Chapter 1: The Bond
A kingdom with no hero is not a kingdom at all. At least, that's what a lot of places say. With the news of rising gangs, thieves, ne'er-do-wells, and overall evil in general, many kingdoms around the land built up armies, scouting for more to add on. It was also common knowledge that any army would employ magic users as well, since their versatility in the arts could often turn the tide in their favor. Naturally, certain members of different groups shone brighter than others, whether it came to combat capabilities, tactical intelligence, or overall bravery. These people were often deemed heroes by their kingdom, and stories of them would quickly spread throughout the land.
Even in small villages, certain heroes would be talked about in high reverence. Since then, many individuals have stepped forward, wanting a piece of glory and riches, much like the ones employed by their respectful kingdom. Many sought to do right, much like a vigilante. Others had different ideologies, and often did things for their own needs. As more bounties arose, so did these free lance heroes, each with different abilities.
One city in particular was a sort of hub for kingdoms' armies and various heroes throughout the continent. Because it was occupied by various people, it was not governed by one particular kingdom, and instead is seen as neutral ground among them. People looking for glory, justice, gold, or answers could stop by this little city and have a drink, search for bounties, or even team up with other heroes. Eventually, it got to a point where guilds were set up, letting heroes join in so they could cover more ground and complete more quests at a greater pace. The name of this place was called the Neutral Kingdom.
Of course, one of the most important jobs of cities such as this one was a reliable postal service. One that would not only provide letters to individuals, but one that could reliably track down certain heroes and give them messages from their lords, if they had one. Not only that, but they would also be responsible for delivering new bounties daily to their respective taverns and inns. In any kingdom, there was always one postal person who would deliver throughout the entirety of the kingdom, sometimes even going into other territory. In the Neutral Kingdom, the name of the traveling post person was a girl named Scout.
Scout stood at around six feet tall, which was quite tall for a girl her age around the kingdom. She had short brown hair and wore glasses, which were thankfully given to her by her postal employer. Along with her glasses, she was also supplied with a simple lavender outfit, which looked like a long sleeved sweater dress, and a pair of simple sandals. She also carried around a big bag filled with numerous letters and papers, as well as a single knife. While it was common knowledge that anyone wearing a similar outfit was a post person, it was still a good idea to make sure one stayed well equipped, especially in dangerous areas.
While Scout wasn't unattractive by any means, she never really stood out too much when it came to attractiveness. Sometimes she would be flirted with, but since her job often had her running on her feet, she had little to no time to see through anyone's advances. She was quite nimble and fast on her feet, with a sharp memory as well. Scout was one of the Neutral Kingdom's most reliable post ladies, which is why she got promoted to do her work on a more broad level.
Today would be her first day in leaving the Neutral Kingdom. Because of this, she was given a rather easy job: go to the neighboring kingdom of Liltshire and deliver a simple letter to the Lord Pholstine. A quick glance at the scroll she was given would read that a bounty given out by the Lord had been completed by a hero, who wished to remain unnamed. Scout had a level of admiration for heroes, especially when they actually did altruistic deeds. Even if she knew she could never be on their level of heroism or strength, she still fantasied about what it would be like if she were a hero. Those thoughts would quickly be chased out though. She was quite committed to her job, and fantasies only slowed her down.
Despite having to go to a nearby city, she was still given a map for reference. After rolling it up, she headed off on her journey. The Neutral Kingdom was surrounded by a thick woods, and after following the map through the hillside some, she reached the treeline. There was a trail separating the trees, making it easy for travelers to reach adjacent kingdoms. With a couple of steps on the track and into the woods, she was no longer confined to the Neutral Kingdom. She had now stepped foot into Liltshire Kingdom. With that, she took a bracing deep breath and continued on her way, making sure to move rapidly. She didn't move as quick as usual, of course. After all, this was Scout's first time away from the only city she's ever worked in. It would only be natural for her to do a little sightseeing.
Scout kept an eye on the map as she continued onwards, her bag bouncing against her hip some as she walked. She was quite amazed by the scenery, finding it serene and beautiful to walk through. After 10 minutes of moving through the forest, the serenity of the whole situation was replaced with a cacophonous explosion that rumbled the ground. Scout lost her footing and yelped out as she fell on her behind. Otherworldly screams filled the air too, but was quickly dispelled, the Earth slowly returning back to normal. The confused girl blinked and adjusted her glasses, quickly standing to her feet. "W-what in the world was that?!" She exclaimed, moving away from the trail, looking out in the general direction of where she heard the noise. While there wasn't a premade trail leading inside of the woods, there was some trodden grass, showing that people often traveled into the woods. Scout gulped and looked at the smaller grass trail, which lead deeper into the forest, away from her destination.
"I really shouldn't..." She said, looking back to where she's supposed to be. At this point, she knew she wasn't too far away from Liltshire Kingdom. Still, the rumbling and screams swam in her mind, urging her to explore what had happened. "...I probably should go see if anyone is hurt. There were a lot of screams," She said. With that, Scout adjusted her bag, and began to slowly walk into the forest, keeping her eyes peeled for anything dangerous.
