@CurtisFamWriters
PROLOGUE
The One Hundred Twenty Third King of the World looked at the contract in his hand. Once his signature adorned this page, Demons of every kind would be able to possess babies, so long as the children retained control. It seemed like a straightforward contract, but Demons were fickle creatures, known for their mischief. For all he knew, they were already plotting. The only reason the Demons were even agreeing to this contract in the first place was because they hate Hell. It’s not fun for them either. As well as the fact that humans were getting better at resisting Demon possession.
He knew he should think long and hard before signing this contract, but the Demons were growing impatient. He knew that if he waited any longer, it would most likely mean his head. He rubbed his neck, and gulped. Then, without another thought, he scratched his name on the contract with the quill.
The King sat back and wondered what his ancestors would think about his decision. If you went all the way back to the beginning of humankind, there was Adam, the First King of the World. His firstborn was the Second, his, the Third, and so on all the way down to him, number one hundred twenty three. (He didn’t know it at this time, but he would also be the last King of the world).
The King rubbed his hands together to ward off the cold. He had to do this outside in the snow, because Demons are strictly forbidden to enter the palace. Right then he wished he had made an exception. Shivering, he knelt down in the snow and drew a very old ritual, that went back to the time of Adam, a ritual to summon Lucifer, King of the Demons. With a chant in the ancient language, it was complete.
Lucifer stood before the King. His skin was pale as the snow around him, his eyes black as coals. He was well dressed in a suit and tie, and looked unnaturally handsome. His hair was combed to one side, his cheekbones so sharp, they looked like they could cut through steel.
“Hello”, Lucifer purred in a soothing voice. “How may I help you?”
“Lucifer”, the King said.
“Oh it’s you”, Lucifer said with a smile. “Is my contract complete?”
“Yes. All it needs is your signature, then a drop of my blood and yours. The blood will make it unbreakable”, the King said, feeling nervous.
“Yes I know how a blood contract works”, Lucifer said. “Give me the quill”.
The King silently handed Lucifer the quill. In a flash, his signature was next to the Kings. He then pricked his finger with the tip of the quill, and watched in silence as it fell onto the paper, splatering next to his name. Lucifer then handed the quill back to the King.
Bracing himself for the pain, the King stabbed himself in the finger with the quill, and watched as blood welled up on his finger, then spilled off and onto the paper, mingling with the blood of the Devil. He couldn’t help but feel as if he had made a grave mistake, as the contract split into two exact copies.
Lucifer picked one up. “One for me, and one for you”, he said, handing the extra copy to the King.
The King only had time for a quick ‘thank you’, before Lucifer disappeared in a similar manner to the way a appeared. The King walked back into the palace, and ordered a large fire built in the fireplace. He then sat in a chair next to the fire and thought about the implications of the contract he now held in his hand. He rubbed his head and quickly fell asleep, and never woke up again.
Information page: This is the first information page. In Between chapters I sometimes write relevant information that is not in the book. You can tell the difference by the bold letters.
This page is about the war that happened after the death of the One Hundred Twenty Third King. There was a fight among his sons, because he never chose a successor, and in the end, the earth was divided up into territories each run by a seperate king. This story takes place thousands of years later in a place called Dividia
CHAPTER ONE
I opened my eyes slowly. I was sleeping behind a few garbage cans, on the street. The fate of the poor. I sighed and stood up, my back feeling like it was going to fall apart. It felt so normal, it took me a moment to realize it was my birthday. For the most part, my birthday didn’t matter. I was poor, there was never any cake, or presents, but this was different. Today I was turning thirteen. For most people, that didn’t matter. But I was different. I was Demon Kin.
To be Demon Kin, is to host a Demon within your body. And when you turn thirteen you go to school, to learn about how to control the power of the Demon.
Suddenly I heard a snort in my head. “You can’t control my power. You are to weak Elliott”, Abigor, the Demon in me said.
Abigor has a split personality. His other personality is named Eligos. Eligos merged with me perfectly. We are of one mind and body, but Abigor, he is different. It’s like I have become Abigors other personality, and he hates me just as much as he hates Eligos. The difference is that I have access to his power. So he actually hates me more than he hates Eligos.
“Shut up Abigor. You yourself surrendered your power to me seven years ago”, I said.
Abigor snorted again. “Just because you have the power doesn’t mean you can use it”.
