Right. It could be that you come from a different world than the one I presided over. [ That's still unbearably surreal for him to think about, but it is a possibility. At least with Enoch there's a clear difference that he can remind himself of whenever things get confusing.
[ He hesitates slightly before answering Flynn's question, but it's more out of habit than anything else. This isn't exactly a secret anymore, after all. It wasn't really ever one in the first place. ]
The angelic form and voice is too much for most mortals to safely bear. In order to interact with humankind, we ask certain, special people to lend us their bodies so that we may act through them without the risk of harming others.
[ Castiel gestures to himself, or, more accurately, to the body he currently occupies. ]
This is Jimmy Novak. He was acting as my Vessel when we arrived here in Norfinbury, and now we... seem to be stuck together.
[That... may very well be and it comes with the uncomfortable realization that what this guy is telling him may be the truth. For his world, at least. But Flynn still can't bring himself to fully buy it because that would mean there is at least a chance angels could be real in his universe, too.
He's being a bit obtuse on purpose. It's a defense mechanism, really, because he should know better. Never mind there being actual judeo-christian artifacts at the Library, like the Holy Grail and Noah's freaking Ark, but.]
Hi, Jimmy. [He waves a little awkwardly at the screen. Really, what DO you say to that?]
So, okay, let's say I'm buying all this. Am I in trouble for knowing the Language of the Birds? Are you coming after me with a flaming sword or something?
No. There are more important things to worry about in this place. And even if there weren't, you may be out of my jurisdiction. For all I know it could be that that book was preserved in the world you came from just for you, or for whatever mission you serve.
[ It wouldn't be the strangest deviation from everything he's ever known that he's heard of in this place. ]
I just want to know what was in it? What survived those thousands of years?
Flynn chews the inside of his lip for a moment there, pondering the situation. It's pretty clear that after his rather disastrous introduction everyone can read up on him being more than just a regular librarian. Obviously the Language of the Bird thing is out in the open, too. And the guy is right, there are more important things at stake here and everyone seems to be more preoccupied with the task at hand.
Besides, he is actually curious how "Castiel" might react.]
It was filled with riddled instructions. It led me to the Spear of Destiny.
They... left the Spear of Destiny on Earth. [ Okay. Castiel's feelings on his own iteration of the Heavenly Sphere is admittedly a little bit mixed at this point, but this is just starting to sound like incompetence on their part. ]
Was there something you were meant to do with it? [ He's mentally going over every single prophecy he can think of that might be relevant. There are a lot of them. He has no idea which one, if any, Flynn might have found himself caught up in. ]
[And, because Cas seems to feel quite strongly about this,] No, I'm just guarding it. Making sure nobody else ever uses it. You know, make themselves all powerful, destroy the world, that kind of thing.
[He's had a bad day and making himself sound cool makes himself feel better. Is he doing it right? He's pointing to himself.] Good guy.
Well, it's good that someone's looking after it. [ The ratio of sarcasm to sincerity in that comment is entirely unclear, Castiel's affect being as deadpan as it is. ]
There were organizations that served similar purposes in the world I presided over. Does the name "Men of Letters" mean anything to you?
No, never heard of them. [But he frowns, because 'Men of Letters' could be an alternate translation of Librarian, could it not? Then again, there is only one Librarian at each given time.
A secret society of scholars who dedicated their lives to gathering knowledge of the supernatural, for the purposes of cataloging it as well as hiding it away from an unknowing public. At times they saw themselves as protectors of the world too, but they often caused just as much harm as they did good.
[ His tone isn't scolding here - he's not trying to impress any point on Flynn. To him it's just a statement of fact, and no more. ]
Heaven never paid them much attention until one of their number very nearly worked out how to rid demons of their corruption. We started watching them closely after that.
[That... sounds a lot like what the Library does, and Flynn shifts uneasily in his place. Except the last bit, because they are actually doing a great job. He thinks. No, he knows. Very different from these Lettermen, obviously.]
What's so bad about that? Getting rid of corruption, isn't that a good thing?
It's not bad, it's just something that we ourselves aren't capable of. We wanted to watch their progress.
[ Being able to cure demons and convert them back into human souls would have been revolutionary. It would have changed everything. ]
Unfortunately another project of theirs drew the attention of several high-ranking demons at around the same time. Everyone who knew the cure was wiped out, as were many of their families and a number of their unrelated friends.
Collateral damage has a tendency to follow organizations like theirs.
[And somewhat typical, because it's always the same story, isn't it? Battle the forces of evil and eventually your life gets turned into a depressing series of death and loss. At least Flynn managed to keep his family out of it. To a degree.
Abruptly:] Can you fly?
[Priorities. Maybe a distraction. But he really does want to know.]
There's only so far a man's intentions can take him.
