You Are Sheol - Tumblr Posts

"You Are Sheol" Exposition

“You are Sheol” is the title of the original story. This tale takes place in 2nd person as the narrator helps Sheol (or you, the reader) remember and understand who and what he is. 

The story explores the mind of an adolescent boy named Sheol as he tries to discover the mysteries of his own past as well as the magical and celestial worlds.

When Sheol is a child, he is visited by an angel who carefully explains to him that they are eternally bound to each other. It is Archangel Zamariel, Saint of Beauty and Divine Music, who blesses Sheol and takes him under his ray.

In an effort to understand the divine and mundane, Sheol eventually discovers himself in the occult and witchcraft. Desperate to understand his true nature, Sheol digs deeper into this hidden knowledge until he finally understands the truth behind the Angels’ secrets. This story explores themes of eternal love, reincarnation, nostalgia, God, magic, religion and life. 

Here are some important terms and concepts that will help you gain a better understanding of this world:

Universal Constants

Dimensions

A dimension is a plane of reality. There are an infinite number of dimensions as far as we know, however those who exist on dimensions higher than the 10th are considered inconceivable. Dimensions are positioned parallel to each other in stacks like a sandwich. Our current 3 dimensional world exists on a material plane. The 4th dimension directly above us exists on an ethereal plane. Dimensions prevent the universe from collapsing on itself. The higher the dimension, the more complex and dense reality becomes. It is easier to ascend dimensions than it is to descend. 

The Veil

The black space between Dimensions. The Veil is constantly being squished between Dimensions and Aether, so it swells and thins in cycles. The thinning of the Veil is the most optimal time for entities to contact the physical plane and for magical operations to be carried out. The removal of the Veil would allow you to see through every dimension. The Veil ensures that dimensions are kept separate and do not collapse on each other. 

The Fabric

The universal material that bends around physical objects and gravity. The Fabric is composed of infinite fractals that form patterns in space. Not to be confused with Aether, which is a physical substance. The Fabric is literally the background code that Space and Time are made from. The Fabric cannot be influenced by anything other than a Chimera. 

Mindscapes

Similar to Realms, Mindscapes are pocket worlds that exist within every human mind and can be infinite in size. These spaces are responsible for pure imagination and abstract thought, as there are no laws of physics within a Mindscape. Mindscapes are generally locked down and extremely secure, but can occasionally be infiltrated during events like possessions.

Realms

A Realm is a place within a dimension that can be considered it’s own pocket world. A Realm may have its own laws of physics but may never defy the fundamental Natural Laws. Within the story, every pantheon of Gods and Deities exist in their own Realms. Realms exist in all dimensions. Realms vary in size and can be massive or miniscule. Realms can exist within other Realms. Realms can exist within Mindscapes. The Realms of two separate entities can be combined into a single Realm or a collective Realm. In order for humans to contact entities, it is necessary for them to come into contact with their Realm. Only Deities, Angels, and Daemons can create realms. Even individual Collective Angels have their own realms. 

Zones

A zone is an area that has been marked as an entities’ (usually a daemon’s) territory. Human and non-human spirits/ghosts are able to create zones. Highly experienced living magical practitioners can also create zones. Unlike a Realm which can theoretically last an infinite amount of time, a zone is considered temporary. 

Energy

Energy is the life of all things and takes form in many ways. Any thing that harbors the movement of energy can be considered a living creature, this includes seemingly inanimate objects like crystals. Gods and celestials rely on Energy to make contact with the material world. The higher the dimension an entity inhabits, the more Energy is required to make contact with the material dimension (3rd). Energy exists in physical things as well as thoughts, feelings, and intentions. Energy cannot be created, it must be taken from a pre existing source. 

Blessings

An energetic exchange between a celestial and another. Consider this to be celestial currency. Any celestial can obtain blessings from another.

Ray

To be under an entity’s ray is to be protected or targeted by their Energy. There are both positive and negative rays, every entity has more than one kind of ray. Rays are also a way for entities to establish ownership over other entities or humans. Higher Deities, Lower Gods, Angels and Daemons all have rays. 

Aura 

The personal energy that surrounds a person or living creature. The celestial equivalent to this is a Melam. Because celestials have no material bodies, they are instead protected by their Melam which is far thicker than a human aura.

Primordial Fire

The essence that every celestial is made of. These fires are found in the Empyrean Heaven. 

Aether

Aether or Ether is without the firmness of earth, the coolness of water, the heat of fire or even the movement of wind. It is therefore the very essence of 'emptiness'. The space element is the most subtle of all elements. It is the material that was believed to fill the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere. It is the material that the Dimensions are suspended within. Crystals of Aether can be used to stabilize Chimeras and prevent them from absorbing each other. 

Incantation

Words said as a magic spell or charm used for summoning entities. Can be equated to a recipe or equation. 

Enn

An Enn is a mantra given by Daemons as a way to attune your energy and vibration to them through the use of  sound frequencies, almost like a phone number. It not only changes your vibration and the surrounding, but also charges the air around you with their power. This is useful for many things. Enn mantras are in a language that isn't known.

Sigil, Seal or Pentacle

A sigil is a type of symbol used as a pictorial signature of a deity or spirit. In modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, sigils refer to a symbolic representation of the practitioner's desired outcome. These symbols have great power over the ethereal realm.

Magick Circle

An energetic boundary created by a practitioner to keep entities trapped within, or to keep entities from coming inside. 

Magick

The practice of influencing energy through intentions. 

Natural Laws

The laws that every living creature in creation must adhere to, including Gods. The natural laws are as follows. 

All things must eventually die, including Gods of Creation and Death Itself. 

Dimensions must be kept separate.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed or transferred. 

Keep an eye out for my next post that will delve into the entities that inhabit this world. Thanks for reading!

Entities within the World.

This is a non exhaustive list of some of the entities that exist within the story “You are Sheol”. All of these entities are inspired by figures in myths around the world, but are not exactly the same.

Chimeras

Chimeras are inexplicable creatures who defy the natural laws of death. Chimeras do not die when killed, rather, they reorganize their cells and reanimate as a different person with the same memories. Chimeras have the ability to influence the fabric of reality. Notoriously fragile, Chimeras are known to split into separate consciousnesses when severely injured to avoid reincarnation. Chimeras are the only entities observed in creation that are skilled at absorption. There are perfect and imperfect Chimera.

Higher Gods

Higher Gods are entities which exist in dimensions tens to hundreds of layers above ours. Because these entities are so incredibly complex, powerful, and dense, Higher Gods will split their consciousness among thousands of Angels who will all collectively carry out their will. This allows Higher Gods to interact with the universe in lower dimensions without destroying the fabric of everything. Every angel within a Higher God’s pantheon is literally a piece of that God. This means that in order to witness a Higher God, every single angel from its pantheon must be observed in a single realm.

The risk with splitting your consciousness among angels like this is that angels, while extremely disciplined, also have free will and can and occasionally do seek other Gods from other pantheons to work with. Likewise , Angels are known to disagree with each other very often, and conflicts between specific Angels mean the decimation of an entire pantheon.

Lower Gods

Lower Gods can be described as Gods whose consciousness can be contained within a single entity. Lower Gods do not split their consciousness among Angels and can operate completely independently. Daemons and Angels alike can become Lower Gods with enough Energy. Lower Gods are known to do magick with humans often. Lower Gods can take Angels and Daemons from other pantheons under their ray. Lower Gods can be worshiped. Lower Gods are not to be mistake for “lesser” gods.

Collective Angels

There are some pantheons that do not follow this traditional understanding of the hierarchy of Angels, some of which may be explored at different times. Our story is mainly centered around a Pre- Abrahamic understanding of the traditional hierarchy inspired by Summaria, Zoroastrianism, Canaanites and early Judaism with a dash of Christianity; however, this pantheon can be considered *somewhat* original as it does not strictly adhere to the beliefs of these faiths. Consider it an eclectic blend of all of these things.

Every Angel looks and behaves entirely uniquely, however, they all share the quality of being highly energetic, incredibly bright burning, intensely massive, lofty entities. Both Angels and Demons present in many forms including humanoid and anthropomorphic. Angels will appear as different sexes at different times. Their truest form is inconceivable to normal Humans.

Highest orders: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones.

Middle orders: Dominions, Virtues, Powers.

Lowest orders: Principalities, Archangels, Angels.

(These directional descriptors do not at all reference power or importance, rather consider them explanations of how close or far away from Humanity each order is, with the highest being furthest away. Archangel Jophiel, for example, commands legions of Cherubim even though they are technically in a higher order than her)

Collective Angels work as a hive mind, though they do not all have the same thoughts or opinions. Any prayers made towards The Higher God or energy given is distributed evenly among every single collective Angel.

A Nega (Pronounced Negga)

A Nega ____ can be described as the inverse function of a celestial. Every celestial has an inverse counterpart. The Negas of the 72 Angels of Creation are the 72 Angels of Destruction. Negas also carry out the wills of their God and can be considered a part of the Collective Angels.

^ This song captures the vibes of Collective Angels well

Watchers

A class of Angels that were exiled for lusting after and procreating with Humans.

Nephilim

The unholy offspring of Watchers and Humans. Giants.

