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Summary: In a world where demons lurk, an orphaned six year old girl is found in the town of Talon, a city on top of a plateau. She is sold to a bartender and grows up to be rude and sarcastic. Years later, a man recognizes her as a Latro ab Obscurum, or a Hunter of Darkness, and soon she faces a dangerous journey with her pet dragon, Phoenix. Read as this girl finds her missing past, stubbornly falls in love, and discovers the responsibility of being a part of the Latronis abs Obscurum.
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Latronis abs Obscurum
Since the dawn of time there have been humans and animals that roamed the world. Humans evolved to become the dominate species and developed languages, civilizations, governments, and many other wondrous things. Soon humans learned magic, a skill that only animals held dear. Magic is a forbidden skill to humans because they tend to abuse what little power they had. Only a small group of humans could cast spells, but it only took one human, Seluja, to create the chaos that terrorized the world. Demons born from the darkness and pure hatred of her heart slaughtered many. An alliance between animals and magical humans are the only defense the world has. They are called Latronis abs Obscurum, or Hunters of Darkness and the small dragons are called Latro dragons. It is their sworn duty to protect every living creature and to hunt down all the demons including Seluja, who they have yet to find. And to this day humans live on top of plateaus, mountains, and other high, hard to reach places. The Latronis abs Obscurum live in the highest points in the world.
An old woman walked down the torch lit halls of the Mountain Stone Palace. Grey hair tumbled over her slouching shoulders and her bones creaked with every step she took with her delicate black velvet slippers. The only thing that hadn’t changed as she aged was her dark grey eyes that hid behind wrinkled skin. The hem of her black silk gown swayed from her slow movements and brushed against the red carpet every once and a while as she continued towards her destination. Soon she reached large golden tinted doors with polished silver chains. Guarding the door was a golem made of igneous rocks. His red eyes shimmered at her before it bowed and opened the grand doors for her. Inside was the magnificent throne room with its high marble columns decorated with black, red, and silver ribbons and mesh. The demons in the area scurried to their appointed places and knelt as she ascended the jewel encrusted throne on top of the 5’ stairway. Seluja was halfway up the stairway when her knees lost strength and she began to fall. Two bat-like humanoid creatures grabbed her arms and escorted her the rest of the way. Once she was in the safety of her velvet cushioned throne, the demons went back to their work.
“Waier!” she screeched in a hoarse voice. A little boy with green tinted skin, brown hair, green eyes, and hooves for hands and feet crawled up to her.
“Yes, your majesty?”
“Go fetch me my mirror! And go find Iridian and bring him here.” She ordered. The young demon ran to do her bidding. With a sigh she brushed back a stray lock of hair and leaned back on her throne. Soon two more demons came and placed a mirror in front of her. She was not pleased with what she saw. Dark circles under her eyes, wrinkled, baggy skin. It’s a wonder what was keeping her together. With a wave of her hand, the mirror rippled as if it was made of water. Now Seluja’s true form was in the reflection. She was very beautiful with her long black hair with curls at the ends, pale white skin, sparkling green eyes, and a slender figure…
“Staring at your soul’s reflection isn’t going to make your host any younger,” said a young man’s voice. The mirror was removed to reveal a confidant looking teenager with red hair and eyes, black skin, pointed ears, and a long tail with a heart shaped tip. Iridian was one of the few demons who wore clothes. Today he was wearing rusty colored pants and a baggy white shirt that showed off his chest. He wore his famous smirk as the old woman growled at him.
“Iridian, this host is dying and if I stay attached to it then I will die as well. And we can not forget that if I die then you and the other demons will die too. Now how’s the girl?”
“I regret to inform you, your highness, that the test subject ‘Alice’ has lost her sanity and is unable to control her new powers. But she is a feisty one and you know how much I love the feisty ones. Hehehehe!” Iridian’s hobbies included turning humans and animals into demons and torturing prisoners. The only thing keeping him Seluja’s right hand demon was his superior intelligence.
“I told you not to touch her!” her angry voice echoed off the stone walls, causing him and the other demons to flinch.
“I-I haven’t touched her yet, your grace, but it’s impossible for you to possess her now. However, I do have another plan.”
“What is it?” she answered calmly as her anger faded. Iridian let out a sigh of relief before he clapped his hands twice. The doors opened and four demons carrying chains led a brown haired woman clad in a simple black cotton dress with red claws on her hands and feet. She managed to throw some fireballs at some demons as she thrashed about wildly, trying to escape from the chains. On her left wrist was a black and white beaded bracelet that marked her as Seluja’s next host. The bracelet glowed from all the demons in the room.
