It all began with what would be called "The Great Demon Wars."
It happened on one fateful day 49 years in the past. The once clear sky turned a striking crimson; it mimicked a white cloth slowly absorbing blood from a wound. Veins of lightning crackled through the bloodstained clouds as thunder boomed across the land. Furious winds tumbled great trees and tore through houses like they were nothing. If one were to look for the sun, they would only be met with a dark, gaping hole with a ring of light around it; it was a solar eclipse like no one has ever seen.
The people of kingdoms and villages scattered as they ran for dear life, unknowing of the cause of the chaos happening before them. Some hid in the seclusion of their homes while others fled. A great earthquake followed the chaos, rupturing the land.
Right at the center of what was once the mightiest kingdom, the kingdom of Valefore, burst forth a mighty pillar of flame several meters wide. The scorching flames themselves took the lives of many within the walls of the kingdom, but what was to follow would spell doom for all of mankind.
The pillar of flame left a massive crater in its wake. If one were to have looked into the crater, they would have been met with a great abyss. There were even people brave enough to stand before the crater and take a look. Moments later, distant roars and screeches were heard from beyond the crater. With a burst of hellfire, otherworldy creatures came flying out of the crater.
The creatures took no pause and attacked whatever living thing was in sight. It mattered not if it were a man, a woman, a child, or an animal. As flesh was torn and bones were cracked, the creatures took delight in consuming their prey. In a single day, the mightiest kingdom fell.
This apocalypse went on for days upon days. The remaining kingdoms united and did their best to fend off the threat, sending forth their best soldiers and magic casters into the fray. They fought long and hard and were able to slay a good number of these creatures. Unfortunately, they creatures had the advantage of numbers and overall strength. Some of these creatures also seemed to have high proficiency in magic, which made them harder to take down.
All seemed lost in this hellish war until one fated meeting.
A knight named Gabriel Aldruid and his five allies came to rest on a hilltop after a long day on patrol. As the others headed back to the main camp, Gabriel opted to stay behind to pray. He was brought up in a religious household as a child and it carried over well into the later years in his life.
During that time of chaos, it was only during those moments did he find any peace. On that fateful night, a voice suddenly reached out to him. Before Gabriel stood a woman with long locks of white hair. Her eyes were a brilliant blue that shone against the moonlight. She wore a white robe and a hood over her head. What struck Gabriel as most surprising were the large, white, feathered wings on her back.
Gabriel stepped back and drew his sword, mistaking the woman for another one of those creatures. The woman revealed herself to be Ariah, the Supreme Goddess. She explained that the creatures that came into their world were demons that had somehow escaped their prisons from Hell, and that they desired the destruction of the mortal realm as vengeance for their imprisonment. She also explained that the one who set the demons free was a god named Balthomel who rebelled against her and her allies.
Gabriel then asked why she was telling him all this. Ariah then revealed that she heard his pleas for guidance and decided to grant him the strength to defeat this evil. She asked for only one thing: a portion of his soul. In exchange, she would permanently bind herself to his mortal body and grant him god-like power; a power strong enough to defeat Balthomel who gained immense power from the souls of the fallen.
After giving it thought, Gabriel agreed to Ariah's proposal but with a certain condition: That she also grant that power to his five allies. Ariah asked why only those five, and he replied that he trusts them more than anyone else. She explained that she herself cannot bind to more than one soul. However, she revealed that her fellow gods can do the same pact with his allies.
And a deal was made.
Solomon Weisse, Helene Arthemis, Rook Blackwater, Dahlia Seinforde, and Zachary Soilsigh all went back up to the hill together with Gabriel. And waiting for them at the top was Ariah with five figures standing behind her.
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The first god was Galaea, the Goddess of the Natural World, who chose to bind with Helene. Galaea is responsible for creating all living things in the world and ensuring it happens accordingly to the law of nature.
The second god was O'zill, the God of the Progression of Time, who chose to bind with Solomon. It is O'zill who maintains the flow of time itself in the natural world, whether it should be sped up or stopped completely.
