"We all do." Kilth replied easily as the three members of the group turned to face him. "Now, one of my servants came to beg me for help, and I felt like obliging him." Syrus sized up the demon. Kilth was surprisingly young-looking, seeming about Syrus' own age. The difference between the two, however, was that the air around Kilth was charged with power, whereas Syrus hadn't gained enough magical power quite yet to make even a tiny charge. Untidy black hair sat atop the demon's head.

The demon looked around the group, then at the devastation of the area around them. He raised an eyebrow.

"Nice. Firestorm spell? You couldn't have done it, human, nor you, Lilia, so... it must have been that Aesari you're holding." Syrus' eyes narrowed. "Oh, relax. I'm not after her like everybody else is, I'm after you. Don't worry, it'll only be about an hour of torture before I kill you." It finally clicked in Lilia's mind.

"H-How do you know my name!?" the girl sputtered. Kilth laughed and vanished, reappearing on Lilia's oversized abdomen. The girl tried, unsuccessfully, so shake him off.

"Aw, you don't remember me?" he purred. "Maybe another name will jog your memory. Dreth." Lilia's entire body stiffened. "Thought so." he wrapped his arms around Lilia from behind and rested his head on her right shoulder. "I've always been fond of my ilk. This girl especially, she's always been great entertainment."

"Get off!" Lilia snarled. "I'm bound to Syrus, and I will not let you do things only he should!" Kilth laughed and kissed her on the cheek before nimbly leaping off and landing next to Syrus and Mirriel. "Y... you..."

Syrus quickly pushed Mirriel to the side as one of Kilth's hands shot forward. Though only the edge of the boy's hand touched him, Syrus was sent flying backwards.

"There's a world of difference between us." Kilth said quietly. "Eons of experience, and power enough to reshape the world. I like playing around with my prey, though." Syrus smirked, despite the pain from a gash on his cheek. "What?"

"Games are no fun if it's guaranteed you win." the village boy countered, mind working quickly. That gave Kilth pause. Lilia leaped on the other demon a moment later, only to fly back in her humanoid body.

"Sorry, dear." Kilth replied. "I like that, too, but it'll have to wait." he turned to look at Syrus, only to have Mirriel stand in the way. "Get out of my way." Mirriel, face lacking its usual smile, held up a hand. The air around Kilth wavered for a moment. A look of shock crossed Kilth's face. "You're..." Mirriel smiled.

"Mirriel ne Mirriel'satori Kusanel." the girl said. Kilth scowled.

"Mirriel of the Infinity..." he muttered. "No... Mirriel of the Void. That's who you are. That's the power you were given, the power to stop others no matter how strong they are. I see. It's time to get serious, then." he stood up straighted and strode forward. As he reached out to strike Mirriel, he only succeeded in pushing her back somewhat. "You... even my physical strength? You are good." he grabbed the girl's neck. "But I'm better." Syrus' staff collided with the back of Kilth's head, sending the mighty demon stumbling. As he turned to face this new threat, a burst of webbing struck his feet and tripped him. "All of you... Heh... heh heh... Ahahahahahaha!"

"It balances the difference in power." Syrus replied defensively, slightly disturbed by the laughter. "After all, you're great and mighty and all that stuff, right?" Kilth merely sighed and shook his head.

"You foolish, foolish little children." he sighed out as he stood. "Running around your pitiful lives, not understanding that which you deal with. Allow me to show you." he raised a hand. The void of magical power around him, to those whose eyes could see it, shattered. Mirriel coughed, a bit of blood coming out of her throat as she staggered backwards. "You're not enough." Kilth grabbed Syrus and lifted him upwards. The demon's eyes narrowed. "Oh. That explains a lot." As usual, Syrus had no idea what other people were talking about. Shrugging, Kilth dropped Syrus. "Figures it was like this." he said. "No wonder Necroth lost."

"What are you talking about?" Lilia asked, scuttling around to stand in his path. Kilth walked right up to her.

"Ask yourself." he replied. "You should know best, after all, what sort of people exist in this world." the boy vanished, leaving a stunned and slightly disturbed group behind. After staring at where Kilth had been for a moment, Syrus hurried over to Mirriel.

"Are you all right?" the boy asked. Mirriel smiled at him and nodded. Aesari were built tough; it took more than one or two injuries to take them down. The girl hung onto Syrus' arm as he slowly brought her over to Lilia. The spider-girl looked at Syrus for a long moment, an odd expression on her face. "What?"

