The Prologue to my next book, The Tragedy Chronicles.

If you are interested in a ordering a signed papperback copy of the book before it is released and the price goes up go to the following link;

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=WZ53VLSLPWLGC

Click here

The continual crusade between good and evil has existed since the beginning of time in both the spirit and mortal worlds. In the forefront of these battles are the Angels and Takers who constantly collide in their zeal to collect the souls of the departed.

Their purpose is to guide the souls of the recently departed to one of three destinies. The blessed ones seamlessly enter a new host: a babe receiving the first breath of life. This is the journey that most souls take. They are the learners, reincarnated until they have reached spiritual fulfillment. The second, and most exceptional group, ascend to the heavens where they join the Almighty and those who have gone before them. Finally, the souls that cannot be saved are left to wander the spirit world until collected by a Taker and incorporated into Lucifer’s army.

In the beginning, good easily triumphed over evil. Through the centuries, however, that balance has been threatened, causing certain rules to be put in place in order to control the growth and advancement of Lucifer’s followers. The first, and most important of these rules, prohibits Takers from collecting any souls unless it’s within the first hour of a given day. Between midnight and 1:00am, Takers may seize any soul wandering in the spirit world, unless an Angel gets to it first and whisks it away. The second rule prevents any Angel or Taker from causing the death of a mortal, either directly or indirectly. The final rule prohibits any Taker or Angel from physically appearing before a mortal, which might influence their beliefs, thus causing a vast imbalance on how mortals perceive life after death.

Unfortunately, there aren’t enough Angels to prevent the abduction of mortal souls who have passed on during any given hour before midnight. Rare as it might be, some good souls are lost to the dark Takers. However, while the Takers outnumber the Angels by a significant margin, the elder Angels are the more powerful of the two and can easily, and permanently, dispel a Taker. Because of this, many stolen souls are recovered during the midnight hour.

Elder Angels are easily identified by their large, beautiful wings. After having served in Heaven for however long God deems fit, souls are promoted to status of Angel. Angels live forever, unless they are defeated by a Taker or vanquished for deviating from their responsibilities.

Most Takers are wingless and cannot move as swiftly from one location to another. They develop their wings over time with the gaining of strength from gathering souls. Their services are limited to three to five hundred years before they are vanquished because they either broke a rule and an Angel unleashed justice upon them or became too cocky and were subject to the wrath of Lucifer. In the order of the spirit world Takers are submissive to Angels, being unable to interfere with the souls that have been claimed by them. For this reason, Takers seek obscurity from those souls, thus avoiding any confrontation that may result in their demise. Because of who they serve, Takers are known for their misdeeds, which eventually lead to their permanent removal of service.

It should be noted that animals are also part of the Kingdom of God, and their souls are also part of the harvesting. Gathering of all souls, animal and mortal, brings strength to both Angels and Takers. However, Angels tend mostly to the protection of human souls, leaving animals open for claim by Takers. And since Angels are often too busy to notice the welfare of animal lives, it occasionally happens that a Taker intentionally causes their deaths.

No matter how strong an Angel or Taker becomes he is subject to the hierarchy within the spirit world. When either a Taker or an Angel is vanquished from existence, it is felt by all: an instant jolt that sends shockwaves throughout the spectral world.

Angels watch over one another as well as the Takers, ensuring the balance between good and evil remains. For thousands of years the balance endured—until now.

This is the story of a Taker who kept below the radar of the Angels, who slipped in and out of the overseers’ views for over a thousand years. Finally surfacing, she has become the most powerful Taker of them all. Her disdain for all living things, along with her callous disregard of all rules, has been brought to the attention of the elder Angels. Hopefully it isn’t too late.

Her name is Tragedy, and these are her chronicles.