Alright, so this took a bit of time to pump this one out, but I like the way it turned out and hopefully you guys get some enjoyment out of it, despite this mostly being a build-up chapter.  Next release will be a chapter of "Remember Me Fondly" and HOPEFULLY one more chapter of the Crimson Wolf before December ends. 

----------------------------------------

Chapter 7 – A Meeting of Dukes

Fenrir's boots clacked loudly against the metal grille of the ship's corridors as he made his way to his quarters once more. The door slid open and Fenrir stepped inside. The two Leyan girls were sleeping on the bed, hands stretched as far as they could towards each other but not quite touching. He briefly considered waking them up, but soon dispelled that notion as soon as it had formed. They would be docking soon and he needed to be on deck as quickly as he could.

With a sigh, Fenrir walked over to his desk and unlocked a hidden compartment with a key he constructed with earth element. There was a soft click and a door silently swung open near the bottom of the desk to reveal a small compartment whose contents were that of a small velvet box about as large as his palm and a stylishly engraved silvery collar. Fenrir pocketed the box and idly spun the collar around one finger as he walked over to the bed where Maya and Lata were sleeping fitfully.

This was certainly not how he wanted to dispose of them, but he supposed beggars can't be choosers. He spun the collar around his finger once more before catching it and letting it lay flat on his palm. Collecting his thoughts for a bit, Fenrir constructed a suitable spell in his mind, fiddling a bit with the earth elements until he had arranged and optimized the spell to an appropriate manner. He couldn't resist saying one last line however.

“Game over.” he whispered. Both Maya and Lata's eyes opened at the noise, though the fog of sleep was still prevalent as they gazed blearily at Fenrir who loomed over their bed. He triggered the spell and watched as segmented, thin and razor-sharp earthen blades sprang out from the collar in his palm to meet each other in the middle. The two omnimetal collars around Maya and Lata's necks briefly shone as the duplicated the spell on the master collar.

There wasn't even time for them to cry out as the blades sliced cleanly through their scaled necks as if it were tissue paper. A golden line above the collar slowly formed, their blood slowly ran down from the wound in steady beats. The light had long since faded from their eyes. Not wishing to dirty the bed, Fenrir cocooned their bodies in a wind spell and brought them down onto the floor. In the process of doing so, their heads detached and floated obscenely in the air, still contained within the bubble of wind elements. Working efficiently, Fenrir cut up their bodies much like he did with their sister and took special care to ensure that not even the smallest fragment of their eyes or brains remained.

Fenrir maintained the cocoon spell while simultaneously applying a wind blade spell as he performed his grisly task of grinding the Leyan girls into meat with an uncaring expression on his face. The bubble of wind quickly became opaque with blood as he directed the ball towards the trash chute. Fenrir opened a small hole in the bubble as he constricted it at the same time, causing the internal pressure inside to skyrocket. The remains of the Leyans spurted out into the chute, until there was nothing left, not even the smell of blood, to even suggest that they were once alive.

Just as he was about to return to the bridge, the door slid open and his second-in-command stepped inside of the room. He gave Fenrir a quick salute before speaking. “Sir. We'll be finished docking in another five minutes.”

Fenrir gave him an odd look, “And you needed to come to my quarters for this, Bagara?”

Even with his onyx-black skin, it was surprisingly easy to tell that he flushed guiltily, “Well...I thought....No.” his voice gained confidence, “I need to tell you something-”

“That this will be my last stop?” interjected Fenrir coldly.

Bagara's mouth opened and closed a few times before he asked, “You already knew?”

“Of course I knew.” snorted Fenrir derisively. “Despite his attempts to be sneaky, Samael is not a very good liar. Something you two have in common.”

Bagara dropped to the floor and knelt with his hands folded in submission, his posture was that of one who fully expected a death that he deserved. The killing blow never came however. Bagara looked up at Fenrir in confusion, a single word passed between his lips as he looked at his lord, “Why?”

“...Make sure you're clear of this system when I get off the ship. Make up some excuse if they try and stop you. Punch through if you have to.” said Fenrir, walking past the still prostrated Bagara. “And don't look back.”

