[Him]

“Heh, does it matter? I still destroy things whether you’re bonded to me or not. It would be nice to not have to worry about my existence because of you.”

The Demon sighed and slinked down to sit on the ground.

“Hmm demon and peace? I’ve heard of anything like that. Well that’s a lie actually, some demons actually chose sides in the man/elven war. Some chose the humans, some chose the elves, some didn’t care like me, and other who are strange even for us demons advocated for peace…. makes me wonder who that demon was maybe it was Azazle? She would be the one to do that type of thing…”

Then the elf spoke of his family, family, why was that word so familiar. Oh yes Abaddon had a family once. He remembered a beautiful woman and a darling little girl. Sadness encompassed The Demon’s face, so did he really forget them? He couldn’t even make out their faces anymore. He looked down when thinking of this. His ear perked, he hadn’t heard of Aolis? That was quite strange.

“You would think the elves would remember who started the war with the humans….”

[Kenai]

"Hey how'd you know I was thinking that?" Sid said defensively. One's mind was supposed to be a safe place to retreat to. It unsettled him for someone to be privy to his thoughts.

'I wish more demons were like Azazle then.' he thought.

It clicked, "Unless they wanted to forget." he finished.

[Him]

"If only you knew her before she 'found the light'...oh boy"

The Demon chuckled as the other was worried about his privacy of his mind. He rolled his eyes.

"I am not reading your mind, you're shouting your thoughts into my mind, fool."

Abaddon scoffed.

"Yeah well that's ridiculous. If I were a race of arcane being I would never forget the one who ruined my relations with other races. Aolis shouldn't be forgetten, he should be remembered so that you do not repeat the same mistakes. Not that I care but a little life lesson to you master. Never forget."

Abaddon said that in a most serious tone. When it came to memories, they were all he had left of his past. Even then with each passing day he was losing himself. Soon he won't remember being human, he'll only remember being Abaddon.

[Kenai]

[[Sorry for the long wait time. Do you know what I've been doing? Playing an MMO that I'm readdicted to. I can post while I play but because I am a team player it's hard to type a coherent response and talk with people in-game. But guilt finally brought be back! =D ]]

'Oh...thanks for that.' he thought back, genuinely surprised by the short lessong. 'I'll need training to keep my thoughts to myself. Summoning food is awesome too!' Sid tried not to think that last thought but thinking not to think it didn't work out.

Sid didn't want to hear if the demon had anything clever to say. "Abbadon since living with humans I realized that elves like to pretend they're perfect. This Aolis my be completely forgotten. Where would we go to learn more?"

[Him]

((Yeah that's fine. Don't worry about it c: ))

Abaddon was going to say something snarky about Sid loving the summoning spell when he was skeptic about it, but then he was asked how one would go about obtaining information that may have been “forgotten”. Abaddon thought about it for a moment. He was certain there was obtainable information on himself and other demons. Probably out of reach where no one could misuse it. Then he compared this to information about tyrants like Aolis. Maybe the elves were ashamed of him so the would consider his information dangerous if it got into human hands. If the humans found out that it was an elf that started all of this, there would hell to pay. Maybe with another war as well. So to prevent that, where would the elves hide it?

“Well there could be a number of ways to hide it. If I never wanted anyone to see this figure in historic time, I would completely obliterate his records. Then I can claim that such a person did not existed. But let’s say that the elves did so that because not for nothing kid, your people can be stupid sometimes and want to keep the info to teach the next in line of the throne yes?”

The Demon got up, he was feeling much better and was able to hold himself up now.

“Okay so with that in mind, there are many ways they can hide this without destroying information. So let’s say the elves have a master library for scholars. I would put it in there. I would put it under “forbidden” so that only those authorized to use it may look at it.”

He paused for a moment.

“Or keep it in the castle if you guys have one. Or wherever your ruler resides in. It has maximum security so I wouldn’t doubt that it was in there as well.”

“One last place they can have it stored is in a hidden location with in territory but not within city-states. That way people looking for it would look at the library or the castle and would be none the wiser. If that’s the case, depending on how valuable this information is, the security would be impeccable, more so then the royal guards. So it might be impossible to get in…unless you happen to be bound to a demon with shadow travel magic.”