Daemons

The difference between Daemons and Angels is more political than physiological. There are many reasons why an Angel may radicalize and become a Daemon, however, the most common reason is a desire to operate as an individual rather than as a collective. Along with this many Daemons are not fond of the very strict contact rules with Humans that Angels must follow, and would like to do magick with them. “Daemon” is a self proclaimed title. Because Angels and Daemons cannot accept worship, the only time they are able to accept energy from a human as their own is through magical operations and offerings. After being cut from the collective pool of energy collective Angels share, many Daemons utilized magical contracts with Humans to stay self-sufficient.

Daemons are known to have better social skills with Humans than Angels. Daemons do not have Negas. Like Angels, Daemons are free will entities and may or may not be tolerant towards Humans.

^This song captures the vibes of Daemons well.

Djinni, Fairies, Natural Spirits

Human-like entities that existed before humanity. These entities have their own beliefs and religions. All of these living creatures have free will, eat, sleep, procreate, and die.

Thank you for reading! I think in my next posts I’ll explore the main characters of the story.

Natures of Celestials 1/2

I realized while working on this story that the character profiles are going to take a lot more research and time than I originally thought. Because many of these people are inspired by real religion and myth I want to be as careful as possible in their descriptions.

For now I’ll keep you all updated on some more concepts that will help you gain a better understanding of the characters and world. In particular, I wanted to speak more on the natures of the celestial entities in the story as they may differ from the traditional understanding of angels and daemons most are familiar with. 

Within the story “You Are Sheol”, we will be operating under the philosophy that energy in all forms is conscious and thus can harbor information, can remember that information, can forget that information, and most importantly, can have intentions. 

Energy is trans-dimensional and is the only thing in creation capable of fitting between The Veil. Humans can do magick with entities by sharing energy with them through intentions and worship. 

Death cleans the information of all energy, resulting in energy with no intention or identity.  There are multiple stages of Death.

The ethereal world makes work with dark matter. There are materials and elements composed of Dark matter in the 4th dimension that are unknowable to us due to our dimension’s inability to interact with it and our inability to detect it. We cannot comprehend it. If a human consciousness finds itself in the psychedelic world, it will likely be unable to understand the material even if it does interact with visible matter. This makes the ethereal world and higher dimensions mysterious in nature.

Examples of material and machines made from dark matter.

All celestial entities are composed of Energy in waves or forms that exist on spectrums and vibrate at a certain frequency. This energy is generated by feeding on Dark Matter in the form of different Primordial Elements. The result of this energy feeding on these elements is Primordial Fire, the result of an entity’s energy. The result of this interaction becomes a consciousness in varying degrees of complexity. All of these entities have names but very few have been discovered by humanity. 

Primordial Fire

Within these higher dimensions these beings have unfathomable mass and gravitational fields. Instead of a material body, a celestial will have a melam, which can be considered their ethereal body, a projection of the energy emitted from their Primordial Fire. While symbolism often relates angels to looking like birds, the rapid fluttering of their colorful wings are closer to that of moths. Celestials do not rest. Energy is collected through various means depending on the entity. Celestials have precise control over their own matter and energy.

A visualization of what celestials may "look like" in higher dimensions

Because celestials do not have physical bodies, it is easier to think of them as ideas of people and concepts rather than “people” themselves. A collection of energy in a closed system that has developed an identity, and in the case of Collective Angels, may have roles and natural intentions (to blow the wind, to grow the trees etc.) 

This means they can be considered many ideas at once, and can be in many places at once. Many versions of a celestial can exist from our perspective whilst still being considered the same entity. Celestials can simultaneously be classified as both damon and angel, but Collective Angels cannot be considered Daemon. Collective Angels can however, be Lower Gods, as can Higher Daemons.

Because these entities are thought forms, they can be accessed via specific correspondences that align with the entity's energy. These correspondences, in the form of colors, scents, sounds, elements, timing, planetary alignments, animals etc, all contribute to the energy of a specific individual entity.

Some entities reside on Earth, most do not. Entities exist in all parts of creation, and creation is incomprehensibly big. These entities may or may not have motives that interact with Earth or Humanity, and it should be noted that there are many entities that have never and will never interact with humanity at all. 

(Living creatures in other solar systems (which would be aliens to us, I suppose) worship the Gods of their creation just as we do, and those Gods have domain over those sections of space. Our story is mainly focused around the Gods of the Milky Way Galaxy who obey our laws of physics.)

Knowable Creation

Celestials (Gods, gods, Angels, angels, Daemons, and daemons)  can manifest themselves in the material plane as different forms of energy. There are entities that exist in high forms of energy, and there are entities that exist in low forms of energy. It takes a gargantuan amount of energy for a celestial to manifest in the material world without a material body. Our material plane simply cannot handle the complexity of their being, and their mysterious dark matter cannot pass between dimensions. So celestials often opt to manifest as one of these lesser forms of energy to make contact with the material realm. 

Energy is recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat and light.  Energy is transdimensional. 

For our purposes, we will say there are 7 main types of energy that a celestial may manifest as. 

Nuclear energy, gravitational energy, light energy (in all forms), mechanical energy, electrical energy,  sound energy, and chemical energy.  

(I’m sure through some technicalities we could identify more)

The spectrum that an entity exists on will fundamentally affect the forms that they present or manifest as. More importantly, the spectrum that an entity exists on outlines the limitations of their power both in the material world (our world, 3), the ethereal world (4), the psychedelic world (5), and onwards. 

It should be noted that an entity can exist across multiple spectrums, and may present in our world in one or more spectrum at a time. This requires more energy. Therefore, it is typical to see less powerful entities (spirits) manifest in only one spectrum at a time; ex: a lesser spirit may manifest as a whisper or a light, but usually not both at the same time. 

Higher entities can utilize the use of multiple spectrums to become more vivid in ways that lower spirits cannot. The spectrums that entities exist on also corresponds to the five senses, the elements, and by extension to the abilities that a psychic can develop (this will make more sense later). 

Manifestation through Nuclear Energy

Many Lower Gods and Higher Angels manifest as stars in the material plane, which is truly a testament to their overwhelming gargantuan energy and provides a mental scale as to why these impossibly powerful entities must stay so far away from us. Like a chemical reaction, the reactor within stars is the means to manifest the energy of the celestial (the angel is not literally the star but the energy conjured from the star). Practitioners can utilize the energy of stars through Astrology.

In the dawn of Earth’s creation there were more instances of natural self-sustaining nuclear reactions, I suppose it could be theorized that entities may have presented in this way on Earth in the past- but save for the most obvious examples, this form of manifestation is generally unobtainable through any means beyond Astrology. In our world this can more or less be disregarded except in the unique situation of Angels and Gods of War and Destruction manifesting in the form of nuclear warfare.

Whatever the case, this phenomenon shouldn’t occupy too much of your mind but provides an additional context to Astrology and deity worship.

Manifestation through Gravitational Energy 

Like Nuclear Energy, consider this irrelevant except in the context of gargantuan masses like planets and stars. This is more or less unobtainable from a practitioner’s standpoint, but holds more significance in the ethereal plane and how entities interact with each other. Higher Angels and Daemons are extremely massive in their own dimension, so much so that they affect other living creatures around them. For this reason it is incredibly rare to find an angel hanging around a lesser spirit like a fairy. Angels are able to control this pull to a degree through reducing their density by dispersing their matter or increasing their density by gathering their matter to a single point. Angels know how to navigate each other's gravity and lower angels often orbit their Archangel. If not for the dimensional separation, the gravitational pull of a single angel would likely be powerful enough to decimate the Earth in an instant. 

Manifestation through “Light” in all forms

This would be referring to the Electromagnetic Spectrum, or “light” spectrum across all frequencies. This is one of the most common ways a celestial entity or spirit will manifest, but this can mean many different things. With the right tools some forms of EM energy can be converted into other forms of energy like sound. Entities that manifest on the electromagnetic spectrum move at the speed of light and are the fastest entities in creation. This is more or less irrelevant to us here on Earth but is extremely significant in the hugeness of space. Keep in mind that just because you may not be able to see the entity, does not mean that it is not incredibly bright.

Manifestation through Radio and Microwaves

The lowest wavelengths on the EM spectrum and the easiest to manifest as. 

The age of technological advancement has truly been fruitful for Daemons. Entities will sometimes manifest in radio waves that can then be picked up by devices like a conventional radio, a television, or Spirit Box and converted into sound or images. This also means that Daemons can easily and efficiently manifest via the internet and television, and Higher Daemons can use tvs as portals. This has often been used to disrupt communication between and decisive humans or to plant the seeds of ideas in them.

Daemons manipulating television

The Seal of Solomon, also known as the Sigil of Solomon or the Seal of Suleiman bin Daoud, was a deal created by Suleiman that made it so that Daemons who were bound by it could not harm innocents wantonly. In exchange it provided them with protections as well. The Kings Pact binds them so that they cannot show themselves or speak to us, meaning that it revoked their ability to manifest as visible light or audible sound waves. This was a good solution for many years, however, the development of the internet and television made it so that Daemons could be seen without being seen through monitors, and heard without being heard through speakers and applications like social media. This is a massive loophole in the seal that was then wickedly exploited. 

