***The Infernal Plane of Lust***

***Amon***

It felt weird to return to the Infernum after almost a year of training without fear of imminent death. The fae weren’t much of a challenge for us, but we continued working on our abilities while using each other as competition. Occasionally, a foolish mortal added to our soulcount, but just like the fae, they didn’t prove great opponents. There was nothing that could truly challenge us in Betty’s world, which was probably the main reason why I felt so antsy now that I was back home.

Our group entered the warband’s canteen and sought out a free table.

Barely three weeks had passed in this dimension, while we had added a year of experience to our abilities. Training in other dimensions felt a little like cheating, but I assumed that most powerful demons had made use of this strategy at some point or the other. It practically offered itself once you took a contract on a plane that ran on a much faster timescale than the Infernum.

“Too bad,” Uphir complained. “I would have liked to stay a little longer if possible.”

“The mortals would have thrown us out sooner or later,” Philomena commented while Jebril ordered food from an imp. “Their lawyers had the contract figured out. The only thing that allowed us to stay was the clause about protecting Loretta. Just a question of time until they satisfied all the conditions. It was fine that Amon ended it as he did.”

Kitia nodded. “Loretta's little fleshbag grew on me. It was right to close open ends before we departed. Any other solution would have left a bad aftertaste. They should be safe enough now that we took care of the fae and that human who gave her grief at every opportunity.”

“Wohoo, but that was awesome, Amon. I have never seen a mortal being stabbed to death with his own arm!” Jebril cheered once she was done with the order. “You have to teach me that move.”

“Which move?” a familiar voice asked and we turned to find Ex standing at our table. “Stabbing someone with his own arm sounds unreasonable, but not impossible.”

“Ex! You are back!” Kitia pulled out a chair for our tutor. “Yes, but Amon did it with one hand…” And then the demoness proceeded to describe the scene.

The mortal warlock who was in charge of the local political body proved to be a major obstruction to our continued stay on the mortal plane. That, and he was a pain in the ass to Loretta's family. So much so that he was always on the verge of being openly antagonistic. I had a hunch that he was involved in most of the problems that haunted Loretta and her husband and ultimately led to the situation that forced her to resort to summoning us.

But as it was, there was no proof of the man’s actions and therefore the rest of the supernaturals wouldn't act against him as long as he held a position of power. Even if his behaviour all but admitted his involvement, as long as he didn’t act openly he was safe from his peers.

Luckily, I wasn’t forced to obey their mortal law. And to put it simply, the man pissed me off. So it wasn’t only to Loretta's benefit when I decided to kill the man as a parting gift to my summoner.

“… so this guy steps up to Amon and shakes his hand to seal the deal while his snobby lawyers were smiling behind him. I bet he intended to take over that little fae world for his own benefit. And then Amon pulls on his hand and there is a snap and a rip as the lower arm breaks and the bone is pushed through the fabric of the snobby asshole’s suit! And then Amon just stabs the splintered ulna into the idiot’s heart. You should have seen the look on their faces when Amon stepped back and raised his hands and said: ‘Sorry, too much force! You mortals are just too fragile.’”

Ex nodded. “It sounds like you kids had fun while I was on my mission. I was surprised when none of you were there when I returned. For a moment, I thought you guys bailed on me.”

“Ha!” Jebril raised her fist. “Tomorrow we will visit your lesson again, and then you will have to give us a pass! By the way, what was your mission about? Did everything go well? It sounded like they gave you an important task.”

Our tutor scratched his mandible and shrugged. “As well as it could go, I suppose. I fulfilled my objective and the warband got paid, but our employers suffered a loss as a whole. For the warband itself, the outcome is neither satisfying nor bad, but I suppose that’s what you have to be prepared for if you take a contract from the underdogs. Annoyingly enough, this development might have repercussions for the entire region.”

Uphir raised his hand and waited until Ex acknowledged him with a nod. “Excuse us, but you might have heard that we are new to the plane. Could you clarify what you are talking about?”

Ex indulged the question. “While on the edge of their territory, this village is under the legal jurisdiction of Ashley Ashborn, who holds some sway in this region. She doesn’t hold quite the status of a Demon Lord officially, but others of that status know her to be dangerous. Her reputation meant that other powers left her and her estate well alone, and by extension that included this settlement and the warbands who operate from here. Having this location as our base allowed our warband to operate quite freely and take contracts as we saw fit. The status of neutrality ensured our ability to take contracts all over the Infernal Plane of Lust. Ashley’s current stance is still mostly neutral, but there is a new player on the field and it looks like she is unwilling to go up against him. Khorne is a new Demon Lord and his influence spread rapidly over the last decade which led to him fighting a battle on three fronts against other Demon Lords.”

