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Ch.8
I tossed and turned in my sleep, fire and flames consuming my dreams, the faces of those I had grown close to flashed through my mind as I relived a series of overlapping horrors. Scenes of foreign cities with bullet ridden bombed out buildings faded and were re interposed over those of my burning village. Faces of terrified children huddling together in the dark, dressed in rags as powerful explosions racked our fragile minds. I could hear the panicked screams of villagers as their wooden framed thatch homes erupted into blazes, the sounds of thundering hoof beats over lapped with the mechanical clanking of tank tracks. The memories that I had long forgotten were re-birthed from the fires of war, awakened by the flames of war.
My mind grew calmed but my heart became gripped with pain as a vision passed through my dreams, a blonde haired girl with sad wistful smile and crystal blue eyes sat on a windowsill in the pale morning light. Lyudmilla, a name that only brought with it more pain, I looked down at my chest only to be once more returned to the moment where I had been gunned down. I looked at the picture of that sad wistful smile and once again drifted off into the silence of restful sleep, where another face greeted me. A warm carefree smile from a little girl with sandy brown hair and doe like eyes, I screamed her name in defiance as I was sudden thrust from my slumber.
Rage flowed through my body like a wildfire as I ripped the covers from my body, “Alric” I screamed at the top of my lungs still disoriented by my mother's spell and the horrible nightmares. “Where am I” I howled my vision awash in red as I mindlessly trashed my surroundings flipping over a table and punching though an armorer.
Hearing a creak I spun on my heels crouched low ready to launch my self at what ever came though the doorway with my bare hands. I didn't even have time to react before a solid wave of force slammed me into the wall with a heavy thud, strolling casually into the room was a tall broad shouldered wan with nary a care in the world. He was clad in a black doublet with crimson embroidery, his red eyes laughed with amusement as he regarded me struggling uselessly while pinned to the wall like a life sized portrait.
“That is not the way to greet your grandfather young man, though I see you have awaken in more ways than one' he chuckled releasing me from his invisible grasp. “Quite lively this morning I see” he smirked flinging me against the opposite wall as I dashed towards him like a mad man. “Allow me the pleasure of introducing my self, I am Alexander Draconis, former Demon Lord and your grandfather, and you young man are the heir to house Draconis” he wafted on lazily as he bounced me around the room like a child with their favorite toy.
Each impact shook my rage addled brain and brought more and more confusion until the anger slipped from my mind and my blood stopped boiling, I was left lying upon the floor staring up at the ceiling as the world spun.
“Olivia, now that the young master has calmed down, see to it that he is washed and presentable to meet me in dining hall for breakfast” Alexander instructed before strolling down the hall with a self satisfied smile though he'd never admit how amused he was. It felt good to take some of his anger over his son's death out on his impertinent grandson, he may have calmed down since abandoning the title but he was still a Demon.
I lay there groaning in pain for a few moments while three beautiful women worked to clean up the room after my little temper tantrum, I watched with mild interest as one of the woman built a quick mental construct that flipped the table over in reverse, it's contents moving like a water fall lowing in reverse. “Time magic” I muttered to my self as I picked my self off of the ground.
The woman who seemed to be standing watch over the others approached me while adjusting a pair of glasses up the bridge of her nose, her voluptuous figure was reminiscent of Sariel but her stern face reminded me of my mother's disproving scowl.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself, you may be the master's grandson, but such behavior is not permissible” she huffed bending at the waist to look me in they eyes.
I felt my ears burning with shame, party for my behavior but also at the woman's voluminous breasts that displayed a veritable valley of cleavage that any many would happily lose himself in, “please accept my apologies miss Olivia” I spoke firmly with a bow. Suddenly the world went dark, jiggly, and soft, she trapped my head in her voluminous bosom.
“Such a good boy, you're much better behaved that your father ever was” she said releasing me from my fluffy prison, “now we shall visit the baths,I hope you will find them to be up to your standards ” she continued excitedly while leading me out into the halls.
