Fallen

One Part 1: The Finding

The early morning was always my favorite time. Ever since we were children, Reml and I had a tradition of sneaking out before dawn to watch the sun slowly emerge from our perch on a hill over looking the village. Those times, those predawn moments, were so incredibly precious to me. I loved seeing the normally bustling village, calm and completely at rest. I loved watching the earth slowly come to life with the light of the sun, but most of all, those early mornings on the hill were precious to me as they were my only time alone with Reml.

We were friends as far back as I could remember; joined at the hip since birth. Most in the village thought of us a brothers rather than just friends. But as close as we were, we were polar opposites. He was talented and out going; he always had something to laugh about. I guess some would say I was merely in his shadow, but if being close to him meant being over shadowed, I was okay with it. I was shy, not so talented, and very withdrawn. Expect around Reml, then I would open up. He was my best friend, my brother.

Hanging around together when we were younger was easy. There wasn’t much to focus on, schooling every other day, always together, and long afternoons exploring the woods around the village. But as we were getting older I felt a strain pulling at what I thought was the unbreakable string that bound us together. He was continuing his schooling, looking to becoming the apprentice of a mage a few towns away, while I was working now, a small job in a book maker’s shop, copying page after page of literature. It was a simple job, but I actually enjoyed reading the old text; the strange tales they would weave were enchanting. I wanted to learn about the past, study it, understand it, teach it to others. Because as I read these old text about wars and out of control powers I couldn’t help but think that history was doomed to repeat its self again and again, unless people learned from it. But unfortunately, people were only interested in what would help them now rather than in the long run. Reml and I never talked about our differing paths; I personally was convinced that he was being pressured into by his family. But as different as are day lives were, for those moments sitting on the hill, usually in complete silence, we were together again, joined at the hip, now and forever more.

It was morning when she came. It’s still so clear. Reml was late getting to the hill; the sun was already partially visible over the horizon when I saw him making his way up towards me. I had grown bored a while ago and in my lap sat a chain made of grass blades knotted together.

“Hey!” Reml called, waving as he made it to the top of the hill. “Sorry, I was up late studying... overslept this morning.”

I waved back, finishing up the last knot as he sat down next to me. “It’s okay,” I said cheerfully. Though it wasn’t. His new life was starting to cut into what I thought to be sacred times. I had half a mind to say something, but didn’t.

“What’cha making?” he asked, motioning to the chain of grass blades in my lap.

“Nothing,” I said, “Just got bored waiting for you.” I was trying to stress the last part, hoping that Reml maybe learned how to read minds in his studies.

“Oh,” he said with a shrug. I sighed. I guess he didn’t. I stared out at the rising sun; I couldn’t help but wonder how many morning we would be able to spend like this. I couldn’t bare the thought, but I knew, in the back of my mind, these days were coming to an end.

I jumped when I felt the grass chain sliding from my lap, and looked over at Reml who was now holding the thing up; it was a lot longer than I thought. I reached over and pulled at one end, as if saying to give it back He smiled and like it was infectious, I felt my lips curve into a grin.

Suddenly the sky was much brighter than it should have been. A strange sound filled the air, a high pitched tone, almost a scream. Reml and I both jumped up at the noise and light; in the sky a growing white ball of what seemed to be pure light was streaming towards us.

“What the–? ” Reml said, while I just stared dumbly. It was sinking, coming closer and closer, I feared it would hit us, but it passed overhead and a strange warm air gusted over us as the thing, it looked to be the size of a large rock, continued to sink until it crashed in the valley on the other side of the hill. I felt the ground tremble for a moment and just as suddenly as it had happened, everything was still again. I looked over as the village, wondering why it still appeared so peaceful; no one outside gawking at the noise or wondering what the flash of light was.

The sun was already completely over the horizon, when I looked at Reml, wondering what we should do. He stared for a moment before he turned and started towards the valley, where, in the distance, something white could be seen laying on the ground.

“What? Where are you going?” I yelled after him. We didn’t know what that thing was! I wanted to go back down the village but Reml had other plans. He was always too curious.

