"When time was young and the world but a thought, we were discovered. Maybe they discovered us or maybe we discovered them, there's nothing to be gained from discussing that point. Understand that there were only seven of us and there were hundreds of them. We, by our very natures, were much more powerful then they were, but as I've said, they were many and we were few." The angel paused in his odd speech, but he kept on pacing in the front of the room. Already, a strange change was taking place. His armor was still gray, the hood was still faded. But there was some semblance of light there, some change in the sullen tones. A gloved hand lifted and turned, slowly pointing to himself.

"We allowed them to create their pets in our worlds, the wingless ones. So long as they understood that these were our worlds, we did not see a problem with this state of affairs. But the lesser angels did understand that the wingless ones, mortals, would never submit to such rules. They understood that sooner or later, we would go to war with them." Again, the creature paused and shrugged. Of this, he knows far too much.

"This lesson is simply an overview, and so we will discuss the reasons behind the first war at a later date. You see, we are perfect." Here, the angel paused and bent at the waist, not wanting the arrogance to go unnoticed. "We do not suffer from pride or jealousy or the things that seem to do so much harm. We could not understand. Not until it was too late. Not until evil had infected the hearts of man. When this was known to the council, there was a vote. Five votes in favor of exterminatus, two not in favor. I did not vote to exterminate the mortals, but I was chosen to do so." The first sign of life flared up behind the hood, a dull red glow.

"But I had lived among the mortals for too long, I had started to care about them. They were my flock and I was the wolf. They were my children and I was Death, waiting to take them back home with me when the journey was over. Do you see the problem?" Azreal paused, almost waiting for an answer that wouldn't come. "I would not destroy them. I lead them in a war against the council, and this was the start of the Pandemonium Wars. I taught the mortals to hate my kind and I taught them that we were not to be trusted. Do you see that' The point is this. Intentions matter not, only results. I tried and I failed. In the end, I simply failed."

"As you may or may not know, the world is not a living being. It simply doesn't care. I rescind that, it's not able to care. The point of this lecture will be to drive that idea home. We, as living beings, don't matter very much in the eyes of all that has been and all that has yet to be. Even angels, my friends. My life is long, but in the grand scheme of things, it is not much more than a drop of rain in the middle of a storm." Here, the hooded angel stopped and shrugged. Had he a face, it would have shown wry amusement. "The world is ordered into two distinct differences. All magic stems from these two. Order and chaos, my friends. I am no mage, but I wield both of these notions with ease, for I am made of both of them. However, I would consider neither of them my true calling. For when there is order, the must be chaos. And from chaos, order must rise. This leads us to the balance. That is where my kin are involved. We are charged with keeping the balance between the two, yes. If you will, link your fingers together, and imagine one hand as chaos, one as balance. Now pull on one or the other. The other set of fingers gives, yes" It might even hurt, yes" This is the same with chaos and order. Where one advances, the other must fall. That is not balance, not at all. Now, the spaces in between your fingers, that is balance. You may release your hands now.

"Regardless, the point is this. When I am forced to call a plane my home, it is a world called Candar, where an order of the White battles the Black. Chaos for the White, order for the Black. They destroy and they ruin, they burn and the shatter in the name of such trivial ideas. What they do not understand is that they fight a war that no one can win. When Recluce adds more order, the world balances and gives Fairhaven more chaos, do you see" Where one exists, the other must. There is no right in the world, there is no wrong. There is no good, there is no evil. There is only relativity, circumstance and reality. Keep in mind that reality knows no good and no evil, no black and white. It, and creatures like me, can only understand what is there and what is not. Some call me insane, and they might be right. Order-mad, I have been called. Chaos-tainted, they have called me. Both may be right, but what does it matter" Only by seeing both sides of the fence may we understand the horse's plight. I ask not that you straddle the fence and make no decision, but I ask that you understand each and every angle before you act, for each action, I assure you, will be mirrored.?

"And with that knowledge, we are given power. Much, much power. You see, society is not designed to increase anything, it is simply designed to control things. If there is an idea in society, that say, killing is wrong, we have murder, no' Murder, to you, is a crime, correct' To me, it isn't. You might call me a criminal, as I readily admit to consistent and premeditated killing. I enjoy it, actually. So, am I a murderer" By your laws, yes."

