The Trials

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Chapter 2:

When I woke up, I peeked outside. Yup, the big blue guy was still here. I don’t think he’s leaving.

I walked outside. “So, what’s your plan stud?” I asked as we sat around the campfire cooking our Breakfast, which Nathan had kindly caught. It was weird having another person here. I used to be able to be around people, lots of people, and now one blue alien has me all sorts turned around. I started sorting out the items from my pack just to have something to do. Hairbrush here, comb here, pocketknife here.

“What is a stud?” he asked with a confused look on his face.

“It doesn’t matter. What is your plan Nathan?”

“My plan is to wait for instructions.”

“And are these instructions going to just pop out of the sky, or do we need to do something in order to get them?” Nathan didn’t seem to appreciate my snark, which is so not my fault, no one asked the big blue guy to come here. I was doing fine, I mean sure the food was getting scarce and I was thinking of moving on, but I was hoping my mom or dad would show up here at some point looking for me. That is clearly not going to happen seeing as I am in THE TRIALS, whatever those are.

“I do not know how we get the instructions. I only know that the Sociums are to receive instructions for the next Trial when they complete the previous trial.” I stared at him, willing him to say something else. He stared right back at me.

I laughed, “Okay, well, we completed the first trial, we both heard the spooky voice say “Trial one has been completed”, I air quoted for emphasis. “Do you have any idea what Trial one was?”

“No.”

I sighed, “Nathan, I’m going to need you to give me a bit more here pal. What was the first Trial last time around?”

“I do not know anything about the specific trials, other than there were 10, the Ruling Family was chosen, and the Ruling House was formed. It did happen one thousand years ago; it is possible the details have been lost over time.”

“Well, what does this Ruling House do?”

“The Ruling House contains the members of the Ruling Family, they rule.”

“Argh, NATHAN! You have GOT to give me something here! What do they rule, who do they rule, why does there even need to be a Ruling House; and what do the Gods have to do with this? I need you to tell me in simple words a five-year-old could understand what the heck is going on.” I stared at him. He stared at me. I stared at him some more.

“That’s it! I can’t do this; I can’t work with you. Go find some other Socium to play with, I’m done. You can spend the night here, but I need you gone by morning and you can take your crazy Trials and your Gods with you “. I started picking up my belongings and putting them back in my bag.

“Paula wait. I was thinking. You must give me time to gather my thoughts. My people learned about the Ruling House and the Gods as children. I do not know where to begin. And I cannot just find another Socium to play with as you say, YOU are my Socium, there is no other for me as there is no other for you. If you want your family back please sit back down, I will try to explain.” I sat down, but I gave him my best evil death glare. Nathan was either going to explain this to me or he had to take his crazy elsewhere.

“When we are children, my people are told stories of the Gods. The Gods are responsible for all that is good on my world. The Gods and the Daimons once worked in harmony until…”

I interrupted him, “Demons, now there are Demons?” I threw my hands up in the air, “Of course there are Demons, why not, maybe we can throw some goblins and witches in the mix too!”

“Are you done? Did you want to hear this or not?” Nathan had his serious face on again.

“Sorry, continue, I just, well, sorry. Go on.”

“I said Daimons, not Demons. The Gods gave Daimons the power to help our people. Daimons gave us guidance and suggestions, they warned us of missteps and provided inspiration that brought our people to a higher plane of existence, a plane closer to the Gods. They spoke to the Gods of our struggles and fought on our behalf to make a better world, a better people. My world was balanced and blessed until the Daimon Diabolos went mad and gained power. Diabolos was not content helping my people, he felt we were becoming too strong, too powerful, and would one day be closer to the Gods than himself. Diablos went in search of the dying. He promised them everlasting life if they pledged their souls to him, and only him. This pact created an unnatural bond that was outside the realm of the Gods. These souls were now twisted and bound to Diablos and Diablos directed them to do evil.”

“Just so you know, pacts with the Devil never work out well for people”. Nathan glared at me. “What, it’s true!” Nathan glared at me some more. “I’m sorry, people were being stupid, please continue.”

“Diablos used the powers the Gods had given him as a Daimon to set people on paths to ruin. If the person were too strong willed and would not bow to Diablos wishes, they were possessed by Diablos, or one of his followers, and forced to act in ways that resulted in disasters.”

“I’m assuming you aren’t talking about bad haircuts or mismatched outfits here.”

“No, Diablos would possess people like farmers who would then not plant enough crops for their people to eat, and the people would starve. Healers were forced to spread disease, not contain it. He would whisper in husbands’ ears that their wives were unfaithful, and they should be stoned.”

“That’s Rude!” I said in utter shock. “But I don’t see how killing someone’s wife could destroy a civilization.

