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  The Soul Mates began to argue over these things as soon as he was gone, and they found many issues to bicker about in those first days when the land outside of Eden remained water-logged from the year-long deluge, forcing them to remain together without a leader for the first time ever. The original Soul Mates could have flown to higher, drier ground, but their hearts were too heavy with fear of the unknown to do so, and so they sat and waited for the conditions to improve without them having to take such a risk.

  This proximity only spurred more discontent. The Soul Mates did not always like sharing, especially when it came to coupling, for some were preferred to others because of their eye colour or physical shape. Some had more power than others, so the weaker ones would grow jealous and paranoid or greedy as they tried to attain what they had not been born with. Some hoarded apples, some amassed stashes of glittering stones, some protected their favourite trees or lakes and sleeping places from the rest, and some of the males attempted to claim possession over females or offspring, regardless of how the person they were fighting over felt about it.

  It was chaos that could have been easily fixed, but only the first Soul Mate created, Miguel, had the courage to actually leave Eden and seek out a new home. It took him a long time to find somewhere as lovely as Eden but in the end, he settled on a forested coastline from which he could watch the setting sun sink into the water, and remember God without having to listen to anybody squabbling. And because Miguel was the favourite of all of the Soul mates and Nephilim females, many flew after him, or begged that he carry them there, and he obliged many of them, because although he craved peace and harmony, he craved the act of copulation more. So much so, that he found it difficult to make it through an evening without taking a woman first.

  Naturally this caused a lot of arguments among the women as each strove to hold his attention for as long as possible or bear him the most children, but Miguel considered himself to be a fair man, and so he shared himself evenly enough to stave off resentment and jealousy. Only one woman amongst them was capable of stealing his heart, but the beautiful Soul Mate Satan refused to be drawn into the rivalry over his interest, and told him that she would not lie with him until he was certain that she was all he could need. Miguel enjoyed fathering children too much to limit himself to only one person to procreate with, but he gave Satan his love and his promise that when he was ready to father his last child, it would be her he came to, and remained with after forevermore. This made Satan melancholy, and yet she loved Miguel too much to fall for anybody else, so she agreed to be patient and remain his closest companion until the day came when he was ready to be her only companion.

  God found it difficult to see what all of the humans were doing now that there were so many, so he returned for a brief visit to assess how the Soul mates were faring without him there, and found himself in a state of vexation after. Despite Miguel’s attempts to set a wonderful example, a few of the women had started to hate God for not making them as pretty or valuable to Miguel as Satan was, and so he paid Miguel a visit and asked him to seriously consider cutting them all loose and choosing just one and perhaps not the lovely Satan, for she made so many women feel badly by themselves with her radiance. Miguel agreed to think that over, and so God went on, checking on the others and finding more and more dissent despite how far they had spread. His beings were like sheep in need of a shepherd to follow, and without him there to defer to, they continued to bicker over who had what, and God knew that this problem would escalate as they increased in number and encountered more and more unfamiliar creatures and dangers.

  Knowing that the lack of balance on the earth was the cause of their fearful hearts, and that he’d wither away if he stayed on this suddenly conflicted earth for too long, God decided that what he needed to do was return to his incorporeal form and create another world- one that was completely balanced, completely safe and where they could all live as he did in his spirit form- as pure energy and love that wanted for nothing. It would be a paradise and his kingdom and it would be all anyone would ever need.

  But God was tired, his people were unhappy and when he tried to create this new paradise, he found it difficult to think or plan with a weary heart and consciousness. He had existed as energy for millennia, and yet one hundred years as a human had altered his spirit to the point where he felt as though he needed more than what he actually did to function. He missed being human- he missed sleep with dreams and eating and laughing, and the fact that he could not enjoy these things anymore- but could feel the heartache of those who could and yet did not appreciate it- began to eat at him like acid until he felt as resentful of the humans as they did of one another.

  Mindful that these poignant emotions of his were weakening him, and that it would take him years and years to create the Utopia he wanted while suffering from such internal conflict, God split himself into two parts, discarding everything negative and weak, and casting those things aside- keeping only what was pure and good and strong. This made him weaker- far, far weaker- but it gave him focus and made him feel pure. There was no more lust, no more hunger and no more envy, only good. Only love with no distractions.

  Using his mind and heart instead of returning to the earth, God told his Soul Mates what he had done, why he had done it and that he was now as perfect as Eden- and that he expected them all to strive towards emulating him in every way that they could, even if it was difficult to overlook their own shortcomings. He declared that the ones who succeeded in shirking off their weak traits as he had would be rewarded, and reminded them that only their love would sustain him. He told them to go on as they had with him near- to love, create, breed and learn, and discover more of the world as Miguel had. He wanted them to build more gardens and give him more humans to love until he could come for them and take them all to this new perfect place that he was going to bless them with.

