Necessary Evil

By L.J. Gethers

The world of Aeriel is set in a universe of innocence, but all of that changes when General Lorel decides he wants to replace the ruling Consulate. He is warned repeatedly of the dire consequences of pursuing his unattainable goal, but being too innocent to understand the concepts of death and destruction, he plunges himself, one third of his comrades and the planet Lyra, into millennia of misery. Lyra's only hope is General Victorel, who comes to save them from themselves while the universe looks on with bated breath and avid interest. General Lorel, who became Lor the Destroyer, must eventually suffer the consequences for his actions, but he has a foolproof plan in place that will make him the victor. Who will emerge the ultimate winner of this universal saga?

• Language: English
• Publisher: L.J. Gethers
• Release date: Jul 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310275784

L.J. Gethers

My name is Lorna Janine Gethers and I was raised in a loving Seventh-Day Adventist home by my mother, Dr. Gladys L. Terrell PhD., who made certain that I attended SDA schools all my life. This meant Bible study every single day, which left me with an extensive knowledge of the Bible. In my adult life, I have come to some conclusions about God which many people find controversial, so instead of debating the issues with each and every one of them, I simply decided to write a story about it. I have three beautiful children, Tiffany Rae', Christal Joy and Raymond Broussard II. My husband of 7 years thus far, is Jeffery Gethers and they all have been a wonderful support team. My prayer is that this book will bring hope and joy to those who read it, encourage a deeper study of the Bible, and foster a love and trust for God that will erase all fear of the future.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Isaiah 45:6,7 (KJV)

The Consulate sat in the throne room conversing. On the throne sat flames, writhing fingers of fire in constant motion, brighter than the noon day sun, lending light to all the world of Aeriel. The fire was The King of Aeriel who could assume any shape and beside him stood General Victorel, while the Advisor swirled invisibly around and above them.

A complete, shimmering rainbow encircled the throne, and a laughing brook flowed out of it, making its way through the throne room and out of the castle in a sparkling waterfall that ran down to the Crystalline Sea. Tiny, bright sprites with miniscule wings that moved so fast they were invisible, played in the spray from the brook, for the sprites lived in the water of Aeriel.

Around them in the throne room, the sons of The King, which consisted of the very first creature that the Consulate had created of every world, watched in high anticipation to see what new creation would flow forth.

General Victorel sat down into the flames on the throne, merging with The King as the Advisor swirled around them to finally merge and become one with them. When they merged, the fire formed a great face with a mouth that spoke. It is time. The words were uttered by The King, but his voice sounded like many voices speaking at once for it was the Consulate that spoke.

Etherael. They said and at the same instant, there appeared in front of them one bright being made of fire and light. Its beauty was striking, lightning running through it in undulating waves, the majestic power of him sweeping through the room. The creature flexed his massive wings and they shot out from where they had been folded against his back to span fully twenty feet across on each side, sparks flying from them as he waved them gently in the air. The being bowed low before them. My Lord, my will is to do your bidding.

The creature was beautiful and intelligent, powerful and wise and the Consulate smiled in anticipation of what was to come. They spoke again, Etherael. And suddenly, there were billions of them, all different but the same, all shining and beautiful, of different colors and sizes, but all intelligent, perfect and wise. Their light was bright and music could be heard issuing from every one of them.

The sons of The King applauded the Consulate, marveling at the new creations that sparked and flashed like lightning. Each one was linked to the Consulate’s thoughts and The King blinked his fiery eyes and in an instant, had named them all. Each one knew his name, his purpose and his position. They were organized into tiers with one general at the top, with many sergeants, colonels and lieutenants underneath. They flew in rank and were perfectly synchronized in their movements. The Consulate smiled as the Etherael army of The King was born.

CHAPTER TWO

All is harmony and peace, said General Victorel, as he came to stand beside The King at the shimmering window high above the world, watching the newly created beings interact with each other, flying to and fro in the air.

But it will not be for long, said The King.

"Yes, it is quite ingenious, this plan of ours. It will take time for it to come to fruition, and there will be some difficulties along the way, but in the end, it will be quite glorious." The King and his general exchanged a knowing look about what was to come.

This is quite the adventure! The Advisor said, as he whirled gently around them, invisible, but present and quite audible. The Consulate gazed out on the bright world, busy with billions of beings that came and went.

Luminous leaves fluttered through the air, having detached themselves from their tree. They flew to the window, stopped in front of the Consulate and formed a shimmering head and face that spoke to them in a strange, rustling, dry tone. Greetings Consulate, The floating leaf head bowed itself in respect. We wish to visit the throne room with your permission.

General Victorel smiled and said, You are always welcome Draya. He waved his hand towards the room and the head dissolved into a gentle whirlwind as the leaves moved through the window, past the Consulate and into the throne room.

