The Amaranth Chronicles

[Avalon]

Book 1: Avan
Prologue
It all began aeons ago, when Man's ancestors picked up a shard of strange red rock. Its power, which was beyond human comprehension, cultivated dreams. In turn, love and hate were born. The stone, combined with the imagination of its uses for human-kind, gave birth to the mighty gods and goddesses that roam the earth today. They were beings of ultimate creation, able to shape nature and the human mind to their will.

The following stories center around one family of such immortals in particular. Without the contributions of this family, human-kind would not have existed as long or as peacefully as it has. Born from a single man's will to protect the innocent lives of human beings from the ultimate Evil, this family continues to echo behind the scenes of history, as it has for nearly an eternity. These are the stories of the Amaranth family and their eternal struggle with the balance of Good and Evil. These are the Amaranth Chronicles.

Chapter 1: Infectious Evil
Dawn. The only thing between me and my trial now was Dawn, that momentous time of day when all of the angels gather to watch the sun rise to bring the world to wakefullness. But for me, it would not be so, for I was to be given the test of my years. I awoke at the break of day, and came to my Lord's great throne, bowing before him. My wings spread, all 6 pairs, and I knelt before my Lord and Master, God. "Great Lord, what doth thou asketh of me?"

With a soft turn of his cheek, for only angels know what God truly looks like, my Lord looked down at me. Not to me, at me, like I was some sort of dog who had just tracked mud through its master's house. With his booming voice, he said to me, "Young Avankiri, Angel of Peace, I beseech you. Harken to me, and hear my request. There is a great being coming here. I know not its name, only that it appears as a great, golden dragon, with six heads and red eyes on each of these heads. I hath sent for Micheal and Lucifer. Wilst thou join them, and keep this great beast from our Kingdom of Heaven, where his terrible power may do great harm?"

At this, I stood at once, my great sword, Tsuriga, drawn at an instant to shine brightly in the light. "This is thy wish, and so it shall be done." I turned from my Lord, leaving the Kingdom Gates and meeting Lucifer and Micheal, whom I had played with as children. And we went to the aid of our Kingdom, blades drawn to defeat the beast who would be known as Satan.

We looked to the east, then the west. After a moment, we turned our attention to the far north, and there we saw it; a monstrous dragon with golden scales and many heads, rede eyes glaring at everything that stood before it. One head reared back, spewing forth great blasts of fire, and Micheal stepped forward, his own flaming sword drawn. "Avankiri, Lucifer, keep ye close. This monster can not dare to stand against the three of us combined!" Lucifer and myself nodded, then brought up the rear. Lucifer was on the left, and I on the right. Within moments, the dragon was upon us.

It growled and roared at the three of us, its claws flinging at us with rage. Micheal lifted his blade and jumped, using his wings for an extra burst of air, before slamming his sword down, forcing the creature to its knees, where Lucifer and myself were able to attack it.

The dragon was unable to hold us back for much longer, and soon collapsed. Lucifer lifted his own sword and shouted out, as if to the entire universe, "Hear this, all! The dragon hath been defeated, and I, Lucifer, shalt smite its ruin upon the entire world, and it shall fall into the bowels of Hell from whence it came! Back, demon! Back, and never show thy face upon the world, our Lord, or our Kingdom of Heaven again!" With this, he struck the beast, and watched it fall from the clouds, streaming to the Earth. And when it had reached the world, a hole of immense size opened up to swallow it, and so the monster was gone from this world...

Lucifer smiled and turned to us as we went to report to our Lord God, who seemed very pleased with us. He thanked us all greatly, and patted each on the shoulder. Micheal returned to wherever he had been before his summoning, while Lucifer and I returned home.

Yes, for those of you who have read my story thus far and understood these Amaranthian words, which the Babylonians took and altered to create their own language, Lucifer and I lived in the same dwelling in Heaven. He and I were brothers by birth, blood, and soul, born from the same mother angel, I being the elder and Lucifer being the younger. We kept close all our long years, until that fateful day, when the terrible plague that had invaded Heaven and Lucifer in the short moments of Satan's attack finally took hold...That greatly destructive power that held all its horrible atrocities in a single word...That single, solitary, infectious Evil...

Chapter 2: A Change-of-Heart
I sighed as we reached home, sitting down in the soft cloud floor. Lucifer yawned and turned to the kitchen. "I will make dinner, big brother." Yes, even angels eat and drink, and get tired and sleep. Hard to believe, I know.

I nodded softly, sneezing and standing again, sitting in a small chair, staring into the fire as it warmed me, while Lucifer cooked in the kitchen. After dinner, we went to bed, but neither of us slept. Lucifer turned to face me. "Avankiri, I don't understand something."

As a good elder brother, I looked to him. "What is it, Lucifer?" He sat up, looking at our transparent ceiling to the stars. "God. He sendeth us out to do his bidding, and yet we reap none of the credit." At this, I sat up. "Our Lord worketh in mysterious ways...You need not question them."

Lucifer turned to me again. " What is this 'Our Lord'? He commands us, we go out, we do his work, and everyone else is none the wiser..."

Angered by his harsh words, I stood from my bed. "Thou wilt not speak of him in such a way! I will not have it!"

At this, Lucifer lay back down, shaking his head. "It's just not fair..." He closed his eyes, and lay in a fitfull sleep, while I sat in bed, looking to the sky. "My Lord, hallowed be thy name...Lead my brother not into temptation, but deliver him from whatever dark force may be pursuing his soul..." A moment later, I lay down, and was asleep in a moment.

(This is all I have. I'll try to get more in whenever possible.)[b]