Mirror IN: The History

By Santiago

**Flaming
Feather**

In another world, everything was much as our own for a great many eons, and we pick up the story shortly after humans come onto the scene...

The Eden Experiment

Humanity was dirty, cruel, and small-minded--but some angels proposed that within them they must possess a certain divinity, otherwise God would not protect them. Lucifer proposed an experiment, with which he hoped to satisfy everyone's curiosity.

The experiment would create an idyllic setting, where humans could live without wants or needs. If they could survive in paradise, then they deserved the deference of the angels; their free will would be respected. If not, then God's hope was misplaced.

God agreed.

First, Lucifer proposed, two perfect specimens would be needed, one male and one female. They would be created from scratch, since he didn't want the experiment tainted by subjects who had already experienced the harshness of ordinary life.

God created a man--whom Yves named Adam--and a woman, Lilith. He created them with the knowledge of speech to give them every advantage possible. Lucifer introduced himself to the two humans, and gave them a quick primer on free will. The two humans lived together in peace and harmony for several years. Lucifer was satisfied.

Michael, however, had also observed the experiment. He saw two individuals who bore God's most glorious gift, free will, but which had no opportunity to exercise it. The idyllic environment of Eden did not motivate the two humans to do anything other than exist. Michael felt that perhaps Lucifer's explanation of Free Will had not been sufficient. Only if the humans truly knew what their options were could they be said to have fully chosen their path. God agreed. And thus, another human was created, Eve. Michael showed her the garden, and he showed her the world, then he gave her the choice of living forever in the perfection of Eden or of exploring the unknown world. Eve almost immediately chose freedom over security, and wandered off in pursuit of whatever she might find. Michael and God discussed the matter for a long, long time.

The Exodus

Afterwards, Michael went and spoke with many of the angels about these things. He talked about safety and security versus freedom and individuality, elaborated on whether the greater good should always be pursued, and what levels of negative local effects are acceptable. Many of the angels agreed with him. Many did not. Kobal at first was torn. Laughter is best in groups, but ultimately seeing the humor in something is very personal. David was deeply concerned about his good friend Michael, and wondered why anyone could see anything wrong with groups. Malphas truly felt that individual expression was very important to the wellbeing of a group. Eli listened a lot but said little, oddly enough for him. Beleth knew that fear came from within, and the best way to stop it was the comfort of others. Uriel felt that deviation was a sign of impurity.

In time, a consensus was reached. Many felt that the path they had been following all along, of obeying the wishes of some distant overseer, was not the way, and that they too had free will which should be exercised. Doing so would not be easy among others still devoted to the blind ideals of the group, and it was felt that going elsewhere would be best for all involved. And so it was that the great Exodus began, where fully a third of the Host followed Michael as he led them out of Heaven to found a new homeland.

At the gates of Heaven, Lucifer stood blocking the way. Michael marched right up to him, and Lucifer put out his palm, saying, "Do not do this, my friend, or else you shall regret it for all time." Michael stared down at his longtime companion, and simply said in a calm, even tone, "Step aside." For an interminable moment, their eyes locked, and something flashed between them, an echo of something that would never be, and then Lucifer stepped aside. And a third of the Host marched out of the gates of Heaven that day, and not a drop of blood was shed, and not a blow was struck. And when the last one had passed, the gates swung shut for the first time, leaving only Lucifer staring sadly outwards.

Michael and those who chose to go with him (for they were not his followers, merely companions by choice) walked long and far, till at last they reached a spot where to go any further would merely bring them closer to Heaven again. It was here that Michael turned and spoke, "We shall found our new home here, that we may do as we choose far from the oppressive mantle of Heaven."

And Gebbeleth, who had always been fond of gathering information to his bosom, asked of Michael, "And what shall we call this place, if it is not Heaven?"

Michael thought for a second, then replied, "Hell. Our home shall be known as Hell," and a small wave spread out, forever altering the Symphony, as the first thing named by someone other than Yves came into being.

"And what shall we call ourselves, for clearly we are no longer Angels of Heaven?" asked Gebbeleth again.

"Demons," said Michael, "We shall be like Angels, but different, in that we shall choose our path."

And the multitude nodded and looked at each other in satisfaction, and tried the new words on their tongues, and liked how they sounded.

