Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2018 4:45:24 GMT -5
It had only been a few days since Amatricina returned to her home realm. Her brief escapade with the Knight of Manus, Sir Nickel Gallius, seemed a distant memory in her mind. And yet so many questions lingered in the demoness’ mind. Both regarding the knight in question, and their encounter with the cultists of shadows. The demoness had recuperated from their battle, resting and allowing the wound on her arm to heal. The deep gash had healed over magnificently, not so much as a scar or blemish to mar her flawless skin. The demoness would prefer to keep it that way.
The myriad of questions had wracked at the demon’s mind since her return, and many hours had been spend stewing in her study as she brooded over them without answer. Did this “Manus” truly exist, a mortal’s fire god able to imbue his followers with the power of flame not wholly unlike her own kind’s? Or had the mortal warrior simply discovered a way to manipulate his ki in a manner that mirrored that of the fire demons, and in his ignorance confused it for the hand of a god? And the cultists, what had been the origin of their fel shadow magics… That one she knew, or knew what they had claimed. A “Demon King” gave them his boon, one they referred to as Lute. A false demon king, Amatricina thought to herself, no one had united the warring factions of the demon realm in centuries. Dabura had been the last, and his reign was long since over. The demon clans had since resumed their endless fractious warring conflict since his disappearance alongside that wizard… Babidi. What became of the two was pure speculation to demonic scholars.
At present the demoness was conversing with artisans about commissioning a piece for her halls that depicted her foray into the Mortal Realm. It would be a grand tapestry depicting herself and the Knight of Manus doing battle with the the shadow cult and their monstrous colossus. Sir, with his golden armor and blazing sword of light, and herself, with her burning hellfire. The knight stood at the titan’s head, driving his sword deep into the beast’s blast eyes as he gouged them out one by one, while Amatricina herself was severing its hand with her twin eye beam blasts. The beast was to be roaring in agony, spouting its black blood as the cultists looked on in horror and fear. It would be a marvelous piece once finished, fit to be hung in the halls of her fortress alongside the scores of others that told of Amatricina’s many battles and deeds. The demoness gave express instructions to the artisans, everything must be perfect. From the shades and colors used, to the expressions on the subjects’ faces. With Amatricina, there was no such thing as half measures.
When the demon was satisfied she had given proper instruction, she left her subjects to their work. Roaming the halls of her keep the thoughts still lurked at the back of her mind. Why had the cultists tricked the knight of Manus into summoning her to his the mortal realm? What greater purpose was there to that task than to hasten their deaths. Her thoughts wandered to the cult leader’s spell book. She still had the ancient mortal tome, stored safe within the depths of her vast archives along with a library of other scrolls and manuscript from across the eons. Unable to shake the thoughts from her head, the demoness turned on her heels, heading the opposite direction back in the direction of her collection. If nothing else, she could leaf through the pages of that tome one more time looking for any possible clues. She did not think it would quiet her troubled mind, but it would not hurt.
As Amatricina approached the vault-like doors of her archives, the sentries that stood watch over it bowed low, permitting her past them into the chamber beyond. She stepped past the sentinels, barely acknowledging their presence. The demoness found herself looking at the scanner on the door, and casually removed her right gauntlet with her left hand. With an unconcerned sigh the demoness placed her now bare right hand on the scanner, letting the device read the intricacies of her fingerprints. As it finished and beeped out a certification of approval, a retina scanner extended, ready to inspect the eye of the demoness. She blinked twice, then leaned in and opened her eye wide, letting the laser on the device read the intricate patterns on her iris. Again it beeped in agreement, sliding open the great sealed door and allowing the demoness inside. It slammed shut with a pneumatic hiss behind her as she entered, locking her inside with her many treasures.
Before the demoness were the vaulted halls of the royal archive, a vast treasure trove of the many relics and artifacts her clan had created or captured since time immemorial. Everything from gems and jewels, to the armor and weapons of slain warlords, to the many ancient relics and treasures that had acquired over the clan’s long and storied existence. Amatricina breathed deep, the sterile room smelled like… avarice, and she loved it for it. Knowing such a vast treasure trove of artifacts was hers to enjoy filled the demon with a great sense of contentment, slating her ravenous greed if only for a brief period. Amatricina walked the halls of her archive, content smile on her porcelain face as she idly browsed her collection. Armored fingers reached out to gently caress along the sides of various trinkets as she walked.
