Practicing witchcraft without a license (Closed)

[broomstix]

Barbara finished the last touches on her summoning circle. Shaking hands carefully completed the symbol of Bael, the last of the nine demons she was to call for protection. Lamb's blood dripped from the tip of the raven's feather. If that lamb was not perfectly healthy, or if she missed a single dot in one of the symbols, she risked being pulled into hell, or worse. No, everything was fine. Exactly as she had seen old Dorothea draw it dozens of times.

But the old hag was not here, was she? She was sick of just keeping her teacher's herbs sorted and hut clean while not being allowed to try even a single bit of witchcraft for herself. All her "training" had consisted of memorizing endless lists. Lists of healing herbs. Lists of killing herbs. Lists of days to summon demons on. Lists of demons. Lists, lists, lists. And not a single spell. It was high time she proved herself.

She had chosen just the right demon to summon. It was associated with the sin of lust, and was said to know all the secrets of seduction. Just the devil she needed. Not that she was ugly - but as a short, freckled twenty-four year old with pale skin and shoulder-length red hair, she kept reminding men of their little sister. They never took her seriously! The demon might not make her taller, but he could certainly help her seem so! Hopefully...

Everything was ready. It was midnight, the half moon was in the sky, the stars were aligned just right, and she had searched the clearing for any animals five times (if any disturbed the summoning circle at the wrong moment, well, she would go to hell a little bit earlier than she was planning to). Dorothea thought her apprentice was out collecting herbs. Ha! She was out here finally collecting some experience.

Her ritual instruments, or what there were of them, was ready. This ritual was performed skyclad (how fitting for a demon of lust!), and the only thing that was allowed in the protective circle, except for her, was a freshly cut rod of hazel, the demon's preferred wood. Good thing it was a mild spring night, or this would have been really uncomfortable. Good thing too it was quite cloudy, so the risk of being seen was low...

Her heart pounded as she stood in the exact middle of the circle, facing the only path out of the clearing and raised her arms.

"Ma!" - a strike of the hazel rod in her hand towards the symbol of Aguares. "Barraio!" - Barbas - "Ioel" - Pruflas - "Kotha" - Amon - "Athorebalo" - Barbatos - "Abraoth" - Buer

The strikes towards the points of the hexagram were complete. Facing the symbol of Gusoyn, she raised the rod. "Hear me". She turned towards the symbol of Botis. "Hear me". One last turn. Bael. The last one. "Hear me."

She lowered the rod and stood there. Nothing. At first. It took her a few moments to notice the crackling and screaming in her ears. It was getting louder and louder until it became nearly deafening, until she almost wanted to scream herself, until she could almost feel the fire of hell. Then all noise stopped. She opened her eyes and saw...nothing. For a moment, there was only blackness around her. Then her surroundings slowly faded in again.

 

[cgraven]

Ashmedai was setting on his throne over seeing one of the seven kingdoms of Hell when there was a tremor in the Ethereal plane. The legion of daemons under his command paused and looked upon him. A summoning the words passed his lips almost soundlessly. A mortal was trying to summon a daemon. [il]Who would it be?[/i] Being possessed of a mischievous character and endowed with a playful and satirical genius he almost hoped it would be him. Ashmedai so loved toying with humanity and especially young attractive female beauties.

As a prince of daemons, he knew well that if the summoning rituals were not strictly attired to, or if there was the slightest imperfection in the summoner’s circle of protection they would be at the mercy of the daemon they were attempting to summon. pale skin and shoulder-length red hair saw the rent in the time space continuum, a dark circle in his kingdom of Hell began to open. So, the summoner was knowingly or perhaps unknowingly trying to summon him. The rent in the time space continuum was in a way a one-way mirror allowing Ashmedai to see who was trying to summon him.

The daemon smiled when he saw the calmly young beauty standing in her circle of protection. She was young, her skin as pale the finest ivory, and shoulder-length red hair a rich copper color. A delicious little morsel. Ashmedai turned his senses to determine if there was a flaw in her summoning ritual. He smiled as he saw a fly crawl across the circle breaking the continuous ring, with the ring broken she would not be protected. He idly wondered if Beelzebub, Lord of the flies had sent the creature to thwart this stunning young creature.

