Chapter 1) Children of Demons

The world is a mess. Always has been, always will be. But for the moment, it's even worse. All because of the Demon King. No one knows where he came from. No one knows who he is. No one even knows his name. 'Demon King' is simply something people started calling him, after the monsters, the demons, he commands and controls.

His takeover started off simply. A bit of manipulation here and there, and he had countries fighting brutal wars against each other. Borders shifted, families were slaughtered… and in the middle of the chaos, he began to move. His demons slowly picked off soldiers, inciting even more rage and battle, until everyone was absolutely exhausted. That's when he came out into the open to deal with the dregs. No one even bothers remembering the old countries anymore. Everyone is too exhausted to try.

You still had the defiant, though. The people who, despite all logic and sense, continued fighting. Not because they had unyielding spirits or anything, but simply because they refused to give up. Even as they broke, they continued stumbling forward, leaving shards in their wake as they navigated the mountains of corpses and the rivers of blood.

I think it's safe to say those people are absolutely insane. But, sometimes, you need a bit of insanity to hold onto hope.

I always hated it when new demons showed up. They always screwed up our plans and made battles go on longer than anticipated. But this time was especially annoying, and not just because of unhelpful commentary from my friends. I was dealing with a flying creature wielding a wicked lance and, unlike the other flying demon, this one wasn't a giant eyeball that boiled in the desert sun.

"Evelyn, above!"

"Of course it's above! Where else would it be, Raphaela? Under the ground?" I dodged the strike, glowering as the flying thing darted out of reach again. "It has wings!" The demon flew for me again. This time, I waited for as long as I dared before dodging, catching the thing in the wing. "Ha!" With it crippled, I was able to wrap my leg around its neck to slam it down into the sands, pinning it with my foot. It thrashed about wildly, trying to claw my leg, but I wedged the tip of my lance under its jaw and popped its head off. Blood spewed everywhere, and soaked the sand, but it eventually stopped squirming. "Another one for me~!" I stepped back and looked over everyone else, noticing there were no more monsters. "Okay, sound off! Who's not dead?" There was a chorus of groans and I laughed. "Tend to the injured and double-check that the bastards are dead!"

There was another chorus of groans and I walked around the perimeter, pulling my hood up to protect myself from the sun. We all wore sun-balm, of course, but it was careless to rely only on that. Particularly when we had been fighting and sweating so much. Carelessness invited death in the desert, from everything from the sun to the storms to the wild animals. And demons. That's why I always did a patrol immediately after a battle, to make sure there were none hiding.

Thankfully, there were none, so I returned and crouched down by the new demon's corpse, studying it closely. "Yep, this is definitely a new one," I murmured, prodding the corpse with the end of my lance. The skin gave easily, like it was wet paper, and so more blood dribbled out. "I wonder if it's edible?"

"Ugh, gross, Evelyn!" Raphaela chided, leaning over me and providing convenient shade. Her braid fell over her shoulder and whacked me on the head. "Oops."

"I swear you need to cut your hair. That braid of yours is a lethal weapon." I looked up at her with a grin. "We should get some of the dyes from the tailors and dye it silver. Like a sword!"

"Denied. I like my hair."

"You were just complaining two days ago about having 'boring brown' hair."

"Well, silver is worse! I'll look like an old lady!"

"It'll match your eyes~!" I hopped to my feet, giggling. "Silver hair for silver eyes!"

"Screw you, Evelyn!"

"If you're offering, Raphaela…" I smirked and she yelped, turning bright-bright red. She always did when I teased her like that. "Too easy." I waved to everyone, smiling brightly. "We good? Everything clear?" Bunches of affirmatives. "Excellent! Forage for anything interesting, and gather up any useful armor and weapons! Blah, blah, blah, you know the routine by now!"

There was some laughter then, because everyone did know the routine, and there was a mad scramble as everyone grabbed whatever looked useful. I, of course, did the same, going to inspect the lance the new demon had been using, a beautiful one made of some pitch-black metal. The balance was perfect, and the edge sharp enough to cut a strange of hair easily. There was something odd about it though. I couldn't place it, but it just felt cold, despite the sun being up and boiling everything. Of course, one person's instincts alone was no excuse to leave a perfectly viable weapon, so I tucked it under my arm, resolving to have someone more magic-inclined to look at it. Not Raphaela. She was a skilled magic user, but she hated the whole 'study' part of it.

The distinctive cry of a red-tailed hawk made me smile, and I brought up my free arm just as my Nike landed delicately on my wrist, carefully making sure her talons were on my leather glove. I lowered my arm gently to nuzzle her, and she carefully ran her beak through my hair to preen me. "Did you get worried when we were out so long?" I asked her sweetly, kissing her beak. She opened up her wings and raised her feathers, conveying fear, before relaxing and shaking her feathers out. "Oh, I'm sorry." I nuzzled her again, and she crooned. "I'll make sure you get a nice treat later." The wind gusted then, tugging my hood completely off, nearly pulling my hair out of its bun, and making my cloak flutter about my legs. "No clouds… for now. We'd better get moving, just in case. We are in the storm season." I looked to everyone else with a smile. "Let's get moving, everyone! We've missed breakfast by now, so we're going to have a big lunch, okay?"

Things like this were part of our daily lives. Every day, before the sun rose, a morning patrol would leave to see if there were any demons too close to home. While in the past the answer was 'no', we had been getting more and more lately. Typically, though, we'd be done before the sun climbed too high in the sky, so we would get back in time for breakfast and before the town was really awake. That new one, however, had delayed us, so the town was lively and bustling when we returned, and I barely had time to loft Nike into the air before our group was tackled by people very intent on giving us a warm welcome back, with hugs and kisses and laughs.

Not that it was anything unusual, the warmth. Everyone in the town knew each other, and encouraged affection. After all, we had to depend on each other to survive. Zada might be situated in a near perfect spot, right by the Vrep and several oases, but everyone had to pool all their resources together to make sure we made it through each year. Still, no matter how hard life could get, we all smiled and sang, laughing and laughing. Because we were, essentially, a big family.

And what family wasn't complete without animals? Ours were weird in comparison to the normal. Minxie the Desert Lynx, for instance, or Snow, the Fennec Fox. Typically wild animals that wouldn't be anywhere near humans if things weren't bad. However, thanks to the demons and their King… well, the desert animals quickly learned that working together with humans maximized survival with demons running about. So, we had quite a few living among us, and even more living near, within sight. Most would cycle through, staying in the city with us while they had babies, and then moving out to the outskirts once the babies were old enough to hunt. Some, like Minxy and Snow, stayed. Nike didn't count; she was from the hawks Ishmael kept.

"Hey, hey, you're heavy, Mixie!" I laughed, kissing her on the head after she knocked me down. Snow squirmed his way under my arm immediately afterwards. "Yes, yes, I love you both too." I kissed both on the head, and they licked and nuzzled me in turn before darting away to return to their actual owners. "They're so sweet~!"