The Demon cackled he then walked over to Sid. Using the food-summoning spell he summoned an apple, a bright juicy red one. He took a bite into it before speaking up again.

“Well those are the choices. I don’t know elves all that well so it is up to you to make the choice. Which one of those sounds like something your people would do?”

[Kenai]

[[Feel free to fast-forwarding some, if you want to go with the idea of finding others like themselves I say let's go for it!]]

The little elf closed his eyes and out of habit was biting his lip again. His stomach was filled with food but all the emotions were stemming his focus. 'Is this treason?' Various images of the future he thought he could have went up in flame and ash.

Sid opened his eyes to look at the demon, they shared something now. He didn't understand what it was yet but he stared at Abbadon and his damn apple hoping to truly show him everything he was feeling. All the pain he had associated to fire, the images of his mother burning alive and those mad red eyes belonging to someone he thought he knew. The pain of losing everything he knew and nearly being killed for something he didn't do. He realized he wasn't breathing and suddenly inhaled.

As he did so he felt a distant memory in Abbadon. The memory was washed with sadness, and he thought he could hear a faint child's voice. Sid paused for awhile. He pursed his lips together.

"T-the twin cities." Sid's voice cracked, his eyes looking everywhere but at Abbadon. "They're built in and around natural caverns found near an oasis plateau out in the Iso Desert. It is said to be older than the settlement around the Great Tree."

[Him]

((Yeyeye as soon as Abaddon knows how guarded the joint is. Also with others like them I want them to be demons that know abaddon. Maybe they liked him, maybe one hated him, one is scared of him, and one is really strong and is a douche about it idk something like that))

‘Pfft, of course it’s treason you ninny. Anything you break into that it run by your government is treason.’

For some reason Sid was staring at Abaddon really hard. And of course Sid, without a warning just dumps all these memories into The Demon’s mind. All he saw was fire, screaming people…. red eyes? The Demon wondered, only pureblooded demons could have red eyes, unless you were like him and you replaced a pureblood. Then you get yellow eyes, he wasn’t sure what was the purpose of the red eyes versus yellow eyes. He was pretty much just as strong a pureblood. Then again no one is as consumed with rage as he is. Or maybe he happened to luck on the demon that was strong enough to set him one an equal level. But then the question remains how was he able to beat the accursed demon? Oh well, no reason to dwell on it now.

“Hmm, I don’t remember a tree out in the desert…assuming it’s the same desert I know…maybe it was a sprout but if there would be any information that is as old as the war…it’ll be in there. How well fortified is it?”

[Kenai]

[[The Great Tree isn't in the desert it's a separate location and well known by humans as sacred.

His eyes finally settled down around his feet, Sid was focusing on this breathing so he would calm down. He didn't want to talk anymore, in fact in wanted to go to sleep and pretend none of this was real.

"Other than being a maze and home to wizards no one ever mentions that place, and the books in the human libraries don't seem to even know of it. The only reason I know about it is because I was supposed to replace my mother as a Keeper..."

[Him]

((Oh I could've sworn thats what you wrote :/))

“ A keeper huh? I don’t understand what that means but it might have the answers you seek. I think we should have a plan ready because if we leave this up to mean I might burn something down to the ground…”

As he bit into his apple some more he thought about an actual idea. He wasn’t in the mood to repeat the events taking place earlier.

“I think I’ll summon a small dragon to cause a distraction and we sneak in.”

The Demon noted how the other wouldn’t look at him. Oh well, spending time with him would do that to anyone. Probably it has something to do with humanity, something The Demon lost a long time ago.

“Hey kid, is that why you were learning magic? So you can then get trapped into watching a bunch of dusty old tomes?”

[Kenai]

[[Yeah reading back I see how I failed to separate the two locations, probably better I hadn't even mentioned it]]

'At least he's trying not burn things to the ground.' he thought to himself. He would hate to have the destruction of an oasis and an ancient library on his conscious.

"Hey it's more than dusty old tomes! Some people really like learning. And besides that they won't have me a keeper anymore. Keepers do more than guard knowledge, they protect the land itself."

Sid was pretty sure Abbadon was only asking his opinion though to keep him more cooperative. The old creature might've already had a brilliant plan. The one about the dragon was not so brilliant though, Sid hoped he wasn't serious.

