“The demon is definitely from the First World. Its power actually is of a major god’s level. Whatever was confusing or blocking our sensors had been negated by our proximity to it. But as we mentioned, there is something off with its magic. As if it is not wholly in sync with this world’s energy, and that makes him weaker. More like a minor deity in terms of real power,” X’s answer echoed in his mind.
“And the old man? He winked at me twice, and it’s a sign of familiarity, as if he knew who I was. I don’t think those winks had anything to do with flirting,” said Tyler.
“I believe the newcomer’s energy is akin to Hrun’s. Though several magnitudes higher. You’re facing an extremely powerful elemental of this world, sire. Compared to him, the strength of the heads of the pantheons we have so far encountered are pathetic, and I am being kind. It’s like comparing the flame of a candle to a blazing bonfire. I didn’t think there would be entities on Adar that powerful. The Elders missed this one, and as we have discovered, a lot of other things,” Hal commented.
Hal is using ‘I’ more often. Is he developing a personality? inwardly observed Tyler, who proceeded to carefully examine the old man. That its unbelievable level of power involved mountains and stone was obvious.
And the old man must be one of the higher-level helpers of the being I had met before – the one who gave me that depressing tour when the AIs were absent. So, no surprise there. When one is dealing with the conscious magical power of an entire world, only the power of another planet could compare, concluded the mage. Then he remembered that the female avatar mentioned an entity she called sister, the one called Fate. An inscrutable being who sometimes dipped her fingers into what appeared to be mundane matters, and yet prohibited sentient, magical and world-like entities to interfere with events.
Unless she instructs them otherwise, thought Tyler, but somehow, he had the strange feeling that Asag’s incarceration was one of those instances.
“Ah, Asag. Still the same, though a bit mellowed, caustic personality. Don’t you think I like being your caretaker? It’s a burden. Especially when I do have to talk to you once in a while to keep sane that convoluted mind of yours. No, that not entirely correct. Not crazier than the usual would be more accurate,” said the old man quietly.
“Caretaker?” exclaimed Asag with disbelief. A statement which was followed by a bout of loud laughter.
The old man looked at Tyler and sadly smiled, shaking his head as a reaction to the antics of the demon. Then he turned his attention back to Asag.
“Are you quite finished? Caretaker, as I said. Who was it who hid in these mountains? Away from the deities you disturbed and challenged? Gods who proved to be more powerful than what you expected. Who’s the fool? Picking fights with beings you don’t know anything about? I guess you also have forgotten the swathe of destruction, and the devastating aftermath of the battles you have provoked,” pointed out the old man who aimed his staff at the demon for emphasis.
The young mage listened with amazement. It was apparent that what he was hearing happened a long time ago, far back in Adar’s history. Yet it appeared that Asag wasn’t that much of a problem to the likes of Zeus and Odin. Either that, or everyone ganged up on him, and there were more deities around during that time. Tyler had never heard of Asag. His battle with Ares should have brought up a comparison with this Asag if the demon was a worthy opponent. Yet it was abundantly clear that whatever Asag did, it was deemed a mere annoyance by the pantheons the demonic being had disturbed. Tyler suspected the demon’s off-kilter power must have severely curtailed its abilities, not merely affected them in a minor manner.
The demon didn’t reply but merely glared at the old man. The elderly newcomer just looked at Asag. Tyler could be wrong, but he believed sadness and pity was in those deep, wise eyes. Finally, the old man sighed and spoke to the demon.
“But I bring good and bad news, Asag. Your presence here was more to protect the lands around us from unwanted interference from one such as you. The pantheons have their roles to play in the destiny of this world, and your constant yet doomed attempts at conflict are distracting them from their work. Though pranking would be the better term for most of what you did.”
“I am a but a distraction? A prankster?” furiously shouted the demon. Tyler involuntarily drew back at the sudden shout, but inwardly, he couldn’t blame Asag for the reaction. Being told that one is merely a distraction was insulting at the very least. He knew the old man was brutally honest in his assessment, but diplomatic language was obviously not in his repertoire. Same as Tyler.
