Universe: Reversal||Series: Ere Shadows Fall
Title: Call The Darkness
Characters: Fallen Angel Lucifer (OC), Fallen Angel Asmodeus (OC), Fallen Angel Desire (OC), Audhild (OC), Sophia(OC), Sanela (OC), Anisha (OC)||Ships: N/A
Chapters: 2-?||Chapter Words: 4,556||Total Words: 9,102
Genre: Drama||Rated: PG
Notes: This is my reversal world. So, Juudai carries the power of the Destructive Darkness and the world consists of humans, monsters, and spirits. Every story in the Ere Shadows Fall line takes place pre-capture of Johan and Ryou. The latest will be the very beginning of Juudai's conquest. This particular story here won't tell everything and will feature Ocs and world building very heavily. Don't worry, Juudai will be along in due time. He might not be very talkative when he first shows up, though. But here begins the foundation of the Reversal World and all that will come after.
Summary: Before Haou's ruthless conquest, before the rebellion, before such a person as Juudai even existed, there was a time of peace and plenty – and that time ended before he was born. Because he could not be born until that time ended and the balance was no more.

One wouldn't have expected the interior of Lucifer's tent to have not only multiple chambers but a set of stairs and another set of rooms at the top of those stairs. Most people didn't realize the amount of magic that he had access to, or his preferences for traveling in luxury. He saw no reason not to have the same level of comfort when he was out in the field as he did when he was ensconced in his castle.

So he strolled up the stairs – crafted of black stone and overlain with a scarlet carpet edged in silver – and entered one of the chambers, filled for the most part with a wide round table and with several chairs set around it. The table itself had a silver sphere in the center of it, with a shimmering image of the local realms unfolding from it. Small images of the rulers of those realms reflected there if one stared long enough.

Now, Lucifer settled into his chair – which was by far the most opulent and had a half dozen cushions stuffed with angel feathers and covered in black satin – and removed the corrupted diamond from one pocket. He admired it for a few moments, then leaned forward to tap it against the sphere in the center. The image of the realm of Norbu appeared in detail, showing not just the capital city and the castle but all the other settlements that spread out over the land.

Norbu had been one of the largest and most prosperous of the realms on the continent. It would take a rider at an average speed perhaps two weeks to cross from one end to the other, though magic or wings made the trip much faster. Lucifer examined what the enchanted map showed him – the image of Bijou faded away as the corrupted diamond's power flowed into the land and he asserted his dominance. Then his own image took place of prominence and he smiled.

"Are we done here?"

Lucifer didn't look up at the voice. He remained focused on the images spread out before him, as Fallen Angel Asmodeus entered the room and took his place at Lucifer's right hand.

"For the most part. I've destroyed the palace and the temple, but there are still these places." Lucifer indicated half a dozen cities, each a few thousand people strong. "Whatever remains of their army will probably end up there." He smiled. "I can't wait to find them."

Asmodeus rolled his eyes. "The children? They managed to get away from you?"

"For now. I'll enjoy myself hunting them down." Lucifer relaxed in his chair, spreading all of his wings as he considered his options. "But I'm going to need you to do a few things for me."

That got a slight tilt of his brother's head. "And what is that?" He'd served Lucifer for centuries and he knew that Lucifer trusted him at least as much as he trusted anyone else in the world. Which didn't necessarily mean he really was trusted. Only that Lucifer currently found him more useful alive than dead.

"Which of our brothers do you think would be best suited to establishing our rule here?" Lucifer examined his fingernails carefully before he turned to Asmodeus. "There are too many good resources here to let it just go to ruin and some of the survivors could be useful for further plans."

Asmodeus frowned. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

"It depends exactly on what sort of abilities the survivors have – and who they are." Lucifer told him. "Someone has to know where she sent the children." A soft laugh rippled out of him. "If only she'd trusted Ixtam enough to take them."

That got a laugh from Asmodeus too. "Maybe she could tell what Ixtam is. Could the Light's blood do that? Detect a shapeshifter?"

"Not that I know of," Lucifer mused before he shrugged. "Where is Ixzel? Has she finished her job?"

"The last I saw her, she was tearing through one of those guard groups that tried to get in our way. She's probably taken care of them by now. Don't know what she's doing now." Asmodeus gestured to a servant that peeked in the room and ordered drinks.

