If you don't know what this is about then read the first post.
Massively long post warning.
-Spoiler Infested Section-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A note about the story:
The whole thing began when I had the idea of rewriting the events which took place in the Bible as a far fetched fantasy story.
The more it progressed the more it strayed from the religious origin however. Apart from the references, little remains except the idea of a leading figure accompanied by his apostles.
The crests representing each apostle which gives them their powers is a very anime inspired idea, as are many of the other ideas throughout.
The more I think about it, the more I begin to think this would make a better RPG than a book. The events and the way they occur along with the characters are very game-like, and would fit right in with the mechanics of an RPG.
Oh well, s'not like I'll be making a game anytime soon, so a written novel it is.
A large portion of the story involves hopping between different echoes collecting artifacts, and each one the worlds have their own stories, problems and characters, but I'm not sure if I should cut out those subplots entirely as the story is getting far far too long.
A more revealing story run through (written assuming you've read spoiler free intro already):
After being chased by the agents of Lucifer and finding the only one who may have had the answers murdered, The three of them (Neil, Robert and Nathan) find themselves cornered with no chance of escape.
Pulled from the brink of certain death, they awaken in a strange place with blanketed by a thick and endless darkness.
Found by Sarah and Carl, they are taken to a nearby village, but before they could find out much more about their situation, they are attacked by what appear to be monsters.
Amidst the chaos, they are saved again, this time by an unexplained burst of light and the revival of Neil's artifact, revealing it's true form.
After meeting with various characters and survivors from the village, the peace is one again disturbed, and Wrath descends upon the village.
Despite the awakening of Marie's bow and Neil's new found weapon, they were helpless to stop the immense power wielded by of the 4 generals. However, enough time was bought from the confusion and an Angel intervenes. Seeing the odds turning against him, the general retreats, giving the party time to gather their bearings and learn more about the events which have taken place.
After a night of much talking followed by an uneasy rest, the Angel, who calls herself Luna, departs. The party decide to take off in search of answers, and more importantly; a way home.
Before long their journey is disturbed by menacing dreams, and the situation worsens as a new enemy appears before them.
...as for the rest of the story, you're gonna have to figure it out from the notes. That's about as far as I've written up to, and besides, you really didn't think I was gonna go through the whole damn book did you?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ideas and giant plot fragments, also revealing most of the major plot twists:
Since Echoes have neither Ether or Mara, any artifact or magical being existing within one will be in a dormant or weakened form. On top of that, magical creatures cannot remain in an Echo for long as they will "bleed out" and cease to exist as their powers diminish.
In the past, seven great mages accidently disrupted the balance which enabled Lucifer to leave his sealed domain in Hell.
Amoungst these mages was Neil's true father.
After the defeat of God, indirectly lead to by the interference of the 7 mages, Lucifer was severely injured and weakened.
The surviving mages swore an oath to defeat him, and rid him from the throne in an attempt to atone for their sin.
Another mage which played a part in all this was Neil's mother, but during the fight with Lucifer she was cursed by a shard of his wing, and slowly took the form of a demon herself. She chose to end her life before the transformation finished taking place.
They were defeated as 4 of them decided to turn against the others, and gave into their own greed for power which was promised to them by Lucifer.
Of the 3 left, 2 were Neil's parents which were both met their demise, but the other survived; the father of Elena.
The 4 traitors were given positions as court mages under Lucifer, but after some time had passed, they began to die as Lucifer's promise did not include eternal life. After their loyalty wavered, they tried to escape from Heaven, only to be hunted down and eventually killed by Lucifer's 4 Generals. All but one remained, and to this day she serves at Lucifer's side.
When Neil and the others defeat her upon ascending to the final stages of Heaven, she gives to him the last artifact, and subsequently fell from heaven to free herself from her sins.
When the war was lost, humans on earth either perished or became twisted and deformed, eventually becoming monsters which fed on survivors.
Lucifer has many agents, most which were humans at one point. Agents are not particularly powerful but they have the power to slip through different dimensional pockets at will, and can kill normal humans with ease.
The demon hierarchy is divided into lesser and Greater demons. Greater demons have a sense of awareness and are much more powerful and wise. Many of them are beginning to oppose Lucifer's rule, as they start to understand that without humans or beings of light, the end of demons would eventually follow suit. There are 10 members of the Aesir, and roughly 300 greater demons. All demons are divided into 9 classes, including vampires, fallen, werewolves, harpies and drakes.
One of the more interesting subplots would be the Ava side story. Existing in another Echo, Ava is worshipped as a goddess. Who she is and why the people serving her have potent powers is something that I won't reveal, not even here.
Character Notes:
Chloe is a "shell" crafted by Merlin as a tool of war in a time long ago during a great magical conflict. Being a construct, she originally had no life or consciousness herself, but Merlin created her in the image of his daughter, and gave her a soul.
The magical conflict escalated however, and Merlin was killed and the magiks of that era were lost. Without a contractor bound to her, Chloe lost the majority of her abilities, and while being stricken with grief at the loss of her master she deactivated herself.
The war between Heaven and Hell sparked her awakening, and she leaves behind the ruins of her slumber with a broken memory to face another era plagued by war.
Appearance resembles a young girl with long hair, but is in reality a powerful artificial weapon, created using magecraft far beyond the capabilities of the current era. She's also my favourite character, and later forms a contract with Elena.
Other noteworthy things would be Marie's bow of rebirth, which is enchanted with the spirit of various mages.
Neil is half angel and half demon, too lazy to explain why but you can guess from the notes above.