The King turned from the window and floated back to his throne. His throne undulated smoothly with pleasure at the thought of receiving the person of The King, a melodious sound emanating from its recesses, rainbows of color rippling over its surface, its light mingling with the light of the rainbow that surrounded it. The General and The Advisor followed, and took their places around The King.

The throne room was situated at the very apex of the castle, if it could be called a castle, for everything on the world of Aeriel was living. There was not a dead thing that existed, in fact, there was no such thing as the word dead. The walls, doors, the stream that bubbled from the throne, broad avenues that ran along the ground then arced high in the air, and all vegetation, lived and breathed, moved and whispered; and it all happened by the power of the Consulate.

General Lorel comes! announced The Advisor, and the room rustled in excitement to see the brightest, most beautiful creature ever made by the Consulate. There was a flash of light and he stood before them, fire rippling through his powerful limbs and arcing out from his wingtips. The fire never ceased to move, constantly running along his body, moving even when he was standing still. He bowed low before the Consulate, then stood straight and tall.

What news do you have General? The Consulate already knew what was on General Lorel’s mind, but the audible conversation was for the living things around them.

"My Lord, I know that the Etherael Host is linked to you, and also to each other, but I have devised a way to link the world of Aeriel to the rest of the universe and all of the worlds beyond using telepathic, visual and audio applications. I call it, VisionScope, and it will not only allow us to view events on other worlds that are far away, but they, in turn, will be able to view Aeriel, as well as any other planet in the universe.

I have been practicing it alone, but I would like your permission to teach this mental technique, not only to the host, but also to the Sons of The King, who in turn will teach it to their respective worlds. It will make the carrying out of orders instantaneous and more efficient, while also easing the traffic flow through the gateways to the worlds.

I have many ideas and plans, but I would like to start with this one, for beginning with this one will make the implementation of my other plans faster and smoother."

The King smiled, Make it as you wish General Lorel. Always know that all of your ideas are welcome, in fact, I put you in charge of the entire Host of Etherael and you may organize them all as you see fit. General Lorel grinned widely and then saluted the Consulate, his fist striking his chest, making sparks fly.

The happiness that exuded from the Consulate engulfed him in wave upon wave of joy, their connection providing an uninterrupted flow that went both ways. Thank you my Lord! He took off the same way he had come, going so fast he disappeared, but the Consulate followed his mind out and beyond, staying with him even after he had vanished.

He is perfection, said The King, Our greatest work. Said The Advisor, But our greatest is yet to come." General Victorel finished.

CHAPTER THREE

General Lorel moved with the speed of light to the cluster of Etherael that hovered in the air over the Crystalline Sea, while on its shore, visitors from the worlds of York, Klowde, Cali, Suri and Bath gathered. He watched as a wave of sparkling water reached up to Gabe, hovered in the air with him, then washed over him, engulfing him as they communed in conversation. It then returned to the sea, leaving Gabe as dry as before it came.

The aura of light that surrounded each of them was impenetrable to anything, a change of the winds, space, water, it didn’t matter, the aura that surrounded them kept any change from taking place to their bodies. Yet change was the very thing that energized General Lorel.

Gabe, Azazel! General Lorel called; they looked up at his approach and waited for him to arrive.

What are you so excited about this time? asked Gabe, You look as if you are going to explode with light at any moment now.

General Lorel came to a stop in the air beside them so suddenly that he sent showers of sparks into their midst. Then he linked his aura to theirs and flew away, so that they followed him away from the group, but Etherael Loudon followed after them, to hear what was going on.

When they had reached the Sparkling Waterfalls, General Lorel turned to them and said, I am going to teach you an advanced form of telepathy.

What do you mean? Asked Gabe, We are already telepathically linked to the Consulate and to each other.

Yes, but what I am about to teach you will mentally link us to other worlds and will give us the capability of viewing what is happening in any part of the universe without ever leaving Aeriel! I call it VisionScope, for it will not just be thoughts, but audio and visual as well! General Lorel said emphatically.

Loudon’s eyebrows shot up and Azazel whistled low, It sounds complex; my guess would be that you have already talked to the Consulate about it?

Of course, and they have given me their blessing. They have also given me permission to spread this technique throughout the entire universe, but I am going to teach it to you first, then you will help me to instruct the host.

It sounds like a worthy endeavor! Said Gabe enthusiastically.

This should be very interesting. Said Azazel, reaching back and linking his aura to Loudon’s, Come on Loudon, since you are already here, you can help too. Loudon grinned, happy to be included in General Lorel’s inner circle.

General Lorel taught them how to activate and open the mental pathways they would need for VisionScope, or VS. It didn’t take very much practice or very long, for their minds were quick and agile, readily able to link their visual and auditory senses to distances that were millions of light years away. The little group practiced the technique and then using their new skills, General Lorel telepathically called to two sons of The King that were the leaders over all the sons, to come and learn it.

