Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2018 8:45:17 GMT -5
Over 1,700 Years Ago…
The black moon still hung heavy in the sky as the young Amatricina stirred from her sleep. Whatever dream she had drifted away into fleeting memory as the grogginess of waking replaced her thoughts. It was not morning, it was still late into the evening. For her this was unusual, as the young demon typically slept as hard as a corpse. Early to bed, early to rise, keeps a girl healthy, pretty, and wise was what her mother often told her. Amatricina was skeptical of this, but did as she was told. She was more than weary of incurring her mother’s wrath in the face of disobeying her instructions. There were few things in her small world she feared more than her mother Bonara’s scorn.
Were she a human child, Amatricina would be no more than seven or eight years old, but as a fire demon born in the black abyss that is the Demon Realm, she was already well over a century old. Her kind was blessed with long life spans, which they, like many of their fellow demons, credit to the Dark Energies to permeate the Demon Realm. A kind of nourishing energy that gifts them with incredible strength and longevity, though most of this blessing is turned inward and used against rival demonkind. In any event, young Amatricina was barely a child by demonic standards, a child that very much could not sleep. She tossed and turned in her bed, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes and huffing to herself in annoyance as she tried to get back to sleep.
Closing her eyes did little, and the comfort of sleep could not take her. After trying for what felt like hours, but in truth was mere minutes, she simply gave up. Tossing the covers aside in disgruntled fashion, Amatricina hopped upright, springing to her feet. There was no point in trying to sleep if she couldn’t, she decided, so that meant finding something to entertain herself with. Amatricina’s bed was large, big enough to hold half a dozen of her, with satin sheets and blankets of the finest silks. None of this meant anything particularly important to the young girl, only that her bed was usually very comfy. Dressed in an oversized nightgown that looked more like a dress on her petite frame, Amatricina looked about “her” room. She shared her sleeping quarters with the other children sired by her mother Bonara. Demon warlords often took multiple wives, be it out of lust or vanity, as trophies of conquest, or any other particular reason. Typically the children of each particular spouse were quartered together, since their brothers and sisters were closer kin than mere half-brothers and half-sisters were.
The rest of her siblings were fast asleep in their own beds, some softly snoring to themselves. She thought briefly on waking them to share her late night misery, but the thought of them ratting her out to their mother for being up late discouraged her against it. At best they’d probably just complain to her and go back to sleep, or get into a fight with her over waking them up. As to not wake them, Amatricina closed her eyes and focused her ki, lifting herself a short distance off the ground. They wouldn’t hear her footsteps if she flew, and with a smirk she drift towards the great arched window that bathed her room in pale moonlight. Amatricina gazed outside, surveying what she could see. The window was located high on one of the walls of her father’s fortress, well below the ground. Even so, Amatricina could spy sentries and guards on their nightly patrols along the high walls and turrets. Bored looking soldiers who likely were thinking only of a good night’s sleep of their own, currently beyond their reach due to their evening duties. Beyond the walls of her father’s keep lay his domain. Sprawling cities whose lights glittered like gemstones against the darkness, towering spires and structures dotting the landscape. Further still could be seen the volcanoes that dotted the planet’s surface. Smoke rolling from their summits in great black plumes, lava running down their slopes in thick molten rivers that dotted the planet like so many veins.
But all of this did little to command the attention of the young demoness. Amatricina’s ruby gaze was turned skyward on this eve, for there were far more mysteries above than below. High in the night’s sky hung the black moon, an ill colored inky mass of rock permeated with dark energies. It drank in light like a sponge drinks in water, a sphere of perfect darkness against an otherwise less perfect black sky. Was that why the sky was black at night? Amatricina thought to herself, she had never truly considered it until this point. Curiosity got the best of her, and her mind began to wander, what other cosmic mysteries had she never considered before? She knew how she would find out, and it didn’t involve waking any of her siblings either. Now with a goal at hand, Amatricina focused herself to the task at hand. Still drifting by the window, she closed the curtains, once more bathing the room in darkness save for the thin beam of light that slipped through where the curtains failed to meet. That, and two small eyes that burned a fiery orange against the darkness. Amatricina’s burning gaze was leveled at her door, and she silently drifted towards it, the layout of her room long since memorized she deftly darted past chairs, tables, toys, and beds. The doorway itself was massive, close to twenty feet tall, large enough to accommodate even her father’s monstrous frame. Opening the door required a steeled resolve, and she silently prayed it would not betray her as it opened.