The third god was Chirona, the Goddess of Life and Death, who chose to bind with Dahlia. It is Chirona who holds the hourglasses of every living being in the world, determining how long one lives and eventually guiding one's soul to eternal peace.
The fourth god was Jupiter, the God of all Heavenly Bodies, who chose to bind with Rook. It is Jupiter who gave light to the world by maintaining the heat of the sun, and granting the night with the moon and the stars.
And the fifth and final god was Hourlinde, the Goddess of Mana and Magic, who chose to bind to Zachary. Mana is the mysterious energy the crackles throughout the world. A mystery that up to this day no one but the gods may know about. It is through mana that one is able to use magic, and it is Hourlinde who maintains an eternal balance to prevent abuse of this power.
Together, the five gods maintained the natural laws of the world as the Aspects of the World, and it was Ariah who governed and supervised all of them as their Supreme Leader, able to do everything they can do.
Gabriel then asked what aspect of the world Balthomel is.
Ariah then explained that Balthomel was once the God of Purity, the one who cleanses souls of impurities and evil before being reincarnated. Balthomel once grew curious about the impurities of these souls and wondered much about them. He then decided to absorb the impurity unto himself out of curiosity. He eventually became addicted to it like a drug, absorbing impurities in secret, and slowly getting corrupted from the inside. The impurities filled him with malicious and violent thoughts until he was no longer the Balthomel they once knew.
After confirming their resolve, the knights and the gods then bound themselves to each other by performing a ritual. The knights offered a portion of their souls to the gods, and the gods would bind their very essence unto them. They would then be known as the Great Six for many generations.
The powers they received granted them the strength to slay many a demon. Because of this, many armies' morales quickly raised, and the armies of demons would soon be overpowered with the help of the Great Six. The life they once knew seemed to be in reach as the number of demons quickly diminished. However, there would be no end to this until Balthomel was slain.
Balthomel claimed the fallen kingdom of Valefore as his stronghold in the mortal realm, eternally spawning many a demon for his army. A massive army of soldiers and magic casters stood behind the Great Six, who led the charge into the stronghold.
It was a gruesome battle. Much blood was shed and many lives were taken. Reaching Balthomel proved to be difficult with the number of demons blocking the path. Ariah pleaded to the five other gods to forge a path for her and Gabriel. The other gods were reluctant to let her face Balthomel alone, but Ariah urged them to trust her.
Ariah and Gabriel then approached Balthomel and engaged in a long and bloody duel. Balthomel grew too powerful from the souls he absorbed and started to even overpower Ariah. With the final bits of their strength, Ariah and Gabriel performed a powerful sealing spell upon Balthomel, eternally imprisoning him in the void. A magic seal was engraved on where Balthomel once stood.
Gabriel fell on his back having lost all of his strength. He and Ariah had one last exchange of words before he finally drew his last breath. The knights and the gods quickly rushed to where the battle took place, but it was already too late.
Gabriel has fallen. And Ariah has never been seen since then.
Up until this day, lesser demons that spawned from the demons who managed to escape their deaths in the war would appear and attack every now and then. But they would be quickly dispatched by warriors called Demonslayers.
Equipped with great strength and powerful magic, Demonslayers are warriors who have undergone a pact with a spirit who worships one of the five gods from the Great Demon Wars, granting them powers similar to the original six warrios who participated in the wars but lesser in power.
These Demonslayers train and undergo these pacts at the highly renown Demonslayer Academy: a training facility that the survivors of the Great Six decided to build with the help of the gods.
Gabriel Aldruid was credited for being the first Demonslayer. Thus, he is then considered the founder of the Demonslayer Academy and the many Demonslayers after him. A bronze statue in his likeness was erected at the center of the facility in eternal memory of his bravery and sacrifice.
No one knows where the Supreme Goddess Ariah is or if she'll ever return. But one thing is for certain: the Demonslayers will maintain the peace that she and Gabriel won 49 years ago.