Energy is eternal delight.
-William Blake
After Kresk's speech, Raven sat at the table for a moment and watched the horrid mob. Kresk stayed on stage and raised his arms, enjoying his praise for his patriotic speech. "He's showing off again. The ham." Astaroth said, stroking the viper that now had an eased look on its face (as far as a snake can anyway). All good things come to an end though, and so Kresk bowed so low it almost seemed an insult. He raised his hand into the air, and brought it down in the swiftest of motions. At this, a fireball erupted on the stage, and Kresk had disappeared. The next act started to come on (a lilitu trio), and Raven looked around for Kresk. She looked at Astaroth and asked, "Where is he?"
"I'm right here of course." Kresk was now sitting at the table as if he had been there the whole time. Raven asked, "What was it you said down there to get everyone so excited?" Astaroth looked a little shocked and said to Kresk, "My dear Kresk, you mean to say you've known this girl for a year now and you havn't taught her Abyssal? Shame on you!"
"Ah, don't get feathers ruffled up about it, Diabolus. If it's any help, I havn't taught her Draconic either." Astaroth looked ill. "Ignorance is a sin, Kresk."
"And I'm the type of man who's a sinner more than sinned. Cheers." He put a bottle to his lips and swallowed deep and hard. At first Raven thought it was a drink, but then she saw the label; Arsenic. He looked over at Raven when he was done with the bottle. "So kid, how's your birthday so far, aside from the (restraining a laugh) apocalypse thing?" Raven just looked at him for a moment, "I just can't believe you would do all this for me. It just seems so out of the way, everyone, err, (she watched the snot colored, amorphous Jubilex gurgle and writhe with cancerous Marbas) thing, here for me."
"Whoa whoa whoa, first rule about demons and parties, kiddo. Demons serve themselves. They aren't necessarilly here for you, they're here because there's a party with free stuff. That and they have to pay my annual fees that they owe me for the last forty years. What really qualifies this as your birthday party is that they only have to pay one year's fee and a gift to my new apprentice, ergo you, although some of them might just pay their fees since they find it demeaning to give anything to a human, but opinions might change if they find out your'e only half human And that reminds me, open your gift." She had almost forgotten about the box she had been clutching for a while now. She opened it gently. Past paper to preserve color were two spectacular items. One was a gold medallion that bore Kresk's symbol, his claw with his in the palm and an Abyssal rune on the wrist. The other gift, was far more eloquent; it was a silk dress that looked like it was made of flame. Oranges, yellows, and reds danced across the surface, and just moving it seemed to make the design dance across the surface.
Kresk chuckled. He could tell she was impressed by the dress, even though she would never admit it. "Kid, we need to work on your wardrobe. Now, granted, you have done an incredible amount with that dark leotard of yours in the past sixteen years, and it is indeed good for just about anything. Anything except making a statement with the higher class. So here, until you get your feet with these higher cutters where you can do as damn well please, something to say you exist. And you don't even have to pay the music on this one." Raven looked up at Kresk, " Kresk, thanks. But I really don't need this -"
"Oh, yes you do. Go on, it was custom fit for ya', and it feels great to the touch." Indeed, it felt like every good warm sensation in the world; a lover's hot breath, a bowl of warm soup on a winter's day, sunlight in a dark forest. "Just try it once. If you don't like it, I can find another use for it. It doubles-" He touched it slightly, "- as a summoning focus." He spoke in Abyssal. A small burst of flame erupted on the table. Astaroth held the book he was reading to his chest like it was his own child. A salamander from the Plane of Fire slithered around. It roiled and hissed, and eventually slithered off the floor to hide in a heat vent. It would have made it, if Astaroth's dragon hadn't swallowed it whole.
"You still havn't told me why you did all this for me." Kresk looked at Raven, another bottle of arsenic in his hand, "Alot of reasons. For starts, your'e my friend and my apprentice, and that is title that dosn't come easy. Second, this is the kind of thing my masters did for me on my sixteenth birthday. Sixteen is a lucky year; if it ends with six, it's good luck in the Abyss. I also need to get alot of my ties back with the court, so this is the best opportunity. And finally, if I didn't do this, who would? You're a special girl Raven, with proud tanar blood in your veins (Raven wished Kresk wouldn't bring this up; her heritage was really something she wanted to forget, not for Kresk to gloat over), you deserve nothing less than the best. And that reminds me. Astaroth, what's your 'tribute' to the evening?" Astaroth closed the book he was reading. He shoved it to Raven, with the slightest of care.
