Lucifer stepped out of his morning bath, dried, and dressed in one of his favorite black tunics, paired with simple black trousers. The elaborate red embroidery along the hem of the tunic made him feel regal, and it suited the rest of his Palace. He left his bathing chambers, passing by the rest of his personal quarters.
Entering the lavish Great Hall, Lucifer noticed the four demons that awaited him, the ones of the five he expected to see. Adam seldom left the Aether, save for the rare occasions where he used magic to temporarily seal the Barrier against the Shapeless. Lucifer knew Adam preferred to be alone, and also knew the Aether could only be sealed for so long before the Barrier would break again.
The demons, similar in their physical appearances, bowed together as they spoke. "Greetings, Master Lucifer."
"Good morning men, Hellena. I trust you all had a good night. Vincent, you are relieved from training duties today, and may go out into the Second City of the Lost to resume your usual duties. Hellena, you are in the First City of the Lost today, you may go out and do what you do so well." Vincent and Hellena nodded their acknowledgement, and vanished in their red smoke.
"William, I've been observing the way you learn, and believe you will handle swordsmanship training better with another lefthanded swordsman. I am leaving you in Edward's care for this part of your training. I believe you are ready." Lucifer gestured for the two men to depart, and moved back toward his personal quarters, toward his study. He had an ally to prepare for.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Edward led William through a long winding pathway, down unlit and dank stairs to the weapons storage. "So, William, have you any experience with weaponry?"
William jolted, the lantern he held throwing the shadows in odd directions as he jumped. "No! Well... not unless we count the... business with my son's murderer... and my own death... but I swear I didn't know what I was doing! The dagger felt wrong in my hands, I was never trained to use a blade!"
The elder demon chuckled. "Relax. We do not judge you for what you did. If anything, I would have done the same thing, except I only had a mother and sister to protect. It is my duty to teach you the ways of the blades. The master wants all demons to be exceptional swordsmen, and that now includes you."
"Why is that?" William's question echoed as Edward led him further down the steps.
"Well, see, the master has been waiting centuries for an ally. And the Seraphim Michael is the perfect one. Both have reasons to want vengeance against the Ruler. That is also the one thing all of us have in common as demons- the Ruler's apathy was our demise. Master Lucifer wants us all prepared for the day when he is ready for his revenge." Edward stopped before a large metal door. "This is it."
Edward slid the bars of the door aside, and shoved it open. Thousands of weapons lined the wall, the blades glinting in William's lanternlight. "This is incredible..." William's awe resonated through the weapons room, his sanguine eyes wide.
"Fascinating, isn't it? I recall my first time seeing it as well. Pick a favorite, go on, take one."
William reached for a simple sword, not wanting to pick anything too ornate or elaborate. His hand came into contact with the hilt, but he was unable to remove the sword from its place on the wall. "Edward? Something is wrong...I can't pull the sword from its...?"
"Precisely. These are demon blades. They must be fed." Edward grasped a dagger from the wall with no effort. "This dagger knows me. They all do. Nobody but a demon or the Master can take our weapons; it makes us nearly impossible to disarm in combat. Try to take it from me." Edward held the dagger by the blade, the hilt toward William.
The newest recruit reached for the weapon, grasping the hilt, but again found he could not take the blade. "This doesn't make sense! I'm a demon! Why won't they accept me?" Frustration rang out in William's voice as he was rejected by a second weapon.
"Demon blades must be fed. Give me your hand." Edward took his new student's hand in his own, and stuck the blade tip into William's fingertip, dragging the blood across the metal. "This is how we feed them. This blade knows you now." Edward placed the dagger onto a shelf, and gestured to William. "Try to take it now."
William placed his bleeding finger in his mouth, and wiped it on his trousers. He reached for the dagger that he had given his blood to, and found he was able to take it into his hand. "Do I have to... feed all of these blades?!"
Edward gave a small smile. "Not at once, that would destroy you. I did it over decades. I am the only one aside from the master that every blade knows. The other demons have their favorites. Today, we are going to pick six more for you to feed, and we will use them in our training."
The newest demon took the dagger he had fed, and grimaced, the corners of his mouth pulling far as he tried to force the blade into his own skin. He pulled the tip of the weapon back at the last second, before driving it into the pad of his finger. The bright red blood shone vibrant against his pallid skin, and he ran the wound across several blades on the wall, pulling them from their display as each became familiar with him. William squeezed his finger, forcing more blood to the puncture, allowing him to feed several more weapons.
Edward leaned against the wall, watching William feed the weaponry. After his student had prepared enough blades, he stepped in, helping William gather the swords and daggers. The newest recruit was outfitted with thigh and ankle sheaths, a sword scabbard that rested on his hip, and one that crossed his back. "It's impractical to wear the sword on your back for yourself," Edward explained, "but it is for your companions. If one of our weapons breaks, we can take from one another. It is our way of watching out for each other. Try to take the sword from your back; it is awkward. But if I were to come up behind you, I can easily take it and carry on."
"So nobody can take my blades from me if they have not fed the weapon, but if they were to say, slam into me with a shield, I could drop it. They couldn't pick it up, but I could. If you were closer than the dropped weapon, I could just take from your back... is that all correct? It was just a lot at once..." William ran his fingers along the edge of a sword absently, not wanting to look up in case he was wrong.
"You worry too much, William. You learn quickly. The master does not choose his converts lightly. Try to have more confidence in yourself in this new life."