Fall of Angels by L. E. Modesitt
Part I - THE FALL
I
"THERE WERE ANGELS in Heaven in those days, and there were demons, and the demons were the creators and the creation of chaos...
"In that distant battle between the fires of the demons and the ice lances of the angels, the very skies twisted in upon themselves, and the angels, who came from cold Heaven, were cast down and strewn across the stars.
"Those angels, the first and last from far Heaven, when they found the world, knew not where they were, nor could they see even the stars from whence they had come. And they descended unto the Roof of the World.
"There they built the Citadel of the Winds, the tower called Black, with those chained lightnings yet they had retained, carving unto themselves a high refuge and a reminder of their past.
"So as they had come, so earlier had come those from the lands and heritage of the demons, and those were men who believed not that women should wear blades nor speak their minds and thoughts.
"In the time of that first summer came armsmen, inspired by the demons, and there were battles across the Roof of the World, and blood ...
"Thus continued the conflict between order and chaos, between those who would force order and those who would not, and between those who followed the blade and those who followed the spirit.
"Of the great ones were the angel Ryba, Nylan of the forge of order and the fires of Heaven, Saryn of the dark blades of death, and Ayrlyn of the songs. ..."
Book of Ayrlyn
Section I
[Restricted Text]