Rise of the Fallen

First published by Magabala Books Aboriginal Corporation, Broome, Western Australia in 2013

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www.magabala.com
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Copyright © Text Jillian Boyd, Illustrations Tori-Jay Mordey

All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process whatsoever without the written permission of the author, the illustrator and the publisher.

Magabala Books receives financial assistance from the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts advisory body. The State of Western Australia has made an investment in this project through the Department of Culture and the Arts in association with Lotterywest.

This manuscript was developed through the support of the State Library of Queensland's 2012 black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowship, part of the State Library's black&write! Indigenous Writing and Editing Project. black&write! gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the CAL Cultural Fund. Thank you also to Boori Pryor who launched the black&write! Project at the Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair in 2010.

Designed by Tracey Gibbs

Printed in China at Everbest Printing Company

Cataloguing-in-Publication data is available from the National Library of Australia ISBN 9781922142009

For my Mum, Grandma and Samantha. I love you.

THE SEVEN LEGIONS OF THE DEMONIC REALM

For centuries they have dwelled in the shadows, waiting for their chance to rise. The demonic underworld has always been chaotic. The first of the fallen angels immediately rose to power – alone, ruling the hundreds of thousands of demons. Under Lucifer's reign the angels and the demons were able to enter the human realm freely, but, before the Dark Ages began, a new order had commenced. This new order shattered the unspoken truce between the angels and the demons, causing chaos and fear among the humans. After countless attacks and many human deaths, the angels disappeared from the human realm. Samael, The Angel of Death, murdered Lucifer and took the throne for himself, and the first demon, Lilith, rose alongside him. Under their influence the demons began to rise from the underworld, walking among humans in disguise, bringing violence and chaos to earth.

THE SEVEN LEGIONS OF THE DEMONIC REALM

The underworld has seven layers and each layer has a legion of demons. The layers are organised according to the demon's abilities.

The first is inhabited only by the strongest of the demonic world and this is followed by the second, containing the legion of high-level demons.

The third layer is the most intriguing, as it is here that the shapeshifting demons dwell. Almost all demons have the ability to shift between human form – which they use when they enter the human realm – and their demonic form, which is different for each demon. The shapeshifters are the exception to this rule – they can change into the form of anything, or anyone.

The fourth and fifth layers are made up of lower-level demons who spend most of their time with humans or with high-level demons. They feed off the powers of the high-level demons and perform menial tasks for them. The sixth layer of the underworld consists of the demonic children. These children are considered to be among the lowest demons as they are so simple to kill. Lilith, the first demon, cherishes them. The final layer consists of the weakest of all demons – the vampyres. The vampyres are the only demons that are directly related, by blood, to Lilith and she takes credit as the creator of their species.

In each legion of demons there exists a hierarchy – the two
strongest demons are called princes and dukes. Historically, duke is a higher rank than prince. The princes and dukes of the underworld are notorious for being cruel and deceitful, yet they are fiercely loyal to each other. Although the ultimate power over the underworld is changeable, the position of princes and dukes remains the same – unless they are challenged from within.

As a fallen angel, Samael is not a true demon, but he stands above all others. His black-eyed wings appear broken and mischievous, and his bandaged face maintains his status as the only anonymous demon. Samael has never adapted to the language of the human realm and still speaks an ancient dialect. He alone has the power to destroy any demon permanently. But he is just and right and he never kills unless he finds it necessary. He has been ruling the underworld alongside Lilith since the dawning of the Middle Ages when the legendary war began. Despite this, Samael carries the stigma of being easily manipulated, but his powers are enough to keep all demons in line.

The two demons that rule over Legion One are Lilith and the duke, Soul. Lilith is, and always will be, known as the first demon and vampyre. Her reputation as being a seductress is legendary. Lilith has the powers to turn her enemies to stone, glass or ice. While other demons travel through smoke and flames, Lilith is the exception. She alone has the power to travel through mirrors – it is through mirrors that she can enter and possess a human body faster than any other demon. Typically, with the exception of Lilith, demons do not set out to possess humans, as their influence is enough to cause havoc, and demons find possessions messy.

In the beginning, Lilith was a lower-level demon, despite being the first of her kind. Legend has always surrounded her, and some believed she was a succubus – but upper-level demons know that she started as a vampyre. It was not the sustenance she craved from the consumption of human blood, but the power that she held over her
victims and the fear she saw in their eyes during their final moments. It wasn't until she joined Samael that her powers were fully unleashed, and her sadistic tastes were heightened. Manipulating Samael into overthrowing Lucifer, she rose to the highest legion, ruling the demonic realm alongside her lover.

Soul is the highest level of duke. He is considered to be one of the most powerful of demons after Lilith, for he is the only one who has the ability to rob other beings of their power. Soul's demonic form is one of the most horrifying – he resembles a decomposed corpse with sharp, white teeth. He is the only demon who doesn't use his powers to kill humans; instead he uses his powerful teeth to tear them apart. As Soul gains more power he becomes a bigger threat to himself and others because the stronger Soul believes he is, the more reckless he becomes. Knowing this, Lilith struggles to keep him under her control.

Legion Two is the home of the “child” of Lilith, and the duke Dorian. Zaida is the only blood child of Lilith, a product of a demon and an angel. Though her powers – inherited from both mother and father – are still weak due to her youth, they are the biggest threat to the natural order. Zaida is one of the few demons that is capable of possessing another body at the exact moment of the death of her previous one, effectively switching to and from bodies throughout eternity. Her powers continue to grow and, with added protection from Lilith, she is virtually untouchable. Her shapeshifting mastery is unparalleled, providing another shield for her protection. Only a select few demons know she exists, and even fewer know how to destroy her.

Dorian was one of the most respected of all demons in and below the second Legion, and held the position of a prince. But when he failed to capture two elementals, under the instruction of Lilith, he was the first to be demoted to the rank of duke. Ever since, Dorian has become obsessed with recapturing them, and any other elementals he meets. Dorian's powers are not as strong as others in this legion, but
his charisma is second to none.

Legion Three has two dukes of equal power: Bato and Andre. Bato rarely uses his abilities to shift; he finds them unnecessary. Bato is only ever in the human realm when his girlfriend from Legion Five is with him. Andre is constantly shifting between forms and is one of the most volatile demons in the underworld. In comparison, Legion Three has far fewer demons than the others, as pure shapeshifting demons are rare.

The lower-level demons of Legion Four and Five are mischievous and conniving. Each demon of these legions has a reputation for feeding off the power of high-level demons. Lower-level demons constitute the majority in the underworld, and spend most of their time delivering evil and temptation into the human realm. The ancient tales of the Seven Deadly Sins are based on the influence of these demons.

Legion Six is the dwelling of the demonic children. Demonic children are unique as they are the only demons created through possession. When a newborn child is shown the reflection of their face in a mirror, Lilith shares her essence and destructive powers with the child. No other demon has yet discovered the secret to these possessions. The children age normally, but Lilith never allows them to age past ten years old, because then they are too difficult for her to control. The demonic children are in the second lowest legion because of their unpredictability and inevitable mortality. They spend almost all of their lives in the human realm – with their human parents – unless summoned by higher levels to the underworld. The higher legions of demons fear the children, as their inexperience and powers are an unstable combination. This fear puts Lilith at a distinct advantage. Other than Samael and vampyres, Lilith is the only demon capable of killing the children.