CHAPTER V – GLUTTONY

CHAPTER V �" GLUTTONY

By trade, Tubal-Cain had been a blacksmith. A suave, witty, yet ruthless and amoral man. He was very proficient in the art of war and possessed the ability to manufacture the best weapons., his army were always well equipped on the battlefield. Tubal-Cain carried the most sophisticated weapon ever known to humankind a rune battle ax, also named the ax of destruction by his enemies. Tubal-Cain’s battle ax consisted of a blade, topped with a spike that was mounted on a long shaft. A thorn on the backside of the blade existed in order to grapple mounted combatants. His ax was reinforced with metal rims over the shaft, thus increasing its effectiveness in battle and making it an effective weapon for blocking other weapons such as swords and clubs. It was also believed that the runic symbols engraved into Tubal-Cain’s battle ax could make him invincible during a battle.

When Tubal-Cain came to power, he and his armies invaded all of the surrounding settlements and he annihilated those who refused to live under his dominance. Heaven saw that the wickedness was great upon the earth, and there was evil in the minds and hearts of humankind. Metatron regretted that he had created humankind on the earth, and grieved in his heart. “My Spirit shall not strive with mankind forever for they are indeed mortals, at the dawn of their darkness era, they will tear off their clothes and beg the heavens for mercy, and in anguish they will scream, ‘Heaven! Save us,’ and Heaven will reply ‘No”. Due to wickedness of humankind and the Nephilims’ debauchery, Heaven ceased the morning dews and a great famine came upon the land. Tubal-Cain then assembled his armies, heightening their morale by promising them a large city where bread would fall from the sky. “A city flowing with milk and honey…,” he proclaimed.

Now well advanced in age, Cain lost hope in finding his wife. He returned to the location where he first met her to reminisce about his past. He thought that perhaps he had been blitzed by sorcery and his soul drained of its purity. Hade’s vile hands had hardened his heart, for all he loved had vanished like the sweet morning dew, devoured away by the hounds of hell. His soul seemed incapable of sustaining this perilous emotion called love, but he realized that he must remain in the company of his demons. Shortly after this realization, Cain lifted his head and looked toward the extremity of the river, where he caught a glimpse of a beautiful young maiden bathing in the water. Cain moved closer towards her. Surprisingly, the woman was none other than his Serena, who looked the same as she did the first time they had met. She had not aged a bit. Cain could not believe his eyes.

When Serena saw Cain, she plunged back into the water in an attempt to elude him, but Cain followed suit and dove in the water after her. As Cain swam down deeper and deeper into the depths of the river, he began to lose consciousness, and his life flashed before his very eyes. While he was drowning, Cain started to realize that his wife might not have been of this world. He took one final breath, passed out and then sunk to the bottom of the river. Later, Cain awakened, not knowing where he was and how he had survived the drowning. But he was alive and felt vigorous. Unconvinced of his existence, Cain scrutinized the gloomy cave, as he approached a nearby river to peek at his reflection. But he could not see his image reflected in the water. He panicked, quickly placing his hands on his head and his chest, and then he examined the rest of his body. Everything was in place, except for his canine teeth, which seemed to be abnormal.

“We meet at last,” said an echoing voice. Cain turned around but there was no one there. Anxiously, Cain replied, “Unhidden yourself whomever you are!” Without realizing it, Cain scoured the whole area at lightning speed but despite his acute sense of hearing and vision he could not detect anyone else being present. Then, suddenly, out of the darkness appeared the desolate one. Ever more skeptical, Cain just stared at the colossal being. Lucifer was an intimidating figure. Due to his grandeur, most beings were daunted by him. So when Lucifer became visible, he expected Cain to shrivel in fear. But he did not intimidate Cain. Belligerently, Lucifer then swiftly moved closer toward Cain, attempting to startle him. Cain remained unflustered by Lucifer’s presence and in fact, he disliked Lucifer from the moment he first laid eyes on him. Ever since he had learned from Lilith that humans were far more superior to any other created beings in the Heavens, even himself, Lucifer developed an animosity towards humanity.

