The+Seventh+Seal+-+Roleplaying+Game+of+Biblical+Horror+(1).pdf

Credits

Produced by

Scott Mitchell

Writing

Rob Baxter, Mark Bruno, Edwyn Kumar,

Scott Lynch, Scott Mitchell

Game Design

Edwyn Kumar, Scott Lynch,

Marty Makita, Scott Mitchell,

Jason P. Prince

Editing & Revised Editing

Edwyn Kumar, Scott Mitchell

Front & Back Cover

Pat Loboyko, Scott Mitchell

Art Direction, Layout and Typesetting

Scott Mitchell

Interior Painting

Pat Loboyko

Sphragis Design

Darius Bobek

Original Playtesting

Steven Bell, Michael Benetti,

Jennifer Brock, Mark Bruno,

Supitcha Chierakul, John Dawes,

Michael Greishaber, Ross Harris,

Randall Harris, Michael Heacock,

Andrew J. Lucas,,Mark McDonnell,

Joe Meyers, Lisa Mulzet, Eric Nail,

Jason P. Prince, Ray Sillman, Chris Slater,

Christopher Van Tighem, Mike Whitehead,

Ray Wilberg, Scott Wilton, Jason Woodall,

Bill Wonch, Kanaka Keep Gamers,

& the VGG.

Seventh Seal Line Developer

K. Scott Agnew

(seventhseal@morriganrpg.com)

Published by

46 Weldon Street Moncton, New Brunswick

E1C 5V8 Canada

The Seventh Seal: Roleplaying Game of

Biblical Horror is the original creation of

Scott Mitchell. The Seventh Seal is a

trademark of Scott Mitchell and is used by

Morrigan Press Inc. under license. All

rights reserved. The Seventh Seal:

Roleplaying Game of Biblical Horror is

©2005 by Scott Mitchell

The mention or reference to any company

or product in these pages is not a challenge

to the trademark or copyright concerned.

Some of the subject matter within the pages

that follow deals with the occult and

demonology. It in no way condones the

study or practice of devil worship. The

intent is to inform the reader of the darker

side of biblical mythology and its impact

on the fictional world of The Seventh Seal.

Reader discretion is advised.

The use of the male gender throughout the

text should not indicate any form of gender

bias. It is meant to avoid confusing

pronouns (he/she/it) and remain consistent

to make the text easier to read.

For more information and free downloads

for The Seventh Seal, visit:

www.morriganrpg.com

Introduction

1

Character Glossary 3

Player Glossary 4

Chapter One: Sinners and Saints

7

The Anointing 7

Destiny and Danger:

Life as a Sentinel 15

The Alliance of Light 17

The Legion of Darkness 18

The New Millennium 20

Chapter Two: Signs & Portents

23

The Testaments of Zarahaim 23

The Fall 23

The Six Beast Kingdoms 26

Christ and Antichrist 31

The War Upon Earth 32

Endgame and Reckoning 33

The Seven Seals 34

Epilogue: The Demon’s Final Revelation 36

Chapter Three: The Chosen

39

Concept 39

Character Sheet Key 40

The Trinity 42

Background 42

Celestial Orders 48

Grace 56

Finishing Touches 56

Chapter Four: State of Grace

67

Of Being 67 Insight 67 Grace 68 Spiritual Conflicts 70 Prophetic Revelations 71 Acts of Sacrifice 73 Places of Power 76 Divinities 77 Angelic Blessings 103

Chapter Five: Guidelines

111

The Dice 111

Measuring Time 114

Proficiencies 114

Combat 119

General Hazards 124

Health and Sanity 128

Weapons, Vehicles & Equipment 130

Free Will 135

Chapter Six: Revelations

137

The Role of the Prophet 137

Religion and Truth 141

The Divine and the Infernal 144

Horror: The Manifestation of Fear 146

A Beleaguered World 148

The Crusade 151

Inspirational Resources 156

Chapter Seven: We Are Legion!

159

Hell: Dante’s Inferno or John’s Allegory 159

The Deceitful Trinity 160

The Infernal Essence 161

Soul Consuming 164

The Iniquitous Spirit 164

Sorcery 170

Hierarchy Diabolicus 178

Appendix

195

When will the world come to an end?

Since the dawn of time, humans have searched for the signs that will herald the end of creation, when the supreme powers of Heaven and Hell will crash down like waves upon the mortal world and wash away the earth and all of its creatures.

Has that time come at last? Are these first years of the New Millennium signs that the final chapter is upon us?

The Seventh Seal is a roleplaying game based on biblical

mythology, with heavy focus on the Book of Revelation. Players assume the role of Sentinels, mortal guardians of Heaven invested with supernatural powers. The Sentinels are the last echelon of light, the final righteous stroke against the rising tide of dark powers that seek to claim the souls of humanity.

Using the rules in this book, a handful of six-sided dice, pencil, paper, and a heavy dose of imagination, players create characters that act in dramatic stories revealed and initiated to by the game master, known as the Prophet.

The Prophet creates scenarios, called Prophecies, which take the players across many adventures and experiences in the world of The Seventh Seal. Through the Prophet’s imagination and storytelling abilities, the characters are drawn into webs of action and drama. The Prophet also plays the supporting cast and the antagonists against which the players must cooperate with or overcome by wit or force in order to succeed.

The Seventh Seal

in the Book of Revelation

“And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong Angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?’ And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.”

— Revelation 5:1-3

The Seventh Seal is the last of seven prophecies documented in the Book of Revelation. Also known as the Apocalypse of John (allegedly one of Christ’s Apostles), the Book of Revelation was adopted by Christians as the last book of the Bible’s New

Testament. It proclaims the final victory of God over the forces of

Satan at the end of mortal history, and was supposedly received by John in a vision several decades after the crucifixion of Christ.

John’s Apocalypse was filled with occult imagery and

cosmological mysticism. He used the allegorical symbolism of a scroll bound by seven seals to represent the apocalyptic revelations. Each of the seals represents a progressive release of doom upon the earth. According to the prophecy, once the Seventh Seal is opened final judgment will fall upon humanity. The Apocalypse is the climax of the eternal war between the Kingdom of God and the Legion of Hell. During the final days, the Antichrist, chosen agent of the powers of darkness, will ascend to the throne of a great mortal kingdom and shake the very pillars of Heaven. If he cannot be destroyed before he takes his throne, the struggle to defeat him will consume the world.

