A Devil's Tale

A 32-post collection

Challenge #04120-K102: For Want of Peace

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“If you want peace, You must conquer yourself” -- Anon Guest

[AN: This prompt has been cut down to its soul because I really don't like epically long prompts]

They say that war never changes. They're wrong. Some elements of war remain the same, in that the side that kills the most people tends to win... but the means is ever evolving. When the world began, Dragons threw fire at the Elves, and the Elves countered it with ice and water magics.

Weapons were invented by later species. War evolved after that.

Magic got so devastating, that several treaties limited its use in battle thereafter. Some say that's how the sky islands happened, or how the magical wildlands originated. It's certainly how a great many monsters became creatures living in Alfarell. One of whom, also among the Unwelcome People, had become a king by means of conquest.

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Challenge #04084-K066: Essential Parenting Duties

No matter how old you are, or how tough you are, when a little child asks you to sit down and have tea with them, you sit down and have tea. -- Anon Guest

It's easy to have a... Reputation when one is both devilborn and the leader of a realm. Kosh had earned his. Elipsis, italics, and all. Though most of the rumours about him were greatly exaggerated. He had become a leader to fear over half the continent. People called

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Challenge #04061-K043: The Ultimate Test

They really did not give me a choice here. I mean, I did my best to behave and sit still... but those little claws all over me, up and down my shirt... how could I sit still...

I'm sitting in a room full of kittens! -- Anon Guest

To seek out the Sensei of the Shadow Arts in Whitekeep, one must first find where the Dojo is hidden. One must be clever. One must be observant. And being sneaky helps. A lot.

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Challenge #04054-K036: Ordinarily Fighting Words

"Hey you old Teuf!"

"Hey yourself, naked ape!"

The two, human and hellkin eyed each other a moment before giving each other big hugs with warm, cheerful smiles. -- Anon Guest

Some words can kill. In the remote and isolated valleys of Nohmyraa, the residents call any Hellkin 'teuf' shortly before a noose is tightened around their neck or, in the case of those hours old, a pillow is pressed to their face.

The polite say, "Harukh," or, "D'varuv." Those less inclined

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Challenge #04052-K034: Test That Theorem

A kid who used their strength and size to bully other kids was sent to Lord Kormwind, Kosh to his friends, to try to teach him, the parents were at their wits end and needed help. He refused to listen to them anymore as his parents, weakened after having gotten sick, could no longer get him to stop hanging out with .... less than pleasant crowds. -- Anon Guest

Whitekeep never kept anyone in chains. It was one of the founding principals of

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Challenge #04014-J361: Benevolent Reformations

A kingdom's literacy rate is less than 30%. The new rulers want, need, to improve that. Why? A literate, educated, population is a population that can help pull the kingdom out of the rut it's fallen into. -- Anon Guest

Pax Infernus was changing the world. Not just with a peace between realms, nor by banding together against mutual threats. This time, they were changing the world by helping within the allies' infrastructure.

Some joined just for the help that Pax Infernus

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Challenge #04012-J360: Everyone Should Have a Fish

The kind hearts at the school learn to make the treat so that children, like young Kormwind, can have them.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03883-j231-not-available-in-this-location -- Anon Guest

[AN: Bless you, Nonny, but this doesn't happen in the book the original story is based on. Check my Patreon for the chapters. My choices are to alter my series' continuity or go with a huge time gap between the inspiration post and this one]

The parcel had come a long way to

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Challenge #04005-J353: Time For Nothing

It's rare I get days like these. It's quiet, there's no emergencies, no one needs my assistance at the moment. I rather am enjoying the relaxation. -- Anon Guest

He had gone through his routines. His morning Kata, feeding the cats, feeding the Dire Goats and then milking them, and then setting most of the milk into the vats with rennet. A few pints went into the sterile bottles and then into the cold box for later. He'd breakfasted and flirted with

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Challenge #03983-J331: Snow Falls Fast on the Crown That Cares

"Those who actively seek power, seek a throne, will end up having neither, nor do they oft deserve them. Those who have such thrust upon them unwilling, and then seek to use them for the sake of others, realize the true weight, and are needed there." -- Anon Guest

Briar very rarely used her full name. It took up too much time and the people of U'ah had a long tradition of an 'urgency' eke name. "Baroness Henriette Bri'arillain Kalamitee U'ah, get

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Challenge #03953-J301: Not About Winning or Losing

A: There’s a story behind every law.

B: Is that’s the reason why this place has a book of rules?

A: Honestly I’m surprised they haven’t banned me yet -- Anon Guest

"Oh come on," sighed Lali. "It can't be that bad. This is a little town. There can't be that many rules just because you're in it."

The Hellkin student of Hidden Cloud Landscaping and Boarding School, known only as 'K', smirked in a very knowing way.

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Challenge #03910-J258: An Essential Education

An elderly king learned the retired ruler, Kormwind, Kosh to his friends, was visiting visiting his kingdom. He asked that Kosh be respectfully invited to the palace to give advice to his daughter, who was about to be elevated to queen, and was quite nervous. -- Anon Guest

There was very little indigo left in the old Hellkin's braided locks, any more. He wore no crown, but bore a heavily-varnished Favour next to his house sigil like a prize medal. His lady

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Challenge #03902-J250: Lest Ye Be Judged Also

Most people don't really fear death, though they claim to. What they fear MOST is any potential consequences they may face after they die. I'm a Judge. I just go by what their lives were and what they have the potential to become in the future. It's not the best job in the world, but someone has to do it. -- The New Guy

Of all the duties of the divine, the one feared by mortals the most is the judge. Not

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Challenge #03883-J231: Not Available in This Location

The difference between cultures aren't just the things they show off, but the things they assume everyone has, and are baffled that to discover that you don't. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5A3gR6f9TM -- Anon Guest

[AN: Offensensitivity warning for swears in the video]

They had been in the service of a devilborn lord for two months, and things had settled down somewhat. There was a routine to the days, and Venn had ceased being so nervous about being so close

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Challenge #03836-J184: Learn to Learn

Here, I will teach you, not how to fight, but how to avoid fighting. How to disable your opponents without killing them. Remember, killing is, and always MUST be, only a last resort. -- Anon Guest

"I thought you were a Master of Shadows," sneered Shea, they were not impressed by any of this. Least of all the half-hour wait while Master Kosh meditated in a sunbeam. "Aren't they meant to be assassins?"

The old Hellkin who had once been king by

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Challenge #03827-J175: With Justice For All

They were hurting the children born with horns, praising the ones born with wings. Then I became the new Lord of the town. The instigators of such behavior learned quickly I would NOT tolerate such. And all children, born human or not, were to be treated equally. And all citizenry, no matter what their species, were also to be treated equally. THAT is the new law of the land. -- Anon Guest

They call this place Havenspring. According to legend, it's where

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