She read the title; The Raven and Other Poems by Edgar Allen Poe. She had lost her first copy, and had been looking at bookstores for a new one, but this was unlike any she had ever seen. For starters, it was written in real ink. Then it dawned on her. Astaroth owned a copy of every book ever made. This was the first copy of The Raven ever printed, the first edition. Astaroth smiled at the awe she saw in the book, "Kresk told me you have a thing for Poe. Don't worry about it being the first edition and all. I have dozens more floating around the archive somewhere." She looked at the book for a moment and took a second to realize that Astaroth was pulling another feather from his wing and magically changing it to another book. Kresk laughed again as Astaroth held a particularly old copy of the Dictionaire Infernale and looked up his own entry, "Don't you ever get tired of reading that thing? You've flipped through it at least five hundred times now!"
"Five hundred and twenty three times to be precise. And I can't help it if I love books. The other demons, especially you, you filthy arsonist, would do well to read more."
"We read. In fact, as I recall, you were one of my tutors in my starting days in the Abyss. But still, trying to read every book in existence like you do gets boring after a while. Besides, you need to live a little. My other tutors taught me that. And speak of the devils, here they are." Kresk whistled. Two creatures waddled and strutted to the table.
One was a tall, wiry man, pale and incredibly handsome in a dark way. He didn't wear a shirt, only six rings that pierced his chest. His long neck was topped by a chiseled face with long dark brown hair and alabastor eyes. It would have been perfect, if not for the two donkey's ears that came from the side of his head. His tight black pants blended seemlessly with his dark leather shoes, and overall the way he moved, from the sway of his neck to the saunter of his hips made him look like a snake on legs. Socothbenoth, Demon Prince of Pleasure and Perversion, had arrived.
The second being was a chimaera from a child's fairy tale. A lion's head with a human look to its expressions topped an otherwise masculine torso. Below the chest, goose legs, scaled and webbed, moved ridiculously. The creature wore the finest noble's clothes, a wide-brimmed hat with an ostritch feather stuck in it, and a rapier swayed at its side. It's back had small, feathered wings on it, and to complete the oddity was a rabbit's tail. Ipos, the Masqued Lord, Demon Prince of Actors, Comedians, Entertainment, and the Stage waddled with a feline smile towards the table.
Kresk stood up and smiled at the two demons. He spread his arms and gave an affectionate hug to the two "Ipos! It's been too many years now. How have you been holding up my old friend?" Ipos purred in a cheerful, naturally mocking tone, "Well enough, obviously. How have you been is the real question. What happened? You slept right through the eighties. You weren't missing anything, but still, the Abyss wasn't the same without you. I had to talk to Soc for god's sake!" Kresk laughed and turned his attention to the handsome man, "And how has life treated you, you old cradle thief?" Socothbenoth looked a little offended, and spoke in a sultry voice "Old? I look twice as young as you!" Kresk laughed back, "And you act like it to! Have a seat, you two. But first, I want you to meet somebody. Ipos, Soc, this is my apprentice Raven."
Ipos took a bow, removing his hat, "Pleasure to meet you. It's an honor to meet the pupil of my pupil." Socothbenoth took a more romantic approach. "Well, you're a lot prettier than Kresk to be sure. Why he got such a lovely young thing as yourself for an apprentice while I had to look at his ugly face every day, I'll never know. Happy to meet you." He took Raven's hand in his and gently kissed it. Raven felt herself grow a little red. Kresk said in a still cheerful voice, "Ah, lay off the charms for the night. It's time to take off our masks for an evening." Ipos smiled, "Oh Kresk. We always wear masks, we have to. All the world is a stage, and every man a player. You know that, I taught it to you." Astaroth coughed "Cliche." Ipos gave him a reproachful look. Kresk heartily said, "Thank you, Astaroth. You need a new line Ipos. Shakespeare was either the worst or the greatest thing to happen to you. There's a stage on the main floor; if you want to put on a show, do it there."
