The pillar of fire descended with a roar that shattered stone and blew lesser creatures away with its fury.

It resembled the arrival of most Offerings, save that it was composed entirely of emerald flame. The Elder Demons had frozen momentarily as their lessers quickly made themselves useful, unwilling to incur their wrath in a moment of rare uncertainty for the powerful creatures. Messengers and spells were dispatched immediately to the Lords in control of the territory. Their suspicions were confirmed and the information traveled outward like an explosion.

Screeches of rage and roaring laughter echoed through the Underworld as word spread. A great many bets were settled to the chagrin of angry losers and those offered as payment for their masters debts. Still others gathered their underlings and hurried to their holdings to begin preparations of one kind or another at the news.

The Warlock lived. He had survived and taken an apprentice in secret.

A human child, already powerful enough to send an Offering. Not unheard of for a child to possess the inclination towards fel magic, but to be selected by the Warlock himself to be his apprentice? The child must surely be a terrible force of nature, nearly a demon themselves to have warranted such attention.

Only a short time passed before the quickest and bravest of the creatures reached the pillar, intent on entering the fire. They surged forward over the bare rock in a wave of wings and claws, desperation evident in their movements.

“BEGONE!”

A terrible voice rolled out like breaking earth and thunder as the lesser demons were annihilated beneath a barrage of spells. Observers of all descriptions faded into existence around the pillars in their Ring of the Underworld. The eye-like creatures fell into formation around the pillars as hordes of demons slammed to a halt and stared back at them hatefully.

“THE BALEFUL-EYE, LORD OF WRATH, SPEAKS WITH THE VOICE OF THE WARLOCK. TURN BACK FILTH, ONLY THE WORTHY SHALL BE RECOGNIZED!”

The power within the voice incinerated several of the Mindless Ones straying too close to the events unfolding and the sea of nightmares recoiled. Some of the more intelligent creatures simply turned and left, unwilling to risk destruction or certain of their own unremarkable nature. The crowd suddenly scattered as the Lords arrived and slowly approached the pillar. They gathered in a loose group as they drove away the remaining crowd with a few lethal attacks.

“A conundrum.”, wheezed an enormous frog demon covered in sturdy armor plates.

A tangle of black wings filled with sinister eyes regarded him with contempt as it screeched a reply, “Conundrum? No, no, no. I send hatchlings. Serve Apprentice. Learn Warlock's secrets. Return to me when Apprentice die. Learn Secrets. Child returns strong! Gain power!”

“Hrmph, I suppose…”

A horned devil riding a hellhound detached from the group and approached the Observers as they turned to regard him. He sat imperiously upon his steed as a burning drool ran from its jaws to crack the obsidian stone beneath them. The demon pointed the spear in his grip threateningly at the myriad blazing eyes as his voice lashed out like a weapon.

“What does the Warlock seek? I surely possess it. The Jhutoom shall be the only to profit from this.”

The winged creature hissed malevolently and appeared alongside the devil with a twitch of its many wings.

“Wrack you! Isk'aal owns! Has better! Tell Isk'aal!”

The largest Eye glowed briefly and imparted the requirements to the assembled lords, prompting visible confusion. The devil frowned fiercely before he conjured a portal and began to shout orders through it. A cackle rang out and the many winged abomination vanished in a cloud of feathers, no doubt to return with its candidates.

Soon after, and with a weary sigh, the frog demon vomited a pool of acid that quickly began to spin as if forming a whirlpool. He regarded it dryly before fishing a few particularly horrible looking creatures from its depths. He placed these next to himself and they sat obediently while he added to their numbers until he was satisfied.

The cackling resumed with a pop as the snarl of wings glared victoriously at everything equally with its many eyes. It shepherded a rabble of equally unique looking creatures along with itself as it directed them to form a small group nearby the frog demon. The weak creatures snarled and postured at each other from the relative safety of their Masters’ shadows enthusiastically.

The devil rejoined them, slashing his spear through the air to form a large rift. He barked orders in a steady cadence as ranks of mismatched creatures formed three orderly lines before him. Their eyes locked firmly ahead, they did not respond to or even acknowledge the existence of the other candidates.

“Isk’aal the winner! You see!”

“I cannot say I care to diminish my collection, however, I am loath to allow you to benefit…”, the frog demon sniffed.

“Silence fools, your lack of dignity is pathetic.”

They both turned to threaten the mounted devil only to be ignored while he called to the Observers once again.

“Jhutoom demands to approach the flame.”