“Where else! Come on!” he called back, waving me to follow. I hesitated, looking over my shoulder at the village and then down on the ground where my chain of grass now lay, broken in all the excitement, but eventually I took off after Reml. If whatever it was turned out to be dangerous, I figured I shouldn’t let him go alone.

What ever it had been, it hit the ground hard. I couldn’t think of anything that would explain what we saw; from how high it had fallen from, it was like the Gods themselves had tossed it from the heavens. The ground around it was covered in rocks and clumps of uprooted grass. The thing its self, what appeared to be a mass of white clothing lay in a small crater, covered in debris from the landing. Reml and I stood a good bit away, staring in wonder at this strange thing before us.

“What could it be?” I questioned.

“I don’t know,” Reml responded, and moved a few steps closer. “It looks, almost like a person.”

“A person? Come on Reml,” I said moving closer, but suddenly I saw what appeared to be a thin pale arm amongst the jumble of clothing. “Oh, Gods,” I whispered. “It is a person.”

Reml rushed forward and turned the thing over and the jumble of white suddenly made sense as a long robe. I saw another pale arm to match the first, hanging limply as Reml gathered the person in his arms. As he stood slowly, a head became visible. It was a girl! She looked to be about our age, but with features I had never seen. Her hair was short, uneven and wispy, so blonde it appeared to glow white. Her skin was so pale it too seemed to glow under the newly risen sun. He face was something that could not be of this earth; it was so perfect. Her eyes were closed peacefully; like she was asleep, enjoying a pleasant dream.

“Is she...dead?” I asked before I could stop myself. Of course she was! She fell from Gods know how high! But Reml gave me an odd look.

“I don’t think she is... she feels warm, and I think she’s breathing. Come here.” He was speaking quietly, as though afraid to wake her.

I moved forward, carefully around the clumps of dirt and other debris littering the ground. Nervously I leaned over the figure in Reml’s arms; everything told me she was dead, but every few seconds I’d see her chest rise and fall as she took one small breath after another. Not being able to help myself I reached out and brushed the back of my hand along her forehead. Just as Reml had said, she felt warm.

“She’s— really... I don’t believe it,” I said. “What is she?” I wondered aloud.

“Good question, but she doesn’t look well, maybe we should take her back to the village,” Reml suggested, looking down intently at the girl in his arms.

“Yeah,” I agreed, unable to think of anything else that made sense. This strange girl... I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she was, who she was, where she came from...I almost wanted to leave her there and just walk away, pretending I didn’t know anything, but I figured helping her, who ever, whatever she was, was the right thing.

We headed back towards the village slowly, Reml carefully trying to climb the hill while still carrying the strange girl.

“You think the temple will know what to do?” I asked, when we had made it about half way up the hill.

“I hope,” Reml said. “Ah– her breathing is getting heavier.” He stopped suddenly. Sure enough the girl’s chest was rising and falling rapidly. I didn’t know if this was good or bad, but Reml decided to sit down and had a worried look on his face that told me that it probably wasn’t too good. I sat down next to them, watching as Reml brushed the girl’s hair back, so tenderly— I felt something grow in me. I wanted to hurt that girl. I wanted her to die right then.

As if just to contradict my inner wishes, the girl’s eyes snapped open, revealing the brightest, oddest eyes I had ever seen. I couldn’t figure out what color the wide orbs were; a mixture of purple blue and green blended in some unnamable shade that was captivating. Her eyes darted from mine, to up at Reml, who looked relieved. A silence hung in the air between the three of us. No one was sure of what to say— I had so many questions to ask, as did Reml I was sure. And the girl— Gods only know what she wanted to say, yet we sat in silence, the girl’s eyes moving from Reml to me then to the sky, like she was trying to take in all the scenery at once. Finally, it was Reml that spoke up.

“Are you— I mean, are you okay?” he asked. The girl stared as though dumb for a moment before responding in a voice that was like music.