Ipos sat down, mopey and defeated. Kresk reached inside a pocket on his robes, "Ah, cheer up. You know the dark of it. Besides, I've got cat-niip." Kresk pulled out a raggedy looking toy mouse. "You know that stuff dosn't work on me Kresk. I only have a cat head." Even as he said this, his feline eyes watched as the mouse swayed in Kresk's claws. Kresk smiled again, "As you like it." The rodent disappeared in flames. Ipos withheld a gasp, Astaroth once again clutched the book he was reading to him, and Soc grinned maliciously. Socothbenoth and Ipos sat down.
Kresk, Ipos, and Astaroth chattered on in Abyssal, but Raven and Socothbenoth remained relatively silent. Every now and then, Raven thought Socothbenoth was staring at her, but it was hard to tell. His eyes were completely white, after all. The thought that anyone as handsome as him would look at her made Raven blush a little. Playing the part of the 'pretty girl' was unfamiliar territory on her part. That was usually Starfire's niche; to be the beautiful damsel in distress, the one every boy looked at whenever she went by. It came with being dark, she supposed. Nobody ever said that someone was as beautiful as shadows, or radiant as the moon. 'But then again,' she thought, 'I'm not with just anybody'. Soc said, smiling a serpentine grin, "That's right, you're not." Raven looked at him, "Have you been reading my thoughts?"
"Well, yes (feigning shame; for the concept was completely unknown to him). And personally, they're making me blush." Raven looked down a little, "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to being the center of attention."
"Don't be sorry. If it feels right, it must be right; that's my philosophy. And right now," he placed his hand on Raven's, his fingers slithering between hers, "you are so very right. Your'e very beautiful, Raven, don't ever believe otherwise." Raven's eyes met his, and she felt herself turn red.
"Oh Soc, I'm so glad you think so." In an instant, Kresk had magically switched places with Raven. Socothbenoth tried to recoil, but found Kresk's iron grip to be near impossible to escape. Kresk smiled at Soc, "Now I'm gonna ask you nicely, cradle-thief, you gonna lay off on my apprentice or am I gonna' have to bring down the thunder on you?"
"What, can't I do a little casual flirting?" Ipos laughed, "You never do any 'casual' flirting! We all know what's on your mind!"
"I concur." Astaroth piped in. Soc looked over at the angelic demon, "Oh shut up, book worm."
"Don't speak to a superior that way, Soc."
"Or what?" Astaroth smiled at Kresk. "Kresk, honors." The Fire Demon smiled, "Of course, sir." He looked at Socothbenoth, "I told ya' I'd bring down the thunder on you." Kresk whistled looking over the platform, "Hey, Grazzt! Soc here says he's more man than you!" A shout in the crowd, "What?! That little worm won't be talking long!" A small entourage moved towards the stairs. Kresk leaned back in his chair and grinned. Soc looked terrified, his donkey ears drooping into his dark hair, "I take it back, you win!" Kresk shook his head, "You're the one who said that if it feels good, it must be good. Well right now, I am feeling so good."
As Kresk waited for the slowly moving entourage that was steadily growing larger, he looked over at Ipos and asked, "Hey, where's Flauros? I invited him in person."
"He couldn't make it. He sends his regards though." Kresk looked a little disappointed. He turned towards Raven, "I wanted you to meet all my masters. Flauros was one of my favorites. He's the one who made me a fire demon. Taught me how to use fire. Do you remember what I taught you about elementalism? I learned that from him. Remember, all life is energy trapped in a shell, when we use fire-" Raven finished the sentence "-we make life as it should be."
Raven formed an orb of shadow in her hand. She concentrated on it bit, found the energy of life in herself, the unlimited well-spring of existence. She focused that energy, gathered it to the single orb of shadow. In a moment, it was a ball of black fire. She watched it dance in her hand. And as she stared into the flame's heart, she remembered the first time she used her blackfire, the first time Kresk taught her to generate it, the first time she tapped into the living source, the first step in being reborn.