A cloud of eyes detached from the formation and swarmed over the three ranks of demons. They examined each in order with startling efficiency, all marked with a simple spell after the eyes had passed. Most were rejected, leaving a paltry dozen by the time the eyes had moved on. The horned devil ground his teeth but gestured for the dozen to advance into the flame quickly.

The frog demon fared worse than the devil, with only four being accepted. He grinned broadly as he began to toss the rejects back into the pit of swirling acid before it shrunk to nothing and vanished. The four took their opportunity to escape, sprinting away from him while he was distracted to follow the others.

Isk'aal screeched in ecstasy as almost all of her myriad progeny were allowed to proceed, the twisted beings not even waiting for the eyes to finish with their brethren before simply moving, they shoved and bit at each other in their attempts to gain a lead.

“Isk'aal is the winner!”

“Ah, how dreadful.”, the corpulent demon replied unconvincingly.

The Lords watched with greed as their carefully selected underlings crowded the pillar of flame and reached out to touch it. They slumped as they came in contact with it and intrinsic knowledge of the Contract was dumped into their minds. It was as labyrinthine as it was draconic but they all accepted the terms as ordered.

One by one they vanished into the flame until all that remained were the Lords and the pillar’s defenders. They lingered together in silence as the fire swelled in depth and color, before a pulse blasted up its length and vanished into the swirling ash that filled the sky.

_____________________________________

The smell of incense and iron filled the room from the various candles set about in meticulous patterns around them both. The smoke swirled into runes and sigils before breaking apart after several seconds and drifting away.

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Leyla was perfectly still within the ritual circle as Teacher sat identically across from her in his own linked formation. He chanted in a harsh language as he channeled mana into the entire array effortlessly. She had been warned repeatedly to be patient but the wait was becoming torturous. With every passing moment she began to doubt herself more deeply before Teacher grew suddenly silent.

“Remember what you've been told. Good luck child. Choose carefully, do not rush.”, Teachers voice whispered reassuringly in her mind as her stomach dropped in anticipation.

Leyla's heart beat like a drum when she felt the first tentative brush against her mana. Her eyes suddenly felt hot as apparitions flitted about the room and barely heard whispers filled her ears. She tuned them out and allowed them to swell into the background like waves at the beach.

Many presences filled the room around her, some crowding close and others simply littering the room. They called to her in sibilant voices that prickled the hair on the back of her neck and made her feel claustrophobic somehow. She swallowed hard and focused, determined to make the most of it and become a Witch in truth.

Casting out with her senses she focused on one of the apparitions, getting a feel for the creature it represented. The whispering came into focus for just a moment and she listened carefully.

“...damned be the meek, let them inherit nothing…”

Nope, that one sounded too much like Virax, and he was scary. She selected another of the specters as the first faded away.

“I shall pluck the secrets from their minds. Mine mine all mine mine.”

She discarded that one as well, it sounded nosy. Leyla didn't like nosy people, they always got everyone else in trouble. The next few were discarded as well, all deemed too creepy or otherwise unacceptable by the girl as she carefully examined all her options.

“...devour our enemies and rip…”

“All before us! None can…”

“...woe and lament the day they…”

Leyla sighed internally. Why were they all so weird? Mirriana wasn't weird. Even Zeptik wasn't weird all the time unless you made him mad. She grumbled to herself as her options dwindled.

“Legions of the sleepless dead rising…”

“...cast down the false gods of…”

“A thousand starving carrion birds shall emerge from…”

“I greet the Master.”

Leyla blinked in surprise as one voice was…almost normal. Kinda. It sounded like it was coming from right beside her ear no matter which way she looked though. She wasn't sure she liked that, but for the first time, she replied with carefully rehearsed words.

“How would you serve?”, she spared a quick glance towards Teacher as he nodded approvingly at her.

“With guile, Master.”

Leyla liked that. The polite responses reminded her of how Mirriana spoke to Teacher. She sat for a moment with her thoughts and considered carefully. She wasn't dumb, and she knew how important of a choice this was, all her efforts for the last year finally bearing fruit. Still, she was more than a little worried about ending up with a Zeptik of her own.

This one didn't sound like a Zeptik. It was a little creepy, but it was very calm. Leyla took a deep breath and slowly fed a tendril of mana towards the apparition. She felt it brush up against a tendril of the demon's own mana which felt curiously cool to Leyla. The other shadows flitting about the room suddenly vanished as the border of the ritual circle shone with green light. Glowing runes spread from Teacher's circle to hers as she forced more and more of her mana into the growing blob before her.