----------------------------------------

'Eylon au mynrea'; Elmyn for short. While it meant nothing in the Demonic Plane, it carried a rather lofty meaning in one of the many other planes: 'Font of Knowledge' by a race of long-eared bipedal creatures known as Elves. The name and it's origin were known by many, as was the knowledge of who gave the planet it's name in the first place. No one was quite sure why Elmyn's ruler chose it, though it was accepted as the ruler was famous for her eccentricities.

Although 'eccentric' might not be the proper term for such a place. Elmyn was infamous throughout the Demonic Plane for the monstrous experiments that were performed on the people there: Demon, Non-Demon, Allies, Enemies; it did not seem to matter to the rulers of Elmyn. But perhaps the majority of Elmyn's fear stemmed from the one who ruled over. Mammon's Mad Scientist. Duchess of Death. And a thousand more titles all served as a grim reminder of the thing that Fenrir was seeking an audience with.

These thoughts tumbled around in his head as he walked down the gangplank of his ship towards the people who waited patiently for him with plastic smiles. There was an eerie uniformity in that group, not on their physical appearances, but on the atmosphere they exuded. They felt...wrong somehow. Fenrir struggled to keep himself from destroying them on the spot as he walked towards the one who felt like the leader.

“Count Fenrir. On behalf of my lord, I welcome you to Elmyn. I am Count Luvart.” greeted the wizened demon with faded red skin. Hooh. A count huh? Fenrir was surprised that they would send someone like him to do the greetings. While Luvart certainly gave off an odd feeling, he didn't appear to have the bearing that a count should have. Then again, he was a demon. Appearances meant nothing.

“Thank you for having me here.” said Fenrir, shaking his hand. A friendly enough greeting, but what was this oppressive atmosphere he was feeling? The three demons behind Luvart were tense, their hands on their weapons as they maintained the smiles on their faces. Earls most likely...Interesting. A tad insulting though if they think that this would have been enough to stop me however.

Luvart's eyes pored over Fenrir's ship appreciatively, “A fine vessel you have there, sir.”

“She gets the job done.” replied Fenrir in a dismissive tone.

If Luvart was annoyed at the terse answer, he did a very good job of not showing it. Chuckling the old demon cheerfully beckoned for Fenrir to follow him. The three guards fell in step a few paces behind them.

They were in the main docking area for extra-planetary arrivals. It was a massive open-roofed structure in the middle of the capital city. Ships much larger than the one Fenrir had arrived in could be seen flanking the spacious hallway that they walked downwards. Luvart occasionally pointed out a ship or a certain feature of the building that caught Fenrir's eye, giving a detailed explanation about each with a surprising amount of enthusiasm.

Fenrir glanced over towards a set of stairs that seemed to be the only method of getting down. They passed by the stairs without slowing down and continued walking towards the open area at the other end of the building. The area was devoid of any walls and greatly resembled an ocean dock for ships, though instead of wooden walkways, cold metallic pathways that glittered from the sunlight that bounced off of them extended out into open air. At the entrance of each walkway was a metal pedestal with a cylinder base that grew thinner as it reached the top until it split into two fashioned so as to resemble arms with deadly looking claws at the end of it. Held securely in between the claws was a small object that Fenrir recognized as a piece of omnimetal.

Perhaps it summons an elevator of sorts? Like he expected, Luvart placed a hand over the omnimetal and started channelling thunder element in quick bursts. With a gesture, Luvart urged Fenrir to follow him out onto the walkway. He looked over the sides of the walkway and saw that the ground was quite a ways down. Nothing that looked like an elevator could be seen to be rising from below, nor was there some sort of hidden platform.

In a few moments, his question was answered as a long, sleek looking vehicle pulled up soundlessly at the side of the dock. Unlike the land-based vehicles that were prevalent back in the Asmodean sector, Fenrir could see no wheels decorating it's undercarriage. A purely flight-based vehicle then, but with no obvious means of propulsion. Extending his senses out of curiosity, he could detect the faint pulling of gravity element.