“Me? The Great Asag? The demon who gave Ninurta, the son of the god Enlil, the proverbial slip? The one who took him on the chase of his cursed heroic life?” shouted the demon, continuing his furious tirade.
“Unfortunately, yes,” answered the old man calmly.
“Ah, screw it,” answered Asag with a slump of his shoulders, now looking like a deflated balloon. The reversal in attitude was so sudden that it took Tyler by surprise. Millennia of being a captive must have forced some introspection, decided the young mage. The demon sat on a boulder.
“I didn’t win that one either. And that talking enchanted mace of his was so… annoying. An expert at insults, I would say. A lot better than me at extemporaneous and imaginatively formulated invectives. By Dimme, I would gladly strangle with his own entrails the smith who crafted that talkative piece of metal,” said Asag. A bit of the old fire erupted when he talked about Ninurta’s weapon.
“You still haven’t asked about the good and bad news,” reminded the other.
“What’s the point? You’ll tell me anyway. If a demon could feel despondent, that would be me. Solitary confinement obviously doesn’t agree with my sunny disposition.”
“You did try to possess the body of the human mage standing over there,” pointed out the old man.
“Why blame me? It’s in my nature. I am a demon, after all. And nobody had visited the caverns above for millennia, it only has those stupid spiders which now infest its hollows and passageways. I could clear them out, but to what purpose? Only the creatures of that desolate domain adjacent to this mountain range would venture into the cave, and I absolutely have no interest in taking on the body of one of them,” replied Asag, his voice a lot calmer now and tinged with defeat.
“Even if I could,” he added in a low voice.
“And yet you still failed to take over a human body. I would have thought your previous experiences have taught you the futility of such an attempt.”
“Doesn’t hurt to try, old man. Things might have changed. My abilities and magic are still distorted by the energies of this world,” answered Asag. “And do note that after millennia of being exposed to my amiable and perfect personality, you still haven’t given me your name.”
“What are names, Asag? They are ephemeral by nature. Like you, how many names have you taken? I do know Asag is not your true name.”
“I can’t go with old man forever. I’ll call you Labiru-Isten. A Sumerian term,” said Asag.
“And that means?”
“Old man.”
Tyler had to suppress the laughter which started to bubble inside him. Fortunately, he was successful, though barely. Not so the old man. His deep voice, as fathomless as the depths of the mountains themselves, echoed merrily through the space of the hollow.
“Oh, Asag. Sometimes, you do amuse me at the strangest moments,” said the newly named entity. “Labiru, it is then.”
Then a thought struck Tyler. It should have been apparent when the old man arrived and started talking, but the observation finally got tired of waiting in the wings of the theater of his thoughts, got up, and kicked his brain.
Why could I understand them now? My ears could only hear Asag mouthing pure gibberish when I arrived, wondered the mage. Is it the old man’s doing? The atmosphere in the cavern does appear to be flooded with primordial magic, and from experience, it feels similar to what the female avatar exuded.<
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“How come I could understand Asag now?” Tyler asked the old man suddenly.
“Same as why you could cast your magic up there in the cave. I allowed it,” came the matter-of-fact reply. Then the elderly figure turned his attention to the demon.
“Well, Asag, you’d be happy to know you’ve been granted some reprieve – a rare chance to get out of what you call your prison. Me? I’d call it your bolt hole. I do hope you’ve been forgotten by the pantheons you’ve angered. Otherwise, only the First Mage would be able to save your intangible ass.”
“First Mage? This young whelp… my apologies, unfortunately, old habits die hard, but this young man is a First Mage? The last First Mage, who I thankfully didn’t have the displeasure to meet, was an old man, extremely tetchy from what I have heard, and that was a very long time ago, far removed from the memory of even the ancient forebears of the mortals of this world. Well, at least a millennium removed along mortal lines of descent,” answered Asag with incredulity.
