| SORCEROUS SIGNALS |
| Written by Robert William Shmigelsky / Artwork by Lee Kuruganti |
| Soul Shard |
A lone twinkling trail of an ocean-blue wisp floated up through the air into the winter sky.
It travelled through the tufts of white clouds above where it disappeared from sight. Hidden from peering
human eyes, it slipped through a small seam in the veil between worlds, passing dimensional shadow and
fabric thread as it travelled through the many entwined layers beyond.
In time, this single wisp slipped into a colorless, vast and perhaps endless whiteness and travelled into it
across the distance.
A few moments later, it flew into the open hatch of a lantern. A hand closed the hatch, hooked the
lantern onto a tall and winding fancy white stand and let it hang from the top and glow down on him.
Liminality reached into his pocket with the same hand and pulled out a small glass jar with a wooden top.
With his other hand, he turned the lid and took the top off then turned the newly-opened jar upside
down.
A liquid blackness oozed down from the bottom of the jar and a single drop fell on the white floor.
At its touch, the dark matter dimmed a large section of the whiteness and revealed the darkness
underneath. Standing at the exact center of the newly formed circle, Liminality looked up and shouted:
“Can you hear me now?”
Liminality knew Light’s aura could be unreceptive or too bright for other seraphs to hear or see each
other when they were inside, even with their seraphic senses. But upon discovering Light had a twin
brother. That after being thrust out of the cosmic void and going their separate ways, their paths
converged and the delicate balance between darkness and light born, the light travelling into the past
would have a secret hidden beneath (or at least how their eyes would have perceived it).
“Yes, we can,” said a voice of obvious authority. “Well done, Liminality.”
“I do not require thanks, Arbiter,” Liminality replied.
“Nevertheless, you have it.”
“I repeat what I have said to you before: that I simply wish to get the unpleasantness of this ordeal over
with.”
“Yes, you’re feelings on this matter are well known, but the decision before us concerns all of
seraphdom.”
Liminality glanced up before him. He imagined the thousands upon thousands of seraphs gathered
around him: unseen, ready to debate and argue on the soul encased before them.
“It is up to them to decide the fate of the accused, not just you.”
“Then let us proceed and bring this matter to a close.”
“Very well, so be it.”
There was a brief pause as the Arbiter cleared his throat.
“The soul belonging to Seraph Shalana has been accused of crimes against seraphdom and the breaking
of our most sacred law: interfering in the affairs of the world below by having physical contact with
mortals.”
In response to these accusations, the whole of seraphdom began to murmur in hushed voices around
Liminality, which he found most disconcerting.
“As every featherfolk knows,” the Arbiter continued, “the world below does not concern us. We exist
above them for a reason: to act as their moral compass and to remind them, even though Light may
have departed from this world, that he is still very much a part of it.”
“But does that moral compass include using the race of men as a weapon against the forces of
darkness?” Liminality responded.
“You disagree with our initiating of the Crusades?”
“I do.”
“Then allow me to remind you of the reasons we are gathered here on this eventful but sorrowed day. Of
the example we must set for the others to follow in these dark times,” the Arbiter emphasized.
“A comfortable distance between our world and the human world is preferred for good reason. Meddling
in the affairs of men could cause unforeseen consequences, not just below but here in the Ethereal
Realm as well. One giant misstep and the world could fall and that, I for one, do not wish to witness for a
second time. Whether for good, or for evil, we must allow the path the world is to take to be decided
naturally.”
“Even if it means allowing much suffering to occur below?”
“We are not responsible for the actions of others. I’m afraid the responsibilities of their actions lie on
them alone.”
“But as seraphs—we merely stand in place of Light,” the Arbiter continued. “To allow them to look upon
our glory, gift to them the teachings we were taught by Light so they will know how to conduct
themselves accordingly.”
“While indirect, is that not still meddling?” Liminality asked.
“No, it is not,” the Arbiter angrily retorted.
Liminality stood slightly taken back by the forcefulness of the Arbiter’s voice: seraphs were not supposed
to display such furor.
The Arbiter calmed himself as the voices of seraphdom were squashed.
“No, Liminality: it is not meddling. We, as seraphdom, merely stand before them, grace them with our
presence and inspire them. What would you have us do? Without our guidance, they would have
eventually come to most of the same conclusions, but would have strayed into the belief of multiple
gods: one for each element and task. Can you imagine what a travesty that would be: to worship on the
altar of a false idol that will never answer your prayers?”
“I wonder, Arbiter. Can you hear the sound of your voice? If you could, you would surely realize how
wrong you are,” Liminality exclaimed as he stood there in absolute bewilderment.
A few voices amongst them found the courage to rise to faint whispers.
“I am not the one who is on trial here. That honor belongs to your friend here, latent before you,” the
Arbiter quickly retorted. “Perhaps your personal attachment to the accused is too much for you to
handle. There would be no sha— ”
“No, Arbiter. You are mistaken. I am fine,” Liminality interrupted.
“Very well, if you insist, but perhaps now would be the time to release the accused so we may better
analyze her.”
