Well, so the original 2 week deadline turned into a 3-4 month deadline. Sorry about that~
Don't really have an excuse, except that Uni was suddenly demanding.
This is very much a transition chapter from one arc to the next. Thus it was a bit boring to write. Partially why I was late to submit. Hope its ok to read though. I also must say that I did not edit this with as much care as I did previous chapters. I fully intend to rectify this but i thought it would be best to just get the chapter out here. It would be very much appreciated if you could point out the mistakes if you find any.
Thanks for reading and even if you don't review, it would be great if you could just comment down the bottom to tell me what you think. I will definitely read them and will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Well enough putting this chapter off, HOPE YOU ENJOY THE READ :)
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The sun slowly set on the horizon, its scarlet fingers of light retreating silently to make way for the inevitable night. All the while a lone sentry stood stoically on the giant wall of Tesuit, a bright yellow badge glistening in contrast to his dark green coat marking him as a general. His eyes would scan the horizon periodically but at other times he would just glare at his fellow soldiers who were either asleep or pretending to be. The sentry’s parents had named him David, after the myth involving the giant, though most his friends called him Dave. Well they would have if he had any. Turns out his serious attitude on the wall along with his perpetual glaring had scared away any possibilities for that department.
Not that that was his fault. Why should he be the only one paying attention to the world around them? Especially considering the recent state of the demon nation’s monarchy. Dave’s feelings of despondency only multiplied as he hadn’t even wanted to be a sentry in the first place. No but apparently his top of the line academy scores were better suited to active duty. It would have been a waste to leave someone less reliable on the wall and as much as Dave hated this reasoning, he grudgingly admitted it was probably true.
He was shaken from his thinking by a small figure running down the main road between the trading carts. Waving his arms in great wide circles trying to catch the sentry’s attention. Even from a distance, David noticed the panic in the young boy’s movement. Though it was only when the child ran inside the gates and up the narrow stone stairway to the battlements above that Dave recognised him. A small boy with short brown hair. His daughter had known him, what had Lily said his name was again?
The Boys face lit up when he saw David and rushed over, momentarily withheld by tripping over a sprawled soldier who –perhaps luckily- didn’t wake. “Close the gates,” the boy panted as he stopped a few steps away from David. Only now could he see the state in which the boy was in. Utterly exhausted were the words that came to mind as the child leant against the battlements to steady himself.
David thought quickly. To close the gates would put a great halt to the incoming waves of traders and such an act could cripple the city’s economy. “You’re Oliver aren’t you?” He spoke quietly, attempting to calm the obviously distraught child. A nod was all he needed before he continued. “Ok Oliver, tell me slowly, and clearly what’s wrong.”
Oliver’s face momentarily lit up before he launched into an explanation. Not much could be made out as the boy stumbled over himself as he attempted to tell multiple parts of the story at once. David frowned however when Oliver explained that Aare was a demon and that he was on his way to Tesuit.
Even a mention of the name Aare had brought a grimace to Davids face. His own daughter had been engaged to the boy before he had gone behind his parents back and become a possessed. But besides that, Lily still went on and on about the boy, most likely because of his looks but over the years David had heard enough about the boy to realise he was a driven and polite young man. So to hear the sudden accusations, augmented by the fact that most children were against the possessed at a moral level, David couldn’t help but refuse the boy straight out. “Oliver, look at me.” When Dave was sure he had the child’s attention he continued, staring directly into his eyes all the time. “I understand you have heard terrible things about the possessed, but you need to understand that they are still human. All this nonsense about them being dark and disgusting needs to stop right now, do you understand?”
The boy’s eyes just widened, “No, I’m being serious! He had a tail and he told me he was a de-.“ A sharp crack cut the boy off as David slapped him. Leaving a vivid red mark in the shape of a hand on the boy’s cheek.
“Be quite, I don’t want any more of this ridiculous talk, I understand that you may not see eye to eye with Aare but that is no reason to-.“ A calloused hand on Davids shoulder brought him out of his disposition and he turned to see a young sentry flinch from his glare. “What do you want?” David asked gruffly.
The sentry gathered himself visually before hardening his gaze. “You may want to see this sir,” the man stuttered, before pointing towards the road out of the city. David could only sigh before turning away from the now cowering Oliver and walking up to the battlements. The high walls gave a perfect view to a growing commotion happening just outside the city. It was perhaps a kilometre away but even from that distance it was possible to make out the traders all pulling to the side of the road, as if they were making way for something.
“What the hell,” David muttered before looking back at Oliver and putting two and two together. “Oliver, how many demons were there?”
“Just one,” came the pathetic reply.
“What type?”
“An Incubus.”
While an Incubus wasn’t overly powerful, they were often used as spies and informants on account of them being able to mould their appearances, so to have one inside their city was troubling enough. However for one to openly walk up to the front rank of human security without any form of deception was almost unheard of. Because of this, David was unable to shake off the feeling of dread that was slowly spreading within his mind.
