A/N: Sooo, for how quickly I got this written up, especially after already finishing a chapter for a different story, I'm actually quite pleased by how it turned out! A lot of the first chapter just kind of popped into my head earlier in the week, so I wanted to write it up, but honestly I only have some vague ideas about how I'd like to continue it.
Still, tell me what you think!
Prologue - Rise From Hell
Under a burning sky, in a desolate land, dark blood dripped from a clenched fist and onto earth blackened and covered in ash and bones, slowly soaking in and joining the rest it had been parted from. The figure the fist belonged to stood calmly, apart from that clenched fist, not moving a muscle, a living statue amongst devastation gazing up into that fiery sky of reds and yellows.
Though hard to tell from a distance, up close the figure was unmistakeably a female. Apart from their head, they were covered in armour coloured a deep, deep red, with black enamel and intricate runes carved in silver along the sides of each piece, though right now most of it was covered in more of that dark, viscous blood. The armour, though remarkably tough, was thin and formed quite closely around their slim figure, though it bulged out slightly over their chest. A wind swirled up and whipped a scarlet cloak around the figure, long purple hair flying around her face and ashes flying up into the air. The emotionless face twitched not all, eyes closed and red lips formed in a neutral shape on her grey skin. Slightly pointed ears could be seen as her hair whipped around wildly.
The ashes originated from behind the figure, coming from a charred and ruined structure that once would have risen high over it's surroundings, but was now a ruin, just a few walls and pillars remaining upright. Large stones and half burned wooden beams littered the area in a wide circumference, evidence of some great force felling the once large building. In front of the figure and surrounding the area were also the remnants of a great wall, felled by the same force that toppled the building, giant stones smashed to dust, or cracked in half, or melted into terrible shapes. Deformed faces screamed in terrible agony from those melted sections, or so it seemed. A horrible coincidence of moving stone, or perhaps remnants of the people who had stood within these walls, only the solitary figure standing in the centre knew for sure.
Suddenly it seemed like the figure came to life, taking a deep, visible breath and letting it out again as she slowly opened her eyes, coloured a vibrant amethyst. She looked around slowly at the devastation surrounding her, and though no change came over her face or posture, there was a sense of satisfaction in the air around her. Those who had stood here, lived and eaten here, had been the enemies of her Lord and Father and thus had been her own, and now they were no more, by her hand. She took solid steps forward and bones, charred black, shattered under her sabatons, bone dust and ash rising up around her as she made her way towards what had once been giant gates in the wall. All that was left of them now was a melted puddle of iron and steel. Her armour was so well fitted together that apart from her steps, it made very little noise as she moved.
Now that her task here was done, it was time for her to leave and report to her Lord. Though she could have left at any time with her powers, instantaneously, she wanted to savour her victory for a short time, easy though it had been. She could barely remember a time when she had found challenge in the tasks set before her. Surely it had been many long years, when she was all but a child. She did not despise such easy tasks, precisely. She knew they were necessary; sometimes just to send a message of overwhelming power, other times because resources were low. Or sometimes simply to test her, either to make sure her skills were still sharp or to make sure she would follow any order loyally. Still, often times she found herself wishing to push the edges of her abilities, to truly test herself.
Such were the thoughts in her head as she made her way across the lumpy metal of the once-gate and out into what passed as wilderness in her world. Rarely was there forest or wild things growing in the world she lived in, and often such places were coveted and guarded by the most powerful and ruthless of the Lords, her own Father among them. Otherwise it was as she saw around her now, barren hills with the occasional dead tree, jagged mountains, deserts of obsidian and scouring sand, all set underneath a fiery sky - sometimes literally - with black clouds.
It was a dreary and dangerous world to live in, even ignoring the inhabitants themselves, but she had never known anything else, so to her it was perfectly natural. And sometimes, beauty could be found even in the harshest of environments. Some might even say that the harsher the environment, the more beautiful such places were. For instance, though she had never seen it herself, she had heard stories of a giant forest of crystal trees somewhere that gave off a soft, white light during the nights, but which no one, no matter who, was able to enter. The trees were said to be amazingly detailed, down to the very veins of the leaves, and the light they gave off left one standing there, mesmerised, until morning came. What wonders hid inside that forest, she wondered.
