Eldritch Guidance

Intermission V

Somewhere on the eastern continent, in a cave, a man holding a book was standing around a circle with ancient runes carved around it.

The man was named Wen, a disgraced soldier from the Dragon Empire. Accused by his superiors for a crime, he was cast out from the army and sentenced to death. He managed to escape and fled the capital city, hiding himself in the wilds.

For over a year now he had lived in this cave, plotting his eventual revenge. When he found this place, a bunch of supplies were abandoned in it. The kind of supplies stored here suggested to Wen that this was once a safe house for a cult.

He wasn't sure which cult it belonged to, but he could recognize the various types of objects and contraband stored there. Wen's time as a soldier taught him about the kinds of goods cults like to smuggle and what he needed to watch out for, it was all the same goods that were currently stored in this cave.

Wen already felt lucky to find an abandoned safehouse to hide in, but he felt extra fortunate for what he found in it. It was something he didn't think he would find in a million years. He had found a book of Demon Summoning.

All knowledge of such rituals was thought lost, but in his hands contained the knowledge of how to summon a powerful demon, and how to bind it to himself. All he needed to do was make a deal with the entity mentioned in the book, and he would gain power. The power he planned to use against those who wronged him.

Wen began chanting an incantation.

Wen: "Noga bah, vorta. Xizixyla, hear my call!" he yelled out.

He had completed the ritual, yet nothing happened.

Wen: "Damn it! What am I doing wrong!?" he yelled out in frustration.

This wasn't the first time he performed this ritual. Wen had performed the ritual four times now and nothing happened. He did exactly everything the book said to do, so he didn't understand why it wasn't working.

Wen: "I don't care if I have to do this a thousand times. I'll keep doing it until I summon you!" he yelled, while throwing the book of demon summoning in frustration.

As if responding to the book being thrown on the ground, the ritual circle started to glow an emerald light. Wen's eyes lit up in excitement at seeing this.

Suddenly, out of thin air in the center of the ritual circle, a floating emerald ball of fire the size of a watermelon appeared. It had an otherworld glow to it and pulsed as an inhuman voice spoke through it.

Demon: "Pathetic mortal! Why do you call me!" the entity said, as the flames flickered.

Wen was surprised, confused, and excited. The ritual finally worked, but something was off about it. He had performed a demon summoning ritual, yet what he saw looked more like a demon communion ritual the book mentions, a ritual only meant to talk to the demon. Wen wanted to bring the demon's physical form into this reality, so that he could sign a blood pact.

Wen: "Lord Xizixyla!" he shouted out the demon's name. "I called you to make a contract. But, this foolish summoner is still inexperienced and knows not how to summon you into this world proper. Please impart to me the knowledge to summon you, so that we may make a blood pact."

Xizixyla: "You FOOL!" it yelled, as the ball of fire started burning more intensely. "You have performed the summoning ritual perfectly. I merely do not wish to descend upon your land."

Wen: "You don't wish to descend? What does that mean?"

Xizixyla: "It means I will not allow myself to be summoned, you IDIOT!"