“I take it that you fought for the other side?” I interjected with a question to clarify the situation. It was interesting to know that Ebandon’s Warband apparently engaged in missions that mattered to the local politics.

My tutor nodded. “Ebandon decided on taking on a mercenary job directed against Khorne’s forces. Khorne would have paid better, but given the evolving political situation Ebandon is quite concerned about the warband losing possible avenues of employment, should this Khorne take over the region entirely. At worst, we might be forced to relocate. Personally, I see nothing wrong with taking a job to influence politics in our favour, but Ebandon is deluding himself if he thinks that this Khorne can be stopped at this point.”

“Is he that strong?” Philomena asked.

Ex shrugged, then shook his head after a moment of thought. “I haven’t heard anything about him being abnormally strong, which isn’t to say that he is weak. He is a Demon Lord after all. The problem is that he has multiple legions at his beck and call. There are simply no other Lords who can play in his league when it comes to manpower at this moment, and he seems dead set on crushing any competition sooner rather than later. I think he will conquer the region, maybe even become a major player who launches raids on other planes. There is always an ambitious one rising to power every few thousand years.

“Ebandon will have to decide on how to go forward. Once Ashley openly sides with Khorne we will be forced to do the same. I am not foolish enough to believe that we would be able to keep our policies with someone controlling the entire region, no matter who it is. As soon as we took a contract with one of the warlord's enemies we would become a target.”

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“What more could he want?” Uphir scratched his chest uncertainly. “I know that Ostreios regularly launched attacks on other planes, but I never saw the reason behind gaining more wealth and power than the next Demon Lord. Any demon with a shred of understanding of our history knows that controlling an entire Plane for any length of time isn’t a small feat.”

“Maybe he aspires to become a Planar Lord, although I don’t think that it is that desirable of a goal. Proving one’s worth would be a required step for that,” Ex ruminated.

The mention of the most powerful of all demons made my ears perk up. “Do you happen to know what’s behind being a Planar Lord? I heard that they are as powerful as the gods themselves. How would this Khorne become one?”

Our tutor looked at me, apparently debating whether he should share this knowledge with us. I had a feeling that Ex could become a Demon Lord in his own right if he had the desire to do so. The casual beating he gave me day after day certainly put him in the same power category as Ostreios, the Lord of Baaar.

At last, he made a decision. “Being a Planar Lord is special. Anyone with enough power can become a Demon Lord, since it is only a title. But being a Planar Lord means that the Infernum itself recognized you and bestowed you with its powers. There is only one Planar Lord for each Infernal Plane, and they wield the powers of the Infernum itself. Just be aware that this power comes with a price, though I am not particular on the details. Only a Planar Lord could educate you on that point. The one thing I do know is that Demon Lords who managed to be recognized by their Planar Lord can take over his or her position in time. I also know that Demon Lords who became Planar Lords often drastically changed their personality. The Infernal Plane you rule will influence you in a distinct manner.”

Jebril pursed her lips. “That means that I will become all rutty and lusty if I become the Planar Lord of Lust? Would I become like a succubus?”

Ex shrugged. “I only know by hearsay that the last Planar Lord of this plane was an incubus and the current one is a succubus. Planar Lords don’t exactly show themselves often for whatever reason. Though, I guess that it is only logical not to have too much contact with others. The less contact you have with your possible heirs, the less possibility they have to subsume your position. People regard Planar Lords akin to gods in our society, but the truth isn’t so grand and glorious according to my knowledge. I am of the opinion that it would be far more accurate to call a Planar Lord an avatar of the Infernum, an agent of its will. It’s far more preferable to be free than some higher power’s puppet in my opinion.”

“To become a Planar Lord and replace Gluttony would be nothing else than to shackle my limitless potential,” I whispered, remembering the passage out of my progenitor’s diary. It had burned itself into my memory and didn’t let go even now.

Ex narrowed his eyes. “What was that?”

“Nothing!” I cleared my throat and quickly tried to play over my slip of the tongue. “Just something I overheard somewhere. I am sure that it wasn’t of importance.”

Our tutor didn’t look convinced, but thankfully Kitia decided to divert his attention to another matter. “So, does that mean that it is likely for the warband to engage in this war? Will we be sent on a mission if we manage to become full members?”