She stopped to muse over one object, a horned skull with several vicious fangs. The demon picked it up, holding it aloft as her smile grew ever wicked. It was the skull of a rival warlord she had slain some centuries ago shortly after her ascension to the throne. Even now she could clearly remember that day, the stench of blood and fear that wafted across the battlefield. The dead and dying laying in great heaps as rivers of blood flowed from their corpses. Amatricina locked in single combat with her opponent, their auras surging as they pushed themselves to their very limit. The fighting had been brutal, even by demonic standards, but ultimately she had emerged the victor. In one last blood swoop she had torn her foe’s head from his body, holding it aloft to signify her victory. Her rival’s armies had routed in defeat, some laying down their arms in the hopes of mercy. Ultimately her clan had assimilated those of their rival’s, and grown larger and stronger for it. The ranks of her demonic legions swelled with warriors that now called her their warlord. One day they would all bow before her name the demon promised herself.
Amatricina let out a long sigh, the feeling of nostalgia fading slowly as she returned back to the here and now. She set the black skull back on its pedestal, to gaze forever in despair at her triumph. The demoness continued her leisurely stroll through her archives, moving towards the great library that housed the ancient scrolls and tomes. It was here everything from spell books to histories was kept secured, preserved for the ages so the knowledge within would not be forgotten. Demons honor their past, their long history only swelling their already vast sense of pride. As Amatricina strolled through the great depository of knowledge she could practically taste the history dripping from the pages. Her fingers rifled through books until she came upon the one she so desired. A recent addition, the ancient tome of the shadow cultists she had slain, it contained the incantations she would need.
The demoness lifted the text gently from its place among the many, holding it like a prized possession. With the flick of the wrist Amatricina flipped open the book and began flipping through pages until she came to the section she needed. She had read through the tome a dozen times in the last few days, but the thought still bothered her. She had felt something, there in the ruined ground of the cathedral after their foe had been slain. Something unusual, something that the demoness had not felt before. At first she had thought perhaps it had something to do with Sir Gallius’ ki, but the more she dwelt on it, the more Amatricina was uncertain. The book offered nothing on this unknown presence, but it did offer her a way back to where she had been.
Ruby eyes once more read over the ancient runes and symbols, the incantation that would allow Amatricina to pass between realms. The portals it allowed were brief, and fleeting, but they served their purpose. The demoness held the book aloft in one hand, the other acting as a focusing point for her ki as she gathered her power. The red demonic energy began to coalesce at her palm, and the words of the incantation pursed between the demon’s ruby lips. With all her concentration the demoness tore open a rift in the very fabric of reality. It was like a wound in time and space, a writhing slash through the immaterial void into the mortal realm. She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves for the journey ahead. Amatricina dreaded crossing the barriers between realms, but it could not be helped. It was a truly horrible experience but it was one she could find no other means to endure.
Gathering her resolve, the demoness closed her eyes and stepped into the pulsating rift. The result was immediate, a jarring awful sensation as she became utterly devoid of sensation. There was a kind of emptiness in these rifts that was indescribable, a total absence of heat or cold, light or sound, up or down. It was just an endless bleak nothingness, crippling in its oppressiveness. It was worse than even the empty black void of space, at least space held its freezing temperatures and the light of distant stars. This rift was the true definition of nothing, just Amatricina floating through the void between realms. It was an insufferable existence, even death would be preferable, at least in the afterlife there was sensation and stimulation. And then it was over, the horrific nothingness fading away back into the blessed pleasures of simple existence. Amatricina arrived at her destination, stepping through the other end of the rift and arriving not far from the ruins of the cathedral where her battle had taken place.
