The Fight for Survival: Vilxin Drakz

[Zieg dil' Tulfried]

Zieg dil’ Tulfried stood atop a large grassy knoll in a region unknown to most to the southwest of Alerar. He looked down upon the vast sea of tents that sat at the mouth of an incredibly large cave. Behind the demon knight, ten platoons of the Demon Army, two-thousand men a piece, were going through training exercises under the supervision of Zieg’s two generals.

The past three weeks had been incredibly difficult for all of the Haidians. Once Zieg had made the decision to leave the caves and return to the surface, he had been faced with challenge after challenge. First was the route to take. He knew the portals were out of the question. Taking the entire demon population through Corone, or Raiaera, or Alerar would not be taken well. So, he decided that he could find a way up through the caves. He sent several scouts out to find a path to the surface and they hadn’t let him down.

Next he had to determine the best way to move everyone. He decided it would be best to go in shifts, each under the protection of a group of soldiers. Zieg, Kaza, and Xeppa had gone with the first group while Dera’losta’nofa took those from Vla’toros back to their homes to pack and gather things to help build the new nation. So the first came up and built tents with the materials at hand, a small village springing up just outside the cave. As the groups came up, the put up more tents and now roads were beginning to develop and the small village was becoming a town.

The final challenge was getting word to the various platoons of the Demon Army scattered around Haidia. He needed them to come aid the people of Haidia. He sent out scouts to find them, and he was beginning to see results. Slowly, the Demon Army was growing back to a respectable size. The loss of the troops in Vainta was a blow to the force, but Zieg hoped the around fifty thousand that should be remaining would be sufficient.

Voices behind the demon forced him to turn to see who was approaching. He saw the young king and his advisor as well as Kaza and Xeppa running up the hill. Zieg smiled at the fun the two children were having. “Enjoying yourself, your Majesty?� he asked.

“Yeah, but that’s not why I’m here. I was wondering what you had planned for the name of this new Haidia.� Aidos kar’ Atron asked. Zieg smiled and patted the small boy on the head. “Of course. I thought Haide ((Hayd)) would be a perfect name for it. A new Haidia.�

“I like it. That’s the name then. Gillaos, please spread the word to the people that this place is to be known as Haide.� The king looked over to his friend. “C’mon, Kaza. Let’s go play.� The two of them ran off, Xeppa and Gillaos close behind.

Zieg found himself with more problems than before. New towns had to be built, so he was sending out several groups, each accompanied by the Demon Army, to build them. He had one group heading west toward the sea to build the new capital. Zieg felt a seaport would be a valuable asset for the new region and decided it needed to be built as soon as possible. He also knew relations with Alerar would be important, so he had another group heading northeast toward Alerar to establish a border town. There was a third town he hoped to establish somewhere in the middle of the two towns for the Demon Army, with a final town growing up right inside the cave for the few people who were up to leaving Haidia.

The demon knight had a broad goal of making Haide more diverse, so he sent bulletins out requesting aid from anyone that wanted to help. He hoped this new region would be more willing to accept others if they helped build the town around them.

There was one last problem Zieg had. There were rumors that Deimis had made their way up to these plains with everyone else. He knew they would try to establish their own base here. He had no way of stopping them though, there were too many other things he had to worry about. The High General simply had to hope that things would work out.


((The Fight for Survival: Vilxin Drakz
An important asset of the Demon Army has been the Magim Beasts. However, leaving their underground homes has been hard for the Magim Beasts. They are struggling to survive. This city will also be the new home for the Demon Army, which means a Demon Army Headquarters will be needed.

NPC: Zaketh ag' Dinmos, the bulky demon general of the Demon Army

Lead: Storm Veritas
Toy Soldier
Witchblade))

[Storm Veritas]

“Don’t tell me what you’re doing. Don’t tell me why you’re doing it. Don’t tell me what’s wrong, or why it needs to be fixed, or what the hold up is. I don’t care. Just build, reinforce, and get the god-damned job done. Excuses will not be accepted, only results.”

He sneered as he spoke, watching the grey skinned freak take off away from him. These demons were huge, massive and thick and muscular, but still had a fear of authority. He had assumed it readily – the Demon army needed to rebuild, and they needed leaders. Although it didn’t fit any particular agenda he could figure, it was lucrative, and his compensation more than sufficed to acquire his services.

”Drive more around the front line, reinforce the wall! Move your asses! We don’t know when the enemy will strike, but it could be ten minutes from now. Act as though your most dear and beloved were waiting in their homes. Would you still swing that sledge like that slow sack of shit I see before me?!”