I ignored him and walked back to the place where I was supposed to sleep. Ever since they discovered me two years ago, I have been living in the palace. But living eleven years as an orphan, living on the streets, it’s hard to go to finery. So every night I sneak out and sleep on the street. For me the street has always been my home.
I sighed as I climbed through the window into my room. It was bigger than my old house. The walls looked like they were made of gold, the bed could fit ten people, and everything was bigger than anything outside. Most of all it made me sick. Why should people outside be starving, when selling a single thing in this room could feed an army? And yet the people living here are content.
“You really should just accept that you are better than them. You are host to a Great Duke of Hell. You deserve finery. They do not”, Abigor said.
“Shut up”, I muttered.
Just then my personal attendant walked in, holding an outfit. “I am to dress you”, he said.
“I’ll just do it myself like usual”, I said.
“No, I have been given strict orders to dress you myself. After all, today is a special day”, he said.
“You don’t care about any of my other birthdays”, I muttered to myself.
“Your other birthdays were inconsequential, but this one is important. It will decide your life. You are to be a soldier. You will help in wars. You will be important”, he said.
I snorted. “I’m not going to be a solder. I’m going to be a weapon for you to use until I get dull. I wasn’t brainwashed like the others here. Don’t forget I came older. They haven’t had me as long as the others.”
“You will be a —”, he started
“I see you have been brainwashed as well. Give me the clothes, I’ll do it myself”, I said.
“I have been in —”
“Structided blah blah blah, give me the clothes”, I said.
Without another word he he handed me the clothes and left. I knew I was being to hard on him. He was just doing his job. But the way he carried himself as if he was better than everyone else made me mad.
I took a look at my outfit. A blue cloak, open in the front, and black clothes to wear underneath. The uniform for Class One. The school I was about to attend was more like being a soldier than a student. You could spend a day in Class one if you are strong enough. Or you could spend a year in Class One. It was a ranking system. It was meant to make some people feel good about themselves, and some feel terrible.
I sighed and got dressed. I walked to the dining room and grabbed an apple. I never could stomach lots of food. There were more people in the palace, many of whom were Demon Kin, like me. But the palace was so huge, I rarely saw any of them. To my shock, however, Pride was sitting at the table. I had only seen her once before in passing.
She was the Princess of Dividia, the country of my birth. She was wearing a dress last time I saw her, but today she was wearing her uniform for school. The green of the Second Class. She had blonde hair, almost the same color as mine, and the unnatural good looks of one who hosts Lucifer, King of Hell.
A few Demons were tied to families. We call these Hereditary Demons. Lucifer is the Hereditary Demon of the Royal family of Dividia. Demons like Abigor we call Random Demons. Demons who choose to stay with a host until he or she dies, and then going to a new host randomly. Many hosts of Hereditary Demons look down on hosts of Random Demons, although there is no difference in our powers.
Rather than talking to Pride, I turned to walk out.
“Ahem”, Pride coughed. “You didn’t bow”.
I sighed, turned, did a quick bow, and left.
“What a prideful… well I guess it’s in the name”, I laughed to myself. Pride would inherit this kingdom. Not because she is the oldest, but because she hosts Lucifer. Lucifer chose not to possess her older brother, because he was not destined to share any aspect of his personality. Demons are attracted to things similar to them. That’s why Eligos went for me. My name is Elliott, which is similar to Eligos. My thoughts are also in sync with his. That is how I became half Paragon. A merging of minds. I am Elliott, but I am also Eligos. But I am only half due to Abigor. It’s the same with Hereditary Demons. They refuse to enter one who is not similar to them.
As I stepped outside I noticed a coach. My attendant stood outside it. He still looked fidgety from the vocal thrashing I gave him earlier. Feeling slightly sorry, I used the power I got from Eligos to touch his mind and soothe him before stepping into the coach.
Time for school.
Information page: The split timeline
The split timeline happens right before the prologue. Basically, in the beginning of time earth had magic. When the timeline split, we lost it, and went into a dark age. However, in this reality, magic never died, but it’s the same year as it is for us. Also, slang and language advanced at the same rate, but technology was much faster for us (they're basically still in the medieval age, Kings, Queens, horse drawn carriages, etc.).
CHAPTER TWO
I got out of the coach, and walked up to the front door. After composing myself I stepped through the door. Immediately after stepping through the door I felt a stomach dropping lurch, and next thing I knew I was in an open room with a few other boys and a girl.
I grabbed my stomach and stopped myself before I could throw up. Well it was going to take me awhile to get used to that. “Hi”, I muttered, still feeling slightly sick.