“Ok, you!” David pointed to the young sentry. “I want a third of the sentry’s from each wall, and I want a detachment from the arcane corps. Tell them they have ten minutes to get their sorry arses here before I court martial them all for ineptitude”. The sentry scuttled off before David rounded on one of the sleeping figures on the ground and gave him a not so gentle kick to the sternum. The soldier yelped before looking up into the fiery eyes of David. “You, yes you. I want you to fetch Celestia and Victor, tell them it concerns their son Aare. Do you know where they live?”
“Of course sir.” Came the sleepy reply. Before the soldier struggled to his feet and rushed down the stairs.
“The rest of you!” David shouted, deliberately loud enough to wake the napping soldiers, “better be on your feet in the next five seconds lest you find yourself on the front line in our next battle”. The soldiers eyed each other wearily knowing full well that Dave would carry through with his threat before groaning in exasperation whilst climbing to their feet. The city hadn’t been involved in conflict since the last great demon lord so none of them were particularly attentive to the situation.
“What is going on here?” A great voice boomed over the wall, the group glanced at the newcomer to find John striding confidently towards David, who in turn snapped to attention, saluting the head mage.
“Nothing more than a stray demon sir. A simple incubus, nothing more.”
“An incubus or not, every demon can be a serious threat. How many soldiers will you require?” John asked, a layer of concern threatening to emerge under his façade of confidence.
“I have sent word to gather a third of the active sentries and a detachment from the arcane corps. Though I would be glad to have your assistance as well, I would rather not have to close the gates for a single demon.”
The head mage scratched his chin, deep in thought. “Does the demon have a name?”
“Aare sir.”
John’s head snapped up, “You don’t mean!”
Dave nodded grimly, “the same sir.”
“Shit, we had plans for that one. Where are his parents?”
“On their way here as we speak.” John just grimaced and placed his head in his hands. He stayed that way for several minutes and his head only emerged when Victor stormed up to the battlements. Eyes ablaze with anger.
“Which fucker has accused my son of being a demon!?” He growled threateningly, his anger creasing his once handsome features. A single hand lay at ease on his sword though every man present on that wall knew that it wouldn’t take him a second to draw and kill.
David, upon seeing the rest of his sentinels stunned into silence stepped up to confront the angered hero. “Calm down Victor, it hasn’t been confirmed.” Victor only glared in response before a soothing voice echoed from behind him.
“Darling, don’t let the anger cloud your mind, whatever mess has come about will clear itself in time.” Celestia high heeled boots resounded noisily on the stone wall as she approached to stand at the side of her husband, before laying a cold hand on the hilt of his sword. “So relax, no one here is your enemy and violence will only lead to trouble in the future.” A small huff was the only recognition she received but as she dragged his hand away from his sword he didn’t try to stop her.
John, upon seeing the tense atmosphere evaporate, stepped forward. “I know this may be difficult for the two of you to talk about. But would you mind if I asked you a few questions?”
“Not at all.” Replied Celestia, knowing full well that Victor was in no state to speak for himself.
“Great, firstly why don’t you tell me a little about Aare.”
“Of course, let’s see. He was always a quite kid, didn’t have many friends. But then, he was never really in an environment to talk to people his own age.” Seeing John’s quizzical look she clarified. “Well he was always very intelligent and so he skipped three years of school. He would have skipped more but we didn’t want him to pass our daughter. Lest she become discouraged. Because of this the majority of his time was spent with those in his class, hence a large proportion of them were older than him. Besides from that, he was always quite busy. Never really giving him time to meet up with possible friends outside of combat training. Then, he went and became a damn possessed,” the woman was sneering now. “Which cut him off from both a pre-arranged marriage and the small group who followed him around.”
“When did he decide to become a possessed?” John cut in.
“We honestly don’t know. He didn’t even talk to us about it”.
“Do you know what motivated him?” The couple looked at each other briefly. Before turning back to John.
“We think he did it just because he wanted to avoid marriage.” They noticed David wince in their peripheral vision. No doubt slightly embarrassed. Although John had a small concern developing in the back of his mind. To him it seemed the boy had no quarrels with messing with the demons. Slightly unnerving him. Especially considering the allegations that were being thrown around.
“Has the boy been acting strangely recently?” John continued.
“Yes, though I wouldn’t call it recent, but three years ago the boy actually became driven. Before that he was just a normal kid.”
John’s eyebrow raised slightly at this. “Normal?”
“Well, yeah. He did what was required of him and never really stood out”.
“Hold up, what did he do which was normal. Nothing vague this time. I need an example.”
A few minutes passed, during which the couple could only frown and mumble between themselves. “Actually we can’t think of anything?” A nervous laugh came from Victor. “He really was just….. Normal.”
