FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A/N: Last revised 3/11/2023 for grammar.

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I mentioned a Meeting in my last entry.

This is because a while ago, Andarria had told me she wanted to set one up. I don't like Meetings, because it means I have to sit still for an extended period of time and listen to boring people talk about themselves. So I tried to forget all about it and focus on my training. I don't know what Realm I'm going to be given, necessarily, just that it has something to do with war and combat. It's a lot easier to think about sword fighting techniques than it is to consider what self-important Demons will have to say about Andarria's Plans.

But yesterday, we had that Meeting. Like I said before, she went and got me from the field, saying now was the time. Just as I had dreaded.

"Why now?" I protested. I'm an adult, but I felt like a bratty child as soon as the words left my lips. But I really didn't want anything to do with sitting in a room being bored.

Andarria didn't reprimand my behavior, but she did shoot me a Look. She's given me this Look since I Emerged, when I was but a child Demon. Her glares have always been unnerving. There's something in her eyes that's far more daunting than even the fiercest of warriors. The silver irises tell me, Tread carefully, or I'll shatter you out of existence with the Forbidden Magic.

I shut my mouth after that. I liked existing and couldn't comprehend nonexistence. Whatever way Andarria could destroy me was inconceivable and terrifying, so I decided to go along with whatever she wanted.

She led the way to the Meeting Space, a designated Pocket Realm that required a blood offering of peace. With the blood of each Demon participating, the Realm would grow to accommodate them. The Realm would also know every Demon Soul contained within it and would therefore know to recognize elevated energy signatures of them should a fight break out. And if that happens, the Demons will be punished for misbehaving and subsequently thrown out.

Andarria referred to this as "insurance."

I considered it "intimidation."

But either way, it was effective. The last altercation was long before Chaos had spit me out, and Andarria intended on keeping it that way.

Everyone entered the Pocket Realm at the same time as us, which led to some momentary overcrowding through the threshold. But eventually, everyone assumed their seats around the meeting table, with Andarria at the head and me to the side on her right. I was only familiar with some of the attendants, as I had sparred with them in the past, but I wasn't overly concerned with them. I wasn't concerned about Liliana, fluttering about the room, all smiles and gentle touches as she gossipped with the Demons. I wasn't even worried about Death, who lingered in the shadows of the back of the Realm, her massive orange compound eyes glowing in the dark.

What made me uneasy was the fact that the Fates were not here.

This would've been the first Meeting I hadn't seen them attending before, and that was unprecedented. It wasn't like the arachnid Demons to not show up. They had to know all things. It was their duty as Fates. Maybe they would psychically know the goings-ons at the Meeting without their presence. Maybe the Web tells them. But it still made me uneasy.

Across from me sat Mora Guul, Demon Lady of Wrath, sharpening her axe and looking just as confused as I was. Her tusked mouth was turned in a frown, and when we made eye contact, she furrowed her brows at me, as though I had the answers she sought. I emitted an uneasy laugh and shrugged, then covered my mouth. Andarria had been trying to get me to stop laughing every time I got nervous, as it gave people the wrong idea of how I was feeling, but I couldn't stop it. Mora Guul didn't seem to mind. I wondered if we would've been a better match than myself and Andarria, but the Mentor never made these decisions. Such things were decided by higher powers interpreted by the Fates.

Andarria stood and clinked a spoon against a wine glass, though there wasn't much ambient chatter to interrupt. Regardless, everyone looked over.

Her disguise had dissolved, and she was back to the Andarria I knew--a tall grey Elf with her hair in loose white ringlets.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why we're here today," Andarria began. Then she cleared her throat. "Stage One of the Plan begins today."

Murmurs broke out among the Demons, especially from Liliana. In the back of the room, Death's eyes narrowed.

Andarria clinked the glass again, seeming a little impatient.

