Chapter Text
This time it was going to work.
Edelgard had checked the notes hundreds, maybe thousands of times. She corrected the mistakes from before. The lodestones were moved where they needed to be. The runic patterns in the outer ring were painfully, fastidiously inscribed perfectly in the finest, most delicate script she could manage.
The red paint was gone, replaced with swirls and swoops made from real, human blood. Well, partly. Edelgard could only harvest so much from herself, just a few pints in the last week, but she figured it would be just fine mixed with a gallon or two of pig’s blood. It should have been enough.
This time was going to work, she was sure.
There was no light save for what the flickering candles threw upon the cold, concrete walls and floor. Edelgard was dressed only in voluminous blood-red robes, naked underneath for fear of contaminating the ritual. The basement’s chill against her ivory skin made her shiver, but she could bear it, at least for now. She’d endured much worse and more in pursuit of this goal.
She threw the hood back, letting long, white locks flow free before raising her hands in the air.
“I invoke the spirits of wind and magic,” she called to the darkness, “Upon my name and blood, to carry upon their wings this message past Abaddon and the gates, though hounded maw and burning rings. Spirits, deliver my words.”
Slightly, imperceptibly, the hem of her cloak shifted as though in a gentle breeze. She set her jaw and continued.
“I adjure thee, Infernus, I whose blood is bound by bonds of duty a hundred generations gone. I invoke thee by the power of the names, by Adonay, Eloim, Jehovan, Mathim, Pithonae, Salamandrae. I call thee through blood spilled in sacrament, the force of life traded for word and power. By my name, Edelgard von Hresvelg, I command thee, hear my call and serve my will, beasts of hell and forces of perdition. Hear my call!”
As sudden as a lightning flash, the blood runes and shapes of the summoning circle glowed as bright as a crimson moon. Edelgard’s breath caught in her throat and her heart raced.
It was working. She was right!
“I adjure thee, by the name of the Marchioness of the Gate, by the word of Marchosias, answer my call!”
From the ground thin streams of black mist rose and swirled about the center of the circle, clouding so deep that nothing could be seen within save for the orange flash of what could have been embers.
“ Child of Hresvelg ,” a deep, grinding voice rung out, “Cease thy cries, for I am here. But the pact thou callest was marked in blood long since dried and flaked away. What couldst thou ask of me with so little to claim? ”
Edelgard could feel her heart in her ears. She hadn’t expected it to challenge her.
“I-I-I have an accord! A line of service promised to the Hresvelg line!”
“ Aye, an accord sworn to thine ancestor, one already paid in full. What hath I to gain from your deal now? What dost thou offer me? ”
She’d been worried about this. “I…I can make a new deal!”
“I ask thee again, with what? Thine family is reduced in both size and significance. You have no power to give, I have no need for your meager wealth, and you have no way to bear me a fresh sacrament.”
“I…if my plan works…I’ll have power! More than my ancestor offered, and then you’ll be able to ask anything of me. Souls? Wealth? Pleasure? Nothing will be beyond my reach?”
“Oh? And what can thou ask of me to provide such grandeur?”
“A servant. A demon, bound to my will. One powerful enough to wage war in my name.”
“Not a small request, child. What war dost thou wish to wage? Whom has angered though enough to incite such ire?”
“You know about my family? What happened?”
“ Aye .”
“Then you know who I’m fighting.”
“Ah. Not an easy battle to fight, child, and harder yet to win. But how can you promise profit from such an ordeal?”
“You know my family. What we’re capable of, and what we can do. Do you doubt the lengths I will go to see this finished?”
The stone beneath her vibrated and shook, and for a moment she feared the ground would open and swallow her, but then she realized the vibration was the product of deep, thunderous laughter by the demonic voice.
“Centuries since has a mortal dared speak as such to me! A brilliant offer, my dear, but I require security. One year you have to make good upon your end. One year to obtain something that elicits my interest, and, if you fail, I shall take your soul as collateral. Are we agreed?”
Edelgard paused for the slightest of moments, but there was no second choice.
“Deal.”
He laughed again and she could hear wood creaking in the house above.
“Tell me now, child, what demon you wish to bind?”
“A powerful one. One versed in blood and war.”
“ Of course ,” he laughed, “ Power you wish, power you shall receive. Say the words, child, and call the agent of your will. ”
The smoke swirled and billowed, extinguishing the light inside.
