Chapter 9: Ariel

When the prophet Zadkiel came before Koth Incarnate, in the person of Israel, he abased himself on all fours in the presence of Israel and Kirodiel Gerash and brought bad tidings of his defeat at the Battle of Aramel.

And Israel was unhappy, but Kirodiel remained sanguine, for he had held back a greater part of the armed forces of family Gerash in reserve, and he knew also that King Turel was a formidable opponent, so the initial setback was not unexpected.

Then Zadkiel revealed the raid on his camp in which Kandiel set Sophia-Ariel free and made good their escape to the city, and Israel became exceedingly wroth, for he had intended Zadkiel to use Ariel only as bait to draw Turel and Kandiel out to the field of battle. In his anger Israel drew his sword and took the head of Zadkiel without a further word. Thus ended the life of the first prophet of Koth by the hand of Koth himself.

And from that day Koth became his own prophet, and no living man knew Israel was really Koth in nephilim flesh save for Kirodiel. Then Kirodiel the patriarch of the White Beards appointed Israel as head of the Eyes of Koth and the supreme field-marshal of the Gerash army.

But Israel was not valiant. He contemplated war in the west for two years, but made no move except to post the Eyes of Koth in an unbroken ring around the city, and he also garrisoned the road leading to Aramel in diverse places.

During those two years Sophia Incarnate, in the person of Ariel, had not been idle. For the angel of Binah descended from the sky and made landfall near Aramel and Ariel climbed inside. Inside the angel there was room enough for one person, and Binah had prepared his angel to support life high above Gorpai where there was no air.

Then the angel of Binah lifted Ariel into the heavens in a great arc, and made landfall again in the far west of the East Lands, which were home to the Gold Beards.

Ariel emerged from the angel of Binah in the full sight of many witnesses, and afterward Ariel was taken to the Patriarch of family Sala and took counsel. She spoke of her victory at Aramel, and of her spies in the city of Koth who reported that Israel meditated war against all of Gorpai. And the spies also said his strategy was that he would pick each family off one at a time using his full strength to overawe them each in turn, and by the time the remaining families took thought to form an alliance together against him it would be far too late.

So Ariel counseled that the Sala patriarch send an expeditionary force to the west to join with the Black Beards, and when they drew nigh to their chief city Ariel would appear again from the sky and take counsel with the patriarch of family Larund.

This the ruler of the Gold Beards agreed to do, because the angel of Binah had established Ariel's authority without question in his mind, so Ariel returned to Aramel for a time, and dwelt in great peace and happiness with her dearest friend Kandiel.

Then a number of months later the angel of Binah appeared again and took Ariel to the chief city of the Black Beards in the far east of the Eastern Lands just as the forces of the Gold Beards were approaching and raising the alarm of family Larund.

Ariel took counsel with the commanding officer of the Sala expeditionary force and the patriarch of the Black Beards, and advised them to cross over the Ice which divided the East Lands from the West Lands, which was almost exactly on the other side of Gorpai from Mount Koth in the Middle Lands. Then they would come to the realm of the Red Beards of family Antero, and to their city Ariel agreed to make one more flight to take counsel again.

But as for the Brown Beards of family Bellon, Ariel would not avail herself of the angel of Binah again, but come there herself overland, and there, so she hoped, the four united families would spring their trap on family Gerash.

Now King Turel, with the aid of Kandiel and her Amazons, had prevailed in the Battle of Aramel as it is recounted in the Book of Kandiel, but the king knew time was not his ally. For he himself waxed old, and he knew his death swiftly approached, and none believed Kirodiel would appoint his like as successor king.

So the king commanded Ariel, Kandiel, the Amazons, and all who would go with them to embark on the quest long in preparation to sail from Aramel across the sea until they reached the far shore in the uttermost west of the Middle Lands. Thence they were to ascend the foothills and mountains that led ever up to the Ice, the ancestral homes of family Gerash, where many provisions were laid up against the day of a third world flood.

But there in the caves and tunnels of the ice fierce battle was assured, for the stores were defended by the vigilance of the Patriarch's forces from any who would raid them, whether from east or west. If they prevailed, then continuing due west for many leagues, the ice would end, and descending once more the travelers would come to the West Lands and the fastnesses of the Brown Beards, the seafaring family Bellon, who are no friends of the Gerash patriarch, and would welcome any refugees from the Middle Lands.

