Daevas -I- ✔️

Chapter 12.2: Stories & Stars

The wind blew harder. It carried with it petals from the flowers and leaves from the trees. Their sweet scent filled the air around Ari, but Ari could hardly focus much on it. Despite the beautiful scenery, Ari could not help but feel something foul lurking amongst the trees and through silent breaths and stares sent between Auovin and Kaval. Ari was growing to like Kaval immensely and Auovin... It went unsaid the love he had for him. He hoped that nothing said in that moment would change a thing he felt inside his heart for the both of them, but Ari knew he was being far too optimistic.

"Shall we?" Auovin outstretched his hand waiting for Ari to take it. Ari was wary at first, but he placed his hand in his and let him guide him whichever way he would choose to take. Kaval followed close by. He was too far to hear them but close enough to keep an eye on them, Ari realized. 

"We all came from the sands... A land far away from here. The sun blazed and water was scarce, but the land was beautiful and vast. Like now, there were many stars in the sky. My father always showed me the star I was born under and whispered to me the tale of the stars and how they came to watch and record our stories long after we were gone."

Ari looked up at the sky then. It twinkled and the moon shined down on them as if listening fervently to the tale being told just as he said. 

"But like any other place, there was strife amongst us." Aouvin looked back at Kaval. "Too many of us centered in one place, so we disbursed. Some going left, some right, and some stayed behind. However, many of us left something behind. Many of us had blood on our hands. Many of us died."

There was pain in his eyes that Auovin did his best to hide. Soon it grew to anger, but he smothered it down by clenching his fist. 

"When we came here, things were different. We separated and stayed to ourselves. The humans barely knew of our existence until some began to mingle in with the humans and spawned children of their own. Those children were known to have a taste for human blood and their offspring as well." 

"Like Inge," Ari noted.

Auovin nodded and continued. "Others who stayed with their own kind only fed from others like themselves... but there were some who fed on both humans and blood demons. They were demons who ruled over the humans. Who the humans paid tribute to. Demons more ancient than I."

"And you father--"

"He died. My mother, I lost in the sands. I was alone as you were." Ari looked at him with wide eyes but Auovin did not spare him a glance. "Humans were much crueler then. They were afraid of anything different than themselves, so unlike you, I was not taken in by them, or anyone for the matter." 

 Auovin tried to leave no room for questions, especially ones concerning his parents. Ari could tell it was a very sensitive topic to broach, but Ari was wanting to know. He wanted to know everything, every intimate detail that made him into who he was now. 

"How did he..."

"There are only several ways to kill us; all in which the greater demons knew how, but the blue stones were one of their favorite ways. The same ones from the sands. They hunted us down until there were very few of us left alive." 

"They?"

"The Greats."

"Oh... " Ari pressed a thumb to his bottom lip. "And what happened after? If they ruled over humans... How did you...? Somehow, Ari knew the answer. 

"One-by-one, we sealed them away. We killed the ones we could, but there was one or two we missed. Maybe more. It did not matter then. The humans revered us and sat us up high above them. Soon we began to share with them the gifts that were unique to only us and became gods in their eyes; their saviors and salvation."