The Han war party saw the streaking comet fall from the Heavens land with an audible impact a few miles from their current camp. Anxious to lay hands on the priceless star-iron likely contained in it, the Hyena-men immediately set off in it's direction. Their elongated canine-like ankle and clawed feet propelled their furred bodies faster than any man, their elongated snouts full of sharp yellow teeth upturned to sample the scents carried on the wind for danger and prey alike.
A mere ten minutes, later they had covered the nearly three miles to where they had seen the meteor land, their lack of armor or heavy weaponry allowing them to move over the open ground at full speed. Unstrapping the crescent shaped bronze battle axes from their backs, the thirty Han males approached the large crater in the ground as soot and dust still hung heavily in the air. Their silent advance froze as they saw a lone figure standing in the crater's center instead of a meteor but their confusion was short lived.
The figure had black hair, cut short in the timeless military fashion, and blue eyes that literally glowed with power stared out from an indescribably handsome face. His body was almost naked, covered only by a silken wrap around his waist that left his sculpted torso, arms, calves and golden skin exposed. There was what appeared to be a crown on his head in the shape of an olive wreath, though it was constructed of solid gold shaped like leaves that wrapped around the top of his head. A golden chain at the top of his chest secured a full cape of Dragon skin, however it had to have been taken from an impossibly large and powerful specimen as each black scale was the size of a saucer and the Crimson colored skin underneath seemed to move with a will of it's own. Even more shocking though, was the large avian wings protruded from the center of his back, their surface covered with what appeared to be rich black feathers.
Before they could act, the figure raised a single hand as it began to glow with golden light. The forward facing palm of the hand exploded with a painfully bright beam of golden light as concentrated Solar light engulfed them with more than enough heat to vaporize anything it came in contact with. They were dead before they could scream.
Michael dispassionately looked at the ashes that had been living beings a second before as they were carried away and scattered by the soft wind. His rebirth at the hands of his Father had restored all of his immeasurable Power as well as all of his memories. He remembered fleeing Heaven in disgust at the horrendous actions of the humans on Earth that he had so long protected. He remembered containing and isolating his Light into a compartment inside his physical body leaving him as, more or less, a genetically perfect human when he arrived on Aurion-his newly human mind being unable to contain the vast information and memories of millennia meant that he had arrived on this world as an amnesiac as well as a mortal. He remembered the people he met and the Elf he had grown to love as well as the she-Orc that was wholly dedicated to him and the women that he now realized loved him. All of whom no doubt think him dead.
He hadn't been sure that his Father would resurrect him, leaving Heaven meant that he was technically now a Fallen Angel-his newly black wings attested to that. Father had respected his choice though, content to offer a reprieve from the centuries serving as God's right hand. And everyone knows that a right hand is the one that wields the sword-something that his brother Gabriel had never let him forget, though perhaps that was because the sanctimonious prick of an Archangel was referred to as the 'Left hand of God' and often showed jealousy at the fact that Michael had been the one to defeat Lucifer in single combat and slay the primordial Dragon and enforcer of Hell, Satan. Something Gabriel had attempted and failed prior to his success.
He noticed that his previously long hair was now cut in a fashionable version of a short military style and his full body suit of armor was no longer covering his body. Normally he would simply will his armor onto his body, a simple thought all that was necessary to summon armor or weapons from Heaven's armory, but now that he was a Fallen Angel, he was on his own. After all, his wings turning from an bright white to a deep black were not the only changes to take place when an Angel fell from Grace.
His formerly pine green eyes would continue to glow bright blue for awhile yet, at least until his epic power finished settling into his physical being. With a quick push of his legs he shot straight up into air faster than any mortal eye could follow, his powerful wings capable of sending him past the speed of sound with a single thrust. However, instead of heading back to the east and the Dorian Capitol, he headed in the opposite direction. There was still an entire army laying siege to his love's people and the forest that she called home.
