Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2018 20:50:44 GMT -5
It had been over a week since Amatricina first arrived on the planet earth. It was a strange place, with stranger climates. From the frozen mountains of the north where she had met the half-Saiyan warrior known as Gurki to the warm shores on the coasts of East City. The planet was a varied as it was strange. The chief inhabitants were a weak and sickly race of mortals, known as humans… though some called them earthlings. They seemed to come in two varieties. From what Amatricina had seen the vast majority of the humans had fairer features, smooth skin and only had hair on their head and face primarily. There was a second, less common variant that had more bestial features. With fur all over their bodies, and a wide variety of shapes and sizes. She wondered what caused such a startling distance between the two, but ultimately it was a trivial matter.
The demon’s main priority on this earth was to uncover the secrets behind her mysterious five star gem. She could feel it radiating intense magical power, thrumming with energy in response to her touch. But she could not find a way to will the magic forward. She surmised there must be at least four other such gems, somewhere, as hers was labeled the fifth. But as to where these other four gems were hidden she did not know. On this world, this system, this galaxy, this quadrant? The mortal portion of the universe was a big place, bigger than she could hope to traverse in even her long lifespan. Without some clue as to the location of the other gems, or way to track and locate them based on the energies they gave off, Amatricina had precious few leads to follow.
The lack of progress had been disheartening, as Amatricina was no closer to her goal than when she had begun. Part of her mused on simply returning to her realm, to resume her plans and schemes to fully conquer the other demon clans. But it was a goal that her father, her father’s father, and all her forebears before that held. And yet for all that ambition nothing had changed, her clan, albeit powerful in its own right, was no closer to actually conquering their realm. It was as the lessons of her youth, taught to her by her late father. The only thing that could ever truly unite the demon realm was a Demon King, a demon so powerful no one single rival could dare stand against them. Whose power was so absolute they could destroy whole planets with their might. These gems contained a power she hoped would lead her further towards that goal, ascension to the demonic throne. But they were ultimately a gamble, and gambles often did not pay off.
There was another path on her long road to the throne however, one Amatricina had been walking since she could stand on her own two feet. Training, simple, inelegant, but ultimately practical. Her body was truly her greatest treasure, both for her ravishing figure and her formidable power. She deigned to let her training falter even by one day, pride far outweighing any other motivation for the demoness. Training however, proved a difficult prospect on the densely populated planet. It seemed human settlements and cities dotted every inch of this globe, one couldn’t travel a few miles without spotting another bastion of civilization rising in the distance. Amatricina had searched the world for a remote place, somewhere even the slightest glimmer like her home planet. A place where she could train in solitude, away from these humans and their prying eyes.
Her search had led her to Bunbuku Island, though she did not know it by its name. To Amatricina it was just another island floating in one of this world’s vast oceans teeming with life. The island itself was seemingly absent of human presence, though lush jungles covered much of its landscape. It was as idyllic an escape from the human civilization as Amatricina could find, so it suited her purposes. The island was chiefly populated by delicious game animals. The demoness knew not their names, but the large tropical birds, hairy tusked creatures, and scaled reptilian beasts all made for easy prey before her golden talons. She ran them down with childlike ease, killing them swiftly and cooking them with her flame breath. Fire demons have ravenous appetites, on account of their intense metabolism. Their bodies like living volcanoes that churn with demonic heat. Each meal was a small feast, and given a month Amatricina reckoned she could probably strip the island of edible prey if she truly set her mind to it. However for the moment it would do as her private retreat, a bastion of isolation in which she could train.
There was a great volcano that loomed high over the southern face of the island, like a mighty stone sentinel keeping steady vigil over the sea. Smoke endlessly churned from its lofty peak, the constant reminder the fires still burned deep in the heart of the mountain. Poco Poco Volcano was the name of the mighty peak, and it had been the sight of a great battle between legendary warriors many centuries ago. But those warriors had long faded from history, and even the name of the volcano was lost to the demoness. She elected to call it Mount Tartaros, in memory of her late father. In some small way, that was comforting to her. Almost as if a piece of him was watching over her. Amatricina flew to the summit of the mountain, inspecting the hollow innards within. Through the thick smoke she could see just what she desired, a rich lake of bubbling lava at the base of the volcano.
