Untitled Story
About
Stories here are about all of my original characters, but they are mostly focused on Feather. Feather is a 19 year old from a small mining town who dreams of living in Akins City on the other side of the continent.Stories here are short format, "episodic" and posted on a chronological timeline. They will be written out of order sometimes, but will always appear chronologically on the timeline/table of contents.
Contact
The best place to reach me is somewhere with DM's!
Prologue
“I have made a mistake. I’m so sorry.”Lazarus watched the light in his lover’s eyes fade out, his quivering hands still cupping the tiger’s face in his hands, small beads of bright red blood surfacing as his shaking claws punctured the feline’s cheeks.“Have you learned nothing, Lazarus?” A deep voice came from behind the kneeling canine, with a tone of something Lazarus could only describe as mockery. Lazarus looked up, away from the tiger’s face, but did not turn around. He let the body lightly fall to the ground, before standing up, an ache in his knees as he did so. His chest felt as if it was being squeezed as he took one last look at his lover. The tiger’s body had been so strong in life, enough to even pick Lazarus up and carry him if he wished it. Now, however, his body seemed so frail, his white satin robes seemed to be covering him in a way to desperately preserve modesty but nothing more, as if mere hours before the robes had not stretched around the feline perfectly accenting his frame.Lazarus turned now, facing the voice that spoke moments ago. Lazarus’s bare paws felt cool on the marble surface below him, and he took a moment to think about how he might very well be the first to stand in such a place. The realm of Teaphis was surrounded by space, swirling galaxies and stars in the distance. Just a few feet behind him was the edge of the realm, dropping off into the universe below. It was on the outside of the walls protecting the realm, where angels without direct permission were prohibited from going.Before him, standing in front of said wall, were four figures with weapons at the ready and huge celestial wings that looked as if they were made from the cosmos themselves. The speaker, Adellum the Powerful, stood mighty with his blade drawn, waiting for a reply from the canine. When he realized Lazarus would not answer him, he took a step forward but stopped when a lynx behind him put a commanding hand on Adellum’s shoulder.Instead the lynx stepped forward, offering Lazarus a small, pleading ghost of a smile. This was Ramiel the Wise, perhaps the most sensible of the four Council members. He gripped his staff tightly, and Lazarus did not miss the subtle movement.“Lazarus, dear one,” Ramiel started and hesitated, as if he did not mean the fondness in his voice, “Lazarus, we have warned you about your obsession with the mortals.”He spread his arms out, as if inviting an explanation from Lazarus, but still the canine remained silent. Hesitantly, Ramiel glanced back at the three other Council members, as if for guidance on what to do next. Obviously, this interaction was not how the Council had expected this confrontation to go. Adellum still stood with his hands on his blade, bristling at Lazarus, while the two others, a dragon who’s scales glittered with celestial starlight, and a fox with fur that seemed prismatic in the right light, stood saying nothing.Ramiel felt that this was all very typical, he and Adellum were the ones who dealt with the very few conflicts in Teaphis. He looked back to Lazarus, the angel who had not stopped giving them issues for millenia.“Lazarus, you show too much love for the mortals!” Ramiel stated, laughing as if he had just told a joke. His laughter echoed in the space around them, no one else here shared in on the humorous sentiment. Ramiel could feel Adellum shift angrily beside him.“First, you loved that doe from centuries ago! Lazarus, you were so torn up when that flood swept her away. After her, it was that bear who had a long, long life and was a loyal follower of Teaphis! Those, among countless others! Now, this tiger! Lazarus, why did you bring him here? You know that mortals cannot come to Teaphis.”“Why not?” Was Lazarus’s reply, a snarl ripping through him, and he took a step toward the Council, “We trick these mortals into believing they should not fear death, that they will get to live in Teaphis until the end of time! Why should we not fulfill that promise?”The dragon stepped up now, before Ramiel could reply. He walked past Ramiel, his teeth bared. He stopped in front of Lazarus, and in one sweeping motion he grabbed Lazarus’s robes at the chest, pulling the canine’s face inches from his own. Lazarus flinched as he felt the dragon’s hot breath of his face.“We do not fulfill that promise,” Briathos the Revered growled, his long teeth snapping in front of Lazarus’s nose, “Because mortals are born to die. They are born for us to harvest their beliefs and thoughts, and keep Teaphis in perfect balance.” He cast Lazarus aside, the canine stumbling before falling over onto the marble with an echoing thud.“Banishment!” Adellum yelled, somewhere to the side of Lazarus. He lay on the ground, defeated, the energy had been drained from him and the will to go on flickered out like a candle’s soft flame. The word stabbed at him, but did not come as a surprise.Lazarus turned his head in time to see Briathos walking to the body of the mortal tiger, and pick him with ease. The muscular body of the feline looked like a child’s doll in the arms of the massive dragon. In a swift few steps that spanned several feet of distance at a time, the dragon effortlessly dropped the tiger’s body over the realm’s edge, doomed to fall into the void of space for all of eternity. Lazarus felt his mouth go dry, but could not make a sound. Instead he closed his eyes and awaited the fate the Council would give him, but it was not hard to guess.“I agree with banishment.” Briathos said, Lazarus could hear his huge, clawed feet taking steps past him to rejoin the other members of the Council. With some hesitation, Ramiel spoke his agreement.All that was left was Ioath the Just. She had said nothing before this moment, but it was not unusual. Of all of the Council, Ioath was the most stoic of the group. Lazarus suspected it was because she was the only female member, and while ideals were different in Teaphis than in the mortal realm, sometimes societies tended to mesh together.“Lazarus,” She finally said after a long while, “Lazarus, we have given you so many chances. We have turned a blind eye far too many times. We said nothing when you would sneak out of Teaphis to go to Ohaes. We said nothing when you loved these mortals and joined in their lustful acts. But, Lazarus, we cannot look past you bringing a mortal to Teaphis. What would we tell the other angels? That they can just bring mortals here on any whim? They could not stay here, so what would happen when the mortal goes back? They would tell everyone that this is not an afterlife, and how we use their belief to keep our society going and that we lie to them.”Lazarus said nothing, his eyes still closed as a single tear leaked out and rolled down his cheek.“What say you, Ioath?” Adellum’s voice boomed, impatient.Ioath was silent for some time, as if truly contemplating. As if she was torn up about her decision. Silent long enough that it gave Lazarus some spark of home.“Banishment.” She said finally, without a trace of remorse in her voice.At this, Lazarus pushed himself up, just in time to see Briathos and Adellum charging toward him. Without thinking, he turned and ran toward the edge, a few shouts of shock behind him. He jumped over the edge into the void of space, tumbling down as if gravity was pulling on him.Lazarus fell for a long time, long enough that the sensation of falling he could feel in the pit of his stomach had subsided. The feeling was replaced with anger now, his body felt as though it was quivering with rage. Anger at himself for being so careless, but also anger at the Council for what they did, and will continue to do. A stupid mistake was made, and now he would be falling like this for the rest of his life, passing by galaxies spirling around him but out of reach.It wasn’t long until the world around him got darker, like he truly was falling into a void instead of the endless reaches of the universe. Lazarus also noticed himself slowing down, his body starting to turn what felt like upright with his feet below him. He slowed and slowed, and finally, his feet touched solid ground.