Then Ariel thanked King Turel for his faithfulness and assistance, and took her leave of him. With Ariel went also Kandiel, all her Amazons, and hundreds of others who had fled to Aramel to escape the harsh reforms of Koth.

As King Turel had foreseen, the Ice was defended, and there was hard fighting before the exiles won through, and barely half of the refugees who had set out from Aramel walked down to the shore of the Eastern Sea of the West Lands, and gazed at the Isle of Sealiah.

Then Ariel was brought by boat to the city of Rumbek and presented before King Haniel Bellon, the Patriarch of the Brown Beards, and she pled her case before him. And the king asked why Ariel was fleeing from the Middle Lands.

Ariel replied, "Because I brought the truth to family Gerash, but they hated the truth, because it was like a bright light, and the truth threatened to reveal the dark things they do in secret."

And King Haniel asked, "What is truth?"

Ariel said in reply, "We know truth when our mind is in agreement with the way things are."

King Haniel said, "What do you ask of me, Lady Ariel? Shall I protect the purity of your truth?"

Ariel said "If what I teach is so very fragile that I must seek aid to shield it from contamination, then what I have cannot be the truth. The warriors of Koth fight to convert others to their truth and wage holy war against other truths. They fight because what they call 'truth' is too weak to sell itself to all who seek the truth with sincerity. Since they are certain they already possess the truth, they refuse to investigate in reality and delight in self-deception."

King Haniel asked, "Then what, dear Lady Ariel, is your truth? What is the ultimate truth?"

"Only this," she revealed. "The noblest activity is unending love."

And Ariel accompanied har words with a mighty sign of her authority, for at that moment the angel of Binah flew over the Bellon capital city at great speed, but the people saw only a streak of light, and a terrifying noise like thunder broke many windows in Rumbek.

Then King Haniel welcomed Ariel and all her companions to his land, and a place was found for each of them on the Island of Sealiah, and they became his protected subjects. Ariel, Kandiel, and the Amazons took residence in Castle Brys in the north of Sealiah. Then Kandiel and her Amazons began to teach their new friends and neighbors, individually and in small groups, the doctrine of Sophia, but Ariel herself refused to teach, lest the king think he had taken a troublemaker into his land.

And Ariel did not speak yet of the host of the three families that Binah assured her was drawing near to the Bellon lands, because she knew King Haniel would take it to be an invasion force despite any attempt by Ariel to persuade him otherwise, and he would turn his gaze from the east to the west, and weaken himself just when Koth was about to strike.

As time went on, King Turel of Aramel went the way of all flesh and was buried in a lavish tomb, and the people of the city mourned his passing for thirty days.

Then the army of Koth marched through the city unhindered, and Kirodiel Gerash appointed a new king over the city, who laid a heavy tax on the people in penalty of their rebellion. For it was the Law of Koth that in every five day week the people could keep the fruit of their labor from three days, but the increase of one day was to go to the maintenance of the Army of Koth and the Eyes of Koth, and his temple priests. But upon the people of Aramel was laid a second yoke, for the fruit of the labor of yet another work day was to go the upkeep of the new forces which garrisoned the city. Thus the people could only keep half of what they earned.

And the Eyes of Koth multiplied in Aramel like flies, and there were many checkpoints in the city, and many people were put to torment for the smallest transgression, yet none were permitted to depart to other cities in the Middle Lands. So matters would remain until that whole generation of Aramelites had passed away, according to the decree of Israel, but ever after nephilim who spoke with the accent of Aramel would still bear a stigma among the White Beards.

Then when Aramel was securely occupied, Israel passed through Aramel with the balance of the Gerash army and sailed over the Western Sea to the ice, where he relieved and strenthened the garrisons which defended the Gerash stores there. Then Israel led his army down into the West Lands, and it was the first such invasion by family Gerash since the second world flood.

And when Israel was come to the foot of the Ice, he was confronted by a full division of troops from the House of Bellon deployed when rumors of the Gerash movement came to King Haniel.

And though Gerash had overwhelming numbers on the field, Israel did not signal to attack, but the white flags of parley-truce were unfurled, and Israel himself came forth to speak to the general of the Bellon force.

