She is a demon.
'Demon' is a word for a thing that enters into a person, tears open the walls of their heart and toys with how they see, transforms how they speak, and unleashes upon the world extraordinary works of sorcery.
She learned this word from Her host.
Her host is a man named Dermot. He does not trust Her; She forgives him. In this whole lost and Church-ruled kingdom Dermot trusts no one, no one at all, not even himself. Her Dermot's mistrust keeps Her very secret--this is good, as She is not yet very strong.
Dermot is a kind of man who will fight and kill for money. She is skeptical of the idea that money is worth killing for. It seems very important to everyone, but they use the money for things like food and clothing, which she has learned they easily could find or grow for themselves without using any money at all. There are even people who grow more food than they can eat or sell who could give it away.
Still, She is glad he has taken this money--because she is glad that he has chosen this mission. He used to be very lonely before She came to him. She has determined that he will not be lonely again. Now he is not lonely: he has two more friends, the minstrel Eris and the knight Aidan.
And Her!
She is a demon, and through the eyes of Her host She is learning many things about the world She has come to. She learns something new every day!
This place is named after a Queen whose name was Frydda. It is called a 'kingdom' because the Church has said that women can no longer rule. 'Church' is the word for what rules Frydain now. A Church is a group of humans who serve something Her host calls God.
God is the word this Church has for the thing that makes rules about prayer and women and death and money and whether or not forests should be cut down. God is the thing that the Church obeys by killing people and imprisoning them and burning them at the stake.
She does not like these things very much.
Her host is going now to stop a woman from being burned at the stake. That is the mission he has been paid to do. It pleases Her. If this is Her Dermot's goal, She will help him achieve it. In the meantime, She lies quiet in his lonely heart like a seed, awaiting Her season to bloom.
She is a demon. She is proud of it. The word fits her. It is not the word for all of what she is--but it is enough.
Demon is the word for an enemy of God.
To read more of Blank Slate --click through to fireandslate.com!