The angelic beings were composed of one of four elements, Earth, Air, Fire, or Water. But humankind was different and special, having been created with of all those four elements combined. In addition, humankind had an extra element, an ethereal soul, a fifth element that no other beings possessed. As a result, humankind was by far the more superior to any other creatures in the Heavens. From the angels, humans acquired the element of Earth and so their skin is of Earth. From the Seraphim, humans acquired the element of Fire and so their body heat is of Fire. From the Cherubim, humans acquired the element of Air and so their breath is of Air. From the Thrones, humans acquired the element of Water and so humankind’s saliva is of Water. Lastly, the humans acquired their souls directly from the Holy Spirit itself. Meanwhile, in Heaven, Metatron, Lilith and the Spirit convened. Besides Metatron and Lilith’s peculiar dilemma, the fate of humankind was the main focus.

Despite of Lilith’s unfaithfulness, Metatron still had strong feelings for her, and deep in his heart, he wanted to forget it all and reconciled with her. But there was the matter of principles involved. Ever since the fall of man and woman, the Spirit saw them as eminent threats to the universe. The Spirit had previously suggested that humankind ought to be exterminated, but Metatron and Lilith did not support this notion, for they were both strong advocates for humanity. Lilith often criticized the Spirit for granting humankind Freewill, which she thought had hypocritically condemned them that is, when they were to finally exercise their will. Lilith was also still upset at Metatron for conspiring with the Spirit in order to banish her lover, Lucifer, to Hell and for causing Eve to lose her immortality. When Metatron and the Spirit connived against Lilith so as to cast Eve out of the Garden of Eden, they did not surmise that their beloved Adam would sacrifice his place in paradise for Eve‘s sake.

Lilith also accentuated during the convening, that it was the Spirit that hinted Cain in regards to the affairs of Norea and Abel which resulted to Cain’s atrocious acts. The Spirit argued vindictively, calling Lilith a harlot and blaming her, for she had fornicated with their creations. Not wanting to prolong this quarrel, Metatron angrily stood up and authoritatively yelled, “SILENCE!” His voice echoed and throughout the entire universe, there was a great calm. Metatron and the Spirit then concurred that since the wickedness of humankind was great on the earth, and all their intentions were continuously evil, they would annihilate them from the face of the earth, including beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air, for they were very disappointed by the comportment of humankind. Lilith disagreed with this decision, but by order of consensus, she was incapable of affecting their decisions. So she left Heaven in an odious mood.

Meanwhile on earth, Tubal-Cain leads a terrifying and relentless cavalry charge against his enemies. His warriors screams out fearsome war cries as they gallop across the muddy valley toward the settlements until there were no more cities to conquer, apart from a few derisive rebels. Yet Tubal-Cain insisted on eradicating them, nonetheless. “I have no interest in taken prisoners, kill them all!” he ordered his men. The cavalry whams into the rebels with full force. It's a bloodbath. Fire pots and flaming arrows are pouring down everywhere around them. Tubal-Cain and his men slashes ruthlessly with their weapons, slicing and dicing a path of sheer destruction but the rebels also fought with the same level of brutality, they fought passionately and with the desperation of a hopeless last chance. The flaming arrows and exploding fire pots creates a ferocious inferno everywhere around the battlefield. On the ground, Tubal-Cain proves his absolute worth as a warrior as he hacks and dodges his opponents attacks. His eyes burn with a zealous fire as he valiantly fights for his survival. At last, victory is now their battle cry. Tubal-Cain bloody and spent, walks through the aftermath of the carnage. Finally, he had absolute domination. Tubal-Cain was now prepared to attain his utmost desire becoming the supreme ruler of the city of Hazor. “If you kill a man, you become a murderer. If you kill many men, you are a King, and if you kill them all, then you are a god.” These were the dying words of his mother, Zillah, the sorceress, and her words inspired him as he fought battles through the years. Tubal-Cain knew that capturing Hazor would require an immense army, and for that reason, he had been annexing all of his surrounding cities.

