The Mother of Monsters

Conrad rubbed his neck and raised his hand to his mouth in a yawn. He blinked blearily a few times, squinting out through the clearing before clearing his throat and taking a sip from the mug in his hand. He glanced down from where he stood, the fortification spreading out around him. The structure had been built at the half-way point of the green sea, the trees had taken a while to clear out, fortunately though his workforce was tireless. He sipped again at his coffee as he turned towards the main structure of the fortress, a tall dark tower that poked out even above the largest trees of the vast expanse. His clear and present warning to anyone who passed through. The Devil was watching this land.

“General!” A voice called up to him and he turned, peering over the side to see an azar warrior standing there with a parchment in their hand. He hopped off the side of the platform and landed heavily on the ground. Even without his armor his body had increased in bulk and weight, he wondered if it was a side effect of the changes that had taken place inside of his body. 

“What is it?” He asked, walking over to the unfazed warrior who stood up a bit straighter. The warrior handed the paper over and saluted, he glanced down at it and squinted. Some kind of drawing? A doodle? What- He blinked when he realized what he was looking at. He let out a small chuckle and folded up the drawing, slipping it into his shirt before turning to the warrior, “Get a hunting party together and call my lieutenant.”

“Sir?”

“We have prey in the forest,” Conrad said with a vicious growl. 

He turned towards the tower and made his way over, turning his eyes up at the apex of it. Something dark roiled in the claw-like spires that decorated the top. A liquid mass of blackness that dripped and oozed before pulling itself back together. He brought his fingers up to his lips and let out a sharp whistle. The mass churned and began to condense, it took on a metallic sheen, it’s body growing long and powerful arms, a tail, and wings. A reptilian head sprouted from a neck that took shape a moment later and the terrible creature looked down at him. “Prey,” He said at a normal volume.

The great manifestation of his aspect, the Wight Drake, threw its head back with a triumphant roar and spread its wings. The horrible sound echoed across the trees, soon the entire forest would hear it and know that the Devil was on the hunt. For his part, he opened the inventory screen and stared at it. Such a strange and useful power the Queen has given me, he thought, raking his eyes over the various words and symbols before selecting the pieces of his armor. In an instant he was fully equipped, his armor and mace at the ready. He didn’t need to grow out his fur anymore, only in a more serious fight. His body was tough enough as it was.

The Wight Drake landed in front of him without so much as a sound, black ooze dripping off of its metallic scales and onto the ground. Each droplet turned into a puddle from which a crazed wightling crawled out, its manic eyes whipping around in search of something to brutalize. He glanced down at it with a warning stare and it shuddered, dropping to its knees and slamming its head against the ground in submission. He huffed as he walked over to the drakes side, running his fingers along the scales before hopping onto it’s back with a smooth motion. Not far away, a group of six azar warriors hurried over lead by a seventh wearing dark armor not dissimilar to his own.

The six slid to a stop and dropped to a knee, their arms up to their chests. The seventh stood tall and brought her fist to her heart before looking up at him with blazing orange eyes. “General, you summoned me sir?”

“Bellatrix,” He nodded to her, “We have an entertaining hunt ahead of us,” He said, “Heroes managed to slip past us somehow and poked around the wildlands before returning. They’re headed towards the dividing line as we speak.”

Bellatrix stiffened, “Got past us?” She gasped, “How- I-” She bit her lip and clenched her fists before bowing immediately at the waist, “This is a failure on my part sir, I will rectify this at once!”

He stared at the back of her head for a few moments, almost feeling bad that he was lying to her, but he had to keep the charade up. It was the Queen’s order after all. “See to it that it never happens again. I won’t tolerate failure and there will be repercussions if they are not caught and eliminated, do you understand, Lieutenant?” He demanded, putting the full weight of his presence down on her, his malice bubbling in the air as the now dozen wightlings huddled around the drake’s legs shrieked and howled in rapturous bloodlust.

She winced but nodded, “Yes sir. I will not fail you.”

“I trust that you will not,” He said before glancing towards the trees, “You are free to use as many manikins as you desire, I suspect more than the party we are hunting will be out today. The humans have been restless for some time.”

“Understood, sir!” She barked and stood up straight, whipping her hand towards the six behind her, “I want three squads of twenty manikins ready at once! We will be doing a full sweep of the surrounding area. Two of you are to accompany each squad and report back,” She commanded before pausing and glancing up at the commander of the Demon Lord’s army. “I would like to make a request, General.”

He narrowed his blazing eyes at her, “You have the right to do so?”

She squared her shoulders, “As your first acolyte, I do dare to believe it, yes sir.”

He resisted the urge to beam at her, she was learning well, especially after he gifted her with one of his aspects. “Speak your desire, Bellatrix, and I will consider it.”

She tilted her head forward, “I request permission to utilize the behemoths, sir.”

He considered her for a moment, she didn’t budge, she was serious about bringing out even more of their military might to deal with this ‘embarassment’. The Queen would be proud, he paused, Or annoyed since we’re throwing them at her, he disguised his amusement with a grunt and nodded, “Very well, three behemoths are yours. Use them wisely, Lieutenant. I am putting a lot of faith on you. Extinguish any and all heroes present in the forest and you will be rewarded, fail, and I will be forced to retrain you. You do not want that,” He said coldly.

She took a deep breath and nodded, “I will succeed, Sir,” She said firmly and turned on her heel as the other six scattered to do her bidding.

He shook his head and pat the side of the Wight Drake, the draconic beast let out a restless grumble and he nodded to it, “Let’s go have a peek, shall we?” He suggested and the creature roared with delight, “Yes, yes, you can eat any heroes you find. Not a problem,” He leaned forward, “Just don’t eat the queen or the other generals, understood? You know them,” He whispered. The beast glanced back at him incredulously and he shrugged at it, “I know you know better but you’re pretty riled up today, just be careful. I’m sure her majesty wouldn’t appreciate you chowing down on her sister.”

The beast snorted and black smoke billowed from its nostrils, its wings spread and with a single flap it launched into the air, screeching out a cry of fury as it hurtled into the sky. Below, the wightlings raced across the ground, desperate to keep up. They wouldn’t, and they’d find themselves lost in the forest as usual where they’d lay in wait for anyone foolish enough to get close to the fortress uninvited. He turned his attention to the trees and a small smile crossed his face, “You wanted a challenge, your majesty?” He said to himself, “You will have it.”

He raised his mace to the sky and drew in a deep breath, drawing on his aspects and feeding the power to his true aspect, his ascendance, The Devil. “DENIZENS OF THE GREEN SEA! TRESSPASSERS! I AM THE DEVIL, CONRAD AKOS! KNEEL BEFORE ME OR PERISH! TODAY, I PURGE THIS FOREST OF MY QUEENS ENEMIES!”

His words rippled out, the trees buckling, howls in contest to his declaration rose from the wolves that populated the forest. He paid them no mind, instead, he felt for that tang in the air, that distant taste that only he could experience with his aspect of the Lord of Horrors. Fear. He tasted it, supped on it, and breathed it in. His head whipped to the left towards a distant portion of the forest. He bore his teeth.

There.