Of Gods and Man - Where Angels and Demons Tread Ch.2

The Immortal War waged on for several millennia, as unending as its name suggested. When one side would gain more traction, the other would redouble their efforts until they both at a destructive stalemate. Ciel - Goddess of Life fought to protect The Realm of Light and to prevent her opponent's nefarious plans. Azox - God of Destruction fought to conquer the holy sanctum and steal the essence for himself to bolster his power and destroy Ayn.

It was a war suited for angels and demons due to their very nature, but alas, not all were keen to brawl forever. Perhaps the most outspoken of these dissenters was Ysolt, a low ranking lieutenant in the divine army, who expressed her concern repeatedly over the eternal conflict, attempting to reason different solutions, all pleas falling on deaf ears.

Most of the fighting took place in the Realm of Shadows, which was the metaphysical middle ground between the two planes, specifically in an area that became known as the Broken Battlegrounds. Broken siege engines and creatures of war litter the fractured landscape and it was here that Ysolt attempted a bold move. She commanded her small battalion to the front to support, and struck out on her own, eager to explore an alternative solution, but if the war proved anything, it was that strength in numbers was the only true victory, and so Ysolt was struck by Gajaal, a whipping boy for one of the leaders of the demon war effort.

by Stephen Stark

Gajaal hoisted the near lifeless body into his arms and carried her to his commander...A stone faced gargoyle of a demon who demanded the woman be imprisoned to be tortured and interrogated for whatever knowledge she had. Prisoners were rare, and vital to forwarding the war effort. Gajaal's lower ranking afforded him the luxury of social invisibility...In short, no one cared about him and what he did, so when he offered to watch after her, his superior agreed on the basis that it was less likely he could muck things up if he played warden for a while. His ulterior motive was to try and convince the information out of her to end this long winded fight that he was well tired of, and then reap the benefits of the inevitable promotion for his great contribution.

When Ysolt arose, she was greeted with little more than bars, a cell, and her warden...a demon...awaiting her consciousness and the interrogation began. She gave as many answers as she did resistance, which was to say very little...clearly numb to the whole ordeal, despite having never been captured before. She offered no substance, and instead insisted that she simply wanted the conflict to end but not at the expense of losing the war since it would mean the end of all things. Although it was frustrating to not get anywhere in his line of questioning, Gajaal's heart began to soften. Not only did he share the sentiment of finding the entire war pointless, but her voice was a soothing melody...her aesthetic hauntingly beautiful...her words soothing to his tormented soul. In a confusing state akin to reverse Stockholm, he was falling for her, and began to sympathize.

During one of the many interrogation sessions he offered a proposition.

"I may know a way out of this."

He began, gathering her attention.
"We can both leave and run...far...far away from here. We'll make a home in the untouched regions of the Realm of Shadow, and unite the like minded under our cause. We may be able to take the Realms for ourselves and put an end to all of this. With our knowledge, there is no way we can fail."

It was certainly interesting. They both knew the inner workings, to some extent, of their own military and could stand to set things right. Ysolt could bring peace to the realms and Gajaal could appoint himself king or some other high ranking after finding a way to thrust Azox from his position of power. She agreed, and hand in hand they fled.

Their initial plan worked. Most of the conflict was occurring on the Broken Battlefield and in surrounding areas, and so they were able to settle on the opposite side of Ayn and the Realm of Shadows, tucked away in a little hovel later named The Shaded Asylum. They would leave and find wounded or like-minded brethren and recruit them to their cause. Initially the tensions were quite high, after all these were not creatures just recently thrust into war against one another, but created with purely separate mind sets and ideals. There was a bit of quarreling at first, but Gajaal and Ysolt were charismatic enough to help the refugees reach across the table and accept one another, often times finding common ground to better foster a bond, after all, they were all here because they wanted out of the war, and that was as good a reason as any to set aside differences.

by Chris Rahn

Perhaps the most striking event was the love slowly built for one another. Despite opposite ends of the war, Ysolt and Gajaal found comfort and support with one another, and so, one night, they offered an embrace, setting aside their differences to seek love and warmth in the other.
Surprising to both was that they conceived a child from their union, a life from light and dark. This child was named 'Agna'.

by Hinchel Or

Yet this child was not the only one. Other demons and angels who took refuge began to fall into romance and conceive. These children lacked the wings or horns of their parents...Their heads round and flesh soft. Of course this was a shock to both races, made mortal enemies by design. However, they found themselves caring for these young and working to protect and provide. These would initially be known as the Ymans, or 'First Ones', and they were children of impressive power.
The children grew to become tall and strong, able to learn and adapt with relative ease. They were both swift and agile with nearly endless stamina. They even had a propensity for magic and seemed to excel in nearly everything like a sort of perfect being. Coupled with the fact that they were naturally predisposed to their parent's teachings and cause and this was the key that the refugees were looking for.
It was time for them to make their move.