Leyla burst into sweat as the strain became immense, the demon pouring all it's remaining energy into the forming connection as she struggled to do the same. Green light flickered and died suddenly as something caught, the flow of mana reversing as Leyla gasped in surprise. The light slammed back, warped to a deep crimson hue. Sudden knowledge flooded her mind as she struggled to breath through the pain in her head. With difficulty she shouted the rest of the incantation.

“The Offering is accepted, your Master awaits! Arise! Arise and serve, Iskra!”

A spike of pain doubled her over for a single second as she clutched at her chest before it was gone. The sensation that replaced it was alien but not unpleasant. It felt like someone standing next to you in your own body, she decided. She focused on the feeling as Teacher slowly stood in the crimson light cast by the fading energy of her circle, runes going dim one by one as she sat up.

A huge hooked beak emerged first, crimson energy rolling over itself like liquid as the demon took form for the first time.

Leyla locked her eyes on it curiously as the huge bird skull slowly settled to the ground in front of her, the stark white bone contrasting with the dark beak. It was about two feet long and dominated by what looked like a huge sigil carved into the top of the skull that continued down the beak. Deep crimson light pulsed down the grooves like blood as she watched.

As she studied the empty sockets a single black eye, ringed in red with a slit pupil, opened within the sigil on top of the skull. It glowed faintly as it rose from the floor again, orienting to face her as the eye looked into hers. She realized with a start that she could not only sense its location, she could tap into its energy as easily as breathing.

“I thank the Master, how may Iskra serve?”, the skull said, its dry voice still emerging nowhere near itself.

Leyla goggled at it for a moment then surged to her feet, snatching Iskra out of the air with both hands as the wicked looking eye widened in surprise, beak dropping open.

“Yeeeeeeeeessssss! Teacher, look! Isn't Iskra amazing? He's a boy! Look how big he is! He's so pretty, he has runes all over his head!”, the girl crowed triumphantly as the demon spluttered in shock.

The newly summoned demon was quite literally waved in the Warlock’s face by the excited girl before he took the skull from her and examined it. Iskra quailed under his gaze and remained silent as he stared into the face of his Master’s superior.

“Burning skull variant. Most acceptable, you're one of Isk’aal’s brood aren't you?”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Teacher doesn't like that, he says call him Kallio or Teacher”, Leyla interjected with pride as she snatched Iskra back from the Warlock.

“Yes Teacher!”, Iskra hurried replied.

Leyla busily turned him over and examined him again for a moment as he made protesting noises before she flipped him over and jammed him on her head like a helmet with a loud giggle. She froze suddenly as Iskra’s eye glowed a deep crimson to match his carvings and six identical eyes manifested all around Leyla's head. They rolled frantically in their sockets for a moment before Leyla snatched him off and wobbled on her feet.

“Urgghh…I'm gonna barf!”

“Master, I beg you, not in my skull!”, Iskra desperately tried to escape her grasp as Leyla turned green and looked ready to make good on her statement.

Kallio stepped forward with sudden interest at the spectacle and gestured to Iskra as the girl released him to hunch over and recover.

“One of Isk’aals crossbreeds? Scarlet Observer and Burning Skull?”

“Yes Lo-”, the skull corrected itself with a hurried snap of its beak, “Yes Teacher. Your wisdom darkens the sun.”

“You will submit to an examination and divulge all of your capabilities to me within one day. My apprentice needs rest in the meantime.”

The skull bobbed assent and rapidly floated back to Leyla as she unconsciously tapped into their new connection in an attempt to stave off the nausea. Cool, slightly red tinted energy tingled through her body as she sucked in huge breaths and her stomach settled. With a groan she stood and looked at Iskra before seizing him in a huge hug, the eye smashed against her cheeks.

“W-what is happening?! Master what are you doi-”

“We're gonna be best friends! I'll love you and clean you and we can do magic together! I'll even learn to look all the way around without throwing up for you!”

The red eye seemed to go blank as Kallio watched its confusion with intense amusement.

“You have to meet Mirri! She's the best, no wait, she's the best after you! Then we can meet Zeptik! If he's mean just bite him, he'll fit all the way in your mouth it'll be so funny! We can meet Virax later but he's really scary and doesn't talk so well sometimes, oh! We have our own room! Do you like books? I have like a million books, my favorite one is…”

Iskra was certain he had gone completely mad as the girl snatched him up like a pet cat and positively flew out of the chamber to tell everyone the good news. As the gate powered down and Kallio stood forgotten in the incense heavy smoke of the ritual room he could finally contain himself no longer and indulged in a long cackling laugh.