Heavenly Realms

On the sixth day God created man. On the seventh day He rested. Then all Hell broke loose. Lucifer has seen the creation of humanity and he is afraid. Will the angels be cast out of Heaven in favor of God's new creation? They have built a mighty kingdom in the Lower Realm but the Prophecy of the Dragon looms as a storm on the horizon. Lucifer would sooner upset the balance of power than allow the angelic host to be cast out. Can his younger brother, Michael, maintain his faith and conquer his fear? Can he hold fast to his choir of warrior cherubim in the face of angelic heresy?

The War for the Throne has long since ended. The Fallen have been exiled. Heaven is secure. But the War for Souls now rages with infernal wrath as Faithful and Fallen battle one another on Earth for the sake of humanity. And thrust into this maelstrom, filled with demonic as well as angelic foes, is the legend of Zion. He sundered the Earth and scorched the firmament. He surmounted the champions of damned brethren and returned from the dead; the rock star of Heaven’s revolting concert. He was always inspiring: Dangerous in his comedy; beautiful in his tragedy.

In this evocative prequel to Grey Aegis, we step back in time to an Antediluvian Age scarred by the dark underbelly of godly love abused, of the abomination of lust, of idolatry and warfare in the face of heartbreaking rejection, and of the consequences of sin for those whose ambitions outweigh their humility. Sturm und Drang is a tragic tale of loss, of fear, and of the realization that love is a powerful blessing that can become one's darkest fear if the heart is left unguarded.

The War for the Throne may be over, but the memory remains. The fire and bloodshed left an indelible impression on the angels, both Faithful and Fallen alike. Told from the perspective of two Faithful and one Fallen, Triptych Codex is a haunting set of memoirs from the most brutal conflict the angels have faced, the one that turned brother against brother, leveled cities, and turned the Lower Realm of Heaven into a riven hellscape.

What defines a Faithful? Do the angels earn their halos from the Kingdom of Heaven through obedience alone? Or do they strive to employ sound judgment and moral strength? Ilthaliel was created as a seraph but his friendship with the cherubic general Melphax the Strong, known amongst his peers as the Pillar of Iron, brought him out of the comfort zone of his stately choir and introduced him to the rigors and philosophies of Zion’s warrior caste. A pensive gangly angel, at first glance Ilthaliel embodied all that was gallant and smart about Archangel Gabriel’s choir of messengers.