  But he warned them that creating this place would preoccupy him, and so, it would be up to them to protect one another. They had to work together to survive the things that he would not be able to shield them from until his strength returned; things like fire and flash floods and creatures that might bite or stomp them. But he told them not to worry for they had what it took to care for and protect one another in the power that he had bestowed upon them all, so long as they had love and faith that he would return.

  Then he began to work without resentment or boredom, and trusted in his Soul Mates to do the right thing on the earth.

  God’s Soul Mates were grateful to finally be told what to do, and so they immediately began to follow his guidance. When one got ill, they would be healed by another and when all grew thirsty, another Soul Mate would call forth a rain to soak the land. This exhausted the Soul Mates and over generations, their powers began to fade until the lives created were born weak with only a flicker of a soul in their hearts, but pure minds and spirits. The ones who had powers were called Nephilim, the ones without: mortals.

  But they all still had love. For years they bred and laughed and loved and learned of loss and then, when there were too many of them to keep track of, they began to scatter and grow more courageous. Things were different across the seas- some lands were freezing cold and others hot and bright, and the beings who ventured into these extreme climates were altered physically by the climate until they all began to look less like God’s human form, and more like separate races, and when he checked on them during periods of rest, God delighted in these changes. Only the original Soul Mates still had power and youth hundreds of years later, but the human people were happy for the most part, and loved him even without the likeness to him. They were all equal, in his eyes.

  But not in one another’s, and when Satan, realised that a woman’s heart could not be shared as easily as a man’s body, her pain would explode in a burst of energy that would prove to shape the world as much as God’s first act of creation had.

  PART I

  The Sacrificial Lamb

  Eden, North Arcadi
a, AA632

  1.

  There have been two worlds; theirs and ours. Theirs ended some time ago, and ours grew from the wreckage of it, not in God’s name, but by his hand and at his word, and his word is finite.

  From my studies, I have come to understand and believe that our world is superior to the one that humans walked upon before. Our world is stronger, and so are the people upon it. Our world is healthier, as are its inhabitants. We, the people, are kinder, better educated, less crowded together, less miserable, more open and much more prosperous. And even if someone from that world could travel forward in time to argue that point, there would be no point in doing so because WE are right. We have learned from their mistakes, and we have healed the world that they forced God to destroy. We know things they did not. We have adapted to things in a way that they never could.

  Our world is almost perfect.

  But for all the advancements we have made, and for all of their advancements, which we have reversed for the greater good, people still cry in our world, because we are almost as human as the ones who existed before us.

  I had never been an emotional child, but I was scared and unhappy to be leaving my family, and so I bowed my head and allowed my tears to slip silently down my cheeks, smothering the sound- but not the emotion. My birthday had never been very celebrated in my family, but the ones before this one had been pleasant days during which I’d received a pretty dress or a special cake or a new doll or ball or something.

  Well, I had the new dress on, but it had been sewn for uniformity, (gold silk, which was Arcadia’s colour, but plain with squared-off sleeves and a knee-length hem- no buttons, no frills… not bothering to decorate something that would never be beautiful) and even if it had been adorned with buttons and frills, I probably wouldn’t have cared anyway, so heavy was my heart with sorrow. I probably wouldn’t have cared if I’d been given a book, and I always wanted more picture books!

  No, the only wish I had for that birthday was an impossible one; to be allowed to stay with my family. But that wasn’t to be- for I was a forbidden third-born child, and this was the day of my emancipation -which is an event that every illegally-conceived third-born child must face on their fifth birthday regardless of what caste they hailed from or their gender.

  In the kingdom of Arcadia, the population laws are heavily enforced to prevent the population from exceeding the kingdom’s resources, and anybody who lives here must adhere to the strict guidelines or face banishment. Every couple, whether they be married in God’s eyes or just legally Joined for procreation purposes, are forbidden from producing more than two children, and to make this easier, infallible birth control is circulated.

  But somehow, my mother had fallen pregnant with me after already having two, and though she’d been able to keep me and rear me until the age of five, (the age where infancy ends) she’d always known that the day for me to be handed over to the crown would come, and since the June moon had risen today in conjunction with my fifth birthday, I’d ceased to be a Blue Collar child, and would become ‘Given,’ instead; property of the kingdom of Arcadia to be used how they saw fit. Some people called it slavery, and some people called it an antiquated law- but the majority had too much faith in King Elijah to kick up a fuss and soothed their consciences with the knowledge that I’d be released at the age of twenty-one, so it was simply my reality.

  It was horrible. It was a shadow my growth had been stunted under ever since I’d gotten old enough to see the disapproving looks I got from law-abiding families, and it was non-negotiable. The laws were stricter here in Arcadia than anywhere else in Calliel, but the only kingdom on our continent that actually encouraged population growth was too far away for my little five year-old legs to run to, so I put one in front of the other and followed my mother dutifully, hoping that my obedience would counteract my blotchy face. As I walked, I tried to comfort myself with the knowledge that I’d be allowed to visit with my mother and family in six months time, but that only made me feel worse.

