Quantum Rip: Welcome to Ethos

Ghakarhi (Part 1 - Daemon Awakening)

An artificially made table and chair of roots and leaves held a Vespes and his cup of tea. He was relaxing in the midday sun while enjoying this cup of tea. Unbothered by the hundreds of monsters that now surrounded him.

Slimes were the first to have arrived from their hiding, creatures known to always stay in the shadows and out of sight. They had no combat ability to speak of and were the vultures of the monster world.

After them had come beasts, at first those newly awakened. But as time continued to pass even true monsters appeared, including now even orcs and a few trolls.

The monsters did not fight each other, at least not to eat or anything like that. However, they would fight to get as near to the Vespes. But not for him, rather, they wanted to be as near as possible to the dark-skinned human who lay on a bed of roots and leaves.

{"It seems that you have finally awakened."} Tariël smiled and offered the sleepy man a cup of tea.

"Wha- what is going on?" Ghakarhi asked, trying and failing to move his arms and nearly causing the cup to fall. Luckily, a gust of wind somehow balanced it and allowed him to try taking it again.

{"Ah yes, the age-old problem of not being capable of understanding one another. I hope we can at least convey some type of information to one another. I am Tariël Gilneiros. Ilvisar, my nephew, asked me to make sure you are alright."}

Ghakarhi simply looked at the elf in confusion, unable to even make out what were words and what were sentences. The language was so strange and foreign, he had never heard anything like it. It was completely different from the one the mage in purple had spoken.

Just thinking of him caused Ghakarhi's emotions to boil and his anger to rise. And with it, the very air started to tremble.

{"Relax my friend. I mean no harm.} Tariël lifted his hands in the air to try and show he was unarmed. The act did calm Ghakarhi, and finally, he registered the hundreds of monsters surrounding them.

Nearly falling from his leaf bed in fright, he looked at the elf, pleading for an explanation.

{"Ah, they aren't here because of me. They are here for you, newly awakened; Daemon."} Tariël smiled, pointing at Ghakarhi to try and make his sentence clear.

"Me-me? What, {Daemon}?" Ghakarhi mumbled, Tariël's pausing and accentuation having allowed him to at least gather some things from the strange language.

{"Yes, for you. You are releasing an absurd amount of Aether into the air. It is quite the feast."} Trying to showcase this with hand signs as he talked, Tariël looked quite comical.

"Wha-what happened to the mage?" Ghakarhi asked, and finally, he managed to collect where he was. In the center of a crater about the size of a town. The only patch of green being that where the Vespes and he was sitting.

{"You killed him, of course. As well as everyone who used to live in the town he ruled. A few hundred humans, and some slaves of other races."} Tariël did his best to convey the message through signing while trying to not agitate Ghakarhi.

The last thing he wanted was a repeat explosion.

...

Some time passed as Tariël tried to confirm whether Ghakarhi would be a danger to the Vespes. Regardless of what he had promised Ilvisar, he couldn't let a Daemon live if that represented a danger to his kind.

{"Well, it does seem like you have stabilized. I wish you the best of luck going forward."} Bowing slightly in a form of greeting, Tariël stood up and canceled the barrier he had been keeping active to stop the monsters from flooding them.

As soon as he did, they did just that. Rushing forward they tried to get at Ghakarhi, who quickly became panicked as beasts charged him.

He knew that if he did nothing, then he would not survive the charge. Jumping from his comfortable bed, he roared. "Stop! Stop!!!"

His voice carried throughout the air and even sent the nearby beasts flying back. A number of them even died from the shockwaves. Seeing this sight, Ghakarhi froze in confusion and fear.

'Was that me? How? What just happened?'

Thoughts spinning and spiraling, he saw another batch of monsters trying to charge at him. "I said stop!" He shouted, this time the monsters fell to their knees one by one.

This continued for some time until finally, Ghakarhi got some handle on what was going on. "Leave! Leave!!!"

His shout reverberated through the forest, and slowly the monsters stood up and started moving away. All but a few.

Those few were a baby drake around the size of a horse, a cat as large as a lion with dark green and black fur, and a band of orcs.

"I said leave," Ghakarhi stated, looking at the seven figures still standing before him.

The orcs looked at one another and then kneeled, while the drake looked Ghakarhi in the eyes and the cat circled him.

"What do you want!?"

{"To serve!"} The orcs replied in unison, Ghakarhi shocked not that they had answered, but that he had understood them.

"What?"

{"Please, let us be your axe!"} The leader of the band, an athletic female orc said.

Her green, red, and golden-brown hair was braided tightly in a Viking hairstyle. Two daggers were strapped to her back, the bone handles visible.

At her sides she had one-handed axes fastened, her clothing resembled that of a barbarian. Little and tight-fitting, but not so little that it would be considered lacking. It covered what needed to be covered, even protected her vitals. But it also allowed her unrestricted movement.

Behind her were four other orcs, each having two different types of hair colors. Three were female, and only one was male. The male was nearly twice the females' size, on his back he had a massive war-axe.

"My axe?" Ghakarhi questioned, and the lead orc nodded. "For what would I need an axe?"

{"To conquer!"} The orc with tri-colored hair replied, her entire being in that reply.

{"Humph! You orcs are all the same. Always so focused on blood and war."} The drake spoke, flames spurting from his mouth and forming the words. The language was again a different one, but somehow Ghakarhi managed to understand it.

{"And you think you are different, old lizard?"} The cat asked, jumping between the orcs and drake and looking them all up and down. Stopping them from coming to blows.

{"One side wished to simply feast on the Aether he exudes, while the other wants a god. Can't you people live for yourselves?} Again the language was different, yet somehow they all understood the words.

{"Then, why are you here? A Yuyan, what do you seek from this Daemon?"}

{"Why, his future of course."} The cat replied as if it was the simplest thing in the world. {"How about it young man, do you wish to struggle through life. Or will you hand all those woes to me?"}

"Wha-what?"

{"I can take away all your sorrows. If you want. No more struggling and anguish."}

The cat's words sound enticing, however, upon thinking of Amahle, Ghakarhi woke from it.

"No, of course, no! I won't let anyone bind me again!"

{"Let me kill this insolent cat!"} The tri-colored-haired female replied, taking her axes in hand and readying for combat.

{"Hah! You think you are capable?"} The Yuyan asked, baring his fangs as countless invisible wind blades formed around him.

"Enough! No fighting!" Ghakarhi shouted, and surprisingly they listened.

{"Then, what do you propose?"} The Yuyan asked, ignoring the orc who was still brimming with killing intent like she was a mere fly buzzing around.

"I don't know, I need to find a way home..." Ghakarhi's determination shone and he looked at those before him. "Will you help me?"

The orcs were the first to reply, immediately kneeling and swearing they will stand by him and be his axe. The drake's reply was much more lackluster.

{"Fine, I will follow you. But, only if it is interesting."}

The Yuyan was the last to reply, {"Okay, why not. When it becomes too much, make sure to not kill yourself. When that happens, you will be mine. Deal?"}