Conceived by Matt Walsh

None of the Loyalist Superiors took Exile very well. Yves died; David went catatonic; Janus started talking to himself. Oannes, Archangel of the Waters, became hyperactive after it got over its shell shock.

A Kyriotate, Oannes had been given its Word and status fairly early on in the scheme of things. And it loved its Word. Before the Exile, nothing had pleased the Domination more that drifting through the Earth's oceans in the bodies of whatever fish were around... or even as the water itself on occasion. Oannes had come to rely on this simple pleasure more and more as the politics in Heaven heated up, and was now, in its darkest hour, denied it.

So when Lilith managed to break the Hadean lock, Oannes was out the door as fast as its indeterminate organs could carry it. Not even bothering to possess anything, it plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in Celestial form.

Eventually it ran into an old acquaintance.

* * *

An early convert to the Rebellion, Vephar had been the Angel of Sailors under the old regime. One of Oannes' higher-ranked Servitors, the Ofanite had been invaluable in recruiting dissident angels of the Wind and the Waters to the Rebels' cause. Upon Lucifer's victory, the Lightbringer rewarded Vephar with a promotion; henceforth, the Wheel was the Archangel of Journeys.

Part of the Word of Journeys is the planning of a route. With Yves choosing Exile, Lucifer felt that the Host needed someone around who could learn to see the traces of Destiny, and Vephar seemed like a reasonable choice at the time. To help him understand the world, the new Archangel spent a lot of time indulging his Word on Earth: travelling by land and sea, following the lives of humans and the strange Journeys they often made.

That's why Vephar (in the Role of a wayfarer, out fishing for his supper) was out in the Atlantic Ocean when his old Superior made an appearance.

* * *

The two exchanged no words. Vephar had always been more than a little awed by Oannes, and had been harboring irrational fears that the Archangel of the Waters was going to return and punish him. So when it looked like that was exactly what was happening, Vephar didn't hesitate. He attacked first.

Oannes hadn't even noticed that another Superior was in the area, much less that one of its old Servitors was nearby. Vephar's attack caught the Kyriotate completely unawares. Still, an Archangel is an Archangel, so when Vephar won - finally - the Ofanite was hurting badly.

Seeing the last fragments of Oannes' Celestial form disperse filled the Archangel of Journeys with a profound sense of relief. At last, he was safe from his old Superior.

That's when he turned around to see Janus, who had heard all the commotion and was wondering what it was about.

* * *

There are no more Servitors of the Waters. The vast majority vowed vengeance and joined with Janus; the rest ended up in Ogiel's service. Some of each might still be around.

There are no more Servitors of Journeys. About half of them joined Marc or Malphas after Vephar was destroyed by Janus; the rest tried to carry on as an independent organization, eventually getting folded into Israfel's service. Independent angels are discouraged in Heaven.

There are rumors, occasionally, that Janus wasn't as thorough as he might have thought. Reports of a strange man who knows every road and every shortcut there is, who wanders compulsively and alternates between a canny slyness and stark confusion. Hints that Vephar's Remnant yet walks the Earth.

But then, there are always rumors. Wise angels of the Host pay little heed to them; the Sword disapproves of rumor-mongering...