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This was supposed to be a *short* story, but it just continued to grow.
This takes place in a world that have been made by one of my friends, HeavyMetalMirage, for and RP called Daykia.
n shorts, this is some of the background story for my character Karo ( http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2225189 ) And it explains the origine of some of his fears.
Sooo, lets get to it then!
Ashling and Daykia © http://www.furaffinity.net/user/heavymetalmirage/
Karo, Feri'cvez & Feghwen © Black-Draco
“Remember, the first pact of a shaman marks his entrance into the world between mortals and spirits. It is the making of this pact that lets the Spirit Wilds recognize you by your actions. Succeed in making a deal by yourself, and the spirits will respect you by the grade of your actions. Fail and the spirits will not consider you worthy of their time.”
The white furred Lykin returned her gaze to her apprentices.
“More than anything you shall remember, that you are completely on your own. If I have to step in and help you, the spirits will see it as a sign of weakness. They will never accept any calls from you again.”
The young wolf nodded. “I will remember, Elder Ashling.
A growing moon marked the midnight of the summer solstice. The air was arid and filled with insects that flew lazily over the dark lakes and plains, nested at the foothills of the southern Highlands. On a rocky hill overlooking the Lakelands and the far away forests, stood a circle of standing stones.
Raised in ancient times by the ancestors, the stone circle was weathered and overgrown, the ogham writing barely readable. It had been one of the gathering places of the shamans for generations, a place where the worlds connected with one another. This night it was to be the scene for the Threshold Initiation, a rite of passage for the young apprentices’. Making a pact on their own would mark their entrance into the higher circles of shamanism.
Ashling, a white rabbit with black hair turned to look at the moon once more, her cloak barely moving in the wind. “You have been communing with the essence of things. Have you found a spirit that you wish to contact?”
“Yes, I have found one called Farkhen, an earth elemental of the Carega foothills.”
She closed her eyes and gave a slight nod. “Then go, Karo, and call it to you. I will watch from afar.”
Karo, a grey wolf clad in the tartan of his clan, gave a quick bow to his mentor before turning around and entering the stone circle. As he came behind the standing stones, it was as if the sounds of the night died off, leaving only the pale rays of moonlight to pattern the ground and rocks. It was as if the stillness opened the senses for what lied underneath the veil of the world.
He came to a hold at the middle of the circle. Taking in the surroundings, the Lykin opened his bag containing his tools and components and soon began to drawing a summoning circle on the ground. In the middle of the process he stopped, unsecure of how to proceed.
Sending a quick glance back to his mentor, he erased a part of the inner triangle and filled it out with other markings. After long moments of correcting the circle, he was finally standing above a vast pattern of circles, triangles, pentagrams, ogham and other symbols.
After looking over the summoning circle a few times, reached the edge of it and takes a seat cross-legged, his chalice in both of his hands. As he relaxes he can feel the energies of the circle rising. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
“Alright, this is it. Time to make Ashling proud.”
His opens his eyes and a faint glow of blue fire shines from them as he begins to chant in long, deep words. As he concentrates, a blue frame appears in his chalice and the same blue light starts to ray out from the circle as well. After minutes of chanting the light starts to fade and now gloves faintly in the outline of the symbols.
“Farkhen, kindred of earth, aspect of Carega. I call upon thee by the law of the first age to come to me. I seek to offer a pact of kindred benefit.”
The circle begins to pulse unevenly and the flame in the chalice begins to flicker. Karo frowns. This was not supposed to happen. Concentrating on bringing the spiritual energy back into balance, he calls again. “I seek thee to be my Threshold Guardian. Bestow me with this honor, and I shall bestow thee with an offer.” The flame in the chalice starts to take on a bronze hue and a stocky shape is beginning to emerge in the circle. Karo let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you. In accordance to the code, I will hereb-“ The light of the flame and circle began to flicker and change color. From a golden bronze hue it took on a dark red glow. The summoned silhouette began to disappear. “…Farkhen?”
A crash broke the silence and the flame began to blaze wildly. Another crash, louder than before, sent a freezing shockwave from the center of the circle. The young Lykin did his best to regain control of the summoning circle as something began to break though. “Who go there?” He called as he forced the energies back. The glow of the circle began to die out and as Karo thought of the incidence to be over, a third crash forced him to let go of the chalice and cover up his ears.
