Ashborn - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Born in Ashes

Demons aren't born the way a human child is. Neither do they hatch like some animal babies do. The birth of a new demon is a very long and precise matter. The method was developed and changed over multiple hundred years to perfect it. While it's neither a natural birth or the hatching process of animals, it's more like growing one in a laboratory. They sort of hatch in the end, just not the same way animals hatch. In order to create a demon, devoid of any creativity or disobedience, that process was the best. No real connections by blood or the time spent to grow the child inside oneself, the only connections were the ones to a demon Bounds guardians who were handpicked every time.

However, nothing lasts forever. And nothing is ever perfect.

The birthing ritual was almost finished. Over three dozen kid demons were about to be part of Hell's society, new flesh to be raised and trained. Every five centuries the deep red capsules opened up again to bring life to new Soul Collectors. Some thought it was too often, but the higher ranking beings of Hell knew the numbers, they knew how often the demons collecting souls didn't come back. Mostly it was demon hunters, but on other occasions, though a lot less frequent, they died to something else. Something Hell hasn't been able to figure out yet.

The blood-colored capsules ruptured and a red rain fell to the ground. Behind every capsule a child-like figure was hidden, curled together like a sleeping cat. Pale beings, small horns poked out of their heads and a thin tail wrapped around their being.

Demons don't have parents, or a family, in the sense humans know it. They have two guardians, tasked with raising the kids into good, obedient Soul Collectors, but none of it could be called a family of human standard. Despite it all, two guardians with a demon child to raise are seen as a family in Hell, odd as it is.

Both guardians stood beside their assigned capsule, ready to start their journey as parents. After the burst of the crimson bubble every child-sized being woke up, slowly unravelling themselves before standing in front of their guardians. Both guardians reached out to take one hand, then they took each other's hand, forming a closed circle of three demons. A second later they disappeared, vanishing into clouds of colorful dust.

They reappeared in their own "home." A cave that everyone gets to furnish the way they like. One particular cave was more decorated than the others. On the table, there was a vase with five, crimson red spider lilies. They were handpicked by Lilliana, one of the two demons living in this cave. Her demon equivalent of a husband, Timothy, is responsible for all the small glass figurines displayed on the shelves.

While creativity is technically forbidden in Hell, these two have found a way around it, because as long as it doesn't affect your work, you can do pretty much anything. So Lilliana and Timothy Boo did just that, they worked well and picked flowers or created glass figurines whenever they had time.

The cave, and family, of Boo now had a third member. Timothy and Lilliana were one of the guardian pairs this year, so now they had a child. One that still needed a name, but was loved even without one.

It didn't take them long to find a name though, so now the family consisted of Timothy, Lilliana and Ellie Boo.

With a child in the house it was never boring, especially with Hell's training plan. Her guardians had to teach her all sorts of things - weapons, Hell's rules, what she'll be when she grows up and, most important of all, how evil and bad humans are.

Hell has implemented a bedtime story, so many centuries ago that no one remembers why, and that bedtime story is told at least once everyday until a demon child is considered a Summoned One - which means they're all grown up and ready for their duties. By that time every child is convinced that humans are the only real evil.