[ It's one of the greatest tragedies of the world, if you ask Castiel. He's seen it play out too many times to count. ]
And no, not here. Normally I can, but... [ There's a brief flicker of light and the shadow of two broad, feathered wings appear silhouetted on the wall behind Castiel. They flap a few times, and the microphone picks up a rushing of air before they disappear again. ] Not here. This place has a way of sealing away any abilities it deems unnatural. Most of mine included.
[Flynn winces at the sudden display of... general creepiness, because this is creepy in the context of a) middle of the night, b) creepy eyes everywhere and c) this whole thing getting really hard not to buy into now, at least a little bit.]
That's unfortunate. [You can see it working behind his face.] Can you speak the Language of the Birds?
[ On some level Castiel is actually fairly pleased by the reaction. He's never been one for terrifying mortals with his presence like some of his siblings, but some degree of recognition for what he is is still appreciated.
When Flynn asks, he switches obligingly to the language in question. ]
Yes. All of us were required to learn it, along with every human language that followed. It's been some time since I last used it, though.
[Flynn listens, a look of wonder and eager focus on his face because he has only ever come across the language in writing. He recognizes most of it, as he's had theories on how to pronounce the words, but he still replays the message several times before he attempts to respond.]
I hear. Yes. Its head never thought life, by the river?
[... brb switching to writing.
It's similar to his conversations in Akkadian, stilted and bookish and very, very archaic. Some of the pre- and affixes don't make sense but overall, it's solid.]
The sounds are novel, it was the scripture I partook. Please voice the music of language, my ears long for it.
[Oh my God, he's real life, real time talking the Language of the Birds here, how cool is that? Why is there nobody to share and acknowledge just how amazing and cool this is? Flynn looks around but there's nothing except the rows and rows of Prophet's eyes.
Whatever. Flynn beckons to them. Talking the Language of the Birds here, with an Angel of the Lord, like, can you believe it??]
It is helpful. [He really hopes he reverts the inversion correctly, but he's got a good feeling about this.] It is loved. You speak words of truth. The loss is a deep abyss of tears and wailing.
Good. You speak it well. If you would like, I can try to teach you how it was spoken by the tower builders. [ Instead of just how it was written in the holy books. For all the wealth of knowledge within them, they are generally not the best place to start learning a language. ]
There is a small, undignified sound escaping Flynn, somewhere between a gasp and a laugh. Eyes widening his hands come up in an involuntary, agitated gesture.]
Yes? Yes! Yes, yes, this is the agreement and, and, uh [Quick, a word!] joy!
[ Flynn's sheer enthusiasm almost gets an actual smile out of Castiel. It doesn't quite, because human facial expressions are still something he doesn't have the best grasp on preforming himself just yet, but it's still pretty clear that he's pleased, at least.
[ He does switch back to English for the time being, though. ]
I'm not much of a teacher, but you're very good for having had to reconstruct the entire language by yourself. I think you'll mostly want to know more common words and grammar.
No. Apparently they do in... other Heavenly Spheres [ which is a concept Castiel sounds more than slightly confused and tentative about ] but where I came from we conversed spoke to one another in Enochian.
[ Castiel has to pause for a moment before he answers, considering how best to put it. ]
It's meant to be spoken with at least four voices and at frequencies that most humans aren't capable of withstanding. You might be able to understand it without suffering permanent damage [ he certainly seems like he might be special enough, after all - though on second thought so did Dean ] but I can't speak it properly here.
There is a drastically simplified version that some humans are able to use to invoke divine power, though. That sounds like - [ He clears his throat and recites a short phrase, one syllable at a time, drawn out and clearly enunciated like a chant. It sounds almost vaguely halfway like Hebrew, but also not very much like it at all. ]
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[ He hesitates slightly before answering Flynn's question, but it's more out of habit than anything else. This isn't exactly a secret anymore, after all. It wasn't really ever one in the first place. ]
The angelic form and voice is too much for most mortals to safely bear. In order to interact with humankind, we ask certain, special people to lend us their bodies so that we may act through them without the risk of harming others.
[ Castiel gestures to himself, or, more accurately, to the body he currently occupies. ]
This is Jimmy Novak. He was acting as my Vessel when we arrived here in Norfinbury, and now we... seem to be stuck together.
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He's being a bit obtuse on purpose. It's a defense mechanism, really, because he should know better. Never mind there being actual judeo-christian artifacts at the Library, like the Holy Grail and Noah's freaking Ark, but.]
Hi, Jimmy. [He waves a little awkwardly at the screen. Really, what DO you say to that?]
So, okay, let's say I'm buying all this. Am I in trouble for knowing the Language of the Birds? Are you coming after me with a flaming sword or something?
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[ It wouldn't be the strangest deviation from everything he's ever known that he's heard of in this place. ]
I just want to know what was in it? What survived those thousands of years?