He barked as he spoke now, walking around the grounds of “Vilk-sin Drack”, or whatever the name of this god-forsaken detail had been decided. The grounds here were silty, some sort of infertile sand-like earth that had refused to taste the fruits of anything they had started to farm. The earth was rock-riddled as well, large and barren and terrible. It was a good place for the Demons, he supposed, because the humans would certainly never come here on purpose.

Not like these god-damned animals.

The Demons were unlike anything he had ever seen. Big and cumbersome and deadly, they were incredibly skilled and vastly superior to the plebian humans of Corone. How had they lost in the first place? With incredible numbers and physical superiority, Storm decided it was merely poor leadership that created the original fall. Nothing else could explain it, this force seemed nearly invincible. If the Demons and Humans were to fight, it was best to bet on the right horse, and his employment with the Demon Army was a very convenient coincidence.

He had opted away from the uniform, figuring that the demons would want nothing to do with some imposter. Try to pose as one of those, and he was a laughingstock. Long, tall, lean, and athletic, he was the full-force diplomat in his suit. Impeccable dress came at the expense of convenience, and he got up every morning from his bunk well before the rising of the awful demon-things. Groomed, cut, shaved, and hard-assed, he could stand up to them, order them, bark at them. Were he to show weakness, he would be skinned alive.

The city was coming along fairly well. The plains didn’t have many trees to start with, but what was once there had made a decent perimeter wall. Long, flat house barrack of stone and mud sufficed to house demons, supplies, and infirmaries. The foundry would be done soon, and they’d have steel, enough to lavishly outfit the armies.

If they could get moving soon enough, they’d be protected. Well enough get those horrible bat things – the Magim Beasts, as they were – up and breeding enough.

Yet time was an issue, and a fleeting one at that. The enemy could come at any time, and Storm Veritas had no idea how the demons could handle a threat right now.

[Witchblade]

Really, she had no idea why she was here. Sure, come help out the demons as they move from Haidia—the only place on Althanas she hadn’t yet been—and build new homes for them. Not only build a town but headquarters for their military and help breed some freaking creatures called Magim Beasts that the halfling had yet to decide on whether or not she found them hideous or cute. She didn’t know how to get them to breed anyway, that was something out of her jurisdiction. It would be better off if she left that to Storm, the human who was somehow in charged of this whole thing. Oh, nowhere did it say she was going to be taking orders from him, in fact it was some kind of collaborative measure on everyone’s part, but so far he was the one standing around barking orders. And she was the one standing around trying to look like she knew what she was doing.

Massaging her temples to hopefully get rid of the annoying headache she could just feel spurring into motion in the back of her skull, the halfling walked around the perimeter of the new town. Things were going smoothly and rather quickly, what had started out as an army of tents was turning into a vast sea of skeletal buildings.

Eventually, Witch found herself standing by the side of Storm Veritas. She had nothing against the human; in fact she’d been teamed up with him on a rather interesting and fruitful event in this very region. She hadn’t minded him too much then, of course most of the time she’d been stuck with that asshole Damion Shargath, who she would have been better off letting die. There was no changing that now, but she could still feel the regret over saving his life flowing through every ounce of her being.

Folding her arms under her chest, the halfling eyed the human, “You know, you can stand around barking your orders to anyone who listens, but the fact is you have little to no idea as to what you’re doing.�

If he bothered to give her any kind of look over that she wasn’t watching to see it. In fact, her eyes had returned to the horde of demons moving to construct this new town and what would soon be their new homes. Surprisingly enough, despite what she’d heard about demons, they didn’t really seem all that bad to her. The Malice stayed quiet around them and they seemed like any other race on Althanas, just out to survive.

Her only problem was the damn Magim Beasts. She was in charge of those things, which was going to be a real fiasco. Not only were they not breeding up here but they were finding it hard to adjust to the cold climate. The plains weren’t really that cold but in retrospect she knew the beasts lived deep under ground in Haidia where it could get pretty intense. The problem was, she didn’t know if she could replicate the same kind of environment up here or if she would even have to. Maybe they would adjust to the colder climate, maybe they would begin to likes things up here. She really didn’t know and frankly she wasn’t even sure if she cared.

Needing the release of physical movement, the halfling opted to move away from Storm and help out in some of the actual construction. Some house, some building with some demons. She really didn’t care as long as she could get her muscles moving.