After a long corridor, a couple of turns, and two stair cases down I was pushed though a pair of elaborately carved double doors depicting many many lewd acts into a hall that could fit my house and our pastures into it. Stretching off into the distance was an elaborate marble pool letting off gentle waves of steam, overhead soft warm globes glowed bathing the room in golden light. Half a dozen woman shaped spirits playfully swam around the warm water, occasionally swimming up to regard us with their almost blank expressions, though I could feel a general warmth and curiosity from them.
“Alright girls, it's the young master's first time, try to give him some space, maybe later you'll get to meet him better” Olivia spoke waving away the girls before leading me over to a series dragon heads sculpted from silver. “Rotate the Aether gem left for cold and right for hot, afterwards feel free to enjoy the bath”she explained before setting down a basket with a change of clothes and a bar of fragrant soap.
“What are they” I inquired looking over my shoulder before turning my attention to the highly advanced constructs powering the dragon head sculptures.
“Undines, spirits from the elemental plane of water, they are playful spirits that enjoy areas where there is water with high concentrations of Aether, they also are fond of thermal vents and hot springs” Olivia explained leaving me to my own devices after letting me know she would be back shortly.
I sat there in the warm water isolating myself from the Undines, now that I had a moment alone my mind was still reeling from everything that had happened. I closed my eyes as tears streamed sown my face as my chest tightened with pain, for all I knew everyone I had ever know or cared about was dead, I would never again see Layriel's beautiful face or Lily's carefree smile. My mother was supposedly a powerful druid from a noble family in Vellathen so perhaps she was able to escape, but what about Bill, his wife or Hanz the ever cheerful. The thoughts of their possible deaths gripped my souls and I wept silently.
“Why sad, should be happy” a feminine voice filled with confusion entered my mind as warm wet hands caressed my head, her words like her bubbly warmth had a playful almost childlike demeanor.
“I'm alone, every one I love is probably dead and I couldn't do anything to stop it, I broke a promise I made to a girl who loved and trusted me” I cried into her mind as she wrapped her arms around me.
Warmth flowed into my body lightening the pain in my heart as I became full of a sense of love and oneness “From death comes life, from life comes death, the circle is complete, you will see them again whether in this life or the next” she whispered softly as our minds melded together for a brief moment.
Once the strange sensation left me and my mind returned to reality I sat there staring into the Undine's semi opaque face “thank you I whispered” stroking her safe with a wistful smile.
After getting dressed Olivia returned shortly and led me back through the maze like hallways and corridors of where ever the hell I was till we reached another pair of double doors, this one thankfully devoid of orgies and gargantuan phallic objects. In the center of the room was a fairly short table, by banquet standards, clad in crimson cloth, seated at the head of the table was the man who introduced himself as my grandfather while using me as a human pinball. There was another one of those strange memories, “pinball, it looked fun” I thought as Olivia guided me to sit across from my grandfather.
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“I suppose it is time for proper introductions, I was not even aware that I had a grandson until yesterday when Aeothir arrived on my doorstep, I apologize for my earlier actions but you were lost to one of our kind's many weaknesses and perhaps also our greatest strengths. I am Alexander Draconis, your grandfather, and thirty second Demon Lord” he stated with a firm bow.
“Zamiel Draconis, though my father never spoke of suck things before, and just what in the hell am I” I inquired with a slight tone of aggravation slipping into my voice.
