The Wolf’s Daughter

Phaedra stared at the gaping hole in the side of her home and just sighed. Maybe it was a good thing that they were still constructing everything. Yroth seemed to have a penchant for destroying anything and everything she could reach. Like having a cat that shifted between to just a little taller than her to the size of King Kong. She picked up a piece of the wall and stared at it before tossing it aside. Maybe she just shouldn’t finish it at all, let Yroth keep destroying everything. Not like having a fortress did her much good if it kept getting torn apart.

She was, at least, learning to fully appreciate her father’s love of rock, stone and dirt. It was so much easier to use geomancy to reshape the structure than it was to repair broken furniture made of wood.

Then she looked out into the main courtyard and muttered a quick curse under her breath. She guessed she didn’t have much room to talk, considering the damage she’d done.

The courtyard had just been dirt up until now, but they’d been discussing setting up a wall, perhaps some smaller buildings near it. The ground was so flat and level, it had been wonderful. She’d wondered if it was silly to make it an area for games. When her people started having children it would be nice for them to have a clearing where they could go to play. Or maybe she could teach the people here some of the games and sports she’d played as a human, she’d love to try tennis again.

It was going to be a while before that could happen here. The clearing was utterly destroyed, with massive pillars of stone that towered multiple stories tall. They fanned out in all directions and, frankly, a part of her was grateful it wasn’t going to be her job to clean it up.

Then again, the reason she didn’t have to clean it up was because nobody else here was going to try and fight Yroth anytime soon. She wondered if all dragons were this destructive. She leaped from pillar to pillar before finally making it out of the destruction.

She was greeted by silence and staring. She would have expected there to be a few demons who yelled and called her out. Instead, there was just silence as those gathered stared at her.

“What?” Phaedra asked.

There was no response.

“Xenaris?” Phaedra called out. Oh, she hoped he hadn’t fled. If he fled to get her dad, she didn’t want to imagine what would happen. No, she doubted she’d even need to imagine that hard, he’d come down and throw a fit. Her home would end up in ruins. More ruins.

“Lady Phaedra!” Xenaris called before he came running out from a building, one of the barracks she imagined. “You’re okay! I thought you had… err…”

“You thought what?” Phaedra asked.

“When we saw the fight between yourself and the Ascended Dragon, we uhhhh…” Xenaris trailed off, though she couldn’t blame him. She doubted any of the demons in her territory could hope to compete against Yroth. For the most part, their job was to keep out of her way when things like that happened and to help pick up the mess in the aftermath.

“We were training,” Phaedra said, trying to put on as confident and dismissive an appearance as she could, even holding up a hand to look at her nails. Oh. Her nails were terrible, she’d need to file them again. “She was worried about me and wanted to be certain I would be ready for what’s coming. Spread the word, I’ll be taking a select few who I find most capable and loyal on my first hunt. Also, I’ll need the courtyard cleared and the fortress repaired. The Ascended Dragon tends to get a bit… smashy with things.”

Xenaris didn’t respond, his gaze focused past her on the ruins.

“Xenaris?” Phaedra asked before reaching out and waving a hand in front of his face.

“Ah! My apologies, Lady Phaedra,” the gecko demon said, bowing his head. “Training? That was training? But it was so…”

“Of course it was,” Phaedra said. “I don’t have a mark on me, do I?”

“… I… ummmm… haven’t… looked that closely,” Xenaris said.

Phaedra blinked a few times and felt her cheeks beginning to turn red. “O-oh, right. I suppose… I’m fine, it was only that. I’m barely even tired. I do hope nobody tried anything rash.” She hoped her bluff was effective because while she didn’t have any wounds, she knew that was mostly from Yroth’s care to not hurt her too much.

She was still exhausted. Parts of her still ached. She likely had quite a few bruises hidden under her fleece. She doubted she’d be able to do even the most basic of magic, let alone actually fight. But Xenaris didn’t have to know that. All he had to think was that it was a perfectly normal, common little bit of training.

Hopefully training that wouldn’t happen again.

------

“Huh,” Phaedra said before reaching out and tapping on the map. “Here. This village, why did you mark it? It’s on the other side of the lines, isn’t it?”

“Ahhhh,” Xenaris said. “Technically, yes. It is fairly well isolated, however. We’d have to go by the airship. Traveling there by land is…” he said, trailing off.

“Yesssss?” Phaedra asked, motioning for him to continue.

“It is surrounded by terrible, monstrous trees that devour all who travel through them,” Xenaris said.

“Ohhhh, Roothome?” Phaedra asked. “Huh. Really? I didn’t think it was that big a problem.”

“You’ve heard of it it?” Xenaris asked. “When? Why?”

“Uhhhhh…” Phaedra mumbled softly. Right. She’d been there before, with Atlas. But that was well over a hundred years ago. When she’d been a different person, literally. Still, the trees hadn’t been that bad. While there were plenty that would suck you of every drop of blood, it was usually fairly safe so long as you avoided attacking them and stayed to the main paths. Atlas taught her a lot there.