[Storm Veritas]

The only “human” interaction he was able to partake in here was with Witchblade, the powerful yet ornery woman who seemed to march to her own drummer. He dared not try to order her to do anything – empowered women rarely took orders from anyone – but knew that at the same time he would be forced to keep her “in her place”, whatever that was. The only thing that powerful people liked less than being told what to do was being led by the incompetent, and Storm was certain that wouldn’t happen today.

The framing of one of the houses she went to look at was coming along pretty well. The timbers that were driven by the strongest of demons formed a good footing to lay stone at, and the stone and mortar that would comprise the core structure. The demons weren’t stupid beasts – not like imps, or orcs, or even those awful dwarves, but they needed direction, order. They were born soldiers, and worked very hard. One that fell out from line was hit with a whip from a commanding sergeant. Things were going swimmingly.

Except for those Magim Beasts.

“Someone told me that the Magim Beasts wouldn’t mate…” he began, an introduction free discussion to the primary directive. “Did someone sell you queer Magim Beasts?”

He walked past her, ensuring she could see the twinkle in his eye and half smile on his face. She was the only one he could talk to, joke with, and relax a spell to. He had proven himself in combat to her, there was no need for him to uphold the charade of constant scrutiny with her. He would have to look stoic from a distance, but could laugh and joke ad nauseum with this one, and her groans of disapproval were the extent of what he’d have to endure.

“We talked about the heat with them. I think they need more. If we coat the sides of their cages with oil, a fire around them might make them comfortable. Hell, they might even screw, given the privacy of a flamewall. What do you think?”

Crossing his arms, he took a quick sliding step, staring through the construction and thinking as he awaited her response. The construction was fine, although supplies were beginning to get low. He had no idea how they’d get extra supplies out here without a hold-up. He’d already sent a few groups of demons to retrieve more timber, tar, and stones, but the caravan convoys had been gone for a few weeks.

Son of a bitch… just doesn’t feel right. Not smooth, not easy. Not right.

The wind blew across the plain and burned at him, an unsettling feeling. The stronghold was coming together, and the magim beasts would come around. Yet there weren’t enough to defend the town, and the town was still weak. Still vulnerable.

[Zieg dil' Tulfried]

Zaketh ag' Dinmos was in a furious mood. Not only was he having to deal with building a new city, a new Demon Army HQ, while keeping his men in shape. The High General knew that he was up for the task, but it didn't make it any easier. Still, with all of these difficulties, he had some human giving orders to his men. When a captain had come to him to inform him of this atrocity, he had stormed from his tent, knocking over stands of food, armor, and weapons. When he arrived at the flat plains where his men were training, he reached out to grab the human by the shoulder.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! I told you to tell the captains to begin their training exercises, not take over! If anyone in this damn camp is going to take over, it'll be me! The one with the ag' in his name. Which stands for general in case you were too naive to know. You were to tell the captains to begin training then go to the Magim Beasts and try to find a way to help them adapt to this different climate. At the same time you were to begin building houses, stables, and whatever the hell else we needed according to the blueprints the engineers worked out!"

The general turned to the commanders of each platoon and began to yell again. "And you! I put you in charge of my platoons and you just turn over command to some random human? Without even a letter with my signet on it? I can understand starting training, but just handing over your command? I am dissappointed in you. Get back to work." Zaketh swiveled on one foot and walked over to where the foundation posts were being placed for the new Demon Army Headquarters would be.

The commanders truly looked ashamed of themselves, many of them giving Storm a dirty look. They knew that Zaketh had a foul temper, but they all respected him. He was an excellent leader and would do anything he had to to protect each and every one of them. Which, of course, made disappointing him all the worse. They each looked to the human to see what he would do next.

((Sorry, Storm. Had to take you down a couple notches. Getting too big headed. ))

[Witchblade]

As the demon General came over to beat Storm down to the size he should be sitting at, Witch had to laugh. She couldn’t help it. His entire cocky attitude and his remarks about her not getting those damned Magim Beasts to procreate, he deserved it the little snivelling human. Luckily, she’d stayed out of the lime light and had decided that it was better she not take some kind of leadership role here. After all, she wasn’t much of a leader anyway and she hadn’t wanted to do what Storm just had, step on the toes of the demonic higher ups. She respected the demons after all; they were so much better to hang around than humans.

