20 years, 20 long years… 
He had been 16, young and in love with a beautiful girl. Next in line to his fathers noble title, money, fame, privileges. He’d lived the life peasants told fairy tale endings about, he’d enjoyed it, and he’d taken it for granted. THEY had changed all that. THEY had taken it all away, all in one day. He’d lost his family, his friends, his heritage, his money, his love… All in one day. 

“That’s why I drink in the morning…” 
The man in the other chair was young, pretty, but inexperienced. He was dressed in light armor that should’ve been smelted down years ago. He had a sword and a small shield by his belt, a buckler, and a rapier. A young nobleman’s weapon, only useable while you were still young enough to have reflexes. 
Seth of Valeria raised his glass and emptied it of its bitter content. He shrugged, it tasted awful, but it would ease his suffering, at least for a while. 
“I never actually asked…” The careful young man started, but was interrupted.
“I’d give anything to go back. By the gods, just to see her again… I have forgotten her smell, the scholars say that we never forget a smell, but I cannot recall which scent her hair carried.” He sighed and looked deep into the empty glass.
“All because of those bastards, first the Orcs, and if they weren’t bad enough they brought the demons with them, bloody imps, barely enough to be called demons, but still…” 
“You know, the king…”
“I KNOW THE KING!” The nobleman had risen from his seat before he’d realised that he was yelling. He no longer held the glass and a crash by the end of the table told him where it had gone. The tavern was still, quiet, everyone was looking at the well-dressed man with the big sword, wondering if he was going to start a fight, wondering if he knew what kind of man he was sitting across. Seth too fell silent, he didn’t mean to yell, normally he would never raise his voice even in anger, but the drink…
The young man sat still, he hadn’t moved an inch. Even when people at the other end of the room had put one hand on their weapon he had remained composed, not even spilling the contents of his spoon. 
“I mean… I knew the king…” Seth of Valeria said, he tried to appear calm, but his sudden outburst had surprised and shocked him. He tried to speak softly and silently, but his voice was shaking. 
“I knew him, met him a few times. I know what he did… How such a man could look me straight in the eyes and tell me he loved me… He was like that. Loving, caring. All the knights and nobles wrote poems and songs, they praised each other and tried to sound like they loved each other deeply, but he spoke the words as casually as a farmer’s daughter on her wedding night. And he called the demons down upon us and didn’t have the guts to warn anyone.” Seth of Valeria sat down, he tried to hide his anger, but it could not be done. His lips vibrated, he had to force his fingers straight so they wouldn’t make fists out of his hands. 
“Not as simple as that, if I heard right.” Said the boy. “I heard he tried to kill the demons domain.”
“Some say that…” Seth agreed. “some say he tried to become a demon lord and rule both lands with an iron fist… Don’t believe everything you hear, boy.”

A few hours later the two men were out walking. It was a sunny day, warm. The alcohol had lost its bite and Seth of Valeria could fully enjoy the breeze. the man beside him had introduced himself as Keattil. He was the son of a merchant and a survivor of the great siege of veiron just like Seth, that was why they talked in the first place. 
“It’s a shame.” Said Keatill after a moment of silence. “Even in the middle of the day, like now, with the sun shining, we can’t relax. All it takes is an Orc hiding in the bushes over there, or a fight with a bloody outcome further along the road, the bigger the better… And soon a demon pops out of whatever hole they come from.”
“Yes, I have seen it.” Said Seth of Valeria “Working as a mercenary, you get to fight. At first I used to stick around the battlefield. I am not proud of it, but I was poor, and the dead have no need for possessions. My company was attacked by a small demon one day, it simply walked out of the air right behind the lieutenant, cut her head off with its hair. It took all of us to put it down, it laughed and called our struggle futile, said it would be reborn and come back stronger, to hunt us down. We ran away after that, from every field of battle once our enemy was slain. There is a tale of human nature for you, friend. Our spilled blood attracts the biggest threat we have ever witnessed, and yet we continue to fight amongst ourselves.” 
Keattil nodded and sighed. 
“Not everyone though… You know about the Warriors?”
“Ha! Yes, I have heard of them. They died protecting the corpse of the king at Veiron.”
“Well, I guess that’s also true. I’m talking about the new Warriors, we fight to rid the world of the demons, to protect the world.”
“Not the way I heard it…” Seth of Valeria stopped and looked the boy over once again. “We?”
“Yes, I am an initiate. My task is to find and kill a demon, bring back proof of it and they’ll make me a true Warrior.” Keattls face changed, like he just realised he’d forgotten something. “Speaking of the devil…”