Here, the ghastly image of the celestial creature broke into a quick grin. As of late, the man's face had changed. Before, there had been easy humor, quick respect and a ready smile for the word. Only rarely did he lower the glamour and turn those flat black eyes on someone, the stare of a man who contemplates how to kill you, the arrogance of a creature who knows that, given time, he can do such a thing. Now, it's rare to see the smile.

"But, I am only a murderer by your laws, not mine. And who, in the end, will judge me" Myself. You see, some people, certain people, call me arrogant, they think me insufferable. They may be right, but again, I don't care. That, my friends, is key. That, my friends, is why I lost the war I speak so of so often. You may wonder why I rant. I am simply showing you my mistakes in the hopes that you will not make the same ones. I lost that war because I attempted to adhere to society and all of it's rules. That was a mistake. Who cares what the world calls you? I know what I am, you know what you are. Be that, for that is all you can be, and if that is not enough, then die knowing you lived a truth and died a martyr, for someone will always revere your memory. Inspire someone with truth, no matter how cold, no matter how callous. I am a creature of order, perfect order and justice. Call me a murderer, I call myself a giver of a gift. Life is hard, death is easy. You say I take life" No, I say I give death. So, who is wrong, you or I? I suppose it is a matter of faith, of will, maybe even of conviction' If it is such, know that you will not win that fight, for none hold the faith as well as the Host. Regardless, I rant, my students. Be yourself. I say this in response to certain events, certain people wanting us to register, certain people wanting to prosecute us for who we are. I say it again, be yourself, and if they want a reason to prosecute you, give them one, by all means. If they call you a murderer, you might as well be one..."

"So tell me, have you apologized?" Dev paced the front of the class, wearing the suit, minus the jacket. His sleeves were rolled up. Dark boots, as always, clicked on the floor. "Did you? I did."

He turned to stare at the class, and nodded when a few people spoke up. The benefits of his teaching style made sense now. He can't be lied to, so there's that. "I tell you, I did. Now, we went about this the long way, and we're at the end of the war before we even started talkin' 'bout it. But, I jus' won it, las' night. I ended it on my terms, you see" By apologizin'." He paused again, this time for the drama, and sat down on his desk, hands folded on his lap. "I admitted how wrong I was, an' it was so, so easy. You see, I been livin' the wrong way. How, you ask, does an Arch Angel apologize" He admits he was wrong. All this time, I fought this war with shackles on, with never bein' able to understand my true power. I thought I was jus' a weapon, no emotion' no nothin'. By my Father, I was so very wrong, so very, very wrong. Unburden yourself, my friends, unburden yourselves. You see, this session is 'bout me, seein' as how I'm the one who started this war, an' I'm the one who ended it. I wear these shackles of guilt, I wore these chains of hate an' I knew I had to sacrifice somethin', but I didn't know what. I knew I had to repent, an' I fought hate wit' anger, I hid sorrow behin' hurt an' I lost betrayal behind jealousy. You see what I'm gettin' at' I hid wrong behind wrong, an' I never thought there was any other way. People hated me, so I hated 'em right back, an' I never once thought 'Damn it Dev, jus' stop. Jus' quit it. Give it up.' That's what I needed to do, all along. I was too arrogant, too wrapped up in my own hurt, you see" I let that cloud my eyes, I let that darken my soul until I was close to the end, my friends, the very end. Don't walk that line, please." Dev shrugged and began pacing once more.

"Thousands of decades ago, I made promises. I would defend you all, I would die for you all, I would do anything to save the mortal races, and I failed. I let that destroy me, and I thought that by destroying those who posed a threat to you, I would atone for the deaths I had caused. Killing, my friends, will never rectify death. Revenge is not for me, nor is it for you. Revenge is for that ancient killer, Time, that most perfect killer. I did this, I fell, I fought and I lived for one thing." Dev raised his hand and pointed it back to the room. "Love. I fought for love, and I lost that along the way. I lost the ability to understand love, or I stopped wanting to. It took a moment's weakness last night for me to learn that. I was afraid, my friends, that the one I love, the one who loves me, was walking away. I hurt, I was afraid and I cried. I made promises to you, and I made them to her, I made them all out of love, an' I ask myself, how did I get so far" Well, my friends, I am far from what I should be, but should it take eternity to atone, I will do this, for myself and out of love. Those promises I made to you, I will take back upon my shoulders, an' those made to those I love will become my goal. Devotion, my friends, devotion separates a fighter from a warrior. A fighter fights to kill, a warrior fights to defend, to protect. Now, I ask you, which will you be?" Dev stared for a moment, the words laden with passion and belief, a quiet intensity that could not be faked.

