Saban

I looked out over my portion of my father's territory. For the most part, there was nothing but desert as far as the eye could see. In the distance I could see an erupting volcano. Ash drifted down from the sky. I wasn't sure if it was from the volcano or the firestorm raging among the grey clouds. Harsh, but beautiful, I mused. This piece of territory would be useless if there wasn't a strong magical signature and a huge system of caves. Both factors made it good for growing the mushrooms which were the main source of food in the demon realm.

I turned back to the cave entrance, feeling melancholy. My life was nearing the end of its span. Demons didn't die of old age, like humans, but I was nearing the point where I'd be powerful enough to challenge my father, a demon lord. Before that happened, he would kill me.

I could sense his location, a result of being marked by him. That mark allowed him to summon me from anywhere in the demon realm, and access my mind when I was close. He was very far away, I noticed. Hope began to stir. Was he... Was he far away enough?

If I gained power quickly enough, I mused, I would be able to challenge him. Possibly kill him. I could be free...

I shivered. If I didn't rebel, my death would be swift and painless. If I did, and I failed... My father would make me suffer before I died. Possibly for a very, very long time. I'd been tortured by him before. I knew what kind of pain he could inflict.

I shouldn't. I was bound to fail. A painless death would be better than a slow, agonizing one. But if I succeeded...

Abruptly, I thought of my mother, for the first time in over three decades. She'd been a young, relatively weak demon. Until the day my father had captured her, she'd been free. Shortly after capturing her, he'd forced her to mate with him. Normally after mating, the receiver in the process implanted their offspring into some sort of host, either a lesser demon or sometimes a human. But she hadn't been allowed to find a host... She'd become my vessel.

Normally, the process of hosting a demon was deadly. The developing demon drained power from their vessel in order to grow, killing it in the process. However, I'd gained awareness sooner than most developing demons. As soon as I became aware, I sensed her. Her desperation. Her fear.

I'd wanted to spare her, to take less of her power so that she might survive. I'd told her of my intentions. She'd been quite startled to hear from the imp she carried, and even more surprised by desire to spare her, at great cost to my own development.

But she'd told me no. She'd told me to take her strength, all of it. To use it to fight my father. To survive.

That had been her dying wish. She'd wanted me to live. If I didn't take this chance, if I didn't risk it all for my freedom... Her sacrifice would have been in vain.

I had to do it. But how?

I entered the cave where the demons I'd marked worked in the mushroom farms. Most demon lords could only mark an hundred or so demons. That was why my father had marked me and my siblings, so he could control more demons through us. As the children of a demon lord, we were demon lords ourselves, though much younger, weaker ones.

The mushroom stores were quite full, I mused. I'd start there.

An hour later, after gorging myself on as many mushrooms as I could manage, I settled down to sleep. When I awoke, I'd be stronger than I was before. Much stronger.

And that was how the next few days went. I ate. I slept. I grew.

But soon the stores were empty. It wasn't enough. I still wasn't powerful enough to challenge my father, and he was coming my way, probably to kill me. In desperation, I called the demons under my command together. I didn't want to do this. But I had no choice. Not if I wanted to live.

-I am going to drain most of your power- I informed the demons under my command, using mind speech. I felt their fear begin to rise. -You won't die.- Hopefully. -But you will be greatly weakened. Rest assured that I will restore you as soon as I am able.-

I felt their fear. A few began to protest, but turned silent as I gripped them with my mind. A few fled. I let them go. I could call them back whenever I wanted.

I started on my task. I could feel the terror of the each demon I fed upon. They pleaded with me, begging me to spare them. No demon liked to be rendered helpless, and few believed me when I told them they'd survive this. Once drained, however, they couldn't speak. They couldn't move. They could only wait, and watch me as I started to drain the next demon.

Some might very well die before I could restore them. I didn't want that. But I had no choice. Not if I wanted to survive my father.

Finally I was down to the last who hadn't run two. -Please don't do this- the next to last one begged. -Surely you have enough power by now. You don't need to... Please! Please...- As I finished, she trailed off into silence.

I turned to the last one. After this, I'd call back the demons who had fled and drain them. Then I'd sleep, absorbing the power I'd stolen. When I woke, I would be powerful enough to break my father's mark, preventing him from controlling me. And then we'd fight. If I lost, I would die in agony. If I won, I'd be free.

To my surprise, the last demon, one of my flyers, didn't protest as I started to drain him. He offered his power willingly. -Why?- I asked him as I fed.

-You wouldn't be doing this if you had any other choice- he murmured. -And you'll restore us as soon as you get the chance.-

I blinked my many eyes. Reaching into his mind, I felt his trust in me. His loyalty. A rare gift, I mused. I wondered what I'd done to deserve it.

-Do you have a name?- I asked.

-Rae- he told me, voice barely a whisper of a thought. -I'm Rae.- And with that, he drifted off to sleep.

I turned to the demons I'd just drained. -Rest now- I told them, pressing down with my mind to enforce the command. -Sleep. Don't dream.- Any dreams they had were likely to be nightmares, helpless as they were. -Sleep.-

They slept. With a sigh, I began to call the ones that had tried to escape me. As they bore my mark, they would have no choice but to return.

When I'd finished draining those last few and forced them into slumber, I slept as well. I awoke feeling refreshed. Powerful. With a swift flex of my mind, I broke my father's mark.

He knew immediately what I had done. I felt him racing towards me. Soon. The battle would be soon.

We met in the open desert, under a scorching hot sun. -Father- I said, waiting warily for him to attack. -Azazel.-

-My son- he said, voice cold. -You'll regret this.- And with that, he struck.

Battles between demons weren't like human battles. For humans, a single wound could end the fight, but demons regenerated. To win a fight against a demon, you had to deal the same wound over and over again until it failed to heal. The weaker the demon, the quicker its regeneration failed. Would I be the weaker one, I wondered as I struck with a barbed tentacle.

As the battle wore on, my stores of strength decreased. But so did my father's. The question was, whose power reserves would be depleted first.

The next wound I struck failed to heal. I moved in, attempting to drain Azazel's power. He fought me, but now, it was only a matter of time until I won.

Finally I had him. Pinning him to the blazing hot sand, I drained the last of his reserves. He didn't plead for mercy. He knew he would receive none. Red eyes, so much like my own, met mine. And then he crumbled to dust.

I stood there, stunned. I'd done it. I was free. I could hardly believe it. My father, my master, my tormentor, was dead. Dust. Gone. And I, though greatly weakened, was still alive.

I'd never had a name before now. Just a number, two eighty four, denoting how many siblings had come before me. But now... I smiled, relishing the idea. Now I could name myself. I could choose what I would be called from now on. What my minions would call me.

Saban, I decide. I'd call myself Saban. It meant freedom, I remembered. Hmm. Lord Saban. I liked the sound of that.

Turning, I set off towards the caves. I had demons to restore.