The King's Pact, A Daemon using television as a portal

Manipulation and intersection of radio waves is a common and reliable way that entities communicate with humans. Nearly every single celestial in creation emits radio waves and uses them to communicate with humanity as well as each other due to their efficiency in penetrating most materials and their ability to travel indefinitely in the vacuum of space. In the ethereal realm, the psychic link between Collective Angels that is used for vast communication is most usually carried in high frequency radio waves, hence the appropriate name “Angel Radio”. It is worth noting that while humans may not be able to hear or see radio waves, the brain is sometimes capable of observing them. 

Manifestation through Infrared Waves

With the correct tools, Infrared light shows us how hot things are. Like radio and microwaves, most every celestial entity in creation emits immense levels of infrared rays in their own dimension because they burn so incredibly hot, but these rays can usually only be observed by us in extremely unique circumstances like summoning and in the case of spirits, in hauntings.

Some angels employ the use of Infrared Energy in healing. Fluctuations in temperature during magical operations is a way that entities may make their presence known. Likewise, entities that absorb IF radiation may manifest during hauntings as unnatural cold spots. 

Pls stay tuned for part two posting soon I reached the image limit lol. If this is your first time seeing one of my posts pls read the other ones bc it probably won't make any sense if you don't. ::))) Thxx

Natures of Celestials 2/2

Read my last post here for context or die.

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Natures of Celestials 1/2

I realized while working on this story that the character profiles are going to take a lot more research and time than I originally thought.

Let's continue.

Manifestation through Visible Light

This can mean a couple things. In our world, celestial entities usually only appear as visual light when they are putting a great deal of energy into being visible. Even the lower end of the visual light spectrum requires more energy than radio or microwaves to manifest in our dimension. Basically, because this range of frequencies is comparably smaller than the rest of the EM spectrum, you will only ever be able to physically see an angel or daemon in the visual light spectrum if they really really want you to.

Lesser spirits often manifest as hazy, less opaque white lights.

Lesser Spirits

Full body apparitions are considered quite rare for all spirits, but especially Higher Angels, Gods and Daemons. However, when they truly want to appear in this way, they can be quite vivid. 

Unnatural (Supernatural) lights

Longer wavelengths mean less energy, higher wavelengths mean more energy. In the context of celestials, angels and daemons that have an extremely high vibration will appear to have a melam that is coloured on the higher (shorter) end of the spectrum (violets, indigos, and blues), whereas, an entity with a lower (longer) vibration will appear on the lower end of the spectrum (reds, oranges, and yellows).

Therefore, if we know what color a celestial corresponds to, we can get a general idea as to how fast their vibration is and by extension how “high" the entity is. In reality, the light itself has no color, but luckily for us, the human eye is able to distinguish between these wavelengths in the form of color. 

Most Lower Gods would rather opt to appear in the mindscape realm of the practitioner, (in the practitioner’s head) than to literally appear in the physical world, but it does happen on occasion. Entities will manifest in colors corresponding to their wavelength in the mindscape as well.

Unnatural highly saturated colored light

When humans are overwhelmed with too much colorful information, our eyes see it as static. Entities can induce static by presenting as rapidly changing jumbled light rays, usually for the purpose of preventing a human from observing them. This can be malevolent or benevolent. Angels usually employ this as a defense mechanism to protect a practitioner’s eyesight when they are nonconsensually summoned, due to it usually prompting them to look away. Seeing static in only one section of your vision is a good sign that an entity is standing there and is uncomfortable in your presence. 

Static Entities

Daemons are commonly known to absorb light rather than emitting it like angels do, not sparing any energy but rather keeping it all to themselves. Because of this, some lower entities (shadow people) may appear to be shrouded in darkness and many daemons are not associated with any color other than red (the longest, lowest wavelength) or blackness itself.

Dark Entities

Manifestation through Ultraviolet Light 

This is a higher form of energy that is usually reserved for higher hotter entities and serves as another good reason why angels and daemons could not coexist with us in our world. 

Because angels and daemons are incredibly hot burning, their temperature is high enough to let the electrons acquire that amount of energy that is necessary for them to let out UV rays. This is one of the bigger reasons it is generally impossible for normal humans to look directly at angels in their truest form, just like looking directly at the Sun, this will cause blindness and extreme health defects. On our planet most UV rays are luckily absorbed by our atmosphere. However, if an angel was to manifest fully in the material world, the entirety of humanity would have no protection from these rays as they would greatly overwhelm the atmosphere, leading to the development of severe cancers, and ultimately the decimation of most life on Earth. 

To celestials, however, these rays are more or less inconsequential and do little harm. Higher energy UV rays affect lower spirits and are often used against them. 

Magical Manifestation in the form of UV radiation in our modern world is exceedingly rare and would only be employed by high entities to cause harm to living things- which is something they tend not to do. 

They may, on the other hand, utilize UV rays to be absorbed into plants if they want their energy to be harbored within the physical realm, in a way giving them a very limited physical form similar to that of a human host, but with fewer capabilities. Old Gods often did this with plants during the Ordovician period. Due to climate change and human influence, this form of manifestation is seldom used in today’s world.

Manifestation through X Rays and Gamma Radiation 

We’ll combine these two as the most energetic forms of radiation an entity may present in as, and most destructive. X and Gamma Rays differ in wavelength but serve the same purpose for celestials. 

This is almost never observed as a form of manifestation in our world and is more or less irrelevant from a practitioner’s sandpoint. However, these energy forms are very significant in the ethereal realm and the ways that celestials interact with each other. 

On smaller scales against lower enemies, angels emit x and gamma rays to overpower lower spirits and daemons. This is usually fatal to lower spirits who cannot withstand the incredible levels of radiation. Cruelty.  

Angels and daemons can also employ the use of extremely high frequency waves like x and gamma rays to aggress each other. A celestial with enough energy can weaponize nearly unlimited levels of x and gamma radiation to cause harm to their brethren if they choose to. This is due to a process that is very similar to the method used for gravitational force but to a far more intense degree. Higher Angels and Daemons can gather their mass to such an infinitely small point that their gravitational pull creates a black hole, the event of which will generate an Accretion Disk. 

These blazing disks of Primordial Material can literally be used as weapons against other massive celestial beings as they emit near infinite levels of ionizing radiation which has the ability to denature and break down other celestials, energizing them to such a degree that they cannot contain themselves. Their information is corrupted and forced apart, ending their consciousness. Final Death. 

A Lower God (left) obliterating angel (right) with x & gamma rays

Celestials aggressing each other in this way usually do not interact beyond their event horizons, as it would force their matter to merge which is a risky affair for both parties. Celestial beings cannot merge consciousness, and the force of both celestial’s gravity is usually far too great to be resisted by one entity alone. The information cannot be reused, and is considered irretrievable as the two consciousnesses are doomed to infinitely collapse into each other. Absolute Death. 

A Mistake

Rather, celestials weaponize the extreme levels of radiation emitted from their Accretion Disk, never actually coming into close enough contact with each other to merge, but causing irreparable damage to their opponent. This takes unfathomable levels of energy and extreme attunement into their own gravity as, without absolute and total control, an angel runs the risk of being unable to resist the pull of their own gravity and will be stuck in this state indefinitely until they eventually evaporate. 

Two Angels in Combat

Higher Angels make the conscious decision not to absorb the energy of another celestial into their singularity because it is a violation of Angelic Law. However, there have been many instances of Gods absorbing angels and other Gods, literally adding their energy to their consciousness. With enough energy and gravity, celestials can force other celestials to become a part of their consciousness, effectively killing them and recycling their materials. This is the driving force behind the Celestial War. 

Manifestation through Mechanical Energy  

Existence in the form of motion. The celestial manifests as motion itself and interacts with an object or person for a very short amount of time in the form of a push or pull. This form of energy is invisible but observable in the ways it affects the world around it, similar to sound energy. This requires a great amount of energy and is usually a very quick and single motion. With more energy an entity may be able to move multiple objects at once. 

This is one of the more common ways daemons will manifest, usually in the form of an impact, such as throwing objects across the room, slamming doors, and banging on walls. Human spirits that have recently passed are more talented at manifesting in mechanical energy than non-human spirits like fairies because they are literally closer to the material plane. So even though this operation takes immense energy, the distance it must travel is comparably shorter than it would be from an angel, daemon or fairy, meaning human spirits (ghosts) often manifest in this way.

Collective angels do not usually employ the use of mechanical energy as a form of manifestation unless it is natural of their function. For example, certain Angels of the Natural World like Angels of Wind may use mechanical energy in mundane situations over forces of nature. 

Mediums may employ this form of manifestation by allowing an entity or spirit to move a part of their body, usually their hand, to communicate in writing. (This is distinctly different from an extremetal possession, which is when an entity takes full control of the energy in a person's limb). In a ritual setting, a practitioner may be compelled to dance and move in specific ways - or be moved by an entity in a specific way- in summoning. 

In the ethereal world, celestials use high levels of mechanical energy to aggress lower spirits, rotating their matter to such an insanely high degree that they reach their maximum possible rotations per minute and ultimately explode or evaporate.

Manifestation through Electrical Energy 

In the natural world, high celestials may manifest as natural lightning under the right conditions. Unnatural lightning conjured directly from the celestial does not require the use of mechanical energy to manifest. Only specific celestials of a certain nature can conjure lightning in the ethereal world, unnatural lightning in all forms is reserved only to them. 

