Eden was born, and so too were the Angels that tended it given shape. Each held a respective part of Eden to guard and upkeep to the liking of those above them. For this, many factions or legions of Angels were created—each to a respective virtue the Three Most High believed represented perfection.
Raphael, the Dawnless of Paradioso, knelt before a great tree in a gesture of prayer. His robes flowed with the colour of light yellow; deeper shades of gold were encrusted to the edges, following suit on his six great wings. A sigil–reminiscent of a larger halo–sat behind all the feathers of his appearance, finishing his ethereal, serene look of divinity.
He was a leader of one sect of angels, known as a Virtue; he, like the 12 others, held the highest intellectual prowess and physical skill of the Most High's creations.
"Brother Raphael…," a man uttered, his voice a strum of the finest violin and harp coalesced into a single voice.
A man with a similar appearance, but having a mask over one side of his face, approached him. The man floated over the ground, not daring to destroy the foliage of the garden with a footstep. He arrived at Raphael's side and slowly descended to stand beside him, cloaked with colours of blue. His name was Uriel, the Minstrel of Paradioso. His music could charm and give reprieve to any; his mouth spoke in volleys of rhythm that were sweeter than a bird's morning song.
No response came from Raphael, prompting Uriel to kneel beside him and enter his own position of prayer.
He hummed a simple prayer in reverence and solitude.
After he was done, he opened his eyes to look upon the plants that surrounded them, growing perpetually across the grassy haven field that was unending in its boundaries.
"You know better than to address me without paying your respects to the greatest creation of our lords, old friend," Raphael said, voiced similarly to Uriel, with a deepness that could only be found in a cello or baritone.
"Yes, indeed…excuse my hubris," Uriel said, taking off his mask and fiddling with it whilst staring at the roots of the tree, "I suppose my forgetfulness got the better of me. I would hope our lords do not think less of me for my misdeed."
"I have no doubt that they have already forgiven you, Uriel. All you need to do is believe in them with all your heart," Raphael replied to him, placing a hand on his shoulder whilst rising from his knelt position.
Uriel followed suit, taking off from the ground into flight while Raphael walked on the ground. The cascade of flowers gently moved out of his way so as not to be hurt by the angel's every step.
"So, what brings you to seek my company?" Raphael asked with a smile across his face, walking backwards so as to face Uriel with his hands outstretched wide. "I'll take it you require my advice on something. Perhaps even help with something in your dominion."
"No—I simply came to seek the company of a friend of mine who spends most of his days at the foot of this wondrous spectacle."
"So speak, my friend. Tell me what fills your days. What lies in these other places I cannot grace with my presence?"
"My space is as usual; never would I let a day pass when I don't keep my legion hard at work with continual upkeep of its beauty." Uriel proclaimed before rubbing the mask in his hands with his fingers.
He scratched his nails against its smooth and textile surface, like something bothered him. "The same can be said for many of the domains of our fellow Virtues. However, Lucifer's dominion, his work, and the task he holds…I honestly wonder what a miracle he is to be able to keep up his space to the excellence that he does."
"Lucifer, you say?" Raphael asked, hands falling to his side, curiosity entering his voice, "Certainly you mean someone of the likes of Gabriel or Jophiel to be the one that earns your praise."
"So even you don't know how he does it—or even about?" Uriel asked, floating closer to Raphael.
"Enlighten me with these developments, for it seems I have been left a bit in the dark when it comes to certain events."
"Unfortunately, I can't take you there now, but if you were to see the territory—its magnitude and splendor—you would wonder where he gets the time with all he already has to do to uphold it to such a standard that it is. It is arguably more beautiful than mine," Uriel continued, "The best I could do is give you a vision of how truly otherworldly its mystique is through my music, but even that would do a little justice in the face of the real thing."
Raphael then chided Uriel. "No, that will do. To be treated with your melody of the universe and view a world of splendor in doing so would be one of the greatest things you could give me, dear friend. All I ask is that you try to recreate it as best as you can."
Uriel reached his hands outwards, outstretched to the other round of trees and plants surrounding them. He began pulling energy from them, not so much harming or discoloring them in the slightest. Vines wrapped around his arm, breaking off from their original homes to wrap around one another, becoming white with a space in between them. The vines made a plectrum that Uriel held with two fingers—delicately and daintily.
