[fic] These Three Things (Supernatural; eventual Destiel) 1/10-ish
Really nervous about posting this! First time trying to write something for Supernatural, and I start out with this huge and epic project. Be gentle you guys.
These Three Things
by: exorcistor
Fandom: Supernatural
People/pairings (this chapter): Castiel, other angels
Word count: 1900
Genre: idk, drama? family?
Rating: worksafe
Note: I’m not gonna claim to be good at Christian theology, I just wanted to understand Castiel better, as an angel and a person. Then I found that I wanted to spend a lot more time with it, and do some proper research to do it justice. I got help from aerilex, without whom this probably wouldn't have been posted at all. I still think I'm probably stepping on a few toes here. But I'll try, and I'll try to have fun with it in the meantime. When did I grow this fond of doing research, anyway? Oh, and there's gonna be Dean/Castiel here in the future, someway, somehow.
---
PART ONE: Faith
Chapter one: Lucifer and Lilith
And now abide faith, hope, love; these three things; and the greater of these is love.
- St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: 13:13, the Bible
Castiel thinks of the first time his Father allows him down to Earth, one of the last angels to set foot on the magnificent creation of God. He remembers the feeling of air rushing through his lungs for the first time as his brother Michael, the Angel of Miracles tells him how to breathe; he can make out the mixture of nitrogen and oxygen and understands in an instant what this will mean for the creatures inhabiting this planet. He looks at his Father’s creation, eyes shining with wonder and unshed tears, because this is all too much; this is too beautiful, and the love his Father has poured onto the Earth is overwhelming.
Next, Michael shows him the children of Earth. He points towards one of the little beings, so small that they could easily go unnoticed to an angel, had they not been such a big wonder to them.
“Do not step on that fish, Castiel,” Michael tells him. He leans down, cups them in his gentle hands, lifts them from the water to hold in front of Castiel's eyes. He tells him of their Father’s Plan for each one of them, of what they are going to be; of the ones which are going to grow fins to stay in the water, and those that are going to grow legs and leave the depths to walk the Earth, those that will grow wings like Castiel and his brethren and conquer the sky.
Castiel cries as he is shown the beginning of life, God's infinite kindness too great for him to bear. His brother touches his Grace with reassuring strokes as Castiel clings to him, crying, and praising His brilliance, His capability to love, bigger than life, big enough to create life. When his Michael asks Castiel if he will love these beings, love them as their Father loves them, if he is willing to protect them for eternity and give everything for them, Castiel does not need to say that he will, that of course he will, he will do anything. Michael tells him then that he must practice patience, that these beings will be slow learners, flawed, quick to hate and condemn, and Castiel does not understand. How can anything that his Father creates be flawed and imperfect, when He Himself is perfection?
"Love is a sword with two edges, Castiel," Michael tells him then, and there is something in his tone as he gives him one of God’s many wisdoms, something which Castiel does not yet know the name of. It hurts his very core, this unknown thing in his brother's eyes, and he shivers. There's a need then, to protect his Father, to protect these wonderful beings which He loves so much, and Castiel swears, swears on his Grace, that he will always love them, no matter what, so that his Father may be content.
Then there is Lucifer. His brother, the Most Beloved, who God gave everything. Lucifer has always seemed so perfect to Castiel, despite never having met his older brother. The tales about him chime throughout the Host, stories about his magnificence and beauty, Lucifer shines with a brilliance rivaling that of the stars. Some say that he is, in fact, the most brilliant of all stars. Far into the future, there will be scriptures which praises his superiority, claiming Lucifer’s wisdom to be next in line after God’s. Of course, Castiel himself has never thought of it like that, because no one can be equal to God, but he admires his brother Lucifer, and loves him fully and wholly, just as he loves all his brethren. Now, however, Castiel also loves the Earth, and he happily and proudly devotes himself to his Father’s Plan, walking the Earth and watching over the first steps of evolution.
Thus, Castiel is not present when God banishes Lucifer from Heaven and Michael forces him down into the Pit and locks him away, but he hears about it from Uriel and he can feel the wound in his Father's chest as if were the pain his own. It is like a withered black scorch; Lucifer's betrayal, and something stirs in Castiel's own chest. It is foul and terrifying and Castiel begs to be allowed to go down to Lucifer, to let him see his brother. The feeling in his chest is too much, overwhelmingly big and ugly; there must be something he can do, surely Lucifer must be suffering as well in the knowledge that his Father is displeased with him.
