Chapter 4 - The croak of hope Several weeks had passed since the first dark magician was created. In the meantime, Satan had sent the demons to bring more mortals to hell for this purpose. Several hundred had gathered, who were instructed by the demons in the art of dark magic. The wishes of the mortals had been quite different: From wealth, health, immortality to the desire for revenge, women and lands. „Fresh air at last“, Perniger said to himself and knocked dust and ashes from his fur and clothes. He only ever had a few hours to rest and recharge outside of hell, then he would go back to continue his training. Teleporting was one of the things he enjoyed the most, along with banking and spending money. He had never been able to see so much of the world before, but now everything was open to him. As he didn't know his way around that well, it had also happened to him a few times that he appeared in the middle of a lake, on a high mountain or even in the house of a stranger. In the meantime, he had bought a small pouch, which he wore on his pants, there he stored his gold coins between. Painfully, Perniger stretched, squinting his eyes a little: „They are slave drivers, but first let's eat something.“ In this area he already knew his way around and ran directly into the city, which lay before him. The houses had some damage, which probably still came from the fights with the demons. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant place where many people lived and there was also a great inn. In which he ate almost every day, drank wine and filled his stomach with the most expensive food. Whistling happily, he walked along the streets, passing stalls here and there. Although he could buy anything he wanted, he grabbed an apple and bit into it a bit further with relish: „That's how I like it. Beautiful sunshine, I can have everything I want and no one can stop me anymore.“ Perniger deftly turned the dagger in his hand and ignored the annoyed look of Falx, who was facing him: „You're not about to play around with it, but hit the stone there.“ Actually, Perniger had no intention of doing this at all, because he had already known how to handle daggers and knives before. Just because the dagger had now also been created dark magic, that did not mean that it used completely different. A dagger was a dagger. Amused, Perniger threw at the stone shown: „Satisfied?“ „You need to throw with more power“, Falx reminded him again, „If you let the dagger penetrate far into the flesh, your enemy will be badly affected or, in the best case, dead.“ „It's time to conquer the world of the living“, Satan's dark voice sounded from the roof of his castle. Like many others, Falx had not even noticed that he had appeared up there. „Go and conquer the cities and villages!“, he commands them, „And destroy the light magicians!“ The demons disappeared one by one together with the new dark magicians in black fire to carry out the prince's command. Perniger looked around as soon as they appeared in front of the city. It was quite a respectable army, so it should be easy to conquer the city. „Give up now or we will destroy your home, take all your treasures and your blood will belong to the demons.“, he announced immediately, sure of his superiority. Irritated, Falx looked at him: „We need to refresh your basic knowledge about demons. Not all demons drink blood.“ Many of the townspeople hid in their houses, locking doors and windows. Instead of giving up, a larger group of men and women confronted them: „Get out of here! We will not leave our homeland to you.“ Grumbling, Metos looked to her enemies and then to Verentia: „Let's let the dark magicians fight first. Then we'll see directly whether the effort was worth it at all.“ As Verentia never fought herself anyway unless it was worth the trouble, she had no argument against Metos' suggestion: „Come on! Servants of Satan, show how powerful you are!“ Some of the dark magicians ran straight away, making swords, daggers or knives of dark magic appear. Surprised, the light magicians could watch weapons forming from black smoke, sharp and dangerous. „Shield!“, someone from the lines of the light magicians shouted over the group. Almost at the same time, they stretched out their hands as if they wanted to defend themselves against the attackers with their bare hands. Instead, however, the attackers ran into an invisible wall, struck it with their weapons, and were supported by the magicians behind them, who shot dark magic balls at the invisible wall. Perniger even kicked the mysterious wall in front of him a few times: „Cowards! Fight like real men!“ In fact, there were few women among the light magicians. It was simply not suitable for a woman to go into battle. The man was responsible for the protection of the family, but not every woman could fall back on a man at her side. Thus they preferred to fight themselves. Gabriel had honored this courage with the light magic. „We use our head“, one of the women replied to Perniger's challenge, but didn't move an inch. „Sure... the head...