IV. Elegy of Victory

Now of course the period in which the Primordial Celestial Clash occurred did not completely consist of warfare. As each side won and lost in turn, they amused themselves by interfering in the affairs of the mortal realm, mostly for their own amusement, to distract themselves from this cosmic war as mortal soldiers might play at cards to pass the time between battles. There were rare times in which interfering in the mortal realm proved beneficial for one side or another.

But such stories are beyond the scope of this record, for there are many. I will tell some of them at another time, perhaps. Until then, I shall relate to you the rest of the Primordial Celestial Clash. Rest assured that I have seen the impatience in the tension of your muscles as you sit here listening to me. I will not relate the rise and fall of battle here. I know you are not interested in that. You do not desire minutiae; you desire broad brushstrokes that paint simple pictures over which you can impose your own details and call it divine inspiration to impress your fellow mortals. No, do not deny it: I know what you are here for. I do not judge you for it, I merely recognize it. So what you shall now hear is the story of Mihaele's imperfect triumph over Sthertoth.

The goddess and the demon had, overall, been at a stalemate for most of the Primordial Celestial Clash. It was only to be expected, for Mihaele and Sthertoth were equals in power, might, and pure determination.

Now Mihaele had been continually bothered that She could not control chaos the primordial element. She was a proud goddess who delighted in Her ability to bring order to things. Throughout most of the war, She had tried to find various ways in which She could harness chaos, feeling that it was the only way She could win this war. But because Sthertoth had marked the primordial element with His presence, chaos continually shunned Her.

"What shall I do?" She asked of Her Elemental Knights one day. "My alignment dictates that I cannot go anywhere near chaos."

"Goddess," the Mistress of the Storm said, "we, Your knights, are embodiments of the seven metamorphic elements. It is in our very nature to shape chaos. Surely we can aid You somehow?"

And Mihaele saw the truth in her words, and She conceived an idea. "Sthertoth has merged much of Himself with chaos," She said. "He believes that it has strengthened Him, but we may be able to use that against Him. We will trap Him within His own chaos and evil."

"Do You mean to send us to the Infernal Citadel?" the Crimson Flame asked. "We are not allowed there, and surely Sthertoth will not agree to our presence, nor does He have any reason to summon us. If He does not notice us there, the realm itself will reject us, for it is saturated with chaos."

The Prince of Shadows stepped forward. "Let me enter the Infernal Citadel. My element will allow me to blend in better with the realm and its inhabitants, and before anyone notices me I shall siphon the chaos from the realm into a dark, endless abyss, where not even I can touch it."

Mihaele had doubts about the proposition, but seeing the necessity of making the realm more inclined to accept Her presence, She gave Her permission and blessing for the Prince of Shadows to do as he had suggested. But although he had been correct in claiming that he himself could not touch the chaos that his black holes sucked in, he had failed to take into account the possibility that chaos could, being the primordial, pervasive element that it was, taint him and his element, marking both for eternity. This is why the subsequent incarnations of the Prince of Shadows have always been wildcards in battles between good and evil, because the first had sacrificed the purity of his element in this Primordial Cosmic Clash.

When the Prince of Shadows returned from the Infernal Citadel, Mihaele began working with the Elemental Knights on Her plan. She had them create the seven Elemental Stones, jewels of concentrated, unmarked elemental power that She could bring with Her into the Infernal Citadel without raising alarm and without leaving the Aethyric Citadel unguarded. She planned to use the Stones against Sthertoth.

The goddess' final solution will seem blindingly obvious and simple to you. You may wonder why She did not think of it before, and why it had taken Her so long to figure it out. But remember that Mihaele was fiercely proud of Her abilities. She had wanted to claim chaos for Herself only, and without help. She had lost sight of what the true goal was, and thus had forgotten that She had created those who would help Her, if She would only think to ask their assistance. Understand that this is the Way of non-mortals, and you cannot always understand them.

When Mihaele had finished preparations, She traveled to the Infernal Citadel alone to confront Sthertoth.

Sthertoth was very surprised to see Her. "How very interesting to see You here, My other half," He said. "Welcome to My gates."

"Welcome to Mine," Mihaele responded. "I am the Path to Purgatory."

And the Elemental Stones emerged from Her body and encircled Sthertoth. With some of the chaos cleared from the realm, it was possible for the Stones to connect directly to the Elemental Knights, who were still in the Aethyric Citadel, in order to channel their full power. Thusly, they trapped the chaotic creature that Sthertoth had become.

Mihaele said, "For Your sins, You will be trapped in the hell of Your own making until You repent."

Sthertoth struggled to break free, but the power of the metamorphic elements were already warping the chaos in His body to something entirely different, twisting Him and crawling out of His body like dark snakes that wished to choke Him. Knowing that His defeat was nigh, he spoke His final words to Mihaele: "You may have overpowered Me now, Mihaele, but I will deny You a perfect victory! I will curse the knights who have helped You do this to Me. As they are pieces of You, they shall forever dwell in pieces in the mortal realm, never to be fully Yours ever again!"

And Sthertoth sent a burst of chaos through the Elemental Stones, which were still connected to the Elemental Knights. When the knights were hit with this great power, they were flung from the Aethyric Citadel into the mortal realm. The force of Sthertoth's final strike shattered their power into countless pieces that embedded themselves into the weave of the Metamorphosis, and their souls were doomed to reincarnate in the mortal realm for all eternity until the end of this universe. Thus did Mihaele suffer great losses in Her triumph.

The power of the Elemental Stones had transformed Sthertoth's body into another jewel. To complete the seal, Mihaele wove Her holy power through the jewel, and called it the Celestial Stone, for it was an embodiment of the entirety of celestial power: the seven metamorphic elements, chaos the primordial element, and the essences of cosmic good and evil. Then Mihaele carefully hid all of the Stones in various parts of the universe, to ensure that they could not come together again and undo what She and Her knights had done.

With Sthertoth imprisoned, Mihaele rested, awakening only to answer to cosmic threats, at which point She searched out the souls of Her knights, wandering the mortal realm in mortal forms, and Called them to Her aid once again. But even such threats did not completely oppose the essence of Her goodness that permeated the universe, and the Balance eventually shifted too far towards cosmic good. The universe was headed towards complete stagnancy. Given these conditions, the Metamorphosis produced the pattern of the circumstances that would lead to the release of Sthertoth from His hell, which would lead to the merging of Mihaele and Sthertoth into the Angel once again.

But that is a story for another time...and a story you probably already know.

B-O-M-B

Review if you will, flame if you must.

-Sora G. Silverwind
why do we crucify ourselves every day?