Ashmedai watched with devilish glee as all of a sudden everything began to go wrong for the young redheaded beauty. There was nothing at first, it took a few moments for the young beauty to notice the crackling and screaming that assaulted her ears slowly getting louder and louder until it became nearly deafening. Suddenly there was a silence almost as deafening as the cacophony of hellish sounds that had preceded it. The young redhead was engulfed in blackness. Her eyes fluttered open, nothing, nothing but suffocating blackness. For a moment, there was only blackness around her. Then her surroundings slowly faded in again.

Far from summoning a daemon Barbara found that she was in a land of brilliant color. There was the hustle and bushel of a large city populated by gayly dressed people. Soon a crowd was gathering around Barbara. She could see a hunger in their eyes, feel their hands sensually running over her supple young body. “So pretty, so delicious, shall we sample her?” The gathered crowd began to tear at Barbara’s clothing. Then a voice commanded them to stop. It was a voice deep and sensual; it was felt as well as heard. “What is your name young lady?”

Before Barbara stood the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her young life, it was all most painful to look upon him. Barbara did not know it, but her spell had gone so very wrong. She knew she was no longer in her village but what she did not know was that she was in limbo between heaven and hell. Ashmedai was looking forward to toying with and seducing this stunning young creature.

 

[broomstix]

Barbara had expected a smell of sulphur, not...this. It was hard to tell whether it was even a pleasant or an unpleasant smell. It was...otherworldly. Sweet and spicy and musky all at the same time. For the moment, smell was all she had to go by. Then her hearing returned. She immediately regretted that. Again, what she heard was not meant for human ears. It sounded like voices, but she was not sure whether they were screaming or laughing.

For a moment, her heart sank. Had the ritual failed? Had she dropped herself into hell? Or was this a sign that it had worked? She had expected to be proud of her achievement, but she was too terrified to feel any of that. She wanted nothing more than to run back to Dorothea, admit her mistake and beg for forgiveness. She now understood why she had not been allowed to perform any witchcraft of her own. She had not been ready...

Her sight returned. She regretted that too. The sight of a huge city assaulted her senses. She was no longer in a clearing. She was in a brilliant, shining city somewhere, populated by things that looked human - but were they? It certainly did not look like hell. Not like any stories of hell she had ever heard of, anyway. If these were sinners, they did not look like they were being punished...

Even if this was not hell, it was something she had never seen before. A large city. A city bustling with life, so many people in one spot... it was nothing like her village. Only then did she realize that she was standing in a strange city - butt naked! The shock and shame of this brought her fully into this reality, whatever it was, dropped her and made everything feel so real. She realized she still had her arms up from the summoning and immediately used them to cover herself, blushing fiercely.

"Sample" her? She recoiled and whimpered in terror as her eyes darted around, desperately looking for something, anything, to put over her naked body. She found nothing and collapsed on the ground in a heap, hugging her knees and crying for a moment. For a moment, she could not move for shame and fear, just sit there.

She looked up and saw a face so beautiful it was almost fearsome, as if such perfection had never been meant to be. Was it an angel? Had she brought herself to heaven instead of hell? No. Once you took up with the devil, heaven was locked to you. Her eyes widened in shock. It was an angel. A fallen angel. Her spell had worked.

"B...barbara", she murmured in a high-pitched voice that betrayed all the terror she was feeling.

 

[cgraven]

Her sight returned and before Barbara spread a huge city, its very brilliance assaulted her senses. She was no longer in a clearing. She was in a brilliant, shining city somewhere, butt naked! The shock and shame of this brought her fully into this reality, whatever it was, dropped her and made everything feel so real. She realized she still had her arms up from the summoning and immediately used them to cover herself, blushing fiercely. The crowd around her had suggested “So pretty, so delicious, shall we sample her?”.but before they could grasp the naked young beauty and have their way with her A voice commanded them to stop. It was a voice deep and sensual; it was felt as well as heard. “What is your name young lady?”

"B...barbara", she murmured in a high-pitched voice that betrayed all the terror she was feeling. Ashmedai simply smiled. He could see that Barbara was enthralled with his looks, Ashmedai was well aware of the effects his appearance had on young women when he dawned his guise of the young nobleman, and captain of the guard. He knew that most people had visions as being horned, cloven footed monsters. Really who could be tempted by such a creature. It seems that they had forgotten that Lucifer meant angel of light.