Amatricina stood tall, her great cloak wafting in the wind behind her, the bells and chimes on her horns jingling as they swayed. She breathed in deeply, the air tasted sweet and clean, nothing at all like the ashen noxious gases that permeated her home world. She disliked this fact, the very air lacked a kind of certain harshness she was more than used to. It was no wonder the mortals were so soft and weak when even the air they breathed was so forgiving. The sun shone brightly overhead, barely obscured by white fluffy clouds as they drifted past lazily from the breeze. The weather was not unlike when she and Sir Gallius had held their battle against the cultists, it brought a slight smile to the demoness’ face. Her gaze wandered to her surroundings, as she surveyed the land around her. She could see the ruins of the cathedral just over the next rise, looking no less damaged than when she had destroyed most of the roof. Amatricina lifted into the air, flying the brief distance until she came to stand among the rubble. It seemed she was not the first to journey back to this place, there was clear evidence the local mortals had been here first. Some of the debris has been swept away and rubble cleaned up. It was likely the creatures intended to rebuild this sacred structure given enough time.
The demoness walked slowly among the ruins, she could not sense the lingering taint of shadow magics, which was good at least. It meant the hostile presence had been rooted out to the last. Amatricina hovered just off the ground, crossing her legs as she assumed a meditative stance. There was still something off here, she could sense it. But what “it” was, she did not yet know. She closed her eyes, honing her thoughts to a razor’s edge. The demoness assumed a trance-like state, blocking out all distraction as she focused solely on the energies around her. She could sense the small but flickering ki of simple beasts, animals that lived in the surrounding area. She could sense the stronger but still weak ki of mortals, they lived in a village not far to the north. The mortals themselves felt unspectacular, she could sense the kindling flames of evil in their hearts, but no great flames that commanded her attention. The source of her concerns did not lie with them.
Perhaps she had been going about it wrong, the demon mused to herself. Perhaps it was not a source of ki or a power level, but a magic she had sensed. Amatricina shifted the focus of her search, using her vast arcane knowledge as she felt out for the flickering tendrils of magic that might permeate the air. Her ears twitched, and her eyes fluttered slightly beneath shut lids. She felt it, something. It was some kind of magic, one she had never felt before. It did not feel demonic in nature, at least not the brief pulse she had felt. The demon narrowed her search, trying to pinpoint the origins of the mysterious magics. It came to her in a moment of clarity, it lied beneath her. The demoness shot upright, feet planted firmly on the ground as she gazed down at her feet. Amatricina lifted a hand, focusing her ki at her palm. She was going to dig, and that required a delicate tough. She could not simply annihilate the ground beneath her, even if it was quicker.
Amatricina focused anew, firing her ki in a beam of flame that heated the ground beneath her into a viscous molten sludge. She moved her hand in small circles, swirling the beam and using it push molten rock out of the growing crater beneath her. It was kind of fun, in a therapeutic sort of way, the demon and her siblings used to do something similar when they were young and playful. They’d fly off to the wastelands outside the city and melt rock and stone, digging holes or making molten statues in their games. For a brief moment Amatricina was reminded of her youth. She snapped back to attention as her lava pool began to drain, she had pierced some kind of chamber buried beneath the surface. That much she should have expected, she had been summoned in a chamber underground by the hapless Gallius, and they had needed to find a secret passage simply to reach the surface. What kind of tombs and catacombs lurked down there after all?
The demon flew down towards the hole, lava at the edge of the crater beginning to sizzle and cool without the heat of her ki to keep it in a molten state. The hole was not quite big enough for the demoness to slip through what with her wide set of horns. Though a swift kick from an armored heel opened up the hole to be more than large enough for her to pass through comfortably. Amatricina glided down into the chamber, it was dimly lit save for the light that beamed in through the ceiling and the cooling magma that had oozed in through said hole. The demon summoned a ball of blazing red ki in one hand, using it as a makeshift torch to illuminate her path. She walked slowly through the chamber, looking at the inscriptions and carvings upon the walls. They were all alien to her, illegible although curious. They showed many depictions of a great serpent, and a five starred gem. Those two symbols were repeated many times about the room.
