‘I don’t know,’ replied Belasco. ‘I only hear vague references to “them”, or “the invaders”. One time I heard that they were “from the darkness”…Other than that, all I know is that this force has destroyed the order, such as it was, of the Fifth Circle.
‘Of the two kings who did not ally, one took a wait-and-see position: my friend here, Dahun.’
That brought forth the sound of snarling, but no coherent speech.
‘The other was Maarg. Some fool on a world in this realm opened a Demon gate into Maarg’s realm, and he unleashed the outer horde into this world. There were great battles, but in the end, the demons found themselves stranded on another world with no way back.’
‘Shila,’ said Sandreena. ‘Pug has spoken of that world and the demon battles with the Saaur.’
‘But it was Dahun who saw the potential inthis realm. The demons have their own magic users and before Maarg devastated Shila, Dahun sent spies and agents into that world, to pillage the libraries. They returned with everything they could carry and for the better part of half a century they simply studied.
‘Dahun first recognized the need to solidify his own position so he annexed Maarg’s realm, trapping Maarg on the mortal realm knowing the demon king would eventually starve to death after he devoured everything.
‘He then allied with the three remaining demon kings and sent forces to battle the invaders; but the forces he sent were those he inherited from Maarg’s realm, he kept his own loyal army close.
‘He then began preparing to leave the Fifth Circle.’
‘And come here?’ asked Gulamendis, as his brother walked into the room.
‘The battle goes well,’ said Laromendis, as his brother nodded, but held up his hand to indicate silence.
‘Yes,’ said Belasco. ‘This realm is weak compared to the Fifth Circle, but Dahun is by far the most intelligent of the demon lords. He realized that changes would be needed before his entrance into the realm.
‘You know as much about demons as any man can learn on his own, brother. You know that without control, a demon will continue to feed until he devours everything he can find. Dahun created that control. He created a hierarchy that went further than the one that already existed in the demon realm, one that relied not only on power and alliances, but loyalty, as well. He orchestrated betrayal, infiltrating spies into the domains of the other rulers, and began a series of conflicts between his neighbours.
‘Dahun created the illusion that Maarg had returned, feigned his own defeat at the hands of the demon king, and allowed the other rulers to believe what he wanted them to believe. Then he escalated the demon war to a new level, setting allies against one another and against the mortal races he encountered in this realm, against anyone who might pose a threat.
‘In short, he readied himself to enter this level of reality and assume supremacy.’
‘But we somehow managed to frustrate that plan,’ said Amirantha.
‘More than you realize,’ said Belasco. ‘At first I thought this merely another opportunity for some grim fun, a little nasty play that might net me some personal gain, but when I discovered what Dahun’s plans were, in truth, it was too late.’
‘You were in his trap,’ said Gulamendis.
‘Ahh, another new voice,’ said Belasco. ‘Yes, demons are creatures that cannot be reasoned with, negotiated with, or pleaded with; they can only be forced to reach an accommodation, and the only thing you can be certain of is that they will betray you eventually, given an opportunity.
‘Amirantha, you would not believe what your so-called minions think of you. Before you take offence, understand they feel that way about all humans. We are cattle to them. We are food. We provide things they desire, nothing more. To get what they desire, they will serve if they must, but it is always about what they want.’
‘And Dahun desires to live on this world?’
‘He desires to rule it. He sent every demon he could herd through his gates to vanquish the elves on a dozen worlds. He came here because—’
‘No!’ came Dahun’s voice. ‘You may not speak of that!’
There was silence.
Amirantha said, ‘Belasco?’
More silence.
Gulamendis looked at Sandreena and then Amirantha and said, ‘What do we do now?’
‘I have no idea,’ said the Warlock.
CHAPTER NINETEEN - Demon Unleashed
PUG CAST A SPELL.
A wave of pulsating energy rose above the heads of those struggling on the ground and swept the sky clear of the few remaining winged demons. Somewhere in the midst of the fray Kaspar was bringing order and the diverse Midkemian units were beginning to coordinate their efforts. Demons still crawled out of the pit but the rate had slowed to a trickle and Pug sensed they were on the verge of defeating this invading host.
A dozen magicians had accompanied the soldiers and they used their arts to contain the more fractious creatures, or to neutralize the magic-using demons. Pug turned to Magnus and said, ‘I think it’s almost over.’