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CHAPTER ONE - Start
When Thanatos first finds out about summoning, it’s rather frightening, something to be left alone to rot for the rest of eternity. But then, with all his doors closed to a normal life, he starts to get curious. He doesn’t have an education, nor is he good at reading or math. Nobody wants to hire him, along with his rugged appearance making him look like he’d steal at any given chance. It’s not his fault that he doesn’t have access to clean water easily, or cleaning products in general.
So, he gets his hands on a torn-up book from an old widow, who everyone sees as crazy and lives in a rundown shack with two cats and a dog. She’s not crazy at all, if anything, she enjoys his company, even if he doesn’t stay long. She’s lonely, and believes in an ancient craft that contradicts popular belief, twisted by rumors to be something vicious and terrifyingly evil. Her one milky eye, wispy white hair, and ragged shawls covered in strange images doesn’t help the opinion the public has of her, either.
He studies the pictures in the book first. Then he has the widow help him understand what he can’t read. Summoning a demon sounds like a great way to get himself some money, since lower levels are happy to trade animal meat for almost anything. Thanatos asks around, and is given a run down trap for free. The man who had it must have taken pity on him, since Thanatos was wearing his rattiest clothes that day.
He sacrifices a piece of his dinner one day, and sets the trap in the woods, hoping for something to wander inside the rusted metal cage. When he goes back a week after setting it down, checking every day for a catch, he finds a possum staring at him from inside it, curled up against the back of the cage. It’s scared. But he’s tired of living in the ghetto, working himself to the bone for a meal that doesn’t even make the hunger go away, sleeping inside churches because there isn’t anywhere else to sleep without risk of getting robbed.
That night, he treks deeper in the woods, going farther than he has ever been. Finding a spot big enough for him to stand in, and draw the rune safely, he gets himself a good drawing stick from the ground. Luckily it had rained the other day, and the dirt is easy enough to move around. It takes him a few minutes to draw it all, both from trying to be perfect and checking his work, but he gets it done.
Then he gets the book out, checks that the runes on the ground and the chant matches up, and brings the cage with the possum next to his feet. Then he opens his mouth and sings. It’s something he produced himself, so it shouldn't scare him. But it still makes the fur on the back of his neck stand up, fear still takes up residence in his mind. It’s an eerie chant, something otherworldly and completely alien.
The runes light up and turn red, dirt and leaves and light swirling to form a figure in the circle, condensing into a small shape. It’s the size of a squirrel, and looks like one, but it has spines and gems encrusted into its back, too many eyes, and talons for claws.
“Greetings. I am Morifal, a demon of jewels. Why have I been summoned this night?”
Thanatos holds out the cage, the possum snarling, terrified, backing up and away from Morifal, biting at the cage in a desperate attempt to flee. “I want to make a deal. The possum inside the cage for something you can give me in return.” He barely keeps his voice from shaking, and he relates to the possum more than he likes.
Morifal focuses on the possum, and luckily not him, but the look it’s giving the possum makes him shiver. The air changes, the light from the rune flickering, and Thanatos knows it wants to eat the possum. The fur on his neck is still standing up, and even though it’s a cool night, a bead of sweat is traveling down the side of his face. He can barely keep the cage steady, with how the possum is squirming, and how his paws are shaking. But Thanatos can’t back out now.
Morifal speaks, talking to him, but it still looks at the possum intently, every eye focused on it. “What I can give you in return, huh? The possum is of a good size, an adult, and has some fat on it. It weighs about fifteen pounds… It’s a good meal. I’ll give you a ruby from my back.” Thanatos nods, and speaks in turn, “in return for this possum inside the cage, you will give me a ruby from your back.”
The demon grins at him, “and I, Morifal, will give you a ruby from my back in return for the possum inside the cage you are holding. It’s a deal.” It twists, plucking a red stone from its back, before turning around. Then it smiles, and tosses it to him. He barely catches it, almost dropping the book and the cage. But then the cage and the rune with the demon inside of it flashes, so bright that he closes his eyes. When Thanatos opens his eyes, the rune no longer glows, and the demon is gone. But so is the possum.