Then Israel in a loud voice to the opposing army said, "To the dwellers of Rumbek, Koth it is who stands against you if you fight to thwart the faithful of the House of Gerash. All the enemies of Koth shall be consumed in the smoke of his wrath! Repent, or the anger of Koth shall overrun you like a plague, and you shall flee before his righteousness! Koth shall quench his rage in the midst of all who hold Koth in contempt!

"Therefore do not send your sons to thwart the Army of Koth, for on the Plain of Judgment they shall be consumed like dry grass! Abandon your falsely so-called goddess Sophia and turn back to your first love, Koth the All-Merciful, or the fire of his indignation shall devour your young!

"For when all the temples of Sophia have been put to the torch, and new shrines of Koth built over their ashes, Koth himself shall ascend from Anabas and rule directly from his temple in the holy Middle Lands. And the faithful shall be changed, and shall be given lives longer than any recorded by nephilim, up to seven times longer than the oldest yang living today.

"But the unfaithful shall earn for themselves swift death, for Koth knows all hearts, and he shall bring sure retribution without mercy to his enemies. By Koth's command the Eyes of Koth shall be disbanded for there shall be no yang left alive disloyal to Koth. Then Koth shall cause uncounted islands to fill the empty parts of all the seas, and plant on them lush gardens for the faithful to delight in. Each island shall be ruled by one of the undying sons of Koth, who fell in the struggle to defeat Koth's many enemies. Thus Koth has sworn, by his own name."

And the commanding Bellon general replied to Israel, "You have said much, but these are weighty matters for the king alone. Advance no closer to the city, and I shall return to King Haniel and convey to him all your words, and you shall have your answer."

Israel agreed to this, and both armies left the field unblooded. The Bellon force returned west to Rumbek, but Israel led his forces north until they were come to a bay which was the easternmost finger of the sea, and there after he set a strong perimeter to catch any Bellon spies, he set his whole army to work building many ships of war. Swiftly a great navy was built by the united forces of the House of Gerash, and Israel did not wait for King Haniel to answer.

The Great Sea of the West Lands is divided in twain by the long peninsula of Magodon, but nearly every approach to Magodon was guarded by cliffs rising as much as four hundred feet, made of soft sandstone that could not be scaled by any army, and at their feet all around lay impassible swamps that would swallow horses and trap the wheels of chariots.

And none could pass by land around the Sea to the north or the south, for there the roaring waves ran nigh the very ice, and often vast slabs of ice would melt and slide into the sea with great thunder, and no permanent road could be carved, nor tunnel bored, to permit passage to the lands in the west.

Only at the uttermost eastern tip of the peninsula of Magodon could nephilim pass, but this was guarded by the Nine Mile Wall and several small islands bristling with fortified settlements, whose chief city was Rumbek.

So it was that family Bellon was the bulwark against any Gerash incursion, protecting not only their own lands in Magodon and beyond, but the lands of family Antero far in the west.

And it came to pass that a well-orchestrated ballet of Gerash sailing craft, guided by lights on the shore of Sealiah Island, concentrated at nightfall in the three mile-wide gap between the tip of the Isle of Sealiah and the village of Gurtus on the mainland.

The tiny settlement of Surat at Sealiah's tip, including the ferry landing, were taken by Eyes of Koth commandos and then many of the new Gerash ships traversed the narrow strait.

Five battalions of Gerash troops went ashore unopposed, led by Eye of Koth officers. The boats had to be driven well up on the beach to avoid the omnipresent yang-eating flora in the waters of the Eastern Sea, which also afflicted the Western Sea nigh to Aramel in the Middle Lands.

Israel's ships then turned southwest down the Tala Strait toward Rumbek. At this point surprise appeared to have been achieved. In this crucial time Israel accumulated his forces as quickly as possible so a credible penetration into Bellon territory could be attempted.

At daybreak the southern- most two battalions of the amphibious invasion force linked together and marched across Sealiah Island. They began taking it house-to-house. This was accomplished with little resistance and only scattered bow-shot.

Likewise, the village of Surat in the north fell quickly to the endless troops pouring over the beachhead. Soon the residents of both towns regretted surrendering so easily, for the Eyes of Koth began obeying Israel's orders to kill male Brown Beards on sight.

