and unwelcome. That damn forsaken voice—deep, rough, taunting.

“Back so soon?” 

“Are you trailing me?” she snapped

The wounded wolf circled around her, his paws digging onto the snow, crunching against the frost. Auriel found it slightly amusing that for once she was looking down on him and not craning her neck upwards.

“With the bells you wear, there is not much seeking” she looked at her wrist for a brief moment. Auriel knew the sound of her adornments drew attention, but to be followed like a lost melody through the snow was aggravating. It was her only connection to something grander.

“Have you come to chastise me?” she asks dryly, their conversations were always like this, Mephisto would poke around the edges of her and she would find a way to avoid his comments.

“No but if you came for Inarius I’m afraid he is too far gone”

“Is that why you let him go?”

“What's to say I had not just grown bored of him?” 

“I find that hard to believe” After a few centuries she started to know some of Mephisto's behaviours, his games, his pretenses.

The wolf gave a low chuckle, clearly enjoying the reading Auriel gave of him  

“You don’t look nearly as beautiful in this form? Why not spread your wings, the mortals could use a better leader than damn forsaken Inarius” And his backhanded compliments never meant any good, she could not think Mephisto ever had anything positive to say about the way angels looked.

“And I think this form of yours is unbecoming, wolves are social creatures you are more of a mangy stray, sulking in the dark, too cowardly to stand with a pack” She began to outpace him growing irritated by his presence. 

The moment she turned her back, a force slammed into her, knocking the breath from her lungs. With a startled yelp, she hit the ground, snow spraying around her as the full weight of the beast pinned her down.

She was staring up at his hollow eyes now, blood dripping from the edges of his exposed skull.

Mephisto could not do much in this form but she should’ve been more careful to be caught off guard like this.

“And now you are more like a dog!” she said, irritated.

“And now,” he rumbled above her “you are prey.” His breathing right in front of her face.

Auriel gave an exasperated sigh as if saying; alright you win and rubbed the creature behind the ears with her absent hand, it was an odd situation, to be with the Lord of Hatred, stroking his fur like some pet hound she’d once had. Almost intimate in a way that made her uncomfortable, made her feel as though she were backsliding into something she shouldn’t. The weight of his presence, the warmth of his body against her chest, stirred something inside her she had long since tried to bury. 

For what seemed a few moments neither of them spoke a single word. She indulged the warmth his body gave her against the cold. His breath was hot against her face.

She could feel the tension in his body, the lingering rage beneath the surface, but for once, Mephisto didn’t resist. That was, until he shifted his full weight onto her, making himself comfortable.

Auriel huffed as the pressure increased “you really have no shame”

“Enough games” She tolerated it for only a moment longer before she shoved him off and gathered a fist full of snow to throw right at him who gave a pathetic whine.

But as the snow settled around them, the fleeting tension between them didn’t ease. It lingered, a reminder of how easily Mephisto could pull her back into his grip. Too much time with Mephisto meant bad things, nothing good ever came to her by seeking his company, but everytime he came, the hole she thought she’d mended in her chest would slowly start to unravel. It made her feel small and so utterly foolish.

She dusted the snow off her robes, her movements sharp as if to shake off the weight of his influence. If she stayed any longer her guilt would start eating her up again. The sun was starting to set and the air was growing ever the more colder

He did not follow her this time.

“Auriel” he called to her “Don’t go looking for Lilith” he shouted once she’d walked a fair distance, it made her tense, it felt more like a statement than a warning.

She didn’t turn back to look at him, but she felt his eyes on her, watching her every move. Her heart skipped a beat, the guilt in her chest rising again. She wasn’t sure if it was the weight of his words or the thought of what she was walking toward that made her shoulders tighten, but she kept walking.

The sun dipped lower on the horizon, and she found herself once again alone in the biting cold.