The Grigori

In the earliest days after the rebellion, and before the War had begun in earnest, the Seraphim argued intently about how best to protect the earthwalkers. They knew humankind was imperfect and needed guidance, and some felt that humanity could only be spiritually enlightened if their development was controlled. Others maintained that it was God’s command that humanity be left alone that provoked Lucifer’s revolt in the first place. Seemingly in answer, God created the Grigori, the final order. And it appeared to most that they were ideally suited to live on earth and watch over humankind and report what they saw.

Hamaliel, a Grigori in good standing, respected the angelic hierarchy above all others and studied them in great detail. Unlike any other of the Grigori, he had researched each of the groups of the angelic hosts. The first group consisted of the Seraphim, Cherabim, and the Thrones. The four Seraphim, the upper most section of the hierarchy, were closest to the throne of God. They took the form of fiery serpents and their light was so bright that not even other heavenly host could look upon them. Hamaliel had heard that it was their love for God, which fueled their light. The Cherubim were second only to the Seraphim, held the knowledge of God, and were often sent to earth to perform the greatest of tasks. Hamaliel loved hearing the stories of how they had expelled mankind from the Garden of Eden in The Beginning and had announced the coming of Christ. It was no wonder that the Egyptians had modeled the great sphinxes after them. The Thrones were the most bizarre in their appearance and their primary job was to act as the chariot of God. They were great wheels with many eyes and covered in light.

The second group consisted of Dominions, Virtues and Powers. The Dominions served as middle management and often communicated orders from the Seraphim and Cherabim to the lower orders. The Dominions rarely made themselves known to humanity and focused their attention on maintaining order in the cosmos. The Virtues were given the two tasks of maintaining the aspects of the natural world and bestowing blessings upon the material world. Hamaliel knew quite a bit about the Virtues as Sumak was one of his mentors and close friends was a chief Virtue. He often spent time with her when she was balancing the rainstorms with thunder. The Powers held the most serious of tasks and were responsible for maintaining the borders between Heaven and Hell and ushering souls from the earthly realm to Heaven or Hell after death. Hamaliel found them to be the most serious and stoic of all.

The third group consisted of Principalities, Archangels and Angels. This group most often came in contact with the Grigori since their responsibilities also often directly involved humans. The Principalities watched over the mortal world guiding and driving nations, cities and towns. Archangels were assigned to watch over the duties of Angels and were leaders in the times of great spiritual battles. Finally, the Angels were responsible for watching over the affairs of mortals in a more direct manner than the principalities. Instead of watching entire nations, Angels watched over households and individual souls. While Angels and Grigori had the most in common in terms of duties and physical form, Angels often shunned the Grigori thinking them unnecessary and an intrusion into the spiritual order. Nonetheless, Hamaliel gave them respect and for that and his hard work, they respected him.

Hamaliel and the Virtue, Sumak, sat on Mount Cyrese, which overlooked Hamaliel’s territory.