Canto XXX

Jake and Shiloh have made it past Satin and have made it to the last ring of hell. In this ring Jake and Shiloh meet the worst creatures imaginable, those who created evil itself, The Seven Deadly Sins. They venture in and find that the ring is split into seven separate sections, each with the worst sinners suffering at the hands of the Queens. The sinners in the separate sections are all punished differently and are the worst sinners of that one sin. In the center of the ring, they find the palace of The Angle of Death. To get out they must venture past the monsters, through the most evil section of the ring and finally into the Doors of Death to escape Hell. Vanity punishes her sinners by giving them a mirror they may never look away from. In this mirror the sinners see themselves as young and youthful, then they live out their darkest fears. When it is over the mirror shows them aged and it finally shatters.







My master led me into the last ring of Hell, the one that would complete my knowledge of sin. By this time I had seen fear itself, so my confidence was high, but as we entered the 10th ring, every step brought fear and coldness into my heart. The entrance was made up of two columns; each column held 4 crowns and each crown was a different color. There was blue, red, purple, yellow, pink, green, and fuchsia. The last color was black and that crown was the largest.

“Why is that crown larger than all the others?” I asked my master.

“Because that crown belongs to the master of all the others.” He replied.
Above the columns a sign read:
WE ARE THE QUEENS OF OLD
WE ARE THE DESTROYERS OF OUR CREATORS
WE ARE DEATHS SERVENTS
WE ARE ABOVE ALL EVIL
WE ARE THE SEVEN SISTERS
As we entered in the first and last line stayed with me. I asked my master
“Who are the queens of old?”
“They are the ones who were created by humans, but are completely immortal”
“How can that be possible and how are there seven?” I urged on.
“They were created on the inside of man and they transpired to be Queens; seven queens.” He answered.
Before I could ask my next question, we entered the ring. We were on the cliff and before us, down below, was the final ring of Hell. It was split perfectly into seven equal sections, and each section was wide at the base and moved into a tip towards the center. At each tip stood beautiful palaces, each different in their own way. I stood and looked at my master,
“These Sisters are The Seven Deadly sins aren’t they?” I croaked
“Yes” he whispered, “Wrath, Gluttony, Envy, Avarice, Lust, Sloth, and Vanity”
In the center of the ring stood a palace of pure black and darkness.
“What is in there?”
“There lies something older than the Sins themselves. It is the Sins master….Death.” He stated boldly.
As he said the name, fear shot through me. We pressed on.
“We will only need to enter one of the seven sections; the section many sinners fall under and is said to be the sin that leads to the others.” My master told me.
“Which is that?” I asked
“Vanity.”
I looked at him with worry.
As we entered her ring, the sinners seemed to be in Heaven rather than Hell. They all stood looking in mirrors. But as I looked closer, I realized what it was. The sinners would first look in the mirror and see themselves as being beautiful and powerful. Then the mirror would changed and show them being killed, tortured, drowning, and other horrible things.
“What’s happening?” I stuttered
“They are living their worst fears through the mirror.” He responded
I turned back to face them. As their fears ended, the mirror showed the sinners as being old, ugly, and desperate. Finally, as the sinners screamed in terror, the mirror would shatter, as though all the hideousness it reflected was too much. Then moments later, as though it were water, the mirrors would fill and harden back into glass so it could repeat the torture.
“What you are watching seems to happen in moments for you and I, but to the sinners, one cycle lasts a few hours. It lasts until the point that they would die from the fear if they were still alive.” My master said.
Then I noticed her. As beautiful as can be, but eyes filled with dread and fear. Her looks had not faded but seemed so meaningless now, before me stood Elizabeth Taylor.
“Can they speak to me?” I asked my master
“No” said a voice that was not of my master, but that of someone behind me.
As I turned, I saw the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She wore a dress that at first glance looked black, but as the light hit it, it glimmered and glistened a beautiful purple. She wore her long dark hair down and it had strands of purple in it with glitter that showed in the light. Atop her head, she wore a tiara made of diamonds with purple amethysts in cluster in the middle. In her hands she held a mirror matching the tiara.
“Your…Your Vanity.” I managed to spill out
“Yes I am, and welcome to you Jake. Come, let us get somewhere more comfortable.”
As we entered her palace, the inside was made completely of mirrors. Pictures and canvases hung down from the ceiling, all depicting a different personality trait of vanity. As we sat in her personal chambers we told her about all we had seen and learned on our travels. As we told the story, I could not help but stare at her in awe. Then my gaze was caught by something moving near Vanity’s hand. A beautiful peacock sat beside her as she stroked its long feathers.
“Well that is quite the trip Shiloh has taken you on. Now Shiloh I cannot help but discuss the seriousness of what you have done.” She said in a stern but elegant voice.
As she continually spoke to Shiloh, I heard her voice in my head.
“Welcome Jake of Florence, one who has seen the Devil. You have come far and my master wishes to see you, but before this, you must know something. My sisters and I will warn you now, if the ways of you and your people are not changed, our chains of imprisonment down here will be broken. We will be free to rule in the land above. We will destroy mankind and all it has created. We will once again become the queens we were, and no one will stop us. Only you can change the fate of the world.”
“What must I do” I spoke back in my head.
“You must make the people listen and change. Avarice’s chains are slowly breaking. She will soon be free.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I said, fear filling my heart.
“I am Vanity, I can never be chained. I am the sin that creates all other sins. I am everywhere always. But I am also the fairest of my sisters. I am the sin of truth. We did not choose to be evil, but we were created that way. Over time we have come to see the light while being imprisoned in this Hell, but it is our nature to be cruel and evil because we wore born that way. These chains have slowed our power and have helped us become aware of God and his power, but once we are unchained we will be one with the sins of the world. Our old selves will consume us, and we will be unable to feel God. So we agreed to send this warning with you. Tell Shiloh nothing. Tell only the people of the world and God of what we have done.”
“I will do as you say” I replied, promising in my heart.
She then got up and opened a secret door. Through the door we saw a garden.
“Through here is your way out. Speak to my master and pass through.”
As I passed she grabbed me. She kissed my forehead and spoke in my head for the last time.
“Good bye Jake, may the blessing of the 12 Apostils and God be with you. You are truly the bravest of your kind.”
“Good bye my lady.” I said.
As we walked, it seemed to be the most beautiful garden I had ever seen. The flowers where in full bloom; the grass and shrubs were green; the trees held ripe fruit; and a river of cool, clear water ran beside us.
“Where are we?” I asked
“We are in a part of the Garden of Eden, Gods holy garden.” My master replied.
“Why is it here?” I questioned.
“The Devil stole it from God and placed it in Hell so he could continue to see true beauty, but Death hid it from him by putting it behind the Queens palaces.” He responded.
Then we entered the last palace in Hell, Deaths home. As we entered, the palace was big but very open. The walls and columns were black but the air was fresh.
“Welcome” a voice echoing off the walls.
Then as I saw my master kneel, I looked up and saw him. A tall, muscular, darkened haired man. His wings were made of black feathers. His hair was long and tall. He was toned and his posture perfect. He was undoubtedly the most divine creature I had ever seen. He stuck his arms out to embrace me. I wanted to run until he touched me. It was not what I expected. His arms were gentle. His hold was tight and protective, like that of a mother to her child. His aroma was sweet and when I looked in his eyes, I saw all the stars of the night sky. Death was magnificent, beautiful, gentle, and full of Hope.
“You have had a long travel here Jake. You have seen many things on your journey and faced many dangers including Vanity, and yet here you stand.”
“Thank you” I managed to choke up.
“Ha-ha And now I suppose you want to move on from Hell?”
“If we can, I would like too” I responded
“I will show you the way out. Follow me.”
He moved elegantly. His steps were light and graceful. He stood tall and proud while being relaxed. He took us up the stairs to a room. When he opened the door there at the end of room was a tree.
“This is the tree of knowledge Jake” Death said.
As he touched the tree, its base split in two making and opening in the middle.
“This will lead you out of Hell into Purgatory. After that, you will find your way to heaven.”
“Thank you so much” I said to him.
Before I moved on, I knew I had to say what was on my mind.