“I adjure thee, Marchosias, lord of the gate, send to me a messenger, and agent of my will to be bound to my soul as we are of one. A soldier, a warrior of blood and steel to deliver my enemies to death and ruin. Messenger! Demon! Warrior! I summon thee! I summon thee! I summon thee!”
The cloud of black mist and smoke surged suddenly, overtaking the room entirely before, in a blink, it retracted to a single, tiny spot at the center of the circle. It glowed bright and orange, hanging in the air for a moment, then two, then three.
Edelgard edged forward, careful not to disturb the candles and stones lain about the ritual space, eager to get a closer look at it. It was a perfect sphere, barely bigger than a marble, but, as she peered closer, the interior flickered and glowed like the sun itself. She reached out a hand, a single finger, to touch it, moving closer and closer and, as her skin came within just a few inches of the sphere, it burst like a grenade, sending force, smoke, fire, and wind in all directions.
Every piece of the circle was thrown out, and Edelgard was pushed all the way to the far wall where the back of her head hit solid concrete, her vision flashed white and she fell into darkness.
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As Edelgard’s senses returned, her world was darkness and pain. The back of her skull throbbed, and as she reached back she felt a thick bump that made her wince at contact. She sighed. She supposed she should feel lucky, she could have died right there. That may have even been the demon’s plan so he could collect his prize ahead of schedule.
Demon.
She summoned it. It worked!
The basement was pitch black, but she heard something…a subtle shift of something near the center of the room. She fumbled along the wall, hands searching wildly for-there! The light switch!
With a click warm, tungsten bulbs illuminated along the walls and spread through the room. The circle came into full view and Edelgard perceived the damage: the large crystals she laid out had been thrown so hard most shattered against the walls, and the few that didn’t left deep gashes along the stone. The candles were pulverized and she found the ritual knife she brought in with its blade embedded deep in the large, cherry wood door out of the room.
But that didn’t matter. Not to Edelgard. What mattered was only the dark figure stirring at the center of the room.
Within the smallest circle, just beg enough to hold a person, light skin with spaces of black scales began to unfurl. Two scaly wings, as big as an eagle's unfurled from its back. It had a leathery tail tipped with a spade. Long horns curled along its head before they ran into the long mane of deep, dark blue hair that was cropped to frame its youthful, feminine face.
…Feminine face? The depiction of demons she’d seen were usually based on conjecture and verbal accounts, so they weren’t always consistent or clear, but she couldn’t think of any that looked like this: like a young woman with sweet, youthful features that gave her a look of subtle beauty. Some parts made sense, like her hands and feet which were armored in black scales and ended with long, sharp talons. Though, again, less so were the soft, dramatic curves of her-
Edelgard blushed like a radish and covered her eyes. Why did she have those! What did a demon need…with a body like that? There was a shuffling and Edelgard heard the click of nails on stone. Carefully, she moved her hands and looked back towards the demon.
She was stood now, her wings gratefully covering most of her body as her hands explored the outside of the circle where they met resistance as though she were surrounded by an invisible wall. She gazed at the ends of her sharp nails, then looked up at Edelgard and cocked her head.
Edelgard took a careful step forward. “Demon, I demand thee name thyself.”
The demon just kept staring at her with a visage of stone calm.
“Name yourself! What is your name?” She gestured at herself, then the demon.
The demon replicated Edelgard’s motion which parted her wings and revealed a good deal of pale flesh that made Edelgard flush and waver her arms. “No, no! P-p-p-p-please c-c-cover yourself!” She motioned covering her chest, and the demon did so, crossing her arms over her chest.
Edelgard sighed. “Okay. Let’s try this again.” She pointed at herself. “My name is Edelgard,” she pointed at the demon, “What is yours?”
The demon cocked her head and pointed at herself. “N…name,” her voice was thin and labored, as though she were unaccustomed to using it, “N-name…B-by…leth.”
“Byleth? That’s you?”
She nodded and reached out again, touching the barrier between them.
“It’s a binding circle,” Edelgard explained, “It holds you inside until I decide to release you. Do you know why you’re here?”
She shook her head. “N…no.”
“You’re here to serve me, understand? Obey my will and do what I ask. We’re bound together until the contract is up.”
“C-contract…b-bound…” She considered that for a few moments and nodded. “B-b-bound…serve.”
