Primus - War of the Angeli

Chapter Two - Maelstrom (Part 1)

As the skies erupted in fiery silver flame, a curtain of black and grey swirling clouds were aglow with lambent wisps of smoke trailing in the celestial sphere above. Cool wind blew from the now darkened sky, chilling Jordan to his bones.

Jordan had received word earlier this morning that his little sister Taylor would soon be put to the test in the Mortem Trials. He wasn't worried, she was a Fawkes, after all. But his heart ached for his little sister and all she'd been through. Still, he had his mission. Taylor would survive and grow stronger, just as he had. Besides, he had personally seen to it that Felix would make sure she was well prepared and protected, he owed him as much, he owed him his life.

The tall boy with the quarterstaff stood at his side. "Here." He pointed towards the tombs. "This is the place." Said Gabriel.

"You're certain?" Jordan asked.

"How could I ever forget?"

"You were pretty wacked out of your gore. Aamon has a way of messing with your head."

"No." Gabriel replied. "This is where Aamon held me, I'm sure of it."

Jordan took a good long look at the tombs. Then back at his map. Six entrances, several more closed to debris, all possible exits but not entryways. A hundred miles of curving paths that lead deeper into the mountain pass. The Circle had scouted this land earlier, six scouts they sent, only two yet returned. Had they been captured by Aamon, or were they lost in the tunnels and the enchantments. Either way, Jordan guessed they didn't own the element that was surprise.

"What's the plan?" Gabriel said, breaking the silence. "I'm assuming you have some mastermind scheme to live up to that reputation of yours."

"I'm going to kill the traitorous scum."

"Seriously? That's your plan?"

Jordan nodded.

"Good." He said, "that's great, really. But what's the grand plan, you know, beyond the killing of traitorous scum?"

"Welcome to the world of black ops. With Aamon, all we need to do is kiss."

"Kiss? What the-"

"Keep it simple, stupid." Jordan explained.

"Awesome." Gabriel said, looking exasperated.

"Uh-huh." Jordan said, coolly.

"Wait. I thought this was a stealth mission. You know, observe and report type scenario." Gabriel explained. "He's a Greater Demon of Hell!"

"Har!" Came the laugh of Darius, a very large man and mercenary to Jordan. The rest of the group chimed in for a chorus of laughter.

The glint of their druidic companion's jewelry caught Jordan's eyes. For an instant, their eyes locked. The world fell silent, he heard one of his brother's quirk back to Gabriel, but was not able to make out the words. The druid's eyes were grim, and serious, concerning. Jordan nodded and frowned, turning his attention back unto Gabriel.

"He has a very large army..." the boy continued to protest.

"He commands thirty legions." Jordan said, unnerved but now serious.

"Exactly!" The boy exclaimed.

"He commands thirty legions... in Hell." Jordan finished.

"Not seeing how-"

"Look, we are not in the final dimension of Hell just yet. Aamon's army cannot cross over. Besides, The Circle has dominion over all of Hell and its armies, with power over a thousand more legions in Hell. But it can't come to that, we cannot allow it." Jordan explained.

"Is that his plan?" Gabriel asked, inquizically.

"It would be impossible to know of Aamon's true intentions at this point. But we cannot allow this to come to pass. Imagine what would happen if Aamon found a way to release his army unto any of the other dimensions of Hell, or god forbid, True Earth. Aamon must be stopped, at all costs and by any means necessary. Believe me, we're taking this very seriously. There will be no cost too high, no sacrifice too great for The Circle."

"But how?"

"Try to keep up. The Circle has a greater army and then they have us. We truly specialize in these types of scenarios."

"Don't worry, you can think of us like the Navy Seals only... cooler."

Silence.

"Death Hawk 6? Russian Squad 9? ... No?"

Silence.

"He killed his own, there is no greater crime in the eyes of the Circle."

"The Circle will have his head. If we can avoid a civil war, we will. We have enough problems with the Angeli already."

"But wont you just cause more trouble—killing Aamon? What of his followers?"

"Cut the head of the snake..."

"But how?"

"How good are you with that quarterstaff?"

"A little rusty." He said. Jordan's eyebrows raised. "I do alright." He corrected.

"Good, because we need all hands on deck."

Part 2 Preview-

Jordan rolled up his sleeve. The realm had already left its mark. The imprint of chains was burnt into his flesh, in deep red tones and had already began to heal and scar over.

Eleven dimensions of Hell there was. Thedescent to Hell was long, and this was Jordan's seventh marking.