P I and Magic Book II: The Gods Return
Copyright© 2005 by Volentrin
Chapter 19
The next morning, I was awakened by a knocking on the door. When I opened it, I was advised that breakfast would be served, shortly. I nodded, and was left alone to get dressed.
After I was ready, I opened the door to set off in search of breakfast. I was met by the strangest looking little demon. It was a fawning, unassuming little 3 foot tall, vaguely human looking... thing.
It escorted me to a dining room, where I was seated at a table with Shaitan. He had stood when I appeared, and then sat again as I did. Most polite. I wished him a pleasant morning. He grinned a feral grin, and said it was not likely.
"Is there a problem?" I asked.
"Have breakfast. You'll need it," was all he said.
The table was heavily laden. Some foods I recognized, and a lot I didn't. It was apparently 'help yourself'. I did, after checking with a small spell to make sure it was safe to eat. Everything but two items, passed my spell test.
"I felt your spell. What was its purpose?" Shaitan asked me.
I explained it was a spell designed to let me know if something was not safe for me to eat, and I had identified two items as not safe. He frowned. He called a servant in, and ordered him to have all who prepared the food brought forth.
It turned out a minor cook had decided to advance his standing, by killing off the human. Shaitan apologized to me, and the cook burst into flames. With a scream, he was gone.
While I did eat, I can't say I enjoyed the meal. It was filling, however.
"The Great Lord has already set off for battle. The Ancients have sent in a force of some numbers, and our armies are responding. Instead of going to the palace, we will head for the battle field, and the vicinity of the gate.
"I might suggest that you prepare yourself for combat, once we are done eating, if you are not already prepared. Now then, while we finish eating and do our preparations, might I answer any questions you have?" Shaitan asked politely.
"Well, I know that the Creator has everything in a sort of balance. What purpose do demons serve?" I asked.
"Ah. Well, on Earth where you spent so much time, the myth is we fell after revolting against the Creator. On other worlds we are set in place as the ultimate punishment. This is true with your Earth, too.
"While we do get millions of souls from all the worlds, we were created as a counter balance. All things in the universe have their opposites, with the possible exception of the Creator.
What followed was an interesting commentary of why the demons were important in the scheme of things. Of course they would say that, but it sounded so logical! I clung to what I was told, to discount what was said, and don't fall for making deals or doing favors in exchange for favors.
While this was going on, I double checked my spells. All in place. I had a lot of spells hung, and ready for use; much more than I normally was used to carrying, but I was far from home. I would not get a chance to call on the Gods, in this instance.
I drew my sword, and checked it. Shaitan was most interested in it.
"I have a similar sword. It is called Soul Stealer," he said, and drew it.
Immediately my sword screamed in rage at the other sword. Shaitan's sword reacted similarly. I was surprised. I looked at Shaitan, and he had a surprised look on his face as well. I sheathed my sword. It still had that chaos power about it.
"It would seem our swords dislike one another. Perhaps it would be best, not to draw them in close proximity to one another?" I said.
"I agree. This was most intriguing, though," Shaitan said with an interested expression on his face.
With the meal over, and our preparations complete, Shaitan was ready to transport us to the battlefield. His style of gating was somewhat brutal. He more or less ripped a hole in the very fabric of space, and walked through. After he did this, he would seal the rift.
I asked him if he found that more difficult than normal teleportation. He responded with: 'to each his own'. We came out on a hill of some sort. It overlooked a vast plain, which was occupied by a huge army! It took me a moment to figure out which side was which.
The demons were dressed all in black. The enemy wore a gray like color. The battle line snaked as I looked at it. In some parts, the demon's line held, in others the demons had advanced into the enemy's portion of the line. Along other portions of the line, the enemy had made advancements into the demon's territory.
It was the shear size of the line, and numbers of people? beings? that were fighting, that was stunning to me. There had to be over a million involved including both sides! It was mind boggling, to say the least!
While the lines went the entire width of this valley, beings on both sides were waiting to take their turn on the front of the line. I shook my head. As I watched, there were lights flaring on both sides of the line. 'Soldiers' were being killed or destroyed, and their bodies consumed by fire.
Darkness hung over my side of the lines, and a fog seemed to be trying to seep forward from the enemy side of the fighting. The darkness and fog fought each other, trying to get around one another, to advance the line.
Screams were drifting on the air and I winced at how many screams I was hearing. Some were battle charge yells; some were death screams, or just plain screams of rage and pain. I shook my head in disbelief.
"I must go to the battle and reinforce the right flank. It is slowly bending. Will you join me, or will you take the fight farther into their rear? The gate they control is behind these lines. Some few miles, that way," he said, pointing unwaveringly at a distant spot.
I fixed the point in my mind, and told him I was going to fly as far up as I could, and then go as far into the misty gray fog as I could. I wanted to try something, but first, I was willing to try to firm the lines with him.
He nodded, and changed into that devil shape with wings. I changed into my dragon form, keeping it small.
He nodded with approval, and started running down the hill. He launched himself into the air, and I followed suit. It was strange, flying with this being that I understood to be the ultimate evil, or so I had been told while growing up.
As we over flew the lines, I heard cheering coming from below. We flew towards the front. Finally, we started down. A space opened up, and we quickly landed. Shaitan kept his shape, as did I. I started to let my body grow, a little at a time. Soon, I had my form change completed. I was, once again, the huge dragon I had gotten so used to being when I flew.
Shaiton gave me a nod, saying, "I am glad you waited 'till now to get that large. The enemy could not have failed to take action, if they had seen something that big flying their way," he said with a toothy grin.
"That's why I waited until we got here. I am unsure how spell proof I will be here. Dragons, in my land, are mostly immune to spells," I replied.
"Now that would be a pretty good thing. This body I wear, while not immune to spells, can take a lot of spells cast at it, before I would fall to one," Shaitan told me. I filed this information away, as something useful to know.
I watched as Shaitan strode forward. As he went, darkness seemed to gather around him. He then cast the darkness forward into the enemy. As the darkness hit the enemy lines, the enemy would falter. Then the demons surged forward, killing and destroying all standing enemy in their path.
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