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Bria the angel looked to the setting sun, taking solace in its gaze for a moment before returning her focus to the unpleasant murk in front of her. The swamp bordered the outskirts of Benalia's territory and had obstinately sat there providing shelter to all manner of malevolent beings for centuries. Now it was a stronghold for the Cabal, from which they could strike at and infiltrate nearby settlements.
Thus, these settlements had cried out for aid, and now both the Benalish military and the Church of Serra had been marshalled to meet the threat before it grew out of control. Of course, humans are horseback were no match for angels on the wing, and thus the divine host had arrived well ahead of their allies. Bria rankled at the delay; though she could see the dust cloud indicating the approach of the Benalish knights, it would be late evening before they arrived… perhaps even nightfall, when the Cabal would have every advantage!
“Patience, sister.” Bria glanced to her side; the source of the admonition was the leader of this host of angels, and Bria felt the slightest moment of shame that she had let her impatience show. For some reason, this brought a smile to her superior’s features.
“There is no need for that, Bria. In the past, I have harbored similar feelings of impatience, but it is important we recognize the value of our mortal allies, and respect their desire to aid us. They are capable of great acts of heroism and compassion, even without our guidance.”
“Of course, Sister. But would it not be wise to take the fight to the Cabal as soon as we can? Surely nothing good can come of delaying.” Bria felt the frustration within herself grow as her superior shook her head in response.
“The Cabal are wicked and craven, and many among their number are cowards, but they are also cunning, deadly, and ruthless. To act rashly would invite an early end for many… even amongst our own number. Please, Bria… there is a line between boldness and rashness.”
Bria glanced back at the approaching dust cloud. She could just about hear the clatter of hooves, and she restrained a frown. It was guache to express such feelings, but she found humans… difficult to deal with.
“My apologies, sister. I can wait.”
---
Lady Rosalina Garneta Rosecot shielded her eyes against the dust and cast her gaze upwards. Against the darkening sky she could clearly make out their allies… actual Serra Angels, their wings brilliantly aflame against the setting sun. Her heart raced at the thought that her first proper battle against the forces of the unholy would be at their side, and she could not keep a beaming smile from her face.
“Eager for battle, Lady Rosecot?” Rosalina turned her head and caught the eye of her companion in training and knighthood, Sir Varan, smiling benignly at her.
Rosalina grinned wildly and winked at him. “Against the Cabal, and alongside an angelic host? How couldn’t I be?”
“Oh, it’s certainly an honor.” Sir Varan said airily. “Just make sure to lift your own weight. They’ll have more important things to do than pick up your slack.”
“I ought to challenge you to a duel for that kind of language.” Rosalina snapped back, though her smile had only widened.
“Ah, how foolish of me! I shall be another victim of the Lady Rosecot’s fearsome temper, and before my sword can even taste the blood of Benalia’s enemies!” Sir Varan threw his head back as dramatically as he could whilst maintaining a gallop on horseback.
“I suppose for the sake of our mission I shall spare you the disgrace and humiliation of a formal duel, provided-”
“That’s enough from the both of you, unless you want to bite your own tongues off.” A voice from in front of them shouted back. “We’re nearly to the rendezvous point. Steady your resolves.”
Lady Rosalina smiled and shared a final wink with Sir Varan before they both focused on their riding. She glanced up again at the sunset-lit wings of the angels, and felt the stirring of her heart again.
This is where she would prove herself.
---
Bria spared a glance back at the knights she had been assigned to watch over, and inwardly sighed. While her feet didn’t deign to touch base earth, and she could easily maneuver between branches and hanging vines, the group of knights in heavy armor struggled to move through the swamp’s muck. Despite this, most of them seemed reliable enough, at least by human standards. They made no complaint of the conditions, moved as quietly as they were able, and remained alert for sights and sounds without shouting out declarations or charging off alone. Unfortunately, there were two who not only irked her by mere presence, but seemed to have no understanding that they were in enemy territory.