All of the characters which follow Neil and become his "apostles" of sorts have their own weapons and crests, the weapons usually being artifacts of some sort which they pick up along the way and the crests granting them a skill or power.
Robert will betray Neil in the final chapters of the book, and it will be revealed that he was taken over by Samael when they first arrived in this world. He will block Neil's pat before they reach the throne of Heaven.
Markus is an interesting character, although it would take too long to explain the workings of the Aesir, I'll briefly comment on him. He is one of the most powerful demons on the council, but being from the house of vampires he is often looked down upon by other greater demons, Largely because vampires are considered the most human of all demon races, and on top of that, the other vampires killed themselves in an incident in the past related to their blood lust and awakening. He dislikes his consciousness, a trait not possessed by other demon types, but it leads him to join Neil's party instead of assassinate him as the council planned.
Glossary/Notes:
Gate of West Wind - the link between the 8th echo and the real world, found at the ocean of tears
3 stages of Heaven
- Gates (guarded by Bardiel)
- Endless realm of Ice and Snow (where the war was fought)
- Labyrinth of Souls (to stop mortals from ascending to heaven, exit guarded by Pride)
- Kingdom of Heaven (where the throne lies)
Stairway to Heaven - Bridges the gap between Heaven and Earth, leading to the Labyrinth of Souls. Created when remaining angels fled to Earth as Lucifer rose to power.
Artifacts - Objects of great divine or demonic power, which were mostly destroyed during the war. The remainder were scattered throughout the various echoes.
Spear of Longinus - A spear said to have been plunged into the side of Jesus as he was on the crucifix.
Has great holy power, but was lost during the battle between Lucifer and God in the Heavens. One of the more potent artifacts.
Ragnarok - Sword forged by Lucifer, using the Ether of Auriel the ‘light’ of God.
Used to defeat God.
Testament - Neil's alternate Ragnarok was not powerful enough. Weaker than the true Ragnarok.
Was combined with spear of Longinus to create Testament.
Ragnarok (lesser) - Strange artifact found by Neil in his dimension, attracted the Furies.
Later discovered to be a alternate mirror of the sword Ragnarok.
Because of the absence of Ether in his home dimension, the sword is only a handle until he crosses over.
Atma - Demon eyes of true sight, allows the bearer to see beyond what normal people see, but also causes them to have constant nightmares and visions.
Cannot be used to look at the sky, as it will blind the user forever.
Possessed only by greater (true) demons.
Has varying degrees of power/mastery, depending on the level of inheritance and also skill of the user
Stigma - Holy eyes of dispel, allows bearer to break magic curses and seals, and also weakens any demon who comes into contact with them.
Cannot be used to gaze upon the depths of hell, as it will blind the user forever.
Possessed only by Celestials and Archangels.
Has varying degrees of power/mastery, depending on the level of inheritance and also skill of the user
Ether - Holy essence. All beings in heaven are constructs of this essence.
A great deal of this essence dissipated over time without God’s presence.
Only scarce traces of it can be found in any sub dimension.
Opposite of Mara, the dark energy possessed by all demons and infused into all fallen angels.
Mara - See Ether
Mana -
Energy formed from combined Mara and Ether, and exists within humans. Can be tapped through incantations to capture elements directly in the form of seals.
Magik Circuit - Symbols which link between the spiritual and material planes. Act as gateways and are required to summon raw energy into elements. Superior to the use of incantations in terms of speed and immediate application, but limited as it requires symbols to be presently accessible to the user, either on scrolls or drawn on the fly.
White Legion (Titans, Guardians etc.) -
Army of guardian angels, under command of Anixiel.
Guarded the gates of Hell until the defeat of Anixiel. Were scattered and only 211 of the 365 remain after the slaughter once gates of Hell were opened.
Withdrew into seal at edge of Hell, under the will of Logos.
Followers of Nox -
An ancient tribe of people who foretold of the series of events which lead to the disaster. Believed to be descended from exiles, those who were cast out of Heaven at the beginning of time.
Practitioners of shadow based magiks, and were later entrusted the artifact used to seal away the White Legion, so that one day they may be released if needed.
Ley Lines -
A spiritual link involved in connecting a master to any familiar or servitor summoned.
Matrix - A complex network of ley lines which link all living creatures to their souls. When severed the contact with their soul is lost.
Chronological Time Shift - Sub dimensions created when the war was fought are shifted forwards or backwards in time. This value indicates their relative difference. The 8th Echo "Spero" has a CTS of -351, so therefore it is 351 years behind the real world.
God was defeated in the year 2112 on the Spero timeline, equivalent to 1761 on the real Earth timeline
Seraphim - Last angel to be born from the light of God. Destined to restore order and balance.
Granted an unprecedented amount of power and born into the sub dimension, where he would grow up as a normal child.
Hunted by Lucifer because he fears the prophecies which say the Seraphim shall lead to his demise.
The new rank of Seraphim's is technically lower than Celestial, as it possesses only the last scraps of God's energy while Celestials were granted the most, however Neil can make up for it as he is also part demon.
Angel Hierarchy (I made it up, it's not meant to be accurate)
- Seraphim
1st Choir Celestial
2nd Choir Archangel
3rd Choir Angel/Guardian Angel
***THE BIG SPOILER:
Well here it is, the last and biggest plot twist to take place in the book.
At the end of the journey Neil makes it to the throne of heaven alone to face Lucifer, only to find that Lucifer is long dead. In his place a familiar face awaits him... yep it's himself. The reason why is related to the cascade of dimensions, but I won't go into it. There will be various hints and stuff that lead towards it throughout the story, but hopefully no one will see it coming. Unless of course you read it here.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've left a lot out, but I'm dying after writing all that.