“Kingdom of Leonia is a small country on the west of the large landmass called Mainland, as most of civilization hails from it. It is the only country to border Dralarag, and the one that suffered most of the losses during the Great War of Humans and Demons. The capital of Frital is placed close to the borders of these two countries, in order to minimize losses should the country be invaded from the west. The closest border town of Nimur is only a two days ride away, growing into a veritable fortress during the War.”
̶ Geography of the Mainland, Volume Seven, Royal Cartographer Jonas Maverick, 700 AS
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There are a few black carriages in the Palace Entrance; all of them black as coal; each but one having two red horses harnessed to them; a small Demon holding the reins. The biggest of the carriages has four beasts to pull it, the servant Demon standing by the Door. They are waiting for me.
This is it.
I look back, my family has gathered. The silence falls upon all our faces. We’ve already said our farewells in the dining room, many words exchanged, many tears shed, many wishes uttered.
My father is standing before my brothers and sister.
“Goodbye, my dear daughter, and may you have a pleasant journey.”
A cold farewell to end it all. My journey awaits me.
I move forward, towards the big carriage. The servant guides me inside, allowing me one last look at my family, my home. I am going away.
I enter the carriage and the doors close. It is only the two of us inside. The Sun peers through the windows, allowing me to see him. He is not wearing armor anymore, soft fabrics on his body, the shape of his muscles guiding the lines of the clothes. His red skin almost glows in the Sun, while his black eyes remove all the light around them. There is still that red flare in them, the one I saw at the wedding before; it has shrunk, but I can make it out in there.
The carriage is enormous for me, but his long black horns almost scrape the ceiling. We are now at eye level, his silent gaze grasping my skin, seeping through my pores. He slowly smiles.
“Let us begin the journey.
Demos har nos.” The carriage begins to move, the flaming beasts starting to neigh in front of us, the sound of hooves permeating the air.
Was that their language? I’ve never even considered in until now, he talked Lyndarian, the language common to all Humans, so far. Has he learnt it before the wedding?
“What does that mean, what you just spoke?” I ask, maybe he provides the answer.
“It means ‘we ride home’ in our language. Oh right I almost have forgotten about this.”
He takes out a small box from the side of the carriage; there are a lot more compartments than the eyes lead you to believe. He opens the box to reveal a necklace with a large red gem as its pendant.
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“This is for you; it will allow you to understand the language before you are able to learn it. Just put it around your neck and the words you hear will be different from the words we speak to you.”
He then comes closer to me to put the necklace around my neck. His breath is warm to my skin as his hands reach around my neck; without any armor and heavy cloths, his skin feels warm on my neck, the warmth somehow putting me at ease. His large hands nimbly lock the necklace in place, the red gem resting neatly on my chest. The gem glows briefly, and I feel sudden pain in my head, as if hands are grasping it from all sides. The pain quickly recedes, and the gem fades, its color now darker, as if I absorbed some of the light.
“Does it work? Can you understand me?” I watch at his mouth moving. The words don’t match the movement of his thin lips, but I can understand them nevertheless. This is fascinating. I’ve heard of magic allowing you to understand languages, but I’ve never seen one being able to be bestowed in simple jewelry.
“Yes, it is… odd, hearing different words than the ones you speak. How does it work?” He smiles briefly, relief visible on his face. He seats back into the carriage.
“It is an old magic, putting the essence of a language in a gem. Only Mindreavers can do so, they have the talent for it. And it only works for our language, care to not wear it when you meet someone else, the consequences can be severe.”
Mindreavers? What, or who are those? Are they Demons? Do they have different peoples in their country?
“What are those Mindreavers you were talking about?”
“They are a race of Demons, of course. There are several different races in Dralarag; how do you call them here?”
“We… don’t. We didn’t call you differently. We call all of you Demons. That’s what you are to us.”
“I don’t understand. Demon is what we call all of us put together. ‘Home’ means ‘Home’ in our language, ‘Demon’ means Demon.”
“What are you saying? You are just repeating yourself. Home and Home, Demon and Demon, I do not understand you at all.”
He clutches at his stomach laughing, completely ignoring my presence now. I don’t find anything funny in what I said; where is the joke? After a minute of him laughing uncontrollably, he calms down and inches closer to me again.
“Let’s try this again. The gem converts the words you are hearing into the words your mind has the same image of in your language. It assimilates the image, and the connection between them brings the words together. If a word with two different meanings is uttered, or if the meaning is not the same, the confusion can be easily made. I will now write what the words mean, so that you can understand what I’m talking about, as the gem won't work on written language.”
He takes out a feather and ink, the swaying of the carriage not bothering his writing. He slowly writes down words on paper and then hands it over to me. It is written in Lyndarian.
Demos means Home.
Demon means The one that belongs Home.