At last the uproar died out slightly. Everyone was equally divided about allying with the humans. Those on my side for the alliance, surprisingly, were Sloth, Lust, Wrath, and Pride. I guess Pride was not as stereotypically aligned as I had previously thought, otherwise he would certainly be against something like allying with his enemy.

Those voicing their concerns against the alliance were Envy, Gluttony, and the before now uninterested Greed. Kel’thul also seemed to be against an alliance, but Hahnu was staring daggers at him, so the little he did say on the subject took more or less of a neutral stance.

Viridi and Sival had long since retired to a room offered them by the guards at the doorway, and even I was mentally exhausted at this point.

“Look, the positives of allying with the humans far outweigh the negatives! Allying with the humans will give us access to knowledge, such as outposts and base locations, army composition and numbers, defense measures, supply routes, and so much more! If you ally with the humans against the Aesir, or even just against the Jotun vanguard, as soon as the alliance is halted you will have more information than you did before!”

“But we also would be sharing such information, willingly or not! There would be no upper hand, it would become a war of surgical strikes as soon as the alliance ends!” Envy countered.

“You could pad the information, feed them misinformation when it counts!” I persisted.

“And they could - om - do the shame… same!” little miss Gluttony said around another mouthful of candies.

“While I wholeheartedly agree with Lord Veloth, further argument is pointless. Ultimately, you must decide my king.” Pride addressed Kel’thul.

Kel’thul seemed to agonize about the decision before him. Either way, the demon’s situation is far better than it was before.

“Kel’thul, one last thing. The humans are the ones who asked for a ceasefire. You could ask for a compromise. The fact that they asked for a ceasefire after only encountering the Jotun without full knowledge of the Aesir’s army means they are already hard pressed with their side of the continent.” I pushed him one last time, tempting him with the knowledge that the humans know not what is still to come and the fact that they sought a cease-fire before the demons did.

Kel’thul thought a few moments more, scrunching his brow and rubbing his temple.

“Send a messenger to the humans. Accept their cease-fire… if they agree to the terms of an unconditional alliance against the Aesir. If they ask about the Aesir, have the messenger tell them everything about them…” Kel’thul looked irritated as he spoke, but at the last word he seemed to relax once more.

“Nyahah, my Veloth is brilliant!” Hahnu purred, rubbing her cheek against mine, making me blush slightly at the unexpected and sudden skinship. I responded with patting her head, causing an even louder purr to rumble out.

Kel’thul smiled at that and seemed to take it as his cue for dismissing the assembly to make preparations for the coming war.

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Daimos is a Ladren man, a speedy and efficient royal messenger, tasked with the most important deliveries. His feathered gray-white wings had a massive wingspan of twenty feet, five feet greater than the average male Ladren. This made him excellent at gliding, allowing him to span great distances without much rest.

Today, Daimos was entrusted with a scroll sealed by an ancient magic that can only be undone by a royal messenger, general, or the royalty themselves. This meant that the message was of the greatest importance, but the destination it was due was insane to Daimos. Meilum, the human capital.

Daimos, however, did not question the destination he must deliver the letter to. He was a professional, and he has never, and will never, fail a mission. Daimos donned the gear of the royal messenger, elaborate and sturdy leather armor with the symbol of a scroll etched in white in every conceivable place, the universal sign of a messenger.

“Fuuuuu… Alright!” Daimos took a deep breath, and launched himself high into the air, using warm currents occasionally to lift himself higher without using his own strength, and at when it became difficult for even a Ladren such as himself to breath, he pointed himself in the direction of Meilum, and began his long distance journey.

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Daimos had almost reached the mountain range that separates the continent in half, the pearly gates, after 10 hours of endless gliding. He was tired, exhausted, and soon he would be able to rest at the peak of the nearest mountain.

As Daimos joyously imagined his soon-to-be brief respite, he abruptly felt a sense of danger. Almost simultaneously with this sense, a great pillar of flame flared up from the ground, missing Daimos by about fifty feet. Fifty feet too close, as Daimos could feel the searing heat from here, and from the brief exposure was already sweating even though he was at such a high altitude that the cold winds could freeze any creature unprepared in minutes.

The heat from the sudden gout of flame had forced Daimos to a higher altitude. Daimos looked to the base of where the flame had sprung, and there saw a man very clearly. A man of average height should be nearly impossible to see from this height, but this was no man, it was a Jotun.

This Jotun had long black smoky hair, swaying with the harsh winds that swept up the Pearly Gates from the plains. It’s eyes were pure hatred, tongues of flame lickinglicking out from a bottomless sea of fire. The Jotun had a massive blade wreathed in flame and black smoke pointed straight at Daimos. This was undoubtedly Surt, as described by Daimos’ great grandfather.

Daimos no longer had the option to rest, nor the option to save energy by gliding. A Jotun could keep up with him gliding, even if the Jotun had to scale a mountain. Daimos pumped his massive wings furiously, putting all the energy he had saved up into them, while simultaneously casting a body enhancement spell called Haste, followed by a spell that lessened his wind resistance, creating an invisible cone in front of him that bore through the air.

Daimos will not fail his mission. His pride would not allow it.

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A/N: It was a short chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! Rate/Review/Comment/PM your opinions so I can see if my story actually is enjoyable so far!