Real Gods Require Blood

FREE PREVIEW: HOW GOD TRAINS HIS ADVERSARIES

Summary:

After Elohim summoned Mikha’el from the Fire, He decided He needed a break. And so, he would take about seven moon cycles (‘months’) away, leaving Mikha’el and Helel to their devices. What ends up happening but the inevitable: two scheming princes ready to spring chaos, and God, knowing God, very happy that He’s already got players in His court.

Now watch as Elohim catches Mikha’el mid-action try to plant the seeds of rebellion in Helel by telling the son of God how he helped Elohim start the coup against his family last century. Not to mention how wicked he had been with Helel while He was away!

But, does God really care? Quite the opposite: He’s happy when the Adversaries are in His court.

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Mikha’el tells Helel this is what you do to start a coup in your own court of gods:

First, One must plant the seeds of doubt in the court. Make other gods and servants think they are above God Himself. Then, tempt them to want land, lovers, wealth, worshippers, all of it above Most High!

“And then . . .” Mikha’el wears the same dark smile he donned when he first met Helel, who leans in most eager, knowing this would be important one day for his own plans. “After you get them all worked up, you crowd them out. Devour them and steal their divinity for yourself. Claim it’s your work, not theirs, and that you got them all here to begin with so, why would they not worship you instead?”

Helel grins, talons tip-tapping with excitement. He wants to say it sounds like one could be like God and not be God, yes? And then, that it was possible to be like God and have the power of God without being God, yes?

But God, actual God, pops right in front of them before he could even think to ask.

“Hellooooo there!”

“Christ who has not been invented yet!”(1)

Helel jumps up to his feet in a hurry. He’d thought his Father was going to approach them the normal fucking way! “Must you do that at this very second? We already knew you were here!”

“Hah!” Scaring His son makes Elohim boom with laughter. “That sounds like it’s your problem, Helel, not mine! You know as the acting head of this court that you should always be alert.”

Helel makes a face, rolls his eyes. Mikha’el dusts off his robe as he rises on his talons.

“Good morning, Creator.”

Elohim nods with a cool smile, eyes half-open and fixed to the Prince. He saw all the wickedness that beast just spread,

And Mikha’el knew it, for he would smile back, warmly, making himself look glad to see Elohim.

Very. Good.

“Good morning, Mikha’el. I pray you enjoyed some rest after finishing the village, no?” Then, clasping His hands together, “I must give praise for all your hard work and diligence with the structures. The layout is nice and organized, and your tree carving skills . . .well, you might have to teach me a thing or two!”

Mikha’el bows lower this time. He’d felt a deep serenity in those words, both cold and warm and all encompassing light. It made him feel less like a servant of God and more like – or at least almost like – a friend.

“And you, Helel,” Gesturing with a warm smile, “Did wonderful with the decoration, as well as prepped the fields and saw to it the animals were ready. Because of it, you will not need to worry about scrounging for your food all the time.”

Helel smiles wide, also bows. No matter how much his Father drove him crazy, even he couldn’t resist the soothing feeling that washed over his body.

“Thank you, Father.”

“Of course. Now, up up!” Elohim claps His hands. “You both know why I’m really here.”

That’s right! In all that transpired between the commander and his second, it slipped Mikha’el’s mind that he was to see –

“Israfil?”(2)

So that’s what Mikha’el’s previous tongue had sounded like. Helel closes his eyes, calling for the name in the Ancient Tongue. The letters turn with ease in his mind.

“Raphael!”

Helel knew! Of course he would. Breathless and smiling, Mikha’el pulls Helel in by the arm.

“Then why are we still here? I must introduce Helel to him, Raphael will – “

“Not be doing that, no.” Elohim interjects. “I’m going to have Helel introduce himself first and spend the first sun orienting him fully to the village for I’ve only given him a tour.”

Mikha’el’s face falls, lips curling into a slight frown.

“Okay, but – “

“Hold your tongue.”

And just as the serenity was inspiring, so too did the threat in His voice inspire dread.

Fine. Mikha’el knows this dance, the same dance because all fucking gods love this dance. The Fire bites down so hard on his teeth that Helel can hear the strain. And all Helel can do with worried expression is place a hand on Mikha’el’s back, himself all too acquainted with Dad’s inconsistent fuse.

