[Sarah]

The queen’s son was a bookish creature. He never ventured far from the castle and lived his life through the universes inside his books rather than the multitude of universes surrounding him. Curiosities might have moved him to action. Strange anomalies here and there that might only be explained through his expertise. Instead of heading his own research he read what others had done. He studied and learned about the world through science and fiction alike while never settling on a method he related to more.

It was only at the behest of his mother, and sometimes his brothers that he removed his nose from the bindings of a book. It was only when the unknowable came upon them that they distracted him with reality. Now was one such time.

[Sarah]

The mist had not penetrated Hell. As best as anyone could tell so far it couldn’t interact with the portals that lead to other realms. Given the known non-evelonian intruders it seemed to only be a matter of time before Evelon began spreading its own energies to other worlds.

The queen, his mother, was worried of the consequences should the mist seep into Hell. Demons residing in Hell were unstable enough as it was, an unknown substance with unknown effects could be catastrophic to the realm. Evelon had few enough legends about the mist to begin with - the main being that guardian creatures resided within. Even the most optimistic Demon could see how thin the legends were.

[Sarah]

Reports from Evelon only furthered the distrust of the strange mist. Chaos of unknown allegiance had appeared in the Vast Plains when the mist first started to pool over the ground. Whatever was going on had most species unsettled at best. Behavior changes in animals and civilizations had everyone on edge. Reapers and Seraphim had set aside their struggle with Demons and vice-versa until things cleared up. Their investment in Evelon relied on Evelon functioning as it always had.

[Sarah]

Oreon had been allowed to take a team, if he so wished. At the very least his mother required that he bring a bodyguard with him. Preposterous - Oreon might spend all his time reading, but he had to take the same classes his brothers had. Hand-to-hand combat, any number of martial arts, weapons training, anything to ensure he could defeat whatever creature dared defy him.

Nonetheless he did as his mother bid. He put feelers out for volunteers and narrowed down candidates based on sanity and relative skill. To his surprise and old and retired spy-assassin asked to join.

[Sarah]

The man, Demon, had been exceptionally loyal to the crown. Oreon knew his son as well and was pleased to accept him. Sahir – the creature was… exceptional. He’d worked closely with the queen and was one of her early allies before she even took the throne. His kill record was unmatched, and unlike Oreon, he was well-trained in long range encounters. Oreon had been trained, of course, he’d just never gotten effective at long-range kills or confrontations.

[Sarah]

They were well into the Vast Plains now. Oreon’s intel would lead them to the nest of Chaos that had been reported. Normally that sort of thing was handed of to allies of the queen, but with the mist causing its own chaos the queen felt she had few to trust. His brothers, Relic and Sevastion, were both working their own cases. They were far better equipped to deal with the Chaos, and with the mist itself, but somehow Oreon had been chosen instead. Even if his mother felt the whole thing was a threat Oreon wasn’t sure if he was the guy for the job. She was known for her tests, yet she had seemed sincere in her concerns. The Whole Thing was putting Oreon off balance.

[Sarah]

“Kid!” Sahir barked. Oreon visibly jumped and came back into reality.

“Yeah?” Oreon asked, sounding only marginally annoyed. It was not a true feat to control his tone or expressions, but he knew well enough Sahir saw right through him. The old Demon might not have been strictly more powerful, but he was more experienced, and he didn’t seem to give a shit what Oreon thought or felt which made him dangerous. It was a good thing he was loyal.

[Sarah]

“We’re coming up on the camp. They’ve situated themselves on the other side of this ridge. The report doesn’t have specific numbers, but there can’t be more than five. They’ve built crude structures as well,” Oreon reported. It wouldn’t even take much luck to catch the Chaos unawares. If they were lucky Oreon might get the chance to interrogate one or two.

Oreon caught enough of the fading facial expression to know Sahir had communicated some sort of acknowledgement. The man appeared to have a severe hatred of using his vocal cords. Oreon could not understand why. Talking was so much easier than having to be attentive to another’s face for vague easy-to-misinterpret meaning.

[Sarah]

Chaos were dangerous enough as it was. Chaos that did not claim allegiance to some faction were worse. The queen had connections. When something suspicious was going on she had the authority to get answers quickly and accurately. Once it was known Chaos had settled on Evelon instead of their normal plane of existence the queen had asked around to figure out who had sent them. No one claimed responsibility, and with the mist being a general nuisance the queen took it upon herself to send them back from where they came.

[Sarah]

They were upon the ridge now. Sahir had forced Oreon to crawl, claiming it was better if they were not seen. Getting better intel did mean the difference between life and death, so Oreon had conceded. He still was not a fan of crawling through grass and dirt.

Even worse – Sahir had been correct in his plan. Looking down upon the small camp was eye-opening to say the least. Their intel had too many holes in it. There were two Chaos in the camp, but there was evidence to believe that the group’s total was seven or eight, and there was a prisoner. Oreon could smell it before they even crested the ridge. The faint smell of Seraph was unmistakable to him.

[Sarah]

What in the Hell were Chaos doing with a live Seraph? What purpose was there in keeping such a prisoner. From the smell the celestial creature had not touched down in its home plane for a long time. Long enough that Oreon suspected it was fallen.

It was too easy to forget that the mist was affecting the mind. A worrying thought upon an infinite stack of worrying thoughts. Annabelle’s children loved to collect misfits and Oreon was no exception. His collection was just not as big as his siblings, that was he had not brought home any lost or hurt creatures nor had he recruited the help of those he’d defeated in battle.

[Sarah]

Disappointing dad was… impossible. Disappointing the queen often led to a death sentence. She hated her children taking loyalties for themselves. Even when her children were ultimately loyal to her, she could not stand when they took another creature for their own use. Anything outside the queen’s control held a thin claim on life.

Where her children learned compassion and empathy was widely unknown. Oreon figured it was because of their mixed species lineage. Their parentage was another unknown.

[Sarah]

“What’s the plan?” Sahir was growling.

It was absolutely exhausting to be in charge. Why anyone would want to be was becoming beyond Oreon. How was he meant to know the best course of action? Their limited field data left too much to extrapolate upon. “You’re the expert,” he replied shorty. For every time he’d reassured himself that he would be fine in a fight – he really did not want to face up against Chaos.

[Sarah]

A team of one against a settlement of rogue Chaos. What could go wrong? Sahir was beginning to believe his own words, he was getting to old for this. Too tired. Too apathetic. Too done with fulfilling impossible commands perfectly. He owed the queen nothing, and he owed her children even less. That they expected him to continue was a mistake of his own creation. That he showed an ounce of loyalty towards anyone but himself was a mistake of his own creation.

[Sarah]

Despite what the queen said in order to keep up appearances, they did not get along. No one got along with the queen. One did as the queen said or they died. Sahir had been old when the queen first came along, and over all the centuries of his life nothing had really changed. Power came and went, and it was never gracious, and it was never generous. He had learned that loyalty was only really worth it when a being was loyal to themselves.