It was a late start to the day as Adrex and the others slowly woke after the events of last night. Nora dropped several loaves of bread at their feet, having snuck out before dawn. “I’ll pay the baker back, I swear.” She said sheepishly.
The others didn’t care, they ripped into their meal a meager as it was. Most of them had over taxed themselves from magic use which was dangerous, thinking back to their first lessons and the warnings that over exerting oneself could lead to them passing out or even death. They would need more than just a loaf of bread to keep them going but it was a start.
“Did, did you see anything outside?” Adrex asked nervously, he hadn’t slept well for the rest of the night, he kept having nightmares, or flashbacks to what he did to those kids. Including what he would have done if he had not stopped. The last thing he wanted to see was a reminder of that and bring all those nightmares rushing back in.
“Nothing, after we went inside they must have dragged away the bodies.” Nora said.
The dark look on all their faces alluding to the unspoken truth they had learnt in the slums, ‘or something else took the bodies.’
“Still, we should be as safe as we could be for a few days while we collect food and plan ahead.” Livia said, shaking them out of their funk. “Even if we have to beg or steal the food.”
After they had all finished eating they sat in a circle and started to plan their day including where they could beg and ways to sneak and steal, after the plan they set out to get what they could.
-
Taginnoth stepped into the hallway, debris and body parts littered the floor and several demons were carrying the bodies of their kind out, the ones that had died but had not been blown apart by the first few waves. Taginnoth looked at the door at the end of the hallway, perfectly intact with not a scratch on it and frowned, before looking at the demon that summoned him. “Explain what happened.” He growled.
“We had our forces ready but when the first demon reached for the door a shockwave blew that demon and the others apart and did all this damage, a few tried after and the shield spell is just too strong to break. It rebounded several spells as well.” The demon said.
Taginnoth looked at the spell, it’s faint blue edges glimmering but otherwise it was very well hidden. It wouldn’t require much force to break now that the initial shockwave had fired off. Taginnoth growled as his hand wrapped in black fire and he slashed at the shield, the magic melted before him before the rest of the shield shattered in small shards before vanishing. Taginnoth gripped the heavy wooden door and sent a magical shockwave through it splintering it and revealing the spiral staircase leading down, he closed his eyes, sniffed, and certain it was clear he led his forces down into the final corridor.
Before him stood a rough statue, in front of that, a rather old magae and the empty corridor, Taginnoth let out a snort and stepped forward. The mage set up a shield in front of the demon but he was too weak to stop him and Taginnoth stepped through it before grabbing Doran by the Mage’s throat and lifting him off the ground. The mage gasped briefly for air before Taginnoth crushed the man's throat and tossed him aside, before raising his hand towards the statue and creating the fireball spell before casting it and destroying the statue, and wall behind it, revealing the passage into the mines. “Find the Nobles, take them alive. The King demands it.” Taginnoth said as the demons rushed past him into the darkness of the cave, before he too stepped forth.
The Demon Lord had a secondary task that he had to complete if he was to keep this castle and earn the praise of the King, and the mines below the castle would be the perfect place for it given the pain and suffering that had to have taken place down here. He could feel the ancient suffering of those that had toiled away and of those who had fought and died for these mines, those that had been killed before the current age of the first King Colman, and as he slowly stepped further in the suffering just got worse. His grin grew bigger as he found the perfect location, an open cavern that had been hewn from the rock with stairs leading down to the bottom. There were offshoot tunnels along the stairwell and several at the bottom of the pit too, it was clearly just a path down to greater riches that had long been mined away but would now serve Taginnoth and his master.
As he reached the bottom his elation grew larger still as he found his test subjects, a lower noble family that had descended in panic. Taginnoth, using magic, blasted a couple of small holes in the rock and set fires burning in them to give him a little light to see by, even though he could see rather well in the darkness he was having trouble down here.
The noble family was huddling together just inside one of the offshoots watching as Taginnoth walked back and forth setting up before he turned to face them. One of the children screamed and ran for the stairs, they didn’t get far as Taginnoth reached out and grabbed the child's arm. The child screamed and struggled to break free and the child’s mother started screaming and crying, Taginnoth ignored her and dragged the boy to the centre of the pit and then used a spell to create chains on magic that wrapped around each wrist and ankle and embedded themselves in the wall forcing the child to stand up arms and legs splayed apart.
