Youth

"Youth" is an extended universe thread.
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
The Demons: The northern prairies were an expansive, dry landscape. Their western edges lifted into desolate mountains, miles above the flat plains of grass and scrub, while their eastern edges ran right into the sea, dissolving into sand and pebbles. The shores were stacked with tall columns and arches of dark stone, convoluted enough for one to cut their hand if they were to rub against it. A few hopeful strands of grass poked from their heads as they stood solemnly over the otherwise-peaceful scenery. 
A strange group of travelers was crossing these beaches, leaving behind two sets of huge reptilian footprints and one track of snakelike coils and twists. They were far enough up the beach to stay on the stony gravel and avoid the soft, loose sand closer to the water. The wind was chill and the sun was on its descent, causing them to shield their eyes whenever they looked west, away from the sea. The largest one, however, had eyes shielded by bone already, so he had no trouble happily running back and forth in the sand, stopping every now and then to dig a ten-foot hole with his feet, scattering sand for yards, before hurrying and falling into step behind his relatives. Nyctyph shook himself in exasperation as his joints cluttered with the gritty substance once more, twisting his body around in a rather visually horrific way and rattling his joints. His lower body, a tangle of metallic limbs reminiscent of thin tentacles, made a series of twanging, rattling noises as they shook off sand as well. Shi’pai, I do wish you would behave.
Sorry, brother! The Caesar bounded up and licked the Viceroy’s rounded face before racing off again. He hunched in flustered embarassment, eyeing the woman riding her wyrm beside him. He is usually better than this, he tried to explain half-heartedly, using his topmost arms to wipe away the sticky substance his brother had left behind.
The Empress: H’zola gave a light chuckle, trying to hide her grin behind her wrist. “It’s quite alright, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of my kin so lively in all my ages. The closest being your uncle, Zsilelac.” She shook off memories of one of her long since fallen children.
H’zola pulled a lantern out of one of the large pouches and mounted the ring of it on a staff she had been carving. She cast some of her essence into the eerie glass frames and a blue and green flame illuminated inside. “Something to light our way, once the sun falls behind those hills to the West…” She trailed off, looking quite pleased with her work. “Before we left, you said you had questions. Our journey has been too quiet to this point, so ask away my dear.”
The Demons: Nyctyph finished scraping himself mostly clean, blinking his multiple eyes rapidly to clear them. I did, yes. They continued a few paces more while he gathered his thoughts, the stone beneath him slithering as he crossed it. Well…I am quite curious, how old are you? Do you even have an age? Does our grandfather live as well?
The Empress: H’zola’s smile wavered when he finished his question. “He fell many years ago protecting our family, during that awful war we were caught up in. As far as my age goes, I remember when humans first began keeping track of time, which in turn caused us to keep track of time. I was alive for a while before that, but because of that my concept of time is a bit skewed. But I’ve seen and done a good number of things in all those years.”
The Demons: The Viceroy nodded solemnly. How fascinating, he mused, when she finished. To live before time itself. Mother wouldn’t have been able to stand it. She enjoys remembering birthdays. And…days of passing. Less enjoyable. Shi’pai romped still in the purple-hued sand, the sun having begun to slip behind the highest peak of the west. The water reflected the deep blues and grays of the darkening sky. What about her? What do you remember of her youth? 
The Empress: “Fire and emotion, impetuous and irrational, and a burning curiosity.” The fire began glinting off of H’zola’s eyes. “Your mother was always one of my most treasured creations. I saw much of myself in her, even from her inception. More so than the other nine beings created from me, I suppose. Independent, but not quiet about it like Kiaama.” The pride in her voice echoed subtly behind her words. “I have missed her in my absence…”
The Demons: Chuckling slightly, the tall, wiry demon said dryly, You may be surprised by what you see, then. I rarely see my mother angry, but when she is…it is quite the spectacle.