She had also heard tell of a lake that changed colours at random, sometimes staying blue for a week, then changing to yellow for a month or a day, then maybe to orange or purple. She hadn't heard of anyone figuring out why it did so, but supposedly when you drank from it, depending on what colour it was at the time, it would have a certain effect on you. Maybe granting you new powers for a time, or filling you with memories from someone else who had drank at the same time in the past or future, or filling you with peace. There were a lot of varieties, even one claiming that the lake had once turned white and granted wishes to those who drank.
Most people considered these, and other tales, as fables and flights of fancy. Surely, they said, a large feline-like creature made out of flames couldn't exist, or a flying bird of white stone. And yet, in a world where fire rained from the sky, why couldn't such things exist? Well, they said, but it's always rained fire from the sky. If they could see it, they could believe, and those other things, they had never seen, only heard about.
The woman in armour sighed at the way her thoughts had drifted. She was supposed to be basking in her victory, but instead her mind had wandered to thoughts of wonders and adventure. But she knew she would probably never be able to search for such sights herself. She was restricted in her movements, never allowed to leave the borders of her Father's realms unless directed specifically, and then to return when the task was complete. Even now, she could spot the far distant figure of a Watcher crouched atop a hill, keeping track of her, wings folded around itself. As if she would, all of a sudden, go gallivanting off into the sunset. She growled to herself and considered killing the Watcher, simply out of spite, but decided against it. Though it was someone dispensable, they had still been set to watch her and her Father would be angry at the pointless death of such a tool and her perceived rebellious move, though in truth she just hated feeling their eyes on her all the time. Surely after so long such things were unneeded?
Between one step and the next, she felt a strange tugging somewhere in her middle and a whisper by her ear. No, she realised the next moment. It wasn't a physical sensation, but rather something pulling on her soul. She was being summoned? It wasn't unusual, exactly, and it was certainly quick, but why now? Something urgent must have come up, she thought to herself. The task she'd been given here had been more of a distraction than anything, to keep her from boredom, though it had also been necessary, just not important. Whatever she was being summoned for must be important, or her Father wouldn't have been so impatient to have her back. Closing her eyes, she blanked her mind and gave in to the sensation, speeding the process along. Resisting, while not only being painful and ultimately futile, only delayed the inevitable.
She felt her body slowly dissolving around the core of her being, her soul and power, and then that was slowly pulled along a path, a ribbon of light in the air that couldn't be seen by the eyes, nor anyone but the summoned. If she still had a face, she would have frowned. Something is wrong, she thought, the Path is leading directly into the sky. Always, when she had been summoned by her Father, the Path to follow was always a gentle arc from wherever she was to his palace in the middle of his lands. This time, it went from her and into a straight line directly above her, disappearing into the sky. She began to panic in her mind.
She'd heard talk of such phenomenon from various people; a Path leading into the sky and appearing in the Mortal Worlds. Always it was discussed with white and pinched faces, as apparently the pain of such a transition was excruciating, something remembered for eternity. And there were those who did it, willingly, on a regular basis. After all, in the Mortal Worlds, there were souls aplenty, and souls here were power. Power for oneself, or for others, and thus they were a currency, one almost exclusive to those with the steel to brave such journeys regularly for their own benefit, or those with the power to send people in their stead and acquire even more power.
In those same conversations, she had also heard them speak of the inhabitants of those Worlds, those humans who lived such short but bright lives. And the depravities they forced on themselves and others of their kind, for no more reason than that they could. One might argue that what she had done earlier was similar, and yet here, in her World, survival was always a struggle. Resources were often low, prime land taken by the strongest, everyone else forced to look elsewhere for a place to eke out a living or sell themselves to such Lords and take what they were given. In the human Worlds, she had heard, resources were abundant, liveable land was everywhere, shortages were rare. And yet still, they warred on their own, or persecuted people who were different from themselves, or a hundred other things that made no sense to her. In truth, she had thought little of humans in her life. How could such pointless beings hold an interest for her? And she never expected to be summoned over to their world either.
