HoneyBee-My Inner Demons

Episode 1-The Prince's Desire: part 1

Daemos. A land of near permanent night, almost always under the cover of darkness with only the moon to light the world. The plum colored sky was splattered with thousands of stars, all of which bore witness to the tragedy that had just occurred on that fateful night.

Arcane energy crackled just outside of the modest cottage situated deep within the woods of the Regignis kingdom. The faint sound was almost drowned out by the dissipating hiss of flame magic against the stone of the walls. Smoke filled the room, settling slowly as the commotion came to a halt. A hand came through the smoke, waving about to disperse it, a body coming forward to match the hand.

There stood a young man, obsidian gaze flicking around to meet the eyes of his companions. His stiff shoulders dropped after a moment, a silent sigh slipping out of him as he allowed his eyes to rest.

"Is it done, Your Majesty?" A calm voice spoke from the entrance to the room. A tall man was the origin of the direct question, a staff rising from his side and swiping through the air to rid it of the smoke and dust entirely. Without any debris left to cloud the room, the full scene was laid out before them.

Five men stood in the small cottage, horns atop their mostly human heads and various fantastical weapons in their hands, more of them covered in blood than not. In the center of their formation was a charred wall, a clear blast mark from some sort of fire and in the middle of it floated a peculiar object. An orb gently sat in the air, the smallest breeze causing it to shift. It appeared otherworldly, an ever changing swirl of cool hues with speck of unknown particles within the mix. It held an air of fear to it.

"Yes, Rhys" the simple response came from the man with the black irises, his eyes now open once more and turned to look at his knights. Rhys, the tall man farthest from him, another man taller than himself stood closest, sword still at attention. "Pierce, retrieve the soul" the presumed leader commanded, earning a nod from the one known as Pierce. He sheathed his sword, moving past his leader to complete his given task but it seemed like someone in their party had another idea.

With inhuman speed, a smaller man appeared before the two, reaching down to grab the orb with a grin, "I believe I'll be the one to deliver the last soul to Prince Asch" His confident tone rubbed some of them the wrong way, especially the one who had given the order. "Leif, I did not give you the order" the 'Prince' was quick to correct his subordinate, sending him a pointed look.

Leif rolled his eyes, tempted to argue back but was cut off before he could even open his mouth. "Quit, the both of you, or you'll startle the soul" coolly snapped Rhys, taking a few steps forward to try and stop the orb, or soul, from becoming antsy but it was too late. Within the presence of their attackers, the soul was eager to escape and flee, preservation still built into their very existence. The windows had all been shattered, leaving many open spots for the soul to slip out and that it did, barely dodging the grasp of Leif as it sped off into the dark forest.

"After it!" Rhys demanded, Pierce and Leif already chasing it into the night followed by the smallest of the group, a salmon haired young man that seemed determined to capture the soul. Rhys was quick to follow, leaving the Prince alone momentarily.

Left to himself, he took in what was around him. The last half hour had been a blur. He hadn't had time to think, to really contemplate if this was right. No. It was. This was what he had to do if he wanted to help the kingdom, help his people, save himself. The last one snapped him out of his thoughts, eyes sharpening once again. He had to stay focused. He couldn't mess this up or this truly would be his last chance. He climbed through the shattered window, boots crunching in the glass filled grass below.

Around the cottage stood pillars of jagged crystals, a ring of arcane material surrounding the cottage. Remnants of a powerful barrier were dying out, snaps and pops of energy occasionally coming off of the pillars. Asch reached behind him and pulled a scroll off of his belt, stepping outside of the circle and taking one last look at the cottage. The home of the last soul, the last human was in shambles. There was no stopping. He opened the scroll, imbuing it with some of his magic before activating the spell he had been given, a flash of light illuminating the forest before an illusory barrier appeared. The spell altered the appearance of the cottage as well, restoring it to its original form.