The demon had visibly calmed down and had created a stone seat of his own. Though to Tyler, it looked more like a throne than a mere chair, but without the usual gold and precious metal trimmings. It did have intricately carved reliefs on the armrests, the solid base, and on the top of the high backrest. As the mage expected, images of demons and other infernal creatures ran riot over the gray stone. The mage did note that the demon’s selection of the kind of furniture used spoke volumes about its personality, experience, and thinking.
Asag examined the mage, as though it was the first time it saw Tyler. The mage, in turn, thought that the demon must have believed it had grabbed an ordinary mage, and a cursory magical pass over the party would have revealed two mages, of which Tyler would definitely stand out as the more powerful. A careful examination would have given Asag pause, once the magical emanations were scrutinized, but Tyler assumed the demon was too excited to have humans within his reach to deal with such details.
“This one is a strange mage. I might be greatly diminished, but something blocks my magic, faulty as it is on this world,” Asag said finally.
The old man just smiled and again winked at Tyler. But his wizened face held the mischievous mien who knew a secret but didn’t want to share it, and his blue eyes danced with repressed merriment.
“Oh, he’s a mage alright, but far, far more powerful than any First Mage who came before him. A bit naive, sprinkled with a large dose of ignorance – that’s who our First Mage is. And such esteemed conclusions came from the highest authority. His heart is in the right place, for a human. I hope it doesn’t change,” said the old man.
Ouch, thought Tyler after hearing himself being described. That’s how the avatar of this world sees me?
“And what does he have to do with me?” asked the demon, who was now the one puzzled by the turn of events, though Tyler could detect a tone of hope in the voice.
“Surprise! He’s your new caretaker! You’re finally off my hands, thank the Mother! But I did have my objections. Your storied past does reflect badly on you. Personally, I don’t think rehabilitation is possible for one of your kind. But as I said, the decision is not mine to make.”
“I get to go out? Out, as in outside the cave? To see the world?” came the tentative and hopeful questions from Asag.
What the? I get to be the nanny of a demon? Without my consent or knowledge? Who the fuck decided that?
“Wait… “Tyler started to object.
“And that is if the First Mage agrees to take the responsibility,” quickly said the old man, preempting Tyler’s protest.
“I don’t think even a First Mage would be willing to take on a demon like me as his responsibility. I wouldn’t,” commented Asag with a shrug.
The young mage kept quiet, as two pairs of eyes looked at him, waiting for his decision. Somehow, he got the feeling that the mysterious elderly fellow was laughing at him.
“What are the consequences if I say no? As you said, Asag’s horrifyingly picturesque history doesn’t really encourage my involvement. That doesn’t even include the nasty complications if a member of the pantheons he had fought before recognized him,” remarked Tyler quickly, a swift reply which showed his unwillingness to be involved in the matter.
“True, true. If you say no, then Asag remains here forever until some other powerful entity agrees to take him on as his or her charge. Or he could just be released, bound by oaths, but without supervision. But I have it on outstanding authority that it is highly recommended that you take on this creature, annoying he may be. If that happens, he’d be bound by the strongest of magical oaths. The kind that even all the pantheons combined couldn’t break,” came the reply from Labiru.
Asag was silent while the discussion was going on. Tyler thankfully thought that at least the demon knew when to keep his mouth shut. Surprisingly, the creature didn’t offer any of the usual promises of wealth, power, knowledge, and eternal life. To some degree, it was disappointing. Some part of him wanted to witness or experience it first-hand. Not that he’d agree or be swayed by such double-sided temptations. Tyler half-expected Asag to plead the virtues of being allowed to go with the mage. If not by promises of what it could give, then a narration of what Asag could do in the service of the mage. But then again, dealing with a First Mage whose power defied the demon’s attempts to scrutinize it must have put a dampener on the idea of such an endeavor.