“Okay, well start easy. Which middle school did the boy go to?”
The couple sighed in relief, obviously happy to be able to answer the question. “Easy, the Second Tower middle school, that’s where he skipped grades.”
“Good, now. Which primary school did the boy go to?”
Celestia once again opened her mouth in confidence, ready to spurt forth an easy answer but after a few seconds her face changed to a picture of deep concentration. Even Victor, who had refused to take part was biting down on his lip. Evidently picking through his mind. Five minutes passed before the first tear slid from the corner of Celestia’s eye. For while she had neglected the boy recently she in no way hated him. In fact stories of his prowess would often fill her with pride and his casual greetings each morning would make her heart yearn to call out to him, but her morals held her back every time. “We don’t know,” she whispered. Speaking for both herself and her husband. “But that doesn’t make him a demon”, her voice was now almost a whimper.
John just nodded tragically. Holding out an open palm to stop her from reiterating. “When did he first learn to walk?” The two facing him didn’t even try to speak now, Victors face had turned ashen with dread and Celestia was swaying on her feat until David stepped up to grab her shoulders. “What was his first word?” Once again no answer, just two despairing faces.
“For god’s sake you two, what is his last name!” All that was left of Celestia’s cracked visage was torn away as she collapsed in David’s arms. Tears streaming down her face, yet her arms hung limp, not even bothering to dry her eyes. Victor had simply sat down and buried his head in his palms willing himself to answer any of the questions they had been given. Though as the minutes ticked by his shoulders drooped. Physicalizing his emotional damage.
“How have we never noticed until now?” Victor said, speaking up for the first time.
In answer John mealy placed his already open palm on Victors forehead. After several minutes he revealed his suspicions. “I have found a block on your thought processes. To prevent you thinking about it yourself. It would have stayed that way had I not delved into the matter.”
The terrible resulting silence – bar Celestia’s sobs – was broken by an eager young sentry. Who ran obliviously to the tension up to David. “Sir, the soldiers you requested are in the courtyard by the front gate. All we need is your word and we will deploy outside the city”.
A nod from John and the two, accompanied by the sentry hastily made their way down the stairs. As they came to the main gate a myriad of different colours were assorted before them. Perhaps a thousand men had been called from on and off duty and each stood stone faced, lined up in rank and file. The particularly colourful robes of the arcane corps stood out, but to Davids despair the majority of them were children. He would find out later that the corps wouldn’t part with the more powerful troops over the threat of a single child demon. Scanning the group, he made out the face of Lily standing tall amongst the hordes, her chest puffed out in pride. Oh how she would cry tonight, he thought to himself solemnly.
Shaking his head briefly brought David back to the present and he walked down the path in the centre of the soldiers. When he reached the gate there was not even a moment’s pause as David’s hand shot into the air before swinging it down in an arc in front of him. At the sign the squad commanders shouted out “Single time!” And David could hear the orders being passed down the line
The wall loomed above them as they began their march, easily passing through the gates which were large enough to allow thirty soldiers standing abreast to walk through unhampered.
Tremors could be head through the entirety of Tesuit as over two thousand feet flattened the ground in rhythmic steps. The sounds themselves, amplified somewhat by the natural sphere made by the curved wall and the colossal buildings surrounding the courtyard. All until a magnitude of noise unprecedented since the great crusade resounded from within Tesuit.
They barely began to move before the traders edged their caravans to the side of the road allowing the army to pass through undisturbed, resulting in them making quick time. They kept up the pace for close to seven minutes before David called a sudden halt. If one had seen his face they would have seen a grimace of pain, the reason being a single figure, face downcast, walking slowly down the path.
The reactions varied. Those who knew why they had come just sighed in disappointment, having hoped that the rumours would be false. The sentries all looked confused, wondering why such a small child – demon or not – had brought out such a large force.
But out of all of them the arcane corps had the most visible reaction. Many of them had been taught alongside Aare and upon catching sight of the doll like child - with its newly acquired tail and horns - a number groaned in despair. Some of the more attached individuals were seen to have tears in their eyes. Lily, who stood in the first few ranks was one of the latter and was currently shaking her head in disbelief.
A number of seconds passed before a single soul wrenching scream echoed over the noise that had sprung up since Aare had appeared. As the gathered soldiers fell silent to the despair, all eyes turned to a red haired girl who had burst from the ranks of sentries and fallen to her knees. David for one didn’t recognise her but when he turned to John, he saw the wizened old man shake his head. Upon seeing David’s quizzical look John explained. “Aare’s sister.” Two words were all that was needed.
David swore, before turning to two nearby sentries who had also been shocked by Shirley’s appearance. “You, two. Quick. Take her away!”