  Six months until I shall see her again! Six months until I sleep in my own bed! What is six months? Oh, I wish I understood what’s to become of me!

  Crying publicly was an error on my part and I knew as much because not only is grief considered a slap in God’s face, but I look like a welt when I cry, and I was supposed to be presenting my best self that morning- not just physically but emotionally too. I was supposed to look strong and sweet and eager to meet the duchess and princes, like I’d seen the other Given girls look since January; like being born as the third, unwanted child and handed over to the crown was some sort of blessing and not a curse. Like I’d accepted my lot and knew that I was doing what God wanted, not what my king was demanding of me.

  I suppose it was a blessing though or at least other people said it was, for in any other year, I would have been immediately shipped off to one of the other kingdoms on the continent of Calliel to fill a population quota as a servant without any thought being put behind the decision. That was a Given child’s usual fate, but apparently there was something special happening this year that changed things. I didn’t know why or how- only that it had something to do with the fact that Prince Kohén and Prince Kohl of Arcadia were turning five this year as well, and so one of them would get to decide what to do with me, rather than me being herded off onto some carriage depot or shipping dock. The information I’d managed to glean was hazy at best, but I did know that a similar exception had been made thirteen years ago, when Karol Barachiel- next in line for the throne- had turned five as well and again before that when our current king, Elijah, had celebrated his own fifth birthday.

  Perhaps deciding what to do with the third-born girls that year was a birthday gift of some sort that served to give them a taste of the power that they might one day wield over their people, or maybe I was considered lucky to share a birth year with a potential future monarch and rewarded for it as a token of the kingdom’s kindness, but either way, a lot of whispering had been done behind my back over the years concerning my fate without involving me, and I didn’t like it one little bit. At least the other Given kids had known what was to become of them when they’d walked over the bridge and into their futures- I had no idea! And why was it the girls who were being made examples of, not the boys? As far as I knew, the three boys in our Blue Collar village who had been born third and turned five this year had been shipped off to train for the Salvage Corps like every other year!

  My sister Jaiya, who was twelve (and old enough to know what was truly happening to me) had hinted that I was lucky, but she’d done so with that gleam in her brown eyes that I did not like. And because she was the only person in my family who’d offered up any enlightenment at all, I could not stifle my sorrow, and my mother did not reprimand me for it so I cried on, accepting her silence as permission to feel as I did. Perhaps she hadn’t noticed my tears. Or perhaps she was trying to demonstrate the fact that my tears were no longer her responsibility; to me, to those watching and to herself. I’d reached for her hand before, but she had clasped her own in front of her and was walking with her head bowed as though she was just some stranger who I’d fallen in step with.

  Perhaps she is praying! Asking for the strength not to cry, as I ought to be doing! Our happiness gives God his power- I am hurting him by feeling so sorry for myself... but how can this be happening already? They make us wait until we are five so we are ready to be separated from our families, but I don’t FEEL ready!

  I risked a peek up at my mother as we walked through the palace gates, hoping to see something on her face- something for me- but her porcelain features were fixed into a smooth mask, like one of the many dolls that I had left behind, un-played with, and I knew that she’d already left me behind too. She’d probably farewelled me when she’d kissed me good night the evening before- just as she’d probably been farewelling me every night since the day I was born. I’d been part of her household, but not part of the family, and the only person who had wept whe
n I’d left had been my big brother Finch whose absence I already felt like a hole in my chest. Finch wanted to grow up to be a soccer player and in a truly perfect world, I would have followed him for I loved anything that concerned the outdoors, but this wasn’t a perfect world, just one that was supposed to be perfectly balanced and they are two very different things. Finch would never have the time to learn how to play Soccer in a way that would suffice to gain him entrance into the Athletic Caste, and I would never practice with him again.

  I wiped at my eyes, clearing my vision when I noticed that a carriage had been parked in front of the palace, and a very handsome, very familiar bearded man was helping a beautiful girl out after him. She wore a pretty white dress that was fitted to her figure with gold trim, he wore a dazzling golden crown, and my heart rusted over at the sight of them, for all of that precious gold made me feel worthless in comparison. Was King Elijah going to be present when I was claimed? I’d known that the duchess would be, but not the king! And where was he coming from at this early hour?

  My knees went weak as I grew nearer and nearer to the grand steps of Eden and saw the ivy-covered gates open, and my mother did touch me then- to catch me and hurry me forward. When her duty was done and my feet beneath me once more, she released my upper arm and continued on.

  God Give me strength.

  I wanted to ask her if the entire city was going to be there to witness me being judged out in the sunlight and in full view of the markets where I’d usually worked with mother or Jaiya every Saturday, but my throat was being strangled by fear, so I began to look around for the king’s eldest son, Karol, who was the next in line to the throne. I’d never seen him before but my sister swore he was the most handsome man to ever walk the earth, short of Miguel Barachiel, that was.