Manifestation through natural lightning is a high level technique reserved for high entities as it involves the use of mechanical energy creating static in the atmosphere which is then converted into electrical energy in the form of lightning. Therefore, the celestial does not conjure the lightning itself, but rather conjures the means to possess lightning. 

Extremetal Possessions are performed by taking control of the electrical energy already present in a person’s limbs. Consistent contact with High Angels is known to create neurological side effects.  

Celestials are also able to be contained within any electrical circuit, but manifest far better at higher voltage. Celestials are known to make lights flicker and often overwhelm flashlights and other simple electrical devices. If you find yourself within a high entity’s Zone you can expect simple electrical devices to malfunction.

In the ethereal world, similar to X and Gamma Rays, celestials can and often do use electricity as a means to aggress other entities, usually lesser spirits that can be extinguished through intense shocks. 

Manifestation through Sound Energy 

This is also considered a high level technique because it requires the use of mechanical energy. Higher amplitude requires more energy to manifest. Entities may utilize longitudinal waves to communicate, vibrating air particles in a specific way to be detected by humans or other creatures. The use of sound waves can also be used to harm or heal humans and other entities. Animals like dogs and cats are often able to observe entities in these forms of sound when humans cannot. 

Infrasound

This is below the human range of hearing and occurs naturally on Earth in many forms like earthquakes as well as from man made sources. Large animals like whales use Infrasound to communicate. While these sounds may at times be used to communicate with these animals, they are usually used by celestials to intimidate humans. 

In humans, sounds in this frequency can cause vertigo, imbalance, intolerable sensations, incapacitation, disorientation, nausea, vomiting, bowel spasm; and resonances in inner organs, such as the heart. Giddiness, vomiting, loss of consciousness, and blindness may afflict you. 

When people suddenly get an immense feeling of dread or feel sickly during hauntings and rituals, it may be because an entity is weaponizing infrasound against them. Many Old Daemons utilized infrasound to cause mass hysteria in the past. 

In the ethereal world, at a high enough amperage, infrasound can be used to harm nonhuman lower spirits, effectively extinguishing them. 

Audible Spectrum 

Different audio frequencies have different effects on humans. Daemons have often been known to use sound to deceive humans and lead them to danger. Ex: Hearing a scream or a baby crying with no source.

In the same way that infrasound can cause health defects in humans, different audible sound frequencies can aid and heal humans. More energy is required to heal than to harm. Benevolent entities may manifest as specific frequencies to help practitioners during magical operations. Different frequencies can aid in different things from improving focus to raising self esteem. Healing Angels often manifest in these same frequencies. 

High Daemons may utilize sound frequencies in their Enn, a mysterious chant that a practitioner uses to attune themselves to an entity’s realm. Angels are known to manifest in music. 

White Noise 

White noise contains all frequencies across the spectrum of audible sound in equal measure. To humans, white noise is to sound what static is to light, and is used by celestials for a similar function. 

While static is often used to disorient humans, white noise is used to subdue them. White noise is effective at blocking out all other sounds, which is effective at relaxing humans as the brain focuses on the jumbled information. In ritual settings this can aid in achieving a trance like state. Entities can manifest as white noise to affect sleep patterns and generally induce tiredness in humans. Different forms of white noise, such as pink noise, may also be used. 

Ultrasound 

In the material world ultrasound has little effect on humans, but celestials can use this energy at high enough levels to heal lesser spirits. Angels and Daemons often use ultrasound to offer spiritual healing to humans. 

Manifestation through Chemical Reaction  

In the material world, this form of manifestation requires the most expertise as it is actually the use of potential energy in material objects as it is converted into other forms. It is less convenient for this reason, because the specific materials needed are unique and may not always be present. Chemical reactions are a means to achieve manifestation through the use of the material world. This gives power to Entities of Alchemy.

The rearrangement of electrons in a chemical reaction is what allows the entity to manifest. In this way, a summoning for an entity that mainly exists in the energy conjured by chemicals may look more like a scientific operation than a spell. 

Entities that correspond to Fire also utilize this method of manifestation. Heat reacts with fuel and oxygen and causes fire to bloom. The fire we can see is a result of this chemical reaction, as this energy is used it produces heat and light. The amount of available energy affects how the fire looks and how entities manifest. Most celestials can possess fire in the material world. In ritual settings entities often require that candles be lit to increase their presence. 

A celestial may demand a specific element or chemical be combined or react with another in their summoning. Usually these are base elements that cannot be broken down into smaller parts (on the periodic table). 

Smaller chemical reactions (such as the striking of a match) may be used during a magical operation, but the use of specific elements themselves is what defines this form of manifestation. Entities that employ chemical manifestation have a deep relationship with Alchemy. 

In the context of psychedelics and drugs in general, chemicals that alter the brain’s chemistry can also be employed in summoning rituals. It is worth noting that there are entities that reside in these psychedelic spectrums that can be contacted through the use of mind altering substances. Some rituals may even consider it a mandatory step in the magical operation. 

LSD God

Higher entities that manifest in psychic spaces like realms can utilize the chemical energy generated by the human mind to attune them to their realm. Both angels and daemons can interact with humans in dreams. 

In magical relationships, Entities of Illusion can interact with humans through hallucinations when the practitioner is in a trance. The daemon will not have to physically manifest in the material realm but will be perceived in great vividity by the human. This is the closest angels can legally get to possession. 

Possession 

With all this considered, a possession can be understood as a high level two-step manifestation of the chemical and electrical energy generated by a human or animal brain. This can only be achieved after overpowering a human’s identity and establishing full domination of their mindscape. 

Daemon’s must first drive the host to such a point of hysteria and madness that they are unable to discern reality from fiction. In this disoriented state, Daemons can convince the human consciousness that they are one being. The human then allows the Daemon to take dominance over the functions of the body. This is a parasitic relationship. The Daemon has full access to the human’s memories and has the ability to alter or delete them. 

Energy must be maintained at a constant state. Too little will allow the human to take back dominance, too much will fry their components.

Daemons however, unlike Chimera, cannot truly merge consciousness with humans, therefore the death of the human spirit will result in the death of the entity as it presents in the material world.

Death cleans the information of all energy. The greater entity will not die in the ethereal realm but may be severely injured. Daemons can opt to end the possession before death, but the human will be more resistant to possessions in the future. The Daemon will then have to go through the process of dominating a human soul with a new host. For this reason possessions are not very attractive to Daemons.

Collective Angels do not possess humans as it is a violation of Angelic Law.

Okay, I think this post is long enough. This may seem extremely meticulous but these posts really do help me think through the mechanics of the entities and how they relate to us in our world. In my next posts I might go more into the dynamics between witches and entities and psychics because I’m still spotty on those subjects. Thanks for exploring my weird reality with me. X 

You Are Sheol . 1

Sheol, do you remember being born?

No, not that time. Not the time you’re thinking about. Humans cannot remember being born that way. Some people claim they can, but the hardware required to remember is not present in the brains of newborn infants. Birth is a misery best forgotten by offspring and life givers alike anyways. Even if you were “here” as a 6 pound cocoon of flesh, it’s not like you had any sense of awareness. It’s not like you were you. 

No, you know that’s not that I’m talking about. 

Do you remember becoming real? 

Can you remember the rain?

Well, I need you to remember. 

Try to remember.

Yes, there you go. Let’s paint this scene together. 

It starts as a speck of water on the chilled glass of a window pane. 

Your inquisitive eyes linger on it for just a moment too long, and as it begins to droop and tumble down the glass, your little finger traces its path. 

Water. 

There is then another drop of water, and soon after many more follow. They paint transparent lines down the window, steadily building a gentle rhythm. 

Rump thump thump 

Rump thump thump

Pitter patter

Trickle

A muted song fills your ears as the rain becomes more confident. 

You stare out the window and watch the droplets stain the dusty gravel road. Its dry crimson soaks into a deeper red. The trees buckle and shake in the increasing winds. They bob their heads like excited rockers at a concert, their branches clashing like unkempt hair speckled in sweat. 

Swooning howls cut through the air as the clouds blend and fold over themselves, becoming congested and swollen with darkness. 

You sit with your cheek pressed against the window, in the living room of a house that is nearly as old as the trees that surround it. As the wind challenges the warped foundation and deteriorating roof, you begin to realize for the first time that you are very small compared to the shell that you are contained within. 

Is it strange to be enclosed by something so big and so old, when you are so small and so young? 

This feeling is a stranger to you, yet it greets you with familiarity, as if you are still a fetus in your mother’s womb. This womb is colder though, and makes no effort to protect you. There is nothing that will stop it from collapsing on you. 

Your eyes trace a crack in the wall, exposed from the peeling 70s style wallpaper. It leads up towards a part of the ceiling that has become pregnant with water. The nearly pleasant stench of soggy wood permeates the room. A family of droplets splashes against the brown hardwood floor. 

There is a cold that lays on your skin. You hadn’t noticed it before. It crept up on you so subtly that by the time you felt it, discomfort had accompanied it. You shuffle back away from the window and look out into the storm, now realizing all together that you are alone in this big house. You are alone and you won’t know what to do if the storm gets too angry and blows the house away. 