The War Between Heaven and Hell

Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv’d he Mother of Mankinde, what time his Pride Had cast him out from Heav’n, with all his Host Of Rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring

To set himself in Glory above his Peers, He trusted to have equal’d the most High, If he oppos’d; and with ambitious aim Against the Throne and Monarchy of God.”

— John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book I

The living God, almighty and eternal, presides upon a throne of judgment at the very apex of the universe. This world and everything in it are His creations, and yet there is war against Him and His kingdom. Humans and Angels alike have free will — and

some of them have chosen to turn against God and have vowed to see Him overthrown as the Lord of Creation.

And it is creation itself that acts as the battleground for the forces of light and darkness, and human souls are the prize. Each soul, bound in its fragile mortal vessel, contains a fragment of the divine spirit, and thus each soul corrupted and hence stolen by darkness increases its power and the audacity of the Legion of Hell.

The war has waxed and waned, sometimes directly making its presence known, but more often as the backdrop to cataclysmic events throughout human history. In the modern day, the earth carries more living souls than have ever existed. In this age of global culture, advanced technology, and decadent materialism, the last act in this great conflict is about to play out. On

one side is the Kingdom of God, compassionate and powerful, yet aloof and mysterious. On the other side is the Legion of Hell, fractious and greedy, yet only too willing to interfere directly upon the mortal plane. Things shall not always be as they are, and the massive changes in the world over the past century are only a small sign of the ravages that the war will take in the future.

Legion

“Like one that on a lonesome road Doth walk in fear and dread, And having once turned round walks on,

And turns no more his head; Because he knows a fearful fiend

Doth close behind him tread.”

— Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Sovereign of Hell, the greatest and most daring foe of light, is Satan, the Fallen One. Once he was called Lucifer, high-est and most beautiful of God’s Angels. In his reckless ambition, Lucifer led a rebellion against the throne of

Heaven. Overcome by the loyal Archangel Michael, Lucifer and a third of the Angels that supported him were cast down from Heaven, forever removed from the love of God.

Satan is also called the Prince of Lies and the Serpent, for it is said to be he who enticed Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. It is difficult to imagine a more cunning, powerful, or rapacious antagonist for the human spirit than the once brightest morning star of Heaven. Satan and his army of rebel Angels rule the dread fires of Hell, where the souls of the wicked and the unrighteous are tormented and devoured. In supernatural might and in mortal pawns, they are a force to be feared.

The Chosen

“. . . Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”

— Revelation 7:3-4

Arrayed against this awesome force are the soldiers of light, the Sentinels, marked by God and torn from their former lives of comfort and illusion. The Sentinels are the recipients of Angelic visitations, during which they are invested with supernatural powers and the responsibility of hunting and destroying the forces of the Legion on earth. Scared, confused, and outnumbered by the Legion, the Sentinels must rise to the challenge that is their destiny. If they cannot drive the unrighteous from the earth by faith and force, the Seventh Seal will be broken, and the defeat of Satan will require the destruction of the earth, and with it, mankind.

The Last Age of Man

what branches grow

Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,

You cannot say, or guess, for you know only

A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,

And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,

And the dry stone no sound of water.

— T.S. Eliot, “The Wasteland”

It is the dawn of a New Millennium, a time of unpar-alleled connections between nations, vast material wealth, and spiritual starvation. The uncertainty and confusion of this infant age is fertile soil for the powers of Hell, and the agents of the Legion are hard at work preparing the way for the coming of the Antichrist, the False Prophet whose reign will initiate the end of the world. Demons walk the earth in mortal guise, and their human servants are as likely to be found in a boardroom as a Satanic Black Mass. The forces of darkness claim governments, churches, corporations, and mortal agencies of every description. Their influence knows no bounds.

This is a cynical age, a worldly age, one in which the nations of the earth are divided by deep contrasts. In the industrialized powers, luxuries are cheap and numbing, and irreligion is fashionable. In the poor nations scrabbling for existence in the less

stable corners of the earth, famine, disease, and ceaseless war are the rule. Hell follows misery and indifference alike, and its power grows with every day that passes.

Prophetic Revelation

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his Angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

— Revelation 1:1-3

The unique device at the heart of The Seventh Seal is the

Prophetic Revelation. Mystical visions and allegories delivered

to the Sentinels in the form of waking dreams. Through the vehicle of these revelations, the Angels of the Lord direct the efforts of the Sentinels. These supernatural insights are both the blessing and curse of the Sentinels, for with every disclosure given to the soldiers of light, the picture grows clearer of the blasphemous, inhuman forces that await them at every turn. Where the true power of Hell is concerned, ignorance is indeed bliss.

Contained Within . . .

Chapter One: Sinners and Saints explores the condition

of the Sentinels, introducing players to the Anointing and the subsequent roles their characters play within the game.

Chapter Two: Signs and Portents details the war

between Heaven and Hell through scraps of history, prophecy, and misinformation.

Chapter Three: The Chosen discusses character creation,

including the seven Orders of the Archangels, character backgrounds, as well as Benefits and Detriments.

Chapter Four: State of Grace provides an in-depth

examination of all the spiritual and supernatural traits available to Sentinels, including Grace, Insight, Divinities, and Blessings.

Chapter Five: Guidelines explains the rules of the game,

including dice rolling conventions, resolution mechanics, Proficiencies, combat, disease, health, and equipment.

Chapter Six: Revelations provides deeper instruction for

the Prophet in the arts of prophecy, horror, revelations, and the creation of scenarios for a fulfilling roleplaying experience.

Chapter Seven: We Are Legion! details the powers of the

Legion, the hierarchy of Hell, Demons, Iniquities, and Sorcery. Also provided are statistics for adversaries that will challenge and antagonize the Sentinels of The Seventh Seal.

Disclaimer

The Seventh Seal is intended neither as a serious theological

document nor a clumsy piece of propaganda — it is a roleplaying

game, a work of fiction from cover to cover. While it draws

heavily upon Judeo-Christian culture and mythology, presuming (within its own context) that biblical lore happens to be the truth,

it is not meant to be mistaken as an essay or opinion on modern religion or faith. This is simply the legendary tapestry from which the game draws its inspiration.

The game presumes that many of the stories presented in the Bible and related Apocrypha are incomplete or purposefully misleading. This may conflict with faithful adherents of said texts as unthinkable. The Seventh Seal can be perceived as being simultaneously “too Christian” by some and yet “heretical” by others. Despite these natural tendencies, due in large part to the background and themes of The Seventh Seal, in order to remain true to the source material, yet make a playable game, we have taken liberties with the design and setting to reflect our vision. We have confidence that reasonable people will see it for what it is: a game, a means of entertainment, nothing more and nothing less.

