Smoke poured from his mouth, nostrils, and ears. It even came from his eyes, emitting from the tear ducts, yet oddly spread out in front of him to not impede his vision. I've done it! He thought with great excitement. In Molt's wood, about five leagues away from the city of Ilospia, the thirteen-year-old achieved what most Salaxi have done at his age. My familiar! At last, I've summoned it. The smoke floated above him, it's color fluctuating. Rose to moss, slate to canary, crimson to cerulean. As Malex marveled at his demon, it coagulated and took shape. Please, be something strong and amazing.
In the nation of Ozmia, the numerous cities rarely saw peace. Greater cities fought against each other over rural areas there power extended to. Families fought amongst themselves for control over their cities. It was the Salaxi, those with the gift of summoning a familiar, a magical creature that existed beyond the realm of men, in an outside plane that is referred to as behind the Black Veil, who held the real power. Of all the families in the little city of Ilospia, Malex's family had never been taken seriously, due to the weak nature of their familiars. In fact, they were an embarrassment to the other Salaxi. His grandfather, Josah, may have had the most uninteresting and the weakest familiar of the city: A worm. A nightcrawler. That was the best the Black Veil had to offer him. While the other families fought and exhibited their might to show how fit they were to rule over Ilospia, Josah Ghaldia, and the rest of his family, for that matter, could only sit by in humility, always in the shadows of better Salaxi. What chance does an earthworm have against eight-headed lizard kings with fire in their breath and brightly-feathered raptors with teeth and claws as sharp and long as great swords?
However, it is believed that one Salaxi, in the Ghaldia family, had a familiar that would bring all the cities of the nation to its knees. Though this was centuries past, and furthermore, with such long streak of disappointment and humiliation regarding such weak familiars, many began to doubt the powerful Salaxi was indeed a Ghaldia.
But today, Malex Ghaldia hoped to remind them all the greatness the Ghaldia family possessed. However, Josah had always warned his son and grandson that there was a reason the Ghaldia Family had weak familiars: They were a cursed bloodline. The familiars they had were weak, not because of ill luck, but because they chose them. When a Salaxi chooses a familiar, there mind and soul merge, but the Salaxi must have a will stronger than their familiar's, otherwise the familiar takes over the Salaxi. Yes, this one's power is great, thought Malex as his heart pounded, I must keep it dominated, lest I lose myself to it. It was like how one would tame a wild horse, his grandfather had put it succinctly, though this was more dangerous, even more so regarding the curse. The curse rendered their wills weak against familiars of average strength, yet they had the rare ability to reach with the greatest ones. Maybe this was because the greatest ones knew this weakness. And so, the Ghaldia family aimed low when it came time to choose. It was nothing but familiars close to insects and farm animals for the Ghaldia family.
But Malex did not listen to his grandfather. The power, the greatness, Malex wanted it. He desired nothing more. Eating stale bread and peeling the corruption of old fruit to keep his stomach full. Going to the city to beg and watching the wealthy show-off their own fiery beasts as everyone fawned at their beauty was something he could no longer bear. No more sleeping in piles of hay. No more laughter. Ghaldia will rule Ilopsia.
Yet there was laughter, not from those who shunned him and his kin, but from the cloud of smoke. It had the body of a man, muscular and huge. His body was the color of charcoal embellished with swirls of wine. His arms were like the trunks of mighty oaks and banded with golden bands with purple gems in them decorated his upper arms. Its fingernail were sharp and cruel, more like the claws of some feral cat. White, brilliant fire spewed form where the neck would be, as if there was a brazier in its chest that burned for millennia. And in that roaring inferno was the skull of a bull, though it was made out of gold.
Malex's head was pounding. He couldn't keep his thoughts straight. He focused himself and tried his best to talk to familiar.
"You... will obey." Malex said weakly.
The familiar laughed even more, an ethereal echo that emitted from the great white flame. "You know not who you speak to, child." It chided, "But since you are the Salaxi who brought me into this world, I will tell you.
I can't control it. Such power. Its no use. All around Malex, the life around him did not just die; it eroded. The grass and leaves turned white and became like salt. Branches coiled and fell form their trunks.
"It is I, Ahriman, father of all demons."
"I summoned you, your my familiar?" Was my desire that great? Thought Malex So great as to summon the First Demon? A great wave of cold overtook him, and Malex grimaced in pain. Above, thought it was midday, the night sky began to show through the sky, as if the blue was a fabric, being torn to reveal the stars beneath. The sun began to yield its light as well, betraying its schedule.
"You dare refer to me as your familiar? Have you no heard what I have told you? I shall not be a slave, Salaxi." A force lifted the naive summoner, bringing him face to face with the demon. The white flames did not scorch Malex, but rather made him numb with it's intense chill. "And now, nor will any of my children."
Cold, thought the little summoner, So cold...
And thus the Days of Endless Night began.
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