Thanatos looks at the ruby in his paw, and grins at its red shine. It’s small, but it’s still beautiful. And worth a lot of money. So he treks out of the woods, and puts the trap down again where he originally had it. He knows of a pawn shop that is open twenty four seven, never closing. A helper works during the day, and the owner during the night. He makes sure the ruby is well out of sight when he walks into town, even though it's quite late out and most people are sleeping comfortably in their beds. But for those who love the night life, the night has just begun.
The owner, a greasy, bearded man, buys it from him readily enough. He gets three hundred dollars for it. Three hundred! He goes back, deep into the woods, where he knows nobody dares to go to. He sleeps, and in the morning, he goes out for a trip into town. He buys new clothes, fills his belly, and buys more bait for the trap. He also is able to rent a room from a little old lady for a few hours, so he can shower and sleep comfortably. He studies himself in the mirror, and smiles, as the white in his hair finally shines through. The white is no longer a dark brown, and his hair is no longer greasy. If anything, he looks pretty good, even though he doesn’t have a brush, and the hollows of his cheeks stand out.
He goes back into the woods, and places down the bait. Then he goes back hunting in the woods for a good place to set up a home. Or, well, some sort of place he can sleep safely and away from others. A shack, or some cute little cottage would be amazing. If sacrificing some of his lunch and playing the waiting game means a better life, he’s willing to make his living that way.
After a few days, he finds a squirrel in the cage, and makes another summoning that night. He tries a different rune this time, where a demon of warmth answers. In return for the squirrel, it gives him a warm cloak, soft and charming, smelling like ash and fire. It will keep him warm for a long, long time, especially with fall rounding the corner. He puts more bait in the trap. And visits the pawn shop a few days later. Then he buys cheap meats and scraps from the butcher, and makes a deal or two every night for a week. And then, it happens.
A different demon answers. It’s not a jewel demon, or at least, not a visible one. It’s like a cat, and looks awfully like that of a Kalon. And then, it doesn’t even introduce itself with a ‘Why have I been summoned?’ Instead, it fully launches into a tirade of his ‘sins’ and why it’s here. So he just stares, at the strange eyes, one white and one black, and wonders how this happened.
----
Felix doesn’t usually get called by the council, as there are few summoners these days. Before, when he had first joined, witchcraft was alive with demon summoning, and so was the council. Now, as the practice of all faith dwindles, to be replaced with technology, it seems that they will too. He’s been hearing rumors, about demons that don’t have enough souls will fade.
But that didn’t really matter, as he nodded to the secretary as he walked past, and made his way up elegant marble stairs. Even though such a display of power was stunning, with the castle standing tall in Hell, it was not fun to walk up and down hundreds of flights of stairs. Oh well, at least the room where he gets his assignments isn’t that far away from the ground floor. Pushing past the oaken doors decorated with silver carvings, Felix glides across the floor, an emblem of the First Summoner and the First Answerer carved on it. It’s a beautiful scene, with excellent craftsmanship that never fails to amaze him, but it’s also very grotesque. The First Answerer was not a pretty demon, and neither was the rune that was made to summon her.
He stands before the desk, where winged demoness, seemingly made out of slime, smiles at him with every single one of her mouths. She must be in a good mood today. “Felix reporting at The Council in response to a call for action on a new case. May I please have the file?” She nods, and laughs. “Ah Felix! Always so straight forward! Here it is.” She hands it to him, and the goo on the file case evaporates in seconds. He nods, “thank you, and goodbye.”
She waves at him, as he turns, and he throws a wave back. They’ve known each other for centuries, but she never bothered to give him her name. So he hurries back down the thousands of marble steps, and looks down at his case file. He flips open the cover, and sees who the summoner is.
Thanatos. No last name.
Age: Sixteen.