For better or for worse, the Bible is one of the pillars of western culture and understanding, rich in philosophical questions and obtuse mysteries, ripe with prophecies and phantasmagoria. This is not evangelism for or against the Bible, but an exploration of its tenets as the basis for a fictional setting. Within this setting, we have also tried to play up the racial and sexual inclusiveness of the source material, exercising our creative and dramatic license in so doing. The God of The Seventh Seal, whatever else may be said to His detriment, is a God of the world entire, deeply and personally interested in the struggle against darkness faced by every soul on the earth.

If you disagree with what we’ve done here, the magic of the medium is that you can change it to your heart’s content. We submit to you that we have done our best to walk a careful, thoughtful path during the writing and editing process, and that our only agenda is to entertain.

The Creative Team

Character Glossary

The following terms are frequently used throughout the text of The Seventh Seal. They are listed below for ease of reference, and can be used within the game setting by Sentinel characters:

Anointing:

The process by which a mortal is invested with the powers of a Sentinel.

Antichrist:

A mortal agent of Satan, invested with the Fallen One’s might in a blasphemous parody of Jesus’ Incarnation.

Arcana:

Theurgical arts drawn from the holy power of God. Antithetical to black magic, or Sorcery.

Archangels:

One of the nine Choruses of God’s celestial servants and warriors. Seven Archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Jeremiel, Raguel and Suriel) bear responsibility for choosing and guiding the Sentinels.

Beast Kingdoms:

Nations (both historical and contemporary) under the sway of dark and ungodly ways.

Celestial Order:

One of the seven divisions of the Sentinels, each of which is overseen by an Archangel.

Deceitful Trinity:

The blasphemous trio of entities crowning the forces of the

Legion, composed of Satan, Tiamat, and the Antichrist. Demon:

Any creature with the Aspect of Entity that has some influence and power in the hierarchy of Satan’s Legion. The

Fallen are the most powerful Demons in Hell. Divinities:

Supernatural powers granted to Sentinels to aid them in battle against the agents of Hell.

Fallen:

The highest order of Hell’s hierarchy. Fallen Angels who once served in the army of the Kingdom of God.

Holy Trinity:

The three aspects of the Almighty God, commonly known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Incarnation, The:

The period of time in which Jesus Christ walked the earth in the body of a man.

John the Divine:

Allegedly one of Christ’s apostles. John received and recorded the prophecies that make up the Book of Revelation.

Kashshapi:

Sorcerers in the service of the Infernal Legion.

Legion, The:

Common term for the powers of Hell, including all those allied to its wicked agenda.

Magi, Chaldean:

Secretive and reclusive sect of enlightened magi who practice Arcana. They are granted powers by God in exchange for acknowledging Jesus as His son.

Marked, The:

Willing mortal servants of the Legion, branded with the mark of the beast, the unholy equivalent of the Sphragis.

Martyrs:

Spirits with a divine purpose that help the Chosen Elect from across The Veil.

Nephilim:

Monstrous children of mortal women and fallen Angels (the Fallen).

Revelation, Book of:

The last book of the New Testament that prophesies the end of the world.

Revelation, Prophetic:

A visitation of cryptic and mystic knowledge granted to

Sentinels as forewarning to guide them in their battles. Satan:

The ruler of Hell and the Legion. A powerful Fallen

Seraphim who led a rebellion against God and was cast down for

his presumption. Once known as Lucifer.

Scythians:

Demonic spirits used by the Legion as assassins, spies, and warriors.

Sentinels (the Chosen Elect):

Mortals chosen by the Kingdom of God to battle the forces of

the Legion and forestall or prevent the rise of Satan’s power on earth.

Seraphim:

The highest and most powerful of the nine Angelic Choruses. Lucifer, who was cast down, was once among their number.

Seven Seals, The:

A metaphor used in the Book of Revelation to describe the successive stages of the world’s doom.

Sorcery:

Term used to describe magic empowered by an ungodly source. Directly opposed to Arcana.

Sphragis:

A supernatural brand borne by all Sentinels. Visible only to supernatural entities and other Sentinels.

Spiritual Conflict:

A dangerous contest in which a Sentinel pits all his reserves of faith and spirituality directly against the dark force of a servant of Hell.

Tiamat:

The “Whore of Babylon,” a great seductress of men and nations. One of the Deceitful Trinity.

Tribulation:

The last age of man, the time after the breaking of the Seventh Seal, a time of Hell on earth.

Tsaba:

A small group of Sentinels that work, fight, and seek revelation in the war between Heaven and Hell.

Veil, The:

The invisible barrier between the corporeal world and the spirit realm.

Player Glossary

The following terms are used by players and the Prophet, rather than by their characters.

Aspect:

One of nine basic traits common to all beings, rated from 1 to 7 for mortals, and 0 to 20 for supernatural creatures and Demons.

Benefits:

Advantages gained by characters during character generation. See also Detriments.

Character:

The fictional persona of a player in a game of The Seventh

Seal. Characters are almost always Sentinels of a Celestial Order. Chapter:

A single game session. Many chapters make up a Prophecy.

Combat Pool:

Reference tools used to keep track of character abilities for combat purposes (listed on page two of the character sheet).

Crusade:

A Crusade is a complete roleplaying story arc. An easy comparison would be to call each Chapter the equivalent of one episode of a television series, each Prophecy a season of several such episodes, and a Crusade the complete run of those seasons. Familiar in common roleplaying parlance as a campaign.

D:

Shorthand for a six-sided die. The Seventh Seal only uses six- sided dice, found in most board games and hobby shops. “2D” represents rolling two six-sided dice, while “7D” would represent rolling seven six-sided dice, etc.

Degree of Success (DoS):

The number of dice rolled that equal or exceed an action’s Difficulty Rating. Also the difference between rolls in Opposed Rolls.

Detriments:

Disadvantages and hindrances acquired in character generation. Detriments may be taken in order to allow characters to gain more Benefits.

Difficulty Rating (DR):

The target number for each die rolled, ranging from 2 (easy) to 8 (extremely difficult) that must be equaled or exceeded during resolution. Abbreviated as DR.