“Let me finish before you decide how you feel about something, sheesh.” Once again, the lightness is restored in the air, in the conversation. Bastard. “Listen, I am joyed you want to introduce Helel, that is quite sweet. But I would imagine Raphael wants time to catch up. Has it not been a few centuries since you saw each other?”(3)

Mikha’el can’t make heads or tails of it. On one hand, Mikha’el didn’t think it would matter if they all met at the same time, from what he could remember about Raphael. Wouldn’t that be joyous? They could eat lunch together, and he and Raphael could share what they remember of Kemet with Helel as it keeps coming to them!

But, would it not be that maybe Raphael had just wanted to see Mikha’el alone, to process this new way of being? Even though angels came ready-made, it didn’t make the transition of experiencing and feeling again so smooth, as he found out for himself.

A sigh. Maybe Elohim was right on this one.

“Worry not, Mikha’el. As is customary, we will all gather and celebrate his arrival together with a wonderful feast after third sun goes down.”

That was just enough to perk him up.

“As you wish, Creator.”

“Good. Now Helel, go tend to Raphael and orient him to everything. Once you are done, send him off, take a break, and then get dinner going.”

So commanding, Christ who definitely needs to be invented by now! But Helel did want to see what splendid being came from Mikha’el’s old court, and he did know how much it would mean to Mikha’el, who had shed tears for the first time over him.

“I understand.”

Reluctant, he peels himself away from Mikha’el. It was important, he keeps reminding himself, to do this. There was nothing wrong with this at all. He was excited to see Raphael, really!

Then what was this prick in his heart? It stung, subtle but pointed, threatening to puncture.

The thoughts betray him even if he can’t understand the feeling. They say: this is taking time away that we could be together.

“Mikha’el . . . “

Helel starts walking forward, hands behind his back like the good commander he was trained to be. He only stops once he’s at the ‘entrance’, two large curved trees that open into the yawning sprawl of Paradise, then turns sharply on his heel with a cool smile.

“I had better see you on time for dinner. Do not be one tick past sunset or I’m not saving any bull heart for you.”

Inside those eyes, many voices:

i want to go / just not without you / i want to see him with you / i hate that i can’t go with you / i hate that it will not just be us / hurry up so it can be us again tonight.

Too much to say in this space, how those eyes and the way Helel said it made Mikha’el feel. Annoyed, because it wasn’t his fault Helel could not come with him. And also annoyed, because it wasn’t unfair at all for two friends to want time to catch up.

But to be wanted for, to be put on the clock because Helel could not wait to see him again – the coil in his abdomen threatens to tighten again.

‘yes, it really had better just be me.’

“Certainly, Helel.” He grins and scratches at the back of his head, like he hadn’t read any of that in his eyes. “I know I’m not the best with time but I will make sure to head over before the sun even sets.”

His eyes talk back. They only need to say one thing:

do you think i forgot my first promise to eat you?(4)

And that is more than enough for Helel, who gives him an eyeful with the same cool smile, head to toe, then whips back on his talons and leaves to do his work.

“Very good.”

Elohim’s nods, sees Helel off. Once he’s gone, Elohim’s face gives itself to Yahweh again, sporting a fierce glare and a frown full of teeth. 

“Listen up you vile, blasphemous, bastard son of Abaddon.”(5)

Mikha’el laughs at this, shows all his sharp teeth. The slit pupils appear in full with no illusion of who he was. “What do you want, hm? I’m listening to all your orders so far. If you have something to complain about – “

“No, no complaints.”

Now Yahweh smiles, also all teeth. One day, this would be His most powerful Adversary, yes! Divine, divine, divine! “I know what I signed up for when I grabbed the chalice. That is not my problem.”

God rubs His thumb over his fingers in contemplation. Or, to draw out the conversation because this was thrilling!

“I just noticed you two spend an awful lot of time together.”  Now smiling again, eyes never leaving the Dragon’s, “And that’s all fine and well. For a while, it has just been you two, hasn’t it?”

Mikha’el scowls and fantasizes about roasting God alive. Would He melt like flesh, burst like light, or scatter back into some void? All equal with possibility, or none of them. Either way, it’s enough to put the grin back on his face, teeth almost turned to fangs.

“Get to the fucking point, Yahweh, I know you have one.”

Then silence. Just like that, the eyes glare again, the frown deepens.

