I glance at the sky; it must be close to midnight by now. I wonder how far I've gone, shortly farther than when I went on hunting trips with father, but yet I can't tell by how much. The trees all look the same at this point, but why haven't I seen any animals? No wolves, no bears, not even an innocent bunny. Something doesn't feel right. The forest is way too quiet, so I stop and listen. A minute, then two, then five, and finally, I hear something at the edge of my hearing, but it doesn't sound like animals, no, voices, but what are people doing all the way out here? My mother always told me curiosity killed the cat, but yet my feet are moving before my brain even knows what's going on. I walk for about fifteen minutes and chanting, slowly getting louder until I can start to make out the words, but what I hear stops me dead in my tracks.
" - sacrifice we open the way, we summon you Belroth master of manipulation, prince of the realm of despair!"
Then a bright light burst from the clearing ahead, and I rush behind the nearest tree, heart pounding, sweat dripping from my forehead into my eyes.
"Foolsih mages! Who dares to summon the prince of dispare, king of torture, breaker of man!"
The voice alone is enough to send a shiver down my spine, but again, I feel compelled to get a closer look to see what this person looks like. Ever so slowly I crouch down and sneak my way closer, closer, until finally, I stop at a bush at the edge of the clearing. My eyes widen, and my heart plummets. That thing is no man, there's no way it's even from this world. I've never seen anything so terrifying. The creature has to be six feet tall with horns extending from its forehead, another two, skin dark charcoal with an archaic line traced in a pattern over its whole body glowing a bright crimson, wings that could probably extend ten feet to either side of it when fully stretched. Around it stand five hooded figures; at least, these look human
"I am Eltir, a magus of flame and the one to summon you to this world and I use the name Belroth to bind your magic. Now heed my command. There is a village near b-" the magus begins
the creature lets out a hideous roar. "enough punny mage, by what authority do you have to summon and command ME A PRINCE OF DISPARE! chose your next few words carefully as they may be your last."
the magus clenches his fist looks, the creature in the face, and starts again, " I am Eltir, a magus of flame. You are bonded to my will, and you will do as I say!" the magus is basically shouting at this point, and the creature slowly shakes its head
"you filthy mages haven't learned proper respect for your superiors in the nine million years since the last of my kind have been summoned to this shithole you call a planet! But alas, I seem to have no choice." The creature sighs then... smiles. Faster than I can perceive four of the hooded figures are dead or close enough that no amount of magic can heal their wounds.
"But... but.... how? I've bound you. How can you possibly- ACK?" the magus choked as the creature grabbed him by the throat and lifted him from the ground to eye height
the creature smiles again, rows of jagged teeth dripping with blood. "you foolish mages think you so much stronger than anything and anyone you come across, but I have news for you. Your world is small and isolated from the rest of the universe; your elements and gods are nothing more than shackles, tying you down so you can't access real power. Now let me show you what true strength is!" the creature looks into the magus's eyes until he starts to scream. He drops him. The creature stares down and watches with a twisted smile as the magus continues to scream clawing at his eyes, his ears, and his chest until finally, he summons fire to put him out of his misery, but it still takes five whole minutes til he's finally dead and the clearing is once again silent. I feel my heart racing; I have to get out of here and move, but as I take a step back, the creature whips its head in my direction, and before I can take another breath, it's standing in front of me.
"what do we have here? A nosey child? But somethings different about you; you're not like that pathetic weakling who dared summon me. Tell me, child, why do you seem different? Were you part of summoning me?" the creature looks down at me with mild interest, and for a minute, I can't speak. Fear has gripped my heart and throat. "NOW, child, before you bore me and I rip out your intestines to find out for myself!" I gather all the courage I cant muster and stutter out
"No...no sir, I was not a part of summoning you. i...I didn't even know summoning was possible anymore; I mean, I read about it in ancient times, but the art has been lost for millions of years. And I don't know why I seem different. I was born in this world, but..." my voice catches, and I lower my head "The only thing I can think of is that the magic of this world rejected me. Both the elements and the gods forsake me on my day of ascension." I start to shake with unshed tears "That's why I've come to this forest, I couldn't bear looking my father and mother in the face, to see the disappointment in their eyes, so I've wandered into these woods looking to die." I can't help it anymore; the tears start flowing.
The creature takes on a thoughtful expression: "Tell me, mortal, do you want to die? If so, I can make it happen. I'll even make it quick if you want. Or would you rather REVENGE? I can give you power that not even the gods can wield, but know that what I give does not come without a price. Can you put your morals aside? Will you take the power I'm offering even if it means destroying the world as you know it?" the creature stops and stares at me. It takes a bit longer until the tears stop, and I catch my breath
"you... can you give me magic? But ican't't destroy this world, my family, and everyone I care about lives here; even if I was willing t,o, there's is no way I could ever harm those I care about." I squeeze my eyes shut, ready for it to kill me and be over with this. But nothing comes. In a second of surprise,e I glance u,p, looking at its face in bewilderment. It's smiling; why is it smiling like that?