Luckily fate proved kind, and Amatricina was able to slip outside silently, closing the huge door gingerly behind her. That was the easy part, now she needed to navigate from the sleeping wing of this floor down to the fortress archives. There was where any of the ancient knowledge was kept, everything from old scrolls and dusty manuscripts to digital archives and computer databases. Amatricina was confident at least one of them contained the answers she needed, she just had to navigate past any guards that would turn her back towards her bedchambers or worse, inform either of her parents of her evening escapade. The young demoness looked particularly silly as she hovering down the corridors. On her wrists she wore small gold bracelets inset with rubies, the glittered and reflected every light that touched them. Her horns, over-sized for her frame, sprouted from her head and projected more than a foot wider than her shoulders on either side. She was far from the picture of “stealth” as she drifted down the halls, but in her mind the demon girls was every bit as sneaky as she thought herself to be.
Several minutes passed, and Amatricina thought herself home free. As she rounded the corner though her heart skipped a beat and leapt straight into her chest. At the end of the hallways stood her father, Lord Tartaros himself. His back turned to her, his great cloak dominated his profile, his triple set of horns an imposing black crown that threatened to scrape against the ceiling as he moved. Each of his limbs thicker than Amatricina’s slender waist, the towering demon stood head and shoulders above any Amatricina had ever seen, though in her youth she had admittedly not seen many. “Maybe he won’t see me.” She thought to herself, swallowing the lump in her throat and trying to be extra silent as she hovered in mild terror. The young demoness worked up the nerve to move again, but just as she was about to her father’s head snapped to the side faster than she could blink. One burning red eye gazed at her from the shadows, and her father’s booming voice soon filled the hallway. “You’ll never sneak past anyone with half a brain like that until you learn to suppress your power!"
Amatricina froze instantly, renewed terror shooting down her spine. She dropped to the floor immediately, landing with a soft thud, unsteady on her feet as her knees trembled in fear. Her father did not much as move a muscle, still standing with his back to her, head turned so his right eye could remain trained on his daughter. Slowly the towering demon shifted his massive form, turning to face her. “Y-Y-yes father.” Amatricina managed to stammer, still paralyzed by fear, but at least remembering to nod her head in acknowledgement. The demon lord let out a low sigh, and began to step towards his daughter, heavy footfalls shaking the floor slightly with each step. Amatricina braced herself, expecting some punishment for being caught when she shouldn’t be. She lowered her head, staring at her feet at she resigned herself to her fate. Tartaros drew closer, and once her was before his daughter the elder demon lowered a massive hand to head, tilting Amatricina’s chin up until their eyes could meet.
“Why are you awake at this hour my child?” Tartaros spoke, his voice low yet booming like the roll of thunder, but without a hint of anger. Amatricina struggled a moment for words, before finally managing to squeak out a meager “I couldn’t sleep…” Tartaros scoffed, still tilting her chin so she would face him. “Impossible.” He spoke, “I have never met a demon who could not sleep.” There was a tinge of sarcasm to his words, and it angered little Amatricina. “You know what I mean!” she said, more assuredly, stomping a foot. “No, I’m afraid I don’t, little one.” Tartaros replied, clearly amused by his daughter’s outburst. “Have I sired the first demon who cannot sleep?” Amatricina grew even more annoyed at her father pretending not to understand her, it showed immediately by her demeanor. “No! Stop being dumb!” She pouted, before regretting her choice of words. Tartaros just chuckled and withdrew his hand. “I was sleeping, but I woke up… and I couldn’t fall back asleep.” Amatricina said, making sure to be more thorough in her reply.
“So you thought sneaking through my halls would help you fall asleep?” Her father responded, his playful tone still feigning mockery. He raised an eyebrow, eager to hear his daughter’s response. Amatricina paused, taking a moment to think on her reply. Anger once again replaced by concern. “Umm… I wanted to go to the archives.” The little demoness averted her eyes, one foot kicking at the ground. Tartaros gave a puzzled look before replying, “And you thought this would help you… sleep?” His confusion was genuine, the sarcastic tone from earlier having faded. “No…” Amatricina admitted, moving a hand to rub the back of her head as she tried to explain. “I wanted to go to the archives because, I wanted to learn about stuff. I mean, about the moon and the stars and the sky. And where it all came from.” Tartaros just shook his head and sighed. “Ever curious aren’t you child. Truly you are of my blood.” He scooped his daughter up with one hand, before turning to depart. “You have your father for that. You will need no archive for such things.” Amatricina’s eyes lit up at his words, and she nodded in eager agreement. Though initially terrified of how he’d react to her midnight wanderings, she was thrilled he was willing to give her the answers she sought.
The demon lord carried his ever eager daughter with him as he moved to his throne room. He waved aside the sentinels that stood guard over the room, they silently nodded and complied, leaving the two alone as they departed. Tartaros seated himself upon his mighty throne, a towering monolith of obsidian, pulsing with molten liquid that flowed beneath its hard exterior. The great hall of the throne room was empty at this hour, and the great sky-lit windows gave clear view of the moon darkened skies above. Amatricina made herself comfortable as she balanced herself on her father’s knee like it were a bench, before cuddling up against his arm. Tartaros did not mind that his daughter’s horns jabbed against the skin of his arm, for him it was a small price to pay for his child’s comfort. The elder demon gave a quick look up to the sky, then back down his daughter’s excited expression. “So little one, tell me what you wish to know.”
