[Mong00se]

((I'm not sure where everyone is, and Nichi ended this portion of the battle too quickly for me to initiate my plan to kill the shield over the demon archers. So i'll continue as a rogue))

Ishia's death had taken a toll on Malice. For the past three days, he had watched humans and demons fall under eachothers blades. War was too harsh a reality for Malice. Secretly he wished he was back in Theira, under the care of the elder, and away from this strife. At least there he wouldn't be aware of this gruesome battle. Ignorance really was bliss.

The thought of Ishia's death bothered him. The ease at which Dacono had ended her life was troubling, and it wreaked havoc on Malice's conscience mind. With death all around, it was hard to keep faith in the light of hope. It was that fading hope that was leading his to question his purpose. Ishia was dead along with tens of thousands of Gracians. Who was next? Which of his friends would suffer next? How long would this unneccessary bloodshed last. It was with that thought that he finally came to terms with his conscience. He knew what he must do. He had to end the war before any more noble soldiers were taken from this world, unable to return to their families.

Slowly he got up from where he lay in tumultuous thought. He checked his equipment quickly: handling his daggers to ensure working order, flexing his bow and refilling his quivers, and lastly tightening and slipping on his gauntlets. He whispered a quick prayer to the goddess of the wind and sent it up into the heavens riding on a current. With graceful silence, he left through the window, unseen to the eye.

Only once he had cleared the gates did he look back at the resiliant kingdom of Gracia, still standing even under such oppression. He offered a last goodbye into the wind, and gave a small salute to the soldiers of Gracia. With his prayers said, he looked towards the small fires that marked the demon camps. He knew that the demons didn't sleep. Those fires were symbolic of ritual spawning pits, the pits that summoned the demons from the netherworld. These pits were direct links to the demon world, and Malice could see the movement of the demons as they passed the fire. With a great sense of responsibilty, he started towards the treeline, determined to set the world right and cease the entertainment of the Gods of Chaos and Pandemonium.

Malice set down into the trees, still unseen. He uncloaked to preserve his strength, and as silently as he had come he continued forward, not a single stick breaking under his nimble footing.

The demon camp was alight. No guards were placed on the perimeter. The demon generals did not intend to win this war with strategy; they intended on their sheer numbers and brute strength to win this war. Malice entered a clearing, where ahead he was made aware of the 7 spawning pits. 7 shamans stood at each, chating a prayer to the demon world. Each shaman wore a different robe, and each was representative of their patron demon. Malice recalled Belial talking about the great 7, seven demons who had once been figureheads of the demon war. He knew virtually nothing of them outside of their terrible power and influence on the world.

In the brush Malice slowly watched for a number of minutes. After a good half hour, the blood moon was directly overtop of them, and the shaman's chant changed. The demon portals turned from a golden yellow to an ominous purple. They also widened. A larger demon appeared from the portal, more sinister and horrific than the swarm of regular demons they had been engaging for the last few days. In the hour to come, these new demons flooded out of their homeworld and into Palis. They joined the rank of their lesser demons without so much as a grunt. Finally, Malice decided he'd have to make a move.

He felt back into his quiver, and pulled out 7 arrows. He was going to have to act fast. He aimed his bow at the nearest portal, but quickly decided against it. Instead he quickly scanned all seven portals, and noted a single shaman. The shamn wore robes that insignified black ice, and there was an unsettling presence about them. Malice quickly unleashed his seven arrows at one time from his bow, and within a second, each of the noted shamans fell to the ground.

The portals ruptured, and wavered as they fought to stabilize. Demons that were half through the portal were stuck in between Palis and their homeland, and they vanished into smoke with a great unholy gasp. The shamans took no time to find their enemy. As if possessed, they turned in unison to Malice. With his bow still out, he unleashed arrow after arrow until all 49 shaman cloaks lay, black smoke still wisping from their covers. Feeling quite proud of himself, Malice stood for a second to admire his act. Without warning, a human hand grabbed him and pressed a diamond bladed sword to his throat.

"We're going to see the big V," the man taunted, leading Malice forward. They past the rows of demons, and it was only then that Malice realized just how many of the second rank demons had been created in an hour. Suddenly he felt black.

**

Malice woke chained to a post. He heard talking coming from a structure to his right, but he didn't have the slack to see who it was that was talking. The one voice he recognized as that of his human capturer, while the other was a low grumbling. That was undoubtedly Valmarus, the commander of the demon armies and the lesser of the 4 demons. There was a third voice, who Malice recognized but couldn't make sense of.

"We attack at morning. Send the juggernauts. I do not care if they were just summoned, they will seize the Gracian capital and take the heads of those who vanquished the seaside cities."

"Yes m'lord," said his capturer.

Malice knew a great trouble was coming. In a last pitch attempt, he let out a whisper: "Nichi. At camp. New demon. Juggernaut. Attack at morning. Don't come for me." With the whisper done, he blew at the air in front of him, sending the message forward to Gracia.

Please let the winds stay true, and may my message hit it's mark.

((Spiff I'm setting you up, and for the rest of you, I have to keep the story rolling))