"The cities are almost completely cut off from the world. Even if they know about us they are not used to fighting real threats." Stick to the shadows. "I know the general location of Yamir, how do you plan to get there? And once we are there it would be better to learn more, set up an escape that doesn't burn down their library in the process."

[Him]

((It's okay Ive already replied to it so it doesn't matter))

“Hmph, I remember when tomes were just manuscripts…what a pain. So they don’t want you as a keeper huh? Why’s that? Did you fail an exam or something?”

The Demon was actually curious; the elf did not seem threatening so watching books seemed to be the best bet. However The Demon could sense untapped potential within the elf that was horrifyingly powerful. If he was as good at learning as his potential was, he could have the power to become Archmage. Was that even a thing still? He may even have the power to face off against him. Now that was scary, he pays attention to the elf again when he mentions how the city was cut off. Interesting, they could storm in and steal the books and not have to worry about being alerted. But as cut off as it seemed maybe the Mages there were quite powerful. Not powerful enough to remove Abaddon from the plane but enough to give him a struggle. Especially when the young elf here seemed to be bad at magic. For crying out loud he summoned The Demon to this plane while he tried to cast a simple fireball spell!

“Sid how good are you with magic?”

The Demon asked with question eyes, thinking of a plan to sneak in and get out. He was trying to make this as low key as possible so that he could reduce the risk of running into Mages while they were there. Perhaps they could disguise themselves as Mages there. Maybe incapacitate two mages and take their place. That way they could freely roam the library and search for the information needed. Yes, that sounded much better than the dragon one, it probably would’ve burned everything to the ground.

[Kenai]

Sid uncharacteristically rolled his eyes at Abbadon with an exasperated sigh, "Who wants a demon summoner to guard a forest? You kind of burned the last one remember?" The elf was of course leaving out bits related to the memory he shared with Abbadon not long ago.

"How good? That depends on the kind of magic really. We were still learning the basics but I was ahead of the humans in class in everything but destructive magic." Sid didn't bother to mention that he was also afraid of fire. Keepers weren't supposed to be afraid, they were a pillar of strength in the community. It shouldn't have been part of his identity still but he couldn't help it.

But he didn't want Abbadon thinking him literally useless. "I'm just not as good with attack spells as protective spells. In dueling class though I found creative ways to fight back with telekinesis and turning my shields into funnels to redirect a magic bolt back."

Sid was proud of that but a dueling class with other novices was not on par with fighting fully trained mages. His way of fighting back was also called "cheating" by nearly everyone.

"Are you going to train me as we travel to the twin cities?"

[Him]

“Okay so you’re good with protection spells. Interesting, might come in handy if we run into mages at the cities…”

The Demon finished the rest of his apple and tossed the core aside.

“I might have to, you’ll end up as dead weight at this rate. We might have to work on your destruction skill. They’re quite a necessity while we are out and about, maybe some teleportation and summoning. You seem to be good at summon since you were able to summon the food without a problem.”

The Demon clutched his fists and tested his magic capability. They seem to be at maximum capacity, good.

“Good, we can make our way to the cities now. Do you have any idea what it looks like? Any image of it will work. If not we’ll have to get there by foot.”

[Kenai]

Somewhere not far away Thauron had to resist the urge to punch a tree. He should've found a way to keep the demon from sending him away but it was too late for that. It would surely be ready for his spells now. He stopped in a clearing filled with ash and nodded. This was the place.

Thauron knelt and by chance drew the same summoning rune that Abbadon had drawn in that very same spot. The older elf could feel the spirits reacting before he even began. It was curious that summoning ritual was perhaps merely ceremonial at this point but he couldn't turn back now. When he finished a spirit of earth emerge from the summoning circle. "O earth sprit I summon you seeking another elf. He was here last night-." the spirit wasted no time with formalities at that point.

It entered his mind and showed him bits of what transpired that night but the pieces didn't make sense to Thauron. But he saw the path now leading to where his charge was hiding with the demon. When Thauron was alone in his mind he could feel the spirit urging him on to deal with the demon.

The memory of Sid's immense power also spurred him forward. Now the demon would surely hunger for his charge's power. He had to hurry before the vile creature sped along what ever plot it was planning to have Sid's soul. Thauron didn't want to kill Sid truth be told but he would just as he killed his best friend. The old crone was right; demons are returning to the world and so would war worse than any seen before.