Amatricina paused, thinking where she wanted to begin. She pointed skyward, at the inky black sphere that lurked overhead. “Where did the moon come from? Why is it so black?” Simple questions, and the most pressing of her concerns. Tartaros thought briefly, thinking how best to phrase his answer so his young daughter would understand. “The moon, and many like it, is a natural spring for dark energy. That is why it is so darker, blacker than the night’s sky. Its darkness is absolute.” Amatricina thought on this revelation for a moment, pondering what that meant. “So it gives off dark energy?” “That is correct my child.” Tartaros stated matter of factly in reply. “What is dark energy?” Her question came from a position of innocence, and Tartaros relented himself to the long winded explanation he now had to give. “Dark Energy is… a special type of ki that is born of our realm.” “Our realm?” Amatricina chimed in. “Hush child, your father is speaking. It is different from the ki that every living thing possesses. It is darker, stronger, and far harder to control. It is our greatest gift, only our kind can master its usage.”
Tartaros opened his hand, then clenched his fist slightly. Tendrils of Dark Energy began to draw from his body, coalescing at his hand in a swirling black wisp. Amatricina watched with childlike wonder at the simple display, until her father relaxed his grip and the energy dissipated. “So that was Dark Energy?” Amatricina inquired eagerly, trying herself to mimic what her father had just done, but succeeding only to draw forth a swirling orb of her own red hued ki. Frustrated, she hurled the orb of energy into the air and exploded in a small blast against one of the hall’s pillars. Tartaros chuckled, his daughter had spirit, that much was for sure. “It was.” Tartaros said simply, resting his arm against the arm of his throne. “And only fire demons can use it!” She added cheerfully. “No.” Her father corrected her, “Only demons can wield it properly. All demons that inhabit the Demon Realm can use Dark Energy. It is our birthright.” Amatricina suddenly looked saddened by the revelation. “Oh… I thought we were special.” “We ARE special.” Tartaros instantly corrected her. “But this is one gift we share with the rest of demonkind. Beyond our realm there is an entirely different one filled with beings that cannot use our Dark Energy. They are weak willed, and it corrupts them with its power.” Amatricina nodded along in agreement, though the sheer enormity of these revelations were still somewhat beyond the grasp of her young mind.
“So there’s another realm… that’s not like ours, and doesn’t have Dark Energy, and the demons there are weaker than us!” She spoke enthusiastically, pride beaming on her small face. Her father grimaced, realizing the can of worms he had just opened up and the explanation it would take to sort this out. “Not demons.” He corrected her. “Only those that live in the Demon Realm, our realm, are demons. Those outside of it, in the other realms are… not demons. They go by different names, there are too many to list them all.” Amatricina paused, biting her lip before nudging her father’s arm. “So you won’t tell me about those other realms?” “No. Not tonight at least my child. There is far too much to explain.” This annoyed the young demoness, but her father had made himself clear, and she didn’t dare test her luck on the subject. But her curiosity remained piqued. “So, where does all the Dark Energy come from then? Moons?” Her innocence would be adorable, were it not digging Tartaros an even deeper hole he need explain his way out of. By now the demon lord had resigned himself to his fate, begrudgingly continuing his explanations. “No child, it comes from more places than moons. It is all around us, at all times. Think of it… hmm… think of it like the air. In some places the air is thinner, and you can see the sky clearly. In others, the air is thick and turns the sky yellow, making it harder to see. That is what Dark Energy is like. It is always there, but only in some places, yes, like our moon, is there enough of it to see it.” The lord Tartaros stretched his arms, reclining harder against his throne.
“As to where it came from, that is a very long story. Do you truly wish to hear it child?” Amatricina nodded eagerly without a moment’s hesitation. “Yes father!” see said excitedly. “So be it. Long ago, before you or I, or my father, or his father, millions and millions of years ago, there was no Demon Realm. There was nothing here. Everything that you see, every planet, every moon, every sun and star, none of that existed.” “How?” Amatricina chimed in. “Because it hadn’t been created yet.” Tartaros said astutely, choosing not to elaborate on that detail yet. “So it was empty?” “Yes child, it was empty nothingness, now let me finish. There were however, other realms already, the universe was not completely empty, only our realm. And in those other realms lived beings of great power, with some, too powerful. In their hearts burned dreams of battle, of conquest, or power, or wealth, or worse.” Amatricina nodded along in agreement, but paused to think on what her father had said. “But we want those things.” “We do little one, because we are like them. Those powerful beings that wanted what we desire, made enemies and rivals. They angered others who were as strong as them but wanted to protect the weak out of the kindness in their hearts.”