“I’m sorry, were you saying something about me not being able to breed some stupid beasts? Maybe you should worry more about staying in line and within your ranking here, you are after all, human.�

Though human he may be, she did have to admit he wasn’t scared of her like most humans were and he had a balls to even goad her and engage in something called normal conversation, which she was never good at. With Storm though it seemed a little more natural and that was something new to her. He threw insults at her; she insulted him back then maybe tried to kill him in his sleep. After all, he did have to sleep eventually and well, she didn’t.

Moving away from the construction she was watching, Witch moved closer to the human.

“The beasts are a problem though and I don’t think coating their cages with oil and setting them on fire will help. That will only make them comfortable within their cages. They need to adjust to their new surroundings and the new climate. Only time will give them that.�

If setting their cages on fire would solve anything she would have already done it by now. Storm should know she had a liking for fire magic and burning things, especially when they were still alive, but she doubted they wanted her to burn the damned Magim Beasts.

Realizing that the demons in the vicinity were all looking at both her and Storm now, Witch sighed. They couldn’t hear her one side of the conversation with him, after all, she was speaking telepathically, but she didn’t like having an audience and every eye on her.

“Get back to work!� Witch widened the field her telepathy covered, radiating it out to anyone within about a good ten or fifteen feet of her, that way they’d all get the message, “Who said you could stop working on these buildings!? I want feet and hands moving and I want to hear the sound of construction and I want to hear it now! Captains, getting your fucking training exercise underway.�

She didn’t know what surprised them more, the fact that she actually said something since she’d been extremely quiet up until now. Or the fact that her mouth hadn’t moved the entire time and the voice had come from within their heads. Either way, they all turned and began going back to work. The Captains grabbed their troops and moved them to a safe location away from the construction where they could train without the thought of injuring anyone. All Storm and her had to do now was get to the Magim Beasts, but she really had no idea how to get them used to this climate. They weren’t dogs; she couldn’t take them out for a walk.

The rucksack on her back began to move, Witch grunting slightly as something hard was shoved against her spine, knocking her a bit. A few seconds later the front flap popped open and a small white head emerged from the darkness of the rucksack. Large, pure black eyes stared around at the surroundings in wonder, like usual, and Daegun, the halfling’s little white dragon placed his paws on her shoulder and hoisted himself up into his favourite sitting area.

He’d never seen demons before and Witch had to actually command him from running over to go meet one. She wasn’t too sure how friendly a demon was to a dragon and this was a construction area, he could step on something and hurt himself. He was better off on her shoulder watching things from afar.

[Toy Soldier]

With all of the attention Tobias was getting in Ost'Dagorlin about having the potential to be highly gifted in Raiaeran song magic, it was hard to focus in on anything else that was occuring in the world of Althanas. He'd been under the tutelage of Amroth AncalÃ*mon for a month and was increasingly in power and skill rapidly. Every day consisted off hard training for long hours, with the only breaks being when Tobias needed nourishment. As far as rest was concerned, six hours of sleep was all that the strict Headmaster of Ost'Dagorlin would afford him. However, with the recent news of Haidia being a hot topic of discussion amongst the Raiaerans, the young orphan found himself devoting thought and attention to the demons of the cave world. Amroth noticed that his young prodigy's focus wasn't what it normally was, so one day he inquired of the boy's distracted mind. There was some hesitation from Tobias at first, but he soon revealed to the Headmaster that he had a dear friend who lived in Vainta and whether or not he was safe was a strong concern of his. Amroth, despite being militant when teaching, understood a young child's feelings better than most thought. He knew that if he didn't let Tobias go down to the Tular Plains to check up on his friend, then never would he be able to devote all of his effort to becoming a great song mage. So upon taking the necessary steps to acquire a leave of absence for the child, Headmaster AncalÃ*mon called forth Fëanáro Elensar, the man who was responsible for bringing Tobias into the University in the first place, and asked that he accompany the young boy to the south western country. Without debate or question, Elensar accepted, and took the Istien student to gather his things from his dorm.

"Now why are you going to the Tular Plains again?"

"I already told you Fëanáro, my friend was involved in the war down in Haidia! I want to see if he's alright, and if so, I want to help the demons rebuild in any way that I can!" The boy yelled, finishing up the last of his hasty packing. The Bladesinger leaned against the dormitory wall of Battalion's room, looking on in amazement at his young companion. To him, he couldn't understand how a Coronian, let alone anyone else could befriend a Haidian. Fëanáro believed the demons to be isolated people, wanting nothing to do within anyone else, and the proof was their underworld residence that was much harder to get to than any other place in Althanas. "Tobias, if you don't mind me asking, just who is this friend?"