One was a young man, who seemed more inclined to showing off for his companion than actually staying alert for the presence of cultists, demons, or the swamp’s natural denizens. His eyes were always on her, hovering at her side, using his sword to move some branch or vine before it hit her. He had been hushed more than once by the other nights when he tried to strike up conversation.
This lady knight had a much more straightforward problem: she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Bria, and it was beginning to unsettle the angel. Bria wondered whether the angels of Serra had done perhaps too much to aid the mortals of Benalia over the years, if this was how their new recruits were going to act in their presence. At one point the girl had nearly walked into a tree because she’d been watching Bria. It was annoying on multiple levels; the impolite staring, the fact it was distracting her companion, and of course, she wasn’t keeping her eye on-
“Look out!”
The shout had come from the lady knight, and Bria turned her head just in time to see something leaping at her from a tree. It met the tip of her blade first; a moment faster, and it would have been on her.
Bria studied the creature carefully. Some kind of imp, from the look of things, its body dissipating back into black mana around her sword. Not a natural inhabitant of the swamp… presumedly a sentry, one whose natural animosity towards angels had overwhelmed its assigned task.
“Are you alright, Madam Angel-?” The lady knight was hurrying forward, eyes still upon Bria.
“I am fine. This is a sign we’re getting close-”
There was a disgusting glorp of a sound and shouts from the knights as the lady knight vanished up to her shoulders into the muck. The other knights attempted to seize her and lift her out of the sinkhole, but she was stuck fast, screaming for help like a child.
Bria sighed, and floated closer to the murk. “Quiet. You might alert another sentry. You’re not going to die here.”
The knights seemed to bristle at the rebuke, but the lady knight quieted and nodded.
“I will take two of you and scout ahead. The rest of you, do what is needed to retrieve your companion. I will return when we have ascertained the stronghold’s location.”
Bria turned away from the knight and floated onwards, and after a moment’s hesitation, was followed by two of the knights. This venture, she thought to herself, should have been left solely to angels.
---
“Are you alright, Rosalina?” Varan was doing his best to clear off the muck while wearing metal gauntlets, but Rosalina pushed his hands away. She’d finally gotten out of the muck, but only after her companions had unbuckled most of her armor… She had her greaves, her boots, and her gauntlets left, as well as the chainmail and tunic, but the heavy breastplate and waistguard were lost to the muck. She leaned on her sword, panting.
“...I will be fine, Sir Varan.” Rosalina muttered. Her thoughts were dominated by the angel’s expression just before the divine being had departed. Disappointment? Disdain ? She wished the angel had at least saw fit to critique her for clumsiness; somehow, the silence was worse.
“I must request you take the most defensible position in our formation, my lady. With your plate armor missing, it would be unwise to fight one of the Cabal’s warriors…”
“I will be fine. I can move quicker like this anyway.” Rosalina insisted, rising fully to her feet. “I will not shame House Rosecot by cowering behind others.”
“That is good to hear, for we have found the enemy.” The knights turned as one to witness the returning angel, followed several feet behind by two knights, one of them nursing their arm.
“Their fortress, if you can call it that, lies a few leagues in that direction.” The angel pointed with her sword, and Rosalina found herself staring again, even as she flushed with embarrassment. “When we close with them, I will send up a light to indicate to our allies that we have found them, but we must make haste; I sense a dark ritual within their demesne, and we must prevent its completion.”
The knights nodded to each other, a murmur of acknowledgement all that was needed in the minutes before battle. Many took a moment to check their armor and equipment, assuring it was ready. Rosalina went to mimic them, only to be reminded of the loss of her armor, and she felt her cheeks color again. Nevertheless, she rallied, standing straight and sharing a momentary glance with Varan, who smiled supportively.
She couldn’t back down now, after all. No matter the risk.
---
Everything had gone wrong.
The Cabal had not solely been focused on the demon-summoning rituals; they had defenders, both humans and imps lying in wait, and had bolstered them with unholy magic. Bria nursed her hip, where a dagger oozing with unholy power had struck home. She’d slain its wielder with a single blow, but the dagger itself repelled her touch anytime she attempted to remove it, and she could feel something… a curse, an enchanted poison… working its way into the wound.
