FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Deep within the crevices of the earth lies a realm full of evil and darkness. This realm has been given many names, each coming from different races and different beliefs, the most common though, is hell. Hell is a place that no man dares to tread. There have been stories and legends of humans who have made their way in and out of hell all on a journey to save someone they love. Oh how foolish mortals were.

Deep in hell, there lived a demon. This demon was unlike any other there. Everyone assumes that they are bound to their destiny only in the land of the living and that we must accept our fate once we get to the other side. Little does this demon know, that his destiny is yet to be written.

The barren wasteland of hell stretched around the surface of the earth for miles and miles. Several desserts with violent winds, mountains and volcanoes bathed in fiery lava, rivers and streams of vicious torrents of water threatening to drown all those who dare wade across, everything was a living nightmare.

Deep within the mountain ranges lies a cave which is inhabited by two demons, brothers. Both of which were draconian in appearance. The older brother was the strongest among the two for he valued his strength. His body was sculpted like a god with large pectorals, perfect abs, powerful arms, everything mortal men dreamed of their body. Those who dared challenge his strength and authority were quickly brought to their place. The younger on the other hand was only average in strength and build and would often be "abused" by his older sibling. Although what he lacks in strength, he greatly makes up for in the field of the dark arts. The younger sibling is very wise, very skilled, very cunning, but most of all, very kind. It is a side of him that he'd like to keep to himself as he sits in isolation in his cave for almost all of his days in hell.

Deep in his quarters, the younger sibling sat there in deep silence and contemplation. 'Everyone deserves a second chance...' he thought to himself. '...that's what they always say. Whether it was created by mortal folly or it was some universal principle that some... divine being set. It is a beautiful principle... was a beautiful principle. Mortals have seen this principle as a chance of repentance, a hope for salvation, but that was in the past. Now, the humans see it as an opportunity to avoid punishment, escape the law... humans are disgusting.'

"Little brother, what are you mumbling on about?" a male's voice called out from the mouth of the cave.

"What mumbling?" The younger demon answered, obviously it was a lie.

"Come now, little brother," the demon chuckled as he stepped into the cave, the light of the fire illuminating his draconian appearance. "You're in a cave. Sound echoes around the walls. Even the slightest whisper can be evident from the outside."

"Hmph, don't act so conceited just because you have heightened senses." The younger snorted and turned his gaze towards his older sibling.

The older demon chuckled and sat on his brother's table, his tail rested on the paper his brother was writing on preventing further progress. "That's what you get for drowning your sorrows in a cave doing nothing of any significance."

The younger demon grabbed his brother's tail and tried to move it out of the way. "I'm not drowning my sorrows in isolation, I'm trying to understand." He tried to lift his brother's thick, heavy tail but he lacked the strength to combat his brother's. "Dude, please get your tail out of the way."

"See what has become of you for staying in this cave? You can't even lift your big brother's tail." The older demon chuckled and pushed his brother aside causing the younger one to fall onto the floor with a loud thud. "We are souls condemned to hell for all eternity and all you're doing is studying in some smelly cave."

The younger demon sat up brushed the dust off of his body. "That's because I've got nothing better to do. I no longer have recollection of my mortal life and right now, I have all eternity here in hell. Might as well do something meaningful rather than lose the remainder of my sanity."

The older demon looked down on his brother with distaste in his eyes. "What sanity is there in hell? Why do you still cling onto such petty struggles? Just enjoy the afterlife, just as your older brother has done."

"I know, I know..." the young one said as he stood back up. "But what exactly does the outside have for me?"

"You're too quick to judge." The older demon stood up and proceeded to the entrance of the cave. "For all you know, you might find something that interests you out there."

"Like what?" the younger one asked as he joined his older brother's side. "All I see there are lost souls wondering in the abyss of their own mind, tormented souls who babble nonsense like nobody's business, corrupted souls who desire to spread their impurities across this already impure land... shall I enumerate more?"

