Lunch

"Come. Let's check in on your injured men."

Caine watched them walk away with conflicting thoughts. He was proud of how far Gavin had come, how much he had changed in such a short time. Gavin was fully invested in his role as a general and seemed to be just as invested in whatever there was between the two of them.

As proud as Caine was for all the changes he found himself wondering if the day would come that Gavin didn't need him anymore. Doubt isn't an emotion that Caine is familiar with, but something about Gavin just seems to throw everything off track.

Refusing to dwell on unnecessary emotions, Caine shakes his head and files the strange emotions away. There are things that need to be done, plans that need to be made. The first order of business is to clean all of this mess. Next is the expansion of Dreymore. I want to see Kael leveled. Dreymore will be the Capital of this new country. Once we have conquered the lands Dreymore will stand as an example for all to see.

When the three entered the city a handful of soldiers left the safety of the walls to use earth magic to fill in the holes in the ground. By the time they were done it was hard to tell that a battle had even occurred.

Caine returned to the castle while Gavin led Varen to the medical tent. It was busy within the tent as demons and a handful of humans moved around tending to the wounded. Those with the most severe injuries were placed at the back of the tent. It was set up so that those with the least amount of injuries were what you saw when you first walked into the tent.

Gavin caught sight of Ondrea and walked over.

"Ondrea, how are things going?"

"They are going well, master. I'm doing well enough that I've been left to heal minor wounds by myself."

"Good. I may have to change up your training routine. It appears that I have been taking it too easy on you."

Ondrea wasn't certain if he should take that as a compliment or fear for his life in the following days. He had been tasked with learning a spell in just a couple days from an element he's never used before. He had pushed himself beyond what he thought he was capable of because he didn't want to disappoint his master. He's not certain he can pull off another miracle.

"Varen, do you know any healing spells?"

"No, my affinity is with the earth element."

"So? Ondrea, do you still have the paper with the spell?"

"Yes." Ondrea dug around in his pockets and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

Gavin took the offered paper and unfolded it before handing it to Varen.

"You have five minutes to memorize and use this spell."

Varen took the paper but wasn't sure what he should do with it. His orders were clear enough, but he's always been taught that one element was all that he would ever have. What does he hope to achieve? Is he trying to make me look like an idiot?

He studied the spell as ordered, watching Gavin and Ondrea heal from the corner of his eyes. When he could recite the spell with his eyes closed he went to Gavin.

"I'm going to have you watch me heal then I want you to use the spell."

Gavin placed Varen's hand over his own so that he could feel what light magic felt like as he used the spell. Once the patient was healed he steered them to the next one. Varen placed his hand over the wound of the soldier and closed his eyes. He followed Gavin's instructions; remembering the feel of light magic and funneling that into the words of the spell.

Varen let out a gasp and his eyes flew open when he felt the spell flow. His eyes were filled with awe as he watched the wounds mend themselves. I can use the light element?

"Good job. Ondrea, I want you to work with Varen. You will be tasked with making certain he's doing it right and correcting him if he misses something. This will help improve your own skill. Working together will keep either of you from getting tired too quickly. Since Varen is under my command the same way that you are building a good foundation of teamwork between the two of you will be beneficial."

Gavin gave them enough space to work together, but stayed close enough that he could help if they needed it. It felt weird when Gavin realized that he was on his way to building his own family. Xanthe had talked before about how demons formed their own families. It is more an amalgamation of people than those related by blood.

Xanthe had once had a handful of lovers and over a dozen demons that followed her and were considered her 'family.' A lot had changed in fifty years. She had gone from being a captain, to a general and then lord before falling back to general. Some had moved on, other's had died and a handful had betrayed her. Most of it had happened when she took the title of lord.

Gavin had three that he could claim as his 'family,' one lover and two students or apprentices. He's not quite certain what to call them because once they're fully trained he does not plan on sending them away.

On a broader scope Gavin himself, and Xanthe, are considered part of Caine's family. Because of the slave mark they both carry they aren't just Caine's generals. This makes everyone that's part of Gavin and Xanthe's family a part of Caine's family.

The slave mark is a unique marker for Caine's family. Because of his life before he became the demon lord it's the only way he will allow anyone close. Gavin has found himself emulating Caine by using the slave mark.

It was late afternoon when Gavin decided they were done. He felt like he could go another hour or two, but Ondrea was starting to look pale and Varen looked worse. He knew that he shouldn't have pushed Varen after he had worn himself out with the battle. Even after being healed Varen should have rested before using magic again.

The detour to the medical tent had been to test Varen, to utilize what Caine had taught Gavin about manipulating. Only a small portion of it had been to actually help heal the soldiers. Seeing Gavin there healing the wounded would have an affect on the wounded soldiers themselves and, Gavin hoped, on Varen himself.

Gavin decided that the library would be a good place for them to have lunch. Before they did that they made a stop at their living quarters.