"Take off your shirt." she said. Syrus choked. Say what!? "Not for that!" the girl snapped, grabbing him and pulling his shirt up with more force than was entirely necessary. The girl traced lines of veins on his chest with a finger, then looked up and licked off the blood coming from the wound on his cheek. She thought for a few moments as she tasted it. "Yeah, he was right. This does make a lot more sense now." she grumbled, pulling his shirt back down. "Come on, let's go."

"Not until you explain what's going on." Syrus replied, crossing his arms. Lilia stared at him. Syrus stared right back. "You licking my wounds is hot, yes, and very creepy, but I want to know what this big secret all of you are keeping from me is." Lilia took a deep breath and put a hand on one of his shoulders, eight legs folding into just two. The arachnid girl looked into Syrus' eyes.

"Nek koshi..." Mirriel moaned. Her companions ignored her.

"Syrus." Lilia said. "You were right. We're going to Lisianthia as soon as we can. With you, it's possible to handle it." Syrus blinked as the girl, showing an unusual amount of affection, hugged him.

"I hate how nobody tells me things..." he muttered, enjoying the embrace regardless. Mirriel joined in a moment later, beaming. Fun!

00000

"You just walked away! You're supposed to kill him!"

"I don't think it really matters what I choose to do."

"Go back and kill him! I cannot rest until I get my revenge on that brat... you have to kill him!"

"I... have to? I have to do nothing. You seem to be forgetting that I am the one in charge here, not you."

"But-"

"Quiet! I will not tolerate insubordination from somebody as weak as you! You lost, get over it! Things are moving again, and even I'm taking an interest. Go back to whatever dark little hole your home is now."

"..."

"Ooh, poor baby. How about it, Master? Would you like me to go stir up some trouble for you?"

"I couldn't care less. Just don't try to attack that group. I... want to see what they'll do next. I understand they're going to Lisianthia."

"Sounds fun. I went there once, haven't been sane since."

"We know."

00000

Lilia took a deep breath. Then another one. Then several more. The book said to go there. Syrus said to go there. Even she said to go there. Logic dictated that they should go there. Well, nobody listened to logic anyways. The girl was terrified. At least only Syrus would be going, but... she found that she was honestly worried about him. The strongest, the toughest, and the bravest demons to ever exist had tried entering that place, and every last one had come out a wreck. Or hadn't come out.

"Are you sure about this?" Lilia whispered. Syrus nodded. Praying that this was actually a good idea, Lilia gripped the fabric of magic and pulled open a hole in it, creating a portal whose insides were entirely black. Shrugging, Syrus stepped inside. Lilia scuttled backwards, sitting down next to Mirriel. "I guess..." she said. "We wait now." Mirriel blinked. She knew where the portal went. That would not be fun for Syrus.

00000

Syrus watched as Mirriel fell down in front of him, blood spattering across the inn's floor. He stared calmly as Lilia was blown apart, victim to an enchanted weapon. The boy continued to look as every person he knew and liked was killed in a horrific fashion directly in front of him. He was burned to death, drowned, cut into chunks, dropped from the sky. The boy took a step forward. The visions came faster and faster.

Plague. War. Cities wiped out, forests flattened, mountains leveled, seas boiled away. Children crushed under falling rocks. And his two best friends in all the world, in every scene. Syrus watched the images for a moment, then took another step forward. The images strained at him now, intensifying as if they were trying to strike him down.

"I hate you." Mirriel's voice said. It echoed at him from every direction. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!" Syrus stepped forward.

"You ruined my life!" Lilia yelled, choking him. "You took me away from the only person I've known who cares about me! You don't even have the guts to do anything to me now, leaving me stuck in between!" Webbing covered Syrus' mouth, cutting off his breathing. He stepped forward.

The webbing vanished. Everything did when he stepped forward.

A lone boy stood in front of Syrus, identical to the boy in every fashion. It raised a staff just like Syrus' and charged him. "Get out of here! You don't have any idea of the pain and suffering you've caused! They're dead, and it's all your fault!" Syrus caught the weapon and threw it, and his attacker, to the side. Calmly, too calmly, he stepped forward.

The Aesar stood on his left, the Telsar on his right. The children were gathered in front of him. As one, they raised their hands. Magical bolts of every element and strength pounded into his body, tearing it apart a thousand times, and a thousand times again. Calmly, Syrus looked at each of them and stepped forward again.

