As my followers and I walked into the forest to reunite with Amelie I reached my mind across dimensions and wrapped a familiar blanket of teleportation energy around my demonic pets. I then pulled them to me, taking both out of their routines and warping them here.
They suddenly appeared in front of us, and I greeted them with a nod. "Hello boys. We're going on an adventure and I figured you could use a chance to stretch your legs. And there's a non-zero percent chance you'll get to inflict violence!" I said to the duo of demons.
Both monsters did their versions of a grin, with Aggathas' avian beak opening wide and a bit of spittle escaping its kisser and Raverangos beginning to actually grin, the expression unsettling on its bestial face. Neither of them spoke, and neither of them paid any mind to my new companions. Instead after grinning the two things nodded at each other and then myself and followed me when I continued to walk.
At this point, we were within the forest and far enough away from the river that my companions couldn't see it. I could, but my vision was several degrees better than theirs were. And then we began to walk, with my assorted pets following my lead once I brushed past the two demons I had summoned to my side.
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About ten minutes into the walk, at that point a mostly silent undertaking as none of my companions were known for being particularly fond of or skilled at chatting, I was filled with curiosity about something. Mostly on a whim, I used Identify on each of the creatures I was traveling with.
And what I saw was positively delightful.
[Name: Raverangos (False Name) Ingredan (True Name)
Class: Berserker, Sentinel Demon, Level 15
Species: Sentinel Demon
Faction: Althonian Honor Guard
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Civilization: Solitary
Personal Vice: Wrath
Status: Healthy
Innate Magical Ability: Existent but tiny. Sentinel demons possess an innate connection to the Heart of Darkness that is superficially similar to how a deity manipulates its divine realm. They are capable of channeling chaos and using it to inflict devastating damage on their enemies.
Class Suitability: Ingredan is a berserker and that is the perfect class for a sentinel demon. A sentinel demon's specific specialty within the berserker class is one that allows it to be calm until a battle is already underway and then fly into a sadistic rage.
Magic Suitability: Evocation magic. Ingredan is a damage-dealer and a murderous foe. The magic that most resonates with its soul is evocation magic, magic that is used to damage enemies of the caster.]
[Name: Aggathas (False name) Erruth (True name)
Class: Rogue, Scout, Level 10
Species: Wrath Demon
Faction: Althonian Honor Guard
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Civilization: Pack
Personal Vice: Wrath
Status: Healthy
Innate Magical Ability: Very limited.
Class Suitability: Erruth is the class it is most suitable for already, a rogue. The only other class the demon might be suitable for is a surprising one to anyone who foolishly conflates its demonic body with direct physical violence: the illusionist class.
Erruth enjoys participating in violence and never turns down opportunities to engage in battle, but the demon is equally adept at stoking violence in others, something illusionists can do quite easily.
Magic Suitability: Illusion magic. If this demon were to be granted access to the school of magic that most match its vile soul it would illusionary magic. When expertly cast spells from this school can easily stoke rage in those who fall under their influence. Though for the demon to be good at using magic would require it to be taught how to use magic in the first place.]
[Name: Shadow (Tentative)
Class: N.A.
Species: Shadow Spore
Faction: Althonian Honor Guard
Alignment: Neutral
Source of Law: Althos
Personal Vice: Gluttony
Civilization: Solitary
Status: Healthy
Innate Magical Ability: As a member of the species known as Shadow Spores the creature currently called Shadow has much higher innate magical ability than it did hours ago. Shadow Spores have high innate magical abilities, overshadowed only by Mushroom Magi. Shadow Spores tend to be naturally capable of using necromantic magic and illusionary magic, making them dark mages.
Class Suitability: Shadow is most innately suited to three classes: the sorcerer class, the necromancer class, and the ranger class. Shadow is now a font of darkness, death, and eerie fungal powers. Sorcerers are creatures who have innate ties to magic, rangers are stealthy warriors who roam natural places and protect them from civilization as well as protect civilization from them, and necromancers are skilled magicians who specialize in necromantic magic.
Three classes are the maximum number of classes a mortal can have unless their souls are buffed, which at the moment is beyond your capabilities.
Magic Suitability: Necromancy. You were the source of Shadow's ascension and you are a dastardly god of magic, necromancy, and darkness. Shadow's magical capabilities are a direct result of your blood inside of it, so they go in the same direction as yours do. If given access to magic the thing would need to be taught how to use it. It spent its life until this point without magic so it makes sense that the thing has little knowledge of magic.]
