It wasn’t until his fourth day on Babyl that Alix finally awoke feeling warm, comfortable and well rested. On the third day, he had been able to do little other than stay in bed nursing his headache while Tifayn occasionally brought him water to drink. At one point he awoke to the smell of baking and thought he was home again, but that thought soon vanished when Tifayn presented him with a purple loaf of bread. He devoured the entire loaf, the first food he had seen that wasn’t some sort of deconstructed muesli, then fell asleep again. He woke one more time to the sight of Tifayn climbing into bed beside him again but he was too sore to complain about it. Her presence helped to soothe his aches and when he woke again, he finally felt like he wasn’t drowning in an endless ocean anymore. Before he had felt blind, but now he could see a light at the end of all this mess.
I am surprised to see you awake so soon, the ring said. Some Darknight’s sleep for weeks after receiving that much information.
“I don’t have that much time to waste,” Alix replied softly so as not to wake Tifayn. He didn’t want her to jump awake and stab him in the eye with one of her horns. From her perch on his chest, the tines were disturbingly close.
Good, I can’t stand those Darknight’s that wallow in depression for months. By the time they finally realise the opportunities available to them, it’s too late for any amount of effort to save their lives. What are you going to do first then?
“I’m going to clear the garden.”
…Great. Wake me up when you decide you don’t want to die.
“You were the one that told me about Crafting. Don’t blame me now that I want to try it out.”
Alix opened his Menu now that he had a spare moment to check it out further. Skills was still bare but he hoped to rectify that soon. He selected Titles, curious to see exactly what he had unlocked. He started with Darknight.
He had expected a massive list of buffs, +100 to Strength and every other conceivable stat, but it only said one thing.
Infinite Growth.
“What does this mean?” Alix asked the ring.
It means exactly what it sounds like. Everything you do here will make you stronger. If a random person goes outside and digs a hole, they are just wasting their time. If you go and dig a hole, who knows what you might unlock? The Titles and Skills available to you are infinite. Anyone else shags a demon and they are just a brave lunatic, but you unlock a whole new Title.
Alix scrolled down to the last Title he had yet to check; Adventurer.
Infinite Storage.
Now that was more like it.
Tifayn stirred as he finished checking his depressingly low Lv 1 stats. Now that he had an idea of what he could do, he was itching to get started. He had been a horrible procrastinator before but here he found it was near impossible to sit still, apart from when he had a naked demon draped over him. Right then he was itching to experiment with the new information the ring had given him, but he didn’t want to wake Tifayn. She deserved her rest for looking after him the past few days, and he would have to get used to doing things by himself soon enough. He couldn’t rely on others doing everything for him, although it sounded like that tactic worked wonders for the Solknight.
The demon girl had her arms wrapped around him. How was he going to get away without waking her?
Hug and roll, hug and roll…
Manoeuvre successful, he rolled out of bed and dressed in his only pair of clothes. That was something else he would have to sort. He couldn’t wear the same outfit for the next five years, while Leon probably had a hundred new outfits by now.
Slipping out of the warm bedroom into the chill of the hallways reminded him of his uni days, leaving the comfort of his student accommodation for the miserable Scottish mornings, although the thought of crafting was a lot more motivating than the early morning lectures had been.
Keeping an eye on his map, he crept through the hallways, making sure to avoid the various skeletons that were roaming around. He still wasn’t comfortable around them. The ones he had met before seemed to be congregated around a portion of the map he hadn’t uncovered yet. He managed to slip outside without encountering any of the others.
Alix was greeted by the sun shining down on the mountainside. From the dankness within the hallways he had expected to find the day wet and cold, but that was just the ruined castle hoarding the miserable chill within its pockmarked walls. He would have to get the place fixed up so he could explore the place in relative comfort. Several times he had almost jumped out of his skin at a cold touch down the back of his neck, thinking a skeleton had crept up behind him, only to find a drop of water had fallen from the cracked ceiling.
The sun had come out and burnt away the clouds, but the overgrown grounds were still littered with shadows and thorns. It looked like it was going to be a nice day, perfect for doing some well needed gardening. Or did it count as weeding? Or landscaping? The easiest thing to do would be to burn it all down and start from scratch, but he wasn’t really thinking about what he would be able to grow there in the future, but what he could harvest from it now.