“Good. While here, you will not harm anyone unless I tell you, or they intend me harm, understood?”
She nodded.
“And you will not leave the house unless I tell you to.”
She nodded again. She gestured around her. “H-house?”
“Yes, though there’s more of it above us. I’m going to release the seal, okay?”
She nodded.
Edelgard knelt down and scratched away some of the circle with her nail. Nothing perceptible happened, but when Byleth reached back out she met no resistance.
“No point dwelling down here. Come on, I’ll show you upstairs.”
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After instructing the demon to wait in the parlor, Edelgard headed up to her room to change, and hopefully find something for Byleth to wear.
The Hresvelg home still bore some manner of the family’s former grandeur, a spacious, three-story mansion lined with crimson carpets and trimmed with antique, dark wood. Her room was fittingly grand, with a huge, four-poster bed and furniture that had likely been in the family for centuries, off-set only by the fairly new LCD screen of her computer on the old desk, and the glow of her digital alarm clock from the bedside table.
She slipped off the robe and extracted a white shirt and high, black trousers from the wardrobe. Once she’d donned them, she looked back for something for the demon woman, but it became quickly clear that nothing would accommodate her wings and claws without shredding.
She sighed, grabbed a spare blanket from the closet, and headed back downstairs.
Byleth was, as commanded, still in the parlor, though she’d wandered to examine the curios that decorated the large mantle over the hearth. She currently had a small, stone sphere carved with symbols in her hand and was looking at it while her body was on view to the world.
Edelgard shoved the blanket at her. “P-please, put this on.”
Byleth took the blanket and cocked her head.
Edelgard sighed. “Put it around you. Like clothes?”
“C-c-clothes?”
“Yes, please, just do it.”
She nodded and wrapped it around herself, covering her body and wings.
Edelgard sighed. “Thank you. I’ll see about getting something properly made for you soon, but, for now, please try to keep covered.”
Byleth nodded.
“Good. You can sit if you’d like.”
She nodded and took a seat on the large, velvet couch that faced the fireplace. Edelgard turned her attention to the bookshelves that lined the wall, selecting a thick, black book with a leather cover. She opened it and, with practiced precision, began to look through.
“Okay, Byleth, let’s see who you are.” She turned through a few more pages before finding it. “Here we are: Byleth, the Ashen Demon. Though it is spoken that this creature of Hell was a terrible warrior at one time or another, the knowledge of their deeds has fallen from the world above and below. That’s it. No illustration, no summoning instructions, no domains listed. Do you command any legions in hell?”
Byleth shook her head.
“Then are you an underling of Marchosias, the Duke?”
She cocked her head. “M-march-chosias?”
“You don’t know him? He facilitated our bond. Why do you have so much trouble speaking?”
She shook her head. “Not…speak…long…time.”
“Were you locked away? Imprisoned?”
She shrugged. Edelgard sighed.
“So, that’s the catch. I suppose I didn’t specify the powerful demon needed to have retained their power, did I? Well, that complicates things. Still, I’m sure you’re capable of more that you seem.”
Byleth just returned her words with a stone stare.
“I suppose we’ll have to figure it out.”
A cacophonous banging rang through the house.
“Lady Edelgard?” A voice shouted from outside. “Edelgard von Hresvelg, open the door in the name of the Goddess!”
Edelgard’s blood went cold. “The church. Why now? If they want to search the house I can’t stop them. Can you hide? Change your form?”
Byleth considered this a moment and nodded.
Edelgard had no choice but to trust her and headed to the foyer where the knocking came from. She grasped the handle, took a deep breath, and opened it.
On the doorstep, framed by the overgrown topiary of the grounds, was a tall man with green hair and a short goatee dressed in robes of gold and blue. He was flanked by two guards in dress uniforms with sabers and silver revolvers at their belts.
“Father Seteth,” Edelgard attempted pleasantly, “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”
Seteth kept his face hard and stern. “We received word that strange noises came from this mansion. I have been sent to ensure no offenses to the church or state were being undertaken.”
“I don’t know what you think a nineteen-year-old girl could be up to by herself, but I promise there’s nothing untoward, father.”
“You make a point, but it does not consider the limits of a nineteen-year-old child of Hresvelg. How do you explain the noises?”
“I was listening to music, of course. I hadn’t realized it was so loud, it must have sounded very odd at a distance. I’ll be more attentive to the volume in the future.”
