High above Neels mainland - The Mortal Plane, exactly eleven minutes and six seconds after midnight.
In the dark sky, covered with obscuring clouds and dim stars, a small fluctuation in the air increasingly began to ripple. As it rippled more, the atmosphere in that particular section began to blur and twist.
Until finally, a small black hole was formed, its edges uneven and its depths pitch black as it slowly rotated and expanded. Soon, within the unseen bowels, three small lights began to glow.
They grew brighter and brighter as time went on, until it was bright enough to recognize the particular hue coming off them, a light pink shade.
The lights grew increasingly closer to the mouth of the portal, turning the incognito fissure into a small pink beacon in the night sky.
FEEEEEW
FEEEEEW
FEEEEEW
After a while, three bright pink orbs simultaneously shot out of the portal that pointed to the ground below. When they exited, they swiftly came to a halt in midair. The layer of pink lights faded, the objects all rotated, then, as if on cue, shot out into three different directions at the same time, hidden among the clouds and the darkness of the night. No one witnessed this magnificent event, but in time, three would feel its effects greatly.
~~~
Central Continent, Kradel Kingdom Border, City of Gomorrah - Aka the Demon Holy Land
Inside a carriage, entering the large stone gates of a vast and bustling city, sat a young girl and her trusty butler. The girl sat in silence as her green eyes looked out the window, watching the happy citizens pass by. They all walked the streets without a care, mothers buying food for their families' meals, fathers heading to work with their coworkers shooting the breeze, kids playing nearby, laughing and joyful. The sights were a breath of fresh air as always to her. To the eyes of the young miss, her family's city proved one thing.
'We can all get along if we try.'
Within these scenes, flashes of red skin seamlessly mixed with the populace.
The mother haggling aggressively with the red-skinned grocer without a shred of fear, ruthlessly pointing to one product after another. The group of fathers heading to their respective jobs, jabbing and teasing one another, a red hand slapping the back of a bald, tanned head, harsh but controlled, while the rest laughed at his expense. A red-skinned little girl, tossing a ball back and forth with a young human boy, giggling and talking.
To Corrine, this city showed a future the whole continent could have if they would just give it a chance. To see the world from more than one angle. But her mood soured thinking that.
They would never do such a thing. It doesn't benefit them in the slightest.
She looked out past the walls of the city to a tall triangular structure in the distance. On top of it sat a large circular moon gate; she couldn't see it clearly from here, but she knew the gate had cracks all over it when one climbed the pyramid to inspect it. That's how it's always been, at least for the last 600 or so years, so the textbooks say.
The carriage continued to trot through the streets of the happy and lively city until it came to the gates of a large estate. On the metal gates that protected it was the insignia mirrored on the girl's clothes. The goat. A gaudy choice in Corrine's opinion, but her papa was proud of their family background, so he commissioned the gates slowly opening in front of them. In fact, her father to this day still tries to summon their ancestors' original contractor, Baphomet, in hopes of producing another strong warlock for the family.
Unfortunately, no devils have answered his family's old summoning circle.
When the carriage came to a stop in front of a large mansion, Corrine hopped off and headed to the entrance with no worries in her heart. She strode with a pep in her step as Chauncey hastily followed, eager to see her father once again. After such a fright from the outside world, she felt herself appreciating the life she had here a bit more.
A happy city, a prospering family, and a caring father. Though strict, her papa always did the utmost for her, even when her mother passed; he worked hard in maintaining this healthy city as well as spending time with her when she felt sad and depressed, forgoing sleep and his own sorrows.
The carriage ride back had given her time to think of his sacrifices, and the kidnapping scare had given her perspective.
She was fortunate. She would not overlook that again.
"Welcome back, young miss." A petite, middle-aged maid bowed to her as she held the door for Corrine to enter.
"Hello Patricia! How are you today?" The young girl said happily.
The maid smiled at the lady of the house, noticing the subtle sadness she usually carried was finally beginning to vanish, returning to her old self. "Things are going well. I heard the carriage was attacked by brigands. I'm glad to see the both of you okay." She said, the black-haired maid secretly peeking at the rotund demon butler's injured shoulder behind her young miss.
Corrine nodded. "It was a bit frightening at first, but we were helped along the way. Chauncy was especially heroic when we were first attacked; he fought off the first wave of foes alone, giving us time to retreat and get aid." The young miss said, grinning at Chauncy.
At that, Chauncy gave a bashful chuckle. "Well, it's a butler's duty to do his utmost in times of need." He said humbly, giving his young miss a high five in his mind. He pretended to hold back a wince as he adjusted his bandaged shoulder.
'Nice one, young miss! Such jolly cooperation!' Who would have guessed his young miss would use her ladyship skill!
At the two's words, Patricia's face lit up. She gazed at Chauncy with awe. "Really? Sir Chauncy, I would love to hear of your heroic deeds!" She was quite eager to hear of his grand feats in battle.