After a few minutes searching, the demon came upon a large tomb. A sarcophagus of sorts, clearly used to entomb an important individual. It was ornately carved, made of a large pieces of thickly cut stone. Amatricina could feel it more clearly now, the magics she had felt before. They radiated from the tomb, her prize lay within. With a wicked smile on her face the demoness ripped the lid off of the tomb, casting it aside as if it were a mere paperweight. The heavy stone slab shattered into thousands of pieces, and Amatricina peered over into the tomb. Within was the skeleton remains of its occupant, dust riddled bones and the tattered remains of cloth and armor worn away by the cruel hand of time. This meant nothing to the demon, her ruby eyes were locked in wonder of a far greater sight.
Within the skeleton’s hands, clutched in his dying grip, was a gem unlike any she had ever seen. It was large, larger than her head and perfectly smooth about its surface. The gemstone was a luminous shade of orange, bright and dazzling, almost giving off a dull glow with its immaculate sheen. On its face it had five small, curious five pointed stars embossed in a pattern. What these meant, Amatricina had no idea. She plucked the gem eagerly from the corpse, bones withering to ash as she ripped her prize from their grasp. She could feel it, the magic, it resonated from the gemstone like a sweet scent. Amatricina held her prize aloft, inspecting it more clearly as she brushed the dust from it. It was so flawless in its carving, though she couldn’t place the gemstone it was actually carved of. It was not one that exists on her world, that much was sure. She could also feel the power within the gem, but that was as far as that power went. It was latent, dormant, she did not know what this power did or how to will it to the surface.
Either way, the great sense of avarice within the demon was sated yet again, at least temporarily. She clutched her prize under one arm, spell book in the other. Amatricina wished to return home at once with her new prize, she was sure it was part of the reason that cult had been here. They coveted the gems power, though they had not found it yet. Perhaps it was tied to why they had summoned her, the gem did not feel demonic in origin, but mortals were crafty with their magics. She would need time to study this new treasure, to unlock its secrets. Amatricina was practically giggling with excitement as she flew back out of the chamber back into the ruins above. Her hunch had been correct, and she held her prize in her very hands. She inspected it lovingly for the first time in the sunlight. It was so… unnaturally perfect, so round and smooth and utterly flawless in its form. What secrets do you hide she wondered to herself. Amatricina prepared to summon the return portal that would take her home, the scholars would soon have a new artifact to study, once Amatricina was done researching it herself in private.
Word Count: 3,257
The myriad of questions had wracked at the demon’s mind since her return, and many hours had been spend stewing in her study as she brooded over them without answer. Did this “Manus” truly exist, a mortal’s fire god able to imbue his followers with the power of flame not wholly unlike her own kind’s? Or had the mortal warrior simply discovered a way to manipulate his ki in a manner that mirrored that of the fire demons, and in his ignorance confused it for the hand of a god? And the cultists, what had been the origin of their fel shadow magics… That one she knew, or knew what they had claimed. A “Demon King” gave them his boon, one they referred to as Lute. A false demon king, Amatricina thought to herself, no one had united the warring factions of the demon realm in centuries. Dabura had been the last, and his reign was long since over. The demon clans had since resumed their endless fractious warring conflict since his disappearance alongside that wizard… Babidi. What became of the two was pure speculation to demonic scholars.
At present the demoness was conversing with artisans about commissioning a piece for her halls that depicted her foray into the Mortal Realm. It would be a grand tapestry depicting herself and the Knight of Manus doing battle with the the shadow cult and their monstrous colossus. Sir, with his golden armor and blazing sword of light, and herself, with her burning hellfire. The knight stood at the titan’s head, driving his sword deep into the beast’s blast eyes as he gouged them out one by one, while Amatricina herself was severing its hand with her twin eye beam blasts. The beast was to be roaring in agony, spouting its black blood as the cultists looked on in horror and fear. It would be a marvelous piece once finished, fit to be hung in the halls of her fortress alongside the scores of others that told of Amatricina’s many battles and deeds. The demoness gave express instructions to the artisans, everything must be perfect. From the shades and colors used, to the expressions on the subjects’ faces. With Amatricina, there was no such thing as half measures.