Race: Kalon
G: Male
Summoner status: New
Current residence: Forest surrounding Merilake Town.
Soul status: Open
Seems like a normal Kalon, if young. But then again, most summoners start off young, as that is when they are most vulnerable to the idea of summoning. And, the soul status is open, with the summoner being new. Of course, most new summoners get a strike for either improper teaching or improper use of runes. But what was the real sins dear Thanatos committed?
Summoning without evaluation or teaching on multiple accounts.
Felix, scoffed, of course that would happen. But then, he noticed the list below that.
Summoning without proper runes on multiple accounts.
Summoning without blood on multiple accounts.
Attempted summoning of a beta class demon without proper runes.
Attempted summoning of a higher class demon then omega.
Attempted summoning of a higher class demon without proper runes.
Summoning multiple times without prior interview.
Jeez, how was this guy even alive? Attempted summonings of higher demons without proper runes was a serious offence, if a high class demon got out and sparked another fight with the angels, there would be a heavy price to pay for all of demonkind. Summoning without blood? It may depend on the demon, but using blood was one of the basics of summoning. This guy was definitely going to get himself killed soon. How many times has this guy summoned, anyway?
Summon count: 17
Felix was not one to curse, but the fact that an amateur had summoned so many times without a prior interview was a cause for concern. Flipping the page, he moved on to see just what this guys summons was like. Moving on autopilot, he nodded to the demon at the front desk, and stepped out down the stone stairs leading away from the castle. Twisted trees sprung up around the stairs, embedded with jewels and seemingly spun out of silver. A yellow river and a bridge was down below the slight hill, and he headed toward it to go home.
First summon - deal with a possum in return for a ruby.
Demon: Morifal
Class: Omega
Type: Jewel
Seemed innocent enough for a first summons at least. And so did the rest, each one being normal for an amateur, nothing too big or dangerous. Except, there had been an attempt to summon a beta class demon. Better check that out, flipping the next few pages as he crossed the bridge.
Demon: Kariaos
Class: Beta
Type: Stone
Stone? What would this guy be using for stone? Skimming the other types of previous demons, it was usually something to do with wealth, with a couple outliers, most notable was heat. If this guy lived in the woods and was mostly summoning demons to become wealthy, then perhaps he’d been trying to sell off a precious stone, but he could have just gone with a Jewel demon. Felix moved on after a few minutes of trying to figure it out, looking to see where Thanatos had messed up the attempted summoning.
Reason of Failure: Misplaced rune
Now Felix was flat out amazed at this guys idiocy, a misplaced rune could mean summoning another demon by accident, or having the rune blow up in your face. Felix realised his home was nearing, and closed the folder, papers sealed shut. He’d deal with this later when he’d cleared his head from all this ridiculousness, and looked up ahead.
The path, worn with the hundreds of years of his footsteps and many others, was dug a few inches into the hard, darkened soil. He continued on it, slanting his body to accommodate the path going from the flat to rising steadily, getting steeper and steeper. His surroundings went from cleared wastes with the few remnants of castles and villages, to a cliff side riddled with caves and openings, spires and carvings decorating the worn surface.
Walking a little quicker when he spotted the cave next to his, he rounded the bend, and let the calm of returning home wash over him, proud of the symbol carved above the entrance. A pair of eyes, one eye carved deeper than the other, with two spires hanging down from the roof of the opening. Hurrying inside, he breathed in the familiar scent of home.
He walked for about a minute in the dark cave, running his paw along the right wall. The path was getting narrow, and he could see a faint light coming into view, and the smell of burning wood. Felix let loose a small smile at his cozy home before him, happy to be back and in the comfort of his own company. A crackling fireplace was at the right side of the room, with cobblestone lining the edges of the cavity gauged into the wall, decorative cats carved above it.