Before leaving Tifayn’s rooms, he had grabbed one of the myriad of knives she had lying around in drawers. A pair of secateurs would have been handier but he had no idea where he would be able to find something like that. If there was a tool shed in the garden, it was long overgrown. Likely he would have to forge some himself, another skill the ring had hinted at, but that was something he was content to leave for another time.
Pretty much the entire area around the grounds was overgrown, apart from the path that led from the gate to the front doors, likely cleared recently for his own arrival. No place looked better than any other to start with, so he walked over to a clump of oddly serrated looking grass and cut a bunch down with his knife.
Instead of throwing them aside, he fed them to the ring. They glowed and sank into the lustrous black dragon. Text appeared in the bottom left of his vision like an activity log.
* Obtained 5 Dumpweed
Alix opened his inventory and found the five units of Dumpweed
sitting there. He had hoped there would be some sort of information screen telling him what to do with but there was nothing. Selecting it gave him the option to either Discard or Dismantle it. He couldn’t imagine how you could dismantle a plant so he chose that option.
New text appeared in the activity log.
* Dismantled 5 Dumpweed
* Obtained 10 Aloe
The Dumpweed disappeared from his inventory and a new item,
Aloe, appeared. It was a tiny effort but he finally felt like he was getting somewhere. Now he just needed to find something to do with the items. The library might hold the information he was looking for, but he wasn’t ready to stop just yet. He was only getting started. He was eager to keep looking for new and interesting components. Maybe if he could craft some things like potions, he could sell them for some money to help rebuild the castle. He was sure Leon was probably rolling in mountains of gold at that very moment.
Alix cut more of the weeds, working back and forth between the wall and the castle until he uncovered a path, after which he managed to start clearing large swathes as he moved further into the grounds. His inventory filled with Dumpweed very quickly and he was glad for his infinite storage. Once he reached a total of one hundred units, there was the notification sound again. He opened the notification menu and saw that he had unlocked a new Title: Horticulturist. It doubled the amount harvested from every plant. His inventory filled even faster.
Further down the path, he began to encounter new plants and he was surprised when he recognised the names; Dill, Basil, Sage. Alix doubted they would be much use for the sort of potions he had in mind, but his mind began to race with the foods that might suddenly be possible here now. The Dismantle option appeared beside the herbs and he couldn’t help but check out what they could possibly be reduced to. Dill, Basil and Sage Essential Oil appeared in his inventory. He wasn’t sure what use they could be, never having been one for essential oils, but he hoped he would be able to find something to use them for in the library. The notification bell rang again and he saw that he had a new Title; Herbalist, Increased Potion Efficiency.
“I guess I’ll be using these for potions after all,” Alix said to himself. Some creature in the tall grass scurried away at the sound of his voice.
Among the herbs and weeds were other plants he had never heard of before but he collected them all anyway. Ivory Leaf was one that seemed to be pretty abundant, while Lovebud was one he really wanted to know what it was used for. A few trees had grown out of control but he couldn’t do anything about them without a saw or an axe. They would need wood soon though. The fallen stones could be refitted, but the rotten and cracked wooden beams couldn’t. He would have to look for tools next, and see how far the skeletons skills with carpentry went.
Alix worked his way around the garden until his inventory held dozens of new items. Thanks to his Infinite Storage none of it weighed him down. He just hoped it would be of some use, instead of filling up his inventory like most early game junk did. If it all turned out to be useless, he would find a fireplace in the castle and burn it all. If he only had five years, there was no time to waste hoarding junk.
“I was wondering where you had gone,” a voice said behind him.
Alix jumped but he calmed when he saw that it was just Tifayn. The cleared path behind her was a lot longer than he had realised. The hours had sped by as he became lost in harvesting everything he could find. The grounds were still a mess but he had made good progress.
“I didn’t want to wake you. I thought I would get started on clearing the grounds. The ring told me about Crafting so I wanted to harvest some materials to craft with. It will be good to have the extra space as well.”
“I would have been happy to help you cut down these weeds, but I’m afraid I don’t know anything about the crafting the ring mentioned,” Tifayn said, looking a bit disappointed that he hadn’t thought to call on her for help.
“Like you said, Pampered won’t do Leon any good, so I should be trying to do as much for myself as I can. This was a pretty simple task anyway.”
“You must have been out here for hours to clear so much. You should stop for a break,” Tifayn said, taking his arm in hers and steering him back towards the castle.
