"Life: One word, a simple four letter word that describes so many things and so many times. Love: Just as simple a word, but every bit as complicated in its meaning, even more so to tell the truth. War: A shorter word, but not much difference in meaning. All three of these are tied together eventually, and all fit well together and are 'harmonious.' Usually, at least…"

Chapter One:

Loud, cold wind was what woke Seth first. Either that or the air-horn-like noise seemingly a hundred yards away. Either way, he was fully conscious now. Not that he was truly asleep; only meditating. But at the moment, meditation was far from the first thing on his mind.

What had his full attention was the sword that was now in the middle of the clearing. Though he'd been meditating for an hour, he'd have known if a sword had been stuck into the ground to the hilt. Rather, it looked like it was rising up from the ground. In fact, a few quick minutes proved this correct, as the blade now stood on its tip on the ground. But that was nothing compared to suddenly realizing he wasn't alone.

Twenty-five large, serpentine things slid along the ground, making hardly a sound on the dead leaves. Each one had a deformed, eyeless head with only a mouth on it, which was filled with way too many silver, long, and razor-sharp-looking teeth. Two "arms" extended from their upper "bodies," ending in scythe-like blades. At the tip of their tail at the end of their serpentine bodies, they had a vicious-looking stinger. Twenty-four of these things had milk white bodies, with a blue band each on every scythe-claw and stinger. The other one, obviously the leader, was silver, save for his bands, which were gold. Their scythe-claws and stinger were all coated with blood, and there was blood around their mouths.

Seth, quite startled, acted on instinct as nothing else would work. He jumped up, grabbed the sword, and held it ready to strike. Luckily, he was too afraid to strike, because otherwise he wouldn't have "heard" the voice.

"Hello, Seth," came a voice inside his head. "We mean you no harm. We are here to serve Vertinorocoma."

"Here to serve WHAT?!?" Seth tried to say, but could only manage to think.

"Fear not—we can hear what you're thinking. And we serve the sword. The sword which you summoned, the 'Solution.' Therefore, we serve you."

"How did I summon it?"

"We don't know—we are merely demons. You are the powerful one."

"'Powerful?' I'm not powerful…..I don't even know what happened…"

"You summoned the sword, and the sword summoned us."

"But what ARE you?"

"We are Varthi of the Veen Akith—a high rank of demon of the demon legions."

"Y'all are from hell?"

"Not all demons are hellspawn. Just some. Not that Heaven or Hell are against you now…We will explain all this later."

Seth, shaking with difficulty believing this all, shook his head—as much to convince them as himself that he understood. But what he saw next just stunned him. The 'Varthi,' as they called themselves, turned into light, and flowed into him. After this, he felt a heavy, cold presence on his spine, a tingling feeling, then unconsciousness.