In Folterod, a world where magic runs rampant, the tenth cycle of an event has started. One which all of its residents dread.
From tall mountain peaks to small town squares, black orbs flicker into existence.
With a CRACK they shoot to the ground, zipping open swirling rifts that emanate a dark energy.
The humans in the area, knowing what this was, run and cry in fear. Children and food are grabbed, everything else abandoned. Entire villages, ghost towns in minutes.
A wild delk, a creature with mighty horns and powerful legs, sniffs innocently around a portal. A dark, clawed hand shot out of the portal and grabbed a horn. The delk's screeches of fear are cut off when it's head was drug through the rift, the legs becoming still before they slipped through the darkness.
With the rifts open, international disputes were temporarily laid to rest and a meeting between the leading nations was held.
"We have a year until my people's land is razed by the demons, there is no time to waste! We must summon and prepare the hero!" Head Priest Lazarus of Theoprya's voice rose among the four.
His brows crinkled in irritation, the King of Odrad was the next to speak.
"And what happened last time? After stopping the event, they found out how we summoned them and that we had no way to send them home. It took all of our elite troops combined to subdue him and his rage. Even then our last ditch effort was to seal him under a mountain range, which your country so 'graciously' offered."
"Don't bring up past issues Corbert, we need to focus on current ones." Empress Victoria of Alfrea, the empire of elves, cut in; "We need to ramp up military recruitment, bring back some veterans while newbies get trained. Can we at least all agree on that?"
Corbert nodded; despite the grimace of disgust on his face, Lazarus agreed as well.
"Of course that's a given, but what about summoning the hero? The only one who can kill the Demon Sin is the hero. Otherwise the gates won't close and the entire world will be overtaken."
Corbert and Victoria became visibly displeased by Marshal, the dwarven king of Dwargon, bringing that back to the conversation.
"At what cost? Must we always bend to that god's will? What of-"
"The sacrifice of 100 souls with less than 6 months of life is all he asks. Ozalda's will cannot be avoided or denied. Of course someone of your kind wouldn't respect the God of our world. Besides, the chances of us finding one of those, mongrels, is slim to none. All our countries will have to split the sacrifice, but there is no price too big to pay for the future of civilization."
Lazarus's open racism towards Victoria wasn't a surprise to any of them, the people of Theoprya's religious belief was that humans were the superior race.
For half an hour they debated, Lazarus's stance remaining unchanged on the need for a hero while shutting down Victoria and Corberts attempts at finding an alternative option.
With all objections shut down, the decision had been made and they all knew what they had to do.
***
Not a day went by before the rulers gave their command. Across the continent, mothers screams could be heard as babies were ripped from their arms and torn out of cribs.
Newly drafted adventurers and soldiers spent the night saying goodbye to their loved ones, unsure if they would ever return.
Hearing a knock on his thin door, Kairo opened it to find a low ranked adventurer carrying parchment.
"The Tenth Demon War is starting. In one year, the rifts fully open and demons shall invade. To prepare for this, one member from every household is being drafted. They must be present at the local Guild building tomorrow at 12:00 pm sharp. There, they will be evaluated and sent to training. Good day."
The man left, leaving him to shut the door and turn towards a mess.
Clothes and dishes littered the room. Shattered furniture lay across the floor, spiderwebs spindling across some of the older wreckage. Years worth of dust coated the windowsills.
He stumbled to the only untouched picture. Picking up the frame, tears leaked from his eyes at the sight of the smiling woman.
His heart was torn. He wanted to be more than how he felt, weak, and this gave him a chance. But the promise he would break, would his conscious be able to handle the guilt?
"I'm sorry Mom, I need to fight now. You didn't want me to be like him, but I need to now. I cant escape it."
The empty house only echoed his words. Clutching the picture, Kairo eventually rocked himself to sleep, curled up on the floor.
***
Hundreds of miles away, in the deepest canyon on Folterod.
Knights, mages, archers, and many other adventurers were posted around a caravan, a line of defense from creatures in the forest. A gremlin lunging at a hooded man was easily sidestepped and cut down by his curved blade. It passed through the gremlins back like butter, slicing its body in half and splattering entrails across the ground.
The next to be slayed by this man didn't have the time to screech before it's head was removed. Glancing back at the carriages he was protecting, the man forced himself to ignore the cries and wails coming from the middle three.
He thought to himself 'Why did my party get chosen for this low level mission? I know it's important, but it's a waste of our time. Not to mention it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.'
His cloak flapped in the slight breeze as he turned away. A silver crest on his back reflected the light from the torches. The image of a blazing fire with two blades was briefly visible, disappearing as the man slipped into the darkness to make a perimeter.
Four caravans coming from different directions met in the center of the canyon, where a dark crevice punctured the ground. No one had ever attempted to find the bottom, for no one dared. After all, if there was one, the only thing to greet them would be a gruesome pile of small bones.
For the second time within a 48 hour period, the rulers of nations had gathered once more. This time to perform the ceremony to summon a hero to this world. They would be summoned to Theopryas capital, so as not to see this horrendous scene.
With the rulers gathered again, it gave Victoria a chance to talk to Marshal about the meeting. A scowl stained her stunning visage as she approached the King, who gave a small nod to the other non-human ruler.
Marshal waved for his guards to stand down. He briefly cussed them out for pointing their weapons at the Empress before turning to the elf.
"Sorry about that, damn idiots the two of em. Victoria, how're you doin'?"
"Confused. Both our countries have low reproductive rates, so how could you be all right with this?"
"Straight to the point. Who said anything about being 'all right' Victoria? I simply know the duty I have towards my people. The death rate would be much higher if we didn't summon a hero. The future must also be thought of."
She couldn't say much against his words, everything Marshal said was true. The only place they disagreed was their willingness to obey Ozalda, the god they were about to give a sacrifice to.
"You should be old enough to remember when Ozalda appeared for the first time."
Ignoring the slight glare given at the 'old' comment, Marshal continued.
"I wasn't alive, but I heard stories from my grandfather. He appeared in the middle of the Great War, roughly 700 years ago. All the armies, master spell casters, siege weapons, nothing could scratch him. Then, rather than punishing our ancestors, he warned us of the Demons threatening our world. He even gave us a way to stop them, albeit temporarily."
Having decided a while ago to ignore his comment, Victoria thought back. She could barely remember what she had seen back then. However, she could never forget the event itself.
"Yes, I was only a few decades old and a novice Druid back then. It almost didn't seem real, however a year later the gates fully opened. Blood soaked the land. We were forced to summon a hero, barely reaching the requirements he gave for the sacrifice."
"And if we hadn't, the invasion would've never stopped. We had no other way to close the rifts."
"It was not the only way. He gave us a second option, and after the first rifts were finally closed a group and I searched for an Innate Hero."
"And how did that go?"
Her silence spoke more than words could. Marshal knew the answer before he had asked, so her response was no surprise to him. Turning his gaze to the wail filled carriages, his already rock hewn features somehow hardened even further.
"This is the most practical, if not only way. Sorry Victoria, I truly am. More to these young lives about to be cut short. They won't be able to forgive us, but hopefully their spirits will understand."
As Marshal and his escort walked away from Victoria, the carriages started moving towards the canyon. A silent tear slid down the Empresses cheek, rolling off her slender chin as the first carriages went over the edge.