The thought of going back inside such a dank place didn’t appeal to him when he could still be outside working in the nice weather, but there was only so much he could do in the grounds for now. He had harvested hundreds of components and ingredients, but so far he didn’t have any recipes so Crafting was still locked to him.
“I’ve been meaning to ask. How is it you are able to give the skeletons commands without the ring?” Alix asked as they walked.
“Well, like demons, the undead here have always served the Darknight. Mr Bones remembers my grandmother when she lived here. If I tried to do something like destroy what’s left of the keep, I’m sure they would try to stop me, but since I’m here for the same reason they are, they help me out. The skeletons recognise my devotion and listen to my words. I guess it is handy that they will obey no others, but it means that the place has fallen into ruin. The skeletons don’t feel the elements like we do, so they think nothing of a broken window or missing roof. Their bones are under an ancient spell and the weather has no effect on them. If you commanded them to though, they would stop following my commands. Why do you ask?”
“I was just wondering if you knew some way to summon them all. I’d like to get them all started on clearing the rubble lying around. I’m not going to be able to relax properly until the castle is more secure. Right now anyone could just walk in and hassle us.”
“I don’t think anyone would be that stupid. I’ve heard the stories they tell in Galdea. Apparently anyone other than the Darknight is supposed to drop dead as soon as they walk through the gates. The skeletons have always managed to scare off anyone that thought to put the rumours to the test. Are you saying you cannot gather them to you yourself?”
“Am I supposed to be able to do that? I can see the ones we met before on my map, but I assumed there were dozens of them.”
“You should be able to call them all with the ring, but I guess it will take you a while to figure it all out. Once you have mastered it, you will be able to see where they are at all times, as the power that animates them is related to yours. You will be able to track me as well, if you like,” Tifayn replied, pressing herself further up against his side. “Anyway, the skeletons should be working on clearing the rubble already. It’s what I asked them to do, but there are not many of them to get the work done quickly.”
“I saw them all congregating at a place deep in the castle this morning. I wonder what they are clearing down there.”
“Let’s go find Mr Bones and ask.”
They went and found Mr Bones and found that the skeletons were no longer working on whatever it was they had been doing earlier. Mr Bones was standing in the entrance hall as if he had been waiting for their return. Alix quickly checked his map and saw that the other skeletons were in various corners of the castle, doing their rounds to check for intruders.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Tifayn pushed Alix forward, forcing him to confront his undead servant himself for the first time. He cleared his throat, unsure of how to start. He pushed down the queasy feeling he got when confronted by the undead. Should I be polite? Formal? Informal? Commanding?
“Mr Bones…you are looking…well.”
“Just get to it!” Tifayn hissed from behind him. “He’s thousands of years old, he knows he looks well. It is well established that Mr Bones is the most distinguished skeleton amongst the undead of Babyl.”
“Ok then…I was just wondering what the skeletons were doing earlier. I saw you all working on something deep in the castle. Did you find something?” Alix asked the well dressed skeleton. Is that why he dresses so sharply? He’s a skeleton celebrity?
“Find something? No, we were looking for something,” Mr Bones’ voice echoed out of the dragon ring. The sound of it gave Alix chills, like the wind in a graveyard given voice.
“What were you looking for?” Alix asked in a wavering voice that he didn’t intend.
“The vault is down there, but the passage is underwater and some sections of it have collapsed. I could clear it with time, but I need more of my brethren awoken for the task,” Mr Bones replied.
“Is the path to the crypt clear?” Tifayn asked, understanding what Mr Bones was saying.
“It was. There was a recent collapse. I would have cleared it already, but your rooms took priority, Lady Tifayn,” Mr Bones replied, bowing his head slightly.
“So if the way to the crypt was cleared, you would be able to repair the castle a lot faster?” Alix asked, still unsure of what was being suggested, but at least it was somewhere to start.
“Yes, my lord,” Mr Bones replied, bowing slightly again.
“Alright then. I take it the skeletons listen to you as well, Mr Bones, so please give them my orders. I would like to get all this rubble cleared away as soon as possible, so get them all started on opening the crypt. If you could repair what you can as you go, that would be great. Otherwise deposit the rest in organised piles. I’ll find a way to get some wood to start working on the major repairs and then we will see where we are at then.” He wasn’t used to giving orders but he was eager to uncover more of the castle. If there was something here that could help him, he wanted to find it, but it would take him weeks to shift all the rubble himself.