What would happen if those dominating winds targeted you instead of the dilapidated shingles? 

Do you know? 

Now there is something about the window that makes you hesitate, a distant uncanniness of suddenly understanding that there is danger outside. But the spectacle the storm produces is magnificent to behold. It is for this reason that you cannot bring yourself to look away. 

White light. 

BOW then CRASH the sound of shattered glass. 

You crumble to the ground, vibrating with a rhythm so fast, your heart is a kick drum beating in presto. 

Your stare out the window to see that an old tree in the front yard has been decimated. In its fury it fell atop a rusted out car that was sitting a few feet away. 

The car's roof is now a spoon that quickly pools with rain water. It’s windshield has become an abstract painting. The wind laughs with amusement at its achievement. 

Your exasperated breaths continue to pump your chest. 

TINK!-BVVV!

The room goes dark. 

You shakily lift yourself off the ground to find the light switch to the lamp that stands to your left. The window provides a conservative amount of light, but the hallway is bathed in darkness. 

Mysterious darkness. 

You stand on your tiptoes, reaching upwards towards the switch. You are too short to get it. You are a helpless thing. Even if you could reach the lightswitch it wouldn’t save you, the storm cut all the power to the house. 

A feeble whine escapes you as panic starts to creep up your spine. 

The wind moans in response, beckoning the house to creak as if conversing with you. 

Another white light, and then after about five or six seconds… BOW-!

You’re starting to understand the pattern now, yet the rumbling of the impact still surprises you every time. 

You do not know why you looked down the hallway. With all the chaos happening in front of you, there is no real explanation for why you decided to look behind you. Perhaps it is this new feeling that you’ve developed in these last five seconds. You do not know what this feeling is called. You will one day learn that it is known as ”anxiety”. 

There is something so alluring about the mystery of the dark, something that flirts with you, convinces you against your better judgment to be consumed by it. 

As your eyes stare deep into the uncanny darkness, you know you see a something. Perhaps a human shaped something, perhaps not. It stands taller than you, watching you without movement. 

A flash of white light illuminates the hallway through the small frosted windows of the wooden front door. 

There is a person standing there. 

They are draped in long flowing black fabrics that reach down to the floor. They resemble a mix of silk and velvety suede. It seems the darkness of the hallway wasn’t quite as dark as initially believed. Rather, this person’s clothes are creating the illusion of a deeper darkness. This contrasts starkly with their milky white hair that almost seems to float in the air, as if this person is submerged in water. Illuminated as if under a black light. 

You are frozen with fear, realizing now that this person is standing in front of your only exit. There is no indication of intention. You do not know whether or not this person is dangerous, and that is almost more uncomfortable than if you did know. 

BOW!

You fall to your knees again, another cry escaping you as your eyes begin to leak. Your cheeks radiate heat. 

When you look towards the hallway again, you can no longer see the person through your blurry tear soaked vision. Yet you feel an overwhelming cryptic presence looming behind you. 

You turn your head to see the person standing no more than a couple feet behind you, staring silently down at you like a wild hawk.  Their gaze permeates through you, not only observing you but watching you with such acute intensity that it feels like they could see your thoughts if they peered any harder. Their eyes are the color of the hottest shade of fire, an ocean speckled in perhaps millions of shades of mystifying blues, some of which have never been seen by human eyes before. Their stare is unnaturally intimate and visible through the antagonizing darkness. 

Their flowing white hair looks more like bioluminescent silk when you take a closer look at it. It is sprinkled in pale flecks of light that shimmer like stars. It falls to their shoulders with beautiful delicacy, framing their pale cheeks with a perfect femininity. Their hair nearly matches the hue of their skin, an unnatural white that has no reaction to the light or darkness around it. 

There is a large expanse of something writhing through the air behind them, fluttering and flexing in unnatural, uncanny ways. When you glance at it, your eyes refuse to understand what you’re looking at. 

There are about 33 seconds that elapse wherein you and this stranger do nothing but stare at each other. They almost seem as bewildered to see you as you are to see them, you both stand frozen like deer in headlights. 

You could never know how many thoughts circled through their mind in those moments. You are so small! So very young! What a helpless feeble thing, hardly yet a child! Hardly yet a thing! Awoken no more than a moment ago! A human baby bundled in material and flesh! How could such a thing happen? Why would such a thing happen? 

“Be not afraid,” a calm, gentle voice rings through your mind. An ambiguous voice that carries a nurturing compassion you have never known. Their lips do not move, yet their eyes show that they are addressing you. Their intense, powerful stare has now softened into kind patience. 

Your fear has simmered. Their presence is warm and radiant and embraces you like sunlight. Yet still, they are a stranger, and you cannot make sense of them, whatever they are. 

They lay a gentle hand on your cheek as a delicate smile graces their face. Tears, which look more like beads of glass fall from their eyes. 

Their smile then fades into a somber expression that carries a melancholy that you cannot understand. 

“You do not remember, do you?”

You hesitantly shake your head. It is a paradoxical question. You do not have any memories to be remembered. Today is your first day. 

The person exhales through their nose, not quite chuckling, as if they find something mildly funny about that. 

“Would you like to remember?” 

Then, they place their hands at either side of your head, staring deep into your eyes with intimate focus. Your foreheads touch and you feel something warm enter your skin. As you stare into this person’s infinite gaze, you feel as though their melancholy has leaked into you. You place your hand on your chest as it feels heavy and fragile, you are compelled to cry, yet these tears are not your own. 

There is a perplexing nostalgia for something that washes over you, something that you’ve never had. A distant dream or a misplaced memory that never truly existed. Something that is just out of your reach, like the beginnings of a sneeze that refuses to manifest, tickling you, but never quite becoming you. 

ChK-ChK- Click!

The doorknob of the front door jiggles. There is then a moment of shuffling before the door creaks loudly as a man begins to step into the hallway. A gust of cold air runs into the darkness in the form of a frosty white fog. 

With an unnatural speed, the person before you rises from his knees and looks at the man standing in the hallway unzipping his jacket and groaning bitterly at the cold. 

Their energy immediately shifts. They go dark and quiet as an intense horror bleeds into their expression. They look back at you, and then back at the man. 

You hear a loud and uncomfortable static fill your ears as the person takes you by the hand and quietly leads you towards the kitchen, out of sight of the hallway. 

The man agitatedly rubs his ear, and stumbles into the hall, slightly tripping over his wet boots as he kicks them off onto the floor. 

“Sheol!” He calls into the darkness. 

That’s right, you are Sheol. You recognize this voice as your father’s. 

The person stares deep into you. Their expression is serious. They do not need to use words for you to understand that you must not respond to your fathers calls. Rather, the person quietly leads you through the kitchen and down the hall to the right where your bedroom can be found. 

You quietly crack the door open, you’re sure not to agitate the old hinges.

Your room is lined in gray carpet. There is nothing on the gray walls. There are no toys. 

The person kneels down to you again. Their comforting presence distracts you from your confusion. They put their hands in yours and smile softly. 

“You are going to climb out the window,” they whisper, again with unmoving lips. 

You look out your bedroom window to see that the rain has subtly shifted to light snow. You cannot tell how high up you are, but looking down gives you butterflies. 

You shake your head with a fearful frown and begin to suck on your thumb. 

The person then nods and caresses your hair. 

“I know it’s very scary,” they start, “I will protect you and you will be safe. It is not safe here anymore.”

You whine, and murmur something. 

“No. Cold.”

The person glances knowingly out the window. 

“Yes… it is… I’m sorry.”

You hear your father starting down the hallway, his heavy steps smacking against the hardwood floor. He continues to call your name with increasing agitation. 

You look up at the person. Perhaps it is your childish naivety that makes you so trusting. 

You walk over to the closet where you find your sandals. They are blue and green with light up bottoms, gifted to you by a woman that knew your father in some way or another. You slip them on your feet, taking a painstaking amount of time to fasten the buckles. 

The person takes your hand and rushes you towards the window where they pry it open and help you up on the ledge. You stare down at the ground with fear and cling to the frame. 

The wind is now antagonizing you, slapping your cold cheeks with no remorse. The tops of your ears go red. Your nose quickly fills with snot that drips down your face. 

You whine again as you try to find a way down, but the decision is promptly made for you when you slip on the wet windowsill and fall to the ground with a hard thud. You land on your side and roll a couple times into the lightly powdered grass. 

The wind is knocked out of you. When you sit up to assess your injuries, a helpless cry escapes you. Your hot tears thaw your frosty skin. You hyperventilate as you wipe your eyes with your cold hands. 

The person is nowhere to be found, not in your room or in the front yard. The snow is beginning to fall with such severity that it’s hard to see anything around you. 

You stand from the ground and begin to walk down the pathway that was created from your father’s truck as he pulled into the driveway. You do not know where you are going. 

The wind bothers you, laughing as you wander aimlessly down the road. Your fingers have become stiff and slow. You do not have pockets to put them in. Your toes soon go numb. As you kick through increasing depths of snow you learn that the cold has the tendency to burn like fire. Soon it pains you to walk for very long.

You look back behind you, considering returning to the house. But the snow has quickly covered your tracks and obscured any identifiable landmarks. You are surrounded by layers of thick white snow. The sun is hidden behind enormous clouds that determinedly erupt with ice rain. 