The mage was taken aback by the news that the avatar apparently wanted him to take on Asag, though Tyler didn’t know if it was a choice by the consciousness of the world itself or it was told to offer the nebulous arrangement. And the mage couldn’t think of any liability-benefit equation which would provide an advantage in his favor if Asag was indeed set free, even under his auspices.
“I am sorry, but I believe having to watch over Asag while hunting down Loki and foiling that mad trickster’s schemes would be too much to ask from me,” decided Tyler emphatically.
“LOKI?” The sound reverberated through the enclosed space, shaking the ground and resulting in small rocks falling from the ceiling of the cave.
It was Asag. The demon’s voice had changed to a deeper and almost bestial tone. It grated on one’s raw nerves, conjured terrible nightmare images which appeared one after the other in Tyler’s mind, and probably would have quickly driven an ordinary mortal insane. The mage knew he was psychically protected by his guides from the terrifying cloud of fear and horror which abruptly emanated from Asag, but Tyler didn’t expect such a reaction or that it would have some effect on him. It appeared that Asag was still a powerful being even when, as the demon freely admitted, he had been significantly reduced in power.
“Asag, behave,” said the old man in a tranquil voice, clearly unaffected by the demonic tantrum.
“I apologize. You also have a bone to pick with that arrogant weasel?” Asag asked the mage, the bass voice around two octaves lower. The tone might be calmer, but Tyler could still feel the extreme hostility behind the facade, and fortunately, it was not directed at him, even if the colorful though irrational character who was the subject of Asag’s aggression was presently beyond both their reach.
The mage’s eyes could be playing tricks on him, but he could swear a dark and threatening cloud had risen behind Asag, forming a giant cloak of power and suppressed fury. At the back of Tyler’s mind, thought processes ran at breakneck speed trying to determine the reason for such unbridled animosity.
“Uh, yes?” replied the again puzzled mage, suddenly wary of the bizarre change in the demon. Asag’s mood seemed insanely mercurial, shifting from an ordinary demon’s personality, then to a rational one, and then again to a being possessed of cold fury.
What the fuck did Loki do to him? And Asag is an ancient being, whatever happened must have occurred at the dawn of the settlement of this world. The questions swirled in the mage’s mind.
Asag stood up, and the mage could see its form had become more substantial and had taken on the image of an a
ncient soldier. Based on the unfamiliar armor and unique weapon, Tyler assumed it was a Mesopotamian one. The cone-shaped helm, a long leather coat festooned with metal disks, and a sickle-shaped sword at his left hip, all contributed to the strangeness of the form’s appearance. That most of the metal was either gold or something which looked like silver did strengthen the strangeness of the presentation.
Well, I haven’t been to Kemet or the Western Empires, and I guess that’s where the unfamiliarity came from. And those fancy gold trimmings really don’t help. For one, a gold sword? It does look like a khopesh, but again… gold? Sheesh, observed the young mage.
“You look normal,” commented Tyler. “Though there might be an overuse of gold.”
“I think you meant this,” Asag said as he brought out the sickle-sword. It did look like a khopesh, with minor variations in the design. “The mark of a ruler. Not practical, of course. More for ceremonial pomp and circumstance. Awe the unwashed masses into submission! Dismiss any thought of rebellion from their numbed brains! Well, you get the idea.”
“I am intrigued. And I apologize for getting the discussion off-track, but how do you fight human battles? You can’t appear armed with that gold sword,” said Tyler.
Asag looked at the ceiling of the cave and then shook his head.
“Too low a ceiling, but I believe a human-sized version would do. It does work better when I am in a human host, though I doubt if I’d find any candidates now,” replied the demon who then looked at the old man. “With the permission of my jailer?”
The old man rolled his eyes at the statement but nodded, though the impish smile again appeared on his face. Asag turned back to Tyler and gave the mage a knowing grin. Suddenly, his entire body became much taller, almost scraping the rock above, and the body mass increased. At the same time, the human-looking flesh and accouterments gave way to a different material. It looked like a massive version of what he was before, only it was made of black stone. The material wasn’t polished either, but instead of rough, unfinished rock.
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