All these recollection passed through her mind as she was drawn inexorably towards the distant sky. From the very start, it had been too late for her to do anything about it, so all she could do now was plan how to deal with her situation and dredge up any information she could on the other side. While she was sorting through vague memories of conversations for facts, she reached the non-physical wall between worlds, which is when the pain started. It was so intense she couldn't even think. It felt like her entire existence had turned into pure pain. She'd been stabbed, burned, clawed and numerous other things through her life, but even together, it didn't come close to this. Her very soul was burning. And it triggered her instincts. Instincts that were instilled into her from the very beginning of her life. They said that to show pain was weakness, and to show weakness was to die. Logically, she knew that there were certain times showing oneself as weak could be useful, be it as deception to get someone to lower their guard, or as self-preservation. If she had been able to think logically, she would have determined that acting weak in a situation she didn't know anything about probably wasn't the best plan anyway.
But she was completely unable to think logically as she was squeezed through a hole in reality, a mere pin-prick in the fabric between Worlds, which was too small to fit her and yet simultaneously engulfing her fully. Shards of ice and molten fire passed through her as she passed through them, scalding and freezing her in every direction. All was dark and all was light, smothering her and burning her. Too many sensations to describe flowed through her as she continued to be drawn along that Path, the one and only thing of substance in her life right then, and she clung to it fiercely. And when, finally, she passed through the flames and appeared in the Mortal Worlds, she came out swinging. Literally and figuratively.
She roared out her rage and her pain in a deep voice, purple eyes now blazing with red light like twin suns. Holding nothing back, she formed claws of black energy over the gauntlets on her hands and slashed them outwards in front of herself, sending a pulse of power out in a circle around her at the same time. The pulse of power was instantly grabbed by something and grounded into the earth around them, spreading the destructive power over a wide area until it was nothing but a slight rumble in the ground. The claws she had formed were more effective, more concentrated, but even they couldn't pass beyond a certain point, with sparks of silver, green and blue forming at the intersection of them and the invisible barrier.
Vision clearing, she growled and looked around, quickly trying to ascertain her surroundings. There wasn't much to see. Apart from the person flinching and hunching her shoulders in front of her, she appeared to be in a rather plain stone chamber, candles in wall-holders around the room giving light enough to see and a pleasant scent. There was a large wooden table against one wall, covered in books and glassware and ingredients of some kind. The wall next to it, directly behind whoever had summoned her, contained a heavy wooden door, flowers and vines carved into it and a large brass or bronze handle. She was also in a Constraining circle, she noticed. Looking at it's structure, she could tell it wasn't tuned for her and was more of a general purpose one, but it was still doing it's job, to her misfortune. And the summoner themselves...she narrowed her still burning eyes and studied them.
They were wearing white, flowing robes, with a band of green around the hem and cuffs and golden yellow runes stitched up and down it. Likely a ceremonial robe of some kind, no doubt with defensive magic woven into with those runes, she analysed quickly. The person themselves, a young woman, had shoulder length...pink hair? That was unusual on a mortal, from what she had gathered. Her eyes, too, were a pink similar to her hair. Another oddity. Apart from that, she looked like what she expected any other mortal to look like, though not as ugly in features as the images she'd formed in her head from things she'd heard. She knew that she, herself, actually didn't look too different from this woman. But she was something of an oddity amongst her kind as well.
Slowly the woman in front of her was straightening her posture, after her initial reaction to the violent way she'd come through. Her eyes were wide as she gazed into the circle, staring at her. She hated it, hated being looked at like she was some exotic animal. It brought back memories she'd rather forget. Snarling, she pumped more power into the shimmering black claws over her gauntlets and pushed them harder into the barrier. The sparks changed colour, going purple and red, and intensified, but she still couldn't push through. She felt close though, either a bit more effort, or a change in tactics. Brute force, or wit and cunning? Either option seemed viable, with a circle not specifically made to bind her. But forcing her way through might leave her drained, and as yet she had no inkling of this persons abilities, besides the likely protection on her clothing. Probably not much of a threat, but should I really risk it? Given time, I can probably find an easier work around for this circle, she thought quickly. Her plans were interrupted by her summoner speaking, though she didn't think it was directed at her.
"Wow, it actually worked," the pink haired girl whispered in awe, hands clasped together in triumph at her accomplishment. Recalling herself, she bowed to the circle and said, "My humble apologies for this disturbance, and welcome to this Mortal Coil. You may call me Jinx and it pleases me to meet you."
The young woman's speech baffled her. She called this a disturbance? Like saying someone flaying the flesh from your bones was just an inconvenience. Smart not to give her True Name though, she silently said to herself. And she didn't know why she was pleased to meet her. Doesn't this girl know that without this circle she'd be ripped apart? Should I respond to her? Yes. She could try and get her to either release her or send her back, while her mind proceeded through the maze of the circle.
