azazael | Locked to readvondaniken

Azazael always found joy in his duties. These kind, the gifts, were always the best. The King had sent him to fetch a human who was to receive the blessing of the court. He waited patiently in the Nexus Plaza for the human he had met only recently. It occurred to Azazael as he waited that few angels in the Nexus walked with exposed wings. Maybe only those of his creation did? He was watching the people in the plaza. Palmer's shop was somewhere around, nearby but Azazael wasn't sure where. Instead of looking, he sat on one of the benches in the plaza enjoy the sunny autumn day, people watching while he waited.

Current Mood: chipper

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"We still live a lot longer than everything but turtles and trees." Palmer sighs. "Still not long enough, though. And aging's half of what ruins it. There's still stuff I wish I could forget."

He stands up when they both land.

"I'm guessin' we're at the right place. Chaos. Quite the name." Palmer's grateful that he was given the protective necklace. "I'm ready to go when you are."

"I don't think any amount of life is long enough." He looked to his companion a little sad. "We've been around for what might as well be forever, Lucifer's been around since before our universe existed, and we all still got lists of things we want to do."

Azazael nodded. "The door's over there. I didn't want to startle the guards."

The angel started walking. There were two angels, in all appearance similiar to Beelzebub, at least in attire with full armor and one had a flaming sword hanging off its waist belt. They were not Beelzebub though, their wings were the wrong color and size.

They stepped aside for Azazael and Palmer, pulling one of the huge iron doors open. Heat poured out like stepping from air conditioning into the desert, or perhaps more to Palmer's experience from the frigid depths of Antarctic winter to a heated room. Inside was pitch black. "Once you step in, give your eyes time to adjust. It might be hard to breathe too, the sulfur and smoke can take some getting used to. Even if the necklace protects your lungs the smell will still be there."

Azazael stepped through the door waiting for Palmer. In the dark he glowed a pale blue, enough to light up the area around him. Once Palmer is in the angels close the door shutting them in complete darkness except for the glow from the angel.

Palmer nods. "Death's everywhere - even in the Nexus. The anti-violence field doesn't protect you from everything, and sometimes it turns off. So I try and make use of what I was given."

Palmer notices the flaming sword. Yeah, that looks like a guard. He follows Azazael, trying not to seem a little intimidated.

"I mean, if you're immortal you've got more time.It must have its good points, not havin' to get sick or die."

But he stops the conversation to follow the angel in. He's grateful that he has the necklace - the smell isn't pleasant, but he's glad to hear his lungs will be protected.

He's grateful for the glow that lets him see, trying to let his eyes adjust. "So...what next? Where are we going now?"

"It might be good that Lucifer's come then? He's very protective when he takes up somewhere, and of humans in general." Azazael knew that Lucifer wouldn't let anything happen to the Nexus as a whole.

Azazael nodded. "We don't get physically sick but we get mentally and emotionally sick. I think you could kill some of the angels if you made them sad enough, hurt them enough. We're durable but we all got weaknesses."

Azazael opens his wings giving off more light for the human to see. They're on a bridge of rock wide enough for 4 or 5 people to walk next to each other. The edge of it falling down into blackness on both sides that even the angelic light won't penetrate. "Do you want to walk for awhile?"

He'd fly them but he imagined a human might be curious about what "hell" looks like. "It's a couple of miles, I think, to the palace if we fly across the Lake of Fire when we get to it instead of walking all the way around to the front."

"That's why I offered to try and let him know if anything dangerous starts here. The last time there were invaders from outside we had no warning, and never got to mount a proper defense. We never actually had a chance to fight them on even terms."

Palmer's willing to do what he can to avoid future disasters. It might not be foolproof, and Reynard at least might not take kindly to calling in powerful help, but honestly Palmer doesn't care what Reynard would think if it saves lives.

"Don't mind if I do. I've only been out of the Nexus a couple of times, so some sightseeing wouldn't hurt. But flying over the lake of fire sounds like a good idea."

Hey, it's not every day you get to visit "hell". Palmer wouldn't mind looking around a little while he's here, though he knows he's got work to do. Lucifer wants to see him, after all.

Edited Date: 2019-11-11 04:50 pm (UTC)

"If things got that bad Lucifer might empty Chaos to retaliate." He comments off hand and starts walking. "He'd protect you, but with Balthazar there he'd got to war in a heartbeat and nothing'd stop him."

He falls into a relaxed pace down the bridge. A head of them is a barren plain of ragged looking rocks. Though looking out in the distance across the abyss there are small glows moving too and fro in the distance. Those were other angels, small lights off in the distance. "It's kind of bleak here. Nothing really grows and you can't feel it but the ground and air burns us."

"He cares for Balthazar a lot, I noticed." Palmer smiles. "I know Balthazar. Not super well, but we talked a few times. He's an interestin' character, to say the least. I'm glad they hit it off."