“I was thinking it would be easier and much quicker if we kidnap a Latro ab Obscurum. It’s better than turning a human into a demon because the Latronis abs Obscurum already have magical powers. There’s this hot chick in Eagle’s Landing who has a lot of power under her belt. I think her name is Fiora Dragonhope.” He explained as he paced around the wild girl. Seluja’s bones creaked as she shot up from her throne.
“You fool! Do you not know how hard it is to capture a Latro ab Obscurum? Especially when they always have their Latro Dragons nearby.” She threw a rather weak thunder spell at him. Iridian easily dodged it and keeled down as she prepared another spell. He raised his arms in hopes of protecting himself from another spell.
“We could release Alice into their city and while they are fighting her, I’ll slip the bracelet on Fiora’s wrist. The bracelet should render her helpless enough for you to possess her.” She froze midspell. He regained his composure and brushed himself off as he stood up. Iridian held his breath as he noted her contemplating look, waiting for a favorable reply.
“Hmm…interesting idea. What does this Fiora look like?” she queried as she sat back down on her throne. He closed his eyes and conjured a transparent model of Fiora. She had flowing black hair that reached past her shoulder blades, sapphire eyes, a small nose, full pink lips, and a slender, but strong figure. She wore denim shorts that extended to her knees and black boots. She also wore a pale blue, trench coat-like shirt that reached her ankles, the mark of being in the Latronis abs Obscurum. Seluja gazed at her emotionless features with a small smile of approval.
“What is that on her right arm Iridian?” she pointed to a blue and gold beaded bracelet that looked exactly like the black and white one Alice was wearing.
“Yeah, that. She created it. It has the same properties as your bracelet except it glows when there are people full of love and caring are around and only she can remove it.”
“So she’s copying me huh? It will be a rather useful tool in the future.” Seluja couldn’t stop the evil grin forming on her thin, wrinkled lips. Iridian chuckled darkly until she threw an object at his head.
“Make sure she is alone. Use this to paralyze her Latro Dragon.” she answered his questioning gaze.
“Yes, your grace. Now would you be so kind as to remove the bracelet from Alice’s wrist?” he asked with a smirk. With the snap of her fingers, the dark bracelet fell to the floor, only to be picked up by Iridian as he followed Alice and the other demons out of the throne room.
“Hey Blithe, take me over there so we can dry off.” The dragon rolled her eyes before flying towards the boulders she was pointing to.
“Your husband said it was your turn to watch Jacelyn and here you are wasting time. I know you’re stalling Fiora.” Fiora only shrugged as she pulled out her towel.
“Jeez, you’re making my little girl sound like a bad kid and I’m not stalling, I just needed a quick bath.” She glanced at her bare wrist where her bracelet used to be, “Jacelyn is growing up to be a very responsible girl. She never lost my bracelet once. Kinda surprising for a six year old.”
“How could she? You are the only one who can remove it.” Blithe landed on her shoulder and wrapped her tail around Fiora’s upper arm. She leaned forward so her front claws touched Fiora’s shoulder and her wings extended out in a brief stretch.
“She can remove it too. After all she is my daughter.” A thundering sound was heard in the distance. Fiora and Blithe peered over the edge of the plateau to find no clouds nearby. Another rumble emitted behind them. Fiora turned to find a large thunder cloud over the village.
“That’s odd, we are too high in altitude to have thunderstorms.” She frowned at the thought. Blithe jumped off her shoulder and cried out, “That’s not a thunderstorm, that’s a multiple thunder spell! Demons are attacking Eagle’s Landing!”
“What!?” she slid off the boulder as another explosion was seen, “Jason! Jacelyn! Oh please be safe.”
“Fiora! Wait for me!” the Latro Dragon screeched as she desperately tried to catch up to her master.
There was fire everywhere as Fiora and Blithe reached their small home. Fiora kicked the door opened and coughed from the smoke that poured out. The whole place was in flames and it seemed no one was in there.
“Jason! Jacelyn! Falim! Are you in here?” No one answered except the crackling inferno. She backed away from the door frame and faced Blithe.
“I’ll go find my brother.” The little dragon announced as she glided higher.
“Yeah, go find Falim, maybe Jason is with him.” Once she was alone, she unsheathed her twin daggers and added with a dark voice, “And I’ll go hunt down the one responsible for all this.”
The heat of the fire burned her skin as she ran by. As she drew closer to the town square, more demons showed up and began destroying windows, pots, and other things lying about. They seemed to be searching for something. Fiora killed them all in blind rage. Soon smoke covered the area, making it harder for her to see. She kept running until she bumped into a muscular figure. Thinking it was another demon, Fiora raised her bloody daggers and was about to attack, but was pinned against a nearby wall. Some of the smoke thinned to reveal a set of emerald green eyes and short, messy brown hair. She lost some of her rage as she recognized Jason.