Then again, all it took was one proper mage to set them off and they’d become a dangerous threat.

“That’s not really important,” Phaedra said dismissively. “It was a long time ago and I only heard of it. Why did you mark it?”

“Not many demons would even attempt to journey there,” Xenaris said. “Few demons have an airship of their own, especially one so young. Only the uhhhh…”

“Those with very powerful and influential parents?” Phaedra asked. “There’s no need to beat around the bush, Xenaris. I know just how privileged I am to have an airship, even moreso to have access to such a capable captain.”

The gecko demon stood a little straighter at that and his grin grew wider. “Of course. Not all demons in your situation are quite aware of how fortunate they are.”

“Oh, trust me,” Phaedra mumbled, her eyes still locked on that village. “I’ve been more privileged than probably any other demon in this world. Though, I never did ask. Why DID you become my captain? I mean… there has to be more exciting positions for you.”

“Your father can be quite convincing,” Xenaris said, a slightly amused grin forming on his lips. “But it was a gamble, I suppose. When I first took on the role, I had recently lost my prior ship. He offered me and my crew a replacement, and our lives. All I had to do was escort a sweet little sheep demon around. At the time, it was a pretty simple task. Though, your father did threaten to skin me and my crew alive, one by one, if we’d revealed where we took you…”

“He’d have done it,” Phaedra mumbled softly. “Gibs would have if daddy didn’t get to you first.”

“Fortunately, I’ve been allowed quite a bit of liberty as to how I crew my ship,” Xenaris said, before cringing. “Your ship. Only those I trust have been on it.”

“Meh,” Phaedra said with a shrug. “It’s probably more your ship than mine at this point. So, why this place? We can get there and most demons can’t. What’s special about it?”

“Most demons who have found themselves drawn to you can’t,” Xenaris said. “At least, not easily. Going there would be a… challenge, to many of them. It sets an… expectation. That following you can allow opportunities that they likely won’t find going to more experienced, settled territories. It may not be the most glorious of targets, but it is a unique one. And for some, that’ll be all the lure they need to want to stay and draw others to you.”

“What’s over there to draw attention?” Phaedra asked.

“Warriors from the Elevated Dynasty,” Xenaris said. “When Lord Fenrir took the capital, while most surrendered, many of their names fled, for fear of being imprisoned, killed or worse. The stories they speak of our kind are preposterous.”

“We devour the hearts of the foes we fight and kill,” Phaedra said, cocking an eye at him. “I have literally done just that.”

“Well, yes,” Xenaris said, a look of disgust on his face. “But that’s those we fight. They speak of us as if we’d force them to line up and have their hearts torn out.”

“Many of them probably don’t see the difference,” Phaedra said with a small shrug. She couldn’t really blame them. When she’d been Medon, she’d heard a lot of stories of how evil and wicked the demons were. How they’d capture and tear apart children, feasting on their hearts, imprisoning and torturing them for amusement…

She couldn’t deny there were demons like that. But she knew there were people like that of all kinds. Demons, elves, dryad, angels. Some people were capable of truly terrible, horrific, monstrous things. Demons were a more warlike, brutal and violent race. But they weren’t nearly as monstrous as some of the stories she’d heard as Medon. Her father could be a jerk, but he wasn’t the type to allow half the monstrous stories she’d heard…

At least, she hoped he wasn’t. Did she only ever see the best side of him? She really, truly hoped she’d never discover he was like the stories she’d heard from the elves.

“Then they’re fools,” Xenaris said with a hmph.

“Most people are,” Phaedra said. “So, they’re hiding there? If they’ve already been defeated, why pursue them?”

“They’ve launched attacks from there,” Xenaris said. “Only to fall back to the surrounding woods. They have a ringleader, a goblin. They call him the ‘Drunk Goblin’.”

“The Drunk Goblin,” Phaedra said, cocking an eye. “Truly, the most original of names. So he… drinks… and fights?”

“No,” Xenaris said, shaking his head. “He doesn’t seem to drink at all. But he moves as if he’s drunk and… well… the things he says… rumor is that he has a cursed name.”

“A cursed name?” Phaedra asked.

“Yes,” Xenaris said. “Names that have been twisted and altered, corrupted by magics to break them into something… unrecognizable. When someone gains them, they can end up torn apart, devolving into madness or worse. The power they give to those who can handle them is incredible, but they can destroy their owners just as easily.”

“I’ve never heard of one,” Phaedra said. “Are they common?”

“Incredibly rare,” Xenaris said. “The last one I heard of was over a century ago. An elven one, Lilith.”

“WHAT?” Phaedra asked, standing up straight and staring at him. “Lilith is a cursed name?!”

“Indeed,” Xenaris said. “A powerful one. At least, in theory. Not everyone believes in cursed names.”

