The Silver Demon

The Silver Demon

A Tale of the Fortress Eternal

From The Time Before


Listen, for this is the tale of the lost Agniska, and of how they wandered far and forsook the Lands.

In the time of Taera the Bloodied Axe when Yogesh stood as Warlord over five of the tribes on the Great Plain, the chief among the Agniska peoples swore to his bride that their children would be ignorant of terror. Scorning the tribe's Star he walked far from the paths of his fathers, and his people walked with him.
It is said that they came upon a fertile valley and knew three good summers there, but Yogesh sought them out and they fled before him.
It is said they were happy in the hill country for a time, and that a stone of thanksgiving yet stands there that was raised by Agniska hands, but Yogesh sought them out and they fled before him.

In despair the chief turned his face to the East and the Agniska walked among the High Mountains - the Pillars of the Sky. Wild beasts gathered about them, and the people knew great hardship. Many were left at the path's edge, their spirits asleep, long awaiting their kin's return. There it was Yaegu made his name - among the Pillars of the Sky he walked before his people, and at night he stood over their tents and slew what wild beasts the darkness made bold. Here Yaegu slew the greatest of the mountain dragons, and fashioned a war club from its rib to split the skulls of its kin.



Not the chief it was but Yaegu guided the people, as the journey crushed the tribe's father. Yaegu it was whom they called Hero, and Yaegu it was who first crested the rise that brought the Agniska before the Palace of the Gods.

Hewn from rock before time the Palace stood, stone piled high upon stone. Towers touched the sky, and thick walls cast the Agniska into shadow. A mighty door of black wood stood wider than ten men before them.

For three days the Agniska stood before the great gate and it did not open. No axe could split the wood, and no fire could grip it. On the third day, a boy of the tribe saw a dark hole high upon the wall. Yaegu spoke up to claim the honour of entering the Palace, yet the Chief stood before the people and denied him. The next day the Chief it was who placed his hands upon the stones and climbed, his spear on his back and his face before him. The eyes of the tribe saw him crawl into the darkness and vanish.



All that day and the next they waited, sheltering against a terrible wind. Through the summer they waited, and yet the chief did not return - nor did Yogesh seek them out. As the mountains grew cold and winter gathered about them, the door opened and then it was that the Agniska beheld the Silver Demon, and knew they stood on ground sacred to the gods.

The Silver Demon had the face of a man, but a man like no other. Paler than death he stood, clad in silver and bearing a silver blade upon his hip. When he beheld the Agniska he cursed them, opening his mouth to loosen a terrible howl. The Demon's curse chilled the blood of the brave, and all saw the end of their tomorrow's in the creature's terrible eyes as he looked upon them, weeping blood.

The Demon turned to dust where he stood, yet his scream is said to have filled the valley for a day and a night.



When the Demon was gone, the Agniska found his silver armour and his silver blade. Gathering their wisest, the tribe set to use these totems to break the blood-curse the spirit had uttered when it walked among them, but Yaegu stepped forth and took into his hand the war-things of the Silver Demon. None dared deny him.



Yaegu slept under the sun in those days. Under the moon he walked about the camp, his sword a challenge to its silver master to retrieve it - if he dared. One morning as winter drew its knife, Yaegu declared the wanderings of the Agniska at an end. There he proclaimed himself Guardian of the Sacred and demanded a wall be built to protect the Palace of the Gods and the holy grounds. So in time sons would walk where their fathers had died, and the Agniska would put aside their spears as they put aside their yesterdays. Yaegu commanded this, and none dared deny him.

Among the mountains Yaegu walked and spilled the blood of those he met, man and beast alike. The Agniska knew twenty hard winters, but they lived, and their secret was guarded whilst their leader kept a great tent before the Palace of the Gods.



In time five sons were born to Yaegu, each a strong warrior in his own right, each the son of a great chief. So it happened that Maenu and Ar-Yaegu returned from the hunt and saw their father's armour shine in the distance. Going to greet him, they came upon him bathing in a stream, his armour and blade standing by a tree. It was then that the Silver Demon's curse stirred in their hearts and two sons saw not their father but only the glory of the silver sword, and the splendour of the silver breastplate. It is not known who moved first, but the sons of Yaegu cast their father beneath the waters and never let him rise. When Yaegu was in the Earth, his sons split his armour among themselves, and Maenu took the terrible silver blade for his own.

Yet the curse would not be still, and Maenu's blade won him no glory when Sartesh his brother stole into his tent and strangled him, claiming the sword as well as his father's helmet. Fear then gripped the Sons of Yaegu, and each among them vied for the strongest of their people to stand guard over their tents while they slept. These warriors agreed, holding in their hearts the story of the day Yaegu their lords' father usurped their vanished chief. And so did son turn against father, brother against brother, the Silver Demon's curse claimed the Agniska, and the wind claimed all that they left behind.

It is said that one hundred winters later the great doors of the Palace of the Gods opened and the Chief of the Agniska came forth from the shadowed eternal halls. He wept for his people that day as he stood amid their ruined homes and beheld their sun-scoured bones. For long days after he walked among men, but he had been touched by the gods, and all were fearful of him.