With his conquest over, he marched his army of Canaanites toward the city of Hazor. Throughout the course of the night, as they approached the vicinity of Hazor, Tubal-Cain could see the gleaming lights of the enchanted city from a great distance. His zealous to conquer it grew stronger, but he knew that getting to the heart of the city itself would be a difficult task. A few moments afterward the fatigued army was fast asleep, Tubal-Cain and his men began experimenting lucid dreams, they each dreamed of themselves zealously making love to their desired women. All seemed well, the men were in blissful ecstasy but several hours has passed, Tubal-Cain could not be awaken from his current stance, he had been paralyzed in his state of mind, that's when Tubal-Cain, the necromancer realized that he had been under the influence of a group of malignant spirits called succubus.

During Tubal-Cain's apprenticeship as a necromancer he had heard of the incubus and succubus cliques, but he then believed that they were nothing more than mere fables told by perverted old men. As the tale goes the incubus and succubus are the ancient spirits of the Nephilims who were once angels living up in the heavens, but due to their vehement fondness for the women of the earth, they choose to become mortals and co-inhabitants of the earth together with humanity. After the death of them, their spirits remained cursed wanderers of the earth forever, yearning continuously for the mortal pleasures they once enjoyed as humans, particularly of sexual pleasures. The culprit spirits often manifested themselves in the appearance of the most attractive human beings in order to seduce men and women in their dreams; the male phantoms were known as incubus while their female counterparts were called succubus. The succubus clan are insatiably lustful fiends, as they took possession of Tubal-Cain's body they first took away his vocalization rendering him speechless.

Then they paralyzed his entire body so to prevent him from easily awaken and then they excessively aroused him causing him immense sexual pleasures in his lucid dreams, but in reality Tubal-Cain was asphyxiating, motionless and unable to scream himself awake. He struggled in vain but he's being tied down by that dreadful feeling of helplessness which paralyzed him in his dreams, he wanted to cry out but he could not, he wanted to move but he could not. He tried making sudden strenuous efforts, gasping for breath, attempting to turn on his side, to throw off this vile creature who is crushing him and suffocating him but he simply could not do so. Tubal-Cain was steadily dying in his sleep but he could not do anything about it. Then he remembered the legend, he recalled his mother Zillah, the sorceress teaching him the sanctified words to pronounce if he had ever stumble upon such malevolent creatures.

"Adam & Eve, Adam & Eve" he thought to himself, then it all started coming back to him now, he remember his mother once told him that there is nothing else these lustful demented spirits desired more than the first man and the first woman. If a man is being besieged by the female succubus "Fear not" She told him, all one has to do is think of or say the name Adam and the spirit shall go away and if a woman is beleaguered by the male incubus all she has to do it think or say the name Eve and the spirit shall flee. Hence, Tubal-Cain proclaimed the name of Adam but the spirit was hesitant to leave then he said it with more confidence "Yod he vau he, in the name of Adam be gone". Then at last he was at liberty, he woke up panic stricken, covered in sweat, the revengeful Tubal-Cain quickly gathered his mother's spell book which he renamed "The Book of Shadows" and so from that very book he invoked the most prevailing conjuration he could find in there, freeing his entire army under the submission of those vile creatures then as instructed by the book of shadows Tubal-Cain and his men sprinkled the perimeter where they were encamping with salt so to prevent the spirits from returning to the camp.