“People began fighting, sides were taken, wars were fought. Do you not see how all this meddling could have a cumulative effect? Entire civilizations broke down, were destroyed, or simply vanished. A Daimon named Coviseon had a child with a woman on Dexxan and visited my planet often. Over several generations, he realized something was very wrong. Coviseon sought an audience with the Gods, however, Diablos had chosen his victims well. Daimons had spent a millennium suggesting the Godly path to people, who is to say the Dexxian people were not just making bad choices and ignoring the Daimons?”

“Wait, this Co guy”, “Coviseon” Nathan said. “Right, this Coviseon was on your planet for generations?”

“Yes, the child of a Daimon and a mortal is exceedingly long lived. Coviseon would often come to Dexxan to speak with his son and teach him the ways of the Daimon.”

“And these God folks, they didn’t notice that your world had gone whack-a-doodle?”

“The Gods do not involve themselves with the worlds they create. There are far too many worlds and universes. They observe on occasion, they have their favorite champions, but they do not get involved. It was exceedingly difficult to prove this was not the normal path my people would have taken. “

“So how did Coviseon prove you guys were being set up?”

“Coviseon had always served the Gods well, one of the Gods took pity on his old friend and agreed to go to Dexxan to investigate what was troubling him. Upon his arrival, the God immediately saw what Coviseon could not, for Coviseon was not a God, he was only a Daimon. He did not have the gift of sight so he could not see the beings inside some of the Dexxian people, as a God could. The beings were twisted souls, they were abominations. The God called for six of the other Gods to bear witness to the birth of a new lifeform, and to create a plan to destroy them for these beings were unnatural. Neither Dexxian, nor Daimon, they were outside the knowledge of the Gods, so they must be destroyed. They called them Demons.

“A HA! There are Demons in this story, I knew it!” I threw one arm up in a fist pumping motion.

“Yes, you are brilliant, shall I continue?” I gave him the go-ahead signal. “The Gods needed more information on how Demons came to exist. They granted the gift of sight to Coviseon and his son and asked them to bring them a Demon they could examine more closely. They brought a possessed village leader to a building on the outskirts of town where the Gods were waiting. One of the new Gods verified the man was possessed by a Demon and that the soul of the Demon was twisted in a way he was unable to manipulate and had never seen. He tried to expel the creature within, he could not. The Demon understood who he was in front of and began to sob. He did not want to be doing these things, but he had no choice, he was tied to the will of Diablos, but Diablos had never ordered him not to speak with Gods.

“So the Demon spilled all the Tea?” I asked excitedly.

“What? Said Nathan.

“The tea, the juicy news, dished the dirt?” At Nathan’s lost expression I took pity on him. “Did the Demon tell the Gods all about Diablos?”

“Yes, the Demon told of who he once was, how he came to be, the deal he made with Diablos, and what his orders were, which were to bring this civilization to the point of starvation and ruin.”

“That’s a sucky goal.”

“Indeed. After the Demon had spilled all the tea as you say, several of the Gods tried to eject the Demon but to no avail. The Gods asked Coviseon to see if there was anything he could do. After all, a Damion had created this entity, perhaps another could destroy it. Coviseon tried several things, but nothing changed. Coviseon asked his son to try, and to the surprise of all, the Demon was ejected. The God of the underworld was able to verify that the twisted Demon soul was now just a normal soul and able to move on to the afterlife. The mortal that had been possessed was once more a man, with no knowledge of what he had done for years.

“Dang, sucks for that dude. So, the Gods went around and kicked some Demon ass right and got rid of them all?”

“The Gods were able to block Diablos from taking any more of the dying, but they were unable to remove the Demons from the mortals on my world. The pact that ties the Demons to Diablos made that impossible. Demons are not Daimons, and they are not mortals. They can only be released by a being who is also part Daimon and part mortal. The Gods also soon discovered that my world was not the only world where Diablos had performed this perversion.”

“That jerk! Diablos wasn’t happy just destroying your planet, he did this to other ones too?”

“Yes, several.

“And what, surely the Gods didn’t just roll over, I mean they are Gods. They did something right?”

“The Gods bestowed the gift of sight to the Daimons and their descendants. The product of a union between a Daimon and a mortal is called a Cambion, their descendants are called the Chosen. All Chosen can see Demons, but not all can free their twisted souls.

“So, what do these Chosen people do if they find a Demon they can’t destroy?”

“The Chosen do not attempt to destroy the Demon. Their task is the evaluate the threat and report back to their superiors. If needed, the superiors will then report the issue to the Ruling House. The Ruling House then decides how to proceed. Remember, these twisted souls are still the souls of once good people, they are just as much a victim as the farmer was.”