“, Perniger muttered to himself as he thundered his fist against the shield, „Why not, actually?“ He took a few steps back and looked around. Not that he could see the shield, but the magicians behind it, and that gave him an idea. Grinning, he walked past one light magician after another until he finally reached the last one. He stood to the left of one of the houses and eyed Perniger skeptically. „Don't look like that, I'm just taking a walk here“, Perniger joked and followed the wall of houses to the next street. There was no more light magician standing there to block his way. Testily he stretched out his hand and felt no resistance. Laughing loudly, he called out to the other dark magicians: „Just walk around them! They can't put up their walls everywhere!“ „Seems like our little thief is fighting not only with magic“, Falx said to the other two. Like all the other demons, the three have so far stayed out of the fight. „He has quite a big mouth“, Verentia replied as the dark magicians split up and started moving out in all directions. „Face them“, a voice sounded again from the ranks of the light magicians. The defense was dropped, the shield disappeared, while the light magicians tried to intercept their enemies. They had no weapons themselves and, to their knowledge, could not create any from their magic. Instead, they attacked with balls of light magic, blinded their enemies with pure light, or even fought with their fists. „Work as a team“, sounded again from the ranks of the light magicians, „focus more on long distance combat.“ Perniger waited in a side street, pressed tightly against the wall, for his next enemy. He liked the excitement, the thrill, it had something, like stealing. Quickly he jumped out of his hiding place, used the moment of surprise and pushed the dagger deep between the ribs of the light magician. Wincing in pain, he collapsed, but he was not alone. His teammate shot light magic balls directly at Perniger, who, somewhat caught off guard, was hit several times. Staggering, he tried to jump at the other light magician. In all the excitement, he had forgotten that his dagger was still stuck in the other's ribs and had to spontaneously use his fists for the attack. More hits rained down on his body before Perniger fell to the ground, contracting painfully and finally disappearing in black smoke before the light magician's eyes. He now bent down to his comrade: „Breathe calmly. I will heal you.“ Verentia looked thoughtfully at the prince's castle. Once again they had lost the battle. Although the demons had finally set a few houses on fire, as well as eliminated a few light magicians, the angels had come down. No one could fight against light, so they had withdrawn. „I need to cool my wounds“, complained Perniger, who rubbed himself over the hurting spots, which affected almost his whole body, „If you are looking for me, I will organize water.“ „Do what you want“, Falx commented casually and looked questioningly at Verentia, „Not everyone is back yet. That doesn't necessarily mean anything yet.“ Audibly, she exhaled: „I was so hoping that it would be the solution to our problem, but now…“ Out of the corner of his eye, Falx saw Perniger disappear into black smoke: "We have failed - ok - but that is not the downfall of our race. Look around, we are still here. As long as we live, we will fight. After all, we are demons.“ „You are right“, Verentia replied, „And I represent all the demonesses in this fight. I must not give up and I will succeed.“ Smiling, Falx nodded at her: „That's how we know the awesome. Always proud and ready to fight.“ The houses in the village square were ablaze with flames. Some demons had simply appeared there with other normal people. At first Candidus had thought they were prisoners, leverage, or the demons were using them as shields, but none of that was true. They were also using magic, but not light magic, instead dark magic. The same magic that the demons used. Before you knew it, the dark magicians had gone after the villagers and the demons had set the surrounding houses on fire. Candidus had been in the marketplace at the time, intending to trade his harvest for other things, as was customary. Instead, he found himself in a fight. The attackers had quickly bypassed the shields and were attacking with swords, daggers and knives. Gabriel's angels came rushing to help after a short time, but the fire did not stop blazing. „Get more water!“, Candidus shouted to the other villagers who had no magic. He himself, as well as the other magicians were still trying, together with the angels, to fight off the attackers. One by one, small balls of light dipped into one element and then permanently attacked the demons and dark magicians. Candidus attacked with balls of light magic, looking around again and again for his fellow comrades and possible wounded: „Do not give in. Gabriel protects us, his angels help us. We can do it.