I heard a few half hearted ‘hi’s’ back, but mostly they seemed consumed with doing nothing and feeling nervous. The girl, however, walked over to me and said. “Hi, my names Ala, what’s your name?”
The girl had long, dirty blonde hair, chestnut brown eyes, and tannish skin.
The chipper tone of voice was obviously a way for her to hide how uncomfortable she was.
“I’m Elliott”, I said.
She leaned in close as if to share a secret and said in my ear. “Don’t let these guys get to you. Their just wet noodles is all”.
I snorted. “I can see that. Ala, right?” I said.
She nodded, and laughed, seeming to relax a bit. “You wanna come sit by me?” she said.
I hadn’t noticed before, but there were cushions on the ground, in a straight line. By the fact that my cushion was the last one left, I guessed that I was the last to arrive.
“I don’t have a choice do I?” I laughed and sat on the cushion next to hers. She sat down next to me and laughed.
Suddenly, a woman appeared at the door, and stepped through, not looking sick at all. So I guess it was possible to get used to it.
“Hello, my name is Mia Taylor. You can just call me Master Taylor. I am the principal here. Now you will only have one official master here. He or she will give you advice. He or she will help you. You will get to know him or her very well. But you will also have other masters, who specialize in different fields. They will teach you, but they will not advise you. They will only teach you. Understood?”
There were a few half hearted ‘yes’es, Then she walked out, and a second later, a man appeared. He called out a name. A boy stood up and left with him. A few more times, and it was just me and Ala.
“I’m looking for Elliott, and Ala”, a disgruntled looking man said, standing in the doorway. Both me and Ala stood up, and followed him out of the room. We ended up in a different room, and, after my sick feeling subsided, I noticed that there were three other people in the room.
Two of them were obviously brothers. They had the same face, but that’s were the similarities ended. One had short, wavy red hair, blue eyes, and a nice tan. The other, had the same hairstyle, but he had black hair, the same blue eyes, and the tan. But one was painfully skinny, and short, while the other was a bit chubby, and tall.
The other person in the room was a girl. She was short, had long, curly black hair, green eyes, and was very pale, especially in comparison to me or the other two boys.
“Get to know each other”, the man grunted, before leaving.
“Umm hi, I’m Ala”, Ala said, somewhat hesitantly.
“I’m Elliott”, I said.
“I’m Oriax”, the short brother said.
“I’m his twin, Orias”, the other said.
“Hi, I’m Lilian. You can call me Lily”, the girl said, with a small smile.
“So, what Demon’s do you host?” I asked.
“Oriax”, Oriax said.
“Orias”, Orias said.
“Lilith”, Lily said.
“Lilith as in, Adam’s second wife, who tried to lead him into darkness?” Ala asked.
“Yes”, Lily said.
I had never heard of this Demon before. Some Demons used to be humans, before committing one of the seven mortal sins, and being sentenced to Hell. Once there, they have there minds altered, and are driven into darkness. Based on the way Ala described Lilith, I guessed that she was this type.
“I’ll go next. I am host to Abigor”, I said.
“Cool”, Oriax said.
Ala said. “I host an Ala”.
“An Ala?”, Lily asked.
“There are many, none of which have a name”, Ala responded.
Just then, the man appeared in the doorway. “You all introduced? Good. You can just call me Master Elymas. I will be your main instructor. Now because we have two newbies, you can have the day off. Enjoy it. Tomorrow's going to be hell on earth”, he said, before once again disappearing.
Information page:
The school is an intelligent building. That means that it can think for itself, and that's why it takes people to their destination instantly.
CHAPTER THREE
I spent the rest of the day getting to know Lily, Ala, Orias, and Oriax. Then I went to bed. I had my own room, inside the big common room we were in. It was small, it had a bed, a dresser, a mirror, and a nightstand. I couldn’t sleep on the bed so I slept on the floor instead. Though thinking about the next day kept me up nearly all night.. The next day I was the first to be ready. It helps that I couldn’t sleep. I was already up.
I exited my bedroom, to see that I was the only one awake.
“No you’re not”, I heard the sly voice of Abigor in my head.
“Shut up, Abigor. Leave me alone”, I said.
Just then, Lily walked out of her room, and looked at me. “Who are you talking too?” she asked.
“No one”, I had learned a few years ago that being able to talk to your Demon was not normal. “Just talking to myself”.
