Conclave of Shangri La

"My brothers and I had never been so close to civil war as we were at the Conclave in Shangri La. Until we began an actual civil war, of course."

-Samael, Seraph of the Fourteenth Angelic Legion

The Conclave of Shangri La was a gathering of Ynoch and his Seraphim sons which took place in the 146th year of the Bronze Age. The Conclave came about as a result of the war crimes committed by the Seraphim, Mephiston and Abaddon, during their conquest of the Deva Pantheon. Bael, who had been called in to reinforce them, sought aid from his brother Azazel in censuring their brothers for the actions they had committed, and Azazel used his influence to call for a meeting where Ynoch and all his sons would stand in judgement of their actions and here the testimony of their victims. The Conclave ended with the ruling that the Seraphim were free to conduct warfare with their legions as they saw fit, and saw an overall increase in the level of brutality of the Angelic Conquests.

Instigating Events
Several decades into the Angelic Conquest, the Seraphim of the Seventh and Twelfth Legions, Abaddon and Mephiston, joined their forces in a campaign to subjugate the Devas, the Hindu Pantheon. Faced with particularly sturdy opposition, the two brothers opted to conduct a harsher form of warfare, partially inspired by the Massacre of Krasivya Mephiston had witnessed years earlier, committed by their brother Asmodeus. The two brothers began by conducting orders of battle without regard for civilian casualties, launching attacks and bombardments that resulted in mass civilian deaths. As losses to their legions mounted, the brutality increased, until eventually the two brothers began torturing enemy gods and massacring entire cities. Still, with the casualties they had suffered, the two found it necessary to reach out to their nearest brother legion: The Thirteenth, to Bael and his War Sages.

Bael came to their aid, but was horrified by the methods they employed, refusing to allow his legion to participate in the slaughters they perpetuated. The worst of these came near the end of the campaign, during what would later be known as the Atrocity of Kyrat. The remaining Devas had gathered most of their surviving strength in their capitol realm of Kyrat, while Shiva and his son Ganesh were amassing the last of the troops available as reinforcements.

The battle that followed set the stage for a new, more vile era of the Angelic Conquest, as the entire populace of the realm was slaughtered almost wholesale, the streets of its cities stained with gore and its rivers drenched with blood. The gods present were tortured, their agony psychically broadcast and recorded by order of Mephiston. Only the intervention of Bael and his War Sages saved a small fraction of the populace, but none of the enemy gods were spared. Shiva and Ganesh were surrounded and forced to parlay, and the mighty God of Destruction is said to have drawn his sword, tears streaming down his when shown visions of the torture wreaked upon his wife Parvati and their other allies, but when threatened with the same fate befalling his son Ganesh, he fell to his knees and begged for mercy, surrendering unconditionally.

A terrible argument broke out between Bael and his brothers, and the Loreseeker denounced the two of them as barbaric savages, just as brutal as the heretic gods they were fighting to depose. Abaddon scorned Bael for his weakness, angrily shouting that they did what needed to be done in the name of their father's Dream, while Mephiston logically explained the effectiveness of their tactics. Bael would have none of it, demanding custody of the captured gods. Moved by unspoken inner guilt, the Two Butchers gave it to him, and the Thirteenth departed forthwith, as Bael sought out a brother he trusted to help him bring their monstrous siblings to justice: Azazel the Evenstar, Lord of the Heartseekers.

The Conclave
Upon being informed by Bael of the Atrocity of Kyrat and the other abominations perpetrated by the Two Butchers, Azazel was quick to send out envoys to the rest of the Seraphim, calling upon them to help him seek justice for the victims. Azazel himself sought out their father as he labored upon a new World Engine, where he petitioned his father to grant him leave to organize a council that would judge Abaddon and Mephiston for their actions. Moved by his son's words, Ynoch went so far as to come himself to oversee the proceedings, and commanded all his sons to take leave of their campaigns in order to resolve the grave matter set before them.