Over the next few moments, no one dared breathe as the girl was dragged away in a whimpering mess. All the while tears were caught in her throat, warping her speech into incoherent gibberish. Small extracts however were deciphered by her guards, words such as “mistake, brother, impossible”. Were repeated over and over again. Perhaps a minute into her removal the girl seemed to suddenly realise she was being taken away and she began to kick out at her protectors. Her face had now lost all traces of its former beauty. Her eyes were red and swollen. Her hair was dishevelled and her clothes had been torn during the struggle. Finally after placing a solid kick into one of the sentry’s jaws. She in turn was knocked out with an almost unnoticeable pinch to the neck. The rest was just her slumped body being dragged unceremoniously through the dust.
John didn’t see any of this however. His attention was firmly placed upon the daemon in front of him scanning for any signs of aggression. What he saw surprised him. John, in his time had seen many despondent visages. Yet never before had he seen such emptiness. On Aare’s face was absolutely nothing. No anger, fear, happiness sadness or even recognition towards any of the combatants standing before him.
Shock, it could only be shock. Often soldiers returning from a great campaign with similar looks, looks gained from watching atrocity after atrocity. What surprised John even further as that Aare had reportedly been fine earlier in the day. How could a look that usually took years to cultivate, find itself on the face of a child who had only disappeared for a few hours.
“You disappoint me.” John mumbled quietly to himself before in a much louder tone shouted out so that the entirety of the ranks behind him could hear him loud and clear. “Aare, on account of Identity fraud and the accursed action of stepping into another race’s war zone, I John Anthony Cereleus, member of the esteemed high council of Tesuit and current Head mage put you under arrest!”
The voice rang out, aided by magic so that it flowed like the wind all the way to Aare who stood over fifty metres away. Yet all this time Aare hadn’t ceased his walk, and still even now he approached the blockade before him. There was no reply. The only action that indicated Aare’s attention was his eyes momentarily locking with johns. Then a single mouthed word which even from such a great distance could be made out clear as day. “Sorry.”
What followed happened in a blink of an eye, a single hand glistened in the dyeing light as it swept across the boy’s body, and as a direct result the entire battalion before him, the Sentries with years of combat training, the arcane corps with the beginnings of a magical defence and even john whose own power trembled pathetically in contrast to the sheer unadulterated might of the force that swept over them. Were thrown backwards, and not just a few metres. Some were tossed like rag dolls up to twenty metres. Then with the exception of a few, lay still. Knocked unconscious when the wave of power battered their brains into a physical submission.
The few who stood did so painstakingly. Their knees shook in both fear and agony as they made their way to their feet. A couple attempted to fire off a spell of their own yet whenever they tried a blue line would blur between them, disrupting any attempts to channel their mana. It didn’t take long for the final few to give up. Aare still walked towards them, completely unopposed as the blue blur protected him from any counter attacks. Before long John realised his mistake. He had left the comfort of the anti-magic wards placed on the walls of Tesuit and had met this monster on open ground. Arrogance that had sprouted from years of peace had played a part in the downfall in every soldier that he had taken outside the security of the walls.
“R-Retreat!” He called loudly, knowing full well that the demon standing in front of them was still yet to fire off a second spell. “Someone needs to tell the garrison to close the gates. This monster must not be allowed to enter the city!” But ironically these were the words that sprung Aare into action. This time, a small – almost unnoticeable - stomp with his left foot caused every standing soldier to fall painfully to the ground with such force that the sound of numerous snapping bones echoed out, before being outmatch by the screams of pain that followed. Nothing fatal, but it felt as if gravity had been multiplied several times. So while certain demons would have found such a spell useless, the humans who remained conscious could only watch in horror as the demon walked ominously past them, his beautiful features etched into their minds as the final rays of dying light caressed his face before the sun dipped below the horizon. Drowning their worlds in darkness.
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The glamorous wall, once a pillar of strength loomed above me with a sense of foreboding. Yet I paid it no heed. My mind had been twisted, warped under the flux of emotion that darted inside my head. Blue helped of course, enclosing a small section of my consciousness and removing the “impurities” as he called it, which were the feelings my twelve year old body accommodated. This allowed me to make the critical decisions needed to keep moving, rather than become the blubbering mess that threatened to overcome me.
It hurt. Not my body, no I hadn’t really taken any damage since I had left this morning. The walk itself had barely been enough to scrape the tip off my collective stamina. So why did one hand clasp instinctively over my chest.
I shook it off. Pulling myself out of my stupor before strolling casually through the open gates. Judging from the reactions of the soldiers when they saw me, they had no idea that the demon was me. So if my plan went well Red and I would be out of Tesuit without any conflict. In fact I was close, I made it to our overly large mansion situated next to the towering pillar without talking to anyone directly. When someone recognised me I just nodded and kept moving. Thanks to my usually busy schedule my curt greetings were in no way out of the ordinary. Thus I moved quickly. I found Red out the back, swinging his halberd in mesmerising movements as he fought off imaginary enemies.
