Summoner: Origins - Book 0

Chapter 11

Arcturus had never seen so much green. The ground was coated in thick, sage-colored grass, with mossy tree trunks all around them. Hundreds of feet above, iridescent foliage filtered light from the sky, dappling the shadows with green tinged radiance.

"All demons originate from the ether. Their world is shaped like a giant disk, with a desert known as the deadlands around the edges, and jungle and forests in the outer ring. The center is more mountainous and dangerous, filled with the most powerful demons, volcanoes, great expanses of water and who knows what else. Nobody has ever been more than a few miles from the area we hunt in, but if you were to fly high enough, that is what you would see," Scipio was speaking for Arcturus's benefit, for even Elaine seemed unsurprised by the moving images on the stone.

"Using my mind and what I see in the Oculus, or another scrying stone as the case may be, I am able to control Kali's movements."

Kali's eyes twitched to the nearest tree trunk, then her claws flashed into view as they began to climb. A tiny Mite, almost as small as a normal beetle, crawled from beneath the bark. Elaine gasped as Kali impaled it with one long talon, before spooning it into her mouth. The image juddered as the Felid chomped down.

"Yes, the ether is a brutal place. It's eat or be eaten, and lesser Mites are at the bottom of the food chain. A Scarab Mite, like yours, is not though. I feed her well, but Kali does like a taste of her old diet," Scipio joked, though Elaine's expression remained grim and defiant.

"Stay away from Valens," she hissed at the stone.

Kali continued her climb, occasionally glancing around to make sure the coast was clear. It seemed strange to Arcturus that such a large, powerful creature was so wary of her surroundings, and he wondered what manner of creatures could be a threat to a Felid.

He didn't have to wait long. Kali broke through the canopy, the Oculus's image flashing briefly as the Felid's eyes adjusted to the new light.

The treeline seemed to stretch endlessly ahead, broken only by jagged mountains and the occasional clearing, like reefs and trenches in a sea of green. Each mountain top smouldered, sending slow moving pillars of smoke reaching into the heavens before dissipating into a pall of ash that filled the cloudless sky. Arcturus could see no sun, or moon to speak of, just an orange glow that reminded him of dusk on a summer's day.

As Kali's eyes adjusted further, Arcturus could see swarms of creatures, too far away to make out, forming and reforming in the sky, while larger dots hovered above them, waiting for an opportunity to strike. A Scarab Mite, its carapace cerulean blue, flitted across Kali's vision.

In the distance, Arcturus saw a herd of creatures making their way through the trees. They had the same long necks and large bodies as giraffes but with thicker limbs and a head that reminded Arcturus of a horse's or camel's. Their short fur was grey, mottled with black patches.

"Looks like the Indrik herds are on the move," Scipio said, pointing at them on the stone. "Far too big to be practical as a summoner's demon, but I always love to see them."

They watched for a moment longer, as the Indriks made short work of the tree line around them. Judging by the size of the trees, they must have been as tall as ten men, standing on each other's shoulders.

"We cannot stay too long. Can anyone tell me why?" Scipio asked.

"You can never stay too long in the ether," Edmund said confidently. "There are other demons out there that might eat your own. No matter how powerful it is, there is always something higher up on the food chain. Then there's the fact that your mana levels are dropping every second you keep the portal open. If they run out or you lose concentration, the portal will close and you will lose your demon forever."