“Fiora! There you are. Listen, I got to go help Nejar, Jacelyn is safely hidden behind some clay pots in an alley away from the fire. You have to go find her and get her out of here.” He ordered as he let go of her. She shook her head.
“But what about the monster? Who’s fighting it?”
“No one, yet. We still have to find the cause.” He started to walk away, but stopped when Fiora blocked his way.
“Then I’m going to go fight it,” she said with fierce determination in her eyes. Jason grabbed her arm.
“No. I know you hate sitting in the background when it comes to battles, but we have a daughter now and she needs your help to survive. All I can do is hide her from the demons. I can’t get her out of here.”
“Alright…” she stared at the ground in defeat. He placed a hand under her chin and forced her to look at him so he could give her a soft kiss on the lips. They parted ways, Jason going towards the town square and Fiora going to the alley where Jacelyn was hiding. She breathed in the clean air as she got closer to her destination. The smoke made her eyes all red and puffy. She turned her last corner and found millions of clay pots stuffed in the alley. She immediately began pushing them over, causing them to shatter on the ground. Fiora spied a tuft of silky black hair amidst the pots. She kneeled down near the area and continued to push them away until she came face to face with a pair of frightened teal eyes. Tiny, lily white arms encircled her as she picked up her child.
“Mommy, what’s happening?” Jacelyn asked in a small, shaky voice. Fiora picked up her pace as she ran out of the alley.
“I don’t know, but we will be okay. Mommy is going to protect you,” she replied as she hugged her tighter. She briefly glanced at the bracelet on Jacelyn’s right arm. It wasn’t glowing anymore, which meant that either they were completely alone or strong demons were ahead. She ran even faster which made the bracelet glow from her own aura, but it suddenly faded as Fiora skidded to a halt. Up ahead was a brown haired, blood eyed demon that was obviously once human. There were dead bodies of both humans and demons surrounding her, giving Fiora a good guess that she was insane. Lightning hit more buildings as the demon acknowledged her presence.
“This is it,” Fiora thought as she set Jacelyn on the ground and drew her daggers, “She is the demon causing all the destruction, but how can I fight with Jacelyn here? What if the monster comes after her or I get attacked from behind by another demon?” Her thoughts were cut short as a wall of fire was aimed in her direction. Suddenly two figures jumped in front of her and shielded the blow. It was Jason and another man with short blonde hair that was brushed back in a ponytail.
“Fiora, get out of here!” Jason shouted. She nodded and proceeded to cast a thunder protection spell on the two men before grabbing Jacelyn’s hand.
“What are you doing here all alone, Fiora? Knowing you, you would be fighting, not hiding.” She froze at the sound of the voice. Iridian chuckled as he stepped out of the shadows.
“Mommy, who is he?” Jacelyn asked as she hid behind her. His eyes widened as he acted surprised.
“Mommy? So this is why.” He took a step towards them. Fiora thought she saw a streak of pale blue flash behind him.
“What are you doing here demon? Leave now! I do not want to kill in front of my daughter,” she demanded.
“Hmph! So rude. I only came to bring you a gift.” He pulled out the black and white bracelet and took another step closer causing them to back away. Iridian scanned the area and finally noticed something missing, “Hey where’s your Latro Dragon?”
“Blithe! Now!” Fiora cried once she was sure the blue streak was her Latro Dragon. Blithe released a breath of fire on Iridian and then Fiora punched him in the stomach and knocked him unconscious against a wall. She smiled as her dragon landed on her shoulder.
“AAAHHH!” Jason landed at her feet and Nejar landed a few feet away.
“…Bitch.” Jason muttered as he sat up. Blithe flew down and healed some of his wounds with her horn.
“Are you okay?” Fiora asked worriedly as she helped him up. Soon shouting was heard everywhere. More Latronis abs Obscurum were coming, but as soon as they arrived, they stopped and watched as Jacelyn slowly walked towards the demon.
“Jacelyn! Come back!” Jason shouted, but she kept walking. The demon’s eyes changed from red to hazel as it lowered down to an even eye level with Jacelyn. Time seemed to stop, no one could move. Jacelyn raised her hand and placed it on the demon’s cheek causing her to smile and hug her back. At first, the half demon glowed, then she was human, and then finally she disappeared before white light surrounded the area. When it was over, Jacelyn was standing with her hands raised towards the sky. Fiora was the first to budge as she slowly approached her daughter. A groan emitted from Iridian.