I had already decided to leave Tesuit, and for me it had been an easy decision. Of course I would regret leaving my new family who for the most part had treated me incredibly well. This especially concerned Shirley who had been as close to me as Lye, perhaps even more so. Hannah was another tether, who for your information had parted from me on our way back to Tesuit, after informing her on my plan to leave we had done so to not create undue tension for her after I left. However, as long as the gates of Tesuit lay closed I knew they would all be safe, so by leaving them here I doubted anything would happen to them, making my leaving that much easier.
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My one worry was that Red would wish to stay. I had realised lately that this city had provided everything that Red had ever wished for. A Shedim, with its naturally enhanced physical abilities only needed to be tuned slightly before it reached the state where other races would call one a master, and with the humans –who lacked strength and made up for it in skill- teaching him as one of their own, he had progressed abnormally quickly over the years and I feared that Red had grown too attached to the place to leave in a moment’s notice.
“Red”. I called softly across the courtyard. He was perhaps a hundred metres away so I used a trace of magic to carry my voice and even from so far away Red turned instantly and with two simple steps stood next to me. I whistled slightly, very few lower Races would have been able to follow those movements with their eyes, let alone their swords. He nodded, basically telling me to continue. “I’m leaving”. I started bluntly, letting the words sink in. “Unfortunately I was discovered as a demon and I can no longer stay here. However, you my friend have nothing to fear. You are welcome to come with me off course but I will not blame you if you decide to stay”. I looked deeply into his red unblinking eyes, trying to discover a sliver of emotion that would warn me of his decision. One thing about Red though was that it was almost impossible to read him and all I saw was a layer of despondency masking his thoughts. Still I would never look forcefully into Red’s mind, he was a friend, and I drew the line there.
Barely a second passed before Red nodded, slinging his halberd over his back. “With you” was all he said. There was no regret, not even a hint of indecision in his tone. I let out a sigh of relief before drawing him into a hug, with only Blue’s restrictions in my mind preventing me from sobbing into his chest.
“Thankyou friend”. I said softly
“Brother”, he corrected.
A smile emerged on my face, how it slipped past Blues emotional barriers I have no idea. “Yes, brother”.
It only took a few minutes to grab the essentials, a few of my favourite clothes, the blue Wyverns egg and a couple of coins pinched from Shirley’s purse. I placed a quick thankyou and goodbye note in their place. Red grabbed a few of my Fathers weapons as well as the ceremonial sword gifted to him for his place in the tournament. And so with small travel bags slung over our shoulders, Red, Blue and I travelled together down the beautiful streets of Tesuit, saying our final greetings to the curious bystanders who saw me walking with my bodyguard.
As we approached the walls I thought we had managed to avoid notice before a small figure emerged from one of the few shadows on the side of the street.
“Damn it Aare, I knew you were a creep when you joined the possessed. But not even I thought you could actually sink so low to be an actual demon”! Oliver shouted, making sure his voice was loud enough to alert those nearby, who upon hearing the allegation shot around to look at me. The reactions varied, those who knew Oliver’s reputation for hating me began to laugh and turn back to their work, while those who had never heard either panicked or stepped threateningly towards me.
Shaking my head I tried to step past him, desperately trying to shut out the yelling of the people around me. “Please just let me past, I’m leaving anyway and no one needs to get hurt over this”. I tried to be diplomatic, raising my hands in the universal symbol of peace as I edged past the resolute twelve year old.
As I turned around to keep going I heard a sudden scuffle behind me, looking back briefly I noticed Oliver’s favourite dagger tossed to the side and Red suspending the terrified boy by the wrist. The apparent display of unerring speed and strength had left the spectators speechless and they backed off as Red threw Oliver to the side where he unceremoniously crumpled to the ground and didn’t get up. “Thank you Red”, I praised, suddenly extremely tired. To be honest I just wanted to be out of the city now. The fewer people I saw the better and so I began to mask my presence. “The perks of being an Incubus”. I muttered dryly, knowing now that it was more trouble than it was worth. The blockade at the wall was uneventful. I slipped past unnoticed while Red – being one of the champions of the tournament- was let through easily.
As we walked undisturbed away from the wall I had to decide. Where should we go? My immediate response was to find No’med, though I scratched that idea almost as immediately. His power far eclipsed anything I had ever witnessed from a demon before, even if he was a pillar. I shuddered at the memory. I also reminded myself that there would be three more like him, as well as the new Lord. No for now it would be better if I kept low. Perhaps I could go to the north, and circle the border. Not a great place for a vacation though I would be able to both train and keep a low profile if I was smart about it.