"Ondrea, I want you to go first. Once you're done have food sent to the library and wait for us there. Varen, I will give you half an hour to clean up, so be quick. I will bring you a change of clothes so toss out what you have."

Gavin started to leave the room but turned around as he put his hand on the door knob. Ondrea had already disappeared into the bathroom and Varen was left to stand in the middle of the room with a lost look on his face.

"Oh, Varen, don't leave this room."

Gavin left and quickly went to his room. He cleaned up as quickly as he could, changing out of his clothes and grabbing an extra set for Varen. Varen had a slimmer build than he did so he would have to deal with baggy clothes until some could be prepared for him.

A little before the half hour mark Gavin returned to Ondrea's room. The room was different from the one he shared with Caine and Riley. Where they had one large bed in their room, this room had three single beds. From what Gavin understands, this room is set up as a servants quarters.

When Gavin walked into the room he found Varen sitting on one of the beds with a towel wrapped around his waist. Gavin walked up to him and handed him the clothes. Varen stared at the stack of black clothes in his hand for nearly a minute before going to the bathroom to change.

Gavin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I understand how you feel, brother, I do. It wasn't that long ago that he had fallen into Caine's trap. The comrades that he had lost that day had all but been forgotten, outside of the sense of guilt he had over his lack of concern. Does it make me worse than Caine when I mimic him after what I've experienced? Shouldn't it bother me more?

Gavin shakes his head and opens his eyes. This is my path, this is who I choose to be. For better or worse. Some of it may be to survive in this strange new world. If he's truly honest with himself, he is enjoying himself. He found himself smiling as he remembered the feeling of forcing the slave mark on Varen. Maybe I found myself with Caine because we are more alike than either of us realize.

When Varen came out of the bathroom Gavin had to hold back a laugh. The clothes were indeed baggy.

"We will get some made specifically for you. Until then, you will have to settle with this. I would have you wear something of Ondrea's, but he is shorter and it would have looked worse."

"It is fine."

"Lets join Ondrea, I'm ready to eat."

Gavin led Varen to the library. While waiting for them, Ondrea had set three chairs around a table. The table was filled with a variety of sandwiches, fruit and ale. Varen sat at the chair in the middle while Ondrea and Gavin sat at either ends.

They had barely started to gather food onto small plates when the library door was flung open and someone came running in. Gavin held his plate to the side as the figure of Riley jumped onto his lap and wrapped his arms around his neck.

"That was a spectacular battle. I've never seen magic used like that."

Gavin leaned over to lay his plate on the table and wrapped his arms around Riley. He shared a kiss with Riley before removing the arms from around his neck.

"It helps that everyone of us knows magic. Get up and I'll get you a chair."

Riley tilted his head to the side, "Why? I'm good."

"I need to have a talk with Caine. You know, Xanthe told me everything and I can't believe that he spoiled you worse than I do."

Riley giggled, his face turning red. He refused to look up at Gavin and chose instead to bury his face against Gavin's chest.

"I'm not spoiled."

Gavin laughed and leaned forward to try and grab his plate. Seeing him struggle, Ondrea stood and picked up the plate.

"Allow me, master."

Ondrea filled the plate as directed and handed it to Gavin. He was smiling when he sat back down with his own plate of food.

"Thank you."

Varen was watching everything with wide eyes. He wasn't certain what to think. He had recognized Riley almost immediately and couldn't understand why the prince would be so friendly with the demon's general. He found that he didn't have much of an appetite.

"Varen, I'm curious, why doesn't Edicia use more mages? Is it normal for them to not know how to heal?"

"The army doesn't have a lot of mages, they just aren't used often in battle. Normally we are sent with a light user who handles the healing. Ours was lost."

Varen spoke while looking down at the hands resting on his lap. He couldn't bring himself to look up, the images of his friends who were lost kept creeping up. All sense of hunger was gone and instead was replaced with the urge to vomit.

"But why aren't all mages taught to heal?"

"Because most mages only have one element. I once heard that it's rare for a mage to be able to use more than one element."

It was Ondrea who answered Gavin's question.

"Really? You learned the spell quick enough."

Ondrea bit his lower lip in contemplation before answering. His expression was serious and his voice steady when he finally spoke up.

"I didn't want to fail you, master. When you handed me the paper and ordered me to learn it I was so scared that you would be upset when I couldn't do it. I didn't understand why you had asked me to do something that many couldn't do."

"Next time speak up, Ondrea. Do not be afraid to speak your mind if you feel I've asked you to do something impossible. I've spent less time with the demons than I have with the humans, but I've learned more from the demons.

"Most demons can utilize all of the elements. Each element is classified as a high affinity or a low affinity based on your grasp of the element. Because of my training with Xanthe I've discovered that I have a high affinity with the dark element and potentially with fire. Light is my weakest element, but I can use all five elements."