Terrene - Life Beyond the Veil

The sun will not rise until the twenty-third birthday of the successor of the Light Demon, an unnamed girl of human and demon blood. Just who between two girls is it destined to be?

The Light’s last passing

 

A wheezing cough escaped from the frail figure on the bed as the four men approached, their eyes not quite believing what they saw. All of them knew that the light demon was passing away slowly in front of their eyes but the reality was something quite grotesque and unflattering to behold. What once had been a strong figure with eyes that bore into the soul and a voice which was said to be able to command any living being without trying, now was nothing more than a pile of bones and ash held together by grey taught skin that looked like it was about ready to tear into a million pieces. None of the four dared to comment however, knowing that despite the fragility of old age, this old wreck of a man was still a Light Demon and could more than likely destroy them all with a simple wave of his bony fingers.

 

Secretly Leon reflected that in some respects a human’s death was much more pleasant experience than this slow degrading of life that he now stared at with respect and horror. In his times before coming beyond the veil, he had seen many horrific human deaths that still lingered within his Earth bound memories but all of them paled in comparison to this. The blond haired man reflected bitterly that his current fellow companions would be used to seeing death in some form like this, he still had troubles coming to terms with a reflection of a young thirty-three year old man staring at him from the mirror when he had just celebrated his two hundredth birthday. Demon blood was a very strange gift, one that meant a lot of changes and one that sometimes he thought he should have never received.

 

The thoughts were broken though as the Light Demon cracked a smile at him, the folds of skin moving away from the mouth to expose two prime sets of teeth which glistened slightly in the faint light that was coming in through a nearby window. “Time will eventually make you forget, Northern Son,” the man’s voice was cracked and filled with the dust of ages, “Do not fear your brothers around you. They share the same fears though they would never care to admit it. I’ve always liked humans like you who are given that special gift; it makes for a much more sensible demon in the long run.”

 

“Thank you Sire,” Leon said respectably, aware that he was receiving a vile scowl from Kamisori of the Western Lands but choosing to ignore, “I would prefer to think that I will at least keep my human memories for a while longer though.”

 

The figure chuckled, the blanket shifting slightly to reveal more of the grey skin stretched so dangerously thin over its skin but the eyes danced with a glorious white fire. “Time changes everybody,” the figure whispered like a child passing on a precious secret, “even I am no longer what I used to be. Hence why I have called the four houses here, on this day.”

 

Blaine, the half demon protectorate of the East, blinked slowly but added nothing of interest to the conversation. Whilst he respected the other and had obeyed his request, the man’s mind was fraught with worry for the events at home and despite knowing that this end had to be heard by the heads of each family house, Blaine couldn’t help but think of his partner. He prayed that all was well, that what appeared to have begun had been nothing more than a simple miscalculation by the nurses. He had promised to be there but obligation had stolen him away and the sooner this was over with the sooner he could get back home. The Light demon smiled at the worried man, “Your fears will give you more strength than you know, young one, when the time is right. But you will have to learn to let go of your obligations in order to do well.”

 

Raising his green eyes to the elder, Blaine bowed his head, “Forgive me for appearing disrespectful, Sire.”

 

“No disrespect shown or received, East Gate, a man who worries about his family foremost has others prospects in his heart high above his own,” the demon shifted, “A good trait to learn, I have found, though sometimes aggressively protecting yourself is also a good thing, depending on how you use such skills.”

 

The yellow eyes fell onto the two half brothers, Kamisori of the Western Lands and Orexis Guardian of the South. There was virtually no comparison between the pair of them, virtually no traits did they share to show that they were related but the Light Demon knew that there was many fraught accusations in regards to Orexis’s parentage that made life uneasy at the best of times between the pair. Kamisori had been born tall, dark and broody with a sharp mind and distaste for those who did not live their lives to what he considered to be the best way of life. Though rumour had it that since his favourite serving girl had fallen pregnant with his child there had been a change in the other. The old demon on the bed could see some of the lines of change but the man’s attitude remained as it always had towards his fellows, cold, closed off and impatient to get away from the show of decay and filth that he was seeing before him.

 

Orexis on the other hand, seemed far more curious about this situation, seeking something that he couldn’t quite see. The youngest of the demons present by a huge degree, he only beat Leon by twenty years in birth age which to demons was a mere blink of an eye, many had initially disapproved of his appointment to be Guardian of the Southern Lands. There had been an outcry about a demon taking charge that had been raised on Earth without their ways and teachings, but Orexis had taken to the task at hand like a fish to water, especially since he was aided whole heartedly by his mate. He was still young, still had a majority of lore’s and readings to learn but the Light Demon wasn’t worried too much about such things. Time was on these four’s side; he had seen that long ago and hot headed nature of youth sometimes outweighed the sensibility of age. Smiling, the demon gently flicked his hands towards the ginger haired Orexis, “Fetch me those old bone runes boy, you’ll find them next to the water jug,” his eyes wandered half blinded over towards Kamisori, “I know you have already done your reading for today, Westerner, but I would like you to be here for this as tradition has stated. Plus I believe that there may be something you have overlooked in your own reading.”