“Were you practicing Witchcraft young lady?” His voice was soft and sensual, a voice that could stir the senses and feelings of a young human girl. It washed over Barbara and caressed her as he spoke. He touched a finger to her lips silencing her before she could answer. “You know young lady that practicing witchcraft without a license is very dangerous and it is illegal.” Hie eyes had a piercing gaze, as if he could see into her very soul. “Do not lie to me Barbara were you practicing witchcraft without a license?”

Once more a crowd was gathering around Barbara lustfully gazing at her naked charms. The beautiful stranger took off his cape with a flourish and wrapped it around her shoulders covering her nakedness. It was apparent that the crowd was not pleased at the Barbara being modestly covered now. The stranger turned to the crowd and in a stern voice declared. “On your way now and be quick about it.” Ashmedai now turned to Barbara. “Well were you Barbara?”

 

[broomstix]

It was no use lying to a demon. They had ways of making you talk. And besides, being from hell and all, they had to have some respect for rulebreakers, right? Now that she was covered, her courage slowly returned, and she replied without hesitation: "Yes. Yes, I practiced witchcraft even though my teacher told me I was not ready. Well, seems like it worked, didn't it? I cast my spell, and I have summoned you... or you have summoned me" - she grinned sheepishly - "so, I might have gotten that part of the spell slightly wrong."

His gaze made her uncomfortable, but she tried to return it. "Illegal? I did not know there was a law against it. Old Dorothea only told me that it would be too dangerous. She did not tell me anything about a law. If I did, I am very sorry, but you see I only had the best intentions. I wanted to prove that I am ready to be a witch."

She averted her eyes for a moment. His gaze gave her a headache... no, it pierced so deep it gave her a soulache. By now, she was her old, bold self again and even dared smile at the demon: "So, I broke a law of hell, didn't I? Well, damn it. If there is one thing you devils are good at it's punishing people, so that was really stupid of me, I guess. But you have to admit that at least my magic wasn't that bad, right?"

She was a little surprised herself how brave she was feeling even though she was barely clothed, in some place that was...somewhere else...and talking to a demon. She should be more afraid, damn it! And yet, despite his unsettling beauty, and even more unsettling stare, it was very hard to be afraid of this demon. He seemed to be so kind and understanding. It was all a mask, of course, but a very comforting one for the moment.

 

[cgraven]

Barbara replied without hesitation: "Yes. Yes, I practiced witchcraft even though my teacher told me I was not ready. Well, seems like it worked, didn't it? I cast my spell, and I have summoned you... or you have summoned me" - she grinned sheepishly - "so, I might have gotten that part of the spell slightly wrong." Ashmedai listened to the young human beauty, it seemed her courage was returning to her and it was apparent that she thought all was well.

"Illegal? I did not know there was a law against it. Old Dorothea only told me that it would be too dangerous. She did not tell me anything about a law. If I did, I am deeply sorry, but you see I only had the best intentions. I wanted to prove that I am ready to be a witch." So, she was going to play the ignorance of the law [ card. Before Ashmedai could tell Barbara that ignorance of the law was no excuse. She blurted out, "So, I broke a law of hell, didn't I? Well, damn it. If there is one thing you devils are good at it is punishing people, so that was really stupid of me, I guess. But you have to admit that at least my magic wasn't that bad, right?" This girl was obvious feeling bold and brave even though she was barely clothed, not sure where she had landed, heaven or hell, or someplace in between and talking to a creature’s whose beauty was befuddling her and she presumed was a demon.

It was time to disavow this gorgeous little human of some of her misconceptions. “Barbara Practicing Witchcraft without a License is a profoundly serious crime! It is not a matter of paying a fine, serving some time in Hell and then go about your merry way young lady.” Ashmedai beauty became a dark radiance so breath taking it so awesome that could destroy you in an instance. “Your Magic did not work Barbara.” It was a statement that was unequitable. “ You are not in your village, and you are not in hell per say nor are you in heave either. No Barbara you are in between Heaven and Hell. You are in limbo a place of suffering my dear girl.”

Ashmedai paused as he let his words sink in, before continuing. “And suffer my sweet girl you shall.”