Books, paperweights, and trophies from both his service to the council and the rare fights he’d been in lined the walls, covering where the fireplace didn’t take up space. Or well, almost, since it was a healthy foot away from where the cobblestone lining the fireplace was. Rugs padded the hard floor, rewards from his travels and the deals he’d made. The most notable took up the center of the small space, depicting an angel and a demonic cat fighting over a soul. For some reason, when he saw it, he just wanted to have it, so here it was.
There was a back entrance, small, where a mild heat emitted, and the smell of metal would often follow. That was to go deeper into the mountain, which had been conjured as a place for those recruited to work for the council, and lead to a pit of magma, the main heat source. It even had platforms for social demons to congregate in, but right now, Felix just wanted to look over the case by himself.
There was a comfortable bed opposite to the fireplace, one side touching the wall, and a few chairs here and there, with a small desk to write at. Going over to the desk, he set the file down, and looked through it more thoroughly this time around, instead of getting a general gist. Thanatos had a pattern, summoning in the same spot, and around eleven to midnight, he’d make a deal, every night. It was roughly eight now in the physical world where Thanatos lived, so he could go tonight. No, he would go tonight, and interrupt the call to answer in the original demons stead.
Felix got himself ready for his next departure, gathering a writing feather, a notepad, and the necklace he’d been given to help him intercept calls. He stood, facing the fireplace, and waited. Then he disappeared in a flash of light.
---
Felix studied Thanatos, who was blinking, surprised to see him there, and not the demon he had tried to summon that night. Felix was about as tall as Thanatos, much bigger than any demon that Thanatos had summoned before. Thanatos looked like the sketches in the file, and the blurry photo taken recently, and faintly like the one when he was much younger. He looked… Nice now, as the sketch had been drawn when Thanatos had first started summoning. He looked clean. Happy.
But Felix wasn’t here to think about what this summoner looked like, he was here to do his job. Even if he breathed in the tempting taste of a soul ripe with negative emotions. “Greetings, my name is Felix, and I have been given your case from The Council. I will be trying you for your crimes, and overseeing your evaluation. Running or refusing to go through with the evaluation will result in consequences, which can go from no demon answering your call to an alpha hunting you down.”
Thanatos was definitely confused now, as this demon named… Felix had been summoned instead of Morifal. He’d done the runes exactly the same way he had done last time, even modified them a little bit so there was a higher chance of Morifal coming through. The Council? What was that? His case? His crimes? Sure, he’d stolen before, but nothing too serious! And no demon answering his call? What did this guy even want from him? “You’re… not here for a deal then?”
“No.”
Oh.
Felix, seemingly taking his silence as an answer for continue, and that he had processed all of this, went on to list his crimes. “These crimes are not from the mortal world, or crimes by heaven, but made by demons in hell. Please listen carefully, as I have no intention of unnecessarily repeating myself. Thanatos, here is what you must be tried for.
“Summoning without evaluation or teaching on multiple accounts.
Summoning without proper runes on multiple accounts.
Summoning without blood on multiple accounts.
Attempted summoning of a beta class demon without proper runes.
Attempted summoning of a higher class demon then omega.
Attempted summoning of a higher class demon without proper runes.
Summoning multiple times without prior interview.
These crimes may be appealed, if you wish to make a court date or explain to me, your evaluator, why you have committed these. Have you gotten all of this?” Thanatos blinked at all of his ‘crimes’. Summoning without evaluation or teaching? How was that his fault? He didn’t even know that existed! And all of this was so confusing! “Summoning without evaluation? And prior interview? Aren’t those the same thing?” Felix just sighed in his head.
“Evaluation is for your skill level, and if you are a danger to yourself and demonkind, with the interview to see what your intentions are. Does that clear things up?” Thanatos nodded, and shifted from paw to paw. Felix could feel a headache coming on, but at least this going smoothly enough. “Let’s conduct the interview first, and then the evaluation second. If I see that you are a worthy summoner, and have no ill intentions, I will revoke your criminal status, and the crimes will come off your record.”
