Flamma Academy Pocket Plane – Camping ground
One day before.
The sound of clashing swords and the men’s shouting seemed like a rehearsal of what would take place the following day.
The Flamma Academy had always existed in a distinctly precarious position. Though it laid within a bounded field separate from Belfar’s domain, it was still technically located in the realms of Hell. Once every few years, the astral pathways intersected in such a way as to open a portal between the Academy’s territory and the greater planes of Hell, at which point only the magical barrier surrounding the complex kept the demons at bay. Granted, it was not easy to predict where the other end of the pathway would open, so the Academy only had to endure assaults from whatever tribe of demons happened to be around at the time, but that was still plenty enough to pose a threat. Not being a warmongering race, the Flamma Succubi instead opted to focus all their powers on reinforcing the barrier until the astral pathways disentangled once more and the siege would be forced to break. This had kept them alive for the last millennium, but it meant a tremendous squander of energy and living under constant threat, stockpiling energy in between sieges hoping it’d be enough to survive the next one.
King Asmodeus proposed a different solution. Hoping to establish friendly relations with the Academy, he had suggested opening the barrier and allowing the attacking force through in order to ambush and destroy them. Not only would it spare the Academy from this siege, it would also send a message that the territory was no longer defenceless and hopefully discourage further raids. The path would open right into a narrow canyon on the outskirts of the succubi’s territory, and Asmodeus and his forces would be waiting on the opposite end.
Granted, “forces” might have been too fancy a word. He had only brought with him six human knights, mostly veterans from Aura’s knight squad along with Aura herself. The messenger he had dealt with while proposing his plan, a strange blonde succubus named Selene, had also surprisingly volunteered to help in the battle. Given the oddity of a succubus with skill in melee combat, Aura insisted on testing her before the battle.
And so, the King, Captain Sergei and the other five knights sat at the mouth of the canyon, watching as Aura and Selene clashed swords. It had been immediately apparent that the succubus knew very well what she was doing, and though she lacked the physical strength of her opponent, Deus could easily tell that her skill with a blade was superb.
“Not bad at all, ain’t she?” Sergei said, sitting right beside him.
“No kidding,” the King nodded. “How in the hell did you say you knew her again?”
The swordswoman succubus’s skill had turned out not to be the only odd thing about her. Whereas most succubi generally remained naked, projecting illusions on themselves to pass off as human, this girl wore a form-fitting but sturdy black armour. More noticeably, her horns, tail and wings were a milky white colour instead of the usual black.
But stranger of all was the fact that she seemed to know Sergei.
“I had no idea she was a succubus. I remember she stopped by my hometown when I was a kid,” he explained, sitting casually next to Deus by the crackling fire. “Cleared out a band of marauding demons like they were nothing, spent some time in the village and then disappeared. Honestly, she’s kind of the reason I thought of joining the knights in the first place.”
“A demon encouraged you to join the Church?” Deus asked.
“Ha! Funny how that worked out, didn’t it?” the older knight cackled.
With a final clash and a salute the two women separated, settling the match in a draw. The rest of the knights clapped their hands in cheer, with the two doing a small curtsy before Aura ordered them all to retire and rest for the night. Obediently, the other five men dispersed, leaving the rest standing alone under the strange purple sky of the bounded field.
“Happy now?” Asmodeus asked his wife as she and Selene made their way to the two men.
“Plenty. Tomorrow’ll be a cinch,” she nodded, turning to the blonde succubus. “Sorry about being so insistent, but--“
“Can’t trust a formation to hold if you can’t trust the people forming it. Don’t sweat it,” Selene answered unconcernedly.
“Then I think we’re done for the day. Oh, I just remembered,” Aura said, turning to her husband. “Selene asked me if you could help her stock up on energy for tomorrow in exchange for sparring with me. You don’t mind, right?”
“No, of course I don’t m—“ said the red-haired king without thinking, stopping mid-sentence as he saw the succubus toothy smile and understood what she meant. “What?! Now!?”
“Wouldn’t do much good after the battle, won’t it?” Aura shrugged. “Come on, you have energy to spare and everyone needs to be in top shape.”
“I can volunteer if he doesn’t want to,” Sergei said, raising his hand with a shameless grin.
“No you can’t, I need you with strong legs tomorrow,” Aura cut him off, making the much older knight let out a faked disappointed whimper.
