After an uneventful week devoid of planeswalking, Keela had gotten used to the horns although they still sometimes got in the way. Velka had been giving her a daily intake of blood in the form of small wooden flasks that she received every morning. The wounds caused by this were healed by the castle’s healers, reducing any scarring that would happen to a minimum. She had been dutiful if not a bit dissipated during meetings, as Velka was mostly busy with her General work. Saphielle and Velka looked very busy, all the time. But one day, that sense of boredom was lost, a great problem rising.

As the group was enjoying their breakfast, each tending to some documents, a scout burst through the door, running on the hardwood floors before kneeling and composing themselves in front of Keela.

“Your majesty! An army is approaching!” said the scout, catching their breath.

“What? An army? Whose banner?” said Keela, getting up from her seat.

“They bear the sigil of Dagia ma’am. They appear to be led by Raymond of the Summer!”

“That conniving piece of-- you’re dismissed.”

“Thank you ma’am!”

Keela turned towards Velka and sighed, the weight of the situation bearing down on her. Velka put down the documents she was holding, looking pensively in the distance.

“There’s no way we can win this”, said Keela, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“I have a hypothesis but it means bargaining with forces we don’t know”, said Velka, resting back in her chair theatrically, her hair succumbing to gravity as she stared at the ceiling.

“How stupid is your plan, on a scale of one to ten?”

“Twenty. Easily.”

“You just came up with it?”

“Mostly. We’re going planeswalking.”

“Where?”

“The abyss. We’re going to meet the head of the demon clans. And you’re going to beat him in one on one combat.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Demons are very prideful. If you win, he’ll abide by any request you make.”

“And what will that request be?”

“An army, naturally.”

“Velka you’re a genius.”

Saphielle abruptly stood up from her seat, slamming her hands on the table.

“I can’t approve of this! This is madness”, she screamed, a tinge of panic in her professional tone.

“Why? Afraid I’ll make a mistake planeswalking? Or a political one?” asked Keela, stretching out her legs, planning out her process in her head.

“Yes!”

“Then why don’t you come with us?”

“I…”

“No mistakes if you’re around.”

Saphielle conceded, slumping back down in her chair. Keela rushed off to her room, getting dressed in formal wear, as if she was meeting with a humanoid noble. As the two others got ready in similar fashion, she looked in old tomes that spoke of the abyss, looking to pinpoint the exact location she would need to open a rift to. The door opened a few minutes later, Velka and Saphielle joining her, both in formal wear as well.

“Well then, if we don’t come back, Velka, I love you, Saphielle, you’re like the sister I never had”, said Keela, cracking her knuckles and rolling her shoulders.

“Don’t be so ominous”, replied Velka, putting an arm around Keela’s shoulders.

“If they attack, we run?” asked Keela, ironing out the last of her worries.

“Sure, let’s go for that.”

“I hate everything about this”, said Saphielle, fidgeting with her necklace.

“We know Saphielle, we know.”

Sighing, Keela focused, cutting through spacetime with a blade focused on one finger, making a straight line instead of a rip. Forcing mana through, she opened it cleanly, forming a door sized rectangular opening that led into a staircase of blackened stone. Crossing it, the trio was met with a landscape straight out of the worst nightmares one could have. In the distance, volcanoes spat lava endlessly, causing a constant rain of ash on the city. The buildings were roughly carved from volcanic rock, offering simple housing that likely wasn’t employed much. Lightning coursed through the ash clouds, flashes of light bringing a faint roll of thunder to one's ears. Climbing the steps, Keela defiantly stood straight, a look of resignated will on her face. There was no such thing as a castle. The stairs climbed to a plateau on which sat a throne fashioned out of bones, on which sat a creature with the face of a lizard and the horns of a goat, its body covered in crimson scales. It wore a cloak of tanned leather and simple but adorned clothes, holding a scepter that held a thick red sooty gem at the end. Guards stood at either end, their physique resembling that of humans with more elongated faces and charcoal skin, wielding pikes with uneven ends which were immediately pointed at Keela. Ignoring the weapons, she simply slapped the polearms out of the way, keeping a steady pace up to the plateau. Standing in front of the sovereign, she stared them in the eye, despite being a few feet shorter.

“I have a challenge for you”, she said, mustering all her courage in front of this inhuman beast, whose simple gaze was enough to crush a whole country’s resolve.

A grin stretched out on their face, revealing uneven razor sharp teeth and black gums, twisting the grin into something more sinister than the intent probably was.