"And there's my sweaty little sister." Kas leaned over me, grinning. He had his hair down, as typical for when he wasn't doing anything, and it fell in my face. "Wow, you smell," he teased. I rolled my eyes and stood up, noticing how everyone else in my group was also being swarmed. "You might want to bathe in perfume instead of water."

"Like you smell better after a monster hunt!" I scowled and saw that Kratos, his red-tailed hawk, wasn't on his shoulder as usual, probably met up with Nike to return to aviary for a well-deserved rest. So, I slipped behind Kas before jumping on his back. "Carry me!"

"Ugh! Gross! You're getting your sweat on me!" Still, he caught me and carried me without hesitation, easily weaving his way through the crowd and into the fortress where we had our rooms. "Fine way to thank your brother for coming to meet you."

"Oh please. You do the same to me!" I laughed and hugged him, resting my chin on his shoulder. "There was a new type of demon."

"Another one? Damn." He glanced back and smiled at me. "Luckily, I already drew your bath for you, so you can relax as soon as possible."

"Yay~! You're the best~!" I giggled, amused. Once, there would've been a time where I'd never say those words...

Kas and I didn't always get along so well. When we were little… back during the early years of the war, back when it was just people fighting instead of demons… we got into the worst arguments. Sometimes, they even got physical. Drove our parents insane, as well as Liane and Rachel. But then the dead rose, and people wanted scapegoats, and…

There used to be seven of us. Dad, Mom, Liane, Rachel, Kas, me, and sweet little Oliver. One of the very few things Kas and I ever agreed about, back then, was that Oliver was the absolute best and the cutest thing ever. He'd toddle after us with his blanket, tearing up if he thought he was alone. Not that we didn't love our big sisters any less, of course. Rachel had always tried to act older than she was, always in a hurry to grow up, while Liane had been the sister that did her best to be calm and serene, but had a hair-trigger temper. The house had always been loud, always lively. But, looking back, it had been warm. It had been happy.

Then the dead rose, and people desperately hunted for scapegoats. Kas and I inherited our Mom's coloring, the crimson hair and crimson eyes that looked like fresh blood, while Liane had just gotten the eyes. All of us had been bullied for the difference, because they were so unlike everyone else in the village. Thankfully, Rachel and Oliver escaped bullying, since they had gotten Dad's blonde hair and green eyes, but our family had always been the designated targets. That time hadn't been different. Well, except for how deadly it had been.

Our neighbors killed Dad first, while he was tending the garden. Just walked up and bashed his head with some farming tools until it cracked open like an egg. While they did that, others forced their way into the house, screaming that we were demons who had cursed them. Mom had tried to shield us while we tried to run, but they beat her to death too, blood flying everywhere. I never saw how Liane or Rachel died. Just heard their screams after they shoved Kas, Oliver, and me into a back closet. And then our neighbors set the house on fire, because killing us wasn't enough.

Kas and I had run, holding onto Oliver as we tried to escape. But Oliver had dropped his blanket, and he went back for it, and then… well, the ceiling collapsed on him. I had frozen, but Kas had grabbed me and dragged me out. We ran to the woods and hid, trembling and struggling to not cry, to not make a single noise. When the fire burned out, we crawled back to see if anyone was somehow alive, but of course, they weren't. They were all burnt husks. Worse, our neighbors were near, confirming the dead, so we had to run. We ran and ran and ran, children who had no idea what was going on. Who couldn't understand.

At some point in the blur of our flight, we ended up in the desert and collapsed from the heat. Kindly locals, descendants of some great desert kingdom that fell to ruin centuries ago, saved us. They raised us, smiled at us, reassured us… they helped us piece together what we had left. And Kas and I made a vow to never have an awful fight again, because we were all each other had.

"You went super quiet," Kas murmured, dragging me from my memories. A look around showed we were almost to my room. And that someone had replaced the flowers in the vased while I was out. "Everything okay? Tired?"

"I'm fine," I whispered. I hugged him a little tighter, remembering those horrible days. "I love you."

"I love you too, my sweet little sister." He laughed. "You still smell horrible, though."

"Oh, shut up!"

After my bath, and lunch, I made my way first to the aviary to make sure Nike got back safely. I saw her napping alongside Kratos and her other siblings, Bia and Zelus, and simply left them all treats before going to Ishmael's study. Ishmael was the leader of Zada, inherited from his mother, and he was the one who raised Kas and me. I loved him as dearly as I loved Dad, and when I was younger, I would often sneak into his study to play little pranks. Nowadays, I did my best to not disturb him, except for things like reports. And, unfortunately, the sighting of a new demon was always a thing to report.

"A flying monster that seems to hold up against the desert fairly well," Ishmael murmured, frowning slightly. The expression never suited his face; smiles suited him better. But there was little to smile about today. "That… isn't good…" He sighed, and leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. He let his posture slump slightly, and I winced, noticing how… old he was. Older, at least. His hair was more gray than black nowadays, and his eyes, the same silver as Raphaela's, were incredibly tired. "How difficult was the fight?"

"I think if we saw them again, Father, we'd be fine," Raphaela replied for me, setting a cup of tea down for Ishmael. The meeting was her, me, Kas, and Ishamel, as was typical. I'd read stories about 'councils' for leaders and whatnot, but Ishmael ruled alone, and sought out advice when he needed it. "We were taken by surprise. Way better than when that giant one eyed one showed up." Kas and I, both leaning against the wall, shared a wince. Thankfully, that one had gotten bogged down by the heavy sands, and we tricked it into collapsing into a sand dune before letting the magic users bombard it, but between its regenerating abilities and it actually eating people… that had been a bad fight. We sang a lot of funeral and Prayer songs that day. "Think arrows would go right through the wings and cripple it. Magic might work well as well, but I didn't get a chance to check that."

"It also seemed to be on the fragile side?" I commented lightly, thinking of the fight. I'd gotten it in about two or three hits. "It's defenses were good, and it did a lot of hit and run, but if you got it, it went fast."

"And there were only like… one or two, so…" Silence fell as we tried to not squirm. The one one-eyed demon had nearly annihilated us. "So… um...

"Ishmael?" Kas began, interrupting Raphaela. He pushed off the wall and walked in front of the desk, expression neutral. I had a bad feeling about this. "May I request something?"

"Kasimir, you are always far too formal," Ishmael chided. It was the one 'argument' we had with him. We were so incredibly grateful to him that we gave him our highest respect, especially now that we were older and could better recognize he sacrifices he made. He would always tell us to be more casual. "What is it?"

"I would like permission to leave the desert and gather information on what's going on in the outside world." Silence filled the room again, this time from shock, and my jaw dropped. Of all the… "May I?"

"Are you insane, Kasimir?!" Raphaela immediately snapped, her voice going high with shock and anger-born-from-worry. In fact, her voice went so high that I had to check the window to make sure it hadn't cracked. And I was briefly distracted by the pretty colors, but hey, I was tired. "You can't leave!"

