The demon held Random gripped in one hand high in the sulfurous air of the abyss. All of the lesser imps and evil creatures of the darkness whooped and howled for the demon to devour him. He felt fluttering creatures scratching and biting against the skin of his face and neck. The long and fiercely sharp claws of the demon pierced into the flesh of Random's ribcage. Tears immediately sprang to his eyes as he squirmed and tried to pry the cold, coarse, and impossibly strong hand away from his body. It was all Random could do to even scream at the horrifying fiend now looking him straight in the face.
The demon's skin was blacker than the darkness that shrouded him and everything else in sight. He had horns stretching upward and monstrous dripping fangs. His eyes were the color of fresh spilled blood, and his wet breath smelled of rotting flesh. The demon then uttered several deep guttural words, and Random screamed as he felt his bones cracking, bending, and reforming under his skin, which felt it was on fire. His mind was immediately thrown into a place where only pain existed.
An eternity of suffering later Random looked to his hands in alarm to find his skin had turned red. He reached up to try and ebb the blood flowing freely from his forehead and found that he now had horns protruding from his skull. "What have you done to me!?" Random shrieked as he looked down in horror at his new tail. "You're soul is mine!" the demon roared as he laughed and pulled Random into his open maw.
For what seemed the millionth time in Random's short life he woke sweating, crying, and screaming into the darkness of the night. The same dream had haunted him as long as he could remember. Every night he would dream of the same demon in the same place torturing him in the same ways and eating him just like clockwork… and every night would be just as terrifying as the last.
Random opened his eyes to the night sky, and moaned. He could still feel the demons ice cold claws in his sides. He lifted up his shirt and started to feel for any wounds, but stopped himself. "Nothing is there" he told himself, "nothing is ever there". Random wanted to sit up, but the fear of something evil in the shadows gazing at him was overwhelming. Random closed his eyes once more. "Why can't you just sit up you big baby?" he thought to himself. He finally mustered the courage to prop himself up on one elbow and look around the alley. "At least you didn't wake any of the others up with your crying" he thought.
His "friends" slumbered around him in various piles of trash around the alley. Random knew that every one of them would slit his throat in a split second if they thought there would be any profit in it. The youths of Grahden, if you could call them youths, missed out on the carefree life of the other children of the world. If you were raised in Grahden you would know how to pick a pocket at age three and use a dagger at four. If you didn't you wouldn't live to be five.
It was at least safer than sleeping at home with his malicious parents. Another shudder ran down Random's spine as he thought of them. He knew now that they were the cause of his nightmares. Random had overheard his father just hours ago as he tried to convince his wife to kill their child with him. There was an almost giddy tone in his voice when he relayed the thought to his wife of not having
that "pathetic whelp" to tend to anymore. She paused to consider the offer then reminded her husband of the deal they'd made eight years before with the demon Baelzertu. She reminded him of the powers they now wielded that made them the rulers of the under streets. Then she reminded him of the demon's payment for their new powerful magic…their only son's soul.
Random felt again the horror wash over him as the knowledge sank in of why he looked like he did, why he'd had nightmares filled with pain all his life, and why he shared his parents' powers. It was because they were as cruel, and inhuman as to give up their only son to the abyss for possible personal gain. After Random heard the gut wrenching news he had stolen his father's dagger and run. He'd run for what seemed like forever until he ran into one of the kids he'd met while selling information on the streets for his parents. Luckily the child had remembered Random, and also that the information he'd bought from Random had led to his master giving him an extra copper piece. The boy offered Random a somewhat safe place to sleep that night and Random thankfully accepted.
As he laid there staring at the stars he wondered why he was so surprised to hear his parents sold his soul to a devil. Random could tell by the relentless beatings that his parents weren't very fond of him. Hell, they didn't even care enough to name him. As soon as he was old enough to have an ever so brief understanding of the world he named himself Random after the random insults his parents would hurl at him when they needed him to do their bidding. He gave himself the last name Nowhere because he could hardly navigate his way out of a bedroll if he had a sword. But the deeper meaning of his last name came from his lack of contact with other people (his looks weren't very appealing to most people of the city) often leaving him with a feeling of being in-between worlds. When you walk through busy streets knowing that out of all the people around you, not one would help you if you were dying…well, it's not a good feeling.
"Random Nowhere" he said. He liked the name he gave himself, and was determined now more than ever to make something out of that name. Random Nowhere would be a name of legend, a name that bard's would use in their tales of just and noble heroes.
"So here I am" Random whispered to the night sky. He had no ideas of where to go or what to do next. He was definitely not going back to his parents, and he didn't want to take the chance of living alone in the dangerous streets of Grahden. As his mind raced through the possibilities Random took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He tried to think things through once more. "My parents are murderous brutes, my soul is the property of a demon, and I have no idea what to do about it." Random thought. "Well if there's an answer to be found it will be found in Phyelea. Looks like I'm gonna need some funding."
Once Random reached the immense city of Phyelea he could perhaps access the vast amount of knowledge in its ancient libraries and find a way to recapture his soul from the demon and continue on with his life. The only problem was going to be acquiring gold for the supplies and safe passage needed to reach the far away city. Random was not going to steal or kill for it. He was sick and tired of his parent's way of living by taking what you want when you wanted it no matter what the cost. No, Random was going to get the gold and he was going to get it honestly.
"Phyelea, huh? This could be fun…if I don't get myself killed." thought Random. Random knew he had a long road ahead of him, and he was ready to face any challenge that presented itself. With his course chosen and a plan formulating in his mind Random once again drifted off into a deep demon filled sleep.