[Name: N/A
Class: N/A
Species: Pitfall Spider
Faction: Althos' pet
Alignment: Neutral
Source of Law: N/A
Personal Vice: Envy
Civilization: Solitary
Status: Healthy, enthralled.
Innate Magical Ability: Nonexistent.
Class Suitability: Rogue for the thing's race, berserker for the thing as an individual. Pitfall spiders are a natural evolution of a trapdoor spider, both of which are stealthy creatures who create traps as part of their hunting behaviors. That said, this individual pitfall spider is not a wise member of its species and as an individual would benefit from the mighty physical perks of becoming a berserker.
Magic Suitability: Alteration. If this large, terrifying spider were granted access to alteration magic and taught how to harness it to enhance its own strikes it would become even more terrifying.]
I did my best to keep my gaze neutral and not express both shock and delight at what I had just discovered I was now capable of learning. It was hard not to express the sheer delight I felt though, so it was a challenge for me to not reveal that I had somehow just gained an incredible ability.
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"Demon's don't give out their true names. Power can be exerted over them by people who know their true names." That was how I was first introduced to the concept of "True names", in the ruined town of Golden-Gate. My mind flashed back to that moment.
I recalled myself standing over the demon, who had just been defeated and thoroughly cowed before me. When I had asked Ingredan for its name the thing hesitated, afraid of the power I'd have over it if it surrendered such a closely guarded secret. And now, while I stomped through the forest, months later, I now had knowledge of its true name. And a means to gain the true names of other extraplanars as well... I realized.
As I trudged through the forest I wondered about the potency of a true name. For a second I remembered that I could now use Identify on abstract concepts, but I wasn't ready to do that just yet. Instead, I decided to ask a friend, asking the very figure who first told me about true names.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
[Hey Samyaza, remember when you told me about true names?] I asked one of the two advisors of mine who had long ago settled inside of my mind. There was silence on the other end of the link for a few moments, while the angel considered my question. And when it broke that silence, the tone of its voice was odd.
[Yes I do... why?] My first companion and friend asked me. There was a hint of concern in its voice, and more than a small amount of fear in it as well. For a second I wondered how to feel about that, but very quickly I realized this presented me with an opportunity for fun. Especially because I knew that angels were extraplanar entities, which meant that they had true names as well, something Samyaza neglected to mention when it was telling me about true names so long ago.
[... I think you can guess why I'm asking this, Samyaza.] I said, infecting my mental voice with a hint of ominousness.
[Have you actually arrived at a point where you can learn true names?] The orb angel asked, and the emotions in the angelic being's voice were varied. There was a tone of respect in its voice but accented with bits of fear and surprise as well. Due to the emotions, I could hear in its voice I didn't mince words with my response, opting to be honest with my constant companion.
[Yes I have. My Identify power is that potent now. It has been steadily increasing in power over the course of the last few months, but each time my influence over the domain of knowledge increased it underwent significant leaps in potency. And I just used it on my pets, and discovered by happenstance that it now reveals true names.] I informed the tiny metallic entity that was at its most comfortable in my mind.
[Althos... can you confirm this for me?] My companion asked. I grinned at it, at the same time as I began to wade through some natural grass that grew to be knee-length, in the depths of the forest. I considered how to respond to that request, curious as to what that entailed.
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How would Samyaza like for me to prove the legitimacy of my claim? If I were to use my powers on it, sure I'd gain its true name, but I could also have done that by exploring the thing's memories. All of my extraplanar followers know I have access to their memories, and many of them have assumed I've looked through their memories, but none of them know that I've actually not bothered to look up their true names.
I considered it, and even tried it in a few cases, but I always got blocked by annoying text that kept me from assessing their names. And now, at last, it looks like that limitation has been overcome...
If I were to give Samyaza its own true name then it might just accuse me of checking for it through the thing's memories. If I were to give it a random true name then it'd need to confirm that the name was actually a true name. Which would require a magical conjuring that used the name as the basis of the spell.
Or... Or I could finally have a use for that annoying devil that tried to stop me from saving Angelica. Now that's an idea. Yeah, let's try that!
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[I can! But it won't be me who'll do it. And by that I mean, this me.] I told my companion, after finishing up the plotting part of my latest scheme. After all, I had an adventure to get underway.