“Oh”, she said. “I’m gonna make breakfast. Master Elymas will be here soon. Make sure to get ready.
I nodded, and stepped back into my room to change. I rinsed myself quickly and put on my uniform. I noticed my reflection as I walked past the mirror. The unnatural handsome face of the Demon Kin stared back at me. My blonde hair was messy, as usual, and my green eyes, eyes I loved because they reminded me of my mother. I remember every time I looked at her she would say, ‘look at those piercing green eyes, just like my mothers’ and then we would laugh, and play. I sighed and looked away from the mirror, thinking about my mother. I composed myself and stepped out to see Lily cooking Bacon. I took a deep breath through my nose. “Smells delicious”, I said, smiling, carefully hiding my pain behind it.
Lily blushed. “Thank you”, she said.
A few minutes later Ala came out of her room. “What is that smell? Fabulous!”, she said.
“Lily’s cooking is always good”, Oriax said, exiting his room.
“Yeah”, Orias said, also exiting his room.
“Well it certainly smells good”, me and Ala said, almost in unison.
Lily smiled. “It’s done”, she said putting it on the table.
I saw bacon, eggs, sausage, and a variety of other breakfast foods. “How did you cook this so fast?” I asked.
“Lilith was a cook, who cooked for Adam and his entire family. By borrowing some of her power, I can cook very fast, and very good”, Lily said smiling.
“So basically… this is Demon food”, I smiled and took a bite.
Lily laughed. “I suppose you could say that”. We all laughed. “From here on we will call this Demon food”, Oriax laughed.
I snorted. “I’m sorry for starting this already”.
This comment sent the others into fits of laughter.
Just then, Master Elymas walked in. “Good, you’re all getting along. Time for training”, he said, with a smirk that freezed my blood.
“First though, I need to eat”, he said, walking over grabbing two sausages and popping them in his mouth. “Now follow me”, he said, his mouth still full of food.
We obediently stood up and followed him out the door. In a split second, we were in a classroom, and a woman stood in front. We were the second group to arrive, and the others were all already seated. Master Elymas left with a little wave as if to say, good luck.
“Hello. Please take a seat”, the woman said. “I am Abigail Brown. I am your instructor. You will simply call me Instructor Brown. This is a class on talking to the Demon”.
My heart skipped a beat. I had never seen anyone else talk to the Demon. The few other Demon Kin I met around the palace couldn’t do it. But apparently it was possible for everyone. I sat down, feeling excited. Maybe now I could do it in public.
I waited in excitement as people trickled in slowly. And then, finally, it began.
“Now, I am very doubtful that any of you have ever interacted with your Demons before, but on the small chance that you have I always ask anyone who has to raise their hand”, instructor Brown said.
Immediately my hand shot up. “I have”, I said.
“You should have lied”, Abigor said.
“Shut up”, I muttered under my breath.
“All right come on up. If you are lying, you will be severely punished”, instructor Brown said, looking as if she was expecting it to be a lie.
I stood up and walked to the front. “Alright. When’s the last time you spoke with it?”
“Just barley. He told me I should’ve lied and said I’d never interacted with him”, I said.
“Alright, what's he saying right now?”, she asked.
“He just said that he was bored. Now he’s yelling as loud as he can”, I said wincing.
Instructor Brown looked surprised. “That like an open channel”, she said. “A… what?” I asked. “It means you can constantly talk to the Demon, and he can constantly talk to you. It’s very rare”, she said. “Oh”, I said. “So… can I shut it off?” “No, unfortunately you just have to live with it. If I were you I’d be happy. What you have is very rare”, she said. “If you knew what he was saying right now you wouldn’t say that”, I said. “Well, regardless, you have no need for this class. I’ll recommend you for advanced Demon speech. There it’s not just talking but contracts and other such things. I think you’ll find it right up your ally”, she said.
She tapped her head, and suddenly Master Elymas appeared. “I finally got someone with talent, he muttered as he dragged me away. I waved at Ala and the others before suddenly appearing in a new room i’d never seen before.
“Well, sence you won’t have class for a day or so, I guess I’ll teach you a bit. If it gets approved, then tomorrow you will attend the advanced Demon speech course but for now…”, Master Elymas said.
“Okay. What do you teach?” I asked.
“Magic”, he said.
“You mean like… Demon magic?” I asked.
“No. I mean magic. Plain and simple”, Elymas replied.
“Okay… I thought this school was only teaching… Demon stuff, but I can roll with this”, I said.
