Trigon's Daughter
Chapter One
by
Cuervos Bestia
"Raven! Where are you? It's time for your lessons!" Called an elderly man, his voice trembling slightly as it echoed through the halls of the temple. His bare feet shuffled slowly down the corridor and stopped now and again as the old man checked rooms for a certain young girl.
He sighed, exasperated as he leaned slightly on a wall. "I'm too old to be chasing a child." He said to himself. He brushed the dust from his white tunic; the standard robes for monks of Azar. He continued silently forward through the clean but bare hall. His ears caught the sound of a small sigh coming from further up ahead. He rounded the corner and saw a small, pale girl. Her violet coloured hair being tousled lightly by the soft breeze as she peered down from her position on the balcony. He knew what she was looking at. He'd found her in this exact spot only the other day, and with the same sigh.
Far below the temple, in the streets of Azarath were many people. Some were going about their business, buying and selling and running errands. But he knew what she would be watching. Just in front of the temple gates was a school filled with children, all about her age too. He sighed again, I'm far too old to be dealing with such a thing.
"Raven?" He called again from behind her.
She jumped a little having been too involved with the scene below her to hear her tutor approach. "Brother Azriel! I… I'm sorry, I didn't hear you calling for me." She blushed slightly, she usually was aware of everything around her but today her mind seemed to be anywhere but in her head.
"Were you looking at the schoolchildren again?" He asked softly.
"I… no… yes." She stammered, still blushing childishly. "I just wish I could be like them."
Azriel began gently, "You know you cannot, so why must you torture yourself with such a notion?" Before she could answer him, tendrils of black power escaped from her balled fists and knocked a nearby sconce from the wall. "And this is why you cannot." Azriel reprimanded quietly. "What if that had been a person? You would have knocked them off their feet or worse."
"I know," Raven replied, her voice did not sound like it belonged to a seven-year-old girl any longer. It was devoid of all emotion and feeling.
Azriel nodded solemnly and gestured for her to follow. She did so without another word.
"Come, Raven, time for your lessons."
Later that night, Raven's mother, Arella, walked the halls of the Temple of Azar in search of Brother Azriel. As Raven's tutor, he was her best source of information about her daughter. She saw the door to his chambers slightly ajar and a small sliver of light leaking into the darkness of the corridor. She knocked tentatively.
"Brother Azriel?" She heard some shuffling of paper and the closing of a book before she saw his elderly face before her.
"Arella? How can I serve?" He smiled tiredly. She felt bad for disturbing him so late in the night. She had stayed with Azar far longer than she had expected to. But as Azar had said often, "You cannot rush learning, even the brightest minds take time to become enlightened by knowledge."
While her birth name was Angela Roth, upon her rescue and since living in Azarath she had been given a new name; a name to signify her rebirth as a soul cleansed of her past life and transgressions. The High Priestess Azar had named her Arella, meaning messenger, for carrying the warning that Trigon was indeed ascending to the mortal realm again. And this time, through the child she bore, his daughter, Raven.
"I hope I did not disturb you from anything of importance, but I came to ask about Raven and how she has been progressing as of late? As I have been training under Azar, I have not had the time to check up on her lessons. And, as you know, Azar has advised me not to interact with her until this stage of her training is complete." Arella said, a level of sadness in her voice.
"Oh, yes I am well aware of the instruction set by Lady Azar. Raven has been progressing well these past few weeks. She has excelled far beyond my greatest expectations in her control over her magic as well as the sciences, mathematics, and the arts. She is a very gifted and talented young girl. And it has been my absolute honour to have been selected by Lady Azar to teach her." Azriel smiled genuinely.
"I don't know about gifted," muttered Arella, a pained expression gracing her porcelain features that so resembled her daughter's. She had not intended for the old man to hear her.
Azriel began awkwardly, "This is… I realize this has been a very difficult time for you both. You are unable to do anything more than look at your own daughter. While she is unable to grow with the support of her parent. Her power will only grow as she does." Azriel sighed heavily, all his one hundred and twenty years of living showing on his wrinkled face. "She is gifted, even with a father like hers. I know Raven, she is a strong, independent, and intelligent girl. I believe if anyone can overcome such a prophecy, it's her."
"Thank you, Brother Azriel. Your support means more to me than you realize." She smiled minutely at him, "I know why Azar chose you to mentor my daughter. You see her as a real person with real worth, rather than just the child of a demon."
Azriel was momentarily at a loss for words but managed to stumble his way through his expression of gratitude. "Th-thank you, Arella."
"I best leave you now, Brother Azriel. We both have an early start tomorrow morning." She smiled again before turning to return down the corridor. The priest closed his door with a small but genuine smile.
"Father, when will we strike?"
"Patience, my sons." Trigon the Terrible rumbled. His voice echoed loudly through his throne room. The powerful demon known to many as Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, and Skath was a hulking being of red skin, bulging muscles, and white hair. Of all his demonic features, two stood out more than most. He had two large antlers emerging from the crown of his head. And perhaps the most horrible were the two pairs of blood-red eyes that always seemed to be gazing right into your soul. "We will attack when I will it to be done. We will have my daughter join us."
Raven laid curled up in her bed, a small lump topped with violet hair. She slept fitfully, tossing and turning and occasionally calling out incoherently. A thin sheen of sweat was beginning to form on her pale skin. Her movements became more erratic. She looked as if she was trying to get away from something or someone.
She jolted awake, her breathing ragged and her eyes panicked. She looked around her dark bed-chamber, her large fearful eyes scanning every corner and patch of darkness. Having ensured that no one was in her room with her, she let out a breath as tears began to form in her eyes. "…Father…?"
Hello everyone - it's been a long time!
I am finally trying to get back into writing and I decided to start with this story. I have gone over all of the previous chapters and have made changes here and there to spruce up my writing and hopefully, you all will notice some overall improvement. Although I will state that the story remains the same, no major events have been changed or removed.
As always, I love reading your reviews so please leave me some feedback or comments!
Sincerely,
Cuervos Bestia