“Well that's the easy part I suppose, we are the byproduct of humanity's worst qualities, Wrath, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust, and Pride. About ten thousand or so years ago when humans were rubbing stones together to make fires for themselves and the tribes of Oruks, Lizardmen, Goblins, and other creatures were at the pinnacle of society the Alfr came along and reduced the tribes to what they are now, primitive, cruel, sadistic, mindless beasts more or less. Then they took interest in Humans and brought them great leaps of technological advancements but only as slaves to grow crops and perform menial tasks. Then the Alfr realized they were being out bred by the humans and tried to wipe them out, some of Humanity responded by turning to their primordial spirits while others sought help from the Dragons who were worshiped as living god's. Those that turned to the spirits began to practice blood rituals and human sacrifice to empower themselves to fight back, but they warped the spirits they worshiped with their worst qualities and the spirits began to feed on the negative emotions of the humans. In search for ever more power they began trapping these spirits inside of corporeal forms and let the warped beasts breed with those that they used for their experiments. The offspring of the spirits and humans are what became known as Demons” he explained off offhandedly as if this horrible truth was as mundane as churning butter.
“The Alfr and Humans sued for peace and turned on the Demons and their creators, ever since them we've been more or less feared and persecuted, every so often an unusually powerful Demon is born and they try and unite the various tribes of Demons and go on a grand crusade of vengeance only to get brutally murdered by the rest of the civilized races. Thankfully as long as no one tries to unite the demons we're largely left alone, but a lot of us are old and filled with hatred and a desire for vengeance. Like every fool before me I tried to rise up and unite the tribes, but after my wife and daughter were murdered and my armies were broken I took my son and went into exile, to a place where no human dared tread” he explained with a sigh but I could feel all of his pent of hatred burning just below him calm exterior.
I sat in quiet contemplation as my muddled thoughts tried to work my way through the mind melting knowledge, how he could just explain this with a warm smile was beyond me. “What does all of this have to do with me” I inquired bitterly.
“Tell me Zamiel what is it you desire” He questioned idly relaxing back into a high backed chair upholstered with crushed velvet.
My eyes narrowed and I grit my teeth as thoughts of that night began to flow through my head, I could feel the rage pouring into me once more “vengeance” I growled angrily accidentally crushing the armrest.
“Vengeance” the man sighed with a weary defeated tone “violence and bloodshed begets only more violence and blood shed, it's a never ending circle, a lesson that took my most of my family dying and three hundred years of exile to figure out”.
“So you'll do nothing about my father's death” I growled doing everything I could to restrain myself, my nails digging into my palms till they dripped with blood.
“If you desire vengeance you must couch it justice, throw away any foolish ideas of tearing apart those who have wronged you with your own to hands, I can help you active your goals, but only if you let go of this burning hatred, you must become cold, collected, and calculating” Alexander explained with a cold hard glare as I fought the desire to tear the man apart.
I closed my eyes and began to focus my breathing, one slow breath after another till my anger cooled to a quiet simmer “Yes grandfather” I spoke out with a trembling voice.
“Good, very good, but for now I want you to go take a walk, a very long walk afterwards we'll meet in the armory” he said with a light chuckle before rustling my hair and taking his leave. It was strange how that one little action brought my father's warm boisterous laugh to mind and helped douse the fire burning in my chest.
After finishing my meal and apologizing to Olivia for the destroyed armrests and blood that I dripped onto the carpet I was allowed to freely wander about, though Olivia was always a few steps behind me. I strolled by a seemingly endless number of portraits, statues, armors, and other decorations from beautifully carved banisters to delicately woven tapestries. It was a strange alien world so far removed from my life in the village, if any normal person were to be left to their own devices they would be taking a chisel to every sliver of gold, silver, and embedded jewels. This was the kind of wealth that the average peasant believed to be in their lord's homes, though I from my own strange memories I doubted that most kings possessed this level of flagrant opulence.
Still it was a lonely if beautiful place, a highly decorated facade that in reality was little more than the home of a reclusive man embittered by the world. I couldn't help but feel sadness for Alexander, he had finally lost the last of his family, now he was left with a grandson whom he had never known. What pain lurked in my grandfather's heart if the pain consuming mine is so great.
“Zamiel, there is some one here who want's to see you, though I doubt she will have the courage to seek you out, she is probably in need of a friend. I am sure her heart is filled with guilt for leaving your fathers side” Olivia spoke softly as I looked out over the nigh barren city from a balcony.