“Our newest ship design!” declared Luvart proudly. Luvart was grinning from ear to ear as he clearly expected an amazed reaction from Fenrir. He had to admit, he was tempted to give him just that. Either Elmyn had a lot of nebulon to blow on planetside vehicles or they had developed a much more efficient engine compared to the bulky, but energy-conserving, engines aboard starships. Though he kept his face a blank mask and was gratified to hear a sigh of disappointment from the old demon. There was a hiss of escaping air as the previously smooth side of the vehicle split along a defined series of edges and the metal segment that was outlined pushed outwards and lifted up to allow entry.

The surprisingly spacious and well-lit interior featured a set of comfortable looking seats opposing each other. Perhaps to set his mind at ease, Luvart got in first, ducking his head as he did so when he entered the car. Not even a mild tremor when a passenger enters...a dangerous design. Suppressing a sigh, Fenrir ducked down and entered the vehicle. The three guards clambered in silently one after another and with a knock on the tinted window from Luvart, the vehicle's door sealed shut.

There was a slight inertia as the vehicle accelerated, but not as much as there should have been based on the speed that they seem to be travelling when he looked out through the window. Even while in the car (slightly to his chagrin) Luvart kept a running commentary and pointed at various details through the window. Fenrir's mind wandered as he stared at the scenery of the city below and its various inhabitants.

It was greener than he expected. For the capital city of Elmyn, he had expected there to be a completely urbanized settlement that was devoid of anything natural. But there was a great abundance of parks and native wildlife that meandered through the city. There were even a few rivers that ran freely between the skyscrapers that did not even look out of place. A true union of the natural and the artificial.

The inhabitants, appearance-wise anyway, looked much as he expected; mixes of all different kinds of demons drifted through the city. What was odd though, was the idyllic atmosphere that the city exuded. Unlike the peoples in Asmodeus' domain, not all of the demons here seemed to have a defined purpose as they moved through the city. Some appeared to simply be following the meandering paths for pure relaxation as he saw several demons sitting by the riverside. There were families happily chatting amongst each other; their children playing merrily.

“You look confused.” said Luvart.

He was tempted to ignore the comment, but Fenrir couldn't restrain the burning curiosity he felt, “This place is not what I was expecting. I thought Elmyn to be a place that would be more...”

“Horrific?” suggested Luvart with a knowing smile.

“To put it mildly, yes.” There was a freedom here that he couldn't find back in Asmodeus' domain. An age-old hunger that lay dormant inside him stirred at that thought.

“Is Makar very different?” asked Luvart.

“It's certainly not as relaxed as here.”

Luvart chuckled. “You caught us on a holiday of sorts. Any other time, the city would be fairly busy.”

“And where we're going?”

“Well, that would be an exception. Our lord may grant us the occasional breaks, but she will rarely take one for herself.” There was a hint of admiration in Luvart's voice. Fenrir idly wondered how long it had been since he had heard the same in his subordinates voices. “Ah! If you'll look over there, you can see the fourth technological institute that had been recently renovated...”

----------------------------------------

Utilitarian. That was the first word that came to mind when he saw their final destination. It was a large building that was painted in a lustrous white color. There were few windows that could be seen dotting the sides of the building and those that were present were all tinted and looked heavily reinforced. The front entrance was under heavy guard as well. Fenrir counted no less than thirty armed guards near the set of small double doors that appeared the be the only entrance into the facility on this side.

Contrary to his expectations, the guards that had followed him from the spaceport did not leave their sides and remained behind Luvart and Fenrir like watchdogs. After subjecting himself to a thorough pat down, they were waved on through the entrance. Surprisingly they didn't object to Fenrir carrying in the sword that he had buckled in at his side. Apparently they were more concerned of him bringing in something that was concealed.

The atrium of the facility was quite large. There were many demons milling around in lab coats and several more guards that were dressed in black suits that were similar to the ones he saw outside. At the far end of the hall was a desk that was manned by three titans. Fenrir stifled a laugh with a hand at the odd sight of the three large creatures sitting behind a desk and diligently working on secretarial tasks. These weren't even succubi or incubi either, but rather the large bruisers that he was accustomed to seeing as part of the vanguard during firefights.

“Yes?” said one of the secretaries, looking up from a document as they approached the desk. “What can I do for you, my lord?”

