"
A silence hung in the air between Jala, who still wore his mask, and this demon inn keeper. She quickly understood that he wouldn't respond, so she took out a crudely made necklace that had an assortment of strange stones and metals attached to it. She set it on his bed and backed away.
"
The silence Jala held continued. But he understood that he couldn't hide his identity. especially from her. and just as she lowered her head, Jala spoke.
"
a subtle bit of air left her mouth. she masked her surprise well."
The woman lowered her head with her mouth slowly curving a frown. "
"<... I did… but that was over a seventy years ago… Nothing stays the same. And you know that.>"
""
She was half way through the door as if ready to leave. Without turning from the window he looked out from, Jala suddenly spoke, with a question now pinned to his mind.
"
The Innkeeper, Fren, was surprised to hear this question.
"
"
"
Fren, with not much else to say, began her departure. "
Once Fren was gone, Jala turned to the bed that cradled the necklace. He then took the necklace in hand, scrutinizing it. He saw that it still contained symbols of their native language that he was told to inscribe. Symbols he once never knew the meaning of until he became a general to the Demon King.
The symbols in order, read; "INHERITOR OF MY WILL"
It was a simple phrase, but one that meant a lot more to the demon's kin than what met the eye. Clutching the necklace in his hands. memories of an age of past of ignorance rung through like a constant line in a book. "Why did you wait?"
His eyes slowly drooped, Memories of an unwanted memory resurfaced. It was when he attended a party, along with the other demon generals.
********
"Ahahahaha! Nothing like some ale from those humans!"
Ek, in a lively atmosphere, took a nice long chug of the pint from their poorly made stone mugs. His brother followed, drinking alongside him with the rhythm of the drums being played until they finished and exhaled happily.
They were both blue skinned demons. Ek sported his pure white hair with his fixed bull horns as his brother Kel sported black hair.
"Kyaaah~!! That was good stuff!" Ek displayed a happy grin on his face.
"Yeah!! I think at this point I drank more than you! Hahaha!" Kel responded.
"HUWAAHH!?" Ek glared at his brother indignantly, scowling and spoke like a thug. "What the hell are you talking about, you bull-horned blowhard? I already chugged five of these things down already!"
Kel met him head on, sporting the exact same mannerisms as he butted horns with him. "Oh yeah? I chugged seven of these down, two of them with Azar."
"Uuwwaaaahh!! Bullshit, show me the receipts!" Ek now poked hard at Kel's shoulder. Neither one of them backed down until Azar spoke up and joined the two in an increasingly entertaining banter.
Even Bjorn was enjoying some of the banter and chatter among the other demons as he enjoyed his large ale. All the while, Jala himself tried to close himself off from space.
He drank secluded and calmly, just savoring the taste that was clearly missed by the others. He peeked over to Lillian and Lucius who were watching the spectacle unfold with Rakon by their side. Food was passed around and demons entertained each other by making fools of their own allies.
There was clearly no self control among the soldier and generals as let their feelings go wild. "This place is… Too loud…" Jala thought.
He looked at his half empty mug of ale, his reflection, rippling across the surface of the contents inside. He sighed, tired of the party he was made to attend.
"No, You tell me." Ek shouted. "Why'd you join the army Azar?"
Azar scowled as she held Kel's head within her arm. "Huh? Why should I tell you!?
Bjorn spoke up, joining their little conversation and breaking the ice between them. "I joined for the honor of serving the King, Something my family has done for generations." Bjorn set his large mug across from them with an audible thud.
Azar, after a moment of contemplation, sighed exhaustedly seeing Bjorn actually open up. "Fine, I only came since my father was trying to have me inherit the will of another man. I barely even knew the chump."
"What nerve," Kel spouted.
"Hah! I know, right?" Azar pumped her chest up, pompously. "It just so happened that everything worked in my favor after I left. Joining the army was probably the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Ek rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "A-alright I guess it's our turn… Well… Uhh… Me and Kel We just wanted to see what the heavens looked like."
"
"Hey! Honest! I thought there'd be more to it, maybe more dangerous, but so far everything is much more peaceful than we thought. It is completely unlike the Pit …"
"Except for the war… Don't forget that." Kel pointed out.
Ek simply waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, But that's besides the point."
Everyone else agreed with Ek, each sipping down some ale right after.
Jala, using the small amount of peace from their chatter, took another sip from his mug.
"Hey Jala." Kel shouted. "Why'd you join that army?"
"C'mon. I doubt he'll actually talk now." Azar said.
Jala remained silent looking at the ale before him. Thinking about the question he long forgotten the answer to.
"Why… Did I join…?" He wondered to himself.
Lucius suddenly spoke up. "If memory serves me correctly. I found you on the wayside of a river along with your brother. You were both half dead. But you both seemed concerned for your home when I found you…"
Everyone gazed upon Jala at that moment, a stunned silence by what their king just revealed. Jala felt the pressure of having to talk or explain himself.
"I… Joined for my brother's sake…"
"Your brother?" Bjorn questioned.