Meanwhile three other battalions erupted from the beach and cut southwest across the island to join up with the first two, but Kandiel's Amazons issued forth from Castle Brys to hit them on their left flank, though Kandiel herself remained in the castle to defend Ariel.

Now all of Sealiah was awake and began putting up the first real resistance of the new war. Movement ground to a halt as a pitched battle developed along a front that crept south down the Isle of Sealiah. But the army of Koth slowly gained the upper hand.

In the Tala Strait the defenders of Rumbek answered Israel's incursions with a wall of ships. In this arena alone did the House of Bellon gain a clear victory. By the end of the first day no Magodon ships were left to threaten Rumbek, for all the surviving ships were pulled north to defend the beachhead.

On the second day of the war as the front grew near the subjects protected in Castle Brys began leaving on foot. Kandiel and Zadkiel fell in with them, and the King assigned a squad to guard Zadkiel andKandiel, led by one Major Binyiel.

Ariel objected, saying, "Major, return to the King, because I have Kandiel with me, and the people of family Bellon need you and your yang far more than we do."

But Major Binyiel said, "Even so, the King himself charged me never to depart your side." And in her presence he produced the King's own ring, embossed with the seal of the House of Bellon, which the King used to imprint documents sealed with wax to assure their authenticity.

Now to Ariel the Major gave the King's ring, and Ariel mourned, because she knew this as a token of the King's premonition that he would not survive the coming attack. But Ariel accepted the ring and also Major Binyiel as a companion.

Even as they made their way down from the top of Sujelah Hill, the road to Mandakar along the west shore of Sealiah fell to the armies of Magodon. They watched a massive bridge sunk by Bellon engineers with black powder as a final defensive measure.

On this day Israel saw two setbacks. One, the Bellon navy prevailed in a large sea battle and won through to demolish Israel's pontoon bridge and set fire to his remaining ships, thus cutting off the only Gerash line of supply to Sealiah.

"The whole north of Sealiah is occupied," Major Binyiel said to Ariel. "Even Kelang is under assault. Only here in the extreme south does Sealiah remain free."

Over the shoulders of Mount Memalek and to a seldom-seen natural bridge trudged Kandiel and Ariel, escorted by Major Binyiel and two other yeng. They moved by secret paths in the steep wilderness terrain until they were come to the village of Olivus snuggled in the hills along the southern shore.

Then Ariel said, "Kandiel, I am unwarlike, and a weakling yin, and I am about to swoon from this march. Perhaps I could rest for a while in that cottage hard by."

"What do you say to that, Major?" asked Kandiel.

In answer, Major Binyiel approached the nearest cottage and pounded on the door. "Open in the name of King Haniel!"

The man who answered the door didn"t look happy. He barked, "What do you want?"

"Lodging for these two travelers. They go with the blessing of the King himself."

The owner was irritated, and said, "How much did they pay you to say that, soldier? Do you think in this confusion the 'blessing of the King' are the pass words to help yourself to the bounty of any citizen of the realm?"

So Binyiel produced the King"s ring, and the hospitality of that cottage improved markedly, and they were welcomed for the night, while the soldiers stood guard outside.

As the night of the third day passed, King Haniel stood his ground in the walled city of Mandakar as it came under attack by cruel flaming catapult rounds from the surrounding lands of Sealiah Island captured by Israel. This was the beginning of a merciless siege by fire that would end only when the city lost the battle to put out the flames and succumbed three days later.

At the city of Rumbek, on the Isle of Liban, the Lord of the City who ruled in the stead of the king knew the enemy suffered a shortage of boats, so he ordered the bridge to Fanon island to be deliberately sunk.

The easy victories of the House of Gerash up to the middle of the fourth day were explained by their fanatical willingness to die for Koth. However the resolve of the their Bellon foes stiffened as the slaughter of civilians continued. Faced with no alternative but to die the people made their final stand at Rumbek.

Kandiel and Ariel made it to the southwest tip of Sealiah, the last unconquered piece of the island. There Rumbek took refugees off by boat. Kandiel and Ariel got in line with the rest of the crowd while their personal squad of soldiers joined others to hold off the overland Gerash attackers in a desperate fight for enough time to allow the refugees to escape.