Lucifer's eyes strayed back to the map, searching for all of those places where the three children might have been sent. He'd planned his strike carefully – if the children had been too old, they would have been able to hide among the people with ease. At this age, they required too much care and very specific needs. That would make it easier to locate them.

At least that was what he wanted. He'd planned for that – before making his strike on the capital city itself, he'd had his armies surround and crush each of the smaller villages and towns in the area. It would take someone carrying children days to get to anywhere his forces didn't rule, and he already had spies in every settlement that he could find. There wouldn't be any way that they could escape.

And once he had them – he could not help the sly, cruel smile that twisted up his lips. The Darkness of Destruction demanded all three of them. He would give his master what had been demanded of him.

One by one the rest of his siblings that he'd brought along entered the chamber, taking their proper seats after acknowledging him. This wasn't their entire family – several more were busy elsewhere and could not be spared their tasks even for the amusement of thoroughly crushing the center of Creation's Light.

The last of them all did not merely acknowledge him. Fallen Angel Zerato knelt at Lucifer's feet, whispering the most devoted master that Lucifer heard from anyone else. Lucifer caressed the side of his face.

"Take your seat," he ordered, "and report. What have you done to please me?"

Zerato obeyed at once. "There isn't a scrap of resistance left in the city, my master," the former angel reported. All of his attention focused on Lucifer. That was the way that he'd been trained and Lucifer approved. He should have – he was the one who'd trained Zerato.

"Very good. I'm quite proud of you." Lucifer wasn't surprised to see Zerato's eyes light up at the praise. He turned his attention to the others. "Well?"

Each of them reported – they'd all had the same mission, to destroy every scrap of resistance by soldiers or sorcerers in the entire city and to leave nothing at all behind without a good reason. What few survivors there were had survived because one of his slings decided they wanted a trophy of some kind.

Ixtam reported last. "I tried to get her to tell me where she wanted to send them, but she refused." Her lips quirked. "I never felt she knew who I was, but just that she didn't want to tell anyone." A sudden thought flickered across her features. "Or perhaps..."

Lucifer leaned forward. "What?" IF she'd realized anything that could be of use, then he wanted to know about it.

"She might not have known herself. What I managed to see was that there were three servants who carried the children and I suspect she had a secret exit somewhere to get them out of here without being seen. But if she gave no orders to take them anywhere in particular, then we couldn't rip that information from her or from anywhere else."

Slow nods of acknowledgment circled the table. Lucifer had to agree there; it made sense, though he didn't like it very much. Her protectiveness of her children went beyond what he'd first expected.

"I'm still going to keep looking for them. We know where they can't go and my servants are awaiting orders everywhere else." A smile played over his lips. "We will have them. I will have them."

No one argued about that. Zerato did nod but he spent his entire existence longing to fulfill every one of Lucifer's wishes and wants.

Lucifer picked up a cup of wine and drained it in a single draught, considering his options. He glanced at Asmodeus, one eyebrow raised in time to a twitch of his wing. His second in command turned his gaze over the group fathered, then tilted his head towards the one directly across from him.

"Fallen Angel Desire," Lucifer acknowledged his brother, "chief of my armies – choose a successor from among our kindred. I have a new task for you."

Desire drew himself up as much as he could. "And what would that task be, my brother?" He seldom removed his helmet – rumor had it he was even fairer than Lucifer and his name was well-chosen. If anyone saw him without his helmet, he'd have to do little more than gesture for them to gladly enter his bed.

Lucifer had seen him without his helmet. He was not entirely convinced that Desire was more attractive than he was, but he could testify that his brother was skilled between the sheets. He'd tested that out many times.

"You are to rule Norbu on my behalf. The treasury hasn't been uncovered yet – get on that. Make certain that the survivors are sorted out and anyone who has a useful skill is put to use that skill for our benefit. Anyone who is of the royal bloodline sand isn't one of Bijou's children should be brought to me as soon as possible – dead or alive." He waved one hand. "Other than that, rule here as you see fit. You've earned this."

Desire bent his head at once, his shoulders tilted forward and scarlet wings bent at a familiar angle – one that told Lucifer what Desire wished for celebrating.

