C17 once upon a time

It's almost full dark but we managed to make it to the camping ground, surprisingly Ciora, number 7 and number 1 and 2 manage to keep standing. I also need to remember their names before I call on them "alright kids, since the four of you managed to beat the others I'll let you all win, even I'm starting to feel tired so I know you all are." I ran through the desert so I'm fine with spending all day walking or running, but most of these people don't need to worry about that, after all there are beasts all over the place so they don't need to do their jobs. One and two come up and ask me to teach them how to use a sword, while number seven asks me to answer a wish of hers at a later time. Ciora asks me to cook for her, then says that I also owe her the gold, since her wish is food which will expire. I agree just to make her stop arguing her case with Alvana and soon a fire is lit, I make soup for Celeste, Ciora, Alvana, and myself. That was the deal, she would lead me to the ruins but I was to take care of her until we got back to the city. The others eat rations or cook light meals, but I let them fend for themselves, I had three others follow me and find some meat and they've shared it with the ones who'll cook. "Out of curiosity, you're taking this training thing seriously aren't you?" I look up and Celeste turns to look out at the other side of the fire, everyone watches her "site, you're all fending for yourselves, and he's being a bit stupid by lighting a fire and cooking meat where there are beasts, but he hunted it down and now he's teaching you about Sharing the work. The ones who hunted, himself aside, haven't touched the food except to eat. You are taking their training very seriously aren't you?" She turns back to me and I shrug lightly "it's not like I told them to share jobs, it's just that... I did tell the hunters to give the meat to the cooks. Ok, I wasn't thinking about it. When I was traveling the desert with my group, before I decided to come here we would always share the work." Eyebrows raise and suddenly Alvana leans forwards, she seems to be on something "Nicta, didn't you say that you lost your emotions for five years? Then you wandered the desert? You're not even twenty, what path have you followed so far?" I don't think she's the only one that wants to know, judging by the faces I'd say everyone has questions. "I'll make you a deal. One year from now, if we have time, and we happen to be on a mission, I will sit down and tell you my life story. You barely know me now, so your view will be colored by me. In this year I won't answer a single question about my background that I don't want in return." Come next year I'll have had enough time to find out why my father came here, I may even be gone by then "you might not even be alive next year, tell us now and you'll never have to answer any question about your background, to anyone. Between Celeste, the smiths guild, and the hunters union we'll see it done." I can't pass up that option, that means that aside from those here I will have no one who knows my past "if you ever betray my trust I will kill you in the most horrible way imaginable, not your imagination, mine." I lean forwards and look into the fire "I have a memory that has captured every single waking moment since I was born. I remember the shadows that my parents started out as, I remember that my mother smelled like roses, all the time. It was from the perfume she wore, but eventually she just smelled like roses. I remember when my father, Salem Vallen, left. He told my mother that he was leaving for one year, that he wanted to gather some money from being a mercenary. Neither of them were Afraid that he would die, after all, my father was one of the greatest Vallens to live in the past five hundred years, he is topped only by my grandfather, and me. We managed for two years without many problems, my father sent money from his travels, though the mayor taxed the village hard, we managed well. I was... three, when my mother came home one night, much earlier than she should, she worked at a food stall, and held me and my sister close. She said that everyone was saying that my father was dead, she sobbed for hours. I remember thinking that I would never make anyone cry like that, most especially someone I loved. She woke up the next day and started talking to us. She would say anything and everything about whatever she was doing, when she came home she would talk about how she got fired from her job, the mayor was playing with her, she was forced into prostitution again... when I was seven the mayor brought my mother's body to our house, along with a sword." I look down at the one beside me, and everyone follows my eyes "he said my father sent it by mail, along with a tattoo scheme. My mother was dead. My sister was killed. When it was my turn, I refused to die. I wanted blood, I wanted death. I hated the mayor, the people, the world, in that moment. And that's when the demon spoke to me the first time." Immediately it's voice ripples through everyone's mind, as drawn by the past as I am. The tale has started, it must be finished. "Hello little boy. I hear that you are an angry little boy, do you like hurting people little boy?" The girls, aside from Alvana shiver. And Celeste grips her arms "I can give you power little boy, I can make you a little warrior, I can make you a hero little boy. But you'll have to pay the price. You're a Vallen boy, give me war." It stops and takes a breath, but I put the rock sheathe in the fire, and soon it starts crying. The rock blurs it out for most of the others, but Albania and Celeste hear it. Interesting that their right beside me "I killed... I killed a lot of people, and I'm not proud of it." One of the numbers asks me if it was against enemies, and I shake my head "I destroyed the village. I killed... seven thousand three hundred and ninety six people, in one day. The more blood that was shed the stronger it got, and it in turn gave me more power. Was it necessary?" The demon breaks off from its crying, and in a raspy shadowy voice, unlike its normal crooning pitch whispers "yes, yes it was. The blood and screams were worth every ounce of power expended." I pull it out of the rock sheathe, carful not to touch it too long, and pull the sword from the sheathe. That I stick into the ground, and it's sharp enough to slide in like it's sliding through flesh. Once it's in the ground it immediately goes completely silent "the earth around us has a natural defense against demons, and we as humans have gained a bit of that. Anyway, back to my story. The answer is no. I killed a lot of innocent people that day, I killed a lot of criminals that had no sin with me. It wasn't worth it no. I managed to regain my senses when I saw the fear in a young child's eyes, she was a friend of my sisters. My sister had those eyes when she looked at the mayor. I realized then That I was just as much a monster as he was. Maybe I was even worse, because I didn't clean up my mess, I wasn't influenced against my will, I wasn't dragged under my bloodlust, I gave up, I embraced the evil inside of me. I lost my emotions in return for betraying the demon, and I proceeded to wander the desert for almost five years. I just spent my time saving people in need, trying to fix the sin I had brought upon myself, and slowly my heart healed. I went back to that village after five years, when I was twelve, and took back the sword, it was in a den of beasts. Those I killed with relish. That was when I realized that If I fought the bloodlust, if I controlled it, the blood of the slain, man or beast, would subdue the demon."