The older demon began to lose his patience as he stared furiously at his philosophical younger brother. "Look, like it or not, you're in hell. That's all you'll ever find here in hell!" The older demon stormed out of the cave in fury mumbling curses towards his younger brother. "Get your shit together or I'm gonna give you another beating."

The younger demon watched as his older brother walked away, feeling a small flame of hatred igniting within himself. "Why don't you just leave me be?" he mumbled to himself. "You don't dictate the very course of things around here big brother. Just because I can never match you in brawn, doesn't mean our skills aren't on par with each other." The younger demon proceeded back into the cave, each step left behind a trail of searing hot flame. "You've never really been a match for my dark arts big brother, if you were to start another feud, it would end badly for the both of us..."

The time passed by around the draconian demon as he spent it in isolation within the cave, slowly understanding the very principles of the universe. Of course he soon grew restless with his endeavors and decided to take a stroll outside. Perhaps he felt the need for some fresh air or something.

"I immediately regret my decision." He mumbled, standing outside the mouth of the cave inside an immense, raging storm. He gazed around the scenery and took in what he saw. Is this really life in hell? He saw several souls being blown around by the gusting winds, some flying in the air, others dragged along the jagged surface of the earth, but they all ended up smashing into some hard surface. "Ooh... that's gotta hurt."

The demon tried his very best not to end up in the same fate. He kept his wings folded behind him to make sure he doesn't accidentally take flight, he utilized his intense concentration and tried to manipulate the air around him, weakening the wind that hit his body, but it was still a challenge to keep still and he stumbled along the barren wasteland. He tried to make his way back into his cave but the winds prevented him from doing so.

"Goshdarn it... why the hell is hell so stupid?" he mumbled his fair share of curses as he tried to find a place to weather the storm. He moved through the land trying his very best to stay grounded and in control as the winds around him raged on. He closed his eyes and concentrated. "C'mon... your brother can do it... you can too..." he opened his eyes and watched as time seemed to slow down around him. Every tiny dust particle, every detail became clear to his eyes. From the distance, through the dust of the storm, he could see a large boulder acting as a windbreaker. "That should do... it's better than being out here anyway."

The demon slowly made his way towards the boulder, each passing step gave birth to the hope that he could take a break, an actual break. As he drew closer to the rock, his pace quickened as the excitement drew him closer. He was just inches from his destination when he stopped in his tracks, his whole body tensed. Just a few steps away from the rock, only then did he sense the unknown presence also taking shelter behind the boulder. The demon did not know how to react to this, he really loved his privacy and only his brother managed to get close to him. But will he be willing to stand the storm JUST because someone beat him to the boulder? He slowly proceeded behind the boulder only to be faced by the edge of a blade pointed directly at his face.

"Um... may I help you?" the demon calmly asked to divert his assailant's attention.

"Oh, sorry, I shouldn't have panicked." His assailant chuckled and sheathed his blade. With that stupid sword out of the way, the demon could see who his assailant was clearly. He was a dragon with a large, muscular build. He wore some sort of robe, grey and ragged in appearance with a sword strapped to his waist and a boy and a quiver full of arrows to his back. He didn't look demon in any way. He was draconian in appearance but not demon at all. Whoever he was, he wasn't from hell at all. "You want to whether the storm with me?"

"Um... sure."

Later, the two draconian creatures sat together behind to boulder. An awkward silence filled the air (other than the roaring wind) as the demon felt awkward around the stranger. The stranger on the other hand just sat there, his tail wagging behind him playfully. "So, what brings you out in this horrid day?" the dragon asked.

"I should be the one asking you that." the demon replied. "You don't feel like a demon, nor do you look like one. You're obviously not of this land. What brings you here to hell?"

The dragon snorted and let out a laugh. "Well, you're not wrong there." He answered. "I'm traveling, on a quest of sorts. That's all I can say."

"That's barely any information at all." The demon complained.

"Well, hell is a hostile environment." The dragon answered. "It would be foolish of me to just share information if someone asked."