Echelon:

Power levels of Divinities are referred to as Echelons. Each

Divinity has seven Echelons. Free Will:

The reward for the risks and dangers faced by Sentinels during their battle against the forces of Hell. Free Will points may be used to improve existing character traits and purchase new ones.

Grace:

Divine essence resident in all pure humans and creatures.

Sentinels may use Grace to perform extraordinary feats. Guise:

The supernatural illusion worn by Demons and Demonic creatures, allowing them to conceal their True Form from other beings.

HtH:

Shorthand for “Hand-to-Hand.”

Insight:

Supernatural energy granted to Sentinels, enabling them to utilize Divinities and Arcana. Equal to the sum of Vigor + Willpower + Soul.

Life Levels:

A representation of the physical health of characters and creatures within the game. Most beings have eight Life Levels, the last of which represents death.

Phase, Action:

Combat and other actions are divided into Action Phases. Each Action Phase represents five-seconds of game time, during which characters and creatures within the game take actions.

Player:

An actual living person who participates in a game of The

Seventh Seal by roleplaying a Character. Proficiencies:

Skills and focused abilities that can be learned and improved over time. Proficiencies are rated from 1 to 7.

Prophecy:

A linked thematic interval made up of numerous Chapters, usually developed around a single critical Prophetic Revelation (hence the name).

Prophet:

An actual living person who describes the world and setting of The Seventh Seal in an imaginative manner to the players. The

Prophet also resolves game mechanics and acts as the arbitrator of

the game.

Scene:

A loosely defined term used to describe a single roleplaying encounter or situation. Think of it in movie terms — a scene may be a conversation, a dramatic confrontation, a fight, or any other significant plot event.

Taint:

The power of Hell that grows in the hearts of the indifferent, the callous, the sinful, and the willingly unrighteous. Taint is rated from 1 to 6.

The Lord moves in mysterious ways, and few know this bet-ter than the Sentinels. The ranks of the Chosen form a motley human tapestry, an alliance of sinners and saints from all cultures and walks of life. The Archangels favor no religion or patterns of behavior in their selections. Atheists and agnostics, soldiers and scholars, young and old alike find themselves chosen to confront the Legion of Hell on behalf of a power that most of them didn’t believe in before their Anointing.

The Sentinels are a microcosm of the human condition, representing the best as well as the worst that it has to offer. They are often confused and afraid, struggling to overcome their own dark sides and come to terms with the will of God as they try to stay alive in battle against the darkness around them. The only comforts of their harsh life are the camaraderie of other Sentinels and the sure knowledge of redemption . . . if only they are strong enough to loose their faith from the shackles of doubt and cynicism.

The Anointing

“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God. Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 . . .”

— Revelations7:4 The awakening of a Sentinel is called the Anointing. The process is deeply affecting, both mentally and physically; an intrusion into normal life that begins as a vague unease and grows steadily until the chosen mortal receives an Angelic revelation. Each Sentinel’s Anointing is unique and highly personal, yet the investment of knowledge and responsibility tends to follow a loose pattern.

The stages of Anointing are: Visions, the First Visitation, a

Compulsion, the Second Visitation and the Investment.

Visions: Crossing the Threshold

“Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.”

— Joel 2:28 The Sentinel-to-be is first plagued with torrents of visions while he sleeps, and may even experience terrifying waking-dreams as the days go by. These waking-dreams reveal various scenes from the great conflict between Heaven and Hell, some of which are recorded in the Bible. They may show the dreamer the fall of the walls of Jericho, or the journey of Moses in a basket of rushes, or the childhood of Christ, or any of a thousand other places and events of biblical and historical relevance to the war between Heaven and Hell. The most vivid and terrifying dreams of all are those that reveal the Fall, when the host of Rebel Angels led by Lucifer were cast from Heaven for their attempt to overthrow God. It is a mercy that the particulars of these visions are only half remembered upon waking, though the emotional shock never fades.

J

“Let’s do ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ next,” said Jesse from behind his drum kit. He was already teetering on the edge of his stool, half-a-dozen empty green bottles at his feet. Josh’s eyes narrowed in irritation — the bar took the beers out of their cut for the evening. On a night like this, drinking away every last penny was a real danger.

“Play the set like we practiced it,” Josh said. “Otherwise we’ll probably screw something up.” He gave a look to Drew, the lead guitarist, who nodded slowly, then tapped his mike three times. Josh drained the rest of his beer,

tossed the bottle behind him, and held his four-string bass low against his thighs, his back arched, his body still. Drew cued Jesse, and the audience moved a little closer to the stage. The second half of the set opened with “Clash City Rockers,” and if that didn’t wake the place up they’d probably never be invited back to play again.

Synchro cue was a four count, the band tapping their feet in unison, or near-unison in Jesse’s case. Four, three, two . . .

A scream filled the bar, a sound so loud and vast that Josh felt it like a wind against his skin. His fingers slid down the strings, fumbling

out a discordant fretter of bass slaps. He realized that it wasn’t one scream, but a mass cacopho-ny, the entire crowd gone wild in anguish. Josh stood paralyzed — he smelled . . . smoke? White-hot flames boiled up around the audience, exploding out of no-where, catching hair and clothing and flesh as it surged upward. A hundred agonized faces looked up at Josh from with-in that with-inferno, their skin waxy — their eyes wide. The fire breathed its charred human breath on Josh, and he fell choking to the stage.

“Josh . . . Josh! Look at me, Josh, look at me! Are you tripping or some-thing?”

Drew and Jesse were both looking down at him, framed by the white lights of

the stage. Drew looked horrified. Jesse gazed at his fellow band-mate with a smirk. Josh became aware that he was lying on his back, dangerously close to the edge of the stage; his bass awkwardly sprawled across his chest. The crowd was murmuring in anticipation — the fire was gone.

“What the hell happened?”

“Two seconds into the song you fell on your ass and had a screaming fit,” Drew said. “Hell! We thought you’d been electrocuted.” He held up Josh’s amp plugs. “Just in case.”

“You were screamin’ louder than Henry Rollins at 4 a.m., man,” Jesse added.

“I don’t know what happened,” Josh panted, “I’m pretty sure I wasn’t electrocuted. Help me up will ya.”

Drew and Jesse hauled Josh onto his feet. He wavered

for a second, caught himself and clung to his bass as though it were a life preserver.

“You okay to go on?” Drew asked.

“Yeah,” Josh whispered, shaking his head, “It was nothing. Don’t worry about me. Let’s get on with it.”