“H-how did a-a mere child defeat Alice?” he asked in a hoarse voice. Jacelyn frowned and stomped her foot.
“Her name was Stephanie!” Fiora’s eyes widened as Iridian was surrounded by a black aura that seemed to restore him. He stood on all fours and his claws grew larger.
“I came here to make Fiora Seluja’s new host, but I’ll settle for you instead!” His voice was more forced now. Fiora and Jason jumped in front of him.
“Over my dead body!” She screeched as she brought her dagger down upon him, only to make contact with his arm that was now covered in spikes. He struck her with his other spiked arm and she fell to the ground, covered in blood. The hunters recovered from their shock and began attacking Iridian. Many had hit him before he roared and released a dark pulse wave that knocked all but Nejar, Jason, and Jacelyn down. The magnitude to the spell made Iridian stagger which gave Nejar a chance to grab at him from behind while Jason kicked him in the face. Nejar was flung off of him and on to Jason. Iridian charged towards Jacelyn. Blithe finished chanting her wind spell and her eyes glowed brighter as she beat her wings and made miniature tornadoes that threw him against the wall. Once he regained his senses, he pulled out a small disk and threw it at Blithe. It stuck to her skin and sent tiny shock waves through her body and made her stiff. Nejar and Jason approached him again. Iridian was on his last nerve and was ready to kill. Both men fell, one slashed in the face and the other in the stomach. He advanced towards Jacelyn once again. She fell back in fear as he drew closer. Suddenly a green Latro Dragon larger than Blithe flew between them.
“This child will never be a pawn for your evil deeds!” he bellowed in a deep voice.
“Falim! Don’t!” tears leaked out of her eyes. Falim faced her one last time.
“Always look on the bright side and you’ll be fine little one.” He turned back to Iridian as he raised his claw. Jacelyn closed her eyes and heard ripping sounds. Falim was no where to be seen when she opened her eyes, but she knew Iridian was badly injured now. He seized her left arm and slipped Seluja’s bracelet on it.
“Get your filthy hands off of her!” Fiora was about to drive her daggers in his back, but they disappeared in a flash, leaving her daggers to jam halfway into the brick ground.
“…Test subject ‘Brat’ is yelling at me again. Suggest anger management to Seluja when she is done with her.”
“I’m not a brat!” He walked up to her cage and stared at her.
“Yes, you are.”
“Am not!”
“Are to!”
“Am not!”
“Are to!”
“Am not!”
“Are to!”
“Am not!”
“Are to!”
“AM NOT!!!" she kicked him in the crotch through the bars.
“OW! DAMN BRAT!” he bent down to recover and noticed Jacelyn gritting her teeth at him, “You have fangs. Are you part demon?”
“NO!” she retorted.
“What is the meaning of this Iridian?” Seluja demanded as she stormed into the laboratory, “I gave you permission to kidnap Fiora not this little girl!”
“Yes, your majesty, but this brat’s powers are superior to her mother’s. She manage to defeat Alice with one touch.” He emphasized the word ‘brat’ and glared at her.
“Her name was Stephanie!” she argued. Seluja gaped at him.
“I can’t walk around in a six year old’s body! No one would take me seriously!” she began to fall over from the weakness in her legs. Iridian caught her.
“We can wait for her to grow up. Sooner or later Fiora’s gonna show up and beg to take her poor daughter’s place.” His eyes hid a darker plan as he helped her up. Suddenly, Jacelyn’s cage was cut down by a shadowy winged figure. The door opened and she ran out towards the creature where it’s landing, kicking Iridian in the process.
“F-Fiora!” he sputtered. Fiora lifted Jacelyn into her arms and Blithe flapped her wings. They were out the window in a second.
“Fools! Guards, after them!” Winged demons flew after Fiora, Blithe, and Jacelyn. Two of them carried Iridian and Seluja. Clouds thundered and rain poured down on the trio and the demons. Fiora frantically looked for a safe place to land. A large plateau was up ahead. Blithe began descending, but two demons flew past her and made her loose altitude faster. They landed with a thud on the muddy ground and were immediately surrounded by the demons. Iridian grabbed Jacelyn’s hand and pulled her to Seluja. The old woman began chanting and then fell over. Above her was a shroud of darkness that charged towards Jacelyn. Fiora pushed them out of the way and a blinding white light emitted from the scene. The rain stopped and the demons were gone. All that was left was a crying girl and a talking dragon. The child remembered nothing and the dragon cried out in agony. Soon the inhabitants of the nearby town of Talon will discover and raise the girl. It would be twelve years later when someone from her past would recognize her and then the mystery of the disappearance of Fiora will be solved.