 

Kamisori blinked, clearly surprised at being addressed and dropped his arms from their crossed position, “Something I have missed Sire? I read very carefully this morning.”

 

“That you did,” the old man coughed a little as he received the bone ruins from the younger brother, “But you studied far too hard and too deep for a meaning that was staring you straight in the face. You need to relax a little more, take some of the finer things in life for what they are and not be so suspecting.”

 

One of the retainers, he couldn’t remember the man’s name, automatically appeared to bolster him higher onto his pillows so that the reading could be done easier. Looking down at the sharp white bones, the Light Demon smiled, “I remember the day I received these. Carved from the bones of my predecessor…now I too shall finally see where we all go once we turn to dust. But first, I have one last task to do.”

 

With surprising strength, the man threw the bone fragments high up into the air, causing them to bounce off the high vaulted ceiling and smash apart with a series of small crunches. Slowly the dust began to fall back down towards the old man but it swirled together, tiny particles of sunlight dancing around inside as it clumped together. “What’s going on?” asked Orexis, completely out of turn, staring up at the cloud with wide amazed eyes.

 

“I am passing,” said the Light Demon, hardly offended by the other’s question, “This may reveal the one who is to come after me or it may tell us where they are to be found. I don’t know as of yet.” Ignoring the incredulously looks that h received form the other three, the Light Demon returned his eyes to the cloud as it slowly descended and begun to shift and change. A figure materialised out of the dust, dainty and flowing with long hair and a soft smile. The Light Demon smiled, “A girl…yet to be born,” he chuckled a little, watching as the figure turned almost as if dancing to the four men standing staring at her, “Ah, but of demon and human blood she will be.”

 

Kamisori twisted his head to look at the elder, “Of mixed?”

 

“Yes, but I was born a Westerner, Kamisori all those long years ago,” the Light Demon smiled sadly, “A direct lineage is not possible. She will be born in either the Southern, Eastern or Northern Lands.”

 

Blaine stared as the figure slowly started to disappear, “How will we know?”

 

The Light Demon smiled faintly, “You won’t know for sure, until her twenty-third birthday. Then she will be revealed…though how…I cannot see further.”

 

There was a long pause before Kamisori leant over and gently closed the Light Demon’s eyes in respect. “He is passed and so is the light, for now we live in darkness.”

 

Leon blinked, “The sun will not rise for another twenty three years?”

 

“Possibly longer,” Blaine said slowly, “She has not been born yet, that could mean this generation or the next.”

 

“Don’t be idiotic,” Kamisori smirked towards the half-demon, “When one passes, another is born into the world. The sun will set tonight, choosing its future Light Demon and will rise on the girl’s twenty-third birthday. I think we can safely discount the Southern Guardianship from bearing the child, since as far as I’m aware there are no expectations of children until the process for producing is finished by his mate,” there was no hiding of the venom in the demon’s voice as he directed the comment towards Orexis without even a thought for the situation that they were currently in, “and the small fact that she must be of human blood as well as Demon. Blaine’s mate is human; you Leon are still human despite that gift. Both of your mates are ready to drop, or so I am led to believe.”

 

Orexis glared at his elder half-brother, “You sure know a lot for someone who doesn’t take an interest in foreign affairs.”

 

“On the contrary, b*****d, I take a high interest in foreign affairs, I just choose to make the playing ground more level before presenting the stakes,” Kamisori smiled cruelly towards the other, “It is simply a case of knowing ones opponents well in advance and having the necessary leverage.”

 

Leon glared daggers at the dark haired man, “What are you daring to propose, Kamisori? Though I can bet it will be highly in your favour.”

 

“Not in mine, in my future son’s,” Kamisori smirked, “Whichever of you produces a female offspring, I proposed a betrothal to my son. To create an alliance between our two houses and ensure a strong bloodline hierarchy.”

 

“And give you the ultimate power over the lands?” Blaine managed a snort of defiance, “Anyone would be mad to take up such an offer.”

 

Kamisori rolled his eyes, “My son would be the mate of the Light Demon, that doesn’t give me any form of power over any of the lands.”

 

Leon sighed, shaking his head, “Aren’t we forgetting why we are here gentlemen?” gently he inclined head towards the passed over figure, “We should at least pay our last respects before getting involved into arguments over such things.”

 

“Besides,” Orexis smirked, “What if both of them bare daughters? What will you do then, Kamisori?”