Elymas smiled. “You responded very well. Many of my students complain. Call it a waste of time. So thank you. The first spell we are doing is Lux, a light spell”, he said.
“Okay, I’m ready”, I said.
Elymas smiled again. Then he flexed his fingers and said ‘Lux’.
Suddenly the room filled with bright light, so blinding I couldn’t see for a good minute afterwards.
“Your turn Elliott”, Elymas said with a smile.
I had never performed magic before, and honestly, I was really excited. I flexed my fingers just like he did and said ‘Lux’. Rather than a blast of light, I felt an excruciating pain fill my chest, a pain so terrible that I lost consciousness.
Information page: Paragons
The definition of Paragon is: a person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality. In this book, the name Paragon is given to one who has merged with a demon, mind and body. A half Paragon, such as Elliott, is a Paragon who is not quite perfect. In his case, Abigor makes him imperfect.
CHAPTER FOUR
I found myself standing in a field of white flowers. Standing in front of me was a Daemon I knew well. Eligos. He had pure white skin, horn-like ears, long white hair that seemed to flow behind him, and his eyes. They always creeped me out. His eyes were white, just like ours, but instead of a pupil, he had a red diamond in the middle. He was in the form of a knight at the moment, with shining white armor. A snake was draped over his shoulder.
“Elliott, I need to warn you. I have looked into the future. You need to —”, Eligos started.
Suddenly half his face changed. It turned a dark grey color, his hair became black, his eye changed to become red, with a black diamond in the middle. The armor changed to be the same color as his skin. A few of the flowers around him wilted and died.
“Shut up Eligos. He doesn’t need a warning. He’ll be fine”, the sly voice of Abigor said.
“Abigor. Let me warn him. He needs —”, Eligos said.
“Leave Elliott”, Abigor interrupted. “I need to talk to my other half”.
I took a step back, prepared to run, but all of a sudden, Eligos threw the snake at me. “Protect him!” he yelled before he and Abigor faded from view.
I woke up laying on a bed of some sort. I was tied down and couldn’t move. Just then, a woman bustled over. “Finally awake I see. You had us worried”, she said.
“Were am I?” I asked.
“Your in a hospital for treating magical injuries”, she said. “I am a nurse here. My name is nurse Mille”, she said.
She carefully untied me. “You were causing quite a racket while you slept”, she said with a little laugh.
I heard footsteps, and turned to se Elymas. “You okay?”
“I think. How long was I out?” I asked.
“Two days”, Elymas replied.
“Two days?” I asked, somewhat shocked.
“It seems your magic is crippled. So when you tried to use it, you felt that pain. I know someone who I think can help”, he said, pulling me out of bed.
“He needs rest!” nurse Mille exclaimed.
“He’ll be fine. He’s Demon Kin after all”, Elymas said smiling.
I waved at nurse Mille as Elymas dragged me through the halls, then out the door. “Where are we going?” I asked.
“Woods”, he said.
“Why?” I asked.
“You’ll see”, he said.
We walked for a while more, before he said. “Motus”, and suddenly, I found myself in the woods.
“Woah. Was that a teleportation spell? I heard even the most basic one is nearly impossible to perform”, I said in awe.
“Yes well, your goal is to be able to teleport by the end of this training”, Elymas said.
“Is that Elymas I hear? What's that stupid sorcerer doing in my woods?” a gruff voice said. A man stepped out of the shadows. He was wearing leather clothes, obviously home made. He had brown hair, and a rugged face. A scar ran down his face, starting just before his hairline, and curving across his nose, and ending on his chin.
“Veneifer. I brought you a pupil”, Elymas said.
“I have no need of it. Did you forget I have no magic? What use am I as a teacher?” Venenifer asked.
“This one has crippled magic”, Elymas said.
Venenifer showed sudden interest. “Crippled you say? Not gone?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s still there, and I will try to teach him to use it. But I want you to train him on how to fight without magic”, Elymas said.
I stood there, feeling awkward, before finally Venenifer said. “Fine. Bring him back tonight. I’ll train him every night at eight. Don’t want him to miss school”, Venenifer said.
“Deal”, Elymas said. “Motus”.
I found myself standing in front of the school. I suddenly remembered the snake Eligos had thrown at me. I reached into my pocket, and, sure enough, there it was. I pulled it out and looked at it. It had black scales, with yellow in the middle of each one. Fangs that looked like they could kill a full grown adult, and it had three sets of them. Three heads.