“Who is she” I inquired furrowing my brow slightly in confusion while admiring the strange basalt architecture that was some how both warped and beautiful.
“Aeothir, we can go and see her if you would like” Olivia explained placing a reassuring hand upon my shoulder.
“My father's horse” I though in confusion, though having learned I'm the descendant of spirits corrupted by humans and their victims, I figured the day couldn't get any worse.
I was led to a garden filled with a number of strange and other worldly plants, trees warped and twisted by unknown forces and flowers that resembled the more delicate parts of a woman's anatomy. Black fruits hung from branches like overly rotund bats, and grasses rattle underfoot as if offended by my passing. Seated upon a stone, alongside a small stream from which I could see heavily armored carnivorous teeth jump, was a strangely beautiful woman. Her hair was a literal blaze of crimson flames, a skin tight sleeveless black dress clung to her narrow waist and flared over her wide hips. I followed the curve of her slim athletic body down her wide hips till her feet ended in a pair of hooves.
I stared dumbstruck, she had hooves with with flames for feathering that matched her hair, “Aeothir” I questioned softly causing her to turn towards me, she look at me with a soft smile and pitch black eyes.
“Yes Zamiel, it is good to see that you have awoken” she spoke with a soft nervousness watching my every reaction with detail, she was waiting for any fear or hint of rejection.
“You're beautiful” I accidentally muttered causing her tail and equine ears to twitch cutely, “if it doesn't offend you, can I ask what you are” I asked nervously as I approached her.
“Beautiful, that's certainly a first” she thought as she smiled warmly. “I am a spirit from the Shadow-lands in the Elemental Plane of Darkness, what people call me is a Nightmare. A spirit that feeds of the fears of sentient beings, we are also capable of taking and using the fears hidden deep within our enemies against them. Filling their minds with illusions, we can take many forms both corporeal and incorporeal, this is but one of my forms. This form makes it easier to communicate with out using telepathy, as the humans so clumsily call it” she explained seemingly quite amused by the whole ordeal.
I took a seat beside her “just one more secret my father was keeping I suppose” I muttered softly.
“Alric didn't want this to happen, it was never his desire for you to have to come here, to learn the nature of your ancestry, to take up the mantle of a Demon Lord. He only wanted to be able to raise his son alongside the woman he loved. I more or less grew up alongside him, I was barely even close to being sentient when Alexander ripped me out of my home and bound me to your father, but through your father I slowly became more and more human like for lack of better terms, we feed off of corporeal beings when we are around them so the more time we spend around them the more we become like them” she put an arm around my shoulders as she tried to comfort me in her own unique way.
It was another strange event beyond my understanding but I still enjoyed her company, even if I had only known her as a horse my whole life, oh what wonder the world must hold. “Now that my father was killed, what are your plans” I questioned causing her to wince painfully at the memory of watching helplessly as Alric made his last stand.
“I was freed by Alexander, but I would stand by your side if you are willing to accept me, be that in this form or as your noble steed” She replied with a warm smile.
I reached up and scratched around one of her equine ears causing it to twitch and her head to lean towards that side “Aeothir, you are welcome to stay at my side however you please, I can't exactly treat you like a horse now that I know you're not one” I chuckled.
“But, but, apples and scratches and the brush it feels so good” she complained as if it was the most natural thing in the world causing me to burst into laughter.
“You can have all those with out carting me around on your back, seriously I beginning to wonder if all those years spent in the form of a horse didn't damage your head, have you ever lived as a human” I questioned in amusement.
“Not really, I was almost always in the form of a horse, by the time I gained a human level of being I had been a horse my whole life, so it's comfortable feeling. How do you walk on two legs, your body is so imbalanced” she laughed teasing me back.
We continued chit chatting until Olivia instructed me it was time to meet with my grandfather, still a not a term I was used to but I just couldn't go around calling him Alexander Draconis former demon lord could I, With a fierce grimace I steeled my self as I was guided by Olivia to the first step on my road to revenge.