The Unheard of Union of Man and Demon

This is the eigth edition of my first chapter. It should read a little better now but don't be surprised if it changes at least 2 more times:

The forging hammer slammed mercilessly against the searing hot blade. Aerx smiled as he inspected his latest creation. Grunting in satisfaction he dipped the metal quickly into a bucket of water he kept at his feet. The water's surface, once completely still, burst into a large hissing cloud of steam, but within seconds the steam subsided as the surface returned to its original form.

"I think this is the best one yet," Aerx announced proudly.

"I'll be the judge of that. Bring it over here." Kuram ordered barely glancing up from his bench. He sat the long sword down that he had been polishing to inspect the scythe blade his apprentice was so proud of. Aerx smiled as he watched his master inspect his creation, eager for his approval. "Not bad on the shape. A little on the short side like you, but its workable. You hit it a bit much on the ends but overall not bad for an apprentice. We'll polish and put a good cutting edge on it in three days. Don't bother coming here until then."

Aerx glanced at the doorway reluctantly, "Are you sure sir? I could start putting the edge on it now. I could use the extra coin."

Kuram chuckled, "I truly admire your work ethic boy, but the blade isn't going anywhere. There is a world outside of these four walls, Aerx. I don't think you've even seen the sun in over two months with all the hours you've been here, though I don't know why on Thrae you do it. You need to go out and see the world, maybe even meet a girl. The forge will still be here in three days. Heaven knows a woman in your life would do you some good. Now go and don't let me catch you back here until then."

Aerx knew his leaving wasn't negotiable so he walked out the door without a word. The sun was already hanging low over the cobble stone road leading uphill to Toterdam. As he put on his black stocking cap over his mess of brown hair he watched the new leaves of spring shimmer brilliantly in the fading golden sunlight. "I'd nearly forgotten how beautiful a sunset could be," He said aloud to himself with every word producing a twirling, misty cloud in the cold air. Such a beautiful sunset should not go to waste on the tree covered main road. There was an old trail that he often took during the summer months that would be perfect.

Without a second thought he turned left from the rut filled main road onto the wooded trail as he hummed cheerfully. The leaves of the last harvest season covered the forest floor. Few people used the trail anymore and the woods were quickly reclaiming it. Fallen oak trees and several inches of leaves now covered it. The only indication of where the path was even located was the absence of briars and under brush. It pained Aerx somewhat to think that everyone had abandoned such a beautiful walkway.

Towering oaks and broad maples stood as a silent guard as the lake came into view. A perfect mirror of the crimson and gold striped sky above the distant mountains adorned the surface. Despite his previous feelings, he found he couldn't help but smile. Off to his left, the gleam of the setting sun danced on the lake surface. He enjoyed the simple beauty the forest offered as time passed without notice. His joy was brought to an abrupt end when his foot caught on something and he crashed face first into the ground. "Stupid tree root."

When he looked back he realized just how wrong that statement had been. A slender young woman in a tattered red cloak was laying across the trail he had been walking. The leaves around her head were soaked with blood from a long gash in her forehead just below her raven hair. "My God!" Aerx exclaimed as he searched her pale wrist for a sign of life. A weak but steady pulse greeted his fingers, "Still alive. Hang in there miss." Moving as swiftly as possible he tore a large strip of cloth off his favorite green sweater and fixed it over the cut. "That will have to do for now."

Without another thought he slid his arms under her slim frame and stood up. Wasting no time, he darted down the last of the trail and over fallen trees. The last golden rays of light casted long, heavy shadows upon the stone wall of his home as he rushed through the heavy front door. He laid her on his old wooden table as he cursed himself for not having a proper bed. He had meant to make one during the winter but had never managed to find enough time. Finally, after a year of saving, he had enough to buy some proper furniture. He lit the only lamp in the house which he left hanging in the center of the living room. He quickly constructed a large pallet of quilted blankets next to the old stone fire place. The girl was ghostly white in the lamp light, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped.

He used one of the two towels in the house to wipe as much blood as he could off her head, trying not to come too close to the bandage he'd tied there. There didn't seem to be as much as he had originally thought; her long, curly black hair somehow wasn't even damp. "I must have imagined all the blood." The heavy red traveling cloak she had on looked big enough to fit two of her, but he thought it best to keep as much cloth on her as possible. Gently, he carried her from the table to the makeshift bed. With the last blanket in the house he covered her body. Save for the crude bandage, she looked peaceful. "I've done everything I can for you miss. I just hope it was enough." Weariness weighed heavily on Aerx as he blew out the lamp and sprawled out on the hard wood floor next to her pallet.