Amatricina leaped down into the cauldron, falling hundreds of feet and landing with a soft splash in the volatile molten soup at the base. One thing about magma was despite its often runny look, it was much thicker and dense than water. It took considerable effort to actually “sink” into it. The demoness made herself comfortable, submerging deep into the lava until even the tips of her horns were covered. She held her breath, focusing on using her demonic ki to sustain herself. It was an important aspect of demonic biology, they could breath freely in even the harshest of environments. No noxious gas or toxic cloud could harm them, but to breath in absences of air, like the bleak void of space took extreme discipline and skill. Not every demon could instinctively sustain themselves in the absence of breathable air. Those that could not made for good pilots and sailors in the vast demonic navies. They were more useful on star ships since they could not simply fight on foot in the void.
With eyes and mouth closed, the demoness focused. It was not breathing in the molten broth she held concentration over. No that was a parlor trick at this point in her life. What she was focused on was the severed connection she longed to renew. There existed an ancient, primordial power in the Demon Realm, as old as time itself. It had, to the best of their knowledge, always been there. A thick ichor of chaotic power coalesced at the bottom of the universe. An antithesis to the godly powers of creation, it stood in absolute contrast to the rest of the material universe. Dark Energy, a pure black form of power that coursed through the Demon Realm like molten blood coursed in Amatricina’s veins. It was an intoxicating sensation, one that flooded the senses the first time a demon truly experienced it. It was their greatest strength, giving demons unbridled amounts of dark ki with which to unleash devastating attacks. But it was also their greatest weakness, at least in this Mortal Realm.
Distant and severed from her connection to her precious Dark Energy, Amatricina felt eternally sapped of a vast portion of her demonic might. It was like being without air, the emptiness of it was felt at all times. She could, should she so chose, simply return to her realm and once more bask in its black warmth. But that was a stopgap on the greater problem at hand. Demons, if they were ever to truly make ventures into the Mortal Realm, needed a source of extra planar Dark Energy. She did not think it could be created outside of her realm, but perhaps it could still be harnessed. The demoness drew deeper into her focused meditation. She fixated on the energy around her, the heat of the molten rock, the pressure of the volcanic depths, her crimson demonic ki that flowed around her in her aura. She had to look past it, pierce the veil and peer back into the Demon Realm with her mind’s eye.
Long hours passed in silent meditation, Amatricina sitting motionless beneath the molten waves. Her concentration had not broken once, though she was no closer to her goal than when she had started. It took extraordinary concentration to focus one’s mind into a realm not of their own. Great magics needed to be weaved and fed a constant flow of energy to keep the connection stable. Amatricina could almost see it, there just before her out of reach. Dark Energy, flowing and roiling in endless flowing rhythms. It called out to her with the silent song of power; she could practically reach out and touch it. The lust for her dark power was too strong, and in that last pivotal moment Amatricina’s focused favored. Her bridge back to her realm was severed, closing shut in an instant. Her mind cried out, pained by the renewed absence of the dark ki that she so desperately craved.
Amatricina quickly rose to the surface, gasping hard for air as lava rolled down off her horns and face. She took a moment to catch her breath, then slammed a fist down hard on the surface of the molten rock in anger at herself. The impact sent a wave of burning rock splashing against the inner walls of the volcano. It quickly solidified into obsidian glass as it cooled. “So close…” Amatricina growled at herself through gnashed teeth. So damnably close, she could practically taste the Dark Energy on her ruby lips. Still it had been a decent effort for a first attempt, with more time and more focus she knew she could will force at least a small morsel of the black power that dwelled in her home realm. The demoness’ stomach rumbled loudly, it seemed she craved hungers more literal than power at the moment. Amatricina dash up and out of the lava, shaking it clean from herself as she spun rapidly.
Once finished the fire demon looked upwards to the summit of the mountain high above. Beyond the thick plumes of black smoke she could see the sun had already grown low in the afternoon sky. She had spent a greater portion of the day in her meditative trance, drawing from her reserves of ki and doing nothing to replenish herself with physical nourishment. The demon suddenly felt absolutely famished, and raced to the summit of the mountain, landing on its outer lip. She let out a sigh, giving a stretch before casting her gaze westward to the lust jungle that covered small isle. It was the closest thing she had to a pantry, and a woman’s gotta eat after all.
Without so much as a second thought Amatricina took off flying down the slopes of the mountain only to disappear into the lush depths of the jungle below. There she would find some suitable prey to kill, ending its life with a well placed strike to the skull. Once slain she’d carve great steaks from its corpse and gorge herself until she was sated. The meal would be accompanied by delicious tropical fruits that grew in great numbers from the tall jungle trees and washed down with crisp clear mountain spring water. It was a far cry from the lavish evening feasts prepared by castle chefs within her fortress, but after an intense period of mental exertion, Amatricina was hardly one to complain. So with a ravenous look in her eyes the demoness flew off in search of her evening feast. She would continue her training in the morning, and resume her hunt for more gems of power afterwards.
