[Color=silver] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/oPM8J9M.png[/img] [Color=gold][sub][u][url=https://youtu.be/QVuutOx-LPk?si=C7-w-RNXYNA4YtCX]Mr. Deacon[/url][/u][/sub][/color] [/center] [Color=gold][b]Time:[/b][/color] [color=red][b]Night of Sola 26th[/b][/color] [Color=gold][b]Location:[/b][/color] Summoning Chamber [Color=gold][b]Attire:[/b][/color] None. [Color=gold][b]Interaction:[/b][/color] [Color=gold][b]Mention:[/b][/color][hr] Marek Within a dimly candlelit chamber Alexander paced before his wheelchair-bound wife, his body free from any garments. The warm glow of the fire exposed dark symbols painted against his surprisingly toned physique. The echoes of the slow and soft patter of his bare footsteps defined the night emptiness of the location. [Color=palevioletred]“My love, are you…”[/color] Lianna initiated in breaking the long silence between them but still found herself reluctant in questioning Alexander. His intentions in this moment were not what she desired. Lianna had wanted Alexander to have little interaction with magic, especially after the day she saved him from an early death. She was proof enough of the heavy consequences one could suffer from practicing the arcane. What worried Lianna just as much was the way it clung to you. One spell was never enough. Your first spell was never your last while you still drew breath. [Color=gold]“I am ready, my love. Just… nervous is all. Such a rare feeling.”[/color] Alexander admitted as he admired his seated wife with a smile. [Color=gold]“But I can manage this.”[/color] He assured her and himself. Lianna bit her lower lip. [Color=palevioletred]“You should remove it. The ring.”[/color] Her eyebrows furrowed with concern. She preferred he kept it worn as the small artifact kept Alexander as the same man he was before his change. The man he became without it, was a perfect agent for Marek. Cold and ruthless, lacking any semblance of a conscience. Lianna could barely tolerate him without the ring but she knew it made him uncannily strong if one could describe a lack of warmth in such a way. Alexander knelt at her side, placing her hands in his. [Color=gold]“I don't have to remove it if I’m with you. I should-”[/color] [Color=palevioletred]“You should!”[/color] She grasped his hand firmly as she pleaded. [Color=palevioletred]“If you face something without a heart, it will only seek to manipulate yours. Alexander, you need to be… You need to be what you are without the ring to commune with darkness. It's… it's the same as with the Black Rose. A good man cannot thrive amongst monsters.”[/color] Silence followed Lianna’s words, making her unsure of how her husband received them. Her grip loosened as Alexander raised her hand to plant a tender kiss upon it. [Color=gold]“Keep it safe, my love. I won’t be long,”[/color] Alexander said before he removed the ring from his left hand and placed it in her grasp. And as if to say farewell for only a brief time, Alexander planted a second kiss upon her lips. [Color=palevioletred]“Do what you must, my love.”[/color] [Color=gold]“For us, always… Always.”[/color] Alexander rose to his feet, his expression stoic with no trace of doubt. [Color=gold]“Now…”[/color] Alexander stepped away from Lianna, walking until he was standing dead center in a white circle drawn on the chamber floor. Besides it lay a ceremonial knife decorated with an assortment of topaz crystals. Further ahead, perhaps only three paces at most, was another yet much larger circle on the floor. Unlike the one he now stood in, the circle had many drawn symbols and lit candles lining its perimeter. Mentally prepared, Alexander smirked. [Color=gold]“Let’s begin.”[/color] He whispered, his tone expressing his conviction. Shutting his eyes and clasping his hands with interlocked fingers before taking a seat on the ground cross-legged. He tensed slightly, feeling the cold floor against his bare skin causing goosebumps to creep across it. Taking a controlled breath, Alexander relaxed once more. Just as he practiced with Lianna, he spoke the incantation. [Color=gold]“Spiritus, adiuva me… veni in pactum… Tenebras te arcesso… familiarem te facio,”[/color] Alexander said softly and took his time to ensure his pronunciation was nothing but perfect. [Color=palevioletred]“Spiritus, adiuva me, veni in pactum! Tenebras te arcesso, familiarem te facio!”[/color] Lianna's voice repeated loudly from behind him. Her husband’s green magicae aura determined his lack of compatibility with summoning and evocation spells, so she would offer any assistance she could manage. [Color=gold]“Spiritus, adiuva me, veni in pactum. Tenebras te arcesso, familiarem te facio.”[/color] Alexander repeated with more fervor. The fire of the candles surrounding the large circle began to lightly flicker and dance to his words. Still, it was not enough. [Color=palevioletred]“Spiritus, adiuva me, veni in pactum! Tenebras te arcesso, familiarem te facio!”[/color] [Color=gold]“Spiritus, adiuva me, veni in pactum! Tenebras te arcesso, familiarem te facio!”[/color] [Color=palevioletred]“Spiritus, adiuva me, veni in pactum! Tenebras te arcesso, familiarem te facio!”[/color] [Color=gold]“Spiritus, adiuva me, veni in pactum! Tenebras te arcesso, familiarem te facio!”[/color] The flames flickered and whipped wildly now. It was no longer every word but every syllable of the incantation uttered that forced the fire to squirm. [Color=gold]“Spiritus, adiuva me, veni in pactum! Tenebras te arcesso, familiarem te facio!”[/color] [Color=gold]“Spiritus, adiuva me, veni in pactum! Tenebras te arcesso, familiarem te facio!”[/color] [Color=gold]“Spiritus, adiuva me, veni in pactu-!”[/color] The room became so frigid so suddenly, Alexander stopped and opened his eyes from the instance. His shivering that had started to set in instantly ceased as his eyes caught sight of what was before him. The candles that were once lit around the perimeter of the circle now had thin lines of smoke rising aimlessly. The other candles that remained with flame in the room barely made out the shapes of what now occupied the inside of the large circle. The small billows of smoke served to only blur the appearance of whatever Alexander had called. Its form shifted and swayed with an unnatural flexibility in the darkness as it acclimated to the physical world. Alexander was unable to perceive the being’s face, yet he felt the moment it's eyes locked on to him. Alexander could feel a slight pressure weighing on body accompanied by the chilling cold of the room. Just what had he brought into this world? [/Color]