Triad sits and smiles as his mother and father regail him with the stories of their past. They tell him about how they had to flee his father’s home land after his mother punched a noble for disrespecting Vom. As well as how the two of them managed to settle in a new kingdom as magic less peasants after his father was rewarded for healing some backwater knights daughter. Triad drinks in the stories like a sponge while watching as his mother cuts the vegetables for the stew. Each chunk cut to the perfect size before being added to a large steal pot now hanging over the fire. Each vegetables addition adding complexity to the aroma filling their tiny home with the smells of his childhood.
“Hello Triad.” A voice behind him whispers, sending a chill down his spine. “I am the quite one, I am here to help you keep all that you love safe from the forces of evil.” Triad smirks as he turns to face the quiet one but finds nothing but the new wall his parents had built while he had been recovering. “Worry not child I am here, I simply did not wish to drag you away when you had suffered so much already. Let us quickly make a deal so I can leave you to your evening.” The voice whispers again from behind him.
Triad lets out a long sigh as he turns back to his parents, the sounds of their voices fading to nothing more then a light mumble. “So you’re my fathers demon then?” Triad asks, scrunching his face in frustration.
“I am an angel not a demon. My kind stands in opposition to all that the demons stand for. We created all that exists in this world while they add nothing, all they can do is destroy.” The voice whispers, a touch of offence noticeable in its tone.
The world around Triad falls silent, he rubs at his ear, the lack of noise making him feel uncomfortable. “My Dad says you guys are pretty much the same thing, so I don’t think it really matters what I call you.” Triad says with a shake of his head in an attempt to get his hearing back. “So do you want to be my slave or what?”
“Slave? Oh No my dear boy, I want to be your friend. I think you’ll find me much more..”
“Pass.” Triad interrupts, getting up from his chair and walking over to his parents. “Hey Dad, how do you get you’re hearing back after the angel steals it from you.” Triad yells with his finger jammed into his ear. Triad’s parents back away from Triad with wide and distant eyes as if looking at some kind of unknowable horror.
“Your parents can not hear you child, nor can they change what is happening to you. Worry not though, your hearing will return once our deal is made.” The voice whispers again, punctuating its words with long breaths.
Triad returns to his seat and scrunches his face as he tries to come up with some kind of a plan on what to do next. “So you want to make a deal with me? Why?” Triad asks, resting his face against his hand, the feeling of stubble on his face surprising him. “I’ve got a beard!” He yells as he runs his hand all over his face with child like excitement.
The voice behind him clears its throat. “As I mentioned earlier I wish to form a contract with you so I can help you.” The voice whispers, its annoyance now clear to even a distracted Triad.
“Yeah, I’m not buying that. If you were doing this for me you wouldn’t do it now and you wouldn’t make it so I can’t ask my parents for help.” Triad stops playing with his beard as a smile creeps across his face. “That’s it! I need to ask for help! Malac I order you to help me make this whispery guy my slave.”
The world around Triad fades to black as sinister laughing seems to fill the air. “It would be a pleasure master, thank you for this tremendous gift.” Malac hisses as his body twists to life from the darkness around them. “Welcome to the void angel, this will be your new home until you drop the act and agree to my master’s terms.”
“No. No! This can’t be! How am I hear, how are any of us here!” The quiet one yells, his voice croaking and cracking as if this was the first time he had spoken for many years. Triad turns towards the voice and finds a small bald almost human looking creature cowering on the ground. The creature’s slender form only obscured by crude, stained rags tied around its body.
“What the hell is that?” Triad asks, recoiling from the creature before him. “Is that what angels look like?”
“Don’t look at me! You have no right to look at me!” The creature yells back, his voice catching in his throat and causing him to cough.
“Well if it isn’t Jaoel, I haven’t seen you since before the humans were created.” Malac says as he moves his head next to Triad’s body, his face twisting upwards into a sinister smile. “You look awful.”
“Shut up reptile, this form is the one my creator granted me and I will not allow you, of all people, to mock it.” Jaoel yells, still trying to hide his face from Triad. “Human! Turn your eyes away from me, something as low as you should never be allowed to gaze upon my magnificent visage.”
