Elsewhere, five months ago--

Time was different for his people, his kind.

The past five months were a sort of homecoming for Nosdyn Krotar. He'd taken the transport back from the recent job with Vitruvion and Stare. Back home...back to the Tular Plains. That was five months since. Nosdyn did not expect a warm Hero's welcome. He expected to be hated and hunted for being the sole survivor of his squad. He'd been part of a secretive mission to test the defensive capacity of the overworld...Althanas proper. He'd been the only one that had come back home.

Men like Nosdyn did not like down-time.

He had no proper clan to come back home to, no followers worth a damn, no mate...nothing. The only thing he had was his report to give back to the tribunal of demons. There he stood giving his debriefing report back to the demons who oversaw such matters. Truth be told...Nosdyn knew, it was all song and dance. If they followed proper policy, Nosdyn would be blamed for the deaths of his comrades. I don't care they weren't strong enough to survive. They should have trained harder. Since Nosdyn had met Stare and Vitruvion, he'd earned a reason to fight. Something and someone to fight for and protect.

He chose to omit Stare and Vitruvion from his reports...they were not important to the tribunal. Nosdyn would keep his secrets until he met his very end. There was a large tribunal body of demons for that particular age of the Tular Plain's history. At least fifty members of the tribunal were all staring at Nosdyn, judging him. Nosdyn half-expected to be branded as as a war-criminal and be put to a horrible death. As he spoke though, remembering the contents of his report word-for-word...Nosdyn did not see hatred in the eyes of the tribunal.

He saw something else entirely.

Something has happened while I have been away. This is not the same tribunal I remember from my youth... Nosdyn thought to himself as he talked. He'd been there for three days speaking to the tribunal about many complex matters and answering every question he could. Without hesitation, Nosdyn knew his very life depended on it. At about the seventh hour of the third day...there was discussion between select members of the tribunal. They motioned for Nosdyn to stop talking. He did so.

The leader of the tribunal, a regent lord underneath the service of Overlord Zieg stood up at that point. He motioned for the demons and their gathered allies to be silent for a moment. All stopped talking at once a the leader prepared to address those gathered. "Son of Commander Krotar." The leader began, and Nosdyn flinched for a moment upon hearing even the slightest mention of his fallen Father. A demon he'd killed with his own hands. "In concordance to the laws of our people, this military tribunal has granted you the rank of demon general." There were excited whispers in the crowd. "You will assume command for all of your Father's former estates and vassals. And wealth, the dignity of your house will be restored to full prosperity."

Nosdyn narrowed his eyes at what he was hearing. Mercy was it...? What's the catch? Nosdyn did not show any unneeded emotion as long as the tribunal spoke. He would wait until given the chance to speak, until he was given the floor to speak again. There has to be some catch...? Nosdyn thought to himself.

The leader of the tribunal continued to speak. "You have served your duty with dignity and pride that is expected of a soldier of your magnitude. The information you have provided will serve to prepare future generations of soldiers to travel to the overworld and begin to infiltrate the enemy." The tribunal leader looked at Nosdyn with a serious expression on his face. "You are expected to remain here in The Tular Plains and support the bulwark and morality having seen what you've seen."

"When will I return to the surface world?" Nosdyn suddenly asked. "There are matters that still need to be finished."

"I understand your concern...Son of Krotar." The tribunal leader said. "You have been through an extremely trying situation. You have earned your rank as General. Go now, to your clan house and recover from your long journey...you are dismissed. The information you have given us is no longer your concern."

***

He did not remember the last time he was that furious.

I have a rank now...but what does that get me? They'd made me as little more than a puppet...I'm a fucking soldier. Nosdyn walked with two other demons at that point and they both saw that he was raging on the inside. "By the Thayne, I belong on THE FIELD!" Nosdyn growled out loud. His companions looked at Nosdyn. "A week it's been and three days of speaking the reports out...answering their questions...this is what happens now?!"

"That's politics, Nosdyn." One of his companions said. "Things are different here than they were before you left...times have changed."

"Nosdyn, you have a land now, title...power." The other companion said in response. "You can live well now and do your duty."

"Fucking politicians." Nosdyn said suddenly. He stared at his companions. "There's something I have to do. I'll plan what needs to be planned, but I decided that this is not the life I want for myself. I belong on the field." Nosdyn knew, that a posh desk job was not the proper place for a demon general. He wanted to fight. He wanted to win...there was always a war somewhere.

His companions hesitated. "What are you planning, Nosdyn?" One of them asked.

"I'm going back home." Nosdyn said without realizing the severity of what he'd just said. In his absence, the demons of the Tular PLains had grown soft...this was not home. Home was with Stare and Vitrruvion, they'd sent him away for nothing. He would have given his life for Vitruvion and Stare...