"I don't think that's your decision to make," Kas replied cooly, not even looking at her. His attention was solely on Ishmael, who had closed his eyes to think. "But I truly believe we need more information. Monster attacks have become more and more frequent, and we've gotten two new ones in less than a year."

"We're fine! We're in the desert!" Raphaela shook her head violently, braid going this way and that. Thanks to the length, it actually did knock a paperweight off the desk, but Kas caught it before it hit the ground. I told her that she should've cut it before it got to her knees, but noooo… "There's no reason to help them!"

"Who said anything about helping them?" Now Kas looked at her, with that droll expression that showed he was close to losing his temper. "I don't give a damn about them. They can all burn and rot. But not if it means we're going to follow them. I don't hate them that much."

"But-!"

"Enough," Ishmael ordered. His voice was calm and even, and didn't go above a conversational tone, but all three of us automatically straightened at the sheer authority in his voice. "There is no need to yell. I am sure Kasimir is well aware of the dangers associated with leaving, more so than you, my dear." He opened his eyes and nodded. "I agree with you, Kasimir. I have long feared the same. However, between outsiders rebuffing our previous offers to help and the sheer pain that it has inflicted on many of our people, I have kept our distance. But it may well be that this is not a conflict where we can continue being neutral. We need more information. Unbiased information."

"Why not just ask the more recent refugees?" Raphaela demanded. Her voice was becoming a little shrieky, hinting she was close to losing it. I shifted uncomfortably, not quite sure what to do. I never did when there were arguments. "Surely they can-"

"I want the most recent and, again, unbiased information. And I would rather not reopen freshly healed scars." Ishmael smiled kindly at her. "That all said, speaking to them is something you can do while Kasimir is away, Raphaela."

"That is not what I-!"

"I'm going with him," I immediately stated, hands on my hips as I did my best to look confident despite how tired I was. I wasn't sure how much I succeeded, but I hoped it got my point across. "For one thing, Styx is the only one who can keep up with Pallas."

"I figured that would be a given, Evelyn," Ishmael gently teased. He smiled warmly. "You are right, though. Styx and Pallas are among our fastest horses."

"Just being sure." I was glad he agreed, though. I had never argued with Ishmael, aside from the whole 'be more casual' thing, and I didn't want to start. I would, for Kas, but… "In that case, Kas and I should go ahead and pack. We'll probably want to leave tonight."

"Yes, the sooner we have more information, the better. For all of our futures." Ishmael leaned forward and took the paperweight from Kas. "Send any dissenters to me."

It was as good of a dismissal as anything, so Kas and I left quickly, and walked down the hall in silence. Until we were a 'safe' distance away. Then I grumbled, "I can't believe we are leaving the desert."

"It's just for information," Kas reminded, a touch defensive now. He smiled hesitantly. "You don't have to-"

"There is no way in hell I am letting you go beyond the sands without me. We know damn well what most people still think of people with our coloring." We had a new refugee, Sierra, who was the victim of such a thing. She had been tied to a stake and publicly burned, but had someone survived and, even more miraculously, her brother, Damion, got her here. Both were still being treated, with Sierra covered in bandages and Damion rendered mute from the trauma of it all. "Damn bastards."

"I'd apologize, but…"

"But you're not wrong." I made sure to look him in the eyes to maximize the sincerity I conveyed. "You're not. I have no qualms using the outside world as a shield, but only if it means we'll still survive if that shield buckles. And we have to see what's going on to determine if that is the case or not." I hated the outside world. I hated all the people who lived in it. But I loved my home. I loved my family. And I loved more than I hated. Ishmael had taught us that. "I'm just worried that we won't be able to find anything before someone tries to kill us."

"We'll come up with precautions. And we're both very fast."

"True."

"Kasimir! Evelyn!" Both of us turned as Raphaela jogged to catch up to us. "Seriously, this whole thing is stupid!" she protested. Kas closed his eyes, quietly counting to ten. I just sighed, already knowing what was about to happen. "If things get rough, we can just move!"

"And go where exactly?" Kas retorted, perfectly sarcastic. He held himself stiffly, and his expression was as stony as a statue. He'd lost his temper. "Ignoring the whole 'water and food' thing that is kind of non-negotiable, the continent isn't exactly endless." Kas's voice dropped a bit, adding more force behind the terse words. "Are you suggesting that we somehow build boats and sail away into the unknown? Despite none of us knowing how to build boats or sail?"

"That's not…" Raphaela winced. "I mean…"

"You have a brain. I advise you to use it." Kas stormed off and, after hugging Raphaela, I followed him.

"You could've been a little nicer, you know," I scolded once she was out of sight, prodding his face. I felt so sorry for her. Not just because she was worried, but... "You know she's in love with you."

"Wow, I completely missed it with her confessing those feelings to my face," Kas instantly replied, rolling his eyes. He held himself stiffly, but didn't bat my hand away. He knew he had been too harsh and mean. "I already told her that I didn't feel the same. And likely never would." He glanced at me. "Also, not sure about the implication that she's being so argumentative because she…"

"I said you should've been nicer for that reason, not that it was why she is acting as she is." I knew she was being so argumentative because she loved us dearly and knew how dangerous this was. "You've just been so much harsher with her recently." I remembered how hurt she had been after Kas had rejected her. He had done his best to be as gentle as possible about it, but some things just hurt no matter what. And their friendship had been fraying ever since, sadly. "It's a little…"

"I'm trying to get her to stop clinging to those damn feelings, thinking that if she holds onto them long enough and is patient enough, I'll change my mind." He glared at the floor. "It's been a year. And I'm tired of pretending I don't notice the longing looks and jealous glares."

"...I'm sorry…" It was awkward for me. Raphaela was a dear friend, and Kas was my brother. I wanted them to be happy, but… "I don't…"

"I know; I know." He sighed and slung an arm around my shoulder. "I'm sorry. This should just be something she and I deal with, but you're getting dragged into the middle." He kissed my hair, and I half-smiled. At least he acknowledged how awkward it was. "Maybe the time away will finally give her heart that restart. But neither here nor there. Let's figure out what to pack and the like. And are we taking all four of the hawks?"

"Bia and Zelus are going to do whatever they want, like always." Uneasiness sank into me. The outside world… the land beyond the desert… it had been over ten years since we left. I didn't like heading back. "Let's try not to get burned, shall we?"

"Ugh… I forgot how much humidity sucked…" I groaned, grimacing as Kas and I rode along some half-ruined road, a day or so beyond the desert. I felt like I was freaking swimming through the air. "Blech…" Something wet fell on my hand, and I looked down to see there was a half-eaten mouse sitting there. "Oh, Nike, you're so sweet." Because who didn't love having a dead animal dropped on their hand?

"I think they know how uneasy we are," Kas replied, holding up what might've once been a squirrel. Before Kratos had torn it in half. "I'm thankful Bia and Zelus stayed behind."