“We have an important guest who is seeking an audience with her highness. Where might we find her?”

“Hmmm...” the secretary leafed through several papers before pulling out a pad embedded with omnimetal. “Floor 27 at the moment my lord. But I've been told to tell you that he should wait in the audience chamber on Floor 48. Her highness will be up there in about ten minutes.” he said after a few deft manipulations with the omnimetal. “Will there be anything else you need, my lord?”

“No, that will be all.” answered Luvart curtly. With a swirl of his cape, Luvart turned on the spot and confidently led the way to the elevator. The doors slid open and both Fenrir and Luvart stepped inside. To his surprise, the three guards bowed before Luvart as the doors closed, leaving just the two of them inside.

“48 and above is restricted solely for her highness. Only those with her express permission are allowed up there.” said Luvart quietly.

“And this elevator will take us up all the way there?”

“You think it a bit lax?” he laughed and then continued before Fenrir could answer, “No one here is foolish enough to go up to her level without permission.”

The elevator was designed out of a transparent material so that passengers could enjoy an unobstructed view of the different floors of the building as they passed by them. Some floors had many doors lining a hallway, some had large structures whose purpose Fenrir was unable to divine and some floors appeared to have nothing at all.

Fenrir glanced at Luvart, who was being rather uncharacteristic in that he was fairly quiet. Nervous, almost. Their upward journey continued in silence until the elevator slowly came to a stop and the doors slid open. Fenrir stepped out and looked back at Luvart.

“Coming?” he asked.

“Technically you were the only one permitted to come up here and I'd rather not push my luck. Please wait here.” With that, the elevator doors closed as it began it's descent. Well...that was rather ominous.

Compared to the rest of the place, the audience chambers were unexpectedly lavish. There was a finely polished wooden table that had been exquisitely carved so that each leg resembled that of a large winged animal that Fenrir did not recognize. At the far end of the table was a highly polished and embedded circular piece of omnimetal; possibly meant for local communication. Equally expensive looking chairs made out of a dark crystalline material and padded with fluffy cushions were arrayed on all sides of the table. Interestingly, all of the chairs were identical, there was no single chair that was greater than the rest. Several couches coated in a rich, vibrantly-coloured upholstery were arranged in groups of three around an ornate table in different corners of the room.

Different foodstuffs and drinks decorated each of these tables and gave off enticing, exotic smells that appealed directly to Fenrir's stomach. A large bay window occupied the eastern and western walls that gave a pristine and magnificent view of the city that lay below it. Curiously, there was a plain looking iron door at the far end of the room that starkly contrasted with the rest of the room.

Fenrir was not tempted to see what lay beyond the door though. This wasn't because he was particularly afraid of any consequences that may have followed if he did, but rather a simple lack of interest. In that respect, the view of the foreign city that lay below him was a much more fascinating sight. The warrior part of his mind engraved the landscape into his memory and attempted to seek out any weaknesses in it's defences. As he moved closer towards the eastern window, he felt a small burst of movement magic with the magical sense of his mind and stopped in his tracks. His nebulon blade had been freed from it's sheath and thrummed with energy as it started to absorb elements.

“I'm not gonna bite you.” said a sweet voice with a tinkling laugh. Fenrir turned around, keeping his guard up despite her words. Though if she really wanted to kill me, I'd be dead already. Standing just a few paces in front of him was a fairly attractive demoness giving him a coy smile.

She was dressed in a light blue shirt with a matching set of baggy blue pants. Both articles of clothing were stained with blood. Oddly enough though, the heavy white overcoat that she wore over everything else was pristine. Writing utensils, notebooks and what seemed to be a phonendoscope were stuffed in the many pockets on the coat. Extending from her back were four leathery wings that were red, blue, black and white in color respectively. A pair of large black horns extended out from beneath the flowing locks of her blood-red hair to curve back on themselves so that their sharp tips were angled towards her face. She had flawless purple skin and ruby-red lips that would make even a succubus happy. Her emerald green eyes glittered mysteriously, as if they burned with an inner fire, and seemed to draw in Fenrir's mind the longer he stared at them.