Mora Guul didn't seem to care about this. "Were you ever going to tell us your Grand Plan, or are we supposed to blindly follow whatever you say? That makes us no better than the Celestials who demand loyalty without reason."

I nodded. Mora Guul was the most sane Demon I had met, I figured. We had sparred a few times when I was younger, but she won every time, brute strength beating my agility. Someday, I would defeat her, and we would drink to this.

"I hear you," said Andarria, "but there is a good reason for my vagueness. It is not a plan I wish to take lightly, nor did I want someone else to initiate it before all the pieces were in place."

"So tell us now," Mora Guul demanded. "I refuse to be a part of a plan that I do not know the details of."

Andarria sighed, leaning on her palms on the table and looking down. The rest of the table watched in silence, save for the nervous giggle I tried to swallow.

She slapped her hand on the table. "Would you stop, Sethira?"

This only made me laugh harder. I covered my mouth with my hand.

"She can't help it," Mora Guul noted. "I think she is vocalizing the tension all of us feel."

The table murmured in agreement.

"Fine!" Andarria looked up at everyone. "I believe it is our time to assert our place on Terriam."

Andarria's assertion was met with silence. For a while, the Demons simply looked between each other. Someone coughed. I laughed.

"Explain," Mora Guul said, setting down her axe and leaning on her hand. "Assert how?"

Andarria began to pace, a thoughtful hand under her chin. "Allegedly, the Mother and Father created the plane of Aefarell and all its livable regions. Therefore, the Celestials have laid their claim on Terriam since they were conceived. The Mother and Father created the Elves in their image to live in the fruitful, beautiful supercontinent of Terriam. Terriala then created the Humans as a rebellion from her husband. Regardless of origin, Elf or Human, the mortals honor the Celestials as their parent-gods and slay each other on what they view as holy ground to prove their worth to these so-called benevolent beings. And we stay in the shadows, with reverence for us seen as blasphemous."

"Where are you going with this?" Mora Guul asked.

"Let me finish!" Andarria protested. "The creation of Humans has me thinking. Terriala made the Humans to assert that ties to nature, not to Celestial Magic, was just as powerful as their children together--"

"We know," Mora Guul said. "What does this have to do with us?"

Andarria sniffed. "I think it's time we make our own Demon-born entities and bless Terriam with them. If Terriala can create her own people, why can't we?"

"That's because we're not the literal mothers of the planet Aefarell," Mora Guul said with a roll of her eyes. "Terriala can craft people out of nature because all of Aefarell, and therefore Terriam, is her Realm, even without the help of Andresathos. We are not tied to Aefarell, Terriam, or to Celestial Creation."

"Which is why we will have to create our mortals outside of Terriam and bring them there to bless the continent. They can reproduce on Terriam later, but our original people will have to be forged out of the Chaos Realms."

Mora Guul meditatively sharpened her axe, the stone skidding across the blade slowly.

"Each of us will have our own people to offer Terriam, made in our own images. The Celestials will have to remember, when seeing all the mortal creatures, that they share the universe with us, and we are not to be trifled with."

I decided to finally speak. "Is this an act of war?"

Andarria shook her head. "No. There are no universal laws forbidding our creations. We are simply asserting ourselves as equals. If they interpret this as violence, that's their own problem."

"We should be prepared for retaliation, though," I said. "Terriala might be peaceful, but it's her husband I worry about." And I had good reason to worry. The Lord of the Skies had a tendency to create natural disasters whenever he saw fit. He had already tried to destroy his wife's people twice with storms.

Andarria studied me for a moment. "I have trained you well, Sethira. I would love to promote you, but there's one little thing we need to take care of first."

I tilted my head. "Take care of?"

Andarria opened her mouth to reply, but the Portal to the Realm opened, revealing the missing arachnid Demons--Arisella and Phaedra. Their expressions, as usual, were hard to decipher, but Phaedra's eight red eyes were stony, and Arisella's were wide. Arisella seemed rather troubled, fidgeting with gauzy threads between her fingers as Phaedra led the way into the meeting room.

