Undume’s curiosity for the demon world exceeded Rassyu’s warning that she should stay in bed for her health, and the next day she joined him in a meeting the Demon Council held every day (or so it seemed.) She sat down in a chair that was designated hers by her status, and saw Rassyu sit in his near the front of the large room. There were plenty of chairs around and a demon in almost every one. It was interesting for her to look at them all. They looked nearly human, save for the marks on their bodies and the occasional pair of ears here or there.
Undume noticed the demons had three stages of their form. One was a very human looking form, in which their symbol is the only thing showing. (Much like the three triangles on her left cheek.) The second stage was to have some demonic features showing, like ears, hands and/or feet. (Many of the demons seemed to like to be in this stage. She was thankful Rassyu preferred the first stage around her, because she still had to get used to the strange ears.) The third stage was the pure demon form, which she had not seen on any of the demons before. In a way, she wondered what she looked like. She had seen her wings out, but not the full transformation. She was curious and sickened all at once.
Rassyu turned back to check and see if she was okay. Undume smiled and he returned the look. He turned back around as soon as Merne sat down next to him.
‘Who’s that?’ Undume thought to herself. ‘He’s sitting next to Rassyu. Are they friends? Or maybe of the same rank? Why can’t I sit there instead?’
{He’s of the same rank,} a voice boomed in her head.
"What??" she yelled. She quickly covered her mouth and looked around at the staring eyes that judged her immediately as crazy. She glared back at them in defense.
{Shh. It’s okay. It’s Rassyu. Heh, I guess I didn’t tell you that we can communicate this way. It’s a nice trick we have.}
{Can everyone do this?} Undume said back, confused by the thought speech.
{Just us because we are connected. Although there is a theory that all Xanadus can communicate with one another because of their similarity.}
{Really? Are there any others?}
{Hahaha, of course! Merne, on my left, is one.}
{Who is he anyway? And gods, is this awesome.}
{It’s useful, yeah. He’s a member of my squadron.}
{Your squadron?}
{Yes. All demons here are in a team of some sort, mostly sorted by skill. For instance, I’m the Demon of Memory. You are as well. Merne is the Demon of Keys. He controls the gates the lead into the other worlds. He’s on my team because I am a Seeker.}
{A Seeker?} Undume had so many questions thanks to his burst of facts.
{Yes. A Seeker is someone who leaves Crosse in search of humans to become Xanadus. You’re my first Xanadu.}
{So there will be more like me?}
{Most likely not. Xanadus are rare, and Seekers are sent only when Odeun clears the human who will be turned.}
{Odeun? What’s that?}
{He’s the leader of Crosse. Similar to a king in your world.}
{Is he here?}
{He runs the meetings.}
{Oh. Wow. Here? So I’ll get to see him?}
{You’ll get to meet him.}
{What??}
{Since you’re up and about now he wants to meet you.}
{When?}
{After the meeting.}
{… How nerve-wracking.}
{It’s not so bad. He’s a nice guy. And a superb leader.}
At that moment, the superb leader entered the room and stood at his throne, his hands resting on what would be the arms of his massive chair (which didn’t seem to have a seat.) And there he would stand for all the meetings through their duration. His wings (all four of them) stretched out magnificently.
{He’s pretty,} Undume commented by mistake.
{Lots of demons have fallen in love with him,} Rassyu noted to her. {But quite now. The meeting is starting.}
{Not like I can stop thinking…} Undume commented, rolling her eyes a little.
{Heh, you can. Just stop projecting your thoughts.}
‘How do I do that?’ she thought. There wasn’t a response. She shrugged, and listened to Odeun’s speech.
"Rassyu of Memory has returned with his Xanadu. She is called Undume of Memory, and will be in Rassyu’s squadron. Rassyu has returned safely with her and without being seen by any humans. The human world is still unsure of our presence." Some demons stared at Undume, and she couldn’t help but blush. She hated the attention. She eyed a few demons and noticed that one sitting near Rassyu was staring back at her with a hard glare. The girl had green markings on her, and one similar to Rassyu’s going across her left cheek. Her hair was cut to her shoulders, save for two bunches on either side of her head that went down to her stomach. She had her ears out and her hands were huge, but that’s all she could see. The chairs they sat in were rather large.
Undume stared back at the girl until her gaze broke away.
{Rassyu, who is that girl with the green marks?} Undume asked. {I know you are new, but please don’t talk during the meeting, Undume of Memory,} a voice chimed in. It wasn’t Rassyu's. Undume noticed Odeun staring at her.
She knew she was going to hate this meeting.
"Horat has also returned from the Southern Sector today with news on the Angels. Apparently they have been building their army up and are currently looking for the Fyre of Heaven. We still have yet to figure out what this is, but we think it has a connection to the Fyre of Crosse. Which, by Kerr’s report, still has yet to be found." Odeun took a break from his confusing speech and listened to what other demons had to say.
"Have we had any luck in learning the Fyre’s whereabouts?" asked a demon with maroon markings on his chin.
"Kerr has found a few likely locations where some scrolls may be kept. But otherwise, we have gotten nowhere," answered Odeun.
"Will you be sending out groups to search these areas?" Rassyu asked, a tone of leadership in his voice. Undume wondered if she would be going on any of these journeys. And with Rassyu?
"Yes. I want your team to go to the Cold Forest." Odeun glanced at Undume, then looked at another demon in the front row. It was one from earlier. "Kerr, since you have a lot of information, I want your team to go to the Lake of Sira."
"The Lake of Sira? But the C-" he was cut off.
"Go there," Odeun stated in a brief, overpowering tone.
The other teams were assigned their locations, and Undume was relieved at the meeting’s end. She sat up from her chair in the fifth row and started to head over to Rassyu. She was cut off by the green marked demon from earlier. "He’s mine," she said with a cold stare that judged Undume as a threat.
