The stories of Jibril or Gabriel are as old as modern man. Humans have attributed nearly a thousand stories to him, some now lost to time and most with a fraction of truth to them. The running theme is the same when discussing him, that he brought messages to this world from our Creator. Humans gave him physical attributes that are synonymous with forms that they can understand. You can't blame the humans for this because they can only see Jibril when he is in a form that humans can understand. In many cases, even with Jibril in human form, human messengers often fainted after an encounter with him.
That is because he was made from a light that many of us cannot comprehend. In fact, even after seeing Jibril in his natural form, I couldn't comprehend what I saw. His light was brighter than anything I had ever seen, a raw form of energy. He moved so fast, that time seemed to have stopped for the rest of the world while he carried out our Creator's will. Jibril had been over my head one instant and gone the next. I felt my flame fluctuate by merely being in the same vicinity of Jibril and in turn, I fell to the ground.
"Zrous!" Hazia called out in concern before shaking me. "What happened? Are you alright? Your fire-."
"I'm okay. I-," I murmured and tried stabilizing myself on my feet. I couldn't find my footing and collapsed on the ground again. I was purposely given permission by our Creator to be shown Jibril's true form. If this was how my very being affected by Jibril's light, i couldn't even fathom how quickly I would dissipate if I ever saw my Creator. Hazia now helped me to my feet while I remained lost in thought.
"Zrous," Hazia called out before lightly patting my face.
"Sorry, I-. Something happened," I whispered and looked towards the horizon where Jibril's light had headed. "What's located there? Past the hills?"
"A human colony. They're followers of Ares," Hazia began, but paused. "What are you thinking? Are you ill, Zrous?"
"No, but I must see these humans. There is something special about them, I don't know what. Who is the fastest in your village?" I asked quickly.
"Denit, of course," Hazia answered.
"I need Denit to take me to that colony," I began, but paused. I sounded like my brother, giving commands to Hazia just as he gave commands to Hera. The last thing i wanted to do was emulate my brother. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like I'm giving you an order. Could I talk to Denit? Ask him if he'd take me there?"
"Zrous, you're acting erratic. Is everything okay?" Hazia asked softly.
I smirked before shaking my head. I was in a world where my brother was committing the highest form of blasphemy in our jinn society, shirk. My own sibling was encouraging humans and jinn alike to worship idols and jinn. There was no recovery from this sin, no forgiveness. I knew that my brother had damned his own children to an eternity with Iblis and at that moment, there was nothing I could do about it.
"I'm not okay, Hazia. I need to stop the Olympians and something tells me that I need to get to that colony in order to do so," I explained. Hazia studied me for a moment before nodding. She headed back to the cave and returned a few minutes later with Denit in tow.
"You want me to take you to a human colony? I'm your vessel now? Rent a human ship if you love the humans so much," Denit asked with a scoff. "You're a mighty one with a special flame. Why can't you go by yourself?"
"I can, but it'll take me time and I may miss what I need to see," I explained to the best of my ability without compromising my true intention.
"Oh, well, right?" Denit shrugged before heading back towards the cave.
"Denit," Hazia began in warning, but I stopped her.
"Thank you, for your hospitality. Once I'm done with the colony, I cannot guarantee I will return. My duty is to stop Zeus and I cannot rest until that's done," I explained.
"Stopping him is imperative for the survival of both of our worlds. I understand and I'm sorry that Denit did not agree," Hazia sighed.
"We are given free will for a reason, Hazia. It's his choice and I wouldn't want to impose my own wishes above his own. The Olympians do that, not me," I smiled before patting Hazia's shoulder. I gathered my belongings and looked towards the hills. Jibril would have been long gone by now, but my Creator must have had a reason for allowing me to see the angel in his true form. With a final goodbye, I headed towards my new destination.
I had barely made it to the rocky shore when Denit flew in front of me as if appearing out of nowhere. The young jinni had a frown on his face and paced in front of me before poking my shoulder.
"You're impatient," Denit growled.
"What are you talking about?" I asked in irritation while he continued to poke me.
"I don't know why you're so hellbent on rushing towards your death. The Olympians WILL kill you with the way you're running about screwing with everything that has their name on it," Denit continued.
"I have an obligation, Denit. I didn't ask you to follow me," I replied before brushing his hand off my shoulder.
"Why now? Why does our Creator care now? Why couldn't he have sent you when the Olympians massacred my village? When they killed my father?!" Denit roared and pushed me in an effort to get a rise out of me.
"I don't know. I don't speak on behalf of my Creator. I'm not His messenger, but I was given a second chance at life and I'll be damned if I let these heinous acts continue," I replied and continued my trek.
"Will you stop Zeus?" Denit asked quietly once he caught up with me.
"Even if it takes my dying breath," I nodded confidently. Denit had gone quiet and I noticed that he no longer walked in tandem with me. I turned hoping to convince the young jinni to go home so his mother didn't worry, but looked at the young jinni in surprise as he wrapped his arms around me and took off into the air.
It took him three minutes to fly me to the human colony. His speed was incredible, faster than most current day supersonic jets. We landed in a forested area near the border of the colony and Denit in turn proceeded to climb a tree to scout out the colony.
"Are you sure you're supposed to be here?" Denit asked in concern before looking down at my new human form.
"Yes, I feel like I am. Why do you ask?" I replied.
"Because this city is covered in evil, Zrous. Be careful. I can't come with you because I can't change my form," Denit whispered and proceeded to hide amongst the branches.
I didn't know what Denit meant by the city being covered in evil, but I didn't have to wonder for long either. The first thing that hit me upon entering the city was the overwhelming stench of decay. I made my way through the colony and hadn't encountered a resident yet, which was strange. A colony of this size should have been busy with activity. As I made my way down a worn path, a few children ran excitedly past me towards what I could only assume to be the town square.
"I bring you a message from your Creator, the one true God!" A voice bellowed out from what I could only assume to be an altar. The owner of the voice was a middle-aged man with wisps of grey at his temples. He was bound to a stake at the altar, but continued his speech. "Our Lord has sent us a message of hope! Denounce the way of the Olympians and return to the straight path!"
"A messenger," I whispered in awe as I gazed at the holy man. I had heard of the messengers of our Creator that were sent to the humans to bring them back to a path of monotheism. Jibril was the one who conveyed messages from our Creator to the human messengers. That was why he came here, I realized. This man was a holy man, but why was he bound to a stake?
"Silence the heretic!" A woman yelled out from the crowd.
"Burn him!" Another man suggested.
"Our god is Ares, old man!" A young teenager spat from near the altar.
The messenger frowned, unable to wipe the spit form his face. I had to do something. The messenger was in danger, I realized.
"Repent," the messenger whispered weakly. "Denounce these creatures for your one true Lord. Denou-."
A masked man sliced the messenger's throat in mid-sentence. The messenger's words gurgled in his own blood before his body spasmed and fell limp. I cried out in horror as blood now covered the man's simple clothes and ran down the altar. My cries were drowned out by the gleeful murmur of the crowd as the masked man removed his hood and smirked. They had murdered a messenger and I did nothing to stop them.
Thank you all for your kind comments and votes on this piece. I know many of you await a new chapter impatiently, so I tried updating as soon as possible. Again, none of this would have been possible without your support! I look forward to reading more of your comments. :)
-Helena