"Same." It was fairly typical, truthfully. Nike was 'mine', Kratos was Kasamir's, while Bia and Zelus honestly just stuck around because we amused them. "We'd have at least three times as much as they started competing with each other."

"Yeah…" We reached an widening of the road, but there was no town. Not a real one. Just the ruined, overgrown remains of one. Again. "Damn, this is the fifth one."

"And it looks even worst than the last one." Kas sighed and tossed the remains of the squirrel so that Kratos could catch it. Which he did, happily. "What the hell?"

"I don't know." I lobbed the mouse, because I knew Nike loved timing her catches with the highest point in the arc. She chirped in triumph when she managed it. "I don't know."

Kas and I had been riding along the border for days, trying to find a town where we could eavesdrop. However, the first place we tried to cross was actually teeming with demons, so we had to retreat back a day or so before trying again. But each time it seemed like we found a place, it was utterly empty. A large grave slowly being devoured by nature. One that matched the very extensive graveyard on the edges of the ruins. While some were neat, and old, others were done haphazardly and much newer, with wooden markers instead of stone. Weeds covered all of them, though, to the point that you couldn't see any sort of name.

"I wonder how many there are," Kas whispered. He was looking at one mound that looked very, very small. Smaller than Oliver small. Baby small. "How many…?

"We could try to count them," I half-suggested. I didn't really want to, though. I already wasn't in a good mood, and this just made me feel worse. "It's almost enough to make me feel sorry for them."

"Really?"

"Almost." Part of me, the part that still remembered Liane's lectures, whispered something about being uncharitable. The rest of me ached from their deaths far too much. "Feel bad for the kids, though."

"Now that I can agree with." Kas clicked his tongue and Pallas set off on a trot. Styx fell in step without me having to say anything. Kratos and Nike flew by us for a brief while before landing on the saddles to ride and rest. "We've still got daylight. Let's keep on going."

"Sounds good."

And so, we continued on the broken road, looking for a place that wasn't graves and more graves. Surprisingly, we did eventually come across a town with some signs of life. In that it wasn't overgrown with weeds and vines, and it looked like someone made an effort to keep some of the buildings in some sort of 'good condition'. Kas and I dismounted and left Styx and Pallas loosely tied just outside the town, and left Nike and Kratos with them as a 'warning system'. Then we made sure our hoods were up, our hair was firmly tied back, and began walking through, looking for a place where people might be gathered. However, there wasn't any sort of 'marketplace' operating here. There was barely anyone walking through the streets.

"The hell is going on?" I whispered, looking this way and that. I didn't see any children playing, or even stray pets wandering about. "Was it this bad ten years ago?"

"Don't think so," Kas murmured. He took my hand, and squeezed it. "I have a sneaky suspicion that this war has been going way worse than we could've ever thought."

"...I really feel sorry for the children." But I couldn't deny that I did truly feel like the 'adults' earned this sort of fate. Again, the part of me that remembered Liane's lectures scolded me, but it was drowned out by the memory of Oliver disappearing under burning rubble and the terrible screams of my family dying. "I feel like I should sing a Prayer Song."

"Let's wait on that. For now." Kas frowned. "Do you hear something?" We both stopped walking and, after a moment, I nodded. There was a noise. It sounded like someone crying. Maybe. "Let's go check that out."

"Because where there's life, there's tears." I was already walking as fast as possible without jogging, dragging Kas with me. "You're falling behind."

"Let me at least get my feet under me!"

It took a couple of tries to figure out where the noise was coming from. The town was unexpectedly big for how quiet it was. The only noise we heard was the distant crying that slowly grew closer and closer. Until, finally, we found the source. But it wasn't something Kas and I expected. We had expected, say, someone crying at a grave. Not...

"Please! Not my son!" It was a woman sobbing as she clung to a little boy, twelve years old at most. "Don't take him!" Or, rather, she was playing tug-of-war with some older man with graying hair and cold eyes, his clothing almost sharp with how neat it was. "Please!" However, the man was stronger, and had a better grip, so he easily pulled the boy away. I could see the boy was crying silently, eyes wide with terror. "Noooo!"

"Sir, can we not at least give them time for a proper goodbye?" another man asked. He was much younger than the first, with teal hair and matching eyes. His clothes were simpler than the older man's, but there still some similarities. Almost like a uniform. "To simply take him is-OOF!" The older man, however, just through the boy at him. "General Mikail!"

"We've enough trouble without your bleeding heart, Urien," the older man replied cooly. He turned sharply on his heel, completely ignoring the mother's wailing, and strode off. "Follow."

"...Sir…" The younger man gently wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders and began to lead him away, over to where two horses were waiting.

"Mother!" However, the boy began struggling, trying to escape the two men and run back to his mother. "Mother!" he screamed, sobbing. His mother stumbled after them, reaching out towards him. "Mother!" However, the younger man picked up the boy so that he couldn't escape. All he could do was flail about in vain and try desperately to at least grab his mother's hand. "Mother!"

All pointless, though. The younger man put the boy on his horse before mounting up, and both of the men rode off, with the boy's screams and sobs echoing on and on. They were almost as loud as the mother's own screams and sobs, and she collapsed to the ground, curling up in a ball. And no one came to help her. No one stepped outside. Just a woman wailing in the middle of the street because her son was taken away, and no one stepped out to help. So, Kas and I did. Because someone needed to.

"Let's get you inside, ma'am," Kasimir said softly, kneeling next to her. He picked her up easily and I looked around for any convenient clue as to which house was hers. There was an open door in a house not far away, so I pointed to it. "Here we go."

We got her inside and seated at the kitchen table. While Kas hunted through the place for some cups, I brushed the dirt off of her dress and hair, before pulling a handkerchief from my pocket to carefully clean her face. She remained perfectly still, crying silently, and didn't so much as twitch until Kas set a glass of water on the table in front of her and passed me his own handkerchief so that I could keep on cleaning her face. Even then, she just looked blankly at the two of us, probably wondering who the hell we were.

"...Thank you…" she eventually whispered. Her hands shook as she took the glass, but I supported her hands so that she could take a sip. Some water spilled down her chin anyway, but I wiped that up. "Truly, I…"

"How's your head?" I asked, smiling at her. I was worried about looking her in the eyes, since the shadows of my hood only hid so much, but she was rather out of it. "Aching yet?"

"Not yet." This time, she could drink without shaking hands and without spilling. She ended up draining the glass. "Thank you, though."

"Of course."

"I'm rather surprised no one helped you," Kas commented, taking the glass from her. He went to fill it up again and set it back on the table. "After all…"

"Why would they? Their own children were taken," she told us, her fingers twisting into her skirt. Kas and I exchanged alarmed looks over her head. "When the soldiers came by before, I lied about my son's age. I told them he was ten, not twelve. Someone must've revealed my lie." She laughed bitterly, a hollow sound that made my heart ache. "I'm sure they enjoyed my breakdown, whoever they were. I hope they did, at least. Someone should get something out of this."

"Is this conscription a recent thing?"