"Kaza Tulfried, son of the demon general Zieg dil' Tulfried."

Hearing that name caused the elf's jaw to drop. He'd heard of the legendary demon and his power, especially in the war between the Grey Braves and the Malice; even the most gifted song magician would struggle with someone of that magnitude. "How in the world did you ever befriend the son of Zieg dil' Tulfried?!"

"Argh, that's a story for another time! Come on, we have to get going!"

*~*

- Tular Plains: Vilxin Drakz

There were signs and flyers all over Eluriand from the demons seeking help from anyone that would be willing to help them rebuild on the Plains. Lists of where help was needed were in great detail, and it was because of this detail that Tobias, along with the Bladesinger Fëanáro Elensar, were able to locate Vilxin Drakz. "This must be the place where the Demon Army will rebuild their headquarters. We're bound to find Kaza here!" The child said to his partner, looking at the vast expanse of greenery, along with the various cement and wooden structures jutting out of the earth. The demons hammered, nailed, and chizzled away, possessing an intense drive to restore the former glory and power that they'd once had in Vainta. But, aside from the men working in unison, the boy did hear bickering and arguing nearby. Taking Fëanáro by the hand, he pulled him toward where the tension was and found a rather large demon verbally blasting a much thinner, an obviously weaker human.

"The demons are really having a tough time here. There aren't nearly enough men here to get this place up and running in a timely fashion. Enemies seeking to stamp out the demons for good could easily do so right now. But," Fëanáro thought of the possibilities of creating an alliance with the demons. If they saw that Raiaerans were humbly helping them with their much needed tasks, then they would most certainly prove to be a powerful ally against Alerar and other opposing nations. "This trip turned out to be more beneficial than I'd originally thought."

Tobias hadn't been paying attention to his comrade, but instead he moved about quietly, observing and listening to the hard working men. The problem at hand, aside from the apparent fact that they needed to get as many residences, facilities, stores, and other establishments up as quickly as possible, was that they were having trouble getting the Magim Beasts to breed due to the colder climate. The orphan was familiar with the Magim Beasts for Kaza's father always had one by his side. They needed an ambiance similar to Haidia in temperature which only then would deem the winged animals comfortable. Upon quickly thinking of a way in which he could solve this problem, the smiling Tobias, dragging his wagon as usual, skipped over to the massive demon general that'd scolded the human man previously, assuming that he was the one in charge.

"Hiya! My name is Tobias Battalion and I'm a friend of Kaza Tulfried! I've been hearing the concerns of the workers and it seems that you guys need the Magim Beasts to breed, but the temperature isn't right for them. But that's an easy problem for me to fix! Wanna' see?" The general looked down at the skinny youth, unsure on how to take what the boy had just said. He knew that all kinds of help was needed, but there was nothing impressive about Tobias.

"Child, I don't think you can help much here. We need stout men able to build. You're a human and you look no older than twelve. Had you been a young demon boy, then maybe I'd let you lug some stones around, but that is not the case. There is nothing you can do here so go ahead and run along." Zaketh turned his back to the youngster, causing his cape to flap in the boy's face upon his departure. However, Tobias firmly grabbed the General's cape, tugging on it, which in turn halted the demon.

"You didn't even give me a chance! I can help you out, better than most of these guys here," Tobias' voice was now raised, commanding the attention of not only the General, but those that were nearby. Realizing that he would have to grant this boy a chance to prove himself worthy of providing aid, he sat upon a rock and crossed his legs. "Fine then. Show me what you can do to help."

Tobias grinned and immediately pressed his hands together. His eyes began glowing blue, while black mist spread from out of his wagon. The ominous substance covered nearby lands, leaving builders no choice but to stop their work, due to the distraction. A large black door emerged from the pile of toys, and opened. "Season, can you please come out?" The boy asked. A handsome figure donning white robed attire stepped forth. All eyes were on him which created an arrogant grin across his face.
"I see that my greatness has captivated my audience. Tobias, you picked the right moment to let me out of there," Setting his eyes on the General, the Toy World resident turned to the young gatekeeper. "Tobias, who's this loser?"

"The name is Zaketh ag' Dinmos! Perhaps my blade will help you remember that!" Realizing that the tension between Season and Dimmos was escalating quickly, Tobias jumped in front of the two.