God will not let him go to Lucifer, although in his infitive wisom and generousity he sends Castiel away to heal his own wounds. He is the Angel of Solitude, and he takes his solitude in the Earth, this beautiful pearl, so full of the very essence of God's love, and for centuries he simply watches. The feeling in his chest settles at last. Haniel, Angel of Harmounious Love comes to him, and he is told of the ranks, that he will be the subordinate and Haniel his superior. They are one pair of many coupled angels which are meant to go to Earth to teach these creatures how to procreate, he is told; the next stages of evolution will be too complex for cellular division.
So him and Haniel take on new forms, as a male and female of each species, and they teach these creatures of the gift of life. Castiel is reluctant, as the means of communication is so limited in this form, but a simple spark of desire triggers a deeper instinct within the creatures, something God had already planted there within them since the beginning of time, and he has to do little else to help them along. It is strange, Castiel thinks, to be in such a primitive form, to feel its many legs and scales and internal organs, but yet be conscious of the full potential of its evolution.
As he and Haniel and their brothers finish their mission and go back to Heaven, Michael meets them at the Gate.
"Our Father wishes me to tell you that he is pleased with you," his brother says. Castiel looks upon him and wonders, for a short instance, whether Michael feels regret for what he had to do to Lucifer. God was the one who deemed it necessary, but Michael was the one who had to do the deed. Castiel does not think that he could do that to one of his brothers, and perhaps God knew this and that is why He asked none other than Michael to condemn Lucifer to never ending imprisonment. He exchanges a look with Haniel, who he knows shares the same hesitance. This does not go unnoticed by Michael, and he envelopes them both in his Grace.
"Do not fret, brothers," he tells them, and Castiel is instantly reassured. "Our Father has many things to attend to now in the beginning of creation , and while us not being able to do much to help Him may make us restless, there will be much for us to see to all in good time."
"What can we do?" Castiel asks; the thought of not being able to help his Father does not sit well in his chest. He takes a step back and looks at his brother. Michael smiles and touches Castiel's Grace in a way that Castiel will later in his existence come to think of as a "pat on the head".
"Just pray, brothers, pray for Earth," Michael says. Castiel nods; so does Haniel. When Michael turns away from them and Castiel meets Haniel's gaze, he catches a glimpse of something new, something different about his superior. There is a different glow to Haniel's wings, the angel's features are also different. Castiel looks curiously at his brother until Haniel finally speaks:
"It was comfortable. Being female. I thought I should adopt some of the traits I had down on Earth."
Castiel nods that he understands. "It becomes you... sister?"
Haniel smiles. "Thank you."
Thousands of thousands of years later, Castiel is still uncertain if he was the one who could have saved Haniel, if she would still have given into temptation and fallen, had he only been a bit more attentive. It pains him still, thinking about the changes in his sister, uncertain of whether he should feel guilty. There is, after all, no bigger betrayal than the one against one's family.
His family is never quite the same after Lucifer's fall. After Castiel and his kin took vessels amongst the creatures of Earth, he can sense changes amongst several of his brethren; the ones of his brothers who came to Earth and took female vessels are all displaying different symptoms, most of which are very becoming and of no concern. Castiel continues to obey His will, sometimes being allowed passage to earth, always together with Haniel, and later also with Uriel, Angel of Creativity and Clairvoyance, to help his Father's cause. He sees the changes these primitive beings goes through over millions of years, and him and his brethren are the ones who finally helps the apes to their feet, stretching their spines and straightening their postures so that one day, they will be able to walk the earth as a spitting image of his Father. Castiel looks in admiration as the apes learn and develop societies, families. Haniel stands at his side, and as she reaches out to touch his Grace, Castiel can tell that she is as overwhelmed as he is by the beauty before them.
Their eyes meet, and Castiel wonders if there is something Haniel wants to tell him; he can feel it through her touch, but she only withdraws and shakes her head. "It's just that... Our father truly is almighty."
Castiel truly thinks so, too.
But something has changed, he knows, ever since Lucifer said no. Their Father walks amongst the creatures of Earth, unseen by these tall apes, and talk to them through chosen ones, prophets they are called. The prophets speaks to them about His love, about his Plan. There is one, however, of His most beautiful creations whose displeasure is quite evident. And to the great dismay of the Lord and all of his angels, the female called Lilith is soon lost to them. Uriel tells him that is was necessary; that she had turned away from their Father much in the same way Lucifer had. Her grief and anger had been with the part of their Father’s plan concerning conception. As the creatures of the planet below them begun to evolve, Lilith had seen injustice in the manner of conception, interpreting the position of the female underneath the male as submission, and her position as female caused her to rebel against His Plan.
Many years later, the angels know that there are cracks in Luficer’s cage, through which his voice can seep through to poison the minds of these fragile beings. At the time, however, neither Castiel nor his brethren knew, and thus there was no way of helping Lilith.
Of course, God had wanted to forgive her, but Lilith would not come to him no matter what. As Lilith’s earthly life ended, her soul was lost to them, drowned in the dark abyss of the Pit, the First Child of Lucifer.