Taginnoth then started to cast the spell, drawing the lines of magic on the floor and walls creating intricate shapes in a magic that burned a deep crimson red that seemed to almost bleed from the rock itself. Taginnoth walked around the boy as he created the spell, his eyes glowing the same red as the magic, no longer the emerald green that the demonic species usually appeared as. Once he was done he stopped in front of the child. He took two steps towards him and used one of his claws to cut a deep gash into the child's chest, blood spilling freely onto the spell which started to glow brighter and brighter as the child screamed now in pain as the magic started to channel into the child.
The child’s head slumped forward before the child screamed in apparent agony, it was blood curdling and unnatural and the magic tore out of the child like bolts of lightning passing over the walls before collapsing in with darkness clinging to the spell. The darkness made contact with the child who started to writhe in agony as the darkness coated him. Then the screaming stopped.
Taginnoth stood still as the child in front of him looked up, now taller muscular with white hair and green eyes. The demon had emerged, the child sacrificed as the base form. “Summon the cultists, I have found their first summoning pit. The King will give them the scraps for them to start their fun.” Taginnoth said as the chains holding the demon vanished.
“Where’s my baby boy?” The mother screamed.
The demon looked at the mother before smiling and saying in the child’s voice “I’m here mommy.” Before cackling in the demon's normal voice.
-
Taginnoth stood on the parapet of the outer wall, eyes closed and enjoying the sun on his face while he listened to the final parts of the construction in the castle square start to wrap up. Just in time too as he could feel his fathers presence getting closer. He heard the staff tapping the ground and the footsteps of a smaller being approaching. “You’ve done well Lord Taginnoth.” The smaller demon said, “but the greatest challenge will be controlling the populace.”
“Father will take care of that with his demonstration tomorrow, and anyone who resists will be given to you of course.” Taginnoth responded.
He looked to his right at the diminutive demon, draped in lightweight black robes that clung to the top of the demons head obscuring the white hair, horns grew in an upward curve from the forehead much like the Generals, marking the demon as a leader, they had skin that was black as any demon however their eyes burned with a constant crimson glow from the birthing magic that they used. This demon also had a marking on their forehead between their horns glowing like fire. “Many thanks, My Lord.” The Cult leader said bowing slightly.
“I’m assuming that is all you wanted?” Taginnoth said.
“That and good viewing for tomorrow, it’s not every day you get to see your King flex his power.” The Cultist replied.
“That’s up to Father to decide.” Taginnoth said flatly, before his eyes opened wide in shock. “He’s here.”
-
Adrex sat bolt upright, he’d been sleeping in the dwelling while the others scavenged for supplies. His heart was racing and he looked around the room as if he was expecting to see something. Gennel must have heard something and came in to see what was going on. “Adrex, what’s wrong, it looks like you had a nightmare.” Gennel said.
“He’s here. The Demon King is here.” Adrex said panicky.
He looked up at Gennel, who had turned a very sick shade of white at this news. “It’s over.”
-
Taginnoth, the General and The Cultist leader all made their way to the castle courtyard just as four figures rode over the bridge, each wrapped in a dark cloak obscuring the rider but each gave off an aura that demanded respect. Each horse was obsidian black, standing just a fraction taller than a normal horse with emerald green eyes and white mane and tail. Three of the figures stayed mounted but the lead rider dismounted and drew his hood back revealing the face of a man with jet black hair. The three demons looked at each other before the man said in a quiet voice “I expect my subjects to kneel no matter what form I take.”
As if he had physically pushed them all three demons were forced to their knees, heads bowed. “My General, you have done well overseeing the advanced forces. I hear your timing was perfect to sway the battle.” The man said.
As he spoke the General was able to lift his head and eventually stand. “Thank you my Liege.”
The man ignored him and walked over to the Cultist leader. “I believe you have already started rebuilding the forces we lost. You will have your work cut out for you soon. I expect you to meet my requirements.”
“As you wish my liege. We will do whatever we must. To serve.” The Cultist said, standing.
Both the General and the Cultist looked at Taginnoth, still being forced down. Both looked like they wanted to run in case the King was furious. Still they stood their ground as the King walked up to the Lord. “As for you, Tinn.” The King said using his human name. “You sacrificed many…” The King paused.
“But you took the castle, captured the Nobles, and prepared well. Rise Lord Taginnoth.” The King said.
The Demon lord stood slowly, keeping his head bowed and not looking the man in front of him in the eye. “Tomorrow we make our statement to these lands, those who still oppose us will be swept aside and then we move for the rest of the world.”
