"There was something specific I wanted to talk to you about." Deak started.
"Which is?" Allen asked, warily, his eyes never leaving the other man.
"If you will recall, we met under . . . unusual circumstances with me in . . . a rather "compromised" position." Deak stated, carefully.
"You mean the fact that you were trapped in a wine bottle in the forest for a hundred years?" Allen clarified, bluntly.
Upon hearing this, Deak let out a loud breath and got an exasperated look on his face. He allowed a slightly weary smile onto his face to assure that Allen would know that Deak wasn't actually upset with him, he was merely exasperated by the characteristic bluntness of his fiancé. That and he had been feeling far too embarrassed over that predicament to talk about it specifically.
"Yes . . . that." Deak agreed, begrudgingly. "The one that had trapped me there in the first place was my adoptive grandfather." Allen opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by Deak holding up a hand. Seeing the younger boy reluctantly close his mouth, Deak continued. "But to truly know the reasons behind that, one must start at the beginning."
"The beginning?" Allen parroted in confusion.
"Well, maybe not the beginning of everything, but we'll start where it matters."
Demons were far better known in the area over a hundred years ago. While there weren't as many around as there had been up to a thousand years in the past, Demons do have a habit of congregating. Demons, true to their names, were not the kindest nor the more altruistic of characters; often times antagonising humans merely because they could.
"Is that the reason why I have heard stories about demons eating, slaughtering and/or enslaving humans in the past?"
"Yes, Allen. Now shush and let me finish the story."
"Sorry."
Some demons had grouped up and worked together, but this was done exclusively done by demons who wished to achieve something that was hard to do on their own. It was not hard for demons who thought this way to find like-minded demons as partners of sorts. Demons simply did not choose to be in one another's company because they found it enjoyable.
While talking to and being with some demons could be akin to humans being in the company of their very favorite friends or family, most demons do not actually make for very good company. And so avoiding said company often became necessary or desired. Having said that, to gain what they wish to attain, many demons throughout time have also found sharing their company with other demons to be desired or necessary at the best of time and so found themselves doing so. They often grouped up to travel vast distances as it is easier in groups, but some demons also took this approach to terrorize humans.
This development combined with the knowledge of their overall personalities led to their infamy concerning the acts of kidnapping and torturing humans. Human hunting had quickly become a favorite pastime for the more violent demons. Even for the least violent and oppressive of the species, humans were looked down upon as inferior to demons. Whether or not humans are inferior to demons is irrelevant. What is important is that the demons of a hundred years ago believed they were. I did, as well, although I was not a particularly violent demon.
"Why did demons think that humans were not as good as them?"
"That is complicated, Al. Demons are stronger and faster than humans which lends to the idea of demons being better, but it is not the main reason.
There is a lesson to be learned, however, and that is that people can only be oppressed for so long before they react violently in turn. In this circumstance, humans disliked being unable or disallowed to defend themselves from the demonic menace that threatened them. They, like demons, understood that they were stronger together and knew that if they wanted to stand a chance against the demons that tortured them, they would need to form large, organized groups. A war of sorts broke out between the humans, who wanted protection and who had grown to view demons as purely dark creatures, and demons, who did not value humans enough as a species to change their behavior and show them more respect.
"And what side of the war were you on?"
"The side against humans and we are getting to that point, but we are not there yet."
Now, since you seem to be one of those who have heard tales of the exploits of demons, I am sure that I need not tell you that demons live for a very, very long time. In those years before the war, about twenty years beforehand, I met rather old man. Before you ask; yes, he was human and old as dirt, as well. I was far older than he and even I was wracking my brain most days wondering how it was that he was still alive. But I digress.
I was a vagrant of sorts and, as such, did an amazing amount of traveling throughout my life. Eventually, the time and place of one of my travel destinations coincided with his own and we met. You recall what I said about demons and, to a lesser extent, humans forming small groups for mutual benefit? Yes? Good. Then you will understand why the two of us did what we did next.
The old man and I, the man said he had no name, instantly recognized how similar we were. Not just with our lives but also with our thought processes and our personalities. Add in the knowledge that we were both avid travelers and you have a perfectly beneficial partnership. Regarding the fact that the old man had no name (though perhaps he simply got rid of his or forgot it long ago), he insisted that I must call him something to avoid any sort of confusion.
He had told me that the reason why he traveled (more or less) was because he desired to see the world and glean information for future generations to someday read and learn about. A rare but great opportunity for him to journal such informations was war which he had already experienced a few of by the time I had met him. In light of this, I decided to call him Bookman. I already had a time at the time of our meeting, but demons do habitually change theirs during important events. Therefore, gaining a partner (in the marrying sense or any other) could count as such and I did give him a name so I thought that it would only be fitting for him to give me one in turn.