A Rough Beginning
The Conclave that began was held at Shangri La, the last undespoiled realm of the Devas, where Shiva had surrendered to the Two Butchers. The proceedings lasted three days, whilst Ynoch and the Seraphim sat in judgement of their brothers. Bael and Azazel called forth witness after witness to describe the horror that had been perpetrated. As the mortals tearfully recounted the butchery that had befallen their home (which the Seventh Legion, the Sinreapers, were primarily responsible for), many of the Seraphim broke out into angry shouting as they denounced the atrocities that had taken place. Gabriel, usually the most calm and amiable of all the brothers, was driven to such rage that he teleported to Abaddon's side and struck him a blow which knocked out several of his teeth. A fight broke out as Mephiston rose to Abaddon's defense, telepathically stunning Gabriel, to in turn be slammed into the ground as Uriel came to Gabriel's aid, only to be tackled from behind by Samael. As more prepared to intervene, Ynoch forcefully separated the combatants, berating them all for acting like children and commanding them to cease their squabbling. Adjourning the meeting until the next day. Notably, Lucifer, one of the foremost forces of authority among his brothers, had remained silent on the matters of his brother's crimes, only speaking when attempting to halt the brawl.

Brothers Divided
The night after the first day say the Seraphim each confined to separate residences by Ynoch's decree. Michael and Raphael patrolled the grounds at their father's command to ensure no more quarrels broke out, while Gadreel was tasked with monitoring for telepathic chatter. The next day, the proceedings resumed, and interviews were conducted with the gods who had been subjected to the tortures of Mephiston, which took the entire day, largely due to the trauma the heretic gods had suffered in their treatment.

The following day was given over to the debate over whether Mephiston and Abaddon should be punished for their deeds, or if their behavior should be tolerated as part of the doctrine of the Angelic Legions. First to take the floor, shouldering his way forward, was Uriel. Though Raphael moved to block him, a gesture from Ynoch allowed Uriel to pass. Once he had assumed command of the stage, Uriel scornfully denounced the actions of Abaddon and Mephiston, naming them cowards without honor, better suited to murdering mortal children than fighting gods. At the insult, Abaddon bristled and made to advance on his brother, only to be restrained by Raziel and Samael.

After Ynoch angrily commanded him to contain himself, Abaddon quieted, while Mephiston took the stage in their name, standing opposite Uriel. He began by pointing out the fact that on his first deployment alongside Lucifer, Uriel had annihilated the Shen pantheon. Uriel angrily shouted that he and Lucifer had only destroyed the gods, who were tyrannical and oppressive, and had not harmed the mortals, as Asmodeus held him back. Ynoch then decreed that the next one who made an attempt at violence would be bound in chains, before allowing Mephiston to continue. The Lord of the Twelfth then calmly explained that the actions he and Abaddon had taken, while highly unpleasant and seemingly brutal, had in the long run been a mercy, due to the complete surrender by Shiva and his forces. Furthermore, when word of their actions reached the next enemy pantheon, the probability of capitulation when faced with the Seventh or Twelfth Legions would be increased. In his view, it was better that some should suffer now so that more could be spared later.

Mephiston yielded the floor to Gabriel, who, while being noted for being a fast talker, instead made a terse, short speech. Addressing his brothers Abaddon and Mephiston, Gabriel angrily stated "What you did was evil. And you both know it." Gabriel's words, coming from a brother who was universally liked, had a profound effect, and for a moment, it seemed as though they might repent of their actions.

But then Asmodeus took the stage. He recounted his own actions years ago, and the Butchery of Krasivya. He had committed that crime out of anger and passion, and had been forgiven for it. Mephiston, he pointed out, had been present and denounced his actions, but had forgiven him for taking them. He in turn would forgive his brothers for what they had done to the Devas, as their deeds had been done with a purpose. As such, he would forgive them, and urged the others to do the same. With his words, the resolve of the Two Butchers stiffened, and others felt sure enough to declare their support.

Samael stepped forth to declare that casualties were a fact of war, and that no number of them was too high in order to bring about the Dream. Raphael stated his agreement with Samael, and added that as those killed had at the time been subjects of an unlawful godly rule, they had been heretics, and as such, had no right to any of Ynoch's protections. One of the most notable of the supporters was Michael, Firstborn of Ynoch, who argued that whilst there would be a time when ethics and morality would be the law of Creation, in order to bring about that reality, ruthlessness was a necessity. Azrael, known for his preferred tactics of achieving maximum results with minimal expenditures of resources and lives, shocked them all by siding with those in support of the Butchers, explaining that while he had initially been opposed to their actions on account of the destruction wreaked, he had been convinced of the utility of their strategies.