As I held it, it grew bigger, and wrapped itself around my shoulders, just like I’d seen it do to Eligos.
“Hello, I am Ophidan”, the snake said.
“You can talk?” I asked, startled.
“Yes, I can, Master”, he said.
“Master?” I asked.
“Yes, Master Eligos has given me to you. So you are my new Master. I am now your familiar”, Ophidan said.
“I thought having a familiar was dangerous”, I said.
“Oh it is”, Ophidan said. “We now share a life span. When I die, you die. When you die, I do”.
“Oh. So as long as we both live, we’ll be fine”, I said.
“Yes”, Ophidan said.
“What's the hold up?” Elymas asked.
He walked back. “Huh? How did you find a familiar so fast? I wanted to get you one to assist with your magic but… I guess you got that covered”, Elymas said,
“Greetings. I am Ophidan”, Ophidan said.
“A Naga? How rare”, Elymas said. “Well Elliott, you seem to have found a minor god to be your familiar”.
“Indeed. I am a Naga”, Ophidan said.
“Three heads? So you’re male”, Elymas smiled. “Well, let’s go in. You head back to your sleeping area. I’m going to go register your familiar”.
I nodded, in a slight daze, and walked through the door. I stepped out in the common room area of my room.
Suddenly I heard a yell. “Elliott!”
I was tackled by Ala. Suddenly Orias, Oriax, and Lily stood over me. “Ow”, I muttered.
“Oh, sorry!” Ala yelled.
“We were worried”, Lily said.
Ala climbed off of me and I stood up, rubbing my head.
“I’ll go make a celebratory dinner”, Lily said, smiling.
I looked around the room. Before it had been kind of dull, but now it was bright, and colorful. “Ala is quite the decorator”, Oriax said. “We never really cared about that stuff, but she made it look good”.
Orias nodded in agreement. “By the way”, he said. “You got accepted into that advanced class”.
“Oh”, I said. I had forgotten about that. “That’s good I guess”.
“Do you have any idea how rare it is for a first class to be accepted into an advanced class?” Oriax asked.
“Ummm no, I’d never heard that”, I said.
“Well it’s rare. Really rare. You’re lucky”, Oriax said grinning.
“Well, I guess I should be excited then”, I smiled.
“Dinners done!” Lily yelled.
“Is it just me or did she get louder?” I asked.
“Once she gets to know you, her shyness kind of leaves her. Then you wish she would shut up”, Orias said.
“Hey!” Lily said.
I laughed and sat down.
“Time to eat the Demon food”, Ala said.
“Oh, I forgot about that”, I grunted, mouth already full of food. I gave Ophidan some food as well.
“Tastes good”, he said.
The others stared at Ophidan.
“Dude, you got a talking snake”, Oriax said.
“Ummm, yeah”, I said.
“Greetings, I am Ophidan”, Ophidan said.
When no one responded, he said. “Umm, hi”.
I snorted. With his deep voice, him sounding awkward was quite comical.
The others all laughed.
Then Elymas stepped through the door. “Finish eating quickly. It’s time for your special training”, he said.
“Special training?” Ala asked.
“It’s nothing”, Elymas said before I could respond.
I swallowed my food and ran out the door with him. Time for special training.
Information page:
Eligos is a ‘Daemon’ which means that he is less powerful than Abigor, a traditional Demon. It also means that he is good, not bad. Orias and Oriax are both Daemons as well. It’s still pronounced like ‘Demon’.
CHAPTER FIVE
Elymas took me to the woods, then left. He said he would pick me up in three hours. I was now sitting in front of Venenifer, who stared at me.
“Hello”, he said. “I am Venenifer Nullus. You can just call me Master, or Venen. Now, introduce yourself”.
“Umm, hi. I’m Elliott. I don’t have a last name, I grew up poor. I will also respond if you call me Eligos, I am merged with him, so it’s like we are the same person”, I said.
“You are a Paragon?” he asked.
“No, I’m half Paragon. Eligos has a split personality named Abigor so…”, I said.
He nodded. “I see. Well lets begin. We must start by strengthening those sticks you call arms. Do one hundred push ups”.
“Right now?” I asked.
“Yes”, he said.
I spent the next hour working out my arms. He said once I was strong enough, we would start combat training. After the first hour, he had me sitting under a waterfall to improve my posture and back strength for the last two hours. He said as I got stronger I would upgrade to bigger waterfalls. And harder training.