"Ehyuck! Ehyuck! Sure thing, Patty, we can set up some time to talk further about it!" The butler spoke heartily; who would have guessed his noble sacrifice would gain him such prestige!
Corrine giggled at Chauncy's scoundrel-like laughter. She was proud of his hard work and thankful for his loyalty; he was like an uncle to her. Honestly, she didn't know what she would do without him around.
"No need to wait; I'm going to go see Father anyways. Do you know where he is, Patricia?" Opting to give Chauncy the much-needed rest he deserved.
The petite maid nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes. Lord Ramsus is currently in the study, young miss; he would definitely want to see that you are okay." She confirmed as she walked closer to the goofy smiling Chauncy, gently tending to his now 'heavily injured' shoulder.
Corrine chuckled and waved the two servants goodbye as she walked up the grand stairs of the lavish foyer.
She skipped mischievously down the hall, greeting the servants of her large estate. Every servant greeted her back with a smile and a bow, noticing the improved mood of their young miss. Each demon and human seeing her feeling refreshed that she was back to her old self; after such a long time, the mansion was glowing with happiness once again.
Corrine finally came to a stop at a certain wooden door; she straightened her clothes, fixed her posture, and entered, not worrying about knocking.
"Papa! I made it back!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
But she was greeted with startled stares from three individuals. All three she recognized. The two sitting in front of her father's desk were merchants from two neighboring cities.
One, a pompous-looking balding merchant with dark brown skin, wearing a purple suit with the crest of a golden pigeon on it. Sinclair, the branch representative of House Boyd, she recognized.
The other, a shrewd-looking, bespectacled, pale-skinned man. Wearing a grey suit with the crest of a silver hammer and chisel. Maynard, the branch representative of the Hephaestus group.
A shocking scene for the young Corrine, these were big players in their respective industries across central Neel. What were they doing here?
The two looked at her with annoyance, no longer startled by the entry. But her father was different.
He was not stunned silent by her abrupt and untimely entrance. But by the happiness with which she entered. It was indeed a pleasant surprise to the city lord and expert businessman.
The death of his wife two years ago cast a shadow over the estate for a very long time. But it seems the clouded heart of his daughter was finally beginning to shine a bit brighter today.
He couldn't help but smile at the startled girl standing at the door; he wasn't bothered by her entrance; this meeting was over anyways.
He stood up and adjusted the red tie of his matte black suit, his posture professional, goatee groomed, and his smile amiable. His realm of business etiquette radiating from his tall frame.
Though he smiled at the two businessmen, his green eyes were cold as he looked down at the two. The scum before him need not be seen by his precious daughter.
"It seems my daughter has returned; with that, our meeting will end here. I thank you for the offers, but I will not be accepting either under such conditions, and that will never change."
The two businessmen turned to him with a scowl. The balding one spoke up, his tone pointed and sharp. "You could be making ten times the amount you are now with your demonic core converters; producing energy in such a way could revolutionize all of central Neel! Yet you let a couple of roons stop a profitable deal!?"
SLAM!
The city lord brought a fist down on his desk, looking angrily at the House Boyd representative, causing a startled jolt from the two sitting before him. "I'd ask you kindly not to use that sort of language in front of a young lady; in fact, that sort of talk is well past my bottom line as well. This meeting is over; forgive me for not seeing you two out." Ramsus said coldly.
Corrine, standing at the door, felt a bit uncomfortable at the use of the word 'roon'. A slur the people outside of their city use for demon people. Short for the color of their skin, maroon. Even though there were many shades of red, those bigots used the same shade for all of them.
Despicable indeed.
Without another word, the two representatives left in a huff, their demeanor promising this acquisition was far from over.
Corrine looked down nervously at the floor as the two passed her by; she did not wish to look such narrow-minded people in the eye.
As they exited the room, Ramsus sat back down with a heavy sigh. He just recovered from his latest summoning attempt only to be bombarded with more people wishing to make deals with him concerning his city's latest invention, the core converter.
With this converter, whether it be basic magic beast cores, demonic beast cores, or even the rare dream beast cores, the device could convert the energy within to pure condensed mana for commercial use.
But the deals offered were always the same. If they wanted factories made for mass production in the area, they needed to get rid of the demons living within the city limits. An absolutely unreasonable demand. The companies endorsing this product couldn't be suspected of working with demons to create such a modern marvel; the churches and temples across Neel wouldn't allow it.
Demons were the natural enemy of humankind, so says the papacy.
Corrine walked up to the desk and sat down cautiously in the seat across from her father. "More people wanting to push our people out?" She asked, piecing the offer together in her mind.
The city lord nodded exhaustedly. "They think a little extra gold will get us to fold every time." He shook his head; kicking people out of their homes was preposterous. Just to save face on paper? The shamelessness of those people.