He gifted me a name with meaning, although arguably not a favorable one, which did suit me, regardless. That is the title by which you know me now, Deak. We traveled with each other and helped one another and recorded what we experienced with each other for many years, the next twenty, and though I was not willing to admit it then, a hundred years in a wine bottle allows a person the opportunity to reevaluate their point of view. Now, I can admit with no more mental resistance, that I gradually grew to care about the old man. By the end, I cared for him a great deal.
"Why did you not wish to admit that you cared for him? Surely it would not create a problem? Even though he was human, you said it yourself that he was your partner. If he was not your enemy, there could be nothing wrong with liking him."
Al, there is something you must understand about some of the people in this world. Many people crave love and emotional support and there is nothing wrong with that. However, there are also many who view emotions and strong emotional attachments as weaknesses; unnecessary obstacles that weigh one down. And they have these views for very good reason.
I saw it many times with humans in the war. Strong fighters who could have lived, dying because they made the emotional choice to jump in front of someone else in order to "save" them and got themselves shot (generally with arrows, not guns) or stabbed. People who could not defend themselves that could have avoided being in any truly dangerous situations had their already short lifespans drastically shortened because they ran towards danger rather than away because of altruistic concern for the safety of others. People who fear growing attached to others cannot really be blamed for their fears if these are the kinds of images their minds conjure up at the thought.
Bookman and I were two of those kinds of people. We did not find ourselves with the desire to open our hearts to another. That was yet another thing that we had in common. To us, emotions and strong interpersonal attachments were weaknesses and held absolutely no merit. We were averse to further emotion, as well. Anger and hatred, among other emotions, are blinding and can hinder a person's ability to function. We used these views to push us towards our shared aim of remaining neutral in the lives of others. It is how we were able to bear witness to so many wars without stress and we completed our job successfully for several years, merely being impartial observers in the shadows.
However, time changes all things and I happened to be one of those things that changed the most. Perhaps it was because I had joined the quest after Bookman had or one could attribute it to the fact that I was always more prone to show emotion and get emotionally invested in things (despite my effort against doing so), but in time I found myself slowly picking a side. Being a demon, myself, I would naturally sympathize more with the demonic side of the war whether or not I "should" feel that way.
Fate had me witness a number of atrocities committed by humans in the name of their "freedom" and those atrocities included burning demons alive simply to horrendously injure them, not kill, and taking control of weaker-willed demons and forcing them to cannibalize other demons. The humans knew the latter as a proven way to kill demons which, I reiterate, were and still are notoriously hard to kill. Humans are not known for their ability to uncover information, but for using and reusing information they had already stumbled across. Even heavily archaic or impotent ways of killing demons were more likely to be pursued by the primeval people than more advanced ideas. Yes, that also made me further displeased with them.
I will admit now that I had slowly but surely allowed myself to become corrupted by the other demon's views. I began to attack humans. It was nothing strategic or even intended beforehand, at first, but done when an acceptable opportunity presents itself. Eventually, my actions escalated to the point where I would occasionally teaming up with other demons to orchestrate kills and sneaking away from Bookman at night to look for humans to destroy.
Bookman had tried to talk to me about what I was doing, but I would not listen. He tried to convince me that I was being mentally affected by this, but I resisted. I did not want to believe that I was wrong which I would have to if I admitted that I was deeply altered by the experiences. Our relationship became strained to the point where we barely spoke to one another. When we did speak, any conversation would immediately devolve into a fight; a shouting match, really. After a particularly nasty argument, full of scathing words and hurtful rejections, I was truly considering breaking away from Bookman. I likely would have if I had ever gotten the chance.
Not one hour after the argument found me in a magically induced sleep from which I only woke after Bookman deemed it proper. I awoke in a field of sorts, encircled by trees in a most unnatural circle, with Bookman as the only other soul around. I recognized what this was the moment I took in my surroundings; he was performing a ritual. A powerful one. See, humans have a certain amount of magic in them just as demons do. With the right knowledge and practice, they can perform rituals and other such things.
He said two more lines to me before leaving me forever trapped. I will never forget these words as they have haunted me these last hundred years.
He said: "Deak, for your crimes against humanity, you will be imprisoned for one hundred years. But your fate will not reside in this prison, but with the one who frees you from it."
And it was with that that he performed a final incantation and locked me away in the prison that you were destined to find me in. I recognized the spell and have thought about it often, especially the time I was given of 100 years. The time I had left to wait for my chosen one. You see, it was an especially hard spell that specialized in the binding of fate. Demons believe in soulmates and, in fact, have bonded quite a few of them.
This particular ritual binds the will and fate to its bidding and forces two soul mates, two of those destined to love one another, to meet. Bookman all but said that I must suffer waiting a hundred years imprisonment before then being set free by the one I will grow to love most and that is you. A hundred years later, you, Allen, set me free and I will love you for it. Our previous relationship notwithstanding, I have told you some very disturbing truths about my past and who I used to be. Now, I have but one question for you to answer.
Knowing this, Allen, will you turn away from me? I will not beg you to stay, but I will ask. Stay with me, please, because you're all I need.