And with that, I began to speed up, eager to be reunited with Amelie. And I hoped that the first will, another one of me, was about to have some fun. He was in the depths of one of the fort-like buildings and moments ago he began to carefully plan to construct a conjuration circle.
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The moment the other me began to scheme to use Bluemoon I instinctively used Identify on the rather annoying devil. And at that moment, no matter how one part of me felt about the events within the Parthenon, I was grateful for the sudden series of new improvements that all three of us received over the course of an hour due to the almost nonsensical string of occurrences that took place within that place.
[Name: Bluemoon Thunderfist (False Name) Salandros (True Name)
Class: Monk, Level 15
Species: Monje Devil
Faction: Paimon's dictatorship
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Civilization: Monastery
Personal Vice: Lust
Status: Healthy
Innate Magical Ability: Average. Salandros is a devil and has the magical capabilities of the average devil, which means he has some suitability in a particular school of magic. He can manipulate qi and is strong enough to use it to stun his enemies on a successful strike.
Class Suitability: Salandros is the perfect class for his species: the monk.
Magic Suitability: The magic that most resonates with Salandros' soul is healing magic. He doesn't have access to healing spells, but if he did he could afford to be rougher with his enemies.]
Salandros. I thought as I began to look at the floor of the chamber I found myself in. I measured it in my mind, taking note of the dimensions of the place. And I sent my angelic advisor a quick message letting it know who I was going to summon.
I happened to be standing deep inside of one of the fortresses that marked the boundaries of my territory and let the world know where Paimon's territory began. The floor at my feet was made of rock, the natural rocks that were hidden underneath meters and meters of sand.
It was a dense bark colored stone and made the dark chamber even darker. And very importantly it was solid to the touch, not flakey or grainy like sand. Just one solid surface.
The walls around me were made of a brick-like substance that came into being as the result of a massive ecomantic custom effect I had used to speed the construction and erection of the immense line of fortresses that marked my borders. They gleamed in the dark, providing the chamber with the little natural light it had.
The chamber smelled of the rock at my feet, a natural and pungent order of dried stone. And the place was utterly silent. It was a perfect location for the task I was about to undertake. For a moment I was still as I brought to mind the steps someone needed to do to create a conjuring circle tied to Infernius and to devils specifically.
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Conjuration magic, especially proper conjuration magic was both powerful and highly structured. It was a complex school of magic that was often bastardized and therefore put down but I knew better. I had learned better. That was why I hadn't opted to abuse it.
That and the fact that I had the memories and knowledge of a number of conjurers whose wisdom taught me better. I was lucky to be worshipped by all of them, but I was especially lucky to have earned the service of one incredibly powerful conjurer: Qu'Ren.
Her memories and knowledge came bubbling up to the surface of my mind. I grinned as I felt her expertise fill me, especially when combined with my precise and divine mind. Seconds later I changed my facial expression back to a stoic and still one and set to work.
Once I had finished taking the measurements of the place I looked at the stone at my feet and visualized a circle. I firmly memorized every centimeter of the circle I hoped to create, a process that thanks to my memory took an instant of concentration. And then I activated one of my more handy powers: Earth Control. I used the power to mold the circle into the stone, carving a perfect circle into the floor at my feet.
The second after my power activated the room was filled with the noise of the earth at my feet being divinely rent by my power. It was a horrid, violent noise that went on for a few moments while the ground at my feet bent to my will and mutilated itself.
When the chamber was silent again there was a perfect circle in the floor at my feet. The next thing I mentally visualized and then memorized was a nonagon, a nine-sided polygon. I repeated what I did to get the circle embedded in the floor, but for the nine-sided polygon.
Once the floor was again done being subjected to my whims and the chamber was silent I stared at the shape on the floor. "Truly magical." I muttered, alone with no one to appreciate my words.
"And now for the bloody parts of the process." I said, both speaking and thinking those muttered words. My eyes flashed for a moment as I used an alteration spell to numb my hand. I had learned from the mistakes made by my other-self.
I could have used an animal's blood to fuel the circle I had just created. I could have created a spider or six and drained them of blood to fill in the circle. But so far this process had been orderly and riskfree. And if I wanted to embrace chaos, and all three of us, of me, really did, I needed to take a risk. To experiment. To do what was never done before.