"Now, see how the simple act of apologizing, the simple act of self sacrifice can change such a creature as stands before you. Yesterday, my wings were black and they called me an abyssal. Now, through an apology, I stand before you, First of the Fallen, Last of the Risen, Azreal, the Angel of Death. With love, I stand again in the glory. An' wit' love, wit' humility, wit' conviction an' devotion, where will you stand" How far might you rise, my friends? Be true to who an' what you are, for that truth will pave the road to serenity, an' that path will show you that there is no need for anger, no need for hate. When you act, better someone, rather then tear them down. I implore you, my friends, I beg of you. Use me as an example, a flawed creature who begged forgiveness, a flawed creature who said one simple thing..."

Dev shrugged and stared down at the floor and paused, ending with another long shrug. "I admitted that I was wrong. Please, do the same, should you be wrong. I ask for no conversion, for I am affiliated with no church. I am simply an example, an' if I fall into a church, it would have to be that of humanity."

"On second thoughts, we go now." After his words that ended the last class, he stood in front today, looking as calm as any creature possibly could. However, there is always a calm before the storm. "You all will follow behind me, not a step to the side, not a step to the front. When I tell you, you will stop and stand behind me. I will create enough of a barrier so that you will be safe. Now, when I open the Gate, you will walk into it behind me."

The killer has rarely felt such an anger as this. This time, however, it was a different sort of anger. Rather then rage with no target, it found an easy target. With emotions open, the man was exposed to a level of self hatred that not even his arrogance could push aside. Bottling his emotions, however, has never been his forte.

With a hurried motion, he spelled a single word in the same language, forgotten by time itself. The letter burned itself into the air in front of him, and within seconds, had erupted in black flames that grew steadily, wrapping around the pillars and licking that the walls in front of Dev. "I'll go first." Easily, he stepped into the fyre and glanced around. All was well, in his world. Quickly, he assumed his armor, allowing the cold metal to encase his body, waiting as the hood dropped over the face of death. With another thought, he willed his wings into existence, the web of light that twisted behind him. He'd not felt this in some time, the unbridled power of a Prime on his own place, on the Middle Planes. Transcendence filled his hand, the webbed wings of metal wrapping around the scarred armor that sealed the creature behind it. His other hand reached back into the rip behind him, curled fingers beckoning the students behind him. One by one, they followed, and one by one, he marked them off and marked them for protection. "Follow." He spoke in a voice that came from nowhere, a sound that had no start and no end. In this dead world, sound came to life under the hood, hope given life, life given death, death given hope.

His feet kicked grey dust each time his weight landed on the ground, and he gestured towards his side with the empty hand. "This, my friends, is what worlds look like when they die. This, my friends, is the promise we are all made, that final, ultimate promise. I will die when you all die, each and every mortal soul. I will end here, but you will not. For this is why we fought. Before I was Azreal, I was the Keeper of Secrets. I wondered why mortal souls must come to places like this, must come to the Hell kept behind these Gates. I researched, I followed and I found my answers. Some souls stayed as ghosts, and some souls came here willingly. I watched, I waited and I understood. I loved, I respected and I admired mortals, who do so much with so little time. You who die so quickly are but a flash in the night, yet you burn so brightly." His hand took in the bleak desolation, the sheer nothingness that is death for the unwary. The hills remained, the city remained, but there was nothing, simply faded grey dust and ruined buildings, blocks crumbling into nothing. "We, I, fought for this for so very, very long."