Oh jeez, an interview already? Thanatos barely knew jack about summoning! But he couldn’t stop summoning, so he just murmured an okay, and let Felix continue. “Very well. First, draw the circle and symbol necessary to summon a demon.” Oh, that was easy. Grabbing his drawing stick, he backed up, and made a perfect circle, with the sign of the devil inside it. Felix didn’t say a word, just wrote something on a notepad with a feather pen.
“The rune to summon an omega, and the runes to restrain an omega.”
Thanatos did as asked, and Felix scribbled something down again.
“The rune to summon a beta, and the runes to restrain a beta.”
Thanatos scratched out the omega runes, and replaced them with beta. Felix didn’t look too happy, to be quite honest, the runes for beta weren’t perfect. He scribbled down something, and asked for runes for an alpha. They passed, but weren’t looking too good. Thanatos would need help in the future, that’s for sure. “The runes for basic types of demons.” Thanatos scribbled a sign for elements, spirits, and wealth. They went over a few more things, such as chants, materials used for summoning, and a few other topics relating to demons.
Thanatos had a small frown on his face, as Felix didn’t look impressed, at all. If anything, he looked amazed at the stupidity before him. Felix sighed, “you pass, but barely. I suggest, if you don’t want to get yourself eaten or a rune blown up due to your idiocy, to get yourself a proper teacher. You need to work on rune figuration, as well as the specific power levels of demons. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Really? Thanatos was glaring at Felix, who even was this guy? Who had the right to tell him what to do and what not to do? Everyone had been doing that for so long, and he wasn’t about to let some stranger do that to him. Not after this brief taste of freedom he’d longed for for so long. But, the threat of demons no longer answering his call lingered in the back of his brain. And so did the threat of an alpha demon knocking on his door.
“Fine. What else do you want from me?”
Felix groaned in his head, barely keeping his face from grimacing. New summoners were just… annoying at times. Although he could see that Thanatos probably wasn’t here to kill demons, rules still needed to be obeyed. They were there for a reason, after all. “I have to conduct an interview with you next. The Council must know your intentions about demon summoning, and what you wish to gain out of this, and if the sentiment changes over time. First, tell me why you summoned demons in the first place.”
“Why? You probably already know from looking at me. Money. Wealth. Power. I don’t want to live in poverty anymore. I don’t want to be under somebody’s thumb, I don’t want to work myself to death for just a pinch of money. I want to look good, feel good, be my own person. I want to see things I’ve never seen before, go places I’ve never been. I want to be free. That’s why I summon demons.”
Felix just continued to look cold, with a stone face, and that was probably what pissed Thanatos off the most. Who was it that somebody, some… demons, who had never met him before, to tell him what to do. To say that he should confess why he did the things he did. That was his business and nobody else's! This guy, Felix, even if he was just doing his job, was going to pay. Thanatos sneered as Felix just wrote down in his notepad.
“Why did you want to summon a demon higher than omega?”
“Omega’s are good, I’ll admit, but they can’t get me a house of my own well. They have their limits, and I don’t feel like giving up valuable stuff for scraps. I tried to summon a beta demon because I want to get my own place now, where I can mind my own business. A stone beta seemed good for building a castle, or at least some sort of place I can live in that won’t blow over or set on fire.”
Felix scribbled in his notepad again. And they continued this game, where Felix asked questions, Thanatos answered, over and over. It’d been about an hour after Felix first arrived, and now they were finally done. Felix tucked the feather inside the notepad, and then stuck it under his arm, before looking at him with those strange eyes he was starting to hate. “Thank you for cooperating. You have passed your summoner evaluation, but you must seek a teacher. You have also passed your interview, which The Council will later record. Good evening.”
Thanatos stayed silent, and closed his eyes at the bright flash of light, and opened them to see Felix gone. And so was his offer for the deal for the night. Snarling, he kicked over the empty trap now, which previously had the mouse in it. Cursing and swearing, he glared venom at where Felix once stood, the rune just a bunch of scribbles in the mud. Felix was going to pay!