From the flowers and plants, the makings of a harp with a flower species as a gem plastered to the upper region were formed. Vines reached across the frame of the stringless harp, becoming thinner and thinner. Soon fine strings were created across the frame. Uriel immediately took to tuning them, like he had known the instrument all his life.
"I beg you, don't keep me waiting any longer, Uriel, Minstrel of the World. I wish to hear a melody that even moves our lords to tears!" Raphael smiled.
"I'll try my best, good friend." Then Uriel closed his eyes. He let his hands do the rest.
A melody so divine reached across to touch the ears of Raphael, holding them within an inescapable cascade of notes and rhythms that were each more beautiful and long-lasting than those before. Each melody—each strum of the harp—seemed to make the nature around the two grow more in health and charm. The song lightened the area with liveliness only able to be understood from being within its bounty.
The trees hummed a part of his melody; the flowers swayed at each beat and note. Even the animals that stayed far and wide, near and close, drew closer to the two to hear the melody of Paradioso's creation be played once again.
For Raphael, he could see something clearly while his eyes were closed, continuing to take in the essence and creativity of the music.
A land so clear with a meadow that couldn't be more perfect was created for his mind to feast upon with wanderlust. Not a single plant was misplaced, not a single leaf from a tree that had fallen could reach the ground to wilt, nor could an animal go hungry or mad. It was Eden for Eden—an Elysium for a place that already had countless amounts of them.
Uriel drew his song to a close, humming in tune with the ballad before slowing in tempo. The trees returned to their stationary forms, and the other surroundings slowly went to rest, as the final notes to the creation of the universe were played.
"I wish I knew how to add lyrics to such a beautiful sound. But adding such things would only defile the melody. I, myself, am not like someone of Lucifer's standing to ever so much as be able to add to the already existing," Uriel lamented.
Raphael opened his eyes, tears escaping from them with a smile of happiness plastered on his face.
"Raphael…?" Uriel asked
"I know, Uriel—I just can't help myself." Raphael said, wiping his eyes, "To hear the tune of our birth, and be given the opportunity to see something I will forever be incapable of seeing, I'm just glad that I could have such a wonderful friend in you."
"Your praise of me is unwarranted, Raphael. Anyone born with such knowledge could easily play it. "
"Then why not Raziel? He is the Virtue of Wisdom; he should know how to play it, yet he wouldn't dare."
"Not because he can't, but because he chooses not to," Uriel replied.
Raphael laughed, "Give yourself more credit, old friend. You are a splendid being, one with the ability to command music as your spectacle. You are beyond such terms of inferiority; we are all equal here. Now come, let us continue our walk quickly before I must return."
The two angels furthered their walk around the bounds of the Tree that Bears Truth for some time. The two laughed and jested with one another over the humility that Uriel had shown. The two were inseparable, more than the term of friendship could ever denote. All angels within Eden's borders were born of the same breed, desire, and ilk.
Virtues like them were the closest entities to the tree day in and out, and the most beloved creation of the Most High. They were not only meant to lead the others of their kind but to do all the tasks the others below them held, whilst serving as the guardians for the most sacred thing that graced the Garden of Eden—the tree that sat at the center.
Differing legions meant nothing—they were merely meant to signify which Virtue was prized most of a certain angel to that sect. Yet, even in this tranquility and perfect equality, one such angel did not think that to be the case. He thought more of his brothers and sisters, that they were more than just guardians of a Paradise that needed them not.
Lucifer watched from a distance whilst the two friends made their talks, thinking to himself with annoyance at how complacent they were. His eyes—casting beams of light across the lands—dimmed with a bit of envy. Lucifer turned away from the sight, his wings of the purest white ruffling behind him with the power of a star behind his shake.
He muttered to himself as he left the scene. "Those two are too content with this life of little worth. We are better than being just mere gardeners, and if my domain has not shown that, Uriel, then maybe it will be more easily seen by the others."
Lucifer then took off from where he stood, flying in search of others who could see the truth of the world like he did. If only he knew the horrors his thoughts would spark, the greater calamity that would unfold upon him, his kin, and most of all—Eden—could have been avoided