Seed of Sin

Prologue - Legacy of the Ancients

A child of Heaven possesses a soul more powerful than any other. Young, pure, untapped, for seventeen years, one's soul lies dormant, awaiting the maturation of its vessel. These children looked no different than a child of Earth. There was nothing special about them, but it is on the eve on their eighteenth year that their soul is finally awoken, and the child of Heaven becomes a host of Heaven.

But such a sudden release of power can be destructive. There was a time when angels would fear their eighteenth year, as most burned alive from the awakening of their soul, the rest left scarred. The sheer amount of power would tear apart the child's body, and more often than not, would lead to a torturous demise, sometimes lasting hours.

Hours of screaming, burning and being ripped apart from the inside out. The vessel is forced to fight, to adjust, a painful but necessary change to create a house strong enough for the awoken soul, but very few used to survive, and never without scars. Angels bodies have no bones or organs; their bodies are made out of pure life-force. Angels have no need to eat, or sleep. Their form is maintained by the will of their soul, their strength reliant on the power of their soul. When an angel is cut, they do not bleed, but a blinding light shines forth. Angels suffer harshly from injury because it is as if their very soul is injured, and leaks out of their wounds.

After the beginning of the eighteenth year, angels would be lucky to survive, let alone without damage to their vessels. Many would have scars or permanent burns. Some would lose their sight, others would be partially paralyzed. The angels never used to be beautiful, but were deformed, but their deformation was a testament to their strength, to what they were able to endure. The only beautiful quality of an angel at this time were their wings, which sprouted in the final stages of the transformation of their vessel. The wings became a symbol of the angels, as they are earned once their vessel has proven itself, and acts as a trophy to the survivors.

The Ancients they were called. They were the ones that built the City of Angels. Appropriately located at the center of Heaven, it is the only civilization of angels. Any angels not inhabiting the city live directly outside of it. Today, no angel dares wander far from the City of Angels, because since the migration of all the angels inwards, the outer reaches of heaven have been abandoned, and became home to many a fearful creature, some whose existence has been lost to legend.

The City of Angels is little more than a place for all angels to live together, since angels have no real necessities. There is no food, nor housing, nor currency. There are walls built to protect the angels from any invaders of heaven, there are training grounds for the soldiers of God, angelic looms and forges with endless silk and blessed iron. The resources are unending, but it is the responsibility of the angels to craft them into masterpieces. The City of Angels was built to give the angels a concentrated place to coexist, as the size of heaven is seemingly unending.

Since the founding of the city, many luxuries have been built. The Seat of God was placed at the center of the city. Although God does not live in heaven, the throne sits in the middle of the city as a testament to him, and as a place for him if he ever graces heaven with his presence. It should be added that almost no angels have ever encountered God, and he has never physically been in heaven to anyone's knowledge. God has however made contact with a handful of angels, those of whom become incredibly reclusive and devote their lives to his Word.

At the four corners of God's seat lies the Thrones of the Four Horsemen, Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. Celestial beings with origins as mysterious as God's, they act independent of both Heaven or Hell, but who they hold fealty to is a mystery. However, the only thing stronger than people's fear of the Horsemen is their respect for them. Almighty beings, some argue even more powerful than God, their raw power alone renders any being immobile, while also making all subconsciously kneel to them. No being has ever bore witness to the face of a Horseman as they are never seen without their masks and cloaks. Legend has said that they wear their masks and cloaks always because their immense power has distorted and deformed their vessels over the millennia, and are now monstrosities to the eye.

However, the Horsemen still exist, while the Ancients do not. No one knows what the Horsemen are, some even arguing that they do not even possess souls. The Ancients have passed as their souls withered away, just as any life-force does, but the Horsemen survive. They never even show any sign of aging or weakness. Their cloaks drape around their powerful bodies, taking the shape of their broad shoulders, their powerful torsos, their incomprehensible musculature. It is as if not even time can harm them.

There is one more structure in The City of Angels. Before the Seat of God springs the waters of heaven. These waters create the Lake of Eden, in the middle of which the Seat of God is located. The Thrones of the Horsemen are also located in the water. The lakes of heaven were originally built as a display of respect to the Horsemen and God. Their thrones were place in the center of the water as a symbol that the hosts of Heaven were not worthy of their presence, and this divine body of water forced the angels to keep their distance from these unimaginable powers. However, the waters of Heaven were soon found to serve another purpose.

During one angel's eve, she was violently tearing at her own skin. Her spirit shone through the tears of her vessel, and seeing her would be like staring at the sun. Her vessel caught on fire and she began to burn alive, and in a moment of panic, she jumped into the waters of heaven. She went underwater and her light disappeared. She rose out of the waters more beautiful than ever, her vessel not only in tact, but perfectly healed. There was a holy glow around her as she stepped out of the lake. The waters tamed her released spirit, and acted as an outlet for the sudden release of her power. She was able to vent her uncontrollable life-force into the waters, then with the help of the lake, she tamed it and allowed it back into her vessel. She left the water in complete control of her power with an unscathed vessel and wings that shone brighter than any others'. Since that day, it was tradition that any angel on the eve of their eighteenth would bathe in the waters of Heaven to help with their transition. Since this began, not a single angel has been harmed or scarred from their transformation, let alone died.

It has been thousands of years, and most of what has been said is nothing more than legend. The only ones who could testify to these accounts are the Horsemen, who do not converse with anyone but each other. However, since the creation of the City of Angels, angels have tried to undergo their transformations without aid of the waters of Heaven as a sign of strength, but none have succeeded. Hundreds have died in their stupidity. It is controversial as to why no angel can mature without aid of the waters. Some say that no angel ever could without the waters, and the Ancients simply made it sound like they did to make themselves seem stronger. Others say that over the thousands of generations, our souls have grown stronger or vessels have grown weaker and we've become reliant on the waters. Either way, no angel can survive without the waters.

My Eve is coming. I have no choice.