“Awww, don’t worry, kid. I’ll give you a ride once we’re back at the Academy, alright?” Selene said, making him perk up almost instantly. “But now I really oughta try this one out. Come on Your Majesty,” she added, dragging the still-stupefied Deus to her tent in the back of the camp.
“Ain’t gonna join them?” Sergei asked once they were out of sight.
“If I start, I probably won’t stop ‘til morning,” Aura answered, sitting next to him by the fire. The older knight chuckled at the girl’s blunt honesty, though he had long gotten used to it.
“You know, I always figured you’d develop some common sense after settling down and having kids,” he said airily. “Ain’t happening, is it?”
“Apparently not,” she shrugged. “I don’t get all that jealousy and shame stuff, seems like a waste of time. How’s the leg?”
“Like new,” he said, patting his healed right leg. “And besides, I’d hack it off and fight the demons with the stump if it meant we get to rest at that school afterwards.”
“You’re a lot easier to motivate than you were back in the church, aren’t you?” Aura asked with a smirk.
“The incentives sure as hell got better!” he barked. “I’ll take a pair of firm demon titties any day over a droning priest giving me a pat in the back and a kick in the bum before sending us out on another mission.”
“I’m just glad following me didn’t cause you a crisis of faith,” Aura said jokingly, turning to look at the tent her husband had just entered. “Changing the topic… have you noticed him looking a bit stressed lately?”
Sergei thought for a moment, giving a small grunt in response. “Kid’s got a lot on his plate for someone so young, it’s to be expected. It’s the first time he leads other people into battle too.”
“Was I like that the first time?” Aura asked.
“Not really, but you’ve always been a little off in the head,” he answered, making her smile at his bluntness. “Bah, let’s just get this battle done tomorrow. Yer both gonna live for ages anyway, no need to try and solve everything at once,” he finished, standing up and shaking the dust off his clothes. “See you tomorrow, Cap-Err, Your Majesty.”
“Sleep well, Serge,” Aura said as he walked away. Shaking the last few stray thoughts out of her head, she made her way back to her own tent.
Sergei was right, whatever was bothering Deus, they could deal with it after the battle.
One day before.
The sound of clashing swords and the men’s shouting seemed like a rehearsal of what would take place the following day.
The Flamma Academy had always existed in a distinctly precarious position. Though it laid within a bounded field separate from Belfar’s domain, it was still technically located in the realms of Hell. Once every few years, the astral pathways intersected in such a way as to open a portal between the Academy’s territory and the greater planes of Hell, at which point only the magical barrier surrounding the complex kept the demons at bay. Granted, it was not easy to predict where the other end of the pathway would open, so the Academy only had to endure assaults from whatever tribe of demons happened to be around at the time, but that was still plenty enough to pose a threat. Not being a warmongering race, the Flamma Succubi instead opted to focus all their powers on reinforcing the barrier until the astral pathways disentangled once more and the siege would be forced to break. This had kept them alive for the last millennium, but it meant a tremendous squander of energy and living under constant threat, stockpiling energy in between sieges hoping it’d be enough to survive the next one.
King Asmodeus proposed a different solution. Hoping to establish friendly relations with the Academy, he had suggested opening the barrier and allowing the attacking force through in order to ambush and destroy them. Not only would it spare the Academy from this siege, it would also send a message that the territory was no longer defenceless and hopefully discourage further raids. The path would open right into a narrow canyon on the outskirts of the succubi’s territory, and Asmodeus and his forces would be waiting on the opposite end.
Granted, “forces” might have been too fancy a word. He had only brought with him six human knights, mostly veterans from Aura’s knight squad along with Aura herself. The messenger he had dealt with while proposing his plan, a strange blonde succubus named Selene, had also surprisingly volunteered to help in the battle. Given the oddity of a succubus with skill in melee combat, Aura insisted on testing her before the battle.
And so, the King, Captain Sergei and the other five knights sat at the mouth of the canyon, watching as Aura and Selene clashed swords. It had been immediately apparent that the succubus knew very well what she was doing, and though she lacked the physical strength of her opponent, Deus could easily tell that her skill with a blade was superb.
“Not bad at all, ain’t she?” Sergei said, sitting right beside him.
“No kidding,” the King nodded. “How in the hell did you say you knew her again?”
