Records: Altercation, Int'l Edition

## **The Altercation of the Angels**

The late May event in the recently-opened Throne Room of the recently-rebuilt Westminster Palace, didn't slowly trickle out. With a variety of magical recording devices, and a dozen different courtiers scribbling on *Scrolls of Correspondence*, the visitation by angels slammed the psyche of the earth, creating a tidal wave through human society.

The archangel Michael had called for England to destroy the world with their magically-enhanced armies, and King Edward had... *rebuked an archangel*. Perhaps that was the god Mars talking, but the entity said it went by many names. When four "normal" angels arrived to confront Michael, he slew three before being banished by the fourth.

While the details were a mass of confusion, lost in the psychic turbulence of celestial beings taking human form, there were two takeaways that lit the world on fire:

* The [six] archangels had gone mad.
* Celestial War had been declared.

### **The Certainty of Uncertainty**

Dealing with matters of the immortals, there was one thing mortals strived for: *Certainty*.

Humanity strove for clarity of their role, especially in complex situations. More than truth, they wanted comfort: the knowledge that they were where they needed to be. Perhaps it was a survival trait of humanity treading between the footsteps of the celestials.

Nothing about the *Altercation* gave humanity definition or purpose or comfort.

Everything about the *Altercation* caused strife, fear and doubt.

### **Seeking Illumination**

God's "ineffability" didn't help, but there, the likes of the Jesuits and Sufis (and others) responded that the healing miracles were still possible. Their message was to take heart, for God wasn't above the system, or in the system, He *was* the system.

That helped many, but muddied the waters in other ways. Theology, metaphysics and magic now had a central role in the conversation – and it was a talk nobody was ready to have. Time and time again, the message had been tailored to the sophistication of the audience, but what human audience would *ever* be sophisticated enough for the context of the angels?

### **Politics of the Heavens**

Beyond the brewing war of the heavenly hosts, there were earthside issues that took a few days to really congeal in the rumor mills of the world. Once they did, they had a kind of skin-tightening, hair-raising, restroom-inspiring effect on conversations no matter if they were in a street market or a royal court.

First, there was the apparent divine judgment that London was capable of destroying the world.

Michael/Mars specifically mentioned the Army, but there was spillover to the Order of Merlin given their support role. But it was the Arms, and not the Order (was a common follow-up argument). Whatever it was, there was archangelic analysis that London (*perhaps* metaphorically) held the power to destroy the world. As if similar analysis of the Regiments hadn't already been reached, this complicated trust issues with England.

Also unknown, and commonly ruminated on; the world didn't know if Michael meant the Regiment of St. George (ironically) or, since he mentioned plural, the Plantagenet-style regiments in general. The armchair analysts observed that a Regiment of the Arms of the Commonwealth (AoC) could likely defeat the Regiment of St. George *fairly quickly* (given the upgraded magical munitions).

King Edward of England had specifically rebuked Mars/Michael – *thank you very much* – but that he could be rebuked at all opened new questions: was it really Michael or was it Lucifer in disguise? Could he fool the other four angels? Was Lucifer part of the six archangels? Was lucifer actually on humanity's side? That line promptly went down a rabbit hole of celestial conspiracies.

Finally, what if King Edward changed his mind? What if following the mandate of an archangel suddenly made more sense than standing up to one? Along the lines of analysis of the Regiments, declaring a destructive mandate for one faction now threw another level of fear, uncertainty and suspicion toward England.

### **The Statement of the CMC**

It was noted that the Crown of the Commonwealth (CrownCom) was still *a prince of England*. That had people attempting to parse out the exact power structure between King Edward and Prince Richard. Or was it reversed, since King Edward was now essentially an imperial senator in the CMC "empire"?

CrownCom went on to state that they stood by King Edward's rebuke. The CMC would carry the torch of the Defenders of Compassion. They were necessary words, setting the tone for the potential conflict of the future, especially within the Commonwealth.

Outside the Commonwealth, that the words were even called for was terrifying.