The Caesar walked up behind them, finally tiring of the sand now that it was growing dark. Mother is nice, he said cheerfully, his amber pupils flickering dimly in the dusk. Loves a lot. She is angry when danger comes. She does not like her love in danger. He gently nudged H’zola in the back with the tip of his nose. You too! Mother is angry because she loves her mother.
The Empress: “I suspect our reunion will be quite… emotional. I don’t know if she will react my well to my return, since it has been such a long time.” Zol stroked the side of her wyrm’s neck, urging the beast to slow. “I suppose we should give this one some rest though, he has made good progress today. In the mean time, you can ask all the questions you have young ones.”
The Demons: Of course. Nyctyph and Shi’pai drew to a halt beside her, all of them having stopped beside one of the bigger columns that solemnly overlooked the sea. the Caesar sat back on his legs, rumbling in satisfaction, his tail beating the sand lightly. The ghostly flame within H’zola’s lantern illuminated a small sphere around them, the light licking the rocks and playing over the sandy stone. Far off in the distance, a small, slight silhouette emerged on top of one of the pillars, dark eyes glinting as it spotted the fire and the demons surrounding it.
I suppose, Nyctyph mused, as they settled, I have a strange request of you, grandmother–what have you to ask of us? Your knowledge of us far outweighs mine.
The Empress: “Tell me of your family, I hope to meet them all in time, but my knowledge of you is very limited.” Zol spread out a rug to sit on as she spoke. The shapes and patterns adorning it appeared to move under the flickering of the flames. She sat on her knees and settled into a more comfortable position. 
The Demons: Well, as of this moment, there are six children. The eldest remains at home with Mother, the rest of us wander the land, learning, scouting. The ones you have not yet encountered are the Scribe, the Chieftain, the Duchess, and–
Phijo! the Caesar suddenly belted, hopping to his feet. Nyctyph looked at him in mild alarm. 
Yes, the youngest of us, the Witch. Thank you, Shi’pai.
The large demon twisted his head round to gaze at the top of the column, his tail paddling frantically up and down. She is here! She is up there!
The Viceroy squinted and looked up as well, but before he could respond, the firelight flashed wildly as something dropped from the sky and all of a sudden, there was another demon among them. She was bent over in a crouch, a pair of enormous, delicate draconian wings extended above her head. She stood, pushing herself upright with four thin arms and tilted her head at the Caesar, black eyes glittering. Her face, already dark-skinned, had black streaks running from the corners of her eyes to her mouth, and various blunt spikes and horns surrounded her face. It was currently screwed up in annoyance. “ Y͞ǫu̕ ̸di̕d͞n'̴t̡ ̛l̀e̛t ̡me sca̷re̷ he͜r͘, S͜hi͘,” she complained in a garbled, clicking voice. “ I̢ w͝ante͏d͠ ̀to̴ ͟se̴e if ̕I̶ ͢co̢ul̡d!”
The Empress: Zol smiled wide, looking over the new arrival. “I’m sure you would have done a fantastic job of it, little Witch.” She stood and walked up to Phijo, conjuring a small ghostflame in her left hand. H’zola brushed some stray hairs out of her face as she walked around the new demon. She lifted the wings, feeling the textures of her form and marveling in silence. “How old are you, little one?” 
The Demons: Phijo folded one pair of arms and put the hands of the other on her hips, puffing out her chest and lashing her scaly tail. “͟I͝'m̡̛t͢w̶e̡n̕ty͘-thr҉ee͡,͡” she bragged, reaching out and poking the strange woman’s mind with her own, probing for information. “͠I̕'͘m͝ t̛he ̶new̨e͏s̢t͝.͞”
You’re hardly a newborn, Viceroy said scathingly. Be respectful.
