{"id":2106,"date":"2012-01-04T15:52:32","date_gmt":"2012-01-04T15:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/?p=2106"},"modified":"2022-01-11T16:52:58","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T16:52:58","slug":"a-ritual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/stories\/demons\/a-ritual\/","title":{"rendered":"A Ritual"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The snow was pouring down and the both of them were soaked, though Tanith did not know if the demon could even feel the cold anymore.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He certainly wasn’t very solid anymore, and at times her hands went right through him.<\/p>\n

There was no more time and still no word from Khepre.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Either they had arrived in complete silence, or Tanith had been too absorbed in her worries to notice, but the last hope had arrived.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“Finally, what took you s— You!?”
\n[I believe I told I would recruit his help.] Khepre spoke calmly.<\/p>\n

He’d said ‘nephew’, but Tanith had never realized it would be this boy.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“Can he do this?” she asked suspiciously.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“Hey–” Nion began, but was cut short by his uncle;<\/p>\n

[He is capable, and I do not think I could do this alone even if I wished to.]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Resigned, the younger demon spoke again,”Can we just do this? It’s wet out here.”<\/p>\n

The snowfall had made not only the trip unpleasant but would also most likely hinder the spell.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

[Yes… we need you to move him over here] the elder demon instructed Tanith.<\/p>\n

She got up slowly and did as she was told without argument, for time was running out.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

[And stay back, you do not want to be in the middle of this.]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Nion stood over the dying demon, holding the orb they’d brought with them.<\/p>\n

“And stay quiet, this requires a deal of concentration.”
\nIt would be the hardest thing he had ever done.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“Are you sure this will work? What if the magics aren’t strong enough?”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“The strength’s not the problem. This power would animate the dead.” It wasn’t something Nion would ever want to be inserted into himself, but then again Llyr was different; he was a creature born from powers like these. Although, even he had probably never handled anything quite so raw.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“Then what…”
\n[I believe I told you this could make a monster out of him. It will be up to you to keep him calm once he wakes up, for we will leave as soon as this is done. And I suggest you do the same; this can not go unnoticed by the Hunter.]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

[Somnion, the orb.] the demon pointed down.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tanith slid down to the ground: she felt helpless. There truly was nothing she could do.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The younger demon placed the orb on Llyr’s chest, and not surprisingly it did not take on a color. He was so empty there was nothing for it to reflect.<\/p>\n

[Shall we begin] he was not asking.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Nion spread out his arms and concentrated on the spell pattern they’d agreed on.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And Khepre did the same.<\/p>\n

It was a complicated double layered pattern that would need to be immaculate before it was put through the orb or it could backlash at them both. This was a test to them both, as their minds had to be perfectly attuned to be able to weave the patterns together.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As they tediously crafted the image in their mind, line by line, it materialized.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tanith tensed herself as she saw the patterns for the first time. She had no understanding of magics and had no idea whether this was at all what it was supposed to be. It was both complicated and beautiful and yet filled her with dread.<\/p>\n

[Slowly now…]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The demons pushed their combined mind to their limit and activated the circle.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The orb absorbed the spell and began pulsing.<\/p>\n

Somnion exhaled in amazement. He’d never felt anything like it, and this was only the beginning.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

One spellcaster called forth the power of heavens…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

…and the other called the power of earth.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As the activated spell began pulling power into the conduit, Somnion felt his arm go aflame again and he had to refrain from crying from pain that was far worse than the first time he’d felt it.<\/p>\n

This time, however the pain was limited only to his right arm, as they both had cast a protection from magic on themselves to not get sucked in as well. He felt as though his arm would get ripped to shreds, while the rest of his body was immune.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The orb absorbed any and all magic it could touch and even powers that had been dormant for millenia. An immense power began building up inside it, getting ready to be released.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And as the spell reached its limit, the orb flashed bright.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tanith covered her eyes as the light threatened to blind her.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It only lasted a moment but the surge of energy had pushed both demons back.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tanith blinked.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“Wow…”<\/p>\n

He was so relieved the pain was gone he forgot to check his arm.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“The orb’s gone dark…”<\/p>\n

It worked, didn’t it?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“What does that mean? And did I see something come out of your hand just now?”<\/p>\n

[Somnion?] the elder demon inquired.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“Ah…” he lifted up his hand and examined it; “It’s normal again… it all came out.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

[Good. It is done and we are leaving.]
\n“Don’t ignore me! Did it work!?”<\/p>\n

[We leave the rest to you, Scyther Wielder.]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The demon waved his hand, spoke a muttered word and dissappeared.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tanith’s eyes turned to the demon lying on the ground.<\/p>\n

“Llyr…?”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The snow was pouring down and the both of them were soaked, though Tanith did not know if the demon could even feel the cold anymore. He certainly wasn’t very solid anymore, and at times her hands went right through him. There was no more time and still no word from Khepre. Either they had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-demons"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/st129_06.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2106"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2109,"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106\/revisions\/2109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dimensiondolls.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}