Champion of Tzeentch

Chapter 1

The guttering flame of the candles and its erratic light caught wizard Oelberg's attention. Not enough for his eyes to wander from the parchment in front of him but enough for him to move, he reached down for the next candle in the basket beside him and drew it towards the sputtering flame. He glanced up only long enough to ignite the new wick and plant the candle into the mound of warm wax. The light increased and he continued to peer at the script in front of him, it was called The Dark Tongue. Its usage was only for the servants of chaos and the few that knew how to read it away from those ranks, were generally sort out and put on trial.

Oelberg leaned back for a moment and thought of is fellows that had all been arrested and trialled for heresy for their studies. For Oelberg, like his friends, he was not just the eccentric wizard the populous thought, he was a demonologist, spending long nights learning the secrets of daemons, and calling them to answer his questions.

The parchment on the desk surrounded by other scrolls had the symbol that he'd be looking for, the all seeing eye. The symbol for knowledge unbound. He'd been looking for the means to speak to a daemon of this order, and here it was in front of him two decades of searching and now he had access to all knowledge.

He looked down at the floor at the bronze circle within the silver star. He glanced at the wooden shelves crammed with various jars containing all manner of items for spells, everything from tuning forks, silver hammers and feathers to a trolls tongues and hanged men's hand. He glanced at the ingredients listed in the summoning spell and decided now was the time to call. He headed towards the bronze ring and began to light the wide candles standing on the floor for additional light. Heading to the shelves he pulled out jars, vials and chalk and started work. Placing the ingredients in the stars points to be consumed and scribing symbols on the floor for the request of the incantation, he drew a simple circle on the floor for himself to stand in and taking up the parchment he began to chant.

As the first word was said orange-blue fire began to form in the centre of the ring, as the chant continued a lick of blue flame would spear an ingredient and once it was consumed the ball of fire increased in size and began to take shape. As the chant continued the shape coalesced into a daemon with a birds head, a long neck going to a rounded belly, winged with long bird legs, holding a long staffed, bent over almost like an old crone.

"You summoned me" the high pitch cracking voice came out of the beaked mouth, the words formed with the clacking of the beak punctuating them

"I require kn..." Wizard Oelberg's words were cut short with a heavy hammering on the front door to his small cottage.

"You had better answer that" the daemon said

"I can ignore them, what I wish..." Oelberg was interrupted again with the hammering on the door.

"Dispel me and summon me again, you need to answer the door" the daemon said

"This is Captain Bruned of the Watch, open this door now!" Came an angered and gravelly voice.

"Open the door wizard, they already know what you do here" The daemon said.

"Give me the knowledge to be free of them." Oelberg said to the summoned daemon, he knew if they had summoned a daemon and they responded they must answer to his requests. The daemon plucked a feather from its long neck, richly blue with a rainbow sheen.

"Put this in your pocket and when you need advice touch the feather and all will become clear." It said holding the feather against the invisible barrier of the casting circle.

"You are dismissed" Oelberg said and quick wave of his, a slight shimmer in the air and the daemon had gone, only the feather remained drifting down to the floor. Another yell and more hammering on the door made Oelberg move faster, he grabbed the feather and stuffed it into the pocket of his robes and headed up from the basement to the front door.