“Music? I heard nothing as we approached.”
“I turned it off a little bit ago. Honestly, you shouldn’t trouble yourself so much with me. I wouldn’t dare cross the church.”
“I suppose you know better than most the cost, I suppose. Still, I-”
There was a clattering from a room away. Both guards immediately drew their guns.
“What was that?”
“I…uh…” Around the corner, in slow, languid steps, a black cat with a white mark on its forehead in the shape of a star entered the foyer. It walked to Edelgard and nuzzled against her leg. “Carmen? Oh, I mean, that’s Carmen, my cat. She must have been on the shelves, again.”
Seteth raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware you owned a cat.”
“She’s, uh, new. It gets lonely in this big house, you know. I decided I could use a companion.”
“Hmm.” He raised a hand and the guards holstered their weapons. “I see. I apologize for the intrusion, Lady Edelgard. Have a good night. Oh, and, my lady?”
“Yes, father?”
“It’s unbecoming of a young woman to wear trousers. It may cause others to perceive you as unladylike.”
She grit her teeth. “I see. Thank you for the advice.
He smirked. “Take no offense, my Lady. I simply worry for your immortal soul.”
“I appreciate, father. But I promise you, there’s no need to worry about my soul. It’s well taken care of.”
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Edelgard returned to the study where she found the sort of the clattering: a photo of herself as a young girl upon her father’s lap, a black and white cat clutched in her arms.
“So you can change your shape. And you picked up the form from this photo?”
The black cat entered behind her before it’s flesh and fur began to move and shift like torrid water and reformed into the nude visage of the demon Byleth. She nodded. “Cat.”
“Yes, my childhood pet. You did well, even if seeing her again gave me a bit of a scare.”
“Scare?”
“The real Carmen died some years ago. Seeing her returned from the grave was alarming, you can imagine. I suppose I should be glad you didn’t pick my father.”
Byleth nodded, though something in her eyes told Edelgard she didn’t quite understand.
“Nevermind that. Since you can change shape, does that mean you can take a more human form?”
Byleth cocked her head. “Human?”
Edelgard gestured to the great, leathery wings that covered her. “The wings, scales, and claws. As you can see, I don’t have those. No human does. Can you change them?”
Byleth thought about it and nodded. All at once, her wings, scales, and claws began to recede into her pale skin, and in only a few seconds she stood before Edelgard, appearing as human as she. And fully nude, as well. Edelgard flushed, grabbed the blanket from the floor, and shoved it into Byleth’s arms.
“G-g-good,” she stuttered, “At least, uh, now we can get real clothes for you.”
Byleth nodded.
“Alright. You’ll remain in this form unless I tell you otherwise, understood?”
She nodded again.
“Excellent,” she yawned, “Now, it’s late and I’ve had a long day. Let me show you where you can sleep. You do sleep, don’t you?”
Byleth nodded.
“Good. Follow me.” She led her upstairs to the room next to her own. Within was a similar furniture arrangement, though there was less in the way of modern convenience, and everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. “No one’s slept here since…well, never mind. It’ll be your room for now.”
Byleth looked around like a lost puppy. “Sleep?”
Edelgard sighed. “Yes, sleep. Here, on the bed.” She patted the duvet for emphasis.
Slowly, Byleth climbed onto the bed, testing the bounce of the mattress as she did. “Soft.”
“Yes, quite. I’ll be in the room next door if you-” Soft skin wrapped around her wrist as Byleth reached out and grasped her, her grip surprisingly gentle.
“Sleep…together?”
Edelgard blushed. “N-n-n-no! You sleep here, b-b-but I sleep in another room. Over there,” she pointed towards her quarters, “Understand?”
Byleth looked between Edelgard and the direction of the room for a few moments. She nodded and released the young woman’s wrist, then curled into a tight ball on top of the comfortable and seemed to drift off instantly.
Edelgard sighed and made for the door. As she went to leave, she took a last look back at the demon slumbering peacefully on the bed. Seeing her, soft, beautiful, and peaceful, it was hard to imagine she could be of any help to Edelgard’s plans. Perhaps Marchosias had indeed swindled her, sticking her with a servant that had no ability to deliver on his promise. She sighed again. She supposed she would have to simply wait and see.
Tomorrow was a new day, after all, and there was still much to be done.