Conclave

Agashi woke with a start, this time to the silence of a white room, its walls pale and blank.

 His body ached from the battle, but all the wounds he sustained were no longer there. The air was thick with a strange scent he couldn't place, prompting him to shield his nose with his hand.

"That'd be demon ichor," a stern female voice pointed out from the far end of the room.

"What? Who are you and what am I doing here?" 

" You know, I've spent the last twenty years training and fighting with the lugina and I haven't ever seen your face. How did you manage to kill a sub-level demon?" She demanded.

Agashi watched her in silence. He didn't have the answers she was looking for.

She was dressed in black, which covered her in a fitted, sturdy tunic that fell just below the knee, edged with subtle silver piping that confirmed his suspicion that she was someone of authority. 

"What did you mean by demon ichor?," he rasped.

"Demon blood, and I don't have time for conversation. The council has demanded to see you."

She stood aside as two men in the same uniform she was wearing walked into the room and headed straight for Agashi.

"Wait! What council? Where are you taking me?" He demanded, and in that moment as he raised his hands, he saw the bright red markings on his skin, causing him to hesitate and give the men the time they needed to grab hold of him and walk him towards the door.

Agashi was dragged into the Council Hall, still flanked by the two men while the woman walked ahead of them.

The council table was a long, dark wood semi-circle that shone under the light from overhead chandeliers. Sitting behind this table were the seven council members—three demons and four humans.

"The markings are there," one of them murmured, gesturing in Agashi's direction as he spoke.

"We don't know anything yet, Eredin. He could have gotten those Markings anywhere," another demon interjected. It looked like a pack of stones.

"Kneel," one of the men beside Agashi ordered, kicking his legs and forcing him to his knees.

As soon as Agashi's knees touched the cold floor, the stillness of the moment was suddenly pierced by a sharp tremor that ran through his body. He began to tremble, his hands quaking uncontrollably as a flood of memories surged into his mind. 

"What's wrong with him?" One of the human council members questioned.

"You know what's wrong with him. His memories are returning," Eredin insisted.

"We don't know that yet. He could be an impostor for all we know. Look at him, he's too scrawny," the stone demon insisted.

"Be that as it may, It's still my responsibility to inform Lord Urug of this. I hope I'm not taking things too far Eliott?" Eredin chuckled, turning his attention to one of the human members of the council.

"I don't think we know enough to make rash decisions Eredin. The lad has red marks on his skin and he's convulsing in the room, that doesn't say much of anything. I suggest we keep him detained and let him participate in the bloodlake till we know more."

"If anything, he's a good fighter. From what I hear, he made easy work of a sub-level demon," Eliott responded with a smirk on his face.

Elliott's statement left a bitter taste in Eredin's mouth and a scowl settled on his face as he leaned back into his seat.

"Is this true, Alice?" He asked, turning to the stern woman who escorted Agashi into the council hall.

"Yes, my lord," she responded icily.

"Did any member of the lugina witness this for themselves or is this just hearsay? Pardon my doubts but I find it hard to believe that a man as scrawny as that could take on a sub-level demon on his own and emerge victorious. I haven't known the lugina to slaughter sub level demons with the ease Eliott described,"  Eredin demanded, his frown sank deeper as he glared at Alice.

"While I didn't watch him fight the beast by myself, the testimony of everyone at the scene matched and the credits accumulated on his band suggests so too," Alice replied with a steely gaze, she didn't seem fazed by the demon's stare.

"If anything you're saying here is true, then my suspicions are true. Urug must be informed and your champion must make his decision," Eredin snarled as he turned to Eliott.

"Do what you must, Eredin, but I'm not convinced by this. I'll keep him till I know more," Eliott answered folding his hands across his chest in defiance.

The voices of the council members were a distant murmur to Agashi. A thousand voices were in his ear and somehow, he could hear them all.

"What is your name?" Those words wrestled Agashi from the flood of memories that threatened to suffocate him.

"Are you deaf? Answer the question," Alice yelled at him.

"Agashi," he stammered, peering at the council members, wondering what was happening to him.

The doors to the council hall opened to let in a demon.

"My lord Eredin, your mount has been prepared," it announced, falling to it's knees.

Eredin stood from his seat with a frown painted on his face. The human's sudden emergence had put a wrinkle in the plan.

The Sibith warning horn sounded just as he left.

"Get him back to the bloodlake and arm him. Till we know any better, he'll continue to perform his duties as a low-level hunter, nothing more," Elliott ordered.

Alice nodded at her instructions and in no time Agashi was hurled out of the council hall and back to the blood lake.

The Sibith warning horn sounded again.

"What's your weapon of choice?" She asked, the scowl on her face hadn't lifted.

"Just give him a sword and be done with it. It's almost time," one of her lieutenants suggested.

A sword was handed to him before he was pushed towards the lower class arena. Agashi could hear the familiar shrieks of demons waiting for the horn to sound, doubt began to creep into his heart, would it be possible for him to replicate what happened earlier?

"Try not to die," Alice whispered as the gates were shut behind him. There was a certain glimmer of hope in her eyes he didn't quite understand, but right now, he had more pressing concerns.