Today I met two more prisoners of fate. Both were swordsmen of exceptional skill. Both saw my darkest form. Both feel that they are competent and skilled and in control, and on that last count, both are terribly, terribly wrong.
It is not very often that I concern myself with men, usually limiting my contact with them to an occasional battle when my demon longing for human blood becomes irrepressible, but these two are special. The fair one seemed to be the one in command, and his dark, muscular companion also was an immensely powerful man. In spite of their skill, I would have been victorious had I chosen to disregard fate, deny destiny, and pursue the fight. I had succeeded in incapacitating the commander, and would have killed him, but for the object he wore about his neck. The small crimson egg that dangled there is the most notable thing about the pair, although I have never had such a challenging fight.
Those poor, helpless, foolish warriors. No doubt the crimson behelit, for that is what the necklace was, is a cherished and carefully guarded possession believed to bring good fortune. They must feel that its powers provide a way to control fate. I know better. I fell into the same trap.
I once had a dream - a desire so powerful that I would give anything, make any sacrifice, to attain. I also had a behelit. The rush of power that comes from holding one of the eggs that offer glimpses of the future and promise to fulfill the purest dreams is intoxicating and irresistible. I believed in it, and became what I am today. I am powerful, yes, and my wish has been granted, but in a way nothing like I had imagined. I lost my human form and received in its stead a monster's body and a twisted mockery of my wish. I lost everything but my soul, which was monstrous to begin with by necessity. I say this because it had to be, if the power of the behelit was to be released.
The bearer of the crimson behelit will not fare as well. He must believe, as I did, that his ruby charm is the key to his destiny and the road to achieving his dream. He will step over anyone to reach his goal, but will eventually pave the way to his own ruin.
What perfect sacrifices those two will make. The loyal one with dark hair has been trapped in the fair one's dream, but makes no attempt at controlling events, accepting all events and letting fate's river bear him as it wills. The leader is different, undoubtedly a very ambitious man, anxious to see what he can wring out of life. Leaders often are, and the one possessed by the behelit must believe that it labels him a king. Destiny and the world, in his eyes, are his to dominate by right. He appeals to destiny in a bid to control it, using it as his justification and not seeing his error. He is deceived and mistaken.
The promise of the behelit is most alluring. Any dream can be made reality if only its keeper is willing to exchange his flesh and blood. What is a body compared to a dream?
The aspect of behelits that all fail to see before they are lost is that they originate in tears on the other side of a spiritual boundary. Nothing that is in very nature sorrowful can bring true happiness. The joy that comes from belief in a dream can only be produced by a behelit through subtle deceits and occasional outright lies, and is only temporary. The manipulation of the truth was slight in my case, but the red behelit, the Egg of the King, represents the ultimate deception. The arrangement of a flesh and blood exchange for the world seems acceptable, but once the transformation of the body is complete, a fatal loss of the soul occurs. The brave and ambitious spirit of the beautiful young man destined to become my king will end at the very instant his body becomes powerful. His form will not be all that alters. His very soul will become the soul of a demon. He will die believing that his dreams have finally been realized, when his whole existence has been in vain.
The God Hand claims that the man's choice determines whether he becomes one of them or not. This other lie is even more hideous than the first, because it contradicts a basic truth that all creatures but men understand: man's will controls nothing that benefits men, as it itself is controlled not by man, but by the cruel, inescapable god Destiny.
To try to govern fate is to be lost. The one who seeks out his destiny with his crimson token is already sure to fall victim to it. The white hawk is safely inside his bloody egg. He will give my new king life, but my interest in him ends there. I have no wish to try to warn him, to save him. Any attempt I made would be futile, and success, should fate be thrown off course, would deprive me of my demon king. The logic of it, and his inevitable end clearly support my decision to leave destiny alone, and I am able to ignore him without much difficulty. I wonder if I was this uncaring as a human, or if all the years I have spent as a demon have changed me gradually, twisting my soul, as the King's will be twisted, only warping me over time rather than suddenly. I suppose it is immaterial, though most humans would fight and resist fate to preserve themselves or a fellow human. What is humanity, that is should be so valued?
I sense that the dark swordsman who allows himself to be ruled by destiny and has no true goal may escape his companion's dark fate, though if he remains near the ambitious one, he is doomed. He may yet turn away, his fate is not yet certain, and my curiosity is great. Perhaps he will heed my warning. The prophesy of a demon is not a thing to be taken lightly.
The eclipse, my second, and not just another among the many that the older demons have witnesses, draws near. I will follow these fascinating mortals, for I have an excruciating eternity to pass, and feel wonder as I watch destiny unfold, rather than the frustration that accompanies any effort to control it. Perhaps I will have a hand in bringing about the ultimate fate of these men. I will not interfere with destiny, but if I am given an opportunity, I will add any aid I can to my warning. I want to see both on the day when the sun hides its face from the evil on the world.