Amatricina looked confused, scratching at her head as she pondered what she’d been told. “Protect the weak? Why. Were the weak useful to them? Why not help the strong take everything?” Even in her young age, her demonic heritage shone through in her beliefs. “Because my child, it is as I said. There are those who protect the weak, no matter the cost, simply because they can. They think the strong should defend the weak, not that the weak should serve the strong.” Amatricina let out a giggle at the revelation. “That’s so silly.” “It is.” Tartaros stated simply, “That is why the other realms are not like ours. Their people think differently, they act differently. They are not like us. So, those that protect the weak worked together, they imprisoned the beings that were like us at the bottom of their universe, trapping them there in an empty void of nothingness.” “So they couldn’t hurt anyone?” “Yes, so they couldn’t hurt anyone. The beings imprisoned were too strong to be killed, so they had to be imprisoned. But even when imprisoned it didn’t stop them completely. Those beings, with all their strength and their magics, created a world of shadow and darkness out of the nothingness around them, to be their new home. They created the Demon Realm, like the backside of a mirror to the rest of the universe. Perfect in its oppositeness. It became filled with Dark Energy born from it's creators' powers and desires.”
“So what happened to the ones who made the Demon Realm?” Amatricina added, each answer bringing out another question. “Simple my child. They became the first demons. They are our distant ancestors. They created more and more beings like themselves, to fill their new realm with life and to serve their desires. Some of them were fire demons, like you and I. From their bloodline we are their descendants. And you, and your children, and your children’s children will carry on that legacy, for the rest of time. Just like all demons will.” “Unless we get killed!” Amatricina blurted out, immediately blushing when she realized what she’d said. “Do you think I’m going to be killed Amatricina?” Rarely did her father address her directly by name, it showed his displeasure at her remark. “No Lord Tartaros, I think you’re too strong.” Amatricina replied in turn with her father’s title. It was what those under him did when they addressed him. Her father exhaled slightly, then smiled. “And you will be every bit as strong as I am someday, little one.” Amatricina was relieved she had diffused the situation, though a new question popped into her mind. “Why didn’t they ever go back?” “Hmm?” Her father replied, genuinely confused. “The first demons. Why didn’t they ever go back and fight the ones who trapped them here?” Tartaros shifted uncomfortably in his throne, mulling over her words as he formulated his answer.
“Because my child, just because they had made this new realm for themselves, it does not mean they could leave it. They were still imprisoned, just… in one of their own choosing.” A silence hung in the air, only the sound of their respective breathing filled the empty room. “So they were still trapped?” "Yes.” “...Are we… still trapped?” There were the words he dreaded, Tartaros knew well his daughter was no fool, and she saw the answer laid out before her. “Yes.” He said bitterly. “We are. Just because this realm is our home, does not make it less of our prison. If we could escape it, we would. I’m sure some have, but they hid their secrets and guarded them well.” Amatricina looked stunned by the revelation, turning to look to her father for answers she was met only by his stony expression of displeasure. “Do you ever think we’ll ever escape, father?” Tartaros paused to think on the question, before snorting two puffs of flame from his nostrils. “Maybe. Our realm is very old, and no one has found a way to break our seal yet. That is a long time for a puzzle to go unsolved.” Tartaros slowly hoisted himself from his seat, lifting his daughter with one hand as he rose to stand. “But, someday you will be smarter than I, so perhaps you’ll be the one to figure it out.” The demon lord said encouragingly as he began the long walk back to his daughter’s bedchambers.
“And what if I can’t father?” Amatricina replied nervously, worried she might fail her newfound task. “Then you will be just like every demon before you. I expect you to conquer as much of the Demon Realm you can in your name them. If you cannot leave this place, then at least you can rule it.” The young fire demon nodded in understanding. “Is that what every demon tells their children father?” Tartaros smiled and nodded. “For the most part, yes. But only if they know their child will be strong. If they were weak, they wouldn’t say anything at all.” “Because the weak must serve the strong!” Amatricina added, finishing her father’s sentence. “That is correct little one, because the weak must serve.” Tartaros came to the great doorframe to Amatricina’s bedroom, opening it with one hand as the other still carried his daughter. Despite his towering stature he moved silently through the room, careful not to wake her many siblings. As gently as he was strong, he lowered his daughter onto her bed, tuckering in her covers with an affection he rarely let others see. “Get some sleep little one. That is enough stories for one night.” Amatricina snuggled into her blankets, making herself cozy. But not before leaning up to give her father a quick kiss on the cheek. “I love you father.” She whispered with innocence too purely for this world. “I know my child, and I you.” Tartaros replied softly as he could, before turning his great shadowy form to depart the bedroom.