“Yes, yes, thank you— ” she trailed off. But her voice seemed to stay with me. It was clear and soft, and so musical! It was echoing in my ears– my head! I looked at Reml, wondering if the stranger was having the same affect on him.

She smiled and slowly, with much help from Reml, stood up. She was small, only coming up to Reml’s chest. I stood too, liking the fact I was taller than her; I had always been a good bit shorter than Reml so it was nice that I didn’t have to look up to this girl. I was already starting to dislike her as it was.

“What are you?” I asked, bluntly. There was something about her, her voice, her face, she was too perfect! Something was wrong! And there was the fact that she had just fallen from the skies and lived! I kept trying to tell myself that this had nothing to do with the strange feelings of jealously that I had felt boiling inside me as I watched Reml brush her hair back, as I watched him so tenderly and carefully carry her up the hill... no, I was sure that had nothing to do with it.

“Tamas!” Reml said, like he was scolding me. I looked at him confused; what had I done wrong?

“What Tay means,” he said smoothly to the girl, “is who are you?”

“Ah,” the girl said and flashed that smile that was starting to annoy me. “My name is Vilia.”

“I’m Reml, and this is Tamas, Tay for short,” my friend said in a short introduction. “This may seem rude, but I must ask, What happened to you?” Reml had the charm of a merchant man. I was trying not to snort. Rude? What other questions should we be asking? I guess Reml wanted to treat this girl as gallantly as any other, ignoring the fact that she had just fallen from the sky!

The girl’s face changed at the question. A small, yet prefect frown showed on her lips as her eyes found the ground. “I fell,” she said finally.

“From where?” I asked, wondering if there was a castle anywhere near that I didn’t know about with a tower that high. But still that wouldn’t quite explain the light and sound. I waited for Reml to scold me for asking a blunt question again, but he was quiet, his eyes focused intently on the girl

“From the Heavens, where else?” she replied lightly, giving a small smile.

“The– Heavens?” Reml said slowly. “I don’t understand.” I turned to my friend and wondered how the village’s golden child could be so dense.

“She’s a fallen angel!” I blurted. I felt so much better once I figured this out. Fallen angels were somewhat common now a days. The Gods were busy bickering amongst themselves and fighting with Devils to keep track of their messengers, the angels. As a result, many angels were falling, now that they weren’t being watched every second. We were in the age of the fallen; though recently numbers seemed to be waning. But it was decreed that if a fallen angel was to survive the fall, it was the human’s job to destroy them.

An angel had never fallen in our village before, but about five years ago, Reml and I, along with our families made a trip to the a larger town to the south, and there witnessed an angel execution. Our parents were in the market when Reml and I snuck away to better explore the large town. We wandered into the main plaza which, and quickly realized something was up as the large plaza nearly silent, the only voices spoke in strained and hushed whispers. Being only eleven we weren’t able to see what was going on; but everyone’s attention seemed to be focused in on a raised platform. We wandered over to the side of the crowd, where there was a few discarded crates , in hopes of being able to climb up on them to see better, but we weren’t able to get good footing on the pile of junk. We had given up when an older, burly looking man leaned down and spoke quietly to us.

“You boys wanna see this?” he asked , his voice was gruff, and he frightened me. I found myself looking down at the ground, but Reml, ever fearless, answered.

“Yes, Sir,” he replied.

“And damn well you should,” the gruff man said and scooped Reml up and sat him down on a box. “You’s kids need to see this,” he continued as he picked me up and sat me next to Reml. “We don’t need the next generation straying from the Gods’ word.”

I now had a clear view of the platform. A number of men and women stood on it, wearing robes, signifying them as workers of the temple. They stood behind a man and a woman, from their more elaborate robes I took them as the head priest and priestess, and between them was what appeared to be a child, no older than eight. She was tied down to a large chair that made her look tiny; thick ropes were wrapped painfully tight around her arms and legs, securing her to the large chair. She was dressed in long tattered rags, and her head was hung, her dirty, matted, blonde hair creating a curtain between her eyes and the crowds.

