Meta:The Power Players: A tour by Master Vampire Carlos Rivera

The Power Players: A tour by Master Vampire Carlos Rivera

I'ma give it to you straight, no chaser, from the perspective of a man who's actually been to Hell and back. When you die, the soul can either ascend or descend. The six realms of darkness mirror the six realms of Light, with the seventh hosting the power source of all evil, the Unnamed One; just like going in the opposite direction, you've got seventh Heaven, and we know who's got that on lock. Bottom line is, sins create soul weight, dragging it down. But you've still got a shot to get your act together. Hope, faith, love, forgiveness, a serious prayer for redemption ...all of that gives a soul a chance. But there's a serious battle going on between the Light and The Dark because neither side wants to lose a soul.

The Neteru

(Ancient Egyptian or Kemetian translation: "God's divine powers latent within humans . . . divine ways.")

Also known as the vampire hunter or the vampire huntress (depending on the sex when born), the Neteru is omnivoyant (has all six extrasensory capacities) and has natural immunity to a demonic or vampire bite. A Neteru is only created once every thousand years, and my baby, Damali Richards is the only one to date to span two millennia—the Millennium Neteru. She's fierce and, even I came to find out, not a woman to easily mess with.

Character:

• Damali Richards, aka the Millennium Neteru, aka the Vampire Huntress

The Covenant

Nobody can top these cats. Twelve, holy, seasoned brothers from the original twelve tribes of the land, from every corner of the earth, representing all faiths. They are called to keep vigil in wait for the coming of the Neteru—the huntress or hunter. They've been standing watch from the beginning of time, and in this era a Neteru has come—my baby, who spans two millennia . . .and her womb can host either good or evil. But the choice is ultimately hers.

Characters:

• Father Patrick
• Asula
• Monk Lin
• Father Lopez

The Guardians

The Guardians are family—Damali's family and therefore mine. Their divine mission is to protect the Neteru. But you could never describe them them as ordinary. They're an elite fighting force of spiritual warriors that even the demons in Hell are scared of. Their job is to protect the Neteru and drop science.

Tactical Guardian Sensors

Tactical Guardian Sensors feel the spiritual danger and are sensitive to the levels one and two of The Dark Realms—where ether-based manifestations live.

Characters:

• Nafes Shabazz, aka Shabazz
• Joseph Leung, aka J.L.
• Daniel Weinstein, aka Dan

Olfactory Guardian Sensors

Olfactory Guardian Sensors smell and taste when danger is about to knock at the door. They're especially sensitive to entities that trail sulfur—mainly those cats down in levels three, four, and five of The Dark Reams. These are the most coveted Tracker Guardians.

Characters:

• Jacob Rider, aka Rider, aka The Nose
• Jose Ciponte, aka Wizard

Audio Guardian Sensors

Audio Guardian Sensors hear the whispers of spirits and are highly tuned in to the slightest sound coming from were creatures from level five; they can hear vampires on Level Six roll up on you smooth, almost silently.

Character:

• Michael Roberts, aka Big Mike

Seer Guardian Sensors

Seer Guardian Sensors see between worlds with their third eye and are invaluable to any Guardian team. They are the "eyes" of the group; they can get into your head, into your dreams and consciousness through serious telepathy. These are the most sensitive of all Guardians.

Characters:

• Marlene Stone

Rings of Grace Within the Realms of Light

When I went to Ethiopia and peeped the Ark of the Covenant (check out The Forbidden), I'ma tell you what they told and showed me—word for word.

Ring One:

This is where souls go when they "cross over" and become Ancestors. These are helpful spirits that have a familial bond to the living. They guide and help us until we're strong enough (after mourning) for them to leave us and ascend further. Sometimes the grief of the living just won't let an ancestral soul go until the living can release their "life-tie." But there is no time in the Rings of Light and the ancestors can be very patient with us. Guardian Angels also help the Ancestors and the living members of their families. Once they accept the loss, the soul can journey upward, higher to Ring Two.

Ring Two:

This is where generations have passed and ancestral spirits become stronger, gain more focus, wisdom, and knowledge to prepare for their further ascension lessons after they've helped others close to the edges of transition. They can reach back and help the living in their soul group (or the "living soul") through dreams and signs, but without the heavy feelings of unfinished business.