The shockwave knocked him onto this back. As he came back up, he saw that everything inside of the stone circle was bathed in dark-red light, all illuminated from the black crack in the air that had opened up the centered in the summoning circle. Red smoke oozed unnaturally onto the ground inside of the circle.
As Karo watched in disbelief, a murder of crows exited the crack before it closed with a wheezing sound. The crows flew around inside of the summoning circle, much like wild birds in a cage, before they grew together to form a body. Soon it had taken the appearance of a black a wolf, a Lykin in appearance. He was wearing a dark grey silk vest, embroiled with the motives of ravens. The spirit’s legs disappeared under the heavy black cloak, clad in black feathers. Its eyes were onyx and on its cheeks and temples spawned fissures that illuminated red smoke.
The demon looked directly at Karo and spawned a large fanged smile. “Good evening, Karoteigh. I’m here to take you on your offer. I will be your…” He smirked, tasting the word. “Threshold guardian, as you so poetically entitled it.”
Karo did not believe the sight in front of him. “Y-you’re not Farkhen. You’re not supposed to be here.” The demon blinked, and then a show of examining the circle around him. “You did a poor job preventing other spirits from entering the circle then. Look.” A clawed finger outlined a section of the summoning circle. “Here’s where you choose the name of the specific spirit you want to summon. However, see the broken line there? This means that as soon as a spirit has a familiar name, it can enter the circle, you willing it or not.”
Karo did his best to control himself. One thing was that he had made a mistake; another was to have it rubbed in by something with an attitude. “Well, what is your name then?” The demon smiled at him as it felt the frustration oozing from the words. “Ah, yes, where are my manners?” It straighten up and bowed in a very gentleman way. “Feri’cvez, at your service, sir.” Karo smirked back. “Well Feri’cvaz, I will have to ask you to leave. As summoner of this circle, I command you to leave the circle and return to the place from which you came from.
The demon narrowed an eye. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. For one, I have taken a liking in you, lad. I sense that you have a great destiny ahead of you, and I want to be part of that. Your fate is destined for greatness. It’s too… tempting to just let you go.” He came closer toward Karo, though he remained inside the circle.
“Second, I won’t go back, for you cannot order me to go. The same mistake that couldn’t keep me out is the same that can’t force me to disappear. However, I will grant you one thing. I’ll leave the circle, which brings me to the third thing. You have been trained to handle elementals, not demons. And so…” Feri’cvez took a step forward and was now outside the circle. There were no less than a foot between them. “…Your binding circle cannot hold me. “
Karo jumped up in surprise. “H-how…” The demon smirked. “A rookie mistake. Trust me; you are not the first one to forget the basics.” He began to circle around the fear-ridden wolf. Feri’cvez trembled as he tasted it in the air. “Ahh, fear. Delicious. It’s a strong feeling, is it not? It can break even the strongest of men and force warriors to run from their foe, spreading panic down the ranks. Wars have been started and ended because of fear. Fear is… what holds mortals from achieving their greatest goals here in life. It’s a great weapon to hold someone down”
The demon stopped behind Karo and placed his clawed hands on the shaman’s shoulders. Karo could feel the heat from the fissures as the demon lowered its head to be on the right side of his. “That is my offer. I will become your summoning, your spirit. I will strike fear into all who oppose you. I will let them fear the consequences of messing with you and your close ones. You and all that you hold dear. You. Will. Be. Untouchable.”
He repositioned his head to Karo’s left. “And you will be granted a gift, one that is sought by many. You will understand fear, and it will understand you. You will never feel frightened again; no one will be able to keep you down. You will be immune. You will be powerful. You will be free.”
As the demon straighten up above him, it gave his shoulders a soft squeeze. In that moment, Karo felt his senses being taken away. In the next moment he was standing in the mist. Everything was grey and silent. He called out but he could not hear his own voice. He tried to walk, but did not move. The ground felt soft beneath him. As he looked down, the scene changed rapidly and the mist was replaced by a battlefield, sprayed with the fallen and slain.
Broken spears, banners and dead trees broke the horizon. He was standing knee deep in the dead and dying, the blood soaking his paws and kilt. Then the smell hit him. It wasn’t the smell of blood he could sense, it was something else. It was cold, but sweet. It almost smelled like… fear?