“What is this?” I asked, quietly.

“Why, this! It’s an angel execution. That one there is a fallen angel!” The man exclaimed in a whisper. “She disobeyed the Gods’ and fell. Surely you two know the stories of the fallen! The Gods’ decreed that if they live through the fall, then it’s our right to dispose of the disgraces!”

I didn’t say anything but Reml spoke up. “I’ve heard of them. . . I never realized they were real.”

The man said something else but I was too focused in on the platform to listen. The head priest was making a speech, while the other’s looked on. I saw that the head priestess was holding a large dagger in one hand and a clear goblet of a strange clear liquid.

“The Gods have acknowledged our rite! We shall begin!” the head priest proclaimed. The crowd went quiet. He turned to the head Priestess, who nodded and handed him the dagger which he used to cut the ropes from around the girl’s arms and legs. The woman pulled the girl from the chair by her hair, she fell to her knees and I heard a soft cry. There was a collective intake of breath and I looked around and found I wasn’t the only one disturbed by the harsh treatment of the girl.

“Do not let the creature’s form fool you! She is a Fallen one! She has disobeyed the Gods, and it is our task to destroy her!” the priest said, brandishing the dagger. “Show us your wings! Fallen! Reveal them! Now!” the man ordered, pointing the dagger down at the child. She looked up at the crowds, almost pleadingly before she untied the top of her robe and let it fall, showing no sign of modesty. She closed her eyes and slowly, bright, white, wings emerged from her back. They were beautiful, but before I had time to admire them the head priest brought the dagger down on place were the strange and beautiful appendages sprouted from. There was a hair raising screech followed by broken sobs as the head priest hacked away the wing. When the thing was ripped from the Fallen one’s back completely, it was tossed aside to the men and women behind the child and her torturer. The second one was hacked away quicker, and by the time that was pulled away the girl had stopped crying. Now she was only gasping for air, trying not to pass out from what I could only imagine was extraordinary pain.

I couldn’t believe the brutality I was seeing. Yet– I was awed in a way. Everyone else seemed to have no obvious objections as they merely watched. Some in the crowd were even smiling.

I was too young to think about it when I was watching it, but I later realized that there was no blood. Instead of making the sight of wings being ripped off an angel easier, the lack of it made it that much more eerie.

The girl was pushed back into the chair, and the head priestess held the goblet out to her. The girl looked up and seemed relieved to take the glass from the woman. Her face was tear stained was drawn tight with pain. She was shaking as she slowly brought the goblet to her lips. Without any urging from the priest or priestess, the Fallen took a deep breath before drinking the contents of the cup in a few large gulps. The effect was instantaneous. The goblet was dropped and the girl slumped forward, looking as though she had merely fallen asleep in the large chair.

Now, as I stared at the strange girl before me, I thought of that small girl and her fate. She was a Fallen. If we were to go back to the village, and to the temple, as that is the only place in the village with a healer, as we had been planning, she would be recognized and killed. Killed. I had the brief thought of running into the village now, screaming that we’d found a Fallen. I wanted her dead. But when I caught Reml’s shocked eyes I let the thought go. Of course the good child wouldn’t wish that on anyone, even a Fallen.

“A Fallen— ” Reml said slowly, “ You’re– you’re a fallen angel?” He couldn’t seem to believe it.

The girl gave a shy smile and nodded. “Yes.”

“What do we do now?” I asked. There were only two actions that would make me happy at this point; us walking away and forgetting we ever meet this girl, or taking her back to the village temple. Of course Reml didn’t suggest either.

“We need to find her someplace to stay! I mean, she can’t go back to the village with us– Are you okay?” he said to Vilia, who was staring aimlessly at the sky.

“Oh, yes, yes,” the girl said, turning her attention to Reml. “I am a little sore– and I shall have to get used to this human body... and the sights!” her eyes were drawn back to the skies. “That’s the one thing about the Heavens, you never get to see the sky.”

I turned around; not wanting to look at that girl anymore; trying to get her magical, songlike voice from my head.