Chapter 4: The Summoning

Somewhere in the capital city of Mendelos, it was already past ten on that cold evening, in an abandoned house just on the corner of the slum district, five hooded men had gathered. They all wear bone white masks to hide their identities from each other.

"Shall we begin?" Said one who wears a mask resembling a screaming ghost as he strides around the circle carefully examining everyone present.

"Everything seems to be in order, we can finally start the summoning." He then takes a small amber stone from one of the many secret pockets lining his black robes.

Walking towards the center of the circle, the Ghost-mask places the small amber on top of a circular altar. The light of the torches barely illuminates the dark room, giving it a more eerie feeling instead of providing light.

One of the masked men, this time one who wears a Goat-mask, pulls a dagger from a sheath in his belt. Slowly and with utmost care, he proceeds to cut open it's right palm, making sure the blood dripping from it falls directly on top of the amber stone.

Droplets of blood fall on the amber stone, it quickly sizzles like water in a pan of hot oil.

"Tis done"

The Goat-mask proclaimed as he started to bandage his cut hand with a clean white linen cloth. Seemingly unperturbed, he quietly returned back to his place within the circle, giving the slightest nod to one wearing the ghost mask.

The Ghost-mask starts the incantation of the summoning. The deep hum of the spell reverberated throughout the dark room.

One by one, the masked people joined in the hum, first was the Goat-mask. Dog-mask proceeded to follow on the right side, the Owl-mask started humming, matching the tone with the Dog-mask, and as if rising to a crescendo, the Lion-mask bellowed a thunderous hum that finally completed the summoning spell.

Sweat trickled from their foreheads, both from the humidity and the anxiety, invisible to the naked eye, as it's under the masks they are wearing, the hooded masked people waited in silence and anticipation, trembling with fear... or is it excitement?

None of them could tell if the summoning was a success, as they went behind the back of their leader, stealing the amber stone, hoping to control a primordial for their own personal purposes. If done right, they would have gained a powerful servant, but if it failed... not only would they be killed by the summon, it may well destroy the very kingdom… if not even the entire world.

A small wisp of blue smoke started swirling from the amber stone, slowly growing as it lazily rose in a spiral pattern, growing as it twisted and turned, pulsating and pounding like an ethereal heart.

*Badump, badump*

The heartbeat of the masked people can be heard in the stillness of the dark room curiously matching the rhythm of the ethereal heart as the blue smoke continues to grow and swirl, indicating that they were indeed successful in summoning a primordial… The only question is, can they control it?

"Ready the geas spell to bind the summon…" said the man in the Lion mask, handing the ghost mask an ancient scroll of binding.

Slowly the blue smoke started to condense, and formed into a shape... a humanoid shape, but with a difference. The form started to look distinct, the masked men also trembled with anticipation, all fear that they had at the beginning had changed into a feeling of excitement.

"Ku,ku…" giggled Ghost-mask, as he tried to suppress a cry of joy for the seeming success of the summoning, he unrolled a scroll and began the binding of the geas.

The blue smoke continued to condense and took shape, by now it can be distinctly assumed to be in a female form. First thing they noticed is the height, it seemed that it stands at around five feet tall.

The body structure is slim... but well toned, slowly the skin started to be less translucent and look more light and pale. The hair started to grow long, going down to those slender hips then started to give a pinkish hue and curling like a drill at the tips.

Almond eyes taking shape, with golden irises now clearly visible even in the darkness of the room. The face was truly a beauty to behold, a maiden at the bloom of her youth, looking about in her late teens yet undeniable power emanated from her very core.

The masked people can only stare in awe at such magnificent beauty, but they were also frozen stiff in their places, unable to move, not because of any spells but by the terrible aura that the summoned being is quietly radiating; calming yet terrible. From the back of the girl, two wings started to grow, with feathers white and pure as the first snows of winter.

"An Angel! We had successfully summoned an Angel!" Goat-mask shouted with elation, all fears have been overpowered with joy of their success.

Angels ranked as one of the highest among the primordials, their strength is said to be on the level of the gods, they are almost impossible to be beaten.

Only one person was successful in doing so, a High Balekon named Sinante Bluewing.

Five hundred years ago, he defeated the Angel Tarmora during the Godsbane wars. A war where the Angel overlord Tarmora along with her primordial allies waged against humanity.

First it was dark, then slowly her eyes adjusted to the gloom... she can now faintly see five people wearing absurd looking clothes. At first she thought they were demons, but she realises that they were humans based on the mana they were emitting.

"Must be masks" she thought.

"Not very good ones at that… does these people realise how silly they look? A goat… really? Pffft!"

The Angel suppresses a giggle, which looked very cute to the masked people looking at her that you can almost swear they were blushing underneath the mask. Slowly but surely, her physical form is starting to solidify, and taking a more permanent state.

"This is truly a marvel to behold, never in my life have I dreamed of seeing something so glorious as this." The Lion mask told the one wearing the dog mask.

"Aye indeed!" Replied the Dog-mask as he slowly reached for a hidden spell scroll from its cloak, just to be ready if things go south.

Dog-mask has always been the most cautious of the group and doesn't take chances on things that he is uncertain of.

"Better ready than not, I always say" he mutters.

The body of the Angel is finally complete, the summoning was a resounding success.

"Speak thy name oh Angel and bow down to your masters who summoned you from the abyssal plains!"

Ghost-mask proclaimed as he took the amber stone and held it up for the Angel to see, showing her that it holds its essence in its hands and has the power to destroy her body on a whim.

"Foolish mortals, thinking I can be controlled… fufufu… they are in for a surprise then" the Angel thought to herself with a blank face so that these foolish mortals won't have any suspicions on what she planned to do.

"They are all going to be dead before this day is over…"

The angel liked that idea.

Ghost-mask started the incantation of binding the geas.

"Dum shalla al zum emara et!" He then looked at the angel holding the amber stone.

"Your name angel?"

The angel stood still, her face devoid of any emotions.

"I repeat, tell us your name Angel and b--"

Ghost mask suddenly ran out of breath for some reason, a puzzled look formed on his face as it looked at a hole in his chest where his heart was.

With a silent sigh, he collapsed dead even before he hit the floor.

Before any of his companions could react or even realize what was happening, Lion-mask's head flew out in the air, a spray of blood gushing out from his neck like an angry fountain.

Owl-mask saw its stomach bursting and its intestine falling from the wound, he tried to grab them and put them back in.

"This is not happening, this is not happening" Owl-mask cried in disbelief, then all he saw was the darkness of death.

Goat-mask can only scream as his body was torn into eight pieces and his blood painted half of the room in crimson.

Dog-mask, for all his caution, was barely able to chant the incantation to activate his powerful spell, when he felt his tongue get ripped out from his mouth, he choked on his own blood dying from asphyxiation. All it took was three seconds for the Angel to kill her "masters".

"Hmmm, what's this… I feel a presence that I haven't felt for so long. A familiar feeling. I wonder how long my banishment lasted?" The angel paused to think, but shrugged as she decided not to overthink such mundane things.

"Oh well, I have all the time in the world now."

The Angel then took one of those absurd robes the masked men were wearing, the Dog-mask has the robe that is less damaged and less dirty.

"Fu fu, so you are in the south then, my dear Sinante, you will feel my wrath after what you did to me. I will hunt you even at the ends of the world!"

With a grim face and inextinguishable anger, Tarmora stepped out of the abandoned house and into the city night, looking once again at the stars in the sky after five hundred years.

Spreading her majestic wings, she flew into the sky, in the direction of her object of vengeance.



© BugiAvila