The demon nodded in agreement. "Well, you and I both." He answered staring blankly at the raging storm.

The dragon stared at the demon in surprise and let out a chuckle. "Well, when I pointed my sword at your face, you didn't react with hostility. You're not like the others I've met now are you?"

"Well, you're right about that." the demon sighed. "So, do you trust me enough to share at least a little more information?"

"Alright, fine." The dragon turned to face the demon. "I'm not from hell, yes, that we've cleared already. And I'm on a journey and a quest, that's I've stated before. But seriously, I don't have the need to share you my motive. You know why I'm here and where I'm from already."

"Well, I guess your background won't be of much significance to me at the moment." The rolled his eyes as laid on the ground. "Then it's my turn to share: I'm out here in this stupid storm 'cause I'm taking a break."

"A break from what?" the dragon tilted his head in curiosity.

The demon gazed upward at the violet gusts of wind and sighed. "Trying to figure out my purpose here."

The dragon stared at the demon in disbelief and let out a chuckle. "Really? Wow, that's an unlikely thing for a demon to be doing. Aren't you demons like always plotting to get out of hell and infest the mortal world?"

"Most of them are." The demon answered. "But I usually isolate myself inside a cave in deep contemplation. I... I really have this strong urge to just be away from the others."

"Why's that?" the dragon leaned in closer in curiosity. He appears to be mature in stature, probably in his thirty's or something, but he acts like a curious little child. The demon couldn't help but smile in amusement at the dragon's antics.

"It's... I'm not really evil for some reason." The demon's voice was soft and filled with embarrassment. "When I woke up here in hell, I had no recollection of what I was in my past life. What I had done to land me a spot in hell, who I really am, heck I don't even know if my brother is really my brother."

"Oh, so you have a brother with you?" the dragon sat back and leaned against the boulder. "That's nice, keeps you company while you're here."

"Well," the demon rubbed the back of his head thinking of how he might say this. "He's not really the best person to have for company."

"Why's that?" the dragon asked.

"You know what, enough about me." The demon chuckled and dismissed the topic. "This quest of yours, are you doing it alone?"

The dragon's eyes widened in surprise as a grin slowly formed on his face. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," the demon paused and looked the dragon at the eye. "if there's anything I know about learning more about yourself, it's that it's easier doing it with others. I was just wondering if... I can tag along on this quest of yours."

"You want to tag along with me?" the dragon stared at the demon in disbelief and let out a little chuckle. "And here I thought I'd have to be alone here for the long run. Of course you can tag along, I needed someone to guide me anyway."

"That's great." The demon exclaimed with glee as he stood back up. "Oh look, the storm's subsided. Will you be traveling now or would you like to rest first?"

"My, how polite of you to ask." The dragon stood up and viewed the surroundings. "Well, I guess it'd be best if I travelled now. I still have a long distance to cover." He mumbled to himself. "Wait, I don't recall catching your name. Mine's Brandon Cahill, what's yours?"

The demon stared at the dragon in amazement. All his time in hell and he's never really given much value to his name, it didn't serve him much purpose anyway since his brother would just call him insults and he doesn't really talk to anybody else. "Well... my name's Umbratenebris."

Brandon stared at the demon with unsure eyes. "Um... that's sort of a long name. Do you have a nickname?"

"A... nickname..." the demon mumbled in confusion. "What's that?"

"Well," Brandon placed his hand under his chin, thinking of how he can explain it simply. "A nickname is sort of the name you want other people to start calling you. For instance, my nickname is Brad but I'd really prefer it if you just call me by my first name Brandon."

"Well, I don't really have a name that I'd like other people calling me." The demon responded.

"Well," Brandon began to think of some shorter nicknames he would give to Umbratenebris. "You seem draconian in appearance anyway so... what about Draco? Are you cool with that name?"

"Hm... Draco..." The demon repeated his new nickname with excitement tingling in his voice. "Yes, that sounds nice. From now on, just call me Draco."