the haunted kingdom by Charles E.J. Moulton (snow like ashes txt) 📕

“Why have you grown so quiet?” the Lord asked. “That is the question you must ask.”
“I am quiet because I miss my authority.” Lucifer remarked. “But these are merely feelings.”
God revealed his love and saw Lucifer’s surprise. “What are you then feeling?”
“That I was a pioneer once and that my pioneer status was exchanged for equality.”
”That has not changed. Share your glory a thousand-fold and it will grow. You are your feelings.” the Lord exclaimed. “Equality shouldn’t be a problem. Equality is sharing and brotherhood.”
In his spirit, his heart was beating fast. In his heart, though, he was ashamed to think envy.
Two lands away from Clurafar, the seagulls sang and the nightingales soothed the spirits.
Gabriel’s land of Hurtia was a state where the water cleaned the shores of envy in blue silver. There was something beautifully life-preserving about this land, something free. There was feeling that everyone everywhere was equal to everything created and born out of heaven. Gabriel had the spirit of a bird.
Uriel had a practical quality of basic realism and so his land of Jamburee had no coast. It lay in the middle of what in one reality one day was to become Medatlantia and he was Morawar's southern most neighbour. Manifestion, reality, strength, visibility were his main topics of interest. Where as fire was Lucifer’s element, the earth which upon people would walk and from where roses grew was Uriel’s driving force. The rocks were sturdy and strong and even the water seemed to be flowing with the basic Gravel as a guide.
The sixth angel, Shushienae, had a purity that transcended light. His soul was like virgin snow.
“Love? Innocence? Realism? Equality?” Lucifer remarked. “What quality has been granted me?”
Zentar, Shushienae’s land, was a place for clear water, blue sky and young rosebuds and it scared Lucifer to have a brother whose purity was so well developed.
Half-way now into the magic number, they were given a task to see how they could collaborate.
The task: the creation of the first solar system. The blue planet, where upon the angelic empires lay, was yet the only orb to circle the sun. Now, others would follow.
With every new sibling Lucifer’s unease increased thoroughly.

Although each unique, these planets would work at a large distance in a symbiosis to last an eternity under one name just like the angels. Lucifer thought that maybe he was the shining beloved star after all. And creating a solar system would most certainly prove him a star of some kind.
When Shushienae wanted to put Uranus and Pluto for purity’s sake far away enough from the sun in order to achieve virginity of soul, Lucifer countered that Pluto with its small size should stay close to the sun in order to gather some of its energy for fuel to travel forever.
Raphael laughed at this amateur logic, but Uriel, ever the realist, considered the prospect and it was discussed. After a while Shushienae's planets were set in position furthest away from the sun as they originally thought intended. Of course, Lucifer's planets had to specialize on their own. Jupiter was a perfect breeding ground for tornados and fiery volcanoes, like his own soul was. Without question, its own steadily gazing eye was a constant reminder that Lucifer wanted to “see the plan before the creation.” Venus was just as fiery and colourful. Shushienae felt crushed by this claustrophobic empowerment. Jupiter and Venus were, in his own words, “just too untamed and raw for personal taste”. Jupiter was exactly what Lucifer was becoming in his newfound envy: complicated, moody, angry and rough. Mars and Mercury were hot planets but quite steady and stern, just like Michael himself, and with very little mutual differences in temperament. Uriel's calm Saturn and Gabriel's Neptune were quite like each other in temperament and Uriel's little extra bonus of adding a ring to this celestial body was applauded by God and the angels alike, who thought it very ingenious to add a little colourful difference to a circling organism. Only Lucifer himself sulked in a corner, alone and misunderstood. He flew down to the Callenian cave, enjoying his oasis. Michael came down and spoke to him lengthily about being able to modestly compromise his pioneer status. He saw how Lucifer was excluding himself from the others and wondered why he couldn’t relax. Finally, he was called to the Lord.
“You are excluding yourself from the others.”
“Only because I am haunted by exclusion, why should I share my pioneer status? I am afraid of not being good enough to keep up with my new brethren.” Lucifer explained.
God smiled sadly. “I should know that you are more than good enough for any creation.”
“I miss having Michael for myself.”
“My Son, Michael belongs to no one. It is a learning process of sharing to feel pain. Share him.”
“Pain?” Lucifer asked. “Why is pain necessary?”
”Life is versatile and flexible. Creatures feel pain just to cherish life more and learn what they want.”
“What do I want? Will I ever know this?”
”This you must find out.” God said. “What is clear is that you are here to serve humanity.”

