Vorlan floated alone in Forynda’s sanctum awaiting her return. Elaous had departed. The Guardian had been true to his word when they had felt Nethron’s presence disappear. The Earth Angel had done what he could to convince Elaous that even Nethron’s grim punishment could be undone. It had failed. Worse for Vorlan, he knew that this failure guaranteed his other great defeat. There would be no stopping a total war now between the angels. That which he had so long fought was upon him in earnest.

He now understood what countless mortals had described to him. So many times he had heard mortals after great trauma say they felt as though it were a dream, as if it were not real. Vorlan experienced such a sensation then. Fathoming how all of his deeds had led to such a point was beyond his ability. Many certainties he had always sanguinely assumed could never be shaken now lay in tatters. They were his source of tranquility and strength for his entire existence.

He could only conclude he had deceived himself.

Forynda returned swiftly from her journey to Nethron’s lair. She had not wasted time in any of it. She glided to her throne and sat, one hand holding her rapier at her side. Tranquility radiated from her, some measure of satisfaction that justice had been served. Vorlan attempted to mask his own gloomy countenance so as not to irritate the High Angel, but he could not manage it for long. Despair oozed out from him and Forynda immediately recognized it.

“Vorlan, where is Elaous?” she asked calmly.

“He told you he would not serve you if you harmed Nethron,” Vorlan replied.

Her serene countenance at once utterly shattered. She shook and scowled, grasping her rapier tightly. Then she pointed it directly at the Earth Angel.

“If you encouraged him in even the slightest…”

“I did everything I could to persuade him against this course,” Vorlan interrupted. “His decision was irrevocable.”

The High Angel rose and glided toward Vorlan, her eyes locked fiercely upon him.

“You disagree with what I have done, do you not? Will you betray me as well?”

Such a question struck Vorlan dumb for a moment, not because it was ridiculous, but precisely because it was not. Doubts plagued his thoughts about the proper course. Forynda’s actions had shaken his faith in her reign over Ceuna, of that there was no question. However, he similarly had come to fully concur with the High Angel on her assessment of the angelic presence in the mortal world. Her conclusion had been right even if her actions had strayed.

“I will pledge my loyalty to you, Forynda, but not because I approve of what you have done,” he said, beginning to explain what lay in his heart. “It is because I concur with you that our kind must not reside among the mortals. We disagreed with one another vehemently before on that matter, but now I see that you were always correct. I will commit myself to that proposition.”

The High Angel gave no reply. Her focus seemed distant, ambivalent to his declaration. She looked to her other shoulder, as though she expected another to be there at her side.

“We will marshal all of our strength for this war,” Forynda declared. “I will commit everything, all of my energies, all of my power, to securing the mortal realm’s proper place.”

“And no matter the cost?” Vorlan cautioned.

That prompted Forynda’s gaze to turn back to Vorlan with hostility.

“I can conceive of no price that is not worth this aim.”

Forynda’s summons called forth all of the loyal angels of Ceuna into their realm’s common sanctum. Yet, it was emptier than any, even Vorlan, had feared. Many of their brethren had deserted the heavenly realm for the vibrancy of the mortal world. There had been no further defections among the great angels, those that had been the creations of the Progenitor. Among those, the defectors were Omonrel, Parlon, Jagreth, Myrvaness, Gorondos, and, now, Elaous. With Forynda, she could count Vorlan, Aberos, Cyrona, Tathyk, Rithys, and Simel among others. Among the lesser angels, creations of Vorlan and Forynda, the defections had been in the hundreds. While a slim majority remained, it made the entirety of Ceuna feel empty.

Forynda stood at the center of this gathering, seemingly unfazed by the cataclysm that had unfolded with Elaous’s defection. Vorlan still had not accepted it. He wondered in Forynda had even begun to accept it. Perhaps she believed it would not be a permanent separation. She may have held out something like the hope Vorlan once had that any dispute could be remedied. Her eternal punishment of Nethron, however, was different in kind from anything that had been done in the past. Observing the High Angel, however, Vorlan could not see that she appreciated the unprecedented nature of her punishment. Thus, he had little hope for what would follow.

“Our kind, like the mortals themselves, has now divided irrevocably. Whatever the causes that impelled this separation, it is now complete and final,” Forynda declared with inarguable certainty. “For his foul deeds in fueling our presenting calamity, I have forever banished Nethron to the void of oblivion. Leniency and timidity brought us to this unhappy moment. Those mistakes will not be repeated. Those who have transgressed will be punished as Nethron has been and any further rebellion will be met with a terrible swift blow.”

Vorlan’s soul ached hearing these words. He was sure that he was not alone, but those who remained all looked upon Forynda with obedient reverence.

“Should any recant and seek forgiveness, I will gladly receive them back into our realm again, but they must atone for what they have done. After a time, they will be fully restored with all love and mercy granted to those who have remained loyal. For those who do not seek absolution, the punishment will be obliteration.”

Each of her pronouncements caused Vorlan to feel a tightening specter of dread. All that had led to this moment now seemed utterly predictable.

“And for those mortals who continue to ally with our traitors, I will offer them a single solitary chance to recant and cast off the deceitful seductions of Omonrel and Nethron. Should they still cling to the false words of the betrayers, they shall meet with the most swift and terrible justice we can dispense,” Forynda raised her voice to a booming blast. “If our brethren and the seduced mortals see reason, this entire cataclysm shall conclude with haste. Our peace shall be restored and the mortals will be granted their full self-determination. This is my vow to all of creation and I will not pause until it is fulfilled.”

If there was one thing of which Vorlan could be sure in that moment of so many doubts, it was that Forynda was sincere about everything she said. For better or worse, the High Angel had chosen her course and would carry it through to the end.