"None shall do harm to the fabric of the Planes, nor stand by idly while harm is done. This Law is absolute and punishable by death."
Who knew better how to circumvent the first Law than those created to enforce it' The destruction was vast and as far as her sharp eyes could see but none of it impacted the Plane itself. This particular Plane had been teeming with life, a variety that rivaled all the other Planes for its diversity and uniqueness.
Her boots squished as she landed on the blood-soaked ground, her wings contracting to a tight fit around her shoulders as she surveyed the field. Bones, random body parts, seared flesh and the sounds of a few wretched creatures that had not yet expired. There was a thousand, perhaps two thousand dead, who could say when there were so few creatures left whole.
Drawing in a shallow breath as she moved through the maze of parts, her eyes silver disks as she pushed with her technomancy, searching for whatever it was that had drawn her hence. She was the First Scout of the Brigade and this did not look like a situation where her skills would be useful but there had to be something. When she sensed the tug, earlier in the day, it had been strong enough that she thought, at first, that the Creator had returned and was guiding her steps.
Two months into the war between her brethren and the Creator was still silent, they had gone over lines that should never have been crossed. Her heart felt as heavy as her boots were becoming as they soaked up the blood she stepped through as though it was water in a marshy land. The thought that there were worlds that mistook the Brigade for heavenly beings, a term she had not known until she did research, came to mind as she surveyed the work of her kin. "Our halos have slipped down, we wear them about our throats and wait for the Creator to dare choke us with our arrogance." There was some small part of her that rebelled against that thought, she was still loyal to her Creator; still followed the Laws that were writ upon bone, sinew and soul. She should have seen this coming, she gathered information on the dangers that the Planes faced and yet here she stood....as bewildered by the recent events as this wretched souls that dared to make the Planes their home and not be Brigade.
"Can one make amends to the dead?" The words were soft and without emotion, a common affliction for a member of the Brigade. What emotions they had begun to cultivate seemed to be the ones that should have been avoided; avarice, gluttony, lust, wrath, pride, envy....they had taken a page out of someone else's book and used it as a manual for the things they should achieve.
"No, one cannot." The voice was known to her and it contained emotions that Hannah had not yet been able to fully comprehend. Oh the words and definitions for such things were easy enough to recite but to feel those things" They used words she did not feel to describe other emotions, it was a circular path that lead her no closer to being able to honestly say she felt anything other than loyalty. "We must satisfy ourselves with making amends to those that remain." Ileana had appeared close by, leaning over as she spoke to check one of the bodies at her feet.
"And if we cannot?" Hannah asked as she turned to face the healer, curiosity peeked, there was no reason for Ileana to be here now, her skills — as great as they were — could not restore the dead.
"Then we continue and try to be true to ourselves, Hannah. We do not have to allow the actions of our kin define us." Her hands were reaching out to rest on the body now. There was a spike of technomancy that Hannah could feel even from the distance and a moment later the body that Ileana touch jerked and spasmed, a raspy breath filling unwilling lungs. It was then that Hannah realized that it was one of the Brigade.
"Wait! Ileana, he is with Michael." A warning as her sister mended an enemy.
"Yes, I know. You would have me do less for my kin" Even if they are lead astray' I should allow him to expire?" The words were spoken in a calm tone but they bit hard into Hannah's soul and she was silent. "We can make amends with those that still live, Hannah, but that path is a difficult a path to walk." She looked down, the man was Ethan, she knew him well...had thought she'd known him well. "We should go, he will be mobile in a few minutes." And from the look in his eyes as they fluttered open and saw Ileana she suspected he would attempt to capture her and bring her to Alexander...it seemed one of their main goals at this point in the war.
"Ileana, I.." Hannah began but Ileana cut her off with a raised hand. "I know. We are still trying to sort out how to live this life. I trust that you will make decisions that will align with my own, Hannah."
