Daylor was rudely woken early in the morning by a pounding on a door, his eyes slowly opened as he groggily woke up, his eyes roamed over the clothes and bottles that littered over the room, an elven woman sturred on his right, her blond hair shifted against her bare back. The human male to the left just snored louder as the pounding resumed, Daylor grabbed a robe to cover himself, and a half filled bottle in his off hand as he partially opened the door.
"Can I help you?" he asked in a tired and annoyed tone as he looked onto the otherside. The elven man standing there was dressed in silver armour with a red tabard, two dragons holding a shield with a phoenix engraved on it were embroidered upon the tabard, the king's mark.
"Daylor, you are to present yourself in front of the king at midday! I need not tell you how much of an honour this is I am sure!"The knight ordered, before looking upon Daylor with hatred and distaste "Oh great a Dratar." He spat before turning his back and leaving. However Daylor just smirked as he turned to the two in his bed that had started to wake and moved back to join them.
A few hours later Daylor was standing in a suit that was fancier than most lords would wear, his silken clothes would get a man into almost anywhere, at least if they were a non-lesser. His hair was waxed back behind his horns and his golden rapier was strapped to his side, matching the red and gold clothes he wore. His eyes, accentuated with makeup, roamed around the palace hall he was waiting in. The room was grand, especially for a waiting room, the marble and gold walls hung multiple paintings that would be worth more than some higher merchants' houses.
As he was taking in the room a guard opened the door and then cleared his throat, with a withering look the guard then gestured for Daylor to follow him. He was led into a gigantic throne room, the majestic ceiling was covered in artwork of knights and mages slaying mighty beasts, the edges of each painting lined with gold, and large white marble pillars kept the ceiling in place. A long red carpet led from the doorway towards the stairs under the throne. Daylor couldn't help but think that with how grand it was here, just how ridiculously grand must the palace in the capital be.
The throne was golden with red cushioning, from the back of the throne rose two metal dragon wings that were placed as if they could be coming from the king himself, and sat on the throne was the most beautiful man Daylor had seen. He had hair that looked like black onyx which was pulled back into a bun with silk tying it back, the silk matched the emerald eyes that seemed to hold the attention of anyone in the room. After Daylor realised he had been staring his cheeks heated and he lowered his head and knelt before his liege while he waited to be addressed.
"Ahh you must be Daylor, please be at ease" The king said in a tone that somehow relaxed the listener while still demanding respect. With all the power the man had he still waited for his subject to stand before continuing. "As I am sure you are aware, each year we take some of the graduating students from the academy and they join the royal forces for two years. And so I have travelled from the Capital to my throne room here. Your headmaster put you forward as one of the choices, in fact he almost demanded you be chosen."
The king informed him, giving him a minute to digest what he was just told. "Now as I am sure you can guess a lot of my court is against it, they still seem to hold onto the prejudice's of old. I believe however that you could help remove such things, of course you would have to perform well if not above expectations"
"Your majesty, if you don't mind me asking what exactly would I be doing?" he asked with a wavering tone, Daylor had barely been near this land's nobles, used instead to dealing with their bratish children in a place of equal standing. So he had no idea how to address a noble in this land, let alone the king himself and so was terrified of getting flogged for asking basic questions, a fear he never had in his old family's land.
"Of course it is only fair that you are aware of what you will be doing. Have you heard of the incursions to the east of the kingdom?" the king asked. News over the last few days were covered with how a joint tribe of orcs, goblins and if rumours had it even some dragon folk were raiding the towns to the east of the kingdom near the mountain passes, when Daylor nodded in response he carried on. "You will be leading ten soldiers at first, and if the situation arises where that is not enough, well you will be able to enlist militia from local towns where you will be posted" he informed him before giving him a smile.
"You will be provided with some armour and a mount by the kingdom, do you know how to ride?"
"Yes your majesty I can ride and attack from horseback" Daylor informed his king and received a nod in response.
"Well then you will be handed the paper work on the way out alongside your seal to show your authority. Do me proud and you will advance in society" The king informed him, the fact the meeting was over shown by the sentience.
"Thank you your majesty" Daylor responded with a bow as he excused himself from the room, as he left he was handed the documentation by a formally dressed man with aged white hair, who gave him a glare while he watched Daylor leave.
A few hours later Daylor was standing in a blacksmith's forge, getting measured as Inarus and Ulma watched.
"So you're getting pulled away for two years for military service?" Inarus asked him with a tone of annoyance "Why did they choose you?"
"It would seem so," Daylor said as the blacksmith's assistant, a young man with blond hair and a soot covered his face, his amber eyes running along the tape. "I think it's part of the headmaster's plan to make the lower races gain a better place in society, No idea why they chose me specifically though."
"Great, so what do we do for two years?" Ulma asked, annoyed.
"Well you could learn a prestige, or take more missions together?" Daylor responded as he got a grunt from them both. The apprentice took a few steps back, finishing the notes on his measuring as he nodded at the demon showing it was done.
"What time do you set off?" Inarus asked
"First thing in the morning" Daylor said with an annoyed sigh, he handed the blacksmith's apprentice the gold that was given to him to get the armour and left.