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Flynn chews the inside of his lip for a moment there, pondering the situation. It's pretty clear that after his rather disastrous introduction everyone can read up on him being more than just a regular librarian. Obviously the Language of the Bird thing is out in the open, too. And the guy is right, there are more important things at stake here and everyone seems to be more preoccupied with the task at hand.
Besides, he is actually curious how "Castiel" might react.]
It was filled with riddled instructions. It led me to the Spear of Destiny.
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Was there something you were meant to do with it? [ He's mentally going over every single prophecy he can think of that might be relevant. There are a lot of them. He has no idea which one, if any, Flynn might have found himself caught up in. ]
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[And, because Cas seems to feel quite strongly about this,] No, I'm just guarding it. Making sure nobody else ever uses it. You know, make themselves all powerful, destroy the world, that kind of thing.
[He's had a bad day and making himself sound cool makes himself feel better. Is he doing it right? He's pointing to himself.] Good guy.
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There were organizations that served similar purposes in the world I presided over. Does the name "Men of Letters" mean anything to you?
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Still...]
What are they?
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[ His tone isn't scolding here - he's not trying to impress any point on Flynn. To him it's just a statement of fact, and no more. ]
Heaven never paid them much attention until one of their number very nearly worked out how to rid demons of their corruption. We started watching them closely after that.
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What's so bad about that? Getting rid of corruption, isn't that a good thing?
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[ Being able to cure demons and convert them back into human souls would have been revolutionary. It would have changed everything. ]
Unfortunately another project of theirs drew the attention of several high-ranking demons at around the same time. Everyone who knew the cure was wiped out, as were many of their families and a number of their unrelated friends.
Collateral damage has a tendency to follow organizations like theirs.
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[And somewhat typical, because it's always the same story, isn't it? Battle the forces of evil and eventually your life gets turned into a depressing series of death and loss. At least Flynn managed to keep his family out of it. To a degree.
Abruptly:] Can you fly?
[Priorities. Maybe a distraction. But he really does want to know.]
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[ It's one of the greatest tragedies of the world, if you ask Castiel. He's seen it play out too many times to count. ]
And no, not here. Normally I can, but... [ There's a brief flicker of light and the shadow of two broad, feathered wings appear silhouetted on the wall behind Castiel. They flap a few times, and the microphone picks up a rushing of air before they disappear again. ] Not here. This place has a way of sealing away any abilities it deems unnatural. Most of mine included.
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[Flynn winces at the sudden display of... general creepiness, because this is creepy in the context of a) middle of the night, b) creepy eyes everywhere and c) this whole thing getting really hard not to buy into now, at least a little bit.]
That's unfortunate. [You can see it working behind his face.] Can you speak the Language of the Birds?
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When Flynn asks, he switches obligingly to the language in question. ]
Yes. All of us were required to learn it, along with every human language that followed. It's been some time since I last used it, though.
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I hear. Yes. Its head never thought life, by the river?
[... brb switching to writing.
It's similar to his conversations in Akkadian, stilted and bookish and very, very archaic. Some of the pre- and affixes don't make sense but overall, it's solid.]
The sounds are novel, it was the scripture I partook. Please voice the music of language, my ears long for it.
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Is that helpful? It's a great tragedy when languages die out. Often they're not the only thing that's lost in the process.
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Whatever. Flynn beckons to them. Talking the Language of the Birds here, with an Angel of the Lord, like, can you believe it??]
It is helpful. [He really hopes he reverts the inversion correctly, but he's got a good feeling about this.] It is loved. You speak words of truth. The loss is a deep abyss of tears and wailing.
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There is a small, undignified sound escaping Flynn, somewhere between a gasp and a laugh. Eyes widening his hands come up in an involuntary, agitated gesture.]
Yes? Yes! Yes, yes, this is the agreement and, and, uh [Quick, a word!] joy!
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[ He does switch back to English for the time being, though. ]
I'm not much of a teacher, but you're very good for having had to reconstruct the entire language by yourself. I think you'll mostly want to know more common words and grammar.
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Do you guys use the language? Up, uh, in... [He gestures towards the ceiling.] Heaven?
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[He tilts his head curiously.] What does it sound like?
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It's meant to be spoken with at least four voices and at frequencies that most humans aren't capable of withstanding. You might be able to understand it without suffering permanent damage [ he certainly seems like he might be special enough, after all - though on second thought so did Dean ] but I can't speak it properly here.
There is a drastically simplified version that some humans are able to use to invoke divine power, though. That sounds like - [ He clears his throat and recites a short phrase, one syllable at a time, drawn out and clearly enunciated like a chant. It sounds almost vaguely halfway like Hebrew, but also not very much like it at all. ]
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