"My father, Tar'estar, was our greatest general." my Master began. "He died in battle, the last battle of The Great Cataclysm. Tor'kelar was at his side and died defending him, before they were both overcome by a phalanx of Hyena-demons."
I sat, mesmerised, my food and drink almost untouched, listening to my Master recount the tale of what demons now call 'The Final Battle'. The battle that ended the war known as 'The Great Cataclysm'.
"How did the war start, Master?" I asked.
"No one knows for certain, now." he replied. "Some say it was for power, some say for control of the Hu-man Realm, some say the High Lord Tr'skel was behind it in a quest to exert domination over all things, but it is also known that he was one of the strongest opponents of the war, and shut himself up in his citadel for its entire duration. What is definite is that the High Lords who were most directly involved in The Great Cataclysm perished during it. Demon-kind was left leaderless, directionless and close to extinction because of it." He looked weary as he continued his discourse, doubtless remembering lost friends and loved ones.
"What happened then?" I asked.
"I brought their bodies home." he continued. "My mother succumbed to grief, and followed my father through the Dark Portal into the Nether-realm, as did the mates of almost all of The Fallen. Gyn wished to go too, to be with Tor, but I convinced her to remain with me, to aid me in my quest to ensure that not only would our kind not become extinct, but that we would never destroy ourselves in another pointless war!"
"That sounds like you and Gyn were the ones who created the law against demon on demon violence, Master." I said.
"Not quite, little pet," he answered, "but we were its strongest advocates, and with the estar behind it, the movement became unstoppable. But we achieved far more than that. As transformation demons, our energy catalysed the rebirth of Demon-kind, including the discovery of Demonic rejuvenation!"
"You were the ones who found out how to make demons immortal?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"It was a little more complicated than that, but basically, yes." he replied.
"So, what about the Human Realm?" I inquired.
My Master paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, then continued.
"Gyn and I have tried to use our transformation energies to aid Hu-mankind twice, after each of the Human Cataclysms, without success, unfortunately." he explained. "About thirty of your years ago, we actually believed we had succeeded. Do you remember when the 'Berlin Wall' was dismantled, when what Hu-mankind called 'The Cold War' ended?"
"Wasn't born then, Master!" I said, smiling.
"Gyn and I were there, we provided the last burst of energy that pushed the people to begin to dare to begin breaking it down," he said, smiling as he reminisced, "it was an incredible night!"
"But it didn't work out." I said.
"No, it did not." he agreed.
"What about right now?" I asked.
"Gyn'estar believes we should direct our energies into stopping the next Human Cataclysm." he explained. "I don't doubt the sincerity of her aim, but I consider it misguided. Hu-mankind, in my opinion, will NOT direct its own energies to saving itself unless and until a cataclysm sufficiently devastating to shock it out of its greed and stupidity occurs. Any attempt to guide hu-mans to some sort of enlightenment without one is, in my opinion, doomed to failure."
"That's pretty bleak, Master!" I said.
"It is the voice of experience, little hu-woman." he replied. "Now, eat and drink up, I wish to try your ability at the game of chess!"
I awoke the next morning, face down on my cushion, to find breakfast already laid out on the low table. Tel'estar had waited for me to awake and join him, again giving me the odd feeling of being a guest in his house who walked around naked except for a black metal collar. He complemented me on my clever defensive chess game before offering me some of the bread that had been baked in his own kitchen that morning, once again prompting me to comment on how delicious the food in the Demon Realm tasted. After I had eaten and bathed, he had me attend upon him in his study.
"I will be busy today, hu-woman pet, but I desire that you take your exercise." he commanded, then indicated a plan of his estate on the wall of the study. "Familiarise yourself with the pathways of my gardens; you are free to roam them as you please." he continued. "My groundskeepers and tenants will be happy to assist you should you lose your way, but be advised, they will expect you to spend some time in their company in return!"
I had more than a vague idea of what he had planned for me, so I studied the map carefully, determined not to fall into his little 'trap'. I eventually left the house by the main entrance, crossing the portico and heading for the low hills that I had already established were to the east of the house. The ground underfoot seemed suitable for running, even in bare feet, so I set off in a slow trot. My breasts jiggled a little uncomfortably without support of any kind, but I put it out of my head as I began to pant and sweat a little as the path began to rise underfoot, only to be expected as I was running uphill! I could soon see the gates of the estate, at which point I turned to the north, down the widest of the pathways through the woods, which I had selected as the one I would be least likely to accidentally stray from. I had been running on the path for about fifteen minutes when I suddenly heard the sound of padding feet off to my right, which was soon accompanied by the panting sound that a very large dog makes. Knowing that the boundary of the estate was on my right hand side, I began to get very nervous; I broke into a run, ignoring the now painful bouncing of my naked boobies as I desperately tried to outpace the animal pursuing me. Suddenly, a huge wolf leapt from the treeline in front of me, blocking my path! I came to a sudden stop, glancing left and right for a possible escape route as it approached me, growling softly.
"Nice doggy!" I said softly, rapidly getting scared! "Where's your owner gotten to?"
The 'wolf' then stood up on its hind legs and replied.
"I am not a DOG!" he said. "I am Lup'kar, head groundskeeper of Lord Tel'estar's estate. And who or what are you, naked creature running unattended around the grounds?"