18

Devilkghth was running through the trees, his sword held high above his head in both hands as he cut down any beast foolish enough to try and attack him.

The sound of heavy footsteps behind him alerted Devilkghth, he turned to see none other than one of the most feared villains ever to exist, Vortic, the evil wizard, running to catch up with him. As Vortic reached him Devikghth swung down his sword, sending him flying back a good ten feet. The villain hit the ground hard and scrambled back into a run, not daring to come close enough for Devikkghth to strike at him again.

It was a well-known fact that even though the two were on opposite sides of this war, the two hated each other like brothers.

"What do you want? I have more important things to do." Devkght growled, keeping his eyes straight ahead as he continued running. He didn't need to look behind himself to know Vortic's face twisted with rage, he just knew.

"Don't make me ask nicely," said Vortic, voice low, "You know perfectly well what I want."

"I really don't," Devikght snorted, "Maybe if you got off my back about the girl you keep trying to get me involved with you' I might remember."

"She is a princess, a lady knight, an honorable knight!" shouted Vortic, "Do you know what happens to someone who marries a commoner?"

"Not if she doesn't want them to." Said Devikght, "She may be a princess but I doubt it'd make much difference to her if no one wanted to marry her."

He laughed when Vortic lunged for him. When Vortic pulled his hand away, however, instead of hitting flesh, his fist went right through Devikghth's chest. Devikkght looked down and saw his chest cavity was completely empty. He took a step back and looked around frantically, looking for a way out of Vortic's hold without getting stabbed again. There wasn't one so Devikghth began screaming. He kicked and squirmed until his boots came free, then he ran away screaming.

Vortic watched Devikghth disappear into the forest, smirking in satisfaction. He waited a couple more minutes before he teleported back to his home.

Devikght was sitting on his bed, tears streaming down his cheeks. His mother rushed over to kneel next to him, gently stroking his hair.

"What happened darling?" She asked, "Were you fighting?"

Devikght couldn't stop crying, shaking his head violently.

His mother frowned and picked him up, placing him on her lap, rubbing circles on his back.

"Why don't you tell mama what happened, hmm? Maybe that will cheer you up."

Devikght shook his head again but told his mother what had happened after Vortic tried to take the girl from him. At first it seemed as though his mother didn't understand. Then she suddenly gasped.

"Oh Devika," she whispered, hugging him tightly, "How can anyone hurt you like that?"

"But he did mama!" wailed Devikght, "I'm still here! That's what matters isn't it? And now I have to kill him! We're going to war against him!"

"I know sweetheart, I know." Her mother murmured soothingly, "Mama will take care of everything. Just relax and get some sleep. Mama will be here with you until morning."

Devikght closed his eyes and rested his cheek against her chest, listening to her heartbeat.

"Goodnight mama." He whispered, falling asleep almost instantly.

The following morning, his mother woke him up early, and together they went hunting down Devikght's enemies. It had been decided that Devikght would kill the sorcerer who'd threatened the kingdom, and his mother would kill Vortic. This meant they weren't going to stay home anymore. Every day Devikght and his mother went out to fight their enemies until they could finally rest for the night, which usually ended up taking weeks since neither one of them were strong fighters.

It took them four months, by which point, the entire kingdom was tired, hungry and very worried. They were fighting a monster king, which was difficult enough, they didn't need the whole world coming down on their heads like that. But then one day, the king fell ill. After that he didn't recover, and they needed an army. A lot of the kingdom's people were already sick and starving, so many were willing to risk their lives fighting alongside Devikght to win the battle that would determine the survival of their nation. They needed a powerful wizard too, because he could help them defeat this terrible foe. So they called upon Lord Voldrik. He promised to do anything to help the kingdom, and so he left and joined Devikght and his mother.

The two kings fought side by side in the field of honor. Both of them were covered in blood, and so were many of their allies. One of these allies was Devikkght' younger brother, Vladdikht, who hadn't seen his brother in nearly three years. After he arrived, Devikght hugged him fiercely, kissing his forehead and telling him he loved him.

After a while, his mother stopped him and explained something to his brother. He listened, and nodded, and gave his promise to protect Devikght from harm. Devikght and his mother thanked Vladdikht for his sacrifice and sent him on his way to help fight. His younger brother was stronger than anyone else he knew, and Devikght didn't want any part in causing trouble.

When the final battle was over, Vladdikht came back to the village he grew up in only to find his father gone.

Devikght never saw his big brother again.

***

Two thousand years later, Vladdikht found a baby in the woods. It was dirty, scared, and crying. He brought it to his parents where his sister, Luthoja, cared for it. Vladdikht's heart broke when he heard its name, Devikght. He vowed to protect the baby, and so he left the village and lived alone in the forest, raising it. For five years it lived with him, learning to speak and read, before its health began to decline.