That was true, but I was also pretty skeptical. It should not be possible to just skip 10 levels and be okay. I remembered the talk about Devils. I took the time to fill out of my professions. For my surgical specializations, I chose the fields of obstetrics and gynecology for my first one. The second was ophthalmology. I wanted to be able to care for pregnant women and deliver babies. I also was interested in the eyes. I wanted to help people with eye problems as well. I was also now a mythic smith. I could make weapons or jewelry that would be extremely valuable and powerful. I then put a full level into Bow and Spear. I put my hands in the customary hand shake where we drag our middle fingers across our palms. We all took the gifts with a polite smile. "We will leave immediately, Principality Arariel. It was a pleasure to meet you." I said before walking to the door. We left immediately like we said we would. We did not stop along the way back to Avalav. It only took a couple of days. We spent time cloud watching and speaking with nicer traveling shepherds with their flocks.
When we got to Avalav, the first thing we did was go to our chapel to find Archangel Ophiel. When we gave him the lilies, he smiled. "Did I not tell you that he was kind deep down? I hope he was not too off putting." he said. If anything, I liked him quite a lot after granting us so much power. I showed him the pass I received. "How do we take the test? He gave us some passes." I said. He looked at them in surprise. "Well, you would normally go to the cathedral. Principalities determine the advancement of the lower orders. Any Principality can administer the test, so I'm confused as to why he did not administer the exam for you." I could guess that he really was being a careful patron to get us out of harm's way as soon as possible. I shrugged and said that he thought we should return here. Thinking back on it Principality Arariel had his scepter in his hand, but not his crown. I was wondering what that could mean. I kept it to myself. Ophiel nervously told us to go to the cathedral to get our exam. We nodded and left the chapel. "Who knew we would be Archangels so soon?" Mydaiel whistled.
I agreed that it was moving fast. "I never would have expected someone who only barely started his profession would get this far." Nanael added. I pulled them all into a close huddle. "Nanael. Mydaiel. Aralim. I believe in you guys. You are really smart and charming in your own ways. I don't think you can fail if you do your honest best. I'm happy we can do this all together though." I noticed Mydaiel and Aralim's cheeks flush with ichor. I guessed it was embarrassing to be praised as the broke from the huddle soon after. Nanael was fine with it. We walked into the cathedral and found the first Principality we could. I had seen him before. She was Principality Karlel. Not only was she a notable in the menu, but was very popular with the souls for her beauty and wisdom. When we showed her the passes, she looked confused. "I'm sorry, but where did you get these exam passes?" We looked at her with just as much confusion. "Don't be alarmed. I am not accusing you of theft. We were told by the Dominions not to pass out the passes for the moment." she said after she realized how it sounded.
She sighed and said "There are demons afoot in some of the world that pray here. It would be very dangerous to send four angels down. You might be killed or worse." "What's worse than being killed?" I asked. He gave me a thousand yard stare. "Being defiled or falling from grace." she said. The others gasped and clutched at their hearts at the very thought. I guess that would be a major concern for an angel. I was not concerned. "I'm pretty sure that a group of four can handle it." She put a finger to her lips as she walked off. We followed her downstairs and found a portal. Keeping her voice down, she said "Under normal circumstances, it can be said that the exam is the most important task you will undertake if you don't aspire to or are called to the second order or higher. The exam is to take a human guise and guard a human from birth to death. If you can keep him safe from evil and guide him to heaven you pass. If he ends up in purgatory, you may try up to two times more. If he his taken by evil or falls to hell, you fail and will be barred from taking the exam again."
Hearing that, I stepped forward. "I will take the exam." Principality Karlel smiled and said "Very brave. Will anyone join you?" Mydaiel and Aralim also took a step. Nanael took a bit longer before doing so as well. "Like I said, it is dangerous. I will do you a favor and send you to small village. Luckily, there are triplets being born. Dabriel, Mydaiel and Aralim will be their guardians. There is a neighboring village that has a woman in labor. I'll send you there." She chanted and the entire room turned white and fizzled from our sight. When I could see anything, I saw a woman with three babies on her bed. I was in the body of a four year old. Mydaiel and Aralim were next to me and we all had black hair and dark gray eyes. She named the children Wen, Lin and Yong. I felt a distinct pull on my heart when I heard the name Lin. He must have been the one I needed to guard. Mydaiel was assigned to Wen and Aralim had Yong. We watched the mother try her best to nurse the children. We were dicovered by the midwife and the father. We were in the window after all. We left them alone.