Lancing was a Griffin from the world of Suri and he, along with Puphf from the world of Klowde came together. Lancing was a huge, bird-like creature with soft white feathers all over his body. His powerful wings spanned fully fifteen feet across and he flapped them gracefully as they joined the small group of Etherael by the the Sparkling Waterfalls.

Puphf was an insubstantial creature made of water and air, and as he moved, he was constantly changing shape, size and color. He had assumed the shape of an arrow for the flight, but now, his billows of soft gray and white seemed to coalesce, as touching down to the ground, he instantly shifted into a blue form with two legs, two arms and a head.

This technique will be quite useful for my people, Puphf said in a deep, booming voice that seemed to emanate from his entire being.

Yes, you are quite the finder of new things General Lorel. Lancing agreed in a clipped, business-like tone, his sharp beak making a clicking noise as he talked. We will still come to Aeriel of course, just because we love it so, but this will make things so much more convenient for the entire universe.

General Lorel was pleased and said, I am glad that you approve Puphf, Lancing. As soon as you can, please teach VS to the remainder of the sons of The King so that we can spread it to the entire universe.

Will you write a song about this General Lorel? Asked Azazel?

Yes, of course; it will have eight part harmony. Would you like to lead it Azazel? You have the perfect tone for what I have in mind.

Azazel lit up with pleasure. It would be an honor General. He replied.

Among General Lorel’s many talents, writing songs for the Etherael choir was the one he enjoyed the most. He could sing four part harmony by himself, but preferred to lead the host in more complicated arrangements. Whenever he finished a project, in celebration he would write a song about it and lead the choir in praise to the Consulate, the very air roiling with exaltations to them.

CHAPTER FOUR

As the eons rolled on, the Consulate created many more beings, all perfect in their own way. Each creation was an event that the universe gathered to watch, and with VS, it was even easier for everyone to see each and every detail with amazing clarity. General Lorel especially loved watching the Consulate merge with one other, and then speak their creations into existence with flair and precision. They always came up with such new ideas that all of their creations were vastly different from each other.

After the furor over VS had died down and everyone had become accustomed to using the ability, a new hunger arose in General Lorel’s heart. After watching the Consulate create so many new kinds of life, he began to want to create something that would love and worship him in the same way the Consulate’s creatures loved and worshipped them. The adoration that the Consulate bestowed upon them and that they freely returned, he began to crave. In praising the Consulate, he became the loudest, the most fervent.

As he knelt before them one day, a thought started to form in his mind. Why not actually try to create something that he could call his very own? He tried his hand first at creating changes in the existing creations around him and they turned out quite nicely. The changes were small such as changing the color of the flowers waving to him from the fields, or making the tiny, bright sprites that lived behind the waterfall and played in its spray bigger. The sprites loved him as did all of the creatures on Aerial. They clustered around him as he flew, or perched jauntily on his shoulders as he commanded the ethereal host. But General Lorel wanted to create something new, something that did not currently exist. He tried to speak things into existence, but nothing ever happened except for maybe the air would move with the power of his voice and cause thunder to roll; but that was just cause and effect.

One day, he approached Gabe and Azazel who were talking with Draya, Lancing and Puphf, and he asked for their help. I am trying to create, he said, you know, like the Consulate does, but I think that I may need more power. Merge with me, like they merge when they are about to create and let us see if we can make something happen.

They were all willing to try, so the Etherael tried merging first, but they never really became one being; their auras would only mingle together and change color as they tried to occupy the same space.

General Lorel addressed Puphf, This should be much easier for you to do Puphf, insubstantial as you are, come and merge with me. Puphf agreed and proceeded to engulf General Lorel in billows of red until he had swallowed him up.

Have the two of you truly merged? asked Gabe a little awestruck by the thought.

No, Puphf replied in his booming voice, He is still not a part of me and I am still separate from him.

General Lorel poked his head out of Puphf’s chest area and then stepped out completely while saying, Well that did not work either!

Let me try to merge with Puphf! Draya said. She had been standing by in a steady whirlwind pattern while she watched them, her leaves shimmering as they fluttered in a circle, but now she shifted into a large head that gently undulated in the breeze. I think out of all of us, he and I have the best chance of making it happen because we are both used to changing our shapes. General Lorel nodded and stepped aside for Draya.

She floated up to Puphf and after a moment of hesitation, the giant leaf head melded into the red cloud. The three Etherael stood there looking at Puphf, who was now purple and glittered faintly in the light.

This is not going to work. Lorel announced, neither of you have any powers to speak of and power is needed to create. Draya disengaged herself from Puphf, the leaves streaming out of one of his cloud eyes in a straight line.

Let us just go ask the Consulate how to do it. suggested Gabe. "They can tell us the exact science and mechanics behind merging and then we do not have to try to