Avalon’s heart pulsed in anxiety. An internal instability derailed her; it was finally the day of her entry to the Arcane Covenant. She was nervous; it was a life-changing event that she knew would transform her into a stronger, smarter and more capable person. If that’s what she is. Avalon is a subtle girl with a distinct white skin tone. She has a rounded face and a pretty straight nose. Her hair’s crimson red color appeared bloodlike in contrast to her skin, but unlike the redhead stereotype, Avalon was actually shy and modest, but she never lacked confidence in herself or others. The truly unique aspect of Avalon was the magnificent set of wings on her back that she hid from the rest of the world. She tucked the bright red wings deep into her skin as she naturally could, and she only revealed them to others who had wings like hers. In Indira City they were called angels for obvious reasons, and although they hid their identities, they embraced the title. The gentle red walked towards Theodore and he looked her in her transparent green eyes, focusing on the beauty of her long lashes and charming smile.
“Are you ready?”
Theodore asked her and he cracked a smile. Theodore was another angel, and Avalon’s mutual love interest. Theodore’s body is medium sized, well-built with blonde hair and electric blue eyes. His skin was tanned and appeared to have one whole natural color from being in the sun.
“As I’ll ever be.”
They shared a quick kiss, Theodore longing for another second of her thin lips.
“Don’t worry, it’s not bad. We’ve all been through it and you’ll feel much better when you’re actually there.”
She gave him another kiss, this one on the cheek and they walked to the car, dressed formally in red, black, and white – the colors of the Arcane Covenant.
“Thanks. Oh, and your aesthetic selection is appealing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He gaffed.
“You look nice.”
She briefly held Ted’s hand, if only for seconds before sitting in the passenger seat of the car. The car’s engine hummed with a fluttery engine and they took off to her entry ceremony. She was the last of her friends to become a full blooded member of the Covenant, ironic considering she’s a valedictorian and a prolific athlete. Ted drove through the Indira City, making light conversations with Avalon to help ease her anxiety.
It was dusk and the last remnants of the setting sun were beginning to hide from the coming darkness of the night. Indira City is a massive city located on the coast of the sea. Its buildings are a silver-white color, constructed of cement slabs into expressionist style architecture. Indira City is the gem of global nightlife, with everything from a beautiful skyline of red and purple lights to the blue ocean surrounding it. The city was now engulfed in the darkness of the night sky, and white lights could be seen all throughout the city. Indira City is composed of multiple highways running through it, some above the other, and there were up to three layers of highways that stood a hundred feet above ground level that accommodated the megacity’s traffic flow and a bullet train metro that ran throughout the city’s outskirts. It didn’t take much to travel around the city. Cars travelled on the highways, and the rich on helicopters. And then there’s always ground level, where people can shop or take elevators up to the canopy layers of the city for the best nightlife available.
Ted and Avalon parked in front of a mansion that was as wide as it was long. It had enough space to comfortably house five hundred people. The car was parked within the front driveway of the mansion and they walked up to the door where two guards were waiting for them. They were familiar faces, and since they were the last two to arrive, Avalon’s entry ceremony could finally begin. There were over four hundred other angels waiting for her there, all of whom were full blooded members of the Covenant.
Her parents were there as well, and they were eager to see their child finally become a woman in the society of angels, but they hid their excitement and kept serious as most others in the ceremony were. She was being walked into the main chamber by the guards who had locked the mansion gates. A grand door was opened and she was in the room with the elder angels, and even Archangel himself. Archangel was the current leader of the angels, and he was fifty five years of age with graying hair on the sides. Archangel gave her a look and then began the rite of passage.
“Avalon Ashton, do you swear the oath of loyalty to the Arcane Covenant?”
She spoke with a moderate tone, just above a quiet whisper.
“Yes, I do.”
“Will you set aside your compassion for the safety of our people?”
“Yes, I will.”
“And should the moment arrive will you bare the ultimate sacrifice as your forefathers have bravely done? Putting the innocent above your own life?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Then recite the oath.”
“I Avalon Ashton hereby swear to safeguard the innocence of our people and others by using the gifts bestowed in me for the better of humanity, a gift that I shall not abuse and will not fodder with. I will make any sacrifice necessary to keep us safe from the harbingers of evil, should it mean risking life and limb for the better interest of this world.”
“Then I welcome you to the Arcane Covenant.”
Archangel and Avalon shook hands and the crowd watching them clapped. Her parents were particularly proud and they even began to tear up. Ted and her friends immediately rushed for her to hug her and congratulate her. She shook the hands of nearly every member there and they all gave warm welcomes. Being accepted into the Arcane Covenant is celebrated, it’s a welcome to a society built on trust, love, and brotherhood. An angel’s psychokinetic abilities are determined partly by who they are – but mostly by their emotions. An emotionally stable angel who feels accepted generally performs at the best of their ability.
The Arcane Covenant’s duty is to prevent the spirit realm from colliding with the realm of the living. The spirit realm is a ghostly reflection of an abandoned Earth, where everything is in suspended animation with the exception of the monsters that inhabit the realm. When the boundary between the worlds thins and night settles, the vampires squeeze through the fabric of reality and into the living world, whereas demons are too heavy to cross over, with a heavy burden on their wretched souls. The Elder Vampire Coven is where the evil go to die; where rapists and murderers beg for immortality at the toll of eternal servitude to the Elder Coven. The vampires’ ultimate goal is to secure the Skeleton Key from the Arcane Covenant in order to open the Garden Gate, a portal to the spirit world, in order to bridge over the demons to raise hell on earth. The Arcane Covenant strives to keep this from happening in a timeless mission to keep peace on Earth, being duty bound until the very end.