“But you do?” Phaedra asked, resisting the urge to dig her fingernails into her arm. If Lilith was a cursed name, she really needed to ask Lilith about it. She’d heard jokes about Lilith being cursed and her blood magic was certainly strange, but she’d always denied being actually cursed. “Well… then I think we have a target. What could be more exciting than a goblin with a cursed name in a dangerous, blood draining forest filled with warriors from the Elevated Dynasty?”

“Of course,” Xenaris said. “A tournament amongst those in your territory is already being prepared. You’ll have your chosen companions soon. However, if I may speak openly?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever asked you not to,” Phaedra said.

“I would only take the greatest two. The others should be those you trust to aid you,” Xenaris said.

“Oh. I… I suppose that would be wise,” Phaedra said softly. “But I ummm… don’t… really have that.”

“Come now,” Xenaris said, a small smile growing on his lips. “There must be some amongst those who followed you who you know and trust. You—”

“My father protected me by putting me within Leviathan’s care,” Phaedra said softly. “I’ve spent almost my entire life surrounded by his generals and commanders. For… all of my father’s attempts to keep me safe, giving me friends was… not truly amongst them.”

“Oh,” Xenaris said before coughing off to the side. “Then… err…”

“I’m not bringing my cousin,” Phaedra said. “If this is dangerous, she’s too young. I’m not bringing the Ascended Dragon, either. Maybe… Emma. I’ll probably bring Emma. Then we’ll just take whichever three win the tournament. I assume it goes without saying, but I trust you and your crew will be coming and won’t feel a need to participate in said tournament. Depending on how those three seem, I’ll determine then if I want to bring more.”

“That was to be my next question,” Xenaris said. “Then, my next suggestion would be this. Get to know those who you bring with you. These skirmishes can form incredibly powerful bonds. Many of Lord Fenrir’s allies were those he had gone on such skirmishes with, before he had territory of his own.”

Phaedra gave a small nod. “Of course. I’ll do what I can.” She turned and headed back towards her fort. She had far, far too much to think about now. Lilith’s name was cursed? If cursed names were even a thing? Well, her name had always been a bit strange. She could devour names, as it were. But she figured that was what the name referenced. It was hardly the strangest power she’d seen a name give. She’d have to ask Yroth about it later. Xenaris was useful, but he wasn’t… always… the best source of information. She’d never even heard of cursed names before, they likely weren’t even a thing.

She hated to admit it, but something else he mentioned was striking a lot harsher.

It was true, most demons when they went out on their own, like she did, had friends with them. Usually a few. Her situation was… fairly unique. She had a lot more power than most demons her age and, on top of it, more resources. Being the only child of one of the world’s most powerful demons did afford her a lot of luxuries. Most demons at her age would still be serving near their parents or off with groups of friends in the territories of other demons.

They’d have friends, people close to them.

Instead, the only demons she’d ever truly been close with were her family and her father’s generals. It was part of why she was so much more powerful than most demons her age, surviving Leviathan’s training was guaranteed to break you or make you capable.

But the only real friends she had in this world were the ones she’d had when she was Medon, and even those had been chosen for her in many ways. Surely she should have made a few more friends in the past century.

Not that she’d ever had the chance. Her father’s over protective nature meant she’d had little opportunity to actually meet with others her own age.

…

Phaedra wondered if it was normal to feel this pathetic at the realization that she didn’t know anybody her own age. She wondered how old her father was when he met his closest friends now. Well, except her uncle. But Leviathan he’d been almost four-hundred before meeting him, she thought. Maybe?

“I’m pathetic,” Phaedra muttered under her breath.

Actually, now that she thought about it, when was the last time she’d even SEEN Emma? She started walking a little faster through the halls, clenching her fists as she went. A week? Two? Had it been more? Less? She’d been at some meals, hadn’t she? She’d been around, right? The mouse demon just tried to stay out of the way, so she hadn’t worried too much about it.

But now she felt her anxiety rising as she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen the girl. Had it been after the assassination attempt? Before? Had it been before her cousin got here? Before she’d visited her father and her family had begun to search for Medon?

She was practically running by the time she turned the corner to Emma’s room, skidding to a stop in front of it before reaching out, rapidly knocking on the door.

After a few moments, the door opened a crack and a nervous eye stared up at her. “It’s… not ready,” Emma said softly.

“Not ready?” Phaedra asked.

“My tribute…” Emma said softly.

“Tribute?” Phaedra asked. “Emma, are you okay? What are you doing in there?”

“…” Emma gulped and slowly she pulled back, opening the door a little.

Phaedra stared, her mouth falling open.

It was a maid outfit. A big black and white maid outfit, with the little frilly skirt and cute, short sleeves and…

Phaedra couldn’t help it. She picked up Emma and gave her the biggest hug. “Eeeeee. You are the BEST little mouse demon I’ve ever found!”

Emma gave a soft, mousy little squeak.

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