---
Next
These Three Things
by: exorcistor
Fandom: Supernatural
People/pairings (this chapter): Castiel, other angels
Word count: 1900
Genre: idk, drama? family?
Rating: worksafe
Note: I’m not gonna claim to be good at Christian theology, I just wanted to understand Castiel better, as an angel and a person. Then I found that I wanted to spend a lot more time with it, and do some proper research to do it justice. I got help from aerilex, without whom this probably wouldn't have been posted at all. I still think I'm probably stepping on a few toes here. But I'll try, and I'll try to have fun with it in the meantime. When did I grow this fond of doing research, anyway? Oh, and there's gonna be Dean/Castiel here in the future, someway, somehow.
---
PART ONE: Faith
Chapter one: Lucifer and Lilith
And now abide faith, hope, love; these three things; and the greater of these is love.
- St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: 13:13, the Bible
Castiel thinks of the first time his Father allows him down to Earth, one of the last angels to set foot on the magnificent creation of God. He remembers the feeling of air rushing through his lungs for the first time as his brother Michael, the Angel of Miracles tells him how to breathe; he can make out the mixture of nitrogen and oxygen and understands in an instant what this will mean for the creatures inhabiting this planet. He looks at his Father’s creation, eyes shining with wonder and unshed tears, because this is all too much; this is too beautiful, and the love his Father has poured onto the Earth is overwhelming.
Next, Michael shows him the children of Earth. He points towards one of the little beings, so small that they could easily go unnoticed to an angel, had they not been such a big wonder to them.
“Do not step on that fish, Castiel,” Michael tells him. He leans down, cups them in his gentle hands, lifts them from the water to hold in front of Castiel's eyes. He tells him of their Father’s Plan for each one of them, of what they are going to be; of the ones which are going to grow fins to stay in the water, and those that are going to grow legs and leave the depths to walk the Earth, those that will grow wings like Castiel and his brethren and conquer the sky.
Castiel cries as he is shown the beginning of life, God's infinite kindness too great for him to bear. His brother touches his Grace with reassuring strokes as Castiel clings to him, crying, and praising His brilliance, His capability to love, bigger than life, big enough to create life. When his Michael asks Castiel if he will love these beings, love them as their Father loves them, if he is willing to protect them for eternity and give everything for them, Castiel does not need to say that he will, that of course he will, he will do anything. Michael tells him then that he must practice patience, that these beings will be slow learners, flawed, quick to hate and condemn, and Castiel does not understand. How can anything that his Father creates be flawed and imperfect, when He Himself is perfection?
"Love is a sword with two edges, Castiel," Michael tells him then, and there is something in his tone as he gives him one of God’s many wisdoms, something which Castiel does not yet know the name of. It hurts his very core, this unknown thing in his brother's eyes, and he shivers. There's a need then, to protect his Father, to protect these wonderful beings which He loves so much, and Castiel swears, swears on his Grace, that he will always love them, no matter what, so that his Father may be content.
Then there is Lucifer. His brother, the Most Beloved, who God gave everything. Lucifer has always seemed so perfect to Castiel, despite never having met his older brother. The tales about him chime throughout the Host, stories about his magnificence and beauty, Lucifer shines with a brilliance rivaling that of the stars. Some say that he is, in fact, the most brilliant of all stars. Far into the future, there will be scriptures which praises his superiority, claiming Lucifer’s wisdom to be next in line after God’s. Of course, Castiel himself has never thought of it like that, because no one can be equal to God, but he admires his brother Lucifer, and loves him fully and wholly, just as he loves all his brethren. Now, however, Castiel also loves the Earth, and he happily and proudly devotes himself to his Father’s Plan, walking the Earth and watching over the first steps of evolution.
Thus, Castiel is not present when God banishes Lucifer from Heaven and Michael forces him down into the Pit and locks him away, but he hears about it from Uriel and he can feel the wound in his Father's chest as if were the pain his own. It is like a withered black scorch; Lucifer's betrayal, and something stirs in Castiel's own chest. It is foul and terrifying and Castiel begs to be allowed to go down to Lucifer, to let him see his brother. The feeling in his chest is too much, overwhelmingly big and ugly; there must be something he can do, surely Lucifer must be suffering as well in the knowledge that his Father is displeased with him.
God will not let him go to Lucifer, although in his infitive wisom and generousity he sends Castiel away to heal his own wounds. He is the Angel of Solitude, and he takes his solitude in the Earth, this beautiful pearl, so full of the very essence of God's love, and for centuries he simply watches. The feeling in his chest settles at last. Haniel, Angel of Harmounious Love comes to him, and he is told of the ranks, that he will be the subordinate and Haniel his superior. They are one pair of many coupled angels which are meant to go to Earth to teach these creatures how to procreate, he is told; the next stages of evolution will be too complex for cellular division.
