Fan Fiction ❯ Demon Wars ❯ Chapter 1

The world was a dangerous place. Only a handful of humans survived the War of the Demons and they were strewn across the world, in isolated towns and provinces, led by demons that had usurped their human leaders. Some humans chose to serve the demons and live among them and those that did were changed, the darkness in their souls unleashed, so that they were as monstrous as the demons themselves. Those that opposed the demons were usually not long lived and they made their plans and lived their lives in secret caves and forgotten tunnels of the past.

The Castle of Morravik stood over the village of Morran and the people in that village lived in terror of their dark lord. They suffered greatly at his hands. Arcaine liked humans, a lot and enjoyed the many forms of torture one could use on their frail, beautiful bodies. The people of Morran had long since given up thoughts and hopes of an end to Arcaine's rule and now concentrated on surviving each day.

"We need to get everyone out of this town and away from Arcaine." The youngest of the four young men occupying the underground room, Devin, paced, agitatedly. "Devin, we've tried that before. The people just won't get organized and do it. They're too afraid of Arcaine," Angelis said, slamming his fist on the table in frustration. "Then what do you suggest we do, Angelis, because I, for one, cannot live like this another day!" Devin shouted. "I think we should seek outside help," said Hunter. His friends all looked at him. "Hunter, there is no way to reach another settlement before Arcaine's men found us. Besides, who in their right minds, besides maybe us, would be crazy enough to come against him?" asked Connor. "I've heard rumors," said Hunter, "that there are other magics banding together to fight the demons." "What magics?" asked Angelis. "I don't know. The traveler told a tale of five sirens, dressed as warriors. He also spoke of unicorns and the fairies and a band of witches and wizards," Hunter told them. "The demons wiped out the unicorns, Hunter. They were too good, too pure. They were the embodiment of all that the demons hate. You know that. And the fairies scattered and went into hiding when the demons destroyed their high court. I fear, my friend, that the traveler was only spinning tales to raise false hopes," said Connor, quietly. Devin looked up at the trap door, his brow furrowed. "Where is Gunner? It isn't like him to miss a meeting." Only moments later, a pounding from above sent all four of them reaching for their weapons. "Who's there?" Connor called. "It's me, Kalin," gasped a boy's voice. Angelis reached up and opened the door and they saw the face of Kalin, Gunner's little brother. "You must hurry. Arcaine has called everyone to the square. He has Gunner and Kirsten," the boy said.

They quickly scrambled from their underground chamber, hiding the door under a carpet and left the inn through the front doors. They emerged from the building into a world of darkness, where the demon's magic had created an eternal grayness and no living creature had seen the sun in over a century. They raced to the town square, where Arcaine had constructed a platform that he used for public beatings, torture and his speeches. One of Arcaine's favorite pastimes was to call the villagers to the square each month and choose one of their women to take with him to his castle. The women that were taken were never seen again and their families were left to imagine what horrors their daughters, sisters, mothers and wives had suffered before their deaths or their transformations into those creatures consumed by the darkness.

Arcaine, in his human form, that of a handsome man with raven black hair and equally black eyes, stepped onto the platform and behind him, his two henchmen, Jackie and Ian, dragged two figures. "My people! We have a treat for you today. A pair of local troublemakers resisted the orders of my soldiers. I have brought them before you to be punished for their crime." Jackie and Ian dropped the two bodies to the ground, unceremoniously. "Gunner! Kirsten! Please, Lord Arcaine, don't kill my children!" a woman begged, throwing herself toward the platform.

"Gunner, how could you let yourself be caught?" Angelis whispered. Arcaine ignored the woman's plea and turned to Jackie and Ian. "Well, boys, what shall we do with them?" Jackie smiled, cruelly. He was the more creative and sadistic one of the pair, while Ian was serious and efficient in his killing. "Its hard to say, boss, the girl we could surely find a use for, but the boy…" He paused, thinking a little. "The boy will definitely have to die," said Ian, drawing his sword.

Angelis, Connor, Devin and Hunter surged forward and the people around them held them back. Gunner raised his head and looked at them, sadly. Ian raised his sword above his head, ready to strike and then dropped it with a cry when a silver arrow pierced his arm. "Wha-" Everyone turned to look in the direction that the arrow had come from. Five riders dressed in long black cloaks sat, mounted on black horses, at the edge of the crowd. One of the hooded figures held a silver and onyx crossbow, still quivering from it's recent firing. "Leave them be, Arcaine, or you will answer to us," came a voice from one of the hoods. The crowd was surprised, not only by the brave words, but also by the fact that the voice was female.