"Is it time?" Andarria said.

Phaedra nodded.

Andarria hummed to herself, then said to the room, "It is time for the New Era." Then she paused. "We will need a bigger room for this." Then she lifted a hand, and the Realm expanded to an auditorium, the Demons forced to sit in arc-shaped benches instead of at a long table.

Liliana yelped, as though she hadn't expected this. Death stepped closer, orange eyes sparkling. Mora Guul dropped her sharpening stone and grumbled to herself, as though this was all just a great inconvenience. I was too confused to be inconvenienced. What did Andarria mean by a New Era? She was cryptic enough on a good day, but this was eerie even by her usual standards.

"I swear," Mora Guul muttered, possibly to me, but more likely to herself, "if someone doesn't explain what's going on--"

She didn't need to finish her sentence. Andarria cut her off, beginning a small speech.

"For the beginning of a New Era, a New Fate must be founded. Arisella was part of the Creation of the World, but nowhere in her Weavings are the Creations of Demons spoken of. Her stories stop at the Creation of mortals from the energy of the Stars. Phaedra's do not. So it is time Phaedra takes on Arisella's current role to open the doors for our time."

Arisella's wrinkly old fingers plucked something in her own Web, seeming irritated, or perhaps panicked. I didn't know what she said, but whatever it was made Phaedra cross her arms.

Andarria's steely gaze flickered over to Arisella. "You have told me from the first day of Phaedra's training that there would come a time where your life and reign would end.Today is that day. With her coronation as Queen of Fate, we can then welcome in the new Demon Lords and Ladies who will lead our incoming Era. All you have to do is accept the very Fate you saw at the end of your Tapestry."

Arisella seemed to not reply; her fingers went still, and she hung her head. Her spidery paws were barely visible underneath the large skirt she used to cover her legs and abdomen, but I could see her shifting around anxiously.

Andarria nodded, though she wasn't addressed. "I'm sure you know how to proceed."

Before Phaedra could respond--if she could respond--Arisella plucked something, and Phaedra seemingly ignored it. Instead, she led Arisella to a position in front of her. For a moment, the two stood motionless, Phaedra's expression seemingly impassive. Andarria backed away from the two of them.

"What is happening?" Mora Guul whispered. She had even paused sharpening her axe.

"She's gonna kill her," Liliana replied quietly. "As spiders do. She's gonna execute her Mentor in front of all of us."

"Can Demons even die?" I asked. "I thought we were outside of the cycle of life and death."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Death shake her head, but I was certain Death couldn't hear, just like Phaedra and Arisella. Death said something with her four hands, maybe a response, but I did not know Handspeak to understand what she said. From where she stood, Phaedra saw Death behind Arisella. Phaedra nodded solemnly to Death.

The soon-to-be murderer and Death held an understanding no one else in the Realm had.

I shivered, though it wasn't cold in the Realm, and turned to the spiders. Phaedra circled Arisella. There was a blade in her right hand, the metal polished enough to show the reflections of the audience and the artificial world around us. I almost wondered if it was made of a mirror, except that it wouldn't make any sense.

Phaedra dragged the point of the dagger across Arisella's cheek, and the old woman winced.

As Phaedra began her dance of death, Andarria began a small speech. Perhaps it was a prayer. I had never heard it before.

"May the Blood of Creation be our offering," Andarria said.

As if it was a response, Phaedra sliced her dagger into the flesh of Arisella's other cheek.

Blood dripped to the floor with faint taps, and Arisella made a faint clicking sound in pain. Perhaps it would've been a whimper if she had the ability to speak.

"May the blade be our judgment," Andarria continued.

Phaedra ran the blade along her hand, black blood streaking her white palms. She didn't even flinch. Spiders were clearly not to be trifled with.

Then she brought the blade full of their intermingled Demonic blood to her chelicerae and made a strange slurping sound. Weird. My stomach rolled.