While it was certainly much darker going off the trail, she did not come across anything troubling for her. After a few more minutes, she began to wonder if she should just head back. At around that time, she came across an opening. Scout gasped loudly, almost screaming as she saw what was in front of her.
If the opening was used for a campground of sorts, there was no indication of it left. If there were any people of any sort, there certainly weren't any now. The entire ground was covered in burnt in ash. No remains of anyone or anything was there. Except for two major things that sent chills down Scout's spine.
The first thing that caught her attention was the large, bright red circle on the ground. In the circle, there were drawn in runes, which burned a bright red like the rest of the circle. Scout walked a little closer, but made sure to stay at least a foot away from the circle. This was the work of a cult, which was very taboo all around the continent. Whoever caused the explosion was trying to summon a demon of sorts, Scout gathered. Not a lot was known about demons, but she had heard stories that they were horrible entities who willed the living world to do as they pleased. Only the most holy of people would even dare to utter mentions of the hellish beings. Scout stared at the circle, terrified. There was only one other thing that seemed to survive the explosion.
It looked to be a simple necklace with an orb hanging off of it. The orb itself looked like it was filled with ash, laying unmoving on the ground. Scout gulped and eyed it over at a safe distance. Whatever kind of ritual was going on, it didn't seem like it had worked. After letting out a bit of a sigh, the girl wiped her head. "I should be getting back," She said to herself.
After she had finished talking, the ash in the necklace started to stir, making the necklace shake in the center of the ritualistic circle. Scout froze in place, eyeing the necklace with wide, scared eyes. She wanted to run, but it almost felt like something was keeping her in place. The frightened girl watched as the ash soon lit up, burning with a bright red fire in the middle of the orb. What made it even more horrifying for Scout was that the necklace started to levitate upwards, as if it were being lifted by an invisible being.
"S-stay back!" Scout yelled out, the fear in her voice quite noticeable. It didn't seem to make whatever was happening stop, though. In fact, right after she said that, the necklace flung itself right at her. With a loud scream, Scout lifted her hands in self defense, turning her head away and shutting her eyes. The necklace landing right in the palm of her hand, which she quickly grasped and caught. She blinked one eye open before turning her head to the charm in her hand. She stared at it for a few seconds. The fire still stirred, burning a bright red and emitting heat. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to burn her skin, but Scout was still frightened and somewhat confused.
Her whole body was still shaking, and it only seemed to get worse. As the fire turned more and more in the orb, a circle of flames surrounded the ritual circle in front of the girl. This turned Scout's attention away from the necklace and to the fire. As the circle turned into a pillar, Scout screamed out and shielded herself from the embers and the flames. Her blood turned cold as she heard the cackling of a sinister sounding voice.
"Finally! The ritual has been completed! The plans can now be put into motion!" It cackled. To Scout, the voice sounded somewhat feminine, though it was hard to really tell with the loud echo that seemed to follow it. "Human girl!" The voice continued, making Scout jump and turn her attention to the pillar of flames, which was moving towards the center of the circle. "For summoning me, you are now forever soul bound to me. I will grant you powers beyond your wildest dreams! For I am... VAL'MIIR!" The voice yelled, dispelling the fire as a figure came into view from the fog of the ashes. Scout blinked and waved away the ashes as she looked at what she had summoned.
Scout then lifted a hand up to her mouth, trying to hide her growing grin and giggle. She had always imagined demons to be otherworldly and scary, but... in her opinion, this one was... cute!
Val'Miir looked to be female, with a hair that was very long in the back, yet styled upwards in the front. Her horns looked to be that of a bull, her nose was pointed upwards a little, and she had a little bit of an overbite, one sharp tooth hanging out of her mouth. Her skin was a dull red, and her eyes glowed orange, the sclera being black instead of white. What made her less scary and more adorable was the fact that she stood around two and a half feet shorter than the human, standing on rather thick, fat legs with wide hips. Her tail waved behind her, pointed like an arrow behind a, rather fat, behind. The clothing was also rather silly, Scout thought. To cover a large bust, Val'Miir had wrapped numerous bandages around her chest, squishing her bust a little and showing off some cleavage. For bottoms, they could best be described as a loincloth, barely covering her crotch. Scout found herself to shake less with fear, and more out of amusement. There was no possible way this adorable little cutie was a terrifying demon!
Val'Miir was not pleased in seeing the human that had summoned her standing before her and holding back laughter. The little demon stamped her foot in a huffy manner and put her hands on her hips. "Hey, girl! You stop that at once!" She exclaimed.
"Hehe, I'm sorry..! It's just, I've never seen a demon before, and I never knew they were so cute!" She giggled a bit louder.
The small demon seemed to levitate herself up to Scout, meeting with her at eye level, pointing a finger at her. "Demons are not cute! We're scary and evil and can cause a lot of trouble for the overworld!"
