The Demon

Chapter 1: Captive - Part 1

When I was a child, my father told me a true story. It was about a demon, who rampaged throughout a city in the neighbouring kingdom. According to him, it took place almost one-hundred years ago. Back then, My great grandparents lived in a small village near the city. They're the one who passed the story down to him.

My parent's and I live in a small village in the kingdom of Aster. The story however, takes place in the kingdom to the southwest of Aster, although I've forgotten it's name.

My great grandparents told my father that magic was a new discovery back then, and people still relied on swords, spears and bows in large or small conflicts. Very few people could use it, and it was proved to be less effective than bows, yet took far too long to learn. It was seen as both slow and weak, so people didn't take it seriously.

But then, the demon shocked everyone, and showed them the true destructive power of magic. By the time it was over, He had reduced a portion of the city to rubble while killing thousands. However, He didn't just kill soldiers, but slaughtered anyone and everyone. He didn't hold back whether it was a man, woman or child in front of him. Nobody stood a chance against him, or could even get close to him. Regardless of whether it was Soldiers swinging swords, or children swinging sticks because to him it was all the same. The others who could use magic in the city had nowhere near the power he did, so even they couldn't stop him.

It wasn't until the first prince arrived that the demon was forced to flee. According to the story, he managed to reorganize the army, which consisted of soldiers wielding swords and magic-users with magic, to launch a counter-attack. He was successful in driving out the demon, and saved both the people and the city. To this day, he is regarded as a true hero, yet he wasn't able to use magic. He later went on to be the beloved king of the same city he saved.

Though, I've heard the story has a few different versions. Since whoever survived the assault must have ran away in a panic trying to stay alive. In one of the versions, they claimed that he wasn't alone, but with a group seeking revenge on the current king. Although, in every version of the story, the demon's name and appearance are never mentioned.

After that day, the kingdoms spent more money and time on either building or funding academies, so It quickly started to be more common and powerful, because of research. Though it developed very slowly, and it's still pretty rare. You see, learning it required a lot of both money and time, so only rich merchants or nobles could afford to attend the academies. Although, anyone could attend if they meet those conditions.

Afterwards, all the kingdoms came to an agreement that a group needed to be formed. They decided that the group needed to consist of the strongest magic-users from each kingdom, and the group would be given the name guardians. A contest would be held to select one guardian from each kingdom, and the contest would be used in two year intervals.

I always had a lot of questions about that story. The demon attacked the city, and was forced to flee, yet never once returned. He slaughtered everyone, so he had no specific target. Unless, the people and city were the target. He had more power than anyone, but was never mentioned in any stories ever again. Was he really a demon? I'm not sure, but if he was called a demon for killing people, then I'm sure he was human.

How long has it been now, Since I last saw my parents? A few days at least. That day, I was eating dinner when it happened. It was just after sunset, my father had just returned from working all day in the fields, and was covered in dirt and sweat. My mother had finished cooking chicken stew for dinner. I was setting the table.

Once it was all ready, we all sat at the table. My parents sat next to each other while I was on the opposite side of them. At first it was quiet, my parents talked about their day while I stuffed my face with my dinner, but I started hearing quiet noises outside, however, they sounded more like shouting. I looked at my parents, and they both seemed confused. My father got up from the table. The door was to my right, but his left. The noises got louder and closer, so my father's expression got more tense. He started walking towards the door to check outside. Though, when he reached the end of the table, Suddenly the door was slammed open.

Two men wearing the same kind of clothes were now standing at the entrance to our home. They both wore leather armor of some kind. But more importantly, they were both holding a sword.

My father took a hesitant step back. He worked as a farmer from sunrise to sunset, so he had a strong build. Though, I've never even heard of my father being in a fight, and he had no weapon.

The bandit on the left slowly stepped into the house. He had a sword in his left hand while grinning. The second he stepped in, my father roared loudly while he charged at the bandit in front, and tackled into him. The bandit was smiling cynically as he leaned forward to brace for the tackle. He managed to block it without budging while he pushed his left wrist into my father's chest. My father was trying to struggle, but couldn't push the bandit back an inch. The bandit pushed my father back to create some distance while still grinning, and finally decided to use his sword. My father leaned forward for another tackle as the bandit swung his sword. The sword sliced threw my father from left shoulder to right him, and he fell straight down to the ground.

My mother screamed loudly as she began to cry. I was still too afraid to move. The bandit stepped over my father's body while he put his sword back into its sheath. He was smiling as he grabbed my mother by the wrists. She continued screaming, and tried to struggle. She somehow managed to wiggle free from his grip for a moment. Though it was enough time to look at the table, She noticed a knife, and lunged for it. She grabbed as he went to grab her. She pointed the knife towards him in a panic. He stepped back as she swung it around. However, he got bored pretty quickly, and pulled his sword back out. The bandit waited for her to swing wide. The second she did, he grabbed her wrist, and mercilessly stabbed her into the stomach. He pulled out his sword covered in blood while my mother lifelessly fell to the ground. I stood still with tears in my eyes as my mother and father laid on the floor covered in blood, but my father was still alive.

"...Run...away," He said, faintly.

I could barely see my father's brown eyes through the thick black hair, but I could tell that he had just passed away. Too afraid to move, I stood there as the bandit walked around the table to me. Then he grabbed my arms, and tied them with rope. I was taken out of my home, and carried out of the village. I could see other people, they were fighting and screaming as we left.

Around one-hundred people lived in my village, but they were all farmers or some form of craftsmen. Although, some men had formed a group to stand guard at night. They weren't experienced fighters. Even then, I never thought that the village could be raided so easily.

The bandits took me outside the village. Then they ran into the forest surrounding it. Once they carried me far enough away. I was put down, and lined up with twelve to fifteen other villagers. All of our hands were tied. Then they connected all of us together with more rope. We must have looked like animals being herded.