If his bass lines were a little ragged for the rest of the night, nobody cared. The audience, perhaps enthused by what they mistook to be a stage gimmick, actually came to life during the second set. Josh could barely stand to look at them, afraid to remember what he had seen, so he played most of the remaining set with his back turned. Eventually Jesse pressed another Rolling Rock on him, and by his sixth Josh no longer cared whether or not he drank away his share of the spoils.

First

Visitation:

The Angelic

Presence

“Stand thy still a while, that I may show thee the word of God.”

— I Samuel 9:27 The visions are a precursor to a direct rev-elation, preparing each mortal subconsciously to receive a spiritual vis-itation. The Archangel presents itself to the Sentinel-to-be, taking on whatever form best suits its purpose. They have been seen as mighty winged Angels of immense beauty, a burning bush, spiritual apparitions, or various other forms and avatars. Regardless, the first appearance of an Archangel is almost always a shock, even after days and nights of visionary trances meant to soften and prepare for the arrival. By the time this visitation comes, the Sentinel-to-be is well aware that something extraordinary is happening to him, and that his dreams have an origin beyond his own imagination. Most chosen mortals withdraw from human society as the visions intensify, since it is difficult to gain empathy from loved ones as the visions intrude upon daily activity. Many people are falsely mistaken as mad or insane during these times, and soon realize that they must face whatever truths are revealed to them on their own. While it is true that some have trouble dealing with what they are experiencing, others feel a dawning sense of anticipation.

J

“I, Josh Cable, am going out of my goddamn mind,” he said aloud.

It seemed as though the dreams started each night before he even went to sleep. Maybe they had replaced sleep altogether. He tried to drink and drug himself into blackness, but the dreams had battered their way through each time. Their fury and intensity had risen every night since the first — the night he fell on stage, imagining that he saw the audience writhing in a lake of fire.

He’d called in sick to work three times. He hadn’t rehearsed with the band in a week. He’d pulled his phone cord out of the wall and stopped answering his door. He had black duct tape over his closet. He needed more for the windows, but he was afraid to go outside. He was on his last cigarette.

Blowing smoke in a steady stream, he reflected on some of the things he’d seen. If he closed his eyes, he could remember most of them with frightful clarity. Cities with towers . . . deserts that stretched for miles . . . caravans of people in billowing robes . . . battles and death on arid plains . . . rivers of blood and mountains of bodies.

A ghostly luminescence began to fill the apartment, as though someone outside the window had turned on the moon. Irritated, Josh untangled his legs from his sheets, rolled off the sleeping mat, and crept toward the window, cigarette dangling from his lips at a dangerous angle. A sudden sensation of warmth tickled its way up his naked back.

“Joshua,” said a clear voice. It almost sounded like a whisper, yet was not masked by distance or the noises outside.

Josh spun to see a tall figure standing in the center of the room. A man with skin that glowed, his frame broad-shouldered and impressively toned. However, ‘standing’ wasn’t the proper word — rather, the figure hovered. Great ephemeral shapes filled the air behind the figure, like feathers of light.

Josh hollered and reached behind him for something to catch his balance. The sight of the figure hit him like a sword between the eyes. Half forgetting that his apartment was on the sixth floor, he stumbled for the window.

“Be not afraid,” said the stranger. The voice resounded in Josh’s mind as though it were sprung from his own thoughts. He felt his body lurch to a halt, and move gently away from the window.

“Behold me.”

Gulping back fear and dropping his cigarette without a thought, Josh turned. He gazed at eyes that were as black as the night, but the smile was an easy one, a disarming gesture that somehow seemed perfectly at home on that inhuman face.

“I am an angel of the Lord, Our God. I am called Michael. You are one of the Chosen Elect. I hold your name in my book along with many others. From this day, you carry a sword in Heaven’s name.”

Without thinking, Josh threw himself to his knees and bent his head to the floor.

“Rise, Joshua,” the angel said. “I am but a fellow-servant, like you, and your brothers and sisters. Control your fear — you are marked in my Celestial Order, and others will soon look to you for guidance.”

“All this is really happening?” Josh croaked. “I must be mad.”

He rose unsteadily to his feet and stretched out a hand to touch the shape before him. He met no flesh, but an undeniably pleasant sensation of warmth spread across his fingertips and into the core of his being. Rhapsody.

“I am as real as you are, but in my own way. What I give you is truth, though there will be much sorrow in it for you.” “But . . . I’m not even religious. I don’t believe in God.” The angel tilted his head, as though it had heard an old and familiar joke.

“Rest assured that Our Heavenly Father believes in you, Joshua. Now sleep . . . and dream.”

The angel reached out without moving, and Josh felt a sliver of pleasant heat pierce his forehead. He felt no pain, but his vision grew dim, and in his final vision before falling into darkness were black everlasting eyes.

Compulsion: The Test of Resolve

“Thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying.”

— Psalms 70:5 After a Sentinel-to-be has received his first visitation, he falls into a deep and unnatural slumber. He then has a dream of startling clarity, even in comparison to the visions of previous days. In the vision, he is shown in fairly certain terms the path that will lead to an agent of darkness. This is the first page of a test that will prove to the Sentinel-to-be that evil exists and that many wrongs must be righted in order for humanity to be saved. The test could be confrontational and overt, or subtle and indirect, since the forces of darkness are at work everywhere in society, and no Sentinel-to-be is ever far from the plans of the Legion.

Upon waking, the Sentinel-to-be feels a compulsion to face the evil from his dream — an urge that grows by the hour. This is the crucible, the test in which each Sentinel first feels the direct power of darkness. The test may be a physical battle with a demonic agent, a public confrontation with a false priest, the uncovering of a sinister operation, or the rescue of an innocent person in grave danger. The Sentinel-to-be must overcome this challenge with his personal wits and resources. He is not yet invested with any supernatural powers, although he does feel the presence of a higher being with him at all times.

Most Sentinels believe that this test is given to them so that they may prove themselves worthy of investment, but that’s only part of the truth. The test is given to each Sentinel to show them that even before they were gifted with supernatural powers, they were worthy of being Chosen, and that their own abilities are no less important to the coming battles than their Divinities. Above all, the powers of light want the Sentinels to gain confidence in humanity. It is possible for those not blessed with the power of a Sentinel to still fight against the influence of evil — an important fact that empowers Sentinels with hope that mankind can be saved.

I

A hundred nameless children in darkness. A faceless man that kept them there.