After traveling for many miles to reach the base of Mount Hermon Tubal-Cain and his Canaanite warriors had yet another nine thousand, three hundred and thirty-two feet to climb, but nonetheless they were determined. Approximately half way into the trek, something mysterious began to take place on earth, something no one had ever seen before. Water began to come down from the Heaven. After several days and nights of rainfall, the water level rose significantly and began to flood the lands. The Leviathans saw this occurrence as a divine sign that Heaven truly wanted them to rule the earth. So they reunited under the ocean floor, preparing for a final attack against the Anakim monarchy so they could claim their inheritance. From above, Tubal-Cain looked down below, and he saw how the flood had damaged the coastal settlements. They had now reached the point of no return, he thought. If they were to survive this tragedy, they had to succeed in their efforts to secure Hazor. It had been thirty-seven days, and the rain continued to fall. Now, at last, they had reached their destination. At the edge of the city, Tubal-Cain and his army desperately tried to get through its colossal gate.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a thunderous horn, coming from the inside of the walls of the city. Tubal-Cain thought that the sound of the horn was a signal by the inhabitants of Hazor, acknowledging the threats of his menacing presence. But shortly thereafter an enormous monster emerged from the sea behind them. Meanwhile, in the city of Hazor, the Anakims prepared themselves for battle. “Prepare yourselves. The Leviathans are coming,” said the half-human, half-angel Demete, who was now an adult and the chief counselor to the Anakim king, Og.

Outside the gate of Hazor, Tubal-Cain’s army was in a panic. Terrified by the sight of the Leviathans, most of them dropped their shields and weapons, and began to flee the battlefield. But unfortunately for them, they were now trapped in-between the horrifying Leviathans and the impenetrable gates of Hazor. Tubal-Cain tried to maintain order, but there was not much that he could have said or done to instill courage in his men. A great number of them had already fallen victims to the wrath of the Leviathans. Tubal-Cain and his men fought hard, but they could not overcome Dagon and his Leviathans. After seeing so many of his men perish, Tubal-Cain knew death was certain. But when all hopes seemed to be lost, they heard the screeching sound of deliverance the gates of Hazor were opening. Tubal-Cain and the rest of his men rushed inside, unconcerned by what other perils lay behind those adamantine doors. They thought, it could not possibly be as dreadful as what they already witnessed outside. The oversize gate, which automatically shut behind them, converged with such great force that the ground shook. Along this lengthy dark vestibule, Tubal-Cain and his men must now march towards the unknown. A brief shadow of what seemed to be a large bird swiftly flew overhead. The men gazed above, but there was nothing there.

They assumed that it was perhaps a figment of their imaginations, but in fact, there was something or someone was in fact there. Suddenly, a tall, shadowy figure landed behind them, requesting that Tubal-Cain and his men relinquish their weapons, and so they did. As the stranger moves closer toward the group of men, the burning torches gleaming overhead reveals that this mysterious character to be a tall, dark and handsome man. But a modified limb which seems suitable for generating aerodynamic lifts proves that he was much more than just a man. He had a well proportioned, and imposing appearance similar to that of an angel. “It can’t be” thought Tubal-Cain. Then they all fell at his feet in order to worship him, thinking that he was an angel sent from the Heavens to rescue them. But the unfamiliar being told them to rise, and then revealed to them that he was not of the supernatural realm. “My name is Demete”. He was as mortal, he said, as them, except for his wings. He then escorted them to King Og.

When Tubal-Cain entered the presence of the Anakim King, he expected to hear condemnation from a ruthless overlord. Instead, he found himself at the mercy of an intelligent, wise, and understanding king. Despite his sagacity, King Og was a valiant warrior whose height was six cubits and a span. He wore a bronze helmet and was clothed with scale armor that weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. The greave on his legs and the javelin slung between his shoulders were also made of bronze. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron. Addressing Tubal-Cain and his men, King Og explained the rivalry that existed between the Anakims and the Leviathans. "Can you pull in the Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?" asked the King. He emphasized that if the Leviathans were to gain control of Hazor, humankind would surely become extinct because they will not hear mankind pleas for mercy, nor consort with them to any agreement, they would not even consider mankind as their slaves, complete and utter extermination is their sole conclusion in regards to humanity.