Palmer observes the rugged plain, then the lights in the distance. He guesses human visitors like himself were rare. No wonder it burns the inhabitants. He's even more grateful for theprotective feather. "You mentioned there were creatures here. Serpents and hellhounds. I'm guessing they don't live 'round this part of Chaos."

Azazael blushes at the commentary about Lucifer. He always felt a little fluttery when someone talked about the romance between the two angels. "Lucifer was created to be as all loving as God. I don't think 'cares' comes close to what he probably feels. He doesn't talk about it much though. Least not to the rest of us."

"The serpents live in the Lake of Fire." He comments watching the area to make sure they don't encounter other angels. Some of them wouldn't be friendly or impressed with a human being in Chaos. "The hellhounds are Lucifer's grandchildren. Most of them live in and around the palace. You'll probably see them along the way."

Palmer didn't realize that the serpents lived in the lake, though he knows snakes back in his world can swim. It's the hellhounds that get his attention, though it's more concern than actual fear. He sticks close to the angel.

"Guessin' the hellhounds won't attack me with you around. If I get jumpy, it's nothing on you or them. It's 'cause I've got a history with dogs, but you know that already." Palmer's trying to overcome his fear, but it's hard. "Y'know. Antarctica."

Azazael is sympathetic about the things that had happened to Palmer in his own world. "They won't because they're not animals really. They're as intelligent as an angel or a human.

As the enter the plain with all the jagged rocks they veer off to the right. There's a pretty clear pathway but all around them are sharp looking spikes and spires of what appears to be volcanic glass.

"That's good. If they're Lucifer's grandkids it makes sense - you said he likes humans, so probably they don't mind us." Palmer's at least relieved he won't be attacked by hellhounds.

He notices the landscape, and the spikes. "I gotta say, I'm interested to see what Lucifer called me for. Didn't realize he liked me that much."

"The angels usually don't mind most things, except Celestial Angels. If I was bringing Balthazar in I'd need guards or we'd have to fly fast because it could make the angels mad."

That was going to take time for the other angels to get used to. Probably why the king hadn't invited him yet.

"I don't know what he has." Azazael shrugged. They were starting to get to an area where paths started branching off every which way, and there were braziers lighting the pathways. They were also getting to an area where there were other angels walking or flying about on their own errands. It's quick to see that the wings, especially, of each angel are very unique, like fingerprints.

"I have the sense there was some, well, drama back home, and I kinda guessed Balthazar had somethin' to do with it. It must be a little better if it's safe enough for me to visit." Palmer observes the angels and their wings. "So I guess not everyone approves of the relationship?"

It's not too surprising, unfortunately. Palmer had the sense politics in Lucifer's world are...complicated, for lack of a better word.

"Gotta say, though, I like surprises. 'Pologies if I get too excited."

"It wouldn't surprise me. I don't think you could be an angel and like Lucifer without being a little rebellious." Azazael pauses thinking. "It's not easy. You got to remember that God and the Heavenly angels hurt a lot of us during the fall. They blinded Belial, cut off Lucifer's wings. So many of the angels walk because there's quite a few of us that have been hurt so bad that they can't fly any more. I know that's not what Balthazar's like but not all the angels are forgiving or happy."

The politics were complicated but that was only part of the problem, maybe the smaller part. "It'd be like someone telling you to live with that monster that cornered you in the closet. It'd be scary and probably make you mad."

"I don't think Lucifer'll mind excitement. I mean, that means the person likes the gift, right?"

Edited Date: 2019-11-12 02:30 am (UTC)

"That makes sense. There'd be a lot of bad blood there. Sometimes people get hurt so bad they aren't willing to trust other people, especially the people who hurt them first. For example, if one of those aliens who attacked us this winter turned up and wanted to make friends I probably wouldn't trust them - even if they weren't with the group that hurt us."

He can't really think of a better example.

Palmer nods, then smiles. "Well...here's the funny part. I kind of made up with that monster in the closet, or close enough. Bob's not the Thing that attacked me, but he is still a Thing and he's, well, not a friend but we're on good terms. But if it was the same Thing, yeah, I wouldn't want to live with it."

"Some of them are coming around though. " Azazael's usual hope came out bright as they started walking up a slight but very long hill. "They're getting curious, especially since the court all went to the Nexus. It's just gonna take time."

He nodded. "I think that's exactly what the angels got to learn. That Balthazar's still celestial but not the ones that hurt them."

"That's good. That big party you guys all had was really somethin'. I didn't wake up until the afternoon. I blame all the boar I ate." Palmer laughs. "But yeah, people getting to know each other as people first can help deal with that kinda thing. It's nice that some of them are willing to try."