They are lost, echoed the voice in his mind, bound in chains and made to breathe the smoke of nightmares, made to take unclean powders that excite the blood and poison the soul.

The end of the alley came into sight. A rusty iron door and a lone guard were there, just as he’d dreamed. Taking a deep breath, Josh tried to contain the dread and excitement that boiled within him. He wanted to shout and attack wildly. He wanted to run. He kept himself calm by force of will. The cold weight of his heavy Maglite rode against his rib cage, concealed within his jacket.

The man on the door was a dog-faced Russian at least a head taller than Josh, the sort of paunchy bruiser that looked like he’d come out of the womb with a clenched fist and a bottle of vodka. He leaned against the brick wall, his eyes fixed on Josh.

Arkady, whispered the voice in his head.

“Arkady sent me,” Josh said as nonchalantly as possible. He figured that the simpler he kept things, the less likely he was to arouse suspicion.

The bruiser eyed him for a long moment, as though disappointed that Josh had said the right thing. Then he knocked on the rusty iron door and spoke quickly in a guttural language that Josh didn’t understand. A bolt behind the door banged against the metal lined threshold. A rat-like face with nicotine colored skin and mannequin eyes peaked out from within. He motioned for Josh to enter, and stepped aside.

Once the door was slammed shut behind him, Josh found himself in a dank unfinished hallway. The air was sick with the smell of drugs, piss, cheap booze and something that might have been burning plastic. The rat-faced man was shorter than Josh, and he had an addict’s emaciated frame, barely concealed by his grubby clothes.

Strike, whispered the voice.

Josh motioned for the man to halt while he drew a fresh packet of smokes out of his jacket with his left hand. Removing a cigarette with his right, he held it out toward the man.

“Got a light?”

The man nodded, reaching down into his pocket. Josh timed his movements carefully, feeling his heart as a steady tempo in his temples. As the man fished for a lighter, Josh’s left hand went back under his coat as though to put the cigarettes away. When both of the man’s hands were occupied with his lighter, Josh’s left hand emerged gripping

the Maglite. A black mass ripped the air. The sharp echoing smack of metal on cartilage, as the man’s nose shattered.

“Jesus Christ,” Josh whispered. It was actually happening. He was re-living the dream, beating up crazy Russian guys in a place that smelled like the piss capitol of the world. He double-checked the bolt on the door. The bruiser was locked outside.

This kingdom of the lost is small, and its king is close at hand.

Moving down the bare concrete floor of the hallway, Josh became aware of another sound, a muted organic muttering not unlike the gentle flutter of insect wings. He came to the end of the hallway and turned a corner. He finally saw what was making the noise.

The place had probably been a business at one point — old machinery could still be seen against the far wall, along with the trackless remains of a conveyor belt. Chipped concrete pillars reached up from the bare floor to the water-damaged ceiling, where tufts of pale insulation hung down like sinister fingers. Cheap arc lights dangled from the ceiling pipes. At every point along the walls and at every corner of the pillars were children. Dozens of them. Each of them had one hand lashed to one of the walls at chest level. Dirty plastic buckets lay at their feet. They were filthy. Their eyes were dead, cataract gray. The stench of human waste and narcotic smoke threatened to overtake Josh’s senses. Oily fingers of haze were crawling into the air from crude braziers littered about the room, and as Josh moved he could see gentle smoke currents forming in his wake like tendrils.

The breathing of the children was like grating metal, fluttering and unhealthy, one sickly wheezing gasp after another.

“Poor Dmitri is quite severely injured, Josh. What did you have to go and do a thing like that for?”

The voice was heavy with the accent of Somewhere Else. It wasn’t entirely Russian, even to Josh’s untrained ears. It was like oil, swirling with undercurrents. The man that stepped out of the shadows was a perfect fit for it, looking as though he’d been assembled from spare parts at a morgue. He was tubercular rather than slim, with piano-wire tendons and muscles that moved like something burrowing under his pale skin. Beneath greasy ridges of black hair, the man’s eyes were bright with amusement. It was obvious that he was feeling no effect from the smoke that was congealing Josh’s senses with every passing moment.

“How’d you know my name?”

“You look like a Josh. What can I say?” The man stood at ease with his hands folded loosely across his chest. He was wearing greasy black jeans, a slick black t-shirt, and reptile-skin boots with tarnished silver heel caps. “Nice flashlight. I’m guessing this vigilante thing is new to you. I sent for you. Just like you said at the door, Josh.”

“I don’t know what you want with these kids . . . Arkady, but I’m here to stop it.” Josh winced at the over-the-top bravado of his own words.

“Stop it! Stop what? You don’t even understand what I’m doing,” the man said in a reasonable tone, almost hurt by the accusation, “it’s really as simple as . . . agriculture. I raise crops. I take harvest. And I don’t go looking for trouble where I’m not wanted.”

“You know my name, obviously, so I think you know who sent me. I’m taking these kids out of here.”

“You saw me from your dreams, didn’t you?” Arkady interrupted smoothly, “Shortly after you had a visitor, I’d venture. Tall dark stranger. Chiseled like a Greek statue. Pretentious wings. Feet didn’t touch the ground . . . humph, oldest act in the book. Oldest con in the book more like it. I’m no fashion plate myself, but at least I mind the times.”

Arkady fingered his threadbare shirt almost ruefully. He then flicked his tongue out between his teeth, like a reptile tasting the air.

“I can smell it, Josh. I can taste its residue. I do know who sent you, and that means you know what I am. Well, it’s true. I mean, look around you,” the man opened his arms and gestured at the drug-deadened bodies. “Everything you saw in the dream was true. I keep this little room of sorrows because I need it. I work for a hierarchy, Josh. I’m just a day jobber. If I don’t do as I’m told . . . you got no idea. Trust me. Those lakes of fire aren’t for your kind, they’re for my kind, the working stiffs that screw up.”

“What do you expect me to do,” Josh asked, confused and agitated by the argument, “turn my back on all this? Christ, these are just kids. I was sent here. I was sent here to . . . you know, to . . .”

“Yes, you were sent here,” Arkady spoke in earnest, “but why? An almighty angel of you-know-who shows up and tells you to come after me . . . with a flashlight? Where’s that angel now? Why isn’t he doing his own dirty work? Why does something with such vast power need an errand boy like you?”

“I . . . I don’t know,” Josh whispered, “but this place. It’s all wrong. What you’re doing is . . .”