Even with this, she had fared better than many of the knights. They had fought bravely and skillfully, but the Cabal had numbers, unholy enchantments, and knowledge of the stronghold. There were now only three knights with her, all miraculously unwounded; the rest were dead, or worse, dragged off. All four now kept watch as they retreated, seeking out other groups and the reinforcements Bria had called for with her flare.
Bria tried to ignore the pain, but it was unlike anything she’d experienced, in this life or in the memories of her previous lives… it gnawed at her body, her mind, her very soul. She heard one of her companions cough, and realized that her feet were now dragging along the floor as she floated down the hall.
“Are you alright, Madam Angel? We can halt for a moment and tend to your wound-”
“No.” Bria said, too quickly. “We… we need to keep moving.” Even as she gasped out the words, the pain seemed to double. Her face remained stoic, but she wondered privately how far she could actually go.
That wonder turned to panic for a moment as an crossbow bolt tore through one of her wings. “Ambush!” She screamed, raising her blade aloft and summoning more light to it, illuminating the cultists lying in wait. They were unarmored, bearing makeshift or rusted weapons, but they swarmed over the knights, hacking away at their armor, some attempting to tackle them to the ground.
Bria summoned her remaining strength and surged forward. The dagger seemed to stop her from dematerializing through the knights, but even without it she towered over them and could sweep her sword through the coming throng, who shrieked as they fell and died. For another moment, she was grace in battle, twisting and thrusting and slashing, until finally the last rusted blade clattered to the floor.
It was only once the haze of battle cleared that she realized her three companions had not risen back to their feet. Bria stared at them, and cried out as the dagger’s sting burned through her ribs again. This time, she could not resist; her own blade fell from her hand, and she crumbled to the floor. Her hands went to the dagger’s handle, but she couldn’t bear to grasp it, only hunch over in a feeble attempt to better bear the pain, but now it seemed to be consuming her thoughts-
“Madam Angel!”
Bria looked up, and saw… a knight? It must have been the younger one, who had foolishly lost her armor in the swamp. She bore wounds on her face, and her armor was damaged, but she seemed well enough, and now she was rushing to Bria’s side.
“By Serra, what happened? I… you’re wounded! Please, let me help!” The knight fell to her knees next to Bria, who opened her mouth to protest… and then felt her body burn with pain.
---
“Please.” The word escaped the angel’s throat, and it was all Rosalina needed to hear. Her hand hovered over the dagger’s handle, but for a moment she hesitated. Something about it seemed wrong, but-
She grasped the handle firmly. Angels, as far as she knew, didn’t bleed. And if there were going to be more problems if she left it inside. With a grunt of effort, she managed to draw the dagger out of the angel. For a moment, her grip tightened on the handle, thoughts of cruelty and carnage invading her mind, before she tossed the tagger aside. The angel had crumpled into Rosalina’s arms.
“Madam Angel, are you alright? I…. what do you need me to do?” Rosalina felt tears brimming in her eyes. To see a being of such beauty, such grace, such holiness in such pain…
The angel looked up and met Rosalina’s eyes.
---
Bria already knew it was too late. Whatever wicked magic the dagger possessed, it would take further magic to undo, and what strength Bria had was fleeing her rapidly. She stared into the knight’s eyes, and remembered her sister’s words.
“You… you need to retreat. Find the other knights, and my sisters. Please.” The angel gripped the knight’s shoulder. “Even if I perish here, I will return in time, through Serra’s grace. The same can’t be said for you.” Even as she spoke the words, she felt the bitter taste of a lie within them. Whatever the dagger had done, it seemed to be taking her farther from the light… only in its absence did Bria realize how strongly it had burned before.
“I can’t just abandon you!” The knight said, tears now running down her cheeks.
“Ah, then I have good news for the both of you. You will have the opportunity to perish together.”
---
Rosalina looked up and saw, emerging into the light of the angel’s blade, a figure clad in ebon armor. Their dark helmet concealed their features except for a cruel, smug smirk, and they brandished a wicked blade of dark metal.