Alix liked the idea of rebuilding the castle even more than seeing what secrets it might hold. It was a mechanic in games he had always enjoyed, rebuilding towns and ruins. He had never expected to be confronted with such a task in real life, and it was going to be a lot harder than just pushing a button, but he hoped more satisfying.
“It would do you some good to get some heavy lifting in, build those muscles. I’m not going to say that’s the key to defeating the Solknight, because they all failed no matter how well built they were, but the largest men always lasted a bit longer,” Tifayn said, eyeing up his scrawny frame.
“I’ll come and help them later on. I want to at least figure out how to do some Crafting first. I just need to find some recipes to try out. I found a lot of materials out in the garden so I want to see what I can do with them.”
“I know of some books I can show you. Follow me,” Tifayn replied, taking him by the hand and leading him up the stairs, as Mr Bones bowed once again and left to complete his task.
The library was one place that had managed to survive the centuries unscathed. Since the Darknight was historically given no help from the kingdom of Galdea, the library was their only hope of learning about the new world they had been unceremoniously dumped in. Every Darknight had expanded on it and placed their own seal of protection over it, ensuring every book in the collection managed to weather the years. The result was a cavernous room filled with thousands upon thousands of books. The shelves had long since been filled, until there was no choice but to start piles on the floor.
“How are we supposed to find anything in this mess?” Alix asked when he was led into the chaos.
“I guess the previous Darknight’s didn’t think organising the library was the best use of their time. It would take a lifetime to go through everything and sort it, but even then, the library would need to be expanded. I’ve spent quite a lot of time here though, so I know the general layout. There is an old card catalogue that is generally accurate, but the newer books are uncatalogued. It is a task I have found too daunting to undertake. There are some I can’t read, written in the language of other worlds.”
“I wonder if the skeletons will be able to help?” Alix asked. It was obvious that they could see somehow, but he didn’t know if that extended to being able to read as well. He could get them to cart the loose books to a new room, build some shelves and organise them by genre. He wondered what sort of genres existed in this world. Did fantasy exist within a fantasy world?
“They might, but I think it is more important now for them to work on clearing the path to the crypt and rebuilding the castle. There are enough books for us to get started on for now.”
Tifayn motioned for him to take a seat, then headed into the stacks to retrieve some books. He took a seat in a plush chair beside a table stacked with books, the ones Tifayn or the last Darknight had been reading last. He picked up one to pass the time. It was called Deulatorum, and it appeared to be a combat manual of some kind. Part of it was an autobiography, which he found more interesting than the many pages of fighting forms.
Alix suddenly wished that he had made more of an effort to stay in shape as he read of the training regimes. He wasn’t fat, but he didn’t have any muscle to boast of. The book had been written by a previous Darknight that had called himself Lector. He had found the warriors of the time woefully untrained and created the book as a guide for anyone wishing to improve themselves. He had to write it in the main language of Babyl, which the book mentioned that the ring had given him the ability to do with ease. Alix wondered if any of his wisdom had spread. He was just about to pick up another book when Tifayn returned with her arms full of various volumes.
“I think you might find these useful. There are a few basic volumes on potion making in there, detailing recipes and methods,” Tifayn said as she deposited the pile on the table. “Get started on these and I will bring you some more.” Tifayn headed back into the stacks, leaving him alone with the books. How fast did Tifayn think he could read? He had been a much avid reader in his youth, but now he was lucky if he got through a few novels a year.
Alix picked up the first volume, Practical Potions. It was nicely bound in a dark green leather, the name emblazoned in fading silverleaf. The print inside was still fresh, the enchantments on the library sealing it from the effects of time. He opened it to the first few pages to find an introduction from the author and a foreword on the art of potion making, but he wasn’t interested in reading that just now. It ran for several dozen pages so he skipped ahead to the first potion, assuming it would start with the easiest and work up to the hardest.
Just as he had hoped, the first potion was a healing potion. It was one of the things he had been thinking about since the first mention of a fight and he was glad to find that such things existed in this world. He hoped there would be all the staples of an RPG within the book, or at least enough to keep him alive until he could learn more.
The first recipe, for a Basic Healing Potion, looked fairly simple. The ingredients were listed as 5x Aloe and 1x Ivory Leaf. He had plenty of both from his time spent clearing the garden. By the time he was finished clearing the whole thing, he would have stockpiled enough for thousands of potions, although from a quick flip through the next few pages, almost all of the basic potions seemed to require Aloe. He would have to spend his resources wisely.