Daybreak came all too early as a slight headache greeted Aerx.. Rolling to a sitting position he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"You can't be seriously considering this, Lyhn. Look at the guy," Commanded an annoyed female voice. Aerx's eyes snapped open. Two women were sitting on the pallet he had made. One was the black haired girl that he had bandaged last night. The green cloth was gone along with any trace of a wound. Next to her was a shorter red haired woman glaring at him.

"What's so bad about him, Naomi? I haven't seen anything wrong," The dark haired girl, Lyhn replied as she turned her head to study him with a mischievous grin.

Naomi scoffed as she folded her arms, her red hair looking slightly singed, "Well for starters he's a freakin human! Your father will go berserk if he finds out about this."

"You know the law. I don't have a choice in the matter. Plus... I kind of like him. Daddy will just have to throw his little tantrum."

"I can't believe you would actually follow that long forgotten tome!" The red hared woman yelled with her hands thrown up in the air. "The daughter of the Arch-Daemon marrying a human is a disgrace I tell you!" Naomi was trembling with indignity.

Anger raced across Lyhn's delicate face, "Do not forget who you are speaking to! I will not tolerate this kind of talk from my own servant!"

"Fine! See if I care what happens to you!" Naomi yelled right before vanishing. Aerx sat in the same position, unsure of what to be amazed at first. Lyhn turned back to him shaking slightly.

"I swear! I don't know what has gotten into that woman. She is usually an excellent servant." Aerx didn't move a muscle. Try as he might, he could not get over the fact that the huge gash that had been above her right eye was gone without a trace of it ever being there. She seemed to follow his eyes, " Oh that. Naomi is an excellent healer and it wasn't very deep. Now I seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage. You now know my name, but I have no idea who the man who rescued me is. Would you please tell me your name?"

"A...A...Aerx." He stammered out.

She looked at him curiously through ruby colored eyes as her hands rested on her slender hips, "Aerx huh. Surely you have more of a name than just Aerx. Please tell me your proper name."

The shock was starting to wear off a little. "I..I'm afraid that it's just Aerx," he stated shyly. She started intently at his saphire eyes, looking for any hint of a lie but could find nothing.

"You are just full of surprises, Aerx. I've never heard of a human with no surname. Tell me, how is this possible, future husband?" She asked casually.

Aerx leapt to his feet in surprise, "WHAT?! There is no way you are talking about me."
Lyhn giggled, "Silly me. I forgot to explain or even properly introduce myself. Forgive my rudeness. My name is Lhyn Durensike, daughter of the Arch-daemon Mar Durensike. You are hereby engaged to me as of last night."

"Daemon?..Engaged?! Hold on a minute! Nothing you are telling me makes any sense. I haven't done anything and daemons don't even exist in this world... Do they?" Nothing was making sense today. Aerx fought desperately to bring his thoughts into some semblance of order. With one finger Lyhn shifted her curls, revealing a pair of short, blood colored horns.

"I'm afraid so. You are engaged to me by an ancient daemonic law whether you like it or not." This was just too weird for Aerx.

"I still don't understand how I can be engaged to you, a daemon, when I've never seen you before dusk last night."

Lyhn giggled again, "You're actually kind of cute when you're confused. The spartan conditions you live in aside, I can't believe a human girl hasn't snagged you yet. I'm glad actually, since it saves me the trouble of having to kill her. But I still haven't explained our circumstance. We are bound together by one of the oldest laws in daemonic existence. The law states that if a non daemon aids a daemon of their own free will the said daemon must immediately marry said non daemon regardless of either of their previous marital statuses. So when you treated the cut on my head and gave me a place to rest you bound us together for eternity, my dear Aerx."

None of this was helping his headache, "Let me make sure I understand this correctly. Because I got out of work early for the first time in two months, took the trail that nobody uses anymore, and tripped over you on my way home I'm now married to you, a daemon, that I didn't even know existed?"

Lyhn nodded mockingly, "Took you long enough to figure it out. I hope you aren't this slow every morning."

Her mockery angered Aerx more than it should have, "I'm so terribly sorry. It's not every morning that I wake up to a daemon in my living room!"

A fiendish grin burst from her red lips, "So you DO have a backbone! You're even cuter when you're angry. I think you might make a good husband yet if I can instill some resemblance of style in you."

"Exactly what makes you think I'm going to actually go along with this charade?!" Aerx's broad frame shook with fury. Before he could even blink she had knocked him over and sat on top of him, pinning his chest to the floor with her weight.

"This," She said right before she kissed him on the lips. White hot fire surged through every fiber of Aerx's body. Brilliant white light filled his eyes while his heart felt as though it was about to leap out of his chest. Just when he was sure his body could withstand no more something deep down seemed to snap. The fire instantly receded as the white light faded to total darkness...