“I’d really like to get my Kingdom rolling, okay? And um, once I yank all your little friends out, I kinda need you to,” And Yahweh would clap His hands twice in quick succession, “Chop chop with the building and the conquering. Focusing on Helel is not spreading My Will, understand?”

Now it was the Dragon’s turn to bat. Mikha’el would show teeth, and teeth,

And on his wings would be eye after eye lining the top, all the same rusty red,

And his claws would sharpen,

And he would respond:

“Be upset we like each other, if that’s what you’re going on about.” Another laugh. This one had a spew of fire right after it. “But there is nothing wrong that we do. We consent to each other. We care for each other. And, I am not under any delusion that he and I have done all the work here so far.”

Mikha’el scowls. He’d run God through with his bare hand, just as he’d threaten to others in the past, but this was not that.

Helel was here. And Helel, he would do anything to be near, to fulfil his promises.

“Mhm, yes. Very cute.”

Yahweh goads, smirking, not looking at Mikha’el now. And Mikha’el, like any dragon would when prodded, bites back, his flaming wings twitching and threatening embers onto the forest.

“Put those wings down before I smite you into the dirt.”

Which the Dragon does with a look most scathing.

“I can’t wait until we kill you.”

“HAH! Pray for it for all of your days, but, didn’t we talk about this, Mikha’el? Pity. Seems you can’t that head fit more than two thoughts in it at once.”

And while Yahweh wasn’t going to Judge Mikha’el for his talk, He certainly would for such defiance even when He has been most accepting, dragging the very earth beneath Mikha’el’s talons so that he was face to face with Yahweh by mere inches.

“Well, I did tell you I was your coach, didn’t I? I’m happy to remind you as many times as you need.”

There it was again, the prickling, the burning beneath the Dragon’s skin. But he would not buckle this time, even if it felt that he would burst with eyes and teeth at any second.

So the Devil would stare God down, even if it started to burn his eyes and boil his mouth dry.

“Do your worst.”

Much better. Yahweh smiles with many teeth, many mouths, and all the eyes that skitter around Him vibrate in laughter.

“You, “ He begins, intensifying His gaze with eyes, more eyes, around and behind and above Mikha’el. “Are in MY court. I told you before not to confuse that helpfulness with privilege, and if you should like to stay up here, in MY Kingdom, with MY son,”

Yes, here he goes again. Mikha’el bites down on his teeth, harder, harder, until they break.

And heal.

And break.

And heal.

And his eyes would begin to bleed, and his skin began to boil, visibly, all healing and disintegrating at the same time,

But he would not kneel, beg, or scream.

“Then you will behave like you think a good Heavenly Host would so we don’t have to have a problem. Remember, I want winners in my court, Mikha’el, not animals.”

One final look into that vile being. More eyes, more teeth. Now voices start to talk: Vile. Filth. You will destroy the order. Blasphemous. Wretched. What is wrong with you?

If everything didn’t hurt so fucking much, Mikha’el would laugh at how stupid they sounded. Of course he was all of those things because that’s who he was!

Yahweh just chuckles in response, shaking His head with fingers on his temple. All the eyes and teeth and whispers vanish back into His form, and he is a glorious, beautiful man all over again. Elohim is back.

“Funny.” Said with a curious smile, “You do not recoil at the Judgement, you just hate how Holy it is. I should have expected that, too.”

With a wave of His hand, he heals Mikha’el in a blink. Now it was him again, the second Seraphim of the court and the Heavenly Host.

“Anyway, I don’t understand why you must be so difficult. You have everything you could want here, Mikha’el, and you know that! So tell me, why all this protest?”

And Mikha’el, proud Mikha’el, would bite down on this teeth again.

Breathe. In, out, like Helel showed him. If he could, he’d vomit out this anger, shed his skin, and return to his true form just so he could eat God.

But, he could not remember all of his form yet. Even with seven moons, his memory was patchwork. Some things stuck too well; others felt like a whisper, a lie.

Breathe. In,

Out,

“I pray you would at least have some grace for my plight, Creator. Have I not told you how many times I have wandered Courts of the Dead to find my Inferno again? And how these false gods have invaded my home, hurt my people, then keep trapping me in that stupid chalice?”(6)

Mikha’el frowns again, feels the sharp sting in his eyes. He did not want this being to witness weakness, for it was not for Him that he wept.