He awarded his brother a hint of a smile and a nod. He could use a little relaxation himself.

Together the three of them made their way through the underground tunnels that the stairs led to, each holding the tiny baby in their arms. The three didn't know one another – they didn't even know their names. What they all knew, more than anything else, was that they held the future of the world in their arms.

"Where do we go?" The one who held Johan asked. She glanced down at the young heir in her arms. He slept right now, but what would he do when he woke up and he wasn't in the familiar nursery? When his mother wouldn't come, no matter how hard he cried?

"Out of here," the one who held Yubel declared gruffly. "As far from Norbu as we can get."

The third stared at the other two. "Away from Norbu? But – where can we go hat's away? You heard the reports the same as I did – the same as the queen did. The Fallen Angels are everywhere. Where can we go so they'll be safe?"

The first one considered, still moving forward. These corridors were well made and protected; even if an earthquake shook the castle above, they would not be harmed. The magic that crafted them was that strong.

"I've never let the city," the second one murmured, traces of fear in her voice. "I don't even know where we could go. What's out there?"

"Death. Destruction." The third one muttered. "And we have to go through it all if we want to protect them."

"How do we even do that? We're servants, not warriors. I've never had children. I don't know how to raise children. I made beds! I brought the queen what she needed!" The second one snapped. "That's what we all did! I never even wanted children!"

The first jerked her head. "Quiet. We're almost out of here." She turned her attention to the end of the corridor. All three fell silent and started to approach the end with as quiet a tread as they could manage. To most people they still would have been loud, but they still did their best.

The other end of the corridor was the mouth of a cave, covered in vines that they moved aside. When they crossed the exit, the vines settled in such a fashion that if one hadn't known what lay behind it, they could not have found it.

Now ahead of them there spread a glorious valley of brilliant summer green grass, with thick groves of tall cedars, circled by bushes that would bear berries in the correct time. Mountains rose up behind them – but there were no mountains near Queen Bijou's capital city. A river tumbled down from the mountains, with the faintest hint of a rainbow visible in the mist it cast up.

All three took that as a good sign – the rainbow was, after all, one of the sacred symbols of Rainbow Dragon.

The one who carried Johan took a few careful steps beyond, eyes shifting here and there. "Do you hear anything? Like people? Or fighting?"

They listened. Not a single sound of either of those came to their ears. The one with Yubel stared up at the mountains and began to shake her head.

"Those are mountains. The closest mountains are days away. How did we get here so fast?"

"Magic," the one with Rune declared without a scrap of hesitation. "The Queen must have used her magic to get us as far away as possible."

None of them could refute this, and even if they'd waned to, Johan shifted, stirred, opened jewel-bight eyes and blinked before he opened his mouth and started to cry a thin, hungry wail.

"Come on, let's find somewhere we can rest and feed them," the one who held him said. "The sooner, the better."

The one who carried Yubel started to take a few steps before they halted again and stared at the baby burden. "And I think we should check to see if we have clean napkins for them."

All three carried packs given to them by the queen along with the children, ones that had been kept in readiness ever since the first hints of the Fallen Angels' attacks arrived on the wings of tiny fairies. The packs were enchanted, carrying far more than one might have thought from the outer look of them, and none of them had bothered to see what they carried. There hadn't been enough time, not yet.

"A place to rest and feed them first," the first declared. "Let's try this way." She started again, watching from side to side. She'd heard stories in her youth about the mountains, though she'd never been there herself. What she remembered most vividly from those stories were the tales of dragons – not just the Great Gem God, but other dragons that lived here, keeping vast treasures and living in alliance with Queen Bijou and her family for time out of mind.

Fat lot of good being allied to the dragons did them, though. She did her best not to let her anger show as they trudged onward and she did what she could to keep Johan calmed down. The more he sniffled and cried for food or a clean napkin or whatever else he needed, the more Yubel and Rune did the same thing. The triplets, it was said, were connected in ways that sisters and brothers who weren't born together could not, would not understand. So far, she believed it.

The more she walked, the more she noticed a few odd points. Or what she thought were odd – such as no sign at all of small predators. No sign of foxes or wildcats or anything else. She wasn't sure if she could have identified them if they were there at all, but everything she'd ever read told her there should have been something, and there wasn't.