The Witch hissed at him, forgetting her investigation of H’zola for a moment. “You'r̕e ͝be̵i͢ng̷ ̧mea̵n͝!͘ Wh̨o th͏e Ḩel ̸i̡s͜ ́t̷h̴i̕s, an͠ywa̕y?̢  I ͠do̡n't̶ h̸a͏ve ͝tơ ̡s̨how̛ ̧resp̧ectf̧u̷l̷.́”
The Empress: H’zola began throwing up illusory copies of her form around the Witch, each inspecting her, crowding her in. “I suppose respect is earned, isn’t it, Viceroy?” Several of her forms looked over and winked playfully at the older demon. “Why don’t you let me earn your respect young one?”
The Demons: Phijo screeched in surprise, falling out of her body and looking around in affronted aggression towards the several women now standing around her. The lined section of Nyctyph’s face lifted out of his face a few times, clicking softly, and his eyes squinted in a satisfied grin. The Caesar danced nervously on his massive feet. 
The Witch stood back-to-back with her body, her bright, acid-green essence pulsing wildly and flickering now and again as she tried to imitate H’zola. “Ok҉a͜y, ҉so a̵ d͞em̢o͞n,͘” she snapped, her voice distorting even further. “Do̵e͜sn͡’t pròv̨è any͠t͘hi͟ng!” 
The Empress: H’zola dispersed her copies, they blew away like sand in the wind. She strode confidently up to the physical and flickering astral forms. “You’re intuitive at least, youngling. But you’re not impressed by simple parlor tricks, are you?” She let a tendril of her astral form flit out from behind her and wrapped itself around the Witch’s leg.
The Demons: Her essence flashed in surprise; she yelped again, flapped hard and rose into the air, attacking the strong grip in a frenzy, her claws stuttering with astral fire. Her body twitched and jerked with her movements, as unpracticed and unfocused as she was. The Viceroy was chuckling heartily.
The Empress: H’zola let go of her, allowing her to fly away without doing too much harm to her physical body. “Come down, youngling,” She chuckled as she spoke. “Show your grandmother what you can do. I’m curious.”
The Demons: Phijo landed suspiciously and crept forward again, reaching into her body and crouching tensely, tail twitching. “Ǵra̵͞nd͘̕͡m̡o̴̡͟t́͝h͏e̡͠ŕ̨,̢͝” she scoffed in a low voice, but her eyes were keen and curious. Relative or not, H’zola was incredibly powerful. Her four hands lit again, the green firelight doubling the luminance in the area. “Ì ̵l͟ike̡ t̴o ma͜ke f́iŕe̢. ҉It’s v̡e̸ry ̶e̛asy. A̶nd͟ ͢Mo̴the̕r ͏say̨s ́Ì am te͜rri͝f̨y̸ing҉.”
She has a natural aura of fear, Nyctyph explained, stepping closer. Few mortals can stand to be near her. It is quite interesting. It often helps to dissolve…potentially dangerous conflicts. The Caesar rumbled in agreement.
The Empress: “What a… peculiar shard to manifest… I wonder why she…” H’zola trailed off, her mind flashing to Kiaama and his betrayal. “Nevermind, you are a grand creation, young one.” She strode even closer, and pulled the fire from one of her hands. H’zola’s gaze passed between the three demons. “All three of you are, and I eagerly await the rest.” 
The Demons: Shi’pai puffed up his throat proudly, Nyctyph dipped his head, and Phijo leaned over to her brother, muttering, “I s̢t̛ill don͡'͟t͘ t́h́įn͠k͝ s͏he’s ̧M̀o͝th̛er’s m̶o͝t̕her.̢”
Nyctyph rubbed a limb over his face. Phijo, please.
“I’m ̡j́u͘st͞ sa͞y̶in̢g. Make͞ ̕h͟e͟r̕ prove i̕t.”
We’ll just let Mother prove it for you.
“B͠et̛ ̨you͠ t͠h͟e n͟ext̵ ̕te̕n ͞mor̵t͜als ͜we ̸fée̸d̸ ̴o͘n s̵he is͢n't҉. “
That’s enough, he grumbled. The journey to Nalaagura’s had just gotten a little bit longer.
Category:The Empress
Category:The Viceroy
Category:The Caesar
Category:The Witch
Category:Events
Category:Legacy