Fortunately for him, physical beauty was something that held little appeal for Fenrir. Especially with demons. Still he had to make an effort to keep himself from staring. “Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet me, Lady Belphegor.” greeted Fenrir coolly.

Belphegor's grin dampened slightly, “Ehh, you're no fun. You military types are always so serious.” she pouted. A childish remark, but Fenrir could see the intelligence that lay within those mesmerizing eyes of hers. This was an opening salvo to the forthcoming dialogues.

Not exactly how I pictured my last battle would be. “I try not to let myself have too much fun.” replied Fenrir, though he flashed a quick grin at her as he sheathed his blade in one smooth action. “Anymore at least.”

Belphegor laughed and gestured for him to sit down on the nearest couch. “Help yourself to anything if you're feeling hungry.” waving her hands over the exotic spread of food arrayed neatly on the table. Clearly, they were all grouped according to some factor, but just based on the appearance and smell, Fenrir couldn't tell what that might have been.

Belphegor raised an eyebrow and randomly plucked a purple coated...something off of one of the plates and made an exaggerated motion of chewing it and slowing it. “No special digestive modifications needed, then?” asked Fenrir, though he was already reaching for another one of the purple items, figuring he could make the adjustments on the fly if he needed to.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Not at this table anyway.” grinned Belphegor. He popped what he assumed was a sweet into a mouth and was surprised to find that while it had a smooth texture, the consistency was akin to that of a finely-cooked steak that was flavoured with a spicy and tangy sauce. “Better than your ship, I think.”

“Infinitely better.” he praised already reaching for another of the meat pastries. She had poured herself a cup of steaming tea that was a lustrous silvery color and had a strong smell of cinnamon.

“It may have only been a short glance, and in a vehicle no less, but what do you think of Elmyn now that you've seen it?” she asked after taking a sip of her drink.

Good question. Was this holiday meant for the people's benefit or as a clever disguise for a visiting ship? “It seems a bit too peaceful. Too relaxed, even.” That was something he felt clearly enough.

Belphegor leaned back against the cushion and gazed thoughtfully out of the bay window. “I suppose that's a fair assessment. But we are having a holiday at the moment.”

“Oh? Seems like quite a few people in this building are still busily working still.” as he poured himself a cup of the same tea that Belphegor was drinking.

She returned her gaze to him and gave Fenrir a secret smile, “We like our work a bit too much to take a day off from it.” She took another sip of her tea and set it down on the table, hands folded across her lap, “Now then...shall we get down to business?”

“Of course. Just to give a quick summary, I Count Fenrir am here on behalf of Duke Samael to discuss the mining rights of Daleon Theta as well as the exchange of various communication stones and trading route establishments.” said Fenrir.

“Hmm, the mining rights and trading routes will take a bit more time to discuss, so let us proceed with the stone exchange. Which system's stones will it be then?”

“Just one.” Fenrir pulled out the box that he had stored in his pocket and laid it on the table. Belphegor's eyes flashed and she reached across the table and grabbed the box. Flipping the latch open, Fenrir could see her surprise as she saw what lay within.

“Makar's communication stone?”

“Direct line to Duke Samael to be more specific.”

“And in exchange? I won't be giving up Elmyn's stone just because you offered your own homeworld's.” Her concern was understandable: Communication stones were a double-edged sword.

In exchange for being able to transmit information across incalculable distances one also had to deal with omnimetal's 'limitation'. Namely that there was a high amount of magic that one could transmit through omnimetal links, to such a degree that if one wanted to, they could discharge a mid-level thunder spell into a communication room.

Of course there were limits; you wouldn't be able to blow up an entire building as the amount of magic that would be required for that would literally overload an omnimetal and break whatever connection it had to its other half. In addition, there would be a backlash over the original omnimetal that was used to transmit the spell if one were to try such a thing.

“What if I asked for a new stone then? Specifically for Elmyn's moon base.”

Her eyes widened, “These mining rights must be pretty important for you.”

Shit. No sense beating around the bush then. “Indeed.”

“And the trading routes? Were they meant to be favourable for me as well?”

“They're actually related to the mining issue.” admitted Fenrir.

“Hmm. I should praise you for your honesty, though you did beat around the bush a bit.”