Yet the opposition remained staunch as well. After the storm of support for the violence, Raziel took the stage. He reminded his father and brothers that he too, had been present for the Butchery of Krasivya, and of the toll Asmodeus's brutal tactics in the early stages of the Beznadi Campaign had damaged the realms to such an extent that it had taken extensive reconstruction of them by his legion, and years for the mortals to repopulate. Observing that logic and pragmatism were being used as support for the Butchers, he argued that the devastation caused by their actions dramatically increased the cost in time and resources needed to bring conquered worlds up to the standards of the Dream, which largely drained the resources from legions such as his own, which often were tasked with overseeing such improvements, as well as delaying the rate at which such worlds would be able to supply resources and fresh recruits for the legions. Metatron piggybacked off Raziel's arguments, stating that their purpose was to leave the realms they conquered better than when they had found them, and not as desolate ruins. Gadreel followed, and attempted to persuade his brothers that rather than considering proportionate deaths, they ought to think of the total number killed, and that the death toll from the actions of the Butchers were far too high. Bael recounted the destruction that he had witnessed, once again sharing the memories of terror he had gathered from the survivors.

Finally, when only Azazel and Lucifer still needed to speak their peace, Azazel offered Lucifer the chance to make his arguments, though it was clear he was confident that the Lord of the Second would side with him. The Lightbringer responded by telling Azazel to take the floor, and that he would state his case when he was done. Azazel accepted Lucifer's offer, sweeping in to a grandiose speech which brought forth the idealism and morals that drove the Dream forth. Such acts of barbarism were not merely monstrous in their own right, but moreover, perpetrating them would liken the noble Ynochim to the depraved and tyrannical false gods who they sought to depose. To act as such was not only evil, but also beneath them.

Then Lucifer at last spoke, and Azazel yielded the floor to him with a flourish. The crowd had been swayed by his words, it was clear, and it seemed to all that Lucifer would be the final stroke which ended such acts of brutality once and for all. The Lightbringer began by stating that he was opposed to such acts of violence, and that as long as he lived, his own legion would not take part in such, nor tolerate it from any brother legion who presumed to fight beside them. And yet, he said, it was not his place to tell his fellow Seraphim how to command. Their father had each given them a legion of their own, and it was the Seraph of that legion who would decide how it conducted war. And with the word of Ynoch's most beloved son, it was decided that the two Butchers would escape punishment.

The Aftermath
Following the Conclave of Shangri La, a great degree of resentment had built up between Ynoch's sons. In defense of the brutal acts against the Devas, and of the rights of the Seraphim to command as they chose, were Abaddon, Mephiston, Raphael, Samael, Asmodeus, Michael, Azrael, and reluctantly, Lucifer. Against it were Azazel, Bael, Gabriel, Raziel, Gadreel, Metatron, and Uriel. Rifts were opened by this opposition, and not all of them fully healed. Many brother legions from this point onwards would refuse to fight alongside one another.

Having taken into account the arguments of Raziel, Ynoch also decreed that henceforth, the realms conquered by the Angelic Legion would be subject to the rule and law of the legion who conquered them, instead of all realms being subjected to one universal rule, which squandered the resources of the legions more known for building and slowed the progress of those that might otherwise be allowed to rapidly move on. The realms already conquered would have their historical records examined, and rule of them would be given unto the Seraph who had had the greatest hand in conquering them.

Lastly were two seemingly minor trivialities, that would one day grow to become two of the greatest symbols of fear within the history of Creation. After the Conclave, Lucifer sought an audience with his brothers Abaddon and Mephiston. Though the two thanked him for his support, Lucifer refused to hear their gratitudes, telling them both that they had disappointed him gravely. Then, he declared that the names that their legions now bore were unworthy of the purposes that the pair clearly intended them for. The Seventh, previously known as the Sinreapers, for their habit of destroying sinful and tyrannical heretic gods, should be named instead the Bloodthirsters, for Abaddon had shown that he thirsted more for blood than punishment against despots. Mephiston's Twelfth, the Just Wardens, as they obviously intended to be masters of terror and fear rather than bringers of order and justice, should call themselves the Dreadbringers. Though shocked and angered at their brother's consternation, the two accepted his rebuke, and their legions took new names. Names that one day would be synonymous with terror throughout the cosmos.