When the demon was satisfied she had given proper instruction, she left her subjects to their work. Roaming the halls of her keep the thoughts still lurked at the back of her mind. Why had the cultists tricked the knight of Manus into summoning her to his the mortal realm? What greater purpose was there to that task than to hasten their deaths. Her thoughts wandered to the cult leader’s spell book. She still had the ancient mortal tome, stored safe within the depths of her vast archives along with a library of other scrolls and manuscript from across the eons. Unable to shake the thoughts from her head, the demoness turned on her heels, heading the opposite direction back in the direction of her collection. If nothing else, she could leaf through the pages of that tome one more time looking for any possible clues. She did not think it would quiet her troubled mind, but it would not hurt.
As Amatricina approached the vault-like doors of her archives, the sentries that stood watch over it bowed low, permitting her past them into the chamber beyond. She stepped past the sentinels, barely acknowledging their presence. The demoness found herself looking at the scanner on the door, and casually removed her right gauntlet with her left hand. With an unconcerned sigh the demoness placed her now bare right hand on the scanner, letting the device read the intricacies of her fingerprints. As it finished and beeped out a certification of approval, a retina scanner extended, ready to inspect the eye of the demoness. She blinked twice, then leaned in and opened her eye wide, letting the laser on the device read the intricate patterns on her iris. Again it beeped in agreement, sliding open the great sealed door and allowing the demoness inside. It slammed shut with a pneumatic hiss behind her as she entered, locking her inside with her many treasures.
Before the demoness were the vaulted halls of the royal archive, a vast treasure trove of the many relics and artifacts her clan had created or captured since time immemorial. Everything from gems and jewels, to the armor and weapons of slain warlords, to the many ancient relics and treasures that had acquired over the clan’s long and storied existence. Amatricina breathed deep, the sterile room smelled like… avarice, and she loved it for it. Knowing such a vast treasure trove of artifacts was hers to enjoy filled the demon with a great sense of contentment, slating her ravenous greed if only for a brief period. Amatricina walked the halls of her archive, content smile on her porcelain face as she idly browsed her collection. Armored fingers reached out to gently caress along the sides of various trinkets as she walked.
She stopped to muse over one object, a horned skull with several vicious fangs. The demon picked it up, holding it aloft as her smile grew ever wicked. It was the skull of a rival warlord she had slain some centuries ago shortly after her ascension to the throne. Even now she could clearly remember that day, the stench of blood and fear that wafted across the battlefield. The dead and dying laying in great heaps as rivers of blood flowed from their corpses. Amatricina locked in single combat with her opponent, their auras surging as they pushed themselves to their very limit. The fighting had been brutal, even by demonic standards, but ultimately she had emerged the victor. In one last blood swoop she had torn her foe’s head from his body, holding it aloft to signify her victory. Her rival’s armies had routed in defeat, some laying down their arms in the hopes of mercy. Ultimately her clan had assimilated those of their rival’s, and grown larger and stronger for it. The ranks of her demonic legions swelled with warriors that now called her their warlord. One day they would all bow before her name the demon promised herself.
Amatricina let out a long sigh, the feeling of nostalgia fading slowly as she returned back to the here and now. She set the black skull back on its pedestal, to gaze forever in despair at her triumph. The demoness continued her leisurely stroll through her archives, moving towards the great library that housed the ancient scrolls and tomes. It was here everything from spell books to histories was kept secured, preserved for the ages so the knowledge within would not be forgotten. Demons honor their past, their long history only swelling their already vast sense of pride. As Amatricina strolled through the great depository of knowledge she could practically taste the history dripping from the pages. Her fingers rifled through books until she came upon the one she so desired. A recent addition, the ancient tome of the shadow cultists she had slain, it contained the incantations she would need.
The demoness lifted the text gently from its place among the many, holding it like a prized possession. With the flick of the wrist Amatricina flipped open the book and began flipping through pages until she came to the section she needed. She had read through the tome a dozen times in the last few days, but the thought still bothered her. She had felt something, there in the ruined ground of the cathedral after their foe had been slain. Something unusual, something that the demoness had not felt before. At first she had thought perhaps it had something to do with Sir Gallius’ ki, but the more she dwelt on it, the more Amatricina was uncertain. The book offered nothing on this unknown presence, but it did offer her a way back to where she had been.