"That man, that human....he has...." Hannah began again but the words became unimportant as she saw that Ethan was recovering faster than anticipated. She closed the distance and a hand reached out to grab Ileana, pulling them both to another Plane in the blink of an eye.
Her boots squished as she landed on the blood-soaked ground, her wings contracting to a tight fit around her shoulders as she surveyed the field. Bones, random body parts, seared flesh and the sounds of a few wretched creatures that had not yet expired. There was a thousand, perhaps two thousand dead, who could say when there were so few creatures left whole.
Drawing in a shallow breath as she moved through the maze of parts, her eyes silver disks as she pushed with her technomancy, searching for whatever it was that had drawn her hence. She was the First Scout of the Brigade and this did not look like a situation where her skills would be useful but there had to be something. When she sensed the tug, earlier in the day, it had been strong enough that she thought, at first, that the Creator had returned and was guiding her steps.
Two months into the war between her brethren and the Creator was still silent, they had gone over lines that should never have been crossed. Her heart felt as heavy as her boots were becoming as they soaked up the blood she stepped through as though it was water in a marshy land. The thought that there were worlds that mistook the Brigade for heavenly beings, a term she had not known until she did research, came to mind as she surveyed the work of her kin. "Our halos have slipped down, we wear them about our throats and wait for the Creator to dare choke us with our arrogance." There was some small part of her that rebelled against that thought, she was still loyal to her Creator; still followed the Laws that were writ upon bone, sinew and soul. She should have seen this coming, she gathered information on the dangers that the Planes faced and yet here she stood....as bewildered by the recent events as this wretched souls that dared to make the Planes their home and not be Brigade.
"Can one make amends to the dead?" The words were soft and without emotion, a common affliction for a member of the Brigade. What emotions they had begun to cultivate seemed to be the ones that should have been avoided; avarice, gluttony, lust, wrath, pride, envy....they had taken a page out of someone else's book and used it as a manual for the things they should achieve.
"No, one cannot." The voice was known to her and it contained emotions that Hannah had not yet been able to fully comprehend. Oh the words and definitions for such things were easy enough to recite but to feel those things" They used words she did not feel to describe other emotions, it was a circular path that lead her no closer to being able to honestly say she felt anything other than loyalty. "We must satisfy ourselves with making amends to those that remain." Ileana had appeared close by, leaning over as she spoke to check one of the bodies at her feet.
"And if we cannot?" Hannah asked as she turned to face the healer, curiosity peeked, there was no reason for Ileana to be here now, her skills — as great as they were — could not restore the dead.
"Then we continue and try to be true to ourselves, Hannah. We do not have to allow the actions of our kin define us." Her hands were reaching out to rest on the body now. There was a spike of technomancy that Hannah could feel even from the distance and a moment later the body that Ileana touch jerked and spasmed, a raspy breath filling unwilling lungs. It was then that Hannah realized that it was one of the Brigade.
"Wait! Ileana, he is with Michael." A warning as her sister mended an enemy.
"Yes, I know. You would have me do less for my kin" Even if they are lead astray' I should allow him to expire?" The words were spoken in a calm tone but they bit hard into Hannah's soul and she was silent. "We can make amends with those that still live, Hannah, but that path is a difficult a path to walk." She looked down, the man was Ethan, she knew him well...had thought she'd known him well. "We should go, he will be mobile in a few minutes." And from the look in his eyes as they fluttered open and saw Ileana she suspected he would attempt to capture her and bring her to Alexander...it seemed one of their main goals at this point in the war.
"Ileana, I.." Hannah began but Ileana cut her off with a raised hand. "I know. We are still trying to sort out how to live this life. I trust that you will make decisions that will align with my own, Hannah."
"That man, that human....he has...." Hannah began again but the words became unimportant as she saw that Ethan was recovering faster than anticipated. She closed the distance and a hand reached out to grab Ileana, pulling them both to another Plane in the blink of an eye.