Total Word Count: 4121
The black moon still hung heavy in the sky as the young Amatricina stirred from her sleep. Whatever dream she had drifted away into fleeting memory as the grogginess of waking replaced her thoughts. It was not morning, it was still late into the evening. For her this was unusual, as the young demon typically slept as hard as a corpse. Early to bed, early to rise, keeps a girl healthy, pretty, and wise was what her mother often told her. Amatricina was skeptical of this, but did as she was told. She was more than weary of incurring her mother’s wrath in the face of disobeying her instructions. There were few things in her small world she feared more than her mother Bonara’s scorn.
Were she a human child, Amatricina would be no more than seven or eight years old, but as a fire demon born in the black abyss that is the Demon Realm, she was already well over a century old. Her kind was blessed with long life spans, which they, like many of their fellow demons, credit to the Dark Energies to permeate the Demon Realm. A kind of nourishing energy that gifts them with incredible strength and longevity, though most of this blessing is turned inward and used against rival demonkind. In any event, young Amatricina was barely a child by demonic standards, a child that very much could not sleep. She tossed and turned in her bed, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes and huffing to herself in annoyance as she tried to get back to sleep.
Closing her eyes did little, and the comfort of sleep could not take her. After trying for what felt like hours, but in truth was mere minutes, she simply gave up. Tossing the covers aside in disgruntled fashion, Amatricina hopped upright, springing to her feet. There was no point in trying to sleep if she couldn’t, she decided, so that meant finding something to entertain herself with. Amatricina’s bed was large, big enough to hold half a dozen of her, with satin sheets and blankets of the finest silks. None of this meant anything particularly important to the young girl, only that her bed was usually very comfy. Dressed in an oversized nightgown that looked more like a dress on her petite frame, Amatricina looked about “her” room. She shared her sleeping quarters with the other children sired by her mother Bonara. Demon warlords often took multiple wives, be it out of lust or vanity, as trophies of conquest, or any other particular reason. Typically the children of each particular spouse were quartered together, since their brothers and sisters were closer kin than mere half-brothers and half-sisters were.
The rest of her siblings were fast asleep in their own beds, some softly snoring to themselves. She thought briefly on waking them to share her late night misery, but the thought of them ratting her out to their mother for being up late discouraged her against it. At best they’d probably just complain to her and go back to sleep, or get into a fight with her over waking them up. As to not wake them, Amatricina closed her eyes and focused her ki, lifting herself a short distance off the ground. They wouldn’t hear her footsteps if she flew, and with a smirk she drift towards the great arched window that bathed her room in pale moonlight. Amatricina gazed outside, surveying what she could see. The window was located high on one of the walls of her father’s fortress, well below the ground. Even so, Amatricina could spy sentries and guards on their nightly patrols along the high walls and turrets. Bored looking soldiers who likely were thinking only of a good night’s sleep of their own, currently beyond their reach due to their evening duties. Beyond the walls of her father’s keep lay his domain. Sprawling cities whose lights glittered like gemstones against the darkness, towering spires and structures dotting the landscape. Further still could be seen the volcanoes that dotted the planet’s surface. Smoke rolling from their summits in great black plumes, lava running down their slopes in thick molten rivers that dotted the planet like so many veins.
But all of this did little to command the attention of the young demoness. Amatricina’s ruby gaze was turned skyward on this eve, for there were far more mysteries above than below. High in the night’s sky hung the black moon, an ill colored inky mass of rock permeated with dark energies. It drank in light like a sponge drinks in water, a sphere of perfect darkness against an otherwise less perfect black sky. Was that why the sky was black at night? Amatricina thought to herself, she had never truly considered it until this point. Curiosity got the best of her, and her mind began to wander, what other cosmic mysteries had she never considered before? She knew how she would find out, and it didn’t involve waking any of her siblings either. Now with a goal at hand, Amatricina focused herself to the task at hand. Still drifting by the window, she closed the curtains, once more bathing the room in darkness save for the thin beam of light that slipped through where the curtains failed to meet. That, and two small eyes that burned a fiery orange against the darkness. Amatricina’s burning gaze was leveled at her door, and she silently drifted towards it, the layout of her room long since memorized she deftly darted past chairs, tables, toys, and beds. The doorway itself was massive, close to twenty feet tall, large enough to accommodate even her father’s monstrous frame. Opening the door required a steeled resolve, and she silently prayed it would not betray her as it opened.