As much as the sights and smells messed with him, it could not compare to the sounds. The cries and moans of the dying, the buzzes of flies from the dead... And the ravens. Ravens and crows. The sounds of flesh being ripped, the screams of agony as the living was eaten alive and their bones picked clean. He turned around and tried to run, run from the mess that picked at his senses, run from what felt disturbingly… peasant.
That was when he saw it. The dark shadow standing on a hill of corpses, with an arm lifted as it sends out ravens and crows. The shape feasted upon the fear of the dying. It turned around and looked at him. It came closer with heavy steps and even as Karo tried to outrun it, it soon caught up with him. It forced him down into the soil, standing with a heavy clawed paw at his neck. And as Karo looked up into its face, he saw Feri’cvez. His eyes were wild. “There is nothing like the fear of the dying. The desperate feeling of freight and panic that cripples you.”
Feri’cvez lowers his head, his voice caring. “I am not cruel, I do not kill. I did not kill these men and women. I merely feast upon their fear, so that it does not soak the landscape. If I did not feast upon it, these hills would become haunted with ghosts that could not move on. The spirits themselves would be driven mad.” The spirit cock his head, now having a sad tone in his voice. “How can that be cruel? If it was not for me, most of this world would be cursed by unrest and sorrow. It is the fear of death that keeps mortals from killing one another. I keep the world whole.”
Karo broke eye contact and looked at the carnage around him. That’s when he noticed. Around him, among the dead and dying, he saw those he cared for. He saw his parents, his siblings, members of his family and clan. Friends he had yet to meet. He saw Ashling, he saw the other shamans being trained alongside him. He saw…
With a cry Karo forced himself back to the real world. As he opened his eyes he found himself lie on the ground. As he looked up he could see Feri’cvez staring at him with a genuine look of worry in his eyes. “You had me worried there, lad. Nightmares? I can help you by removing them.” Karo quickly got up. “I Command you do go, demon! I am not interested in any deal with you. Go, you will find no trade here.”
Feri’cvez sighed. “As I have already told you, I will not leave. Your fate is too rare, too great to simply ignore! You are not strong enough to resist me, Lad. I will be your summoning, to that there are no doubt. I would recommend that you accept my offer, while it still stands. Otherwise… I have to ‘persuade’ you.”
The demon raised his arms and a black mass of ravens flew out and began to encircle Karo. He could feel how it ran coldly down his spine, and in that moment he realized that Feri’cvez was right; He had no chance to stand against a demon that powerful.
Karo trembled as he turned toward the circle and chanted once more. “I summon you to come to my aid, Fark-nngh!!“ The shaman was cut short by a wave of red dripping smoke that choked him. “That primitive rock will not come to help you; he knows he cannot defeat me!” Feri’cvez laughed. His laughter sounded like the hoarse scream of multiple ravens. Karo felt limb as he was overwhelmed by the power opposing him, but he did not give up. After multiple failed attempts he forced himself to chant one last time. “I... I call upon… F-fa…’eg.. Eeeeeen…” He fell to his back, exhausted.
“Why go through this? You are so close to gain immunity from this. I will never be able to do this toward you again; you will have absolute power over…” Feri’cvez was cut short by the light in the circle changing from a black red to a burning white. Turning around, the demon saw another spirit exiting the circle. This time it was a large white wolf covered in patterns and aura of white flame. Above its shoulders two burning trinity symbols pulsed calmly.
“An Argai.” Feri’cvez cursed, spitting at the ground. “Leave! This boy is mine, he is ready to accept me offer. Do not interfere. Leave!!” The white spirit ignored the threat and placed herself between Feri’cvez and Karo. As Karo managed to get up into a seating position, the Argai began to rub her head against his arm. Looking up, the Lykin got eye contact with the spirit and in that moment, her intention was made clear to him. “She is here by the same terms as you, Feri’cvez. Her name is Feghwen and she offers to become my first pact, in accordance with to the ceremony. “
Feri’cvez looked in disbelieve. Then he started to shake in anger. The red smoke from his fissures steamed out and engulfed him. Inside this red cloud, his silhouette grew and became more bestial. “Curse you bitch!! You had no right to interfere! I answered his call, I gave the first offer. This boy belongs to me!!”