When it was finally over, Elymas appeared and took me back to the school. I walked to my room and collapsed in bed, not even bothering to change.
I dreamed I was with my mother and father again, and they were both still alive. We were having fun, exploring the world, when suddenly my mother spoke with the voice of Eligos.
“Listen, Elliott, Abigor is blocking me. I won’t be able to speak to you for a while after this. Listen, do not trust Abigor. He is up to someth —”.
Suddenly it was just my mother again, but I was troubled for the rest of the dream.
I woke up still troubled, thinking about what Eligos said. ‘Don’t trust Abigor’. Well I already knew that. Abigor is a Demon, the most mischievous race in the world. Did he mean that Abigor was up to something big?
I was still deep in thought when I realized the others were all up. “Where were you last night? What kind of training was it?” Lily asked.
I remembered the last thing Elymas had said before he left me last night. ‘Don’t tell them what you are doing. They won’t understand. Come see me in the morning. I have something for you. The school will take you, no need for directions’, then he was gone.
“It was nothing, I’m just bad at magic so I needed to train extra”, I half lied.
I realized that breakfast was already on the table. I grabbed a few pieces of bacon and ran to the door. “Got to go. See ya!”, I yelled as I stepped through the door.
Next second I was standing in an empty classroom, besides Elymas who stood in the front.
“Master Elymas, you wanted to see me”, I said, trying to be formal as possible.
“Yes. I will be tutoring you in magic from now on. Before class starts every day”, Elymas said.
“But…”, I winced. “It was very painful last time I tried to use magic”.
“That is why you have a familiar. You brought Ophidan with you?”
Ophidan climbed out of my pocket and draped himself around my shoulders.
“Good. You will also need this”, he said, handing me a rod of wood. It was an inch shorter than me, and was made of a pale wood, with a handle made of dark bark.
“That is your staff. I made it myself. It will help you with your magic. It is made of rowan wood, which means it is matched by none in power. Ophiden, may I have one of your scales?”
A single scale detached itself from Ophidens back. “Certainly”, Ophiden said.
“Thank you”, Elymas picked it up. He grabbed my staff, placed the scale on top of it and said. “Summa”.
The scale sank down into the staff.
“Their. I have linked the staff to Ophidan. Now, as long as you are holding this staff, you will be able to speak mind to mind. He will also be able to assist you when you use magic”, Elymas said, handing my staff back. “No lesson today. The staffs name is Virga. Remember it, for if you ever lose her, all you need to do is utter her name, and she will go to you. Now you have Advanced Demon Speech in five minutes so go to class”.
I smiled. “Thank you”, I said, stepping through the door.
Just before I left he taught me a basic spell to hide my staff. Apparently you didn’t usually get a staff until second class, and me getting into an advanced class was shocking enough. He didn’t want to make anyone jealous.
After he finally let me go, I found myself standing in a classroom, similar to the one I just left, but this one was full of students in green and purple cloaks. Second and third class students. After a quick look, I realized I was the only person in the first class their.
When I was looking, I saw a familiar face. It was Pride, the princess of Dividia. I couldn’t help but feel angry as I looked at her self righteous face. I did my best to ignore her, and keep my calm as I took a seat in the front row.
“Hey, first classer”, a boy said. “I think the school took you to the wrong room”.
I turned around and said. “This is Advanced Demon Speech. I am supposed to be here”.
He looked somewhat shocked. “But… people in the first class never get into Advanced anything. How did you —”, he said.
“Don’t be rude Envy”, I heard Pride say.
So maybe she wasn’t all bad.
The boy stopped and sat back. “Whatever”, he muttered.
I thanked Pride in my head. I still thought she was a snooty jerk, but I forgave her a little.
About two seconds after that, a man stood in front of the class. “Hello students. I would like to announce a new student. He has an open channel. Make him feel welcome”, the man said.
Fail, I thought. I already don’t feel welcome.
“Hello new student, my name is Instructor Williams”, he said.
“Now to begin. We have been reviewing Contracts. Elliott, you will need to read the first eight chapters in this book”, Instructor Williams said, handing me a book.
“But for now, just skim it and try to make a simple contract that allows your Demon to control your body for a while in exchange for some of their power. Make sure to set clear limitations so he or she won’t go on a rampage with your body”.
I nodded, and skimmed the first eight chapters of the book. I took a deep breath, and removed myself from my body, entering my coryphaeus, or my ‘Demon space’. I saw Abigor sitting their.