“These are all legitimate offers though and they would've been presented to you regardless.”

“Is this alliance really so valuable?” she asked skeptically.

Fenrir frowned, “To Duke Samael and several other nobles it is.”

“And what do you think?”

Fenrir swallowed a scathing reply when he realized that she was genuinely curious about his opinion. “I don't think it will last long enough for either party to get much benefit from.” he said honestly.

Abruptly, Belphegor started laughing, so much that her dark skin become flushed and her wings fluttered as she held her sides. “Ahahaha! You're right! You're exactly right!” she exclaimed, “Do those idiots even realize what they gave up? Hahaha!” Fenrir was shocked to see tears coming out of her eyes as she continued to laugh raucously. Slowly she regained her composure as she shook back the sleeve of her white coat to reveal a slender wrist with a gold bracelet embedded with several small stones. While her body was still shaking from giggles, she rotated the concentric rings of stones on the bracelet with deft maneuvers until she settled on a stone with a dark blue color. Fenrir could feel her channelling thunder elements in a rapidly oscillating frequency. She must have a great deal of confidence to be wearing that many omnimetal stones on her body.

He heard the sound of the elevator moving as someone came up as soon as she ended her communication. Just from the speed, Fenrir knew that Belphegor must have had an attendant waiting for her signal. It was to his surprise then that it was Luvart who stepped out of the elevator. He gave a friendly smile towards Fenrir before giving a short bow before Belphegor, “What do you need of me, your highness?”

“Have Bzyan and his team prepare a pair of new communication stones and give one to the captain of Count Fenrir's ship and send the other up to Merihem.” At the mention of Merihem's name, the seemingly permanent smile on Luvart's face was transiently replaced with a frown. Fenrir was gratified to see that Merihem was annoying to everyone.

“At once my lady. Count Fenrir, I wish you well.” Luvart turned on his heels and made an expedited retreat out of the audience chamber. Both Belphegor and Fenrir took the opportunity to pour a fresh cup of tea for themselves. They shared a small smile as they celebrated the successful first part of their negotiations.

“Let's move onto the trading routes then.” proposed Belphegor. All traces of the giggling demoness had vanished, leaving only the imposing duchess in front of him.

“Halyon Prime, Zeta Cluster and Cygnus.” listed Fenrir in short order.

Belphegor snorted, “Really? Only outer systems? That's not even worth being discussed.” waving a hand in derision, “But then again-” she fixed Fenrir with a piercing gaze and a queer smile, “You're a smart boy after all. You wouldn't waste my time with something like that, would you?” There was a thinly concealed threat behind that smile.

“True, while there are some notable deposits of platinum, iridium and the like; resources such as nebulon and omnimetal are scarce. Though both Cygnus and Halyon Prime surprisingly each have habitable worlds in them.”

“So I've heard from my own scouts, though the oxygen seems to be a little low for extended stays without permanent modifications for demons.”

“True enough, though one of the counts responsible for those three systems figured it was worth setting up a temporary mining outpost in Cygnus.”

“And what did they find?”

“More like who found them.” Fenrir grinned as Belphegor rolled her eyes at his meagre attempt to build up suspense. “Cruzor scout ship.”

“'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' is it? This trade route is beginning to sound more appealing...if a tad cliche. Please continue.”

----------------------------------------

Four factions. Four rulers and their respective demonic armies. Each vying for control of the Plane through a series of orchestrated battles jokingly referred to (and widely known) as 'The Game'. It was something that the other races which inhabited their Plane could not understand. For despite the name, these were not mock battles, but true and bloody wars. On the surface, it seemed like true wars, as intricate plots and deception were rampant among the many battles that the demons waged against each other.

But these were not fights based out of a desire for resources or conflicting ideologies however. Indeed, many demons from the different factions seemed to get along very well with each other when they weren't on the battlefield. Nor was it out of something born of retribution, vengeance or love; even though demons certainly displayed those traits. But to call it a quest for power wouldn't be correct either, even though these great forces were certainly vying for dominance over each other.

The many different species who were not demons soon came up with an answer for this overwhelmingly powerful and incomprehensible people. An answer that was both simple and complex and could be summed up in one word that seemed to embody the race known as demons: Madness.

