1 Summoning

The room was dimly lit, on a mahogany table sat a white candle flickering ever so slightly from a calm breeze. There was a musky smell in the air, the smell of blood. The floor was made of wood and stained dark brown. In the center of the room, there were markings and the reason for the musky smell. A pentagram was drawn out in blood, small symbols were carved into the wood along the lines of the pentagram and a white candle sat at each point. There was a desk off in the corner and in an organized clutter, various pieces of parchment spread across the top. Directly next to the desk a bookshelf was against the wall to the right.

"Mighty Lord, hear my call!" shouted a young boy, "I summon thee to the land of the living."

The young boy was 14 years of age. His hair was dark brown nearly black in color. It was short in length and just barely fell above his eyes and was the same length all the way around. The skin was a fair color, not tanned but not extremely pale either. The boy had decent muscle tone and looked like he may have worked at a farm while growing up. Altogether he stood at around five foot five.

Immediately after the boy finished his call the calm breeze of the room slowly began to stir. The lights began to violently flicker and soon the lights went out. When the lights went out an abnormal amount of smoke appeared and filled the room. Instantly, the candles relit and the smoke swirled to the middle of the pentagon. As it swirled around a creature started to materialize from the smoke.

The majestic creature appeared nothing like what the young boy would have thought a mighty demon to have looked like. The mighty demon looked as though he could be a god. His jawline was prominent and his skin was of a golden brown color that seemed to glisten in the candlelight. He stood unable to move in the center of the pentagon and towered over the boy at just above 6 feet tall. Long blonde and auburn hair fell just below shoulder length.

"You! What is this madness, why have you summoned me to this realm!" demanded the demon.

Jacob sat there shocked and managed to stammer out "I... I... I wish to acquire kno... Knowledge."

The demon sat there and a small grin crept across his face. He bellowed out a laugh that quickly filled the room. His laughter slowly quieted down; while still laughing and slightly under his breath with a humpft the demon said: "Boy, you are the first one to ever summon me and not ask for power or to have someone killed."

The demon steadied his voice and continued "I am Zealous, a greater demon from the realms. You obviously have some magical talent to be able to summon one of my likes at such a young age. I have been bored and you have raised my interest so I will assist you in this quest of yours for knowledge."

Jacob got a huge smile on his face and quickly replied "Thank you great Zealous! All I've wanted is to further my magical studies and learn more but everyone tells me I'm not ready!"

Pausing for a second and starting to feel more comfortable Jacob confidently continues "All of the Archons believe I'm behind in my studies but really I'm just bored with what they teach."

The demon looked around the room and then back to the boy and stated flatly, "Just call me Zealous, no need to be so formal." He then tilted his head a little to the side and began to ask, "Tell me boy, what do you plan on doing with me? You know I can't just sit here in this pentagram all day and you won't be able to summon me specifically every time as the results can vary. To be honest I'm not sure if you could even successfully cast this spell again with the knowledge you currently have. You were lucky to get me and not some other demon, they might not be as lenient with you as I have and am currently being right now. So I say again, what do you plan on doing with me?"

Jacob sat there puzzled as he didn't think of this before. He just thought of summoning a demon to ask him questions, yet, this demon was insinuating that there is more he could do. He sat there and pondered everything he has learned, wondering what he could do.

Zealous noticed him not doing anything so he gestured for the young boy to look at him and said, "Boy, if you would like me to assist I can."

"I've always been told never to trust demons though!" replied Jacob.

"It's true, several times have mages or magically adept individuals summoned demons and have been tricked, although the results varied person to person. Some would be transformed, others have had their bodies possessed and taken over. Unfortunately, most of the time the individuals whom attempted the ritual would be killed by the demon. Most demons would simply not like the one who summoned them. Many times the one who summoned the demon would be too weak after the ritual, leaving themselves defenseless. This would always result badly and the demon would simply kill the practitioner so they could return to their own realm."

Zealous got a stern face and looked directly into Jacobs's eyes and began to say, "I will not take control of you, transmorph you, or eat you if that is what you're worried about."

"I know you think me being a demon I would say those words to just end up doing it anyway. Let me be clear, I mentioned that I am a greater demon, doing any of that would be below me. I play no tricks; to be blunt, I simply kill. The only time I would kill is if they are too weak to control me or summoned me for a poor reason. You have intrigued me, out of my thousands of years of existence you are the first to ever summon me for learning and not some mundane task or to gain power. Furthermore, I like how you act, although you are nervous you have no fear. Not often do you find someone without fear."

Jacob put on a serious face and looked directly back into the vibrant eyes of the greater demon and replied, "You know, I trust you Zealous, there is something about the way you speak that you are being truthful and sincere. Please tell me what I can do. I won't be able to keep you in my living quarters; people will be curious as to who you are but I'm sure I could manage something."

Zealous nodded his head in agreement and said, "If you hand me a piece of parchment and a quill I will transcribe the spell you will need." Pausing for a second he continued on, "Mind you, this spell is in an ancient language and has been long forgotten, we will practice it before the actual ritual to mitigate any possible mistakes that can be made."

Across the room, Jacob searched through a desk and located some ink along with the quill and parchment, and as he walked back he asked the demon, "Zealous, if you don't mind me asking, I do trust you, but what is this spell that I am going to cast?"

"I'd expect no less! The spell, in short, will bond us. You will be in possession of your body and mind, I will simply live inside of you. You will be able to feed off my power and you will be able to speak to me in your mind. Your dreams will be your own, your life your own, just think of me as an advisor." replied Zealous.

"So basically you're saying that you can make suggestions but I wouldn't always have to follow them depending on if I feel impartial to the idea. Will I know everything you know and are there any negative effects to me doing this?" asked Jacob

Zealous sat there for a second looking at the ground in deep thought. He slowly looked up and spoke. "As I said, your mind will be your own, you will have your own mind but I will be able to instruct and teach you my knowledge. As for negative effects, there is but one. I will be stuck with you until you die of old age or are killed."