Vera and the Frigid Demon

In the dimly lit chamber, candles flickered ominously casting shadows danced across the walls, casting an eerie ambiance within the room. The air was heavy with the scent of incense, a mix of citrus , sage and lavender, and at the center of this room is a circle of intricate runes that was meticulously painted on the worn wooden floor. The occultist, Lorian, a human, responsible for it all is making her final preparations. The room that looms an eerie aura has not at all affected the woman, she seemed eager, having been ambitious and have been precise with the preparations for tonights rituals. Vera placed down a book that contains the chants to start this ritual, a blade and a bowl that is sure to cut her skin, contain her bodily fluids and her blood as the offering to make this ritual a success.

Vera now once ready has settled on the edge of the summoning circle, a magical item glowing close by as she is about to harness its power to open up her portal. She opens her book that contained the chants and she started, her attention on the foreign words that she had taken many years into studying, understanding and mastering.

“And with the offer of this flesh” she announced, removing her glove, raising the blade and cutting it cleanly against her palm, a wince coming from the pain but she isn’t stopping now, she closed her hand into a fist and tightened it, allowing her blood to quickly drip onto the bowl.

“blood as a sacrifice to a quick and swift entry to the Underworld…”

She chants the remaining words from the book, words that translates to ‘Bitter Cold’ and as she ends it the room began to feel heavy and cold, the athmosphere gradually becoming more sinister, the candles blown from a powerful magical source from within the center of the room, then the runes glow to an ominous crimson red before turning to cool hues, a crackle of light appears out of thin air as the space opens to a portal.

Vera’s heart pounded in excitement, a wide smile curves her lips upon the success of her ritual casting. A portal to the Underworld, well she assumes that it is.

A gust of wind blows on her face as soon as the portal becomes stable to pass through and there she could see an dark cave like structure to this supposed world of Demons. Her goals? to communicate, she understood how much her presence might anatagonize the denizens of this world but will her fascination prove enough that she is not a threat? Even she doesn’t know the outcome.

She sprung to her feet, moving around the circle to investigate the portal’s appearance before taking the magical item, grabbing a bag with her necessities for exploration and a shawl to cover her human features. Then finally she meets the portal, her hand reaches forward and it does pass through to the otherside before the rest of her body follows in. Her feet now planted on the Underworld and her presence yet to be found. Once she takes several steps forward the portal closes behind her, and this left some concern that made her anxious, this.. she had not thought it through.

It was dark, only she had to cast a spell that gains her the power to weild light, harmless. There was an eerie sense around, and with each step as she moves forward she could only hear the echoes and the faint drip of water. The tunnels would soon then take her to a enourmous wide open space, where bridges of varrying length and structural integrity is the system and means of travelling to different sections of the underworld. There is activity, as torches can be seen lit at each end of the bridges. She watches carefully, sticking close to the cavern walls and peaking through watching indivual bodies that she can discern from her view, demons travelling and where as others flew.

Vera knew it was already too late to turn back, what else could harm her here other than natural forboding structures and perhaps the creatures that were yet to be discover. Upon making the decision to leave the tunnel and cross the bridge, once she made a step forward and a hand leaving the rough walls, a cold firm hold graps her forearm.

Her heart sank, she had not felt any presence other than herself and the cold. Vera got spun around, her pale face of fear as she denies the reality that has already set upon her meets another, a demon, larger than her, eminating an aura of threat, it was hard to discern its face while a cloak covers it but she can tell it to be male, a clawed hand crackle like ice and frost, it held her and felt her arms almost burn from the cold.

“You shouldn’t be here” the figure towering above her firmly spoke.

Vera stutters to answer, this is her first encounter, and quickly all sense of fear was mixed with the pleasure of meeting a demon for the first time.

The figure grunts with a disappointed growl, taking her firmly by her arm as they retreat back inside the tunnel. “You are to return back to where you come from human”

“W-wait! I can’t do that!” finally Vera found her voice, struggling from the demon’s burning hold. “I have dedicated my entire life to finally get here! and you demon won’t force me back!”

The demon pauses, turning around to face her. “this is no playground, not for a human like you, and one that reeks of blood” he says taking her one hand up, her glove stained with blood from the earlier deep cut against her palm. “are you wanting to be bait?”

“n-no, that is not my intention.. look! even if I want to go back I could not, the portal I used closed” Vera snatches her hand back, arguing to the demon that it was already too late.

But the demon responds with a heavy sigh. “that was not just any portal, it was mine, if you studied this then why didn’t you realize it was a summon, and you waltzing in!” he groaned heavy as his shoulder sunk with the heavy burden of talking to this human.

“i-if it was a summon, why didn’t you appear?” Vera snaps a quick question.

“I don’t answer summons, interacting with your kind is frustrating and troublesome” he says, now raising his frozen hand, he draws then the same runes she had prepared from her room followed it is the same crackle of light that will transport her back into her room. “you are lucky human, the most sinsiter of us would have kept you”

As Vera opened her mouth to snap back at the demon she was pushed inside, followed by a tumble that made her foot to scratch part of the runes painted on the floor. The portal then crackles and fizzes, glitching and becoming unstable, behind it the demon made sure to block her dangerous way back in.

“H-hey! how dare-”

“you shouldn’t do anymore summons until you actually know what to do” the demon spoke last before the portal vanishes.

There was silence, the candles that once was blown out flickered back into life, lighting her room once more. “That jerk!” Vera removed her bag and tossed it on wooden flooring, cursing on the space of her room as she just lost the oppurtunity to explore the Underworld. What she didn't realize is she just broke an important magical item that made this all summoning possible.

Meanwhile in the underworld, the demon stood quiet relieved he had dealt this quickly, a wince of pain finally interrupted this silence, he looked to check his frozen hand, the crackle of breaking ice can be heard as a piece of it chips away. “why…” a tone expressing his melancholy, as if memories of the past began to haunt him once again.