THE FAILURE AT THE BEACH
The five other angels saw Lucifer’s confused envy turning into vanity. Sitting and gazing down at his own mirror image in the water for hours on end, Lucifer was turning unpredictable. Against God's will he'd gone on an excursion and created something that had no meaning at all, a protest against all this reasoning and all of this sugar sweet love. He created a fog or a storm on Earth or sent a planet through a black hole. Michael had to clean it up, for the balance to be in tune again.
Lucifer was standing at the shore the evening it all began throwing stones into the water. Michael came up and tried to bring him back to the campfire where the others were assembled. The conversation started carefully and then grew aggressive. Finally, Lucifer asked Michael to leave him alone and his brother answered him by asking an honest question. Fear prompted the inquiry.
"What’s happened to the Lucifer from the Fields of Nostalgia?"
Lucifer shook his head and looked out toward the horizon, wondering what lay beyond it.
“He felt betrayed," he said. “Betrayed by everyone he knew.”
“I betrayed no one," Michael said.
“You betrayed me. I concern my self with more important things than carving figures into my arms. You concern yourself with new friends. Go ahead, leave. I’m not stopping you.”
“They are our brethren” Michael whispered, pointing at Raphael. “They’re waiting for you. See?”
“You all act as if my only concern is me and my own well being.” Lucifer countered.
Lucifer paced the beach. He had spoken words never formerly articulated. The word was betrayal.
Michael whispered to him, caressing his cheek.
“My concern is your pain.”
Lucifer looked up at the sky and saw the black clouds flying across the heavenly bliss.
“The storm” he said. “Soon a storm will hit Eden and I will be
the one they blame.”
Michael took a long look at his blood brother and shook his head in surprise.
“Why do you say that?”
There was deep fear in his eyes. “I am the one that they will
blame, Michael.” Lucifer uttered and looked out to toward the vast ocean. There were clouds forming at the horizon and no one had any idea from where they had come. Michael was afraid, but he knew his father would protect them just as he protected Eden.
“What are you speaking of?” Michael asked. “Who are they? What storm is hitting creation?”
“The storm of evolution” Lucifer spat. “I have known that it would come for an eon, but I do have right to be proud. I have become a useless decoration. I was the child of light, the greatest seraph.”
“Why are you so much more than we when you are an angel? Vanity becomes you not.”
“I was the first, Michael” Lucifer sang. “Nay, utter not the syllables vanity when your eyes behold a dreamer. I was a pioneer in heaven once.” He continued, “If vanity is what this is, then so be it.”
“We have no right to be vain.”
“I have a right to be me. I have a right to feel what I feel.”
Raphael spoke. “We are God’s angels, Lucifer. We are the first and foremost of all yet to come.”
“I was in heaven first, Raphael, maybe even before anything else was.” Lucifer crouched down on the ground, trying to find the answer buried in the sand. The next words were whispered, almost not loud enough to be heard by anyone but the nearest companions and yet they all heard them. “Who is God but the master that is here to serve souls like me?” These words surprised Lucifer himself and he turned to the ocean, looked up and cried. There was thunder.
Shushienae put a hand on Lucifer shoulder. “Don’t let this hubris crush you."
He was still looking up, crouching and afraid, yet still prideful.
“Why can’t anyone understand my pain?”
“We do. We are your brethren,” Uriel remarked.
He looked up, his hair falling down into his face and his eyes full of spite. Uriel helped him up as Lucifer struggled to stay on the ground. He fought and finally let go and fell to the ground. Lucifer struggled out of the tussle and hit his chin on the ground. Michael then helped him up as he wiped the blood off his brother’s mouth. The other angels gave Lucifer a dirty look and tried to make him back off.
“You have more spite in your whisper than most would have in a scream.” The brethren all looked across the ocean, their eyes cast upon a darkness that was only steps away, which would turn their love.
Raphael said: "You are God's son and as such you have no right to even think that!"
“What is it to you what I do?” Lucifer spat. “I am just as full of surprise at my own thoughts.”
Raphael and Lucifer began pushing each other and sparks flew, but Michael pushed them aside.
“Calm down!” Michael said, patting Raphael on the back. “We are heavenly creatures,” Michael continued softly. The angels nodded and Gabriel came walking back, albeit apprehensively. “We all have tasks to accomplish.”
Michael tried to smile and walked up to Lucifer to embrace him.
"I never asked to be the outsider!" Lucifer was crying. “Why am I the recluse?”
When Michael looked back, Lucifer was still staring at him. "Nobody ever treated you like an outcast." Lucifer smiled and looked down. He looked at a pebble and then threw it into the waves.
Softly then, looking at the rising sun, he asked: "Why can’t it be just you and I?"
Raphael walked over, with Gabriel following him. "We are your friends, too.”
"I'm going to leave you alone." He started walking away. "There are no secrets in the universe.”
Lucifer cried, his arms waving at the sky, backing away. “He who eternally excels above everyone in life lies steadfast in his lifestyle, those who oppose him will pay."
“My dear friend,” the angels said in unison. “Come and sing with us. Have some fun.”
“None of you are equal to my status, so why not forget it. Leave me alone. I must find peace.”
Lucifer started strolling morosely along the shore and looking toward the sunrise for an answer with a tear in his eye. Michael shook his head and muttered: “What is the matter with our brother?”
“He’s changing.” Gabriel replied. “If we don’t get him back now we will never be able to.”
“I don’t know, Gabriel.” Michael said.
“Don’t know what?”