A black aura lashed out against Feghwen. In response the trinity symbols of the Argai pulsed quicker and two lashes of pure white fire countered the attack. Karo got up on his feets. “You’re wrong Feri’cvez. You may have been the first to answer the call, but the decision is mine to take. I choose…”
“Wait!!”
Karo looked at the demon. “Because shamans are supposed to listen to spirits, I will allow you to speak. Make it quick, demon, for my decision is near.”
The demon bowed his head. “I apology if I may have frightened you, summoner, however that was to make a point. As a shaman you will meet demons and angles, elementals and perhaps ghosts. It takes a strong will to handle such things. I offered you to become fearless, and that offer still stands. You were stricken with fear moments ago, and as a shaman you don’t want this to happen. I don’t know what the… Fenrir… have given you of offers, but I want you to consider this:”
He lifted his head and looked Karo directly into the eyes.
“If you choose me, you have nothing to fear. If you choose her, you will not know where I am and what I am doing. It will be your weakness.” He smirked. “It’s a matter of how much you want to… control you fate.”
Karo hesitated. What the demon said was right. Right now he feared the demon more than anything, and to know it was out there, uncontrolled was an unpleasant thought. Still, he would not submit to threats, not like that. “I have chosen. I choose Feghwen.”
The demon’s reaction surprised Karo. It smiled friendly. As his shape turned back to its Lykin form, Feri’cvez corrected his vest and cloak. “Very well then, I will be off. Can’t say I approve of your decision, but the consequences will be on you.”
He sent Karo a casual look. “Just remember this, Karoteigh, son of Tegew. Before the cycle of the Zodiac begins anew, I will have you as my summoner. Not even the presence of that bi... I mean Feghwen, will change that. Some day Karo, you will outgrow your Feeding cloth. And when you do, you will seek me out yourself.”
With that the demon dissolved into a murder of crows that flew around the stone circle until the crack appeared again. When the last crow had left entered the gaping hole in the air, it closed with a faint laugher.
On the other side of the standing stones was Ashling. She had seen everything that had happened, and as she had promised she had not interfered. She gave out a long sigh. “Demons and angles. You will not have an easy life ahead of yourself, Karo.”
This takes place in a world that have been made by one of my friends, HeavyMetalMirage, for and RP called Daykia.
n shorts, this is some of the background story for my character Karo ( http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2225189 ) And it explains the origine of some of his fears.
Sooo, lets get to it then!
Ashling and Daykia © http://www.furaffinity.net/user/heavymetalmirage/
Karo, Feri'cvez & Feghwen © Black-Draco
“Remember, the first pact of a shaman marks his entrance into the world between mortals and spirits. It is the making of this pact that lets the Spirit Wilds recognize you by your actions. Succeed in making a deal by yourself, and the spirits will respect you by the grade of your actions. Fail and the spirits will not consider you worthy of their time.”
The white furred Lykin returned her gaze to her apprentices.
“More than anything you shall remember, that you are completely on your own. If I have to step in and help you, the spirits will see it as a sign of weakness. They will never accept any calls from you again.”
The young wolf nodded. “I will remember, Elder Ashling.
A growing moon marked the midnight of the summer solstice. The air was arid and filled with insects that flew lazily over the dark lakes and plains, nested at the foothills of the southern Highlands. On a rocky hill overlooking the Lakelands and the far away forests, stood a circle of standing stones.
Raised in ancient times by the ancestors, the stone circle was weathered and overgrown, the ogham writing barely readable. It had been one of the gathering places of the shamans for generations, a place where the worlds connected with one another. This night it was to be the scene for the Threshold Initiation, a rite of passage for the young apprentices’. Making a pact on their own would mark their entrance into the higher circles of shamanism.
Ashling, a white rabbit with black hair turned to look at the moon once more, her cloak barely moving in the wind. “You have been communing with the essence of things. Have you found a spirit that you wish to contact?”
“Yes, I have found one called Farkhen, an earth elemental of the Carega foothills.”
She closed her eyes and gave a slight nod. “Then go, Karo, and call it to you. I will watch from afar.”
Karo, a grey wolf clad in the tartan of his clan, gave a quick bow to his mentor before turning around and entering the stone circle. As he came behind the standing stones, it was as if the sounds of the night died off, leaving only the pale rays of moonlight to pattern the ground and rocks. It was as if the stillness opened the senses for what lied underneath the veil of the world.