"Come on Season, try to be respectful for once. This is one of Zieg's men, and he needs our help. The Magim Beasts need a hot climate in which they can breed. I know you can give that to them."

"I can, but I won't. These men are not worthy of my service."

"Please Season!! If you do this, you'll be able to stay out of Toy World as long as you like!"

"Seriously? You won't make me go back to that god forsaken place!?"

"Well, not immediately. But I know that getting the Magim Beasts to breed will take a really, really long time."

"Fair enough," Season said, showing his willingness to compromise. "When I do return, I'll at least have something to brag about. Anyway, lead me to those ugly creatures."

Tobias followed Zaketh to where some of the Magim Beasts were. They didn't look nearly as healthy as they would've back in Haidia, but the ones here were to be commended for their long journey up here, and their desire to try and adapt. "Alright, get started Season." Wasting no time, the brunette Toy World resident threw his hands up in the air. It was a relatively cool day, but the climate began to shift dramatically. The sun's heat intensified, creating hot breezes and Haidia-like temperature. The hair on the Magim Beasts perked up, and their entire demeanor started to change. Now looking up at Zaketh, Tobias once again smiled, patting him on the arm.

"Sir, it looks like this problem is beginning to be solved."

(Zieg, I hope it was alright for me to bunny Zaketh. I didn't want to make him do too much, but I needed to bunny him in some way to insert Tobias into the story correctly.)

[Zieg dil' Tulfried]

((It's alright. Also, I'm leaving Kaza in your care for now. Feel free to bunny him and Zaketh until the end of the thread.))

The demon knight had left Vla'toros about twelve hours earlier, headed to the northwest. He knew that Zaketh had plans to construct a town around the new Demon Army Headquarters within the core of the continent, as easy access to all of the new towns within Haide. Zieg had agreed with his ideas and was now journeying to see how his plans were progressing.

When he entered the makeshift town, he found that things were very similar to Vla'toros. The far western portion of the town was entirely made of tents. However, foundations for a large building were being set up to the far east of that, obviously for the new focal point of the army. Various other buildings were beginning to arise, but it was obvious what the focal point of the city would be.

Zieg, Xeppa, and Kaza arrived at the precise moment that the sun began to blaze over the city. He caught sight of a group of gathering near the edge of the city. They wandered their way over to the group and caught sight of the group of Magim Beasts that were penned inside a small grotto of trees. They were beginning to look much better than they had when they had first arrived. It was then that he saw the reason why.

As always, Tobias Battalion and his wagon appeared whenever he and Kaza were in need. This time the boy had a nicely dressed gentleman at his side. Apparantly, this gentleman was the source of the increase in heat, as well as some discomfort for Zaketh.

"Eh. So you increased the temperature around here. Better be careful that you don't fry the entire area. I really don't think Zieg and his son would be too happy about that one." Zaketh had grudgingly conceded victory to the boy and was trying to salvage his dignity in some way. His superior decided to step in and give him a hand.

"I'm sure that Tobias and his friend will keep a close eye on it, won't you?" Zieg asked. Kaza, at the sight of his friend, had gone wide eyed. He jumped down from atop of Warrior the horse's back and had run forward. "General Zaketh, would you mind showing me the preparations you have made for the defense of this town?" Zieg asked, simply to spare him any more discomfort. Zaketh nodded and proceded to lead him away.

Kaza however had no plans to leave his friend just yet. "Tobi! You're here! In Haide! Yea, they took off the "-uh" since we moved up into the sunlight! I love it up here so much better than down in the red caves." Kaza wrapped his arms around the other boy and practically proceded to tumble them both to the ground. Xeppa, ever watchful, hovered nearby in case anything happened.

[Storm Veritas]

Storm was furious, and took all of his restraint to not strike down the demon captain on the spot. Not only had the demon made the mistake of thinking Storm incompetent, but had associated him as merely human. This was, of course, preposterous on its face; Storm cleaved through the simple humans like a hot knife through butter. He was exceptional, and had grown in power substantially since the days he had last met face to face with the demons in Vainta upon Haida. At that time, he had felt great fear in the powerful warriors, knowing that they had clearly shown physical dominance over humans. Now he felt no such fear.

Now he felt disgust.

The demons were arrogant, and stupid. Were they born with half the brain of a human, they would never have left their homes, never been forced to relocate. They should never have been attacked or threatened in the least by things such as elves or dwarves or humans, and yet here they were, in the cold midst of anonymity, shrouded in their own terrible smoky fort. Storm had brought them here, he had led them, and he was the reason they even had a front line of defense.

