The Prince of Demons

Nothing quenches the desire to use quite like knowing I am approaching an inevitable doom. There has got to be something to prevent this. It had been roughly a week since my parents tested my comprehension; my parents seemed quite upbeat the entire time. Dad had to take a trip somewhere for a day or so. Honestly, in the three months I had been alive here, I was a little shocked he didn’t take trips a little more often, as he was an Emperor after all. Or did I just have the wrong idea about how being Emperor works? I could tell something was happening today, not sure what. Helga usually played little games for babies with me, and my mom liked telling me stories and singing to me. Plans were generally not discussed around me.

I had been spending this last week trying to move. This baby body was going to get whipped into shape, not that I entirely neglected it. I was always trying to increase my control over my body, whether it was speaking or walking, it’s just was way more fascinating to me so the other areas got a little neglected. Not now. And after a week of more active effort on my body, I could somewhat grip and move things. Granted, I already was able to open and close my hands, but this was a distinct improvement. I could move my arm, with my hand closed, holding a small object, somewhat as I wanted. Look out world, my abilities are improving! As my control got better, I liked to use to get near the window and look at the stars. The two moons were a more normal color each night. Only on my birthday were they that odd blue and red. You could tell which was which still, as each had a slight tint to it, but nowhere near the same vibrant shade as that night. I found one thing in this life kind of odd, or maybe something I am just too used to hearing. I am starting to think that was not as normal as I thought. I liked the quiet. The lack of yelling and objects being thrown felt odd at first, but it rapidly brought me this odd comfort.

I heard movement and saw my mom entering my room. Helga bowed as she entered. That’s odd, she normally comes later in the afternoon. Did she sneak away to spend some extra time with me? My mom picked me up, and began walking with me. Outside my room was my dad, Cesar, and Magus Erli. Okay, what is going on? The group of adults started to move to somewhere in the lower castle. Cesar and Helga had swords at the ready, whereas Magus Erli had a staff with a crystal on top at the ready. There was some barrier placed around us, probably by Magus Erli. We passed several servants, guards, and when we got lower, people who had business in the castle who all bowed or shot to attention as we passed. As I suspected, the entire castle was made from some black brick. There were paintings of demons that were probably ancestors of mine that decorated the halls. After about the midpoint, all the windows had glass in them. It was unnaturally clear glass, probably through some mystical production means or on them. When you thought demon Emperor castle, this was most certainly not it, other than the black bricks. We then exited the castle into a sleek, but elegant carriage made of some black metal and silver. I wonder what we are leaving the castle for? From my limited view point, the city was a very stereotypical fantasy city. Or more late Medieval, early Renaissance city might be more accurate. We traveled for about twenty minutes before the carriage came to a stop.

We had arrived at what looked like a massive library. A similar formation was taken as we entered the library, where the adults relaxed once we entered. Inside was full of people of different races, with many portals with people entering and leaving. All who my parents passed bowed respectfully. My parents were met by a stewardess (not sure of her actual title) and escorted to a room in the back. All the weapons had vanished, but Helga, Cesar, and Magus Erli were scanning around looking alert. After five minutes had passed, an ancient looking gentleman walked into the room. He was clearly human, with a massive grey beard. This was no small beard, this one was for the record books as it almost touched the floor. He had an old, frail appearance, but there was this hum about him that led me to believe his appearance was quite misleading. His eyes were a deep azure, which contrasted his dark skin. Unlike everyone else so far, he did not bow when he greeted my parents. This man probably was in the history books, or wrote them. He was looking at me, and his gaze felt like it was looking into my soul.

“My, my. What an incredible amount of for a baby.” the old man mused. His voice sounded tired, and the way he talked was slow, but there was this authority when he spoke.

“Thank you for meeting with us Grand Archmagus Solomon. This is my son Nil we came to discuss.” Dad replied while indicating toward me.

“When you told me it was about a way to the body of a baby, I thought you were pulling my chain, but Magus Erli insisted it was a legitimate request. What a novel problem to have.” Grand Archmagus Solomon observed with a bit of amusement in his voice.

“We are aware of that. It is why we requested your help and expertise.” Mom replied coldly. Yea I think his previous comment struck a nerve.

“If Nil were a normal baby, this would be an impossible request. However, he is not normal. In fact, he is quite exceptional.” Grand Archmagus Solomon praised. Does he know I reincarnated here?

“What are you referring to?” Dad inquired.

“Your son has a known as . I cannot see all of what he has, but his is a potentially as well, though that is not very surprising given he is a Crowthorne.” Grand Archmagus Solomon explained, his eyes still glowing a bit.