“Look, I’m giving you nothing but straight talk, Josh. I’m not a nice guy. I don’t do nice things. This place is just as bad as it looks. But I didn’t walk into your place, beat down one of your friends, and then tell you how to live your life. This isn’t your fight. You’re being used. You’re just a tool, and to tell you the truth, I feel more sorry for you than anything else.”

Josh found himself speechless. The edges of the room were blurry, as though his depth perception was collapsing. His brain felt packed in cotton, and he struggled to retain a clear memory of the dream that had seemed so vivid just a few minutes ago.

“I’m only trying to get by, is all,” the man continued, “and you look like the sort of guy who knows all about that. So what do you say? Keep waving that damn flashlight around, and things might get tense. Tense is bad. Dangerous even. I’d really be happier if we could cut a deal . . . you walk, keep your mouth shut, and I fill your pockets with good shit. Cash, nickel bags, eightballs . . . you’ll be a walking candy store.”

“No,” Josh whispered after a long silence. “No, I just can’t. You understand don’t you? I don’t care who’s using me. But you have to let these kids go. We don’t have to fight, but I’ll make you let these kids go. Just leave now if you want. I’ll let you leave.”

For the first time, Arkady looked deeply upset. Frightened, almost.

“Can’t be done, Josh. I can’t run far enough to get away from him, and he’s far more punishing than your man in

charge. If I just leave to save my own skin, they’ll do things to me you can’t understand.” He moved to within a few feet of Josh, slowly, with his empty hands held up. He knelt before Josh and looked down at the ground.

“Take the money, Josh. Take the goods. I’ll set you up for years. But if you won’t make a deal, if you have to be difficult,” the man looked up again, and Josh was startled to see a tear rolling out of his left eye, “then take your flashlight and bash my skull in. Make it quick. Just do me in, because I’ll never be allowed to die clean when they get their hands on me.”

Josh raised the heavy flashlight and stared down at the man, whose face was twisted piteously. Josh’s arm wavered for a few seconds, and then he shuddered and lowered the weapon.

“I can’t. Not like this.”

“You’ll be doing me a favor, Josh. The only real favor anyone’s ever done for me. Do it. End it fast. Here,” he said, slowly reaching out for Josh’s bare arm, just above the wrist, “I’ll guide your arm. I’ll be the one doing it, not you. Please.”

The man’s fingers were half an inch from his flesh when Josh looked away in shame and confusion. When he had seen them straight on, those fingers had seemed normal. But in the corner of his eye, he saw them writhing with a dark shape that made his pulse explode in adrenal fear. Breaking through the warm haze of the smoke-induced dullness, he jerked his arm away.

Delicately cradled in Arkady’s hand was a massive spider, a hairless creature with a waxy black carapace and glistening fangs. Those fangs had been a hair’s breadth from plunging into Josh’s naked wrist, and the spider twitched in agitation.

Screaming, Josh raised the Maglite and brought it down on top of Arkady’s head before the skinny man could react. There was no expected shock from the impact like he had felt before when he smashed rat-face in the nose, instead, the flashlight tore through the top of Arkady’s head as though it were crumpled paper. Inside was something soft that crackled as it broke, and Josh heard a rattling noise coming from within the shattered head.

Arkady dropped gracelessly to the concrete; wisps of smoke swirling where he once was kneeling. Josh lurched to avoid the spider as it fell to the floor. Josh struck again and again, hitting Arkady along his back, each time plunging the flashlight through yielding skin and writhing softness. The body of the fallen man twitched and spasmed with each blow. “Should have made a deal, Josh!” The voice was still Arkady’s, but it was deeper and less human by the second. “I’m going to ram that flashlight up your ass until it hits the back of your skull. And then, Josh, I’m going to crawl inside you and take your flesh!”

The skin that had been Arkady was sloughing off, revealing a skeleton-shaped mass of crawling horrors. Spiders and scorpions, centipedes and worms, all of them a fiercely agitated black mass of vileness. It peeled out of its false flesh and rose in the rough shape of a man. All around it the children remained sedate, staring with unseeing eyes.

The thing flowed rather than walked, shifting its hungry mass in scuttling waves. Josh hurled his flashlight, watching in despair as it tore a hole in the chest of the black shape but

failed to stop it. Casting about desperately for a weapon, he set his eyes on one of the heavy braziers that gave off the reeking fumes. He seized one by its stand, sucking back the pain as the heat seared the flesh on his hands, biting through his callused fingers. Josh hoisted the brazier and flung it into the black nightmare that had been Arkady. A shower of burning embers cascaded over its form and lit up the room. As it screamed in agony, the shape collapsed upon itself, pouring back and outward in an effort to escape.

Josh knew the thing would only be kept at bay for a few moments, and he searched the room with desperate eyes. In the midst of his panic, he found his salvation beneath one of the remaining braziers — a tarnished can of lighter fluid. Grinning fiercely, Josh snatched it up and popped the cap.

Josh spurted stream after stream of fluid onto the churning mass of snapping, hissing crea-tures. The toppled bra-zier and its smolder-ing contents sparked the fuel, and it burst into roaring blue flame that vora-ciously stuck to the insects that were Arkady.

Josh had nearly emptied the can, and threw it into the heart of the writhing mass. He watched as the fire con-sumed Arkady. Charred spiders fell to the floor, legs curled tightly in death. The few dark shapes that evaded the flames died under Josh’s feet, crackling wetly under his weight. He paced the edge of the fire to ensure that nothing escaped. The stench was horrific, sharp with an acidic bite.

When the last of the vicious little things had died and the fire had burnt itself out, Josh fell to his knees, the polluted air tearing at his gasping lungs. Josh soon found the strength to rise to his feet and retrieved his flashlight. The windows were heavily boarded, but he clawed them off the frame and smashed out the glass. It opened onto a deserted street running on the opposite side of the building from the alley he had first entered. Whether or not the heavy who guarded the door was still around, he didn’t care. The warm night air was a welcome relief from the ghastly haze of Arkady’s nest. As Josh climbed out the window, he stole one last look back at the children. Not one of them had stirred, even when their captor was engulfed in a ball of flame.

Tucking his flashlight back under his jacket, he set off at a drunken jog, looking for a pay phone. The rest was up to the police now. Let them make what they would of the charred remain that had never really been a man.

Second Visitation: Answers

and Acceptance

“The Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.”