“ His strong belief in the skills and Gabriel himself not only helped him, but also encouraged the other magicians. They had received the light to protect their loved ones and that is exactly what they would do. While the dark magicians focused mostly on close combat, the light magicians tried to stay away from them. If the dark magicians got too close to them, they produced concentrated light to blind them and regain their distance. Their luck was that the demons actually stayed in the background. However, the fire was just out of control. The angels sent down more light elves. For Candidus and the others, they were only small balls of light that made their way to the enemy, but no one suspected that some kind of small creature was hiding inside. A group of light elves dove into the flames, taking on the element of fire. They purposefully attacked the dark magicians, for the angels knew that demons could not burn. It would hurt them, but it would not scare them off. The dark magicians, however, cried out when they came into contact with the fire elves or threw themselves to the ground in panic when their clothes began to burn. The heat of the fire bothered Candidus as he continued to attack the dark magicians. There were fewer of them. More and more simply disappeared in black smoke. The angels followed up once again with a new group of light elves, who again dived into the fire. However, not all of the light elves left the fire again immediately, one seemed to be missing. The magicians, demons, and villagers did not notice. They were far too busy with the actual battle. A young wolf, about the age of 20, ran unclothed from the flames of the burning house. He seemed unharmed, but confused. Candidus noticed him out of the corner of his eye: „Are you hurt?“ Strangely, Candidus had never seen him there before, although everyone in the small village knew each other. Was he a homeless guy who had been hiding in the village until now? There was no answer to Candidus' question. Candidus could not care much about him, because he still had to take care of his own defense and fight off the rest of the attackers. The strange wolf started to move, beating his chest as if he was struggling for breath, and suddenly a jet of fire shot out of his mouth, as was usually only known from demons. Candidus now naturally saw him as an enemy, but the stranger seemed just as frightened and ran away. Candidus shortly considered following him, but decided not to let his comrades down. Finally, the last dark magician disappeared in black smoke. Shortly after, the demons also withdrew, which instead burst into black flames. The light magicians, however, had no time to rest and began to run for more water. Some houses were already lost, but it was necessary to protect the neighboring houses. The angels above their heads made the light elves disappear, their task was done. The bright figures now rose higher into the sky again and finally disappeared. Bucket after bucket was brought up from the well. „Make it faster!“ „The flames just don't get any smaller.“ „We need more water!“ „The fire spreads to the fields!“ Voices rang out from everywhere. Had they really won the battle? There would probably be nothing left of the village but ashes. Candidus looked up at the sky: „Gabriel, please, if you can do anything, please help us.“ It would be impossible for them to master the flames on their own. Between all the smoke that was drifting towards the sky, other clouds seemed to form as well. A glimmer of hope began to grow in Candidus: „Rain, please make it rain.“ In fact, lightning flashed between the clouds, thunder rumbled, and big raindrops fell in a torrent of water over the village. The villagers stopped, some of them put out their arms and gratefully let the rain pelt down on them. It was a true miracle. The fire went out, the smell of wet ashes was everywhere in the village. Many of the villagers who lived in the center had lost everything in the flames. Slowly the rain began to subside and the villagers realized the loss and the full extent of the destruction. It was the remains of a battlefield. Candidus didn't have much himself, but his house stood further away from the village and had thus been saved: „I can take a few people until we rebuild the houses. I'm sure there is room for others.“ He looked around, agreeing, some people nodded: „If you don't have a place to sleep, you can stay with neighbors and friends. We'll manage that.