I looked around the room to gauge the general perceptions of what was going on. Most of the Demons looked alarmed, save for Mora Guul, who wasn't even watching. Liliana was crying quietly. She always had an abhorrence for violence.

I looked over at Andarria, wide eyed, but she did not look back. She kept her eyes fixed in the two Fates, a hand on her chin, as though she were already scheming. She could've been the Queen of Schemes instead of the Unseen, I figured.

"May your Soul be our offering," Andarria continued.

Phaedra lowered the blade to the elder Fate's throat.

The older spider grasped all of Phaedra's tiny wrists and promptly threw her forward. Phaedra landed on her back with a surprised little gasp of air, then quickly flipped over, backing away and preparing the dagger before her.

Arisella was not ready to die.

Andarria cleared her throat and finished, "May her victory prove the Will of the Worlds, giving her the rightful throne as the New Fate."

And Phaedra lunged.

Watching the spiders fight was more like watching the colors of a painting run together. Their specific forms were an indescribable blur, impossible to understand where each entity was. I squirmed in my seat, desperate to see what sort of tactics they used, but everything felt out of focus. Even the Realm itself shattered. I realized, after a few moments, that it wasn't due to their appearances at all.

It was due to their power.

The Fates were forces, at the end of the day, far more than people. They didn't necessarily control outcomes, but they interpreted and wrote them, making them be what they were. That level of power was nearly out of my own level of understanding, so their fights would be, too.

At least, until blood spilled.

It didn't take long for there to be a clear winner. The first flecks of blood sprayed on the floor until it quickly became a small black river. With a thump, the loser collapsed on the ground, gurgling as she reached out to an audience who did nothing to help her.

Arisella had lost.

Phaedra paused for a moment, twirling the blade thoughtfully. Then she made her decision and bent over the dying woman.

I squinted and leaned forward, trying to see what she was doing, but couldn't make sense of it.

Between hiccupping cries, Liliana exclaimed, "She's eating her!"

"Eating her?" I understood fights. I even understood ritualistic execution. But cannibalism?

"Spiders," Mora Guul said, as though that explained everything. She still wasn't looking at them, but she did look over to me. "She's devouring her Power and Knowledge in the way only a spider would know how."

I expected to see Phaedra inhaling the older woman like a weird snake, but it seemed she was drinking her blood, or perhaps her innards, with how thin and hollow Arisella's corpse was becoming. After a while, only the shell of the woman was left, and Phaedra staggered to her feet.

Death fluttered forward, expanding her massive brown and orange wings. She scooped up the husk of Arisella, then departed, the two of them shattering to golden dust as they left the Realm.

The audience watched in silence. Phaedra wiped her fangs and chelicerae, eyes looking far away as though she was seeing something no one else could. I realized that she probably was doing exactly that: comprehending the very fabric of the universe no one else saw.

Then she threw herself on the ground, grabbing her own head. An anguished screech emanated from her, though I wasn't sure how she was screaming. Perhaps it wasn't from her mouth, but from her very Soul. Or something metaphysical like that.

With the look on Andarria's face, that seemed to be the case. She scrambled forward and held Phaedra close as the little spider woman thrashed in her arms, seizing. Andarria waved her hand, and the world around us began to disappear. "Leave us. Stage One is near completion. Let her absorb her New Power, and we will all meet again."

I didn't have time to say goodbye to Liliana or to ask for more clarification from Andarria. I was transported to Andarria's Realm in the sitting room where we had our literary lessons. The most boring lessons.

It's where I sit now, writing in this little journal. At first, I just paced around for a while, thinking, but then I remembered I left my journal in my bag, which I still had on me. Writing in this seems like what Andarria would've wanted me to do. This seemed like a crucial moment, though right now, I'm not sure of their significance.

I think this is the first time I've ever seen a Demon die.

I might need time to process this and what it could mean.