Chapter 1: Let's start in the middle.

Today is a horribly wonderful day as far as human-length days go.

"Who am I?" you may think to ask...well that's a complicated question. With so much deceit, trickery and mischief in my blood, I know I will never give you the truth or give an honest answer. What can I say? A demon is a demon. But don't worry, you will never have heard of me. My name is not found in that text the Christians love so much, nor in the writings of the Jewish or Muslim peoples. In fact, it has never been put down in writing. I used to be a part of Legion once ( a collection of demons sharing a single host body).

But seriously, after a couple of centuries, the crowded living quarters got to be a bit much. I wanted to be able to spread my wings, you know; work independently. But how I went from there to the present moment, will be discussed another time.

Anyways, back to my 'name' (wink) I like to call myself Cyrus Tredecim. It means 'Lord thirteen' in English. But I haven't always gone by that, I like to shake things up a bit every 5 centuries or so. Besides, it gives me something to think about in the middle of the night.

Now, at the moment, I stand in front of the royal fortress, watching the fire roar as it engulfs the buildings inside the fortress walls. The grin spreads across my face as a burst of flames cause a partial roof collapse. Yes, I admit this was all my doing. I will own up to that with pleasure. But not all is as it seems. Not all demons are all bad (but be warned, there are some that are). While what I did was downright evil, I had my reasons: mainly revenge. But they sealed their own fates; these humans had power over me. They locked me up and tortured me, using what powers I had for their own empire expansion. So, in case you don't know the real reason for the fall of the Roman Empire; take a good look. Ha!

Notice all those horses, cattle and dogs over there, running for higher ground? They are proof I am not pure evil. I made sure they were untethered and uncaged before I terrified them and sent them running for the hills (literally). Not one of them will be a charred lump of flesh later; but I can't say the same thing for their masters.

So while I watch Rome burn, let's make one thing clear...I am not starting at the beginning, that's too typical and cliche. So, let's start in the middle, and I will tell you the tale of how I, an unknown demon, broke loose, and finally unleashed on the world, was pretty awesome (in general). Let's get this saga started!

"Get a move on, Scum!" my current jailer growled at me before he shoved a piece of silver against my upper arm. I heard, as well as felt, the flesh sizzle under the area where the metal touched. I let out an angry snarl.

'Just you wait!' I thought, 'One day I will be free, and I will laugh as I watch Rome burn.'

I kept my mouth shut, but gave him an evil look, as I increased the speed of my walk.

'I vow, on the very power of Lucifer, that I will burn this place, and all these cruel people to the ground. Who are they to think they can keep prisoner someone like me? When I destroy Rome, it will destroy the heart of the Roman Empire. It is for my own vengeance and for the pleasure of the Prince of Hell, that I will fell a mighty human Empire, and send their own world into chaos.'

[Hey, what can I say? Looking back, I'd say you had caught me on a bad day]

I stopped walking, as we waited for the huge, solid double doors to be unlocked and opened.

The whole reason I found myself enslaved and most of my powers unusable, were a few holy artifacts that had long ago been blessed by the First Angel. The first artifact bound me to a single physical form. The second one stripped me of most of my powers. The third one allowed whomsoever possessed it to channel the power stripped from me by the second artifact, to be used however they wished.

As a result, the Roman Empire grew and grew. For two hundred and fifty years, I was trapped under the power of the first two artifacts. It was only recently, that they got their hands on the third one.

It was about once a week that I was dragged from the cell where I was usually kept, as the Roman leaders thought of this strategic fortress that needed building, or that new bridge, or the other battle they needed won; that they needed my energy and power for. I understood now, the hatred that humans had for mosquitoes. I hated these human-sized mosquitoes who attempted to take my dignity as well as my power and demonic energy.

"Move!" he ordered as he attempted to shove me forward.

'Bad luck, with that?' I thought with a slight smirk. He had not been able to move me an inch. Yet, I didn't want him to burn me again, so after I made my point, I obediently stepped into the inner room.

The first thing I noticed, was that we had a real party in here today. It was not just the two Roman generals, like usual; today we also had the Roman Emperor. I could feel the mischief ooze out of my being, like the spores from a poisonous mushroom. 'This could be fun!' I thought to myself.

[Let it be noted that I didn't really get out much or see any new faces at this point in time.]

The Emperor turned to face me as the double doors closed with a bang behind me. Everyone else who had entered with me bowed to the Emperor. I remained standing. He was shocked only for a moment before anger flashed across his face. From there, his face went from red to an almost purple shade as he stared at me, challenging me with his eyes.

Too bad for him, I only actually had to blink once every five minutes; anything else was just habit. He had the clear disadvantage. He resorted to bellowing, "Bow, you piece of filth!"

I (naturally) disobeyed and replied, "Why, thank you! I thought you wouldn't notice!" all while acting like I was flattered. I then had the pure satisfaction of watching his face turn as purple as his royal robes (purple is the color worn only by the Emperor and his family). 'Why doesn't he look matchy-matchy.' I thought. I also wondered if he would pop a blood vessel in his brain and die soon.

"I am the Roman Emperor! I am your lord and master; I hold complete control over the life and death of my subjects! Bow!"

I replied in a very dangerous sounding quiet and cool tone, "You are not my lord and master. Lucifer is my lord and master. I have vowed allegiance only to him. [Which is not the whole truth]. And speaking of death, you will be dead long before me and I have already reserved a special place in Hell just for you."

It seems I was the straw that broke the camel's back. The Emperor couldn't execute me; he needed me to complete his world take-over. So, he did the next best thing; first I had my privileges of ever meeting anyone new taken away permanently, and I was not to ever be seen in his presence again, nor spoken of, unless strictly necessary, and then never by name, as he decreed, I should only be called 'that thing' or 'it'. The third thing had the most impact on me: after winning his pointless battle for him I got to pay my first (of what would be many), trip to the dungeon section of the prison.