At the Arbiter’s request, Liminality unlatched the hatch and opened the door. At that moment, the wisp
slowly floated out and stopped before the lantern.
Released from its place of holding, sensing the close proximity of the place it was travelling to, the wisp
glowed brightly with a blinding blue radiance before materializing into a glittering crystal shard: a soul
shard.
“Proceed.”
At these words, Liminality caressed the side of his hand along the breadth of the crystal. At his touch, a
natural ambience occurred between himself and the crystal, evoking the memories, thoughts – the very
essence of Shalana herself.
“Well, hello, Shalana,” the Arbiter remarked. For a moment there, Liminality thought he heard a hint of
disdain there.
Being only a shell of her former self and dressed in a flowing white robe, Shalana stood there
motionlessly and said nothing in reply.
“You may begin, Liminality. I for one look forward to seeing what she has to show us.”
Liminality turned and walked around Shalana. “Shalana, let’s begin with your past. Show us how you
were born.”
At Liminality’s voice, Shalana’s thoughts and memories weaved and interchanged around her. The
memory of Light, dressed in his multi-layered robe, appeared before them. He lifted up the long sleeve of
his robe and from his fingertip a ball of light appeared then disappeared and in its place stood a white-
winged seraph with long, golden hair: Shalana. Light then lowered his hand and the memory of Shalana
disappeared, followed shortly afterwards by Light himself.
“Now, Shalana,” Liminality said. “Show us what happened next. Show us where Light sent you.”
A second memory of Shalana’s waxed and waned before her.
Seraphdom awed.
Before them loomed a world that looked much like the world below, but as Liminality and the other
seraphs knew—it was not.
“Show us what life was like on our world, Shalana. On Eden.”
At Liminality’s command, a fleeting series of images played out and shone before them in a plethora of
shapes and colors. One image after the next, seraphdom was reminded why life without balance, without
good and evil, does not work.
They witnessed an entire world grind to a complete halt: to content to move pass the boundaries that
defined them, accomplish more and grow as individuals.
Seraphdom murmured.
“Liminality, I wonder—what is the relevance of this? Shalana’s past is not in question.”
“My apologies, Arbiter. I merely wish to create a fuller picture of events for all of seraphdom to help them
better understand the reasoning behind Shalana’s actions. As I was attempting to show, Shalana was
merely attempting to grow as a—”
This time is was the Arbiter’s turn to interrupt Liminality.
“Your argument is denied. I’m sure the rest of seraphdom does not require a lesson in history. Let us
start with how she came to be reborn.”
Liminality reluctantly turned and faced Shalana. “Shalana, show us how you were able to descend to the
world below.”
At these words, the space around Shalana was filled by a bluish-white liquid, completely immersing her.
As if held by some invisible force, the liquid was kept from spilling out into the darkness, but it did flow
as if compelled so by a strong current. After watching for a few moments, the liquid plummeted down as
if flowing over a waterfall. The very next moment, it began to twirl round and round as if being sucked
down a drain until at last none of the liquid remained and a human Shalana, without her wings, stood
there kneeled before them, surrounded by the variegated colors of the Earth.
As the whole of seraphdom began to exclaim amongst themselves, the memory faded then disappeared
and the essence of Shalana reappeared.
“An interesting show,” the Arbiter remarked. “But I’m sure simply theatrics will not sway seraphdom
either way. Let us speed this along. Have her show us all of what happened next.”
Following the Arbiter’s command, Liminality turned and faced Shalana: “Shalana, tell me, from beginning
to end, what happened next?”
Over the course of the memories that followed, Shalana’s face tightened and a single blue tear managed
to fall from her eye as her not-so-distant past played before her…
~ * ~
In a matter of moments, they saw her life through her eyes.
It all started when she met a man. At first, they did not quite get along, him only thinking about himself:
becoming famous, departing on an quest that would make him rich beyond measure—her being
unfamiliar with human ways.
But despite their many differences, and although they wouldn’t admit it at first, they found themselves
strangely drawn to the other: their differences bought them together like two matching parts.
They soon fell in love. Although they would not have a long life together, they enjoyed the time they had
together: living in a castle, sharing many smiles and laughs, delving into each other’s mind and
occasionally discovering something new about the other.
But then, and perhaps partly their fault, thinking they had not done enough good around them, the
sundering of the lineages of men and their subsequent exodus from his kingdom began and broke them
apart: him, being a knight, having to go off and fight for his people, leaving her behind.
Forced down different paths but promising to return to the other, they went their separate ways and
survived, for a time, without the other, but soon realized they would not be able to keep the promise
they had made to each other. War bought with it many unpredictable things and as such one should
only promise that which they knew they could keep. Although all war will eventually end, no matter the
victor, it is not certain that you will live to see that end.
For Shalana she tragically met the blade of a sword and for her other half—he was frozen in time: his
soul shard forever locked in its human casing.
~ * ~
“There you have—just as I said,” the Arbiter declared. “Seraph Shalana broke our most sacred law, by
falling in love with a human and interfering with mortal affairs, and in doing so helped further initiate a
series of events beyond her control with far-reaching consequences that have yet to be determined.”