Without this “human”, you retards would still be picking cheese between your claws and trying to figure out which way was west.

As furious as he was, he was forced to swallow his pride. Strong though he was, there were too many. Were he to lead, he would need to show that he was here. To hell with Witchblade, the bizarre old bitch who put herself on a pedestal. To hell with the general. He had been empowered, and no ridiculous demon brotherhood would stand in his way.

~*~

Another week of labor and work and disgruntled demons kept things moving forward, but Storm could feel his place in the pecking order far too well-checked. He was still powerful, still cut smooth, and refused to give an inch to the bull-headed Demons. Despite their big talk, he had seen far too much talk for little action from them. Besides, were he to give an inch, the sub-gargantuan electrical manipulator foresaw horrible details of manual labor in his future.

Fortunately, things came up aces for him soon enough.

The arrival of Tobias Battalion could not have come at a better time. Storm couldn’t believe what he was seeing, a ghost in the midst. Veritas had defeated the boy years before in the Theater of War, but the brave, gifted youth was a game fighter even then. Another human-sort, someone else to steel the cause, someone else to add resolve that the humans were more than helpful, they were necessary.

The fact that the boy was a tremendous little pyromaniac helped matters.

“Well, son-of-a-bitch! Tobias! God-damn, son! Didn’t think you’d survived that matter by the floating castle. Good to see you here, and I hope there aren’t hard feelings. You fought bravely.

“…and between you and me, the human sort has to stick together. I need you, and you’ll need me. But keep that quiet.”

He smiled as he looked at the boy, crow’s feet winking at his eyes as he wiped coal dust from his forehead. This would work well. The boy could be very useful, if not critical. His heat distortion could be just what the Magim beasts needed, to acclimate them more gradually. Let them build a tolerance to the cooler weather, instead of thrusting them out on ice.

He spoke again, this time barely more than a whisper.

“Go to that mean old woman. Much more bark than bite, trust me. Tell her you want to help bring them Magim Beasts up to heat more slowly.

“Oh, and don’t tell her I sent you. You can be a great gift to the demon army, but you don’t want to be associated with me right now.”

He shoo’d off the boy, amazed at the turn of events. Not ten seconds later, he felt the savage force of a metal-barbed whip come across his back. Scrambling, he snapped up in time to see his attacker, a large, lieutenant level officer of the army. Huge, strong, intimidating, respected. His voice was a thunderous roar.

“Move, human! Move your scrawny ass and get back to work, or I’ll tear you from here through the wake of the fourth moon!”

As several onlooking demons laughed at the gesture, the willpower of Storm Veritas to yield to the pecking order of the demon army broke. A circle had formed around the two, and this wouldn’t take him long.

~*~

Motherf*cker…

Two hands snapped instinctively down to his hips and Storm scrambled to his feet. The right hand drew his titanium dagger as he coiled in an athletic stance. With the large, uniformed giant before him, he would have to be wary, but the sneer on his face and the fire in his eyes spoke otherwise.

The time had come for redemption; he wouldn’t be pushed aside.

The whip is a powerful weapon, but can be cumbersome and slow before the crack. As the mighty paw lifted to pull back the reigns for another strike, Veritas leapt forward. His own left hand flew up high towards the outstretched hand of the demon, who was caught totally by surprise from an aggressive human not half his weight. Storm was a flurry, a hurricane, a destroyer of worlds.

The knife danced back and forth in a flash that caught the lieutenant hapless. The officer’s left hand moved to defend him, but Storm toppled it with a foot and a striking right hand. The first swipe cleared a deep gash through the throat of the demon, an attack that would ultimately be called the deathblow. Veritas followed savagely, slashing twice more across the face as the lieutenant fell backward. For the first time, Storm was no longer composed, his meticulous garb sullied by large, long streams of crimson and black bile. The titanic demon crashed to the earth before a shocked audience. Above him, Veritas stood with one foot on his chest, the second on the ground by the thick, lifeless head of the demon. The right hand came down once more, the blade driving through the blank-staring eye, creating a horrible squishing sound.

As Storm was being pulled away by several more of the worker-bee monsters, he wrenched the knife back into his hand, hearing the crack of bone as he wrestled it from the skull of the very dead lieutenant. He was dragged off against his will, and knew not what he would find for comeuppance.

