Preparations

As recommended by Larion, many of Gria's most talented scouts had been deployed to survey the state of Tor. Enlightened to the brutal strength of Demons, many of the guardsmen assigned to peacekeep smaller hamlets around the country had been recalled to the capital in order to bolster humanity's main force of soldiers. A large-scale campaign to evacuate residents from such villages was also underway, with the intention of housing evacuees within the city. However, no system had been implemented to determine the legitimacy of an evacuee's right to seek asylum within the capital's walls, and so many of those who were ordered to leave their homes had been forced into inadequate relief camps erected just outside the city walls. It was far from an airtight plan, but King Granda's pledge to shelter each and every human from the grasp of Demonkind had left him with few other options.

Efforts were underway to construct a layered series of stockades around the camp, but this decision was made to appease worries, rather than to further the war effort. Most of the displaced humans had never seen a Demon before--those that hadn't were commonly the most upset about being removed from their homes, ignorant to the decimation that was occurring throughout the country. They couldn't possibly know that a few wooden stakes would do little to stop even a single Demon from breaking into the camp, but they were effective at guaranteeing even the slightest notion of safety to those who had deluded themselves into underestimating the threat.

Naturally, it wasn't long before a number of scouts reported groups of Demons wandering singularly towards Gria. As if drawn to large concentrations of life, some even reported the creatures ignoring them completely in their single-minded pursuit of destruction. With the aid of Larion and Elvenkind, whose introduction to the Holy Alliance was proceeding smoothly at that point, even vague descriptions of the creatures could be identified by cross-referencing the reports with archived information from Aelf'ahlnohma.

Wolf, Knight, Queen, Entangler, Monstrosity--to ease the translation into other tongues, Demons were given names such as those by the Elves. Tomes recovered from the archives spoke at length about each Demon's strengths and weaknesses. Information compounded over thousands of years, referencing the names and titles of monarchs long since forgotten, nevertheless presenting a bounty of information to the Holy Alliance which thirsted for every last advantage it could exploit. The unconditional sharing of that information from Elvenkind to the Alliance cemented the authenticity of their request for peace, though many Elven scholars objected to such rampant use of the archives, especially since Aelf'ahlnohma was no longer a city hidden to the greater world and was suddenly just at risk of attacks from Demons as any other nation.

"This is all very impressive..." Within a claustrophobic chamber in the royal castle, Lotte pored over a seemingly endless collection of yellowed parchments, "As expected, most of these entries claim Demons to be invincible, but there's a surprising amount of information regarding their behaviour when on the move."

"What we're looking for right now is a way to repel them, if not outright defeat them." Yula replied, who stood at the opposite end of the table, "We already know that high-level magic is effective, but that isn't a reasonable solution for taking out scattered groups."

"Their resilience doesn't appear to be magical. According to some of these documents, it's possible to pierce their hides with especially sharp or durable weapons. It's quite possible that this new material the Anti-Demon Leagues are being equipped with will do the trick."

"Currently, we have reports of just under 100 Demons approaching Gria." King Branda added, standing in attendance alongside Larion, "It's an unprecedented number, but they seem to be moving as a single group, if our scouts are to be believed. If we could keep them together, it may be possible to destroy them with a single, especially powerful spell."

"The court sorcerers and commanders of the Anti-Demon Leagues have conjured magical circles near the walls of the city." Lotte replied, "Most of them are three-layered, but we have a handful of four-layers, and a third fifth-layer is currently being created at the gates, with the other two close to the evacuee camp."

"Without Lady Dorma, would it be possible to bombard the Demons with a spell powerful enough to eradicate them?" The King asked.

"Assuming they remain in one place for long enough, yes." Lotte answered, "But, there is one more thing that concerns me…"

"Do tell."

"As we've learned from both Her Majesty and Lady Dorma, and as the legends themselves state, it is not possible to destroy a Demon fully without the Goddess' Sword of Light." He continued, "Of course, Lady Dorma and Lady Din are attempting to track down its wielder as we speak, but the fact remains that even if we emerge victorious, the Demons will one day rise again. I believe this ability of 'resurrection' is what led to the eventual failure of every counteroffensive prior to this Demon Age. As time passes, there are simply too many Demons for even the Hero of Legend to contest with."

"Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a way to counter this." King Branda replied, crossing his arms, "You mentioned earlier that Demons emerge from underground, didn't you?"

"If these Elven archives are at all truthful, then yes."

"If Demons are capable of breaking through the earth with ease, then burying them will not protect us." The King concluded, "It may be in our best interest to break down their bodies afterwards and have them transported to a remote place. At the very least, that will buy us some time and alleviate worries of being attacked once more."