“I have always feared Death. The idea of everything being black and dark frightened me. I imagined a man hooded and cloaked with the face of a skull. But now….now because I have seen you, I no longer fear you.”

“There is no reason to fear. Death is just another part of the whole plan God has in store. I am not only the Angel of Death, but the Angel of Hope as well. I am lucky enough that when people die, the first thing they see is not fear but hope. My duty is to bring hope to those who die, and to hold them as they walk to the light of God.” He replied.

“I don’t want to leave your comfort, I do not want this to be the end of my journey with you.” I told him.

“End?” He questioned, “This is not the end, we will see each other again and I will hold you as we walk together.”
As he gave me one last hug, we walked through the tree. As I turned to look back, Death was gone.

END

NOTES:
Vanity: Vanity is one of the Seven deadly sins. It is said Vanity is the door to all the other sins. Vanity is all about looks and herself so the sin of being vain is all about “you”.

Death: Death is the body stopping to function and the heart stopping. It is the ending of life. The Angel of Death is said to be an angel that comes to you when you die to take your soul to the afterlife.

Mirror: Each sin has a specific weapon or item they hold. Vanity was always said to hold the mirror.

Peacock: The peacock is known as Vanity’s pet because a peacock is beautiful, full of itself, and very hard to tame.

Seven Deadly Sins: The seven deadly sins are Wrath, Sloth, Vanity, Avarice, Gluttony, Lust, and Envy. They are most often represented by women.

Tree of Knowledge: The tree of knowledge of good and evil was the tree Adam and Eve ate from that got them casted out of the Garden of Eden.

The Garden of Eden: The garden of Eden is the garden of God and is where man kind was cast out from because Adam and Eve at from the tree of Knowledge.