But there had to be something that ate the deer and rabbits and everything else that could be meat here. That was something else she didn't know – what could be used for food here. She'd always gotten her food from the marketplace as a child or eating in the royal kitchens once she took up her position there. She wasn't certain of where the marketplace or the kitchen got it from or what to do with it when they did get it, and she doubted very much that her two companions could figure it out either.

Ahead of them at last the trees thinned out and in the clearing ahead she saw a flat rock. Quickly she hurried there, the others hot on her heels, and there they settled the babies before taking off the packs and starting to sort through them. She would have guessed magic had been involved in the packing even if they hadn't already known – there wasn't any way that all the items she saw in there could have fit otherwise. But she first pulled out the means to clean and change Johan, then give him a bottle of food.

It took hours to get all of that done for all three, and by the time the sun started to set, the three servants were exhausted. The first one raised her head briefly to look at the other two, something dawning on her.

"My name's Audhild," she said at last. None of the three knew each other – that needed to change. They would be together for who knew how long – perhaps the rest of their lives. There wasn't any real question on that. Queen Bijou charged them to keep the triplets together no matter what, short of their actual deaths.

"Sophia," the one who'd carried Rune told them. Her hair stuck to her forehead in sweat-streaked clumps, but Audhild thought it was a sort of pale green in color. Perhaps she had spirit blood in her ancestry it was certainly more attractive than her own dark brown braid.

For a few moments the third said nothing at all, until she finally grunted a single word. "Sanela."

Silence fell between the three again. Audhild tried hard to keep her eyes open, but she'd been awake since dawn, rushing around attempting to help in whatever ways she could before the forces of the Fallen Angels broke through the city defenses and the queen recruited her to be a guardian for young Prince Johan. She thought Sanela and Sophia were as exhausted – especially when she heard a soft snore coming from Sophia just minutes later.

We should set a watch – or something. The thought passed through her mind but she couldn't bring herself to do anything at all about it. Her limbs were too heavy with weariness right now, and her eyes closed, and she slept.

In the forest around them, a pair of eyes watched quietly – and had any of them been awake to see those eyes, perhaps they might have realized that they watched from very, very high above.

She wrapped herself in one of the warmed towels she find, eyeing the pile of dark purple clothes piled on the rack with distaste. She wanted to put her own clothes back on, but she wasn't certain where those were. There had only been so long she could resist having a hot bath, and she'd neither seen who took away her proper clothes or left these here.

The Fallen Angel had said that he would have "proper clothes" brought in. She'd not thought then that it would mean her own clothes vanished. Though perhaps she should have.

She worried at her lip and cast a glance at the door. Where was he? What did he really want from her?

Did he know who she was?

Her wings fluttered the more she worried and she fought to keep them under control and hidden. She tightened her grip on the towel and cast repeated glances at the entryway. He'd come back sooner or later, and she doubted he'd be happy to see her standing there like this.

But that also meant putting on those clothes. Her deepest soul rejected the very thought.

A polite cough and she whirled to see a tiny imp standing in the door – green of skin and with far too bright, aware eyes. She'd never seen an imp like that before. It smiled a smile that held far too many teeth at her. It had a long horn in the center of its forehead as well, one sharp as a knife. That horn would make a formidable weapon if need be.

"Yes?" She asked, gripping her hands together underneath the towel. "He-he's not here if you're looking for him." She did not want to say his name. Saying it would make it far too real.

"I know. Lucifer-sama ordered me to guide you to where you're to stay until he has more time to deal with you. Put your clothes on." The imp nodded towards the pile. She stared first at the creature, then at them again, not moving. "You will either wear those or nothing at all. Your old rags have been disposed of."

"Those weren't rags," she snapped, "And I don't want to wear those!" It wasn't really the color of the clothes, nor even the material – she'd not checked, but it looked like good quality velvet, which she'd not worn since achieving her adulthood and entering the Temple. She'd grown used to wearing the simple linens provided there, with silk for more important occasions.

The imp just stared at her. "Those clothes or nothing."