Luckily fate proved kind, and Amatricina was able to slip outside silently, closing the huge door gingerly behind her. That was the easy part, now she needed to navigate from the sleeping wing of this floor down to the fortress archives. There was where any of the ancient knowledge was kept, everything from old scrolls and dusty manuscripts to digital archives and computer databases. Amatricina was confident at least one of them contained the answers she needed, she just had to navigate past any guards that would turn her back towards her bedchambers or worse, inform either of her parents of her evening escapade. The young demoness looked particularly silly as she hovering down the corridors. On her wrists she wore small gold bracelets inset with rubies, the glittered and reflected every light that touched them. Her horns, over-sized for her frame, sprouted from her head and projected more than a foot wider than her shoulders on either side. She was far from the picture of “stealth” as she drifted down the halls, but in her mind the demon girls was every bit as sneaky as she thought herself to be.
Several minutes passed, and Amatricina thought herself home free. As she rounded the corner though her heart skipped a beat and leapt straight into her chest. At the end of the hallways stood her father, Lord Tartaros himself. His back turned to her, his great cloak dominated his profile, his triple set of horns an imposing black crown that threatened to scrape against the ceiling as he moved. Each of his limbs thicker than Amatricina’s slender waist, the towering demon stood head and shoulders above any Amatricina had ever seen, though in her youth she had admittedly not seen many. “Maybe he won’t see me.” She thought to herself, swallowing the lump in her throat and trying to be extra silent as she hovered in mild terror. The young demoness worked up the nerve to move again, but just as she was about to her father’s head snapped to the side faster than she could blink. One burning red eye gazed at her from the shadows, and her father’s booming voice soon filled the hallway. “You’ll never sneak past anyone with half a brain like that until you learn to suppress your power!"
Amatricina froze instantly, renewed terror shooting down her spine. She dropped to the floor immediately, landing with a soft thud, unsteady on her feet as her knees trembled in fear. Her father did not much as move a muscle, still standing with his back to her, head turned so his right eye could remain trained on his daughter. Slowly the towering demon shifted his massive form, turning to face her. “Y-Y-yes father.” Amatricina managed to stammer, still paralyzed by fear, but at least remembering to nod her head in acknowledgement. The demon lord let out a low sigh, and began to step towards his daughter, heavy footfalls shaking the floor slightly with each step. Amatricina braced herself, expecting some punishment for being caught when she shouldn’t be. She lowered her head, staring at her feet at she resigned herself to her fate. Tartaros drew closer, and once her was before his daughter the elder demon lowered a massive hand to head, tilting Amatricina’s chin up until their eyes could meet.
“Why are you awake at this hour my child?” Tartaros spoke, his voice low yet booming like the roll of thunder, but without a hint of anger. Amatricina struggled a moment for words, before finally managing to squeak out a meager “I couldn’t sleep…” Tartaros scoffed, still tilting her chin so she would face him. “Impossible.” He spoke, “I have never met a demon who could not sleep.” There was a tinge of sarcasm to his words, and it angered little Amatricina. “You know what I mean!” she said, more assuredly, stomping a foot. “No, I’m afraid I don’t, little one.” Tartaros replied, clearly amused by his daughter’s outburst. “Have I sired the first demon who cannot sleep?” Amatricina grew even more annoyed at her father pretending not to understand her, it showed immediately by her demeanor. “No! Stop being dumb!” She pouted, before regretting her choice of words. Tartaros just chuckled and withdrew his hand. “I was sleeping, but I woke up… and I couldn’t fall back asleep.” Amatricina said, making sure to be more thorough in her reply.
“So you thought sneaking through my halls would help you fall asleep?” Her father responded, his playful tone still feigning mockery. He raised an eyebrow, eager to hear his daughter’s response. Amatricina paused, taking a moment to think on her reply. Anger once again replaced by concern. “Umm… I wanted to go to the archives.” The little demoness averted her eyes, one foot kicking at the ground. Tartaros gave a puzzled look before replying, “And you thought this would help you… sleep?” His confusion was genuine, the sarcastic tone from earlier having faded. “No…” Amatricina admitted, moving a hand to rub the back of her head as she tried to explain. “I wanted to go to the archives because, I wanted to learn about stuff. I mean, about the moon and the stars and the sky. And where it all came from.” Tartaros just shook his head and sighed. “Ever curious aren’t you child. Truly you are of my blood.” He scooped his daughter up with one hand, before turning to depart. “You have your father for that. You will need no archive for such things.” Amatricina’s eyes lit up at his words, and she nodded in eager agreement. Though initially terrified of how he’d react to her midnight wanderings, she was thrilled he was willing to give her the answers she sought.
The demon lord carried his ever eager daughter with him as he moved to his throne room. He waved aside the sentinels that stood guard over the room, they silently nodded and complied, leaving the two alone as they departed. Tartaros seated himself upon his mighty throne, a towering monolith of obsidian, pulsing with molten liquid that flowed beneath its hard exterior. The great hall of the throne room was empty at this hour, and the great sky-lit windows gave clear view of the moon darkened skies above. Amatricina made herself comfortable as she balanced herself on her father’s knee like it were a bench, before cuddling up against his arm. Tartaros did not mind that his daughter’s horns jabbed against the skin of his arm, for him it was a small price to pay for his child’s comfort. The elder demon gave a quick look up to the sky, then back down his daughter’s excited expression. “So little one, tell me what you wish to know.”
