The Friend Oval: Book One: The Demon in the Sun

Chapter the First

 Darkness swirled the clouds through the twilight air as the fire of souls lit up the skies, unseen by the common folk living in the surrounding village. Ambrosios stood at the temple, staring up at the soul fires as his own rose up from the bronze bowl he held in-front of himself. He should not have been able to see that fire, that flame that erupted across the sky, but he had long ago given into the dark magics in search of solving his own immortality.

The many fires in the sky gathered together in a swirling vortex of flame that lowered itself down to the temple where Ambrosios stood. He could feel the energy in the air as the great power that was descended upon the dark priest. As the swirling cloud touched down around him, it began to widen, giving full view or a now magnificent floor. Ambrosios stood no longer in the temple as the light of a heavenly body filled the new room.

Standing before the greek was a being of fire and light. Its voice was deep and resounding, and had in it hints of oblivion. "What the fuck do you want?" it asked, a look of mild disgust crossing its face, as though it had been awoken from slumber just for that moment.

Ambrosios stood in awe at the great power that stood before him as he began stammering, "Oh Great One, I have delved long into the annals of the ages searching for how to contact you, and yet through all the works, all have fallen...not long...on your gloriousness."

"You woke me up to tell me this? You little shit."

"Well, no," Amborsios continued, "I came to ask your help for something." He stopped and looked up into the great demon's eyes, or what he presumed to be the eyes. "I wish to be immortal."

The great being remained silent for a minute, and Ambrosios grew worried until finally the demon spoke. "You cliched little shit. All anybody wants me for is wealth or immortality or love. Why the fuck nobody asks for a fucking cat that is a total bad-ass is beyond me, because that would be sweet as fuck, but no, you have to come up with the overused notion that I can help you become immortal..."

"Can't you?" Ambrosios asked, while contemplating using puppy eyes. It was then that the tiles of the floor began to spread apart, fire erupting underneath while the room spread out.

"I will help you on your path to immortality, if you let me own your body," the demon finally said through the fire.

Ambrosios pondered over the proposition before finally asking, "In what way do you want my body?"

A deep laugh rolled throughout the room as darkness once again preceded to enter. "Your soul you shall keep, but your body shall be like a slave unto me. It shall become mine to command, if I do so please, but it shall be undying. So, what shall it be, the path of the mortal, or meaningless immortality?"

Looking one last time into the face of the demon, Ambrosios shouted defiantly, "Take my body!" The darkness flooded in faster, and the demon disappeared into the flames. As the fire spun, Ambrosios anticipated the searing pain as it spun closer around him. He was not ready as he exploded outwardly into fire. Writhing in pain, once more on the temple floor, completely engrossed in flame, he heard a voice in his head.

"Rise my eternal servant and purge this body of your soul." Ambrosios rose and the flames subsided. He held the bowl in front of him, once more burning with the flame of his soul, and he let go, watching now as the bowl spun through the air, warping itself into the form of a man, with the flame of a soul within, burning through the eyes, erupting in fully engulfing fire, and vanishing beyond all sight and reason.

Ambrosios now looked to the sky and the souls that it carried with new eyes. He saw it now as the greater potential for power, but darkness was quickly covering the light as around him stood three people, all with hoods covering their faces.

"The mistake has been made," the first whispered in a voice deeper than space.

"It cannot be undone," the tallest one whispered next.

"I don't think he cares," the shortest one said outright.

Ambrosios stood in relative shock at the sudden appearance of the men. "Who are you?" he asked quizzingly.

"We are the three," They all said in unison as each one morphed together to form one being, "who are one."

"Together," they once again split into three people, "yet separate. The truest triumvirate."

The greek spun around to see all three. Continuing his circle, he asked, "What are you?"

Each one of the Triumvirate split into three beings, and all nine said, in unison, "We are the Triumvirate, the Three, but what you are is the true question, lich."

Stammering once more, Ambrosios spun in another circle, facing all that now faced him. "I...I am immortal..." he forced out.

"And yet life is meaningless..." one of the nine of the Triumvirate stated.

"...Without death." another finished.

Then in unison they all stated, "And is not death meaningless..."

The being once again was one, and not many, "...Without life."

"Just get out of my temple!" Ambrosios shouted into the face of the Triumvirate.

The shortest of the Three walked out from behind the one, "I told you he didn't care."

The tallest of the Three walked out from behind the shortest and they all spoke in unison, "Who said we were in the temple?" The dark priest looked around himself, noticing that certain things were different.

"Where the fuck did you take me?" he shouted out, confused, but still trying to take control of the situation. He continued to spin around before he realized that he could no longer see the Triumvirate. "Where the fuck are you?"

The voice deeper than space spoke from behind him, "Do you really not know?" The darkness was all consuming and Ambrosios could feel his grip on reality fade. The ground upon which he stood, was no more and the sky rested evenly upon his shoulders as the earth stood upon the soles of his feet. "This is your wish," the Triumvirate continued, "your wish for a land as dark as your soul where the power you possess rules over the entire plane through which it exists; a place where no other entity can touch you; a place so dark in texture that it is called negative. Listen to the colours of your new land."

And so Ambrosios listened, and at first he heard nothing, but preparing to comment on the lack of colour, he heard a whisper on the wind that blew with his breath. "There is no colour, you twat." Ambrosios looked up and all he could see around him was the great demon of fire.

Upon seeing the beast that ruled now over him, he covered his face and screamed, "Get me away from this Hell!"

"But this is the Hell that you have always wanted," erupted the cry of infinite voices, all filling the nothing that was the nothingness. Ambrosios looked up to see an endless horde of the Triumvirate. "I have told you that the mistake has been made,"

"No," Ambrosios muttered, "This is my dream."

The choir of the infinite Three rejected his qualification, "This isn't a dream, this is a bloody nightmare." All of being began to spin around Ambrosios, blurring the forms of all the Triumvirate into an endless sea of unseen faces. Closing his eyes to avoid the nausea, he heard one voice above all else.

"You are meddling with gods above you," came the voice deeper than space.

Then he heard the voice of the shortest of the Three, "He still doesn't care." Ambrosios, the dark priest, the greek, the immortal opened his eyes to find himself back at the temple: alone.