We avoided the path leading to the group of soldiers I had disabled earlier. Instead I walked disillusioned next to Red on a road circumventing the demons territory. With our respective stamina neither of us were particularly bothered by walking long distances but as the passing traders gave warning that it would take several months to reach the next human town on foot we fretted that we would be wasting huge amounts of time should we just walk. Running or flying was out of the question. I still couldn’t transfigure my own set of wings as Lye could, but even if I could have I knew that such travel quickly grew exhausting. I still remembered when Red and I had fled to Tesuit and had been on the verge of collapsing after only a few days. Granted we had each become physically superior after our training in Tesuit but unless we managed to hitch a ride with a trader we would need to pace ourselves. Problem was, with the great stream of carts constantly passing us by I didn’t want to risk being caught by forcing one to give us a lift.
However, just because we were walking didn’t mean we couldn’t train at the same time. Looking back at my fight with the Pillar I realised the greatest differences between the two of us had been our survivability. Had I personally taken any of the attacks I had dished out my body would now consist of a pile of splattered bone and ruptured innards. No No’med had been incredibly adept at defensive magic; such as regeneration, and magical shielding. The first healing his wounds while the second prevented/lessoned the effects of magically fuelled attacks.
I glanced at Red who seemed to be reading my thoughts. Shedim demons naturally developed a certain degree of magical resistance as they grew older, though seeing as we would one day face those who were proficient in magic it wouldn’t hurt to have him try to enhance it. “Red”. I said simply.
“Yes?”
“Don’t panic, but this will hurt somewhat.” I clicked my fingers and Red became enveloped in a bright orange flame, I purposefully dulled its heat, but I could still see some of the scarlet feathers beneath Red’s plate armour ignite and wither. To his credit Red didn’t cry out though for the rest of the day our walking pace was significantly lowered. Also a flaming suit of armour tends to attract a large amount of unwanted attention and more than once a passing trader would throw buckets of water over the “poor demon”. It also needs to be said that now that we were away from the frontline of defence against a possible Demon invasion, people generally treated our kind with a degree of kindness, especially the traders who were used to confronting the two races.
The purpose of setting Red on fire was twofold. Firstly, while his magical shielding was constantly being battered it would adjust to become stronger, like a muscle under intense use. More importantly however is that I would also be able to practice my healing abilities at the end of each day. Coincidently I was also delighted to discover that the light given off by the flickering flame broke up the darkness of the night that threatened to settle around us. Not that Red would ever discover those little secrets. As a final thought I handed Red the Wyvern egg. It wasn’t particularly heavy but I knew that most Wyverns would bathe there eggs in flame to act as a natural incubator. So while it may not hatch anytime soon it would be shortened significantly by this simple act.
For Blue I had a small idea. With no relevant targets nearby we had to come up with an alternate method of training. First he would construct a labyrinth of defences inside my mind and then he would exit my body and try to forcefully enter as I attempted to push him out. Thanks to the shields Blue placed before his departure I often succeeded but it was still great practice for the two of us.
Also while blue was creating the shields I could work on other aspects of my defence. With my naturally enormous mana pool I would develop the magic resistance that I had possessed in my past life. Eventually making me almost invulnerable to magical attacks. So a far more productive activity would be to develop a regeneration skill, which honestly intrigued me since my battle with the pillar demon. Back in Tesuit the academy had explained the basics of regeneration. Essentially it was a branch of healing magic that developed from continuous use. So over the next few weeks as we stopped for the night I would heal Red’s burns. Trying to work through his wounds faster than the nights before. Healing was simple to do yet near impossible to master. There were no set spells and instead it just required you to pour you mana into the wound and use it to observe, locate and then assist the natural healing of the body. The better healers were those who had a great understanding of the anatomy and were able to quickly locate any of the major internal wounds.
I was given plenty of practice. Red would stumble into camp each night with the majority of his leathery skin melted and sticking to the inside of his plate armour. I grimaced each time at the sight, always asking Red if he wanted me to cool the flames. Though he would continuously shake his head resolutely. “High pain thresh hold” I had decided before easing my mana into each the cells that made up Red’s remaining skin. Multiplying the rate of the cell division before watching them stretch over the exposed tendons and muscles that made up Red’s mutilated body.
After healing Red, and watching him - without fail - fall to the ground exhausted I would sit cross legged and withdraw the mana I had used to heal Red back into my own body. Allowing it to enter my bloodstream and be deposited naturally throughout my organs where it would nestle comfortable before being absorbed into whatever body part it lay upon. After repeating this process over the weeks I began to feel healthier. I would regain my energy faster and the long walks didn’t feel as tiring.
It wasn’t until four weeks had passed since the start of our journey that I even considered testing to see if my regeneration occurred naturally. So on the first day of the forth week I surrounded the tips of my nail in a layer of thin and excessively sharp ice, before running it down the back of my forearm. I had planned the area around its absence of any major blood vessels though I was still shocked by the amount of blood that seeped from the four inch wound. Though I was forced out of my stupor as I watched the skin begin to knit itself back together. It was a slow process and although it would have only taken me several seconds to heal it actively with my magic, the four and a half hours that I left it alone for was far faster than it had even been before. Naturally I was ecstatic. Progress that could be seen happened so rarely that I jumped up from my cross-legged crouch and managed to land on Red’s outstretched leg. Though as tired as he was I don’t think he noticed.