Rosalina shifted, trying to hold onto the angel while drawing her weapon, but the knight stepped forward to quickly, stabbing at her first. With an action owing nothing to thought, she brought up her arm and the buckler there deflected the blade. Rosalina thought the worst, but it seemed the action was enough to inspire a moment of caution in the ebon knight.
“Ah, so you intend to die on your feet, do you?” The ebon knight laughed. “A pity. If that’s how you wish it to be, then take a moment to rise… so I can finish off your friend.”
Even as he spoke he stepped forward to strike again, both hands thrusting down at the angel. Rosalina still hadn’t let go of Bria’s arm, and now she shifted her body in front of the angel. No room to deflect… any angle would see the sword dig into Rosalina or the Angel’s body.
She raised her hand, and the sword plunged through it, cutting through the metal gauntlet like paper; the knight dug in and the thrust continued, through Rosalina’s chest as she screamed in agony, the blade piercing through her, through her soul, and striking at the angel behind her.
Rosalina felt as if she was… melting. Exploding. Being consumed utterly in light and noise. Something within her chest burned, but it didn’t seem to be the lethal wound she was certain she was taking. And she could feel… the angel. She could feel Bria.
---
Bria felt as if she was fading away one moment, and then bursting with light the next. The blade had pierced her chest, and for a moment the pain had been like the dagger, but then a new sensation overcame it. She felt as if… she was stretching, melting, being pulled into something. She could feel the knight. She could feel Rosalina. She could feel the mortal’s mind and soul like they were her own…
Light. Sound. Thoughts. They consumed everything, combining into an all-consuming whirlwind of sensation.
And then…
The gentle sound of wind.
---
Bria became aware of the sensation of… her heart beating. Of muscles twinging in soreness in pain. Of her hand… her hand!
Rosalina lifted her hand, and stared. She was still wearing the gauntlet, but it had been nearly shattered by the blade, revealing the skin beneath. It bore a scar, but the wound seemed to have long-healed, somehow. Hesitantly, she reached back to check her wings… her wings?
Bria felt a moment of panic as she reached to inspect her wings, but it was subsumed after a moment by the rising tide of a much more urgent thought.
We’re not alone?
What do you mean we’re not alone? Who is this ‘we’?!
We… I mean I… I mean… you… and me! The two of us!
Bria and Rosalina stared at their hands. They were… Rosalina’s hands, Bria ascertained with some reluctance. And… as Rosalina inspected the rest of their body… it seemed to be mostly that of a mortal human.
But… my wings!
This time, as Bria thought it, Rosalina felt it… ephemeral yet real, the presence of wings spreading from her back, if only for a moment… before Bria snapped back into Rosalina’s body.
I… I can’t… I’m… within… I’m part of…
We’re part of each other now?
Rosalina started to breath quickly. She wasn’t sure if that was her or Bria, though. Everything was… a mess. One moment she was certain she was dead, unable to save Bria, and the next moment she was… where, exactly?
For the first time, Rosalina stood and took in her surroundings. She was on… a tree, it seemed like. A towering tree, with leaves so vast she could stand on one without it so much as bending, and yet it was just one part of an even vaster forest that seemingly stretched to the horizon.
And now both Rosalina an Bria could feel it. Rosalina’s soul was alight, burning with a spark of power that to the angel seemed overwhelmingly intense, but to Rosalina felt… right. Correct. And then came the certainty that this was what had brought them here, what had…
Saved us? I’m not sure I would call it that.
I’m sorry! I didn’t… I had no idea this would happen!
...I can tell. I can… I can see your whole life.
And I can see yours.
Rosalina felt heat rise to her cheeks, and she wasn’t sure if the embarassment was hers or Bria’s as the angel’s poor assessment of humans came to light.
...Forgive me for that. You went to save my life with no thought for your own. You are more worthy than I could have dreamed.
The blush intensified.
Thank you. But… for now, I think we need to figure out…
Where are we?