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"oh, child, what good is power if you can't keep what's yours? If you are strong enough, then of course you can keep your family and loved ones safe, but would you have the heart or guts to destroy anyone or anything that tries to take them? Would you kill your neighbor? Fight armies of wolves and bears? Would you kill a newborn if it meant that your father or mother could live another hundred years? Would you fight a god? Crush an elemental itself? All so that you and those you love could live without pain? Without fear? Would you burn the rest of the world to ash to create a small haven for those you love?" the creature smiles at the idea.
"I don't know if I would ever be strong enough to fight a god, but if it's for my family, if it's for those I love, then... then I would even risk my life fighting you!" as the last words leave my mouth I finally process what I said. Suddenly I know I'm dead this creature just killed a magu,s, and I, a mere mortal barely an adult just said I would kill it? What the fuck am I thinking? The creature laughs and then grips my shoulder
"you know what, kid? You've got some real balls on you, so I'll make you a deal. " a book flies across the clearing, away from the magus's body, straight into the creature's hand. "This book contains knowledge of how to summon, bind, and make deals with my kind and others like me, I was gonna burn it so my kind could never be slaves again, but I like your spirit so ill give it to you and a piece of my magic, but we have to make a deal first." the creature points one finger at the ground and a circle of fire appraise the same archaic patterns as on the creature appear around it "this is a contracting circle a basic one, but it will suffice for our needs today. Now, child, I shall grant you my ability to manipulate fire and the human mind to a small degree. In return, on every new moon, you must make a sacrifice; a willing one would be best, but as long as they suffer, any would suffice. This circle will also allow us to communicate. However, once you have mastered your powers and have grown to a degree I deem acceptable, you have one critical mission. Kill all the gods and primordial elements of this world, destroy this false magic, and become ruler of the new world." the creature slices its finger with a talon, and a drop of blood blacker than the night sky falls into the circle which starts to shine brighter.
Me? Kill the gods and elementals themselves? Rule the world? How could I possibly ever do that? I'm barely an adult. It would take more years than even the strongest magus have ever lived. But what is the alternative? Die as I planned? Allow this world that denied me my dream to deny others their? Or could I make a world where any who want it have the chance to harness magic, not what this creature calls false magic, but real magic that even the god's can't touch? I feel it, a spark in my heart, a fire that begs me to burn this world and create a better one. I look the creature in the eyes, gather all my resolve, and, with a nod of my head, ask. "what do I need to do?"
the creature walks over to one of the hooded figures on the ground, picks it up, and walks back to me. As it draws closer I realize that this person is still alive. Somehow they're still breathing even if very shallow. the creature drops them to the ground, and as they grunt I realize its a female; she stares up at me with fear exuding from her eyes, but I look away as the creature starts talking again. "it's very simple as I've done the hard part already. Cut yourself and place a drop of blood into the circle as I did, then.." its smile turns vicious and looks down at the woman, I follow its gaze. ".. cut out her heart as she still draws breath." I feel my stomach in my throat, while she's alive? can I really do that? I mean she's already dying and won't last much longer whether I do this or not. but this might be my only chance at magic real, true magic at that. so with a heavy heart, I swallow the lump in my throat and look back at the creature.
"but I have no weapon. no knife or sword. and surely she would die long before I got anywhere with my bear hands." the creature rolls its eyes and produces a wicked dagger out of nowhere; this isn't like any dagger I've seen before. Its blade is like that of a snake as it slithers on the ground. I reach and grab it out of the creature's hand and before I can think, before fear takes hold and I can no longer stomach what I'm about to do, I slice my finger which brings out a hiss and wince of pain. I watch as a drop of blood slowly falls through the air and into the circle which burns even brighter then suddenly, like it was never there at all it is gone. I turn to the woman and kneel down I softly whisper to her "I am sorry for this." then I cut open her robe to have easier access to her chest and heart. As I move the cloth I stop for a second and admire her chest small perky tits just enough to fit in the palm of my hand. this is the first time I've seen a woman's bear chest, I reach out a hand and gently squeeze one. It's softer than I would have thought. The creature sighs and motions for me to get on with it. I nod my head and push the dagger into her skin. There's resistance at first but with a little more pressure it breaks through. she starts wailing and begging for me to stop and spare her but the creature places a hand on my shoulder and I continue. She dies a few minutes later from shock and blood loss. my shoulders slump, I didn't even get halfway through before she died. Now this creature will just kill me and be done with it. I failed its test so what good am I? Then I hear a snort from behind me
"Hmmm, she must have been closer to death than I realized but don't fret, that's a fault of ,mine not yours. You went through with the action even if not like I intended so I will uphold my end of the bargain." I fall over backward screaming. My chest is on fire. It feels as if someone is branding me with a cattle rod they just pulled out of a volcano. I claw at my shirt trying to get it off, to stop whatever is happening to me. but as suddenly as it started, it's gone. I look down and see directly over my heart is a symbol in the same archaic script as the circle. branded onto my chest is what looks like a giant circle around my heart with a tail at the bottom and a crescent moon pointed upwards. I turn to ask the creature what it is or what it means but when I glance up it's gone.
as I sit there in silence the reality of what just happened slowly starts to sink in. I look towards the body of the mage but quickly turn away as I start to dry heave. as I slowly get myself back under control I stand up and walk away not deeper into the forest but back home, I've finally got magic even if I don't know how to use it yet but as I take a few steps the adrenaline runs out and I collapse to the ground and let the darkness nestle me into a deep slumber.