“Where is Eligos?” I asked.
“No need to worry, he’s fine”, Abigor said.
I immediately started worrying, but I decided to set that aside and mention it later. For now I just needed to make a contract. “I want to make a contract with you”, I said.
“Oh?” Abigor asked, interested.
Suddenly a piece of paper appeared in front of us, along with an old style quill. I picked up the quill. “If I remember right, I just write what I get and what you get right? And if you agree we both put a blood seal on it”, I said.
“That is correct, but we also both need a signature”, Abigor said. I nodded and started writing. “Okay, this contract will make it so you can control my body for ten minutes, in exchange for you telling me the future Eligos saw”, I said. “No. I will not accept that”, Abigor said. “Well, I’ll just leave this here for you to sign whenever you feel ready”, I said, signing the paper and putting my blood seal on it. I then excited the coryphaeus. “How did it go”, Instructor Williams asked. “It went well I think”, I said. “He wouldn’t sign, but I left it there for him to sign when he’s ready to. I really need information he has”. “Very well”, Instructor Williams said. “Class dismissed”. It didn’t seem like that much time had passed, but I suppose time is different in the coryphaeus. I grabbed the book and left. Back in the common room, I sat on the couch and read the eight chapters I was supposed to read, before leaving with Elymas to train with Venen. The next month passed in a blur of training, sleeping, and not much else.
CHAPTER SIX
I sat under the waterfall, late at night as Venen watched from one side. Elymas stood on the other.
“He has gotten quite strong in the past month”, I heard Elymas say.
“What did you expect? I am the one training him”, Venen responded.
I stood up and walked over to them, feeling such ease in comparison to a month ago. I could hardly believe how strong I had become. “What now?”
“I say you go get some sleep. Tomorrow is the first fight day of the year”, Elymas said.
“Fight day?” I asked.
“You fight each other to test your skill. If you can beat ten first classers, five second classers, three third classers, or one instructor, you will advance to the second class. It should be easy for you. Advancing to third class is probably impossible at this point however. Feel free to show them your staff. I doubt you can win without it”, Elymas said.
“If it’s that important why is this my first time hearing about it?”
“Because, you’ve basically been in a daze for the last month”, Elymas said.
“That's because you overworked him”, Venen said.
I grunted. Venen had done his fair share of overworking. “Elymas, take me back to the school please”, I said.
He grabbed my arm and suddenly we stood in front of the school. “Thank you”, I said, stepping through the door and into the common room.
I snuck into my room, and went to sleep.
When I woke up, I was in a room full of old books. I saw a man standing nearby. “How did I get here?”
“Did you forget? You’ve been reading all night”, he said.
“Umm, okay”, I muttered, walking to the door. I stepped out in the common room. I looked around. Good, no one was awake yet. Just then Lily walked out. I felt a moment of panic, before realizing she had no way of knowing that I had been gone.
“You always seem to get up so early”, Lily said. “I’m about to start breakfast”.
I smiled. “Yeah, I do”, I said, not able to think of anything else to say.
Ala walked out of her room, yawning. “Hi guys”, she said through the yawn.
Orias and Oriax stepped out at almost the same exact time. “Hi”, Oriax said.
Orias just grunted.
“Hi”, I said, feeling my heart patter in my chest. I didn’t know why, but I had a strong feeling that I should hide what had happened. And my feeling were rarely wrong.
I walked over as Lily finished the food and put it on the table. I calmed my heart and began eating. I finished quickly and ran to my lesson with Elymas.
“Master Elymas”, I said as walked through the door.
“Sit down”, Elymas said.
I sat down in front of him and pulled out my staff.
“Just do a simple light spell”, Elymas said. “Today is just review, due to the Fight”.
I had forgotten about that. I just nodded, and muttered. “Lux”.
A bright light filled the room. I felt Ophidian assisting me.
Elymas nodded. “Now do a fire spell”.
I nodded and said. “Ustrina”, filling the room with fire that didn’t burn unless I wanted it to. It was my favorite fire spell, though there were many.
Elymas smiled. “I think you’re ready”.
Let me give quick explanation of magic. With magic you will have one affinity. An element you are naturally good at. Mine is fire. You can summon you affinity without spell’s, but if you do use a spell, it will be far more powerful, but slightly more time consuming.
I smiled, feeling ready. I flexed the muscles that hadn’t been there before. “Thank you Elymas”, I said, making a note to thank Venen later.
.jpg)