Fate's Vinculum

Part V, Chapter 1. The Angels

                                                                         --Heaven--

Sera was hunched over the top of his desk. He rarely slept. In fact, he hated sleeping.

The act of sleeping wasn't what bothered him; it was that it was such a waste of time. The undeniable fact was that he was constantly busy. He literally didn't have time to sleep. Sometimes though (like now) it unexpectedly snuck up on him and forced him to succumb to the biological need.

Currently he dreamed about his life and what had happened that brought him to his current status. He didn't like thinking about his past because it all seemed so surreal to him. He wasn't sure which of his fragmented memories were real and what was something he might have imagined.

Three thousand years ago he had been a Roman gladiator. He didn't remember if he was any good or not. The fact he had died in the arena led him to believe he wasn't. His memories really began after he earned the rank of Seraphim, and that's what he dreamed about now.

There was a grand Naming Ceremony, where he would finally shed his given mortal name and choose himself a new one. His pride had taken over, declaring himself Seraphin. It was the closest he could get to the word Seraphim without actually using that. That name was forbidden for the exact reason he had picked his name. Sera had high goals for himself, hoping to reach the upper-most echelon of Seraphim--he wanted to be the Seraphim.

Like most Heavenly celebrations, Sera had been surrounded by every angel in Heaven. They all sang. It took all of his willpower to not join them. Sera loved the choirs; his absolute favorite time of year was Christmas. Heaven came to a standstill and for 48 hours straight, from Christmas Eve through all of Christmas, there was continuous singing. The singing lasted with intermittent breaks until the 6th, where things finally fell back into their normal routine.

Sera's naming ceremony was also the first time he was allowed to be in close proximity to God. He knelt, too terrified to raise his head. Finally God spoke directly to him, and tears immediately rolled down his cheeks. It was the single most beautiful voice--no, single most beautiful sound--he had ever heard. God instructed Sera to lift his head and he did. He reached out and touched the angel's forehead.

God's hand was warm. This quickly became hot. Then searing. Sera held out for as long as he could but, finally, he began screaming in pain. He had seen a Seraphim's Naming Ceremony once before, so he knew this was part of it. Once again his pride had gotten the best of him and he told himself he wouldn't scream like the previous angel had. Sera didn't expect it to hurt so badly though.

His entire body felt engulfed in flames. His back ripped open, additional wings bursting forth, covered in millions of eyes. He could feel his face split, his head opening to reveal four different faces. When the change was finally complete Sera collapsed, looking whole and human. The angels had been singing louder to drown out his cries and he flinched--it was deafening.

"Seraphin," God spoke, and when God touched Sera again a cooling sensation rippled through his body, and he was fine, "my new Seraphim. Rise, my child."

Sera stood, looking out at the sea of angels and smiled. Sera never could have imagined in that moment that he would eventually become Archangel to God Himself. As the dream shifted to this, Sera whimpered in his sleep.

It was on one fateful Christmas when it happened--although fate had nothing to do with what transpired. All of Heaven was gathered, singing the eternal praises of God and Jesus. Suddenly the sky went black, the clouds turning to gray storm clouds. It took awhile for the commotion to reach Sera who had been near the front, the Gates of Heaven being a few miles behind him.