Major Binyam said, Now, Lady Ariel, I must spend the remaining moments of my life in disobedience to the strict commandment of the King, and leave your side to win time for you to escape, but I deem it the greater good. He left her then, and Ariel never saw him again.

Suddenly there was an orange flash, and the boat which was being loaded in front of Kandiel and Ariel caught fire, for a catapult round of flaming tar had struck home, and many people, screaming in agony, desperately dove into the water to quench the flames of the sticky tar that licked their clothes and skin. But they were immediately devoured by the hungry life native to Gorpai that lived beneath the waves, and it was a terrible sight to behold.

And there were six catapults on Sealiah that lobbed rounds over the heads of the city's defenders to reach the refugee boats, but in a single moment the six catapults themselves all caught on fire, and a streak of rushing fire appeared in the sky overhead, followed by two bursts of sound so loud it almost knocked both Kandiel and Ariel to the ground.

The fire streak, Kandiel could see, formed behind a small dark object that raced across the sky almost too quickly to follow. Before she could point it out to Ariel it was already many leagues away and curving back up higher into the skies.

When Kandiel had her heartbeat under control and could find the words, she asked, "Was that your ally Binah?"

Ariel answered, "Indeed it was, Kandiel, though I wonder how he can fly so fast down here where the air is so thick." Kandiel did not seem to understand, so Ariel went on. "Have you ever stood on a very high mountain and noticed it was hard to breathe? Higher still and the air fails altogether, and that is the realm where such speeds are routine."

Then room in another boat was found to be available for Ariel and Kandiel to step aboard, because many of the people weren't certain all of the catapults were destroyed, but Ariel knew Binah was meticulous in what he set out to do.

Now the angel of Binah had already made its appearance at Aramel two years before, killing twelve Eyes of Koth, and Koth in great anger withdrew his own angel from a distant errand to level the odds, and soon it would appear again in the skies over Gorpai, but Koth made no sign of this to Binah.

In the heavily fortified city of Rumbek, after hours of confusion as the crowd of refugees was sorted out, Lord Jomjael discovered that Ariel was bearing the King's authentic ring.

After she surrendered the ring to him, Jomjael welcomed Kandiel and Ariel into his house. Ariel realized the King intended this very thing, for Jomjael would know by this sign that the King wanted him to rule in his stead.

Guessing King Haniel to be certainly dead, Ariel thanked the sovereign in her heart.

Lord Jomjael bade them to stay with him for a few days to see which way the war would turn. "For Rumbek is as secure as any place in the West Lands are these days," said he. "And no army has ever breached the Nine Mile Wall."

For the time being, Israel bypassed the hard target of Rumbek, destroyed the villages of Teal and Olivus, then fanned out through all the hills. By the end of the third day all Sealiah Island belonged to family Gerash.

Mandakar continued to burn, and refugees crowded into boats bound for Rumbek. The Gerash forces brought up a prefabricated bridge and swung it out on a pivot to connect Fanon Island to Sealiah once again. Supported by many small boats the bridge was swung across during a lull in the naval engagement when Rumbek had pulled back many ships to reduce the alarming losses from suicide commando swimming parties. The bridges from Fanon Island to Krone Island, and also to the main city on Liban Island were sunk by Rumbek to limit their losses.

This new intensity was a set piece put on for Israel, who was now physically present on the battle front rather than leading from behind as was his custom.

Kandiel stood long on the ramparts of the city Rumbek, and to her military mind it was apparent that Gerash was steadily gaining the advantage against Bellon by sheer dint of numbers, and the hate by which the Gerash warriors flung themselves into battle. And Kandiel bade Ariel to immediately journey west beyond the Nine Mile Wall while the route was still clear. For she perceived the seige of Rumbek would soon grow strait, and the Bellon navy would be tasked to defend the city itself, letting the invincible Nine Mile Wall, undefeated in war, defend the rest of Magodon. Then Israel would divide his forces and besiege the Wall itself, and none of the Brown Beards nor their allies would be able to pass the gates, neither east nor west.

Ariel agreed to this, and asked leave of Lord Jomjael, which he granted, and she left with these words: "King Haniel is surely dead, or captured, and that is a grievous loss, my lord, and if we had time I would mourn with you and the people as is fitting. Yet King Haniel's sacrifice was not wholly in vain, I deem, because the house of Bellon does not stand against Gerash alone, and the king may have won for you the time you needed for the house of Antero, and of Sala, and of Larund to march to your aid."