“ You could feel the relief of the now homeless, they would not die miserably on the streets. Tired, Candidus looked at his field. He had been lucky and nothing had happened to his family. Nevertheless, he was worried, because the fighting would certainly not end soon. His life as a farmer had always been enough for him, now he was using magic. It still seemed a little strange. Protecting himself, he held his arm in front of his eyes as a bright light came out in front of him and Gabriel appeared: „You have done well today.“ It took Candidus a short moment before he answered respectfully: „Your angels have helped us a lot. Without you, your magic, your angels... we would all be dead. We are all endlessly thankful to you.“ „You have a strong faith“, Gabriel said with a smile, „and the light magicians need a leader. I want to give you the crow magic.“ „I'm just a farmer, I don't know what this crow magic is. You should choose someone else. Someone in a higher position“, Candidus protested, somewhat shocked by Gabriel's proposal. „It is a special magic“, Gabriel explained in a calm tone, „A stronger form of light magic. I have given this magic the form of a crow, as a symbol of the bond between life and death. In addition, light magic has many more possibilities than you have used so far. I think you are the right one to lead your people, the people of light magic.“ „I have no idea how to lead a nation“, he contradicted again and looked somewhat helplessly at Gabriel, „As much as I am honored by your offer.“ Smiling, Gabriel raised his hand and placed it on Candidus' chest: „I will help you, you are not alone. Your faith is your greatest strength. Do not forget that.“ Then Candidus began to glow, stronger and stronger. He closed his eyes, but quickly relaxed as the light felt warm and friendly. The light disappeared into his body and a light gray crow symbol appeared over his left eye. It seemed like a fur marking, unusual but natural. Candidus looked at his hands and then undecidedly at Gabriel: „It doesn't feel much different.“ „Your children should have it too. Once you are gone, they must be able to defend themselves and lead their people.“, Gabriel explained to him gently, „Don't worry, they will master it better than you one day. They grow up with it and it quickly becomes a normal part of their lives.“ Candidus turned back to his house: „All right, I'll go get them. Wait here for a moment.“ Quickly he went into the house to bring his daughter and son to Gabriel. Even though the situation still overwhelmed him, he trusted Gabriel completely. For the well-being of his family, he would become the leader Gabriel saw in him. He had to put his fears aside. Again Gabriel showed him how to summon a magic crow. It was like a ball of light magic, except that it took the form of a crow and was much more concentrated. So far, Candidus had significant problems with it. Although a touch of wings could be seen as he focused the magic and tried to give it a shape, the construct was always breaking down again. „You must not get so cramped. Think of beautiful things, the people who are important to you and let your stronger positive feelings flow gently through your body. It is like a river and at the end of it a beautiful lake is created.“, Gabriel explained to him patiently. Taking deep breaths, Candidus tried to relax himself and took a new try: „Let it flow.“ Concentrating, he tried to transform his deepest feelings into the flow of magic. Instead of a crow, a bright light appeared, which blinded the nearer surroundings like a short but very strong flash. „Take a break and practice for yourself later. When you've done it, I'll come back and show you how to control it and get it even bigger. But that should be enough for today“, Gabriel said with a smile, „You're doing really well, Candidus. Don't worry your head so much.“ Nodding, but somewhat dejected, Candidus agreed to this: „Thank you so much for everything. I really can't say this often enough.“ „Before I go now, Candidus“, Gabriel began again, as if something else important had come to his mind, „I will let all the light magicians know that you are their leader and have been chosen by me. No one will question you. The people of the light magicians are intended to be a nation of protectors and guardians. I am sure that you will transmit exactly that.“ Before Candidus could reply, Gabriel disappeared in the bright light and nothing remained but a white feather, which also dissolved. „I should take a break…“, he sighed and went to his house, „How am I going to relax with all these things on my mind?