It’s been years since I’ve last time heard his voice. It was still fresh in my mind as he was part of me. The path I flew upon was not just for anyone and he certainly was careful with the souls he chose to leave his mark upon. My mentor always pushed me to extend my boundaries and leave my comfort zone; ascend. There were times I could hear his voice and understand his intentions, and other times I could barely keep up the pace with him. How could a being like him understand mortal feelings even if he never experienced mortality?

I welcomed his presence in my life and left the control of my wings upon him, allowing my mentor to guide me with no restraint. Having a demon mentor proved to be the challenge of my life. I had to hide everything about me, as this was surely something that none would have understood and accepted. Following a being of darkness forced me to become one with the darkness, embrace it and follow it even in times when I had fear in my veins. Fear of darkness was natural and normal, but for me it was unacceptable. I accepted darkness in my life, and I was the one who had to fight the fear or else it threatened to devour my sanity.

Before I even heard Azazel’s name for the first time, I’ve met the only mortal I ever knew to follow such a sinister path. I felt an unworldly fascination with darkness since I was just a little hatchling, but this mortal showed me for the first time in my existence this was indeed the path I had to learn to fly on. I felt insignificant in his presence at first, knowing that I was nothing compared to him, but he… he did not view me as inferior but quite the opposite. He saw me as an equal, an ally, an individual that would rise above the tangled ropes of destiny.

After a short period, I took the reins in my own claws and confronted darkness itself; it was the time when I’ve learned about Azazel. Everything came to me naturally, as if this was my meaning in this existence. The progress was fast and I skipped a few phases, but it did not matter as long as I had him right behind me. I enjoyed his presence for a couple of months, time when I asked him to place my life in order, but this came soon enough to an end.

I could still sense his presence there, somewhere, but I could no longer clearly hear his voice and he was now more hidden as ever before. The dark night of the soul had ended and it was my turn to take the lead. With my mentor’s presence and whispers behind I finally took my leap of faith.

‘’Seek out the one cloaked in shadows…’’ he whispered…