The mood of the mansion became upbeat and casual with the four hundred angels in harmony as they welcomed a new member to their ranks. Avalon felt a good confidence boost, merely being a new member made her feel like a capable, confident person. The sheer amount of flattery she received made her feel welcome as a valuable ally to combat the evils of the spirit realm. Archangel went up to Avalon and assigned her to a team of angels, one that had long been waiting for her consisting of her best friends and some others she didn’t quite know. She had been in Manner Mansion before, but she never quite got to see it beyond the two main rooms. The building served as a permanent home for the angels who were free to stay there as long as they wished with no questions asked. Archangel then gave her a key to her designated room.
Avalon sat with her friends at a table after receiving heartwarming welcomes to the Covenant. Ted was actually the leader of their team and her friends – Jonathon and Juliet – were also part of the close-knit group. This group of theirs is tasked with patrolling the streets for vampire activity and they also fulfill the roles of messengers for the Arcane Covenant. There were others in her group that she had only seen before but never spoken to. There was one that particularly intimidated Avalon. Her name was Selena, and she was one of the most dedicated angels in the Covenant. She was tattooed at the biceps, thighs, and all down her back with the ancient writings of the Covenant. Selena came with tan skin, and a black hair and eye color. She was particularly aggressive towards everything, with her favorite line being ‘suck it up’. She walked up to Avalon with very little to say to her.
“Enjoy the party, because you’re probably not going to last a second out there.”
Avalon locked her teeth and didn’t respond, merely keeping eye contact with Selena until she walked away. Ted looked over to Avalon and whispered to her.
“Don’t worry. Her bark is worse than her bite.”
The entrance’s doors opened themselves and the room suddenly became quiet; dead quiet. As if a dread intrusion had befallen them. A teenaged boy walked into the room with straight footsteps. He paused for a moment, the crowd stared at him. He fascinated Avalon in a strangely beautiful way – there was something about him that felt so alien yet surprisingly human. He was a tall boy measuring about six feet. His skin was pale white and his hair was short and definitively black. He was muscular and developed, nearly enough to be confused for a man with the body of a swimmer. Broad shoulders and long arms made his medium body structure. His facial complexity was amazingly well defined with a straight nose, straight eyebrows, and russet eyes against a slight rounded face. He silently walked into the crowd with minimal attention. He gently navigated the crowd until he left the room and took the stairs up to another corridor. It almost annoyed Avalon that he interrupted her party but she was particularly intrigued by him. The second the door closed the silence disappeared and people began speaking again until and the conversations picked up the pace.
“What was that all about?”
She asked Theodore who was a bit cold.
“That was Léon. He’s the Angel of Death.”
She was bewildered by his response.
“Angel of Death? What do you mean by Angel of Death?”
“According to the stories; his entire family was murdered by vampires one night when he was a kid. He defenselessly witnessed all of it happen and the shock of seeing it happen triggered his psychic abilities prematurely and he laid waste to the vampires in a matter of seconds, although too late for his family. Ever since the emotional trauma has left him with horrifying powers, but he’s as inanimate as a stone – doesn’t socialize, doesn’t fly, probably doesn’t even breathe.”
“My gosh… that’s horrible. Does he have any family left?”
Ted remained quiet for a moment.
“Only his cousin Jane.”
He pointed towards Jane with his chin. They weren’t very different in outward appearance; the genetic connection was very noticeable only she seemed to be living and breathing.
“That must be hard on him. Does he have any friends?”
Before Ted could say a word, Juliet interrupted him.
“He’s not what you would call social.”
Jonathon backed her up on that.
“Too right; he’s emotionless. He makes vampires look alive.”
Avalon nodded defensively.
“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a person. Someone should talk to him.”
Theodore almost jumped back.
“You aren’t thinking about talking to him? Are you?”
She snapped back at him, frustrated with Ted’s blatant ignorance.
“What if I am? He’s just like us. There’s no reason I shouldn’t speak to him.”
The look on her face was serious. Ted sighed and reformed his thoughts.
“You’re right; just don’t feel embarrassed if he ignores your very existence.”
He finished his argument.
The night went on but Avalon’s ceremony had to be cut early; Avalon had school the next day. The angels left by the end of the night, some stayed in their mansion dorms while others returned to their homes. Avalon was getting ready to leave before she remembered about her dorm. She went upstairs to give the dorm a visit. She walked down the hallway which she would have sworn was empty until she saw Léon at the end of the hall. He wasn’t walking towards her, but rather away from her as he went deeper into the hall. She placed her key in the lock and turned it. The clocking mechanics of the lock clicked loudly and caught Léon’s attention. He turned his head to the left and looked over his shoulder to see Avalon frozen still at the door. She didn’t move, uncertain if she should enter the room. She saw Léon’s russet eyes staring at her with no distraction. She stared back at him for a couple of seconds. She thought about talking to him, breath held in chest. She had some regrets now, something in her stomach cringed. Instead she looked away and entered her room. It was just a square room with a bed and drapes on the window facing the backyard of the mansion which had a rather harrowing view of the forest behind it. Avalon returned from her room after taking a peek at it and left with her parents after giving Ted a last kiss for the day.
Its such a different look on angels, vampires, and the "supernatural" world.