Word Count: 2,091
The demon’s main priority on this earth was to uncover the secrets behind her mysterious five star gem. She could feel it radiating intense magical power, thrumming with energy in response to her touch. But she could not find a way to will the magic forward. She surmised there must be at least four other such gems, somewhere, as hers was labeled the fifth. But as to where these other four gems were hidden she did not know. On this world, this system, this galaxy, this quadrant? The mortal portion of the universe was a big place, bigger than she could hope to traverse in even her long lifespan. Without some clue as to the location of the other gems, or way to track and locate them based on the energies they gave off, Amatricina had precious few leads to follow.
The lack of progress had been disheartening, as Amatricina was no closer to her goal than when she had begun. Part of her mused on simply returning to her realm, to resume her plans and schemes to fully conquer the other demon clans. But it was a goal that her father, her father’s father, and all her forebears before that held. And yet for all that ambition nothing had changed, her clan, albeit powerful in its own right, was no closer to actually conquering their realm. It was as the lessons of her youth, taught to her by her late father. The only thing that could ever truly unite the demon realm was a Demon King, a demon so powerful no one single rival could dare stand against them. Whose power was so absolute they could destroy whole planets with their might. These gems contained a power she hoped would lead her further towards that goal, ascension to the demonic throne. But they were ultimately a gamble, and gambles often did not pay off.
There was another path on her long road to the throne however, one Amatricina had been walking since she could stand on her own two feet. Training, simple, inelegant, but ultimately practical. Her body was truly her greatest treasure, both for her ravishing figure and her formidable power. She deigned to let her training falter even by one day, pride far outweighing any other motivation for the demoness. Training however, proved a difficult prospect on the densely populated planet. It seemed human settlements and cities dotted every inch of this globe, one couldn’t travel a few miles without spotting another bastion of civilization rising in the distance. Amatricina had searched the world for a remote place, somewhere even the slightest glimmer like her home planet. A place where she could train in solitude, away from these humans and their prying eyes.
Her search had led her to Bunbuku Island, though she did not know it by its name. To Amatricina it was just another island floating in one of this world’s vast oceans teeming with life. The island itself was seemingly absent of human presence, though lush jungles covered much of its landscape. It was as idyllic an escape from the human civilization as Amatricina could find, so it suited her purposes. The island was chiefly populated by delicious game animals. The demoness knew not their names, but the large tropical birds, hairy tusked creatures, and scaled reptilian beasts all made for easy prey before her golden talons. She ran them down with childlike ease, killing them swiftly and cooking them with her flame breath. Fire demons have ravenous appetites, on account of their intense metabolism. Their bodies like living volcanoes that churn with demonic heat. Each meal was a small feast, and given a month Amatricina reckoned she could probably strip the island of edible prey if she truly set her mind to it. However for the moment it would do as her private retreat, a bastion of isolation in which she could train.
There was a great volcano that loomed high over the southern face of the island, like a mighty stone sentinel keeping steady vigil over the sea. Smoke endlessly churned from its lofty peak, the constant reminder the fires still burned deep in the heart of the mountain. Poco Poco Volcano was the name of the mighty peak, and it had been the sight of a great battle between legendary warriors many centuries ago. But those warriors had long faded from history, and even the name of the volcano was lost to the demoness. She elected to call it Mount Tartaros, in memory of her late father. In some small way, that was comforting to her. Almost as if a piece of him was watching over her. Amatricina flew to the summit of the mountain, inspecting the hollow innards within. Through the thick smoke she could see just what she desired, a rich lake of bubbling lava at the base of the volcano.
Amatricina leaped down into the cauldron, falling hundreds of feet and landing with a soft splash in the volatile molten soup at the base. One thing about magma was despite its often runny look, it was much thicker and dense than water. It took considerable effort to actually “sink” into it. The demoness made herself comfortable, submerging deep into the lava until even the tips of her horns were covered. She held her breath, focusing on using her demonic ki to sustain herself. It was an important aspect of demonic biology, they could breath freely in even the harshest of environments. No noxious gas or toxic cloud could harm them, but to breath in absences of air, like the bleak void of space took extreme discipline and skill. Not every demon could instinctively sustain themselves in the absence of breathable air. Those that could not made for good pilots and sailors in the vast demonic navies. They were more useful on star ships since they could not simply fight on foot in the void.