A sword pierced his heart, sending searing pain through every inch of his body. Syrus did not even recognize who held it. Gripping the weapon, he slid it out and watched as the wound repaired itself. An instant later, his whole body was impaled. The boy stepped forward. The sense of oppression vanished.

A figure was huddled on the ground in front of him. Syrus knelt down and touched the figure's shoulder. As it looked up, Syrus found that it was a girl.

"...Why aren't you fazed?" the youngish girl asked, staring at him with wide eyes. "I've broken the strongest demons, the wisest angels, and everybody in between. Why aren't you fazed?"

Syrus tapped the side of his head and smiled.

"I don't know." he replied. "I saw and felt everything, but it never really drilled into my brain or anything. It was like watching an illusion spell. Violent, but nothing to freak over." the girl stared up at him, grey eyes shimmering despite the fact that there was no source of light to cause it. Or, indeed, to show that she was there at all. "So, are you the goal of my quest?" After a moment, the little girl nodded. Really, Syrus thought, she didn't look older than seven.

"Are you... going to take me out of the darkness?" the girl asked. Syrus nodded. Smiling shyly, the girl clasped her hands together. Her body transformed into a sort of black wind, then a long black ribbon that wrapped itself around his right arm. "Then I'll come with you. You smell... familiar... anyways."

"Do you have a name?" Syrus asked as the portal home appeared. He got the impression that the girl was smiling.

"Lisianthia!" she replied cheerfully. "That's my name!" As she said that, information flooded into Syrus' brain, on how she could help him. Syrus smirked. Excellent. He stepped out of the portal, and within seconds had been tackled in a hug by both Mirriel and Lilia.

"You're back!" Lilia said. "Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?" she frantically looked over his body, searching for wounds. Syrus smiled and let her. Eventually, the girl looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. "You are! What did you do!? Or... did I botch the portal spell?"

"No, you did fine." Syrus replied absentmindedly. "I went there, did my thing, and came back." Lilia lifted up his right arm and looked at the black cloth that was now wrapped comfortably around it. "Yeah, I got her there."

"Her?" Lilia asked. Syrus nodded. "I'm not even going to ask." she sighed, then gave him a quick peck on the lips. "For getting back safely." she muttered, backing up. Syrus merely grinned as the girl blushed. Mirriel's kiss went on much longer, as the girl was very happy to have him back.

00000

"So. He did it."

"Impressive. This little boy's more interesting than I thought."

"Of course. And now he has a weapon that might be able to subdue even us."

"They can't hurt our bodies enough to kill us. Not even the Orisar were that good. The rest of us are their equals, and you, well... our better, and theirs."

"Well, it's not our bodies that thing attacks, now, is it? Our minds are still vulnerable to it. He doesn't know it yet, but that child now has one of the most powerful Relic-level things to ever exist. Lisianthia, the Black Wind, last child of the Orisar."

"You like the little girl, don't you? She's everything the Aesar and Telsar should be."

"Yes. They interfere too much. The Orisar's goal was to guide the world as it started, breathing in sentient life. The Aesar and the Telsar act as if they have the right to manage everything down to the smallest detail, as if the nations and the people belong to them."

"Why not eliminate them, if you find them so troublesome? Or we could. They are weak, after all."

"...No. Not yet. I have a better idea."

00000

"Lilia." Syrus said, gasping for breath a bit when Mirriel finally pulled away. The spidery girl looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "We need to go to a city... a big one, where they'd have temples to the Aesar and such." Lilia nodded. Taking a deep breath, the girl opened a portal to the largest city Syrus had ever seen. And he had not stepped through. "...That'll do." he said. "And... two legs might be more appropriate here." Shifting, as per his suggestion, the girl followed him, making sure to tow Mirriel along behind her.

The first thing Syrus did was look up.

"Wow." he said. On every side were towering temples, each dedicated to a different Aesar or Telsar. "Where are we, anyways?" Lilia blinked.

"The Temple District of Jaltier." she replied. Syrus froze. He knew where they were then, in story if not geographically. Even his tiny, cut-off village had heard about this place. Besides the fact that it was grand, almost too-much so, it was restricted to Priests only. Violently restricted.

"Intruders!" a voice yelled. Before Syrus even knew what was happening, armed Priests poured out of temples, armed with weapons of every shape and size. It did not take long for them to be surrounded. "How did you get in this far?" the same voice demanded from somewhere in the crowd. "To profane this place is to insult the gods!" That gave Syrus an idea. Taking a deep breath, he put on his best I'm-in-charge-here face.