And Lord Jomjael said, "I thank you for the spirit in which you intended to say those words to me, Lady Ariel, but if Rumbek is destined for a dark and bloody fate, I consider it my duty to share in that fate full-willing, and false words of hope are worse than none at all, I deem."

Ariel said, "My lord Jomjael, it was the furthest thing from my mind to throw you a line of hope and fail to tie off my end. Long have been my labors to bring the other families to the aid of the house of Bellon, and little do you know of them. If Rumbek can hold out for yet a little while, then Israel may find he has stepped into a trap. And then all who crave peace might win through to the day when King Haniel is laid to rest in honor, and you are made king. Farewell!"

Kandiel had judged well the time of their departure, for mere hours after she and Ariel departed Rumbek and took the road to the foot of the Nine Mile Wall, the Bellon navy rallied all their ships around the Isle Liban. This left Israel free to pull all his troops off Sealiah except those directly involved in the Rumbek siege, and those troops were ferried across the channel to the narrow bench of land that lay below the Wall.

The beautiful dwellings and public buildings of Krone Island, isolated now from Liban, were burned to the ground in a blaze kindled by Israel himself. And when the fire had burned down and the flame was abated, in the sight of the defenders of Rumbek across the strait Israel scattered the embers and sprinkled the ground with salt.

"For even so shall Rumbek be wasted utterly," he cried in a loud voice. And the hearts of the Rumbek folk fell.

Now the peninsula of Magodon was ringed on three sides by cliffs of sandstone which rose from the sea four hundred feet, but at the Nine Mile Wall yeng had erected masonry that made that tall cliff purely vertical, slotted in many places with holes for observation and to shoot arrows or pour boiling liquids. And between the face of the wall and the face of the natural cliff it enclosed were many platforms and stairs and catacombs, filled with weapons for the bane of besieging armies, and stores to supply defenders for many days.

And when Kandiel and Ariel were admitted through the Wall they climbed many steps and arrived on the plateau of Magodon at the top, where they beheld the banners and ranks of countless troops from the House of Antero, and the House of Sala, and the House of Larund, and Ariel knew her long labors had born fruit.

And there as well were many Bellon troops who had rallied to the aid of Rumbek from across the land of the Brown Beards. Already many of these were manning positions on the Nine Mile Wall to turn back the Gerash invaders.

But there in the sight of every yang under arms on Gorpai something like a star fell from the sky burning like a torch, and struck the ground near the top of the Nine Mile Wall with great violence, such that it dug a deep pit. And there was a blast under the ground such as had not been seen on Gorpai since the fall of the asteroid that brought the second world flood, and never in living memory.

Then the bottom half of the Nine Mile Wall nigh to Rumbek blew straight out, and the masonry of the Wall above the blast collapsed in ruin, and in place of a sheer wall there was a ramp of sand, but many besieging Gerash troops also died, or were buried alive by the debris.

Then Israel commanded his remaining generals to charge up that ramp with their divisions to the Magodon plateau above, and they immediately began to comply.

Then the angel of Koth dropped from the sky and crashed to the battle plain, and smoke rose from its black carcass like the smoke of a great furnace, and the yellow and orange suns were both darkened by reason of the smoke.

And there came out of the smoke many small flying machines, like metal wasps about the size of a full-grown yang. The heads of the insect-machines were made of glass and gold, and their teeth were small rockets, and they had breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like a great waterfall. And they had flexible tails like scorpions, and there was a gun in those tails which could kill yeng.

And these machines came among the ordered ranks of the three allied families like a cloud of locusts, killing yeng at will, and scattered them in disorder before they could make a counter-charge down the ramp in the Nine Mile Wall.

When Kandiel saw this she held Ariel's hand, and squeezed it, and asked her friend if this was Binah. And Ariel said to her, "No, alas, our enemy Koth is come."

And Ariel knew the angel of Koth had the power to snatch her victory away when she was on the cusp of attaining it, and that was reason enough to summon Binah, but she found that victory or defeat meant nothing to her now.