Ruby eyes once more read over the ancient runes and symbols, the incantation that would allow Amatricina to pass between realms. The portals it allowed were brief, and fleeting, but they served their purpose. The demoness held the book aloft in one hand, the other acting as a focusing point for her ki as she gathered her power. The red demonic energy began to coalesce at her palm, and the words of the incantation pursed between the demon’s ruby lips. With all her concentration the demoness tore open a rift in the very fabric of reality. It was like a wound in time and space, a writhing slash through the immaterial void into the mortal realm. She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves for the journey ahead. Amatricina dreaded crossing the barriers between realms, but it could not be helped. It was a truly horrible experience but it was one she could find no other means to endure.
Gathering her resolve, the demoness closed her eyes and stepped into the pulsating rift. The result was immediate, a jarring awful sensation as she became utterly devoid of sensation. There was a kind of emptiness in these rifts that was indescribable, a total absence of heat or cold, light or sound, up or down. It was just an endless bleak nothingness, crippling in its oppressiveness. It was worse than even the empty black void of space, at least space held its freezing temperatures and the light of distant stars. This rift was the true definition of nothing, just Amatricina floating through the void between realms. It was an insufferable existence, even death would be preferable, at least in the afterlife there was sensation and stimulation. And then it was over, the horrific nothingness fading away back into the blessed pleasures of simple existence. Amatricina arrived at her destination, stepping through the other end of the rift and arriving not far from the ruins of the cathedral where her battle had taken place.
Amatricina stood tall, her great cloak wafting in the wind behind her, the bells and chimes on her horns jingling as they swayed. She breathed in deeply, the air tasted sweet and clean, nothing at all like the ashen noxious gases that permeated her home world. She disliked this fact, the very air lacked a kind of certain harshness she was more than used to. It was no wonder the mortals were so soft and weak when even the air they breathed was so forgiving. The sun shone brightly overhead, barely obscured by white fluffy clouds as they drifted past lazily from the breeze. The weather was not unlike when she and Sir Gallius had held their battle against the cultists, it brought a slight smile to the demoness’ face. Her gaze wandered to her surroundings, as she surveyed the land around her. She could see the ruins of the cathedral just over the next rise, looking no less damaged than when she had destroyed most of the roof. Amatricina lifted into the air, flying the brief distance until she came to stand among the rubble. It seemed she was not the first to journey back to this place, there was clear evidence the local mortals had been here first. Some of the debris has been swept away and rubble cleaned up. It was likely the creatures intended to rebuild this sacred structure given enough time.
The demoness walked slowly among the ruins, she could not sense the lingering taint of shadow magics, which was good at least. It meant the hostile presence had been rooted out to the last. Amatricina hovered just off the ground, crossing her legs as she assumed a meditative stance. There was still something off here, she could sense it. But what “it” was, she did not yet know. She closed her eyes, honing her thoughts to a razor’s edge. The demoness assumed a trance-like state, blocking out all distraction as she focused solely on the energies around her. She could sense the small but flickering ki of simple beasts, animals that lived in the surrounding area. She could sense the stronger but still weak ki of mortals, they lived in a village not far to the north. The mortals themselves felt unspectacular, she could sense the kindling flames of evil in their hearts, but no great flames that commanded her attention. The source of her concerns did not lie with them.
Perhaps she had been going about it wrong, the demon mused to herself. Perhaps it was not a source of ki or a power level, but a magic she had sensed. Amatricina shifted the focus of her search, using her vast arcane knowledge as she felt out for the flickering tendrils of magic that might permeate the air. Her ears twitched, and her eyes fluttered slightly beneath shut lids. She felt it, something. It was some kind of magic, one she had never felt before. It did not feel demonic in nature, at least not the brief pulse she had felt. The demon narrowed her search, trying to pinpoint the origins of the mysterious magics. It came to her in a moment of clarity, it lied beneath her. The demoness shot upright, feet planted firmly on the ground as she gazed down at her feet. Amatricina lifted a hand, focusing her ki at her palm. She was going to dig, and that required a delicate tough. She could not simply annihilate the ground beneath her, even if it was quicker.