"Uhm, that’s nice. You can have him, then," Undume said, confused but wanting to avoid a fight. She still felt sick from the previous nights.
"Ooooh!! I know I’m not going to like you!!" the girl said harshly, trying to stare Undume down.
Undume snickered to herself and just smiled at the girl. She was relieved to see Rassyu come up from behind the annoying female. Was he going to save her from this maniac? Undume could only hope.
"Tinta, I see you already have an issue with Undume," he said, obviously knowing about her moods.
"Rassy!!" Tinta said, turning around and smiling at him. Undume noted never to call him 'Rassy.'
Undume held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Tinta," Undume said as she tried to resist punching the girl she knew she was going to hate.
"Hmph." Tinta walked out of the row of chairs and exited the room.
"She’s fun," Undume said sarcastically. Rassyu smiled.
"And she’s on my team. So I guess you’ll be avoiding her a lot."
"I can’t wait." Undume smiled, and followed Rassyu to the door that was behind Odeun’s throne. "Are we meeting him already?"
"Yes. We have to leave tonight for the Cold Forest, so there’s no other time we can meet with Odeun."
"Tonight?" Undume had been looking forward to a nice long rest in her new comfortable bed. She could have sword her pillow was filled with feathers. She loved that.
"That’s the order. Didn’t you hear that in the meeting?"
"I pretty much blanked out after a while."
"Hahaha, that happens. They get very boring after a while. But try to pay attention. This is how we get our orders and our updates on the war."
"War? You’re at war? You never told me this."
"Why do you think we’re recruiting Xanadus?"
"Recruiting? Shit, why wasn’t I told about this?"
"Odeun will explain this in more detail." And with that, Rassyu opened the door and they entered into a long hallway.
Other than the fact that she was a bit annoyed at the secrecy of a mysterious war, Undume was overwhelmed by the design in the castle. Even the hallway they were in was beautiful. There was a nice design in the stone walls, and red curtains that were draped along the walls were a nice splash of color. She felt like she was in gothic structure of old. And it was marvelous. As Undume stared at the fascinating scenery, she noticed wooden doors with marks carved into them on either side of her. The line of doors continued to the end of the hallway. She was curious as to where they lead. Rassyu knew only a few rooms behind them. Much was kept locked from even him.
Undume followed Rassyu until they entered a door on the left. The mark on it was similar to that on Odeun’s face. Or so Undume thought. Rassyu placed his hand on the symbol and a flash of light beamed through it. The door disappeared and they entered the room. As soon as they did the door reappeared behind them.
"Glad you could make it," Odeun said, standing from his desk and walking over to greet the two demons. "It is good to have you in Crosse, Undume. You seem like a good member of our people."
"Uh- thanks," she replied shyly. His aura was filled with so much power. It overwhelmed her. And yet, she almost glowed in it. Like she had a power of her own and could stand up to him if she had to. She liked the feeling, but it kind of scared her. Rassyu noticed her nervous behavior and caught her gaze with reassuring eyes. Undume was a bit shocked by this, but she did feel better. Perhaps this was because he had taken care of her. She didn’t know.
"I’m glad the reaction of the demon blood in your system has finally calmed down. I am sorry you suffered so," Odeun said in a sweet voice.
"It’s okay. Rassyu helped me through it." Undume glanced quickly at Rassyu, then back at the white haired ruler.
"He’s a good sire. I think you two will work together well."
"Will she be coming with me to the Cold Forest?" Rassyu asked, checking with Odeun as to whether he thought she was ready or not.
"Yes, I think it will be good for her to get to know your group. Before she has to fight, anyway."
"Wait, I never even knew you guys were in a war. Now I have to fight?" Undume interrupted, a bit angry.
"Rassyu will teach you everything you need to know. But you won’t be fighting, unless you need to. You’ll be Rassyu’s eyes."
"His what? And why?"
"Your demon form is mechanic, as your wings may have shown you. In your ears you have what we call ‘Psy-eyes’. They would be most similar to headphones in your world. You job, during battle, it to focus on the opponents and figure out their weaknesses."
"What? How do I do that?"
"You will see."
"And what if I have to fight?"
"Rassyu will give you a weapon of your choice. He’ll train you to use it, and that will protect you as much as it can in battle."
"Should she be equipped for the Cold Forest assignment?" Rassyu asked.
"Yes. Go to the weapons locker after we speak." Odeun looked at Undume. "I am sorry we did not tell you of our war."
"That’s okay. But what is it all about? I heard you mention ‘angels’ in the meeting."
"That is precisely it. We are fighting the Angels. They have been trying to kill us for many centuries."
"Aren’t they supposed to be on the side of light?"
"And Demons aren’t?"
"Well, not by human mythology."
"The humans must fear something. They chose feathered wings over ours, and thus we are ‘evil.’"
"I see." Undume looked down at the floor, everything hitting her strangely. What a weird world she had come into. But she liked it. It beat hers by far.
Undume was beginning to feel happy again.
After talking with Odeun for a bit more, Rassyu and Undume left the room and headed for the weapons locker. There, Undume had a hard time deciding on what she wanted to use to fight with. She wanted all of the weapons, but a sword and a chakrum pair stood out to her the most. In the end she chose the chakrum for distance attacks.
It was the oddest feeling. As soon as Undume picked the chakrum up they glowed a soft light and the markings that decorated her cheek also appeared on the weapons. She was surprised at the power Crosse seemed to contain. But it was nice to have the weapons become her own. She also could have sworn they shrunk slightly, and as she lifted them they seemed to get lighter. As if they were changing themselves for her.
Rassyu and Undume headed back to their rooms to pack for the five-day journey.