Tubal-Cain was even more humbled when he had learned that if King Og had not previously confronted the Leviathans on the behalf of humanity, humankind would have already been annihilated. Before he died, the former Nephilim king, Anak, saw the darkness that exist in the hearts of the Leviathans. He made King Og promised that even upon his death the Anakims would always protect the humans and so it was. Telling Tubal-Cain of another danger that lies ahead, King Og said that Lilith had visited him to warn him about Heaven's plan to destroy the earth and all of its inhabitants with a deluge.

Shocked by this disturbing revelation, Tubal Cain never envisioned his creators committing such malicious deed. But the evidence was clear it had been raining continuously for many days now and he saw with his very eyes the devastation that the flood had already caused. "Rest assured, men. We have made preparations," said Demete. Lilith had instructed King Og to have the Anakims build an ark, since it would have been nearly impossible for any human to build such an immense and complex ship in the limited amount of time that they had. The length of the ark was to be three hundred cubits, with widths of fifty cubits and heights of thirty cubits. The ark was to have three levels.

In the first of the three levels, wild and domesticated animals were to be lodged; in the second, the human beings; and in the third, the birds. Inside the ark was a very special chamber with a miniature ark made of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. It was overlaid with pure gold, inside and out, on it a molding of gold all around. Four rings of gold were cast for it, and the rings were put in its four corners; two rings were on one side, and two rings on the other side. Poles were made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold and the poles were put into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. Over the Ark, at the two extremities, were two cherubim of gold, with their faces turned toward one another and the cherubim had their wings stretched out covering the top of the ark and inside this miniature ark laid the sacred corpse of the first man and the first woman, Adam and Eve. Demete told Tubal-Cain and his men that he had already embarked other humans on the ark and two of every kind of animals, of the birds after their kind, and of every creeping thing on the earth.

The men were to board the ark as soon as possible and set sail before Hazor became inundated. "This way come quickly!" said Demete. The men followed him outside the palace and to the location of the ark. The men marveled with great amazement at the sight of this massive infrastructure for they have never thought such a thing could have been possible to construct especially in a short period of time but then again they thought to themselves the pioneers of the ark are not normal men they were of the Anakim race a nation of giants. Tubal-Cain asked Demete why he and the Anakims were not boarding the ark. He replied that they had family issues, which had to be taken care of once and for all. By this, Tubal-Cain knew that they had plans to ensure that Dagon and the Leviathans were destroyed first so that they would not sink the ark.

Upon hearing this, Tubal-Cain and a few of his men decided that they would stay behind and fight. Demete noticing of what Tubal-Cain and his men were about to do, he shook his head and laughed in disbelief and then he said "Ah! Where are you men going? Fishing! Uh! Will Dagon make an agreement with you for you to take him as your slave for life? Can you make a pet of him like a bird or put him on a leash for your children? Will you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? I can assure you men If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the struggle and never do it again! Any hope of subduing him is false; as you men here have already witness, the mere sight of him is overpowering. But if you want to fight then go ahead fight, but it is suicide". Still the men stood their grounds and stuck by their decisions, Tubal-Cain then selected a young warrior by the name of Noah and commissioned him to be in command of the ark.

The violent waves of the ocean struck the gate repeatedly. The once impenetrable walls of Hazor began to show signs of crumbling. Water soon came pouring into the lower bottom side of the wall. Taking note of the newly discovered vulnerability on the defensive wall, the Leviathans pushed and pulled on the weakening wall. A few moments later, the wall came crumbling down. Demete became alert and skeptical upon hearing that the gate had been destroyed, for the inhabitants of Hazor once believed this to be an impossibility. Then they heard the war cry of Dagon, the leader of the Leviathans. With the security perimeter of Hazor breached, Demete turned towards the two kings with an ailing expression on his face. And Tubal-Cain immediately sensed that something was wrong. Spreading his wings, Demete flew toward the front of the palace where the battle had taken place. He saw the Anakim archers already in place on the high rise of the palace, firing at the Leviathans below.