"Release me at once!" she growled in a deep voice, swiping once more at the circle for good measure. She was too angry and in too much pain to be more diplomatic than that, though she didn't let anything but the anger show on her face.
"Umm, I c-can't really d-do that," the girl stuttered as her wide eyes followed those black claws. Yes, this Jinx knew exactly what would happen if she got loose.
"Why ever not, girl?" she sneered at her as she paced inside her invisible cage. "Afraid of little old me?" she asked, flexing her fingers as she said it and making the black claws of power extend and retract. She saw Jinx gulp and sweat bead her face.
"I'd have to be an idiot not to be," Jinx said, not stuttering this time, seeming to have her fear under control, even if it wasn't fully mastered.
"You shouldn't have summoned me then!" she all but roared at her, sending her power in an unseen strike at a potential weak point in the circle. Far different to her first pulse of power, this one was far more focused and concentrated, a thrust instead of a broad slash. It penetrated partially into the circle before dispersing like that first one. Not here then, she thought as she kept searching. Still, the circle had flickered for a fraction of a second and made Jinx nervous. If she could keep her like that, perhaps she would make a mistake.
"I'm sorry, but I really needed your help!" Jinx shouted in a pleading voice, as she closed her eyes and bowed again. "I'm sorry. But you're the only one who can help me! I heard you were different from the others..." she continued in a lower voice.
This was singularly unlike any mortal summoning she had ever heard of. Usually it was "I command thee!" and "Obey my power!", "I bind thee by name!". Never, "Sorry, please help me". And where had Jinx, a human mortal, heard anything about her? Leaving aside what she might mean by 'different', she knew that her Father forbade any of those he allowed to be summoned to speak of their World. So, a rival Lord, or a Freelancer. Just giving information, or an active plot? she worried to herself. The thing was, you needed someone's True Name to summon them, and as far she knew, there were only a handful of people with her own. None would speak under torture or by bribe, she was sure, and yet her name had somehow found it's way here, into the Mortal Worlds and this girls hands?
"Girl, how did you come by my Name?" she asked, all thought of freedom temporarily out of her mind. It was the most important question in her mind, but evidently not what Jinx had been expecting to hear, as her eyes widened - yet again - in surprise. Surprisingly, she answered.
"Umm," Jinx blushed, seemingly embarrassed, "actually, it was in a...fairy tale."
What. Out of all the answers, that was by far the least expected. It hadn't even entered the realm of possibility in her mind. Surely I misheard her, she wondered. A fable? Her Name had found it's way into a human fable? She couldn't comprehend it.
Seeing her speechless, Jinx continued. "Honestly, I never really expected it to work, you know? It was kind of a 'last hope' sort of thing. I mean, a human looking demon?" she muttered almost to herself. "I ah, didn't expect you to be a girl though. The story never mentioned that. And to be-" Jinx broke off there with a blush and lowered her eyes.
"'And to be-' what?" she asked absently. Honestly, she was still reeling from this revelation of her Name and was almost on auto-pilot, she didn't even hear the word 'demon', though she wouldn't have recognised it if she had. She'd also stopped actively drawing on her powers and her eyes had returned to normal, the transparent black claws disappearing as well.
"Nothing!" Jinx shouted, waving her hands in the air in front of her, "Nothing at all! So will you help me? Please?"
She stared at the girl and said firmly, "No. For starters, I don't even know what you want help with. And I honestly don't care. All I want is to return. Send me back, and I shall forget this ever happened."
"No, you can't! You have to help!" Jinx grabbed her head and shook it back and forth in panic. "What if I explain!? Will you hear me out? I promise, if you still refuse after that...then I'll send you back."
It was clear she was reluctant to do it, but she could hear sincerity in her desperate words. She'd keep to her promise. All I have to do is listen. I can still refuse after that and get what I want, a trip home, she pondered. It would be easier than breaking through or working around the barrier...
"Very well," she told Jinx, who perked up her words, "I shall listen to what you have to say. And you will also tell me this fable that supposedly possess my name. But if you speak it aloud or fail to keep your word in sending me back..." she let the threat hang unvoiced in the air. She would tear this room and whatever structure it resided in apart.
