God's Gone AWOL

[7] Bloodstained Reunion

Things changed in the first few hundred years after The Fall. And pretty soon, the realm that had once been a clean and peaceful Heaven was now completely unrecognizable.

After The Fall, Damaris shouldered a heavy amount of blame. Not only had a member of their own choir made the decision to throw herself from Heaven, this member also happened to be the offspring of the archangel Michael. Nobody could say how powerful Ruth would become now that she had risen, unrestrained as a demon. So no matter how anybody looked at it, the situation was bad.

As a result, Damaris stepped down from their position as a choir leader. And on top of that, they also chose to leave Heaven entirely, going into a shameful state of seclusion. Though many angels were saddened to see such a renown ruler fall from grace, many more were secretly excited to try and take their place. Even Gabriel, one of Damaris' closest friends, didn't seem too affected. The only ones who were truly devastated were the four remaining members of the choir.

Everyone had worked hard under Damaris' leadership. They were the selected five, the cream of the crop. Now, there was a strong sense of resentment towards their fallen former-member, as it had all been for nothing in the end. Damaris had been a kind, powerful, and intelligent leader with thousands of years of experience under their belt. Serving under them was an honour that all of them had dreamed of in their younger years. Then Ruth had to go off and join a revolution, and suddenly everything came crashing down.

As a result, the four angels of Damaris' choir were given a choice. Since their former leader was so well respected, all other choir leaders of the third generation were willing to accept any of the remaining four. In the end, Atticus, Zion, and Ultima all transferred to Camael's choir, while Ephrath disappeared to help with civil affairs. Atticus didn't see her again afterwards.

Although things were different under Camael's leadership, things were also different throughout the entirety of Heaven. Camael's choir was much larger, rounding out at thirty angels in total. Because of this, it was nearly impossible to have that same sense of collaboration and comradery that had been so prevalent under Damaris. With Camael, everyone was a soldier, fighting mindlessly and doing as they were told.

The war, accompanied by the disappearance of God, had ruined Heaven as it was once known.

Immediately after Lucifer's rebellion, all of the highest authority angels had been in such an uproar that they immediately instigated physical violence amongst the fallen. Several old rivalries left over from days in Heaven were all bubbling to the surface, and many took the opportunity to fight over any small conflicts they may have once had. Thus, the earliest form of the war was born, and nothing would ever be the same afterwards.

In those early days, before the discovery and establishment of Hell, the war was being waged in a style that would later be known guerilla warfare. Small groups of demons, "legions" as they called themselves, were stationed all throughout the Earth. They were found in small camps off in the wilderness, living off the land together as best as they could. Sometimes they would follow orders from Lucifer if he gave them, but most demons were just trying to survive at that point. Clashes between choirs and legions were very common, and they often sought each other out for the specific purpose of killing each other. It was brutal, bloody, and a very dark time for everyone involved.

When the demons first fell from Heaven, their angelic cores were burned away completely. Their ability to wield divine energy suddenly vanished. Since nobody had ever fallen from Heaven before, nobody was quite sure what to do. No one was powerless, but no one knew how to use the new powers they had developed as demons. Luckily, Lucifer was a natural genius when it came to inventing new forms of magic, so his reputation grew alongside the power of the demonic resistance.