Their battles were legendary and swept away all those species who might have tried to resist it. Some were great galactic empires in their own right and some were still in their infancy of civilized development. It was a grim realization for these species to know just how small they truly were and how cruel the universe was. That a madness had held sway over the Plane for a very, very long time. The non-demon races were thus given a choice: Either join in the madness. Or be consumed by it.

This was true for all forms of life, even those who hardly seemed to be alive at all. Cruzors. That's what they called themselves. A hyper-advanced machine race that the forces of Leviathan had encountered over 100 years ago. Out of their long history, the cruzors had put up a fight that rivalled that of the Rovenians if reports were to be believed. Despite the assistance of one of the 4 Princes, the Cruzors had managed to wage a worthy battle against Leviathan and his forces. Surely, if the demons were not around, the cruzors would've been the dominant force in the Plane. In the end though, it was a battle they were destined to lose.

----------------------------------------

The cruzors provided a formidable asset to be used against Leviathan and his forces. And while the initial meeting with the Cygnus mining outpost wasn't the best of introductions, they were eventually convinced of our hostile relations with Leviathan. It took around four hours to lay out the details for Belphegor, who insisted on knowing every possible fact, even things that Fenrir considered to be largely irrelevant. By the end of the discussion, Fenrir was satisfied with the results: Belphegor would send a small detachment of her own forces to join with Asmodeus' on Cygnus. Her forces would act like they were part of Asmodeus' camp and use their expertise in properly analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the cruzors; the results of which would be used to benefit both Asmodeus' and Mammon's forces. Both parties would provide tactical info for the cruzors as well as participate in various covert hit-and-run missions on Leviathan-controlled worlds.

Belphegor stretched her arms behind her neck happily, “Ahhh, if only all my negotiations could go this well.” she gave Fenrir a quizzical, but bemused, look, “The conditions of the trade route are particularly favorable for our side as well.”

Fenrir tipped an imaginary hat and gave her a sardonic grin, “Duke Samael sends his regards.”

She laughed out loud, “Oh, I am liking you more and more!”

“Can I tempt you with another serving, my lord?” asked an attendant holding out a fresh plate of Elmyn's local delicacy known as suraku. Several incubi in expensive-looking suits were milling around the floor. Belphegor had called for a late luncheon when the trade route discussion showed that it would take a long time to get through. The sky outside was drenched in a blood-red color as the sun began to set on Elmyn.

“No, thank you.” said Fenrir. Another attendant was pouring a frothing blue liquid into two crystal goblets and bowed to both of them as he retreated backwards to give them privacy.

“Now this is the part where I would say we move onto our final topic, but I feel like taking a little break.” standing up as she said so and moving over towards the bay window. Fenrir belatedly got up and followed her. She should know what I'm doing and that I know what's going to happen, so why prolong this? He thought irritably, though he didn't let such emotions break his polite mask.

Belphegor's slender hands danced through the air, a soft light enveloped each of them, as various images were displayed in vivid detail across the large window. Fenrir was suitably impressed; Belphegor was skillfully using an advanced application of the movement school of magic and it didn't seem to be taxing her at all.

“Hummm, not here.” A scene of a square that Fenrir recognized from the car ride. A few demons were strolling casually through the center and several shop vendors were calling out silently to passers-by in a last-ditch effort to entice customers before they retired for the day. “Maybe here?” The town looked picturesque from the high vantage point Fenrir was seeing through the glass. It seemed to be an observation platform as there were several pedestal-mounted binoculars arrayed in the semi-circular field of vision that the image provided. “No, too dull...”

Belphegor continued to flip through various locations: Some were scenic, others looked rather dreary and some seemed to have no prominent features at all. Finally, with a pleased sound, she settled on a location. No matter how hard he looked, Fenrir thought that it looked like an ordinary clearing in a forest. The trees were unusual sure, but not unduly so, and the surrounding wildlife that flitted through were rather plain. He looked away from the image and saw Belphegor extending a hand towards him with an impatient look on her face.

