Therein lies a problem. An ideal observer does not get involved in what they are watching, so that they can remain objective, but I have a duty to fight the enemy whenever and wherever I find them. In my normal role on the corporeal world, there is little to disrupt either aim, as I am well situated to report on events and this means I have an excellent chance of spotting the enemy's work. It is only after this stage that problems arise. I find it easier to work with some of my brethren that others, although I must interact with all of them, to be an accurate observer. I am worried about my Malakim friends. All the other choirs are wary of the dangers of discord, but the Malakim, who we believe can not fall, are not as careful.
This leads on to my current situation and why I am sitting here having to collect my thoughts in a report for your assessment. I am not qualified to judge, but invariably I have to make choices and the reason for my visit, is to inform you of my latest actions. I hope I do not have time to go into all the gory details before I am seen, but I wish to know that I have not made a mistake. I acted on instinct and what humans of the corporeal world call a 'gut' feeling. I am more convinced that I acted for the best, the longer time passes and I can analyse the situation more closely.
I will leave the bulk of what happened to my regular report and cut straight to the nub of this situation. I will fill in any back information as necessary. We, that is a party of seven Angels, had a clash with a group of Demons. There are five of them, but I am only concerned with one, a Lilim. We first met at what can only be described as an experiment of a celestial nature, even though we were on the corporeal plane. It is worth mentioning that it looked like a combination of something Angelic and Demon. A concept I am having trouble comprehending.
Naturally, it was easy to jump to the conclusion that the Demons we discovered there were responsible for the most unusual goings on. We suspected their presence, but could not identify them immediately and I decided to circulate amongst the humans, picking on an attractive woman as my starting point. This paid dividends immediately, for she was the Lilim that I mentioned earlier. The situation developed quickly. I believe theywere not involved directly in the experiment and were as much pawns as us. While they could be said to be acting for their own preservation, the Lilim certainly, actively aided in calming the humans present.
Ultimately, the 'experiment' was finished and in the confusion of human officials we all left the scene. My colleagues departing for an area nearby that they believed was the hideout of some Demonic influence. I stayed to keep an eye on our nemesis and to maintain my role in the mundane world. God smiled upon me, when I had to avoid their clutches and I was able to warn my compatriots of the Demon's approach.
Violence is not my forte and I am not especially fond of situations where I am forced to fight. This brings me back to my Malakim friends. They were after blood with a single minded purpose and I can't fault them for that, as Demons are our enemy. This is where I have a problem and why I am here. I did not kill the Lilim, in fact I saved her life by standing in front of a Malakim that wished to finish her off. This is the first time I have been put in this situation and I am worried that my actions were flawed. Unlike my fellows, I do not seek to hide my mistakes but would rather they were seen and corrected before they became a problem. However, I did not feel any dissonance, which I take to be a good sign.
Now that I have had the time to consider my actions in the light, I find that I may have been correct in saving her life. I am reminded to point out that when the Malakim kill Demons, they are only destroying the vessel. The Demon itself is rarely destroyed and returns to the dark places where we can't follow. They suffer trauma and then they return. The net effect is to destroy a role they have built in the corporeal world. This can have an immediate benefit, but I don't believe the roles of these Demons to be significant in human terms. By my reckoning, they could set up a similar scheme to the one that was destroyed in a matter of weeks.
We have been identified by the Demons, therefore we can expect an increase in actions against us and we have some Demons that have a very personal interest in making sure that we suffer. I don't think they got names or our mundane roles, but the appearance of our vessels will be made available. I will be sure to keep an eye out for any unusual activities that occur on people matching our descriptions.
Finally, I counter this with how we eventually dealt with the Lilim. Again, God smiled on me because one of the Malakim noticed that she was ultimately redeemable. As you can no doubt conclude from my earlier comments, I can stand in front of one Malakim, but not three. The third Malakim was in what can only be described as a cold rage, destroying equipment. I worry about that Malakim, but my opinion counts for little if there isn't any proof. We needed information to discover further leads and to confirm what we already knew. If I had to discus something with any Demon, a Lilim has to be the worst one to pick and I was terrified that I would end up owing her a favour. On the other hand, I'm sure she would rather not had a Mercurian talking to her, backed up by a Seraph. We succeeded, but did not cause her to suffer trauma. I think she will be in hiding for longer than it will take for the other Demons to return from trauma. Plus we were able to dislodge one pertinent fact from her beliefs. She now knows she can be redeemed and we have some valuable additional leads.
In the battle between light and dark, I believe that the destruction wrought by the Malakim has shifted the balance little and only for a short amount of time. However, I am convinced that by not killing the Lilim, we have altered her views which could permanently alter the balance in our favour. Violence begets violence, but an enlightened mind can change the world. This was a small step, but it could lead to more. I wish I could convince the Malakim that destroying the corporeal means little when it is the mind that controls that flesh. A true victory can only happen when minds are changed. Hopefully, they will be more enlightened, if letting this Lilim survive was considered better than killing her out of hand.
On a completely separate matter and assuming everything goes well, I need to speak to someone who specialises in Destiny. I have recently taken on an assistant, so that she can achieve her greatest potential. I am wondering if that future would conflict with her becoming a soldier. If you could give me a name, I would be indebted to you.
Your humble servant,
Tony
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