He came to a hold at the middle of the circle. Taking in the surroundings, the Lykin opened his bag containing his tools and components and soon began to drawing a summoning circle on the ground. In the middle of the process he stopped, unsecure of how to proceed.
Sending a quick glance back to his mentor, he erased a part of the inner triangle and filled it out with other markings. After long moments of correcting the circle, he was finally standing above a vast pattern of circles, triangles, pentagrams, ogham and other symbols.
After looking over the summoning circle a few times, reached the edge of it and takes a seat cross-legged, his chalice in both of his hands. As he relaxes he can feel the energies of the circle rising. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
“Alright, this is it. Time to make Ashling proud.”
His opens his eyes and a faint glow of blue fire shines from them as he begins to chant in long, deep words. As he concentrates, a blue frame appears in his chalice and the same blue light starts to ray out from the circle as well. After minutes of chanting the light starts to fade and now gloves faintly in the outline of the symbols.
“Farkhen, kindred of earth, aspect of Carega. I call upon thee by the law of the first age to come to me. I seek to offer a pact of kindred benefit.”
The circle begins to pulse unevenly and the flame in the chalice begins to flicker. Karo frowns. This was not supposed to happen. Concentrating on bringing the spiritual energy back into balance, he calls again. “I seek thee to be my Threshold Guardian. Bestow me with this honor, and I shall bestow thee with an offer.” The flame in the chalice starts to take on a bronze hue and a stocky shape is beginning to emerge in the circle. Karo let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you. In accordance to the code, I will hereb-“ The light of the flame and circle began to flicker and change color. From a golden bronze hue it took on a dark red glow. The summoned silhouette began to disappear. “…Farkhen?”
A crash broke the silence and the flame began to blaze wildly. Another crash, louder than before, sent a freezing shockwave from the center of the circle. The young Lykin did his best to regain control of the summoning circle as something began to break though. “Who go there?” He called as he forced the energies back. The glow of the circle began to die out and as Karo thought of the incidence to be over, a third crash forced him to let go of the chalice and cover up his ears.
The shockwave knocked him onto this back. As he came back up, he saw that everything inside of the stone circle was bathed in dark-red light, all illuminated from the black crack in the air that had opened up the centered in the summoning circle. Red smoke oozed unnaturally onto the ground inside of the circle.
As Karo watched in disbelief, a murder of crows exited the crack before it closed with a wheezing sound. The crows flew around inside of the summoning circle, much like wild birds in a cage, before they grew together to form a body. Soon it had taken the appearance of a black a wolf, a Lykin in appearance. He was wearing a dark grey silk vest, embroiled with the motives of ravens. The spirit’s legs disappeared under the heavy black cloak, clad in black feathers. Its eyes were onyx and on its cheeks and temples spawned fissures that illuminated red smoke.
The demon looked directly at Karo and spawned a large fanged smile. “Good evening, Karoteigh. I’m here to take you on your offer. I will be your…” He smirked, tasting the word. “Threshold guardian, as you so poetically entitled it.”
Karo did not believe the sight in front of him. “Y-you’re not Farkhen. You’re not supposed to be here.” The demon blinked, and then a show of examining the circle around him. “You did a poor job preventing other spirits from entering the circle then. Look.” A clawed finger outlined a section of the summoning circle. “Here’s where you choose the name of the specific spirit you want to summon. However, see the broken line there? This means that as soon as a spirit has a familiar name, it can enter the circle, you willing it or not.”
Karo did his best to control himself. One thing was that he had made a mistake; another was to have it rubbed in by something with an attitude. “Well, what is your name then?” The demon smiled at him as it felt the frustration oozing from the words. “Ah, yes, where are my manners?” It straighten up and bowed in a very gentleman way. “Feri’cvez, at your service, sir.” Karo smirked back. “Well Feri’cvaz, I will have to ask you to leave. As summoner of this circle, I command you to leave the circle and return to the place from which you came from.
The demon narrowed an eye. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. For one, I have taken a liking in you, lad. I sense that you have a great destiny ahead of you, and I want to be part of that. Your fate is destined for greatness. It’s too… tempting to just let you go.” He came closer toward Karo, though he remained inside the circle.
