The smell of smoke is in the air and the night is overcast, obscuring the moon. A haze of it lies over the smoldering village where most of the fires have already died and are just coals, glowing in the night. From a hill overlooking the village the demon Gortelesque admires his handiwork. The imps, demons and other grotesques of his horde race about, chattering and laughing as they explore the wreckage of the village. A few of the slower eaters are still gnawing on bones of dead villagers and livestock.
For once, Gortelesque is pleased with himself. His tactics of luring away the Paladin defenders with a few mounted Arch-Demons worked so well that his horde was able to completely subdue the village before they gave up the chase and came home. Of course at that time his forces were waiting, and even though every last one of the Paladins met a glorious end at the hands of his creatures, not a single one of his horde was killed.
The demon in command stretched his arms above his head, hearing the sinews pop in his shoulders as his muscles strained. Unlike most demons who commanded a horde, Gortelesque much preferred to be in the fray, breaking skulls with his bare hands and feeling the enemy flesh between his teeth.
His physical form was definitely a sight to behold and unique among the demons of the Below. His body was tall, with each well muscled leg ending in feet with claws. His chest was defined and hairless with the muscles twitching when he wanted them to. His arms were large and strong and each of his fingers was tipped in a claw as sharp as steel. His face was handsome to many, with his shredding teeth hidden behind his lips instead of poking out like some creatures. His horns curved out from his head and pulsed with a red light. His eyes were the deepest blue, captivating even the most stalwart maiden.
His wings were folded behind him, leathery and black and twitching in anticipation. He wore only a leather kilt that left most of him bare, some metal bracers on his forearms that concealed hidden daggers and a scabbard that held his sword, forged from the heat of The Master himself.
Gortelesque finished stretching and looked to where his Arch-Demons were herding along his captives. The lesser creatures could not be trusted to not take preemptive bites from the captives before they returned to Below. The men and women were chained together in a line with bonds of demon-thorn, which would tighten if they tried to free themselves, the sharp thorns cutting into their wrists and necks. The children had already been carried off ahead by his harpies, destined to be fed to the hordes there.
The demon saw a creeping creature making it's way up the hill to him, the pitiful Imp shaking with fear. Gortelesque smiled to himself. He already knew what the little beast was going to ask of him, and he relished the fear radiating off of it.
"Lord Gortelesque, he who despoils maidens and corrupts the hearts of women, I the meager Fildes come to you with a request from a devoted Horde." Squeaked the creature.
Gortelesque gave the little thing the slightest f nods.
"Your greatness, we have been so successful here tonight that there were too few injured to sate our appetites. We request of your powerfulness a few of the live prisoners to share among us as a reward for a good job on the field of battle."
"You will get your reward." Spoke Gortelesque in a booming voice that reverberated in the air.
"Oh thank you Lord I-"
The pathetic creature did not have a chance to finish his thought as Gortelesque grabbed the thing by its neck, slowly choking the life out of it. All of the Horde was watching now except for the guards of the prisoners, they had seen this all before.
"You are my Horde!" Yelled Gortelesque, his voice carrying to all of the creatures of the Below that he commanded. "You are mine and you do not make requests of me. I will distribute your rewards as I see fit, when I deem it necessary."
"This little thing, this Fildes, had the audacity to come before me and make a demand of me. Who of you would care to repeat his mistake?"
At this the Horde said nothing as Gortelesque squeezed Fildes neck until the things head popped off of his neck. A chatter arose from the ranks of the Horde as glowing green Demon blood ran down Gortelesque's fist and the remains of Fildes. The demon threw the tiny body away and spread his wings, and half jumped, half glided down to where the Horde had assembled.
"I am nothing if not merciful!" He roared at them.
A chorus of yips and "Yes!" answered him.
"As your Horde-master, I am entitled to give you all a reward for your efforts." The demons licked their lips at this.
Gortelesque walked to the line of prisoners, most of them shrank away in terror, but a few were too jaded to do so. These prisoners eyes were blank from watching their friends and family get torn to pieces and devoured before their eyes.
He marked the pretty young girls in his mind, of which there were only 4. Those would go to The Master as his share, that left a few matronly women and one old crone. He stopped at one woman, her eyes with crows feet at the edges and her hips wide from giving birth. He gazed into her eyes, his blue ones capturing her brown ones as he leaned in close to her neck and breathed deep, sending a shiver of anticipation through the woman's body. From that moment, Gortelesque knew he had her.
He nodded as if satisfied and unsheathed his sword and cut the demon-thorn from around her hands, careful not to nick her skin. The people around her started whimpering in terror and drawing away from her as far as they could up to the point where the demon-thorn began to tighten.
"Come with me child." His voice boomed as he put one clawed finger under her chin and backed away from the line of people. She followed, completely under the spell of his blue eyes.
"What is your name madam?" He asked in his gentlest voice, which was almost like the purr of a cat.