Halo Of Horns

PROLOGUE

In the circle of the fallen, Lucifer held the sin of pride within his being. His very soul represented the tragic consequences of his actions and his suffering, a testament to the promised end. An angel who had once been held in the highest regard alongside God was now cast down into the pits of darkness. A light that was extinguished with a twist of His mighty wrist.

However, Lucifer was not the first child to disobey his Lord. He had a flock of angels that agreed with his prideful remarks sure, but before all of them, there was Azazel.

The angel of original sin.

Created in the same image of Lucifer, to be his brother in arms, God had hoped to create an unstoppable warrior determined to fight for the light. And for a time he was. Azazel loved the human people with his whole being, just as any angel did. He would join them in their festivals and walk among them, watching with a smile as the children danced and played. He took pride in helping the mortals, for they were incapable of the vast glory he was.

Azazel wanted nothing more than to help the humans and decided to share with them forbidden knowledge, to even the playing field between them and the demons that may escape the angel's watchful eyes. He taught the men to construct weapons to defend themselves and have an easier time hunting. He taught women to speak up for themselves in order to obtain what they wanted. He saw the injustices within the humans and despite God's disinterest in helping them, Azazel was determined to do what he could.

Unfortunately, his good intentions were used against him. Sin was vast among the humans and they took his gift and began to manipulate and play with its light until it had shifted into darkness. The humans were tempted by the seductive allure of dark magic and they gorged themselves with its delicious power. The men began to wage wars with each other and the women utilized their clouded minds to manipulate them and control the kingdoms out of envy.

Azazel's attempts to prevent this were futile and he was only met with scorn. The people he so deeply cared for cast him out, seeing the rise in dark magic and violence. They burned those who praised him and began to blame him for this horrid curse.

The world folded in on itself and the children of Azazel ate themselves from the inside out. Shame and guilt was not enough to save the angel and he was the first to fall into the fiery depths, staying there alone with his sorrow for decades.

In order to save the mortals from their sins, God called upon Lucifer and the other archangels to discuss his plan. God would incarnate himself on earth and save his favored creations from themselves. In turn, he was going to punish Azazel further by attributing all worldly sin to him because of his careless actions.

Just like humans, God blessed his angels with free will. Until now, the angels saw no reason to question the laws placed forth, but this new revelation angered Lucifer and his mind began to wander.

His pride did not allow him to bow before a man. He would bow before no one other than his God as He was. Men were beneath that of an angel and while he cared for them, they did not bow before him for all he had done so he had no reason to bow to them.

Suddenly, he felt just as Azazel must have in his quest to save humanity from itself. He should have been worshiped for what he had done but instead, he was only used as a scapegoat for all things unholy.

Lucifer refused to lower himself before the sins of man and his outrage rippled among several of the other angels, believing that if a man could be God, then so could they. For all the hard work they had done, they were not recognized as anything but servants to the Lord. Some even placed below the weak mortals.

Thus the war against the Heavens and the Fallen began.