You go to take another step, but trip over your sandals, tumbling into the snow and starting to cry again. Oh you poor thing, so miserable and lost.

You are so cold. It hurts more than any pain you’ve ever known. You begin to shiver and whimper. Panic greets you again. You are going to die. 

This is the first time the word has ever made sense to you. You can die. 

It is now, Sheol, that you have come alive. Just birthed from the womb of mortality, and like all births, this is painful. You are now alive because you know you can die.

Like the grass and leaves that shrink and wither in the cold, you too will return to the Earth. You, lost little thing, just barely roused to life, you can die. You are going to die. 

You stand again, and continue into the thick brush of the woods, abandoning your sandals that faintly shine a series of colorful patterns through the snow. 

Will you die?

You Are Sheol . 3

What had occurred on this day that had not occurred in 5 billion years?

This is the question that plagues Zamariel’s mind. 

He blooms as the conductor of the greatest orchestra in Heaven, his brethren singing in perfect harmony as they spew sweet praises to the ineffable God. The songs are magnificent as they always are and always will be. Zamariel leads the Cherubim with absolute grace. 

Fate has a cruel sense of humor, at least, that’s what all the Angels say. Zamariel never really believed that until today. In fact, he had always held the opinion that Fate was quite merciful. She had allowed all that had ever been to be. She had given Zamariel the ability to exist, he was infinitely in Her debt for that. 

Yet today, Zamariel wonders if Fate is watching him now, laughing maniacally at his misfortune. For all the good graces She’s bestowed him, She now takes his deepest vulnerability and twists it into an abomination.

Today, for the first time in 5 billion years, Zamariel makes a mistake. It is a miniscule one that would never be noticed by even the most masterful musicians. But Zamariel knows that there is no room for mistakes in Heaven’s choir. Someone noticed. 

Angels are able to be many places at once because they are many things at once.

When we observe him from this angle, Zamariel is skillfully conducting the greatest music in existence in the second sphere of Heaven. 

But when we shift our perspective ever so slightly, he can be found on Earth, watching you hop out of the silver SUV and walk cautiously over to the police car. There, a female officer says a few things to you before lifting you inside and getting in herself. 5 seconds go by, then the police car pulls back onto the road and starts down the hill to the town.

“You must believe that I have not doubted you for even an instant, Fairest Beauty of Divine Music, Archangel Zamariel,” someone speaks with great reverence as they approach Zamariel from the darkness of the woods. 

He is a blinding light that oscillates from purple to yellow. He has not taken the effort to prepare a human form. 

“Forgive me, Saint of Beauty, for I wish not to question you. I cannot understand the nature of your actions. For I am the Guardian Angel of humans born in the time that extends beneath my ray. I maintain the natural order of things as intended by Fate. Why have you gone to efforts to interfere with my kin if not ordered to you by God?” 

Zamariel turns his gaze towards his brother who shrinks under the intensity of his mystifying eye. 

“My dear brother, Mebahel, do you see the Mother Moon is still at perfect peace?” he replies with an almost agitated tone. Mebahel confirms. 

“-and do you see that the Great Sky and Earth have remained separated? Do you see that the Father Sun has remained in orbit around us on this rock, and that the stars still remain suspended in the Cellestine?” 

Mebahel confirms once more. 

“Then it must be so that Fate has not been contradicted and that the natural order remains unbroken. You speak doubt unto Her. Do you truly believe that Fate did not account for my actions on this day, simply because you did not?”

Mebahel does what is the equivalent of a bow. 

“You mustn’t misunderstand my intention, Zamariel. I only seek understanding to illuminate my ignorance, I did not… mean to-”

“Speak it not to me,” Zamariel interrupts. “Commence your consolations to the source of your offense.” 

With that, the light that is Mebahel fades into obsoletion.

…

You Are Sheol . 5

For 14 hours you are a foundling.

The police officers and EMTs who probe you endlessly with circular questions look at you with perplexity and pity. You seem to have appeared from nowhere, and as the hours go by, theories and suspicions begin to grow throughout the station. Officers stop by to see you and ask if you are well. You’re given a pair of cheap white Walmart shoes and a chocolate dip donut. You wait in the room, now surrounded by crayons and coloring pages and let your eyes shut. 

The call comes at 3:03pm. A 9-1-1 operator in Shuswap, Lumby BC receives a call from a man reporting that his son has been kidnapped. The man identifies himself as an Abraham Solomon King and describes his son as a young black child with short black hair and a white mark on his cheek. He would have been wearing a white linen shirt and pants of the same color and material. When asked where the child had gone missing from, Abraham refused to give a direct address. Instead giving vague descriptions of a stretch of the woods near the town of Lumby. After being put on hold for 13 minutes, Abraham is informed that his son has been found in Golden, a picturesque town nestled in the heart of the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia, which sits some 240 miles away from Lumby. Abraham is urged to make his way down to the station in Golden immediately. 

…

You Are Sheol . 6

You are startled awake by the sound of the door swinging open again.

Detective Lewis and Joseph Hadad enter the room and sit down at the table in front of you. You rub your eyes and sit up.

Joseph Haddad leans forward and puts his hands on the table. 

“You remember how you said you walked from your house all the way up the hill?” he asks, recalling your explanation. You nod slowly.

“Well, your dad ended up calling the police to tell us he was looking for you, Sheol,” he says. 

Your eyes light up, “Daddy?” you ask. 

Joseph nods. “Yeah, and do you know what your daddy said to us?” 

You shake your head. 

“Your daddy says that your house is in Lumby. The police in Lumby called us and told us he was looking for you. Right now you’re in the town of Golden, right? That’s over 200 miles away from Lumby, buddy. That’s a four to five hour drive when we’re being optimistic, okay? There’s lots of big mountains between Lumby and here. It would take an adult days to walk from Lumby to Golden. ” 

You squint at the man, seeming confused. The detective points to you with her pen. “See he didn’t even know that,” she mutters to Joseph as she takes a sip of her coffee. 

Joseph strokes his beard. “Sheol, there is simply no way you walked all the way from Lumby to here, okay? It’s just… not possible. So, can you tell us maybe if you remember getting into a car or anything like that?” 

You shake your head, thinking hard and feeling unsure of yourself. 

“No, I…” you mumble. “I was walking in the snow and then…” you shuffle uncomfortably. What happened after that?

The detective looks down at her notes and then back at Joseph. “I just, I don’t… I don’t understand… it’s so bizarre. I mean, even if he did get in a car… his father says he was last seen at around 8:30-ish yesterday… he was found on that hill at 10:45pm. I don’t see how he would have made it all the way here…  in what like 2 hours? In that blizzard? With the highway under construction too, it just-”

“I know,” Joseph mutters as he removes his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose with a sigh, “and his father is just… I don’t know… strange. Waiting until 3pm the next day to call the police too… it doesn’t make any sense.” He puts his glasses back on and clears his throat before addressing you again. 

“Sheol, are you sure you don’t remember getting into a car or a plane last night? Anything at all?”

You scrunch up you toes and hold yourself. “No,” you murmur. “I… don’t know…”

…

You Are Sheol . 7

When Abraham eventually arrives at the police station in Golden, he is accompanied by two men.

At this point it is approaching evening, and the sun has started its descent into its grave. 

The two men are promptly asked to wait outside the station, a tall male officer remarks that their visit may be lengthy. After some deliberation, the two men agree to wait at the Mcdonald’s down the street. They agree to bring Abraham an iced tea. 

“Where’s my son?” Abraham says as his tired eyes scan the office. The male officer that stands before him directs him to a room that is down the hall and to the left. He instructs Abraham to sit and remarks that someone will be with him shortly. 

Abraham rubs his nose and sits back in his chair. He fidgets, picking at the button on the sleeve of his jacket, shifting around in his chair every few seconds, scratching his head, bobbing his knee up and down wildly with anxiety. 

10 minutes go by. 

“Fuck,” Abraham mutters, “I shouldn’t have come here, fuck…” he stands from his seat and paces around the room. He then digs his phone out the pocket of his blue jeans and scrolls through his messages until he clicks on the name “Mark”. 

“You need to get John and Samson up to the houses right now I have a bad fucking feeling,” he types quickly. 

There’s a moment's delay before three white dots appear on the screen, indication that Mark is typing back. 

“Samson just had the baby 

not gonna be leaving the hospital till late. 

I’ll call John and see what he’s up to.” 

Abraham cusses again and furiously types back,

“I told him not to have the fucking baby at the hospital, we have enough problems as it is,”

Moments delay, then Mark responds, 

“There were complications. 

Sampson said that Lilah was dying. Baby was dying too. 

She bled all over the bed. It looks like a fucking war zone in there, man.

We can’t keep doing this shit. It gets fucked up every time. 

You know Samson loves Lilah and that baby. He actually wanted to be a father.”

Abraham groans audibly, now gripping his phone with both of his tensed hands. 

“Tell Samson he’s DONE. 

Don’t let me see that piece of shit on my property again!

This brotherhood is more important than pussy,” he types back. 

More than a moment's delay.

“John says he’ll do it. He’s on the way now. Full clean?”

“Everything needs to be gone.” Abraham replies. “Use bleach and that other acid shit. You should trash that mattress and the sheets too.”