“Okay, who all is in this Ruling House and why do they get to “decide how to proceed””? I said in my most dire of tones. Seriously, Nathan needed to lighten up.

“The Ruling House holds the wisest and most gifted of the Chosen, as well as the Ruling Family. They have a council that discusses these matters and if warranted they will send a representative to the world that is having the issue.”

“If they have a house full of Chosen at their disposal why do the Gods do this Trial thing every thousand years?” Nathan was giving me the look my dad always gave me, I called it his Lord give me strength look, but come on, I thought it was a fair question.

“After Diablos went mad the Gods realized that no one being should have ultimate power. Power can make people do unwise things in a bid for more power. That is why a Socium enters the Trials. They form a balance, no one person has the ultimate power. The Trials test the Sociums to see who has the strongest bond and which are best suited to rule. Which Socium does not want the power, they only want what is best for the people.”

“Okay so the Chosen are chosen to be in a Socium” I started giggling. “And from those Chosen a new Ruling Family is um, well, chosen.” I giggled some more. Nathan was not amused. It’s not like I picked the name Chosen. I tried to be serious. “Are all the Chosen broken up into Sociums during the Trials?”

“No, not all of the Chosen have the ability to free a Demon, and only those that hold that power are eligible for the Trials. Even then, not all the Chosen are well suited to be in a Socium or rule.

“What are the other Chosen doing if they aren’t out freeing Demons?”

“Several of the Chosen live in the Ruling House, they train the Chosen that are stationed on every world where Diablos performed his perversions. Within each world there is a network of Chosen. They work and train with the Daimons to make sure that no Demon ever again reaches the level of power where they can destroy a civilization.”

“Um, okay, where is mine? Where is my Chosen person, because I would really like to have a chat with them.”

“Paula, YOU are a Chosen.”

“No I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Nope, wrong number, try again.”

Nathan put his head in his hands and talked through his fingers, “Paula, only the Chosen are in The Trials, and YOU are in The Trials. Therefore, YOU. ARE. A. CHOSEN!” He ended his sentence by looking me straight in the eye.

“Well, I understand why they need a new Ruling Family now, they really did a shit job of training the Chosen on this world.”

“Paula...” Nathan looked at me like I was two and just didn’t understand, but I understood perfectly.

“Don’t you Paula me Buster! I have no idea if any of what you just said was true. This is the first I have heard of the Royal Family, the Royal House, the Chosen, the Daimons, the Demons….okay I have heard of Demons but that was more of a your head spins around and you throw up split pea soup type of Demon, not a twisted soul Demon. If I am a Chosen then why did no one CHOSE to clue me in?”

“I do not know Paula. That is a fair question. On my world we are all told of the Chosen when we are young. It is as common as knowing that that”, Nathan pointed, “is a tree. Perhaps your world decided the Chosen could operate better in secret, I do not know.”

“Or perhaps there are no Chosen on this world, and we aren’t part of your Gods Universe of Worlds, or whatever you called it. Maybe there has been a mistake and I am not actually a Chosen, ever think of that?”

Nathan gave me the Lord give me strength look again and sighed deeply. “All right Paula, let us do a test.”

“Is this a written test or an oral test, because I kind of suck at written tests, but I am pretty good with oral.” I turned bright red, “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded, ugh” I took a deep breath, “what were you saying about a test?” I did the universal hand motion for never mind, forget about that, continue with what you were saying.

Nathan smiled and coughed to clear his throat. “Yes, a test. All right. To the best of your knowledge have you ever had an advanced civilization disappear from your world?”

“Define, disappear?” I don’t like where I think this is headed.

“Are there structures that have been found on your world that no one can explain how they were built or by who, because the information has been lost? Unexplained major advances credited to a civilization that just faded from existence? Tales of wonderous advanced societies that just disappeared?”

I closed my eyes and hung my head….well crap. “Maybe.” I squeaked.

“Maybe?” Repeated Nathan.

“Okay, maybe there are these things called pyramids and we can’t figure out how they were built. And perhaps there was this ancient culture called the Mayans who figured out the calendar and the stars and how it all works together, and they sort of just faded away. I’m fairly sure Atlantis is just a myth though.” I started biting my bottom lip, which is a bad habit but come on, stressful times and all! I get to bite my lip, heck I’d eat 4 tubs of Rocky Road Ice cream too if I had some, this is some crazy deep stuff.

“And what was this Atlantis supposed to be?” asked Nathan.

I cringed, shut my eyes and said really fast “A civilization of an advanced people who knew everything and anything and then one day the ocean just swallowed them up and they disappeared forever?” I said it like a question.

“I see. Any by any chance did all of these things occur when your people still worshiped the Gods?”

