France 1792

Paris France 1792
Ryo Lewis heard the clang of metal as he turned the corner, only to duck back behind it when he saw the two combatants. It was a time of peril for the royalist followers in France. Her Royal Highness, Marie Antoinette had been convicted of treason to the nation of France and was subsequently executed. Ryo drew his own blade; a silver sword with strange glyphs etched into the metal. Stepping around the corner, he flourished the blade and swept it down in an arc, the blade whistling in the air. The two fighters stopped midstride and the one on the left, the human, saw his expression and did the wisest thing he could do: he ran. The one on the right saw his blade and leapt through the intervening fifteen feet trying to cleave Ryo down the middle. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ryo thought now that would be a splitting headache. Lifting his blade, Ryo blocked the blow with his right hand on his sword, and with his left hand struck the demon in the chest. It did little to help the demon be defeated, but the startled look on the hellish creatures face was priceless. Technically no one in Ryo`s family had ever tried to defeat a demon with such a tactic. That was probably why Ryo had lasted so long in this war; he did things to surprise his enemies, make them think twice before they acted and that was the killer blow. That moment of hesitation was when Ryo struck, and the demon was sent back to Hell. Breathing evenly, he sheathed his sword and looked at the charred remnants of the demon. Cocking his head, he heard the distinct sound of boots hitting the street and realized the soldier was coming back with reinforcements. Looking up, Ryo saw the beams along the houses, and leapt up on one, then climbed to the roof. When he saw smoke coming from houses along the edges of the city, he realized with a jolt that the enemy was starting fires to hem in the royalists. Whether it was the work of demons or revolutionaries was a debate. Peering down on the street, Ryo saw the soldiers, and leapt across to the next roof towards the edge of the city. Breathing methodically, he ran, leapt and ran to the next roof until he was kneeling on the roof of a house near the city wall. Looking to his right, to the meadow, he expected to see a small army closing in on the city. He did not, and that worried him. He swore when he realized the demons were using this revolution to their benefit… But that begged the question, what were they trying to accomplish? He was racking his brain when the house he was on inexplicably caught fire. Gaping down in one of the holes created by the fire, his expression turned to one of horror, when he saw the cause of the fires. In the house was what appeared to be a man, yet the man was swathed in flames. He reached out a hand, and a chair caught fire. Revulsion swept through Ryo, and he jumped as far away as he could from the house to the meadow. He landed and turned back to the city wall to shake his head in anger. This particular demon was beyond his means of destroying. Yet, while he stood here houses were burning, and possibly innocent humans were being caught in the maelstrom. Turning around in a complete circle to make sure no one was around to witness it, Ryo flicked his finger at a portion of air in front of him. The resulting shimmer told him his spell had worked. Quickly stepping into the shimmer, Ryo was immediately transported to the room of his patriarch; the head of the Lewis family, Reygo. Not waiting to see if Reygo was finished with his current discussion, Ryo burst out and told Reygo what he had seen. Without missing a beat, Reygo responded smoothly, “Send our most powerful caster to the city. I want that demon killed and the remains brought back here for analysis.” That was what Ryo liked about Reygo; he more often than not kept a cool head in almost any crisis. Ryo inclined his head respectfully. Turning on his heel, he was about to exit and head back to the battle, when Reygo stopped him, “Oh, Ryo? There have been rumors flying off the handle about how the revolutionaries have been used by the demons to order the execution of the entire royal family. I want you to find out for certain where these rumors originated from. It may help us in the future if we are to mediate between the revolutionaries and the autocratic government.” With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Ryo.