“The altars?” Mark replies quickly.

Abraham’s fingers hover over the keyboard with hesitation. 

“Don’t touch the altars. Nothing weird about them. Looks religious.”

Abraham sits back in his chair and sets his phone on the table with a stressful sigh, before quickly picking it back up. 

“We’re done with kids,” he adds. 

“Agreed, brother,” Mark concludes. 

The door opens, Detective Lewis can be seen along with the tall male officer from before. The officer nods to Lewis before shutting the door and leaving her alone with Abraham. Detective Lewis sits and sets her binder on the desk before doing a short chuckle to herself. 

“Abraham Solomon King,” she says quietly, “Let’s see… driving without insurance and registration… criminal trespassing, stalking, and credit card fraud. No possession… hm. Lucky you. You have... been previously convicted of hate speech, willful promotion of hatred, and you are the founder of a religious organization called the “Brotherhood of the Forbidden Truth”... what a character you are.”

“And you are?” Abraham asks with a disrespectful air to his voice. 

“I am Detective Lewis,” she says with a raised eyebrow, “and that little boy out there is Sheol.”

Abraham frowns, making the wrinkles in his dark brown skin set deeper into his face. 

“Where is my son?” he asks darkly. 

“Oh we’ll get to that, don’t you worry, Abe. But first let’s discuss the issue of the suspicious lack of documentation surrounding your son, hm?” 

Abraham looks down at the desk, avoiding eye contact with the sharp detective. 

“No birth records, no health records, no cards. We don’t even know the name of his mother. All of the information we have on Sheol came directly from you in your… rather coolheaded phone call to the guys in Lumby. We’re not even entirely sure that he is your son,” she says as she reads through her binder. 

“Look at me,” Abraham says with a condescending smile, “he’s mine.” 

Detective Lewis observes Abraham and rolls her eyes. The familial resemblance is apparent. You have the same wide nose, angled brown eyes, and high cheekbones. The same curly black hair and dark brown skin. 

“Well you are… more than “active” in the local community, Mr. King. Why exactly has no one seen or heard from Sheol? Explain to me, Mr. King, why for the past three years Sheol has essentially been kept a secret? You didn’t think ‘hm! Maybe I should inform the government that I’ve had a baby!’ around… year 2?”

Abraham crosses his arms and leans deeper into his seat, eyeing Detective Lewis with a coy apprehension.

“We livin’ all the way out in the boonies. Lots of folks out there don’t document their kids. So what? The family takes care of him. You can ask my boys, they all know who he is. It’s no man's land out there anyways, you've never been up that side, aye?” 

Detective Lewis gives Abraham a smug, condescending glare. Abraham shrugs with an equally nasty smile. 

“It’s not illegal,” he says coolly. 

“Where is his mother?” Lewis asks carefully, pen hovering above the page of her notes.

Abraham glances at her papers. “Couldn’t tell ya,” he answers, “she’s not in the picture.” 

“What is his mother’s name?” Lewis continues.

“Don’t think that matters,” Abraham answers dismissively, “she don’t got custody.”

Detective Lewis squints annoyedly, “nobody has custody of Sheol right now, Mr.King.”

An agonizing silence hangs in the air for a minute and a half as Abraham continues to avoid the question. Picking at his nails, running his hands through his hair, burping and rocking in his chair.

“Where do you live?” Lewis asks, only to be ignored once again. Three more minutes of silence.

“You’re really going to play this game with me, Abraham? You want to make this painful for yourself?” Lewis continues on in a half murmur. 

There's another long stretch of silence, this one longer than the last. Abraham leans his head back on his chair and starts whistling ‘Amazing Grace’. His shrill tone banishes the uncomfortable quiet. 

Finally, Detective Lewis stands from her chair with an exhausted, “alright, Abraham.”

“Can I go now?” Abraham asks, also standing from his seat, “You gonna give me my kid so I can get him home before bedtime?”

“No, no. You stay right there. I’m just going to make a quick phone call and I’ll be right back.” Lewis responds as she gathers her papers and heads towards the door. 

…

You Are Sheol . 8

As she walks back towards the front of the station, Detective Lewis comes to find that the two men who accompanied Abraham are now parked outside, back from their trip to Mcdonalds, and waiting for Abraham to emerge.

She watches them make light conversation. The man in the passenger seat appears to be middle eastern, bearded, with shoulder length black hair. He scrolls mindlessly on his phone while he eats fries. The man in the driver’s seat is an older white man with black and silver hair that is short and close to his head. He is speaking, peering at the station and saying something to his comrade. He looks anxious, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel and shifting his eyes about; biting at the skin on his fingers and sipping shallowly from his drink. 

“There’s no real reason why they’d detain him, right?” Mark asks as he takes another sip of his water. The man sitting beside him, a 26 year old Arab named Ali, lifts his eyes from his phone screen and gives him a slightly annoyed expression. 

“Not if the kid doesn’t say shit. Abraham is just the concerned father looking for his kidnapped son,” he replies flatly. 

“Yeah…” Mark says as he shuffles in his seat, “ yeah… it’s a good thing I made him call in… or else it would have looked even more suspicious… right…?”

Ali leans against the car window and looks back at his phone. “Sure, bro. I just want them to hurry up so I can go home. I don’t know why he’s making all this fuss over one kid anyways.”

Mark nods and looks back towards the station distantly. 

“Alright, I’m gonna see what’s going on,” he says as he grabs Abraham’s iced tea. He takes a deep, self soothing breath, before exiting the car and heading towards the station. 

Detective Lewis watches Mark enter the station and approach the admin desk. She hears him ask when Abraham King will be released. 

“Excuse me,” Lewis says as she steps to Mark. She gives him a fake smile. “Hi, I’m Detective Lewis, I’m overseeing the investigation around Sheol and Abraham today. I was just hoping you’d be willing to answer a few questions for me, we’re just trying to work through some details, and we’d appreciate-,”

“Investigation?” Mark interrupts, “criminal investigation? On Abraham? Why? Is everything okay?” 

Detective Lewis takes a breath before taking a sip of her coffee. Why would Mark assume that Abraham is a suspect in the kidnapping of his own child? She thinks carefully about how to respond. 

“Mm- no, not against Abraham!” she chuckles lightheartedly, “we just want to get the best idea of when Sheol went missing and when you and Abraham started looking for him. Sheol is not documented in the vital statistics records of British Collumbia, so we need as many witnesses as possible to help us verify Sheol’s identity, piece together the timeline of events, as well as to… support any claims made by Abraham.”

Mark scratches his head and looks back towards his car, uncertainty murmuring “um..” as he debates what to do. “Do you live with Abraham and Sheol, sir?” Lewis asks, probing him deeper into conversation. 

“Live?” Mark echoes, “no, no, I just come by every now and then. I’m, uh… not related.”

“Would you be able to provide me with a home address for Abraham?” Lewis edges on.

“I actually can’t-,” Mark starts in a flustered hurry.

“We’re just really dry on details, sir-, what is it-?” she extends her hand for Mark to shake, prompting him to give his name. 

“Mark,” he answers. 

“Mark. Nice to meet you, Mark,” Lewis smiles. “Sheol is very tired and everyone is very confused and frustrated. If you can offer me a little bit of your time, you, Abraham, and Sheol can be out of here by nightfall. But the longer we have to scrape for information, the longer-”

“Alright,” Mark says, finally agreeing. “I just-, I got work in the morning so I don’t want to be here all night.”

“That’s perfectly understandable, Mark, we’ll make this quick. I’ll just get you to come with me,” Lewis answers as she leads him down a hall to the left. The loud clacking of Detective Lewis’ heels echo off the walls. Together, they venture down another hall into a small, quiet office. 

Mark sits in the brown office chair adjacent to the desk that Detective Lewis sits at. Before her is a large desktop computer and a black lamp. She flicks on the lamp and sets her coffee and binder down on the desk. 

“So, how do you know Abraham?” she asks. 

Mark scratches his chin. “We’re friends,” he answers simply, “we… y’know… drink and watch games together.”

Detective Lewis raises her eyebrows. “Oh. I was under the impression that Abraham was sober based on the whole… religious thing.”

“Oh no,” Mark smiles, “he drinks.”

“And when did Abraham make you aware that… Sheol was missing?” Lewis asks as she looks down at her notes. “Says here that Abraham called the police at… 3:00pm. Seems a little late, huh?”

Mark shuffles in his seat, “yeah,” he mutters, “he called me at around uh… I think 10… 10:20ish… am… he said he needed help searching the area for Sheol. He’s real… squirmish about police so he didn’t wanna get you guys involved… but then uh…” Mark goes quiet for a moment, “we searched for a few hours and… I convinced him to call the police.”

“You did?” Lewis questions.

“Yes, I… I had to talk to him. He doesn’t think straight when he’s high- high uh-, stress,” Mark fumbles.

“Mhm, understandable,” Lewis says as she writes in her notes. “How did he seem when you were with him, freaked out?”

“Freaked, yeah. Freaked for Sheol, yeah,” Mark nods. 

“And do you know the name of his mother?” Lewis continues on. 

Mark hesitates. “No.”

Detective Lewis eyes him carefully, “Then can you tell me the address of-”

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The door to the room swings open without waiting for a response. A male officer enters the room and informs Detective Lewis that an officer in Lumby is requesting she speak on the phone. Lewis glances over at Mark before taking a breath and excusing herself from the room. 

