103 Winds of Change (2/2)

Li stood at the fields, watching the wheat now turning golden. Harvest would be tomorrow as scheduled. The sun hung low in the sky, its usual golden splendor becoming just a little redder as it readied itself to set in the coming hours.

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'So that's the gist of it,' communed Li to Zagan who lay beside his feet. 'Any idea of how to grant things to followers?'

'I will say that my personage is greatly pleased to see that you are embracing more of your true nature,' said Zagan. 'But though my knowledge be vast, it is insufficient for your needs. We demons are not gods. We know not the concept of followers and worshippers.'

'But the day I met you, you were rooted inside that bandit leader's soul, giving him power he would never have humanly achieved. Old Thane, too, you made him younger.'

'There is a fundamental difference between that and bestowing blessings to worshippers. What we demons grant cannot be called blessings. They are curses veiled with sweet, sinful allure such that weak mortal hearts succumb to taking them willingly.

We demons do not receive worship from humans. There is no real exchange. They are merely our food. The powers we grant them are simply there to bring forth their flavor by catering to their weaknesses. At the depths of their darkest despairs or in the heights of their sin, their souls are ever more charged with negative force, ever more delectable to feast upon.

Thus, we entice mortals to make pacts with us that will invariably worsen their sins or lead them into destruction, for at the zenith of their misery is when it is truly wondrous to feast upon their souls.'

'I see.' Li nodded. In human terms, Zagan basically described demon culture's idea of marinating food. They invested time and effort into leading a mortal down into their absolute worst states all to have a tastier meal at the end. 'That's worlds apart from the whole worship and blessing dichotomy that gods and mortals here seem to have.'

'That is so.' Zagan perked his head up, his ears twitching backwards. 'Though this talk does push me to inform you, Elder One, of the winds of change that flicker about.'

'And that is?'

'Whence you first laid eyes upon my personage, at that little bandit: I infested his soul not only to grow his insatiable greed for power, but also to open up the initial invasion into human territory.'

'An invasion that's now been called off.' Li looked west, his eyes scanning over disused farmlands, rolling hills, beyond the shadowy winterwoods, and into the horizon where the hinterlands, and, even further, the demons were.

Zagan also looked west and sighed. 'The Burning One has invoked the Rite of Order, compelling all demons to gather at En Arkennan, the center of all chaos from which we demons are born from.”

'You received that call?'

'I am no longer connected to the Burning One, but a Rite sent among all demons would reach one of age and power such as my personage. The Rite of Order is usually invoked before invasion, though it has rarely been called for other reasons as well.'

Li squatted down, becoming level with Zagan as he eyed the demon. 'You remember what I said, don't you? If the Burning One makes a move here, it'll be the last move he makes.'

'That, my personage fully understands.'

'I know your kind only values ties to the strong, but I also understand you've known this Burning One for centuries. If you want to go West and talk to him one more time, this might be your last chance.'