"For the twelve year olds? Just a few months. The age has been slowly lowering over the years, though. As more and more die, and more and more soldiers need replacing. They call it a 'war', but really, it's a slaughter. And we're the cattle slowly being led to our deaths." She laughed mirthlessly, a horribly hollow sound. "The Demon King just makes more. Kill one, and a dozen more show up the next day. Some of them your own dead. It's a miracle we've lasted as long as we have. But we're all going to die." Her voice caught in her throat. "I just wanted to spend my last days with my son…"

Silence fell, since Kas and I had no way of replying to that. Thankfully, before the silence could become awkward, there was a distraction. A knock on the door. Of course, any relief I felt disappeared when I saw the knocker was the young man from before, the one who led the boy away.

"What do you want?" I snapped, standing protectively in front of the woman. Kas slowly, subtly, began flanking the man, ready to attack if need be. "I doubt she has another child you can rip from her arms."

"That isn't… I…" the man began. After a moment, he bowed his head. "I snuck back, miss, ma'am. I… I can't return your son, but I can at least bring him his things. If there is anything..."

"There are… probably a few things…" the woman whispered shakily. I rested a hand on her shoulder. "Who are you?"

"Lieutenant-General Urien, miss." The man lifted his head. "I'm part of-"

"The cavalry. My husband served under you. Said you were a good man, and could be trusted." The woman tried to take her glass, but her hands shook far too much, so she folded them in her lap instead. "My son. Is he…?"

"Ideally, he'll just… be a messenger. To free up someone older for the actual fighting." He looked down, though, unable to keep eye-contact. "We've had our camps attacked enough times for me to not… well…"

"I think 'ideals' disappeared when you started conscripting children."

"Well, I've always been on the stupid side." He smiled slightly. "Regardless, he won't be fielded or anything. On that, you have my word."

"...Very well. There are at least few things I know he will want." The woman looked at Kas and me. "I…"

"Will you be okay?" Kas asked. I tried to not snicker when Urien jumped. He hadn't noticed at all. "We can stay a bit longer, if you'd prefer."

"No, I think… I think I will be fine," the woman whispered. She looked down at her lap. "I'll probably stay at a friend's house, but I can handle all of that."

"In that case, we'll be leaving." Kas bowed and smiled at the woman. "I wish you well."

"And I shall pray for you two." Her own smile was sad, but there was a genuine kindness to it that made my heart ache. It reminded me of Rachel's. "It's nice to see people willing to help strangers still."

I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and followed Kas out the door. We both lingered a bit, to make sure things would be okay, before making our slow way back to our horses. There were still no people out and about. Still no children playing. I was half-tempted to see about finding the graveyard, but chose against it. My heart felt heavy enough as it was.

"So, we got information…" I began, untying Styx from the branch. I glanced at Kas, and he smiled, already knowing what I was going to suggest. "We can get more if we trail that Urien fellow."

"Wise people do think alike," he joked. He lofted Kratos into the air and I had Nike follow suit before mounting up. "Follow the man with teal hair on a horse, you two. We want to see the camp, and this army of theirs."

It seemed things were far worse, and more complicated, than I had thought. The poor children...

It wasn't hard to track Urien. He made no effort to hide, and whenever we lost the trail, Kratos and Nike were ready to lead us. A good thing, since once we entered the forest, it was infinitely harder to navigate. But eventually, we did find an open spot that overlooked the camp. And it was… well…

"How the hell do they live in such a maze of a place?" Kas asked, bringing his hand up to try and trace out the paths. I didn't even bother, because I couldn't make sense of any of it. And I was a little too distracted by how stained and collapsed so many of the tents looked. "I am sure it has some method to the madness, hopefully, but uh…"

"Could be a sign of how disorganized they are?" I suggested hesitantly. It could also be them trying to hide important targets. I certainly couldn't tell what tents were what, and I had some moderate amount of intelligence. "Is it just me or…?" I paused as I saw a tiny soldier trip over the hem of their pants. "The uniforms are…"

"They're not exactly inspiring a lot of hope. At least, to me?" The wind blew and we both gagged at the nauseating smell. It was so bad that we both actually dismounted just in case we threw up. "Blech. Smell worse than you after a fight."

"Funny, I was thinking they smell worse than you." How could they live like that? Was it that much of a luxury or something? "Hmm?" I got on my tiptoes when something caught my eye, something a little less miserable than badly fitting uniforms. "What are those white things on the outskirts there?"

"The… winged horse things?" He pointed to the group, and I nodded. "I think those are pegasi, actually."

"Oh…" I only vaguely knew of them, mostly from stories. Rachel had wanted to see one, though. She'd happily talk about being a 'pegasus knight'. "Are the reptilian things near them…?"

"Must be wyverns." He closed his eyes to hide the sudden tears, and I looked down, gripping my reins tightly. Oliver had loved stories about wyverns. He'd beg for them all the time. "And the horses are… on the other side."

"And all the humans are squished up in between." Again, I gagged when the wind wafted the smell upl. Maybe it was because I was so used to the incense and perfumes of home, but I swore it smelled like the insides of a demon. After you made a mess of the organs. "I knew we were blessed, but…"

"Feel like I should be singing a Prayer Song for them. And that's not a good feeling." Kas sighed and ran a hand through his hair. I pulled mine out of its bun so that I could fuss with the ends and the like. "Wonder what their food is like."

"I'm not sure I want to think about it." If it was like the rest of the camp, it would just be sad. Very sad. "Where are Nike and Kratos?"

"Not sure. Probably hunting." A little trill made him smile, though. "Or Kratos could be right here." He brought his hand up and Kratos landed on his wrist. "Hey, where's your sister, buddy?" Kratos chirped and flew to a low-hanging branch. When he saw us looking, he flew to another one, farther down. "Ah, leading us. Got it."

Knowing Kratos only acted like this when there was something 'interesting', we followed him closely yet quietly. When we made it to where Nike was perched, we got on our hands and knees to crawl through the bushes, wondering just what they wanted us to see. And, it turned out, it was more of a 'hear'. There was, conveniently, a group of people talking not far away, two women and two men. And one of them was that cold-hearted 'General' from before.

"So, Valni, you are certain?" he asked a young woman with grey-green hair tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes were a very pretty blue, made more obvious by the matching breastplate she wore. "You have seen monsters enter the desert, and not leave?"

"Yep," she replied, shrugging. She crossed her arms, and winced when the other woman elbowed her in the side. "I mean; yes, sir, General Mikael. Sir."

"The 'yes, sir' is sufficient, Valni." Mikael frowned, resting his hand on his chin as he thought. I wondered why they didn't consider how vast the desert was. I highly doubted this Valni had flown over the entire thing. "So, there is the possibility of people there, after all. I had long heard tales of people escaping ruin by fleeing into the sands, but I wouldn't have thought it inhabitable by any means."