“Second, I won’t go back, for you cannot order me to go. The same mistake that couldn’t keep me out is the same that can’t force me to disappear. However, I will grant you one thing. I’ll leave the circle, which brings me to the third thing. You have been trained to handle elementals, not demons. And so…” Feri’cvez took a step forward and was now outside the circle. There were no less than a foot between them. “…Your binding circle cannot hold me. “
Karo jumped up in surprise. “H-how…” The demon smirked. “A rookie mistake. Trust me; you are not the first one to forget the basics.” He began to circle around the fear-ridden wolf. Feri’cvez trembled as he tasted it in the air. “Ahh, fear. Delicious. It’s a strong feeling, is it not? It can break even the strongest of men and force warriors to run from their foe, spreading panic down the ranks. Wars have been started and ended because of fear. Fear is… what holds mortals from achieving their greatest goals here in life. It’s a great weapon to hold someone down”
The demon stopped behind Karo and placed his clawed hands on the shaman’s shoulders. Karo could feel the heat from the fissures as the demon lowered its head to be on the right side of his. “That is my offer. I will become your summoning, your spirit. I will strike fear into all who oppose you. I will let them fear the consequences of messing with you and your close ones. You and all that you hold dear. You. Will. Be. Untouchable.”
He repositioned his head to Karo’s left. “And you will be granted a gift, one that is sought by many. You will understand fear, and it will understand you. You will never feel frightened again; no one will be able to keep you down. You will be immune. You will be powerful. You will be free.”
As the demon straighten up above him, it gave his shoulders a soft squeeze. In that moment, Karo felt his senses being taken away. In the next moment he was standing in the mist. Everything was grey and silent. He called out but he could not hear his own voice. He tried to walk, but did not move. The ground felt soft beneath him. As he looked down, the scene changed rapidly and the mist was replaced by a battlefield, sprayed with the fallen and slain.
Broken spears, banners and dead trees broke the horizon. He was standing knee deep in the dead and dying, the blood soaking his paws and kilt. Then the smell hit him. It wasn’t the smell of blood he could sense, it was something else. It was cold, but sweet. It almost smelled like… fear?
As much as the sights and smells messed with him, it could not compare to the sounds. The cries and moans of the dying, the buzzes of flies from the dead... And the ravens. Ravens and crows. The sounds of flesh being ripped, the screams of agony as the living was eaten alive and their bones picked clean. He turned around and tried to run, run from the mess that picked at his senses, run from what felt disturbingly… peasant.
That was when he saw it. The dark shadow standing on a hill of corpses, with an arm lifted as it sends out ravens and crows. The shape feasted upon the fear of the dying. It turned around and looked at him. It came closer with heavy steps and even as Karo tried to outrun it, it soon caught up with him. It forced him down into the soil, standing with a heavy clawed paw at his neck. And as Karo looked up into its face, he saw Feri’cvez. His eyes were wild. “There is nothing like the fear of the dying. The desperate feeling of freight and panic that cripples you.”
Feri’cvez lowers his head, his voice caring. “I am not cruel, I do not kill. I did not kill these men and women. I merely feast upon their fear, so that it does not soak the landscape. If I did not feast upon it, these hills would become haunted with ghosts that could not move on. The spirits themselves would be driven mad.” The spirit cock his head, now having a sad tone in his voice. “How can that be cruel? If it was not for me, most of this world would be cursed by unrest and sorrow. It is the fear of death that keeps mortals from killing one another. I keep the world whole.”
Karo broke eye contact and looked at the carnage around him. That’s when he noticed. Around him, among the dead and dying, he saw those he cared for. He saw his parents, his siblings, members of his family and clan. Friends he had yet to meet. He saw Ashling, he saw the other shamans being trained alongside him. He saw…
With a cry Karo forced himself back to the real world. As he opened his eyes he found himself lie on the ground. As he looked up he could see Feri’cvez staring at him with a genuine look of worry in his eyes. “You had me worried there, lad. Nightmares? I can help you by removing them.” Karo quickly got up. “I Command you do go, demon! I am not interested in any deal with you. Go, you will find no trade here.”
Feri’cvez sighed. “As I have already told you, I will not leave. Your fate is too rare, too great to simply ignore! You are not strong enough to resist me, Lad. I will be your summoning, to that there are no doubt. I would recommend that you accept my offer, while it still stands. Otherwise… I have to ‘persuade’ you.”