"Thank you!" Jinx said, completely oblivious to her threat. "What should I call you instead though? That's the only name I know for you," she said, meeting her startlingly purple eyes.
She sat down cross legged in the centre of the circle, armour clinking as it met stone, cloak settling around her as she replied, "You may call me Raven, until I return home."
Trigon - the Terrible to some, the Tyrant to others, Father to one and a hundred other titles - sat still and silent on his throne of bone in the middle of his palace. His red skin stood out starkly against the bleached white of the bones that made up his seat, of all shapes and sizes, from a hundred different creatures big and small. His form was giant, though still barely enough to contain his power, and his palace was built to match. Most of the rooms seemed like giant caverns in some monstrous mountain to most visitors, though made of chiselled and sculpted stone. The doors looked like gates one would put in a large castle wall. But there were a few rooms, mostly placed higher up, that were more normal sized, for those privileged few in his favour, or the occasional diplomatic visitor he couldn't simply slaughter out of hand.
Mind ranging far and wide over his domain, he was still aware of his immediate surroundings, so he was instantly aware of when one of his Watchers entered his throne room and approached him, prostrating itself near his cloven feet. He moved his eyes, all four of them, to look directly at his servant and saw his wings tremble, but let his mind continue wandering. Let him sweat for a few moments, if it was truly important there would be more of a fuss. Though it wasn't strictly necessary, he enjoyed reinforcing his people's fear of him.
Finding nothing wrong in his domain that required immediate attention, he drew his mind back into his body and focused fully on the Watcher grovelling before him. Already this nervous, what has happened outside my borders, I wonder, Trigon thought to himself. The Watcher already sweating buckets at his full regard, he moved one large finger slightly in a gesture to speak, and the Watcher pressed his head more firmly to the stone beneath as he spoke.
"My Lord, I bring news of your Daughter and her mission," he said clearly and loudly, in a precise tone, but Trigon could sense his worry and fear.
"Ah, my dear daughter Raven, gone to subjugate those fools encroaching on our territory from the north. I take it there were no issues?" he was sure there wasn't. Few there were who could match his Daughter in most things.
"No, my Lord, they were annihilated completely and utterly. It was truly a sight to see. Had I not kept such a distance, no doubt I would have joined them in their death."
"Hmm, and yet, you are reporting this overwhelming victory to me, and not my daughter herself. Tell me, why is that?" he asked in a deceptively mild voice. The Watcher cowered on the ground, but refusal to speak would bring a worse fate upon him then telling his Lord the truth.
"My Lord...she was summoned," he said, muscles tensed for a blow to fall upon him. He could feel his Lord's rage writhing around him and the room like a giant, deadly snake.
"WHAT! How dare they..." words failed Trigon for a moment, anger flaring in him. Focusing on this bearer of bad news, he growled, "I hope, for your sake, that you noted the direction of Travel?" Which Lord dared to lay hands on what was His?
"Of course, my Lord!" he said, and gulped. He knew he wouldn't get out of this next part unscathed. "I saw her body dissolve and her power take shape into a giant bird, then she rose into the air and...She was ...she was summoned to the Mortal Worlds, my Lord!" he rushed the last part out, hoping to get it over with quickly. If he had known how quickly, perhaps he would have rethought his choice, but it was too late now.
Surging out of his chair, the intricate horns adorning his head scoring grooves along the stone ceiling, Trigon's powers lashed out from him in a wave of uncontrollable rage and the Watcher was instantly destroyed, essence dissolving in the time it took to blink, leaving naught but an outline on the floor. The walls of his throne room started to melt from intense heat, then flash froze as Trigon's anger turned cold, colder than the heart of winter. Containing his raging power by pure force of will, Trigon sat back down on his throne, miraculously unscathed compared to the rest of the room.
"So," he growled, walls and floor rumbling as he spoke, "not just a summoning by some fool on our own World, but a mortal, daring to touch what is mine. DARING TO SULLY MY OWN DAUGHTER!" he bellowed out, ripping the doors at the far end of the room from their hinges and slamming them down the main hall, crushing anyone unlucky enough to be caught in their path.
"I will not stand for this affront, mortal. Whoever you are, you shall feel my wrath..."
A/N: Aaw yeah, Jinx, why are you always so unlucky. Bringing the wrath of Trigon down upon you, tsk. But hey, it might not be your fault! It's always a set-up, isn't it?