***
The hundred-story Coliseum in front of Lucifer was impressive, but its size was nothing compared to the noise it generated. A million voices screamed, chanted, and howled, and the sound was absolutely deafening. Without the ability to communicate with his brother, he focused instead on observing the elves around him.
Elandril’s three singuli met up with a dozen more from their royal globus and beckoned Lucifer away from the lines that channeled elves through the front gates and into the stadium. Guards joined and flanked the large party on either side, with the King’s largest singulus leading the column of men to the side entrance.
Lucifer watched the elves for flinches or other signs of their secret communication, but they moved flawlessly as individuals. Each singulus had its own mannerisms and missteps and they could hold their own separate conversations without any hiccups or awkwardness. Fascinating.
All around him were painted bodies, smiling faces, and joyous celebrations, but the crowd reminded him of darker times in Alurabum, when a large group of demons demanded his parents’ execution. However, this mob was much more appreciative of their king than his own people had been. Lucifer couldn’t help but be jealous of the elves and angry at his own demon people, and not just for their willingness to overthrow a patient, wise king.
All around him were skyscrapers, beautiful homes, smiling children, and an entire population that was not afraid to dream big, build immense, and live free. Small girls with adorable, pointed ears ran around the guards, conjuring magical fireworks above their heads and screaming for their favorite teams. Young suitors showed off technological gadgets to their admirers underneath sculpted trees, colorful arches and expansive awnings. The elves were onto something here. Deep down, Lucifer admitted to himself that looking at the elven capital of Arnessa was like peering into a crystal ball of what the future should look like.
If Lucifer could wrestle control back from Eranos, Chaos society would change. Better access to knowledge, less censorship, and a higher standard of living for all immortals—whether they had wings or not. He just had to figure out how to convince the Council that such openness was better for the universe. Wait, why did he have to convince anybody? The proof was right here in the Elven Realm.
As they ducked into the side entrance of the stadium, Lucifer remembered something his brother Michael had told him back on Earth. Jehovah’s issues with Chaos lay with the Council, not the Courts. Their stubbornness and oppression of academics drove one of the most brilliant demons in the multiverse to openly attack his birthplace. If someone had told Lucifer a year ago that he would eventually empathize with Jehovah’s mindset, he would have laughed at them. But now?
He chuckled at the thought of how heretical his thoughts were, and Elandril smiled along with him. A Chaos prince thinking of allying with not one but two enemies of the universe? If he thought convincing the Council that open discussion and teaching of pattern magic to demons was going to be difficult, he couldn’t fathom how he would convince an Eranos-affiliated Council about the importance of foreign allies.
He put his arm around the Elven King as they entered the Coliseum proper, and saw his face on the jumbotron, which floated and rotated around for the crowd to view. Thousands of maelstroms popped into focus as remote viewers tuned in for the royal globus and legendary demon princes. He waved to the crowd and watched as their faces contorted between surprise, outrage, and curiosity amongst their globi and realized, for the first time, the task he had ahead of him in this arena.
The elves weren’t the immortals he sought to rule, but he would probably need to win them over just the same. Their technology and understanding of pattern magic might be the keys to saving his universe from Jehovah’s wrath and paving the way back to the Alurabum throne room. Besides, if he could convert a stadium of former enemies into friends, he just might have a shot at turning his own people back to his cause.