Somehow, the idea of wandering through the Fallen Angel's tent without a stitch more than a towel on wasn't one she liked. Pressing her lips together and thinking words that every other priest she'd known in the temple would have sternly corrected her for thinking, she dressed. As she'd thought, it was dark purple velvet, trimmed in pale green, and it fit reasonably well, the hem coming down below her knees and the sleeves stretching down past her elbows but not quite to her wrists. A slender braided belt tightened it around her waist and there were soft shoes to go with it.

Once she was dressed, the imp turned around. "Follow me."

Not having any other options, she did so, casting glances everywhere to get an idea of where she was and how to get out of there if she got the chance. She didn't know when that chance might be, since they were right in the heart of the Fallen Angel camp, and she didn't even know where to go if she did get out. He'd wrecked the entire castle and the city, leaving so very little behind. She'd seen so many people dead, rendered into little more than dust for the most part.

She had to hold back her tears at that. Crying wouldn't bring them back. Crying hadn't ever brought anyone back and she determined that no matter what he did to her, she wouldn't cry. And he would do horrible things to her. She didn't doubt that. He'd already started by taking her captive instead of killing her with everyone else. Then he'd had the temerity to try to change her name.

She would, she decided, not let him know what her real name was. If he didn't already know it, then he didn't need to know. If he knew who she was, then whatever he had in mind would probably be worse than what he already had in mind.

So for now, she would let him think that he'd convinced her that her name was Anisha.

That means I have to start answering to that. She shuddered, hating the very thought. But she hated the alternatives even more.

Her eyes hardened, though, as another thought occurred to her. If he thinks that I'm adapting – that I've surrendered – that I will do what he wants...he might let his guard down.

She liked that thought. She liked it a great deal. If she could get him to trust her enough not to watch his back quite so much – well, those wings would look so much better ripped off and bleeding, and perhaps a dagger buried right in the center of his back.

It was only what a monster like him deserved.

No, not a monster. She'd met monsters. Some of them were quite pleasant and her best friend had been one of those referred to as a monster.

Her heart twisted at the thought of her friend, no more among the living, fallen at the defense of the city gates. There probably wasn't even a shred of hair left of them.

She didn't know what a good word would be, but regardless, that really was all that he deserved, and she would see to it that he got it, no matter what the cost to herself was.

Even if it ended up costing her own life.

Lucifer moved the council from the war room to the dining table. They'd already covered most of the pertinent information anyway and he wanted to think about other matters than wars and the rewards of war. Zerato remained attentive and obedient, while Desire situated himself at Lucifer's right hand where he could not be ignored.

Lucifer didn't intend to ignore him, but Desire could get quite needy under the right circumstances. The eldest of the Fallen Angels had long since grown used to this. Desire would settle down after they'd romped together for a while and even more so once he settled into ruling his new realm.

"You can keep a third of the army here," he told Desire, "and a third of the mage troops. Plus whatever else you need from support, as long as I don't need them myself."

Desire nodded at once, though he didn't let himself be distracted by the requirements of his new station. "I'll send for anyone that I need from home once I know what I need." He nibbled at some of the delicacies set on the table and sipped at his wine. He examined it for a moment before glancing to Lucifer. "This is from Kuragari, isn't it?"

"That it is. I have the only supply of it." Lucifer sipped his own goblet, purest gold set with fine gemstones. He'd claimed this as one of his prizes during the ransacking of Bijou's castle. Excellent work indeed.

And quite fitting to drink the wine of Kuragari from. The legendary lost island realm, once the home of the bloodline of the Darkness of Destruction, had once exported its wines all over the world. Rumor had it that Kuragari's rulers used that to set up lines for their armies to invade and take over a huge portion of the world. They'd certainly used the exports to slip their spies into various nations to gather information and weaken their targets before invasion.

Of course, the Lights of Hope and Creation hadn't let that last for long and the empire of Kuragari only lasted a scant three hundred years before it collapsed, the home island invaded and the grand bloodline of Destruction slaughtered to the last child.

What Lucifer did now was only the right and proper revenge for that. Of course, a thousand years had passed between then and now, but the Darkness of Destruction had a very long memory, and even longer goals. The empire would rise again, as would the old blood, and Lucifer, who shared that blood, looked forward to that day.

To Be Continued

Notes: Every single person here will relate to Juudai's future existence in some fashion. Some more than others, of course.