The Bridging

At first, the Angels hoped that their brethren would change their minds and return, but none did. Then, they came to realize that the choice the others had made was permanent one, forever altering their mindset. Much discussion was carried on about what would happen now. At length, the Seraphim Council, guided by the everpresent voice of the Metatron, decided that for now it would wait, but that it would begin building fortifications, to prevent the wayward Angels from interfering with the mortal realm and the divine plan mapped out for it.

The Demons, as they called themselves, built their new homes, and continued to visit the realm of Earth much as they had always done, but found that it was becoming harder and harder to do so. Michael realized that relations with Heaven were becoming frostier by the day, and that something would have to been done to prevent being cut off from the world. So, he headed to the realms of humans to see if the situation appeared different from there. After some observing, he had not made any progress, so he sat down to ponder the situation. After sitting on his stone for a night and a day, thinking, who should come down the path next to him but Eve, in her travels of the world. Surprised at seeing each other, Eve joined him to discuss their situations.

She had seen much of the world, but much of it was the same, and so she was looking for new things to explore and new quests to overcome. Michael wanted to ensure the continued access of his companions to the realms outside Hell. In particular, he wanted to keep helping the humans, as he had done before. To this, Eve questioned him, "But, if Heaven were to shut its doors to you, how could this block your travel to Earth? Is Earth not the realm of humans? Should we not be the ones to choose who we let wander among us?"

"Yes, but it is your decision to do so," replied Michael.

"Well, in that case, I choose to let you visit the Earth, and shall endeavor to help you in your future efforts, whatever they may be." With that, a change shook the stone upon which they sat, and a tether of Choice formed, yawning straight into the heart of Hell, where Michael had declared its existence. Michael saw that they key to ensuring that the borders of the realms were open was the efforts of the humans, with their special place in the divine order, and returned to Hell, with Eve at his side.

The Schism

Over time, the Angels and the Demons became increasingly hostile towards one another. The Angels felt that the humans should be following the divine plan, and that the Demons were interfering with the order of the universe. The Demons felt that the Angels were trying to deprive the humans of the free will which they had been granted. As the fortifications of Heaven grew, the Demons sensed themselves gradually isolated and almost cut off from the Symphony, but in the celestial quiet caused by its muffling, they perceived ways to play their own notes and alter the Symphony in subtle ways. As the conflict between the two sides escalated, each organized into hierarchies based about the Words that defined the core of each celestial's being. In Heaven, those on the Seraphim Council were given the title of Archon, and placed as the rulers of Heaven, following the wishes of God when he relayed them. In Hell, Michael was agreed by one and all to be best suited for leadership, and the brightest and strongest of the others were chosen as his Generals in the great War that would be unfolding.

It was at this time that something strange happened. Before, all the souls of the dead had gone to Heaven, eventually finding their way up Jacob's Ladder into the Upper Heavens. Now, however, souls of occasional deceased humans somehow managed to worm their way into Hell instead, to continue their existence among the Demons. It was shortly after this that a strange Demon whom no one had ever seen before walked up the first tether of Choice, seemingly coming from nowhere, and introduced himself as Kronos. After a brief discussion with Michael, he was added to the ranks of Generals. At that point, things got interesting...

The Modern Age

Heaven, in the interest of watching over the world, created a new choir tasked with observing the humans and specially tuned to detect the disturbances caused by Celestials tinkering with the divine plan. These Grigori, as they were called, soon became an important arm of the forces of Heaven.

Hell, in turn, did much exploring with the creations of new bands of Demons, as they felt that variety was a good thing. Eve, in particular, listened to the complaints of some of her fellow humans, who wished to go back to the world they had known, but to which they were now dead. So, she attempted to attach a vessel to a human soul, but it wouldn't stick. She experimented, and ultimately discovered that humans needed to have extra forces layered on before such a melding could be effected. In doing so, she enhanced some hidden part of human nature and created something that was more than the sum of its constituent elements. In honor of her, these new beings were named Evim, and it soon became one of the primary objectives of Hell to save up the essence needed to upgrade into Evim those souls who wished it, so they could be sent back to the Earth they loved.

As the War over the ultimate course of the universe heated up, both sides found a need never before encountered, the need to conceal information from others, and even reveal information that had no basis in reality. This concept, called lying, could not be reconciled with the celestial tongue as it was. So, both sides altered and expanded upon the language they had always known, enabling new forms of expression. Both sides developed languages that allowed the stating of things that were not wholly believed, and over time this new form of expression was favored for everyday usage, allowing for the invention of tact, as well as guile and subterfuge.

**Flaming
Feather**

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