"Oh, yeah, you had a brother with you, didn't you?" Ek noted.
"Yeah, I think I remember. It's a shame what happened. Really." Kel said.
Lillian raised a brow but didn't pry into his past, instead listening to the idle chatter,
"To join for the sake of his brother… How noble." Rakon said, with a sly smirk.
Jala's eyes slowly fell, knowing the truth. While it was half true that he joined for his brother. It was merely for the selfish purpose of becoming stronger and to one day kill the leader of his home.
But even after many years of training and fighting, his strength felt... Useless.
Especially after the news broke of his homeland being ravaged by war. This along with the news that both leaders of the war had perished soon after. It was an outcome He had long predicted that would happen.
As he gazed back to a parchment he held, he burned it away to forever keep its secrets locked. "There's nothing left for me there..."
********
Like a ghost that followed, those last thoughts seemed to linger in his mind. "There's truly nothing left for me here..." He found himself truly lost in thought unable to escape this new indescribable feeling.
Looking back outside after some time, the crystals in the far off ceils seemed to be dimming. Night was clearly approaching, and Lillian was still outside with some of the starving demon children. The huddled around as she showed them how to smile by using her own hands to demonstrate.
The children attempted to copy what she did, with some either succeeding or failing outright. Not long after some of the children seemed to become more excited. talks about a huge pile of food being brought seemed to draw the curiosity of a lot of the kids.
As it turned out, Lucius's hunt was more than successful. He met back with Lillian, and they quickly enjoyed each other presence as if their current situation didn't exist.
Jala couldn't understand it. As strong as they were in his eyes, they were also too soft. "Why care for demons who's putrid lives don't matter. The weak will die and strong will survive... That's always how it's been..."
Jala narrowed his eyes.
He remembered the warmth in the air suddenly turning to a blistering cold. All before being killed by the angel Terrocht. It was a well kept secret that even he didn't know until recently.
"Hey Jala." Lillian greeted.
Lillian appeared before him. he looked up, slightly surprised to see her. he grimaced. "What is it?"
"Lucius caught a lot during his hunt. Since you're not busy perhaps you would like to help prepare them?"
Jala was silent for a moment, and just before he could give his answer, Lucius spoke up from the window. "We could use and extra hand."
Having nothing better to do with his time, Jala agreed. "Fine."
********
To Jala's surprise, the number of animals and monsters hunted was much bigger than expected. he looked at the large pile and watched as some of the remaining hunters picked at their first animal to butcher.
"Ten Large Lizards, fifteen horned rabbits, five wolves, three snakes and sixteen scorpions..." Lucius said. "It took me a few hours, but I was able to get them."
"Isn't this excessive?"
"For staving town, no." Lucius stepped up, pulling a snake from the pile. "While you're butchering for the meat, try to teach those kids a thing or two about it."
Jala glanced back, finding that some of the boys had followed them from a distance. They peaked their heads out watching out of curiosity. "What's the point of teaching these children?"
Lucius spoke more irritably. "The point, Jala... Is so that your kin can thrive. How are they supposed to know or grow strong if they aren't taught?"
With some reluctances, Jala accepted. He aimed his hand and conjured a wall of ice behind the kids. Even as they tried to scamper off like rabbits, they were easily caught and made to sit next to Jala and Lucius.
The other hunters watched on, unsure what to make of the situation. they watched as their town kids were made to watch and eventually butcher the animals themselves.
Eventually as the meat from most of the animals were butchered, food was cooked as celebration for the bountiful harvest. The event became much bigger with children filling the streets as some were made to wait for their serving of the food. It wasn't long before most of the food to dwindle away to just some scraps the most other people didn't want.
Now sitting by a makeshift campfire, Jala slowly ate away at the bland meat while the children couldn't get enough of it. While there were some fights between the kids they were easily quelled by the hunters allowing everyone to continue to lavish in the subtle peace.
"So, these are all the children, huh? and all the adults lefts..." From what Jala could see, there were only five men left and a single woman, who was Fren.
Fren was being accompanied by Lillian who was chatting about something with her.
"It's worse than I thought." Lucius suddenly said. "It'll be another forty years until these children reach adulthood. It's like you said... this place is dying."
Jala averted his gaze. "So, you finally accept the fate of this town as it is?"
"Yes... And that's why we'll be escorting everyone from this town out of this desert."
Jala froze. Shocked by what he just heard. Lucius could see Jala now forming a frown from just under his mask. "What's the point in all this? it's not even worth our time"
"This is your home, isn't it?"
"What of it?"
"And these are your people, aren't they?"
Jala didn't answer the light of the campfire whipped on and off his face. a clear hesitation lingered. "They... Are no longer my people..."
Lucius could hear a hint of shame from beneath the spoken words. Clearly there were more to those words than what he would ever divulge.
"If that's the case, then it shouldn't matter what I do to the town then. Tomorrow, we gather everyone. and we'll bring them with us to my lands." Lucius proclaimed.