The swordswoman succubus’s skill had turned out not to be the only odd thing about her. Whereas most succubi generally remained naked, projecting illusions on themselves to pass off as human, this girl wore a form-fitting but sturdy black armour. More noticeably, her horns, tail and wings were a milky white colour instead of the usual black.
But stranger of all was the fact that she seemed to know Sergei.
“I had no idea she was a succubus. I remember she stopped by my hometown when I was a kid,” he explained, sitting casually next to Deus by the crackling fire. “Cleared out a band of marauding demons like they were nothing, spent some time in the village and then disappeared. Honestly, she’s kind of the reason I thought of joining the knights in the first place.”
“A demon encouraged you to join the Church?” Deus asked.
“Ha! Funny how that worked out, didn’t it?” the older knight cackled.
With a final clash and a salute the two women separated, settling the match in a draw. The rest of the knights clapped their hands in cheer, with the two doing a small curtsy before Aura ordered them all to retire and rest for the night. Obediently, the other five men dispersed, leaving the rest standing alone under the strange purple sky of the bounded field.
“Happy now?” Asmodeus asked his wife as she and Selene made their way to the two men.
“Plenty. Tomorrow’ll be a cinch,” she nodded, turning to the blonde succubus. “Sorry about being so insistent, but--“
“Can’t trust a formation to hold if you can’t trust the people forming it. Don’t sweat it,” Selene answered unconcernedly.
“Then I think we’re done for the day. Oh, I just remembered,” Aura said, turning to her husband. “Selene asked me if you could help her stock up on energy for tomorrow in exchange for sparring with me. You don’t mind, right?”
“No, of course I don’t m—“ said the red-haired king without thinking, stopping mid-sentence as he saw the succubus toothy smile and understood what she meant. “What?! Now!?”
“Wouldn’t do much good after the battle, won’t it?” Aura shrugged. “Come on, you have energy to spare and everyone needs to be in top shape.”
“I can volunteer if he doesn’t want to,” Sergei said, raising his hand with a shameless grin.
“No you can’t, I need you with strong legs tomorrow,” Aura cut him off, making the much older knight let out a faked disappointed whimper.
“Awww, don’t worry, kid. I’ll give you a ride once we’re back at the Academy, alright?” Selene said, making him perk up almost instantly. “But now I really oughta try this one out. Come on Your Majesty,” she added, dragging the still-stupefied Deus to her tent in the back of the camp.
“Ain’t gonna join them?” Sergei asked once they were out of sight.
“If I start, I probably won’t stop ‘til morning,” Aura answered, sitting next to him by the fire. The older knight chuckled at the girl’s blunt honesty, though he had long gotten used to it.
“You know, I always figured you’d develop some common sense after settling down and having kids,” he said airily. “Ain’t happening, is it?”
“Apparently not,” she shrugged. “I don’t get all that jealousy and shame stuff, seems like a waste of time. How’s the leg?”
“Like new,” he said, patting his healed right leg. “And besides, I’d hack it off and fight the demons with the stump if it meant we get to rest at that school afterwards.”
“You’re a lot easier to motivate than you were back in the church, aren’t you?” Aura asked with a smirk.
“The incentives sure as hell got better!” he barked. “I’ll take a pair of firm demon titties any day over a droning priest giving me a pat in the back and a kick in the bum before sending us out on another mission.”
“I’m just glad following me didn’t cause you a crisis of faith,” Aura said jokingly, turning to look at the tent her husband had just entered. “Changing the topic… have you noticed him looking a bit stressed lately?”
Sergei thought for a moment, giving a small grunt in response. “Kid’s got a lot on his plate for someone so young, it’s to be expected. It’s the first time he leads other people into battle too.”
“Was I like that the first time?” Aura asked.
“Not really, but you’ve always been a little off in the head,” he answered, making her smile at his bluntness. “Bah, let’s just get this battle done tomorrow. Yer both gonna live for ages anyway, no need to try and solve everything at once,” he finished, standing up and shaking the dust off his clothes. “See you tomorrow, Cap-Err, Your Majesty.”
“Sleep well, Serge,” Aura said as he walked away. Shaking the last few stray thoughts out of her head, she made her way back to her own tent.
Sergei was right, whatever was bothering Deus, they could deal with it after the battle.