Wings To The World

3.

'Once, Now, Soon.'

Once, humans had devoted their lives to Deities and Gods. Once, humanity lived with religion and stories of things that happened. Once, Icarus was real, and once life breathed into those words through someone who wanted to tell a story.

Life is filled with once. 

Liahael reached out, once, for a star. And once, that star responded. Once, paint littered the workshop. Wherever Liahael could reach, paint was, and angels spent hours watching him work. Once, Liahael had his name whispered for being the one to hang up stars in the sky wherever humans could find them. 

Once, humans had been searching inside their limits. And now, it was a happy paced race to keep the horizons expanding as humans went. But once, humans hadn't needed to go far beyond their limit- their system. 

Liahael's 'Star Division' had formed out of the respective need to keep up with the curiosity of humanity. It involved a group of 4 angels, including Liahael. Those angels gathered whenever they decided to string up the stars. 

Stars work in a different way in the plane of angels. The name is fluid, but angels are the closest humans have come in their years of trying. After all, angels are things made to be good- but some have fallen. The same is with these creatures.

The four angels in The Star Division are Naphalie, Leriel, and Finabriel. Naphalie, when asked, won't admit she's in the Division. Leriel claims to have created it, despite everyone knowing that isn't true. Finabriel does his best to get messages across through Leriel.

That is where Liahael is, early the next morning, as the biggest star in creation rises along the line of the horizon. The star in creation is a flare of brilliant colours, held up by lines that can't quite pass into the human realm. 

Stars are quite different, in that sense. 

Stars hang in three ways, with the most popular being Ethereal strings. Strings that humanity will only see when they can see ultraviolet and will only feel when they can feel the air. 

Liahael prefers to work while the stars are the barest. Most bare being: with no strings attached and the star sketched on a piece of paper. After that's done, he will transfer the star into reality by sculpting with colours he lays about the place. When the star is finally strung up and made the way it will be in space, months have passed by.

Once, stars used to take years. Now, they take months. Soon, they'll take weeks. Then days.

Liahael brings the colour forward, rooting it in the centre of the star to watch it flare outwards. The star is now tinged with green. It's held in space by the ethereal strings that are light and stained with the remains of these colours. 

"Lia," Naphalie calls, from the entrance, as if she's always there- watching, waiting. "You've been here all night."

"Have I, eh?" Liahael calls, through a mumble. "Ain't tryinna think bout time, nunna mah business be coming through that."

Naphalie graces him with a smile at his half-asleep words. "You seem tired," She says, voice laced with graceful pity. "You seem so- Take a break, please.

"I ain't tired," Liahael grumbles back. "If 'ah 'seem' tired yer bleeping being would be outta 'ere, lass, Imma boutta do it, too, if ye ain't gettin' off me back."

Naphalie gives a soft chuckle and takes a seat. "So, a star?"

"The name be Naphian," Liahael gives back, letting the star reach towards Naphalie. It was natural, of course, made from things found in people and in space. Of course, it would reach for something made from the same matter, of course, it would search for the same in the room. "Bloody pretty name I be thinkin', innit?"