"And who, pray tell, are you?" asked Arcaine, sourly. The five riders threw back their hoods, dropping their cloaks and revealing the faces of angels. The one with the crossbow had long black hair, with a streak of white near the front and eyes that burned like blue fire. She wore a long black dress, split to the hip on each side to allow movement. A silver choker and a matching bracelet were the only jewelry she wore. Her eyes never left Arcaine's face as she dismounted and notched another arrow.

Another of the riders dismounted as well and drew a long sword. She had red hair to her shoulders and her green eyes glittered like the sea. Her black tunic and matching leggings were embroidered with silver designs, pentagrams and runes. A silver band encircled her head and she wore a ring on each finger of her right hand.

The next woman leapt nimbly from her horse and landed in a fighting crouch, taking a silver rod from within her cloak and holding it in front of her. The crowd gasped when the rod seemed to grow as they watched, until it was well over five feet long. The woman ignored their astonishment and rested the end of the staff on the icy ground. She had long, frosty blond hair and her eyes were silver, flashing like mercury. Her black leather tunic was long, almost dress-like, split up the sides to her waist and she wore white leggings beneath it. A cross, like those of the Christians of old, hung around her neck and silver bands encircled her upper arms.

When the fourth rider stepped to the ground, she withdrew a wicked looking short sword and a short-handled battle-axe. Her hair was a deep auburn color and her eyes were like antique gold. She wore green velvet leggings and a long sleeved black velvet shirt.

It took a moment for the guys to realize that one of the riders had disappeared, but Arcaine was not so observant. "Stop right there or they die!" he shouted and motioned to Jackie and Ian. Ian pulled the arrow out of his arm and picked up his sword again. Jackie grabbed the Kirsten by the hair and pulled her to her feet. The riders stopped in their tracks and Arcaine laughed. "Just as I thought. You are weak, like the rest of them. Your fondness for human life will be your undoing." He signaled to Jackie and Ian with a wave of his hand. Before they could move, two knives whistled through the air and struck each of them squarely in the chest. The fifth rider leapt onto the platform in a riot of golden hair and eyes like the black side of midnight. She wore black leather, from head to toe, the pants like a second skin and the shirt exposing most of her torso. Tattoos covered her back and shoulders and a silver ring glinted from her navel. Silver wristbands reached from her elbows to her hands, presumably to guard her skin during a knife fight. She grabbed Kirsten by the arm and yanked her toward the edge of the platform. The young girl flew through the air and fell into her mother's arms. The knife thrower turned back to see Ian and Jackie pulling her blades from their bodies, the wounds closing immediately. She swore and dodged her own knives as the two men threw them toward her. She reached for Gunner and caught his wrist, but Arcaine stepped close to him then and grabbed him by the throat. "I know who you are. You're those goddamned demon hunters!" "We prefer to be called the Order of Death," said the redhead. "You want this boy so badly, you'll have to come and get him, demon hunters," Arcaine hissed. He jerked the young man from the knife thrower's grasp and then was gone.

"I really hate that man," said the archer, un-notching her arrow and slipping it back into her quiver. "He does tend to be aggravating," the swordswoman agreed. The knife thrower leapt off the platform and walked toward her friends, looking neither left nor right. "Excuse me," said Angelis. "You're excused," she said, never even glancing his way. "Chaos!" the archer said. "What!?" The knife thrower sounded indignant. "Be polite!" Then, the archer turned toward Angelis. "Is there something we can do for you?" "Kirsten's mother wants to thank you and offer you a place to stay tonight," he said. "Kirsten?" "The girl you saved." "Oh. Just a minute." The archer turned back toward her friends and they spoke quietly to each other in an unknown language, then turned back toward him.

"We would be happy to accept your offer," the swordswoman said. The staff wielder did something to her staff and it retracted back into the short silver rod. The swordswoman and the axe wielder sheathed their weapons as well. The archer hung her crossbow over her shoulder and the knife thrower retrieved her knives from the tree where they had stuck and slid them into wrist sheathes, under her armbands. All five of them pulled their cloaks from the back of their saddles, where they'd been left and fastened them at their throats, pulling the hoods up over their faces. Then, they looked at the group of people standing before them. "Uh- Kalin will stable your horses," said Angelis. The young boy with blond hair stepped forward and took the reins from them. "Thank you for saving my twin sister," he mumbled, shyly, before leading the five black horses away.

The four men, the woman and the little girl led the way into the town's only inn. "I can show you where you'll sleep, if you like," said Kirsten. "That would be nice. I'd like to clean up a bit," said the swordswoman. "Um, sorry, but, do you think you could tell us your names?" asked Devin. The five women looked at each other. "Chaos," said the knife thrower. Taking her lead, they gave the names they had taken when their quest began. "Mayhem," said the swordswoman. "Disorder," said the archer. "Apocalypse," said the staff wielder. "Disturbance," said the axe wielder. "Can we go to our rooms now?" asked Chaos. "Oh, of course," said Kirsten.