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I sighed theatrically as we pulled up for the day. Gazing around our chosen campsite I observed a small clearing surrounded by a defensive wall of trees. It was already occupied by several caravans and a few traders could be seen hitching their tents, attempting to place them on the limited flat ground while simultaneously keeping them out from under the overhanging branches and away from the babbling brook that dribbled through the middle. Only a couple succeeded while the others mealy sighed before trusting their luck to get them through the night comfortably.
“Here’s as good a spot as any”. I mumbled to Red who was stumbling behind me. There were several shouts from around the clearing that reminded me that my friend was still on fire. Honestly I had gotten used to the flickering orange in the corner of my vision and it often escaped my care. Though to try and displace our incoming wave of attention I hastily clicked my fingers to extinguish the flame. It had been two months since we had started walking and Red was getting faster, with the fire no longer inhibiting him as much as it used to.
I watched as he peeled of his armour, and too my annoyance I found most of the skin still intact. While I was happy that he had begun to develop his resistance to the fire I was slightly put out that my own training would lesson considerably.
Apparently I had sighed relatively loudly, as Red’s eyes shifted quickly to meet mine. “What’s wrong” he asked quickly.
“Nothing,” I replied, with a small cough at having been caught. “You’re improving.”
“Is it happening fast enough?” His voice sounded pained now. Desperate almost. I stopped moving completely. Something was wrong here. Red never sounded as insecure as he did now.
“You’re doing fine” I replied as soothingly as possible. Though I felt my eyes opening when Red grabbed my shoulders uncertainly. His calloused hands and talon like nails digging into my skin. I felt blood begin to flow down my shirt but I fought to keep a straight face. No doubt Red didn’t know he was hurting me, and with whatever he was facing now I wasn’t sure if I should tell him. Instead with my own hands I eased his off, thankful to the coat Shirley had given me as its dark blue colour hid the red liquid underneath. “Calm down Red, tell me what’s wrong.”
In answer he just paled. An impressive sight as his singed scarlet feathers still clung tightly to his mangle skin, hiding the majority of it. Though see it I did, and I grabbed his wrist as he turned to leave. Trying to ignore how it tore under my light touch. ‘Maybe I should tone the heat down tomorrow’ I thought in hindsight.
We stood still for several seconds before Red spoke, his birdlike head still turned resolutely away from me. “I’m strong, so don’t leave.”
The words were few but I felt as if I had taken a blow to the stomach. “You, moron. You know I would never leave you, you’re like a brother to me” I hissed, angry that my companion would even consider it.
At the word “brother” Red turned his eyes to me, and I recoiled at the sight of the sheer misery that was displayed within them. “It wouldn’t be the first time” he started in a voice so dreary that I re-evaluated the demon’s supposed lack of emotions. “That family has left me”, he finished. I blanched, I remembered finding Red in the town hall back in Ka’tar, he had been alone then and I had never questioned it, so absorbed had I been in escape and then my own strength. I wondered why he had never shown his anxiety until now, yet soon I connected the dots. Most likely his parents had left him to escape alone, worried that Red would slow them down. It wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case as it was the case far too often with demons, and here we were escaping again. At least Tesuit would have given him a sense of security with as long as I stayed there, I wouldn’t leave him.
I realised that I had been standing motionless as Reds eyes were desperately searching my face for any signs that could tell him what I was thinking. I didn’t even blink before pulling the demon into a hug. Sending my mana forth to both relieve the demon of pain, and show him the warmth of my thoughts. As his skin healed I heard the first sob, which shook me. I hadn’t seen or heard such a display of emotion from Red before and hearing this reminded me that he was only twelve years old. I held the demon harder after that. Never before had Red acted like a child and so I had treated him with the respect he deserved. I wasn’t going to change this, as any special treatment would come across as acknowledgement of his supposed weakness. After what seemed to be hours I let go before holding the Shedim at arm’s length. His skin was now whole and covered by an array of shining crimson feathers.
“Look at me Red”, I told him softly as I watched the tears slip to the end of his beak before falling silently to the ground where they seeped into the cold dirt. I was thankful to the barriers that Blue had left up otherwise I would have been in the same state. “No, don’t look away. Good. Now listen to me bloody closely. I. Will. Never. Leave. You. Do you understand me?” I spoke each word slowly, careful to pronounce them with as much feeling as I could muster.
A small nod was his only reply, though after a quick sniff the tears slowed. After the demon regained himself I let him go. I didn’t bother absorbing the healing mana today. It would be best to just make the shelter and sleep. Hopefully a good night would do the most to our damaged psyche.
