Those Who Fly Worldbuilding

Ember's Father...?

The last time I actually added a chapter to Those Who Fly was back in 2015, after reading a handful of lines from Paradise Lost. I now have had to read the entire poem for school, and I knew that something related to TWF was going to come of it. And, I've finally got it. Even with everything I've added or changed, this is probably the biggest major development since I stopped writing.

What follows will certainly be a massive spoiler in the book proper, but since it could be a decade before I get anywhere with that, I'm going to put it here now:

Lucifer is Ember's father. Lucifer is a Seraph and a relatively young angel. A long time ago, very long, he was a teenager and went through his rebellious teenage phase. "Screw you, Dad, I'm going to make my own way in the world!" There wasn't any war in heaven or anything like that, he just... left home. During that time, he disconnected from God more than most angels usually do (maybe he was part of the Watcher program?) and remains the only Seraph to do so. He felt spiteful for a long time. Spite puts one in lower planes of existence i.e. "Hell"— Hell is a state of mind, not a place. But no one is stuck there forever. Everyone returns to God eventually; everyone will eventually find their way upward. Lucifer is no exception. (Isn't there a "prodigal son" story in the Bible?) Lucifer is on his way back, having completed his descent into the Underworld and come out into the light like so many other heroes before him. When he's back, God will welcome him with open arms and be like, "Did you get it all out of your system?" This underscores the idea that everyone is forgiven, everyone finds their way home again, and that it's possible to mature past your edgy teenager phase. If I grew out of my edgy, rebellious phase, then I can't imagine how an immortal angel would be stuck in that state of mind forever. His symbol has become the phoenix — dying and being reborn as a higher form of oneself.
In the meantime, Lucifer helps to facilitate enlightenment in humanity, and is the only Seraph who is even remotely "earthly" enough to have a half-human child. Hence, Ember.

"Lucifer" is not his real name. I'm not sure what his angel name should be. It could be Sahariel (referencing the dawn), or he could be Samyaza (which makes him the first angel to have a half-human child). Or maybe we never learn his real name. Michael is somehow related to Lucifer, either his father or brother. In the meantime Metatron replaced him as the highest-ranking Seraph alongside Michael, but serves a different role.

I feel really good about this change. It's interesting and opens up a lot of potential avenues that I could explore, especially since before now Ember's father hasn't been interesting or relevant. The best thing about it is the massive "f*** you" that it delivers to traditional Abrahamic mythology, since the whole point of this story is to reinvent it into something I actually like. Ember is now a character who completely lays waste to the concept of the Antichrist, which also makes her more interesting.

What do you guys think?