A Devil's Tale

Challenge #04568-L184: Soft Justice

King Kormwind, tenth of that name, is invited to a quiet picnic by the local orphanage. True the food is meager, and the fare is plain, but the companionship is honest, the laughter is genuine, and the children are having fun in the beautiful, open, summer-warmed field. -- Anon Guest

There's nothing like the news of a royal visit to make the authorities do a lightning round of shaping things up. His Majesty, King Kormwind Arachis Felbourne Whitekeep, tenth of the name, had a sharp eye just like his father. In the right mood, it could cut beyond the bone.

And just like his father, he much preferred to be a 'my lord' than a 'your majesty'. Those closest to him called him Dex.

This particular orphanage on his coronation tour had done its best to look like they'd shaped up, and the administrator was a little to shiny for Dex's liking. Further, his office was a little too luxurious for someone working for the children's greater good. He sent a Luteman to look at the administrator's house and, just as Dex predicted, it was a mansion.

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Challenge #04542-L158: All Due Respect

Careful to whom you speak, and the tone of use. Just remember insult is rarely forgotten, and not all retribution is swift. -- Anon Guest

Night Watch, ten years before the significant event...

Officer Druempf almost missed the moving shadow in the half-light of dawn. "Halt! Who goes there?"

The shadow slowed, sighed and straightened, revealing itself as that double-damned devilborn. The alleged lordling who was the most infamous student of that Elf's school in the landscaping place. "It's only me, Officer,

Challenge #04531-L147: Oh, the Deprivation!

Poor, poor, pitiful me. -- Anon Guest

This had to be the worst day. She couldn't find any of her servants. There was nobody to dress her and she'd been wearing the same nightgown all day. Nobody had fed her breakfast. None of her tutors had come to give her any of her lessons, and she was well overdue for Elementary Dressage.

She had had the rudest awakening with a slave grabbing her out of her bed and setting her loose -barefoot!

Challenge #04499-L115: Application For Adviser

They are poor, they are ragged, they are tired. They manage to sneak into the kitchens of whitekeep castle, steal some leftover soup and bread, and are found curled up on the floor by the fireplace fast asleep. -- Anon Guest

[AN: Whitekeep has laws to protect its citizens from that level of poverty. It's in the starting tenets of the realm. So... to make this work, it's A Whitekeep castle. Not THE Whitekeep castle. In this case, one of the freshly-conquered

Challenge #04479-L095: A Safe Space

Some children were playing hide and seek and one ended up in the king's private offices without permission by mistake. But the king, despite the child's fear, didn't get mad. He did suggest safer areas to play though. -- Anon Guest

Whitekeep Castle was large, labyrinthine, and full of secrets. It was also full of staff taking care of it. Some lived there, true, but their accommodations were much less impressive than the King's. The one thing they all had in common

Challenge #04336-K318: A New Challenger

So, kid, you want to fight this old devil to see if I still have skills? You sure? Well I'm slowed with age, but sure I'll humor you. But remember, you did challenge me, not the other way around. Still, you did ask politely, so I won't be - too - rough. -- Anon Guest

After he turned one hundred and seven, Kosh routinely wore his hakama because it was easier to don. His ageing hands were tired of buckles and his

Challenge #04287-K269: Truly Heroic

Tell me, my student.... what is the difference between a TRUE Hero, and the person many just call a hero?

"I don't know, sir."

It is their heart. For a True Hero does not seek fame or fortune. They do not seek to harm others, no matter what they appear. Their only desire is to aid others whenever possible, and the knowledge they could help be their only reward.

The ones far too many tend to call 'hero'.... are usually far too

Challenge #04245-K227: Long Time Learning

He was heavier, had more muscle, and was taller than all the other kids. Yet even the tiniest among them had knocked him flat. This went on for, he was unsure, until the King finally called a halt. Confined to a room with a bathroom "grounded", he was fed, given bed clothes, told to sleep. Next day, again.

Now an adult, he thought of those painful lessons. Grateful for it, It wasn't might, it was the heart, that made a person strong.

Challenge #04120-K102: For Want of Peace

ce vis pacem te ipsum vince

“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

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

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.

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

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

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

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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A 40-post collection

Challenge #04568-L184: Soft Justice

Challenge #04542-L158: All Due Respect

Challenge #04531-L147: Oh, the Deprivation!

Challenge #04479-L095: A Safe Space

Challenge #04336-K318: A New Challenger

Challenge #04287-K269: Truly Heroic

Challenge #04245-K227: Long Time Learning

Challenge #04120-K102: For Want of Peace

Challenge #04084-K066: Essential Parenting Duties

Challenge #04061-K043: The Ultimate Test

Challenge #04054-K036: Ordinarily Fighting Words

Challenge #04052-K034: Test That Theorem

Challenge #04014-J361: Benevolent Reformations

Challenge #04012-J360: Everyone Should Have a Fish