“Given that you manage to pass a combat class, I see no reason why Ebandon wouldn’t deploy you. But don’t forget that I am only teaching you the basics of combat. Becoming truly powerful in your own right requires you to hone all of your skills on your own. That isn’t something anyone can help you with.”

We continued the discussion for a while longer until Ex excused himself and everyone went their own way. The warriors among us decided to pay a visit to their own respective tutors, while I got a few quiet minutes to think over the information I just got.

There was no question in my mind that the original Amon had known something about the nature of Planar Lords. Unfortunately, his diary had disappeared and I had no clue where I should start searching for it. The only hint I got was that it would return on its own once I was powerful enough.

In the absence of the diary, the only other part of Amon’s legacy which I knew about was the spear that got stolen by Sozzudon. At least the spear was a more realistic goal than a book that was capable of vanishing into thin air.

On a larger scale, I was also painfully aware of my lack of a true goal. As an imp, I had wanted nothing more than true power, to become a Demon Lord and rule them all so that none could look down on me like they did in the hatchery.

As a young demon, my short-term goal had been to step into my predecessor’s footsteps on a path to unimaginable power… which wasn’t all too different from my original ambitions.

But the older I got, the more experience I gathered, and the more I interacted with others, the more I had to admit that there was more to my existence than power for power’s sake. This wasn’t to say that having power was a bad thing, and having enough of it certainly was a necessity in a harsh world like the Infernum.

The last year in the mortal plane made me aware that there were options to living my life. I could simply retreat to some place with beings far weaker than myself and settle for an existence of supremacy among inferior creatures. But was that desirable? How long could I stand such an existence until I would inevitably grow bored?

I pondered the idea for what seemed like an eternity until I dismissed it. There was no way that I could endure an existence which I knew to be mediocre. Nor was I the type to pursue power for power alone. Like money, power only fulfilled a purpose as long as it got you what you truly desired.

So what was my true desire?

Not to die… for one… and for that reason, I still needed a lot more power. But what came next? What was the next goal once my immediate need for survival was fulfilled?

I looked around and studied the now empty canteen. Even the older veterans of Ebandon’s warband had retreated for the evening.

The one thing I knew was that being roped into this warband as the minion of someone else was far from being one of my goals. I would get out as soon as the possibility arose, but for now, this arrangement provided safety to grow my powers.

Gathering Amon’s legacy was another goal that was simply pushed on me by circumstance. But I found it far less offensive than joining the warband.

I harrumphed and got to my feet, remembering the one true thing that I was ever genuinely excited about. When the existence of soulships had been mentioned to me, I felt a deep desire to see one. When I hatched the secret plan to gather souls in Baaar, I spent hours working to refine the stick which was the key element to my ascension. While in the mortal plane, I had taken to carving runes into the fae-wood trees that inhabited the pocket dimension.

The one thing those experiences had in common was the prospect of creating something, of learning about the magical arts that had escaped my complete understanding as a demonling.

You truly aspire to use my knowledge? What folly!

I winced and concentrated to push the other out of my consciousness. The more powerful I got, the less often it made an appearance, but diving deep into my original's memories always brought the other closer to the surface.

Once I was sure that I was in firm control, I left the canteen and strode towards the corridor with the training rooms, but this time I went straight past the door that would lead me to Ex’s training hall.

Instead, I read the badges on the doors, ignoring things like alchemy, healing, smithing. Some of the craftsmanships spoke to me on a deep level. Others less so. The one thing that made me stop and dive deep down into my memories was enchanting, the art of bestowing permanent magical effects. At long last, I reached for the handle and entered the room.

My hopes weren’t dashed when I found some kind of workshop. Oh, the things that I could make with this equipment. A smile crept onto my face as I rummaged through my original soul’s memories, which I now understood, was also Amon’s original soul.

The original Amon created his legacy with his own hands. I was now sure of that. And if the original could craft something like the dagger and the armour, then what would I be able to come up with?

My thoughts were interrupted when an old demon approached me. He didn’t look like a warrior and had enough wrinkles on his face to compete with mortals who were at the end of their lifespan. Yet, his body seemed strong and his muscles firm beneath aged, red skin.

“Do you wish to learn the art, young one?” His eyes twinkled. “If so, you have to pass a test to gain permission to use the equipment.”

I sneered and reached into my dimensional pocket to pull out a stick that glowed with green runes on its surface. But unlike its first iteration, this one was more like a baton, and I had crafted it from fae-wood. “Step aside. I am not here to learn, but to find out what I can do.”