Liminality listened on in silence, awaited the judgment.
All of seraphdom remained quiet, whet with anticipation, as they waited for their opportunity to voice
their judgment on Shalana’s soul.
“Without delay, let us proceed with the vote,” the Arbiter declared.
“All those in favor of voting the accused not guilty for the aforementioned offenses?”
All but a few of seraphdom remained silent.
“Those in favor of voting the accused guilty for the crime of interfering with the world below?”
At this call, almost the whole of seraphdom rose up with one collective voice.
The Arbiter allowed the voices to die down before declaring: “very well—the whole of seraphdom has
been heard.”
Liminality stared down in obvious disappointment. Although he knew this would be the likely outcome,
given his optimistic nature, a small part of him couldn’t help but hope. While he shared her principle of
doing good even though it might have nothing to do with them, the ‘whole of seraphdom’ was
unfortunately against them.
Liminality felt the Arbiter press his gaze down on him.
“Partly based on what you were attempting to explain earlier, Liminality, I have decided to sentence
Shalana to a thousand years of life as a mortal without her soul mate: to be born, live her life without
ever finding him then to grow old alone and die only to be reborn and the cycle begin all over again.”
“So, ends this deliberation,” the Arbiter declared against a cacophony of voices.
The light dimmed, ending the session. One by one the voices went dead until Liminality stood alone in
silence.
A rueful smile crossed Liminality’s lips. He turned towards the crystal. He caressed it with an opposite
motion then before and the essence of Shalana returned to its casing.
He took the crystal and held it against him. “Come with me,” he said to it in a soft, low murmur. “I’ll take
you to where you were going.”
With that Liminality walked out of the darkness and into the light.
~ * ~
Liminality soon appeared inside a glowing yellow mesh coalescing the Earth, sky and heavens together
with thousands of cords and threads. Wispy blue streams flowed from pool to pool. Torrents coursed
with the tendrils of soul—the waves.
From the transparent white ceiling above, circling back from journeys beyond basted seams, a
voluminous cascade dropped, sprayed and fizzled onto the streams below.
Liminality walked towards the tendrils of souls being quaffed and swirled by the pool, which appeared
glossed before his seraphic eyes and whirled with souls being hurled around and round by unseen
currents cast green by inner reflections of Earthly depths below.
Liminality kneeled at water’s edge.
“Well, here we are,” he announced to Shalana. “I guess this mean it’s time to say goodbye. Although
Laersi and I will surely miss your presence, we hope you find what you’re looking for below. Who knows?
While you’re down there—perhaps some of us will find it above.” Liminality reached out with both his
hands and held the crystal over the pool.
“Goodbye.”
With that last word, Liminality dropped Shalana. Upon hitting with a splash and sinking into the pool, her
crystal casing shone out through the murky depths below and allowed Liminality to see as she was
transformed into a twinkling trial of ocean-blue light.
The wisp swam down, swirled along inner terrestrial currents and disappeared from even Liminality’s eyes.
Finished, Liminality gave the pool one last look and internal reflection before standing up and adding:
“For now at least…”
Nothing else left for him to do here, Liminality swung around and preceded down one of the many gold-
laced paths in the fabrics, but as he walked by he couldn’t help but glance wistfully at some of the sights
around.
Most of the answers to the intricacies of the world given—not sought out, no place on Earth unseen by
all-seeing eyes; Liminality peered through the many layers of the world around him and perceived the
Earth below.
His gaze fleeted along white misty shores then through the bulky wooden beams of a lofty ark bursting
through tall ocean waves against an overwhelming current.
Inside, he found Shalana already born to the world below. Hoisted up in the hands of one of the
midwives, her lungs screamed at their upmost pitch as she was exposed to the harshness of the world
around her, but where Liminality knew she would be normal: to see the unseen, discover and grow.
But only as far as the world around her would allow.
His worry for her and a great many things percolating through him, Liminality decided to let go of his
dream for now. Reaching a dimensional seam, he touched the pendant hanging around his neck. The
sapphire gem inset upon it immediately awoke and glowed.
Then, his mind clear of one and every thought of that kind, he stepped into the light and parted
through.
Robert, a residential care aide, is unapologetic in his pursuit of excellent
high fantasy. Robert has been writing fantasy for himself in his spare time
for the last seven years, but has only recently begun writing for others.
Besides reading and writing, some of his hobbies include computers and
medieval and ancient history. He has a dry sense of humor, which he
blames his stepfather for. Also, he has a habit of making history jokes no
one but he understands.
Robert is currently sifting through the first of three novels he wrote in his
younger years in an attempt to make it somewhat palatable and can be
found on facebook.
high fantasy. Robert has been writing fantasy for himself in his spare time
for the last seven years, but has only recently begun writing for others.
Besides reading and writing, some of his hobbies include computers and
medieval and ancient history. He has a dry sense of humor, which he
blames his stepfather for. Also, he has a habit of making history jokes no
one but he understands.
Robert is currently sifting through the first of three novels he wrote in his
younger years in an attempt to make it somewhat palatable and can be
found on facebook.