The method listed was fairly simple, but he soon realised he didn’t have the tools to carry it out. First, he had to add the liquid Aloe to a beaker of some kind, which he didn’t have, and bring it to a boil over a flame he also didn’t have. Once it was hot, he was to add the Ivory Leaf to the beaker, which would melt into the Aloe and change its colour from colourless to a grassy shade of green. Then it was ready to pour into a vial, another thing he didn’t have. He was ready to give up then, feeling like the ring had lied to him, but as he finished reading the page, the notification bell rang again and text appeared in the air in front of him.
* Acquired Crafting
* Recipe Acquired: Basic Healing Potion.
Alix opened his menu and found a new submenu named Crafting had appeared. He opened it up and tapped on Basic Healing Potion and more text appeared in the activity log.
- Removed 5 Aloe
- Removed 1 Ivory Leaf
- Obtained 1 Basic Healing Potion
Alix closed the Crafting menu and opened his inventory. The number of Aloe and Ivory Leaf had decreased and a new item had appeared; Basic Healing Potion. There was a small x1 marked beside it. He tapped on it, and a green liquid appeared in the air, then fell with a splash into his lap. He cursed to himself, but the liquid shone and quickly sunk into his clothes without a trace. He should have expected that. The potion had appeared as a green blob in his inventory. He would need something to hold it in.
Alix picked up the book again, unscathed from the falling liquid, and noticed an asterisk he had missed the first time. It pointed him to a footnote which read; Vial, pg248. He skipped ahead to the page and found the method for crafting vials. He was surprised to read that it only required 1 Aloe to craft a vial. It could be cast into a shock resistant rubbery material. Glass could also be used, but that required sand and a furnace, it was more costly, time consuming and the end product was infinitely more fragile, which wasn’t a good thing for a healing potion to be.
As he finished reading the page, another text box appeared.
Recipe Acquired: Basic Vial.
“Let’s try this again,” Alix said to himself. He opened up the Crafting menu again and found Basic Vial as a new option. He tapped it ten times, and the log showed -1 Aloe, -1 Aloe, -1 Aloe. He had plenty to spare so he stocked up. Then he tapped Basic Healing Potion ten times and the corresponding items left his inventory. He dragged the ten green blobs and dropped the icon over the Vials x10. The icon changed to a vial filled with a grassy green liquid and he finally had his potions. He didn’t know how effective they would be, but he felt safer knowing that he had them.
Tifayn was still gone so he decided to move on to the next recipe and see if he could learn that one just as easily. The potion on the next page was called Lesser Antidote. The recipe to craft it appeared when he finished reading the ingredients and method, which was similar to the healing potion, but he didn’t have all of the ingredients. It took 4 Aloe and 3 Abyssia. He hadn’t encountered any of that in the garden, but if such a basic potion required it then he hoped it would be a common plant, if it even was a plant. Abyssia could be a fruit or a vegetable for all he knew, or some sort of mineral.
Alix read through page after page, unlocking as many recipes as he could. Out of the ones he read, he could already craft about half of them, and he felt like he would have no trouble crafting the other half once he managed to clear the overgrown garden. After learning ten new recipes, the notification bell went again and he saw he had unlocked a new Title: Botanist. It was always cool to get something new but he was disappointed to see that the new Title had the same effect as Herbalist. Increased Potion Efficiency.
It was sorely tempting to craft as many potions as he could, but now that he saw just how many there were, he became wary of running out of his supplies. He was still on the first book as well. The new Title reminded him of the essential oils he had created from the herbs, but he had yet to come across a recipe that used them.
There was one potion that stood out to him; Mana Potion. Like the healing and antidote potions, it came in various strengths. Antidote potions came in Lesser and Greater varieties, the pair of them able to deal with the majority of inflictions, although he wasn’t familiar with all of the curses and venoms they were effective against. Healing potions came in Basic, Greater, and Perfect varieties, although he only had the ingredients to craft basic ones just now. He had the ingredients to craft a Basic Mana Potion as well and he was curious to see its effects. The book said that it restored Mana, which he assumed was the MP gauge under his status menu. It was full at the moment, but he didn’t know how to deplete it in the first place. He had played enough games to know that magic was usually the thing that depleted mana. The book referenced and recommended he turn to Practical Magic if he wanted to learn more. He hoped the book existed somewhere in the library. If he could learn magic then that might make this whole ordeal worthwhile.
