A New Angel

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“We should return to R’sath soon.”

Ahsch glanced down at his sister, who was curled up against him as they lounged on the couch. Stisea was on his other side, and Kirasiel sat between his legs, her head resting on his thigh. “Tomorrow or the day after,” he agreed. “We’ll need time to take stock of events back at the Capital and make the final preparations before the refugees arrive.” He gently squeezed his satyr mate, who nuzzled against him with a happy smile. “And get the herd settled,” he added.

“What is the plan for them?” Kirasiel asked. “I doubt they’d like living in the Capital, but I’m not sure if having them in the Temple makes sense.”

“I think Ivrine would be happy with a piece of land set aside for the herd,” Stisea suggested. “Perhaps between the Temple and the village you are building? I expect the herd would prefer to stay somewhat insular, not fully melding with any outside influence.”

“We could probably do that,” Ahsch said. “Although, maybe trying to integrate them with the Temple wouldn’t be a bad idea? If they are to be bodyguards for me, and with Ivrine, Xitia, and Felori already aware of the whole Enochiel business, mixing the Order and my bodyguards wouldn’t be a bad idea - eventually, it will come out for real that I am Enochiel.”

Ariin shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. At least not starting out. While Ivrine, Xitia, and Felori know the truth, the rest of the herd doesn’t, and forcing them to live and work among city folk sounds like a recipe for trouble. You can encourage interaction less directly and build up those ties, and their simple proximity to the Temple will probably foster a connection anyways, not to mention the public knowledge that you are the Prophet of Enochiel - I bet they would be more than willing to keep in your good graces by becoming involved with the Temple.”

Ahsch thought about it for a few moments, then nodded, conceding the point. Then he chuckled. “Amusing how an otherwise unremarkable bit of forest has suddenly gone from empty to housing three settlements within a year,” he said, shaking his head.

His attention was pulled away from his amusement as Aena approached. “Creator, I would make a request of you,” she politely - if directly - stated.

Ahsch nodded. “Go ahead.”

“I wish for more sisters.”

The hrafthi frowned. “You mean more angels?”

“Yes, Creator.”

His frown deepened as he considered the request. It was possible, however, the issue was that he still wasn’t fully recovered from creating the Trinkets for Ariin and Elui - he was roughly halfway through recovering the second point of Magnitude, so about halfway done overall. Which would mean that the theoretical maximum he could make any current angels was lower than when he had created Aena and the other two. That he had pseudo-Magnitude from Object of Worship was moot, as it didn’t affect his Boons…

Unless it does? Ahsch paused and took a moment to review the interactions. The Magnitude he gained from Object of Worship specifically didn’t affect Dominant’s Tithe, or really any Boons that scaled directly off his Magnitude. But his Mana Pools had grown from the additional power - he was pretty sure that he actually had at least two additional Magnitude off of worshipers, though without doing exhaustive testing it was hard to guess without the solid instinct of how many Thralls he could gain Mana from floating in his mind. But with the vague ‘at least two,’ that was already better than what he’d had in his Mana reserves when he’d created his first angels.

Realizing that the request wasn’t as badly-timed as he had initially thought, he returned his attention to the most senior of his angels. “Why?”

Aena was silent for a few moments, her gaze unfocused as she processed her answer. “There are several reasons, Creator. Firstly, I believe that having more agents who are as intimately bound to your will as myself and my sisters will benefit you in regards to carrying out tasks requiring trust and secrecy. Secondly, the additional sources of gnosis would help spread the Enochiist religion - you could potentially dispatch angels to every town and village in the Kingdom to preach for you. Thirdly, while you are as yet unable to create angels that are unquestionably more powerful than the most powerful of opponents you are likely to face, even Nyrin and Sifthi are superior in power to most mortals.” She paused, and seemed to debate herself for a moment, indecision and embarrassment filling her emotions for a brief moment. “Finally, I simply… _want _more sisters. More… like me.”

All of the first three reasons were convincing in one way or another, but Ahsch found the final one the most convincing on an emotional level. The simple desire to belong was powerful and compelling fundamentally.

And something nagged at the edge of Ahsch’s mind. A question he’d had ever since first creating Aena. “I will promise you one sister before we leave,” he said. “I want to try something… but depending on what happens, you might need to wait until we’re back at R’sath.”

Aena bowed, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “I am grateful, Creator.”

It was late that evening when the whole family - barring Luna and Sola - as well as Ahsch’s inner circle gathered to witness the event. Ahsch stood in the middle of the room, deep in thought, while everyone else looked on in curiosity.

When I first used Cleansing Light, I was focused only on activating the Boon and getting the best that I could. And Aena came out as little more than a construct of Mana. And when I created Nyrin and Sifthi, I mostly was worried about the Mana backlash and getting two more angels.

But something feels… incomplete. Like I didn’t use the Boon to its full extent. He frowned, trying to think of what was missing. Aena is… mechanical. Robotic. She was created without personality or motivation, and is only now beginning to develop those herself. Which, given my standard thought about ‘angel’ is rather Christian, of a being that’s little more than an extension of God’s will, perfectly obedient… a ****, that’s not surprising. But that’s not what I want. That’s not what Enochiel stands for.

Resolve filled him, and he looked at the ground a few feet in front of him, drawing upon the Mana of all his available Pools, and concentrating on a concept. Sione, Angel of Bodies.

The Mana surged out of him, and his vision darkened and filled with spots, but Ahsch endured with gritted teeth. Within a moment, a nude woman - a hermaphrodite, rather - knelt before him. Her dark skin held a rich burgundy hue, and her hair was an earthy green. She was full-figured, and when she looked up, her dark, blood-colored eyes sparkled with joy as she smiled at Ahsch.