Ring Three:

This is where all types of creative vibes are kicked off. Angelic impart wisdom to make human existence better through art, music, science, medicine, architecture, design, technology, et cetera. In this ring, they can pass on inherent gifts to help those in their "living soul" group. They can also acquire new gifts to help humanity upon rebirth.

Ring Four:

This is the Host Ring to the Ancestral Carriers of Prayers. These light beings bring up the intercessions and answer them with the Guardian Angels. This ring addresses specific "Group" human requests and also the needs down to the Individual level. This is where the hopes of generations become magnified and heard On-High.

Ring Five:

These are the Keepers of the Akashic Records of all knowledge. They also protect the Keepers of the Seals are are responsible for healing, nature, the things necessary to combat the darkness through ultimate understanding and comprehension. This is where ancestral spirits become very, very wise indeed and from whence "old soul" rebirths are summoned.

Ring: Six:

This is where warrior angels reside. These cats are fearless entities of pure Light and fight the righteous causes. They don't fear Hell. Each is a specialist and has been battled honed for generations. Ancestorr souls in this ring are the shaman advisors to entire family lines and cultures, while warrior angels watch their backs and protect their positive lineage energy.

Ring: Seven:

The Most High resides here, in seventh Heaven.

See why I'm tryin' to give you word for word? This I'm not tryin' to mess up.

The Dark Realms

Now this joint I can tell you about first-hand.

Level One:

Realm of Lost Souls

Ruling Body: Pain Gangs

The whole joint is bone-dry desert, rocks, not a drop of water, and foul heat. Those entities are nuts—possessed by guilt and negative energy—and manifest as shades or can come as mist. Those are the boys that bring a cloud of sadness, despair, and give you the shivers. . .make it cold where they drew their last breath. They're not dangerous, pre se, just twisted. The vampires tap their ability to serve mist from this realm.

Level Two:

Poltergeist Realm

Ruling Body: Splinter Cells

This is where your general regulation poltergeists, succubae, and incubi reside. So all that power of nocturnal persuasion, the ability to get inside a person's head or dreams, as well as kinetic activity, comes from there. The vamps talk bad about the succubae and incubi but use their type of mental assault seduction capability all the time. It's deep.

Level Three:

Demon Realm

Ruling Body: Serpent Congress (reports to the Supreme Council)

This level is designed to really make you lose it. Raining maggots, sewage, tar pools, everything nasty that slithers, creeps, and crawls, is down there in a foul soup of nothing but wet terrain. The messed-up part about it is, unlike on the levels above where the soul is just vapor, here lost soul bodies actually start taking on permanent monster forms. Every twisted demonic form down on this level has been compressed by the weight of the deeper caverns.

Level Four:

Realm of the Amanraths (revenge demons)

Ruling Body: Supreme Council

This is where the revenge demos reside, and you ain't got a chance against them. This is where the Supreme Council resides that runs levels three and four. These entities are fueled by hatred, jealousy-inspired acts of violence and acts of revenge so crazy that you can't even wrap your mind around what they do.

Level Five:

Realm of the Were-Demons

Ruling Body: Were-Sentate

You're talking Black Forest vibe down here—pure primal lust. These demons follow every deviant impulse they have and can shape-shift into werewolves, were-jaguars—the meat-eaters. Not smooth at all. I'm not even gonna get into their mating dens. Let's just say it's a total free-for-all. I almost got in trouble with one of the females from this level . . .but that's a story for another time.

Level Six:

Realm of Vampiri

Ruling Body: Vampire Council

I had to stand before the Vampire Council in their black marble chambers when I had first been turned. That's when I truly saw what evil is all about. Those old boys are shrewd, smooth, have every power and supernatural capability of the realms above theirs. They're the most highly evolved, sophisticated entities of the demon species with a mad-scientist superior intellect, and they play war games with global economics, politics, you name it. It's all about the power paradigm.

The Vampiri are also all about the pleasure principle, and their environment reflects their refined sensibilities. But don't be fooled, they will "do" you in the blink of an eye, so once you're in, you ain't getting out.

Level Seven:

Realm of the Fallen Angel

Ruling Body: The Fallen Angel

Not even I will speak of what hold check there.

That's all I can tell you; you've been schooled, so act like you know. My best advice to you is this: If you're afraid of the dark, stay in The Light.