still trying to deflect attention from what she would now refer to as 'the incident'.
Drake looked at her with an amused expression on his beautiful face. "Only you humans think of the Underworld as Hell. You have no idea that there are different planes of existence all around you, and they all coexist with your world. Hell is not a place, it is a state of mind, your mind."
"So, then, what is the Underworld if not hell?"
"Think of it as a place where all the bad people in all the planes of existence go to pay for their crimes." he said gravely.
"You mean, like a prison?" she asked, quirking her eyebrow up at him. "So that makes you a warden of sorts." She grinned, feeling more comfortable with him.
Drake gave a short laugh and shook his head. "Warden, no. More like the keeper of the damned. When a crime is committed in your world, the person is apprehended, tried, serves time, and is released. In the Underworld, there is no trial or length of time served. The beings who come to be in my charge are evil through and through, and they will forever remain under my command."
"Like Felken and the other demons you brought with you to help you destroy my world." Nova said thoughtfully. That explained the hate she observed in Felken's eyes. In a way, she could relate to him, being a prisoner herself.
"So how did you get such a position as Lord of the Underworld?" she asked curiously.
"I earned it." Drake said bluntly and kept walking.
Chapter 14
Nova stopped and stared after him. That's it? That's all he's going to say? Her curiosity piqued even more, she hurried after him. "Wait, you have to give me more than that. You know everything there is to know about me, and I know nothing about you. Play fair."
Drake continued walking, but he started talking. "I come from a planet called Valkala; it is in another plane of existence. My family is the council family there. Well, they were; now it's just my brother, Larkin, who sits on the council."
Nova was surprised to learn he had a family, a brother. She had assumed he was alone aside from Clack and the demons he commanded. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. After a minute, he did.
"Centuries ago, humans came to this planet and began the arduous journey of birthing a race. We saw this from our home planet, and being that we were the oldest dimension in existence, felt it our duty to watch over and guide your kind." His shoulders drooped slightly. "Most of the time, we came and offered assistance, and we were accepted gratefully; even revered for our knowledge and teachings. Always though, there were those who balked at our strange, advanced technology and feared what it meant for them."
Nova understood their fear; most people feared the unknown simply because they couldn't predict the outcome. "Go on." she urged.
"A group of humans got together and decided to stand against us, fearing that we would enslave them. They incited fear in their fellow humans, claiming we were trying to wrest control of your race, stealing you for experimental purposes, calling us alien because we were different, and never aged." He looked out over the water and seemed to get lost in thought for a moment. "Eventually, the fear spread and people began to notice all the ways we weren't like them. They believed the lies and united against us. You see, in Valkala, time as you know it does not exist. We do age; I myself am centuries old, but we do not record such an age. There is no recordings of our history, or need for schooling to learn basic knowledge. There you are born with it. You have to awaken the knowledge, but it is all in there waiting to be accessed."
Nova looked slightly confused. "So your children don't go to school?"
"Not in the sense that you are familiar with. The younger Valkalans learn their respective talents in a minimally controlled environment. We all have special abilities that make us unique within our people. We have healers, artists,
Drake looked at her with an amused expression on his beautiful face. "Only you humans think of the Underworld as Hell. You have no idea that there are different planes of existence all around you, and they all coexist with your world. Hell is not a place, it is a state of mind, your mind."
"So, then, what is the Underworld if not hell?"
"Think of it as a place where all the bad people in all the planes of existence go to pay for their crimes." he said gravely.
"You mean, like a prison?" she asked, quirking her eyebrow up at him. "So that makes you a warden of sorts." She grinned, feeling more comfortable with him.
Drake gave a short laugh and shook his head. "Warden, no. More like the keeper of the damned. When a crime is committed in your world, the person is apprehended, tried, serves time, and is released. In the Underworld, there is no trial or length of time served. The beings who come to be in my charge are evil through and through, and they will forever remain under my command."
"Like Felken and the other demons you brought with you to help you destroy my world." Nova said thoughtfully. That explained the hate she observed in Felken's eyes. In a way, she could relate to him, being a prisoner herself.
"So how did you get such a position as Lord of the Underworld?" she asked curiously.
"I earned it." Drake said bluntly and kept walking.
Chapter 14
Nova stopped and stared after him. That's it? That's all he's going to say? Her curiosity piqued even more, she hurried after him. "Wait, you have to give me more than that. You know everything there is to know about me, and I know nothing about you. Play fair."
Drake continued walking, but he started talking. "I come from a planet called Valkala; it is in another plane of existence. My family is the council family there. Well, they were; now it's just my brother, Larkin, who sits on the council."
Nova was surprised to learn he had a family, a brother. She had assumed he was alone aside from Clack and the demons he commanded. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. After a minute, he did.
"Centuries ago, humans came to this planet and began the arduous journey of birthing a race. We saw this from our home planet, and being that we were the oldest dimension in existence, felt it our duty to watch over and guide your kind." His shoulders drooped slightly. "Most of the time, we came and offered assistance, and we were accepted gratefully; even revered for our knowledge and teachings. Always though, there were those who balked at our strange, advanced technology and feared what it meant for them."
Nova understood their fear; most people feared the unknown simply because they couldn't predict the outcome. "Go on." she urged.
"A group of humans got together and decided to stand against us, fearing that we would enslave them. They incited fear in their fellow humans, claiming we were trying to wrest control of your race, stealing you for experimental purposes, calling us alien because we were different, and never aged." He looked out over the water and seemed to get lost in thought for a moment. "Eventually, the fear spread and people began to notice all the ways we weren't like them. They believed the lies and united against us. You see, in Valkala, time as you know it does not exist. We do age; I myself am centuries old, but we do not record such an age. There is no recordings of our history, or need for schooling to learn basic knowledge. There you are born with it. You have to awaken the knowledge, but it is all in there waiting to be accessed."
Nova looked slightly confused. "So your children don't go to school?"
"Not in the sense that you are familiar with. The younger Valkalans learn their respective talents in a minimally controlled environment. We all have special abilities that make us unique within our people. We have healers, artists,
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