 

Another glare was directed towards his younger half brother but no response came. Instead the dark skinned demon stretched his hand out over the passed Light Demon, taking his position up in the Western side. Orexis, having been rudely pushed out of the way, moved to the Southern quarter of the bed come funeral pyre and copied the move. Blaine and Leon shared a quick glance between one another before passing a silent nod between themselves and taking up their respective positions. “By blood undone and years untold, we recognise the final passage of Sire. The light will dwindle and the shroud of darkness shall cover but we will seek and protect the new born light which will grow into a blazing sun once again,” their voices were strong, the words recited from memory and as the four men watched, the last rays of sunlight faded away from Terrene, Land of the Demons beyond the Veil and Sire drifted away into his own cloud of dust.

 

“Now to wait,” Orexis smiled gently, his maturity showing through despite his young years, “For the twenty-third birthday of a girl who’ll be most cherished.”

 

Kamisori sighed, glancing at the other two, “My offer still stands.”

 

“I will not heed it, even if I have a girl she will be free to choose whom she wishes,” Blaine said straight away, glancing at Leon to see if he would take up the offer that Kamisori had so gallantly made.

 

The blond haired human paused, looking down at the remains before slowly shaking his head, “Where I am from, betrothal was finished centuries ago. I am sorry Kamisori but if my love were to bare a girl then she will not be destined to marry your son unless by her own choosing.”

 

Looking severely annoyed, Kamisori dropped his hand, “Fine, but be warned. Once word arrives to the world about this situation, I will not be the only one seeking the proposal and there are far worse than me in the lands beyond the Veil.”

 

He turned with an overly dramatic swish of his adorned cloak and left the ancient room without even a glance backwards. Orexis was the first to break the silence, “By the Creators, he is such a flounce. Honestly, I dread to think what union caused his creation.”

 

“You are part of that union,” Blaine smirked towards the younger demon, dropping his hand slowly, “don’t go forgetting that.”

 

“Only cause mother saw sense by some happy chance,” Orexis grinned goofily back at the pair, “Don’t worry, I won’t be offering any marriages either of your way. I think Memphis would have more than a few words to say to me about such a thing and he’s not entirely prepared yet.”

 

Nodding, Leon glanced at the retreating form of Blaine, “Is it that close?”

 

Pulling himself upright, the East demon took a second to consider his response, “I do not know. I left hastily after receiving the summons, there were some complications going on but insofar I have not received any word.”

 

“Then go,” Leon smiled gently, “And may the fates smile warmly on you.”

 

“May they smile warmly on you too, Leon, I hope you bring a happy family into the world,” Blaine said before departing quickly.

 

Orexis glanced towards the human, “How long do you have until the birth?”

 

Leon shook his head, “An hour, maybe two. Damalis did not state a time but said that I should be careful coming back and I have come to learn that it is always good to listen to what he says.”

 

“Then be gone with you,” Orexis smiled, “It won’t do to keep him waiting too long.”

 

Bowing his head in respect, Leon turned and headed away, opening the portal that would lead him back to his homelands freely in front of Orexis as he trusted the youngster to not follow him through.

Pausing for a second, Orexis glanced down at the bed where Sire had lain previously and gently removed the layers of blanket from the southern end. Three glistening white eggs, quite small and speckled with different coloured spots lay just above the last resting place of the heart of the old Light Demon. One was speckled with silver, the other gold and the final a sort of fiery copper colour. He recognised them as Cygnet Eggs, a venerable guardian of extraordinarily special persons though he vaguely had to wonder why three would be placed when only one child would be born. “Best to keep you three safe and warm. I think I’ll take you home to the fire beaches, you’ll like it there. Perfect breeding ground for you.”

 

Just as he turned to go, after wrapping the eggs up carefully in the blankets, Orexis heard a tiny crack and turned back to the bed. An egg, the likes of which he had never seen, with a shell of brilliant red had been hidden under the first three eggs though he had failed to notice it. Now it was cracked and a small hooked finger clawed to be free from the protective shell. Orexis reached to pluck the egg from its little hovel only to gasp in surprise as suddenly the wood beneath it gave way and it fell beyond his reach. He blinked, staring down a short drop made of wood and at the bottom The Earth. Birthplace of Humans.

 

The Veil quickly returned however, but not before the egg had fallen beyond it, the shell breaking cleanly in two and a strange creature which looked like the combination of all the separate elements of life had been mashed together glistened briefly before streaking down and out of sight. Orexis gently gulped and stepped away from the small hole, deciding that he would dare not speak of what he had saw to anyone and instead focus on getting the three eggs some place safe and warm.  

Author's Note

Please note that this will get quite dark, will feature all types of relationships - gay, straight and a mix of something other - as well as male pregnancy and scenes of a sexual nature. If you get offended by any of this then please do not read. Thank you.
Also a big shout out to my very good online friend Demonte who helped me through our years of roleplay to create this story. I hope you enjoy.