The demon raised his arms and a black mass of ravens flew out and began to encircle Karo. He could feel how it ran coldly down his spine, and in that moment he realized that Feri’cvez was right; He had no chance to stand against a demon that powerful.
Karo trembled as he turned toward the circle and chanted once more. “I summon you to come to my aid, Fark-nngh!!“ The shaman was cut short by a wave of red dripping smoke that choked him. “That primitive rock will not come to help you; he knows he cannot defeat me!” Feri’cvez laughed. His laughter sounded like the hoarse scream of multiple ravens. Karo felt limb as he was overwhelmed by the power opposing him, but he did not give up. After multiple failed attempts he forced himself to chant one last time. “I... I call upon… F-fa…’eg.. Eeeeeen…” He fell to his back, exhausted.
“Why go through this? You are so close to gain immunity from this. I will never be able to do this toward you again; you will have absolute power over…” Feri’cvez was cut short by the light in the circle changing from a black red to a burning white. Turning around, the demon saw another spirit exiting the circle. This time it was a large white wolf covered in patterns and aura of white flame. Above its shoulders two burning trinity symbols pulsed calmly.
“An Argai.” Feri’cvez cursed, spitting at the ground. “Leave! This boy is mine, he is ready to accept me offer. Do not interfere. Leave!!” The white spirit ignored the threat and placed herself between Feri’cvez and Karo. As Karo managed to get up into a seating position, the Argai began to rub her head against his arm. Looking up, the Lykin got eye contact with the spirit and in that moment, her intention was made clear to him. “She is here by the same terms as you, Feri’cvez. Her name is Feghwen and she offers to become my first pact, in accordance with to the ceremony. “
Feri’cvez looked in disbelieve. Then he started to shake in anger. The red smoke from his fissures steamed out and engulfed him. Inside this red cloud, his silhouette grew and became more bestial. “Curse you bitch!! You had no right to interfere! I answered his call, I gave the first offer. This boy belongs to me!!”
A black aura lashed out against Feghwen. In response the trinity symbols of the Argai pulsed quicker and two lashes of pure white fire countered the attack. Karo got up on his feets. “You’re wrong Feri’cvez. You may have been the first to answer the call, but the decision is mine to take. I choose…”
“Wait!!”
Karo looked at the demon. “Because shamans are supposed to listen to spirits, I will allow you to speak. Make it quick, demon, for my decision is near.”
The demon bowed his head. “I apology if I may have frightened you, summoner, however that was to make a point. As a shaman you will meet demons and angles, elementals and perhaps ghosts. It takes a strong will to handle such things. I offered you to become fearless, and that offer still stands. You were stricken with fear moments ago, and as a shaman you don’t want this to happen. I don’t know what the… Fenrir… have given you of offers, but I want you to consider this:”
He lifted his head and looked Karo directly into the eyes.
“If you choose me, you have nothing to fear. If you choose her, you will not know where I am and what I am doing. It will be your weakness.” He smirked. “It’s a matter of how much you want to… control you fate.”
Karo hesitated. What the demon said was right. Right now he feared the demon more than anything, and to know it was out there, uncontrolled was an unpleasant thought. Still, he would not submit to threats, not like that. “I have chosen. I choose Feghwen.”
The demon’s reaction surprised Karo. It smiled friendly. As his shape turned back to its Lykin form, Feri’cvez corrected his vest and cloak. “Very well then, I will be off. Can’t say I approve of your decision, but the consequences will be on you.”
He sent Karo a casual look. “Just remember this, Karoteigh, son of Tegew. Before the cycle of the Zodiac begins anew, I will have you as my summoner. Not even the presence of that bi... I mean Feghwen, will change that. Some day Karo, you will outgrow your Feeding cloth. And when you do, you will seek me out yourself.”
With that the demon dissolved into a murder of crows that flew around the stone circle until the crack appeared again. When the last crow had left entered the gaping hole in the air, it closed with a faint laugher.
On the other side of the standing stones was Ashling. She had seen everything that had happened, and as she had promised she had not interfered. She gave out a long sigh. “Demons and angles. You will not have an easy life ahead of yourself, Karo.”
Category Story / Miscellaneous
Species Wolf
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