+-----------------------------+

Sid felt hot thinking about all the things he had to learn. It was exciting but nerve-wracking. Master Dillamond was a horribly tough teacher surely a demon's training would be harder still. Maybe Abbadon would throw a rock at Sid who would have to blow it aside with a powerful wind or get struck. Over, and over again.


The prospect of teleporting though excited Sid. "Well my mom told me about it so I have an idea of what it looks like. But I never even seen a picture. Can you really teleport us to a place I only know of in my imagination?"

At that moment Thauron was at the wall of the waterfall. The waves didn't stop him from picking up on the conversation when he was listening for their voices. What was driving Sid to do what he was doing? Did he really form a contract with the demon or was he just a pawn? Despite having the upper-hand while the demon was unaware of his presence yet he hesitated, unsure of what he should do.

[Him]

“Tch, of course I can. Each place is unique is it’s own way. When certain memories are linked to the place I can find them. Now then we must hurry, we want to get a move on.”

The Demon already knew Thauron was there. He was waiting to see what the other would do. He then turned to Sid. He leaned in and began to whisper.

“Looks like someone is outside. Let’s gets some training in. With shields and block magic, you should learn some tracking magic as well. It’ll allow you to track people and objects by magic signature. Each signature is different for each person. But if a person implants their magic into an object the signature will be the same. Now simple tracking is easy just let your magic run over everything around you. Anything without a magical signature will be over looked. But what ever does you magic will read them to you, what the alignment is, what they specialize in, and even the race. Go ahead. Just concentrate and let your magic flow out. Go see who it is.”

Of course The Demon knew. But he needed to test the elf. He needed to know how hard he was going to work to train him. This simple test should gauge his level of magic and comprehension.

[Kenai]

He tensed at the mention of someone being outside. Abbadon seemed to think everything would be okay but he'd seen the demon could be too sure of himself sometimes. Right now the last thing he wanted to was extend any part of himself towards the threat. The cavern wasn't devoid of flora but he couldn't communicate with them to find out anything what lie beyond the waterfall.

Sid looked up at Abbadon fearfully, realizing for the first time how much he looked like family. He gulped and meekly reached out with his magic to a specific area. It didn't require as much energy as he thought, he just need to let the surrounding energy carry his own magic where he wanted. They were like neighbors, every speck of energy communicated with another effortlessly.

Sid could sense there was information hanging in the air but he couldn't make head nor tails of what it could be. Outside the waterfall though he did feel the aura of someone else. 'This is someone...familiar?' This was his first time at this exercise he never paid attention before to magic signatures.

"Now then we must hurry, we want to get a move on." The waterfall was all he could hear now, the stillness in the air chilled Thauron. They knew he was here. The one who did not act was oft the one to die in battle. But would he pick the path to a trap? There was but one way behind the falls because jumping through the water would surely open him to any attack. Unless...

Thauron was in the air, dagger in one hand and throwing knife in the other. His path led him into the water except with a simple word of magic they parted to let him through. The moment Thauron saw his enemy the knife dipped in paralysis poison left his fingers before he was near the cavern's ground. His aim was perfect but his distance from the demon Abbadon was great enough for the creature to probably deflect it with ease. Thauron was ready.

"Sídhondir, don't leave with this creature. Please." His charge was raised to the order's teachings but the child wasn't trained to be a warrior. Harsh words wouldn't endear the child him.

Sid squeaked, "Thauron." He was face to face now with someone who practically embodied all his sense of duty to his own people. The youngling felt so conflicted. He was afraid, he wanted to run...

"I don't...want to die." His misty mis-matched eyes looked pleadingly towards the older elf. If he left with him surely that's what would happen. Thauron had hopes to prevent that from happening. "I wouldn't let that happen." he said soothingly as his own voice would let him. Thauron's gaze met Sid's but his attention never left Abbadon.

Before coming he Thauron had sent a message to the elders and the order what he knew. And before coming here he asked the wizards at the school about shadow magic, namely to keep the demon from sending him away again. No one was willing to help an elf of course, but one woman did show him one thing. Abbadon could swallow him in shadows and send him away again but it would be harder now that he knew how to see them in time to jump away.