Amatricina paused, thinking where she wanted to begin. She pointed skyward, at the inky black sphere that lurked overhead. “Where did the moon come from? Why is it so black?” Simple questions, and the most pressing of her concerns. Tartaros thought briefly, thinking how best to phrase his answer so his young daughter would understand. “The moon, and many like it, is a natural spring for dark energy. That is why it is so darker, blacker than the night’s sky. Its darkness is absolute.” Amatricina thought on this revelation for a moment, pondering what that meant. “So it gives off dark energy?” “That is correct my child.” Tartaros stated matter of factly in reply. “What is dark energy?” Her question came from a position of innocence, and Tartaros relented himself to the long winded explanation he now had to give. “Dark Energy is… a special type of ki that is born of our realm.” “Our realm?” Amatricina chimed in. “Hush child, your father is speaking. It is different from the ki that every living thing possesses. It is darker, stronger, and far harder to control. It is our greatest gift, only our kind can master its usage.”
Tartaros opened his hand, then clenched his fist slightly. Tendrils of Dark Energy began to draw from his body, coalescing at his hand in a swirling black wisp. Amatricina watched with childlike wonder at the simple display, until her father relaxed his grip and the energy dissipated. “So that was Dark Energy?” Amatricina inquired eagerly, trying herself to mimic what her father had just done, but succeeding only to draw forth a swirling orb of her own red hued ki. Frustrated, she hurled the orb of energy into the air and exploded in a small blast against one of the hall’s pillars. Tartaros chuckled, his daughter had spirit, that much was for sure. “It was.” Tartaros said simply, resting his arm against the arm of his throne. “And only fire demons can use it!” She added cheerfully. “No.” Her father corrected her, “Only demons can wield it properly. All demons that inhabit the Demon Realm can use Dark Energy. It is our birthright.” Amatricina suddenly looked saddened by the revelation. “Oh… I thought we were special.” “We ARE special.” Tartaros instantly corrected her. “But this is one gift we share with the rest of demonkind. Beyond our realm there is an entirely different one filled with beings that cannot use our Dark Energy. They are weak willed, and it corrupts them with its power.” Amatricina nodded along in agreement, though the sheer enormity of these revelations were still somewhat beyond the grasp of her young mind.
“So there’s another realm… that’s not like ours, and doesn’t have Dark Energy, and the demons there are weaker than us!” She spoke enthusiastically, pride beaming on her small face. Her father grimaced, realizing the can of worms he had just opened up and the explanation it would take to sort this out. “Not demons.” He corrected her. “Only those that live in the Demon Realm, our realm, are demons. Those outside of it, in the other realms are… not demons. They go by different names, there are too many to list them all.” Amatricina paused, biting her lip before nudging her father’s arm. “So you won’t tell me about those other realms?” “No. Not tonight at least my child. There is far too much to explain.” This annoyed the young demoness, but her father had made himself clear, and she didn’t dare test her luck on the subject. But her curiosity remained piqued. “So, where does all the Dark Energy come from then? Moons?” Her innocence would be adorable, were it not digging Tartaros an even deeper hole he need explain his way out of. By now the demon lord had resigned himself to his fate, begrudgingly continuing his explanations. “No child, it comes from more places than moons. It is all around us, at all times. Think of it… hmm… think of it like the air. In some places the air is thinner, and you can see the sky clearly. In others, the air is thick and turns the sky yellow, making it harder to see. That is what Dark Energy is like. It is always there, but only in some places, yes, like our moon, is there enough of it to see it.” The lord Tartaros stretched his arms, reclining harder against his throne.
“As to where it came from, that is a very long story. Do you truly wish to hear it child?” Amatricina nodded eagerly without a moment’s hesitation. “Yes father!” see said excitedly. “So be it. Long ago, before you or I, or my father, or his father, millions and millions of years ago, there was no Demon Realm. There was nothing here. Everything that you see, every planet, every moon, every sun and star, none of that existed.” “How?” Amatricina chimed in. “Because it hadn’t been created yet.” Tartaros said astutely, choosing not to elaborate on that detail yet. “So it was empty?” “Yes child, it was empty nothingness, now let me finish. There were however, other realms already, the universe was not completely empty, only our realm. And in those other realms lived beings of great power, with some, too powerful. In their hearts burned dreams of battle, of conquest, or power, or wealth, or worse.” Amatricina nodded along in agreement, but paused to think on what her father had said. “But we want those things.” “We do little one, because we are like them. Those powerful beings that wanted what we desire, made enemies and rivals. They angered others who were as strong as them but wanted to protect the weak out of the kindness in their hearts.”
