Somewhere between Life & Death: “Contact with The Scribe of God.”

As soon as Ezrae finished carving his initial into the staff, he had sealed his fate and accepted his future. Now, to Shelomith it looked as if he was floating off the ground, stark straight, with light pouring from the holes in his head.

To Ezrae however… He had somehow gone to a totally different place than he was just in. To him, he had teleported; and standing before him was an intimidating, yet beautiful Angel.

The Angel stood nearly 10 feet tall, and had 8 beautiful wings made of radiant light that came from its back. It had androgynous features, but more resembled the male figure; wearing a long flowing white robe.

Gold lined the hem of the cloak, and Ezrae could make out strange letters embroidered in the gold. He was scared, sure, but he also felt warm, and something in him told him that he was safe.

It was then, that the Angel spoke. "Ezrae, The Son of Saulus; who was The Son of Amitai, The Son of Matias; who was The Son of Malachi, The Son of Saya, who was The Son of Graham; The Son of Finneon, who was The Son of Asher; The Son of Zacharias, who was first Wielder of The Staff of Chronicles."

The Angel made a motion like he was opening a book in front of him, and as he did, a huge, shimmering golden book materialized in his hands, and opened itself. It rotated in his large hands so that it was legible from Ezrae's position, and he cautiously approached it.

As he did, a magical quill appeared floating next to it, and the Angel spoke again. "It is nice to meet you Ezrae. My name is Metatron, and I Am The Holy Scribe of The Lord, Yahweh. It's by my hand, that your forefathers were given the staff.

As I keep the chronicles of God's Word, God's Story, and God's Law; Your family has been tasked with being the scribes and chroniclers of humanity."

Ezrae, speechless, with his jaw on the floor, just shook his head while listening to the Angel speak.

"And now, it is your turn. You have walked in the steps of Fate, and The Staff… now, the last thing that remains, is to sign your name in the Book of Knowledge… Ezrae. I must warn you. This will be… rather uncomfortable, if you choose to accept your fate."

Ezrae's mind was racing. Lineage? Met Syrin? God? Tradition? Staff? What? What was happening?! He shook his head. "Why… me? I'm weak… I'm broken… I'm not worthy… I am not qualified to walk in my grandfather's shoes…"

The Angel smiled, and Ezrae could feel his divine warmth pouring over him… "This must be what the Love of God feels like…" He thought to himself. In response to him, Metatron said softly,

"Dear, Dear Ezrae. Yahweh rarely Calls the Qualified… No, instead, He Qualifies the Called. He blesses humanity, redeems the lost, gives purpose to bloodlines, and always calls those who are right for the job… Even if they themselves, don't realize it."

"Right... Like the stories of the Holy Men of the Torah that grandpa used to tell me all the time; Like Noah, Abraham, Isaac & Jacob."

Metatron nodded, saying, "Indeed. Much like Abraham and his descendants, your lineage was chosen. The first Wielder of the Staff, Zacharias, was the last remaining member of an ancient group known as "The Circle of Human Heritage," or simply, "The Circle."

Their job was to record and protect the ancient histories of this world. You see Ezrae, Lucifer seeks to destroy this world. One of the jobs of the Arch-Angels, is protecting humanity. We combat the threatening demons he creates, in all of their forms.

Because of us, the world stays physically intact… But it's because of people like you, that human nature remains protected. The Circle fought as hard as they could to do their job, and to protect the ancient stories of humanity.

The Enemy though, is strong. He turns the hearts of weak men, with false promises and lies. Lucifer is the ultimate deceiver.

Which is exactly what he did. He convinced the people of Earth to rise up against The Circle and destroy them, by feeding them lies. Lucifer spread misinformation, hatred, and greed, and convinced humanity that the Circle was a corrupt organization, hiding wealth, food, and riches, from the people of Earth…

Father Yahweh CHOSE Zacharias, and delivered him from destruction, so he could continue to protect the stories of history. In exchange, God gave him The Staff of Chronicles, and all of the blessings that came with it."

Ezrae was quiet, and contemplative. "I see…" His eyes traveled to the book in Metatron's hand. There, on the page in front of him were the names of his forefathers. Each of them was written in different handwriting, as each of them took on the Oath of Heritage.

Oath of Heritage… Wait… Grandpa Amitai had mentioned this once. Ezrae was young at the time, maybe 3 or 4, and his grandpa was singing him to sleep. He couldn't remember the song, other than the words "The Oath of Heritage."

Almost in response to that, he began to hear the song playing all around him. Startled, he looked around, as metatron spoke up again, "Be Not Afraid.

We are inside your mind, so if you recall things, we will experience them… so what do you say. Do you wish to be The Keeper? The Lord of Chronicles? And to carry on the work of your forefathers?"

Ezrae hesitated for only a second, before walking up to the ethereal book, grabbing the quill, and signing his name. "I would be honored." He said, and as he finished signing his name, he let out an agonizing cry.

His mind felt like it was going to explode, his eyes felt like they were trying to escape from his head, and it felt like his body was trying to tear itself apart, piece by piece.

He experienced the entirety of human history, mythology, and theoretical theologies in a span of about 10 seconds, as the knowledge was forced into his body. The entire time writhing, twitching, and screaming in pain.