(Twelve years ago)

  Sitting at a table in the house in the woods, Edwin was mulling things over. By now, over four months had passed and he was running out of temples to visit to get tested for magic he didn’t have. At this point, the red headed man was wondering, ‘What now?’ It wasn’t like a magicless person couldn’t do anything. There were people in the city who had all sorts of jobs that you didn’t need magic to do. But he still couldn’t remember nearly his entire life outside of a few dreams and hazy memories of being in some kind of conflict.

  He looked at his hands. They were strong, meant for action. But in this world, you needed magic to fight. Thinking back to the conversation he had with Ilphas after another waste of a day.

  The elf and human were walking towards the woods as dusk was settling over the holy city. People that saw the priest showed him deference before nearly jumping back in fright at seeing his companion.

  “In all honesty, that’s not the first time someone has caused an explosion in the forge”, Ilphas tried to make conversation

  “Hmph”, Edwin just grunted as he shot Ilphas an annoyed look. It probably would’ve made others feel uncomfortable, but to Ilphas, he had to restrain himself from laughing at seeing how the young hero’s eyebrows had been singed to nothing but black stubble. It didn’t help that his yellow eyes seemed to be the only part of his front that wasn’t covered in black soot.

  “Hey, elf, I got a question”, Edwin asked.

  Looking slightly offended that the young hero hadn’t bothered to remember his name, he composed himself, “And pray, tell, Hero Edwin Thatch, what do you seek to know?”

  Now it was Edwin’s turn to look at his walking companion oddly, “You can just call me Edwin or Thatch. Doesn’t really matter.”

  “Well, my name is High Priest Ilphas, but ‘the elf’ seems to be all you can manage to remember," the aforementioned elf sharply replied.

  “Fine then, Ilphas”, Edwin conceded, “If I don’t have any magic, would I still take part in this demon war of yours?”

  Ilphas folded his arms behind him, “Truthfully, I do not know. It’s not as though you couldn’t but…”

  “But what? Don’t you need every man you can get to fight?”

  Sighing deeply, “If only it were that simple”, he saw Edwin give him a look that said he was listening, “The most common type of demons, Spawnlings are former humans that used their magic for evil intent, warping them into beings with the sole purpose of spreading their evil.”

  “Yeah, I remember that part of the history lesson”, Edwin cut in.

  Taking the interruption in stride, “So, since the Spawnlings are demons with corrupted magic, this naturally leads them into conflict with untainted magic. Following this logic, you need some kind of opposing magic to kill them, as it more slowly powers the Conceptual Demons.”

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  Edwin narrowed his eyes at that statement, “You never mentioned those before.”

  “Because it’s rarely outside a Demon War that they show themselves, so they are quite mysterious. But what is known is that they feed on a Spawnlings magic, like a parasite, so when it dies, whatever is left gives it form.”

  Leaning against a tree, Edwin considered what he was hearing, “So with a name like Conceptual, does that mean they’re stronger than normal.”

  The red headed man didn’t have a frame of reference for how elves aged, but he could see that Ilphas suddenly looked every bit his age, “A Conceptual Demon isn’t just a perversion, they are an embodiment of an ideal. They don’t just have power over evil and sins, they simply are. Which is why the Heroes are so needed. They are among the few with the capacity to render the Concepts into nothing more than the stray thoughts that lurk in the dark recesses of the minds of everyone in this world. Until they reform.”

  Shaking his head, “You still haven’t answered my first question. Am I going to be in this war or not? It’s not that hard to give a yes or no.”

  “If you would allow me to make my point”, Ilphas composed himself, “It is possible for a magicless person to kill a demon but it’s much more difficult than normal. It’s like trying to extinguish a fire without using water.”

  Edwin had a confused look on his face as if Ilphas just said something nonsensical, “Of course it’s possible to put out a fire without using water. You can use dirt to bury it. You can trap it and smother it using its own smoke-”

  Before Edwin could continue, Ilphas began staring at the young hero with such a grave expression that all the young man could do was stand stock still, “There is a final type of demon-”

  “Hey, Edwin. I brought some guests along.”

  The red headed hero was snapped from his memory by the voice of his unusual friend. Every few days since he met them, Edwin had spent time with Adam and Frank but usually Frank since their blonde companion wasn’t much of a morning person. After a few visits, the two claimed they would bring a couple more of the others who were summoned as heroes.

  They were sitting inside the house he was given in the woods, him and three others. Frank was there as usual. This time there was a young, black man by the name of James Pascal, but he preferred to be called Jimmy. And there was a shorter blonde woman who he couldn’t tell if she was in a bad mood or just confronting her view of the world and reality, who was introduced as Angela Kingsley. Upon meeting Edwin, Jimmy immediately stuck his hand out to shake it. At first, he wasn’t sure what to do since nobody since he arrived had been so direct with him, and Edwin noticed that James’ hands were incredibly strong. Though not in the same way as Frank.

  “I got brought here out of nowhere”, James explained, “Next thing I know, they’re telling me that I’m going to be helping the war effort by being a farmer.”

  Edwin remembered spending time in Meto’s temple, “Is that something you really want to do.”

  James held up his strong hands and gave Edwin a very warm and friendly smile. The kind you’d see from someone you’ve known your whole life, “I’m not exactly someone who’s good at fighting. But I enjoy making things grow.”

  Giving him a bemused look, “You seem way too friendly of a guy to be in a war that’s all about killing literal demons.”

  James folded his arms, “True, but it’s hard to do anything, let alone fighting when you’re too hungry to even think straight.”

  On principle, Edwin seriously distrusted endlessly positive people. They always tended to have something to hide. Although, this guy had the look about him that said he couldn’t tell a lie to save his life. Finally turning his attention to Angela who up that point hadn’t said anything and didn’t look inclined to try.