"In regards to how Demons are created…" Pausing for a moment, Lotte scratched his head and looked towards Larion, "Your Majesty, I think it may be for the best if you explained this… my Aelvish is far from terrible, but some of these terms… well, I've never heard them before."

"Certainly." The Queen replied, "I assume you refer to the writings of King Avl and his three descendants? They are the earliest surviving records of Demon Ages, and also some of the most comprehensive, especially in their apparent understanding of the origins of Demons."

"The entries of Avl II read like some kind of legend. The use of language is quite dramatic and metaphorical." Lotte nodded his head, "But… from what I can understand, they refer at one point to the discovery of a subterranean 'Land of Fire' within which 'Messengers of the Dark God' were found."

"The weapons and armour of our people are forged from a metal known as Elven silver." Larion explained, "The mineral occurs deep in the earth--so deep that magical protection is required to endure the intense heat. The very first, and deepest, of Aelf'ahlnohma's mines, eventually connected itself to a cavern unearthed millennia ago. What was discovered in that cavern…"

She fell silent for a moment, sighing discontentedly, "Well, it cannot be said for certain just what was found. But it was such an awful discovery that Avl II ordered the mine closed and forbade any Elf from that day onward to enter it."

"Based on what we know, it would be reasonable to say that discovery had something to do with Demons, correct?" Lotte guessed.

"I would assume so, yes."

"This doesn't make any sense." Yula interrupted, "I was under the impression that Demons were summoned by the Demon King? You mean to tell me they're just ordinary creatures stuck underground?"

"This is where the knowledge of the Elves begins to fail us, I'm afraid." Lotte answered, "Demons only appear during Demon Ages, of course, but there exist no answers as to why, either mundane or magical. They're anything but ordinary, to be sure."

"Sir Lotte." Queen Larion spoke, "Have you encountered any mention of the Aeme'klen in your research?"

"Aeme'klen… yes, I've run into that phrase on a few occasions." He replied, "I'm not certain of the meaning, but it seems to be a subject of interest within Elven cosmology, if its descriptions are any indication."

"Yes. Have you had time to read the Prayer of the Goddess?"

"I have. It seems quite similar to our own version, albeit with a few differences."

"The major difference is the mention of the 'Black Egg of the Goddess' near the end of the prayer." Larion recounted, "Aeme'klen… in the language of humans, it would be translated as just that--Black Egg."

"Black Egg…" He muttered, "Aeme'klen is associated with the night sky… called a 'presence' by the authors of these entries… could it be referring to the Black Moon?"

"That is what I would like to believe, yes."

"I'm sure Elven astronomy is far more sophisticated that what we're used to in Tor. The Black Moon was only discovered a few decades ago when advancements in the purity of glassmaking allowed for better lenses." Lotte explained, "I must admit, when I first saw it for myself, I did think it was a little… ominous."

"Aeme'klen has been known to Elvenkind for millennia." Larion revealed, "In ancient times, just as we revered the moon as the Goddess of Light, we revered Aeme'klen as the Goddess of Darkness. It was thought that failing to provide offerings to Aeme'klen would invite terrible disasters. As our faith developed--specifically during the reign of Avl II, a reformation of the church endorsed by the King himself shifted Aeme'klen towards being an incarnation of the Goddess of Light herself, and as the centuries went on, it was eventually given that title--Black Egg."

"That's all well and good, but what does this have to do with Demons?" Lotte hurried.

"Three Demon Ages ago, the Hero of Legend visited Aelf'ahlnohma on his quest to unlock the power of the Sword of Light." She continued, "On that day… there was a massacre in the city. It's difficult to believe, but according to our archives, the Hero…"

A strange atmosphere had descended upon the room. Lotte no longer felt like he was delving into ancient Elven secrets, but unearthing something of a much darker persuasion. Like a cabal of conspirators, he felt as though the information being shared by Larion was the sort he would take to his grave.

"...The Hero murdered Avl II, alongside thousands of Elves living in the city." She finished, "A portion of the archives was destroyed during that event--specifically a number of documents written directly by Avl II months before his death. Only reports of the aftermath, when the Hero departed from Aelf'ahlnohma, survived."

"The Hero… murdered the Elven King?" Lotte repeated, unbelieving, "Why would he do something like that?"

"According to the journal of a court sorcerer who survived the attack, it was caused by Avl II saying something to the Hero when the two of them were meeting in the spire's throne room."

The inclination of its utterance tripped an alarm. Somewhere, somehow, a feverish, seething reaction had begun, favourably so far away that it would cause no trouble. But even so--from that distance, it had affected him. A tingle down the base of his spine, and an involuntary instinct to conceal all information relating to that name.

"Black Luna." Larion furrowed her brow, "Those were the words he spoke."