We Learn from the Book

The new Guild members dove into a frenzy to find their Grimoire. No-one ended up wanting the same book as another, but they all wanted to be there to get the first choice, years of experience in academic libraries kicking in. They hurried on to perform the binding spell. They all needed Will's help at one stage, mostly with drawing on their energy. The young blonde was the first to finish, and he summoned a fire demon from the Ifrit clan. Its name was Ignel. Will offered him a copy of the Scholar's vow and they completed the contract. Ignel made some verbal jabs at Angelo, but the boy quickly yanked on his bond with the creature and it went silent.

"How did you do that, Mike?" Will was incredulous.

"I felt the same kind of energy in the book as I used to complete the spell, so I just sucked up a load of it in preparation to stop Ignel. I guess in doing so I stopped him anyway."

"You're going to be a quick study, Michael." Angelo praised him. Mike swiftly became a tutor to the other new Guild members, guiding them through the process and helping them deal with any unruly demon servants. James was the next to finish his contract, and his demon was a stunning succubus named Lily. Angelo was surprised when she turned out to be a timid beauty rather than a predatory sex object. She revealed that she had been having similar issues with her family as Angelo. She had been suffering from feelings for her victims and not wanting to hurt them, and her sister especially had been particularly cruel and antagonistic of her because of it. James sat comforting her for a while before reciting the vow.

"That's not fair. I could never even think of taking advantage of her. She's too innocent." James whispered to Will, who smiled at him.

"You'll be a great team." Will set them to the task of learning their first defensive magic.

A few breakthroughs later and David finished his contract. Everyone around him looked on in terror as he summoned a demon from the Beelzebub clan. When a tiny imp named Bob hopped out and started his playground bullying of the humans, that fear turned into amusement. Bob began throwing fireballs at those who were laughing hardest, until Mike finally taught David how to keep him under control. One of the rich kids summoned a fairy demon and another a crystalline demon, and the senior representative summoned a demon from the Spectral clan which turned out to be the corrupted spirit of a medieval knight. The other senior drew massive attention when he finally made his contract with a beautiful feathered bird demon, shimmering with opalescent colours. The other five demons were nondescript, unnoticed as they were summoned between the impressive ones. A guy called Fred was happy to find that his demon was friendly, but everyone else sulked a little at not standing out. Once the senior with the bird demon, Solomon, had completed his contract, a tall man wearing a black trench coat with matching bowler hat - complete with greasy black hair hanging out - walked into the room. His ring-infested hand was posed on top of the hat and he moved with an unsettling swagger. The room went silent.

"I see you've caught my prey. I was hunting that bird demon when it suddenly disappeared. I tracked its signature down here and, what do you know? The Scholar's Guild is getting back in the game, ready to take my job off my hands. I'm Jonas, by the way." He extended a hand in greeting, which no-one willingly shook.

"We're getting our Grimoires today, but we still don't know how to fight or even what we're supposed to be doing. I'm the closest thing we have to a leader I guess, and I only made my Grimoire yesterday." Will replied, accepting his greeting begrudgingly. Lucas laughed.

"Of course. The Scholars were wiped out. I should have expected them to leave some kind of legacy, but it makes total sense that you guys don't have a clue. The Scholars were the Magus Guild that oversaw the UK. I'm from the Scandinavian Guild, the Assassins. Unlike the Scholars, we don't operate in the ordinary world at all, meaning our excess members became free to relieve the Scholars' duties when they were crushed. Our duties as Magi are to hunt demons that are causing death and destruction in the Ordinary world.

"I'll allow you all a month to get up to speed, then I'm moving out to a smaller area. I won't let you keep me waiting longer than's fair." Will panicked a little.

"Could you at least help us learn what's most important then? We literally have zero clue where to start."

"You seem to have already started in the best place. And your demon servants will know what spells are best suited for their individual skillsets. My time is better spent doing your job and keeping the county safe."

"Come on, the smoother our training goes, the sooner you can go home. Would it not also be in your interests to see that we're on the fast track? We can assist you on hunts as part of our training too." Jonas thought for a while, then nodded.

"Okay. You've proven yourself to be a leader worthy of the legacy left by your predecessor. I will help you rebuild the guild. But I'll ask you to attempt some recruitment from the Ordinaries, and teach those in the traditional way yourselves. This group will remain an elite force that will defend the hideout here and respond to only the most dangerous threats outside of the city for the rest of their lives."

"Deal. Let's get back to training then, Scholars!"