So him and Haniel take on new forms, as a male and female of each species, and they teach these creatures of the gift of life. Castiel is reluctant, as the means of communication is so limited in this form, but a simple spark of desire triggers a deeper instinct within the creatures, something God had already planted there within them since the beginning of time, and he has to do little else to help them along. It is strange, Castiel thinks, to be in such a primitive form, to feel its many legs and scales and internal organs, but yet be conscious of the full potential of its evolution.
As he and Haniel and their brothers finish their mission and go back to Heaven, Michael meets them at the Gate.
"Our Father wishes me to tell you that he is pleased with you," his brother says. Castiel looks upon him and wonders, for a short instance, whether Michael feels regret for what he had to do to Lucifer. God was the one who deemed it necessary, but Michael was the one who had to do the deed. Castiel does not think that he could do that to one of his brothers, and perhaps God knew this and that is why He asked none other than Michael to condemn Lucifer to never ending imprisonment. He exchanges a look with Haniel, who he knows shares the same hesitance. This does not go unnoticed by Michael, and he envelopes them both in his Grace.
"Do not fret, brothers," he tells them, and Castiel is instantly reassured. "Our Father has many things to attend to now in the beginning of creation , and while us not being able to do much to help Him may make us restless, there will be much for us to see to all in good time."
"What can we do?" Castiel asks; the thought of not being able to help his Father does not sit well in his chest. He takes a step back and looks at his brother. Michael smiles and touches Castiel's Grace in a way that Castiel will later in his existence come to think of as a "pat on the head".
"Just pray, brothers, pray for Earth," Michael says. Castiel nods; so does Haniel. When Michael turns away from them and Castiel meets Haniel's gaze, he catches a glimpse of something new, something different about his superior. There is a different glow to Haniel's wings, the angel's features are also different. Castiel looks curiously at his brother until Haniel finally speaks:
"It was comfortable. Being female. I thought I should adopt some of the traits I had down on Earth."
Castiel nods that he understands. "It becomes you... sister?"
Haniel smiles. "Thank you."
Thousands of thousands of years later, Castiel is still uncertain if he was the one who could have saved Haniel, if she would still have given into temptation and fallen, had he only been a bit more attentive. It pains him still, thinking about the changes in his sister, uncertain of whether he should feel guilty. There is, after all, no bigger betrayal than the one against one's family.
His family is never quite the same after Lucifer's fall. After Castiel and his kin took vessels amongst the creatures of Earth, he can sense changes amongst several of his brethren; the ones of his brothers who came to Earth and took female vessels are all displaying different symptoms, most of which are very becoming and of no concern. Castiel continues to obey His will, sometimes being allowed passage to earth, always together with Haniel, and later also with Uriel, Angel of Creativity and Clairvoyance, to help his Father's cause. He sees the changes these primitive beings goes through over millions of years, and him and his brethren are the ones who finally helps the apes to their feet, stretching their spines and straightening their postures so that one day, they will be able to walk the earth as a spitting image of his Father. Castiel looks in admiration as the apes learn and develop societies, families. Haniel stands at his side, and as she reaches out to touch his Grace, Castiel can tell that she is as overwhelmed as he is by the beauty before them.
Their eyes meet, and Castiel wonders if there is something Haniel wants to tell him; he can feel it through her touch, but she only withdraws and shakes her head. "It's just that... Our father truly is almighty."
Castiel truly thinks so, too.
But something has changed, he knows, ever since Lucifer said no. Their Father walks amongst the creatures of Earth, unseen by these tall apes, and talk to them through chosen ones, prophets they are called. The prophets speaks to them about His love, about his Plan. There is one, however, of His most beautiful creations whose displeasure is quite evident. And to the great dismay of the Lord and all of his angels, the female called Lilith is soon lost to them. Uriel tells him that is was necessary; that she had turned away from their Father much in the same way Lucifer had. Her grief and anger had been with the part of their Father’s plan concerning conception. As the creatures of the planet below them begun to evolve, Lilith had seen injustice in the manner of conception, interpreting the position of the female underneath the male as submission, and her position as female caused her to rebel against His Plan.
Many years later, the angels know that there are cracks in Luficer’s cage, through which his voice can seep through to poison the minds of these fragile beings. At the time, however, neither Castiel nor his brethren knew, and thus there was no way of helping Lilith.
Of course, God had wanted to forgive her, but Lilith would not come to him no matter what. As Lilith’s earthly life ended, her soul was lost to them, drowned in the dark abyss of the Pit, the First Child of Lucifer.
---
Next