“Yeah that’s not happening. You can lay in the dirt and keep having a tantrum if you want but I'm not going to stop.” Triad says, going out of his way not to take his eyes off of the crumpled, squirming angel. “So Malac, what’s the deal with this angel and the contracts? Why do you guys even need them in the first place?”
Malac's forked tongue flicks out and touches Jaoel's body, it flickers a few times before retreating. “We need them to stay in this world master, without a contract, we wither and die. Like this pathetic thing before you. Normally it would take decades, or for the strongest of us, centuries for this to happen. Your fallen body however needs mana to survive, so it takes it from anything it can. That means anything not contracted to you is consumed, that’s why he needs to make a deal. You’re eating him. It’s why I took you’re deal so quickly when we met master. I didn’t want to end up like that. ”
Jaoel's hands fall from his face, revealing 3 white eyes and a set of needle like teeth. “You… You’re a Blended? No, no this can’t be. I can’t be a part of a blended.” Jaoel yells, grasping either side of his head before letting out a long scream.
“What is this guy 5 or something? Get over yourself and act you’re age already.” Triad says, eliciting a chuckle from Malac.
“You. You need to release me, you need to kill yourself right now. Or... Or better yet, I’ll kill you. Yes, I'll kill you and take your place.” Jaoel says getting up from the ground and running towards Triad with his hands outstretched. Triad smirks as the tiny angel’s hand’s pass right through him. “What trickery is this!” He yells as he takes several more swipes at Triad’s neck, his hands disappearing as they pass harmlessly through.
“You done.” Triad asks taking a few steps forward and walking through Jaoel’s body. “Seems to me you’ve got two options here Jaoel. You can become my slave or you can die. Your pick.”
“You don’t understand you stupid child! I can’t make a contract with you because the god of creation has abandoned you! Without creation magic I’ll starve to death.” Jaoel says, slumping to the ground and curling into a ball.
“That doesn’t make any sense, Malac is fine. If anything he looks better than before.” Triad says pointing towards Malac’s towering body.
“That’s thanks to the mana stone in your hand master, it’s power has kept me well fed so far. The one who created it must have been quite powerful indeed.” Malac says
“See, you can just eat some of that. Mana is mana right?” Triad asks rubbing his thumb against the gem in his hand.
“Of course I can’t! The power of creation and the power of destruction are opposites. It would be like you asking me for a glass of water and I handing you a glass of sand.” Jaoel mumbles out covering his eyes with his hands.
“Well my father uses creation magic maybe he could help?”
Jaoel’s head jerks upwards, his menacing face now plastered with a smile. “Yes. Yes that could work. Vom had enough power to keep me fed before. Perhaps he could create a mana stone for me to feed on. Very well human let us form a contract quickly. A 50/50 partnership should work for…”
Jaoel is interrupted by both Triad and Malac bursting into laughter. “You’re kidding right? First of all it's Dad not Vom, we arn't allowed to call grown ups by their first names. Second, you’re going to die if you don’t take my deal. Sounds to me like I'm the one in charge here. So, you’re going to be my slave if you want to live. Oh, and if you try any of those word tricks I’ll have Malac take me home. I’m sure my hearing will come back after you die in a few days.” Triad pauses and stares out into the void for a moment. “Maybe that’s a bit to mean though, starving to death sounds like a really bad way to die. Hey Malac if I asked you to kill Jaoel, could you do it?”
Malac bursts into laughter, his long tail thumping against the ground. “Oh yes master, in his weakened state I could kill him with ease.”
Triad gives Malac a smile and a nod before turning his attention back to Jaoel. “There you go now you won’t have to suffer. You can be my slave or Malac will give you a painless death.”
“It won’t be painless.” Malac says under his breath.
“Huh, what was that?” Triad asks tilting his head back towards Malac.
“Nothing you’d need worry about master.” Malac answers, bowing his head and closeing his eyes.
“Oh, Ok then. So what will it be Jaoel, the slavery or..”
Triad is cut off by Jaoel yelling “Slavery, I’ll take the slavery. I Jaoel will be you’re slave. In the name of the god of creation I bind this pact upon my soul and shall die if I break it.”
“Good, welcome to the team then.” Triad says, the void around him falling away as he returns home.
“Triad are you ok!” Vom asks as he cradles his sons head.
“Yeah, I’m fine and I have another slave. Oh and Dad, he’s name isn’t the quiet one, it’s Jaoel.”