Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

"You want to allow those demon-spawns access to our dungeons? To our guilds? To our children?"

"Fodder is always fodder; they serve only as a shield for the true warriors!"

"Yeah! What she said!"

The shouts continued for several minutes, but the five leaders allowed them to voice their complaints. It would not do to have them bottle these thoughts up, or that would breed additional animosity beyond what already existed.

\'Can\'t say I don\'t blame them…\' Arturo thought to himself.

Finally, Aleksander stood and raised one of his hands, a motion for silence. A few seconds were required, but eventually the nobility calmed themselves. Though, looking at their faces, they had plenty more to say.

"We of the council understand your concerns. And we share them of course…the thought of a Marked One fighting alongside a noble son or daughter of my nation in a dungeon…or walking the halls of our esteemed academies as students rather than servants…sickens me to my very core.

"However, it must be done. The Marked Ones have always been our first line, absorbing the attacks our enemies would have caused our actual armies. They serve as a shield to protect those more valuable…but…what good is a shield if it crumbles too easily.

"We wish to strengthen that shield, if ever so lightly. So please inform your towns and lands. Adventure guilds will now allow registration of Marked Ones as members, dungeons will now allow their entry, and our academies and institutions will now accept them as students.

"When we finally pass beyond this war, and prevent unspeakable tragedy…we will put those creatures cursed with the blood of demons back in their place. These measures are not intended to be permanent. However, if individual nations find it to have been useful, or helpful…we will also not stop you from continuing these endeavors.

Aleksander sat down eliciting nods of approval from the other leaders. Slowly the angry faces of the nobility softened as they began to understand the purpose of these measures. Once King Aleksander had laid them out so plainly, they were able to logically process the idea.

The council then put the measures to a vote. All five of the leaders raised their hands in favor. Afterwards, the rest of the \'senate\' were also asked to vote, for which a majority voted in favor.

Arturo stood in silence throughout the entire thing, simply observing. He had discussed these measures with the King and several other generals and commanders prior to the announcement. While he completely agreed with and understood the purpose, Arturo was adamant that his own soldiers would always be unmarked.

*****

Natali sat in her small room, alone and stared at the candle burning by her bedside. Her icy-blue eyes reflected the flames as they danced about the wick. She found herself lost in thoughts of her only friend, Lyrah, and her mother and father.

Just like Lyrah, Natalie too was born as a Marked One. Her mother and father were not like most parents thankfully and still treated her just as well as they would have if she was born normal.

Still, after the house fire her mother and aunt Adellia saved her from, she was not naïve to how the world viewed her. Natali had never spoken of the incident with her mother, because it was a hazy memory. Truth be told, most people would not have well-formed memories from that young of an age.

However, she did remember. And she also remembered that somebody had set that fire. Natali figured her mother had her own suspicions about it, but she never voiced them. Instead her mother and father simply doted on her as best they could.

Things were easier now, though, since they had moved into the castle tower where the oracle lived. Since Natali was also a Marked One, those in charge did not hinder her from interacting with the young Oracle. It was even likely that they would have Natali take over as caretaker to the Oracle when Lyrah took the position.

Other thoughts also flitted about her mind. Thoughts of a man with jet-black hair. A silver eye that shone like the moon, and a golden one that rivaled that of the sun. Lyrah always described him as having teeth as sharp as fangs, and a gaze that pierced one\'s very soul.

Realistically, if Natali had ever met him, she would probably be terrified. However, as a character from a story she found him very compelling. All of her friend\'s stories revolved around him fighting others. She had asked Lyrah if he was the savior of the Marked Ones, since he was described as having a mark on his left, and a mark on his right…something that should be impossible.

Lyrah\'s face had gone pale as she had stared off into the distance before she looked back at Natali and answered resolutely, "No."

Natali began to stare at the mark on her hand…the Mark of Recall. She was told it was an \'Abnormal\' class mark, but she didn\'t know what that even meant. Something she did learn was what it did.

As part of her daily practice, she grabbed an empty mug that she kept by her bed for water with her left hand. "Recall…" she whispered. It strained her throat horribly to talk louder than a hushed whisper. Damage from the fire.

A dull glow emanated from her mark and when it faded, she threw the mug at the wall with her right hand. Just as it was about to smack the wall and cause a ruckus, the girl snapped her fingers. The mug vanished and instantly appeared in her right hand.

Natali continued to practice with her mark until she began to experience the beginning of a headache. This was how she knew she was done for the day. Each and every day though, she was able to do more and more throws.

"I should have daddy teach me how to fight…" She whispered with a small smile. "Besides…if I want to make it through school…I need to protect myself. I don\'t know if serving as a caretaker for Lyrah will keep me from that war Lyrah warned me about…but I will need to if I want to have a chance to meet him."