Amatricina looked confused, scratching at her head as she pondered what she’d been told. “Protect the weak? Why. Were the weak useful to them? Why not help the strong take everything?” Even in her young age, her demonic heritage shone through in her beliefs. “Because my child, it is as I said. There are those who protect the weak, no matter the cost, simply because they can. They think the strong should defend the weak, not that the weak should serve the strong.” Amatricina let out a giggle at the revelation. “That’s so silly.” “It is.” Tartaros stated simply, “That is why the other realms are not like ours. Their people think differently, they act differently. They are not like us. So, those that protect the weak worked together, they imprisoned the beings that were like us at the bottom of their universe, trapping them there in an empty void of nothingness.” “So they couldn’t hurt anyone?” “Yes, so they couldn’t hurt anyone. The beings imprisoned were too strong to be killed, so they had to be imprisoned. But even when imprisoned it didn’t stop them completely. Those beings, with all their strength and their magics, created a world of shadow and darkness out of the nothingness around them, to be their new home. They created the Demon Realm, like the backside of a mirror to the rest of the universe. Perfect in its oppositeness. It became filled with Dark Energy born from it's creators' powers and desires.”
“So what happened to the ones who made the Demon Realm?” Amatricina added, each answer bringing out another question. “Simple my child. They became the first demons. They are our distant ancestors. They created more and more beings like themselves, to fill their new realm with life and to serve their desires. Some of them were fire demons, like you and I. From their bloodline we are their descendants. And you, and your children, and your children’s children will carry on that legacy, for the rest of time. Just like all demons will.” “Unless we get killed!” Amatricina blurted out, immediately blushing when she realized what she’d said. “Do you think I’m going to be killed Amatricina?” Rarely did her father address her directly by name, it showed his displeasure at her remark. “No Lord Tartaros, I think you’re too strong.” Amatricina replied in turn with her father’s title. It was what those under him did when they addressed him. Her father exhaled slightly, then smiled. “And you will be every bit as strong as I am someday, little one.” Amatricina was relieved she had diffused the situation, though a new question popped into her mind. “Why didn’t they ever go back?” “Hmm?” Her father replied, genuinely confused. “The first demons. Why didn’t they ever go back and fight the ones who trapped them here?” Tartaros shifted uncomfortably in his throne, mulling over her words as he formulated his answer.
“Because my child, just because they had made this new realm for themselves, it does not mean they could leave it. They were still imprisoned, just… in one of their own choosing.” A silence hung in the air, only the sound of their respective breathing filled the empty room. “So they were still trapped?” "Yes.” “...Are we… still trapped?” There were the words he dreaded, Tartaros knew well his daughter was no fool, and she saw the answer laid out before her. “Yes.” He said bitterly. “We are. Just because this realm is our home, does not make it less of our prison. If we could escape it, we would. I’m sure some have, but they hid their secrets and guarded them well.” Amatricina looked stunned by the revelation, turning to look to her father for answers she was met only by his stony expression of displeasure. “Do you ever think we’ll ever escape, father?” Tartaros paused to think on the question, before snorting two puffs of flame from his nostrils. “Maybe. Our realm is very old, and no one has found a way to break our seal yet. That is a long time for a puzzle to go unsolved.” Tartaros slowly hoisted himself from his seat, lifting his daughter with one hand as he rose to stand. “But, someday you will be smarter than I, so perhaps you’ll be the one to figure it out.” The demon lord said encouragingly as he began the long walk back to his daughter’s bedchambers.
“And what if I can’t father?” Amatricina replied nervously, worried she might fail her newfound task. “Then you will be just like every demon before you. I expect you to conquer as much of the Demon Realm you can in your name them. If you cannot leave this place, then at least you can rule it.” The young fire demon nodded in understanding. “Is that what every demon tells their children father?” Tartaros smiled and nodded. “For the most part, yes. But only if they know their child will be strong. If they were weak, they wouldn’t say anything at all.” “Because the weak must serve the strong!” Amatricina added, finishing her father’s sentence. “That is correct little one, because the weak must serve.” Tartaros came to the great doorframe to Amatricina’s bedroom, opening it with one hand as the other still carried his daughter. Despite his towering stature he moved silently through the room, careful not to wake her many siblings. As gently as he was strong, he lowered his daughter onto her bed, tuckering in her covers with an affection he rarely let others see. “Get some sleep little one. That is enough stories for one night.” Amatricina snuggled into her blankets, making herself cozy. But not before leaning up to give her father a quick kiss on the cheek. “I love you father.” She whispered with innocence too purely for this world. “I know my child, and I you.” Tartaros replied softly as he could, before turning his great shadowy form to depart the bedroom.
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