"Or the desert ate them," the other man replied. His hair and eyes were the same color, pale lavender, and he wore very casual clothing, especially compared to the rest. "The demons, I mean. It's the freaking desert, after all." He looked rather done with everything, actually. It was rather fascinating. I wondered how many times they'd had this argument. "Still not sure about traveling the desert."

"The other healers think it's a fool's errand!" the last girl exclaimed. It was hard to see her hair, due to the hooded robe she wore, but I thought I caught glimpses of bright green hair. Her eyes were a darker green, from what I could tell, but I didn't know if that was due to the shadows of her hood or not. "Traveling through the desert with no destination… such a thing is not something that can be afforded!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we'd just lose people." They would. The desert didn't suffer the unprepared. "So-"

"We're conscripting children, in case everyone has forgotten!" Valni said tartly. She practically trembled from barely-contained fury. "We've already lost so much! If there's a chance on making things better…!"

"We can't take foolish gambles, Valni," Mikael cut in calmly. His tone was a little more tired than Ishmael's, but I recognized the same force of authority in it. The other three did as well, given how they instantly fell silent. "We have neither the people nor resources for such things. If we can find more information..."

"Well, I could get more information if someone would let me fly further in." Valni grumbled and glared at the ground. "After all-"

"You nearly had a heatstroke. We've already lost over half of our pegasus knights. I'd rather not deal with one that can easily be prevented." Mikael shook his head, and I grimaced. On the one hand, that was a good leader thing. I could respect that. On the other hand, he literally pulled a crying child from his wailing mother. I couldn't respect that. "Ah, this is nonsense."

"It is not!"

"This argument is." Mikael began walking off. "Latona, what were the casualty reports again?"

"Sir, we're not done!"

"Grado, supply numbers?"

"Sir!"

The group slowly left, Valni trying to resume the argument, while the other three talked about other things. Kas and I waited for them to be out of earshot before crawling out from the bushes, sitting at the base of a tree. Above us, Nike roosted, but Kratos flew down to Kas's knee and fluffed out his feathers. We sat in silence for a long while, thinking about what we overheard. The argument and everything else...

"So, that's a thing," I murmured. I couldn't really say anything else. "Huh."

"They will die within a day, especially that Valni girl," Kas observed. He absently petted Kratos, frowning. "Maybe less than a day, depending."

"Especially if they get caught in a storm." I sighed and leaned back against the bark. Nike landed on my hand and hopped up to my shoulder to nuzzle my cheek. "What do you think we should do, Kas?"

"About?"

"Should we get involved?" The camp was a mess. The towns were ruined. They were dragging children into battle. They were desperate enough to march into the desert. It was all just madness, and I wasn't sure I wanted to bring 'madness' anywhere near our home. "This is all…"

"...We just came here for information. Ishmael will decide." That was true. Ishmael would make the best decision. He always did. "It's late. The sun is starting to set."

"We should head back to the town, then, and find a place to camp." I carefully stood up to not dislodge Nike, and held out my arm to Kratos. He hopped to my hand so that Kas could stand up as well. "Let's go."

Kas and I debated between camping-camping and using an abandoned house, but decided that for simplicity's sake, we'd just camp-camp. So, we set up in the woods, complaining about how the nights were far too warm. It made us feel a little better, after everything we had seen, and thus, allow us to actually sleep. At least, until Nike and Kratos shrieked in the middle of the night to warn us that something was very wrong. The screaming on the wind said whatever was happening, it was in the town. Kas immediately ran towards the trouble, like always, and I stayed back to make sure nothing would catch fire while we were gone. I knew I didn't have to worry about the animals; they knew what to do during a demon fight by this point. So, once I'd made sure everything was safe, I picked up my lance and chased after my older brother.

The city itself was in chaos already, with the horse-men demons and skeletons running rampant after more people than I expected, given how empty and lifeless the town had looked earlier. Kas, of course, was already in the thick of it, focused on fighting the horse-men demons because they were big, they were strong, and they wielded axes. Kas was quick, skilled, and wielded swords. Perfect counter. I called out and winked to let him know I had made it and then I focused on the skeletons, specifically the archer and lance wielding ones. The archers were annoying in how quickly they could pick off people, and Kas wasn't great at dealing with lances. That and no skeleton ever wielded axes, which I did poorly against. That all said...

"Ha… these things are more of a challenge outside the desert," I muttered, kicking a skeleton into the wall before cracking the skull of another with the pommel of my hilt. It made sense, and we always acknowledged that. But it was one thing to 'know' something, and another to know it. "But, weirdly, I think I'm faster too?" I was probably just being weird, but I did feel… I didn't know. It was interesting fighting on terrain that didn't constantly shift under your feet, though. "Well, whatever. Time to play kickball with a skull again."

I decapitated a skeleton and made sure to kick the skull at the head of the horse-man demon Kas was currently fighting. The impact knocked its head back enough to give Kas a perfect opening for a decapitation. It was a bit different than battles in the desert, but the basics were the same. We did our best to work together.

"Ack!" I barely dodged an arrow and looked around for the source. After a moment, I looked up and groaned. Skeletons on the roofs. I felt like that should be the name of a song or something. Shame I wasn't as good at writing songs as I was at singing them. Neither here nor there. Songs didn't kill demons.

So, I started running, looking for a good place to climb up. However, I got distracted by a whimper and peeked into an alleyway to see, of all things, a small child hiding instead of being relatively safe in a building. And, to make matters even better? There was a horse-man demon charging straight for me. When I couldn't dodge because, otherwise, it would go straight for the terrified child. This was going to suuuuuuck…

Or, it would've, if not for the cavalier charging forward and intercepting the demon. Their horse reared back to attack first before the rider chopped off its arm. I took advantage of the opening to jump onto the demon's back, but only so that I could use it as a platform to climb onto the roof so that I could get those damn skeletons. When I was on, I glanced down to see who saved me, and was surprised to see it was that Urien fellow.

"Hey, thanks!" I called down. He just stared up at me, the horse-man demon dead. "There's a kid hiding there, if you can get them!"

"Ah, yes!" Urien replied. He dismounted and headed over to the child. "Are you-?"

"Sorry, got bones to murder! Talk later!" Or not at all. I realized then that my hood had come down during all the fighting, meaning my red hair and red eyes was very visible. Just my luck, but I couldn't think about that now. After all, there was proof that not all civilians were dead or safely in their houses. Meaning that if I didn't kill the skeletons quick, they could kill them. I didn't want that.

So, I fought, jumping from rooftop to rooftop to either kill the skeletons outright or just push them off and let gravity handle the rest of it. It wasn't too hard. Skeletons were fragile, and the houses were built very close together. And from up here, I could see that the army had mobilized to deal with most of the demons, moving rather efficiently given how much of a mess their camp was. By the time I killed the last skeleton, they had things well under control, so I climbed down and kept to the shadows to try and hide. I gave up, however, when I saw Kas was surrounded, and that his own hood was down. Kas glanced at me and shrugged. There really wasn't anything else we could've done. Raphaela was going to kill us.