She heads back towards the front of the station and receives the phone from reception. 

“Lewis speaking.”

“Hello, this is Officer Terry from Lumby. We’re just uncovering a bit of information here we think you should be aware of in regards to this situation with Abraham and Sheol.”

“Yes, please go ahead,” Lewis responds eagerly.

“Well, I’m sure by now you’ve seen Abraham’s record, he has a history down here in Lumby with his little religious group. We actually got a complaint against him for harassment from a guy, a David Melsborne, about 3 weeks ago, but that’s all still trying to be dealt with. I’m sure you’ve also heard about the mess we’ve been dealing with- with these indigenous uh- kidnappings-,”

Lewis wrinkles her eyebrow, “I’m sorry I’m not sure I know what you’re referring to.”

“These young indigenous girls from all around Lumby have been going missing, they’re all around 13 years old… one a month, since October. So far there’s been 13 girls taken. There’s been a big fucking stink over it on Instagram, have you seen #SEARCHTHELANDFILLS ?”

Detective Lewis closes her eyes with a disturbed sigh as she recalls the news articles and social media posts she’s seen in passing. “Yes, I’ve seen the hashtag,” she answers.

“So, whoever it is that’s taking these girls, for the last girl, Chenoa, they were really sloppy. There’s doorbell cam footage of a man in a face mask, crossing the front lawn and moving to the side of the house. After a while you can see Chenoa running down the street, you can see she’s limping… and bleeding… and then the man is seen chasing her and dragging her back towards what looks to be the headlights of a truck. But in all the tussle, she was able to actually rip the face covering off of the man, and we can see that he’s definitely an older black male… slim figure..-”

“Are you sending us the footage?” Lewis asks eagerly. 

“Yes, so you should have received an email, and… right off the bat… you can see… It looks like him. Right, the facial structure… is the same…”

Lewis frantically searches through her phone to find the email containing screenshots of the footage. In one particular frame, the attacker's full face is exposed to the camera, and while it is extremely blurry and poorly lit, the resemblance to Abraham is unmistakable. 

“What’s even more suspicious about this guy is… on paper, he’s homeless. He doesn’t own any assets, he doesn’t pay insurance. He’s not employed. His last recorded residential address is with his mother at… 14 301 Kingston Drive Toronto. Those were the details he gave police when he was most recently arrested in 2016 for driving without insurance and plates out here in Lumby… so obviously he’s not staying there, that was the only address he ever provided. When he called us about Sheol today, he said his place was “somewhere’ in the woods in the south east, but he refused to give a real address multiple times… we’re hoping that if we can figure out where he’s staying, we can get more info as to what the fuck is going on here.”

“You’re a diamond, Terry.” Detective Lewis says as she continues to inspect the evidence. 

“You guys have him detained right now, right?” Terry asks. 

“He’s not in cuffs but he’s in the interrogation room right now,” Lewis answers. “I’m talking to his buddy Mike right now, he seems very squeamish. I’ll keep you updated.” 

Terry and Lewis bid each other farewell and hang up the phone. 

Lewis stands outside the office where she left Mark for a moment as she ponders how best to proceed. 

...

You Are Sheol . 9

When Detective Lewis returns to the room that Mark is waiting in, his face seems more pale than when she last saw him. Lewis sits down slowly and puts her hands on her desk, leaning forward and subtly closing the gap between Mark and herself. 

“Mark, do you know where Abraham lives?” she asks. 

Mark shifts in his seat uncomfortably, “I don’t know the address, I just know how to get there,” he answers. 

“Could you point it out on a map?” Lewis continues. 

“I don’t know, I’m not entirely sure I know the area that well. It’s deep woods.” 

Lewis stares at Mark sharply for the span of 30 seconds. Her gaze brings Mark distress. 

“Mark, I want you to be completely honest with me, so I am going to be completely honest with you, okay?” she starts. 

Mark nods slowly. 

“I’ve just received some information that is going to severely impact the outcome of this situation. Abraham is currently being detained as the prime suspect in the kidnapping of a 13 year old indigenous girl named Chenoa Moho, she went missing on November 1st-,”

“what?” Mark cuts in, immediately sitting straighter, “wha- where did that come from? I thought this was about Sheol?”

“This is about Sheol. We still need to find out what happened to that little boy. But we’ve also learned some details that have changed our understanding of this situation. The evidence against Abraham is frankly… well… let’s just say, we will have absolutely no issue getting him convicted. But… there are multiple parties involved in this crime, Mark. This could be your lucky break. Now that we have you here, I’m giving you the opportunity to be honest with me and absolve yourself of suspicion around this situation.”

Mark stands from his seat. “I don’t know anything about anything you’re talking about. I just drove my buddy to the police to find his son, that’s it-!” he says offendedly. 

“Mark, listen to me,” Lewis says in a calming tone, “this office that we’re in right now is not an interrogation room. None of this is being recorded right now. I’m giving you a once in a lifetime opportunity to wipe your hands of whatever mess your friend has gotten you into. I'm trying to help you and Sheol. There’s no reason why you need to be detained tonight too, at least… not from our evidence so far. But if you make my life difficult… I will make your life difficult.”

Mark looks at the door as his heart quakes through his chest. He bites his lip and shakes his leg, unsure of whether he should try to leave or not. His mouth quivers as he tries to find his words. But even if the right words did happen to dawn upon him, they could never be summoned from his tongue. Mark has been forbidden to speak of such things, his tongue no longer knows how to form the syllables that would reveal the depth of his knowledge. As he thinks about Abraham and the information he’s just received, his heart rate begins to increase. Beneath his anxiety is a growing bitterness, a stinging, burning betrayal that makes him want to retch. 

“I honestly don’t know anything about that, I’m being completely honest here,” he says pleadingly.

“Alright,” Lewis says as she leans back in her chair, giving Mark an opportunity to calm himself, “then you can show me where he lives.”

“I can’t do that either,” Mark says as he rubs his forehead with his fingers. “I’m sorry, I really want to but I can’t.”

Sweat rolls down Mark’s chin, and Lewis observes his anxiety increasing. 

“I really wish I could, seriously. But I can’t.”

“Why can’t you?” Lewis asks as she leans in again, “Do you realize how serious this is, Mark?”

“I do, I really do,” Mark groans, “I want to help you.”

Detective Lewis squints. “Then help me, Mark. Help me, help yourself…and Sheol.”

Sheol. Mark’s mind twists and decays as he ponders your existence. Truly, honestly, how did you end up in Golden, Sheol? Everything is becoming too real, the fantastic illusion is rusting in Mark’s mind. This is too much. This is exactly what he’d feared for so long. This is exactly what Abraham said would never happen. 

“What’s going to happen to Abraham?” Mark finally asks after a moment. 

Detective Lewis shrugs. “He will be arrested and intaken here.”

“Really?” Mark asks. 

“Yes, Mark.”

“When can I talk to him?”

Detective Lewis shrugs again. “I don’t know.”

A moment of silence passes. 

“And Sheol? What’s going to happen to Sheol?” Mark asks.

“He will likely be taken into foster care,” Lewis answers simply. 

Mark sits with himself for a moment. This must be it. It must be truly over. All the effort put in over all this time has come to naught. But not you Sheol, you are all that remains. Mark makes his decision. 

“I can’t tell you where it is… I’m scared for my life,” Mark starts with a broken voice, “but I can tell you who his mother is… her name is Marianne Miriam.”

Detective Lewis passes her notebook and pen to Mark so he can spell the woman’s name correctly, “and do you have any contact information?” she adds as she watches his trembling hands shakily form the letters of the name.

Mark digs his phone out his pocket as his eyes redden. He sniffles as he searches through his messages with Abraham, scrolling back nearly four years, eventually finding a point in the conversation where Marianne is the topic of discussion.

She changed her phone number again. 555-285-6038

Mark recites the number to Lewis as he passes back the notebook. Lewis writes it down. 

“You have to make sure that Abraham doesn’t know you got that information from me,” Mark says tearfully. “He has a… network of people. I never got too involved… but they will kill me.”

Detective Lewis tries to hide her reaction to that statement, “we have protections in place for whistleblowers,” she responds. 

“If he’s gonna be staying here… can I please go home?” Mark asks as tears start to roll down his cheeks. 

Detective Lewis adjusts her glasses on the bridge of her nose. “I’d like you to provide us with your full name and contact information so we can get a hold of you in the future, then you’re free to go.” She finishes writing in her notes and looks up at Mark with a soft smile. “You did the right thing, Mark.”

…

You Are Sheol . 10

After giving his information to the sharp detective, Mark stumbles his way into the station washroom, locking the door and resting his back against the wall. He rubs his eyes but tears continue to leak from them, streaking down his red cheeks. 

After a moment of heavy breathing, Mark retrieves his phone and dials a number. The phone rings for a half second before defaulting to an automated message:

We’re sorry, but the number you have dialed is not connected. Please redial and try again.

*Click*

The call disconnects. Mark slams his phone down on the sink with a frustrated growl and sinks to the floor.

“Marianne” Mark whispers to himself in distraught, “what did he do? Oh god, what the fuck did he do?”

…