[Toy Soldier]

The combined shouting of the young demon boy and his human friend seized Fëanáro's attention. He'd heard the screams of children all too often patrolling the rough sections of Anebrilith, so as a natural reaction, he dashed over towards where Tobias and this other unknown fellow were. His blade was drawn by his right hand, and if need be, he was prepared to perform the proper hand signs in conjunction with Raiaeran songs in order to unleash attack spells. However, such was not necessary for upon arriving at the scene, he simply saw Tobias and another boy rolling around in the grass, wrestling each other playfully. The Bladesinger had no idea who this new child was, but he connected the dots upon watching the boy, who was apparently young than Battalion, wave to a very large demon afar off. "Z...Zieg...dil'....Tulfried!?" The words left his mouth in a similar way in which a fangirl would utter the name of her favorite rockstar. "So this is the friend Tobias was talking about." Approaching the boys closer, Fëanáro Elensar cleared his throat in a way that would hopefully get the orphan's attention. The youngster didn't hear the low sound, but with added volume in the next, the child stopped what he was doing.

"Oh, hey Fëanáro! This is Kaza! And Kaza, this is Fëanáro Elensar! He's a Bladesinger from Eluriand that watches over me and protects me when I'm outside of Istien University!" Kaza smiled slightly, but the enthusiasm that he carried upon first laying eyes upon Tobias was not the same here. Instead, the son of Zieg dil' Tulfried gazed at the warrior elf questionably, as if confused by something. "Hey Tobias," The demon child uttered, yet without taking his eyes off of Fëanáro. "What happened to....what's his face.......oh! What happened to Mr. O'Brien? I thought he looked after you?"

That name cut through Tobias like a stainless steel knife. His eyes widened as if in shock and his hands started to tremble. Fëanáro immediately took noticed of this and acquired an extremely concerned look on his face. Tobias had never really spoken of his past, short of generalizing the bad things that he'd done. Yet as far as specifics went, Fëanáro was completely in the dark. "Tobias, who is this....Mr. O'Brien fellow?" The Bladesinger inquired, as he knelt down meeting the orphan at his eye level. The Toy World gatekeeper stayed quiet, still in his state of shock, but as Kaza sought to answer Elensar's question as best as he could, Tobias extended his hand, covering his friend's mouth. "Don't you say a word Kaza! Not a WORD!" The demon boy had a frightened look on his face, since he'd never seen his companion like this before. However, since it was apparent to him that Tobias harbored a lot of pain, he kept his mouth shut, opting to say nothing about this.

Awkward silence would've surely fallen on the three though, had it not been for an abrupt interruption by the same human that was reprimanded by Zaketh ag' Dinmos. He greeted Tobias loudly, but whatever he said hadn't really sunk into the youth's brain since he was thinking about who this fellow was. He acted as if he knew him, but in all honestly, the orphan couldn't remember who he was in the least bit. "The Theater of War," Battalion asked, looking at Kaza and at Fëanáro before shrugging his shoulders. "I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong guy. I never fought there. Maybe you're thinking of the Magus Cup?" The child tried to get his inquiry in, but this individual continued to rattle on about this supposed fight they had, in addition to human unification. It seemed that he'd dealt with the same thing that Tobias dealt with upon arrival, which was doubt from the demons that they were capable of helping them effectively. This doubt on the demons part turned quickly into disrespect and then blood rage as the human along with another demon fought with each other. The end result was that the human violently killed the demon, spilling his blood........everywhere. Witnessing this, Tobias began to tremble again, recalling all of the blood that he and his Toy World companions had shed a while back.

"I came to Raiaera to get away from this!" The boy shouted, backing up slowly, feeling a mixture of both anger and fear. Fëanáro didn't know what to do since he hadn't been with Tobias that long, and had never seen this side of him. However, Kaza rushed over to his friend and put his arm around him. "Tobi, relax! There's no need to be scared. We'll get through this!" The comfort of the demon boy's words calmed the orphan down significantly. Kaza looked over towards Zaketh and ordered him to get Tobias some water. Truly, the demon General resented this, but he dared not show disobedience to the son of Zieg dil' Tulfried.

"Here." Zaketh apathetically said, bringing over a bucket of water to Tobias. It was very warm, since it's been brought from Haidia in order to quench the thirst of the builders working hard on the new town and headquarters. Battalion only took a few sips before choosing to drink no more. At that point, Kaza had Zaketh take the bucket away. Fëanáro during all of this, simply observed. There was a lot more to Tobias than he originally imagined and he was beginning to ponder over what the real reason behind him leaving Corone might've been.