Alix had another reason for wanting to craft a mana potion though. Near the end of the book, some composite potions were listed, those that could be crafted from combining other potions instead of raw materials. They could be created from the pure ingredients as well, but they required rarer ones and in greater quantities. He decided to practise with crafting an Elixir. It required one healing potion and one mana potion, with the types determining the potency of the final draught. He only had basic and lesser potions to work with. It was a simple process of combining one with the other.
- Removed 1 Basic Healing Potion
- Removed 1 Basic Mana Potion
- Obtained 1 Elixir
“That is very impressive, master,” Tifayn said as the Elixir appeared in his hands.
Alix almost dropped the vial in surprise, but he managed to grab hold of it and return it to his inventory before it could fall to the ground. It wouldn’t shatter like glass but he didn’t trust it not to spill everywhere.
“It is easier to craft things here that I imagined,” Alix said as she dumped a fresh pile of books on the table. He caught sight of a few of the titles.
Practical Potions: Volume 2, Practical Magic, Metallurgy, The Woodsman’s Guidebook, The Home Hearth, Cakes & Delicacies. The others had names that were too long and finely printed to read at a glance. What use did he have for a cookbook? Was Tifayn hinting at something?
“Crafting potions is usually a time consuming and tricky business. I am surprised you managed it without any tools, but I wouldn’t expect anything less of the Darknight. I found a few books written by previous ones that you might find helpful. They detail their experiences and tell of things you might need to know. What have you managed to craft so far?” Tifayn asked.
Alix showed her the vials he had created. He had too many to take out and show her, so he settled for showing off one of each.
“These are very fine,” she said, ogling each of the colourful vials. “I could probably take these into town and sell them for good money if you can make some more, if the skeletons can’t unearth the vault. There is said to be a great wealth lying in the castle, but so far, I have been unable to find it. We will need to find some money soon. I have been able to manage by myself, but you won’t be able to find everything you need by foraging alone. You would need to travel across the whole land as an adventurer to find all the materials you need for every recipe in these books.”
“I better get started then. It looks like I’ve got a lot of reading to do,” Alix said, gathering up a handful of books. Tifayn picked up the rest and they headed to more comfortable surroundings. The library was still in good condition compared to the rest of the castle, the spell on it a particularly powerful one, but it had little natural light and the air was still and heavy with the scent of wood and paper. Tifayn’s rooms were warm and had plenty of sunlight. He wondered if he would be able to find a recipe to craft coffee in the books. It would make his circumstances infinitely more bearable. He tried to forget about everything else he missed.
Alix spent the rest of the day lazily reading, unlocking new recipes, and for a while he forgot about all the crazy things that had happened to him. He lost himself in the books and felt like he was back home with the latest fantasy novel.
The book on metallurgy proved to be very interesting. He hoped it would be just as easy to craft blades as it was potions, but he didn’t have any of the materials just yet. They weren’t anything he expected to get from cutting plants in the garden either. Unless there was some sort of quarry in the castle grounds, or stores in a hidden room, he would have to venture beyond the walls or buy in the materials he needed. He would trade whatever potions he could for them if he had to. He had always wanted a sweet sword and the book gave him a few good ideas.
When the light faded, and his eyes began to ache from reading too much, he decided to head to bed. Tifayn blew out the candles and crawled in beside him.
“Are you sure there is nothing more I can do for you?” she asked, suggestively stroking his chest.
“You are a very attractive…demon…Tifayn, but I have a girlfriend back home. Or at least I think I do. I’m not sure anymore.”
Tifayn blushed at his words. “Thank you, mast – Alix. I apologise if I have been too forward. I’m afraid I can’t help it. I mentioned that my family, and the demons as a whole, have always served the Darknight, but it is more than that. Like the Terminus Ritual draws the Solknight and the Darknight irresistibly together, us demons are drawn towards and have a connection to the Darknight.” As Tifayn spoke she pressed herself closer, but made no further move other than to nuzzle up against him. “They used to live near here but once they decided enough was enough, they moved far away to start their lives anew, so that they wouldn’t be drawn to the next Darknight. I should have explained this to you before, but I was just so glad to see you had arrived. I never expected the effect to be so potent, but I will keep my distance for now, no matter how much I can tell you wish it were otherwise,” Tifayn giggled softly, and then quickly fell asleep with him tightly in her grasp.