He looked at the face of his concerned daughter and smiled. "Enough about business, my little warrior. I heard you fought off hundreds of bandits to get your old man the ingredients he needed. Haha, now that's a battle I'd like to hear."
Corrine blushed at the praise. Partially for the recognition and partially for the outrageous exaggeration, hundreds? It took all her effort to defeat one of those brigands!
"Dad, it wasn't hundreds! And I barely did anything! Chauncy and a passing warrior did most of the battling." She clarified. She did not want him telling all his business partners such an outlandish story later.
The businessman laughed. He waved a hand, showing he knew the meaning behind her words; he couldn't help it. He loved speaking of her achievements. He looked at his daughter relieved; there truly was no telling what could have happened had Chauncy and that warrior not been around to aid her.
He would reward Chauncy at a later time and try to send a thank-you message to this mysterious warrior.
"Hahaha! Well… I'm glad you are ok; that's all that matters." He said genuinely. Earning a happy smile from the young girl. "Now, tell me what really happened out there. I only got the brief summary sent over to me, nothing detailed."
Corrine nodded enthusiastically, excited to tell him of her feats and her new friend.
The city lord listened intently as she recounted what happened, a satisfied smile plastered on his face. But as the story continued, his eyes became deep as he heard more details of her time outside the city. Especially at the mention of the warrior being a boy her age.
"...And that sums up the adventure. After I waved goodbye, Chauncy and I found a carriage and headed back here with the ingredients." She said with pride. She looked to her father, waiting to be praised once more for her harrowing tale.
But the father just sat there, his face stern, elbows resting on the desk, and his fingers interlocking in front of his sharpened eyes. After some time, he spoke once more.
"I see… So you were with a boy during Chauncy's recovery from the brink of death… I see." The city lord replied, his voice becoming weary near the end.
"Papa, you missed the whole point! And Chauncy only hurt his shoulder; he wasn't dying!" She was getting exasperated with his fantastical view of the events.
"Tch! My mood's ruined now; I don't want to hear about my daughter's escapades with some rogue! You're grounded." Ramsus answered, pinching the bridge of his nose at the thought. She said it wasn't the point, but he wasn't stupid; more than half of what she talked about was that boy.
"Papa, your answer for everything can't be groundings! How is that fair!?" Corrine was aggrieved; she should have just left that whole part out! Any mention of boys still leads directly to this outcome!
"Ah? Actually, you aren't grounded. As a matter of fact, in a few days, the two of us will be heading to the capital for an auction." The city lord belatedly remembered. "After we come back, you're grounded." He added. He had to be sure escapades like that still had consequences.
Corrine rolled her eyes at the deferred grounding, but the auction mention piqued her interest, as well as the idea of going to the capital.
'That's where Damien was headed!'
She spoke coolly, not daring to expose her plans for when they got there. "An auction? What are you trying to get from there?"
Ramsus grinned as he handed her a letter on his desk.
Corrine looked at it curiously as she read its contents. What she read shocked her.
She looked up to her father in excitement. "Is this true?" She asked.
The middle-aged businessman shrugged. "Who knows? The sources are mixed on the validity, but we won't be missing this opportunity to try for it, will we?" He asked.
Corrine stood up, her eyes brimming with determination. "No way, we have to try for it. If they really have a relic from our house guardian, obtaining it is a must!"
Ramsus nodded. Indeed, with a relic from Lord Baphomet, summoning him for a warlock contract for his daughter would be no issue.
"I'll go pack right away!" Corrine shouted as she turned and darted for the exit.
Ramsus laughed and shouted after her. "Haha, pack for a few days; we're taking the teleportation array there since it is happening soon!" Though expensive, it was worth the convenience this time around.
"Ok Papa!" She waved back as she sprinted to her room at the end of the long hallway.
When she got there, she swung open the door and entered with energetic strides. This entire day has been so good! She hastily went to her closet, throwing possible outfits on the bed, thinking of what would look good if, by the off chance, she ran into 'him'!
'Hehe!'
Two exciting reasons to go to the capital!
But as she was chucking clothes on her bed, she noticed, on the other side of her room, the glass door leading to her veranda… was wide open, causing a small breeze to enter.
'Huh? Did I leave that open?' She never leaves that door open, and the servants surely wouldn't; her papa would lose his mind over something like that, spouting nonsense about rogues…
She walked over to the door and closed it tightly.
'Strange.' She thought. She was quite meticulous with the state of her room when leaving.
As she closed it with a soft click, the corner of her eye spotted something lying on the floor next to her bed.
She turned and saw…
"A letter?"
Yes. It was a letter, at least she thought it was. But it looked rather strange; the envelope was pitch black, black to the point the colors around it seemed to distort slightly. In the center, holding the contents sealed, was a pink heart with a jagged spiral pattern in the middle.
As she gazed at the letter on the ground, the letter seemed to be…shifting ever so slightly. So slightly, she couldn't tell if she imagined it or not.
"...A...love letter?"