Sigillum ex Fatum [UNDER EDITING]

Chapter 12

Auriel and I were walking side by side. We had left the Realm of Time, back through the Weeping Willow Grove, and were now winding our way back through the main district of Heaven.

"What makes the Time Realm so important," Auriel was telling me in a very low, very hushed, conspiratorial voice, "is that one can actually manipulate time itself from there. It is so heavily guarded because, like we discussed regarding the multi-universe, if something is changed it can lead to dire consequences.

"Time is laid out according to a Plan, which God Himself created and laid out for us. His Plan leads to the best outcome for all of humanity. It may not seem like it because there is sin, and grief, and strife, but it truly is for the betterment of all.

"Us angels are the guardians of God's Plan. That is our purpose, from the upper echelon of Seraphim to the cherubs. We all work tirelessly toward one goal, the Word of God.

"Beings can enter any Time Frame they want, much like the scrying pools. To enter, you would simply dive into what you saw. The same applies with the Time Frames. You simply walk into them, as easily as walking through a doorway.

"As such, these passageways to different times and different realities are heavily guarded. There are few who even know these passages exist, and even fewer who have access to them."

"How many?" I asked.

"Those in present company."

I waited for Auriel to say more. When he didn't, I nearly laughed. "And?"

"A handful more. Not even half a dozen."

In disbelief I stared at each archangel. They all either didn't meet my gaze or looked back with gentle seriousness. It struck me that this had to be truthful; angels couldn't lie.

The angels led me back to the area of Heaven I was most familiar with. I was brought to the tavern where Mikha'el and I came every night to discuss whatever fancied our whims of the evening. Two things struck me immediately; one, the area was completely devoid of other angels, even lacking servers of any sort. Second was the fact my skin was humming; it felt similar to when tables were concealed within Metatron, but ten times more powerful. While my skin never vibrated inside Metatron, I could tell it was the same sort of concealment magic. How I knew this, I wasn't sure; I just knew it as sure as I knew night followed day.

We all approached the tavern. Sitting alone at a table was a person. I mistook them for a boy at first. As I got closer, however, I realized this was not a page boy, but a fully grown, albeit small, man. Their age was largely indiscernible, looking as though they could be anywhere from a young adult up until mid thirties, possibly pushing early forties.

They wore a large brown cloak. The hood was currently down, revealing their features. Eyes of deep emerald seemed to look into my very soul, and I was hit with the feeling this person was reading my mind, probably without even meaning to. Their hair was long-ish, straight, cut evenly around the chin in a bob. The color itself was a reddish chestnut, growing darker until near the tips became black. They were extremely pale, with a smattering of freckles along the bridge of their nose and splashed against their cheeks.

They sat alone, delicate hands clapsed loosely around the base of an untouched silver chalice. Upon our arrival they were utterly nonplussed. They did not show surprise at the five archangels, nor did they rise to their feet to pay any sort of respect. It was the first time I had seen anyone behave in this way, and my interest was immediately quipped. On the contrary, I was absolutely shocked when all five angels got down on their knees, bowed their heads, and gave a greeting in unison.

The person at the table gave a slight nod of their head. I didn't know what to do; should I kneel as well? I was about to, but then all the angels got back to their feet. They sat at the round table that had just enough chairs; Mikha'el pulled one out for me and I hastily sat.