Amatricina focused anew, firing her ki in a beam of flame that heated the ground beneath her into a viscous molten sludge. She moved her hand in small circles, swirling the beam and using it push molten rock out of the growing crater beneath her. It was kind of fun, in a therapeutic sort of way, the demon and her siblings used to do something similar when they were young and playful. They’d fly off to the wastelands outside the city and melt rock and stone, digging holes or making molten statues in their games. For a brief moment Amatricina was reminded of her youth. She snapped back to attention as her lava pool began to drain, she had pierced some kind of chamber buried beneath the surface. That much she should have expected, she had been summoned in a chamber underground by the hapless Gallius, and they had needed to find a secret passage simply to reach the surface. What kind of tombs and catacombs lurked down there after all?
The demon flew down towards the hole, lava at the edge of the crater beginning to sizzle and cool without the heat of her ki to keep it in a molten state. The hole was not quite big enough for the demoness to slip through what with her wide set of horns. Though a swift kick from an armored heel opened up the hole to be more than large enough for her to pass through comfortably. Amatricina glided down into the chamber, it was dimly lit save for the light that beamed in through the ceiling and the cooling magma that had oozed in through said hole. The demon summoned a ball of blazing red ki in one hand, using it as a makeshift torch to illuminate her path. She walked slowly through the chamber, looking at the inscriptions and carvings upon the walls. They were all alien to her, illegible although curious. They showed many depictions of a great serpent, and a five starred gem. Those two symbols were repeated many times about the room.
After a few minutes searching, the demon came upon a large tomb. A sarcophagus of sorts, clearly used to entomb an important individual. It was ornately carved, made of a large pieces of thickly cut stone. Amatricina could feel it more clearly now, the magics she had felt before. They radiated from the tomb, her prize lay within. With a wicked smile on her face the demoness ripped the lid off of the tomb, casting it aside as if it were a mere paperweight. The heavy stone slab shattered into thousands of pieces, and Amatricina peered over into the tomb. Within was the skeleton remains of its occupant, dust riddled bones and the tattered remains of cloth and armor worn away by the cruel hand of time. This meant nothing to the demon, her ruby eyes were locked in wonder of a far greater sight.
Within the skeleton’s hands, clutched in his dying grip, was a gem unlike any she had ever seen. It was large, larger than her head and perfectly smooth about its surface. The gemstone was a luminous shade of orange, bright and dazzling, almost giving off a dull glow with its immaculate sheen. On its face it had five small, curious five pointed stars embossed in a pattern. What these meant, Amatricina had no idea. She plucked the gem eagerly from the corpse, bones withering to ash as she ripped her prize from their grasp. She could feel it, the magic, it resonated from the gemstone like a sweet scent. Amatricina held her prize aloft, inspecting it more clearly as she brushed the dust from it. It was so flawless in its carving, though she couldn’t place the gemstone it was actually carved of. It was not one that exists on her world, that much was sure. She could also feel the power within the gem, but that was as far as that power went. It was latent, dormant, she did not know what this power did or how to will it to the surface.
Either way, the great sense of avarice within the demon was sated yet again, at least temporarily. She clutched her prize under one arm, spell book in the other. Amatricina wished to return home at once with her new prize, she was sure it was part of the reason that cult had been here. They coveted the gems power, though they had not found it yet. Perhaps it was tied to why they had summoned her, the gem did not feel demonic in origin, but mortals were crafty with their magics. She would need time to study this new treasure, to unlock its secrets. Amatricina was practically giggling with excitement as she flew back out of the chamber back into the ruins above. Her hunch had been correct, and she held her prize in her very hands. She inspected it lovingly for the first time in the sunlight. It was so… unnaturally perfect, so round and smooth and utterly flawless in its form. What secrets do you hide she wondered to herself. Amatricina prepared to summon the return portal that would take her home, the scholars would soon have a new artifact to study, once Amatricina was done researching it herself in private.
Word Count: 3,257