— Genesis 3:22 After a Sentinel-to-be has overcome his test (and hopefully survived whatever confrontation may have arisen), he receives another spiri-tual visitation by his Archangel. By this point, he should be a great deal more pre-pared to accept what is happening and to understand the re-sponsibilities being entrusted to him. During the second visitation, the extent of the war, the exis-tence of other Sen-tinels, and the nature of the Divinities are all explained.

It is not uncommon for a chosen mortal to be upset, demanding explana-tions and reasons behind all the questions that have plagued humanity for cen-turies on end. The Angels are patient guides in their own ways, answering as many ques-tions as are put forward. Most Chosen have difficulty accepting that they are just as valuable to the Kingdom of God, and as necessary to the war against darkness, as the supernatural beings to whom they are speaking. However, the Angels make it known, that without the Sentinels, the war would be over and Hell would prove victorious, leading to the breaking of the Seventh Seal.

“

Josh was walking in a vision; pacing and waving his hands at the angelic presence that surrounded him, albeit without a visible manifestation. He knew that he was dreaming because he was standing comfortably in a hazy silver nothingness, and his hands didn’t show any signs of the aching blisters he had gained in his battle with Arkady.

“I mean, why did you send me after that thing? You sent me after a demon with nothing but a flashlight! I’m glad I did it, but why didn’t you tell me to pack more heat?”

“I never told you to take any weapon, Joshua,” came the voice of Michael. “The flashlight was your own improvisation, and it worked well. Thus is my point — you are the weapon. You and your kind. Human souls in human bodies, called to the service of Christ in the gravest hour. If you think too much of knives and guns and other tools, you think too small. None of those material things can avail you in the end.”

“Hmmmph. I guess.” Josh was silent for a few moments. “That thing . . . it tried to bargain with me. It made me some offers, but it also told me some things. It said I was being used. It called me an errand boy. And while I hate to admit it, I wonder if it had a point. I’m just a man. You’re an angel. You can do thousands of things I can only dream of. So why am I the one on the street armed with a Maglite and a pack of cigarettes?”

“A good question, Joshua. Its answer lies in the nature of this war.”

“The war for the universe?”

“No,” came Michael’s voice softly, “the war for you.” Josh found his dream-self floating above a night ocean, whitecaps breaking beneath a cloudless vault of sky. A million points of light turned in the heavens, razor-clear and beautiful.

“Creation, vast as it is, great and beautiful as the Lord has made it, is just a stage. Creation is the battleground, not the objective. The objective resides within you, Joshua . . . you and every man and woman ever born. The soul. Every human contains a fragment of divinity, a measure of the very grace that shaped you. With every soul the Fallen One devours and absorbs into his own unclean spirit, his power waxes. Ambition has maddened him. He dreams of growing powerful enough on a feast of lost and sinful souls to challenge the Lord once more.

“Yet the Legion cannot win, Joshua. Their pride has blinded them to the truth they once embraced, that the Almighty cannot be torn from His throne. They can, however, force Him to destroy the world that He has wrought, to end their power within it. That is what you and your brethren have been chosen to prevent. The Horns of Judgment will be the price of your failure. They will signal the victory of Our Lord’s eternal kingdom, but it will be a sad victory. Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord. He has made this world a garden in which you may tend your souls and explore your faith. Your soul is a gift born of love, Joshua . . . and yet so greatly does He respect the free will which He has given you, that He shall see this world destroyed if Man’s iniquity so damns it.”

“Hmmm. I think I get it. So . . . Satan is screwed either way, but he doesn’t care. And if he pushes far enough to start this cosmic endgame, God will stop him . . . but he has to shut the whole show down in order to do it.”

“I admire your power of idiom, Joshua. You do understand the situation.”

“Okay, fair enough, I guess. But still . . . why us? Why any of us? And more importantly, why me in particular? I hate religion. I hate church. I don’t want to be celibate. I drink and smoke and swear. I have every Judas Priest album.

Why not some . . . pure believer?”

The vision of the stars over the ocean vanished, and Josh found himself lost in a crowd, an endless press of men and women that surged in all directions.

“Who is pure? Who is righteous? Who is true? No one. “Divorce the concepts of faith and purity from your mind. The human condition is an impure one by its very nature, and there are few more deluded and lost than they who believe themselves to have transcended it while still alive. Faith is trust, Joshua. It is acceptance. You do not arrive at faith — you must kindle it, and tend it, and let it grow with time. It is a process whereby you tear away the blinders of arrogance and presumption to discover how simple the gift of salvation truly is.”

“Uh . . . okay. Even so, aren’t there better people . . .” “Better people for the task at hand? You and your brethren are the Chosen Elect, Joshua. You have the steel for the coming battle. You have the gift of inspiration and the courage to lead by example. You have everything needed to sustain you against the darkness, and those things that you do not have shall be learned in time. Many serve the Lord that do not love Him. Many more serve him that do not believe in Him. Service is but a first step to faith.”

“So, someday I’ll get to find out what I’m missing? I’ll be given faith for what I’m doing?”

“Faith isn’t given, Joshua. Hear my words. You will uncover your own faith because it is the one thing that can keep you human in the years to come. To serve in my order is to take a chalice of sorrows firmly in hand. At the end of all your pain and exhaustion, there is only one way out. One path to salvation. One road to peace. The Lord will not teach you to have faith in Him — you will teach yourself to have faith in the Lord.”

Josh sighed, or dreamed that he did. The vision of the multitudes faded, and he was once again walking in a warm silver nothingness.

“Okay, even if I did get all that loud and clear, which I don’t, what’s the game? You say there are more good angels than bad. You say that the Kingdom of God is greater than Satan’s big freak show. But you also say that there are creatures of Hell all over the place, interfering with the mortal world. And then you limit your intervention to . . . us. Chosen mortals or elect or whatever you call it. You send the B-squad up against the varsity. What gives?”

“Forgive me for saying so, Joshua, but you have, in error, found the very reason for ‘what gives.’ You underestimate yourself, just as the Fallen One and his Legion underestimate you. They fear the Lord, yet they scorn His creations. To them, you are simply a commodity, a prize to be won. The Almighty sends a message with His Sentinels. He reminds the human and the inhuman alike that you are sufficient. That you are enough.”

“So you’re saying that God has a sense of humor and we’re the punch-line?”

“Of course the Almighty has a sense of humor, Joshua. Only the unholy and the self-righteous do not, and by that you may know them. You are the ultimate rebuke to the Sovereign of Hell. You, the very prize he covets, are the thing he need most fear.”

Josh considered this for a long silent interval. At last he spoke again.