A new thing had come to dominate her consciousness. When Ariel looked upon Kandiel she saw her anew, as though gazing upon her for the very first time. Ariel found that Kandiel had suddenly become the most important thing in creation to her, and she was desperate to get Kandiel away from the field of battle.

Now Binah had seen the angel of Koth fall from space, and he was already descending even before Sophia-Ariel made contact. Binah landed on the plateau of Magodon close to them, and Koth marked the descent, and began to close up his unfolded angel to prepare for launch again.

There was very little time.

Sophia said directly to Binah:

Take Kandiel away from here, I don't have her memory map yet, I could lose her forever.

And Binah said in reply:

Forget the little yen, you don't have the resources to deal with the angel of Koth, you need me here.

Then Kandiel perceived that Ariel was conversing with Binah, and asked what he was saying.

Ariel said, "He says forget about you." And Ariel recalled Kandiel's own words at the Battle of Aramel, when she saw her naked in a cage and Ariel told Kandiel to forget about her, and Ariel repeated them here for Kandiel now: "Don't you know by now that's the one thing I can never do?"

And Kandiel wept, because for the first time she knew her love for Ariel was truly being reciprocated at last.

Ariel told her, "All those things I preached about love were so much straw, because I didn't know what love meant until now, neither as Ariel nor as Sophia."

A rising noise came from the angel of Koth, and Kandiel guessed the time was very short now. She said, "Speak plainly to me now, Ariel: What do you want me to do?"

And Ariel said, "Binah will take you far away from this place. I want you to go. No, I need you to go. Something happened to me just now. Kandiel, you...are the most important thing in heaven or Gorpai to me."

And Kandiel wanted to protest, but she could see the angel of Koth rising above the battle plain, and she could see that Ariel needed this. So she kissed Ariel and climbed inside the angel of Binah like she had seen Ariel do three other times before.

Then Binah immediately leaped in to the sky with fire and smoke, and Kandiel felt herself to be too heavy to move, and she was terrified, which was an extraordinary thing, for Kandiel was the queen of the Amazons.

And the angel of Koth lumbered into the sky after them.

But after a time the noise stopped, and Kandiel floated free inside the small space provided for her inside the angel of Binah, and her fear dropped away. She gazed out of the glass at Gorpai, which had become a white sphere crossed by a narrow trench of green and blue far below which was the West Lands, and the sky had become black, but she could see the orange and yellow suns, and many stars.

But the angel of Koth smote the angel of Binah with a fearsome fire mingled with blood-red light, and the angel of Binah was destroyed, which was no small feat, for it had been made in the belly of a sun. And Kandiel riding inside the angel of Binah instantly died and was lost forever to Ariel.

In that very same moment Ariel knew Kandiel was dead, and the world seemed to turn gray to Ariel, and she refused to speak a word again in the world of Gorpai, for she was utterly lost in her grief.

Aided by the angel of Koth, the House of Gerash defeated the combined forces of the other four families in detail. After that, all of Gorpai was united in a single empire with Family Gerash ruling from a position of pre-eminence.

Ariel was taken alive on the battle field and brought before Israel, but there was no fear on her face, only a deep sadness for what she had lost. Then Israel speaking as Koth said, Now, Sophia, here's a little something to remember, such that you think twice before ever coming to Gorpai again.

With an iron mace the arms and legs of Ariel were broken in many places, and she was braided through the spokes of a wagon wheel, and the wheel was hauled up and tied to the hub of a windmill atop the Nine Mile Wall. There the jagged ends of Ariel's broken bones ground together over and over, and her screams were heard for three days before she fell silent from thirst and died.

It was the worst thing that ever happened to any nephilim, and for many weeks afterward the windmill continued to turn even as the dead flesh of Ariel rotted away and her broken bones rained to the ground in pieces.

Israel compelled everyone in the House of Bellon and Antero to make pilgrimage to the Nine Mile Wall to see it, and the tale of the horror reached to the very ends of Gorpai.

But since her possession Ariel has been in perfect union with Sophia, and though the nephilim mode of the Sophia-Ariel being came to an agonizing end on that windmill, as pure elohim Sophia-Ariel continued her long and joyous life as a sun. But that joy would forever be tempered by the terrible and eternal loss of Kandiel, and Sophia-Ariel would never forget.