Suppressing a sigh, Fenrir took hold of her soft hand and felt the telltale lurch of a movement spell as they appeared in the clearing. While he relaxed his grip, he was surprised when Belphegor didn't release hers and pulled him immediately towards a gap in the treeline. She weaved through the trees with practised ease, but there didn't seem to be any noticeable path underneath them. Perhaps it was only she who came here then.

Finally they exited the trees and Fenrir had to squint and cover his eyes as a burst of the evening sunlight hit him squarely in the face. Belphegor's hand dropped away from his and he instinctively started to modify his eyes to reduce the amount of light entering them. In the span of a heartbeat, Fenrir was no longer dazzled by the light and took some time to appreciate the magnificent sight arrayed before him. A strong wind blew through the open plateau that they were standing on. At the far end of the unobstructed view of the land was the sun beginning to creep over the edge of the world as it started to set. The large river that coursed through the middle of the grassland below seemed to be on a direct course towards that great ball of fire; it's fading light reflected strongly off of the water's surface.

Fenrir and Belphegor stood on the cliff quietly for a long while, watching the sun slowly disappear over the horizon. “Thank you.” he finally said.

She glanced over at him, but remained staring off into the distance. All of a sudden, Fenrir felt various elements being drawn in towards Belphegor and he reflexively tensed. Oddly enough, it didn't seem as if she were about to use a spell and was just drawing elements around their location. “Feel like telling me?” she asked quietly.

“About?”

“Why you still came here. You must have had some notion of what was going to happen.”

“...What did you ask for in exchange for Daleon Theta?” asked Fenrir, answering her question with another.

She didn't seem to mind though. “I think you already know.”

“I'd still like to hear it from your mouth. Perhaps I'm just being paranoid.” laughed Fenrir mirthlessly.

Belphegor turned to face him as he did the same. “You.” she said simply.

“As what?”

“A test subject.”

“The dead kind?”

“The dead kind.” she confirmed.

“And the proof needed?” he asked, though he knew the answer already.

“Witness testimony of your corpse by your ship's captain.” replied Belphegor succinctly.

“You still haven't answered my question.” she reminded.

He felt like he should be more belligerent, but Belphegor had been nothing but courteous towards him. “I wanted to repay my debts to the people I betrayed.”

Belphegor sputtered, “What debts could you possibly have left?!”

Confused, Fenrir raised an eyebrow, “I thought you knew what I did?”

“I also know all of the things you did afterwards and your most recent accomplishment of toppling the Leyan Empire almost single-handedly was the least of them!”

Fenrir shrugged and decided to give her a partial truth. “I'm a soldier who committed treason. That means death, no matter what I do to try and make up for it.”

“Even after all of this, you're not going to tell me the real reason?” her eyes narrowed as she seemed to re-evaluate her opinion of Fenrir.

“I am being serious about repaying my debts.”

She stared at him intently, trying to divine his true intentions. “But you're not just a soldier...you were more than that at one point in time...” she said slowly. Her eyes widened, “You...for them?”

Fenrir said nothing. Belphegor shook her head in disbelief, “You're not much of a demon, you know?”

He had to chuckle at that, “I only ever seem to hear that from other demons though.”

“There's a limit to loyalty, you know?” sighed Belphegor.

“The day's coming to an end.” commented Fenrir mildly, “Should we finish these negotiations.”

“You're not going to even fight?” she said incredulously, the wings on her back drooped slightly as if they were matching her emotional state.

“If they're allowed to leave unmolested, then I won't.” replied Fenrir bitterly.

Belphegor seemed to be actually stunned by this comment as it took her a few moments to give a comment. “I'm not sure whether I should admire your dedication to your crew or mock your stupidity for helping that same crew who's betraying you.” She paused and tilted her head with a frown as if she were making a decision about something. She walked closer to Fenrir until they were almost touching and whispered to him, “How far does your loyalty extend, Fenrir?” she asked carefully.

“If it was to protect my crew...I'd do anything.” he said in just as low of a voice.

“Just them?”

“Just them.”

“Then I think I know how we can make this work in both our favors.”

----------------------------------------

The Elven Language

Eylon au mynrea: Font of Knowledge

Previous Chapter  Next Chapter