He lapsed into silence, his wings lighting the way. Beyond them, darkness reigned, reality became the stuff of nightmares. From the darkness, life stirred. Odd shouts, twisted words and pleas that fell on deaf ears. The killer, this bringer of ruin would not hear them. Not this time, not the last time. "Ignore them, for they are the souls of the damned, those that I could not save. Mortals fear death, but death is a gift. I am here to ensure this, that you do not come here when you die." The voices grew, the shouts came closer, and they were given form. Twisted bodies of grey shadows hardly formed me, but somehow walked towards the group. Azreal gave a chilling laugh, a sound that pooled around the void that lived under the hood. With barely a thought, he fanned fingers towards the shadows and pulled on the strings he held so well. From each finger, a stream of black fire grew. As soon as the fyre touched the souls of the damned, they faded away amid pleas, consigned back to the Hell he had created for them. "Those were the souls I could not save. For my research and my love of mortals, I ultimately fell. I could not destroy you when I was ordered to eliminate these Planes. I could not end humanity as a whole, for I loved you. Each and every one of you, the ones I did not see, the ones who would not see me. We are one, you see, as the flock is to the sheep herder. But, we are not here to see that, we are here to see this." While he had been talking, he had been moving ever closer to the massive Gates. "Stand behind me, so that you may see." He turned around, for a second, and slurred a hiss of speech to his wings. They, in answer, fell and shattered on the dead ground, a million tiny lights dancing in their own glow. Another word passed, and his hand rose, willing the broken light to form a web around the class. When he turned, he did so with a new set of wings, drawn from the almost endless well of chaos he lived in. "These, my friends, are the Pandemonium Gates." He gestured once more.

As black as sin itself, the metal rose, twisted from a twisted land. There was a cold beauty in the metal, a cold perfection that no man could fathom. Within them, should one look, one would see the ruined dreams written on the metal, hope having died in a place like this. "They stand behind the Gates, which I will soon open for a moment." Soon, being key. Azreal stepped to the door and glanced through it, objects having no meaning to him in this world. In this world, his world, he was matched by a single creature in power. This dead world, this is what he had bought with his blood so many years ago, so that he alone would inhabit it. He peered behind it and recoiled, as he always did. "How was I so wrong?"

He spoke softly, and a hand pressed on the door. The hand looked simple but Azreal threw his entire will behind the gesture, a form of magic long lost to time. The students, however, would be able to feel it, the flare of hope in this desolate land, the light that radiated around the specter, perfect in his ruined beauty. Slowly, the door opened. As soon as it did, the angel's body marred the view, and Transcendence lit his path. Before him, his age old fight stood, his age old purpose became real. For a short time, he danced, a wonderful pattern that left thousands dead before him, souls already lost and banished. Slowly, he lowered the blade and spoke again, in his own tongue, willing his wings to fall once more, willing them to create yet another barrier, this time behind the Gates. When he turned to the class, he wore yet another set of wings, drawn from the same well. "We don't have much time. My wings will only hold for a few moments, unless they are attached to me. As we see, they are not. Also, Aglalis does not know that I am here. I would think that we should be gone before he realizes." He turned once more, and pointed into the world behind the gates. Forms more hideous then before slammed against the wall his wings made, shadows that lived only in the nightmares of the world's most twisted minds. They begged, they pleaded but they had no anger. They simply wanted out, out from this Hell that the Angel of Death had formed for them. "Those are who I could not save. Those are who went willingly into the depths of sin. I hate, I rage, I kill, I murder, I am everything that you should not be. I am sin, I am lies, I abuse, I am death. I am false, I am real, I am dead and I am alive. I alone can be those things, for this is my purpose. I stand here as an example. When I die, I will follow them into the depths of Hell, and I will wage one more battle. I will give you time to leave, I will let the souls in Hell leave, but I will stay. I have killed, I have cheated, I have lied, I have hurt and I have laughed. The point, my friends, is this. Should you follow in my foot steps, you will be here, along side me. I ask for no army, I have done this to myself, even more as of late. I understand my purpose and I accept my sacrifice." He shrugged and gestured away from the Gates, a hint that the class should leave. "He knows, and he will not follow. But look, look upon the face of hatred." Over his shoulder, he glanced back at his old foe, his other half. Aglalis stood, a hand laid on the wall.

"I will come for you, Azreal."

The Angel bowed a single time and then turned to leave. "I know."

No more was needed, not for those who understood each other so well. "We go, now." Before his wings fell apart, he opened yet another rip in reality and willed the class in before him. When he followed, he did so as a man, looking rather deflated. "So, you see the wages of hate and how pointless it is. Because I hated, I created that world and because I hated, I have locked myself into a fight I will never win. A cycle can be started, but it can rarely end. Think on this and what you have seen. We will return soon enough, and you will see what happens when he and I fight. You will learn what happens when Hope fights Hate. He may defeat me, each and every time, but I stand before you. As long as one of you lives, I will have hope. As long as one of you stands, I will stand beside you. No homework, just think."