The three set off to their usual watering hole, it was under a run down warehouse and had a giant imposing half orc standing outside, he let the three into the underground tavern without question, nodding at the three as they passed.
Inside it was full of multiple races, the only constant was that none of them were humans.
Behind the bar was a beautiful woman, she had long autumn-like hair and eyes that drew you in, the colour of the sea. The only thing that showed she wasn't human were the curved horns growing from her head, she gave the party a kind smile as they stepped in.
"The usuals?" she asked them with a soft voice that could calm even the most raging storms.
"Please Naferal, I'm afraid we are having a sad celebration today," Inarus told her before sending a message explaining what was happening to the other party members.
"Oh gods, is it a wake?" she said with a concerned look.
"Nah don't worry sis, they are just not happy that i've been enlisted for two years" Daylor replied
"You have what!" she said as she looked at her older brother with an annoyed expression "And when were you going to tell me?"
"Hey I only found out earlier and I didn't want to disturb your business" he said his hands raised in a calming gesture.
Naferal stomped to the room behind the bar, before a half dragon man came out and nodded at the group, starting to pour their drinks. A few minutes later Naferal came out wearing comfortable clothes as she grabbed herself a drink from the bar then went around the front, following them to their usual table.
"Well then tonight i'm drinking with you all tonight" she said with a tone that left no room for argument.
Not long after the booming sound of Khurda yelling for the group echoed around the entire tavern, in response Inarus only waved from their usual stall at the back. The locals not even looking up from their drinks or away from their conversations at the dwarfs' loud entrance.
"'Orns ya bastard," Khurda said, saying the name in his usual thick accent. His sentence was cut short when a frothing tankered was handed to him. "What's this I 'ear about you vanishing for a bit?"
However, before Daylor could answer the door swung open once more, before Daylor turned to see who it was; however , Inarus' wave suggested it to be Aiko coming up to the table. This was because It would have been highly unlikely for Amber to actually spend the time with the group this night, not when she would probably be celebrating Daylor leaving in her own way.
"As there are only two demon's I know of in the city, and one runs a bar, I take it you are the one who's being sent to lead forces?" Aiko asked as she sat herself at the table, managing to look elegant even as she threw herself down onto the chair. Her tails flicked as a bottle was placed on the table for her, "I tell you it's got the city in a storm."
"Oh great." Daylor said into his cup, it wasn't the first time his name had run through the city. In fact there had been a fair few times in the past where guards had to step in to stop blood thirsty crowds demanding his blood, whenever something went wrong within the city the 'acursed demon' was often the first one to be blamed.
He tried not to let it get to him when it happened however, knowing that the mostly poorly educated folk often didn't understand things from other realms. They most likely did not know that his own realm had many different races and societies, and yes some of them were indeed horrible, but not all. His occasional romp in the bedchambers with the wrong lady, or man however didn't often help his case, however he was always unaware of their partners until too late. On the bonus however it did teach him to sleep lightly, and to stay aware of possible assassinations.
"Try not to get killed, little prince." Inarus teased which caused the other members of the party to let out a small chuckle at Daylor's expense.
"Hey Naferal clear something up for me won't you?" Umla asked before bluntly carrying on before giving anyone time to respond. "I have always wondered how come you look so different from your brother? You look more like someone with demon blood instead of a full demon?"
"Well my brother is a… special case." she said, giving him a slight apologetic look when he winced, "He is the only one of our line that cannot change his form, I believe the only thing my brothers ever been able to do is recall his wings. But the rest of us can use the slightest magic to change our appearance in any way, it is rare you will see a demon of our type shave for example. After all, why shave when you can just make the stubble vanish, why apply makeup when you can just make it appear. So I changed my appearance when we arrived to blend in more, I removed the black from my eyes, made my pupils round and hid my wings and tail. It means I blend in easily, hell when I want to get information out and around I even hide my horns, though it disgusts me to do so. But my more human appearance generally gets me in a lot less trouble, and I have gotten used to this form now."
"Wait, if you can change any part of yourself, can you become a man?" Umla asked, seeming more confused than anything.
"I mean I could if I so wished, and it's not uncommon for some of us to change genders when we are trying to discover our form. Some of us change between the two depending on mood as well." She explained with a soft smile. "Most of us find a form we like and stick to it, but my brother can not change his."
"So if your people go through parts of their lives where they keep changing form, how do you identify each other? Surely you wouldn't be able to tell each other apart?" Aiko asked, seeming to find interest in the conversation.
"Actually we can identify each other, we can sense each other through forms. I used to believe it was a magical thing but Daylor can identify other demons too, so I think it must be slight things like scent and mannerisms maybe. It is hard to tell as it just comes naturally to us, as naturally as breathing in fact." Naferal explained. There was silence for a while as the table digested what they had been told, and Daylor had been staring at his drink in silence for the entire conversation.
"Ya know, less chattin more drinkin needs to be done." Khurda said as he slammed down his empty tankard, Inarus gave him a slightly thankful nod as he then looked back at his silent friend. Before the dwarf then continued, "If we gotta send 'orns off in the morning, let's at least have a good night, and make sure he is riding with a sore 'ead."
This earned a few laughs, and the party slipped into a night of drinking and chatting. Sharing stories of their lives and their times in the academy.