"This is… unexpected." The soldiers parted for Mikael to walk up, wielding a giant freaking axe like it weighed nothing. I thought it might even be the same size as the axes those horse-man demons wielded. "You two are clearly skilled at fighting," he noted, eyes narrowed as he studied us. He stood so straight that I wondered if someone had shoved an iron rod up his ass. "It's considered treason to be so skilled and not assist the army, you know."

"Preeeetty sure it's against all laws of legality and morality to kill innocent people as well, but that didn't stop people in the past," I deadpanned. Probably not the best of responses, but treason? As if. "Why should human rules have any sort of hold on the children of demons or whatever else you people spew at us?"

"That is not-"

"Look, we're from the desert," Kas revealed with false brightness. His smile was as warm as the desert sun, and equally biting. "We've been gathering information. Not a lot of gossip makes its way, especially since most newbies we get are traumatized and near-death. But we did hear that you lot have apparently gotten so desperate that you want to cross the desert and hunt for us." Leave it to Kas to suddenly flip the game around. I just sighed and bit my tongue to keep quiet. "So, want to talk?"

The answer ended up being 'yes'. We were escorted to an abandoned house and set up inside. Mikael didn't join us. Instead, he left Urien, that Grado fellow, and Valni, or so I thought the name was. Though Grado gestured for Kas and I to sit at the table with the three of them, I remained standing, leaning against the back wall with my lance at my side. Kas did sit down, and he made a point of sitting in the most irreverent way possible, feet on the table and half-leaned back in the chair. Ishmael would scold him for being so rude, but I rather liked it.

"I suppose introductions are in order," Kas began after a moment, since the other three weren't saying anything. He looked up at the ceiling, like he couldn't be bothered to look at them. "My name is Kasimir. This is my little sister, Evelyn. Pleasure."

"Yes, a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well," Grado murmured. He bowed his head slightly, politely, and glanced over at Urien, on his right. Valni was on his left. "My name is-"

"Grado. The girl is Valni, and we met Urien earlier." Kas smirked at the startled looks. "I mentioned this earlier. We've been gathering information."

"Clearly far more than expected was collected." Grado narrowed his eyes. "Are things so rough in the desert that you must be excellent spies?"

"Oh, no, we're fine in the desert." Kas's tone was light, somewhere between friendly and mocking. "Got food, got water, got shelter. The Demon King likes making his demons stupid, meaning the desert gobbles them up like a child with sweets. Or did. New monster showed some resilience to the sands. Made us a bit worried, so here we are."

"So you all just lounge around and let us spill blood while you live in peace?!" Valni snapped, slamming her hands on the table and standing. Urien got up and went behind her chair to rest his hands on her shoulders and push her back down. "That's despicable!"

"You really do know nothing about the desert if you think 'lounging around' describes life there," Kas replied. He kept perfectly calm, but his smile became razor sharp. "You definitely wouldn't last a day among the sands. Wouldn't even give you half of a day, actually."

"You…!"

"That said, we actually didn't know how bad it was out here. We don't have a lot of contact anymore after some lord or whatever nearly killed the last messengers Ishmael sent, rather pointedly refusing the offers of help." Kas shrugged, perfectly nonchalant. I hid a smile behind my hand. He only got like this when he wanted to annoy someone and it was clearly working perfectly. "We do get refugees, but they rarely want to talk about the outside world. It hurts them dearly, and no few believe that you all deserve whatever is going on."

"And what about you?" Grado asked, leaning forward slightly. He actually made a point to look Kas right in the eyes, which was impressive. It took even the new refugees a while to do that, if they didn't have a sibling with the red hair, red eyes coloring. "Do you think we deserve it?"

"Look, I'll be blunt. I don't give a single damn about any of you. I feel sorry for the kids, and that's the extent. People certain in their righteousness slaughtered my family, so it's just plain safer to assume the same of anyone else." Kas glared, all pretense of friendliness and impassivity gone. "I'm only out here because I worry that the Demon King is going to push more into the desert, and my new family won't be safe anymore. Evelyn is only out here to make sure I don't get caught and burned like most others with red hair and red eyes end up. And don't pretend that's a thing of the past. Got a couple of new refugees who suffered." He shrugged and went back to being impassive. "You all want to save the world? Fine, more power to you. I hate the world. But I love my family more than I hate everything else. And I'm willing to do anything to keep my family safe."

"I see." Grado fell silent, studying us. "Does that 'anything' include fighting alongside us?"

"Not my decision to make. We're the scouts, not the leaders." Kas smiled with all the warmth of something doing their best to not hit someone in the head. "We will convey your request, though. That's all you're getting out of us, for now."

"Gods, you're all spoilt brats!" Valni snapped, livid. Urien squeezed her shoulders in a silent 'calm down'. "Urien, you-!"

"Valni, would you make a decision for the entire army, on your own, without consulting anyone else?" Urien asked softly. Valni glowered and growled something under her breath. "That's all it is. They cannot make that decision for their group. But they will tell them, and open up the possibility."

"If we die, they're going to die too! Yet-!"

"That's why they're here. That's why they sought more information. They noticed something was wrong, and investigated."

"That's-!"

"Valni, if you can't shut up, leave," Grado ordered. His pleasant expression disappeared for no-nonsense, matching the curt tone perfectly. "I am not having you alienate potential allies because you can't bite your damn tongue."

"Oh, is she trying to insult us or something?" I asked innocently, unable to help needling them a bit more. I even widened my eyes to add to the effect. "Considering what we've heard in the past, it didn't register at all."

"Can't say you and your brother purposely being belligerent is helping, mind."

"You're the ones insisting on having this pointless talk, after we saved the people of the town for you and got accused of treason." I dropped the innocent expression for a droll one. "And then when we told you what we were going to do, and why, one of yours calls us 'brats'. As if we're not allowed to be wary after everything our people have suffered." I glared, struggling to not cry as I remembered my family. "Our entire family is made up of the hated and the unwanted, the forgotten and the abandoned. And we never even crossed your minds until you were desperate, despite offers of help in the past."

"That…" Grado struggled for a way to continue before sighing and apparently giving up. "We should probably leave it at that, then."

"Probably a good idea," Kas agreed. I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything more. Needling them more wasn't good for anything but my ego. "We will return, eventually, with a reply."

"When will that be?" Grado asked quietly. His eyes darted between Kas and me before settling on Kas again. "Just so that we…"

"Can't give you a timeline, I'm afraid. One, I don't know how long it'll take to come to a decision. Two, this time of year is notorious for storms, and if we're caught in one, we're not moving until it clears up. Safety reasons." Kas finally sat properly in the chair. "We will get back to you as soon as we can, though. I can promise that much."

"I see." Grado nodded. "Thank you."

They left without another word, Urien purposely making sure Valni was the first one out. After Grado shut the door behind him, I finally sat down at the table and groaned, resting my head against it. "I am reminded why I hate people," I grumbled. Valni's comments irritated the hell out of me. "Ugh…"

"They're obviously fraying from everything," Kas murmured. Now that he wasn't dealing with them, he let himself relax, leaning back against the chair. "And, well, Grado was right. We were kind of purposely pushing buttons."