And I sincerely doubted anyone had ever made a conjuring circle using the blood of a deity of law and knowledge.
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Blood. Blood was something Qu'Ren had thought about a lot during her childhood and into her adolescence. She thought about it a lot because it was a necessary part of true conjurations.
Blood and the energy, memories, and life contained therewithin, fueled the sorts of conjurations that were needed to gain the attention and support of evil extraplanar beings. Blood was the fuel that pulled extraplanar souls across vast distances.
But it wasn't the blood that they were after, nor did they drink the ichor of living beings. It was the memories located within the blood that called to them, especially to evil outsiders. And my blood had a lot of that.
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Less than a minute later the circle and the nonagon within it that were carved into the floor were filled with a slick red liquid. The cut on my hand was healed, and I gave the strange shape a once-over just to confirm that the eldritch formula I had created was correct. Though I was inexperienced when it came to creating magical designs by hand, a second-long glance at it led me to believe I had done a fine job at creating it.
I'm grateful this magic is so orderly. I realized, aware that for all of a precise thing's flaws and routineness recreating them was simple if you had the sort of powers that I had. And now for the test. I thought, my lips a thin, neutral line as I readied myself to cast a conjuring spell that I had gained when my overall knowledge level went from two to three.
[Spell type: Conjuration
Spell name: Calling
Spell effect: This potent spell hones in on a specific extraplanar being and barring some sort of hold on their soul forces them to come to the circle from which they were called, whereupon they will be bond as long as the spell is maintained. This spell requires an extraplanar being's true name, but if the caster has that on hand this is the most reliable way to call and bind an extraplanar entity. As such it is a tremendously powerful spell and casting it is considered a mythic act of magic.
Spell Cost: 750,000 magical energy per minute the spell is maintained.
Additional notes: This spell is one of the few with a verbal incantation. To cast it, the speaker must say "Come to me oh mighty one, heed my call and speed to my side! I call to thee!" And then the true name must be spoken aloud three times in a row.]
And so it begins. I thought as I opened my mouth to cast the spell.
"Come to me oh mighty one, heed my call and speed to my side! I call to thee! Salandros, Salandros, Salandros!" I yelled, my voice powerfully echoing in the chamber I found myself in.
The second I muttered that third "Salandros" I felt the cost of the spell in my bones as it drank my magical energy right out of me. It was so magically expensive that even I, a god and an entity made of magic with literally infinite magical energy, felt an immense rush of power simply fading out of me.
The circle at my feet began to heat up, and I watched the blood at my feet, within the circle, begin to radiate an otherworldly glow. The dark chamber was suddenly illuminated by a cruel glow, the unholy radiance of the evil liquid that filled the magical shape I stood next to.
After a few seconds passed, a fel-green mist began to form within the confines of the circle. The mist spread out in front of me until it filled the circle. Once the airy substance had settled I was rewarded for my work with evidence that my spell had worked.
Within the mist, two amber-colored eyes formed, the first parts of the devil to cross over to me from within the Onyx Obelisk. They starred at me in confusion, which made sense since I had stolen all of the devil's memories of meeting me after I defeated him.
While he and I locked eyes, a smile began to appear on my lips. And then my angelic friend willed itself out of me so that it could lay its own eyes on the devil I had decided to make into my guinea pig.
"So it's true... you really can learn true names now?" The orb asked me, speaking aloud. This alerted Salandros to some of the conditions of my trap, and the devil's eyes widened in fear at that discovery. I nodded but kept my gaze locked on the confused devil. The rest of the thing's body was beginning to form within the mist, drawing it closer and closer to me.
I didn't utter a single word in response to my angelic advisor, I was waiting for it to tell me what exactly it was that true names could do for those few who knew them.
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While my other-self and Samyaza began to play with my one-time foe, I had gotten close enough to Amelie to lay my eyes on her. I was at that perfect distance from her where I could see her, but not nearly close enough to the goblin woman for her to be able to see me.
I watched her, like a hawk watching a mouse it intended to sink its talons into. And while I was doing so, she was walking in my direction, slowly closing the distance between us.
Each footstep brought her closer and closer to me, and to the rough-looking gang of bruisers I had brought with me. She was quite lucky I wasn't the sort to rush to inflict violence, but the sort of mischief I hoped to get up to was no less dangerous than physical violence. In fact, I'd say it was a lot more dangerous and more permanent than mere physical damage.