Learn.

Only a short distance away, you stop beside a nearby home and look to the banshee hovering side you. "So, this is about Shivra, the ice demon. I've come to realize that out of everyone here, she might be the most uncomfortable. She's a demon, but I haven't gotten to know her like I have with someone like Mistress Dajy, her succubi, Linzeri, or Sen-nu. It seems that ice demons can be quite dangerous, though she was a part of Stax's crew, and she willingly joined up with us. Evidently, she wants to be around us. But all she does is try to bait people into touching her frozen body. Do you know much about demons in general?"

Her eyes light up at your question. "Ah, yes! Would you like to learn?" she asks with incredible excitement. It seems she's rather eager to teach.

"Yeah. Let me know--"

"Wonderful!" She cuts you off as she glances frantically around for a moment, perhaps looking for any supplies she may need or want for her lesson. A ruler? A blackboard? Either way, she finds nothing, and instead straightens her ghostly dress before presenting herself at the front of the figurative classroom. She attempts to subdue her enthusiasm enough to begin her lesson, and then clears her throat before beginning. "First of all, demons are not to be confused with devils. Devils come from a domain which goes by a few different names, though is commonly referred to as the Realm of Flames. It is not often they walk among humans, elves, and the rest, so they often struggle to earn people's trust. Demons, on the other hand, are almost always evil."

Similarly, their realm also goes by many names depending on language or who you ask, though the Realm of Darkness is most common. It is a terrifying domain wreathed in shadows and filled with creatures of unspeakable malevolence. The realm itself spawns creatures which occasionally leak into our world, from gremlins to balguras, though there are some demons who have walked among us for many of their years. As evident by some which reside in Castle Phoenix, every demon is different, and some do possess the ability to be more than monsters of pure destruction, in the same way that there have been angels from the Realm of Light who have fallen to darkness. Either way, there are countless types of demons. While a devil is one specific species, demon and angel are more like categories, and Ms. Shivra is of course a tsurara, or an ice demon."

Ice demons, in a manner similar to succubi, enjoy the art of seduction. Succubi seduce men and women alike either for their own pleasure or to drain their victim's life away, sometimes even killing them in the process. A tsurara does not have the ability to do this. However, they can be even more dangerous, albeit in a different way. They find sadistic pleasure in praying on those who lust for their bodies, only to either cause their victim injury, or even to freeze them dead. There are many stories of people falling for a woman of ice and snow, only to end up frozen statues found in the middle of the wilderness. I have observed Ms. Shivra, and I do not believe her to be that sort of woman. She seems more than content in having people either burn their hands, or simply writhe in frustration knowing that they cannot touch despite being given explicit permission. Her sadism seems to stop at mischief. It reminds me of quite a few others here, such as the gnome to whom you were previously speaking."

You raise your hand.

"Ah. Yes, Mr. Warren?"

"What about monsters, like goblins, slimes, and stuff like that? Are they related to the Realm of Darkness?"

"Good question! No. What people call monsters have only theories of where they're from. Some say they all stem from a single evil entity which spawned them, while others say they come from all manner of different sources. The fact is that there are some which are born as chaotic, often times mindless creatures. Those can only act as we do if purified by powerful magic, at least according to theory, or are born defective in a manner of speaking. Poor Koblix for example was born like me or you, and had to flee his home of otherwise fiendish goblins. That being said, there are some creatures called monsters which are not born evil at all, such as harpies, which only get a bad reputation because the only way for more harpies to be made is for women to be whisked away and transformed."

"Besides when we were first attacked by Chula, Chila, and Chini, the time I saw that happen, it was a woman trying to get away from her shitty boyfriend."

"Exactly. Anyway, as for Ms. Shiva, you should simply speak with her. Get to know her better. Though there is one thing I can say about tsuraras which may help. They do have a weakness I have read about, though I have yet to observe... Well, I have yet to observe many things. Almost everything I know is from books. Either way, would you like to hear it?"

"Of course. Hit me."

"Legend says that if a tsurara is the one who feels strong feelings of love and/or lust towards her victim, she will melt."

"Like, literally?"

"Well, I have never heard of such a thing killing an ice demon, so I do not think it is literal."

"Hmm." You cross your arms and ponder for a moment. That Shivra definitely seems like a tough nut to crack. She's been on the run from people who distrust her just like Stax and the rest. I need to make her feel welcome, but I also need her to understand that I trust her. Whether she melts or not, I at least need to thaw her out a little. Pranks are fine, but I want everyone in Castle Phoenix to feel like they're one of the crew. "Thanks, Mela. That was really educational."

She smiles confidently as she readjusts her ghostly glasses. "Anytime!"

"I can take it from here. There's another elf I need to grab for step two, because this is gonna sting a bit."

"Oh?"

You cast your eyes to the practicing Amara just as she lets out a Gale with both hands clutching her staff. As the mighty breeze collides with the stack of crates she has nearby, it blows a brick she had set up far through the sky before tumbling down into the grass. She wipes her forehead with red in her cheeks. To calm her body, she takes a deep breath in and exhales slowly, but can't help but finger the collar around her neck as she does. Her ears twitch before she turns her head to meet your gaze. She tries to cool down more quickly now with this sudden attention on her by fanning her face with her hand.

"Hey, Amara! I wanna talk to you about something," you say before stepping in her direction. Though one more time, you turn your attention back to the banshee. "Thanks again, Mela."