At such speed it didn't take long to reach the Elvin Forest on the Empire's western flank. Clearly visit from his airborne position, the dark mass of the Demonic army stained the western edge of the steppe where it met the tree line where the forest started. Using the sun and his speed to prevent being observed, he flew over the forest before circling around and landing in a small clearing less than a mile inside the magical barrier that currently held the enemy at bay and prevented the destruction of the Elves and their forest.
He had intended to make his way to the central treetop village of the Elves to establish contact with them, but as he moved off further into the forest toward the village he heard the tell tale sounds of a fighting back at the tree line and he quickly was off at a sprint, his power carrying him at hundreds of miles per hour. In a matter of seconds he was standing at the tree line watching a small group of Elves attempt to reach the safety of the magical barrier at the tree line. It was obvious that they had attempted to sneak past the enemy army's notice and they might have succeeded if it wasn't for the fact that, despite the enemy army being made up mostly of Hyena-men and Dark Orcs, Demons were also present. The Dark Mages having detected the small party, the Demons were able to to close the great distance to reach them before they could scamper over the carrier to safety because they could fly.
Three Demons had coasted down from the sky leisurely to cut off the small group of Elves. That was bad. Three Demons was massive overkill and their relaxed demeanor meant that they were almost certainly intending to have some fun with the Elven lasses, and maybe a pretty male or two. A lone female Elven Mage was the only thing keeping the three predators at bay, using pulses of Light from the end of her wooden staff. Very impressive. Unfortunately, she was not capable of mustering or channeling enough power to generate lethal blows against Demons, and she was quickly tiring.
The others, mostly women, huddled by the wagon that accompanied them while the few guards they had stood in front of the female Mage as she did her best to hold the Demons off. The Guards were obviously the Household Guard for a Great House, despite their armor being a suit of heavy plate, it was custom fitted and conformed to every contour of their bodies and offered total coverage, even the joints overlapping to eliminate vulnerable junctions.
Since they had cut off the Elves path to the tree line of the forest, the Demons were located directly between Michael and the Elves, which suited him just fine. They didn't even notice when he stepped of out the trees twenty meters to their rear.
"Hey boys! If you're looking for some sport, I'll happily oblige you", said Michael with a smile that seemed more devilish than any Angel should be capable of.
Turning to look at him, to Demons simply smirked at the unusually attractive man, not seeing him for what he was. One of the three licked his lips, the burns on his body from the mage's attack ready starting to heal, and started towards him while the other two turned back and continued towards the beleaguered Elves, the mage panting on her knees, totally exhausted.
Before the Demon could take three steps, Michael's wings unfurled from his back. The Demon's eyes bulged at the impossible presence of an Angel, along with the eyes of the mage and many of the elves. Before he could say or do anything, Michael had closed the space between them, grabbed him by the throat and yanked him up into the air and away from the ground with his immensely powerful wings. In a fraction of a sec a thousand feet off the ground and Michael simply kept his grip on the Demon around the throat while pressing his other hand to it's forehead and pushed holy Light through each hand, instantly incinerating the fiend, it's body turning to five ash and dissipating. The entire encounter took just over one second.
Turning around in confusion, the Demon's giggled at the absence of both their comrade and the 'human' that had approached. The Elves were shocked too, the winged man that they had seen moved so fast that it appeared he teleported to the Demon before there was the flicker of a black streak moving straight up into the sky.
The two remaining demons spun back around towards the terrified Elves just in time to see Michael land gracefully in between them and their intended prey. The Demon to his left, 'Lefty', goggled, "No! It can't be... This world isn't in the jurisdiction of the Angelic Host! Nor is it covered by the treaty between Heaven and the Seven Circles! We are not violating the ceasefire!"
"You're right. This world isn't under the protection of Heaven. But, in case you haven't noticed from the color of my wings, I'm no longer bound to Heaven's service. I'm now one of the Fallen!" Michael said calmly, his voice escalating only with his final sentence.
"Who are you Angel?" Lefty asked, the word spit from his mouth like a curse.
"Who am I? Who am I! I am Michael the Archangel! Prince of Heaven, Marshall of the Divine Armies, Right Hand of the Lord and the Slayer of Satan. I. AM. The Wrath of God!" He roared, the ground literally shaking with his words.