“How did you determine that?” Magus Erli blurted out. I am wondering the same thing, but something tells me they are just going to glare at you. I was not wrong about the glaring.

“Because unlike you Magus Erli, I possess an , which I will use as a segue to explain what I think is the best course of action. I do not think simply his body will be sufficient without hindering his growth. Nil is a demon, like your Imperial Highnesses. Demon babies have an innate curiosity towards as I am sure you are aware. There is no guarantee he will continue to develop his until he is old enough to understand he needs to. I believe your best course is to start to him now and set aside time to have someone or yourselves develop his even if by a forceful means to help him, though such a method is as difficult as it is tiring, and I doubt it would be able to match his growth sufficiently. As a failsafe, can act as a sink for and can help keep it at a manageable level. As Nil is a baby, his curious nature for exploring around him would lead him to developing his naturally which in turn can be a failsafe for his growth should his be insufficient, which it may very likely be.” Grand Archmagus Solomon lectured. Finally, some form of explanation.

My parents both grimaced. Why are they grimacing? His logic sounded solid and I have this feeling he was not lying. Now that I think about it, where do these sensations come from? Is it from being a demon? I pondered. There was something at play here I did not understand.

“I have a few concerns. are not only extremely rare, but once obtained and cannot be changed. It could limit his long term growth if we gave him one now. Furthermore, while we understand what you are saying and know you would not lie, what can we use as a to his that does not limit his long term growth?” Mom asked, with my father nodding in agreement.

“Luckily for you two, once Magus Erli insisted it was a legitimate request not out of some arrogance or parents thinking their child was in more danger than they actually were, I pulled something from my personal that would be a more than suitable which I am sure we can come to an agreement on a fair trade. As for the , Emperor Azzeck and Empress Senna, I do have two suggestions, one you will not like but I think is worth the gamble, and one that is a safer, albeit likely to be weaker option.” Grand Archmagus Solomon explained, with a strong conviction in his voice.

“We will discuss the trade in a minute. How are you sure you know what will work? And what are your two suggestions?” Dad probed with some obvious skepticism creeping into his voice.

“As I am a scholar, I did spend some time researching was it possible to begin a baby, to develop stronger and better for the future, and there is one undeniable fact and limitation: the baby must possess a high tier comprehension type or they are doomed to die to the process. Even then, if the talent was formidable enough, getting a baby willingly to would be impossible until they understand the need, so it is possible for the talent to exceed the . As such, I developed methods for another individual, which are wildly impractical and very inefficient, so some failsafe had to be made. Thankfully, as I am sure you are aware, are given to exceptional students who have a hard time but have immense reserves of to keep them safe and alive as they act as great sinks for when being developed. Now as for my suggestions, the other restriction is the has to be one with a low . Given his lineage, usage of , and other limited information I got from my , there are only two viable options as I am quite sure his is almost . The one that I think will be weaker is using a for the , but is a guaranteed result. I believe your better bet is to use a , which is an obvious gamble.” the Grand Archmagus expounded. I wish I understood more of what he said.

“You think an for his would be weaker than a ?” Dad asked immediately, his voice possessing a sense of incredulousness to it.

“Yes, I think in the case of your son Nil, a will vastly exceed an .” Grand Archmagus Solomon replied calmly.

What was the difference between those two? What was a ? What was ? What did an do? Could one of these adults explain? I would like to know! This is my body! My future! I would like to weigh in! This baby understands what you are saying! Stop with this adult talk and speak to me! My parents looked at each other, and it was like they were having some sort of mental conversation.

“What guarantees do we have if we follow your recommendation and you are wrong?” Mom checked. Her gaze was like steel.

“Let us move onto the negotiation then. I have in my possession a I am willing to part with.” Great Archmagus Solomon said, which was met by a collective gasp by the others.

“Grand Archmagus Solomon, I am by no means a poor man, and Speranza has a wealth of resources, but I do not think even I would be capable of a trade for a even if it is for my son who will likely be the next Emperor.” Dad replied. How expensive was it then? I mean, I'd always heard of priceless treasures, but I thought that was more of an expression than something that could actually exist.

“I am well aware even the vast and mighty Speranza would struggle at pricing a fair trade for this. Today just seems to be as if itself dictated it. As I cannot use it, I intended on giving it to one of the next Grand Archmagus as a hidden gift, but realistically they will in all likelihood have an . So I needed to think of a way to part with it that wouldn’t cause an incident. Frankly speaking, even for a demon your son’s innate talent is staggering. A alone would not account for the growth he has demonstrated. I am a vain man with a lot of pride, and while I have accomplished much, I still want more. I want your son to be my final apprentice, that way no matter what happens, I will be able to be credited to training one of the greatest to ever walk Tenebrae. I am also aware that the Crowthorne family is in possession of several large , and would like one. The final thing I would like is simple, I would like Speranza to publicly acknowledge and support the new Mage Freedom Act, which has been making its rounds throughout Tenebrae. Those three things are my price.” Grand Archmagus Solomon demanded. Something tells me what he asked for is a lot more than it sounds like.