But, he could not control it. He saw the softness in Elohim’s expression, one hand over His heart as He bore witness.

So it all came out like vomit, anyway: that it hurt him to not remember so much of his own life, angry about being tacked with a fate from his long dead Father that he couldn’t fulfill because of those filthy fucking heretic gods,

And that, while grateful to be out and a body again, he already felt like a stranger in a strange land(7),

And Helel was – well, Mikha’el could not describe it any other way. Helel and the promise to God were the only things keeping him from wanting to tear his skin off and leap off the edge of Paradise.

“. . .Forgive me, Mikha’el, for earlier.” And though Mikha’el would fight back the tears, not wanting Elohim to see him do that at least, Elohim would do it for him, tears streaming from His closed eyes. “While I maintain that you must keep focused and prepare to take your duties more seriously, I have not forgotten your plight. I think about what it would be if I were dead and Helel were forced to roam alone for so long, no care or guidance given to him . . “

God sighs. The next Devil must always bear the brunt of the cosmos’ cruel jokes in order to take their Throne.

“Mikha’el . . .the pain you feel, please, lay them down before Me so that I may ease your burden and help you grow into your role.”

God. God! God made no sense, none at all. One minute He’s barking up Mikha’el’s ass for the way he expresses his feelings for Helel; the next, He is all ears and trying to guide him!(8)

“Ugh, I’m not about to pray right now, if that’s what you want.”

That’s enough to stop Elohim’s tears. He laughs, this one quieter but mocking.

“Pray? As if! While I do love beautiful poetry as a form of worship, I sense much anger you haven’t worked through. Be more clever when you think about how you lay your burdens down to Me.”

And Elohim takes a stance: on one talon alone, He lifts His other leg, bends it at the knee so He is poised like a flamingo. The wings, a pure black even Mikha’el cannot gaze into head on, drip and shift like oil, reflecting all the stars above and beyond(9).

God, indeed.

“Remember: I would have you for all your days, whether you love me or hate me, praise me or curse me.”

And Mikha’el understands now, really understands where he did not before. This was God, above gods, all gods, because He would do what no other could: be with you for all of your days, for better or worse, and still have the nerve to ask ‘when will you get better?’

DIVINE!

“You don’t make a lot of sense.” Mikha’el flares his wings again. This time, Elohim permits it, seeing to it the Forest is protected because He too was in a mood to brawl. “And I still think you’re a huge Bastard that I’m not sure I trust,”

But,

” I see you love a good challenge, Creator. . .something every other god has forgotten to accept into their hearts. For this, I will indeed remember you for all of your days.”

Despite the threat of His stance, Elohim just smiles, serenely; blissfully.

“I knew I didn’t let a loser into my court. “

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(1)A reoccuring joke about how Jesus Christ does not exist in this timeline yet, but will because it’s just Got To Happen and everybody knows it.

(2)Israfil is Raphael’s name when he was in Kemet (Egypt). In Hebrew, it means “Healer of God.”

(3)Both Raphael and Mikha’el served under Osiris’ court in the Land of the Dead (Duat) some few centuries ago. A failed rebellion resulted in Michael being trapped in the Fire, forced to watch Anubis (their direct overseer) beat Raphael in punishment.

(4)See previous post here.

(5)Just like Helel/Lucifer is the son of God and meant to take The Throne, so too is Mikha’el the son of Abbadon, pure Primordial Chaos itself. As the firstborn, he too is designated the next in line for The Throne and is therefore the next Devil/”Satan” (Adversary).

(6)Serving under Elohim makes this Mikha’el’s 3rd attempt to take his land back (The Inferno) from false gods.

(7)Reference to Stranger in a Strange land, a 1960’s Sci-Fi Novel by Robert A. Heinlein. The main character, Valentine Michael Smith, is the only surviving Martian that starts a blaspheming cult on Earth and reveals himself to be an incarnation of the Archangel Michael. Therefore, Mikha’el says this both because he is a natural heretic AND because he longs for his ‘real’ home so he CAN be the blasphemer.

(8)Elohim/God is a reflection of all Creations. As Mikha’el moves through his emotional state, God reflects it back onto him (within reason).

(9)This is a reference to Ferroh Fluid, a dark, reactive liquid that prickles and changes shape. This is a reference to God being the eternal hum beneath the Universe.