Unceremoniously I let my jagged tipped tail pierce into the ground before channelling my mana. It took a few seconds, but as I gathered my magic I felt my sight expand as my subconscious melded with the ground. My affinities with the elements had increased since arriving at Tesuit. Mainly with water and ice, which now stood as my primary elements, but close behind them were earth and fire. Out of fear of losing myself I didn’t let my subconsciousness expand as I would in a battle, but just enough to search out the ground beneath us. The allure presented itself strongly however when I could easily sense each grain of soil beneath me, along with the hundreds of animals that hid safely underground, and as always I had to shake off the feeling of absolute power with the help of blue, who upped my emotional barriers.
**Be quick Aare, you know I hate it when you do this, ** Blues voice chided in my mind. I ignored him before reaching out. It was weird to control my body while both watching the action from my eyes and from hundreds of different points around me at the same time. But I couldn’t let myself dwell on it. Magic swirled and sparked at my fingertips before I slammed my hands together, forcing my mana to grasp onto the earth beneath me and prise it open. I felt the tunnel tear into reality before I saw it and as I followed the newly made steps down with my true sight I moulded the open space to suit my needs, creating a large cavern underneath the ground with multiple small holes that allowed air to be distributed evenly around the cave. Finally I forced the dirt into a near rock like state over the ceiling, walls and floor. It wouldn’t do any good for the newly made shelter to collapse on us during the night.
I spent a moment to admire my work before Blue’s voice once again echoed around my mind. **Aare! **
‘Yeah, yeah.’ I thought before breaking my connection with the true sight. Instantly my vision receded and I found myself constricted to my body once again. I avoided sighing as Red was still watching me closely, so I occupied myself with walking down the carefully crafted steps into the dark space below. With the same magic I used to ignite Red I created small balls of fire to both warm and light the place up, being careful to leave them next to the small holes that led to the surface which would act as chimneys. I still remembered the first night Red and I had camped outside. I’m still not sure if I managed to remove all the smoke from our lungs.
As Red followed me down the stairs I created a quick earth wall to seal us in. It wouldn’t stop anyone feeling compelled to enter. But we would know if someone was trying to break through it, hell they might even hurt their fists a little.
The rest of the night was a ritual created from the weeks of travel. Wash with magic, set up the tent (it was still preferable to sleep surrounded by fabric than soil), cook whatever we had found during the day, lay out the sleeping mats, redirect a small flow of water into an underground pond for easy access during the night and finally lower the intensity of the hovering spheres of flame.
The events flashed through my mind before I found myself lying comfortably on my back and staring up at the material above me which contained an orange sheen, resulting from the dimmed lights outside. ‘Blue, you awake’ I thought silently. Knowing full well that he was, courtesy of the itch at the back of my head, hinted to him swimming around doing whatever dream demons did.
**You know that I am. ** There was a pause where neither of us said anything. **Do you want to keep going, you haven’t slept for weeks. ** Blues voice was quiet, though etched into it was a deep concern that I sent a silent thanks for.
‘And YOU know’ I replied slowly. ‘That this needs to be done’.
**I’m breaking the barriers now then, ** Came the voice moments before I felt Blue’s emotional blockades collapse, and like an infinite tide, weeks’ worth of sorrow flooded my mind. My childlike emotions cutting into my brain like a knife, blunt and awkward yet striking me where it hurt with the precision of a scalpel.
The whispers of lost friends, the crying of betrayed family, the shouts of those who hated me, the calls of those who loved me, the tortured screams of those who I had failed to help, and the pleas of those I had yet to comfort. All of them swam in the flood of memories I had yet to deal with. So many emotions that my body was not designed to agree with. Several times I felt myself drift into unconsciousness, only to be dragged awake by Blue who spoke soft words that pierced through the sea of chatter that tried to overcome me. “Leave me alone!” I screamed to the voices, though in response the words seamlessly transformed into laughter, disgusting sadistic laughter that I had only heard in the interrogation rooms of my last life, “please” I whimpered, no longer trying to hold back the tears. Yet I didn’t feel them, I didn’t feel the blood in my mouth from where I had bitten my tongue, I didn’t feel the hair that I was in the process of tearing out. All I felt was the pain from the voices, the relief from Blue, and the concerned hand from Red which now prevented me from doing further damage to myself.
As I lay sobbing like a newborn I thought back. How the fuck had I let everything deteriorate to this point. There were so many times where I had held the power to prevent something. Yet here I was, with no objective, and only two people I could rely on. Looking up into the orange mesh of our tent felt so constricting and the experience was terrifying. The thing I had loved so much about my room in Tesuit was the window above my bed. In hindsight the sky had seemed so endless then, yet I feel that even if I could have seen that same sky now, I doubt I would have even tried to see where it ended.
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