With eyes and mouth closed, the demoness focused. It was not breathing in the molten broth she held concentration over. No that was a parlor trick at this point in her life. What she was focused on was the severed connection she longed to renew. There existed an ancient, primordial power in the Demon Realm, as old as time itself. It had, to the best of their knowledge, always been there. A thick ichor of chaotic power coalesced at the bottom of the universe. An antithesis to the godly powers of creation, it stood in absolute contrast to the rest of the material universe. Dark Energy, a pure black form of power that coursed through the Demon Realm like molten blood coursed in Amatricina’s veins. It was an intoxicating sensation, one that flooded the senses the first time a demon truly experienced it. It was their greatest strength, giving demons unbridled amounts of dark ki with which to unleash devastating attacks. But it was also their greatest weakness, at least in this Mortal Realm.
Distant and severed from her connection to her precious Dark Energy, Amatricina felt eternally sapped of a vast portion of her demonic might. It was like being without air, the emptiness of it was felt at all times. She could, should she so chose, simply return to her realm and once more bask in its black warmth. But that was a stopgap on the greater problem at hand. Demons, if they were ever to truly make ventures into the Mortal Realm, needed a source of extra planar Dark Energy. She did not think it could be created outside of her realm, but perhaps it could still be harnessed. The demoness drew deeper into her focused meditation. She fixated on the energy around her, the heat of the molten rock, the pressure of the volcanic depths, her crimson demonic ki that flowed around her in her aura. She had to look past it, pierce the veil and peer back into the Demon Realm with her mind’s eye.
Long hours passed in silent meditation, Amatricina sitting motionless beneath the molten waves. Her concentration had not broken once, though she was no closer to her goal than when she had started. It took extraordinary concentration to focus one’s mind into a realm not of their own. Great magics needed to be weaved and fed a constant flow of energy to keep the connection stable. Amatricina could almost see it, there just before her out of reach. Dark Energy, flowing and roiling in endless flowing rhythms. It called out to her with the silent song of power; she could practically reach out and touch it. The lust for her dark power was too strong, and in that last pivotal moment Amatricina’s focused favored. Her bridge back to her realm was severed, closing shut in an instant. Her mind cried out, pained by the renewed absence of the dark ki that she so desperately craved.
Amatricina quickly rose to the surface, gasping hard for air as lava rolled down off her horns and face. She took a moment to catch her breath, then slammed a fist down hard on the surface of the molten rock in anger at herself. The impact sent a wave of burning rock splashing against the inner walls of the volcano. It quickly solidified into obsidian glass as it cooled. “So close…” Amatricina growled at herself through gnashed teeth. So damnably close, she could practically taste the Dark Energy on her ruby lips. Still it had been a decent effort for a first attempt, with more time and more focus she knew she could will force at least a small morsel of the black power that dwelled in her home realm. The demoness’ stomach rumbled loudly, it seemed she craved hungers more literal than power at the moment. Amatricina dash up and out of the lava, shaking it clean from herself as she spun rapidly.
Once finished the fire demon looked upwards to the summit of the mountain high above. Beyond the thick plumes of black smoke she could see the sun had already grown low in the afternoon sky. She had spent a greater portion of the day in her meditative trance, drawing from her reserves of ki and doing nothing to replenish herself with physical nourishment. The demon suddenly felt absolutely famished, and raced to the summit of the mountain, landing on its outer lip. She let out a sigh, giving a stretch before casting her gaze westward to the lust jungle that covered small isle. It was the closest thing she had to a pantry, and a woman’s gotta eat after all.
Without so much as a second thought Amatricina took off flying down the slopes of the mountain only to disappear into the lush depths of the jungle below. There she would find some suitable prey to kill, ending its life with a well placed strike to the skull. Once slain she’d carve great steaks from its corpse and gorge herself until she was sated. The meal would be accompanied by delicious tropical fruits that grew in great numbers from the tall jungle trees and washed down with crisp clear mountain spring water. It was a far cry from the lavish evening feasts prepared by castle chefs within her fortress, but after an intense period of mental exertion, Amatricina was hardly one to complain. So with a ravenous look in her eyes the demoness flew off in search of her evening feast. She would continue her training in the morning, and resume her hunt for more gems of power afterwards.
Word Count: 2,091