“Maybe.” Damnit, now he was giving me the same look my math teacher use to give me when I told him that sometimes two plus two does equal three if you ate one, I always liked that one.

“Paula…”

“Fine Nathan, YES. All of those things occurred when my people still worshipped the Gods and I guess my planet was taken over by Demons and they destroyed all the advanced races one by one. Are you happy now? That still doesn’t explain why I have never heard of a Chosen. Can you explain that one?”

“I cannot. The knowledge was passed down in my family that we were of the Chosen. When I reached the age of majority, I was taken to a Daimon to speak with them on what my role would be. I was due to start my instruction at the Royal House the following moon cycle but then the people of my world vanished.”

“Age of majority? Is that like when you become an adult?”

“Yes, the age of majority is when your Mater and Pater are no longer required to provide you with food and shelter. Many still do, but I was free to leave their domicile when I reached my twenty first year of life.”

“Well, the age of majority where I live is 18. However, due to a sucktastic birthday, I was still in high school when I turned 18. Telling your child she is a Demon hunter while she is surrounded by 2000 other kids doesn’t sound like a great plan. They would have wanted me contained so I couldn’t just run away to Peggy’s.” I started thinking how I would explain to ME that I was part of an unknown army that stretched across the Universe. “My parents did arrange for us to have a family trip in July after school was over” I mulled that over, would that have worked, then I remembered “I was told, more like ordered, that Peggy would not be allowed on this one. Which was weird you know because Peggy was allowed on every family trip we have ever had, so it was super weird that all of a sudden…”

“Paula, I need you to focus. There was a trip planned for only you and your family?”

“Yeah, but we didn’t get to go because everyone disappeared a week after graduation, including my Mom and Dad.”

“I take it your Mater and Pater never discussed the Chosen or Demons with you?”

“Well, that’s not exactly dinner conversation now is it? Honey pass the rolls, oh did you see that Demon today?” I looked at Nathan like he was an idiot.

“Paula think back, perhaps you overheard something, or saw something that you could not explain. Have you ever heard the word Demon from either of your parents? Have you ever been out with them and had to leave quickly for no discernable reason?”

“I have never heard the word Demon, I think I would…wait…”

“Yes” Nathan said with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“On our vacation last year, I snuck downstairs because Peggy was hungry, she was always hungry. It was like that girl could eat a horse, never satisfied, always eating, and yet, she was the size of a twig, how is that fair?”

“PAULA!” Nathan yelled at me.

“Sorry, okay, I snuck down stairs for reasons I will not mention and my grandparents and parents were sitting at the table having wine and discussing Uncle Mark. See, he isn’t really my Uncle, he’s one of my Dad’s oldest friends.” Nathan was back to the Lord give me strength look. “Sorry, sorry” I held my hands up in the air. “So they were discussing Uncle Mark and they said he had no chance against the Demon and they were sorry he had missed the birth of his granddaughter but at least he would get to see her grow up. Which made like no sense because Uncle Mark was in the delivery room when Kayla had her baby, I saw the pictures. I remembered thinking it was weird he didn’t look happier. Oh my God, do you think Uncle Mark was possessed?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And what, my mom or dad are Chosen?

“You said your grandparents were also on this vacation? Is that the people who gave birth to your Mater and Pater?” I nodded yes, my mind still reeling, “and were both your Mater and your Paters parents there?” I nodded again. “Then I think both of your parents were of the Chosen.”

“What, how is that possible? What makes you even say that?” No way, this could NOT be true. My mom and dad, Demon hunters?

“Your world seems to have buried the existence of the Chosen. Why would your parents and grandparents be openly discussing a Demon if they did not all know about such things?”

He made a good point, Demons aren’t the type of thing a person just randomly brings up to their future in-laws. “So, you think my mom AND my dad AND their parents were all Chosen?”

“Yes” said Nathan. “I think you come from a long line of Chosen and that is why you are powerful enough to enter the Trials.”

Am I a Chosen? Were my parents Chosen? Is any of this stuff even real? As I look at the big blue guy in front of me, I have to accept that there are other worlds. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. If there are other worlds can I say for sure that there are no Demons and that the Chosen aren’t real. How many times did my teachers make me watch documentaries about cultures that vanished for no reason? Could it have been Demons? Can I stop this from happening to other civilizations on other worlds? Do I even have a choice at this point? Can I really just say Nah, Pass and let Nathan’s world and my planet just go poof? No, I can’t, so there’s only one way to go and that’s forward.

I closed my eyes and said “Okay Nathan, I believe you.” I opened my eyes and looked into Nathans, “I am a Chosen, now what do we do?”

The same voice I heard several days ago rang out again, it said “Trial two has been completed.”