He agrees with the angel's assessment. "You might want to meet Bob sometime. He's a shapeshifter, like all Things are, so you don't see him very often as himself. He can be a dog, or he can be an alien. Blue skin, three red eyes."

"That was a tame party." Azazael giggles because the angels were tame a few nights ago.

He's curious about the appearance. "Is that what they look like or is the blue three eyed thing just a different shape they adopt?"

The sulfur smell is starting to get worse and there's a rushing sound. The horizon at the top has the wavy look like a hot road in the desert at midday.

"Better than the human parties I've been to."

Palmer considers himself something of an expert on parties. He sniffs, regretting it instantly when his nose catches sulfur. Well, this was hell.

"According to Bob, that's what Things in his world really look like. The Things in my world don't have a true form, though. The one I saw looked like a messed-up dog."

"It's the sins." Azazael informed his companion. "We don't experience the things that prevent humans from being so wild."

"There's an angel here that kind of looks like that. He's an ophan."

They came up to the top of the rise and there was a churning lake between them and the far cliffs. Sulfurous smoke rose off the lake that glowed an eerie pale red, like a fire seen in the distance. Even with the protections it was a bit hot at the top of the rise.

Below on the bank was a massive sea serpent looking beast, partially coiled and seeming to go on forever like some great basking dragon. There were other serpents in the fire, moving about but completely ignoring the two up above.

"That is Leviathan." Azazael pointed out. "No one knows when it arrived but it is an ally of Lucifer."

He took a moment and looked around, off in the distance there was a bridge across the lake to the cliffs on the other side. "Should we fly across or do you want to walk to the bridge?"

"Sins, huh?" Palmer grins. "Well, lemme tell you. Those sins of yours really made that party. Reckon Furiosa enjoyed it, too. She doesn't come 'round as often as she used to."

He likes Furiosa, but knows that she has duties in her own world, and the last time she stayed the winter she had been locked out. So he can't blame her for being more cautious about staying in the Nexus for too long.

"So that's Leviathan." Palmer looks at the creature. "So it's a friend of your king." He bows slightly to the serpent, even though he's pretty sure Leviathan doesn't notice him.

It's enormous. He's impressed by the great beast, both because of its size and the air of mystery surrounding the creature.

"I think I'll take the flying offer."

"I think Lucifer and Bee were going to take her some gifts for her people."

Azazael looks down at the snake. "Leviathan is one of the biggest things in creation but nobody knows where it came from. Lucifer didn't make it and neither did God."

The angel stretches his wings and nods. "They have an understanding. I've seen Lucifer talking with it before but Leviathan doesn't really like the rest of us. If we go down there it retreats into the fire."

Once Palmer is ready Azazael will fly him up to the front door of the Palace which is at the top of a very large staircase which leads down to the bridge they had seen. The door is open and there are angels here, a lot of them, like one would imagine any government building to be honest. Some of them do stare curiously at Palmer but don't interfere.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that. I'd suggest they do it before winter comes. She's probably going to stay home this time to protect her territory and people. The last time she stayed, she got stuck."

Palmer might have stayed home himself, but he's got nowhere to return to.

"So it's kinda shy 'round crowds." Palmer's surprised, but clearly Leviathan is an intelligent creature if it talks to Lucifer and chooses to avoid everybody else. "I can get that."

He's a little nervous around the angels, but he stays close to Azazael. They can't be too far off, he thinks. He kind of wonders what his crew would think if they heard this story, but he's decided he won't tell anyone back home a word.

"I've heard about the bad winters. I wonder about Lucifer. He doesn't like the cold." Azazael isn't worried Lucifer would leave the Nexus, more what he might do if the winter got that bad again.

"I don't know if it's shy. I think it just doesn't care. When you're that big who can bother you?"

Azazael leads Palmer into the palace. The first section is a large room with mostly open walls of Greek columns. There are Angels around in groups talking among themselves. Another door and pair of guards and they enter silence. The interior of the palace is all black stone with braziers lighting the space. Despite the ceilings disappearing into the dark above there's an oppressive, closed in feeling. From the main entrance room there are quite a few halls going off in different directions. Azazael pauses to make sure Palmer is close.

"You'll have to stay close now. The palace is a maze and it's easy to get lost."

"Well, hopefully Reynard'll go easier on us this winter. In his season he sets the rules. He's tried that kind of thing before - I was told he once tried to make it Winter in the Nexus forever. I'd kinda assumed he was part of the natural order there, but I'm pretty sure that's going outta bounds by any stretch."

Palmer's not sure what to make of what he was told. He's heard so many conflicting stories about Reynard, and wonders why a spirit who's part of the balance of nature would want to break that balance. But he trusts the person who told him the story.

He stays close to Azazael as advised. It's a big palace, he observes.

"The seasonal spirits are, well...I'd be careful around them. They're a lot older than humans, and they've got different priorities."