"Is it possible to insult the Gods by travelling somewhere one of them asked you to?" he demanded. That gave the Priests pause. "You should check these things first! Who here worships the Aesar Ciri!?" a few Priests in ice-blue robes raised their hands. The boy pointed a finger at them. "Ask her if she requested that I visit her temple sometime or not!" The priests exhanged glances, then began fervently praying.

"Yes." Came the immediate response from everywhere and nowhere. Syrus crossed his arms and nodded.

"You see?" he replied. "She wants us here, and if you are true believers, then you should use your heads and obey." With some suspicious looks at the trio, very slowly, the crowd dispersed. Syrus, Lilia, and Mirriel followed the waiting Priests of Ciri to her temple. Unlike the other temples, it was much less populated and had far fewer furnishings.

"How..." one of the Priests asked. "How did you know she was back?" Syrus smiled widely.

"I helped do it." he answered. The Priests stared as the boy crossed the threshold of the temple. Immediately, he was outside again, tackled by the cheerful Aesar herself.

"You came!" Ciri said cheerfully. She looked up at her Priests, who were now staring at her. "Shoo. He's my new pet." she said, flapping a hand. They scurried inside. Ciri let Syrus get up. "So... did you come here with those two because you wanted all three of us?"

"Drop dead." Syrus countered. "I want to know why you lied to me." Ciri blinked, and the boy held up his right arm, bound in black cloth as it was. "I went to Lisianthia, did what I had to, and came back! Obviously, this little escort mission of mine is not over yet! Why did you lie and tell me that was my final destination!?" Ciri raised a hand, palm open. Her face was much more serious.

"May Lord Kital, lost leader of the Orisar, return from wherever he is and strike me dead if I knowingly lied about that." she said. Lilia swallowed. That was a pretty serious oath. "That was all the information I had; from the discussions I overheard at Necroth's place, I honestly believed that was the final place you needed to go. Did you find out the secret of that horrible place?" Syrus held out his arm. The black cloth unraveled, turning into visible black wind as it did so. Instead of striking others, however, the wind formed into the girl-child Lisianthia. "You're..."

The young girl smiled cheerfully. Ciri looked at the girl for a long moment, face pale, then at Syrus.

"She's Orisari." the Aesar whispered. "A true Orisari. I thought the Children were all... he has to know about this. He couldn't miss it. But Kital's words..." she was making no sense to anybody except herself. Lisianthia turned back to the long black cloth and wrapped herself around Syrus' arm again.

"Care to explain?" Syrus asked.

"When Kilth revolted against the Orisar, he convinced all the Orisari to join him." the Aesar female explained. "They are now his servants. Nobody knows what they did to their parents, but the Orisar are gone now, and the Orisari stay out of things. Kilth, the old ruler, is supposed to have said that when the last child is redeemed, change will come and they will return. It must be referring to her. I don't think, no offense, that your mind can even comprehend the magnitude of this event. Unless our guesses of the last few thousand years are wrong, the pantheons themselves are going to be shaken up by this." the Aesar slunk around Syrus and put her arms around his shoulders. "Let's talk more... inside. I want to play with my pet."

"Nikaki corpo." Mirriel said. Ciri winced.

"That's just rude!" she sputtered. "Timi ni aluros, Mirriel!" Syrus' partner stuck her tongue out at the Aesari. "Mmm... tisir makano..." Ciri said, voice sounding strained. Mirriel laughed. "Oio nek! Husit wierta votu!"

"N-now, now, ladies..." Syrus said, trying not to grin. "There's no reason to fight."

"Nuta nek, Syrus!" Both Goddesses replied.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Files of the Aesari, Part Fourteen: Deep Forest

Unbeknownst to many, there are creatures that inhabit the deepest, darkest areas of the world's forests that are usually expected to be found elsewhere. Included among these are Spider Demons, werefolk, and beasts that do not even have names. Surprisingly, those brave souls who have ventured into this territory have reported a calm, stable inter-racial society the likes of which humans, jealous of everyone better than them, have never quite managed to achieve.

000

The Citadel Ruins are the remains of an ancient city in the Deep Forests. Little is understood about this place, but numerous magical artifacts have been reovered by the creatures surrounding it, and a repair effort is underway. Mages who have been to the scene report that the city sits atop a hub of magic lines, making it one of the greatest places on the planet for casting spells. Suggestions have already been put forward that they remove the 'creatures' surrounding it and take over.