“ Several months had passed since Candidus had received the crow magic from Gabriel. With a lot of practice, he was finally able to master it. The houses of the village had been rebuilt to a large part, however, they had in the meantime again and again some setbacks by the attack of the demons and dark magicians. Candidus had begun to organize the light magicians better, forming three groups. The two largest groups consisted once of the light magicians, who specialized in defense and thus tried to use the shield optimally. On the other hand, there was the group of magicians who went into direct close combat or long-distance combat. These specialized in attack magic, speed and strategy. In addition to these two larger groups, there was the group of healers. They focused on caring for the wounded and preventing or fighting illness. This new organization had already proven itself after a short time. Well positioned, the light magicians even managed to protect the majority of the village with a huge shield. Thus, the battles were fought in the outer area and the non-magicians could bring themselves to safety in the village inner. „Do you have everything?“, Candidus checked again with his wife and children. Having successfully made the village his safer place, he now wanted to move on to other villages and towns. He had the feeling that Gabriel expected something like this, so that he could support the light magicians everywhere. After all, it was up to them whether they would be defeated by the Prince of Darkness or hopefully go on to a future that would bring them all peace. „We can go“, his wife confirmed to him, „I hope we do not regret this decision.“ „Gabriel will be with us“, Candidus replied and then looked up into the sky, „He watches over all of us.“ Full of dirt and ashes, Perniger stood in front of the hole in the ground where he hid his treasures. Again and again he reached into his pocket and took out new gold pieces, which he let fall down. He grinned happily to himself: „If I keep this up, I'm going to need a bigger hole soon.“ Through the many battles with the light magicians in the last months, he had it more and more difficult to spend money in some places there, because he was recognized as a dark magician and directly attacked. Therefore he paid more and more attention to visit only places in which he had not yet been attacked. Again and again he looked around to see if someone would come into the forest and find his hiding place. After all, the jingling of the gold coins could be heard a little further on. Perniger would then not shy away from killing the uninvited guest. „Once again“, Perniger said to himself and reached into his pockets again to pull out another load of gold coins. He dropped these into his treasure hole as well, before reaching for his shovel and filling it up again piece by piece with earth. Surely he could have bought a house with it, lived well and still continued to be in Satan's service, but Perniger was too afraid that he himself would be stolen from. Therefore, he preferred to continue to hide his treasure and to increase it from time to time. Fortunately, Damon's leg had healed well, but he had never doubted that. Demons were quite resistant and their bodies healed well, usually without leaving permanent damage. Since Damon didn't have an open wound, there was no scar to be seen. Right now Damon was on Portunus, walking across a wide plain and not really knowing where he was going. Dimicatio had returned to his so-called shadow gate. He did not need to wait for his support. Most of the time Damon had been traveling in the desert on the continent of Fidius. Since, like most demons, he needed neither water nor food, there had been no hurry. If he were a blooddemon, he would have waited for another demon to donate blood, or he would have reached one of the few mortal desert towns and villages as quickly as possible. But Damon's ability was rebirth. Still he knew nothing of the fact that Satan had not killed the demons, but only enslaved them. Damon stopped in wonder and looked at the village, which was not far from him. Clouds of smoke were rising, turning the sky black. The sun was already low, which meant that Damon did not immediately realize that the flames in the village were also pitch black and not reddish-orange. Still, his fine demon nose had picked up the smell of another demon. He did not think it was Dimicatio. His smell was also rather mild and light unlike most demons. This smell seemed heavy and had the strong attachment of ashes, which however could have come from the fire. Determined to follow it up, Damon walked to the burning village. Perhaps another demon had escaped, but what would it be doing in a village? A blooddemon in search of food? Had it caused the fire? Why? It didn't seem to make any sense at all. When he reached the village, he was met with a questionable view. Between the flames of the houses, mortals were fighting, attacking the demons with balls of light. On the other side, the demons, who fought only half-heartedly, supported by other mortals who mastered dark magic. Damon no longer understood the world. He felt happy that demons were still alive, wonder at what was happening, and horrified at the magic that mortals were now able to use. It fluctuated between happiness about the living demons and disaster about what he had done with his crazy idea.