 

[broomstix]

Should she be speaking like that to what was obviously a demon? A demon who had just accused her of a crime she had not even known was possible to commit - but which she was very, very guilty of? She was still nearly naked and stuck - somewhere. With no way to get back, and no idea where the exit even was, or if there was an exit, or if she was supposed to be here. Her smile faded very quickly as she thought about that.

This was no time to let fear grip her. If she was to be a worthy witch - and if she was to get out of this place alive - she had to keep her wits together and try to befriend this stranger. As foolish as it seemed to make friends with a fallen angel, he was the only being she did know in this place, and he seemed friendly enough. The important word being seemed. No demon was to be trusted, and the beautiful ones especially so.

She averted her face as the demon showed his full radiance. One glimpse more, and she would have gone mad from viewing such unearthly beauty. Such beauty that it became repulsive again. Beauty that would have destroyed her mind with the sheer wrongness of its existence. At least now she knew where she was, though that was no comfort. How could being stuck in between heaven and hell be anything of the sort?

When she answered the fallen angel, she sounded more serious, but still confident. She was determined to show her good will and accept her punishment. There was no use begging and pleading with this being anyway. She was sure he had to listen to that every day, from thousands of sinners. Maybe she could even impress him a little bit that way.

"I accept my suffering. I did something that was wrong, even though I did not know it was."

 

[cgraven]

The tone that Barbara had taken with Ashmedai was not the most prudent course of action given the young beauty was still nearly naked and stuck – somewhere, with no way to get back, and no idea where the exit was, or even if there was an exit. Ashmedai watched as this realization slowly dawned on the young human beauty and her confident smile slowly faded from her angelic face. The daemon prince watched as Barbara smiled sensually as she gathered her wits about her and tried to win him over to her side. Yet Barbara found that she had to avert her gaze from him, as the demon showed his full radiance. One glimpse more, and she would have gone mad from viewing such unearthly beauty. Such beauty that it became repulsive again. Beauty that would have destroyed her young mind.

"I accept my suffering. I did something that was wrong, even though I did not know it was." Ashmedai smiled as none of the girl’s confident had seemed to have deserted her and her voice carried a serious tone as befit her situation. “Really Barbara! You accept what ever punishment I chose to administer to you for your transgression of the law?” He held out his hand to the young girl, “Then come Barbara.”

Ashmedai had one great advantage over the girl he knew her name and she did not know his and knowing one’s name gave you power over them. He led the young beauty from the city square and into the Palace of “Justice”. He led her down a long winding staircase to the Palace’s dungeon. “My cape Barbara.” Taking back his cape left the girl naked once more before him. ”Choose a device to begin your suffering on!”

Before Barbara lay a torture chamber and Ashmedai was demanding that she choose how her suffering would begin. His voice was deep, sensual, but there was also an unrelenting note of command that demanded that she obey.

 

[broomstix]

Confronted with a bewildering array of horrifying instruments, some of which no human mind could have devised - and indeed it had not - she lost her courage. But she would be damned if she let it show! Only her skin grew even paler as she surveyed them, imagining in what ways it could be used to make sinners suffer. Sinners like her. And he was waiting for an answer. He was waiting for her to choose a horror.

How she would have loved to answer: "A comfortable bed"! But he was dead serious about this. If she did not make a choice soon, he would probably choose for her, and every time he looked at her, she felt as if he could see her innermost - and see what she feared most. More than anything else, she feared small, cramped spaces. She really had to take her pick, or he would probably read that very thought and stuff her in a mousehole, or something.

She took a few tentative steps into the chamber, fearing that the ground would be red hot, or some other fiendish trick. To her great surprise and relief, it seemed to be an ordinary stone floor. Barbara was now surrounded by all the ways humans - or demons - had come up with to cause each other pain. And she had to choose one. To begin her suffering on. She had no idea how long he wanted to do this, and she shuddered at the thought.

Eventually, she settled on a chair with spikes set into everything - the seat, the back, the arm"rest". Everywhere. At least she knew exactly how this one would hurt her. No mysterious mechanisms, just hundreds of tiny spikes, drilling into her skin for...who knew how long. She stepped on the spiked foot board, wincing in pain, and slowly turned around before planting her delicate buttocks on the spiked seat.