Demonic Prince

Lyra quickly explained what she had been told by Kantan, doing anything she could to make sure he understood. This was a side of Alistar she had never seen before, the sheer lack of emotion in his eyes scared her almost as much as the pressure she had felt only moments ago. With only a glance she could tell that she held no weight in his mind, disposable in a heartbeat. To a degree she understood his motivation to find Kantan, she just wished that he wouldn't treat her like the enemy.

Once she had told him everything she knew, he took a deep breath before sighing. "I guess it was too much to hope that he would be normal." Alistar pinched the bridge of his nose in thought, ignoring Lyra entirely as he spoke to himself. "Now that he has awakened it will be impossible to hide it. They will have already sensed the birth of a new prince, even if he was in a dungeon when it happened."

His words left her confused, not understanding what he was talking about. She didn't think that the clan posed a real threat to them as long as Alistar was around. If it wasn't the clan that he was concerned about, then just who could make a peak sapphire rank warrior worried? It was then that she remembered their origin was not very well known. They had joined the clan after Kantan had been born, coming in as a family roughly 15 years ago. The chief hadn't really told the clan where they came from, instead saying that Alistar was descendant from an old member of the clan.

It gave them the rights and respect to become valued members of the clan right away. They generally kept to themselves, the family only really getting exposure once Kantan started attending school. Shortly after his parents had died and Alistar had become a pseudo-recluse outside of his duties as a grand elder.

Lyra had long decided that she would do what she could to help Kantan, even before he had undergone his demonic change. She wouldn't let her principles change just because his appearance had. While she was still scared of Alistar, she wasn't ready to give up on Kantan because things had gotten rough. Alistar was still pinching his nose and thinking when she interrupted his thoughts. "I don't know much about whats going on, but I told him I would help him. What can I do to fix him?"

Alistar seemed surprised by her words yet again. First she had wanted to protect his grandson from himself, and now she wanted to figure out how to fix her grandson's problem. His surprise turned to amusement, even letting out a chuckle. "Your thoughts are cute, child. There is one major flaw with your understanding though. There is nothing directly wrong with Kantan, the problem is in those that would interpret the event negatively."

Lyra didn't understand his riddle, "What is that even supposed to mean? He turned into some kind of demon, which means that everyone is going to try to hunt him. It wasn't something he chose, but people won't see that." Her voice raised slightly in frustration, the stress beginning to affect her.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry for how I treated you. In a way, you could be called a savior of his." Alistar's form simply ceased to exist before she noticed that he was now standing next to her, his hand placed on her shoulder. Lyra wanted to scream in fright, but in the next moment an intense energy forced its way through her body. The energy wiped away the fatigue and exhaustion that had been ailing her, both physical and mental. "There, that should help."

His words seemed to become reality, her mind feeling crisp and clear just like her body. It was as if she had just gotten a complete nights' rest, yet carried none of the sluggishness that normally accompanied it. The only sign that something had happened was a slight hunger in her stomach, making her feel like she hadn't eaten all day.

Before she could speak up and ask what he had done, Alistar was back in his normal position. "As I said earlier, the problem is not about the fact that he changed. The problem is that others like him will take his existence less favorably."

Lyra was surprised that Alistar seemed to know what was happening, completely unperturbed that his grandson had been corrupted. It was like he had expected as much, which left her wondering why he hadn't done something about it before everything went to shit. "There are other people that have become demonic? Why would him changing affect them? Why did he change when no one else did?"

Alistar raised his hand to silence her, "One question at a time, and I am only answering because I will require your help in the near future." His eyes suddenly flashed cold and serious, letting her know that it was not something that was up for debate. "Firstly, there are plenty of people who are demonic in nature. I am sure you have heard of the Demon Lords, do you think they never had any children?"

Lyra's eyes widened, his words reminding her of what Kantan had said in the dungeon. She hadn't brought it up since even Kantan wasn't sure if it had really been a demon lord that had attacked the dungeon. When that thought came back, the dots began to connect and her mouth fell open in shock.

"You.. you.. you are?" She couldn't help but stutter the words, fearing the truth she already knew to be.

Alistar simply nodded before continuing, "Kantan as well. Technically his a prince, and not a lord yet. Not every descendant of a demon lord becomes a prince though, only those with a purer bloodline take on a demonic body without significant effort. The fact that he shifted naturally in the face of death has proven that his blood is strong, just like his mother. Princes are rare, especially since we were hunted to almost extinction."

The information was too much for her to handle all of the implications, so she narrows down on Kantan's situation as much as she could. "Why would this be bad for him? Wouldn't the demon's be happy to have another prince? Why is being a prince so important?" If she could understand more, it would help her figure out what she could do for Kantan.

"Being a prince is not inherently bad, if anything it is the best thing that could have happened. If he hadn't shifted, it would have meant that he was human." The last word came out with the slightest note of disgust, but it was well hidden. She wasn't even sure if she had noticed it correctly or not. "Unfortunately our kind fall prey to the same problems that humans do when it comes to power and authority. Prince's are the only ones capable of evolving on their own, eventually becoming Demon Lords if given time and opportunity. Lesser demon's are limited by the power that is given to them, unable to progress unless a higher demon like a prince or lord allows them to."

"This makes them natural leaders within the race, so each prince being born is a big deal. When Kantan was first born, he looked human due to the fact that his mother had married a human. Those that hated his mother and I used her failure to birth a prince as a reason to exile us. Now that he has awoken his demonic blood that changes things. Now he has the right to undertake the path of a lord, which would mean less power for the lords who currently control demonic society."

The information overload upended her understanding of life as she knew it. Her best friend was supposedly a race that was meant to be a fairy tale, and now that he had manifested as such his life was in danger. How was she supposed to help or protect him from something that wasn't supposed to be real, or was much more powerful than either of them.

Alistar continued despite her feeling overwhelmed by everything. "As for how you can help him, I have already decided that. You will be his first general."