Interlude:

Findings of a Demon

Merahwdir was considered many things by his brethren, most common being "soft" and "pathetic" and this tended to bring him some quite frustrating assignments when he was put under the command of superiors who didn't understand his admiration for the ideals of chivalry. Even so, he fulfilled his duty, no matter how degrading or frustrating it was, because that was who he was: a loyal servant of the Great Ones.

"My General…" Imasix called him, making Merahwdir look up from his meditating position. "I've came with the report on the status of the mission," the lion demon nodded, giving permission for him to go ahead. "The diggers haven't found any traces that might indicate the presence of Exspheres on the area. We're waiting your orders to proceed or cease operation."

The demon general sighed, already expecting that. Soul Gem collecting, or Exsphere mining as the Desians and mortals called it in this world, was a very tedious job, which required a great amount of patience. The diggers did most of the job, leaving the General to do nothing, but sit and wait.

The place where they were excavating was a boxed valley in the mountains north of the Ossa Pass. Merahwdir couldn't remember, for the existence of him, why his superiors thought there would be Soul Gems here. The place was almost completely devoid of life, except by a single, lone tree standing in the exact middle of the valley.

According to Imasix, that tree was a rare species that became in danger of extinction during the Kharlan War: the Linkite Tree. This particular tree had powerful magical properties in all of its parts, from the roots to the fruits. Some of most powerful staffs were made out of its wood, according to the former elf. However, it now looked withered and about to die.

"A pity…" Merahwdir heard his aide say as he set his eyes on the tree for the first time and explained him what exactly it was. "This tree was a race breed and cultivated by the first elves. It's like seeing a part of our legacy dying…"

That was the first time the demon heard his subordinate speak in that sad tone, but there was nothing he could do about it.

This whole world has greatly changed since the elves passed away. How must it feel to come back and see that all they remembered, the things and beings they once were familiar with have disappeared, gone in the flow of time? the demon general thought.

Of course, demons never felt like that. Like all other spiritual realms, Niflheim hardly changed at all. Ever since the demons took it as their realm it remained mostly the same. Merahwdir could sympathize with his aide, but he knew he would never be able to completely understand those feelings.

After all, demons didn't possess a heart to form genuine attachments to memories or things.

"I knew this would be a wild goose chase…" Merahwdir said as he got up.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Ismasix asked in his military demeanor.

"Go on."

"If you knew it, then why did we came here and wasted our time? We could be doing something more productive for…"

"Tell me, did you use to question your superiors' orders, even when they didn't make any sense to you or sounded like a waste of time?" Merahwdir asked the former elf, interrupting him.

"No. But…"

"It is the same with us demons. We exist to serve. That's all there is to us."

He could see the curiosity behind Imasix's eyes and asked for the elf to speak what he was thinking, making it sound like an order.

Since all of the elves had been converted to demons, they now had the same bounds as the original demons to their superiors, making it impossible for them to deny an order from a higher-ranking one.

"You never… thought that maybe… there is something more than just following orders?" Imasix asked, knowing he couldn't resist the bound of command.

"That is not in the nature of a demon such as myself. Those of the Lord hierarchy are the ones who formulate these questions, but even they don't dare to voice them when the Great Ones command something. Well, they and some more… eccentric demons… like the ones in the Merchant Clan. I don't know, I never understood them."

Imasix didn't ask anything after that, understanding there were things that simply couldn't be argued with, since it was hardwired in the very nature of things.

"Anyway, tell them to prepare to move out and…"

"General!" a raspy voice called them in demonic, making the two turn and look at an spiritual demon wearing a long, dark cloak. If one were to look, he would see nothing inside. "We found something."

That made Merahwdir rise his eyebrows. He was sure he was sent here just out of spite from his superiors. He asked the demon to lead the way and the three walked, passing the trenches and holes the diggers had made in the soil. There was a bigger hole at the base of the Linkite Tree, where they concentrated their search.

"We thought at first it was nothing, but one the Collapsers took a closer look and found it was… different from the surroundings," the demon said as they approached the tree.

"Different how?" Merahwdir asked as they finally got near the hole excavated on the base of the Linkite Tree. Inside, there was a group of Collapsers looking at some roots of the plant.

"It's best if you see for yourself, sir."

"I'll verify," Imasix said, jumping into the hole and falling near where the Collapsers were looking.

He had to squint his eyes to see what they were looking at, since the light diminished and there were so many roots, but he saw something, a smooth surface in the wall of earth that made it very different from the rest of the soil around it.

"I found it," Imasix announced. "It look likes… some kind of tablet?" even he was confused at seeing something like this out in the middle of nowhere and buried under the Linkite Tree.

"A tablet?" Merahwdir inquired, his curiosity now peaked. "Is there something written on it?" he asked form outside the hole.

Imasix looked closer and, sure enough, he could see characters imprinted on the otherwise smooth surface, but… they weren't elven or even the letters of the common language spoken by the humans.

"It's… written on the Heavenly Language," the blue haired elf caught himself speaking out loud. When Merahwdir repeated the term in confusion, Imasix explained. "It is the language used by the Summon Spirits whenever they left messages or written enchantments. But what is it doing here? It looks like it's been here before this Linkite Tree was planted."

"Can you read it?" the fire demon asked.

"I only understand a few words. A scholar would know better than me," but it was not like they could request one and Imasix was sure none of the demons would know how to decipher the characters either. "It says something like 'Watcher of the Heart… seal… protection… slumber… undo corruption…'. The rest is too complicated for me to understand," he said, shaking his head.

"What should we do, sir?" the spiritual demon besides Merahwdir asked.

The demon general stood in thought, wondering what all of that could mean. If he understood what Imasix just said, it appeared the tablet was a seal of something called "Watcher of the Heart", but he never heard of a being or demon with that title. Plus, why would the Spirits put a seal in the middle of nowhere instead of sending it to Gladsheim, the Prison of the Abyss?

Or maybe it was nothing of what he was thinking. Imasix said he couldn't read it well anyway. Shaking his head and making his mane flutter to the sides, the demon general decided:

"Let's contact Lord Nebilim. Maybe he might know what this is."

While the other demons scurried away to carry out Merahwdir's orders, Imasix looked back and noticed something interesting: there was a small crack on the side of tablet. However, this crack seemed to be emanating an yellow color…