The boy turned around and ran away from Seth of Valeria, one hand on his weapons to keep them from jumping around. Seth came close after, also a hand on his sword. the boy was quick, but not so fast that the nobleman couldn’t follow. The ran into the forest, no path to follow, but Keattil seemed to know exactly where he was going. Then he stopped. An opening in the woods was before him, in it two forms were fighting. 
“What?” Keattil asked himself, as if he’d expected something else. 
They were elves, that much was clear even to Seth of Valeria. they were locked in deadly battle, one with sword and axe, the other only with a blade. The fight would be over soon, the female clearly had the upper hand and the male was not used to defend himself. The blade bit his body over and over again until he fell, exhausted, unable to move. 
“By your blood I shall be reborn… My love.” The female grabbed the man and put her mouth to one of his wounds. Seth of Valeria was disgusted by her, but knew little of elven customs, meanwhile a smile spread across the face of Keattil. “Here we go.”

She tossed his limp body aside like trash and started to laugh, high-pitched, unfitting of her body. She bent over and threw up. A big lump came out, impossibly large for her throat, half the size of a man, and lying in a pool of blood on the ground it seemed to grow every second. The lump turned and no less than five piercing red eyes opened, looking straight at the two men. 
“Company… Breakfast…” Said the same high-pitched voice. Seth of Valeria drew his blade and held it between himself and the thing, ready to defend himself. Keattil did nothing. 
Arms and legs began to grow out of the thing, not in pairs like a man, but where there was room. Within seconds it had grown to the size of a house, at least a dozen legs and as many arms, its fingers were long and clawed. There was no mouth, but Seth was sure that it would contain a thousand razor sharp teeth. 
“Only a lesser one, too bad, I need at least a medium.” Said Keattil and made a move to turn around. 
“Wait, that man is still alive, we can not simply leave him here to die!” 
“Perhaps you can’t, but I have no business fighting this low-life.” 
“The Kings Warriors first duty is to protect the people.”
“And they died, we are after the demons.” 
“So slay this one, unless you are a coward.” 

Seth of Valeria didn’t give the Warrior any time to reply, he charged the beast with his sword held high. The thing turned and struck out against him with several of its arms and legs. Seth of Valeria was a master swordsman, trained by the finest masters Veiron could offer. He parried the clawed fingers, used his great swords length to his advantage and forced the sharp claws to miss. The legs kicked out towards him, no claws, but lots of force. He jumped, dashed, ducked and ran. Wherever he ended up at least one hellish eye was looking at him, and several clawed hands reached for his body. Laugher reached his ears, but not the high-pitched laugh of the demon. A low hearty chuckle. At the other side of the clearing Keattil was laughing his ass off. 
It was only for a fraction of a second, but it was enough. Seth of Valeria let his eyes wander away from the beast, and was punished for it. Several clawed fingers shot out and when Seth finally noticed them it was too late, he could not defend himself. He stood and watched as the claws buried themselves deep into his arms. He dropped the sword, wanted to run but another claw drew blood from his thighs. He fell and did not get up, he couldn’t, his arms and legs would not support him. He was bleeding and in great pain, but wouldn’t die for a long time yet. Worse still, he knew why. Demons liked their food alive. 

“Ahahaha, you kill me, you throw that sword around like an infant, did you really believe you could best a demon with that kind of skill?” Seth of Valeria forced his shoulders to work and managed to turn around enough to see Keattil, looking thoroughly amused by the fact that Seth was dying. 
“I’ll do you a favor, I’ll show you how it’s done…” 

Keattil walked into the clearing, still with a smile on his face and his weapons sheathed. The beast shifted its weight around and somehow appeared to smile as well. 
“I see you, demon slayer… You slew Karash, I smell the blood on you. You are marked in death.” 
“I see you too demon. You… Beat up these guys, I guess you’re not even strong enough to kill a human. Pathetic.”
Apparently angered by the taunt several clawed hands shot out from the demon’s body. Keattil kept walking. It attacked him, and still he did not draw his weapon. As the claws wred close he simply turned his body sideways and let the claws strike the ground on either side of him. His sword sung as he drew it and severed a finger of the demon. Two grew out. 
Keattil moved with a speed and grace that Seth of Valeria had not seen before. No matter how the demon attacked, or where it aimed the Warrior was somewhere else. Even when the claws were about to hit Keattil seemed fully capable of parrying it all with his thin blade. 
Only seconds later that thin blade had carved a long gash through the demons body. Black blood sloshed out and settled in piles on the ground. Keattil moved his body again and a leg came loose from the demons body. A quick slash severed an arm. 

Keattil made sure Seth and the elf sat somewhat comfortably with their backs against a tree. He looked at their wounds and with some disappointment told them that they would live. 
“I saved your lives today, don’t expect me to do it again. Stay away from the demons if you want to live.” then he turned and walked away.