“The small… creature… defies me?” replied the sovereign in a low booming tone, matching the power of the thunder that echoed in the distance.

“I don’t care if it’s you or a champion of yours, if I win, I want an army. My kingdom was reduced to ashes by my weakling of a mother, I need the troops to fight off an invader”, she replied, the words following each other with instinct rather than reason.

“Funny… the elf has traits of… ours… yet… she isn’t…” slowly said the creature, clearly not used to speaking common.

“So what will it be?”

“So… be it… If you win… against my… champion… I will give you… what you need…”

Following the promise, they turned their head, barking orders in an unknown language. A demon followed the call, wearing simple battered armor. They had a similar physique to the guards, although were more scaly. A scar was drawn over one of their eyes, as well as all over their arms, cutting into the scales, scarring as lighter grey flesh. The armor was battered but efficient, the metal plates showing the wear of war. Their sword was intricate a black and red weave of a strange material composing the hilt. The warrior stepped up in front of the demon lord, bowing briefly and turning towards Keela with no glint of mercy or pity in their eyes.

“You… may… fight...here… Start… when you wish…” said the sovereign, flashing a grin that could almost be interpreted as cocky.

The warrior drew their sword, standing at the ready. Keela rolled her neck, pulling down the restraining formal top, revealing her usual fighting attire. Rolling her shoulders, she dashed towards the warrior, at a speed high enough to produce a sonic boom. As she whirled in the air and unleashed a kick, the warrior simply blocked with an open hand, swinging with the sword at a dizzying speed. Parrying the hit, Keela took a few steps back, considering her options. Getting low to the ground, she upped the voltage to her muscles, something she couldn’t take much of. She left her original position so fast, the cloud of dust hadn’t settled when she reached the warrior, pummeling the armor with hits to dizzy them. Showing signs of being slightly damaged by the hits, the warrior still brought down their blade even faster than before, offering no chance to dodge. Velka’s whole body tightened up in pure stress, Saphielle’s nails digging into her shoulder. As the blade finished its arc, it simply split in half, a clean cut in the middle of it, the metal clanging to the floor. Arcs of lightning coursed up Keela’s neck as the amount of electricity exceeded the limit, her mind losing itself to the fight as well. Her victory was necessary and she would do anything to get it. Translucent blue claws had grown over her hand, like a set of armor made of pure mana. Swinging her arm, she cut through the warrior’s armor like it was water, tackling them fiercely to the ground as they tried to recover from the surprise. As the first hit swung from the right, the warrior raised an arm to block, doing the same from the left. Grinning, Keela went for the neck, ripping off a chunk of flesh with her teeth. The creature drowned in its blood over a few seconds, grasping at its throat for air. Keela got up from the ground, spitting out the chunk of flesh at the sovereign’s feet, wiping her mouth as the rest of the brown in her hair slowly was consumed by the mana.

“Will this do?” she asked, breaking the silence in the room.

“I… like… your… ferocity… I… stand by… my word”, replied the sovereign, before pushing a small cast iron box towards her.

Inside were three rings, one for each of them. The sovereign gestured to put them on. As they obeyed, they found themselves suddenly able to understand the chatter around them.

“This will be easier to speak with, and the soldiers do not speak your common tongue”, said the sovereign,

“A very generous gift”, replied Saphielle, stepping up next to Keela.

“I look forward to her victories, which will be many.”

“To whom do we have the honor? The name needs to be remembered.”

“I am Er’arath, demon prince. And yours, small one?”

“The one who fought is Keela Norra Aekian, queen of Noclye. I am Saphielle Mirafir, her royal advisor. The rabbit girl is Velka Grissi, head general of our country.”

“I trust your business here is done. The parchment in the box will instruct you of the rest.”

Bowing their head slightly, the group turned around and left, Keela opening a portal resembling the one she had made before. The paper was written in demonic, which she assumed the ring let her understand. The parchment had simple instructions, which Keela read out loud upon arrival.

“Call upon the fiends of the land and they will crawl from the shadows, burst from the sand and obey your commands. The ring your leader wears has a small stone set in it. Channel mana into it and your army will come. Best of luck, signed Er’arath.”

“Did… did that just happen?” asked Velka, patting herself down to verify how well she was.

“No time to worry, we have a war to win. They should have reached the desert by tomorrow. Circle them and crush their will and leave Raymond to me”, said Keela, looking as ominous as her small frame let her.

The three of them went to prepare; time was of the essence.