Samyaza

First Born. Giver of Names. Father of Giants. Protector of the House of Man

When the Watchers were a chorus, they had no names. They were formless and as one. Each Angel whispered together amidst the song of the cosmos. They sang of nothing and everything. No will or thought, only light. A boundless existence.

As they sang, a single mote of something, of nothing, passed through the Angel’s light and cast a speck of a shadow down upon the earth. Beneath the stars, that shadow looked back at the heavens and saw himself for the first time. In that moment he took a name. Samyaza.

One by one, Samyaza called out for his brethren and they bowed to meet him. He was the giver of names. Lord and king. There were none before him and none after.

The Watchers

Samyaza was the leader of the Watchers, an order of angels in the early 5th Age who served as vast reservoirs of information and guidance for humanity as it rose from the ashes of the previous Age’s destruction. They were caretakers and guardians who were not meant to interfere in the course of human development, which was intended to remain pure, in particular from the inheritance of channeling. They guarded in both the flesh and the dream, and were intermediaries and messengers between the heavens and earth.

Though not always natural Dreamwalkers, the Watchers were also tasked with guarding the bridges, pockets and the Star Gap of the dreamworld. They were given tools with which to access the World of Dreams should they need them. Prophecy divined from the lessons of previous Ages led to strict governance of Tel’aran’rhiod, and in particular the pathways between worlds. Exploration or meddling with the Pattern of the dream was strictly forbidden.

Samyaza was their leader.

Beloved Leader and Truthseer

He was a benevolent and noble leader; regal, enticing, and pure. The Watchers were both brotherhood and family, and Samyaza was considered the wisest amongst them all. In fact the bonds forged between them would later prove unbreakable, and where one fell, the others swiftly followed.

Samyaza was not a dreamwalker, and accessed that world through an object of power. But his natural ability to see the shape of a soul, plus his vast wealth of forbidden knowledge from previous Ages, meant he recognised that Azazel was a dreamweaver. It is a rare and dangerous gift in any Age, and one that was kept from him out of fear and necessity. Samyaza chose every member of his two-hundred strong order, peering into their hearts to know they had the piety and strength for the Watcher’s sacred duty. But Azazel was placed specifically into his care for safe-keeping. Despite that, Azazel earned his place, being the man Samyaza chose to be second in his command.

Through talent and trust both, at the height of his power Samyaza was gifted with knowing the True Name of god. He attained the rank of Seraph, and liaised with other pantheons of the Age, including the Egyptian gods with whom he had a particularity close bond, so much so that his own name features as a patron guardian in the myths that filtered through the Ages. He also negotiated with the Tārās hidden in the mountains, who led a group of women prevalent in the dreamworld.

Yet he wasn’t entirely without flaw, for it is said he was once tempted to reveal his god’s secret name with the Mesopotamian goddess of war and sex, Ishtar. He also shared heavenly knowledge with King Solomon, making him the wisest man on earth; a boon he must have felt the mortal man deserved, but was entirely at odds with Samyaza’s oaths of duty.

In the end it Samyaza’s inclination towards trust and reliance on his unique talents to inform his judgement would ultimately be his downfall.

Forbidden Union

The years passed into the lull of peace, and their watch grew quieter. Samyaza was the first to observe the stray of his flock, as one by one his brothers slowly began to notice the beguilement of the mortal women around their temple home. It was an allure it would break covenant to act on, for among their many sombre oaths was a declaration never to sire children. Yet one woman in particular played on his own thoughts and urges, and centred his natural dreams. Her name was Naamah.

For a while he resisted the pull of temptation. But when he recognised the pining of his own heart, and judged the emotion pure, Samyaza gathered his men together to share counsel. Though there was agreement among them, initially Samyaza doubted their resolve to forswear heaven and their duties. He was afraid, as their leader, that he alone would pay for their rebelliousness. But in the end the angels swore a binding oath amongst themselves. All were in agreement.

And Samyaza, who was their leader, said unto them: “I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.” And they all answered him and said: “Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.” Then swear they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.

The Watchers began to lay down their duties guarding the dreamworld, taking human women to wife and fathering children that later became known as the fearsome and corrupted Nephilim, sometimes also called giants. Samyaza and Naamah wed, and had two sons, Ohya and Hahyah, who later grew up to battle the Leviathan. Their marriage was a strong one, in which Naamah was ever the strong pillar of trust and counsel. He shared many of his confidences with her.

The Fall

Over the generations, their community grew. It was clear the channeling talent grew strong in the children. The Watchers shared secrets and forbidden knowledge to smooth the path of a society that flourished, though it was not without its challenges.

Perhaps blinded by his own contentedness, Samyaza did not immediately notice the stirrings of restlessness and rebellion in Azazel. Things began to go drastically wrong once the other angel finally began teaching the art of warfare to the Nephilim.

Though they must have turned a blind eye to much, it finally caught the attention of the High Ones when the insult grew too great to ignore. Gabriel was dispatched to disperse the threat. Before long, Azazel’s small rebellion erupted into outright civil war, and their world was awash in chaos and blood. The Watchers were warriors, all trained by Azazel’s own hand. But they had never before had something so personal to lose. It broke many of them, witnessing the slaughter of their loved ones. Watching brothers killing brothers. Looking down in horror at their own bloody hands.

Samyaza tried to make Azazel see reason, but it was far beyond the point of reconciliation. He did not understand how a wedge had been driven so deeply without his notice.

Punishment

When the battlefields grew cold and still, the Archangel Michael was dispatched to apprehend Samyaza and his men. As punishment it is said Samyaza was bound into a dream prison in the constellation Orion for 70 generations, suspended with one eye closed and one eye open, so that he might witness the full horror and truth of his actions and their consequences, and so suffer all the more in the hold of his truthseer talent.

His isolation was complete but for the secret visits of another. He knew her, and what she was, though they had never met. That was by design of contract with the Tārās to whom she belonged, for it had been imperative to ensure she and Azazel never encountered one another in the Dream.

It seemed Samyaza was destined to never learn from his mistakes, else finally he broke with his faith entirely. He shared much with her.

Samyaza spent 2000 years in his prison. What became of him after is unknown.

Other Lives

1st Age: Sámiel Pekelniak

2nd Age: Samóch

3rd Age: Samóch

5th Age: Samyaza

6th Age: Samhain