"Yeah, I know." We just couldn't trust them. Our own scars ached. "I know it's technically super late, but I'm wide awake."

"Same." Kas stood up and rubbed my back. "Shall we go ahead and get moving? It's a long journey back."

"Sounds good to me." I sighed and stood up as well. "Should make sure nothing happened to the animals, at least."

Well, this was going to be fun to explain to everyone. Damn it all.

Family

Evelyn

19 years old

Weapon: Lance

Younger sister to Kasimir, who calls her 'Eve', a childhood nickname she refuses to let anyone else use. One of the desert people's most skilled warriors and riders. No small part of that is due to extensive training, born from longing to repay everyone for the love and care given to her over the years and a need to never be completely helpless again while her family dies around her

Owns a red-tailed hawk dubbed 'Nike', who is the daughter of Ishmael's own pet hawk, and a black mare named 'Styx'. While she loves them dearly, she does often wince because she remembers how her elder sister, Rachel, had wanted pets. And she knows her little brother, Oliver, would've loved them.

Kasimir

21 years old

Weapons: Sword

Brother to Evelyn, who calls him 'Kas', a childhood nickname he doesn't let anyone else use. One of the desert people's most skilled warriors and riders. Like Evelyn, a great deal of that skill comes from extensive training. Many believe he will succeed Ishmael as leader, due to his normally calm temper and because Raphaela has vocally stated how much she dislikes leading

Owns a red-tailed hawk dubbed 'Kratos', the son of Ishmael's pet hawk, and a gray stallion named 'Pallas'. All of the names are from old stories that his eldest sister, Liane, would tell them as children. It's a way of holding onto their memory still, especially since he's terrified of forgetting them. Even when he's written down everything he can think of.

Ishmael

55 years old

Weapons: Dark Magic

The kindly leader of the desert folk, who does his best by his people. He took in Evelyn and Kasimir and raised them as his own, doing his level best to help them heal from their traumas. He's extraordinarily proud of them, but worries they work too hard to 'repay' everyone. Which he finds silly, because what parent expects their child to 'repay' them?

Has long worried about the war on the outside, but was uncertain whether they should intervene. After all, they tried to offer their assistance in the past, and were rebuffed many times, to the point of violence. After a certain point, you just have to wonder if you leave people to their fates, even if it breaks your heart.

Raphaela

21 years old

Weapons: Dark Magic

Daughter of Ishmael, known for her fierceness and insistence on doing whatever the hell she wants. She's close to Evelyn and Kasimir since they grew up together, and harbors feelings for Kasimir that don't seem to fade, no matter what she tries.

Enjoys her freedom and, thus, really doesn't want to inherit leadership from her father. She sees the amount of work needed, and all the health issues the stress causes, and knows that she'll likely take too many shortcuts and skimp on her duties. The people deserve better than her.

Army

Mikael, General

54 years old

Weapons: Sword, Axe

Current leader of the human army, made up of what remnants could be salvaged after the war between humans and the now fallen countries. His blunt honesty and his strict fairness leads him to come off as harsher than he is, but his soldiers respect him for treating everyone as equal, and holding himself to the same (if not stricter) standards

Does what he must in order to try and fight this war, as he feels that is his duty as the leader. Much as he would like to coddle his soldiers, doing so will only cost them their lives.

Urien, Lieutenant-General

20 years old

Weapons: Sword, Lance

A young man who has been technically serving in the army since he was a child, due to his father being the former leader of the army. Known for his kindness, he's considered Mikael's right hand and often travels with him

Though he knows that a leader needs to harden their heart and make tough decisions, he finds it very difficult to not show compassion and the like. It leads to him trying to argue with Mikael about some of the harsher choices, and even stupider things like going back for wounded.

Valni, Lieutenant-General

18 years old

Weapons: Lance

A skilled pegasus knight who recently lost her fiance in battle, making her much more emotional than typical. Not that she exactly held back her feelings prior to that, mind. Desperate for more allies because she's terrified of losing more loved ones

She's especially young for a Lieutenant-General, and knows it, but the army has a policy that the pegasus knights have a Lieutenant-General, and she is, unfortunately, the oldest of the current lot. The pressure doesn't exactly help her mental and emotional state.

Grado, Lieutenant-General

22 years old

Weapons: Axe

A former noble from the south, who ran away with his childhood friend, Tobias, to join the army despite his family's protests. Ironically, this actually ended up saving his life, as demons overran his home not long afterwards, killing everyone but his little brother.

Because he actually has some modicum of tact, he is often sent to talk with potential allies, small pockets of fighters that they hope to bring into the army proper so that they can coordinate and stand a 'greater chance'. It's not a job he likes, preferring to simply fight, but he swallows his protests because more fighters mean less children who are fielded.

Latona, Healer

20 years old

Weapons: Staff

A kind and gentle woman who is often regarded as a 'bad-luck charm', due to being the sole survivor of no less than four separate squads, as well as being the lone survivor of her home village. She does her best to keep on smiling despite it all

A talented and skilled healer, though her youth and lack of experience keeps her from being 'in charge' of any infirmaries. She doesn't mind, however, as it gives her more time to make medicine and help out her friends. Which she is almost desperate to do, since they stay with her despite the rumors.

Author's notes: Welcome to Records of the Indomitable, a backstory story to Records of the Valiant, focusing on the 5 heroes in FE8's backstory. This story will be updated infrequently at first (other stuff going on), but given where Records of the Valiant is, I figured it would be a good idea to go ahead and get started. So meet… everyone, actually. All 5 of the eventual Heroes make at least a brief appearance in this chapter.

I didn't mention the breed in the story, but the horses Kasimir and Evelyn ride are based on the Arabian Horse (bred for desert climates, war and raiding, and for kindly and gentle dispositions). Red-tailed hawks are very adaptable across a wide range of biomes, including deserts, and Evelyn and Kasimir both have pet ones because in Records of the Valiant, the royal family of Jehanna actually breeds them (mentioned in… one of the chapters) and because the breed is often used for falconry. The names of all four of the hawks are the names of the four winged enforcers in Greek Mythology: Nike (Victory), Kratos (Strength), Bia (Force), and Zelus (Zeal). They're the children of Styx and Pallas (hence the horses' names). Standard note: while I'll do my best to be as accurate as I can with behaviors, I will take creative liberties for ease. If you actually want to have a pet hawk, do your own (extensive) research first! (And check the laws.)

While they're called 'monsters' in Fe8, I figured 'demons' worked well for what they were called, especially since they're fighting the 'Demon King'. Fun fact, bonewalkers and wights have never wielded axes (thus far) in the Fire Emblem games. Technically speaking, 'kickball' was invented in like… 1917, but I figured the word is simple enough for the term to come up.

Next Chapter - Child of Dragons