Veera's Dominion

I'm coming home soon. The thought filled me with thrill and excitement. I will see my best friends again. Of course, I won't be coming home as Erika or as a friend. The next time we meet will be as enemies. I shall be known, and feared, as Veera the Queen of Thorns and Monarch of the Monere. But first, the demon world must be united. I can't go to war alone and there's no way I'd let my beasts do the work. It won't be an easy feat because the nations have always been independent of one another. There were no more conflicts after the Great Demon War, but there was no friendship either. Only the monere and the south made a pact, the rest treated the others invisible. For all they care, there were only them. They need an opener - a slight push, and I will give it to them.

I thought it would take years, but looking at the lords sitting around the beautifully carved round table in Lord Auroch's solarium, I could easily smell victory. Lord Brutus, Monarch of the North, is half-man, half-polar bear in gold armor. He is seven feet tall and his whole body covered in snowy white fur. He has a man's face but his eyes are an unusual bright blue, and he has fangs. He has a cold and dignified air around him. He must feel highly of himself. He kind of reminds me of Dan. I thought he'd be the hardest to convince to come for the gathering but after I sent beasts to deliver my message, he accepted the invitation without question. Ivana must have been such a character. Furthermore, I was able to use my other abilities. It turns out I can summon my beasts to come to me and give them orders. I sent six demon vultures to the north and they did splendidly. The other lord, Lord Orcus of the West, has the upper body of a man but a snake from the waist below. He seems to have an obsession with precious jewels. His body is adorned with loads of them. At first, I was frightened of the slithering sound he made as he entered the hall, but he had an excessively friendly smile on his face which made me feel at ease. I know behind the smile was a cunning man, but I also knew he was afraid of Ivana, afraid of her powers. So I'm quite confident he wouldn't do anything stupid. When my demon wolves arrived in the west, I heard him stutter while accepting the invite. He looked like he had questions but he did not voice them out. Lord Silva from the East is poised and elegant. He has the upper body of a man with tribal tattoos and eight octopus tentacles in the lower half. He is dressed in fine silk and is wearing pearls of different colors. When my demon sharks came back from the east after delivering my message, they brought back gifts from him. He is said to be a generous man according to Lord Auroch but we still can't be complacent. The three lords arrived in Lord Auroch's home on the same day, ten days after they received my message. They spent ten days of preparations and they were nowhere near average. The lords were all escorted with guards, and "slaves", who may as well be part of the nobility. It was a display of status from the nations. It was utterly absurd, and completely unnecessary.

The guards and the rest of their entourage stood by the walls of the solarium. They were on alert, obviously expecting some kind of chaos to brew from the unusual gathering. The lords stared each other down, working hard on intimidation. "I invited you all to talk about the demon world. I believe it's time for everyone to be united", I started. There were murmurs and many of them voiced their disagreement. "Quiet!" My beasts came and surrounded the outside. Roots filled with thorns sprung from the ground. They all fell silent. "Need I remind your guards and the rest that this is a meeting between the lords. I will not hesitate to get rid of any unwelcomed commentators", I said with a warning smile. "I apologize for my men. This is new to us", Lord Brutus explained. "Well then, let's continue, shall we?"