Excerpts from: the wise dragon’s demonicon: the forest demon

Most scholars say that all demons and devils originated from the “demahor” of Chaos and the corrupted “guardians” of Order who were transformed by realities laws into the hellish devils and the abyssal demons, yet they do not take into account that elemental demons do in fact exist….

One such example is the forest demon, once abyssal demons they were touched by the power of the primordial goddess of nature. She transformed them into large treelike defenders of nature who would care for the fauna and flora of the realms, these demons did a good job and lived in the mortal worlds for millenia serving her until the primordial council voted to banish all elemental demons who had become servants of the elemental powers or primordial gods to the abyss

The goddess tried to stop it but the forest demons were banished despite her protest, In the abyss they still continued their duty on the layer of wilderness in the abyss they created large forest they protect in her name until this verry day…….

……When a forest demon is summoned one has to be respectful of them, they do not want your soul or death but only wish to fulfil their sworn duty, threaten nature and your fate is almost certainly sealed…

…A forest demon in combat is a terrifying sight to behold, they harness the full power of the element of nature to the point where they could potentially overpower a demon far stronger than them, never underestimate the power of nature!...

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The gates of the town of Ursan opened up like every morning, the guards who had been standing guard at night were replaced and newly rested men and women took their place. They were Frienian soldiers, nicknamed mage slayers for their training that focused on killing warriors and mages alike with their weapons.

One fully trained Frienian soldier could duel with an orc and had even a chance to win, the intensive training and martial skills they had gotten made them one of the best human soldiers on the compass continent. Although they were only serving as guards right now the soldiers stood vigilant and eyed the people coming in and out of the gate with eyes that saw everything.

The guards could spot a wound when they looked at a persons way of walking, they could even spot a man with ill intent based on how he reacted at their questions, nothing short of an illusion mage or a ridiculously skilled rogue could get past them without being seen. Hence the guards immediately noticed it when a man they had never seen here before came towards the gate.

The young man had short, brown hair and green eyes, he wore a cloak with his hood removed from his head and a cheap armour of chainmail and leather. The two guards at the gate nodded at each other, this man was not from this town, they would stop him and ask him who he was first.

The man seemed to already notice their plan because he lifted his hand and waved at them while coming closer with a smile on his face. The youngster halted right in front of the guards and gave a polite bow, “hello guardsmen, I noticed the nod you gave each other so I suspected you wanted to check me before entering?”

The guards were taken aback for a moment, not only had this boy seen the nod but he also had immeaditly seen what they were planning to do! “Well, one of the guards said, you are clearly not from around here are you?”

“No sir, the boy answered politely, I come from the other side of the country, I had enough of being so close to the southerners, I would rather be here, the northern kings at least support us.” The guards relaxed and laughed, “you are quitte right lad, the other soldier said, the southern kingdoms have never seen an orc horde come for them and I am sure they have not face manny goblin wolf riders either, they would shit their pants if they did.”

The boy laughed, “I think we should give the goblins of the wildlands ships to invade the south, lets see if they can protect themselves from those tribes when they drive over their flowerfields with war chariots.” The soldiers laughed, “yeah those goblins have not made our job easier since they scared the orcs so much that they expanded their largest territory on this continent even more.” Again the youngster nodded, “you know this is going to sound weird but we should learn from those goblins ability to unite as one and help each other.”

Now the soldiers were surprised even more, that had been exactly what their commanders at the border said when calling the southerners fools who were less intelligent and compassionate than a goblin!

“Well anyways I am Jake, the boy said, a mage and I am also a herbalist.” The soldiers nodded, “ a herbalist and a mage, a good combination.”

“Can I go now, the youngster asked politely, I wish to sell some of the herbs I found.”

The guards nodded, they did not know why but this boy had a natural kind of charm, it was impossible to not like him for his knowledge and politeness. They let him through the gates and soon he was gone in the masses of people

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Iskander was cheering inside, it worked, his transformation had worked and he had talked to someone without being almost attacked for the first time in months! It reminded him of the days after his escape, when his hair and eyes were still normal and he had not yet been given a catchy nickname and before wanted posters with his face had been hung across the country.

But that feeling of nostalgia was also accompanied by memories of his former “friends”, the adventurers who had let him join their party and who had given him the feeling he belonged somewhere. That was before they saw him making that contract of course, afterwards they attacked him and Iskander never saw them again.

But nevertheless he felt good, for the first time in what had to be years had he entered a town from the entrance and not by climbing over a wall. It was refreshing to say the least and Iskander even hummed a tune while he walked through the streets, he had not lied to the guards either, he really was going to sell some herbs in this town, another feeling of satisfaction since he had not lied.

As Iskander walked down the streets he saw inns, houses, the fortified townhall and even a small temple, it was not one of judgement, with a smile Iskander saw statues of the nature goddess and others, Iskander even managed to see a small statue of the nightmother, a goddess prayed to by the cult of night, the only cult he found acceptable to exist. He wondered who had been bold enough to put it there, should a paladin pass by this town would be in trouble.

But he did not stay too long, temples were not exactly a good place to go to as a warlock, there had to be only one preacher who could sense chaos energies or demonic power and he would be finished.

Iskander continued walking but did not spot any place where he could actually sell the herbs, thus he did something that he had not done for a long time either, asking directions.

Most people could never understand how happy Iskander was at that moment, for years he had been fleeing and running, the only times he interacted with people were when they tried to kill him or threatened him like in willows creeck. For him this was an extraordinary thing now, to be able to talk to people without being afraid of starting riots or spreading terror, Iskander felt free for the first time in years.

“Excuse me miss, Iskander asked a lady who was painting her door, could you tell me where the herbalist is please?” The lady turned around, she could not be much older than 30 but already had a verry serious look in her eyes, she clearly was a businesswoman.

“Excuse me young man, she asked, what did you ask me?” Iskander repeated his question and she smiled, “I cannot refuse showing such a polite gentleman the way right?” Iskander got directions from her and soon he was on his way again, walking in the same street with people who were not afraid of him at all. Iskander smiled and continued humming the tune as he came closer to his destination.

“Helgas Herbalist store” was the name of the store, Iskander opened the door and stepped inside, imeadiatly he was assailed by fragrances of hundreds of herbs and flowers. Iskander smiled for again, the smell of medicinal herbs like gold root, mayberry and fiddlers leaves and more was a mix that smelled better than the perfume he had seen nobles use sometimes.

“Can I help you young man, an elder lady who sat behind her desk in the middle of the room filled with herbs and a variety of plants asked. “Yes, Iskander replied while coming closer, I have some herbs to sell.”