My father looked between Cesar and my mom, again like they were having a mental conversation. This is definitely a . This is not some random glancing, but what on Tenebrae is a that makes it so valuable? I have heard the term Lords of Tenebrae several times now. Who are they? Some deities perhaps? I have so many questions.

“I would like to clarify a few things in your terms. Him becoming your apprentice does not exclude him or commit him to anything other than being your apprentice. If Nil chooses, he could still become Emperor of Speranza. Second, yes, I do have several sealed away in my possession. The time to retrieve one for you I fear exceeds the time Nil has until he needs these items, but I am willing to give you my word it will be retrieved as fast as possible without compromising the safety of where it is located for you. Third, I am willing to publicly announce our support for the Mage Freedom Act, and that alone. Speranza’s other endorsements stand, but if the Mages do something akin to an act of war, our support will abruptly end.” Dad countered with a surprisingly respectful tone.

“That is all acceptable and close to what I anticipated. become apprentice at thirteen. Normally, one is an apprentice for three years, so I look forward to then. I believe we have a deal.” Grand Archmagus Solomon said with a smile as he stretched out his hand.

My dad and Grand Archmagus Solomon shook hands, and there was this ominous surge of . I mean, I guess someone with the title of Grand Archmagus is probably pretty strong, and knowing I have a teacher isn’t all bad. I wish I at least had a say, but something tells me three years of being his apprentice is nothing for acquiring this .

“That does not explain what guarantees we have following your recommendation for his and being wrong.” Mom interjected with serious irritation in her voice.

“Empress Senna, I am not going to give someone a , essentially reserve them becoming my apprentice, and put my name and the value of my research on the line with someone as public and well known as your son, to simply lower his long term potential. It would be like blasting my own foot off with when trying to go down as one of the greatest . Your son becoming a truly legendary figure is key to my legacy surviving the tests of time.” Grand Archmagus Solomon replied.

He does have an ego, but I don't think he is being malicious here. I get this sense he does not have any children, or many apprentices left alive. My mom stared him down for a solid minute before diverting her gaze to my dad.

“I feel we should trust him. He is not one to lie, Senna.” Dad stated with a bit of apprehension in his voice.

“You better be right.” Mom threatened the two of them. The two of them shuddered; she was definitely terrifying at times.

“Let’s get started right away then.” Grand Archmagus Solomon snapped, ushering us to get moving.

The group of adults moved through the library to a chamber, with a large, intricate circle drawn on the ground. Inside was a massive statue, carved out of something I did not recognize. It looked like a goddess, weeping, holding her hands out against the world. There was a small altar at the base of the statue. My mom uneasily set me down on the statue, while Solomon got closer.

“Great Lord of Fate, we ask for you to cry a tear on this day, so please sing your song.” he bellowed.

That’s a bit odd. I thought as the goddess began to sing. It was a pleasant melody with this angelic hymn to it. I lay there, enjoying the song. What were my parents worried about? This is actually quite nice; I did find it a little unsettling to hear a statue sing though. I don’t understand a word this statue is singing though. The song made me feel sad though, like the statue was lonely. It resonated with me in a way I couldn't describe. I continued to lay, listening to the song. After five minutes, I was growing a bit worried. How long is this song? Why hasn’t it stopped? The statue continued to sing, with the song was becoming louder and louder as time went on, but it didn’t bug me. In fact, the louder it got, the more comfortable I felt. The song shifted at the ten minute mark, which had this dark and foreboding sense to it, and still the statue sang. Every ten minutes, the song would shift. Joy. Sadness. Pride. Despair. Triumph. Loss. Finality. Through it all, I was oddly calm, like I knew it was all going to be alright. After ten minutes of the song feeling like finality the song finally came to an end.

The statue let out a single tear, a brilliant white, that shined with its own radiance. I looked around, and the only three in the room were my parents and Solomon, all of who were sweating heavily. Where were Cesar, Helga, and Magus Erli? The brilliant white tear floated above me. So this was a ? It possessed and ethereal beauty as its radiance filled the chamber with ease. It eventually reached my hand. When I touched it, something in me clicked. That song is the . How do I know that? It was hauntingly beautiful. The tear was hard, and dense; I had never felt something like it. I did not mean like it felt kind of hard or was a little dense; it felt like I was holding a diamond with the weight of a black hole. So this is physically what a is. What was its purpose?